As I said, Lyra rushed forward, her sword engulfed in red flames. She struck at me, slicing through the air with a fierce determination. I calmly sidestepped, feeling the heat of the flames as they swept past me, and in a flash, I moved in front of her. With a quick, precise motion, I tapped her lightly on the head with my finger before darting back about ten meters.
In this form, I felt overpowered. My senses were heightened, and I could perceive everything in slow motion. The destructive potential of this form was immense; I could collapse a ten-story building or create a mini earthquake within a mile radius. But right now, I just wanted to play and relax, especially with the pressure from the author looming over me. It was my way of releasing all this pent-up anger.
Lyra stumbled backward, the impact of my touch sending her crashing against the wall. She hit it so hard that she could barely stand. I approached her slowly, sensing her struggle to regain her footing. Each time she tried to get up, she faltered, determination etched on her face.
"Did you really give up that easily?," I said, my voice steady.
With a grunt, she pushed herself off the ground, her eyes narrowing as she glared at me. "I won't lose!" She charged again, this time with more caution. I could see the flames flickering on her sword as she prepared to strike.
Anticipating her next move, I fingered her on the head and hit the wall so hard that she could barely stand up. Ok, now calm down guys you know what you were thinking when I narrated the word fingered, I know the meaning but it's not what you think it is. So, calm down.
As I slowly walked over, she was struggling to get up, her legs wobbling as she attempted to steady herself. Each time she rose, she faltered, dropping back down. When I finally stood before her, she looked up at me, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and frustration.
"You are pathetic," I said coldly.
Despite her condition, I reached out and helped her to her feet, resting her arm on my shoulder to give her some support. Her expression, though still dazed, seemed to shift. There was something deeper going on behind those eyes, something I couldn't quite put my finger on.
[POV: Lyra]
The reason I challenged Levi to this duel wasn't out of pride or arrogance. It was because of the system's mission. The instructions were clear: I had to duel him and say those cringeworthy words, "Hmph, you'll regret that later. When I win, you'll kneel before me ten times for proposing that bet and be my slave for five years because of your arrogance."
When I first saw the mission, I was mortified. Who, in their right mind, says something like that? It's embarrassing! But the system promised that following through with the mission would help me find the AbyssWalker more easily, and that was something I couldn't ignore.
So I accepted the duel, reluctantly. But now, after being utterly defeated, all I could feel was overwhelming humiliation. His words, "You are pathetic," echoed in my mind, triggering something I hadn't felt in a long time. It brought back memories I thought I had buried—memories of my previous life, and the torment I endured. It felt like a wave of PTSD crashing over me.
And then...he helped me up. Why? I thought. Was this some kind of mockery, or was he genuinely trying to help? As he supported me, my thoughts spiraled. Could he be the AbyssWalker the system was trying to lead me to? The system had promised that this duel would guide me, and Levi had just spoken the exact same words that Abbysswalker had spoken from my previous life. It also feels like they both have the same cold voice.
The system had even glitched for a moment when I activated my all-seeing eye on him, which only deepened my confusion. Who is this guy, really? Could he be like me, reborn and given a system of his own? The possibility gnawed at me as my mind raced for answers.
As my thoughts spun, trying to make sense of everything, Levi's voice snapped me back to reality.
"Now, do you want to keep your promise to me or not?"
"It's just a small thing for me. I just need to be your girlfriend, that's it, right?"
Even in my previous life, he was the one I got engaged to because my father had made some oath to his father back in their school days. But that was supposed to happen ten years from now, not today.
"What a tsundere you are," I heard him say.
"I am not!" I shouted embarrassingly.
[Pov: Levi]
Well, I thought I would have much more fun with her, but she's weak, even though she's a Kyros-Initial. Sure, she's hiding her core, and she can use mana of that rank, but her physical output is lacking. In my opinion, she's weak—but beautiful.
Still, I shouldn't be thinking about love or anything like that. This is just a mission given to me, nothing more. Well, I don't care about that anymore. I'll just be her boyfriend for a while and move on. After all, I never experienced this in my previous life. I want to know what it feels like to have a girlfriend.
I think even the author's never had a girlfr— Oh my god, shit, I barely missed that missile.
[Host, you got a message from the author. Do you want me to open it?]
See, this barely missed. I think something's about to happen.
[Fuck you, bitch. I should've given you a side character role, not even the villain. As your dear author, it's my responsibility to take care of the characters in the story. So, here comes your favorite time: penalty time. Your system will be weakened for 30 seconds. Enjoy it.]
This author... such a f— no, calm down, cool, cool.
While Levi was trying to cool down, beside him, Lyra's skill, All-seeing Eye, activated automatically. She caught a glimpse of Levi's status and was so shocked that her jaw dropped. Well, I won't show you the status since I already mentioned it in some chapter I forgot. Everything except his physique and skills was visible, but after 30 seconds, the system reverted to an error message.
Somewhere in the universe, there was a vast white space. In the middle of it stood a solitary house. Inside the house, in a quiet room, there was a table with a book resting on it. Letters appeared slowly on the pages, as if being written by an invisible hand. Yet, no one was in the room, nor in the white space. Everything was still and silent.