THE VILLAIN'S POV

"You are the Saint, and you saved us before, so I assume you stand on our side… but there are too many questions that demand answers. First of all—why now? Why intervene at this time, of all times? And where have you been all these years?"

Frey's voice carried caution. Even though she had saved him, he never once lowered his guard before the Saint. Too much mystery surrounded her.

If she had been nearby all this time, then why had she remained hidden? Why not appear when the world was falling into chaos?

Snow wanted to speak but held his tongue, for he too wanted to hear her answer.

Thankfully, Liora did not shy away.

"Your questions are fair, Frey Starlight. And I will answer them all. There is no need for such hostility."

She gestured toward the World Tree, speaking calmly.

"Since the First War against the demons, the world believed I had vanished… that I had died, fading away somewhere unseen. But the truth is different. I have remained within the World Tree all this time. It sheltered me, keeping me in slumber for centuries."

The World Tree was no mere plant, but a mysterious being of unfathomable power—power enough to conceal even one of Liora's caliber without anyone ever discovering her presence.

Though her body had slept, her consciousness had remained awake, entwined with the Tree, ever watchful of the world.

"As for why I appear now… it was to save you, Frey Starlight, and you, Snow Lionheart. As for why I hid for so long—" she paused, her tone deepening. "That is another story altogether."

"A story that begins hundreds of years ago, with the First Demon Invasion… with the truths erased from history itself."

The moment she mentioned that ancient war, the three of them—Frey, Snow, and Uriel—fixed their full attention on her.

Little was known of that era. History's records were fragments at best.

To Frey especially, it carried a heavier weight. He now knew he was not in another world but in the future of his own. Which meant… that First War had taken place shortly after the time of his own death, before his transmigration.

Liora fell into a long silence, as though choosing carefully where to begin.

"I suppose I must start from the very beginning. But instead of words… it is better that I show you. The things my eyes once witnessed—before I lost them."

She clasped her hands together. At once, light engulfed Frey, Snow, and Uriel, drawing them into Liora's distant memories.

"Remarkable… you can make us see your memories," Uriel whispered in awe.

"Not all of them," Liora replied, smiling faintly. "Only the clearest ones. And you, Frey Starlight—stop resisting me with your aura. If you continue, I won't be able to hold you here."

Her tone was half annoyed, half amused. Frey lowered his guard slightly, offering a quiet apology.

His aura had already reached SSS-tier. If he wished, he could resist her intrusion entirely. The fact unsettled Liora, sparking further curiosity about his strange power.

But now was her turn to answer, not his.

The visions sharpened.

The Earth—hundreds of years ago.

A peaceful, ordinary world… before everything changed. Before the Gates appeared. Before the Demon Army poured forth, bringing humanity to the brink of extinction.

Through Liora's eyes, they watched.

"The demons came from nothing. And in the span of mere days… they slaughtered us in numbers too great to count. We had no way to resist."

The images were horrific. Demons tearing through flesh, bodies shredded apart in grotesque violence.

A race that fed on aura, that brought only death wherever it set foot.

"In those days, humans began to awaken their abilities. They discovered they could wield aura. But their control was primitive—weak, unstable. We had no power to stand against the demons."

Yes, mankind had awakened. But what could newborn strength do against demons who had existed for millions of years?

The war was hopeless. One-sided. Humanity faced annihilation.

Before Frey and the others, the scenes unfolded: humanity broken, massacred daily by the millions.

It was devastation beyond anything they had ever witnessed. Even the War of Darkness seemed like child's play compared to the wholesale slaughter of the past.

"We died day and night," Liora said grimly. "We could not even fight properly. But then… everything changed when they appeared."

Frey and Snow both widened their eyes as figures emerged in the vision.

A group of humans—yet unlike any they had seen before. They wielded aura with mastery, as though it had always belonged to them.

"They were strong. Beyond strong. On a level no other humans of that era could even approach."

It was they who first laid down the rules of aura, the combat styles, the very foundations upon which the world now stood. They were far ahead, almost impossibly so.

Frey stared in shock. Snow too recognized one among them.

A dark-skinned woman.

An old man with a strange blade.

A young spearman.

And a small boy with short golden hair, soaring through the air.

There were more. Many more.

But Frey knew these faces. He had seen them before—in his father's memories, within the Shadow Sect. He had even encountered one in Londor, when he had found the Nameless mask.

They were the same.

"This group of outsiders," Liora continued, "was the reason humanity survived. They shared their knowledge. They gave us their methods. And so we called them… the Readers."

"…The Readers?" Frey repeated, unable to hide his astonishment.

Liora nodded. Her expression was heavy with memory.

"When the Gates first appeared, a book was discovered. It told of events eerily similar to what had befallen our world. The coming of the demons. The Gates. The awakening of aura. All of it was written inside—a mere novel, authored by a man no one knew. A man who died quietly, in some forgotten corner of the world."

In that moment, a title appeared before them.

"Its name was… Land of Survival."

The instant Frey heard it, his head throbbed violently.

"The Readers of that novel already knew what was coming. Armed with the knowledge written within, they grew powerful at incredible speed, and they guided humanity forward. To us, that book became sacred. A heavenly scripture. A revelation from another world."

"With the Readers, we were able to rise. We were able to fight. All of it… because of a single novel, long lost, yet carved into the minds of its readers."

The revelation struck like thunder.

"A fictional story… predicting reality with perfect accuracy? That's impossible," Snow muttered, stunned.

"You are right," Liora said, nodding softly. "It is impossible. And yet… it happened."

"The author died before we could reach him. He took the answers with him to the grave. And so, all that remained were his words… and his Readers."

She spoke with regret, her voice tinged with sorrow.

For she believed the truth had died with that unknown author.

But she could never have imagined…

That very author now stood before her, wearing the face of Frey Starlight—his expression twisting as he heard a truth he never thought he'd encounter.