Tricked Again: Eclipse's 30-Second Demise
You've really stepped in it this time. "Where am I? Who the hell am I...?" That damn notification window screwed me over again. I trusted it... I really, truly believed it wouldn't just hurl me straight back into the heart of another incident!!
"Hitting me right in the back of the head like this?" It had been ages since I'd felt this kind of rage building up inside me.
I really just wanna say screw it all and walk away... But if I don't do this, the world's gonna end. Plus, Eclipse has fragments of Luna's story. I can't abandon Luna... Sigh, what the hell is this '' crap anyway. Before I knew it, Luna had wormed her way deep into my heart.
Whisper whisper... Si-hyun's a lolicon...
I told you not to read my mind. And this isn't the time for jokes.
Hehe. You just looked so serious, Si-hyun.
Doesn't this look serious to you? Who the hell dragged me to the eye of the storm again?
Whoa. Whoever did that is a total jerk!
—Crackle.
Aaah, yeah... I only get betrayed because I expect better. If I put even a sliver of faith in you again, I'll be a dog, a total mutt!
Hmm~ You sure you're okay, Si-hyun? Forgot who gave you that beginner package?
Oh.
Kuhuhu.
......Woof woof.
Hehe, just kidding. You're such an easy mark, Si-hyun.
That was straight-up demonic... Without that, I'd be dead for real.
Stuck smack in the middle of this tragedy-fest, I decided to swallow my fragile pride if it meant surviving.
Ughhh. Poor me.
As I was inwardly groaning, some guy suddenly came sprinting up and dropped to his knees.
—Thud.
"I'm begging you! Please save Tsuki, Phantom!"
I'm already bummed out from the betrayal and my status dropping to dog-level. And now you show up?
"I dragged you into this. I'll pay for my sins with my life!"
—Twitch.
Ren's words instantly laid out the entire chain of events leading to this mess, making it all click for me.
What did you just say...?
Of course, the one who actually dumped me here was that mutt-like notification window. But you were the root cause of this ghost story...?
Anger had been simmering in me bit by bit for a while now. But I'd been holding it back. Yelling wouldn't fix shit anyway.
But right then.
Snap.
The thin thread of my reason finally broke.
—BOOOOM!!
This is all your fault!!
The black energy surged wildly in response to my fury.
Ruining my peaceful daily life. You just confessed your own crimes!!
—Grip!
Even Phantom, who usually ignored my feelings and did whatever, was listening up for once.
At least in this moment, you're following my lead.
Of course, I had zero intention of killing Ren. I just wanted to smack him hard once or twice.
But right then, a scream erupted from somewhere.
A weird, house-elf-looking creature popped out of Ren's shadow.
That's Eclipse's clone, Si-hyun!
Huh...? A clone? But why'd it come out of there?
Just like the Netherworld eclipse had three stages, Eclipse had split its power into three parts. One of them had been lurking in Ren's shadow, biding its time.
I just happened to hit the jackpot?
As I was baffled internally, the jet-black energy enveloping me automatically wiped the clone clean out of existence.
Huhwha??? What the...?
What the hell just happened? I only wanted to give Ren a good whack.
Somehow I ended up freeing the house elf...? Touched it once, and poof—the clone died.
Si-hyun, explanations later—say something! Everyone's staring at you!!
No, you've been spouting comic-book lines on your own this whole time? Did you mess with the beginner package again?
Ah, I just thought the lines from your comics were cool, so I snuck in an update... Hehe.
...Can I just smack you once? For real?
You don't appreciate my help at all. You're a dummy! Hmph!
What the—classic tsundere heroine line.
Every chat with the notification window pulled me deeper into some weird dynamic.
Must've sinned bad in a past life. Sigh, such is my fate.
......You haven't sinned like that, Si-hyun.
What? You were all bubbly a sec ago, now you're getting moody.
Ah, nothing! Anyway, Si-hyun, say anything. All eyes are on you.
Glancing around, everyone was staring with intense gazes—terror and awe toward an overwhelming presence.
Screw it. Might as well roll with the updated concept.
And so, a lofty voice echoed out, as if looking down on insignificant beings.
Oof. Cringe enough to kill me.
* * *
The guild members were all slack-jawed.
No matter that it was just a clone—Eclipse was a Catastrophe-grade ghost story. Wiping out a piece of something that powerful with a mere gesture?
"Insane power... Like a force of nature itself."
"So this is real mengmang-grade... Squashed a Catastrophe-grade like an ant."
"Korea Guild and Countermeasure HQ were right. Phantom's definitely mengmang-grade."
Everyone nodded at Leon's assessment. No one among them was dumb enough to deny what they'd just witnessed.
But the one hit hardest was, without a doubt, Tsuki. She still suspected the scene before her was some illusion.
Why... Why is he here?
She'd thought even the moon in the sky ignored her prayers. That her only escape was death.
The one who came to reclaim the life I'd given up on...
The savior, Lucifer.
How could I forget? You, who always sacrificed yourself for so many.
Cold in appearance, but warmer-hearted than anyone. Always greeting everyone with a smile.
But.
You vanished trying to stop the apocalypse... How are you here...?
Right then, faint memories bubbled up from the depths of Tsuki's unconscious.
A voice from misty fog-like recollections.
—"Wishing you luck, Lucifer."
—"Don't worry, shrine maiden. I'll be back soon."
What... what is this memory...?
In the blurry afterimage, she was talking to someone. The face was faded, unrecognizable.
But one thing was clear: the being standing there now overlapped perfectly with the voice from her memory.
Ah... Lucifer, could it be...!
—Drip.
Tsuki's silver eyes could do nothing but shed tears.
She'd already become a horrific ghost story.
Yet you came to keep your promise with me...
The promise to return soon. A casual line she could've dismissed as mere chit-chat.
That's the kind of person you were, Lucifer... Never one to speak idly.
His back, keeping that promise, felt just like the old days she'd lost.
With all her strength, Tsuki rose and bowed deeply to the man in black.
"Thank you... for keeping your promise to me, Lucifer..."
* * *
Lucifer? What the hell is that, you weeb?
Who the heck was this woman weirdly naming me over and over?
Sigh, anyway, I'm still pissed! I wanted to deck Ren, but all I got was some freakish house-elf sidekick!
I'm gonna die of rage-induced illness! Outwardly the epitome of lofty solemnity, Phantom's inner Si-hyun was stomping his feet in frustration.
Then, a bizarre voice echoed through the Netherworld.
"Th-that's Eclipse?! It didn't die?!"
"Phantom only took out the clone. What cockroach-level vitality. Eclipse."
A massive rift began tearing open at the center of the blazing red moon.
Crack— Like a shattered mirror, fissures spread.
Crack— Crack—
Through them poured dark crimson mist, revealing the culprit behind it all: Eclipse.
—BOOM!!
Before Eclipse could finish, Phantom shot forward and started stomping the ghost story flat.
You showed up at the perfect time. I needed a punching bag anyway.
Right now, I didn't care if it was a ghost story or whatever—everything was fair game.
Thwack! Smack!
Crunch!! Creak!!
—Thud.
Exactly 30 seconds after appearing, Eclipse was down for the count.
Phew, that feels better!
Sh-shivering... Si-hyun... Y-You're too rough...
The notification window decided it seriously needed to stop forcibly summoning Si-hyun like this.