TSYMVF 65

Chapter 65

Ricardo could not have chosen a more fitting name for turning his steps.

“So, you truly seem to have a death wish.”

The fierce aura of black flames rising from Ricardo’s body shook the ground as if it would split apart.

Evan’s body, which held an unripe supernatural power, resonated with that aura, and one of his hands trembled.

He forced his will to stop the shaking.

Then, staggering, he stood.

Ricardo’s gaze contained not a single ounce of mercy.

Evan opened his mouth.

“…Sasha Winchester will soon face danger.”

In an instant, a blade of black flame extended from Ricardo, stopping just before Evan’s throat.

It was a moment of peril that could have chilled his blood, yet Evan did not blink once.

Looking coldly into Ricardo’s eyes, Evan continued.

“And for the time being…”

Evan’s blue eyes shone clear and bright, like burning ice.

“…I intend to cooperate with you and your house.”

But his gaze, though speaking of cooperation, was rebellious and defiant.

Ricardo’s lips twisted at that.

“Do you think I’ve forgotten how you attacked Sasha right before my eyes?”

“I had to confirm it.”

Evan’s eyes did not waver as he recalled the day he kicked Lysonia.

If asked whether he was certain she was not Persetos, he could not answer.

But that was not what he had been trying to confirm.

Snow was falling.

With furrowed brows, Ricardo asked Evan,

“Is Sasha Winchester safe?”

At Evan’s answer, Ricardo’s lips twisted further.

“Are you saying my own house is a danger to my daughter?”

Persetos had resurrected more often in the bodies of the Winchester family members than anyone else.

Though everyone claimed they were treating Sasha differently than in previous rounds, the possibility that an enemy lurked among them could not be denied.

Evan shifted his thoughts away from doubting Sasha as Persetos.

If she truly was the one destined to end Persetos’ Eternal Dawn, then the incident where one cursed by Kaisa attacked Sasha Winchester had not been mere coincidence.

If Persetos lurked around the girl, they would never have stopped him when he tried to kill her.

And yet, Jin had moved immediately to protect Sasha.

If Persetos had been inside him, the chances Jin’s body could have moved even briefly were slim.

“…That’s right.”

Evan recalled it.

How, in the early rounds, he had endlessly warned his comrades—yet all of those words eventually became meaningless.

At some point, he stopped speaking of the past.

Momentary comfort was nothing but poison, and in the end, the burden of destruction fell solely on him.

No one wanted to stay by his side.

And now, Ricardo Winchester—enemy of the Taylors then and forever—was the one asking.

Perhaps even harboring Persetos within himself.

“There are things about this world you do not know, Duke Ricardo.”

Evan lowered his head.

After a long silence, he raised it and spoke.

“Truths that only I know…”

But before he could continue, his eyes widened.

Because black flames had once again slammed into his chest.

With a violent shockwave, Evan was hurled to the far side of the training hall.

He slid several meters before coming to a halt.

“What are you doing?”

Ricardo, radiating a chilling aura of black flame, approached as he spoke.

“A mere Taylor brat dares prattle on about truth? How laughable.”

“Huff… huff…”

“Before I hear your story—”

Blood trickled down the corner of Evan’s mouth.

“I’ll first test whether you even have the right to speak before me.”

Evan glared at Ricardo Winchester with wide, furious eyes.

“…Kh!”

Boom—!

Once more, Ricardo’s attack struck Evan down.

“Since your father isn’t here, I suppose I’ll have to discipline you in his stead—Winchester’s way.”

When Ricardo had struck him earlier over Sasha Winchester’s matter, Evan had, if only briefly, seen him as a human father with emotions.

“I’ll hear your story afterward.”

But now, with his predatory gaze and threatening black flames, Ricardo Winchester was the very villain Evan had known through twenty-seven rounds.

‘So he hides his true nature only from that child…?’

Evan twisted his lips and picked up the sword lying on the ground.

If he was to borrow Ricardo’s strength, he would have to go all out today.

Though wounded, the power of Clarity was still with him.

Evan charged Ricardo with his blade, Clarity flowing through it in a fierce assault.

On a pitch-black night, snow was falling.

The cold could be felt.

[Name: Sasha Winchester (LV.7)]
[Class: Unemployed]
[Traits: Master Rattler, Little Explorer]
[Stats: Stamina 18 / Strength 10 / Power — / Intelligence 31
*Some stats are not yet unlocked.]
[Skills: Black Dominion (LV.5/SS), Damage Reflection (LV.1/A)]
[Inventory: 370 Rubies]

It was my profile displayed before me, I realized—when suddenly something else appeared.

[Quest: The time has come. Awaken the power gifted by Mechius.]
[Quest Reward: All stats +8, Recovery Potion, Shop unlocked]

Oh! So the shop would finally open?

My eyes sparkled with expectation as I looked around.

It was clear this was not reality.

There was no fear, after all.

This must be a dream-space where I was meant to complete the quest.

Step, step.

I walked through the black night filled only with snow.

Dreams this realistic had only happened during Ending Previews.

“Hey!”

But there was a key difference.

Back then, I had at least appeared with an adult’s body. Now, I was just my true self—a small child.

Couldn’t they at least give me the grown-up version for convenience?

Creak, crunch. My little feet pressed into the snow.

Looking up into the snowy sky, I shouted,

“At least give me a clue!”

The problem was the quest itself: “Awaken your power.”

I was only seven years old.

The prodigy Jin had awakened at four, and Othello at seven. But I doubted I had Othello’s level of talent.

“You could at least tell me how!”

I grumbled.

I remembered serving Ricardo tea and cookies, then falling asleep in the evening…

And now, here I was, told to manifest supernatural powers out of thin air in a dream? How was I supposed to do that?

Sure, I could use skills thanks to the Skill Unlock, even without awakening powers.

That was impressive enough on its own—but it didn’t count.

Supernatural power meant wielding something like black flames or clarity. And my two skills were merely defensive.

“At least delay it! I’m clearly not ready yet!”

I yelled again at the sky after walking a while.

But, as expected, no answer came from the empty heavens.

Damn it, what was I supposed to do?

Annoyance began to stir in me.

Though bundled in thick clothes, my face stung from the cold.

Still, I kept walking.

Even in a dream, trudging along in this feeble body for half an hour left my stamina nearly spent.

Then, turning past a massive tree as wide as a cabin, I stopped in my tracks.

“….”

What… was that?

“…Huh?”

My eyes widened.

Someone was slumped against the tree, as if unconscious.

The figure was slightly smaller than an average adult.

Their hair was a pale, pinkish shade.

“…Celo?”

I rushed forward, calling his name.

Wait—wasn’t this supposed to be a dream?

I grabbed Othello’s shoulder, his head bowed and face bloodied, his eyes closed.

Yet the chill in his body was so real it sent shivers through me.

Like touching a corpse. Othello’s body was cold.

My heart dropped with a sickening thud.

“Othello!!”

Awakening, Ricardo sat up in bed.

The sky outside the window was still dark, the faint moonlight illuminating his half-unbuttoned shirt and the firm muscles of his chest.

From his room, he could see the Wilnerus Mountains.

The summit was blanketed in eternal snow.

Staring at it, Ricardo rose from bed and gathered his sword.

The stinging pain in his throat had vanished, as though nothing had happened.

“……”

Ricardo rarely dreamed—except when something significant was at hand.

And the face of Trisha Quelln that had appeared in his dream still burned vividly in his mind.