Chapter 298 -: 297 The devil.
’My god...’
Kavin slowly raised a hand and covered his face, his expression turning increasingly pale as an overwhelming headache began to form.
’I’m trying my best to hide our identities... and she’s sitting here admiring my photos? What in the world is wrong with this woman?’
For years, they had remained hidden beneath perfect disguises.
They had changed their appearances, abandoned their real names, altered their habits, even restrained themselves from doing the smallest things that might expose them.
Every single step had been carefully calculated. Yet the greatest threat to their secrecy wasn’t some legendary investigator or ancient divination spell.
It was Rosalina herself.
Taking a deep breath to stop himself from shouting, Kavin lowered his voice until it was barely above a whisper.
"...Put that away."
His tone carried an unfamiliar sense of dread.
"Get rid of it. Right now."
Jasmine blinked at him before lowering her gaze toward the disguised album. A reluctant expression crossed her face, as though someone had just ordered her to throw away a priceless treasure.
Even so, after hesitating for several seconds, she finally closed the cover with obvious unwillingness before lightly tapping her spatial ring.
A faint ripple of mana flashed.
The disguised album disappeared without a trace. Only after confirming it had vanished did Kavin finally release the breath he had been holding.
"Are you crazy?" he whispered sharply.
"How many times have I told you not to be careless? There are people in this city capable of divination. If, by some ridiculous stroke of bad luck, that album ends up in the wrong person’s hands, or someone simply catches a glimpse of what’s inside, then we’re finished. Everything we’ve worked for over the past five years will collapse overnight."
He rubbed his forehead in frustration.
"Oh, god..."
Rather than feeling guilty, Jasmine simply smiled.
"Relax."
Her voice remained as calm as ever. "It’s not that serious."
Kavin’s eye twitched.
"Not that..."
"I was only looking at you."
She said it so naturally that Kavin forgot what he was about to say.
"It’s almost like reading a comic," she continued thoughtfully. "Well... not exactly. It’s different. But I always make sure nobody can see it."
As she spoke, she quietly moved a little closer to him. A faint blush gradually spread across her cheeks.
"You know how difficult this has been?" she asked softly. "I haven’t seen your real face in over five years..."
Her voice lost its playful tone.
"...I missed it."
The waiting room fell silent once again.
Kavin stared at her for several moments before the irritation on his face slowly faded.
He understood...more than anyone else, he understood.
Five entire years had passed since either of them had been able to live using their true identities.
Every single day had been spent beneath borrowed faces, speaking with different voices, behaving like different people.
They had sacrificed countless ordinary moments simply to avoid attracting attention.
He hadn’t seen Rosalina’s true appearance during all that time.
Not once.
And...he missed it too.
Of course, unlike her, he hadn’t spent his free time secretly staring at photographs until he nearly drooled all over them.
Everyone had their own ways of coping, he supposed. Letting out a long sigh, Kavin gradually relaxed his shoulders.
There had been countless times when simply looking at her had tempted him to cast everything aside.
More than once, he had been forced to spend hours meditating simply to suppress those impulses and remind himself why they had chosen this path in the first place.
He had no doubt Jasmine had endured the same struggle.
The difference was that while he buried those feelings through discipline...
She carried around an entire magical album filled with his beach photographs disguised as a psychology textbook.
"...You’re unbelievable."
He muttered under his breath.
Even now, however, he couldn’t bring himself to stay angry.
He was still terrified by what might have happened had someone discovered that album. The consequences would have been catastrophic.
Not only would their identities be exposed, but every sacrifice they had made over the past five years would become meaningless.
One careless mistake was all it would take to destroy everything.
"Haaa..."
Another tired sigh escaped his lips.
"It’s alright."
Looking into her gentle eyes, he found himself unable to scold her any further.
There simply wasn’t much else he could do.
Not until they could finally return to their true appearances.
He couldn’t even comfort her properly.
Instinctively, he wanted to lean forward and kiss her, just as he had countless times before they began living under disguises.
But he stopped himself.
Knowing Jasmine’s possessive personality, she would never allow him to touch her while wearing another man’s appearance. And truthfully...
Neither could he.
Years ago, he had confidently declared that appearances didn’t matter because the soul remained the same.
Looking back...
Perhaps he had been slightly overconfident.
Could he honestly claim he felt nothing while touching Rosalina using another man’s face?
He couldn’t...the answer was obvious.
He would become jealous....ridiculously jealous. Even though he knew it was still him beneath the disguise.
It sounded irrational.
Childish, even.
Yet emotions rarely obeyed logic. In fact, he had even felt jealous while reading the original novel whenever Julius interacted with Rosalina.
Fortunately...
That fictional Julius had ultimately been inspired by himself.
That tiny fact had become the only thing preventing him from throwing the book across the room more than once.
"...Just wait a few more months," Kavin said quietly. "Once we get what we came here for..."
Before he could finish his sentence...A thunderous voice suddenly echoed throughout the arena.
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
The booming announcement rolled through the stadium like a wave, instantly drowning out every other sound.
"Welcome to one of the most important ranked duels our Sun Clan City has witnessed in decades!"
The cheers outside erupted even louder.
"You have all traveled from near and far to witness today’s historic battle... and historic it truly is!"
Both Kavin and Jasmine instinctively turned toward the entrance leading into the arena.
The referee’s amplified voice continued.
"There has never been a spell caster in our city’s recorded history who reached the top five while remaining only at the Early Stage of the Void Core Realm!"
The crowd erupted once again.
"This challenger has already defeated the Third Rank, Honjo Masamune, the legendary Sword Demon, and claimed his position!"
A confident smile slowly spread across Kavin’s face. His fingers quietly clenched into a fist.
Beside him, Jasmine met his gaze before giving a small, reassuring nod.
For just a brief moment, Kavin felt the urge to pull her into an embrace and kiss her...Instead, he simply smiled back.
Then he stood.
Without another word, he turned toward the massive gate separating the waiting room from the arena and walked forward with calm, steady steps.
The referee’s voice echoed one final time.
"So then... let us discover whether today’s challenger can accomplish yet another impossible feat!"
A brief pause followed.
"Please welcome the undefeated challenger who stands with four victories and not a single defeat..."
"The Devil who defeated the Demon..."
"KAVIN!"