《After My Dead Ending》 Chapter 1 It was when it was time. With the emperor¡¯s call, I left the territory for the first time in a very long time and headed to him. He was listening to a boring speech sitting in the scorching sun with a cumbersome dress and heavy jewels. It was definitely like that¡­ I stared at the scene of the festival, which was a mess in an instant. ¡°Hello, Aisa. You really are alive. How did you live?¡± The person who smiled at me immediately swung a blunt weapon at me, wondering if he was willing to hear the answer on the subject of the question. A blunt weapon hit my side of the head. The pain was short. The front of my eyes flashed white, then red, and finally black. ¡®This crazy punk again¡­¡¯ Instead of a soaring blood pressure, I felt a sense of distance, I recalled that day with force majeure. It¡¯s the day when my life, which was only a little unlucky, began to flow in a pathetic way. As soon as I began to recall the memories of more than a decade that I had never looked for, they began to unfold as clearly as yesterday. Soon, the memory flowed as fast as a panorama. Is this what a flashlight is? I ran away from that day for 10 years, and it¡¯s funny. The memory of moving on quickly stopped at one part. ¡°Aisa.¡± A beautiful girl with bright blonde hair and blue eyes turned to me, calling my name. ¡®Ophelia.¡¯ I looked at Ophelia, whom I had not seen in a long time, and reflexively recalled her name. The mixture of resentment, longing, hatred, and love was so mixed up that even I couldn¡¯t define my feelings. My old sister-in-law. Beautiful and intelligent tomboy, Ophelia. Ophelia had a huge pervert stalker. No, there is one still. Nick. That psycho-criminal bastard, who had been chasing Ophelia with a grin, rushed in in a way that ruined everything for her. In fact, the expressions to destroy and torment were quite pure. His obsession wasn¡¯t meant to be taken care of. It¡¯s just an extremely perverted desire to see Ophelia, who always shines brightly. It seems that it was close to obscene jealousy and endless longing. Unfortunately, Ophelia was such a sweet and loving child that she would have been the target of many criminals. Of course, what Nick destroyed included my family and I, similar to Ophelia¡¯s. Inevitably, most of the things Ophelia lost were also precious to me. * * * That day, 10 years ago, when I was still 15 years old. My family, McFoy, was destroyed by Nick. The only people who survived the mess were me and my baby nephew, Archie. Nick, who Ophelia had gained with sincerity, was a person who used the power that remained only as a legend. That day, the black hands that simultaneously rose from McFoy Castle and its territory penetrated the body of everything alive and breathing on the ground. No one could avoid the hand. It was an evil power that I had never heard of. The sticky and clingy hands did not give me time to defend. While I was losing my mind, I heard Ophelia¡¯s scream, and I blamed Ophelia. ¡®If it weren¡¯t for you.¡¯ If Ophelia hadn¡¯t come to McFoy, this wouldn¡¯t have happened. My caring grandmother, strict but respectful parents, a reliable older brother who would have continued the family, a beautiful and dignified step-sister, and an older sister who was delighted to become a new bride. And thousands of people living on the land of McFoy. Everyone wouldn¡¯t have died. With these assumptions, Ophelia was considered terrible. It was clear that her kindness was the beginning of all misfortune. Having lost everything in an instant, I needed something to resent. So, I decided to fiercely hate the nosy, cheerful girl who grew up with me. Since I was left behind, I had to have hatred to live. It was scary too. I didn¡¯t know when I¡¯d lose Archie, the only family I had left, if he stayed next to me. So I decided to abandon Ophelia. I decided to kick her out of the land of McFoy forever. Ophelia was not a real McFoy in the first place. It was my father who suddenly put the orphan into the family one day. It¡¯s Ophelia¡¯s fault, yeah. It¡¯s not strictly her fault. It¡¯s all because of ¡°Nick,¡± a criminal who is strangely obsessed with Ophelia. That idiot who looks like a fool. The one who looks like a hawk. I thought it was somehow chilly to pretend to be clumsy and absent-minded. Ophelia was an obvious victim. Nevertheless, I was not confident of seeing her anymore because she was considered terrible. That day, Ophelia left the castle on her own before I kicked her as if she had any conscience left. In fact, I didn¡¯t know well whether she left or died. When I barely opened my eyes to the crying of Archie, there were no Ophelia or criminal genics. However, it occurred to me that the perv psycho would not have killed Ophelia, his subject of obsession. Wouldn¡¯t it be if Ophelia killed him and left? I thought it was rather fortunate that she had disappeared. I didn¡¯t know how I survived. I just lost my mind and when I opened my eyes again, it was all over. Inside the ruined castle, there was only a crying Archie a little away from me. I was in a chaotic spirit and hugged him. And I think I tried to find another survivor. After wandering around the castle for a long time, I climbed the wall with Archie, where I think I saw McFoy¡¯s land burning in the dark blue dawn. At that time, I could tell instinctively. That Archie and I are the only ones who lived and breathed in the wide land of McFoy. Then, what kind of family was McFoy, who had only a 15 year old girl and a newborn baby left? McFoy, a noble representing the West, has a history of producing many legendary knights, and thanks to his glory, the Knight Order was famous. Historically, we served as the head of the imperial knight the most. In addition, there is a sword method that only comes down to the McFoy family, which is one of the basics of imperial swordsmanship. Less than half a century after the end of the 30-year war, the influence of nobles who were former knights was strong. My great-grandfather, who was able to handle swords because he was McFoy when it comes to martial arts, returned with merit at the time. Thanks to this, McFoy was in its heyday as a family that was used not only in the west but also in the center. In addition, McFoy was blessed with the land itself. With a mild climate and fertile land, the land and the people of the land were rich in itself without being tied to other businesses. People were not very worried and had many children. Young and competent knights knocked on the door every morning to become McFoy¡¯s knights. A peaceful place where wide granaries sway in golden color and rivers and seas gently surround the surroundings. McFoy was such a family. I loved McFoy like that. When I stood there blankly, I think Archie cried as if he was going to faint with tears and runny nose on my neck. I mechanically patted the baby on the back and soothed him. I would have cried because I was hungry, or because I missed my nanny or mother, but at the time, I had no idea what to do. I think I just held him in my arms and cried together. Oh, it¡¯s because of you. Ophelia, a nosy girl. I told you not to help because Nick is doing something crazy. I told you not to grow up because you were just a weirdo. