Amid all the chaos, the young elf vanished from sight as if he'd never been there at all.
The crowd panicked instantly, scattering and searching every corner of every building.
News reporters from multiple stations sprinted around looking for him, but not a single trace of Toly was found.
His fans were even worse—some screamed, some cried on the floor, and even the paramedics he'd called earlier were hardcore fans.
"Toly-sama!!!"
"Prince Toly, where are you!?"
"Your Highness!!"
The entire street turned into a frantic search party.
Ao, completely ignored by everyone, stood there awkwardly before quietly turning to walk home.
His clothes drenched, covered in soot, hair fried into a mess, shirt torn and stained with his own blood—
yet nobody even glanced at him.
He slipped out of the crowd with his bag over his shoulder, avoiding the ambulance Toly had summoned for him, and began the long walk home.
On the way back.
Ao's thoughts drifted back to the fight.
But the more he tried to remember, the more he realized something was… off.
Now that I think about it… my body felt weird back then.
I should've been knocked out from all that electricity. Sure, adrenaline can keep you up for a moment…
but electric shock still makes muscles fail. I should've collapsed.
So what the hell happened…?
His memories came in fragments, as if someone had ripped pages out of a book.
Only one thing felt clear— for a brief moment, his body had felt light, feather-like…
completely different from the crushing heaviness before blackout.
And now— the heaviness was very much back.
Ao groaned, clutching his shoulder as a wave of pain crawled through him.
Twilight.
The horizon dimmed. Crows fell silent. Streetlights flickered on one by one.
At Ao's apartment—
"A-chan!! Who did you pick a fight with this time!?"
His mother's scream shook the walls the moment she saw him. Shock turned into exasperation in seconds.
"Seriously—why are you THIS messed up today!?"
"It's… a long story." Ao turned away, replying flatly as she scolded him.
She slumped into a chair, rubbing her temples.
"Well… at least it looks like you're not fatally injured… whatever."
"The wounds? Yeah… a mage helped me out."
The moment he said it, her face drained of color.
"A mage? …Which one?"
"I dunno, I forgot the name. Something like an elf mage—"
Before he could finish, she grabbed his shoulders—hard—her face twisted in panic.
"This is bad, A-chan. REALLY bad."
"What? What's wrong?"
"Listen carefully. Starting today, you must NEVER go outside showing your real identity."
"Are you saying I might—"
"It can happen to anyone. Anyone who isn't careful…"
The air grew so heavy Ao could barely breathe. He gently lowered her hands, signaling her to calm down.
"You—you want me to calm down!?"
She snapped before managing to steady herself.
A pair of small heads peeked from behind the doorway—his younger siblings watching nervously.
Both adults froze for a second, then their expressions softened.
While cooking dinner, his mother kept flipping through news channels nonstop, searching for something with a tense, focused expression.
"Seriously… can you stop already? You're stressing me out."
"I CAN'T! If what I'm thinking is true, our lives are about to be flipped upside down!"
"Come on, it won't happen. The elf guy had tons of fans. Nobody even looked at me."
"That's not guaranteed…"
"No cameras pointed at me! Not a single one."
At that, she finally stopped pressing the remote.
"Well… that's at least some relief…" she sighed, slumping back.
"Just some?"
"You don't know Toly well enough."
"So his name IS Toly. And how do you know him?"
"No—nothing!" Her voice pitched up unnaturally.
"I… heard about him from someone."
"Doesn't sound reliable then."
"Whatever! Thinking about this is giving me a headache. HEY! When's dinner ready!?"
Ao sighed and turned back to chopping vegetables.
Yeah, yeah… I know she's worried I might end up in the news again. But there's no way I'd go viral twice in my life.
Even when I do something good, my bad reputation always buries it. Honestly?
I was kinda relieved nobody cared about me yesterday.
Well… except…
His expression softened.
I guess I did want something, even if just a little. But forget it. I'll just finish school. Start over.
I fought yesterday for my dream, not anyone else. But…
He paused.
…I only stood back up because I saw my classmates were scared.
He groaned internally.
Tch. So I DID care, huh…
That night.
The kids slept soundly, snoring through the hallway.
Their mother sat alone in the living room, surrounded by a mountain of documents, eyes bloodshot from stress.
"I can't believe… of all people… that damn Toly showed up in THIS city…"
She scratched her head furiously.
"What made him come back now…?"
She tossed the paperwork aside and sank into the chair with a deep sigh.
Then she reached into her suit pocket and pulled out a crumpled photograph.
Her expression softened—then tightened.
It was a picture of her and Renzo, smiling brightly while holding newborn Ao.
"Renzo… where did you go…"
Her hands trembled as she gripped the photo.
The next morning.
The TV broadcasted morning news.
Ao stared, jaw dropped, face pale.
His siblings, on the other hand, were practically bouncing with excitement.
The footage was unmistakable— Ao fighting the three bank robbers, fists swinging, lightning exploding around him.
The video had gone viral overnight, surpassing a million views across platforms.
"What… the hell… is happening…"
Ao slowly lifted his trembling hands. His expression shifted—
—from shock to a small, growing smile.
'Even though I told myself I didn't care… why am I…'
His hands shook harder— not from fear, but from overwhelming emotion.
'I'm…
I'm actually proud of myself.'
A single tear almost escaped.
Ao grinned.