Scarlett went back to her palace again, but just as she arrived, a familiar voice echoed in her head through telepathy.
"It's me, Aoto. Are you free tomorrow?"
Scarlett blinked and raised her brows. "For what?" she asked in her mind.
"Do you know about the map of the Sword of Athena? The final destination lies inside the territory of the Fifth Demon King. Before, I couldn't go there because of him… but now there is no Fifth Demon King. Haha!" Aoto chuckled, his excitement clearly reaching her through the telepathic link.
Scarlett crossed her arms, thinking carefully. "Hmm… I can talk to Miss Lilith about it and delay her lessons a little," she replied. After a short pause, she agreed, "Okay. But… is Irish going to be there?" she asked with a small gulp, her chest tightening slightly.
"No. She isn't interested in treasure. Of course, if she knew you were going, she would definitely join. For now, it's just me, Ingrassia, and Chiyoko," Aoto answered lightly.
"Well then," Scarlett whispered to herself, half-smiling, "if I find anything useful, I'll give it to Irish as a gift." With that thought, she cut off the telepathic connection.
---
The next morning, Scarlett teleported to a place near the border of the late Fifth Demon King Noir's territory. The air there was heavy, filled with a strange silence that almost seemed unnatural.
As soon as she appeared, she spotted Aoto, Princess Ingrassia, and Chiyoko waiting for her, all dressed in their battle suits. Their faces carried both determination and curiosity.
Scarlett adjusted her gloves and asked calmly, "Are all of you ready?"
Everyone nodded with confidence, though Chiyoko's eyes were darting around nervously.
Following the guidelines from the map, the group set off. The path wasn't easy—dense forests, uneven rocky plains, and the faint traces of demonic energy made every step feel like a test. After about two hours, they finally reached their destination: a massive cave.
The mouth of the cave was terrifying. Shaped like the jaw of a giant beast, its sharp rocky edges resembled teeth, and the shadowy opening looked like a throat leading straight into darkness.
"It… it isn't a trap, right?" Ingrassia asked with a hint of worry in her voice, her eyes fixed on the eerie entrance.
"Why does it matter? If it's a trap, we'll just escape," Scarlett replied without hesitation, her tone calm but strong as she strode towards the cave.
Aoto, Ingrassia, and Chiyoko followed quietly behind her. The air inside was damp and cold, each step echoing against the stone walls. Not far in, they stumbled upon something unsettling—two enormous holes in the ground, wide and dark, with no visible end.
"Are those entrances?" Chiyoko muttered, frowning. "Or are we just going to drop straight into hell if we jump?" She tried to lighten the mood with humor, but no one laughed. The tension was too heavy.
Scarlett stopped, staring into the black depths. After a moment of silence, she said, "We should split into two teams. Each team will take one hole. Whoever finds treasure first will collect it… but we'll still share with the losing team."
Her confident suggestion broke the silence.
"That's a golden idea!" Ingrassia nodded quickly, her relief showing in her tone.
Chiyoko stepped forward eagerly, brushing his hair back. "I'll team up with Scarlett!"he said brightly, trying to sound casual, though his eyes revealed his true intention—wanting to impress.
But before she could take another step, Aoto cut in. "I'll team up with Scarlett!" he declared firmly.
Unlike Chiyoko's motive to shine in front of Scarlett, Aoto had no such thoughts. His reasoning was plain and selfish. He glanced at Scarlett out of the corner of his eye and thought nervously, "If something goes wrong, Scarlett will definitely save me. I don't want to die young."
But just at that moment, Ingrassia stepped forward and gave both Scarlett and Aoto a light smack on their heads.
"One team will be made of girls, and one of boys!" she declared, standing proudly beside Scarlett.
Scarlett tilted her head slightly, then smiled faintly under her blindfold.
"That's also true. Chiyoko and Aoto are strong enough to protect themselves. I can make sure Ingrassia stays safe with me."
"It's decided then!" Scarlett clapped her hands, making the decision final.
No one objected. Everyone quietly accepted the arrangement. Then, without waiting, Scarlett and Ingrassia leapt into the hole on the left, while Aoto and Chiyoko jumped into the one on the right.
The fall felt endless, as though the tunnel stretched into another dimension. Scarlett felt her body light as air, her hair flying upward as though she were being pulled through space itself.
"It's like falling out of the world…"
But suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something strange.
Ingrassia's body began to shimmer, her skin and limbs breaking into shining crystal fragments. One by one, the shards drifted apart and vanished.
