Chapter 42 : This user is blocked

“I was mistaken about the enemy all this time….”

One of the Emperor’s Blades muttered under his breath as he staggered backward.

Even though he hadn’t been directly struck, just the lingering magic radiating from Irene was enough to make it difficult to breathe.

It was the first time he had experienced such pressure since joining the Imperial Guard.

“What the hell is this person…?”

“A villain.”

Normally, the Emperor’s Blades were the ones who inflicted nightmare-like despair upon their enemies.

But this time, the roles were reversed.

Even while wearing armor with high magic resistance, he still felt overwhelmed.

And Irene didn’t even seem to be using her full strength.

It sent chills down his spine.

The villain capable of leading humanity to its downfall wasn’t a massive dragon or a grotesque necromancer.

She was just a small, adorable human.

Yet, none of that registered with the Emperor’s Blade.

Instead, his rational mind recognized her as cute, while his instincts screamed at him that she was a deadly threat.

The two conflicting thoughts combined, making his head feel like it was about to split open.

“Do you know why I’ve been letting the people who tried to raid the Demon King’s castle live until now?”

Irene lowered her sword.

She approached at a casual pace.

Yet, not a single opening could be seen.

No matter where he tried to strike, all he could see was his own death.

Even Elian, the warrior praised by the guild, was barely a match for these enemies.

And now, he couldn’t even hold his sword properly.

“At first, it was simply to avoid drawing attention. Then, I realized that none of them were seriously trying to exterminate the Demon King, and they weren’t even targeting Luminil.”

“But you’re different. You waited until I wasn’t around and tried to kill Luminil.”

What was Luminil to Irene?

In the past, she would have confidently answered, “My favorite character.”

But now?

Well… their relationship had grown much more complicated.

To Irene, Luminil was the force that allowed her to survive in this sudden, unfamiliar world.

And to Luminil, Irene was always the dependable person she could lean on.

Whatever the case, since Luminil was the purpose of Irene’s existence—

Trying to kill Luminil was the same as trying to kill Irene.

The Emperor’s Blade spoke up as if making an excuse.

“We… were only trying to eliminate a monster that posed a threat to His Majesty.”

But a superhuman was still a superhuman.

He quickly rejoined the other Emperor’s Blades who had gathered, forming a battle formation.

Irene raised her sword again, ready to respond, but then—

As if something had crossed her mind, she turned around.

“Irene.”

At that moment, her eyes met Luminil’s.

She wondered if Luminil would be afraid of her like this.

“You had a hidden power?”

Luminil looked bewildered.

Rather than fear or intimidation, she seemed more curious about Irene’s hidden strength.

The one who ended up flustered was Irene.

Maybe it was the sudden shift in atmosphere.

She responded as she normally would.

“I wasn’t hiding it, I was saving it. If I recklessly used my power, the Demon King might end up in danger, just like now.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Idiot.”

Even as she grumbled, Luminil didn’t argue.

After all, it was her own foolishness that had brought things to this point.

As the conversation naturally came to a halt, they found themselves staring at each other again.

The Irene Doll, even though it was an exact replica of the original, couldn’t tell what Irene was thinking.

No matter how well-crafted it was, it was still a newly created doll.

But one thing was certain—

If it was Irene, she would give Luminil the right to choose.

That much, at least, was undeniable.

And Irene Doll’s prediction was spot on.

“Hmm… I already killed one person, but I’ll ask anyway. Should I kill them all?”

Heroes—or rather, humans—could resurrect when they died.

As long as there was enough divine power, even the Emperor could be revived.

So killing humans carried far less weight here than it did in Irene’s original world.

But Luminil didn’t see it that way at all.

Irene’s words didn’t account for resurrection at all.

Luminil hesitated for a moment.

Then, as if she had made her decision, she spoke.

“Spare them.”

Irene felt somewhat uneasy about it, but—

Since it was Luminil’s decision, it was only right to respect it.

For the last time, Irene asked,

“Are you really sure it’s okay not to kill them?”

It was an obvious question, yet—

Luminil tilted her head as if she didn’t understand why Irene was even asking.

“Huh? Of course. The ones who came to kill me should be dealt with by me personally, don’t you think?”

Luminil intended to finish them off herself.

When she was first summoned, just hearing that a single hero was approaching would send her into a panic, crying and wailing.

And now, she was willing to step forward and handle it herself.

Luminil had grown.

Irene was deeply moved.

Truthfully, Irene had never been that emotionally invested in this world.

Her somewhat detached tone was likely because of that.

The reason was clear.

In the end, wasn’t this just a game world?

No matter what she did, Elian, Luna, and even Luminil—

They were all just NPCs.

“This is reality, huh?”

Luminil’s words confirmed it for her.

This wasn’t just a game world.

It was a world similar to the game.

Luminil was real!

Irene couldn’t help but burst into laughter, overwhelmed with joy.

To Luminil, who was used to Irene’s usual lack of expression, seeing her laugh was somewhat unsettling.

And to the Emperor’s Blades, it looked like the crazed grin of a psychopathic villain, making them even more terrified.

“Alright then, Luminil! Make sure to absorb as much magic as you can! In your current state, you should be able to do it!”

“W-what… what’s happening?!”

Celine pulled out three small pieces of paper from her pocket.

They were meant to store the souls of the Emperor’s Blades in case they died.

But—

The papers remained completely unresponsive.

Even though the Emperor’s Blades’ magic had completely vanished.

Something had happened inside.

At least, that’s what Celine believed.

Otherwise, there was no reason for such an enormous surge of magic to suddenly erupt from within the Demon King’s castle.