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s because of you. What happened to McFoy is¡­¡± When Archie and I were crying, the sun seemed to have begun to rise. The appearance of the mansions and territories, where darkness had fallen, gradually began to appear. Wherever I looked, McFoy was full of people who were torn apart. I fell down on the spot. ¡®It¡¯s all because of you. You witch-like girl. Ophelia, I can¡¯t forgive you and Nick. I will kill you.¡¯ I don¡¯t think anything could be more of a nightmare than this. And then again- Memories quickly passed by. As if searching for a memory from a long time ago, it was a very distant past. * * * A chatty sound and laughter were heard between the cicadas crying. It was a boring peaceful and everyday landscape. Then the girl sitting in front of me looked back and asked me. ¡°Hey, did you read all 6 books?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± I came to my senses and searched my bag. ¡°Wait a minute.¡± There was no need to search, but a thick paper book wrapped in a hard cover was immediately held in my hand. ¡°Here you go.¡± I handed over six books of ¡®Ophelia and Night¡¯ to my friend. ¡®Ophilia and Night¡¯ was a romance fantasy novel that all classmates have been reading hard recently. ¡°Oh, I was just wondering, did you really read it all already? You said romance fantasy wasn¡¯t good. You finally opened your eyes to romance!¡± ¡°¡­This has less romance. I just read it because it seemed like a devastating fantasy.¡± The friend who received the book said in a sly way. Famous for being far from romance, I muttered like an excuse because I felt somewhat awkward. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m nervous. It¡¯s a happy ending, right? I¡¯m worried because this is a bit devastated.¡± Whether or not, the friend looked at the book and asked. Volume 6 was the last one. The friend seems to be curious about the ending. ¡°¡­¡± I carefully reviewed the contents of the six volumes. Um¡­ Can you call that a happy ending? When I frowned, my friend quickly looked like she was going to die and shouted. ¡°What? Why did you frown? No way, who dies? Isn¡¯t that crazy?! This writer!¡± ¡°Is it okay if I tell you?¡± ¡°Oh, just tell me. I mean, I don¡¯t want anyone to die.¡± ¡°¡­Aisa dies.¡± I spat it out and felt a bit bitter. Only those who survived can see a happy ending, but it wasn¡¯t for Aisa McFoy. Aisa¡¯s death was the culmination of the novel, a device that led all the characters to reconciliation and forgiveness. Her death lead the heroine, Ophelia, to an awakening, and Ophelia¡¯s return to the McFoy family. It is the beginning of this 6th volume that the criminal Nick kidnaps and kills Aisa, and the story progresses rapidly towards the end as it is. ¡°Ah, what is it? Aisa died? Then it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± The friend said with a smile. Seeing her greatly relieved expression, I felt my heart sink a little. Was Aisa my favorite? Somehow I felt strange. ¡°If only the main characters live, it¡¯s a happy ending. Aisa, well, there were a lot of dead flags¡­ There were a lot of things that solved once she died. It felt like she was going to die.¡± My friend¡¯ tone was not so light. ¡°¡­Aisa is not a villain.¡± ¡°She¡¯ not a villain, but¡­ ¡­ . As Ophelia loses her powers, she barely survives, and Aisa made her a fugitive for ten years. Didn¡¯t Ophelia suffer because of that? Ophelia fans will think of Aisa as a villain and a nuisance. And she¡¯s a good character to kill. It¡¯s also dramatic.¡± A villain. A nuisance. A good character to kill. How is it okay to die? In an instant, emotions surged. ¡°Hey! Wasn¡¯t Ophelia gloomy too? What would Aisa think if she disappeared without a word like that? Of course it¡¯s annoying.¡± So I spoke out without realizing it. I felt the attention of my classmates belatedly, so my voice lowered at the end. ¡°Isn¡¯t Ophelia a victim? The family¡¯s revenge should only be on Nick, that psycho! Why is she even tying up Ophelia and treating her like a criminal?¡± ¡°There is nothing wrong with it! Because they let an unknown person into her nature at will! TO be honest, Ophelia was not really a McFoy!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? People will think you¡¯re a child.¡± My friend said with a somewhat surprised face. Somehow, my heart fluttered and I couldn¡¯t answer. ¡°Anyway, you¡¯re weird too. Usually, you would join the main character, not the character who dies. It¡¯s not good for your mental health.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I don¡¯t know. Did I like Aisa because I thought she was going to die? Aisa was a major figure with many appearances. However, that didn¡¯t mean there were many inner descriptions. Aisa was not the main character. In fact, I¡¯m not sure if Aisa is my favorite. Still, as I read it, I somehow joined Aisa. Rather than feeling sorry for her, it¡¯s somewhat¡­ Strangely, should I say that I naturally connect with her? ¡°You shouldn¡¯t catch a character who dies.¡± My friend¡¯s last words somehow felt distant like an echo. The space where friends were chatting has also become farther and farther away. Finally, I felt like I was floating alone in an empty space. ¡®Ah, this memory¡­¡¯ Chapter 2 ¡°Oh my god.¡± I suddenly opened my eyes. When I could feel again, I felt a tingling headache. Soon, my mind started running wild. I stumbled due to the throbbing sensation in my head. Everything was jumbled up, and I was about to make a mess. I wobbled like an earthworm, rolling over the musty and bloody stone floor. It¡¯s crazy. It¡¯s crazy. It¡¯s crazy. I don¡¯t remember this? ¡°Ugh¡­!¡± Then, at some point, I stopped breathing. My body stiffened like it had been pierced by a skewer. My eyes were wide open. My heart pounded like crazy. A tear fell on the stone floor of the temple. ¡®Oh My God-.