“I must be dreaming…”
The Minister’s shocked murmur came from the other end of the phone.
At this moment, she truly wondered if she was hallucinating.
After all, so many top-tier experts had fallen in the battle to subjugate the Abyss Witch, yet a C-Rank small fry like Bai Yu had managed to survive.
Moreover, judging by her voice, she sounded as if nothing had even happened.
That didn’t seem right.
The Manager reached out and pinched her own cheek hard.
*Hiss*… it hurt. It seemed it was likely true; Bai Yu really was still alive.
“Bai Yu, are you truly alive?”
Even though she realized it, the shock in the Manager’s voice had yet to fade.
Bai Yu could understand the Manager’s current astonishment.
If she hadn’t suddenly awakened the memories of her past life, she would have died right there.
“I am indeed alive.”
“Hey, now. I’m warning you—impersonating someone carries very severe penalties.”
‘Why doesn’t she believe me?’
Left with no choice, Bai Yu could only mention a few things that had happened while they worked together previously.
Hearing the details Bai Yu recounted, the Manager finally accepted the fact that Bai Yu was alive.
“I can’t believe it… Quick, Bai Yu, tell me exactly how you survived.”
Even the S-Rank powerhouses from Eden had fallen there.
She was dying to know how Bai Yu had made it out alive.
The question had come.
Of course, before making the call, Bai Yu had already prepared her explanation.
“It’s like this. During that battle, my Esper Ability seemed to awaken. It allowed me to see some images—scenes regarding the aftermath of the Subjugation War.”
“Awaken?”
The Manager’s surprised voice came through the phone again.
“You aren’t joking, are you? Your Esper Ability actually awakened?”
Back then, they had only hired her to give it a try.
In reality, no one believed Bai Yu’s ability could actually awaken.
If Bai Yu wasn’t lying, then that slim possibility had actually occurred.
But if that was the case, why was she the only one who survived while everyone else died in that Subjugation War?
The Manager was somewhat confused.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t by Bai Yu’s side right now.
Otherwise, she would have definitely grabbed Bai Yu in excitement and made her recount every single detail of the situation.
“Yes, I was very surprised as well. However, my ability must have awakened, allowing me to have a Precognition of some scenes regarding the end of the battle.”
“What kind of scenes?”
“The Pale Witch launched a final counterattack before her death. She chose to self-destruct, taking everyone present down with her.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the other end of the line fell into silence.
It wasn’t until Bai Yu called out several times that the Manager snapped out of it.
“Bai Yu, why didn’t you tell the others about something so important?”
Based on the energy fluctuations at the scene, the Management Bureau had already deduced the general sequence of events.
Originally, the Star Eclipse Energy within the Pale Witch had been reduced to an extremely weak state, like a candle flickering in the wind.
A final blow would have been enough to kill her completely.
But at that moment, the Pale Witch’s originally weak Star Eclipse Energy had suddenly surged.
By the time that explosive energy dissipated, the energy signatures of everyone else on the field had vanished.
“I did say something, but…” Bai Yu’s voice grew faint. “But… nobody believed me.”
“Hmm?”
“At that time, everyone was immersed in the joy of being about to defeat the Pale Witch. When I told them she was going to counterattack and everyone would die, they thought I was just trying to attract attention. No one was willing to believe an invisible nobody like me. Even the Captain told me not to talk nonsense. He said the Pale Witch was already dying, and even if she had some trump card, they had ways to deal with it. He told me not to ruin their fun. I really tried my best to convince them, but… still, no one would believe me.”
Bai Yu’s voice sounded a bit choked up.
“It’s all my fault. If my ability could have been slightly useful before, maybe everyone would have trusted me a bit more. That way, when I predicted the ending where the whole team was wiped out, everyone would have chosen to believe me, and maybe others could have been saved.”
Hearing this, the Manager sighed softly.
“It’s not your fault, Bai Yu. Perhaps this was just fate.”
“Minister, if my ability were a bit stronger, would I have been able to change this outcome? It’s all my fault for being a useless C-Rank small fry. I practically have the word ‘useless’ written all over my face…”
“Bai Yu, it’s not your fault. We underestimated the Pale Witch. She was a Calamity-level Abnormal Entity, after all—an S+ Rank existence at the very peak of the S-Rank. It’s normal for her to have a trump card like that. The squad underestimated her. Furthermore, we also underestimated you. Precognition is even more important than we anticipated. If the others had placed a bit more trust in you, perhaps the final outcome could have been rewritten.”
“Mm…”
Hearing the Manager’s comfort, Bai Yu maintained her facade of taking all the blame upon herself.
In reality, she was feeling a surge of secret satisfaction.
‘In the Manager’s mind, the situation is likely already set in stone.’
As a “nobody,” Bai Yu wasn’t trusted, so the others continued their premature celebration and were ultimately taken down by the Pale Witch’s counterattack.
As for her, Bai Yu, she was completely innocent.
She had done her best, but there was nothing she could do if the others didn’t believe her.
Of course, Bai Yu wasn’t lying.
Immediately after awakening her memories, she had indeed told the others.
As for whether they believed her or not, Bai Yu didn’t care; she simply ran away.
Judging by the aftermath, her information had likely been treated as a joke.
This really wasn’t her fault.
However, in front of the Manager, she still had to exaggerate things a bit.
‘Oh… I feel like if I transmigrated into a melodrama world, I would be that kind of green tea antagonist.’
Whenever something happened, it would be, *Sob, sob…* “It’s all my fault. Please don’t blame anyone else.”
Bai Yu had looked down on such behavior before, but now that she was using it herself, she found that this tactic was unexpectedly effective.
*Hehe…*
“What happened after that? How did you survive, Bai Yu?”
“I saw a glimmer of hope, and I was quite far from the center of the battlefield at the time. Since the others didn’t believe me, I had no choice but to run toward that spot first while continuing to try and persuade them, but they still didn’t listen. Finally, just as I reached that spot, I was knocked unconscious by the impact of the explosion. By the time I woke up, I didn’t know how much time had passed. Everything before my eyes had turned to ruins. Everyone… everyone was dead… Minister, was the Pale Witch really killed?”
“I see. Rest assured, the Pale Witch has been killed. You don’t need to worry about that, and you shouldn’t blame yourself, Bai Yu. Also, how is your physical condition?”
“I didn’t sustain many injuries. I was just unconscious for a while.”
“That’s good. We can discuss the detailed process once you return to the Management Bureau. After that, I will arrange an Esper Ability test for you to determine if your rank has increased. Also… Bai Yu, since you’re fine, why didn’t you contact me sooner?”
Even if Bai Yu had been knocked out, she wouldn’t have been unconscious for an entire week.
Having disappeared for so long, the Manager was certain that something must have gone wrong on Bai Yu’s end.
“Regarding that…”
Bai Yu’s voice suddenly became a bit bashful.
“That’s actually due to a small personal matter of mine.”