This is a leaf?

Yes. Its an item that removes status conditions.

As the Sword King examined the leaf of the World Tree, he shook his head at Seong Jihans words.

Then I cant eat it now. I need to maintain this status condition.

If its a status condition

The Obsession status. The reason I came to know that Shizuru is alive is because of this. And

The Sword King extended his hand downward. At the spot he pointed to, Shizurus mansion lay in ruins.

I suppose this obsession is why Im here.

What do you mean?

How do you think I came to Shizurus mansion so soon even after being blinded?

Does it have something to do with obsession?

The Sword King nodded.

The other side is fine, but my anger only flared up when I looked in this direction, and when I got here, I realized it was Shizurus house.

Obsession had become Shizurus worst enemy.

Lets get rid of Shizuru first.

Yes. Thank you for the concern. Then

Swish!

The sword carrying the Sword King turned towards the rubble that was once Shizurus mansion.

Lets go down.

The Sword King landed first on the destroyed remnants of Shizurus mansion.

Ugh Ugh

What is this

Inside Shizurus house, the servants who were employed and working were crouched, trembling.

Oddly enough, despite the mansion being almost in ruins, they looked unharmed.

Are you okay? These people.

Theyre fine.

Yeah. It shouldnt harm civilians

Since the Hundred Swords that destroyed the mansion protected civilians, the situation turned out to be possible.

Among you, theres no Shizuru leave.

The Sword King, after reading the gestures of the people for a moment, ordered them to leave the house.

Thank you!

Lets go quickly!

Uh, uh I thought I was going to die!

As soon as the Sword King spoke, people hurriedly got up to leave the house.

After disembarking from the lightning cloud, Seong Jihan watched this for a bit before asking Akari.

Akari, is there a place to hide in this mansion? Even though the house is completely destroyed, I dont feel Shizurus presence.

I remember there was an underground space in the annex where experiments were conducted. They tried to make me into a clone there as well.

Okay, guide us there.

Understood.

Akari, who had once been edited as Shizurus clone, guided the way. Seong Jihan and his party quickly arrived at the underground room where Shizuru had been.

There are multiple security measures

Looking at the massive thick door, Akari spoke in an exhausted tone, but

We can just break it down.

Yes, thats the simplest method.

To stop two world-class warriors, one door alone was not enough.

Crash!

After the door broke, what appeared was Shizuru, once again activating the Aegis Barrier, adopting a sturdy defensive stance.

Wasnt that ring my sisters?

Sorry. I lost my mind back then.

Sigh Lets recover it again.

Yeah. And bring that womans head while youre at it.

Casually talking about bringing back a head, the two of them.

Hearing this from the other side, Shizuru hurriedly shouted.

Wait! Lets talk for a bit!

Noisy.

Whoosh!

The hundred swords simultaneously flew at Shizuru, but

Boom! Boom!

Hoho, it wont pierce through so easily this time. Because I edited Aegis, you see.

Really Its annoying.

The Sword King growled in a murderous tone.

The supporting Gift Edit.

Just what were the limits of this ability?

Seong Jihan-ssi, what do you think of my SSS-rank Edit ability? Ill use it for you two from now on.

Shizuru smiled at Seong Jihan.

How about forgiving me just this once in return?

Do you think Id do that?

Though we started out adversely, in truth no one has really suffered any harm, right?

Huh No one suffered any harm?

Yeah, youre fine. Your niece is doing well too. Oh, right. The Sword King suffered some damage to his eyes, but with the Edit ability, damaged eyes can be healed.

As Shizuru kept blabbering.

With your powerful combat strength combined with my supporting Gift, no forces in the world will be able to threaten us. Although we have been in opposition until now, if we change our thinking a bit, we can become irreplaceable allies.

Shizuru sent a seductive gaze towards Seong Jihan as she spoke.

Seong Jihan was flabbergasted.

Is she trying to enchant me right now?

The Edit ability was certainly a tempting talent. Considering the fate that Earth would face after the tutorial.

