'He... will definitely not let me go.'
Her eyes darkened. The feeling of alarm when his identity and whereabouts were revealed, along with his extremely arrogant declaration of war, made Irel extremely scared.
“Rel, what exactly happened?”
Michael stared at Chellos' pink hair, lowering his voice questioningly.
"Varkan Ha Marshiran, he is Masaka of the Royal Capital! So how did he know about my existence..."
Irel also really wanted to know. After all, why did Varkan have to go to this extent? If it was because of the murder she witnessed that day, it would have been easier for him to send an assassin to kill her at night. He is a Masaka who possesses terrible power, so even if he takes action himself, everything will be resolved neatly.
However, she couldn't understand why he sent one
flower basket
like that. It was as if he was proposing to her.
Just as Irel was immersed in chaos, the Main Quest window, which had not vibrated for a long time, suddenly made a "ding" sound.
[Quest “Prevent Destruction” UPDATED: Reach 80 or more sympathy level with Varkan Ha Marsh.]
‘…What?’
Irel rubbed her eyes, but the updated mission content remained unchanged. This caused her to temporarily fall into a state of panic.
The encounter with Varkan, brief but intense, was like something out of a horror movie. It was an experience she could endure once, but there was no way she wanted to watch it a second or third time.
Yet, she had to continue meeting that man, and raise her sympathy level from negative to 80? What does that have to do with preventing her destruction?
While Irel was still stunned, from somewhere suddenly rang out a cry of pain.
“…Aaa, no way!!”
Turning her head in surprise, she saw Luiza's face turning pale as if she was about to collapse. Her wide eyes were fixed on the flower box blocking the main door.
“No, this must be a nightmare.”
"Mom! What's wrong with you?"
Seeing Luiza looking like she had just suffered a huge shock, Irel also panicked. Her reaction seemed unusual, but as a mother who loved her daughter very much, perhaps it was understandable that she was frightened by this commotion.
"Mom, wait a minute. This... is like this..."
Even though she was confused, Irel still stammered to calm Luiza. But all efforts were in vain, Luiza's face became more and more pale, then her pupils finally turned upside down, and she slowly fainted.
"Mom!!"
Irel quickly reached out to support Luiza, preventing her from falling to the cold marble floor. But before she could do anything, a man with a cold, quiet appearance suddenly appeared and supported Luiza on her behalf.
Irel stopped awkwardly, not knowing what to do, then raised his head to look at the man. His bright silver hair seemed to contain light. The man placed his hand on Luiza's neck to check his pulse, then breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he turned his head, his blue eyes looking straight at Irel.
“Rel, daughter.”
Contrary to her cold appearance, the voice that called her was extremely gentle. That's natural. That man is Calver Elorance, Marquis of the Frontier, biological father of Irel and Michael.
“Dad heard the news and just returned from the Border.”
The face of Calver, who had traveled a long way to return to his youngest daughter, was filled with sadness. His blue eyes, identical to Irel's, slowly scanned the front yard. Exactly three words
‘Varkan Ha Marsh’
engraved on a box full of flowers.
“Tell me the truth.”
“Yes, talk about… what?”
Irel felt blank in the midst of this chaos but still obediently asked again. Calver, with a bloodless face, solemnly asked his youngest daughter:
“Have you ever been discovered by Masaka? That you… are one
Receiver
.”
"Yes? What's that about...?"
Are you a Receiver?
Irel was extremely surprised by Calver's soft question. She looked up at her father, wondering if this was a bad joke, but he wasn't one to say platitudes.
Receiver. Couple for Masaka. Existence could neutralize their pain and calm the boiling power.
According to mythology, the Chief God Hashba created Masaka to prevent humanity from being swallowed by Keytan. But Masaka was in extreme pain because the power was too great for the human body to endure. Taking pity on that, the Lord God specially created Receiver to be their life partner and bestowed it upon them.
However, the number of Receivers is even less than the noble Masaka. For this reason, most Masaka search desperately for a Receiver, like an addict searching for a drug.
Yet she is 'That' - a Receiver. Faced with this unbelievable reality, Irel felt like he had been hit in the head.
‘No way. I'm clearly just an unnamed supporting character...'