¡¯ Soon my whole body started shaking. There was no way to know whether it was due to anger or fear. I was like that for quite a while, with my eyes closed tight and holding my breath. In the meantime, I almost screamed uncontrollably. ¡®It was more like a nightmare that day.¡¯ After a short period, I opened my eyes carefully. My eyelids trembled. The accumulated tears flowed down my new cheeks without me even realizing it. Fortunately, the horrible Nyx minions were nowhere to be seen. I was alone. There would be followers everywhere, but I couldn¡¯t see anyone. ¡®What should I do? What should I do?¡¯ I opened my eyes, hoping that I could think clearly, but my head was still in trouble. I couldn¡¯t think logically at all. But I wasn¡¯t a 15-year-old girl who sat down,cried and just watched like that day. Since then, my body had gone through a lot of hardship and battles in order to survive after that day. But, nevertheless, I simply couldn¡¯t stay calm or think rationally. ¡®It¡¯s a novel.¡¯ I can¡¯t believe all my misfortunes were for Ophelia, the heroine of the novel. The death of my family, the death of so many people. Even my 10 years of hard work? I started a family, and that¡¯s all for your happy ending? The whole thing is just a novel? I¡¯ve been wondering how bad one¡¯s luck can be for a long time. I wasn¡¯t always lucky. Starting with small things and sometimes important things. My luck looked worse with Ophelia, who was always lucky, next to me. Everyone loved the bubbly Ophelia, who was closer to a human talisman than I was to McFoy¡¯s young lady. Nevertheless, it was fine. I loved Ophelia like that, and I really thought of her as my family and sister. Perhaps Ifelt more sisterly affection for Ophelia than my own sister, Sif. But I didn¡¯t realize that everything was because you were the main character and I was a supporting role to make you stand out. I didn¡¯t know all my misfortune was just a plot device for your heartbreaking past. I was angry. It was terrible. It was unfair. It was sad. I felt so sorry for myself that I was overwhelmed. I couldn¡¯t breathe properly. I had to suppress the scream as my feelings flooded my veins. I hit my forehead on the stone floor a few times and managed to hold back the scream. But I can¡¯t afford to feel this way. There is no time to doubt this strange memory and to ponder peacefully over whether it is authentic or not. According to the novel in my memory, it¡¯s not time for me to panic. According to ,I, Aisa McFoy, will die soon. If I stay like this, this rotten me will die in prison. Going back to my memories¡­ I think it starts with the fingers. I tried to move my hands tied to the ball. Fortunately, all ten of my fingers were safe. That means it hasn¡¯t started yet. In the future, Aisa McFoy will have parts of her body amputated one after another, starting with her fingers. One by one, until Ophelia gets here. And when she finally gets here, Aisa McFoy will be decapitated right before Ophelia¡¯s eyes. You¡¯re going to die. You¡¯re going to die. With my death, with the death of Aisa McFoy, Ophelia will awaken in spirit, ability, and everything. First, Ophelia recovers her strength that she lost that day. Ten years ago, Aisa McFoy died once. It was a few seconds, but I was completely out of breath anyway. The only thing that survived the tragedy was the ¡°Archie¡± in Ophelia¡¯s arms. On that day, Nyx betrayed the gods of this world and sacrificed all the inhabitants of the McFoy territory to awaken the evil power and possess it. In that dire situation, Ophelia managed to seal Nyx, who was still incomplete. And Ophelia saved Aisa McFoy by exchanging her scarce power for the life of Aisa McFoy. Ophelia, who sealed Nyx incompletely, lost all her powers and left McFoy alone. Shortly after leaving McFoy, the story of begins in earnest as the male protagonist discovers her lying on the street. It was a twist revealed about three novels in and a device that made Ophelia a perfect heroine. In any case, when Aisa McFoy¡¯s head is cut off, Ophelia¡¯s powers, which kept Aisa McFoy alive, return to its original owner. Ophelia regains all her powers and eventually returns to being closest to God. In the end, like the main character of any fantasy novel, Ophelia, alongside the male protagonist, gets rid of Nyx, and will have a happy ending with him. So the death of Aisa McFoy is a very important episode in . The episode has already begun. Nyx, that pervert might come in and cut off one of my fingers right away. Of course, I didn¡¯t know about Ophelia¡¯s awakening or anything, nor the happy ending of defeating the villain and reaching peace. I didn¡¯t want to give up my life, let alone a finger. Even if my death could prevent the destruction of the world, I did not want to die. It didn¡¯t matter to me what the end of this world was. Therefore, I didn¡¯t even have the heart to sacrifice. ¡®I¡¯d rather live for one more second and die together. How have I been living? Why do I have to die here?¡¯ Perhaps I am more obsessed with life than anyone else. It would be nice if I had finally gone crazy, but it didn¡¯t change the fact that I had to get out of here quickly, even if it wasn¡¯t from this weird old memory. The ¡®Nyx¡¯ would definitely try to kill me if he was the motherfucker who exterminated McFoy 10 years ago. It¡¯s not surprising. Whether this is in the novel or not, I was certain to die at the hands of Nyx. So I had to pull myself together. ¡®I have to get out. I have to get out.¡¯ In the meantime, I realized something new and suddenly felt self-hatred. ¡®No, wait a minute, that damn girl really saved Archie and I? I¡¯m alive because of her holy power?¡¯ Of course I¡¯m not sure yet. It is not yet certain that this world really is in the novel. But it was also a fact that I knew secretly. Because I knew that Ophelia¡¯s holy power was almost universal. And I vaguely remember that her thread had pierced my belly with a black hand just before she fainted. But when I woke up to Archie¡¯s cry, my body was fine. That can¡¯t be true. After a moment of thought, I tried to ignore any thought of it. I eagerly denied the idea and chose to grow resentment and hatred toward Ophelia. It sounds like an excuse, but that¡¯s the only way I could live then. To survive, only venom remained to rebuild the family. To forget the guilt of surviving alone, I had to blame someone for ¡°that day.