Chapter 89
At the entrance to the Paris Catacombs in France—one of the undisclosed private access points not open to the public—Elena, guild master of Lumière Guild, unleashed her fiery rage into her smartphone after receiving word from the French government.
“What, what did you say?! You called in that monster?!”
Explosive energy radiated around her. The dignity of the world-ranked 5th fencer. Her guild members flinched and backed away.
- Haven't we given you enough time already? It's almost been a full month. As the French government, we can no longer ignore our citizens' safety.
“J-just give us a little more time!”
- The original timeline was two weeks. We've extended it twice already. So, have you found any traces of Libra?
“Ugh.”
Elena was speechless. That cunning, vicious Dream Witch was still lurking somewhere in Paris, not even casting a shadow.
- Even if you find her, can you beat her?
“Th-that's...”
Libra was believed to have surpassed the limits of a world boss. With nightmares planted across all of Paris, she must have been feasting on civilians' fear nonstop. So the government's goal wasn't extermination—it was tracking. Proving her existence and pinpointing her location came first.
- We appreciate your efforts, Elena. We're always grateful for your dedication to the nation. But we've determined this has gone beyond what you can handle alone.
- So, for your own safety, wouldn't it be best to accept this? France can't afford to lose you, the pillar of our nation.
Elena stood silently clutching her phone, then bit her lip and bowed her head. A heavy sigh laced with exhaustion escaped her as she ground her teeth against harsh reality.
“......Fine. For now.”
After hanging up, her eyes flashed cold. She glared at the darkened screen for a long moment.
“Sertina...”
Her voice trembled faintly as she uttered that loathsome name. She hated monsters. Hated them with a visceral disgust. Especially world bosses. Those disaster-like otherworldly invaders had stripped her of everything in an instant.
Her home—neglected while she supported elsewhere—had become a ruin that devoured her precious family by the time she rushed back. The only sibling pulled from the debris was rushed to the hospital, but the warmth in those tiny hands soon turned ice-cold.
‘I can't break. I have to get stronger...!’
Because if she gave up, others might suffer the same fate.
Swallowing her pain, etching that resolve into her heart, Elena had saved France even when her body screamed for mercy. To prevent such tragedy from repeating.
Yet now, they were inviting the very calamity she'd fought so hard to stop into France.
Her reflection stared back from the dead screen: a blonde girl slumped with dark circles under her eyes. Beneath the anger, her face somehow looked forlorn.
‘Was I... not enough?’
The values she'd guarded crumbled in a heartbeat. Powerlessly, she hung her head.
And with rumors swirling that America's Imperium held classified intel on Sertina's extreme cunning, to invite her here anyway...
‘It's all my fault. My incompetence.’
If only she'd tracked down Libra, it never would've come to this.
Forcing her crumbling resolve back together, Elena quietly balled her fists.
‘Fine. I'll clean up my own mess.’
Sertina would arrive in a few hours, they said. The most dangerous being on Earth—no, perhaps in the universe—would set foot on French soil and stand before her.
Just the thought triggered trauma, her legs trembling, but Elena wouldn't retreat.
‘Rumors say Sertina's a coward, though...’
She glanced at the cave mouth swallowed by darkness.
The Catacombs: an underground ossuary stretching over 300 kilometers. Walls plastered with human skulls, exuding a bone-chilling vibe. Unlike tourist zones, the sealed sections drowned in utter blackness. A timid soul wouldn't last 30 meters.
‘Nah... no way.’
World bosses embodied disaster and terror by their mere existence. Would avatars of fear itself flinch at a spooky atmosphere?
‘Exaggerated gossip, surely.’
Curiosity flickered. What kind of beast was this "End of Life," "World's Strongest" Sertina?
‘Probably assert dominance first.’
Unleash destructive aura to crush the opponent, then toy with them. Nations like Korea had turned obedient as trained dogs after her visits—not an impossible guess.
Cameras showed heartwarming tales upfront. But behind the lens? Unspeakable ugliness might lurk.
