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Chapter

Turning around, the figure I had guessed by the voice stood there.

It was Warden, Chan-hyuk.

“Are you leaving? Isn’t it scrim time right now?”

“Well, aren’t you the one trying to slip out during this time?”

“That’s… well…”

Being a first-string team player but having to terminate the contract for unexcused absence is a bit much.

Everyone said it was okay because the situation can’t be helped, but Eun-ha took pride in being a professional gamer.

What had happened to her was like a normal worker taking a leave without notice and quitting, leaving a heavy burden on her mind.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Ah, yeah. I’m fine.”

She had already completely recovered. The synergy from awakening as a Hero combined with her sister’s care was nothing short of miraculous.

“So, you’re really a Hero now. Congratulations.”

“It’s not something to celebrate… but thanks.”

“Are you quitting being a professional gamer now?”

“I have to. Now that I’ve awakened as a Hero, I can’t perform as a player by normal standards anymore.”

Hearing it directly from Eun-ha made the sense of loss hit harder.

Among the current STK Gaming Team members, Eun-ha was one of the two whose synergy matched her most.

‘The other one is Yoon-soo.’

Anyway, with Eun-ha gone, that void would surely be felt.

Moreover, even if he had the strange nickname of a rocklike robot who only knows games, Chan-hyuk was still a person.

After spending over two years together and lifting countless victory trophies, seeing the retirement of a companion who wasn’t retiring hit him hard.

So, even skipping the scrim and forcing some time out with the coach, he didn’t know what to say now.

After a moment of buffering, Chan-hyuk finally gathered his thoughts and delivered the most basic line.

“You worked hard. I’m sure there were many feelings we couldn’t express until now. But I really enjoyed being with you.”

“…”

“Now that you’ve become a Hero and all the attention will be on you, I believe you can handle it well.”

At Chan-hyuk’s words, Eun-ha, who had been silently listening, smiled brightly.

They say there are no eternal teammates in the professional world, but from her experience in pro gaming, she knew.

If this STK Gaming Team continued to be the team she would be with, then Eun-ha was definitely a player who would stay along.

It felt like a soulmate kind of connection.

Eun-ha had the same thoughts.

She would be competing with the best players in the best domestic team rather than overseas mercenaries. Debuting and retiring alongside that team, those players.

Would there be anything more romantic in the life of a professional gamer?

That’s why both of them felt this moment was particularly special.

From the first time she met Chan-hyuk in the team until now, the journey they had been on, running tirelessly for that shining career, flashed through her mind like a slideshow.

And at this moment, while Chan-hyuk kept running forward, Eun-ha paused and took a different path.

“Good luck, Chan-hyuk. Like the great predecessors of the past, you should also become a GOAT.”

“Yeah. You too. Overcome well as a Hero. Let’s play a game whenever you feel like it.”

Without anyone deciding, they both reached out simultaneously for a handshake.

Then it happened.

“Eun-ha! Take care!”

“Come visit anytime!”

“Thanks!”

“I believed in you!”

“You’re our pride!”

With lines that sounded familiar, she turned her head towards the source of those voices at the second-floor railing.

There stood other STK team players and coaches waving.

Ah, from Eun-ha’s lips, a small gasp slipped out, audible only to her.

Colleagues who had shared hardships together were here to send her off as she embarked on a new journey.

Surely, the bond with her sister and the Hero was the most precious thing, but Eun-ha realized that the current bond was not something to take lightly either.

Quietly bowing her head in thanks, she bid farewell to the memories of a professional gamer that she could never return to.

* * *

As Eun-ha stepped out of the STK Gaming Team building, her steps felt lighter.

Yeah, this seemed like a proper conclusion, a farewell.

Once outside, she spotted a familiar figure waiting ahead.

The Hero known in the world as the streamer Friede, Se-hee.

“You worked hard.”

“You too, sis. Thanks for waiting.”

Eun-ha flashed a smile back at the soft grin Se-hee offered.

The car Se-hee drove appeared to be the one she brought during that charity event earlier.

Not really into car types, so she didn’t know the exact model, but she heard it was quite pricey.

Even while driving, an odd silence lingered in the car.

“I’m sorry, Eun-ha. If I had done better, you could have continued being a pro gamer.”

