Seeing the preparation and the way the enemies were being pushed back through tactics and formations, Victor stood utterly shocked when he finally reached the battlefield.
Smoke drifted across the ruined land like blood waves. Burned tal, shattered weapons, and torn flesh covered the ground beneath his feet.
Every single tallic figure lay broken. So had been ripped apart by monsters so violently that pieces of steel still twitched from lingering sparks, while others had massive holes pierced through their bodies.
Most of the captured monsters had died during the assault. Only a few barely managed to escape this nightmare, their wounded bodies crawling across the ruined earth in panic. Yet even they could not flee far. Above the clouds, dragon squads soared through the sky, their massive wings cutting through smoke as chains descended from above, dragging the creatures back toward their cages.
Vesperine and Sera, who had finally woken up, quietly walked beside Victor as they arrived near the edge of the barrier.
Neither woman spoke.
The surrounding air carried a nauseating sll of blood, burning flesh, and lted iron.
Crrrrkkk!
A violent creaking sound echoed across the sky.
Victor slowly lifted his eyes.
One of the last remaining jets spiralled uncontrollably above the battlefield, black smoke pouring from its shattered engine. Sparks exploded from its wings before the entire machine tilted downward.
BOOOOM!
Fire erupted into the sky.
"Cough... Cough..."
From within the flas, a fierce red-haired woman slowly stepped out.
She brushed ash from her skin with exhausted movents before finally raising her eyes toward Victor.
The mont she saw him, pride slowly appeared across her tired face.
Not arrogance.
Relief.
"We pushed them back..."
Her rough voice cracked slightly from exhaustion.
"We won, Victor."
She stopped directly before him, breathing heavily while flas continued burning behind her.
Victor stared at her silently.
Then, for the first ti since the war had begun, he smiled.
Not the cold smile of a ruler.
Not the restrained expression he forced upon himself for others.
A genuine smile escaped him in the middle of that horrifying battlefield, as if his chest had finally been allowed to breathe again after carrying endless pressure for far too long.
At least they survived.
At least the Empire still stood.
However...
"We lost ten people."
Aria’s quiet voice cut through the air like a blade.
The warmth on Victor’s face disappeared instantly.
He slowly turned toward her.
Behind Aria rested ten bodies covered with torn cloaks and bloodstained cloth. