Chapter 5: Nothing

The afternoon was peaceful and serene.

Aimoer was sitting in a corner on the fourth floor of the library, with a large pile of yellowed ancient books stacked beside her.

She tugged at her hair, chewed on the end of her pen, and wore a look of utter headache.

She had underestimated Naya’s ability to hide.

She had searched the entire vast library, but…

Nothing.

There was nothing.

Damn it.

Was she going to be defeated here?

Aimoer flipped through the ancient texts unwillingly, then took a deep breath, closed a book, and pulled out a blank sheet of paper.

‘Maybe I should try a different approach?’

Aimoer took out the pendant; the silver inverted pentagram glittered under the light.

She twirled her pen, and a new idea quickly formed in her mind.

Since a direct search wasn’t working, she would split her efforts into two paths: first, investigate the pendant’s design; second, prepare for the possibility of returning empty-handed by looking up information on famous large libraries, so that after the mission in the City of Purification was over, she could make a stop to consult those records.

After organizing her thoughts, Aimoer immediately took action again.

Soon, she had an answer.

[Inverted pentagram: a symbol of anti-sacred and anti-tradition]

Well, it really was a heretical evil object.

Seeing that she had a lead, Aimoer felt a surge of joy and was about to follow this clue further, but the result—

Was still nothing.

According to this clue, Naya should be connected to some still-existing secret cult.

She had thought that by checking the materials on cults, she could find some trace.

But aside from line after line of records of crusades and annihilations, there was nothing else.

Could it be a newly emerged cult?

Or…

Aimoer thought of the most cliché outcome.

This thing wasn’t that mysterious at all.

Maybe she was overthinking it.

It might have just been established recently, just an ordinary promotional tactic or something.

At that thought, Aimoer’s eye twitched.

‘It can’t… really be like that, can it?’

She closed the book with trembling hands, feeling as if Naya’s lofty and impressive image had instantly shattered.

But she still refused to give up and looked up information on those large libraries, thinking that maybe this place was just too small and didn’t have the more secretive materials.

‘Right, right, it must be that.’

Aimoer hypnotized herself, then put the books away and walked out of the library with a displeased look.

‘Oh, I’m begging you, it can’t really just be a small-time cult. If it is, then what am I supposed to do?’

Aimoer scratched her head in irritation, thought it over for a long time, and finally decided to buy a small cake to calm down.

ding-a-ling—

Aimoer walked into her favorite dessert shop.

At this time, the shop was quiet and empty.

The only customers in sight were a pair of twin sisters—one with black hair, one with white hair—and a black-haired girl wearing a large hat, sitting in the corner enjoying desserts.

“Tiramisu and Snow Mountain Berry Drink, to go.”

After briefly telling the clerk, Aimoer found an empty seat and sat down.

She looked at the only three customers in the shop, all of whom were stunningly beautiful, and let out a deep sigh.

‘When will I ever live a life where I can just crook my finger and have pretty little girls throw themselves into my arms?’

Aimoer rested her chin in her hand, took out the inverted pentagram pendant from her pocket, and sighed again in resignation.

‘Better just throw this thing away. If the Church finds it one day, it’ll be hard to explain. I shouldn’t have any illusions about this kind of intangible stuff.’

Aimoer wrapped it in a piece of paper and crumpled it up, wondering which trash can to throw it in later.

“Your tiramisu and Snow Mountain Berry Drink, to go.”

Just as she was thinking, the small dessert she had ordered was finally brought out.

‘Sigh, I might as well go back and lie down.’

Aimoer picked up the small paper bag, wagged her tail contentedly, and hummed a tune as she walked through Glory City.

‘A bite of cake, a sip of sweet drink. This is really how life should be lived.’

Ever since she came to this world, Aimoer had completely fallen in love with sweets.

Life was already bitter enough; how could she not have something sweet?

However—

Walking in Glory City, Aimoer suddenly shivered, and her tail stood up alertly.

The streets were still bustling, but her years of experience as an undercover operative told her that something was wrong.

She calmly took out her sweet drink and took a sip.

The sweet sensation spread in her mouth, manifesting outwardly as a rippling smile.

As the sweet drink entered her mouth, Aimoer felt her fatigue completely swept away, and her senses sharpened considerably.

She began to carefully observe her surroundings and finally noticed the anomaly.

‘The movements of these passersby are looping over and over.’

That meant she was probably no longer in Glory City; the lively street was nothing but an illusion.

Aimoer picked up a convenient longsword from a street vendor’s weapon stall, then carefully placed her dessert in front of the stall, stood in the middle of the street, and swallowed nervously.

“Stop pretending. Your illusion magic is far too crude.”

Aimoer felt her legs trembling slightly.

Although the words she shouted were full of energy, in reality, she had no confidence at all.

Someone who could brazenly use such a large-scale illusion in the human capital—how could she possibly beat them?

The situation now was like—

“This is walking, this is jumping, this is attacking. This is the ultimate world boss at level 99,999. Okay, you’ve learned the basic controls. Now go defeat it!”

A flicker of despair rose in Aimoer’s heart.

‘Why do all the crappy things have to happen to me? Do I really have to fight this? I feel like after two moves, the other side will be kneeling and begging me not to die.’

Aimoer was still considering whether there was any chance to escape, but at that moment, the sky began to shatter.

She looked up.

Everything around her fell like snowflakes, and soon all that remained before her eyes was a void.

Immediately after, sharp, chaotic, and indistinguishable sounds rang in her ears, piercing her until she felt dizzy and nauseous.

[NAYA SUPREMACY!]

[NAYA WILL RETURN!]

[NAYA WILL RULE THE WORLD!]

‘It’s over. I’m really done for this time.’

Aimoer struggled to prop herself up.

Her head was splitting with pain, and her heart was pounding as if it would burst out of her chest.

She used the longsword to cut off a piece of her sleeve, rolled it into earplugs, and stuffed them in her ears.

Without those noisy sounds, her condition improved somewhat.

She gripped the longsword tightly with both hands.

Her vision was blurry, and vaguely, in the void, Aimoer seemed to see…

It was a huge phantom.

Its body and head were empty inside, its limbs floating weakly, as if the void itself had grown hands and feet.

Just looking at it was enough to chill one to the bone and breed fear.

‘No way to win. I’m out of my depth.’

Aimoer stepped back, but still held the longsword tightly, her face showing both fear and a hint of desperate resolve.

Now, Aimoer finally saw—[the Void] was raising a greatsword, swinging it down toward her head.

Along the path of the falling greatsword, not only was space collapsing, but even Aimoer’s conceptual memory of the word “escape” was being severed.

She found that she had forgotten how to dodge, and even how to scream.

‘I haven’t even enjoyed the good life yet, and it’s already going to end?’