It might be better for humanity to keep that and make use of it.

However,

I just have to work harder.

Rather than keeping that dangerous woman alive for the sake of the Gift, it was better to work harder. Seong Jihan resolved to be more active in BattleNet activities.

Brother-in-law, dispose of her quickly.

Good. I was waiting for that anyway.

The moment Seong Jihans reply ended.

The hundred swords rained down towards Aegis.

Thud! Thud!

Although Aegis had been reinforced, when the Hundred Swords of the Sword King fiercely struck, it quickly started to crack, signaling the beginning of its destruction.

How unfortunate Hoho.

Yet Shizuru watched this leisurely.

Then, Lets hope we dont meet again.

Just like when she escaped from the Sword King previously, she took out a teleport necklace.

Where do you think youre going!

The Sword King hastily struck Aegis, but

Flash!

Shizuru escaped before the reinforced Aegis could shatter.

Simultaneously,

Boom!

The giant supercomputer nearby emitted light and started to explode.

Boom! Boom!

A fairly powerful explosion, as if it was amplified by her Gift powers.

But the target wasnt the two warriors.

The sword prison might melt at this rate!

It was the top Japanese players that the Sword King had captured in his sword prison as hostages.

Even if she made the computer explode with her Gift powers, Seong Jihan and the Sword King could block it.

The reason was to eliminate the hostages, so the JSDF special forces who were unable to intervene currently due to the hostages would be able to take action.

This fire wont go out easily.

Ill help too.

The stubborn flames that seemed tailored to the Sword Kings swords only extinguished one by one after Seong Jihan stepped in to help as well.

I didnt expect Shizuru to try to kill the hostage..

She probably aimed to get the special forces involved after the hostages disappeared. Then it would be you versus the special forces.

If the hostages disappeared and the Sword Kings side clashed against the Japanese special forces, The casualties would undoubtedly have been enormous.

Despite choosing this method, it was probably to enable her own escape more smoothly.

She really only cares about herself

Even if a million people die, as long as she survives, she would readily take that path. Thats the kind of woman she is.

Hearing Akari grit her teeth from behind, the Sword King nodded.

Yeah. Shizuru is that kind of woman. So, this time, we must eliminate her. About Korea Ill have to return a bit late. Sorry Jihan, but youll have to head back first.

Until Shizuru is eliminated, the Sword King has no intention of going back to Korea.

He said it with an apologetic tone to Seong Jihan, but

No, Ill help too. We have to completely unroot this issue.

Dont you need to level up now during this important period?

I can rest a bit.

Seong Jihan, who had originally planned to remain in Platinum until December anyway,

Decided to postpone leveling up for now and focus on eliminating Shizuru first.

What about the Korean national team?

We wont make it to the Champions League this season anyway. All because of someone.

C-Cough. Thats true But what about Seah?

Hayeon is looking after her. No need to worry.

Hayeon is? Then I can trust her.

Knowing Hayeon well as a former member of the Korean national team, the Sword King nodded.

Okay. Please help me. Lets eliminate Shizuru this time.

Yes.

Well then

The Sword King turned his body to face the four cardinal directions after exiting the basement.

Then, he gazed intently to the west.

That way.

Do you know it that well?

Yeah, when I look in that direction, my anger flares up.

The status effect Obsession provided real-time information about Shizurus location, even though she had used teleportation. It continued to show its effects.

Lets go.

With a face full of determination, the Sword King set off first.

* * *

A week had passed since Shizurus mansion was destroyed.

-Where are Seong Jihan and the Sword King? I cant tell since their BattleTubes are off.

-Dunno. Last time there was a pic of them in Nagoya, but there havent been any reports recently.

-I heard only 3 hostages are left now

-The rest were released. Would be a pain to chase them while being chased.

Perhaps because they moved too covertly,

There were only unsubstantiated rumors about Seong Jihans groups location online.

Nothing was known for certain.

Conversations only occurred when the hundred swords were occasionally witnessed.

-Oh, the hundred swords appeared in Osaka!