Swallowing her mounting tension, Elena conserved her strength, waiting for Sertina.
‘I won't trust a world boss. Ever!’
A few hours later, word came from the French government: Sertina had arrived.
Thirty minutes after that.
Elena couldn't hide her shock at the sight of Sertina on-site.
‘What... the hell?’
***
No matter what Cha Eun-joo said, she couldn't release the airship controls. I'd been momentarily cowed by her momentum, but the second I realized it, I shrugged it off and marched forward boldly.
‘Why? What're you gonna do about it?’
So there I was, sprawled on the bed, gleefully tapping away at my smartphone.
......And now that bliss had boomeranged back as brutal payback.
“Euuugh...”
Ever since stepping off the airship, Cha Eun-joo had been dragging me nonstop.
......All for one slip of the tongue.
Just that one comment, and here I was, suffering this indignity.
‘Let go! I said let go!’
I flailed my limbs as she yanked my cheeks, but it was pointless.
‘Damn it, if I were just taller...! Taller!!’
Finally abandoning resistance, I dangled limp from her arm until we reached the French players gathered at the Catacombs entrance.
“Hello!”
Cha Eun-joo dipped her head with a bright smile.
“Cha Eun-joo from Eterna Guild, here to support from Korea.”
“Ah, hello. I'm Elena, master of Lumière Guild.”
The blonde ponytail girl introduced herself shyly, bowing. Even as she did, her gaze locked on me.
Elena was a top fencer, world rank 5. But Cha Eun-joo was in a league of her own. And after I taught her mana control, her reserves had ballooned tenfold—she'd been drilling close-quarters and explosive spells lately.
......Hope she hadn't flipped some untouchable switch.
Before they shook hands, Cha Eun-joo set me down.
Tottering like I'd escaped, I crossed the stone floor and planted myself before the Catacombs mouth.
A chill seeped from the cave, harboring inescapable black-hole darkness. I slipped in some mana to probe, but its depths defied measurement. The interior twisted like an irregular maze.
“Hmm... this might be tricky.”
Even Pandela's underground labyrinth hadn't been this bad. No—that was tame by comparison.
For a world boss hideout, zero mana signature. Fitting for the Dream Witch—maybe she could conceal her very existence?
Ah.
By the time I snapped back, Elena and her guildmates were eyeing me with puzzled suspicion.
Time for a polite intro.
I extended my hand casually.
“Eterna Guild master, Sertina. Here to help.”
“Elena. Nice to work with you.”
She bowed courteously, taking my handshake.
‘Huh? That look...’
A glint of something sharp pierced through her subdued eyes. A split-second flash no ordinary person would catch.
‘She's suspicious...’
That familiar gaze of distrust. Still people who wouldn't trust me.
No, more than distrust... hate? Mixed with self-loathing.
A storm of tangled emotions hid behind her smiling facade.
What the hell had she been through...?
“Lady Sertina, can you handle it?”
One of Lumière's members stepped up, asking.
I pondered briefly, then shook my head.
“Nah, not right now.”
“What?!”
“What do you...?”
Even Cha Eun-joo looked stunned—an unusual slip for her. Guess she never imagined a monster I couldn't snag.
“Can't detect Libra's mana at all. If she's hiding this hard, even I got nothing.”
Paris felt too peaceful. Eerily so.
But Libra had to be here. The odds of hundreds of thousands sharing nightmares for nearly a month straight? Impossible.
“Ah...”
Dismay and disappointment washed over the Lumière crew's faces.
This meant scouring the entire Catacombs? Inefficient as hell, and who knew how many days it'd take.
No good.
I chewed my squishy cheek, replaying what I knew about Libra.
‘Nightmares... fear... growth...’
Keywords clicked like puzzle pieces.
Then—flash.
‘Wait, people are having nightmares, right?’
Libra feeds on the fear from those dreams to grow.
Possibilities raced through my mind, hypotheses merging into one solid conclusion.
I gathered my thoughts and looked up.
“But with that method... I might just find her.”