While driving, Se-hee said that.

Thinking that such words coming from her sister must mean she witnessed the goodbye from the team from afar earlier.

Eun-ha waved her hand dismissively, as if to say it was fine.

“No, sis, you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s actually thanks to you that I can live well now. It was bound to happen anyway.”

If it weren’t for her sister, she might not have been able to even share this goodbye.

The end of her pro gaming journey wouldn’t have been in a romantic farewell, but rather a terrible ending of being eaten by the Demon King.

Yet, her sister lamented her inability to create a better future.

‘That’s the sister I can’t help but hold dear.’

Eun-ha swore she never had any regrets about the sister who saved her.

However, as she kept such feelings close to her heart, she gradually steeled a certain resolve blooming within her.

Just as they were about to arrive at the Hero House and step inside.

“Sis.”

Upon hearing Eun-ha’s voice calling from behind, Se-hee turned her head, her eyes widening in surprise.

Before her stood Eun-ha manifested as a Hero clad in obsidian armor, shimmering with light.

The resolution radiating from her face resembled that of a Hero about to face their final battle.

Taking a step forward, Eun-ha stood in front of Se-hee and drew her black Holy Sword,

“…?!”

Silently, she knelt before Se-hee.

The tip of the dark Holy Sword rested on her shoulder while the hilt pointed towards Se-hee… adopting the stance of a perfect knight.

“As the Hero of Darkness who should have saved the world… I give this sword to the Light Hero who has fulfilled the duty of a Hero on my behalf.”

It was not merely a vow.

The Hero’s Power, Eun-ha’s unique dark divine power danced at the sword’s tip, turning the spoken vow into reality.

“Your will is my will, and I vow to wield this sword only for you. If you truly trust me, please accept this sword.”

The power already bound to the sword could not be taken back.

Eun-ha’s was the Hero’s final vow.

A promise that burned her entire life and being, fully belonging to the counterpart.

Eun-ha declared she would offer everything she had to Se-hee.

If she were to retract now, it would undoubtedly have an adverse effect on Eun-ha, who had poured everything into this vow, thus her hesitating hand finally grasped the sword’s hilt.

“I accept your vow.”

As the solemn exchange of the Hero’s promise completed, Eun-ha withdrew the sword with a relieved expression.

“Eun-ha, why did you do something so reckless?”

“Well, since I saw you worried all the time, I just did it. So stop feeling sorry for me, alright? Understand?”

Eun-ha’s audacious declaration left Se-hee completely speechless.

Feeling a small sense of victory seeing her sister like that, Eun-ha made a victory pose with a wink.

“I have to hold you to it.”

She felt entirely defeated.

* * *

“Hmm, is that so?”

Does she think of my story as something akin to an exciting part of a web novel?

Listening to the entire ordeal, Ji-hye stroked her chin with a gleam in her eyes.

“To be honest, with the Hero’s Power being so strong, it’s unavoidable that the star manages it through me. Still, it feels like Eun-ha sacrificed her freedom too easily. I want to retract it now, but somehow Eun-ha’s determination seems extraordinary.”

At that moment, Eun-ha looked beyond mere resolution and determination, her eyes reflecting a noble sacrifice.

If I were to dismiss it, it would undoubtedly wound that pride.

While I was pondering what to do, Ji-hye casually commented in a nonchalant tone as if it were nothing.

“Just accept it.”

“Just like that?”

“Yeah, after all, we all know that Se-hee isn’t the type to misuse that vow.”

“Well, as I said before, I already saved Eun-ha. Not just Eun-ha, but also purified that world too. So that’s why she made such a vow. Because she’s a Hero, a truly noble Hero. She wanted to repay Se-hee for saving not just herself but the world she couldn’t salvage. And….”

Ji-hye’s gaze met mine, and she smiled.

It was a refreshing smile, too easygoing and calm, as if washing away all the worries of the world.

“Eun-ha isn’t the only one with such thoughts.”

“Hmm?”

Before I could even ask what she meant, a gentle breeze brushed against my cheek.

Like a soft summer breeze blowing in after spring had passed,

“Me too… I look forward to working well together from now on, Light Hero Friede.”

The kiss mark on my cheek, unlike what I had imagined, felt soft like marshmallow.