TSYMVF 45

Chapter 45

Of course, I was going to ignore that message.

Because I hadn’t forgotten the threatening letter left behind by the owner of the Special Zone.

But fate—ever so spiteful—played a trick on me, and the next window that popped up forced me to hesitate.

[The item ‘Secret of the Blue Hawk’ reacts to the Special Zone.]

It was the item I had received from the system as a reward for solving Hector’s problem.

The “Secret of the Blue Hawk” came with no explanation whatsoever—annoyingly vague.

And yet… a clue about this mysterious item appeared here?

It felt dangerous, but such things were impossible to simply ignore.

After a moment of hesitation, I decided to go for it.

The capacity of the Special Zone was only one person anyway, so there was no chance I’d actually run into the room’s owner.

Summoning my courage, I entered the Special Zone.

‘Feels nostalgic.’

The room I hadn’t visited for years looked exactly the same.

Its layout and size were identical to Osellona Jin’s room, a study lined with books one would find in any library.

The desk and chair were also unchanged.

The only difference was that I’d grown taller, so now I could sit in the chair more comfortably.

After glancing around, I sat down.

A little proud of myself, since my legs reached the floor more easily than before.

The “Secret of the Blue Hawk” in my inventory was glowing faintly, reacting.

I picked it up.

So it really was connected to this room?

I fiddled with it, examining it closely.

But it still looked like nothing more than an ordinary brooch.

“Hm… I don’t get it.”

Just as I sighed, having failed to discover anything unusual, something caught my eye.

“…This?”

A groove in the desk. I had never noticed it before.

The desk looked plain enough at first glance, but at the bottom was a carved recess.

And, astonishingly, the shape matched the brooch exactly.

“Oh! It’s the same!”

I ran a finger along the groove.

Then, with trembling hands, I placed the brooch into it.

Click—

The brooch began to glow, and my heart raced with the realization that this was it.

“…?”

But as the light grew stronger, I felt uneasy.

Wait… what if this thing explodes?

Startled, I tried to move away from the chair, but a blinding light filled my vision.

And I was no longer in that room.

‘Like the Golden Gong of Esir… a vessel of memories?’

No—this felt different.

This place was like… a movie theater.

Instead of a desk, there was a massive screen before me, and I sat as a mere observer.

“Uh… hello?”

No one answered. I was completely alone.

At least with Esir’s Golden Gong, I had an idea of what to expect and could brace myself. But here, the sheer unfamiliarity made me anxious.

“It’s… not dangerous, right?”

What was this “Secret of the Blue Hawk” going to reveal?

I tensed with a mix of curiosity and dread.

The number “1” appeared on the screen.

The images played like a highlight reel, flashing quickly through key moments. But it didn’t take long for me to understand what I was seeing.

“That kid…?”

A boy with jet-black hair, wearing a cool, aloof expression, stared from the screen.

He looked about three or four years old.

The scene shifted, and the boy grew older with each passing moment.

One image resembled Evan stepping down from Taylors’s carriage.

“…Evan?”

― With the power of clarity, I shall purify evil.

His voice deepened, becoming firm and resonant.

The boy’s blue eyes sharpened as he grew into a chillingly powerful young man. He marched into the vile Winchester mansion to rescue Taylors’s people.

It was the very story from the original work.

Soon, I saw Evan’s fury as he discovered the corpses of Taylors’s people, sacrificed by the sadistic Winchester twins.

Blue energy—clarity—swirled around his body and hands.

Its intensity was on par with the aura I’d once seen from Chenoa Taylors.

― Disappear into history, Winchesters.

Something felt off, though. The mansion looked darker, more grotesque and desolate than I remembered.

This wasn’t the Winchester mansion of my world. This was the mansion as I had once imagined it while reading the novel.

Othello’s half-mad face was disturbingly beautiful, but his black flames showed no mercy, slaughtering Evan’s soldiers indiscriminately.

