Chapter 35 : Warrior Guild Civil War (3)

“I never even considered resurrection. As expected, Irene is incredible. I really underestimated her.”

The Mirror Queen started circling around Elian.

She was wearing a black robe, and her physique was different, but…

Her voice and aura alone were enough to confirm that she was the Mirror Queen.

Her way of speaking was different, but…

Was that really important?

“I’m surprised too, meeting someone I never even thought about again.”

Elian was on high alert.

Even though he had gone there prepared to die back then…

The Mirror Queen had toyed with him and killed him, despite him fighting with everything he had.

Even if he had the blessing of the Guild Master now…

It was only natural to assume he might die again.

Amidst the tension, a question arose in Elian’s mind, which he directed at the Mirror Queen.

“But you speak as if you know Irene.”

The Mirror Queen remained silent for a moment.

Then, as if placing down a heavy burden, she answered with difficulty.

“…I’ve known her far longer than you have.”

Do Demon Lords have some kind of private gathering or club?

Elian considered the thought for a moment before quickly dismissing it.

Even if something like that existed, there was no reason for Irene to be in the same group as the Mirror Queen.

Instead, he asked something else.

“Your speech is lighter than before. Honestly, you were cringeworthy last time.”

The Mirror Queen burst into laughter at Elian’s words.

Elian tried to take advantage of the opening, but even while laughing, she left no gaps.

“There’s a limit to how much someone can hide. Don’t you think so?”

“On that, we actually see eye to eye.”

The conversation ceased after that.

Both were searching for the other’s weakness.

But no matter how long they waited, neither revealed an opening.

The Mirror Queen, growing impatient, suddenly lunged forward.

“If you join forces with Irene, my chances of winning drop, don’t they? I can’t allow that.”

“…!”

Her blade narrowly grazed Elian’s side.

He barely managed to raise his shield and dodge, but…

He couldn’t avoid getting a small cut.

It was the first time he had seen the Mirror Queen use swordsmanship.

Yet, Elian immediately recognized it.

She was using Elian-style swordsmanship.

But the only time she had seen it was during their last battle!

“I’m still too much for you, aren’t I? Of course. You will never defeat me.”

“You won’t know that until we try. Thanks to you, I’ve become twice as strong.”

“Even if you were ten times stronger, it wouldn’t matter.”

At this point in the fight, the viewers finally realized the truth.

Wait… that’s the Mirror Queen??? Is this for real???

Sounds like clickbait, but she looks completely different from last time.

Nah, it’s her. Just look at her skill level—she’s on Irene’s tier.

Irene is strong, but not Mirror Queen-level strong.

Yeah, Irene’s top-tier, but she’s not making it out of this. Never seen her pull off anything like this.

We hyped up Irene too much, honestly.

But Elian looks seriously screwed. What’s he gonna do?

Somebody spread the word, fast.

[User alsp has donated 1000G to Elian!]

[“Just keep chugging potions.”]

[User Hanamjainmida has donated 10,000G to Elian!]

[“Try using fireworks to distract her and gather reinforcements.”]

A Demon Lord of the highest threat level had appeared in the Warrior’s Guild.

Anyone could see how dire the situation was, and the chat was in full-blown panic mode.

Some viewers rushed to post about the situation in online communities.

Others cheered Elian on.

And some tried to fix things through massive donations.

Unlike with Irene, everyone was desperate.

“So the viewers are trying to help? What a pointless effort.”

“…You know about livestreams?”

“I know better than anyone.”

The Mirror Queen muttered quietly.

A Demon Lord who understood broadcasts and had connections to Irene?

Elian’s curiosity was driving him insane.

But that was a separate issue.

The outcome of the battle was already tilting against him.

With each clash of their swords—once, twice, three times—

Elian’s body suffered more wounds.

And those wounds… wouldn’t heal.

No matter how many healing potions he gulped down from the viewers’ donations, they had no effect.

The Winter Queen remained exactly as she was when they first met.

Only a slight tear had appeared on her black robe.

“I told you—I can read all your movements. No matter how much stronger you get, defeating me is impossible.”

Elian took a deep breath.

As much as he hated to admit it, she was right.

“I don’t want to believe it, but… it’s true, isn’t it?”

Since the viewers were watching, he tried to maintain a composed expression.

But inside, she was feeling pure despair.

No matter how she attacked, the Winter Queen dodged as if she knew everything in advance.

It was like she could see the future.

If not, then she must have memorized every single aspect of Elian’s swordsmanship.

That made even less sense.

Elian’s swordsmanship had no formal techniques or set patterns.

Predicting it was impossible.

If anything, seeing the future seemed like the more plausible explanation.