¡± It was a process of fierce mental victory. And my obsession with life grew even stronger. I was able to live with the determination to raise the family and find Nyx and Ophelia and get revenge. So it was Ophelia who saved me that day? It¡¯s Ophelia who is responsible for this life? My mind was piled up in indescribably complex thoughts. Resentment and hatred faded. I began to hate myself endlessly as my anger also waned. I chewed my lips to the point where they bled to get my act together. ¡®Whoa¡­ calm down. Calm down, Aisa. Calm down. This is not the time to be carefreely wallowing in self-hatred. Whether Ophelia saved me or whether this is in the novel, it doesn¡¯t matter now. ¡®The problem is that it¡¯s obvious that Nyx will try to kill me. We have to get out alive for now. Archie is only 11.¡¯ She repeated the magic spell, ¡°Archie is 11 years old.¡± Then I got a little motivated. Ten years. Running around like a dog, I managed to raise a family and achieve success. My life, which had completely sunk, as long as I set Archie up as my successor and handed him the territory over stably, was also a successful reversal to some extent. Success is really far away. But Archie was still too young to become the head of state. Of course, in , after Aisa McFoy¡¯s death, Ophelia helps Archie as her guardian, but I didn¡¯t want to leave it that way. Why would I die leaving my pretty nephew behind? Although he started becoming quite rebellious at the age of 10, he was a cutie that it didn¡¯t matter what he did. Why would I hand over my cute nephew to Ophelia? I couldn¡¯t do that. Above all, if this memory of is really just a delusion from me being crazy, there was no one else left who could be family to Archie. There was no one left to trust in the McFoy territory. Those who accidentally survived ten years ago were all short-sighted, and greedily wanted to bring Archie and I down. The hardest thing in the last decade was to stop them. I couldn¡¯t expect anything from my fiance, Philip Morpuck, who was constantly just maintaining a nominal engagement relationship. It was all a facade, he was just aiming for the McFoy property. You¡¯d think he wouldn¡¯t get caught, but I already knew that Philip Morfolk had a lover who could be considered a common-love relationship. Even now, I can see that his child is riding because they want to get rid of me, but it was obvious what would happen if I died. Thinking about those things that were of no use for the rest of my life made me angry from the bottom of my heart. ¡®So think about it. Think about it, Aisa. You have to get out alive.¡¯ Chapter 3 However, no matter how much I looked around, I couldn¡¯t see anywhere to escape. It was a secure room with solid walls and bars. I didn¡¯t even know how long it had been before I opened my eyes again after being kidnapped. The number of guards on the outside was also unknown. Yes. I was once the owner of the McFoy family, known for their swordsmanship, but that was all a thing of the past. I had no talent for swordsmanship. Aino, my dead brother, and Sif, my sister, both had a bit of that. Swordsmanship and magic powers were nearly impossible to find, and you weren¡¯t born with sharp senses like animals. Your steps aren¡¯t clear, and you don¡¯t know how to read the movements of others. In other words, I was a historical figure who rebuilt the family in a very noble position, but on this side, I was very incompetent. Swordsmen and magicians were uncommon, of course. Even within the handful of people who possessed swordsmanship and magic abilities, their abilities differed greatly. Naturally, it was even more difficult to find a person born with both. The things I was good at were counting and memorizing, quickly grasping the situation and driving force, and so on. My grandparents and my parents thought my unexpected talent was amazing, but they didn¡¯t value it. This is because these were virtues needed only by merchants and low-ranking officials in the Empire. The McFoys, and further aristocrats, still considered buying and selling things as humble. An aristocrat doing business? I knew it was beneath them. Recently, trade has become active little by little, and such perception has gradually improved¡­ Anyway, I couldn¡¯t seem to get out of this prison right now. I forced my upper body to rise. The chains made of iron restraining me made a creaking sound from the ankles and wrists. Then, holding my breath, I quickly looked around the hallway. Fortunately, no one seems to have heard anything. The place was quiet. Looking at the restraints on my ankles and wrists, they didn¡¯t seem like holy objects. It meant that Nyx knew that I was incompetent, someone without swordsmanship or magic abilities. In the meantime, wearing a fancy dress was not comfortable. ¡®It¡¯s nothing else, to kidnap a great nobleman and the McFoy family in front of the Emperor during the founding ceremony.¡¯ To those unfamiliar, it would have looked like Nyx¡¯s minions were declaring war on the Empire. However, for Nyx, emperors and empires were uninteresting opponents. The madman was only interested in Ophelia. This shameful kidnapping was what Nyx had done purely for Ophelia. I have kidnapped your dear sister, come find me! I could see it was a message like this. As I recalled the situation just before my kidnapping, I felt dizzy again. My fists were brimming with power. ¡®Crazy guy, I¡¯m going to get out of here. You bastard like a dog.¡¯ I was motivated again and began to think. ¡®Shall we bring the guards?¡¯ I immediately shook her head. It wasn¡¯t a good option. If they knew I was awake, they¡¯d cut off one of my fingers right away. The followers who regarded Nyx as a god with overwhelming power were like cultists. Nyx was originally a senior priest during the Great War, and he had to be strong to rise to that position. He was a man born with a tremendous talent that only appeared once in hundreds of years, and he was a well-known religiously followed person because of that. Many believers followed him. He probably would have naturally become a high priest if he had been quiet. ¡®That bastard might be the high priest right now.¡¯ To his followers, Nyx was an absolute leader, and those trapped in Nyx¡¯s castle and prison, Tantaros, were ugly demons. Nyx is the bastard who betrayed God and lost all his powers and is using dark magic instead, but according to their beliefs, it doesn¡¯t matter. There was a high probability that even a greeting would not work, let alone negotiation through dialogue. I was afraid that there would be a creaking sound, so I couldn¡¯t even move, and so I only chewed my lips. There was such a description in . Tantaros is an unbreakable fortress in itself, and it is difficult to enter and go out freely. So far, none of Tantaros¡¯ prisoners has ever escaped alive. It was a description that felt like this. This desolate prison I¡¯m locked up in right now would be the Tantaros. If I remember correctly, the place where I was trapped was not underground, but on the highest floor, a cell for VIPs. Since this fortress-like prison was built firmly with the strength of each brick by brick, there is no way for ordinary people without swordsmanship or magic powers to escape on their own. ¡®Damn it.