At that moment, Michael stood beside him, trembling and mumbling:
“Those damned Masakas.”
His deep voice was filled with certainty, leaving no doubt.
"You were just discovered at the Lord God's Temple last week! And now you smell it and follow it!!"
At this moment, Irel suddenly understood. What exactly is that 'earth-shattering story' that Michael mentioned?
Their family went to Chu Than Temple last week. And Irel Elorance was definitely discovered there. No one else, just one
‘Receiver’
for Masaka.
‘Ah.’
Finally, Raeyeon could understand it all. Michael kept secretly checking on his sister in a strange way, Luiza was worried every time her daughter disappeared even for a moment, and also why Varkan, who was cruel, let her go home alive.
All of these issues are explained clearly, if Irel Elorance is a Receiver.
‘He knew from the beginning.’
That day, Varkan did not let her survive for nothing. Perhaps the moment their eyes met, Varkan realized. The truth is she is a Receiver.
It was foolish of her to expect him to forget her. Receiver is an existence no different from Masaka's backup life, there is absolutely no way he will let go.
"Then, I will take my leave. Irel Elorance, precious Receiver."
Just then, Varkan's subordinate, Chellos, bowed. Hearing this greeting that clearly put an end to all this chaos, Irel felt hopeless.
Now, all that's left are bunches of lilies piled high on the black cart, filling the front yard. The flower petals waved aimlessly in the wind, looking like ghosts waving their pale hands, signaling bad luck.
Her eyes blurred when she saw that scene. Her body, which had been tortured by stress all this time, had definitely reached its limit.
With such a weak constitution, but being the Receiver to bear the evil spirit on Masaka's behalf, the fate is so ironic. Furthermore, Masaka chose her as the most powerful and evil person in the Royal Capital. Remembering his lovely face, as beautiful as a poisoned poppy, her head spun.
"Irel, what's wrong? Wake up!!"
Michael's cry of terror also dispersed meaninglessly in the air. Just like the scene where the Elorance family was destroyed by a single flower that Varkan sent.
When she opened her eyes again, she was in a dream. She blinked, looked around at the interior of an ancient mansion, and then sighed deeply.
‘Here again.’
This is a familiar place. The largest and most beautiful living room of Irel's house, Duke Elorance.
It was sad that even in her dreams, she couldn't escape the game world. However, the fortunate thing is that now she has returned to Raeyeon's perspective, not Irel Elorance's.
The reason Raeyeon realized this is very simple. When she accidentally looked around, she saw a familiar face.
‘Oh?’
That was the owner of the body she was temporarily borrowing, Irel Elorance. Raeyeon moved closer to her with vague joy, but it seemed like Irel couldn't see her.
Raeyeon tilted her head and observed the girl with curious eyes. Blue eyes surrounded by pale lashes, as beautiful as a gemstone. In particular, the lines on the side of the face from the forehead, bridge of the nose to the lips, are as delicate as if drawn.
But that beautiful face was disfigured by despair and fear, unable to radiate its natural radiance.
“S, how could you… do such a terrible thing… like this…”
Sitting down on the blood-stained floor, Irel seemed to have lost all will to stand up. Her eyes, looking up with trembling stiff lips, were extremely confused.
"Why? Why...?"
The question was as weak as it was about to die, hanging in the air. The despair contained in that voice was so genuine that Raeyeon, who was listening, felt her skin crawl.
‘What is this? Why is the dream so vivid today?'
It's different than usual. Not vague dreams like being lost in a fog, difficult to remember after waking up.
Raeyeon really felt like she was present at a scene. Thanks to that, she could directly see and hear. A bloody and miserable future is about to befall poor Irel Elorance.
“Ah, why did I do that?”
At that moment, a man seemingly born from her scarlet despair appeared with an overwhelming presence. Her face was seductive and fierce, like a God of War had descended, making Raeyeon's eyes widen.
‘Varkan Ha Marsh.’
Right in the middle of the Elorance family's living room, he still looked calm like a master. His face even showed a smile, contrasting with Irel's pale expression, making the scene even more unrealistic.
The moment she saw that, Raeyeon realized. This dream is about to show her something very important.