Isaac looked at the skills and grinned.
They were perfect.
The first skill would allow him to command anyone as long as they were his followers.
It was clearly overpowered.
He thought about what would happen if someone infiltrated his religion and tried to weaken his forces from inside.
With this skill, he could give a simple command like "anyone who is against me must raise their hand," and the problem would end right there.
It was the kind of power that was useful for him.
He rubbed his forehead and sighed as he realized one thing.
"Great. Now I look like some shady god controlling a cult."
He shook his head and focused on the other skill.
The second skill would allow him to create choirs and use formations and battle lines.
It would be helpful for tomorrow’s fight and for future raid situations.
"Hm... I wonder if I can use this on my clones," he muttered.
He had only one plow and one hoe, so harvesting would not be affected.
But the creation of a farm might be.
His skill, Sovereign of Land, increased the fertility of any land he made into his farmland.
If he used multiple clones, formed a choir with them, and had them prepare the land, he wondered if the effect would stack.
If the effect stacked, the farmland would become absurdly fertile.
"Damn, now my hands are itching to try it."
But that would have to wait until after tomorrow’s battle.
Right now, he needed to focus on what was coming.
After he finished checking his skills, it was time for dinner.
He walked to the dining room and saw everyone already seated.
Chairman Lucius, Alice, Emily, Celia, Selene, and Vale were there.
Leora and Professor Catherine were missing.
Isaac guessed they had gone out.
Professor Catherine’s clone had told him earlier that the two of them were patrolling the borders and clearing out monsters that might get corrupted tomorrow.
He had wanted to send a clone too, but Professor Catherine told him to rest.
He was not as skilled as her at controlling multiple clones, even if he could create the same number.
Using them now would add unnecessary pressure on his mind and might affect his performance tomorrow.
So he reluctantly stayed behind.
At the table, Selene and Chairman Lucius were speaking with Alice.
They looked relaxed and cheerful.
When they noticed Isaac, they turned toward him.
Chairman Lucius’ expression changed instantly.
It was cold.
Almost like he was looking at trash.
Isaac pretended not to see it.
He knew exactly why the man looked at him like that.
The picture of him kissing Celia had gone viral, and that probably made Chairman Lucius furious.
Even if he said nothing—maybe because Alice did not object—his eyes made it clear what he thought of Isaac.
Vale, on the other hand, showed no reaction.
That made Isaac even more uneasy.
Chairman Lucius looked like he wanted to stab him.
Vale looked calm.
Too calm.
’What is he planning,’ Isaac thought.
"Why are you standing there for so long? Come sit," Celia called out.
He nodded and walked over.
He sat between Celia and Selene.
Selene looked exhausted.
It seemed she had barely slept because of the amount of crops Isaac sent to Fortified City 22.
"Are you okay? If it’s too much work, just rest," Isaac said.
"It’s nothing. Besides, this is good practice for when I take over the Calloway Conglomerate," she said.
Isaac had found this part strange when he first learned about it.
Selene had refused to become the heir after the kidnapping incident.
It had changed her and made her rethink many things.
But then Alice refused too.
Alice told Selene that the position belonged to her.
She said Selene had been trained for it since childhood, while Alice herself liked adventuring and fighting and would never be around enough to manage the company.
Selene still refused and claimed the company originally belonged to Alice’s late parents, so it was Alice’s rightful place.
Alice argued again.
Then she started guilt-tripping Selene, saying things like, "So you think we’re not a family? Is that why you don’t want the company? What next? You don’t see me as a sister either?"
Isaac had been stunned when he heard that.
Since when did Alice talk like that?
She usually solved things with her fists or direct words.
The old Alice would have simply told Selene to take the company and forced her to accept it.
Later, Isaac learned the truth.
Celia had been teaching Alice tricks.
’Of course the devil is teaching her the wrong things,’ he thought. He used to think Alice was a bad influence on Emily, now he had to worry about Celia.
After dinner, everyone returned to their rooms.
Isaac was about to go back too when Vale called out to him.
"I need to talk to you."
Isaac nodded.
They walked outside the mansion and entered the garden.
Celia looked like she wanted to follow, but Vale gave her a stare that made her stop.
With only the two of them left, Vale began walking slowly across the garden path.
He said nothing.
Isaac stayed quiet and waited.
The silence lasted for a while.
Finally, Vale reached into his pocket and pulled something out.
He unwrapped a candy, put one piece into his mouth, and held the other out.
"Want one?"
"Thanks," Isaac said, taking it.
They started chewing the candy.
It was sweet with a bit of spice, and the mix felt strange but pleasant.
After a moment, Vale spoke.
"How is it going with Celia?"
"Everything is good. She’s a nice girl," Isaac replied.
