Translator: Dreamscribe
The battlefield was thrown into great shock.
It was a shock so overwhelming that all movent ceased. It could not have been otherwise.
“Mary…?”
“Did you say Mary?”
It was because Mary, who had driven the Heroes into deep imrsion, was standing right before their eyes.
The experiential video had beco a massive sensation, and even now its view count was rising steeply. It was rare for a Hero not to have watched that video at least once.
The first ti they watched it, it was simply fascinating.
The second ti, it was sad. Because they could empathize with the Empress’s sorrow. By the fifth or tenth ti, however, other feelings erged.
The sorrow of Mary watching her wailing sister, her helplessness, and that heart that forced a smile toward her sister while recalling beautiful old mories!
As those thoughts and feelings were felt, they ca to understand Mary’s feelings better than anyone.
So, it was impossible not to recognize Mary.
Though she had grown since then, and her hair had turned ashen gray, she was unmistakably Mary.
-…
-This is a lie, right?
-Ah…
A lie!
Please, tell us this is a lie!
Even the chat window that had been skyrocketing went silent. Those who had been insulting Princess of Erosion Mary were struck by such intense shock that they wished they could cut off their own fingers.
Thud!
The Empress’s body collapsed abruptly.
She fell to her knees on the ground, blankly staring up at Mary. The shock was so great that the focus disappeared from her vision.
Was she dreaming?
If so, it was a dreadful nightmare.
A nightmare so terrible she wanted to wake from it by slitting her own throat.
Mary quietly gazed at the Empress.
From Mary’s eyes, endless streams of ashen erosion flowed. Her pallid skin looked as if it would crack at any mont, as though her life had already left her.
Her murky violet pupils.
Within them resided nothing but pain and despair.
Though the Empress desperately wanted to believe it was a nightmare, the cruel reality before her refused to vanish. Instead, it grew clearer and tore at her mind.
The Empress’s eyes trembled violently.
Tap tap tap!
Tears began to flow.
As the Empress’s tears fell onto the erosion-stained ground, they bubbled and hissed as if screaming before vanishing.
The Empress’s face contorted with unbearable pain and sorrow as she looked at Mary.
“Why…!”
The Empress scread.
That scream, bursting with pain, shredded the hearts of the Heroes into pieces.
Mary, on the other hand, showed no change of expression at all. She rely gazed calmly at the screaming Empress with her murky violet eyes.
“Mary…”
The Empress spoke Mary’s na aloud.
Revenge.
Her revenge had also been for Mary.
To slay the Lord of Greed and free Mary’s soul, she had endured years of suffering to master the powers of darkness.
The Heroes could feel in their hearts what kind of emotions the Empress had as she called Mary’s na.
Many Heroes who were watching the Empress and Mary had tears well up in their eyes, or even began sobbing outright.
Yet Mary showed not the slightest sign of wavering. As if she had no mory at all, she only looked at the Empress.
Ssshhk!
Mary raised her sword and, without hesitation, swung it at the Empress. The slash of erosion reached out as if to engulf the Empress’s body, vaporizing the ground as it advanced.
The Empress could not even think to dodge.
Boom!
Jinwoo unleashed the light of the Holy Sword, blocking the slash. The force contained within it was so strong that Jinwoo’s body was pushed far back before stopping in front of the Empress. Twisting the Holy Sword, he deflected the slash to the side, where it cut through the ground and vanished.
Seeing such a scene, there were always people who would sigh in frustration, calling it pointless lodrama. So would even say, whether it was a little sister or family or whatever, just kill her first. But no one could bring themselves to bla the powerless Empress.
‘It’s thanks to the imrsive video.’
Because of the experiential video imbued with the Succubus Queen’s authority, the Heroes did not find this situation frustrating at all.
Jinwoo secretly smiled as he looked at the faces of the Heroes, who were feeling pain just as much as the Empress.
It was delicious!
It was such a satisfying sight.
It was worth having created the content.
“Please, co to your senses!”
“Mary!”
“You can’t do this to your Unnie!”
-Mary!
-Please…
-No!
The Heroes did not feel frustrated, instead, they shouted out as if they were in Mary’s position. If she attacked and hurt her sister, she would surely regret it. Every Hero had once been the Mary of the past, so they understood.
“Mary, I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you. Please…!”
