Chapter 41 : I’m Angry

“This isn’t the Luminil I used to know. I can’t even call her weak anymore.”

Irene’s doll observed the corridor where the battle had taken place.

Had someone dipped the Demon King’s castle into hell and pulled it back out?

The hallway was scorched and torn apart in various places.

All the decorations had been completely burned away.

Just touching them felt like it would melt the doll’s skin.

Who would have thought it was electricity?

Luminil’s magic had never had any elemental attributes before.

Seeing her freely wield lightning and burn objects around her felt unnatural.

No, just looking at her from behind—

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she was an entirely different person.

Luminil pressed the Emperor’s Blade back and spoke.

“This is fascinating. It feels like I’ve been using it for ages.”

Irene’s doll muttered quietly.

“It has been around for a long time… since the server first opened.”

The important question was why it suddenly surfaced now.

Since this world followed the rules of Laios Fantasy, most of its processes and outcomes also mirrored Laios Fantasy.

For example, water coming out of a faucet even when nothing was connected to it.

However, Luminil’s transformation into ‘Dark Luminil’ had been leftover dummy data.

There had been no set conditions for its activation, yet she had awakened as Darkminil.

Maybe this wasn’t actually a game world.

Perhaps this was just a parallel world that happened to look exactly like Laios Fantasy.

That was the hypothesis Irene’s doll arrived at.

If that were true, then thinking and acting exactly like the game wouldn’t work anymore.

“I should provide support.”

Now wasn’t the time to dwell on such thoughts.

Irene’s doll unfolded a magic circle and fired pure mana bullets.

And yet, watching Luminil fight on her own—

Even an emotionless doll like Irene’s felt a surge of admiration.

What would the real Irene have thought if she saw this?

She would probably collapse, spouting all sorts of nonsense.

Even the doll felt her heart tremble.

So it was undeniable.

Luminil was frying the Emperor’s Blade with lightning.

Then, she swiftly reached out with her other arm.

The Emperor’s Blade wasn’t moving at an unavoidable speed.

Yet, for some reason, it failed to dodge Luminil’s attack.

With the sound of burning metal, the Emperor’s Blade was flung toward the end of the corridor.

So this was how ‘Luminil’s Electrocution’ was implemented in this world.

A debuff that reduced evasion rate by 100% for its duration.

If something like that had existed in the game, it would have been horrifying.

Irene’s doll quickly figured out why Darkminil had remained as dummy data.

If it had been released, it would have been completely broken.

“You were hiding a card like this…?”

The Emperor’s Blade tried to stabilize itself by stabbing its sword into the ground.

Unfortunately, the Demon King’s castle wasn’t very durable—

Instead of stopping, the blade left a deep mark in the hallway and kept sliding back.

“I finally did it. Without Irene’s help this time!”

Luminil continued firing lightning relentlessly.

At a glance, it seemed like the Emperor’s Blade was being helplessly overwhelmed.

But Irene’s doll knew better.

The Emperor’s Blade was never an easy opponent.

In Laios Fantasy, it had the highest debuff resistance of all characters.

Its stats and skills were on par with most Rank 8 Demon Kings.

If it weren’t for the fact that it hadn’t fully received the Emperor’s power, it would have been an absolute nightmare.

Still, that didn’t change the fact that they had to finish this quickly.

Irene’s doll summoned a blade with her mana.

She sprinted toward the fallen Emperor’s Blade—

“If you spotted the enemy, you should have said so.”

A voice came from behind the wall.

Then, with a massive explosion, the wall crumbled.

Irene’s doll barely managed to dodge in surprise.

But her skills were still far inferior to the original.

A burning piece of rubble, infused with divine flames, grazed her skin, leaving a wound.

Luminil gasped, halting her attack, and ran to Irene.

“Are you okay?!”

Luminil’s eyes were filled with worry.

But instead, Irene’s doll responded sharply.

Not because she resented Luminil—

But because the situation was that urgent.

“I’m just a doll! Just keep attacking!”

Realizing there wasn’t enough time, she quickly made a decision—

Irene lunged at Luminil.

As she deployed her shield, a sharp tearing sound followed, and Irene’s doll was pushed backward.

Embedded in the shield was the sword thrust by the Emperor’s Blade.

Had she not blocked it, Luminil’s back would have been impaled without a doubt.

Realizing the attack had failed, the Emperor’s Blade slowly stepped forward.

Before they knew it, the battlefield had shifted into a two-versus-two standoff.

Their chances of victory were fading.

Irene’s doll quickly assessed the situation.

“I thought the Demon King wasn’t much of a threat… Seems the intel was wrong. The Demon King is stronger than his officers.”

“Strong enough to overpower the two of us?”

“No.”

The Emperor’s Blade, who had just taken an attack, casually dusted off its armor.

As the ashes scattered, what had seemed burned was revealed to be a pristine, golden form underneath.

“What a disgrace. To think His Majesty was once swayed by these pathetic creatures.”

“They must have found His Majesty’s weakness.”

“Of course. His Majesty is absolute.”

The two Emperor’s Blades readjusted their grips on their swords.

One held the blade in reverse, the other in a traditional stance.

“If even one more person joins their side, we’re all finished.”

“I know….”

Luminil could read the Emperor’s Blade’s magical energy.

