"What just happened?" Irish muttered to herself in disbelief. She couldn't even sense how she ended up here. No matter where she looked, all she could find was burning purple flames and dark, cracked ground.
But then, a voice came from behind her, smooth and a little playful. "Your unique skill is quite fascinating. Too bad you're not using it to its fullest!"
The moment Irish heard it, the voice was incredibly familiar yet strangely unfamiliar.
She looked back, and as expected, she saw Scarlett.
It was her.
Or rather, it was someone with her exact face and body, but with several eerie differences. Instead of mismatched eyes, this version of her had both eyes glowing a deep, unnatural purple, with dark sclera that made them look even more terrifying.
Two sharp, purple horns curved from her head, unlike Scarlett's own uneven red and blue horns. Despite these differences, she was undeniably just as beautiful as Scarlett.
It was like looking into a distorted mirror.
"Scarlett?" Irish asked in a low tone, both confused and on high alert.
"Yep, who else would I be?" she replied back as she walked towards her closely.
Irish instinctively walked a few steps back to keep the distance. "What is this place? How did I get here?"
"Just an inner mental world," the purple-eyed Scarlett said, her voice calm. "You unknowingly barged in the moment you tried to manipulate my mental state!"
Irish's eyes widened slightly as she remembered that she was trying to manipulate Scarlett by using her Idol Transfiguration skill. It had completely slipped from her mind because of the sudden, drastic change.
"N-no, I just wanted to make sure you love me!" Irish shook her head, her face flushing a little from a mix of embarrassment and guilt.
"Don't worry, she loves you, ya' know," the being replied, leaning close and hugging Irish gently. "For her, you are kind of like a first love!"
Irish's lips trembled slightly as she pressed them shut forcefully, and then slowly parted them. "So why does she have a relationship with two other women?" Irish asked, her voice shaking.
"It's just how life works. You can't control everything," she replied, hugging a little tighter. "Just look at me, I had affairs with millions of girls, despite being in a serious relationship with an archangel!"
"Millions of girls?" Irish repeated in her mind, her heart sinking.
Then she parted from the hug and looked Irish in the eye, a cute pout forming on her right cheek. "But I'm sure disappointed that you used your unique skill to manipulate me. If your love is true, then what's there to be afraid of?"
"I-I'm sorry!" Irish looked down. She couldn't make eye contact with her. "It's not like I wanted to cheat... It's just that I was not sure if I can win against them."
"Are you going to punish me for it?" Irish asked, a little hesitant.
"Ohh, of course not. It's nothing to be bothered about," she replied immediately, shaking her head lightly.
At the same time, she rubbed her chin, thinking something else. "That vampire also tried manipulating my persona. Although her skill was quite amusing, I let her skill have an effect on me on purpose. It was a good prank for Scarlett!" she added to herself with a smirk. "Seeing her all frustrated and anxious sure gives me joy!"
Irish's mood lifted a little, a small smile playing on her lips. Before she could say anything, the Scarlett look-alike spoke again. "Also, I have something that can help you!"
"What?" Irish asked back.
"A blessing!" she replied.
"Blessing? You are a goddess? I heard Scarlett proclaiming herself as a goddess's incarnation. Was that true?" Several questions came to Irish's mouth as she asked them all at once.
But the being didn't bother to answer any of them. Instead, she quietly extended her hand and touched Irish's chest lightly. A sphere of black energy glowed from her palm, and Irish's body immediately absorbed it.
Irish immediately felt her affinity with the dark element strengthen by a huge amount. Several information, knowledge, and wisdom burst through her mind. It was not like anyone was teaching her; it was just a unique way of understanding something that she couldn't explain in words.
"Will it help me win the contest?" Irish questioned.
"It's up to you in the end. It's my only second time giving a human my blessing. The last time I gave was to a male human named Sparda. He made quite a name in his lifetime, although I don't know if it was because of my blessing or not!" she replied.
Although she said it casually like it didn't matter to her a bit, the way she explained it in a little detail and even gave the name showed that she wanted attention and recognition as well.
Irish's eyes widened in shock as she heard that name. "Sparda? You mean that legendary dark knight Sparda?" Sparda was one of the people with the title of Warlord. It was said that other than the first summoned hero, Viktor, if there was someone who was closest to beating a demon king, then it was without a doubt the dark knight Sparda.
Irish's heart started beating a little wildly. She suddenly realized that this "simple blessing" might not be as simple as she thought.
"Wouldn't having a blessing be considered cheating?" Irish asked.
"Well, Scarlett gave Reiza and Lunatic her blessings, so it's only fair!" she replied. "Besides, all I did was awaken your potential and give a seed of my power!" she added casually.
Irish gulped. "Umm... Thank you..." she said awkwardly, looking down and playing with her fingers.
The atmosphere got awkward in seconds. Both didn't know what to say anymore.
"Wanna go back?" she asked.
Irish was slightly jolted. "Ahh— Yes, yes..." she repeated two times, her voice a little flustered.
"Then give me a kiss first!" the Scarlett look-alike said, a sly smile playing on her lips as she leaned close.
Irish hesitated immediately. She took a step back instinctively.
"What are you hesitant about? I'm Scarlett, you are not cheating at all!" she said softly, taking a step up towards her.
Irish clenched her fists and tried to bring herself to kiss her, but then she sighed hard and gave up. "I can't do it!" Irish replied, looking down in defeat.
"Huff, okay, maybe next time!" she replied, sounding a little disappointed.
She then flickered her hand and opened a door-like portal shimmering with dark purple energy. "Just pass through it. You'll go back. And I'll be more happy if you don't share our private conversation with anyone!" she clapped to herself and said with a smile.
Although the words were very polite and genuine, they strangely felt as if she was ordering her to not say a word of it, no matter what.
Irish nodded and slowly walked towards the portal, intending to go back. But before she went inside, she turned back and looked at the Scarlett look-alike and asked the question she wanted to ask the most for the last few minutes.
"Who are you? And what are you doing here?" she asked.
For a second, the Scarlett look-alike didn't say anything, just looked at Irish without blinking. But then a soft smile appeared on her face as she replied, "Like I said, I'm Scarlett Nova!"
"And I'm just playing hide & seek!"