Broken’s body shifted into its ethereal state, granting him a brief reprieve from death. But even in this form, the blood on the ground twisted and coiled around him, binding him in place. He struggled, but the grip was unrelenting.
Suddenly, the camel demon let out a thunderous roar, unleashing a devastating area attack. The force of the assault crashed into Broken like a tidal wave. His regeneration skills kicked in, trying to heal the damage, but it was too much-the relentless barrage overwhelmed him. He couldn’t keep up with the sheer intensity of the attack.
Broken used the brief moment of reprieve to keep fighting, but facing Gremory alone was overwhelming. Every strike, every attack she launched was focused entirely on him, leaving him no room to breathe.
With no other choice, Broken quickly switched his helmet for the Mask of Scorched Fury, the only option that could turn the tide. He barely managed to make the swap before he was hit with another devastating blow, knocking him to the brink once again.
Did he still have hope?
[You have been killed by Duke Gremory – Vampiric Duchess Demon Lv. 258]
[Fiery Rebirth (Conditional Passive Skill)]
[You have been resurrected with 50% Health. Fire Damage is boosted by 25%, and Movement Speed is increased by 20% for 10 seconds.]
Broken’s body reignited, resurrecting him with a surge of power. His movements sped up, and his attacks flared with fiery strength.
He used the brief window to study Gremory’s attacks, along with the camel demon’s, trying to analyze and exploit any weaknesses. Slowly, he began to adapt, learning the patterns of their strikes and adjusting his tactics. But facing a Gremory’s power alone was no small feat.
Despite his best efforts, it became clear that defeat was looming.
It wasn’t enough.
Gremory’s relentless assault continued, her speed and raw power overwhelming him. Even with the Mask of Scorched Fury enhancing his abilities, she shredded through his defenses. And then it happened-his Health dropped to zero once more.
He had lost.
[You have been killed by Duke Gremory – Vampiric Duchess Demon Lv. 258]
***
The side panel of the Capsule Device swung open, and Leon emerged, still breathing heavily, the shock of what had just happened in the game rattling him. He’d suffered a crushing defeat!
“Damn it!” he cursed, slamming his fist against the Capsule Device before catching himself- realizing it wasn’t the machine’s fault.
Climbing out, he looked around for Hazel, but she was gone. Did she leave already? He quickly checked his phone, finding a slew of messages from multiple people: Hazel, Lily, Freya, Laura, Subaru, Maylock. All of them had tried to reach him.
He scanned through the messages one by one. Hazel said she headed home early. Lily was asking where he was. Laura wanted to meet up. Subaru and Maylock both requested him to call them back urgently.
But he quickly refocused the problem he had faced in the game. He needed to contact Charmelyn and Marlene right away to strategize their next move against Gremory. They had no choice but to defeat that demon. Their first attempt had failed miserably, but they had to learn from it and be ready for round two.
When a player dies in-game, they’re forced to wait 6 real-time hours, or 18 hours Yunatea time, before reviving. That meant Broken had 6 hours to plan and prepare before they could make another attempt to take down Gremory.
They couldn’t afford to make the same mistakes. This time, he needed to be fully prepared. At least now, he had more information about the demon and her attacks. It was clear that their earlier failure wasn’t just due to Gremory’s strength-it was also because they had been completely unprepared, and the bickering between Marlene and Charmelyn had only made things worse.
He had to figure out a way to keep those two from clashing again.
Damn, managing people is harder than fighting monsters! Even in the midst of that battle, they couldn’t stop fighting each other. He couldn’t believe it.
The problem was, Leon didn’t have direct contact with either Charmelyn or Marlene. But that wasn’t an issue—he knew exactly where to get their information: from Subaru and Maylock. Without wasting time, he called Maylock and quickly explained what had happened. “That’s certainly a small problem, isn’t it?” Maylock replied with a bit of sarcasm. “Ck, come on. I need your help finding a strategy to fight this demon.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll talk to you later after I gather more info,” Maylock responded.
“And about Charmelyn… is she really a Divine Champion? And did you know she infiltrated the Hell expedition?”
Maylock sighed on the other end. “That’s a tough one to answer. But yes, at least me, Elincia, and Goldrich knew.”
“Damn, you should’ve told me earlier,” Leon snapped. “I need her contact-Charmelyn. Can you ask her to reach out to me? I really need to talk to her.”
“Alright, I’ll talk to her and ask her to contact you. But trust me, she’ll probably be reaching out to you soon, even without me asking her.”
“Who? Charmelyn? How?” Leon asked, confused.
“Yep, just wait and see.”
And with that, the call ended.
Leon was just about to call Subaru when his phone buzzed, an unknown number flashing on
the screen.
“Who’s this?” he muttered as he answered the call.
“Hello?”
A woman’s voice responded, playful and teasing. “Hi, handsome… missing me already?”
The tone sent a chill down his spine-he recognized it instantly. Marlene.
“Hi. Marlene?”
“Yes… You must have been waiting for my call, I’m sure of it,” she replied, her tone much different than what Leon was used to hearing.
In the game, Marlene always spoke with a no-nonsense attitude-calm, flat, and with an air
of mystery, like she was always holding something back. But this time, her voice was friendlier, almost playful, which caught him off guard.
What’s with the sudden shift?
“Yes…” Leon replied. “I missed you so much that I want to scold you. You really know how to pick the perfect time to fight with someone on the same team, especially when we can’t even beat the actual enemy, huh?”
“Ck!” Marlene responded with a slight huff. “Surely, I’m not the only one at fault… that friend of yours had a part in it too.”
“It’s fine. I just hope we’ve all learned from it, and we can regroup soon to figure out how to
beat that demon.” frёeωebɳovel.com
“You should be more strict with us, I guess,” she said, followed by a soft giggle.
What? Leon’s mind reeled. Did Marlene just… giggle? The same Marlene who was always so cold and mysterious in the game?
“Hey, I’m really not expecting this… but is this actually the Marlene I know from the game?”
He heard her sigh. “Yes, it’s me! Why? Haven’t you ever met someone online who acts
differently in real life?”
“No, what’s with that?”
“No worries…” she quickly replied. “Where are you right now?”
“Me?” Leon blinked, confused. “In my Home Bus?” Obviously, not the right answer. “I mean,
why?”
“Where exactly is your home bus parked?”
“At the mall near where I live… Crystal Springs Mall. Why?”
“Okay, I’ll meet you in… uhm… 2 hours from now… bye,” she said, and the call abruptly ended.
Meet me? Does she live nearby too?
“Leon?”
He froze, startled by the voice coming from behind him. It was from the bed above his
Capsule Device-he had forgotten to check earlier.
He turned around. “Hazel, I thought you’d already left?” But his words trailed off as he realized it wasn’t Hazel lying there. Someone else was in his Home Bus.