The Empress pleaded in a desperate voice.
Mary’s gaze wavered slightly.
The tip of her sword trembled. But as she closed her eyes, she erased that flicker of emotion.
“Unnie?”
A sneer appeared on Mary’s lips.
Her voice was clearly heard.
“The only family I have is my father. You’re nothing but a slave.”
Mary’s cold words pierced the Empress and the Heroes like daggers.
“Die like a slave.”
Mary’s body trembled, and then she shot forward toward the Empress.
Tiiing!
The sword that aid for the Empress’s neck was once again blocked by Jinwoo. Mary’s movents grew more violent.
Jinwoo seed to struggle to block her sword.
He could barely move his right arm and was wielding the Holy Sword with only his left.
The Holy Sword clashed with Mary’s single-edged sword filled with erosion. Mary was pressing down with brute force, and Jinwoo barely managed to hold on as he was pushed backward. As the Holy Sword’s light grew stronger, Mary backed off with an annoyed expression and raised the power of erosion even further.
Jinwoo, breathing heavily, looked at the Empress.
The Empress couldn’t say anything.
She was helpless, just like in the past. Though she now possessed the power of darkness and had grown far stronger than before, she could only stare blankly at Mary as she was consud by erosion, just like back then.
The Heroes couldn’t attack either.
“I… I can’t… Mary…”
The Empress spoke weakly.
But Jinwoo didn’t force her to fight.
“Do you know what our first objective is?”
“First… objective?”
“To endure. After that, we can adjust our objectives according to the situation.”
Jinwoo took a deep breath and gathered light into the Holy Sword.
“Let’s not aim to defeat the Princess of Erosion, but to hold out until Mary can co back to her senses.”
Blood trickled from Jinwoo’s lips, as if his internal injuries had worsened, but he casually wiped it away and smiled.
“She’s wavering too, right now.”
Jinwoo’s eyes turned golden.
They were Ella’s eyes. The Heroes followed Jinwoo and used Ella’s eyes as well. As countless golden eyes lit up across the battlefield, Mary raised her sword in alertness.
When the Heroes looked at Mary through Ella’s eyes, they saw the young Mary engulfed in erosion.
The young Mary was sitting and crying. Sothing, writhing with greed, was embedding thorns into the little Mary’s body and pouring erosion into her.
Around the young Mary, mories with her sister surfaced.
When she was terrified that a ghost might appear, her sister ca and held her.
They lay side by side in bed, looking at the stars.
Her sister had told her the tale of a great Archmage while gazing at the broken moon.
Each ti such mories returned, Mary’s eyes wavered, but
[Forget. Forget.]
[Wail. Resent everything.]
The mories twisted and beca grotesque.
Her sister’s face lted and turned into a monster. The young Mary ran desperately through a long hallway full of thorns, trying to escape the nightmare.
At the end of the hallway, an exit appeared.
Hope.
Hope was visible on the young Mary’s face.
[U-Unnie! Unnie!]
The thorns stabbed her feet and wounded her entire body.
The young Mary, with blood-soaked feet, barely made it to the end of the hallway.
When she opened the door.
[Co on in.]
She heard her sister’s voice.
But the young Mary couldn’t approach.
What she saw before her wasn’t her sister, but a horribly twisted monster devouring her.
[Hate.]
[Fall into pain and despair.]
The once happy mories twisted into hatred, despair, and pain.
A nightmare.
A cruel nightmare continued endlessly within Mary. The one who had implanted this nightmare was undoubtedly the Lord of Greed. The Lord of Greed was greedily feeding on Mary’s emotions, growing stronger.
“Mary!”
When the Empress’s voice rang out, a crack ford in the nightmare. The young Mary, who had been crying while curled up, looked up in surprise.
Just as Jinwoo said, Mary was beginning to waver.
“Khrrgh….”
“Fuck!”
“Lord of Greed, you fucking asshole!”
“Uaaaaah!”
“Let’s save Mary!”
The Heroes cried and scread with tears streaming down their faces.
The assault teams watching Mary through the Broadcasting Bureau were no different. Upon the shocking revelation that the Princess of Erosion was Mary, all of them halted their advance and turned their attention to the broadcast.
They watched the screen through Ella’s eyes, and just like the Heroes on the scene, they saw the young Mary.
“Advance!”
