Saving the Princess Was Never Easy

"You're great at ripping off manga lines and skill names, so why try pulling that resurrection cliché?!"

The Notification Window that had nearly used the forbidden technique, Resurrection of the Dead, was now utterly deflated.

If I don't cheer her up, she'll be in a negative funk for a while. Sigh, fine, you win.

Si-hyun let out a deep sigh and approached the Notification Window.

"Don't talk like that. Thanks to your Narrative Reestablishment, we fixed Luna's story back to normal. So no more calling yourself useless. You're plenty helpful to me."

—Pat, pat.

Si-hyun gently stroked the dejected-looking Notification Window.

"Really, so stop crying already. What am I gonna do with you bawling at the drop of a hat?"

Her mood swings are wild... but she's cute, so I let it slide.

"Anyway, with Greed gone, is everything finally over?"

In response to Si-hyun's question, the system immediately replied.

Ding!

—Shrrrk!

With the system's declaration, the golden fragments filling the void began gathering in one spot.

From the first piece to the last, like puzzle bits with a will of their own, they clicked together.

"Is this... a book?"

The fragments turned into ink drops forming letters, letters into sentences. Elegant, beautiful sentences formed pages, and those pages completed a single book.

—Twinkle.

As if announcing it was Luna's story, a small glowing crescent moon gem adorned the cover.

Si-hyun carefully grabbed the floating book and opened it.

"This is..."

The sight of Luna playing happily with the kids looked so blissful.

"...Amazing. Luna was such a bright, smiling kid back then. Now she's always expressionless."

"Don't call it a miracle. I just wanted to see Luna smile or cry at least once. Now that Greed's gone, she can live happily, right?"

Si-hyun kept flipping through, skimming Luna's tale.

"Haha, most kids are like that when they're young."

Si-hyun's hand paused at a page that looked slightly singed black.

"What? All the twisted parts from Greed should be fixed."

After scanning the book, every trace of Greed's story in Selenum was gone. Everything was back to normal.

So what was this black page?

"No hidden quest or anything, right—"

The moment Si-hyun touched the page radiating a dark red aura.

Ding!

Thud.

His heart dropped to the floor and bounced back up.

We ended Greed's story. Narrative Reestablishment messed with causality. Remove the cause—Greed—and the effect—Luna as a ghost story—should vanish too.

"What the hell is—"

As Si-hyun opened his mouth to grill the system—

—Kwaaaah!

The void's floor crumbled instantly, swallowing him whole.

"Ah, for fuck's sake, cut the crap! What nowwww—?!"

In the shattering void like broken glass, the system's final message rang in Si-hyun's ears.

—Shwoooosh!

Splash!

Si-hyun, forcibly relocated by the system, landed in Cheonggyecheon next to Bosingak Square amid ongoing destruction.

"Ack, it's cold!! You had to drop me in a place like this? Damn system."

Ding!

"Yeah, I'm alive at least... Miria, I told you last time—no forced teleports."

"No, you're the one who made the power—don't you have any master controls? Look at me, clothes soaked!"

Si-hyun climbed out, shaking off his wet clothes, and scolded the Notification Window.

"Oh yeah, you passed out like you'd been hit by a million volts after grabbing the beginner package controls before."

When Eclipse compared the beginner package to destruction and flipped out, Miria seized control forcibly and got knocked out in under ten seconds.

"Haa, anyway, that's not the point right now."

Si-hyun recalled the system's last words as the void floor collapsed.

"I thought it was nonsense at first... but seeing that, I get it now."

—Kwaaaaa!

A black sphere, hardening as if protecting itself, entered his view.

"Anyone would have to accept it with something like that right in front of them. That Luna's turning into destruction."

Collector stage 2 ability. The sphere remaining despite Greed's erasure meant destruction's story wasn't over.

"What does that mean exactly? Explain simply."

"What?"

"Learning the truth she didn't want to know, plus the emotions she'd forgotten... and now she's falling into becoming a ghost story."

The Notification Window nodded faintly in agreement.

Si-hyun knew the ghost story birth process all too well. It was hammered into every novel he'd read for two years.

Humans who can't endure irrationality soon fall. And the tales born from those fallen beings become 'ghost stories.'

Ghost stories can't end their own tales. They don't stop until they make everything around them like themselves.

"That damn Greed bastard... tormenting Luna to the end?!"

Greed had been with Luna for ages. Over that long time, it planted another seed of destruction in her.

To someday turn the princess into new destruction. To make her equal to itself and truly 'possess' her—that was Greed's plan.

"Wanted her that bad, huh... This guy's a bigger lolicon than me."

He had to save Luna ASAP before things escalated. Any delay, and she might fully become destruction.

"Only one way. I'll go in and save her myself."

Si-hyun charged toward the swirling dark red sphere without hesitation.

"Up close, this thing looks seriously deadly."

With the black sphere right in front of him, Si-hyun caught his breath.

"Luna's inside this..."

Dark red blades of energy churned within. A rampage of emotions rejecting and repelling everything.

Just looking made his heart race.

"Phew, saying I'm not scared at all would be a lie... But weirdly, the option of not going in doesn't even cross my mind? Guess I really like our princess that much."

The moment Si-hyun stepped toward the dark red storm—

Ding!

The Notification Window blocked his path with a desperate voice Si-hyun had never heard before.

"What? I was finally psyching myself up, and now this."

Seeing her desperately holding back sobs, Si-hyun instantly knew: going in there meant he wouldn't come out unscathed.

Miria had summoned him into danger zones before, but only when she knew he'd be fine.

She hated—feared—him getting hurt more than anything.

"Hearing you talk casually like that? Tomorrow the sun'll rise in the west, huh? Haha."

Si-hyun deliberately grinned brightly and patted her.

"Sorry. No matter how I think about it, I can't abandon our Luna."

Si-hyun already knew. As Phantom, he could save her without risk.

But.

"No. She could turn into destruction in that time. And above all, I won't make Luna wait anymore."

He'd broken his promise to return soon. Broken the moonlight engagement vow. Left her alone in loneliness for a full day.

"I won't make Luna wait even one more minute or second."

Si-hyun wrapped his arms around the sobbing Notification Window, who was gasping for breath.

—Squeeze.

"Didn't know I could hug you like this. Always just patted you before."

Still hugging her, Si-hyun spoke softly.

"It's a promise with Luna, but I made one with you too. To end destruction's story. And to fix your first story happily."

"I told Luna the same. I won't die even if you kill me(?). I won't die till I keep my promises—I'll revive and come back, so don't worry!"

Of course, it was a blatant lie.

Sorry! I'll survive somehow, so fall for it just this once.

But it was the only way to calm her near-hysterical sobs.

"Remember? I'm the guy with an ace up my sleeve. Trust me this time too."

He raised his pinky and tapped hers.

"Promise made, so no more tears—wait nicely. I'll grab Luna and be right back!"

Si-hyun flashed a bright smile ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at the Notification Window, then turned and leaped into the black sphere.

As he left, the faintly flickering Notification Window watched his back worriedly.

Without realizing it, Si-hyun now had one more unbreakable reason to keep his promise.