Even when the sky falls, there's always a way out.

Baek Yu-Seol came to believe it after his parents passed away when he was fifteen.

It was a heavy and melancholy memory, but this wasn’t the time for reminiscing.

Anyway, he’d always lived with the mindset of ‘What’s the worst that can happen? I might die?’

No matter what happened, there was always a way to solve it, and each time he overcame a crisis, he would reassure himself with, ‘I made it through this time too.’

Even in the Aether World, it was no different. He’d faced countless hardships and challenges far more intense than anything on Earth, but he overcame all those obstacles to stand here.

However, this time might be a bit more difficult.

'Reverse calculate!'

[Insufficient mana. Impossible.]

'Try to find a solution. Any solution!'

[None exists.]

Listening to the cold voice of his Sentient Spec, he bit his lips. Watching him, Mellie Sher perched on her broom and smiled leisurely.

"Do you understand a little now?"

It was a bluff.

Mellie Sher no longer had the strength to use any more magic. If Baek Yu-Seol decided to attack, he could kill her right away.

But...

Would that action have any meaning?

[Impossible]

[Impossible]

[Impossible. Impossible. Impossible...]

Seeing the 'Impossible' messages filling one lens of his spec, he couldn't help but feel disheartened.

Disabling the illusion shield was impossible no matter what method he used. Even if he killed Mellie Sher, he was destined to be trapped here forever.

This situation wasn't even recorded in his Sentient Spec.

The 'Illusion Shield’ was supposed to exist for the convenience of the boss battle. Players would enter, defeat Mellie Sher, and the shield would automatically collapse.

But now, it was not a boss battle; he was trapped in the 'boss room' created for the fight, unable to leave.

Is this the difference between the game and reality?

He had always been careful not to confuse the game with reality, but here he was, facing a major variable that he had no idea how to handle.

"Why so glum? Have you already lost your will?"

Baek Yu-Seol pressed his lips tightly together and looked up to meet Mellie Sher’s eyes.

"If you want, kneel and beg. Maybe I'll consider..."

[Flash]

"Ugh?!"

Not wanting to hear any more of her blabbering, he flew up into the sky, making her hastily retreat. Expecting this, he pulled out a witch hunter's magic item and threw it into the air.

[Claw of the One-Armed Monkey]

Swoosh!

A net shaped like a monkey's arm sprang from the air and trapped Mellie Sher’s body. However, she clicked her tongue and shook her head lightly, tearing the net to pieces.

But it was enough to bind her momentarily.

He approached quickly and swung his sword, but Mellie Sher twisted her broom's direction forcefully and plummeted downward.

There was a slight gap between the flash. No matter how hard he tried, there was an unavoidable delay to precisely control the distance and execute the flash flawlessly.

Most mages he faced noticed this brief gap, and Mellie Sher was no different.

As she likely judged this to be his weak point and tried to attack, the witch descended from her broom and attempted to gather her mana while falling, but...

Click!

’Sahalen’s Beaker.'

An ancient artifact cherished by witch hunters. It was known for its barrier sealing technique that could bind the opponent's soul. However, it was only effective against weaker opponents.

The true power of this artifact lay in the explosion of the evil spirits sealed within it.

Whoosh!

As Baek Yu-Seol threw the beaker at Mellie Sher, who was aiming her broom at him, she belatedly sensed the danger and hastily erected a shield.

‘It's useless.’

If it were a physical magic shield, it might have worked, but a shield made of her remaining mana and illusions couldn't stop this.

Crash!

The impact sounded unexpectedly cute for such an ancient artifact.

However, the effect was undeniable.

“Ah! Ugh...!”

Mellie Sher was impaled by Sahalen’s Beaker and suddenly hugged herself as if her body was being crushed. She started coughing up blood.

“Cough...!”

If her mana were intact, hitting her with a simple throw would have been difficult. But in her current exhausted state, he managed to strike her by sheer luck.

Mellie Sher coughed up blood and crashed to the ground and rolled to a stop in a corner of Arcanium's buildings.

Not wasting the opportunity, Baek Yu-Seol teleported close and plunged his sword into her chest with all his might.

Thud!!

"Ugh...!"

He missed.

Her hastily created shield deflected his sword, and he ended up stabbing her shoulder.

Crackle!!

He wanted to strike her vital point again, but red electricity started crackling from her body, forcing him to retreat.

"Hah. Disgusting bastard... hiding an artifact like that..."

Using her broom for support herself, Mellie Sher struggled to stand and looked up, staggering. Despite the cold sweat streaming down her face, she forced a smile.

