Seeing Amane Roki in person, I couldn't stop trembling. It wasn't the awe of seeing a famous person—it was the realization of the overwhelming difference in existence that those who had once challenged event raids had felt.
As I stood frozen, Amane Roki lightly shrugged his shoulders. His movents were simple, but every action was so refined it was like watching art in motion.
With each blink, his long eyelashes fluttered.
"I see. This body moves better than my real one. Is there anyone who can control it perfectly on their first try? Even I, with all my knowledge of muscle dynamics, took a while."
Casually, Amane Roki—Zephyr picked up a scythe.
Zephyr's lips moved as he turned towards Stark, who still couldn't move.
"[Create Dark]."
Instantly, darkness ford a complex house-like structure.
Stark, trapped inside, seed desperate to escape. But the cruel reality wouldn't stop.
"Five."
Zephyr whispered the number, resting the scythe on his shoulder as he began to walk.
"Get him!" yelled the bandits.
"He's alone! We've got weapon skills over 50!"
"Spirits aren't skilled in close combat anyway."
"Kill him! Hurry! Kill him! This our only chance finish that bastard off!!"
Finally, the bandits began to move. All of them had decent skills. If the information on the forums was to be believed, this was Zephyr's first ti using [Manifestation].
So, he will not familiar with it. And my bandit army can easily kill him
And on top of that, his [Dark Magic] was mostly focused on debuffs. Even if he manifested, he wouldn't be able to use any significant magic, nor could he possibly engage in close combat…or so I thought.
"I've carefully observed Liora's movents. I don't need skills."
Effortlessly, he swung his weapon while muttering incomprehensible to .
Zephyr easily took down the bandits who had honed their weapon skills to rival those of real-life swordmasters.
The bandits who had launched themselves at him were slaughtered in an instant. Before I realized it, there were corpses lying around.
Even drenched in blood, Amane Roki was terrifyingly beautiful.
It wasn't like Liora's graceful scythe technique.
Zephyr's was more brutal. He fully understood and controlled his muscles, striking with the scythe in the most efficient and deadly way possible.
His enemies were cleaved in two by his scythe as if they were drawn into it.
"Six."
There were only a few bandits left. The army whom I thought and invested in to win this fight were easily defeated.
Even the reinforcents who had arrived were casually dispatched by Zephyr's scythe. It looked like he was just swinging it around, but with each swing, lives were taken with ease. On top of that he is claiming he is not using any skills.
If Liora's scythe technique "spread death," then Zephyr's was "delivered death with a brutal finality."
The owner of the Death Spirit was—Death itself.
"Seven."
It was over.
No one could stop Zephyr as he walked leisurely forward.
Before I realized it, the beautifully nacing figure, cloaked in ominous darkness, glanced softly in my direction, sending a chill down my spine.
I couldn't even rember to keep filming. I just crouched down and stared at the ground.
But I couldn't help but look back at Zephyr. It felt dangerous to even take my eyes off him.
That being… I shouldn't get involved with him.
I finally understood the fear that those who had once frozen in terror during the raid boss fights had felt.
▽ Dark Spirit Milim
That was an absurdly durable wall.
It must've been a far more powerful manifestation skill than a normal [Manifestation]. That was probably Zephyr's trump card—his unique skill.
"It's unfair…"
Zephyr's true identity was likely the real Amane Roki.
He had everything. Talent, wealth, charisma, beauty—everything that people desire, he possessed. And yet, he claid to throw it all away for his friends.
Against soone like that.
I wouldn't lose—not even in this ga.
"Stark! We're going to kill him! Forget that brat. Next, we'll take down that arrogant—Stark?"
Just when Stark was about to break free from Zephyr's [Create Darkness], when I thought it was finally ti to strike back…
The match was already decided.
"Ugh, gah…"
Groaning in pain was Stark, lying on the ground. Zephyr's foot rested on his neck, poised to crush him at any mont.
Those horrifyingly beautiful eyes looked down at Stark as though he were nothing more than an insect.
