[No title provided]
Cha Eun-joo couldn't muster any response to the guild recruitment offer. She had a flood of thanks and questions she wanted to ask, but they all vanished in an instant, leaving her mind a blank white sheet.
"Uh... wha...?"
Forgetting her languid state, Cha Eun-joo parted her lips and widened her eyes. As her brain pieced together the situation, her face drained of color.
"N-no way... you're not..."
"Feeling more clear-headed now?"
The gentle tone imprinted itself in her ear, and Cha Eun-joo unwittingly nodded. Then her eyes snapped wide open, and she froze.
"U-um... wait, hold on, huh?"
"I'm Sertina, guild master of Eterna. I pulled you out of the Han River and brought you here."
Her pupils dilated in disbelief, trembling violently. Cha Eun-joo's gaze shifted to Tier beside her. Tier met her eyes and gave an awkward smile, scratching her head. Then, suddenly, she recalled what Tier had just said.
—Yeah! The guild master saved you too.
'Hold on... if the guild master saved me...'
Cha Eun-joo's gaze returned to Sertina. The world boss who had slaughtered players with overwhelming power—the worst one in history. That distinctive, elegant beauty couldn't even be replicated with Astría Online's high-freedom customization.
An intangible pressure pierced straight to her bones. A chill she couldn't explain made her hairs stand on end. Her soul shrank involuntarily, and on instinct, Cha Eun-joo knew: the girl before her was truly the world boss, Sertina.
"Th-thank you for saving me."
She bowed her head awkwardly, steadying her trembling back. No matter how much help she'd received, the other was the infamous Sertina. The one who enjoyed torture. The being said to have taken half the lives of an entire world.
Now that Astría Online had become reality, that lore felt all too real. Cha Eun-joo squeezed her eyes shut. Tension amplified, cold sweat trickled down. She prayed silently that those cruel hands wouldn't harm her. And if death came, that it be painless and peaceful.
Her hands clasped together unwittingly in prayer. Then a voice spoke.
"How's your condition? Any discomfort?"
Cha Eun-joo looked up. A warm, kind resonance. In that one sentence, the ice in her heart melted into flowing water. It was utterly unlike the image of Sertina she remembered.
"I-um, that is..."
As she fidgeted, unable to continue, Sertina approached and pulled up the blanket that had slipped to her waist.
"Ah."
Cha Eun-joo watched blankly. Suddenly, Sertina sat on the edge of the bed, meeting her eyes. Her hand slowly reached toward Cha Eun-joo's face.
"U-um...!"
Before Cha Eun-joo could speak, Sertina's palm touched her forehead first.
"Eek!"
Cha Eun-joo squeezed her eyes shut. Sertina impassively withdrew her hand.
"...No fever."
"I-I'm fine!" Cha Eun-joo flailed her hand frantically. Sertina nodded calmly.
"Good, then. Can we talk?"
"Y-yes! No problem!"
A brief, awkward silence fell. Cha Eun-joo rolled her eyes anxiously before cautiously speaking.
"Um... how long do I have to stay here?"
It might come off as rude, but she had to know. What was the purpose of the notoriously cruel Sertina saving her? She was being friendly now, but Sertina was still Sertina. The fear lingered.
But Sertina's reply was unexpected.
"You can stay as long as you want, or leave once you're recovered if you'd prefer. But... do you really want to go back?"
"Uh..."
Cha Eun-joo fell silent. Sertina's gaze held no threat. Beneath the blank expression flickered faint worry and pity. She was offering a choice—stay or go—with no strings attached.
Yet Cha Eun-joo couldn't answer easily. The reason was obvious.
"I saw the battle at Yeongdong Bridge. All of it."
Cha Eun-joo looked up. Sertina stared straight into her eyes. For some reason, that gaze didn't feel frightening.
"...You know what it means, right?"
Sertina asked calmly. Cha Eun-joo's eyes dropped powerlessly. She was scared to stay here, truthfully. But was anywhere safer? A place where her guildmates lurked, eyes wide, plotting her death?
Cha Eun-joo knew it too.
"Yes. I felt it—the malice in those attacks."
Her expression darkened as she spoke. Her fist clenched, protruding from the blanket. Sertina asked,
"What happened?"
"It's... a long story. Complicated political issues all tangled up."
"That's fine. I'll try to understand."
Cha Eun-joo explained the conflict between the government and guilds to Sertina. The current Korean government was pushing for lifelong rule under the guise of national stabilization. Major guilds like Hyeonwol sided with them. Some guilds opposed, but the power gap was too vast—they could only watch helplessly.
Finishing, Cha Eun-joo sighed deeply, as if the earth might cave in.
"I probably got marked in the guild too. I was the only opposing voice among Hyeonwol's executives."
"You fell out of favor."
Sertina nodded. She grasped the situation roughly. A typical power struggle. Politicians blinded by vested interests scheming. Same in Pandela, same on Earth. The world over.
"Going back means death. The higher-ups must be involved anyway."
"Hm..."
Cha Eun-joo's face was ashen, like a doomed soul. Sertina gazed at her quietly. From that distant world, her face seemed to overlap with someone else's.
A patriot's heart? Standing by her beliefs in an overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation. There were similar folks in Pandela.
"Attacking the royal capital?! Sertina, are you insane?!"
"Sertina! What scheme are you plotting now? You're just...!"
"No way. It was true? What have I... what have I done to you, Sertina...?"
"Sertina... you're really going? To take down the Demon King?"
"Yeah. This'll be the last time. Stay safe there too."
...Annoying bunch. But not bad ones.
The few she could trust in that barren continent. Maybe in this world too.
Shaking off the reverie, Sertina spoke.
"Then, how about staying with our guild for a while? I can even let you join if you want."
"Huh?! R-really?!"
Cha Eun-joo's eyes went wide. Her mind raced. Returning to Hyeonwol meant 100% death. Joining Silver Tree, opposed to the government coalition, hit the same wall.
'...Can I save this country with my power alone?'
Hyeonwol wasn't Korea's No. 1 guild for nothing. Nearly 3,000 high-level players, countless sub-guilds, plus government-backed groups post-reality shift. Could Silver Tree and Star Alliance handle them all? Obviously not.
...Even if she joined, it wouldn't change.
They controlled not just top guilds but military and law. The moment they moved, hope for the country vanished—Cha Eun-joo felt it in her bones.
But if. Even a slim chance.
If she could convince Sertina? Devote herself to Eterna and sway her heart. Bring the strongest being to their side.
...Even against fate, worth a shot?
Cha Eun-joo swallowed hard. Resolve welled deep inside. Worst case, nothing lost. If she lost, just death?
She loved this country. Enough to stake her life to save it.
The decision came quickly.
"I'll join. But..."
"But?"
"Can you grant me one request?"
Desperate tremor etched the air. Sertina nodded flatly.
"Say it."