“We need to push the assault!”
“Lord of Greed, you fucking bastard!”
All the resentnt once directed at Mary was now turned solely toward the Lord of Greed.
It was an excellent developnt.
The situation was unfolding exactly as Jinwoo intended. The Lord of Greed, who was stuck in the capital and preparing to descend upon the surface, wouldn’t even dream of what was happening.
‘Then…’
Let the story begin in earnest.
Mary raised her sword, unleashing a massive wave of eroded energy.
“Focus on defense!”
Jinwoo’s shout was relayed to the countless Heroes. Wizards and Clerics prepared defensive magic and sacred techniques, while tanks raised their shields and activated defensive skills. The millions of main force Heroes moved in perfect coordination under the direction of the nad Heroes.
Mary unleashed a barrage of slashes, but the Heroes did not counterattack and focused solely on defense. Thousands of Heroes vanished with each strike, but there was not a trace of resentnt toward Mary.
Because the young Mary within her was wiping away her tears and standing up.
“Mary!”
“We’ll save you!”
“Look over here!”
“Hang in there!”
The Heroes shouted toward the young Mary.
Horrific slashes rained down, and the ashen swamp spread, but the Heroes kept shouting. The cries of millions also reached the Empress.
She reached out and summoned her scythe.
“This ti… I will save you, no matter what.”
The Empress realized that more than anything, her own voice was needed now. As she stretched out her hand, a scythe imbued with darker, sharper power than before ford.
[All the assault teams have entered the underground labyrinth! They are simultaneously raiding the underground labyrinths in the northern and southern regions!]
The broadcast from the Bureau echoed.
All Heroes were giving their all for the greatest operation in history! The Helby Lovers Group, which had cleared the eastern Underground Labyrinth, joined the other assault teams.
Hold the line.
Under Mary’s overwhelming attacks, the city behind her lted away, the land split, and a deep chasm was created. The ashen swamp fell into the crevice, forming a waterfall of erosion.
“Mary!”
The Empress called out Mary’s na and approached her. Her body was soaked in erosion, but she didn’t stop. As the Empress got closer, Mary’s sword began to waver. Jinwoo desperately deflected the slashes, giving the Empress a path forward.
“Mary! Can you hear ? I’m here, your unnie is here!”
“……”
As the Empress shouted with all her heart, Mary flinched and stepped back. Her murky violet eyes rippled, and cracks began to form in her armor.
“Si…, ster? Ugh, ugh, uuurgh!”
Mary dropped her sword and clutched her head.
Through Ella’s eyes, the young Mary could be seen enduring the pain as she pulled out the thorns embedded in her body. Then she crawled along the ground toward the light in the distance.
[Forget. Kill everyone.]
Disgusting tentacles grabbed hold of the young Mary.
At the sa ti, a massive force surged from the ashen swamp beneath Mary and poured over her.
[Make your father proud.]
The Lord of Greed.
That grotesque voice rang out.
Mary’s armor shattered completely as she was swallowed by the ashen swamp.
Mary erged wearing a gray one-piece dress tainted by erosion. The once blood-red dress turned entirely ashen.
Music began to play.
The ashen swamp devoured the city, wringing out everything within. Screams soaked in agony were twisted by erosion, forming a horrifying yet majestic lody.
Mary’s violet eyes were once again dyed by erosion. The young Mary was bound and unable to move.
“Mary is…”
“No!”
“Mary! Don’t listen to that bastard!”
-Ack! The chat is shaking again!
-It’s corrupting us!
-Mary…
-That fucking bastard Greed keeps…
Phase 3 had begun.
When Mary reached out her hand, a whip ford from erosion appeared. She swung the whip wildly.
Cha-rururuk!
Every place the whip struck turned into an ashen swamp. The whip ignored distance entirely. It extended far enough to wrap around the entire battlefield and more, dissolving the sacred techniques and defensive magic of the Heroes.
“I’ll purify it! Cover my back!”
Jinwoo stabbed the Holy Sword into the ground and poured all his strength into it. Light settled into the earth and cleared away the ashen swamp.
Jinwoo could no longer move.
He was focusing solely on purification, radiating light. He made sure everyone saw that this was the current setting, and began the full-scale production.
Kwaaang! Kwaaaang!
The Empress and Mary clashed.
