Chapter 77: The Crimson Spear

Aveela Misquila, one of the seven pillars of legend standing at the very pinnacle of humanity’s current strength. Her name rarely came up in social media, and her face was fairly difficult to find, because above all else, she was better known by her title.

Aveela Misquila — The Crimson Spear.

She wasn’t just a legend noted for having climbed all the way to Rank-A, her reputation and title had been earned through genuine achievement.

A woman with purple hair, streaked with strands of pink woven through underneath, dark red eyes gleaming like crystal, a cold expression always radiating an aura that overwhelmed every battlefield, and finally, a crimson spear serving as her primary weapon, capable of inflicting devastation beyond reason.

If citizens were asked which legendary pillar they admired most?

Aveela would undoubtedly rank as the most popular, the most beloved. Because her very presence carried something so mystical it had positively shaped the lives of countless children, all the way into adulthood.

She was renowned for her striking beauty, her overwhelming aura, and just how much she’d contributed to safeguarding humanity’s future.

To the older generation, Aveela was practically a goddess, a beacon of hope. To today’s children, Aveela was a living, breathing legend straight out of a fairy tale, real and tangible in this world.

"It’s genuinely shocking that person turned out to actually be Manager Yuena."

Julian still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that his once heavy-drinking manager, always complaining about her overwhelming workload, had now become one of humanity’s central pillars.

’Still, I’m glad I’m apparently not alone in this world. At least, I’ve got someone I actually recognize here.’

Especially since that person happened to be someone extraordinarily close to Julian, and had grown remarkably powerful.

Over these past two days, Julian simply couldn’t stop thinking about Aveela. Countless questions lingered without answers, and the ones that did get answered only brought about even more questions.

It’d be fair to say Julian could barely sleep because of it all. He couldn’t shake her from his mind for even a second, not while training alongside Kina, not while handing over skill books he’d retrieved from the Academy’s archives, not while spending time with Ilunia, and not even while simply relaxing and enjoying his own downtime.

Every second, every minute, every hour, Aveela always found her own way of slipping back into his thoughts.

And here Julian now stood. He opened his front door, finding the sky still fairly dark, the air cold and crisp, and his gaze settled on Aveela, standing right outside his door, having just rung the bell moments earlier.

"Good morning~" Aveela smiled, greeting Julian with an easygoing expression. She wore a simple uniform in a deep, dark red, a cloak fastened across her back giving her an elegant look, though not overly extravagant.

Julian said nothing. Meanwhile, Aveela raised both hands, shaping her fingers into a makeshift camera frame, holding it up to one eye while closing the other.

"Hmm... incredible."

"...What are you even doing, manager?"

Aveela didn’t answer, simply taking in Julian’s appearance and quietly praising it in her mind. Of course, Julian had always carried a certain kind of charm that Aveela found genuinely appealing, so watching this quieter version of him was a new and thoroughly delightful sight.

"Huhu, just as I thought, I really do have good taste in this department."

Julian stayed quiet listening to that, of course, he understood exactly what Aveela meant by it, but he didn’t think it required any kind of response.

’Why is this woman so unhinged?’ At the very least, he was certain he shouldn’t let whatever thoughts were in his head actually slip out.

Oblivious to Julian’s thoughts, Aveela kept smiling, then stepped slightly aside to give Julian room to walk out.

And the moment Julian stepped outside, Aveela fell in step beside him, leaning in to whisper.

"You really don’t want to sleep with me again? I’ll be nice this time, I promise."

Julian’s entire body shuddered briefly, though his expression stayed flat and indifferent. "No."

"Hmm... look at me, Julian, darling," Aveela cupped both of Julian’s cheeks, turning his gaze to meet hers directly.

That left Julian’s entire body frozen stiff. He could see Aveela’s face up close, in perfect clarity, the way she breathed so softly, how pleasant her scent was, and ultimately, how all of it genuinely triggered a certain reaction in him.

"What are you doing, manager?" Julian fought to hold himself together, confident enough in his own expression that he knew it wouldn’t crack, so he refused to let his mind spiral too far.

Aveela kept smiling, laced with a hint of mischief. "Are you sure you don’t want to do it, just once? Sure, we’ve done it before, but this time will feel different, you know. Look, my body’s different now, so obviously it’ll feel different too."

That was a valid point, but could Julian actually bring himself to step back into that particular hell?

No, he was a coward, so he refused.

"No."

Aveela pouted hearing that, letting out a small sigh before clicking her tongue in irritation.

"Fine, I won’t push it," After that, she glanced around briefly. The Canelo residential district was still remarkably quiet at this early hour, but through her keen observation, Aveela noticed several eyes watching them directly. "Julian, darling, shall we head out now? I’m getting a little uncomfortable with all these eyes on us."

Julian tilted his head hearing that, glancing around in confusion, but finding no one at all.

Then, his mind worked faster once he realized there might be some kind of crisis brewing.

"...We’re being watched?"

"Yes."

Julian shuddered, giving a nervous smile internally. "Can’t you handle it?"

Aveela shrugged her shoulders, her lips curling into a small smirk. "I don’t want to, besides, there’s nothing they can actually do anyway. So, shall we just get going?"

’...Really?’ Julian glanced around once more. If there truly was nothing anyone could do, and if that’s what a genuine legend was telling him, then Julian nodded.

"Alright."

With those words, Aveela smiled with satisfaction, suddenly wrapping her arms around Julian’s. But to Julian, that was nothing new at all, his manager had done this fairly often back in the old days too.

If anything, this only confirmed that his manager hadn’t really changed all that much, even after all this time.

Julian felt genuinely pleased about that, so he was about to take a step forward when he suddenly realized both his feet were being swallowed up by something.

A dark purple light rose, engulfing his legs, then his entire body, before he vanished completely from where he stood, along with Aveela.

Before he could even process it, Julian screamed internally, feeling like his very soul might leap right out of his body from sheer shock, but that feeling lasted only a moment, because the next instant, Julian found himself back in the real world alongside Aveela.

Except, not in front of his house, he was now standing right in the middle of a thoroughly ruined civilization.