"The unique skill you cast on Liora, does it disappear after your death?"
"Ugh… No… I don't want to die. Do sothing… Please, Grim Reaper!"
Stark is weak.
Just like in reality.
My chest burns with anger. Why is the world so unfair? Those who have everything, keep gaining more. Those with nothing, struggle desperately to find sothing—only to end up with nothing.
In such a life, I had finally found it.
Just one thing.
A power given to and Stark by the system. A power that could hold its own in the world.
My unique skill that forces to relive sny trauma.
Stark's unique skill that shows what he is thinking.
Both are useless on their own, aningless… but that's precisely why they complent each other so perfectly.
"Please… stop. I won't hurt anyone anymore."
I mutter in a daze.
But my plea—words from a background character—won't reach the protagonist. He, coldly beautiful, tells fools like us,
"I'm going to kill him, either way. And as for you, young lady… tough luck. You've lost."
"Wait, Amane Roki!"
"…It's off-putting. Don't call by my real na."
"I know who you are!"
Amane Roki nodded, looking utterly uninterested.
"I figured you did."
"I know! I know everything! If you kill him—if you kill Stark—I'll hunt you down in real life! This isn't a bluff! My unique skill is useless without Stark!"
"If he dies, I'll be thrown back into my aningless life! I won't let you kill him! I'll co to your house in the real world and kill you! Do you understand what it's like to have nothing to lose?!" Find exclusive stories on empire
"Feel free, as you like."
Stark's neck was crushed.
Just like that.
I frantically tried to use a resurrection potion, but Amane Loki grabbed my spirit body faster than I could react. I had no idea when he even moved.
His beautiful face was right next to mine, close enough to kiss, as he observed .
Those empty, yet gorgeous eyes were staring deep into .
"Your playstyle isn't bad. In fact, I don't dislike it. Many people will mock you, saying, 'She's taking a ga this seriously? Threatening soone in real life over it?'"
"But it's no lie if you're that invested. You're sacrificing reality, pulling reality into the ga… Desperation is truth, and I acknowledge your malice."
A chill ran down my spine.
I'm scared.
Amane Roki's eyes… terrify .
I truly intend to kill him in the real world.
And he understands that. He knows I'm going to co after him—and he accepts it. He's making understand. He too is a man with nothing to lose.
It's probably also due to the system's influence.
The aura emanating from Amane Loki is like a god's—no, more like an evil god who permits malice. His presence sends a shiver through .
"I…"
Amane Roki—or rather, Zephyr—speaks.
"I'm not good with affection. I don't know how to reject it… But your malice is easy to grasp. It's sothing I can trample on, reject, and destroy without guilt. The clearest, simplest, most convenient—such a delightful relationship!"
"I don't understand… Why is this happening to us?"
"You made Liora cry. Isn't that obvious? That sin is punishable by death."
He cleared his throat with a cough.
"Now, there are only seventeen seconds left. Ti for your punishnt."
He carried , crushing with his grip, and headed towards Acid thod, the one recording the scene. He picked up the fallen Acid thod with his left hand, while holding in his right. Zephyr smiled.
"Spirits don't take damage, but you can still feel pain, can't you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, we were both swung around. At a speed impossible in reality, without a chance to react, we were relentlessly swung through the air.
In an instant, my sense of balance was shattered, and though I wanted to vomit… I couldn't.
We were subjected to sixteen seconds of hell before finally being released. But by then, we had no strength left. I wanted to throw up but couldn't. The world was spinning. Even though I was looking straight ahead, I couldn't see straight. The world was breaking apart.
A shattered world.
Inside the cave. A tiny world. Fleeting happiness. The joy of trampling on others.
What remained was a dark cave, blood, flesh, and the grotesqueness of organs.
"Then," a sweet voice fell from above, "I'll see you in real life."
I lost consciousness and was forcibly logged out.
That day, Stark and my "Dropout Guild" was erased from existence.
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