Ever since she was locked in the dungeon cell, Wendy had often sat alone in that silent space, lost in thought.
With no books, no conversation, and nothing to pass the time, she could only face the cold walls and iron bars, letting her thoughts drift in the darkness.
It was also during those days that she began to frequently experience a strange sense of déjà vu regarding certain scenes before her.
It was as if she had already experienced the exact same scenes and situations at some distant point in the past.
The feeling was ethereal, elusive and intangible, yet so real that it was impossible to ignore.
And just now, the moment the steward's chest was pierced by Veronica's spear of light, that powerful sense of déjà vu surged in Wendy's mind once again.
A clear intuition told her: this guy wasn't dead.
Back in the dungeon cell, she had already tested whether this déjà vu was real, and the probability of it being accurate was remarkably high.
“He cannot possibly still be alive.”
Veronica shook her head, her tone carrying absolute confidence.
“Because my holy spear indeed pierced right through his—”
Before Veronica could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by the scene before her.
The corpse pinned to the ground by the spear of light began to crumble and dissipate from the edges like a weathered sand sculpture, turning into fine grains of sand that drifted into the air.
Losing its target, the spear of light fell to the ground with a clatter before dispersing into specks of light as well.
“Clap, clap, clap.”
Crisp clapping once again echoed from the depths of the alley.
The figure dressed in a black steward's uniform slowly stepped out of the shadows once more. His steps were elegant, and his robes were pristine, as if the scene of his chest being pierced had never happened.
He held a shattered hourglass in his hand, casually tossing it onto the ground, scattering glass shards everywhere.
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, his tone carrying a hint of relief and mockery. “That was close... If I didn't have a safety measure, I really might have died.”
Greg looked at the reappearing steward. Although he was somewhat surprised, he felt it was within expectations. “As expected... a third-layer Floor Boss won't be killed that easily.”
“Damned filth!”
A cold light flashed in Veronica's eyes. Pure light-attribute mana lit up in her hand once more, the white radiance condensing into a new spear of light in her palm.
“In that case, I will just kill you again.”
“Hehehe.”
The steward let out a low laugh.
“But what a pity—you won't have another chance.”
Dark, eerie patterns suddenly appeared on the ground beneath his feet, rapidly spreading like ripples. In the blink of an eye, they covered the entire alley before continuing to expand outward.
They covered the streets, they covered the squares, and ultimately, they blanketed the entire imperial capital.
Immediately following that, blurry phantoms gradually emerged from the ground.
These phantoms took various forms—there were soldiers wielding longswords, mages clad in robes, burly beastkin warriors, and even massive, hideous magical beasts.
Like ghosts awakened from the dust of history, they carried an ancient and decaying aura, appearing in every corner of the imperial capital.
Furthermore, these phantom enemies attacked indiscriminately.
In an alley, a Demon King Cultist didn't even have time to react before a phantom sliced through both his weapon and his body with a single sword strike.
On the streets, several Imperial Knights trying to evacuate the citizens were surrounded by multiple phantoms, falling into a bitter struggle.
Inside a house, a mother and daughter who hadn't managed to escape huddled in a corner, watching helplessly as a tall phantom raised its giant axe.
“Hahaha—”
The steward's laughter echoed through the air.
“Did you really think I didn't make any preparations? These are projections left behind by those who once fought on this land in history. Enjoy the show!”
Veronica's gaze sharpened, and she fiercely hurled the spear of light in her hand, which turned into a white meteor shooting straight toward the steward.
But just a split second before the spear of light could hit him, his body suddenly dispersed like ink dripping into water, blending into the surrounding phantoms.
His voice drifted out from the crowd of phantoms, carrying a playful resonance:
“It's useless. As long as you can't kill every single one of them, I won't die.”
Veronica's brow furrowed. She clasped her hands together, and a dazzling ring of light expanded from her body, enveloping dozens of surrounding phantoms.
Wherever the white light swept, those phantoms melted away like snow under the sun.
Yet, after only a few breaths of time, the destroyed phantoms reformed and recovered completely, as if nothing had happened.
“To think even the Goddess's light is... What a filthy existence...”
Veronica murmured, a rare trace of irritation in her voice.
The individual strength of these phantom enemies wasn't high, and she could easily wipe out a large number of them with her abilities. However, their infinite revival property made her conventional methods completely useless.
She could only begin trying to continuously release light-attribute magic, sweeping away the surrounding phantoms over and over again to test if there was a limit to their recovery.
“Kyaaaah!!!”
“Help! Help me!!!”
Just then, the screams of children suddenly echoed from the direction of the nearby cabin.
Victoria turned her head and saw that several phantoms had already shattered the Ice Wall protection Vivian had left outside the cabin, and were now trying to break down the door.
“Oh no!”
Victoria's expression shifted, and she immediately turned to dash toward the cabin.
Vivian and Lilith exchanged a glance and followed without hesitation, the three of them quickly joining the battle to protect the cabin.
Greg glanced in that direction, slowly placing his hand on the magic conduit hidden beneath his clothes.
“If I use my dark-attribute magic, I should be able to completely destroy these phantoms, but...”
He looked around, taking in the phantoms scattered all over the imperial capital, and quickly calculated in his mind.
Even with the assistance of this magic conduit and two high-grade gems, he absolutely could not clear all the phantoms in the entire imperial capital by himself.
But if he failed, and it eventually forced the five headmasters to use their full power, everyone in the imperial capital—including himself—might end up reduced to nothingness along with that steward.
Just as he was rapidly brainstorming a countermeasure, he suddenly felt a gentle tug from behind.
He turned around and found Wendy standing behind him, extending a finger to gently tug on his.
At the same time, a noticeable blush painted her cheeks, spreading from the tips of her ears down to her neck.
“U-Um... Lord Bishop...”
Wendy's voice was very soft, carrying a rare bashfulness and shyness. She didn't even dare to look up and meet Greg's eyes.
“I might have a way... Could you come with me for a moment?”
“...”
Normally, when someone as reliable as Wendy said they had a way, Greg should have been happy.
But right now, he couldn't help but wonder: was this really reliable?
Rate on N.U.