¡¯ When I thought about it that far, my motivation was shattered again. My head also fell forward helplessly. I was silent for a moment like a dead man. Then I raised her head suddenly. Because I remembered the contents after that. ¡®Wait, you know, the one who survived.¡¯ I almost screamed at that moment. ¡°Crazy¡­! There is, there¡¯s a way.¡± Having managed to calm my excitement, I muttered only my lips softly. No one left Tantaros alive. But soon, there will be someone who will live for the first time. If I remember correctly, there¡¯s someone who¡¯s been stuck here for 10 years. He¡¯s gonna get out of here alive. Ophelia, who stormed into Tantaros to save me, came across. Diazi¡¯s long lost successor. ¡®Norma Diazi, the male lead¡¯s older brother.¡¯ In , Aisa McFoy dies and leaves Tantaros, but Norma Diazi leaves alive. With hope in mind, I began to wrack my head again. There are not many options to choose from, and there is not much time to think. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen if Nyx comes back right away. It¡¯s either sitting here still and testing my luck or believing in,. Both sides were gambling. And I¡¯m uniquely unlucky. If so¡­ I¡¯d rather trust my memory. Let¡¯s do it. It would be better to try something than to sit still. Let¡¯s move on to the assumption that the world is . Let¡¯s use all the information in the novel. I swallowed my saliva and began to organize my tangled memories step by step. I had to find useful information somehow. First, Norma Diazi. If you think about it for a moment, he was very useful. Norma was born with both sword and magic powers. As the male lead¡¯s older brother, he was a person who easily destroyed the balance of the world. In , Norma is portrayed as a character with a handful of abilities, just like the male protagonist. Of course, I¡¯m not as good as Ophelia, who is the strongest character in the novel. It was hard to say that Norma, who was scheduled to become the new Knight Commander of the Holy Order at the time, was caught by Tantaros. It was close to choosing to be captured by desperation due to some kind of incident. Even though it could have been avoided, Norma has fallen asleep at the bottom of Tantaros for a little over a decade under a curse. He can be seen as a princess in Sleeping Beauty. The Diaz family searched everywhere for the whereabouts of the missing heir but failed to find them. It was a matter of course. No one can find Tantaros which Nyx hid. I can¡¯t get out of this Tantaros by myself. But Norma can. Norma¡¯s power will be stronger than or equal to that of Nyx. Otherwise, the pretentious description of Norma being caught on his own was unnecessary. Above all, wasn¡¯t he the person who was going to become the commander of the Holy Knights soon? Norma, I need Norma. Then how do we get to Norma? How do I wake up the curse-ridden Norma? I glanced down at my wrist. ¡°Damn it¡­¡± I can¡¯t even release the chains. A sigh came out automatically. Why don¡¯t we just give up on our fingers and ask the guards to move to the dungeon? ¡°¡­¡± However, no matter how cleverly she found Norma, the curse on him was another problem. First, the curse could only be lifted by the person who cast the curse or someone with more power than that. In this case, the story was a bit complicated. Norma fell into a long sleep because of the curse of an extra character who was jealous of him, and Nyx used that curse to seal him in the dungeon. Norma was a very eventful man. So, to break his curse, someone had to be stronger than Extra or Nyx or whatever. In the game, it is possible to wake up Norma only when Norma himself, the male protagonist, or Ophelia, who has regained her powers, appears. So, there is no way I can wake up Norma when my power is at 0¡­ Wait a moment. Wait, Ophelia ¡°regained her powers¡±? Ophelia¡¯s power? I slowly raised my hands and opened my palms. ¡°¡­¡± If I¡¯m alive with Ophelia¡¯s power¡­ Isn¡¯t my existence itself the power of Ophelia? ¡­ Then can I use my voice? I looked down seriously at both palms for a moment like a palm reader. Thump thump-. My heart was beating faster and faster. I felt my blood heating up. If I can use my powers like Ophelia, I could get out of here by myself right now, right? I don¡¯t need support, I could kill Nyx with these hands right now. It¡¯s a shame, but I admired Aino, Sif, and Ophelia quite a bit throughout my childhood. Not to mention that, except for me, everyone had at least a little bit of magic or swordsmanship, so I couldn¡¯t help but be envious. I envied the three because one even had a legendary personality and stole everyone¡¯s attention. It¡¯s a little embarrassing, but there was a time when I secretly read a book and practiced magic¡­quite often. Then, I thought that there might be a chance that I might have a magic ability that I didn¡¯t have. And again, I¡¯m good at memorizing. I roughly remember the contents of the book I read several times a decade ago. The basic theory of magic power. ¡®I can¡¯t believe my shameful past, which I thought was useless, will help me.¡¯ Thump thump-. With tension, expectation, and strange anxiety, my heart and head were about to burst. ¡®Try it.¡¯ Someone whispered in my ear and encouraged me. ¡®Do it. You have to live. Archie is eleven.¡¯ There was no time to hesitate. I had to try as long as a possibility existed. I closed my trembling eyelids. Let¡¯s focus. At first, you feel like you¡¯re following the bloodstream. I¡¯m sure something is flowing. We need to find the flow. Ophelia¡¯s power. Think about what Ophelia¡¯s magic power feels like. I was the closest to her. I can find it. I clearly remember. I thought of Ophelia with all my might. ¡®Ophelia, Ophelia.¡¯ I called Ophelia more desperately than ever. I don¡¯t know how long I had been doing that. Sweat dripped down my back. And at some point, I could tell as if I had realized something. A feeling that cannot be described in words, that there is no way to describe it. Or something like intuition ran deep inside the guts. ¡°Aisa.¡± It feels like Ophelia is calling me. It felt like when she answered my call. I felt the same way. Ophelia¡¯s voice was like that. It was her. It¡¯s gentle, bright, and lovely. It was all far from me. Chapter 4 ¡®It¡¯s real. It¡¯s actually real.