The Heroes continuously cast buffs on the Empress, attacking the area around Mary to interfere with her.
[A horde of Mummy Soldiers is pouring out from the city where the main force is located!]
From the ashen swamp that had devoured the city, Mummy Soldiers surged out and charged at the Heroes. The Heroes fought against the Mummy Soldiers while supporting the Empress.
The Empress and the Heroes called out Mary’s na loudly.
The more they did, the more the young Mary within gained strength and struggled to break free from her restraints.
“My…, my only family is F-Father! Die!”
Mary swung her whip in a frenzy, her expression filled with confusion. The Mummy Soldiers touched by the whip grew larger and turned into the very monsters that had tornted the young Mary.
Monsters with her lted sister’s face that had chased her, the monster that devoured her sister, and the tentacled creature currently gripping her, all transford and charged toward the Heroes.
The Heroes fought Mary’s nightmare. As each nightmare creature fell, the restraints binding the young Mary weakened.
The Heroes realized it.
We’re fighting alongside the young Mary right now!
“Kill them all!”
“Uaaaaah!”
“Erase them!”
Destroy the nightmares!
The Heroes all moved as one, launching into battle.
They destroyed the nightmare creatures, supported the Empress, and endured. As ti passed, Mary’s movents grew slower. Each ti she swung her whip, she flinched and looked like she was in pain.
The Empress took Mary’s attacks and kept calling her na.
It was working.
It was reaching her!
The Heroes began to hope that Mary could co back.
They wished for the Empress and Mary to spend a happy life together in the beautiful Arsilan. That wish drove the Heroes to fight desperately.
And as ti passed, good news arrived.
[The Northern region’s Underground Labyrinth has been cleared!]
It was a broadcast from the Bureau.
The Heroes led by NorthernGrandDuke had succeeded in clearing the Underground Labyrinth. At the sa ti, she and her Heroes joined the assault team attacking the Southern region’s Underground Labyrinth.
The Southern region’s Underground Labyrinth was the highest level and most difficult area of all.
Mary’s power had weakened.
The restraints binding the young Mary loosened, and the young Mary broke free and began crawling toward the light.
“Haa, haa….”
Mary gasped for breath.
She staggered, exhausted, but still swung her whip frantically.
“M-My…, only family is… my father… only….”
Muttering those words, Mary attacked the Empress. The Empress received the whip strike and moved closer to her. Her whole body was drenched in erosion, but she didn’t stop.
“Don’t co! I… I…!”
The Empress set her scythe down on the ground.
Mary looked at her with fearful eyes, then stepped back in hesitation.
“Mary, it’s been so hard for you, hasn’t it?”
The mont the Empress’s hand touched Mary, all the erosion pouring down on her disappeared.
[The Southern region’s Underground Labyrinth has collapsed!]
Whoooosh!
The assault teams, having thrown everything they had into clearing all the Underground Labyrinths, rejoined the main force.
The ashen swamp began to vanish.
The nightmare creatures trembled, then disintegrated.
The young Mary, freed from her restraints, stood up and ran toward the light.
At the end of that light.
“Unnie….”
Was the sister she had searched so desperately to find.
Mary lifted her head and looked at the Empress. The Empress, with tears streaming down her face, embraced Mary tightly.
“Waaaaah!”
“This is it!”
“Mary!”
All the Heroes cheered as they watched the scene. Jinwoo also stood up with the Holy Sword in hand.
The true reunion of the sisters was beautiful.
Watching the weeping Empress and Mary, the Heroes felt their eyes grow moist.
It was over.
The long agony had ended, and only happiness remained.
That’s what the Heroes believed.
‘Is that really the case?’
That would be far too plain!
Jinwoo smiled inwardly and gave the signal.
It was ti to reveal the climax of this story.
“Mary….”
“Unnie, I….”
The Empress gently caressed Mary’s face and smiled brightly. Mary smiled the sa. As Mary looked at the Empress and was about to say sothing.
[Useless.]
The voice of Greed echoed, and at the sa mont, horrific tentacles erged from behind the Empress.
Sharp tentacles shot toward the Empress.
It was already too late to dodge. The Empress tried to shield Mary at the very least, but Mary moved faster.
Mary pushed the Empress to the side. And at the sa ti.
Pusuk!
The tentacles pierced through Mary’s chest.
*****
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