Night draped itself over the isolated island, where a sterile laboratory bustled with white-coated researchers. Through panes of glass, they watched the scene inside with a cold, clinical detachment.
On the central table, a girl with silver-gray hair and deep blue eyes lay bound, wires snaking from her limbs to a tangle of machines.
Her name: Honjo Nia. The Second Spirit.
Knox, radiating smug superiority, turned to the staff and issued his command.
"Accelerate the Inversion experiment. Her survival is irrelevant. All that matters is unlocking the secrets of Spirit power."
"Yes, sir!"
The researchers cranked up the voltage.
Nia's scream tore through the lab, shrill and raw.
Her body convulsed—forehead, hands, feet, every muscle spasming under the current.
Despair gnawed at her heart.
Ever since becoming a Spirit, she'd lived in constant fear, tiptoeing through life to avoid attention. And still, DEM Corporation—the infamous villains of legend—had found her.
She wasn't built for battle. Against Ellen Mira Mathers, the world's top magician, she'd stood no chance.
Captured. Shackled. Now reduced to a test subject for DEM's inhuman experiments.
Damn it, where are the gods of the 2D world when you need them?!
Nia's mind teetered on the edge, clinging to the hope that a white knight would come to save her.
But deep down, she knew prayers were useless.
No one believed in Spirits, and with security this tight, only another Spirit could possibly break through.
And yet—
Just as despair threatened to swallow her, a blue magic circle shimmered into existence before her eyes.
"What… is that?"
Nia blinked, hope flickering.
Had her prayers actually reached some cosmic deity? Was her white knight from the 2D world here to rescue her?
As the blue glow faded, a man appeared.
Nia's eyes widened, her expression openly lovestruck.
He was… dazzling.
Every inch of him radiated charisma, eclipsing even her own Spirit allure.
Was this heaven's answer? Her destined savior?
Outside the lab, alarms blared. Guards flooded in, DEM's elite scrambling to respond.
Knox and Barton, leading the charge, barked threats through the intercom.
"Who dares break into DEM's facility?! Surrender now, or face the consequences!"
Inside, Nia could barely contain her excitement.
"Ah, my prince! Did you hear my prayers and come all the way from the great 2D world to rescue me?"
She practically vibrated with enthusiasm.
Shuo Nangong, maintaining a straight face, fought back a wave of secondhand embarrassment.
2D white knight? Really?
Watching Nia ramble on, Shuo couldn't help but interject.
"You know, for an idiot Spirit, you're awfully optimistic."
"Id—Idiot Spirit?! I am not an idiot!"
But her protest faded as she looked at Shuo with pleading eyes.
"Um… could you please save me? These awful people caught me and are using me as a lab rat… It's horrible, really…"
Shuo glanced at the DEM goons, then back at Nia, a confident smile forming.
"Once I get you out of here, you're mine. From now on, you don't have to be afraid. Deal?"
Nia blinked.
"Isn't that just pledging myself to you? But I—"
"No buts. No objections."
Shuo cut her off, voice mock-menacing.
"If you don't agree, I'll ravish you, then kill you, then ravish your corpse, and keep going. Got it?!"
He waved his hand.
In an instant, every DEM operative surrounding the lab vanished—erased from existence.
Nia stared, slack-jawed, as the impossible unfolded before her.
"My god… Are you really from the 2D world? How can you be so strong? Are you a Spirit too?"
Shuo rolled his eyes, then put on his best dramatic pose.
"Idiot Spirit, I'm not a Spirit. I'm the one who controls worlds, creates worlds, destroys worlds—the supreme being!"
With a snap, he released Nia's restraints and healed her wounds.
Nia's eyes sparkled, heart-shaped pupils practically visible.
"Such a chuunibyou line… You must really be from the 2D world!"
Shuo could only sigh.
"Think whatever you want. I did come from another world, and I know everything about this one. That's why I came to save you, idiot Spirit."
"By the way, my name's Shuo Nangong. Remember it, idiot Spirit!"
Nia's jaw dropped.
"What? You're really from another world?!"
Before he could respond, she launched herself at him, arms tight around his waist, eyes brimming with tears.
"Please, please, please—take me to your world someday! I want to see everything, I beg you!"
Other worlds—her wildest dreams come true.
Shuo, Nia clinging to him with zero shame, could only pinch the bridge of his nose.
He reached down and gave her a playful squeeze.
"Fine, fine. I'll take you to other worlds someday. Don't blame me if you get bored."
Nia didn't mind the grope at all—instead, she planted a kiss on Shuo's cheek.
"You're the best!"
Only after a moment did she realize what she'd done, her face turning bright red.
Shuo grinned, ready to tease.
"Well, look at that—the shameless idiot Spirit actually knows how to blush?"
His words struck Nia like lightning.
"Hey! How can you say that? Don't you know you're hurting a beautiful maiden's feelings?"
She squeezed out a few tears, putting on her best pitiful act.
Shuo's eyes narrowed, giving her a once-over.
"Beautiful maiden? Don't forget—I know your backstory. You're actually forty-three years old, old lady."
"Waaah! Even if you know, you didn't have to say it! So mean…"
Nia collapsed, dramatic as ever, like a girl whose heart had just been shattered.
Shuo sighed, facepalming at her antics, and quickly pulled her to her feet.
"Okay, okay, I apologize. Enough drama. Let's get you home."
Before she could protest, Shuo scooped her up and took off toward Tengu City.
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