¡¯ I felt a sense of madness and despair together. ¡°Crazy, you¡¯re crazy, Ophelia. Damn, what the hell is this. You crazy bitch¡­¡± Ophelia was absolutely insane. ¡°Really, your strength¡­ You must be saving me.¡± Somehow, my heart was pounding, and I let out a long breath. I hadn¡¯t cried since that day when I held Archie in my arms, and I had no time or energy to cry after, which was one of the things I was so proud of. However, I could feel my eyes quickly getting wet, overshadowing the record. I closed my eyes tightly and pushed it back. ¡°I don¡¯t appreciate it, Ophelia.¡± Then her eyes widened and she murmured. As in , her powers are keeping me alive, so is no longer just my imagination. If I stayed like this, it would be my dead end, just like Aisa Mcfoy. There wasn¡¯t time. The power of this world was the only power that the empire believed in. The power of God, and the power of god is omnipotent, so the use of it was not limited to healing. The force could be physically exercised depending on how it was used. If you found the flow of power, it was easy after that. You could take as much strength as you needed and head where you wanted to use it. It¡¯s very simple in words. It¡¯s actually simpler than breathing if you have a talent for it. T/N: understand that the power she is talking about is holy powers Nyx has magic powers and Ml has Magic powers as well as swordsmanship power. I immediately decided to release the restraints on my hands and feet, which were the easiest thing to do for the first time. Trying to make as little sound as possible, I¡¯m doing it gently. I tried to repeat the plan and moved the pious flow through my body. Sweat came out on my forehead as I was giving it my all. Soon, the flow began to take a twist. ¡®Really?¡¯ I cheered inside. ¡®Now, only the restraints are dang-.¡¯ Suddenly, a flash of white light swept through the prison. In the same way that a flash of light before a lightning strike illuminates the world, it was centered on me. I overlooked three facts. First, control training and safety education should precede execution. Second, Ophelia¡¯s power is the closest to God in history. Finally, I¡¯m not exactly a genius. There was no way that such a tremendous power could be controlled on the first try unless it was the main character like Ophelia. If a beginner uses their powers without a safety device or guardian, or if he or she uses it to break something, there may be a major accident that sometimes blows up the building. I just overlooked that point. Oh my God, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s not good to just cut off the restraints. I guess I was in a hurry considering I managed to even forget something that simple because the most difficult way to control anything is to be delicate. I felt a terrible sense of floating and looked back on the factors of failure. But unfortunately, it was already too late. As if a ripple was centered around me, the wall dividing the cell was blown up part after another, and I could see the iron bars flying in the distance. ¡°Ah Ophelia. You¡¯re fucking strong¡± Soon the ceiling collapsed downward, and the floor on which I was crouching began to sink with me. The walls were struck down one after the other, and I could see guards or cultists guarding the outside. They too were flying wildly. They all had similar expressions. The faces of bewilderment, surprise, and fear upon seeing the destruction. My expression wasn¡¯t much different either. What kind of self-destruction is this? The scene where everything flew around me and the faces of the nerdy Nyx fanatics flowed in slow motion. I soon felt my heart escaping from my body and began to fall quickly with the rocks. It was such a sudden accident that I couldn¡¯t scream in the middle of the fall. This wasn¡¯t my plan. I was going to head to the outer wall quietly and faster than anyone else, and I was going to pierce the outer wall as small as possible and leave. But contrary to the ambitious plan, I was only falling with my mouth wide open. The floor was two stories down, a rough stone floor, and I was falling with my head down, and I didn¡¯t want to imagine what would happen if I fell on that stone floor. ¡°¡­ Aahhhh!¡± When I realized the fact, a scream came out automatically. At the same time, there was another flash of light around me, and then, with a bang, everything around me began to crumble again, as if by instinct. From that moment on, I fell, just crying and trying to eat mustard. ¡°Aaaah!¡± The unknown spirit was also an instinct. For the Nyx fanatics, it would have been like a vertical fall as the bomb continued to explode. I had no intention of making such a grand escape, trying to sneak out as far as possible unnoticed by the watchers, using a shortcut through the floor. The fall was only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. At this point, I couldn¡¯t remember my original plan. I could only see the crisis of the fall that was right in front of me. Again the stone floor came closer. I still hoped that the stone floor would split open. However, the stone floor, which was getting closer and closer, showed no signs of collapsing. It wasn¡¯t even scratched. ¡°What? Why isn¡¯t it breaking?¡± Dozens of thoughts crossed my mind in that short moment. ¡°Oh my God! Stop, stop! Oh, Ophelia!¡± I screamed for Ophelia in a hurry, though I don¡¯t know why. ¡°Ahhhh¡±! I closed my eyes tightly in anticipation of the shocking pain at the end of the final scream. ¡°¡­¡± But there was no pain. I didn¡¯t feel any pain in my body, and the rubble of the building that fell with me hit the floor, split, and the powder flew away. There was a moment of silence. ¡°The prisoners are running away!¡± ¡°Catch the witch!¡± ¡°Bring Mr. Nyx!¡± A few moments later, an urgent cry of fanatics could be heard. ¡°Ugh!¡± I opened my eyes with a hasty breath, my body floating a little off the floor. ¡°What, what.¡± As soon as I muttered stupidly, some force that supported my body disappeared. ¡°Ugh-!¡± I was thrown lightly on the stone floor. I had a tingling pain in my tailbone. ¡°Catch the prisoner!¡± Before I knew it, I heard a thunderous roar overhead, like the roar of knights announcing the start of a hunting contest. I looked up, my face shaking. The lunatics were jumping from each floor, towards me. The sight was spectacular in many ways. If the legend of a king¡¯s 3,000 court ladies was real, would it have felt like this? It was awful. I felt a new surge of blood pressure as they jumped one after another. ¡°Those crazy bastards!