Divine Lady

Digging into canned food with a plastic spoon, Hyde pulled and shoved it into his mouth vigorously. He savored the first bite as though it was the tastiest food he had ever eaten in his entire life.

But, afterward, his table manner—as if there was one in the first place—took an extreme turn, transforming from slow and polite into voracious, like a hungry beast.

In a few minutes, he had finished 10 cans.

Taking one last bite, Hyde seized the water cup and drank all the water in a gulp.

He swept the corner of his mouth with the shawl and glanced at four people staring at him. His eyebrows arched. In the next second, he blinked and slightly bowed his head.

"Thank you."

One of them blinked in disbelief.

It was the one with a white cloak. His brown hair was cropped short, revealing a scar around his temple. A sharp gleam flashed in his dead fish eyes as he observed Hyde.

A face Hyde had never seen. He wasn't even sure if this man even existed in the game.

"Now that you have finished eating, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Hyde shook his head almost immediately.

"What are you doing here?" he paused for a while before changing his question. "No. How did you get here?"

"That's... I know as much as you do."

The female sniper stopped tapping her boot and interjected, "What? Are you trying to say you were already here when you opened your eyes?"

Hyde glanced at her.

She looked around her mid-twenties and would look pretty if she wiped that irritated expression from her face. Her long hair was tied into a ponytail, but its red shade seemed artificial.

She wore a black cropped jacket with a high-zipper closure. Underneath, a fitting dark crop top and black pants completed her look, exposing her pale skin and belly button.

Hyde would never forget a pretty woman with stylish techwear fashion like her. However, no matter how hard he tried to remember, this woman, like the cloaked man, was a face he had never seen.

"Exactly," Hyde replied.

The sniper knitted her eyebrows and her arms, which had been crossed over her chest, squeezed her ample bosom as she leaned forward.

"Stop being so mysterious, kid."

"Did you steal something from the nobility? A jewel, or food, perhaps? But then you were caught, kidnapped, and thrown into this place," another voice chimed in.

This time, it was the man in a full armor suit. The way he came up with his own conclusion and decided to speak up slightly irritated Hyde.

Scrutinizing his eyes at the knight wannabe, Hyde remarked.

"Mister, do you know the saying 'don't judge a book by its cover'? Just because I look like this doesn't mean you can accuse me of a thief. Also, the least you could do is take off your helmet and show your face first before making accusations."

"What?!"

Hyde scoffed. "Or is the reason you covered your face because you have a face that looks like a criminal?"

"Wow," the sniper said, her eyes wide. Then, she smirked. "Never mind what I said earlier. You're actually an interesting brat. Is this your true self?

The cloaked man coughed off his surprise.

On the other hand, the flustered armored man tried to jump at Hyde but was stopped. A ring of light materialized and bound him just as he took a step.

"D-Divine Lady?"

The fourth Resonant, a young woman in her early 20s, ignored the armored man and looked at Hyde instead.

Although it wasn't what the armored man meant by calling her "Divine Lady," Hyde couldn't help but think it was a perfect word to describe her.

Her face was divinely beautiful as if she came straight out of a painting. Her golden hair cascaded in soft waves like a waterfall of heaven. Pale blue eyes studied the ragged boy. Her skin was as white as snow and flawless.

Contrasting to what one would think when hearing "Divine Lady," she didn't look anything like a clergywoman.

Instead, she was clad in an elegant suit of silver armor. Engraved on the breastplate and the single pauldron on her left shoulder was a symbol of a crowned bird surrounded by floral motifs. A flowing blue cape draped over her right shoulder, complimenting the rose clip fastened near her collar.

Beneath the polished plates, a dark bodysuit covered part of her unprotected skin. A sturdy brown belt secured a sword at her hip.

With a hand resting lightly on the hilt of her sword, she addressed Hyde.

"Hyde, was it?"

Her voice was soft and pleasant to the ear, just as her face was pleasant to the eye.

"To be able to speak like that to a Resonant, your courage and boldness is commendable. But, let me give you some advice. While being courageous is good, the same can't be said for being bold; it is a trait a Resonant must not possess if you want to live longer."

She paused, the corner of her mouth curling up.

"Fortunately, you're not one of us, yet."

The other Resonants didn't react much to the revelation that Hyde was not a Resonant as though they had already known in the beginning.

Well, except for one...

"H-huh? What?!!"

The armored man writhed like a worm, trying to move his body.

"You're a normal human?!"

Feeling the intense gaze of the armored man, Hyde felt like he could see the expression hidden behind the helmet.

Ignoring the armored man's question, he stared at the Divine Lady. Or should he say...

'Future Monarch, Vera.'

The Divine Lady, Vera, was also known as the "Grieving Goddess" amongst the RoN's players.

She was an NPC that would become a combat companion throughout the last chapter. She was also, according to the lore, the strongest Resonant in the world of RoN, becoming one of the seven Monarchs at a young age.

As for why she got the nickname "Grieving Goddess" from the players, it was because, again, of her lore. Hyde, who couldn't care less about it, knew a bit about her through conversations with her, ending cutscenes, and epilogues.

In the game, Vera, who had become a Monarch, was much more beautiful than the one in front of Hyde. At that point, she was comparable to a Goddess. However, she always had the look of someone who just wanted everything to come to an end. She was lifeless, almost like a doll.

It was revealed that Vera had lost her everything to betrayal.

Her youngest sister, her only family and the one person she had loved above all, was killed by none other than her comrade, who she had trusted and fought alongside.

And that traitor was... the man who was wriggling like a worm.

'The Fanatic Admirer.'