How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game - Chapter 545: Tragedy....
Chapter 545: Tragedy….
“S–Stacia…?”
Her voice shook, familiar, fragile.
“Forgive me, Mother…” Stacia whispered as her blade slid forward.
A scenario where murder was inevitable.
“My dear daughter…” her father’s eyes softened, even as blood spilled.
“…Please rest, Father.”
A scenario where deception was the only path.
“Aghhhhhh!!!” The scream tore through the air as Vanessa’s hand reached toward her.
“I won’t ever forget this moment, Vanessa…”
A world where betrayal was the key.
One after another, tragedy upon tragedy.
Stacia’s mind had been shackled to a cycle of preset rules, a labyrinth of scripted betrayals and orchestrated heartbreaks.
Over and over again she was thrust into cruel stories—trials built from broken promises, corrupted memories, and twisted truths.
Each repetition gouged deeper into her chest.
Each death, each goodbye left scars that stacked until her heart could hardly bear the weight.
She endured them all.
Because Stacia was still human.
No matter how cold she tried to be, no matter how strong her will stood, being forced to slaughter loved ones—again and again—would shatter anyone.
The strain was unbearable.
And yet… she endured.
She knew.
She understood the rules of this false world. She knew she had the strength to burn through it.
The only reason she hadn’t already broken the chains was simple: she understood the game.
It could be cleared.
This wasn’t reality.
This was a cage of illusions.
Stacia wasn’t a fool.
From the moment the demonic clown appeared, grinning with painted malice, she knew.
Everything since then—the “family,” the “friends,” the betrayals—they were nothing but illusions designed to wear her down.
But illusions were still fragile.
And she was fire.
She would cut through every false scenario. She would endure every twisted trial.
She would kill the mother, the father, the friend, the child—however many times the clown forced her hand.
She would burn the lies, burn the stage, burn the clown’s painted mask until nothing but ash remained.
Because no matter how heinous the trial, no matter how many “realities” the demon conjured…
Stacia only needed to clear it.
And reach him.
And when she did—she would burn the clown to nothing.
After all, there was no better gift than making a demon realize just how pathetic they truly were.
To force them to see their tricks shattered, their illusions burned to ash.
That was why Stacia had chosen to clear every scenario exactly as it was laid before her.
To walk the path, play along, and then tear it down.
“Stacia…”
“Hm?”
“Are you tired?”
“No, not really…”
“Haha, you don’t have to lie with such a long face. With the girls away on vacation, taking care of all the children must have been a hassle. Don’t worry—Seo and Rose will be coming back soon.”
The man behind her leaned forward, arms sliding around her.
His embrace pressed her back against his chest as his hand tightened gently on the horse’s reins.
His warmth spread through her, steady, grounding.
“Rest for a bit. I’ll wake you when we get there.”
She tilted her head upward, meeting his gaze.
A familiar face.
Too familiar.
How many times had she seen that handsome smile?
Those kind, gentle eyes?
And still… each time, her chest ached.
They rode along a wide meadow path, the golden grasses swaying as the wind swept across the land.
The rhythmic gallop of the horse carried them through endless scenery—rolling hills bathed in sunlight, a horizon that shimmered like falling golden rain.
Peace. Beauty. A world untouched by darkness.
“Riley…” she murmured.
“Yes?” His voice was soft, filled with ease.
“Do you love me?”
He chuckled lightly, brushing her hair back as though the question was absurd. “What kind of question is that? Of course I do.”
Her lips curved in a small smile. “Fufu~”
Her heartbeat stuttered, racing with warmth at the sound of his words.
A perfect world.
A perfect ending.
A perfect happiness.
It was everything she had ever wished for.
Like a dream spun from her deepest desires.
And yet… she knew.
She knew what she had to do.
Her eyes drifted forward again, watching the golden plains stretch endlessly under the sun.
She had lost count of how many times she had ridden down this same road, held in the same embrace, heard the same promises whispered against her ear.
But it didn’t matter.
Her heart still trembled.
As she closed her eyes.
…Yes,
Maybe just one more time. Just one more so I won’t ever forget what this happiness feels like….
…….
[Luminous Pierce]
A flash of blinding white erupted as Lucas shot forward, his figure splitting the air like a streak of lightning.
For a heartbeat, he was light itself—his body vanishing and reappearing in a blur.
“Tsk…!”
Lavine clicked her tongue, her expression twisting with annoyance. “Just how stubborn are you, kid?”
With a sharp motion of her hand, space itself warped before her.
A translucent barrier rippled into existence, shimmering with unnatural distortions.
The forcefield caught Lucas mid-charge, stopping him dead in the air.
The impact rattled his bones.
His sword pressed against the shifting veil of magic, yet it would not yield.
Lucas snarled, muscles straining as he forced more strength into the strike. His arms trembled, teeth clenched so hard his jaw ached.
He could feel the barrier bending, but not breaking.
He knew—knew with grim certainty—that the instant that mysterious nun made her true move, the space between them would split apart again, widening an impossible gulf.
If that happened, he’d lose his chance to reach her.
So, he had to do it.
Now.
He drew in a deep breath, his body igniting with radiant mana.
[Lord of Light]
The invocation resounded through his chest as he raised his divinity to its peak. His holy sword thrummed in his grasp, resonating to his call, as if answering the desperate will of its wielder.
[Hero’s Blessing: EX]
[Sword of the Divine]
Both skills erupted at once.
