IRL streams were the latest thing. It was something Evangeline occasionally enjoyed when she felt especially restless. Most of the time, she'd either show off the breathtaking scenery from her lair or fly around to admire Earth's beautiful landscapes with the viewers.

Still, even doing that left her with something to be desired.

One day when Willow was bored, she casually established a data pathway between the dimensions, immediately drawing Evangeline’s attention. Since her lair existed in a dimensional gap that belonged to neither Earth nor Tionis, it only had faint connections to both dimensions.

Previously, something like an interdimensional cable would've been impossible, but the weakening dimensional walls and Davey's ability to freely open and close dimensions had made it possible.

They extended the data transmission route connected between Earth and the lair all the way to Tionis.

Normally, that would've been impossible. On top of that, Davey had warned them not to recklessly mix Earth's and Tionis’s cultures together, so they'd never left a data route between the lair and Tionis before.

Yet, Willow had pulled it off on a whim and even given Evangeline some advice.

- Don't go near places where people live. As a viewer, I think you should just stream the scenery or something.

Evangeline wasn’t sure if that was her way of looking out for her, or if Neltarid Mk II, who had been bothering her a lot lately, had mentioned something to her.

What mattered was that she'd secured more content avenues for the stream.

“Ahem! Hi everyone.”

[Hieve!]

[The rabbit princess squad leader who got absolutely destroyed.]

[Hieve! But where is this?]

[IRL stream? Is this an IRL stream, boss?]

The viewers stared at the breathtaking flower field and filled the chat with questions.

Although Evangeline had occasionally done IRL streams, they weren't something she did often since they were polarizing for viewers.

“Whoever brings up that game next, an intercontinental ballistic ban will be headed your way.”

[LOLS]

[This is oppression!!]

“Ugh, shut up!” Evangeline shuddered, recalling the ordeal she went through over excessive spending in that game. “That was all because Moderation and Si-Woo didn't stop me! Those two are the bad ones!”

[Putting the blame on them is crazy lmao]

[I can see Moderation raging in real time GG]

Regardless, the viewers kept teasing her nonstop about getting caught dumping money and getting chewed out for it. Still, she couldn’t just stop the stream after only being live for a few minutes.

“Anyways, what do you think of this place? It’s pretty, right? I don’t usually do IRL streams since a lot of people don’t like them, but...” Evangeline deliberately paused, leaving the viewers hanging.

[No, seriously, where is this?!]

[Damn, this place is hella pretty. Where is it? I wanna go later]

“I thought this stream might give you guys a pretty unique experience. Oh, and this whole thing is a secret from my Dad, okay? If he finds out, I'm seriously gonna get in huge trouble.” Evangeline waved her hand while making a quiet gesture.

At that moment, the camera filming her floated on its own like a professional cameraman and started capturing everything around her from a third-person perspective.

[Wow...... this place really is incredible]

[Those flowers look interesting as hell]

[So, boss. Where is this? It kinda looks like somewhere near the equator]

Ding!

[Constellation Sagittarius has donated 1,000,000 Won.]

- Air raid warning!! Air raid warning!! That's the place!!

[Constellation Leo has donated 1,000,000 Won.]

- Ahh... we're screwed.

Massive donations flooded in all at once.

“Thank you, Constellation Sagittarius and Constellation Leo for the donations. Uh... ummm. I should at least do a reaction, right?” She awkwardly put on a shy, cute act while trying to suppress her embarrassment.

The chat exploded into complete chaos.

“Haaah. Anyway! It’s actually really important that you understand. Me being here is top secret. As for where this is...”

[Boss... I’m about to pass out... just say it already...]

“Tionis.”

The moment she said it, question marks flooded the chat.

[Huh????]

[Where??]

“Tionis. This place is called the Garden of Stars, located in the northern part of the Eastern Continent. It's famous, but the path leading here is really dangerous, so most people can't make it in.”

[But you got in just fine?]

“Oh please. Dangerous or not, it's mostly just weaklings like cyclopes, ogres, or wyverns.”

[Controversy alert. Boss just called cyclopes weaklings...]

“Anyway! Let’s be real. You guys have only heard rumors about Tionis before, right? That makes this your first time actually seeing it! Even if I can’t go near places where people live, we can still chat from here, check out scenery like this, and maybe do some sketching.”

[??? Why can't we see the people??]

“We don't know what'll happen if the cultures of the two worlds mix the wrong way.”

[But tons of Tionis stuff already made it to Earth bro lol]

[True. True.]

“Well, ummm. It’s kinda hard to explain... but technically, those things aren’t really from Tionis.”

