Chapter 20: The Purge Paladin Arrives, and the World Declares Her Love a Crime

Reincarnated as a Background Character — Boss Fell in Love With Me

Chapter 20: The Purge Paladin Arrives, and the World Declares Her Love a Crime

The world held its breath, a collective pause, echoing across dimensions and timelines.

Not out of trepidation at the impending events, but rather because a profound understanding had already settled in the minds of those who perceived beyond mere existence.

Deep within the very architecture of the system's spine — a foundation older than the oldest myths and more ancient than any of the pantheon — a final defense protocol stirred to life, a primordial guardian ready to confront the chaos that had dared to unfold.

> **[EXCISION PROTOCOL: S-00 CLASS]

Target: "Velzeria the Glitch Queen"

Secondary Target: "Raze (Foreign Entity - Soulbound)"

Charge: Emotional Contamination.

Verdict: Irredeemable.

Executioner: Authorized to proceed without restraint.

He arrived at the precise moment when the sun dipped below the skyline — or what could be considered a sunset in a realm where the sky wept streams of code instead of casting gentle amber hues across the horizon.

He made no grand entrance, shunning the trappings of ceremony. There was no entourage accompanying him, no prepared speech to sway the hearts of an invisible audience.

He stood before them clad in gleaming armor as white as freshly fallen snow, surface polished to an immaculate shine, each facet reflecting not just light but also judgment, embodying the weight of a thousand verdicts.

In his grip was a blade that vibrated with an ethereal hum, a sound resonating at a frequency beyond human perception, hinting at its otherworldly nature.

Emblazoned upon the fabric of his cloak was an enigmatic sigil — three triangles inverted precisely to form a perfect circle, symbolizing a unity within discord.

As the figure approached, Raze's heads-up display stuttered uncertainly, flooded with alarming signals.

[Warning: S-00 Detected — "Purge Paladin: Seraphiel"]

Classification: Final-Level Entity Threat Assessment: Impossible to counteract

Recommended Action: Do Not Engage under any circumstances

Perched defiantly atop the citadel wall, Velzeria's fierce gaze was fixed into the distant horizon, unyielding.

She wore no crown, no regal cape fluttering in the wind — her only adornment was the fire that surged in the very depths of her being, burning hotter than any metallic insignia could signify.

Seraphiel halted twenty measured paces away, grounding himself in the moment.

He did not raise his voice in a battle cry, nor did he issue dire threats that echoed through the fractured landscape.

Instead, with a calm finality, he articulated:

"You have violated the system."

His tone bore no trace of anger; it was devoid of warmth, encapsulating a chilling finality.

Not a trace of humanity flickered within it — the utter precision of his statement felt more like an unchangeable decree from above, devoid of passion, coldly perfect.

Raze, unable to contain himself, stepped forward, driven by a mixture of defiance and desperation. "We have violated your script, not the fabric of the world itself."

At that, Seraphiel turned his gaze upon Raze, a piercing look that made the very essence of existence feel like it had been put on trial.

For the first time, Raze found himself staring into the abyss, confronting the terrifying emptiness that stared back at him.

It wasn't hate that he saw reflected; it was the stark absence of any emotion — even the choice to feel anger or resentment had been stripped away.

"You are the contagion," Seraphiel declared, his voice unwavering. "You are the manifestation of what occurs when love dares to linger in spaces where it was never destined to be written."

Velzeria, sensing the tide of confrontation mounting, raised her hand with an unexpected flourish.

A cloud of ash swirled around her like a storm, coiling and twisting with a life of its own.

"You'll find," she proclaimed boldly, "that I've long since ceased asking for permission to merely exist within this fractured reality."

And with a decisive flick of her wrist—

The sky erupted into a chaotic tapestry of light and darkness, fracturing the boundaries of reality itself.

This was no mere metaphor.

It was a tangible rift, an unbinding of the very laws that held the universe together, as she unleashed the formidable power of her Pact Rewrite ability — identifying herself as Glitch Queen.

Flames spiraled upward, consuming all traces of conventional existence. The stars twisted backward, unwriting their positions in the cosmos. Gravity twisted sideways as though defying the very concept of down.

Yet, amidst the cataclysm, Seraphiel remained an unmoving sentinel, anchored by an ancient resolve.

He raised his blade, its sharp edge catching the last glimmers of reality—

And with a swift movement, he cut through the very fabric of existence itself.

[Damage Log: Dimensional Shear – 1,187 Entities Lost]

[Effect: One-Touch Reset — Targeted Area Unwritten Temporarily]

[Casualties: Non-recoverable — An irreversible loss.]

Raze's scream tore through the silence, a visceral eruption of despair.

But his cry was not born from physical suffering.

No, it was the anguished understanding that settled in his heart.

The people they had fought for — the overlooked, the outcasts, those whose lives sparked hope in the darkness, the countless nameless souls…

All gone.

Not dead in the traditional sense; they had been erased from existence like forgotten lines in a script.

Seraphiel lowered his blade, casting a shadow over the remnants of a shattered reality.

"This stands as your warning," he addressed Raze, his voice cold and resolute. "Love bears no immunity to the ravages of this world. It remains a delicate thread, easily frayed."

He turned as if to leave, the weight of his presence suffocating.

But then, as an afterthought lingering in the ether, he added: "Next time, I will prioritize her elimination."

And with that, he vanished, swallowed whole by a cyclone of distorted time, leaving behind an eerie silence that resonated through the desolate remnants of their shared world.

The stillness that followed felt profoundly out of place, like a lullaby echoing through a nursery engulfed in flames.

Velzeria, defeated, fell to her knees, the weight of grief crashing over her like a tidal wave.

The tether binding her to Raze flickered erratically—pulsing hard once in protest, before it dimmed into a mournful glow.

"Raze," she breathed, her voice thick with sorrow, her spirit fraying at the edges.

But Raze remained silent, fixated on the blank void where lives once flourished.

[Pact Disruption: Emotional Distress Detected]

[Sync: 97% — Stabilizing]

[Note: Affection possesses no armor. It becomes a stake buried deep within the heart.]

That haunting night passed in oppressive stillness; neither Velzeria nor Raze found solace in sleep.

They sat side by side, staring at a map that had once displayed a world teeming with life and color — now an empty expanse devoid of cities or destinations.

No tears graced their faces.

There simply was no time for grief to manifest.

But as the night melted away and dawn threatened the horizon, Velzeria whispered her secret, the vulnerability she had worn like a cloak. "If I ever fall—don't save me."

Raze turned towards her, the depth of his eyes hollowed by the ugly truths they had just faced.

His voice emerged, steady, carrying the weight of a promise. "…I won't."

Then, a fierce resolve ignited within him, and he added with determined conviction, "I'll burn the very system that brought us here instead."

To be continued...