"No!!" Scarlett's heart clenched, and her calm expression broke into panic. She reached out desperately, trying to grab Ingrassia's hand—but before she could touch her, Ingrassia's entire body dissolved into glittering dust.
"Fuck, What happened?!!" Scarlett's voice echoed through the void, but it was too late.
Then, almost immediately, Scarlett felt her own body crack and turn into glowing crystal pieces. Her chest tightened as everything around her dissolved, and in the very next instant—
Thud!
Her feet hit solid ground. Scarlett landed lightly, standing on a strange thick floor that stretched endlessly in all directions. A spacious chamber with no walls, no ceiling… only emptiness.
"This place… it feels like I've stepped inside some kind of game." Scarlett thought, her blindfold hiding the faint frown on her face. She realized Ingrassia must have been transported somewhere else entirely.
At that moment, a bright flicker appeared before her eyes. A hologram formed, shimmering like blue glass, and a tall man appeared.
He had sharp ocean-blue eyes, long blue hair that shone like waves, and a strong, perfectly built body. His face looked cut from stone, handsome yet stern.
The man raised his chin and spoke dramatically.
"I'm Viktor, the great Hero—wait, no…" He coughed, flustered. "Welcome, challenger! You have come all the way here, which means you are brave enough to—umm…" He scratched the back of his head, groaning. "Ahh fuck, why is this so hard!?"
Scarlett blinked slowly, her expression dull with disappointment.
"This is the great hero? Really?"
"I mean!" the hologram man suddenly puffed up his chest, trying again. "As you can see, I am the great, great, great Hero Viktor! Surely, there will never be anyone like me ever again! But… since you are watching this, it must mean I'm already dead. What you see now is only the will left behind by my true self!"
Before he could continue his dramatic speech, Scarlett raised her hand casually, cutting him off.
"Uh, can you just… stop rambling and get to the point? I want your sword and treasure. What do I have to do to get them?"
"Eh!?" The hero froze mid-sentence, his confident smile twitching. "K-Kids these days! Do you not know how to respect your elders!? Are all humans in your time like this? Wait—no, you're not human, are you? Did humans join hands with other races already?" His voice grew faster, like an overly curious child bombarding her with questions.
Scarlett didn't even blink. Her blank face said everything—her patience was running out.
"This… this is the man who once fought a True dragon? My image of the first hero is completely ruined."
Noticing her cold silence, Viktor cleared his throat awkwardly and forced a serious tone.
"Alright, alright! Let's skip the extra stuff. Here are the rules for qualification. You will be paired with one person who chose the opposite hole from you. I will ask three questions—yes or no questions. Both of you must give the same answers. If you answer all three with 'yes,' then you will qualify!"
"Wait… it doesn't matter if I understand the question or really mean it, right?" Scarlett tilted her head and asked with a half-curious, half-annoyed tone.
The hero gave a small nod, stretching his arms lazily. "Yes. It's been so long anyway… I'm just waiting for someone to finally take this. Honestly, I'm getting bored here." He let out a tired sigh, as if even talking felt like too much work.
Scarlett's eyes widened, and she almost burst out laughing. "Aha! That's ridiculously easy! Even a second grader's exam questions are harder than this!" she thought to herself, feeling strangely confident for once.
But just then, the hero raised his hand and added with a smirk, "But… both of you have to say yes. If even one of you gets tempted by me, then the tempted one will gain something, while the honest one will lose something. So before you answer, you better trust your partner."
Scarlett's expression froze. "What? What does that even mean?" she mumbled, frowning. Her brows knitted tightly together as she stared at the ground. "Tempted? Honest? Gain and lose? Ugh, I didn't get any of that!" Her head felt heavy, like she was trying to solve a riddle in a foreign language.
The hero's voice snapped her back. "Alright, for the questions. You must choose one of the three themes—Friend, Ambition, or Love."
Scarlett blinked a few times. "Hmm…" she tapped her chin, her mind quickly racing. "Since Irish isn't here, then love is definitely not an option. No way I'm going with that." Her lips twisted into a crooked smile as she thought through the choices.
She raised her hand shyly, almost like a student asking the teacher for permission. "Uh… can I ask who my partner is right now?"
The hero scratched his cheek and answered casually, "Um… it's a blonde-haired man."
Scarlett's eyes lit up instantly. Her lips curled into a small, playful smile. "Heh… then I'll choose friendship."