Evangeline calmly continued showing off unfamiliar plants and animals while exploring the surroundings. The shaky camera issue that usually made IRL streams hard to look at didn't matter at all, her magic smoothly stabilizing it. It was as if she was streaming and editing the video perfectly at the same time.

After she chatted with the viewers for about an hour, one of them asked a rather notable question.

[Boss, what’s up with the sky? Does Tionis have multiple suns?]

“The sky? No, of course Tionis only has one sun. You think people wanna burn to death? Don't be a dumdum!” She burst out laughing and mocked the viewer, making him rage quietly in chat.

However, not long after, more viewers started saying the same thing.

[But there are seriously a ton of suns... What’s up with that?]

“No way.” Evangeline stopped what she was doing after reading the comments. She looked up toward the exact part of the sky they were talking about and froze in her tracks.

[Boss?]

[Did she freeze?]

[Huh? What’s going on?]

[oh man, something's happening for sure.]

The viewers grew confused as her expression stiffened more and more by the second.

Then—

“Meteor...” Muttering in a grave voice, Evangeline tore open the space behind her and pulled out massive wings.

[Boss?]

“Hold on, I need to get out of here fast. What in the world...”

Boom!!

As she shot upward in an instant, the surrounding landscape changed. Both the viewers and Evangeline stared in horror. Gigantic meteors, radiating terrifying presences like miniature suns, crashed down from the sky, triggering massive explosions.

BOOM!!! RUMBLE!!

[???]

[What the hell’s happening right now?]

[Does stuff like this normally happen in Tionis?]

Everyone was in shock. They all knew it wasn’t a natural disaster, clearly magic.

Panicking, Evangeline quickly changed the camera angle, then rapidly scanned the area to find whoever had cast such an absurd spell.

Her eyes darted around searching for the source when someone suddenly appeared in front of her, blocking her path.

“Willow?”

“Don't go any further, Evangeline.”

“What's... happening back there?”

“A war.”

“War?! Between who?! The International Federation should've kept wars mostly suppressed—”

“The Goran Kingdom and the Rowane Kingdom are at war,” Willow interrupted. “Dad stepped in.”

“D-Dad did?” she muttered with trembling eyes.

She suddenly remembered him warning her not to come over because complicated things were happening in Tionis.

She wondered how things had gotten to such a point. How things had gotten so bad. She knew she had to stop it. While she didn't know what was going on, she was certain that it was mass slaughter.

Unable to hide her shock, Evangeline switched the stream screen away for a moment and tried to move forward to check the situation.

Yet, Willow stopped her again. “I said, don't go. Do you wanna get your account banned?”

“What are you talking about?! Why's Dad over there... and what's with those meteors?!!”

“I told you already. He’s at war with the Goran Kingdom. He’s the one who summoned them.”

That single sentence instantly turned the atmosphere ice cold.

“Why...?”

Nothing made sense. The fact that war had broken out so quickly was shocking enough, but his merciless actions felt even more unfamiliar. Just from watching the meteors fall, anyone could tell how overwhelmingly one-sided the battle was.

“Wars kill countless people! This isn't right. Willow, we have to stop Dad.” Evangeline swallowed hard at the terrifying aura flowing in the surrounding. She could tell that it was coming from him. No matter what had happened, she had to stop any more bloodshed. More than the soldiers dying, Evangeline feared people growing terrified of her father.

“No... we have to stop him!!” she shouted again.

“Don't go.”

“Willow! Are you serious right now?! No matter the reason, this is wron—”

“Those sons of bitches tried to kill Mom.”

The moment she heard that, Evangeline, who'd been trying to shove Willow aside, froze completely. “M-Mom?”

“Yeah. I don't need to tell you who, right?”

Evangeline already knew. If someone had targeted one of their mothers while risking their lives to do it, there was only one possible target.

Aeria O’Rowane.

“What happened?”

“Dad always handles most problems peacefully whenever he can. Maybe that was the problem. Those bastards probably thought they could use him holding the balance of power to drive a wedge between the Lyndis Empire and everyone else, starting a war. And during that process...”

Evangeline could hardly believe it

“We all know that Dad might let a lot of things slide, but the moment someone tries to do anything to one of us, he completely loses it,” Willow said in a weary voice. “After crossing the one line they absolutely should never have crossed, I have no intention of defending them either.”

“B-but those soldiers.......”

“You think they're innocent? You’re wrong. Even now, Dad gave people time to evacuate and run. The ones still over there stayed because of ambition, greed for money, their own selfish desires, or because the Goran royal family manipulated them into becoming his enemies. They've got guts, I'll give them that. Pulling this kind of crap while knowing exactly what kind of person Dad is? Bold.”

