[Host, you have died.]
The woman suddenly froze, her hand rising to rest gently on her forehead.
"Oh no... I didn't just..." she muttered, Her lips slightly as she watched the boy's body crumble to ash his essence dissolving into the still air like dust caught in a lazy wind.
"Tch... I didn't mean to." A sigh escaped her lips. Her gaze fell with a faint trace of regret.
She hadn't wanted to kill him.
Not really.
It was just… she got a little emotional. Her eyes had narrowed reflexively and apparently, that was enough.
"How can someone be this... fragile?" she mumbled, rubbing her temple in frustration.
She had been alone for so long too long. To finally have a living soul show up, and then… poof. Gone. Just like that.
"Will someone else ever come here again?" she whispered, a rare vulnerability lacing her words. "I could've at least had some chatter..."
She shook her head, lost in disappointment.
But just then
"Ehhh?! Why did you kill me, woman?! At least let me answer!"
A voice suddenly rang out interrupting her brooding thoughts.
Her head snapped to the side.
Eyes narrowed.
Presence detected.
Her brow arched slowly as her gaze settled on the same boy Razeal standing exactly where he'd been just moments before he turned to dust.
"Huh?"
She blinked. Once.
Then again.
The surprise flickered for a split second across her face… and vanished.
She narrowed her eyes, examining him. Deeply. Deliberately.
"He's not an illusion. Not a clone… Not time magic either. No residue of any technique…" she muttered to herself like a scientist running through a checklist.
"The body is real. Same soul. Exact presence."
Then came the conclusion, spoken with the eerie calm of someone too used to the abnormal.
"He… revived."
No shock. No wide eyes. No step back.
Just… pure analysis. Cold curiosity.
She'd seen worse.
"Oh that?" Razeal replied, shrugging. His confidence returned, albeit awkwardly.
"I don't know how, honestly. But... I just can't die." His voice was firmer than before. Less afraid. A subtle shift.
At least now I know I can revive. No more pressure. No more shame he thought to himself
The woman blinked slowly again.
[Host, you have died.]
Razeal reappeared in the same spot, stunned.
"…Why did you kill me again?!"
She tilted her head, lips curling faintly in amusement.
"So… you really can revive," she said, finally intrigued. "How interesting…"
Her eyes studied him anew.
"I'm guessing you died before coming here too… Like me." She tapped a finger to her chin.
"Though I never tried dying here, but considering I haven't aged in Eons maybe longer... I assume I can't."
Each word she spoke was matter-of-fact. Calculated. Accurate.
"If you didn't die in the real world, then… it must be this strange space that makes you immortal. A sealed world. That would explain it."
'System… did she just read my mind?!' Razeal panicked internally, eyes twitching. 'Or did she just guess all that?! How the hell did she come that close to the truth in seconds?!'
She didn't even consider that he might have some artifact or divine item.
She just skipped straight past all that right to the likely scenario.
[She didn't read your mind, Host. This information is protected. Her deduction is based on reading your microexpressions and logic. She isn't SSS-Rank Villain for nothing. Such observational skills are… absolute.]
'She's a monster,' Razeal gulped, stiffening.
'How the fuck is this even fair?'
Her voice broke his thoughts again.
"Let me guess," she said smoothly, resting her chin on her hand, eyes locked on his soul.
"You can travel freely between that world and this one. You came here to get stronger… because here, you can't die. No danger. Just training and growth."
She smirked faintly.
"And if you manage to convince me, you get skills. Experience. Power. All without risking anything."
She watched his face reading it like an open book.
"That's it, I see?"
'She's reading my fucking soul,' Razeal thought in silent horror. 'She's dissecting me without even lifting a hand…'
"You really don't know who I am?" she suddenly asked, voice dipping slightly.
That snapped him back.
"Huh?! N-No, I know! I know your title it's not like I don't know anything, ma'am," he blurted out.
He added ma'am with force, as if it would earn him some mercy points.
She chuckled, amused by the panic practically painted on his face.
"Title?" she echoed, tapping her lips thoughtfully. "Hmm, I do have many... But if you know me, then you must know the greatest one."
Her gaze sharpened again.
"So what is it?" A glint of curiosity shone in her eye deep, almost unnerving.
"The one title that remained immortalized… even after trillions of years?"
Razeal swallowed hard.
"It's… 'The Strongest Mother.'"
[Host, you have died again.]
The throne armrest shattered under her grip.
Her eyes turned pitch black deep, infinite voids of fury.
"You… DARE?!" she roared.
"You dare mock me, kid?!"
Razeal, who had just revived again, stared blankly.
"…What the hell just happened?"
His voice came out flat bewildered more than afraid this time.
System… seriously. What's wrong with her? Does she have some kind of divine personality disorder or what?!
[I have no idea either, Host. She's just being a Villain. But honestly... try to learn from her. This is halfway to the correct mindset a Villain should have.]
'It's on its bullshit again.' Razeal clenched his fist, resisting the urge to punch thin air.
I swear, one day I'll land a punch on this damned System…
Meanwhile, her words still echoed faintly in the strange space cutting sharper than any blade.
'Did I say something wrong...? Was that title incorrect?'
Panic crawled up his spine like ice.
'I knew it. This damned System this treacherous bastard must've fed me false information just to screw me over!'
His eyes darted up again, landing on her still seated atop her throne, now missing an entire armrest.
She had crushed it.
With her bare hand.
He gulped.
---