The air thickened with sacred pressure, golden flames of radiance wreathing around him, condensing into searing rays that threatened to burn the very fabric of the dungeon.
[The world is responding to the divine one’s call]
His blade glowed with such intensity it was painful to look at—an unyielding star condensed into steel.
And then he moved.
Lucas swung downward.
WHHHIIIIISSSSHHHHH—!!!
The strike tore reality apart.
A vertical wave of pure, consecrated light ripped forward, obliterating everything in its path.
For an instant, the world went silent.
Black and white bled into everything—the ground, the ceiling, the twisted dungeon walls—all swallowed in that moment of frozen stillness.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!
The world convulsed as an explosion of divine light erupted outward, annihilating the barrier, the ground beneath them, and the very air in front of him.
Stone shattered.
The ceiling above disintegrated. The battlefield itself split as though heaven’s judgment had cleaved it in two.
When the light faded, smoke billowed in rolling waves across the ruined chamber.
Dust choked the air, and the metallic tang of burning stone filled his lungs.
Lucas exhaled raggedly, his chest heaving, steam rising from his body as if his very blood was boiling.
His arms shook from the recoil, his sword still blazing faintly with residual light.
He was exhausted—his vision wavered, his breath harsh.
But his eyes remained locked forward.
Tired or not, it didn’t matter. His focus hadn’t broken.
“Fufu~ Looks like master wasn’t kidding when he said you’d be full of surprises… we’ve been fighting for hours now and yet you show no sign of exhaustion, even with all those flashy moves….”
Her lips curved into a smirk, but behind that mask of confidence small beads of sweat traced down Lavine’s back.
In truth, she couldn’t even properly react to Lucas’s last attack.
That strike wasn’t merely cutting through space—it was severing everything indiscriminately, a line of pure will that ignored the very laws her spatial magic relied on.
It reminded her faintly of the Hidden Blade technique’s final move, yet… it wasn’t the same.
This boy’s sword didn’t just bypass defenses—it carried something more absolute. Something heavier.
The only reason she was still standing was because of her pre-laid runes, scattered invisibly across the battlefield.
Emergency sigils that auto-triggered her teleportation in case of an unforeseen strike.
She hadn’t expected to rely on them.
She hadn’t expected him to force her hand this far.
’Remember, Lavine—push him as much as possible…’
Riley’s calm words echoed in her head, and for the first time, she felt the true weight behind them.
At first, she thought it would be a simple assignment—play with the boy, test his limits, sharpen him in the fire of combat.
But standing here now, heart pounding in spite of herself, she realized one misstep and her body would have been cleaved apart beyond restoration.
Her gaze flicked toward his still glowing sword, white and gold light cascading down its edge.
The oppressive radiance never wavered. Depending on its qualities… even her soul might not recover if she took a direct hit.
She licked her lips, suppressing a bitter chuckle.
Of course, in her true form, Lavine had no doubts—Lucas would be nothing more than a child playing knight, snuffed out in an instant.
But this wasn’t a battle of dominance.
This wasn’t about her strength.
This was a trial.
A progression.
And Lucas… was evolving faster than even she anticipated.
Their eyes met—gold against violet—and in that instant the world itself seemed to hold its breath.
Lucas stepped forward.
The ground quaked under his advance, loose stone rising into the air as though gravity itself bent away from him.
The atmosphere thickened, pressing down on anything alive nearby.
Even the dungeon walls groaned, as if reality wasn’t accustomed to carrying the weight of his existence.
His golden eyes narrowed, feathers of radiant light flickering across his form—soft, yet divine, carrying a warmth that burned even demons to ash.
Lavine’s breath hitched.
This kid…
It was then she finally understood.
She had questioned what Lucas was from the very first clash, but deep down she had always known something like this would appear.
She had already confirmed the existence of two beings strong enough to erase the world itself.
And so, inevitably, the world answered back.
A countermeasure.
She thought it was supposed to be her master but…
A child born carrying the goddess’s blood, blessed not through ritual or devotion, but by right of birth.
“Where are my friends, demonic worshipper!” Lucas’s voice thundered, steady despite the strain, as his aura flared higher and higher.
The radiance around him swelled like an endless tide, each wave brighter than the last.
He wasn’t supposed to have this much mana.
He wasn’t supposed to stand this long.
Even Lucas himself didn’t understand it—yet at this moment, he didn’t care.
His juniors came first. Always.
Lavine recalled Riley’s quiet instruction. “Make him question his true purpose.”
She sighed internally, biting back a curse.
Tsk… I’m going to make you pay me double for this, master.
Riley had already told her she could claim as much mana as she wanted as her fee.
Good.
Because right now she was dancing on the razor’s edge between life and death, and she wasn’t in the mood for negligence.
She looked back at Lucas, and in the blink of an eye—
—his sword was already at her throat. A streak of divine brilliance only centimeters away from severing her head.
[High-Ranked Celestial Magic]
[Chronos]
Time froze.
SNAP!
With the sharp crack of her fingers, the flow of reality twisted.
Lucas’s body contorted unnaturally, his strike veering away as though space itself rejected him.
His form was hurled aside, bent and repelled like a broken puppet, crashing into the dungeon floor.
“AGHHH!!” Lucas cried out, pain tearing through his voice.
Lavine tilted her head, smiling thinly, though her lungs burned and her heart thundered with the aftershock of what she’d just done.
One step closer and I really would’ve lost my neck…
