【 FULL SCALE INVASION, EVE’S DREAM 】

—

Power surged continuously within Gando and right now, he felt as though he could accomplish anything.

With a furious shout, he charged once more toward the Demon King.

Seeing the elderly elf who seemed to be reborn, the Demon King’s expression finally turned serious.

It extended a hand to the side, and a greater demon immediately presented its demonic scimitar with utmost respect.

Against a Legendary-rank opponent, this foe was now worthy of using its weapon.

As the scimitar fell into its grasp, a glint of battle intent flashed across the Demon King’s crimson eyes.

It let out a roar and rushed toward Gando.

In the next instant, the two clashed.

Dazzling brilliance erupted from their collision, accompanied by wave-like surges of energy that sent dust billowing into the air.

Beneath their feet, the ground fractured under the strain of their clash.

Terrifying shockwaves rippled outward, forcing the surrounding demons and elves alike to retreat in alarm.

The entire battlefield became a stage for the two Legendary-rank combatants.

However, even though Gando had broken through and become a Legendary expert, he had only just been promoted.

Thus, facing a Demon King who had advanced at the Legendary-rank for an unknown number of years, he quickly fell into a disadvantage once the opponent grew truly serious.

As such, wounds reappeared across Gando’s body in increasing number, while the domain he had only just manifested began to waver under the Demon’s overwhelming force…

Even so, Gando did not retreat a single step.

Behind him lay Mirovia, the Elven Forest, and the homeland upon which they depended for survival.

He had to hold the enemy back.

He had to endure no matter what.

With a roar, Gando continued to fight.

Yet in the face of an absolute disparity in power, his struggle could only be a futile hope.

A red glint flashed in the Demon King’s eyes as it struck again, cleaving Gando’s staff in two.

Then, with a powerful kick, it sent the old elf flying once more with an even greater force than before.

Gando spat out a mouthful of blood and crashed through a cliff along the shoreline.

He collapsed to the ground, no longer able to rise up.

The Demon King’s expression was cold.

Several sections of its armor had shattered, evidence that the battle had not left it unscathed.

Even so, the Demon King had ultimately prevailed.

Standing before Gando, it looked down upon the old elf from above, gaze filled with arrogance.

Gando understood the meaning behind his enemy’s eyes.

They seemed to say: So what if you have advanced to Legendary-rank?—It doesn’t change anything.

Yet Gando’s expression remained calm.

Leaning against the shattered rock, half-reclining on the ground, he forced a faint smile.

“No…”

“I am the one who has won.”

In the next second, a brilliant holy radiance blossomed within the city of Mirovia as a beam of light, even more intense than before, shot into the sky and transformed into a new defensive barrier which enveloped the entire elven city.

All demons approaching the city were purified within that dazzling brilliance, letting out a series of agonized screams.

Seems like the holy statue within the temple had been renewed.

Gando had held on until this moment.

At last, it had finally arrived.

Seeing the newly formed barrier and sensing the abundant faith energy within it, the Demon King’s expression shifted slightly.

In the next instant, it suddenly turned toward Gando, its gaze growing colder.

“Cunning fellow…”

The Demon King uttered a phrase in its native demonic tongue, looking at the old elf as if he were already dead.

Then, raising the scimitar, the Demon King struck down at Gando as the latter burst into laughter.

He lifted his head to meet the descending blade head on.

Right now, he no longer had the strength to stand.

But no matter, his task was already complete.

My apologies, Estelle. It seems I will not be able to attend your coming-of-age ceremony…

My apologies, Cypher, my friend. I will not be able to continue drinking with you…

A trace of regret flickered across the old elf’s face.

However, at the very moment the Demon King’s blade was about to fall, a silver arrow shot forth from behind, piercing straight through the Demon King’s chest.

Its movements froze as frost quickly spread from its chest, rapidly covering the Demon King’s entire body.

In the blink of an eye, it was transformed into a statue of ice.

The next moment, the ice shattered, scattering across the ground.

Thus, the formidable Demon King had fallen with startling ease.

Gando stared at the scene in astonishment.

Then, as if recalling something, he abruptly turned to look behind him.

