Chapter 39: Elena’s Wish

“***”

“Stop!”

The words rang out from Elena’s mouth.

At the same time, hundreds of hairs floating in the air shot toward my heart.

Each one was a deadly strike. It wasn’t just any ordinary thread. It had been enhanced with her command, possessing the strength comparable to titanium. The speed was 170 kilometers per hour, surpassing that of a professional pitcher’s fastball.

A hit would mean death.

No matter how tough the dragon’s hide was, with this many, it would be pierced as easily as soft cookies.

Then, I would also be charging toward death.

“Blue of Death.”

[C■SUS AER■LA]

My vision shifted.

My eyes screamed in pain from the overwhelming flood of information.

A huge scythe appeared in my hands. Its pale blue blade lashed about, hungry to reap souls.

Let’s do this.

Elena couldn’t comprehend what had just happened.

To be precise, she couldn’t even perceive it.

She wasn’t careless. Her opponent was Zeorjius, a man who had resisted her commands countless times. She had expected that if this attack failed, she would prepare for the next.

The hundreds of hairs floated in the air.

They were the traps she had laid during the close combat with Zeorjius. As soon as he entered her range, she fired them all at once.

There were no gaps.

Simultaneous commands.

Her vocal cords, honed through countless repetitions, moved with such speed that it almost became ventriloquism, speaking while simultaneously voicing commands. She used that technique to turn those hundreds of hairs into weapons, firing them off.

But…

Sarrk—

Elena saw it—the instantaneous movement of Zeorjius.

And the huge scythe in his hand.

Her hair, now turning into a handful of white ash, fluttered in the air.

It was as if the pages of a book were being turned before her eyes, and the scene abruptly shifted.

It was as though…

…teleportation.

‘No.’

Elena saw it clearly with her enhanced vision.

Right now, Zeorjius moved within a gap of less than 0.1 seconds, using the scythe to “stab” each of the hundreds of hairs individually.

‘Fast, quick, no… what should I call that domain?’

If it were just speed, Elena could have dealt with it.

When she had defeated the strong warrior before, she had simply thought of it as speed.

But this… this was beyond that.

Elena’s command was effective only on physical force.

That was something beyond the laws of physics.

Moreover, her hair…

She immediately realized what had happened when she saw it turn to ash.

‘It’s weathered.’

The hairs hadn’t been damaged at all.

They hadn’t been cut or wounded.

They simply aged, weathered, and slowly eroded away into dust.

They naturally met their end.

‘That scythe—’

That’s dangerous.

Elena had a gut feeling about it.

Zeorjius turned to look at her.

In his golden eyes, Elena finally saw something she had never felt before.

Fear.

“Stop.”

The high-speed command was executed, and Elena’s command was instantly nullified.

Whoosh!

Zeorjius’s scythe cut through the air.

Elena understood immediately what had happened.

He had just nullified her command.

A drop of cold sweat slid down Elena’s cheek.

Zeorjius reentered his domain.

Elena increased the speed of her lips.

“Stop.”

“Stop.”

“Stop!”

“Stop!”

Zeorjius swung his scythe powerfully, nullifying all of Elena’s commands.

Everything was ineffective.

0.027 seconds had passed.

The next moment, Zeorjius was standing behind Elena, pressing the blade of the scythe against her neck.

“My victory, Elena.”

Crash!

With Zeorjius’s declaration, the shockwave from his movement split the ground, and a storm erupted.

“I said, I will acknowledge defeat if you’re about to die. You must have figured out the power of this scythe by now.”

Elena swallowed hard.

“Why have you been hiding it until now?”

“I didn’t want to use it.”

Zeorjius calmly explained the truth.

“The Blue of Death isn’t just a power that accelerates my body and the target to death. It requires a price. Literally, I must charge toward death.”

Zeorjius explained this matter plainly.

“The more I accelerate, the more my lifespan shortens.”

“What?”

Elena understood immediately.

He was crazy.

Powerful people who have everything often desire one thing.

Time.

Time is fair to everyone. Youth doesn’t return. Death inevitably comes for all. Even the emperor who holds the world in his hands or the billionaire with endless wealth cannot escape it.

Zeorjius had paid a price by shortening his life to move away from the hair’s spears and to charge toward Elena, erasing her commands.

Maybe a day, a week, a month, or even a year had been shaved off.

He had willingly paid time to defeat her.

‘So badly… you want me?’

Elena was taken aback but quickly discarded the thought.

