Chapter 3 — The Girl Who Feared the Demon King

"Wait."

The elf's sword was still pointed at me.

"You're telling me I'm carrying the power of the Demon King?"

She nodded.

"Yes."

"And you aren't going to kill me?"

"I haven't decided."

I stared at her.

"That's reassuring."

Nero growled beside me.

The elf immediately shifted her sword toward him.

Nero's ears flattened.

I stepped between them.

"Relax."

The wolf stopped growling.

The elf's eyes widened.

"You really can command it."

"I guess."

"That's impossible."

"You've said that about five times already."

She ignored me.

Instead, she studied me carefully.

"What's your name?"

I opened my mouth.

Then stopped.

My old name suddenly felt strangely distant.

It belonged to the person who had died on Earth.

The person who had spent years waiting for tomorrow.

The person who never really did anything with his life.

I looked toward the sky.

"...Kai."

The name came naturally.

"My name is Kai."

The elf repeated it.

"Kai."

She lowered her sword slightly.

"I'm Lyra."

A system window appeared.

[NAME REGISTERED]

[KAI]

[LEVEL: 1]

[RACE: HUMAN]

[CLASS: NONE]

[AUTHORITY: SOVEREIGN]

I stared at it.

"So you can see my status?"

Lyra frowned.

"Status?"

"This."

I pointed toward the floating window.

She stared at the empty air.

"There is nothing there."

I froze.

"You can't see it?"

"No."

I waved my hand through the window.

"You seriously can't see this?"

Lyra shook her head.

"Are you sure you're not insane?"

I sighed.

"That's exactly what I was afraid of."

We spent the next hour walking through the forest.

Lyra led the way.

Nero followed behind us.

And I tried to understand this new world.

According to Lyra, the continent was called Eldoria.

Humans, elves, dwarves, beastfolk and demons lived across it.

Magic existed everywhere.

But magic wasn't the only source of power.

Every person was born with something called a Gift.

Some could control fire.

Some could heal wounds.

Some could strengthen their bodies.

Others possessed strange abilities that couldn't easily be explained.

"The stronger the Gift," Lyra explained, "the higher someone's rank."

"What ranks?"

"F through S."

I nodded.

"Anything above S?"

Lyra became quiet.

"Legends speak of SS and EX."

"And the Demon King?"

She looked at me.

"EX."

I stopped walking.

"That's a problem."

"Yes."

"What happened to him?"

Lyra's expression darkened.

"He disappeared three hundred years ago."

I looked at her.

"Disappeared?"

"After the final war."

She continued walking.

"The Demon King was defeated by six heroes."

"Six?"

"Six reincarnated heroes."

I stopped again.

"Reincarnated?"

Lyra turned.

"Yes."

My heart began beating faster.

"People from Earth?"

She stared at me.

"How do you know about Earth?"

I froze.

"...Lucky guess."

Lyra clearly didn't believe me.

But she continued.

"The six heroes came from another world. They were summoned by the gods."

I remembered the voice from the darkness.

Between worlds.

"How strong were they?"

"Strong enough to defeat the Demon King."

"All six survived?"

Lyra shook her head.

"Only one."

"Who?"

She looked toward the mountains.

"The Hero King."

I frowned.

"And the others?"

"Dead."

"How?"

"No one knows."

We continued walking.

Something about the story bothered me.

Six reincarnated heroes.

One survived.

A Demon King.

And now me.

Three hundred years later.

Coincidence?

I didn't believe in coincidences anymore.

By sunset, we reached the edge of the forest.

I saw it for the first time.

A city.

Huge stone walls stretched across the horizon.

Towers rose above them, each covered in glowing blue crystals.

Thousands of people entered through the enormous gates.

Humans.

Elves.

Dwarves.

People with animal ears.

People carrying swords.

People wearing robes.

This was a real fantasy world.

I smiled.

"Finally."

Lyra looked at me.

"What?"

"A city."

She sighed.

"Before we enter, you need to understand something."

"What?"

"You cannot tell anyone about your Authority."

"Why?"

"Because the moment someone discovers you possess Sovereign..."

She looked at Nero.

"...the kingdom will send its strongest soldiers."

"And?"

"And they'll kill you."

I nodded.

"Got it."

She looked surprised.

"You're not scared?"

I looked at the enormous city ahead.

Then at the black mark on my hand.

"No."

I smiled.

"I'm curious."

The City of Arkenfall

The city gate was crowded.

A guard stopped us.

"Identification."

Lyra handed him a small crystal.

The guard touched it.

A blue light appeared.

[LYRA — HIGH ELF]

[LEVEL: 31]

The guard nodded.

"Welcome back."

Then he looked at me.

"Your turn."

I stepped forward.

He handed me the crystal.

I touched it.

Nothing happened.

The guard frowned.

"Again."

I touched it.

Nothing.

He pressed the crystal against my hand.

Still nothing.

The guard's expression changed.

"What's wrong with this thing?"

Another guard came over.

"Give it to me."

He tried.

Nothing.

Then another.

Nothing.

Soon, five guards were surrounding me.

Lyra quietly stepped backward.

"Kai..."

"What?"

"I think we have a problem."

The captain approached.

He was an enormous man wearing silver armor.

"Boy."

"Yeah?"

"Who are you?"

"Kai."

"Where are you from?"

I hesitated.

"Far away."

The captain narrowed his eyes.

"What's your Gift?"

I smiled awkwardly.

"I don't have one."

Silence.

The guards looked at each other.

Then the captain laughed.

"Everyone has a Gift."

"Apparently not me."

He grabbed my wrist.

The moment he touched me—

BOOM!

A wave of black energy exploded from my body.

Every magical crystal in the gate shattered.

The guards were thrown backward.

People screamed.

The city bells began ringing.

Lyra stared at me in horror.

"Kai..."

I looked at my hand.

The black mark was glowing.

A notification appeared.

[WORLD LAW VIOLATION]

[FOREIGN AUTHORITY DETECTED]

[SUPPRESSION FAILED]

[SOVEREIGN HAS REJECTED THE WORLD'S LAWS.]

Then another message appeared.

[NEW TITLE ACQUIRED]

[THE UNBOUND]

The city gates began closing.

Soldiers rushed toward us.

Lyra grabbed my arm.

"Run!"

I looked at the hundreds of soldiers approaching.

Then at Nero.

Then at Lyra.

"Where?"

She pointed toward the city.

"Anywhere!"

I smiled.

"Great."

I had been in this world for less than a day.

And somehow—

I had already become a wanted criminal.

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