“Urgh… lunatic…”

Blood flowed, people died in hideous agony.

It was carnage, like demons had descended, sparing neither friend nor foe.

― Hurry up and kill me.

Even Sasha Winchester begging for death—Evan passed her by without a glance, just as the book had described.

Evan destroyed the Winchester mansion with his power of clarity.

Sweat beaded in my palms under the weight of his piercing gaze.

“…What the hell is that?”

The story neared its conclusion.

Othello fell, betrayed by Permetis, leaving Evan Taylors to face Ricardo Winchester—my father.

Ricardo’s black flames were terrifying, just as I had once witnessed during the Ritual of Darkness.

But Evan’s strength rivaled his.

The two strongest in the world clashed with bone-chilling might.

And then… Ricardo’s face twisted uncomfortably as he began to falter.

“No!”

The instant Evan’s blade pierced Ricardo’s heart, I screamed.

The horrific scene felt like a knife stabbing through my own chest.

My heart pounded violently.

And so, <The Lord of Taylors> ended, restoring peace.

But like a post-credits scene at the end of a film… something colossal awaited.

The eyes of Jin, thought to be dead, turned blood-red. Suddenly, an immense black energy poured from his body.

It wasn’t black flame.

It only resembled it in color—an alien, horrifying force that didn’t belong to this world.

It spread rapidly, cloaking the skies in apocalyptic shadow.

Tentacle-like shadows writhed, tangible and monstrous, tearing up the earth. People screamed and fled.

Beasts of shadow poured forth, their grotesque forms revealed.

Evan struck Jin, but the black energy engulfed him.

His eyes widened in disbelief as his body crumbled into ash.

― I am Perseitos, the end of all. Tremble, descendants of Mekius.

Jin’s lips moved, and five overlapping voices rang out in twisted glee.

The ancient dragon Mekius. The evil incarnate Perseitos.

I had heard of them in myths, history books, and Esir’s memories.

The very name was chilling.

The world was being devoured by darkness.

Shadow-born monsters consumed people.

The ground blackened, plants withered to dust in an instant.

The word apocalypse immediately came to mind.

Then—from Evan’s ashen body—blue light blazed brightly.

His brilliant blue eyes locked on Jin, and his voice resounded:

― O clarity, bind my body within the wheel of time.

This wasn’t in the original story.

― I will rewind the world to prevent its ruin. And… I will destroy you.

The screen shifted, and what I saw next made me doubt my own eyes.

“Young Lady, please hold on. The doctor will arrive soon.”

Sasha pressed a cold, damp cloth to my burning forehead.

The maids bustled about, preparing more towels.

The sky outside was pitch black, and my head felt unbearably heavy.

The fever had struck not long after I left the Special Zone.

“Young Lady… your body’s burning up. Oh, Black Dragon, have mercy…”

I couldn’t put anything in my mouth—not even water.

I had never been this sick before.

“Ugh…”

Maybe it was from the shock.

While watching Evan’s past, the number “2” appeared, and before long, I saw Evan as a boy around my age.

Young, but with eyes that knew far too much.

Evan Taylors had regressed.

To the time before the world’s destruction, before Perseitos awoke within Jin.

I was staring at the screen in shock when a message appeared:

[The owner of the Special Zone is entering.]
[You have been automatically ejected due to exceeding capacity.]

In that instant, I worried I’d left the “Secret of the Blue Hawk” behind, but checking my inventory brought relief—it was there.

It must have been retrieved automatically.

[The item ‘Secret of the Blue Hawk’ reacts to the Special Zone.]

The message remained.

Meaning I could enter the Special Zone again if I wished.

Not that I had the strength—or courage—to endure that ordeal again anytime soon.

But one thing had become absolutely clear.

The owner of the “Special Zone” was none other than Evan Taylors, who had been reassigned to share the same corridor as me.

And he had regressed to stop the world’s destruction.

And one more thing—Jin was not to be trusted.