‘No, I’m the same.’

By strengthening her commands, every action she took also reduced her own time.

But even so…

“You can’t accept defeat, can you?”

Elena denied it.

“Accelerating a target’s death… that’s time acceleration. You might have tricked me into thinking it was something else. From the start, you set the stage to decide victory, didn’t you, Zeo? If you could make someone reach death just by stabbing them, no one in the world would be able to challenge you. It’s hard to believe.”

“You coward!”

Darkmatter, who had been watching the fight, suddenly lunged at Elena. She hadn’t expected this interruption, and she took a direct hit from his punch.

“Zeo used his trump card, sacrificing his own life. So what? You said you’d accept defeat if your life was in danger!”

“How dare you call me a coward? You, a mongrel! Stop!”

Darkmatter froze in place, his body stiffened from Elena’s command. His fist trembled with rage.

“Zeo, what about you? Do you think I’m a coward too?”

Zeorjius didn’t respond.

“We aren’t villains. Isn’t it natural to prioritize betrayal over faith and contracts over loyalty? Vengeance is a threat to the divine. I can’t give up this crucial battle just for some petty promise.”

Elena said, but Zeorjius didn’t believe that was the only reason.

By this point, their one-on-one duel had clearly shown her intentions.

She truly wanted to confirm something.

Zeorjius’s strength.

“This battle is over! Zeo won! Hurry up and release the command you placed on him! He’ll get hurt again!”

Darkmatter desperately shouted, straining with all his might.

“Hurt? Hmph.”

A strange smile crossed Elena’s face. From Darkmatter’s words, it was clear that Zeorjius was also affected by her combat commands.

She had been misleading him all along.

Elena was about to speak again, but Zeorjius was faster.

“You’ll regret this.”

“Why?”

“Since Hanel Lens has failed, the only way to enhance your command is through my skill.”

“Indeed, Dark Matter is impressive. You’ve already moved by 2 centimeters. But that’s just the level of a rookie.”

Elena’s hair fluttered.

“I’ve seen your power, Jeo. I admit it, you’re strong. But to make me feel the threat of death, you should’ve at least pulled out my heart, don’t you think?”

“I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“How feeble. No matter how strong the ability is, if the one using it retreats, the ability becomes as futile as well. Is that the mindset you have to enhance my command?”

“It took me one year.”

“…What are you saying?”

Jeo continued calmly.

“Blue Sable didn’t even know she had powers. She was a punk from a gang operating in the back alleys.”

“…What?”

“Yellow Clocker was a sophomore in business administration at university. He had never even thrown a punch in his life.”

Elena’s eyebrows twitched.

What is this man saying?

“Green Nature was a failed student at Hero Academy. He was ostracized by his peers and ignored by the teachers due to his low grades.”

“Silver Mirror had the basics. He was trained as an assassin in his family’s dojo. He was late to join but had skills. Still, at best, he was just an A-class hero.”

“They certainly had talent.”

“But do you think talent alone can make them S-class heroes in just one year and earn the title of the S-Team?”

“The ability of the Red Dragon was known as the light arrow. But actually, there are four active skills. You’ve seen one of them, Elena.”

“But the most important ability is the passive skill, ‘The Soul of a Companion.’”

“It accelerates the growth of a companion.”

With that, Jeo removed his transformation.

The solid crimson shell disappeared, replaced by the soft skin of a human.

Elena would recognize the man standing there instantly.

And at that moment, she understood everything.

“Now it’s my turn to ask, Elena.”

Jeo, the Red Dragon, Jeong I-seok, was staring directly into Elena’s eyes.

As their gazes met, Elena could feel her heart racing uncontrollably.

Without realizing it, she clutched her skirt at the edges with her fingers.

“…What is it, that you’re curious about?”

“Who is it that you want to save?”

Elena gritted her teeth, the pressure cracking her teeth and making blood trickle out.

“There are things you don’t know, Jeo.”

“I don’t claim to know everything either.”

“True, that’s right.”

Elena turned her eyes away, lost in thought.

Red Dragon.

If this man, the strongest hero, wanted to take her life, it would have been possible at any moment.

But he didn’t.

He faced her with full power.

He poured everything into winning, while keeping the condition not to harm or kill her.

‘You too must have a wish.’

A very strong one, at that.

Elena finally spoke.

“Yuchaemi.”

She answered in a soft, fluttering voice.

“I want to save Yuchaemi.”