¡± My legs did not move like my mind, but I started to run as soon as I could. The road was without a wall, and I was headed toward the outer wall. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill them all¡­!¡± I ran like crazy, throwing a murder notice at an unspecified number of people. It¡¯s been a long time since I ran like this. I am a McFoy. The McFoy family was now the richest in the empire. The McFoy that I had saved and rebuilt was no longer only a family of swordsmen, but a family of wealth. It was a result well reflecting the trend of the era when trade began to flourish. ¡®I haven¡¯t even needed to walk lately, let alone run.¡¯ The wealthy lady had no particular use for her leg muscles. Still, the sloppy running was even sloppier with the sloppy dress and restraints that couldn¡¯t be cut properly. Even the restraint was attached to the chain that originally connected it to the wall jingled with every movement. I believed in Ophelia¡¯s omnipotence and released my powers indiscriminately, running in a straight line to escape in the shortest distance, breaking through all the barriers, and moving forward, a strategy that took into account my poor physical ability. ¡°What is it!¡± But there was a wall that couldn¡¯t be broken like this stone floor that I am running now. Everything that Tantaros was made of had the power of Nyx. It was right that ordinary forces could not crush this building. But I¡¯m using the power of Ophelia, the most powerful woman in the world. Is there anything you couldn¡¯t destroy? Is it possible for something to be stronger than this? Then how? ¡­ Can¡¯t I use all of Ophelia¡¯s power? Indeed, it was possible because this body was not Ophelia¡¯s. Then if things get complicated. We may not be able to breach the outer wall. ¡°Damn it!¡± I screamed nauseously and ran for the wall that I could break down, my sense of direction was disrupted, and in a moment¡¯s hesitation, the fanatic¡¯s roar drew near. ¡°It¡¯s a witch! Get her!¡± ¡°Nyx! Nyx! Let¡¯s take that witch to Mr. Nyx! ¡° ¡®Fucking Nyx!¡¯ The thunderous shouts and footsteps of the fanatics. The regular sound of chains Breathing at my limit. I was almost out of my mind. The shouts and footsteps were getting closer. Looking back, I could now see the silhouette of the fanatics. ¡®Shit, shit, shit. Where¡¯s the outside wall? Where the hell is it?¡¯ I was so nervous that I couldn¡¯t see anything, and my vision began to blur. When I glanced back again, the group of fanatics was closer. Narrow and elongated pupils, jaundice, black complexion. Even while running, the side effects of the curse were visible. That¡¯s how close they were to me. Of course, I had to be pissed off. ¡°Oh, get out of my way!¡± When I saw the terrible shapes approaching me, I spit a scream out. And when the lead fanatic¡¯s fingertips caught and missed the hem of my dress-. ¡°Ah!¡± I lost my balance and slid forward violently. ¡®I¡¯m doomed¡­ I guess I¡¯m going to die. Whatever I do, I¡¯m going to die.¡¯ I felt a maddening feeling of despair and swept the rough stone floor with my whole body. Chapter 5 But at that moment, I heard a lot of screams with a loud bang behind my back. ¡°Aaaah! Stop!¡± ¡°Aah! Aah!¡± ¡°Aahh! God help!¡± Boom! Boom! Boom! Thud! A loud sound echoed down the hall. I looked back in an awkward position. Surprisingly, the fanatics were all tangled up together, seemingly ready to be squashed. Almost as if they were trapped by a transparent wall, they were outraged and smooshed together. I felt like I was inside the barrier. There was a transparent barrier between me and the fanatics, and all the fanatics who followed me had been filtered out. It seemed it was a complex barrier that could not be passed through. Oh, crazy. God. Thank you. It seemed to me that I¡¯ve been unlucky for 25 years, just for today. ¡°Haha! Ha ha, ha ha ha! Take that, you assholes!¡± I laughed like a madman at the fanatics who were pointing at me. Ha-ha-ha-ha! You little punks! You guys can¡¯t get past this, huh? Ha-ha-ha! While walking ahead tense and fearful, I stumbled several times. I took off my shoes and threw them, which I wanted to throw in the faces of those idiots, but the shoes bounced off the transparent barrier. There¡¯s no reason why I can¡¯t kill them when they¡¯re fighting for their lives. I tried to be as mean as I could be, but my body was trembling. The fanatics did not get tired and poured out all kinds of abusive language, jeering, verbal abuse, and curse words toward me. I ignored them all and started running again, my legs limping. However, I couldn¡¯t stop here. I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m the only one who could pass through the barrier, but these things usually are hard to find out. And I had to go outside, not stay inside Tantaros. For a moment, I thought I was on the wrong side of the road, but I couldn¡¯t turn around again, because there were a bunch of fanatics who were angry with me. I grit my teeth and keep moving forward. * * * ¡°How big is this place? How can there be something like this in the basement¡­¡° I looked around with anxious eyes and murmured. I didn¡¯t break anything because I decided that I had to hide my location as much as possible. After the barrier, the hallway ended. The jagged dirt road continued without end. Feeling lost in the rock cave, I walked endlessly. I walked the uncomfortable road barefoot for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, an open space came out. ¡°¡­ Wow.¡± Without realizing it, a stupid exclamation came out reflexively. This is because an unrealistic space filled with the wonders of nature unfolded in front of me. The ceiling supported by the long pillars was very high. The dense pillars looked like a huge pipe organ. The phenomenal size of the pillars gave a somewhat sacred feeling. It felt like a huge temple built by God. It looked more holy than the Great Hall in the Imperial Capital, and it inspired a greater reverence. My gaze naturally followed the rays of light extending from somewhere on the ceiling. The beams of light falling diagonally continued to the floor, pointing to the center of the space, where there was something that resembled a small pond. The surroundings have been too quiet ever since. All I could hear was the sound of dripping water and my rough breathing. I stepped into the space as if possessed, but I couldn¡¯t let my guard down and kept turning my head back and forth. The surprise from discovering the space was short-lived, and soon I started to feel despair again. There was no way this space was a dead end. The only path leading to this place was the one I had walked. ¡°Oh, no.