There in the distance, high in the air, a figure clad in a celestial battle dress, Aurora, slowly lowered the bow of light in her hand.

“L–Lady Aurora!”

Gando’s vision blurred with moisture as a trace of excitement appeared on his face.

Aurora glanced at him and gave a slight nod. Then she drew her longbow once more and continued firing into the demons in the vicinity.

At the same time, numerous deafening battle cries rose from the direction of Mirovia as tall figures wielding weapons surged out of the city, charging straight toward the demon army.

They were fully armed Chosen Ones.

A fierce killing aura surrounded them, and some still bore uncleaned demon blood upon their armor.

Under Gando’s stunned gaze, these courageous Chosen Ones rushed past him, plunging into the demonic ranks and engaging the invaders who had reached the shore.

Suddenly, a vast shadow fell over the ground, and Gando raised his head.

Above him, several airships approached, the muzzles of their mana cannons aimed at the demons below continuously unleashing torrents of fire.

Accompanied by thunderous roars, explosions erupted along the coast, detonating within the enemy ranks.

The reinforcements of the Chosen Ones had finally arrived.

Immediately afterward, resounding dragon roars echoed across the sky. Dozens of dragons appeared alongside the airships, gazing down proudly upon the demons as they exhaled torrents of dragon breath.

They were among the dragons of Dragon Island who had arrived together with the Chosen Ones.

Faced with this sudden counterattack, the demon army along the shore fell into chaos.

Gando stared blankly at the scene, his expression gradually turning to excitement.

“Reinforcements… Our reinforcements have arrived!”

He struggled to rise and rejoin the battle. However, his severe injuries made it nearly impossible for him to stand.

At that moment, a fair arm suddenly reached out from beside him and grasped his rough hand.

“I knew it. If Mirovia were attacked, you would definitely be the first to charge forward.”

A familiar voice sounded, carrying a hint of helplessness.

Gando paused slightly and lifted his head.

At the sight of those familiar black hair and dark eyes, his expression softened.

“Heh, I was once the High Priest of our clan, after all. If I do not step forward, then who will?”

The old elf smiled faintly.

“You should take better care of your body…”

The other voice carried a trace of concern.

“Heh, I am already an old bag of bones. It hardly matters. But you, has your mission in that other realm ended?”

“Hm? You knew about that?”

“I heard it from the other Chosen Ones.”

“Ah, nevermind that mission. Our homeland is about to be destroyed, so of course I’ll immediately head back… Can you still stand?”

“I think… I can.”

“Do not force yourself. Here, let me help you.”

“Thank you… Cypher.”

“No need for thanks. We are old friends, after all.”

The one who had come to Gando’s side was none other than the player Cypher.

Meanwhile, more players continued to emerge from Mirovia’s teleportation array.

Some had been fighting in the Wasteland of Desolation, while others had been battling in the Maple Moon Free State.

Only after speaking further with Cypher did Gando learn that, upon receiving news of the upheaval in the Elven Forest, Lady Aurora had issued an order to withdraw from the Abyss and defend their homeland.

“What a pity. I heard from the other Chosen Ones that we had already gained a foothold in the Abyss,”

Gando sighed.

“Yeah, but we must protect our homeland. If our home is gone, what is the point of fighting in the Abyss? Besides, Lady Aurora said this was also an order from the Goddess,” Cypher replied.

As he spoke, he supported Gando and helped him walk toward the city.

The demons around Mirovia had already been driven away by the returning players.

Standing at the city’s entrance, Gando turned back to look. He saw more and more players pursuing the demons, driving them back into the sea.

These Chosen Ones, returning from the Abyss, were among the elite.

Back in the Wasteland of Desolation wherein time flowed differently, they had fought demons day after day and had long since become experts in hunting demons.

Above, the airships and dragons continued to unleash artillery fire and dragon breath, blanketing the demon army below.

At the forefront, Lady Aurora floated in midair and each arrow of light she released froze enemies into sculptures of ice upon the ground.

Under these combined assaults, the demons began to collapse.

With their apparent commander, the Demon King, slain, they had already descended into disarray.

Even the Frost Elves within the city rushed out with cheers, joining the Chosen Ones in pursuing and slaughtering the demons.

