From the moment Willow first appeared on Evangeline’s stream, many people felt that the way she spoke on camera didn’t seem like someone new to streaming at all. She livened things up with just the right amount of jokes, and kept the stream captivating with her flashy skills.

“This is just my gut feeling, but if anyone goes in there, they're definitely going to get mobbed like crazy. Hear that? That's an M4, this one's a sniper, and I hear a shotgun, too.”

[I mean... I get how she can tell the difference in sounds, but seriously, how good is her hearing...?]

[Can you even call that just good hearing? Does she have perfect pitch or some shit?]

[Fact: you need to listen super closely to distinguish them, but when there are bazillions guns firing at once, it’s super difficult to tell.]

“Are you guys idiots? How do you not know this?”

[Flexing...]

[Smoooth flex.]

“Alright, whatever. That side looks dangerous, and the fight zone is generally in this direction...” Willow paused to think, then squinted as she scoped out the terrain. “Guess I'll have to go through the exclusion zone. Of all times, it had to be during the last round...”

[Huh?]

[Yo, Teacher, if you go into the restricted zone now, it's gonna hurt like hell!]

[Are you trying to get killed?]

[Though it’s a good idea, it's way too far. It's gonna chunk the shit outta you]

“If I just go straight in the normal way, I'll lose no matter what I do. The calculation’s perfect.”

Saying that, she carefully checked her surroundings and used an incremental first aid kit while still at full HP.

She cracked her neck like she was calculating something, then dove into the zone without hesitation.

The restricted zone dealt immense damage, given the damage-over-time increased the longer a player stayed in it, but the moment she finished her clumsy healing, she began to sprint furiously.

Bang! Bang! Bang!!

Confirming the distant gunshots, she ran at top speed, sliding precariously back into the safe zone, where she immediately used another first aid kit.

“See? Told you I could do it.”

[Nah, I've seen stuff like that, but that was seriously reckless.]

[How did she even calculate that...?]

[Holy crap, look at how low her health is OMEGALUL she would’ve been toast if she got hit even once.]

“Sometimes, you just have to gamble with your life on the line.”

The moment she finished healing, she climbed up a wall and sprayed her rifle at the head of a player. They were so focused on shooting that they never even noticed her approach.

“Oh, his armor is already broken.”

Only one enemy remained.

The opponent seemed to have received the message that the armor of the player who had just died was destroyed, and he was approaching quickly.

However, he seemed unaware that the player he was just fighting had died. That was because Willow had stolen the last hit and was bluffing, pretending to be the knocked-out player.

Since he didn’t hear any healing sounds, he pushed in, confident that he’d win.

She threw the grenade in her hand and immediately jumped off the stairs with her rifle. Now, the grenade was behind him and she was in front.

The opponent chose to quickly dodge the grenade and face her head-on. He figured he'd win for sure, since his opponent's armor was destroyed.

“Welcome to the party!”

However, the player who greeted him wasn’t the one he had just been fighting, but Willow, fully geared and perfectly prepared.

Bang! Bang!!

The opponent realized too late that the character model was different. Her bullets had already torn through his head, and she ended up as the last one standing in the match.

“Dang, what a score.”

[This crazy biatch... biatch biatch...]

[Seriously, I’d suspect her of hacks too. The way she plays doesn’t make any sense.]

[HOW’S THAT NOT A HACK BRO LMAO]

[Unbelievable...]

[Wait, that last player... Isn't that Kang San's secondary account? I thought he was going on a mad rush to climb the ranks lol]

[You’re right loools]

[Breaking News: tier 1 pro gamer is sobbing on stream lol]

A video clip of a man grabbing his face with both hands and groaning showed up.

[Wait, isn't that the same girl from before? Why are you back here again?!?!]

Kang San realized that he had been playing against Willow, the same one who had wrecked him using Evangeline’s account, and screamed.

[Didn't he get wrecked by Willow before or something?]

[Yeah, but that was with Boss’s account lmao]

Despite taking him as an innocent sacrifice, she didn't seem to care at all. “Alright. I've shown you all everything I need to. Can I log off now?”

[Hey now! You're just gonna stop streaming like that??]

[Mama... Don’t leave me here alone...]

[Stop the space launch!!]

“Wait, wasn't the original goal just to check if I'm cheating or not?”

[Nah, we don't care about that now!]

[Like we could tell from just one match, anyways!]

In the end, she pouted but exasperatedly started another match search.

“Fine, let's play a few more rounds.”

[To the]

[Moon]

[To the]

[Moon]

[Q&A session afterward? Go go go!]

“You can just go do that kind of thing on Eva’s stream.”

Even though she firmly stated she’d only play B.O.S., the viewers found other ways to entertain themselves.

Willow continued her stream and went on a rampage, sweeping through matches like a menace.

[Didn’t she just reach diamond rank?]

[Why is it so one-sided?]

[So many stream snipers lolol]

The surprising thing was that even though many people tried to intentionally sabotage her, she kept on winning. There were many close calls, but her fundamental physical ability was just on a completely different level.

[lmao stream snipers are crying like crazy KEKW]

While it was true that there were many stream snipers, the real problem was that sniping wouldn't succeed in killing her every match, and there simply couldn't be that many people at her rank.

“It's taking a long time to find a match now...”

[It only gets worse the higher you climb.]

“Maybe I should just quit...” As she muttered and clicked her mouse, the chat reacted swiftly and fiercely to an approaching enemy.

[What?]

[You're quitting with this much talent?]

[What a flex...]