A chillingly divine golden aura coursed through the corridor, seeping into her skin.

“I’ll prove myself. It’s time to let go of Irene.”

“What?”

The Final Match.

The last two fighters standing in the arena were Irene and Luna.

The viewer count had hit 20,000, and it was almost certain that Irene would win.

Still, Luna was a formidable opponent, keeping the audience on edge.

And then—

A single tear fell from Irene’s eye.

The unexpected turn of events sent shockwaves through the crowd.

The fact that Irene, of all people, had shed tears…

The situation quickly spiraled into chaos.

“Uh… I figured this might happen, but damn, this hurts.”

She didn’t even seem to have the will to fight anymore.

Her sword slipped from her grasp and clattered onto the ground.

What the hell just happened???

WHO MADE OUR IRENE CRY?!

Waaah… Irene… waaah…

This is too sudden. What’s going on?

What even is this?

The audience was in complete disarray.

Luna was no exception.

That Iron Woman—crying?

And with such hollow eyes?

After a brief moment of contemplation, Luna reached a conclusion.

“Is she hesitating to kill me?”

She couldn’t have been more wrong.

Irene kept hearing a voice echoing in her mind.

Was it a hallucination?

Something her mind was making up?

Or… was it truly Luminil’s voice?

She didn’t know.

But Luminil had spoken clearly.

“It’s time to let me go.”

“You don’t need me anymore.”

Today, Irene’s world crumbled.

Slowly, she rose to her feet.

Her body had lost all its strength, moving like a lifeless zombie.

Luna flinched in shock, instinctively stepping back.

WHAT DID YOU DO TO IRENE?!

Holy shit, this is insane.

Is Season 2 turning into a horror show?

No, stop! Don’t destroy the world!

At this rate, she really might end the world…

In truth, Irene was just that devastated.

But she hadn’t given up.

At this point, she had to hear it from Luminil directly.

She couldn’t be sure of anything yet.

For all she knew, this wretched voice might just be a hallucination.

But since it sounded exactly like Luminil—

It had undoubtedly carved a blade deep into Irene’s heart.

Irene spoke.

“Luminil must never become independent… Not tomorrow, not the day after, not ever. For the rest of her life.”

??????

Oh shit.

Breaking news: polar bears now officially endangered.

Yandere Irene?! Don’t cry!

Yandere baby Irene wtf. Don’t cry!

Irene took a step forward.

Luna instinctively prepared a defensive spell in response.

But—

“…!”

By the time she regained her senses, Irene was already behind her.

She could feel the sword lodged in her back and the warm trickle of blood flowing down.

It was a horrifying situation.

And yet, Irene still didn’t forget to apologize.

“I’m really sorry, Luna. Something urgent came up.”

Luna turned to face her.

Irene’s sorrowful expression was completely unlike her usual self.

Had she kept up her usual cruelty, it might have been easier to accept.

Luna smiled weakly.

“It’s okay… Congratulations on your win. I… hope things work out for you.”

Luna collapsed.

At the same time, Irene’s figure vanished.

[The broadcast has ended.]

“We have no choice. We need to call the original Irene.”

It was true.

Now that the two Emperor’s Blades had joined forces, Luminil no longer had any chance of winning.

Her potential and mana far surpassed them, but in skill and experience, the Emperor’s Blade was dozens of times superior.

Moreover, she had only recently awakened her abilities.

It was inevitable that she would be overpowered.

“So it’s finally over.”

One of the Emperor’s Blades wiped the blood off its sword.

Luminil’s blood.

Even as she lay collapsed, she didn’t shed a single tear.

She refused to show weakness.

After all, Irene had done far worse things in the past—

How could she possibly have the right to cry?

Instead, she prepared for one final counterattack.

She didn’t know how to manipulate magic properly, but she could at least gather it all and detonate it.

A suicide attack.

In truth, summoning Irene would have solved everything.

Luminil had already pressed the button on the back of Irene’s doll, but… to her shock, nothing happened.

Of course, Irene wouldn’t have deceived her.

Which meant the Emperor’s Blade must have taken precautions.

Either that, or the mana flow had been completely cut off, preventing Irene from receiving the signal.

Either way, Luminil couldn’t rely on her anymore.

As she prepared for her final desperate move—

“You won’t be resurrecting. I know soul-destruction magic too.”

A sword suddenly pierced straight through the Emperor’s Blade’s head.

The tip of the blade protruded right in front of Luminil’s face, engraved with glowing purple runes.

She knew exactly what those markings were.

“…Irene? How did you get back!?”

On the other side of the room, Irene stood.

Her expression was dark.

Even standing before Luminil, she couldn’t keep her emotions in check.

She was furious.

While she was gone, they had tried to kill Luminil—not just anyone, but Luminil.

They had cornered her to the brink of death.

There was no way Irene would ever forgive that.

“I heard your voice.”

“Do you realize how precious you are to me? You awakened and resonated with me, even in that state?”

“T-That’s… really?”

“Yes. And as for whether I’m ‘not needed’ anymore—I’ll listen to that story later.”

Irene pulled her sword out of the Emperor’s Blade’s head.

Normally, the corpse should have vanished upon death.

But perhaps due to the soul-destruction magic, the lifeless body remained, slumping to the ground.

“First, let’s clean up.”