¡± Somehow I thought it was going well, until now. I was still unlucky. ¡°There must be an exit, there has to be. It¡¯s the castle of the Nyx. There must be some sort of secret passage¡­!¡± I started pounding on the walls of the area like a madman. After hitting the wall for a while and looking here and there, I finally had to admit it. That the road continued no further. ¡°Are you really kidding me? When I shouted out loud, I felt dizzy, my anger returning only an echo. I knelt down for a moment and took a deep breath, getting blood pressure under control, and as I looked up, I saw again what looked like a central pond, the pool where the beams of light from the ceiling were pointing. Where did that light come from? Is it from outside? If it¡¯s Ophelia¡¯s power, there¡¯s nothing that can¡¯t be pierced. With that in mind, I dragged my limping legs to the pond, and when I looked closer, I could not see that it was a puddle of groundwater. In fact, I didn¡¯t have to go directly under the beam of light, because I could have smashed the ceiling from where I was kneeling. But I was very tired, and I had no energy to properly think things through, so my brain went through a simple thought process and moved in the direction of overworking my body. I made my way to the middle of the puddle with a bang. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you. I¡¯ll fucking kill you.I won¡¯t leave you alone..¡± ¡°I¡¯ll kill you Nyx if I get back alive. I will really kill you!¡± I was moving my legs mechanically, spitting nonsense. Squish- I felt a lump on the soles of my bare feet. What? Today is really quite a day. I looked down with a hardened face. ¡°¡­¡± When people are so startled, they can¡¯t even scream for a moment. ¡°Ah, oh¡­¡± Oh My God! In the water- ¡°Aaah! Aaah!¡± There¡¯s a person. Splash! Confused, I lost my focus and fell backwards. I fell into the water like it was natural. ¡®I¡¯m drowning? That can¡¯t be right.¡¯ At first glance, the water level in the puddle was barely above my knees. However, there was no such thing as depth. And I fell. ¡°¡­!¡± I opened my eyes wide. Like a lie, an infinite amount of water unfolded before my eyes. I frowned and covered my nose and mouth reflexively. I blinked urgently in defiance of the water, and only then did I see a vague view of the water. The man I¡¯d supposedly stepped on was floating in front of me, in the water. My surprise was so great that I was about to faint again because I hadn¡¯t learned from the first time. I opened my mouth like a fool and drank water. After struggling for a bit, I was able to gather a little bit of composure. ¡®Damn, at least it doesn¡¯t look like a water ghost or a corpse.¡¯ The man, who had a straight face, was in such a perfect state that my confusion was disregarded. They were obviously in the same water, but unlike me, he did not look wet at all. Strangely enough, it was as if he had been waterproofed. On the contrary, my side, with my well braided hair loose, untied, and I¡¯m more like a water ghost. ¡°Is it sealed?¡± It was a very white adult male with silver hair. He was in the water, so I couldn¡¯t see him in detail, but I could barely understand it. A silver-haired adult male, sealed underground deep in Tantaros. There can¡¯t be many of them ¡°¡­¡± You must be Norma. It¡¯s Norma Diazi. I¡¯d scrapped my plan to find Norma Diazi, but I didn¡¯t expect him to just show up. I touched his cheek slightly. As expected, it was soft, as if it existed on a different level. It seemed that Norma could not reach this water or time. His time seems to have stopped since he was sealed. So, did you stay in that moment when you were cursed?¡¯ At that thought, my eyes frowned. I felt the need to get him out quickly. Pity, compassion, sympathy, or something like that. I grabbed Norma without hesitation and climbed to the surface at once ¡°Pu-ha!¡± As soon as I got out of the water, the surface was knee-high again, and I had no idea what the hell was going on.. The plan to smash through the ceiling had flown away, and now that I¡¯d unexpectedly found Norma, I was thinking about waking him up. I tucked my arms under Norma¡¯s armpits and began to pull. ¡°What, he¡¯s heavier than he looks?¡± When I pulled him out, I noticed that Norma was much taller than I was and was as heavy as a stone. He was also stiff. In a way, it was natural. Norma was an active knight, so this rocky body was at a level stronger than most adult men. By comparison, I was a woman in her mid-20s who was a little shorter than average and lacked exercise. There was no way that I could move his Norma-like size lightly in such terrible physical condition. ¡°Ah! I should¡¯ve just thrown him away!¡± I was so angry, but I didn¡¯t really want to leave him. The idea of ¡®getting him out and waking him up¡¯ had overwhelmed any other thoughts. I managed to get out of the middle of the puddle, but I wasn¡¯t out completely just yet. When I got to the water¡¯s edge, the surface of the water skimmed around my ankles. Next to Norma, who¡¯d been sprawled out, I lay on my back and breathed hard for a while. My wrists and ankles dug into my restraints, and I really wanted to rip off the heavy cotton dress. Instead, I nervously pulled the strands of hair from my face, which were soaked in water to the extent that they looked more like seaweed. I thought I would pass out if I closed my eyes like this, so I forced myself to wake up. ¡°This¡­ Big, big, um, ah, ah. Hey Mr.Diazi. Mr. Diazi?¡± I gathered my cracked voice and called Norma once, but there was no answer. ¡°Yeah, getting out of the water doesn¡¯t mean the curse will be lifted. Ha¡­¡± I got up halfway through my tiredness and crawled on my knees to Norma¡¯s side. It was then that I saw Norma Diazi properly¡­ ¡°¡­ Cough, ooh.¡± It was so beautiful that it made me cough. I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off Norma with a serious face. ¡°What did you get?¡± Norma had a look that would make everyone¡¯s taste useless. It was only a sleeping face, but the destructive power of it was enormous. ¡®Is this my taste? No, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s necessarily that.¡¯ I grew up watching Ophelia, who boasts devastating beauty. I thought I was immune to beauty. But a white face and rosy cheeks. It¡¯s a long stretch of eyelids and dense eyelashes. Neat and arranged, arched eyebrows.. Why is your nose like that again? There¡¯s transparent silver hair? Are you a princess? Is he really a sleeping beauty? I stared down at Norma¡¯s ridiculous face in shock, even frowning.