Celine formed a golden magic bow.

Even now, she wasn’t thinking about killing someone—

All she could think about was not disappointing the Emperor.

“I already came here expecting to be hated. So at the very least, I have to accomplish my goal!”

Since the Emperor’s Blades—who were skilled in close combat—had been taken down,

Charging into the castle as an archer would be nothing short of suicide.

Originally, they had been sent in to ensure the kill, but since they had all been wiped out,

Celine changed her plan.

She would destroy the castle from the outside.

And once there was nowhere left for the Demon King to hide, she would finish the job.

The enemies had barely been able to react to her very first attack—

That meant this plan had a real chance of success.

“No. I won’t be hated. If anything, His Majesty will be pleased.”

Once this was over, surely the Emperor would return to how he was before.

That’s what she believed as she pulled back the bowstring.

Then—

A sudden flash of light appeared in the path of the arrow.

She barely had a moment to focus on it before—

A deafening explosion rang out as something tore through the air toward her.

Upon closer inspection—

It was a sword strike, a blade aura so massive it was almost unbelievable.

“A sword aura… that big?”

There was no time to react.

Her arrow had already been obliterated—

And the blade aura instantly severed her left arm.

She didn’t scream, but the pain was excruciating.

As she quickly tried to look up and assess the situation—

She realized she no longer needed to.

Because Irene was already standing right in front of her.

“You know, I have a sword at your throat right now. If you move the wrong way, you’ll die.”

Celine, who had looked ready to pounce just a moment ago—

Suddenly went quiet at Irene’s words.

It was obvious—

Irene must have been the one who slaughtered the Emperor’s Blades.

But that only made Celine more curious.

“Why am I still alive?”

Irene didn’t answer.

Instead—

A very familiar voice did.

“Haa… I suppose I must sincerely apologize. Irene.”

The signature brown hair, the petite frame—

Even without using a single ounce of magic, the overwhelming presence was undeniable.

“More sincerely.”

“I truly am sorry.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I meant you should act cute. It’s common sense to do that when you mess up, isn’t it?”

“Com… what? Anyway… I’ll consider it.”

This time, it wasn’t even a form made of magic.

It was the real body of Tania Helios.

Someone so familiar—

Had come here in person.

At first, Celine thought she had come to rescue them.

But when she saw Tania lowering herself to Irene, despair set in.

“Your Majesty…? Why…?”

Still collapsed on the ground, Celine looked up at Tania.

The Emperor’s expression remained cold as ever.

“I should be the one asking. You, who were always so loyal, how could you lead three of the Emperor’s Blades and commit such an act without permission?”

Celine could no longer speak.

No matter how much she tried to deny it—

The person standing before her now was the true Emperor, completely free from anyone’s control.

“The loss of three of the Emperor’s Blades… I can accept that. Rather, I should be thanking you for at least sparing Celine.”

Irene chuckled.

Now that her anger had subsided, she seemed like a surprisingly reasonable person.

The problem was—

The damage was already done.

“Either way, if I hand her over to you, you’ll just come up with an even more creative and elaborate way to torment her, won’t you?”

Matching Irene’s playful tone, Tania also smiled.

“Well, you’re not wrong. Even if you weren’t involved, this is still clear-cut treason.”

Their conversation continued for a while—

Discussing Celine’s punishment, the fate of the Emperor’s Blades…

And finally, the broadcast.

Then, all of a sudden, Irene felt something off.

This was the first time she was having a proper conversation with the Emperor.

And yet—

Why did it feel so familiar?

Like she had been communicating with her for a long time already.

…Almost like the relationship between a streamer and a viewer.

A ridiculous thought crossed Irene’s mind.

And so, just to be sure, she asked,

“Tania, have you actually been watching my streams?”

Tania—who always maintained a rigid, unreadable expression—

This time, let out a barely suppressed “Kuh-ugh.”

For the first time, she lost her composure.

Wait, was that for real?!

Then—

Did she really mean it when she told me to start streaming back then?!

An Emperor watching the Demon King’s castle’s officers’ broadcast?

That made no sense!

“Wait, Tania… You haven’t been, like, donating money too, have you?”

A strange way of speaking, and an absurd amount of gold that naturally followed from being an Emperor.

Coincidentally—

There was exactly one viewer on Irene’s streams who met both of these conditions.

A user named “Irene1.”

At first, she just thought it was someone who didn’t know how to use spacing properly, or maybe just a complete lunatic.

But what if—

Was it all on purpose to make it difficult to trace?

What if that was how she hid her identity as the Emperor?

“…You’re mistaken.”

“The pieces fit together a little too well, don’t they? Tania… No, should I say, ‘Irene1’?”

“N-no! I—I don’t even know who that is!”

“Hoooh…”

A grin spread across Irene’s face.

And now—

That grin had become a signal for pure mischief.

Quickly, Irene turned on her device.

Then, she searched for the user information of “Irene1.”

But just as she was about to do something else—

Tania hastily opened a portal.

“Ahem. Anyway, I must deal with this traitor, so I shall be taking my leave. If you have any further questions, simply hold onto this handkerchief. I will come to you.”

Leaving behind nothing but a thoroughly flustered expression and a handkerchief—

Tania threw herself into the portal and disappeared.

Irene looked at the handkerchief and muttered to herself,

“She’ll turn herself in eventually anyway…”

And so, she returned to the Demon King’s castle.

Then, the next day—

[ A new message has arrived. ]

[ Tania: Unblock me immediately! ]

As if it were the most natural thing in the world—

The message didn’t come from “Irene1.”

It came directly from Tania.