The spears pierced—but not flesh. What fell was a straw doll, pulled from my Infinite Storage Ring. My Last Minute Luck had activated at the brink of death, its true definition finally revealed: to escape death within one minute by twisting fate itself.
The assassins, confused, struck each other in their frenzy. Blood spilled, but not mine. I ran toward the door of the throne hall. Yet as the minute expired, the castle's hidden mechanism triggered—the dreaded Never-End Alley.
The path stretched endlessly before me. Even the greatest scouts could barely escape this trap. I sprinted forward, but the path had no end. Desperation surged. I leapt into the lava lake beneath, trusting my luck. Heat consumed me, consciousness fading. Yet I escaped the alley.
The guardians reported to the king.
"Hero escaped the trap."
The king's face darkened. Impossible. Only one who sees the path in lava can escape. Even a genius would suffer damage. But he must die.
He commanded, "Guardians of the realm, kill the Hero. Save humankind and nobles from this threat."
I staggered into the courtyard, half-conscious. There, I saw the Princess. Memories stirred—her smile when I first left Poker Kingdom to level up.
She approached, eyes shining. "Hero, I admire you. My admiration became love. I want to live with you, even if my father opposes it. I will stay with you."
My heart softened. "Then marry me. Leave this kingdom. Live peacefully with me."
She smiled, embraced me—and stabbed with a poisoned knife.
"You will die. I am the scholar who created this poison. Only I hold the cure. I will never marry you. Who would abandon luxury for a pathetic life? Go die."
Pain surged. But Last Minute Luck twisted fate again. I invoked Lucky Looter, stealing the cure potion—and a mysterious item—from her grasp. A force pulled me, hurling me into the river near the castle.
Hints appeared in my fading vision, guiding me downstream.
I awoke among the locals. I rose, voice strong despite my wounds.
"I am the Hero who slew the Demon King. But the Human King is malicious. He seeks to use the Demon King's death to crown himself Emperor. If we defeat him, humans and demons can live together. Help me."
The locals cheered. "We will help you. We will rid ourselves of the Human King."
Suddenly, a vampire appeared—an elite, human-faced. He seized me, dragging me away from the human realm. Behind him stood the Vampire Queen, Tamara the Slime Girl, and Yevna the Necromancer.
Yevna smirked. "I sent a corpse minion to play dead, to spread false conversations. The locals believe you were dragged away. They will not betray us."
I blushed, standing close to her, hearing her whisper. "We sent direct coins to the locals. Enough to survive. They will say you are gone. If they betray the Human King, they will die. But for now, you are safe."
Closing Note
Dransart had escaped death once more—betrayed by nobles, stabbed by royalty, hunted by assassins. Yet catastrophe bent fate, guiding him to new allies and new truths.
The Hero of Humankind was gone from Poker Kingdom. But in the shadows, a new destiny awaited—the Hero who might become Demon King, or the savior of both worlds.