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I got to the point after exchanging smiles that neither of us quite understood.

"Foara, could you guide me to the iron trees?"

"Sure, I'll lead the way right now."

It must have been his duty as a member of the student council.

With determined steps, Foara began to venture into the forest.

It seemed clear that he wanted to complete this mission successfully and transition from a temporary to a permanent member.

‘Although I’d prefer to prevent that.’

The issue of the Grand Forest of Spirits needed to be resolved as quickly as possible.

Especially with the upcoming mock battle, I needed to employ some tricks.

So I followed Foara diligently through the Grand Forest.

As we delved deeper, I began to grasp the true meaning of a spirit medium in the Forest of Spirits.

When I first arrived, the trees were dense and unyielding.

But as Foara began to walk, the trees parted, and the grass split to clear a path.

It was as if the entire forest was welcoming him.

‘There’s a reason Nikita sent a spirit medium.’

The Grand Forest of Spirits is notoriously averse to outsiders.

But a spirit medium is different.

Spirit mediums are those blessed by the spirits.

Thus, the trees, inhabited by spirits, eagerly welcomed him.

‘Foara’s sensitivity to spirits seems higher than other mediums.’

During my time playing the game, I often visited the Grand Forest of Spirits.

Lucas had enough spiritual sensitivity to qualify as a spirit medium himself.

When visiting as a spirit medium, the forest's demeanor was noticeably different than when visiting without that title.

Even so, Foara was exceptional.

‘He only exits the stage during the boycott incident in Act 4.’

Foara was undoubtedly a talented spirit medium, good enough to have enrolled in Zerion Academy.

The student council must have swiftly taken him in as a temporary member for this reason.

‘Good choice bringing her along.’

Each step Foara took was met with a cooperative forest, easing our journey through the Grand Forest.

Soon, I began to feel a chill.

The Grand Forest of Spirits, usually warm due to the spirits' presence,

should never feel cold, especially not in seasons other than winter.

“Ugh, it’s freezing.”

Even Foara shivered under the sudden cold.

What lay ahead was a sight that shouldn’t exist.

A spirit tree, as if turned to iron, stood lifeless.

Even the spirit within seemed frozen into that metallic state.

The tree had lost all vitality.

“W-what is this?”

Foara, witnessing this for the first time, looked horrified.

The tale of the ironized spirit trees was well-known among upper-class students.

But as a first-year, Foara likely had never ventured this deep.

I approached the iron tree and ran my hand over it.

A cold that pierced my hand seeped in, like touching ice atop a frozen winter lake.

‘It’s worse than I expected.’

This event, initially meant to be resolved in the latter half of Act 2 after winter break,

had dragged on due to Lucas's absence and some unknown incident.

My crimson eyes scanned the surroundings quietly.

“Foara, can you sense the spirits?”

“N-no. I can’t sense anything! It’s empty here!”

Foara's face turned pale as he answered.

Spirits are like nature itself.

Where there’s nature, there are spirits.

And in the Grand Forest of Spirits, their density is far higher than anywhere else.

For such a place to feel devoid of spirits indicated an irreversible catastrophe.

‘Exactly as I thought.’

I removed my hand from the iron tree.

The spirits were trapped inside this iron.

It was only natural that their presence couldn’t be felt.

"I'm going in. You stay here and wait."

"What? But, senior, it’s too dangerous to go alone!"

"I’ll be fine. If it gets dangerous, I’ll signal you. Stay here."

Foara was no longer of use as a spirit medium in this situation.

What was needed here was one thing:

‘A fierce flame that can even melt iron.’

This was why the third title in the Demon Dungeon Academy Slayer series was named The Flame Butterfly Arc.

Lucas's indomitable fighting spirit was the key to resolving every incident.

But now, with Lucas gone, that flame had completely extinguished.

The world had lost its fire.

What remained were only charred embers.

However,

Even embers must reignite.

To sustain a world without fire,

I had to become the fuel for the spark.

I opened my bag.

Inside was a bottle, which I placed carelessly next to the tree.

This was my insurance.

I looked down at my faintly trembling hand.

The tension from what was to come must’ve been catching up to me.

I slapped my hand lightly and stood up.

From my bag, I pulled out another item.

Wrapped carefully in special cloth, it emanated a searing heat as I held it.

I placed it on the ironized ground and removed the wrapping.

Whoosh—

A wave of heat escaped, warming my face instantly.

The biting cold of the iron forest was consumed in the heat.

Underneath the unwrapped cloth lay a coarse red crystal.

Inside, a flame burned fiercely.

This was the Essence of Fire.

The remains of a fire spirit after its life ended.

Its heat still retained the spirit’s former power.

‘The spirit mediums would have fainted seeing this.’

Carrying a spirit’s remains was a taboo among spirit mediums.

But for me, it didn’t matter.

After all, I wasn’t a spirit medium.

‘I must guide this world to its rightful fate.’

Even if I’m labeled a heretic, I’ll use whatever is necessary for the greater good.

In the iron-cold forest, I set the fire alight.

The burning Essence of Fire illuminated the area, while my gaze remained chilling.

‘It’s coming.’

A fierce chill swept in from that direction the moment I raised my head.

Darkness began to consume the surroundings.

A bizarre sound of something scraping against the iron floor echoed in my ears.

Shiver—

A chilling sensation coursed through my body as I drew in a sharp breath.

And soon, what appeared before my eyes was an entity that emerged from the darkness.

It was a being made of icy cold steel.

She resembled both a single-bladed sword and a woman with long flowing hair.

A being that should have ascended to become a deity.