The situation was overwhelmingly favorable.

However, just as Gando watched all this with relief and excitement, the distant sea suddenly began to churn violently.

Towering waves surged, swallowing the fleeing demons, and amid the tides, a colossal figure slowly rose above the surface.

It was a grotesque sea monster, bearing octopus-like tentacles and a demonic head.

Its body reached hundreds of meters in height. As it emerged, its terrifying form cast an immense shadow over the coastline.

A deep, guttural roar issued from its throat, and a pressure far more dreadful than that of the Demon King spread outward, sweeping across the battlefield.

Seeing it, the players froze in place, their eyes wide with shock.

In the sky, the expression of the demigod Aurora suddenly turned solemn.

“Abyssal Myth…”

Immediately afterward, more vortices surged across the sea. From within them, one enormous figure after another slowly emerged.

Each emanated an aura more terrifying than the last.

At the sight of those colossal forms, everyone in Mirovia fell into complete silence.

Both players and elves stared in stunned disbelief.

“My Goddess… this… is this mission really just ‘Hard Mode’?”

Cypher’s voice was dry and strained.

→⟐←

Evé had a dream.

It was a most peculiar dream.

In the dream, she had traveled to a magical fantasy world and become the new World Tree.

There, she possessed immense power yet reincarnated as a deity on the verge of death.

Afterward, whilst making use of the mysterious ability to connect to Earth’s internet that had appeared in her mind after reviving, she summoned the consciousness of some gamers from her homeland one after another, thereby allowing them to exist as elven players within that magical world.

And with these players’ assistance, she revitalized the elven race, restored her strength, defeated her former enemies, and once again ascended to the peak of her predecessor’s strength.

Then, the dream finally ended.

Hm?

What was her name again?

A trace of confusion surfaced in Eve’s mind.

—Weird.

She seemed to remember only the name “Evé,” while her real name had become faint and indistinct.

However, she soon dismissed the thought.

It did not seem important.

The dream had felt vivid, yet distant.

In truth, deep down, Evé did not particularly like that dream.

Because what it left her with was an overwhelming sense of loneliness.

The stronger she became, the more intense that loneliness grew, especially when she watched the players she had summoned playing and laughing amongst each other.

She disliked that feeling.

No family, no true friends.

Even after attaining great power, she had to constantly scheme for her own survival.

But the more stronger she became, the higher she stood, the more isolated and uncertain she felt.

Recalling the dream from the previous night, Evé completed the final portion of the data on her computer.

Then she checked the time.

17:00.

It was almost time to get off work.

She quite liked her current job, a standard nine-to-five schedule, light workload, good pay, friendly colleagues, and no office politics.

Rising to her feet and stretching, Evé left the office.

At that moment, a familiar message notification sounded from her pocket.

She paused slightly and checked her phone.

It was a message from a childhood friend, inviting her to go hiking over the weekend.

Oh…

Right.

Today was Friday.

And this weekend, there seemed to be a temple fair at Jing Mountain outside the city.

It was said to be quite lively.

Fragments of memory surfaced in Eve’s mind.

With a faint smile, she replied, “Sure,” and left her workplace.

Her home was not far from the office and she quickly arrived after a five-minute walk.

This area was the political and cultural center of the city, with an excellent environment. She liked it very much.

As she pushed open the door, the aroma of food immediately greeted her.

Her mother’s kind smile came into view.

“You’re back?”

“Mhm.”

Evé nodded gently.

After washing up, she sat down at the dining table.

Today’s meal was grilled eggplant rice, her favorite.

With the first bite came a warm, comforting feeling.

After enjoying a satisfying meal, helping her mother with the dishes, and playing for a while with the family’s lazy cat alongside her father, Evé returned to her room and entered her newly purchased virtual immersion pod.

She had previously arranged to duel an online acquaintance.

After thoroughly defeating her challenger in a virtual game, and seeing the screen fill with admiring messages, Evé logged off with satisfaction.

Checking the time, it was already ten in the evening.

After taking a pleasant shower and finishing her evening routine, Evé changed into her favorite plaid pajamas and slipped into her warm bed.

This kind of simple and cozy daily life is what she cherished the most.

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