"Heh, hehheh. Sure, you might be able to kill me. But then... what will you do?"

Crash!!

Glass shards exploded from the air, causing the space to start cracking. Between the torn spaces, a dark void appeared.

A space where nothing existed. The true form of the illusion world created by Mellie Sher’s magic.

Even if her life ended, this world would never disappear, leaving him trapped in a formless void without direction, time, space, or color. To be forever tormented.

"Huh? Say something. Do you think killing me will change anything? You'll live in that hell, unable to die."

There was no solution. Killing Mellie Sher wasn't even a bad option; it was just a way to vent his frustration. Yet, he pointed his sword at her.

She was too weak to continue fighting, and he could behead her in a few moves.

But why couldn't he move?

Guilt?

Impossible.

He had no qualms about killing evildoers. He was confident he wouldn't hesitate when the moment came to strike someone down.

But... If he really killed Mellie Sher here, then all hope might be gone.

That scared him.

"Do you still think there's a way? You're so pathetic... No different from other mages."

A variable.

This was just a small accident caused by an unforeseen variable.

In that case, he needed to introduce another variable. He had always been a variable in this world, so it could work this time too.

Even though his Sentient Spec couldn’t reverse calculate the magic, and none of his physical attacks were effective, he kept trying.

As long as he kept wracking his brain for solutions, just like before, he could create a 'variable'...

'... There's no way to make that happen.'

Realizing that no magic could interfere with the illusion shield, he had reached his limit.

All his methods and means were blocked. Even the Sentient Spec couldn't think of a solution, and he had no magical knowledge.

Moreover, he had never faced such a situation in the game.

Being neither a mage nor anything else, just an ordinary 'person,' there was nothing he could do.

That was the conclusion he reached.

Thinking that far, the strength drained from his hand holding the sword.

As the Argento sword dropped, Mellie Sher’s lips curved into a long smile, silhouetted against the darkening night sky.

"Correct."

"You can't do anything."

"Were you arrogant just because illusions don’t work on you? So what now?"

Mellie Sher began approaching him step by step.

"None of your magic works on me. No matter what magic, artifact, or magical item you pull out now, it will be useless against my illusion!"

As she reached right in front of Baek Yu-Seol, she bared her teeth in a sweet smile.

"How does it feel to realize you can't do anything?"

Mellie Sher whispered to Baek Yu-Seol.

"That's the feeling I had."

She was right.

There was nothing he could do alone. No matter what he did... There was no way to create a 'variable' that could completely overturn this story.

"Surrender."

It was quite a tempting offer.

"Kneel and offer me your soul. It's better than wandering here forever. You’ll live a life worse than a bug, as my slave for eternity... But I promise I'll eventually kill you. Isn't that a pretty good deal?"

Right.

She wasn't wrong.

He couldn't use magic.

Probably never.

Even if he stayed here for tens of thousands of years without dying... he wouldn't be able to use magic.

Despite having an item containing most of the magical knowledge in this world, he was ironically unable to use magic.

Maybe, after a very long time, the Sentient Spec would eventually analyze the illusion shield.

At that time, the spec would say.

'You can escape by using such and such magic in such and such way.'

Then, he would despair again. Despair had no end. The moment a glimmer of hope shines, it raises you high into the sky only to make you fall again.

For someone who couldn’t use magic, a method that required magic was like a torture of false hope, and it would completely destroy his sense of self.

"Now, choose."

This was the last chance.

She completely dropped her shield and opened her arms toward Baek Yu-Seol. It was a distance where he could immediately cut off her neck with a swing of his sword.

'Go ahead, try to kill me.'

She was confident.

And she was right.

He had no intention of swinging the sword. She was his only remaining escape route.

Just as he was about to make his final decision,

… Suddenly, something fell from the sky.

Thud!

"... Huh?"

"Ah?"

Mellie Sher and Baek Yu-Seol looked at it simultaneously.

It was a familiar figure.

'Black hair, black eyes.’

Wearing a black Stella Academy uniform with a beautiful gold trim... It was a small-framed girl.

‘Edna.'

She struggled to lift her head.

Was it a coincidence that she immediately looked his way without needing to turn her gaze?

Watching her smile foolishly, Baek Yu-Seol didn't have any questions.

He just felt a surge of hope.

There wasn’t even time for questions. His sword gleamed once more, its trajectory aimed squarely at Mellie Sher’s chest.

“Something’s… Not right…”

Thrust!