“I should have finished this cleanly from the start. There won’t be a next resurrection, Elian.”

Isn’t there seriously anything we can do??

How is the Warrior’s Guild just letting a Demon Lord interfere in their tournament?!

Please, someone drop a meteor or something!

It’s already too late.

The viewers were just as hopeless.

The Mirror Queen stretched out her hand, and a violet aura of magic began to rise.

It was unsettlingly familiar—Elian clenched her eyes shut.

The moment she thought she was dead, a loud explosion filled the air.

But what she heard next…

was an even more familiar voice than the Mirror Queen’s.

“Elian. If it’s dangerous, run. I’ll handle this.”

The Mirror Queen let out a short groan.

For the first time, she looked troubled.

“Irene…!”

Irene.

She had appeared.

“A variable…”

The woman in the robe murmured.

She had spoken my name.

But I had no idea who she was.

One thing was certain—she wasn’t a hero.

Because who else would use such terrifying magic in a hero tournament?

“…A soul-erasing spell.”

The ultimate form of dark magic.

It completely erased the soul, ensuring true, permanent death.

So even I had to be cautious.

After all, I put a lot of effort into learning that spell too.

Which meant…

This woman was extremely powerful.

“Nice to see you, Irene. I didn’t expect to meet you here.”

The woman in the robe waved casually.

Her brazen attitude only made me angrier.

“I’m not happy to see you at all.”

“Hmm… I figured as much.”

“And besides, I don’t even know who you are. Nor do I care.”

“That’s a little disappointing.”

The moment I stepped forward, standing in front of the robed woman—

The chat exploded.

I had no time to look, but—

[Irene123 has donated 1000G to Irene!]

[“Take Elian and run. You seriously can’t win this one.”]

[fpqpf has donated 5000G to Irene!]

[“That’s not just some random woman—it’s the Mirror Queen in disguise. SHE KILLS FOR REAL. Please don’t engage.”]

[fnzmtifm has donated 3000G to Irene!]

[“I know you’re strong, but now’s the time to run. Seriously.”]

From the donations, I could piece together the situation.

So, the disguised Mirror Queen was causing chaos in the Hero Tournament.

And I had just arrived in time to stop her from killing Elian.

I appreciated the viewers’ concern.

But…

I had no intention of running.

If I backed off, that would mean the Mirror Queen could run wild as she pleased.

That part didn’t bother me.

After all, I was a villain too.

But she had tried to kill Elian.

That was crossing the line.

I raised my sword toward the Mirror Queen.

I didn’t plan on dragging this out.

She claimed to know me.

But I had never met her in my life.

There was no reason to keep her alive.

In other words, I didn’t need to hold back.

Maybe she hadn’t grasped the situation yet, because the Mirror Queen was still running her mouth.

“It’s nice to see you in one piece. At least let me say—”

She never got to finish her sentence.

My sword had already aimed for her face.

It was a fast strike, one of my quickest.

Yet, the Winter Queen barely dodged, escaping with just a scratch on her face.

Normally, anyone would be rattled after an attack like that.

But the Mirror Queen?

She was disturbingly calm.

As if she had expected it.

She wiped the blood from her cheek and took a sharp breath, as if surprised.

That was the fastest strike I’ve ever seen.

Irene is way faster than she was against Elian. She’s never even gone all out before?!

??? Wait, so that insane magic wasn’t even her full power? LOL

Mirror Queen is getting normalized by “The Irene” right now.

THE IRENE.

I wasn’t surprised either.

That one strike was enough for me to figure it out.

The Mirror Queen had known about my opening attack before I even made it.

“So it’s true. You really do know me in some way.”

I glanced at the blood on my blade.

The Mirror Queen was human.

That meant she couldn’t use foresight or clairvoyance.

That left only one possibility.

I declared it outright.

“…You’re a regressor.”

“Unfortunately, you’re wrong. Even though I know your swordsmanship perfectly, I still can’t dodge it perfectly.”

The blood dripping from her face stopped almost instantly.

“You claim to know all my sword techniques?”

Let’s assume for a moment that she was telling the truth and wasn’t a regressor.

Then… What was she?

I couldn’t find an answer.

But that didn’t mean there wasn’t one.

Because just now, the Mirror Queen had made a massive mistake.

She said, “I know all your sword techniques.”

That was absolute nonsense.

Why?

Because Irene’s body—my body—can use every sword style in existence.

I don’t even consciously choose my techniques once the fight begins.

I instinctively mix sword styles, following my body’s natural flow.

Which meant—predicting my movements should be impossible.

Until now, my fights had ended before the opponent could notice this.

But as proof of my theory—

With every clash of our swords, my blade drew closer and closer to her vitals.