"I know that."
Vale kept looking toward the distant light pillar.
His voice was calm.
"What I’m asking is when you’re planning to marry her."
Isaac blinked.
He wasn’t expecting the question so suddenly.
But he didn’t joke or deflect.
Vale was Celia’s brother, and he was almost like a father figure to her.
He deserved a serious answer.
"I’ll marry her as soon as I get time," Isaac said. "Right now our city is growing, and we need to be ready for battles at any moment. I don’t want to trouble everyone by adding a wedding on top of that."
"I see. Sounds like you’ve thought about it seriously."
"Yes."
"Good. Otherwise, I would have cast a curse of limpness on you."
Isaac froze.
"...a what curse?"
Vale spoke with the same expression he always had.
"A curse of limpness. You wouldn’t have been able to get it up."
Isaac stared at him.
His mind went blank.
’Wow. This crazy bastard is saying something outrageous with such a normal face.’
Vale continued chewing his candy like nothing happened.
It was clear why he was angry.
The picture of Isaac kissing Celia was enough to push him over the edge.
And judging from his calm tone, he definitely wasn’t joking. Isaac realized he had barely dodged a bullet.
...
Celia’s POV
Celia was sleeping peacefully when the dream came.
It was the same one she had seen the day she realized she liked Isaac.
In the dream, she was an idol.
Bright lights. Loud cheers. Endless schedules.
And Isaac was her manager.
They spent almost every hour together.
He handled her work. He protected her time. He stayed at her side during concerts and rehearsals.
At first, it was just work.
But then they began to fall for each other.
Quietly.
Secretly.
No one else knew.
Not even Vale.
If her brother had found out back then, Isaac probably would have been in danger. Vale was one of the strongest people in the dream-city, and he hated the idea of anyone taking advantage of her.
Even in the dream, Isaac was always a little scared of him.
But Celia liked it.
She liked the quiet thrill of a hidden relationship.
She liked the warm feeling of having something only the two of them shared.
She liked the excitement of Isaac trying to act calm whenever her brother passed by, even though she could feel his heart racing.
In the dream, those days felt warm.
Simple.
Almost perfect.
But the dream did not stay peaceful.
"Run!"
The city was attacked.
Huge disasters came out of nowhere, and the ground shook so hard that entire districts collapsed.
The land swallowed half the city.
People screamed as buildings fell and streets broke apart.
Celia remembered Isaac grabbing her hand and running with her through the chaos.
The two of them barely made it out.
Everyone who survived moved to another city far away.
That place was crowded due to lack of infrastructure, but they made room for them.
Life restarted there, slowly and painfully.
Food was scarce. Tempers were short. Fear was everywhere.
But Celia was still an idol.
People looked at her because they needed someone to believe in.
Every time she stepped outside, they gathered around her.
"Are we safe?"
"Will things get better?"
"Please say something."
She wasn’t a leader, but she had a voice people listened to.
So she worked.
She reassured them. She made speeches. She sang for the exhausted workers rebuilding the city.
She kept going even when she herself felt like collapsing.
Isaac stayed by her side the whole time.
He helped her carry the weight of everyone’s expectations.
She remembered his hand on her shoulder as she tried not to cry in front of hundreds of people.
"We’ll get through this," he whispered.
She believed him.
But then the red rain came.
Dark clouds gathered so fast that people thought the sky was tearing open.
The rain fell like blood.
The city’s defensive barriers flickered and struggled to hold it back.
People panicked.
Celia looked up and felt her stomach twist.
Something enormous was descending through the clouds.
A wing.
Then another.
Then a long, twisted body that blocked out the sun completely.
A dragon.
But not a normal one.
It was wrong.
Its scales were cracked like broken stone. Its body pulsed with a light that looked like fire mixed with corruption.
Its shadow covered the entire city.
Isaac grabbed her hand.
"Run!" he shouted.
But there was nowhere to run.
The dragon opened its jaw, and a wave of power slammed into the defenses.
The barrier shattered like glass.
People were thrown into the air.
Celia saw the Sword Empress rushing forward with her blade drawn.
She saw Isaac pushing someone out of the way.
She saw the sky turn red.
The dragon’s roar felt like the world was ending.
And then people began dying.
One after another.
The Sword Empress was crushed.
The strongest fighters were ripped apart.
Buildings collapsed like toys.
Isaac turned toward her.
His mouth moved, but she couldn’t hear anything over the roar.
Then the dragon’s shadow swallowed him.
And he died.
Celia tried to scream, but nothing came out.
The dragon’s gaze fell on her next.
Her vision blurred.
Her body felt weightless.
And then everything ended.
With Isaac dying.
With her dying.
Everyone was dead.