Yet, for some reason, she failed to achieve godhood and fell endlessly, becoming a corrupted being.

This world refers to such entities as Mysteries.

Possessed by the Flame Butterfly’s fragment for the first time today, I encountered the first Mystery of this world that I would face countless times in the future.

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* * *

The Grand Forest of Spirits in the northern Dragon Mountain Range.

I came here to resolve the abnormalities occurring within this sacred forest.

And now, I stand face-to-face with a Mystery.

Before me is a woman forged of icy steel.

The chilling aura emanating from her transformed the trees of the forest into iron.

I cautiously adjusted my stance.

The Mystery, the "Empress of Steel."

A fallen entity, one that failed to become a god, now wanders aimlessly and has taken root in the Grand Forest of Spirits.

Ordinarily, the divine power of the Spirit Lord, who guarded this forest as they approached godhood, would have kept any Mystery at bay.

But the Spirit Lord of the Grand Forest eventually completed their ascension to divinity.

As a result, the forest lost the protection of its guardian Spirit Lord.

And that created an opening.

The Empress of Steel took advantage of the vacancy and infiltrated the Grand Forest of Spirits.

‘That’s how it happened.’

That’s how the Empress of Steel came to reside in this sacred forest.

‘The protagonist, Lucas, melts the Empress of Steel with the Flame of Resolve.’

The Empress of Steel desires to rid herself of the frost that engulfs her.

The frost isn’t her original power but a curse she gained upon becoming a Mystery.

Mysteries, those who failed to become gods, harbor deep self-loathing.

Thus, she desperately wishes to rid herself of the power she inherited as a Mystery.

That’s why the Empress of Steel becomes a moth drawn to Lucas’ Flame of Resolve.

After defeating the Empress of Steel, Lucas receives gratitude from the spirits.

During this process, the newly elected Spirit Lord offers Lucas a contract.

And this marks the beginning of Lucas’ Spirit Summoner route.

‘But Lucas isn’t here right now.’

The Flame of Resolve that could melt the Empress of Steel doesn’t exist here.

All I have is the Essence of Fire at best.

But even the Essence of Fire is enough to draw her out.

She longs for warmth more than anything.

Anything with warmth will attract her.

[Urgh… Hrrr…]

As expected, the Empress of Steel began charging in this direction.

Her target was the Essence of Fire I had placed in front of me.

Desperately seeking warmth, she hurled herself toward the Essence of Fire.

Sizzle!

But the frost radiating from the Empress of Steel quickly extinguished the Essence of Fire.

The power of the Essence of Fire is nothing more than the strength of a single spirit.

It stood no chance against her overwhelming frost, which could turn even spirit-infused trees into steel.

[Urgh… Ugh…]

Crack! Clang!

The Empress of Steel shattered the extinguished Essence of Fire.

Creak!

Simultaneously, the ground beneath her feet transformed into solid steel.

She was furious at being unable to satisfy her longing for warmth.

A gust of frost-laden wind began to howl.

The spirits, trembling with fear, made the trees of the forest shudder like aspen leaves.

Slowly, the Empress of Steel turned her head toward me.

Light vanished, and darkness began to engulf the surroundings once more.

Shiver—

Once again, a chill ran down my spine.

Mysteries are beings that were supposed to ascend to godhood but didn’t.

Naturally, their power is far beyond anything a human can compare to.

Perhaps that’s why my body was screaming at me.

It was telling me to run away, immediately, from here.

No matter how much I had played the Flame Butterfly game, that was just a game.

Faced with an otherworldly, incomprehensible threat in reality, I couldn’t help but feel afraid.

My body trembled instinctively in fear.

It was unavoidable.

No matter how much I knew about this world, I was still just human.

Now that this is real, confronting a mysterious danger in person, fear inevitably crept in.

But there was something I feared even more.

‘Facing such a monster head-on makes me realize…’

I suddenly found myself trapped in a world that wasn’t real, a world that had become reality.

Though I knew this world better than anyone else, I hadn’t truly lived it, making me someone who understood it the least.

That’s what I was—a stranger to this world.

I was afraid.

Not of the monsters but of the possibility that this world, which I thought I knew, might become unfamiliar and unrecognizable.

I didn’t know what I could possibly do if that happened.

And so, I kept trying to fill the void left by the absence of the protagonist.

If I didn’t, I feared I would become unnecessary in this world.

‘Cogs.’

Humans are said to be social creatures.

The more a cog is misaligned, the more fear takes hold.

I had already experienced this once before.

Back when I was seen as a promising figure in my field.

When an unforeseen injury crushed my dreams and hurled me into society with nothing but myself.

I felt utterly worthless then.

That’s why I understood this fear so well.

And it’s also why I became so absorbed in the Flame Butterfly game.

I used the game as an escape from a life that had become misaligned.

But now, even my sanctuary was collapsing.

My only refuge was turning me away.

Before I knew it, my fists were clenched.

Continuing the story beyond the bad ending is my obsession and my pride.

But even if it’s just that—my obsession and pride—

I wanted to protect this world.

This place that had become my only refuge and happiness.

So, even now, I would do anything to preserve it.

I raised my head.

The Empress of Steel, a mysterious and incomprehensible being, was before me.

She would be the foundation and the power for everything that lay ahead.

The arduous trials that Lucas was supposed to endure.

I would face the first of those trials myself.

My crimson eyes blazed with fierce determination.

The Empress of Steel no longer scared me.

I had already faced something far more terrifying.

Even without the Flame of Resolve.

I ignited a different kind of fire within me and raised my fists.

“Come.”

I will continue this world—for myself.

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