“I expected this, but this is way too unfair, don’t you think?”

“If you have time to talk, you have time to defend yourself.”

Before she could even finish her sentence—

My sword sliced across her face.

All that endless planning she kept going on about—

This wasn’t part of it, was it?

Her appearance shifted in an instant.

Golden and violet hair intertwined, forming a familiar pattern.

A physique similar to Elian’s.

And a mask, now nearly shattered from my strike.

It was an unnerving yet familiar sight.

And in that moment—

“I’ll be waiting. You’ll come find me eventually.”

A massive surge of violet magic erupted around the Mirror Queen.

The same energy used for soul-erasing magic.

But that wasn’t what shocked me the most.

“See you again, Irene.”

And then—she was gone.

The Mirror Queen had vanished, leaving only the lingering trace of her magic.

I felt a chill crawl up my spine.

“This is… my magic.”

Her magic wasn’t just similar to mine.

It was identical.

Not close.

Not a coincidence.

Completely the same.

For the first time since I was summoned to this world—

I felt uneasy.

Gazing at the now-empty space, I murmured quietly—

“…Who the hell are you?”

[Confirmed after the Mirror Queen’s interference:]

[Posted by: Irene731]

We had never actually seen Irene’s full power before.

She instantly killed Elian, held off Fris, Elian, and Luna’s magic during the subjugation battle, and still walked away unscathed—and apparently, that wasn’t even her full strength.

(Insert Irene vs. Mirror Queen fight gif here)

And even now, we still don’t know the extent of her true power.

Up until now, if you had to name the strongest person in the world—aside from the Heroes—it was either the Emperor or the Mirror Queen.

But now?

The Mirror Queen just got absolutely wrecked by Irene.

She didn’t even get a single real attack in.

She spent the entire fight blocking Irene’s attacks before taking the final hit and vanishing.

And the scariest part?

Irene might STILL not have been using her full strength.

Who the hell is Irene???

[Likes: 292]

[Dislikes: 15]

[Comment Section]

“Her identity? My wife.”

“Excuse me? She’s actually MY wife.”

“Honestly, I’m just relieved she’s a villain. Imagine if she were a hero—terrifying.”

“Even if Elian had won, people would’ve downplayed it. But this? No one’s arguing.”

“It’s insane that someone this powerful just popped up out of nowhere.”

“I don’t even care anymore. I just want to watch her livestream.”

“Forget being the strongest. Just start streaming, Irene.”

“The craziest part? This is all REAL.”

“Irene looks kinda weak, actually. She should stream 50 times to prove us wrong.”

“I support this.”

This was the most active the community had been since the Bertram Incident.

With the Mirror Queen crashing the Hero Tournament and Irene effortlessly defeating her, there was no way people wouldn’t go crazy over it.

But there was one difference.

This time, even Irene’s own fan community was losing its mind.

“How is she THIS strong???”

“At this point, I wouldn’t even be surprised if she beat the Emperor.”

“Can Irene just take over the world already? That way, we’d get Irene statues in every city.”

“Can we legally start worshipping Irene?”

They all knew she was strong.

But no one expected her to be so overwhelmingly powerful that even the Mirror Queen looked like a joke.

And the fact that she had been hiding this level of strength all along?

Unbelievable.

“I acknowledge the defeat of the Gold Mine team…”

“Wait, what are you talking about, Elian? We need to stream this.”

Elian wasn’t much different from the others.

He had always been a genius in both talent and effort.

Even though holding the #1 ranking was stressful, he took pride in it.

But when standing next to Irene…

Even the top rank felt insignificant.

I mean, how could it not?

She just pulled off one of the most insane performances ever.

But…

“Irene is totally gonna take over the world, lock me in a room, and force me to stream forever!”

Elian… didn’t seem too bothered.

The only thing that changed was his determination.

Before, he wanted Irene to be a streamer.

Now?

He was going to make sure she became the biggest Hero Guild streamer in history.

The moment the battle ended, Elian grabbed both of Irene’s hands.

He held on tightly, as if clutching something precious.

“Irene, I’m gonna make you a world-famous Hero streamer!”

“I’m literally a villain executive. Why would I stream for the Hero Guild? I’m not even a hero.”

“You literally just defeated the Mirror Queen. And you’re still saying that?”

“And? There’s no law saying Demon Lords can’t fight each other.”

As they continued their back-and-forth—

Irene suddenly spoke.

“Oh, right. You do know the tournament isn’t over yet, right?”

Her sword flashed.

Elian’s vision went dark.

[You have been eliminated from the Hero Tournament.]

[Reason: Death.]

“…Ah.”

Operation: Defeat Irene.

Massive Failure.