“That...”

“It's simple. People hear rumors all the time, but until they see the rumor themselves, they don't really believe it.”

If they had been on Earth, where footage was often distributed, they most likely wouldn't have done something so stupid.

By that point, there was no one left there Davey would show mercy to. In fact, even if there were, he had already lost his patience, and mercy was no longer an option for him.

“After the Rowane Kingdom declared war, Dad gave them a pretty long grace period. The rulers of countries who had good instincts secretly evacuated innocent Goran citizens to safe zones using their own methods. Thus, everyone left inside those fortresses is people who chose to stand against him.”

The destruction of the Goran Kingdom was already inevitable. The only thing left was minimizing the damage.

That was the real issue.

Davey had declared he'd erase Goran from the map, but he'd excluded every area populated by civilians. That fortress had also been one of the main military gathering points in their preparation for direct war against the Rowane Kingdom.

“I don't like Dad killing people either, but if they put Mom in jeopardy, then I have no intention of defending them. Honestly, if he hadn't done it, I would've cursed the entire land myself,” she said coldly.

Evangeline blankly stared at the terrifying meteors falling from the sky.

[Boss, can you explain what's going on...?]

“Everyone... sorry, but I think I need to head back for now.”

She had simply come out to do an IRL stream, only to learn something completely shocking.

Though she didn't know it, just as Willow intended, news of the war spread across Earth and caused changes there as well. Many nations completely gave up on the idea of using Davey O’Rowane’s loved ones as potential weaknesses for future plans.

Those who had been entertaining dangerous thoughts immediately backed off as well. After all, everyone knew that they wouldn't stand a chance against magical meteors falling from the sky.

Seeing Davey finally take direct action after so long had become a powerful deterrent. It was just like how everyone understood launching nuclear missiles meant mutually assured destruction. Willow had subtly announced that fact to Earth.

Earth was once again reminded that Davey wasn’t holding back because he lacked power or because he was some naive fool.

* * *

After barely two hours, three Goran Kingdom fortresses had already completely vanished from the map.

No one in another fortress had witnessed it personally, but the desperate messengers delivering reports filled the fortress with an overwhelming atmosphere of death. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“Gah. Gaaa.”

Some of the soldiers defending the fortress were people who'd joined based on how the Saint of Tionis had acted in past wars.

To be precise, many of them had assumed that even if war broke out, he would try to minimize casualties and damage. They had always planned to surrender at the right time and make profit from the start.

They had blindly believed that, since that man wouldn't slaughter people indiscriminately, they could pretend to work as mercenaries and get paid safely.

One man grabbed a soldier by the collar and screamed, “Damn it! You're the one who said we should come! You said we wouldn't die!!”

“You see that shit falling beyond the mountains?! That man wreaked total devastation in just two hours! We're all gonna die, god damn it!!”

“Damn it, I didn't know either! I never thought the Saint of Tionis would wipe everyone out this mercilessly. Fuck, this is such bullshit.”

“You fucking dumbass. I guess I really should've thought this through more. All of this, just because of that goddamn money.”

The reward offered by the Goran Kingdom had simply been too tempting for struggling mercenaries to refuse.

In reality, most of that payment was basically nothing more than empty promises. Unfortunately, the mercenaries and soldiers who had gathered for the money didn’t know that, unaware their struggles would inevitably be for nothing.

Eventually, one man overcame his fear and shouted at the centurion, “Shit! Hey! If we stay here, we'll all get massacred too! We need to retreat!!”

The centurion responded sternly, “His Majesty, the great King of Goran, ordered us to hold this position. Anyone who retreats will die by my hand! Get back in position, or your head will roll!”

“Bullshit! Fuck this, I'm running!”

Slash!!!!

It happened in an instant.

The mercenary collapsed while spraying blood.

“Y-you psycho!!”

“Your mercenary lives were purchased by the Goran Kingdom. His Majesty commands you to hold your ground. If you dare disobey him...”

The thoroughly brainwashed soldiers pointed their swords at the mercenaries, making their faces turn pale.

At that moment, soldiers stationed at the watchtower started screaming in terror. “U... UAAAH!! He's coming!! That monster's coming!!!”

Almost instantly, crowds of people rushed to the walls and clung to them while staring into the distance.

There was no way he could be human. Not a single drop of blood stained him!

The young man in the black coat slowly walked across the plains outside the fortress. There was no smile on his face.

Their hearts pounded violently, feeling like their chests would burst. Seeing him felt like the grim reaper was approaching them.

Everyone tensed up.

