CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 55: PAST [1]

Evelyn had turned into a nightmare.

She had become Rust Seraph.

A Tower Creature ranked Monster.

Yeah, Kael had absolutely no chance of winning if he fought it head on.

But thankfully, on the 21st floor, he didn’t have to do that.

In the game Tower of Glory, the 21st floor was the easiest floor.

Acknowledged by both gamers and game developers.

The reason?

Kael took a deep breath, preparing.

And then, he opened his mouth:

"Hey damn Tower Creature! I’m here, if you can, come here and kill me!"

He shouted loudly, successfully attracting Rust Seraph’s attention.

And then, the next moment, Kael was eaten.

By that damn Tower Creature.

***

Opening his eyes again, Kael found himself in a space that was both strange and familiar.

All that entered his vision was white.

Pure, yet dirty.

This place didn’t have a proper name, so he and the other players often called it the "White Zone".

"Hic..."

— Aish you damn thing!

— I shouldn’t have adopted you!

Strange voices rang out.

It was human speech.

And it didn’t sound friendly at all.

"Huhu..."

— A slave will always be a slave!

— Your duty is to fight, and fight to the death!

Kael turned towards the source.

"Please... spare me..."

— You are someone who doesn’t deserve to be loved!

— Die!

— Cursed!

He witnessed a scene that couldn’t be more familiar.

There, was a tree.

And at the base of that tree, sat a little girl, curled up, with a face that was extremely similar to Evelyn Evernight.

That was the past version of the villainess.

Surrounding that little girl were the ghosts of adults.

Those were Evelyn’s darkest memories.

The things she wanted to seal away forever.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

He walked towards that little girl.

Stepping through the ghosts, then knelt down on one knee in front of her.

Putting Kael and little Evelyn’s eyes on the same level.

"Hello, are you okay?" He asked, patting her head.

"...Who are you?"

Little Evelyn stopped sobbing, using her cute, pitiful, teary eyes to look straight at Kael.

"Oh, you’re really done crying."

He beamed, then pinched her cheeks.

Not using too much force so as not to hurt little Evelyn.

"Who are you?"

She asked, still asking the same question, her voice coy.

Kael smiled, what he considered the friendliest smile.

"Hi, I’m Kael Draven, the one who came to rescue you!"

"Rescue? Who needs rescuing?"

"Of course it’s you."

"Me?"

"Yes."

...

Little Evelyn was quiet, watching him carefully.

She was wary of him.

Just like the first time Kael and Evelyn met.

"Will you be able to do it? Many people have told me the same thing, but the result is..."

The more she spoke, the softer her voice became.

But that wasn’t a problem for him.

Because out there, he had already successfully become the villainess’s lover.

"I can do it. Trust me."

"..."

The little girl hesitated.

But the moment little Evelyn saw his determined gaze, along with that strangely familiar face...

Somehow... she thought she could trust this person.

"...You give me a familiar feeling."

Of course.

"So, I think I can trust you."

With that, little Evelyn extended her scratched hand towards Kael.

"Shake my hand."

"It’s my pleasure."

With a smile, he shook her hand.

[You’re entering the first challenge.]

Excellent.

That’s why Kael needed to have a place in Evelyn’s heart.

Become one of the most important people to her.

In Tower of Glory, Hans Varun had no connection with Evelyn Evernight.

Let alone having an important place in her frozen heart.

That’s why, when he was sent to the White Zone, he was forced to use his own sword to take Evelyn’s life.

If he had an important place in the villainess’s heart, things wouldn’t have come to that.

But before the plot, Hans couldn’t do anything else.

He was like a puppet, being controlled to do things that he knew were wrong.

But fortunately, Kael wasn’t a puppet.

He wasn’t controlled by the plot.

So, he could do whatever he wanted.

And what Kael wanted was to not let Evelyn die.

***

The first challenge.

Opening his eyes, Kael realized that he was in a cage.

Or maybe he could call it an arena.

And around that cage were many spectators, who were screaming continuously, looking crazy.

But the most special thing was that in front of him was just a little girl, about 7 years old at most.

Moreover, it was not a strange little girl that Kael had never met before, but little Evelyn!

This was the villainess’s past!

Or rather, her memories.

And all he needed to do was change these memories, make them better.

’But what should I do now?’

Lost in his thoughts, Kael paid no attention to the referee’s words.

"The battle has officially begun! Let’s charge at each other, tear each other apart, and kill each other!"

The next moment, little Evelyn had already begun chanting.

"By the covenant of flame, I summon the dragon’s breath, burn all to cinders."

A fireball appeared, and without hesitation rushed straight towards Kael.

It was only when he felt its heat, and the approaching danger, that he reacted.

"Wow wow wow! What the fuck?"

Surprised, Kael lightly jumped to the side.

The fireball flew past his body, colliding with the sturdy iron grating behind him.

Boom!

Creating a loud explosion.

Causing the entire arena to shake.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Unable to contain his pride, Kael clapped his hands.

Normally, even children born into famous families would have to wait until they were 10 years old to use their first magic.

That was with proper training from a young age.

But this little girl was able to do it at such a young age.

Furthermore, little Evelyn’s eyes did not waver, proving that she was already used to this.

He felt both proud and pitiful.

What exactly did the villainess have to go through to achieve such an achievement?

Little Evelyn raised her eyebrows.

Surprised that Kael was able to dodge her attack.

But that was all.

The next moment, dozens of ice daggers appeared, and without a word, they flew towards him.

"Simple."

He curled his lips and held out his palms towards them.

[Authority of Gluttony.]

The darkness erupted, swallowing all the ice daggers.

"Hmm... Thanks for the meal."

The villainess might have been a formidable opponent for Kael.

To be frank, she could even defeat him without any effort.

But the past version of her was nothing to him.

It was true that this girl was strong...

...But Kael was stronger.