"Cough..."

A single blow. My swordsmanship was still clumsy, but the power behind it was incomparable to others. With the strength that Eve had granted me, I had managed to knock down all those who dared to challenge me.

"You’ve changed."

"You-’re only noticing now?"

Ui Chang Hyun, who seemed surprised, struggled to maintain his composure at my words. I nodded at the trainee who had lost his grip on his sword after my strike and left the training ground.

"From my perspective, it seems like you-’ve found a new reason rather than just regaining your senses."

"A new reason?"

"Our master says the same thing. He says your sword carries a burden now. A mission, a duty, something like that."

"A burden."

I couldn’t deny his words. I had no excuses left. After witnessing my 17-year-old sister choose to fight for herself, I had to fight too.

"Ten years ago, I was just a kid, so I had an excuse. Now, I’m an adult, and I have people who help me. I have to seize the opportunity. I don’t want to be powerless."

"That’s a good mindset. It’s not just about swinging a sword, it’s about imbuing your true will into that sword. That’s what our master teaches. It seems you’re already ahead,

Kang Shin Woo."

Di Chang Hyun clapped with a smile. Honestly, I still didn’t quite grasp what he meant about the sword. He probably misunderstood my situation since he didn’t know about the

legion and my sister. Unable to tell him the truth, I just kept my mouth shut.

"We’re about to deploy soon. Be prepared."

Di Chang Hyun passed by me and headed towards the others.

We were about to launch an offensive again. This time, the battle would be completely different. We had a rough idea of the enemy’s strength, and those who had received training from the Guardians Union had been incorporated into our forces as new power.

I had a fleeting thought that this might just be the beginning. The game, which used to be a pure deathmatch, was gradually turning into a power struggle.

"Can I handle a legionnaire at my current level?"

[...Are you talking about the high-ranking ones?]

I just mumbled to myself, but I felt like I could sense emotion in the words that appeared in response. I gave up on getting an answer and packed my things to leave.

"This time, I’m joining in too. Both sides are serious now, so it’s going to be a real war."

"Has your player mentioned anything?"

“Probably preoccupied with something else."

Cha Ji Yeon, whom I met at the barracks, smiled weakly and nodded. Her player’s Step Up Hunters, her fellow units, were now cooperating closely with our forces and were spread out all over the world. I completely agreed with her when she said that I must be busy too, given the growing size of the legion and the increasing number of places to keep an eye on.

"Honestly, I wish you wouldn’t fight..."

"Even if I’m being used like a pawn, I chose this path to become stronger. I can fight too.""I’m not referring to the restrictions. It’s just my personal sentiment. But it doesn’t hold much weight now."

Cha Ji Yeon murmured, sounding disheartened, and shook her head. I found myself intrigued. The bond between a player and a unit isn’t absolute. This means that she accepted the restrictions, which are like a leash, of her own accord.

"He said he wouldn’t give me power unless I accepted the restrictions. I thought it didn’t matter as long as I could become stronger, since what he wants and what I want are the same."

"And what is it that you want?"

"To kill the monsters and save people."

She calmly revealed her intentions. In a way, it was a thought that fit well with the philosophy of the Guardians Union.

“I have a grudge against the monsters."

"...I guess most people do."

I had heard that one of her family members was killed by a monster ten years ago. Perhaps her fiery reaction to my story about my sister was due to this commonality.

"So, I don’t regret it. I think I’m paying the price for the power I’ve gained. Those monsters hurt people even before they became units."

Cha Ji Yeon bit her lip and her determination flared. Silently, I brought up a screen that she couldn’t see.

Just like us, my units, the legion and Eve were preparing for war.

When I switched the screen to the view of a scout, I could see the enemy camp.

There were countless humans gathered. We hadn’t encountered any units or players from that world yet.

To them, who knew nothing, wouldn’t the legion, which had crawled out of the labyrinth, look like invaders from the demon world?

"We’re just fighting."

I muttered blankly. My thoughts on good and evil had already changed significantly.

There’s no good or evil in the struggle for survival. It’s just a world where you eat or get eaten.

Even if the legion doesn’t antagonize humans, a collision with them is inevitable as the legion continues to erode the world.

"So, we should just hate and fight each other freely. There’s no need to feel guilty in a life-or-death hunt."

"You’re right. With them, it’s just a hunt. No need to overthink, we just do what we have to."

Cha Ji Yeon’s expression lightened as she smiled.

"Um..."

"Weren’t you and Chris...you know...involved?"

Her fidgeting with my hand so openly took me by surprise.

"What are you talking about? He’s already engaged back in his home country."

I was well aware that everyone on the battlefield, where death could strike at any moment, had different emotional boundaries than usual.

"Ever since I came here, no, ever since I first became a unit, I’ve been living like there’s no tomorrow. So, I never do anything that would leave me with regrets or lingering feelings.’’She leaned in over the desk.

Before I could pull away, a desperate call from an Evolution official looking for her stopped her.

*

[The force he belongs to has started preparing for a full-scale war. They’re very busy right now. He’ll probably be deployed tomorrow, or the day after at the latest.]

“I don’t care about that. Who is it? Who dared to excite his emotions? I can tell now. This isn’t excitement from battle or tension."

[Is that important? To you, he may be a great being, but in the end, he’s just a normal person. Even if he sees you as a daughter, he would be more attracted to a fellow species and a rational person he can communicate with, rather than a faceless entity he has never directly spoken to.]

"No! ’’

Eve, who had clenched her feet, let out a shout filled with formative force.

Her intense anger twisted and shook the entire nearby nest.

“I need to show him my face and talk to him. Then he’ll look at me."

[...I’m not sure if you can even have a conversation.]

Eve tried her best to ignore the voice.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t fully focus on communicating with him right now.

The human forces that had begun to gather were heading towards the nearest base nest.

"What do we do now?"

Kang Do Yeon, who was also waiting at one of the base nests, asked for a response. Eve quickly began calculating.

"I told you. Humans are always swayed by unnecessary emotions. The choice is ours."

The calculation itself was over quickly. Eve issued a new command to the scattered legionnaires.

"They’re marching slowly in a clump, asking for a frontal battle. But our goal is to buy time. So, there’s no need to get caught up in their intentions."

Eve’s command was a thorough disruption of the rear and guerrilla warfare.

She had already extracted all the information about the emotions, behavior patterns, and situations of the humans here.

Knowing that they couldn’t ignore the rescue activities indefinitely, Eve planned to continue attacking the villages and cities in the rear, ultimately breaking the justification they had to protect.

Even if this plan failed, it didn’t matter.

Disrupting the rear was just one of the options, if it failed, they could simply gather and fight.

"After this battle, I’ll show him my face. With a gift."

"You don’t have to say that..."

At Eve’s words, a pale Kang Do Yeon interjected.

"There’s no need to worry. Unless they show us something new that we don’t know about, we’ll win."

"That’s why I’m saying..."

[The legionnaires who received the order began to scatter and move around the main force of the enemy. It’s a simultaneous movement happening in hundreds of places along a frontline that spans hundreds of kilometers. Unless they notice this, they can’t prevent a decisive blow. But...they still seem to have plenty of energy.]

Kang Do Yeon’s ominous intuition was correct. As soon as the legion showed movement, something rose high into the sky from the main formation of the human forces.

It was a giant eye of magic, shining in a translucent blue.