“No, seriously, I'm just playing for fun. I'm not trying to climb the ranks.”

[Just use a secondary account, then]

“What do you mean ‘secondary account’?Oh, wait, there are other modes! I should try those.”

After sweeping through a few more matches, she finally asked, looking satisfied, “Are you guys happy now? Seriously, what was I even explaining there?”

[More, please.]

[Not enough...]

[More! More!!]

“Enough! Stop messing with me, I'm not playing anymore! I’ve done plenty!”

[Yeah, no.]

[You call yourself a goddess, but you can't even grant our prayers????]

“Prayers, my butt!” Fuming, she shot up from her seat. “That's all for the stream today!”

[Today?]

[So you're saying you'll stream next time too?]

[IN GOD WE TRUST.]

“Ah. No! That was a slip of the tongue!”

Shouting in a panic, she then shut off the stream. “Holy cow, I streamed for five hours? Am I insane or what...”

As she sighed in self-reproach, a few cats scattering light approached her side.

They were the zenoen, her subordinate apostles of harmony.

“Ah. Looks like it's time to go already...”

‘Looks like I won’t even be able to say goodbye this time.’

The lingering feeling of the stream was heavy, making her feel uneasy for no reason.

“Ugh. Whatever. It's fine.”

It had been fun, but it felt a little too unreasonable for her to become deeply engrossed in it like her sister Evangeline.

Of course, those who were captivated by her unique stream felt otherwise.

* * *

[When is Willow going to stream again??!!!]

[She said the first stream was just for clarification, so there are no plans...]

[Noooo!!!]

[Mama... It’s so lonely here...]

[This pattern... feels like I've seen it before...]

[Don’t tell me that the dragon lover is behind it]

[Boss!]

At the end of this abyss, where Evangeline had instantly become the commander of the dragon lovers, people were desperately wishing Willow would stream again.[1]

[Boss’s most charming trait is her foolishness. Willow’s the same.]

[It’s like the difference between mild or spicy. It's hard to see either of them as beginners, given how well they’ve captivated everyone from the start.]

[Plus, they're both so skilled at games...]

Evangeline excelled in art, and Willow in overwhelming skill. In any case, it was clear that Willow would also be quite successful if she streamed.

However, she simply didn't want to.

[Is she really not coming back?]

[I'm holding my breath until Willow streams again! Hup!]

[Beep beep. A dead body’s been found.]

[Stream already! Do you want us to wither away and die!?]

Regardless of that all, Willow, the one everyone was actually waiting for, frowned as she interfered with Earth's system.

“That's weird... Neltarid’s gone, but why’s this thing still running smoothly then?”

Even if it seemed like Neltarid did nothing special, the fact was that Earth's complicated system was maintained because of their existence.

That's why—

“This isn't just a simple issue.”

No matter how she looked at it, Earth’s current system running perfectly without Neltarid made no sense.

“It's also strange that I can stay manifested without any strain for hours at a time...”

Even though Evangeline's lair was the least taxing and most of her power was sealed, it was fundamentally bizarre that a newly-minted god could remain manifested for hours at a time without issue.

She agonized over it for a long time, but couldn’t come to any concrete conclusion.

“Wait. For someone who ran away because they were afraid of me, the clean-up is way too meticulous...”

Neltarid had gone radio silent, and the problems that should have arisen from their disappearance had been resolved perfectly fine even in their absence.

While there was too much weirdness to just ignore and move on, in the end, she couldn't figure anything out.

She thought about it, but figured Davey wouldn’t know anything about the situation. So instead, she sought out the only being likely to have information—Goddess Freyja, the Primordial God of Creation and Goddess of Mercy. Yet, for some unknown reason, the Goddess had barred all entry and locked her sanctuary.

In the end, she was the one getting frustrated. Whether he knew anything or not, she had no choice but to rely on Davey and ask for his advice.

“I don't know the specifics, but Neltarid did say you’d be able to manifest without issue once you fully awakened.”

“I heard that, but is that even logically possible?”

“Logically, no,” he said calmly, offering her a piece of chocolate, which she tossed into her mouth and began to chew.

“But?” she asked, probing.

“But... Can your situation be explained logically?”

Willow was, from the beginning, a new form of god that had never existed before.

A god with emotions.

A goddess who directly coordinated the world.

In many ways, she possessed characteristics that defied comprehension.

“So then, putting the two on the same level is premature. Even though you'd mostly suppressed your power, your ability to manifest is simply a result of your unique characteristics.”

“Then what about Earth being fine even though Neltarid’s gone?”

Thinking about that, Davey fell silent.

“Dad?”

After a long moment of silence, he shrugged. “Maybe Goddess Freyja is managing things in their place.”

Willow suddenly thought that it could very well be the case.

The avatar of Goddess Freyja, who had awakened a part of the Goddess's true form to transfer the authority of sacrifice. The power she possessed meant that regulating Earth would’ve been no difficult task.

If so—

“Could it be that Goddess Freyja is taking over Neltarid's work, and they’re using this opportunity to do something?”

“It's a possibility, but I’m not certain. They might just be so exhausted that they want to enter their twilight years and retire.”

His conjecture was a possibility, but not a certainty.

In the end, the situation had only become more ambiguous.

Willow walked silently after leaving his office. She then suddenly saw Darian toddling around and playing in the distance.

He was her cute little brother, and the first son born to Aeria and Davey.

As she watched him in silence, something strange suddenly caught her eye.

“Huh? Is that...”

1. A couple of chapters ago, there was a user that confessed that they can only love dragons now. This is an inside joke among streamers. ☜