While everyone was in disbelief, they nonetheless trusted that the man was someone who'd already erased two fortresses.

“Don't panic! He's alone, no backup! No matter how strong someone is, there's only so much one can do alone! Our new weapon is already prepared! Everyone, nock your arrows!! Hold! Ready! Aim!”

Following the order, the terrified mercenaries and soldiers drew arrows onto their bowstrings while trembling.

Davey hadn't accepted a single request for negotiations. Just as he'd warned from the beginning, he truly intended to erase them all.

The defenders swallowed nervously. There were too many archers around to even count. The commander shouted toward Davey, “Retreat now, if you know what’s good for you! Once we fire, our arrows will blot out the sun!”

Many of those arrows were infused with mana. No matter how powerful he was, the commanders were certain he wouldn’t be able to charge straight through them. And the moment he changed direction, it’d trigger a trap.

Everyone held their breath.

Davey coldly responded, “Then you shall die in the shade.”

Petrified, the fortress commander shouted, “FIRE!!!”

Swoosh!! Swoosh!!

An overwhelming number of arrows shot toward him. Even so, Davey simply kept walking forward slowly without reacting at all.

‘What the hell?’

An indescribable anxiety spread through the fighters, but they felt assured that no human could possibly ignore such a deluge of arrows being shot at them.

The mages had even added bombardment spells to support the archers, creating a truly overwhelming assault.

The fortress they were in was a natural stronghold, especially advantageous for defensive mage warfare. No matter how fast someone was, there were only so many opportunities for them to deflect attacks.

No matter how durable someone was, they couldn't completely ignore mana arrows.

At least, that was how it should've been.

Ssss.

Davey, who'd silently been walking forward, suddenly stopped.

Then he lightly lifted his left foot.

“W-what?!”

BOOOOM!!!

The moment he stomped down lightly, the space around him shattered apart. Everyone stared with their jaws on the floor at the incomprehensible phenomenon taking place before them.

At the same time, something unbelievable happened. The arrows were caught in the fractures spreading through the air itself, then shattered into dust.

The fractures destroyed everything before it could even reach him, spreading hundreds of meters in every direction.

His assault didn't stop there. Davey, who'd caused all this, gave a cold smirk and spoke. Somehow, his voice echoed directly into the ears of everyone throughout the fortress. “I don't know what you're trying to buy time for, but I'll humor your little circus. In return, I'll liven things up and show you something big too.”

A murky-colored giant spear appeared in his hand.

A single spear. A very famous one.

Aside from Blue Ribbon and Red Ribbon, it was his primary weapon, and even the Hero of Light Reina had borrowed it before.

The Divine Spear Longinus.

Everyone's eyes widened as the spear began changing shape. The moment he raised it overhead, it split apart from the spearhead down through the middle, spreading open to both sides.

The spear unfolded symmetrically into a bizarre inverted letter T form that no longer looked like a weapon.

They had no clue what he was trying to do. The fortress defenders stared in confusion as Davey gripped the lower section of the transformed spear with both hands like he was wielding a longsword.

However, their confusion didn't last long.

The commander panicked, “No... No, no no. Stop him!!! STOP HIM!!! Shield units!!”

“Are you out of your goddamn mind?! How the hell are shields supposed to block THAT?!!”

“Ah... AHHH!! RUN!!!”

Golden lightning began gathering around the massive spear.

Then, above the split sections, an enormous blade of lightning formed.

[Divine Spear Longinus]

[Overdrive]

[Thunder Breaker]

After both sides of the spear split apart and a gigantic lightning blade hundreds of meters long extended upward, it had become a massive sword.

Standing before the fleeing soldiers, Davey once more stomped hard enough to overturn the earth itself and swung the gigantic blade.

CRACK!!!

Like a colossal giant slicing apart a table, the golden lightning cleaved through the entire canyon and fortress in one strike.

Immediately afterward, a massive spherical explosion of lightning engulfed the entire surrounding region, fortress included.

The ground shook violently, and the atmosphere itself cracked and shattered.

“Holy...”

Watching from far away, the captain of the Pallan Empire's First Intelligence Division cursed under his breath, eyes stretched wide in horror, “Fuck. I knew he was strong, but what the hell is this...”

If he hadn't been ordered to report the current situation, he would've run without looking back.

Still trembling, he activated his communication artifact.

The crystal orb remained dead for a long time, as if something had interfered with it, before finally connecting.

“This is First Intelligence Division Captain Van reporting. Alysium Fortress... no... part of the Alysium Mountain Range has... vanished.”

When Davey said he'd erase them from the map, he wasn’t kidding.