-The sword bombardment started then stopped again.

-So Shizuru slipped away again?

-Ugh, shes really good at escaping, lol.

-Does she have infinite teleportation?

A hotel in Hiroshima city.

Shizuru, who had reverted to her original plain face, inadvertently shouted as she read the online comments.

These crazy bastards How far are they gonna chase me?!

Seriously, Dont Seong Jihan and the Sword King have anything better to do?

Isnt this going overboard?

Shizuru gnawed on her nails in frustration.

This is getting really dangerous.

Shizurus teleportation necklace was originally limited to short distances. However, it had been specially modified to escape from the Sword King, and the cost of this modification was substantial. Shizuru had invested numerous Akashic Pages and a significant portion of her editing abilities.

The escape opportunity she had earned at such great cost was a one time use.

Despite the resources spent to obtain this escape opportunity, it had been used 30 times in the past week alone.

If I teleport from here again Ill have to undo too many enchantments

The enchantments she had placed on influential people in the Japanese government was already more than 70% released. The only ones left were the Prime Minister and other crucial figures.

At that time, a call came in from the Prime Minister.

-Um, Miss Shizuru Are you alright?

What are the special forces doing? Why do they keep hesitating and not mobilizing?

-We did mobilize, but the opponent is moving too discreetly Its difficult to pursue. Additionally, there are still three hostages in the facility, so we cannot attack recklessly.

Three! You could just ignore those three and push forward!

-Those three are the most important players

Ha, Im the highest Gift-ranked person in Japan! Not just SS-ranked, but the highest! Instead of favoring me so much, why are you letting these reckless people roam freely?

-I-Im sorry.

Figure out something right away!

Unlike usual, Shizuru lost her composure. With numerous escapes in recent times, her calmness was gradually disappearing. As time passed, and the Akashic Pages dwindled, she felt her influence in Japan, which she had built up, crumbling away. She couldnt remain as composed as when she first escaped.

At this rate Ill have to leave the country.

She caressed her teleport necklace.

No matter how she thought about it, teleporting around Japan like this was meaningless.

Because the Sword King would tenaciously continue pursuing her.

Alright. Lets concentrate the power and go to America. I still have plenty of GP.

Crossing the ocean and fleeing from the Sword Kings relentless obsession seemed like the only way. If she flew far enough, he might not follow. Despite Shizuru being pushed to her limits, she attempted to use the teleportation necklace to cross the Pacific.

However

Is modifying it for this distance too much after all?

The Pacific was vast. Even with all the resources she had, the necklace couldnt be modified to cover such a great distance. The original distance limitation of the necklace was short, so the effects didnt match the resources invested.

But

I should be able to reach Guam at least

She felt she could somehow reach Guam, which was Americas territory.

Once there, she could take a flight to the mainland.

Edit.

As Shizuru made up her mind, she began editing the necklace. However, in the midst of her editing,

Crash!

The hundred swords made a surprise attack through the hotel window.

The Sword Kings group was gradually quickening their pursuit speed.

Ah, seriously Teleport!

Shizuru urgently initiated teleportation using the edited necklace.

Splash!

However, where she teleported to was not Guam but underwater.

Ugh I absolutely cant die!

Perhaps due to rushing the edit, she hadnt set a proper landing point. Tasting the salty water entering her lips, Shizuru grit her teeth.

Ive come this far already.

I cant die such an ignoble death in the sea.

I have to survive!

Desperately struggling not to die in the water, Shizuru believed that if she could get out of here somehow, there might be a way to survive.

Heuk heuk

Despite being tossed by the waves, she used all the items she had prepared in her inventory, hoping that once she got out of the water, there might be a way to live.

Hah Hah

With her utmost effort, she miraculously managed to reach land.

Phew Phew

It was done.

She had come out of the water, so now she could survive. As the editing ability recovered, she planned to use it again to somehow make her way to America.

She was brimming with hope,

Thats where you were.

However, the most unwelcome voice in the world reached her ears.

*****

*****