When Inso opened his eyes, what he saw was, however, totally unexpected.
Devi stood confident and strong, her expression as calm as someone choosing breakfast cereal. And the shadow spear that had been racing toward her? It vanished into thin air like it had never existed.
Not only was Inso shocked, but the evil woman too.
"Did she... dissolve my shadow?" the woman stammered, utterly confused. What stood before her seemed like a normal human, but she did something that even advanced-level species couldn't pull off. Rex, who had only managed to reform the shadows, squinted his eyes as he realised who Devi might be from a distance.
Devi remained completely unbothered, looking at the woman with dead serious eyes, her lashes fluttering dramatically like she was the protagonist of her own anime.
Something about Devi's confidence clearly irritated the shadow woman, who created a barrage of shadows aimed directly at her—enough to turn a normal person into ashes. Devi simply waved her hand with the casual grace of someone swatting a fly, dissolving all the shadows instantly before flicking her hair like it was nothing.
She had an invisible aura that could dissolve the shadows.
Since when could she do THAT?
Both Inso's and the evil woman's jaws dropped so hard they practically created craters in the ground.
DING!
[Ekkril: 200/100]
[Polaris: 10000/100]
[Polarum: 30000000000/100]
[Lars: 10/10]
[Polarum: Lars gave a score? Is the multiverse coming to an end?]
[Polaris: Maybe]
[Lars: ....]
[Polarum: Tch... He went AFK again]
The chat went crazy. Inso too. But in a different aspect.
"Is that really Noona? What's happening?" Inso's brows furrowed so hard they nearly merged into one. His thoughts meddled. Everything he thought he knew was being turned upside down. He couldn't believe his eyes, and he couldn't believe that was his Noona.
Meanwhile, the shadow woman—who should have been terrified—started laughing her lungs out.
"What's with this planet?" she cackled, her eyes literally transforming into heart shapes as she watched Devi's display of power. "They're giving me so many collections to add! Should I just take your whole planet? BWAHAHAHAHA!" Her laughter echoed through the area.
Devi looked at Inso with a smile that somehow contained both warmth and imminent danger as she mouthed the words, "MOVE. IT. #$#@!##" before smiling wider.
(Words have been censored by author's conscience)
It finally clicked in Inso's brain. This was definitely Devi—the same Devi who once wrapped a cockroach in a cute gift box and gave it to her senior, just because his stinky breath bothered her from desks away.
"Noona..." Inso was still spacing out when Devi opened her eyes wider in anger, her red eye nerves visibly pulsing even from that distance—a warning sign Inso knew all too well.
That's the "I'm-going-to-end-you" look, Inso thought, suddenly remembering all survival instincts.
He spun around and ran faster than he'd ever run in his life. He knew better than to get on her nerves. She was more dangerous than whatever aliens were chasing him.
The shadow woman noticed Inso's escape attempt. "It's not fun if you repeat the same thing, you know?" She teleported directly in front of Inso, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground.
But where the shadow woman went, Devi followed—grabbing her by the hair with the casual brutality of someone who'd had enough of this nonsense.
"Why don't we have a small chat?" Devi suggested sweetly before throwing the woman so far that she briefly resembled a shooting star in the sky.
[Polarum: YEEEET!]
"She'll come back again. Go fast," Devi warned as the evil woman returned like a shadow meteor, glaring at Devi with murderous intent.
Inso didn't have a choice. He ran and ran while his mind tried to process the day's events. Some alien guy wanted his eyes and almost killed him. Strange people were watching his life on LIVE stream as if it were some reality show. And the person he considered as a sister had apparently been a hidden member of the Avengers all along.
Life isn't supposed to be this dramatic, Inso thought desperately. I just wanted to sleep, DAMNIT!
Experiencing so many plot twists in a single night was giving him heart attack.
As Inso ran further, he began seeing blurry visions of molecules again—a sign he'd moved far enough from whatever was inhibiting his abilities. He paused and turned back to see what was happening.
Rex was still fighting his clone in an even match. Devi was giving the shadow woman a run for her money—not attacking, but dodging her attempts. From this distance, they all looked like ants, meaning Inso had traveled more than a kilometer.
Time to be useful for once, Inso thought.
He took a deep breath, pointed his hand toward the sky, and began densing the clouds. He manipulated the field to make them collide with each other, creating thunder.
"Just... a bit more..." Inso had already lost so much energy that making the clouds hit each other felt heavy. After sweating enough to fill a small swimming pool, he finally succeeded. The dense clouds collided, and rain began to fall.
The fake Rex fighting the real Rex slowly started to melt in the rain like a popsicle on a summer day. The shadow woman was shocked to see rain as water is something that's not available in most of the planets.
[Polarum: She didn't do enough research before coming to Earth LOL]
Unable to use her powers in the rain, she gave one last venomous glare in Inso's direction before dissolving like her shadows.
Inso's legs gave out, and he doubled over in exhaustion. The rain felt like a soothing shower after his desperate struggle for survival.
[Polaris: This one is too weak -_-]
[Lars: ....]
[Polarum: Don't bully my food!]
[Ekkril: He can improve... I guess?]
Inso was so annoyed by the comments that wrinkles formed on his forehead, but his mind was preoccupied with much bigger concerns. With what little energy he had left, he managed to stand up and watch as Devi approached him. What he felt was a mixture of confusion and betrayal.
Devi's face was serious—an expressionless straight face.
Inso could barely speak, but he managed to ask the question burning inside him: "Who are you, Noona?" It came out as if the Devi he'd known all this time had been an illusion. His heart clenched as a terrible thought crossed his mind—what if Devi was one of those after his eyes?
Just as they were having their emotional moment of truth...
DING!
[System: Congratulations. Player has successfully joined the party.]
[Polaris: Welcome, Noob.]
[Ekkril: Phew]
[Polarum: Yayy... Finally a cute species in our party.]
[Lars: ....]
[Nexus: Hearty greetings, Inso ^v^]
[Riliac: Ehhh? Who's this noob?]
[Texar: Who interrupted my rest 0_0]
Inso's nerve bulged visibly on his forehead. "Do you think I'm in the mood for jokes?" he growled, looking ready to fight whoever was responsible for these messages despite barely being able to stand.
Rex appeared beside casually. "They're not joking," he said with a dangerous smile.
Inso raised an eyebrow as Rex continued, "From now on, you're a member of our Party," his sinister smirk suggesting this wasn't exactly optional.
He didn't want side quests right now. All he wanted was an answer from his Noona, looking at her with eyes that practically screamed "EXPLAIN. NOW."
Devi sighed—the sigh of someone who'd been keeping secrets for too long. In the next moment, she touched her pendant and operated what appeared to be an invisible screen that only she could see.
[D logged in]
[D: Congrats Inso]
DING!
[Polaris: She's D? OO]
[Polarum: Wha.....!@#$%^&*^kjkjsksjksjk]
[Riliac: Ehhhhhhhhh?]
[Nexus: Welcome back, D. ^^]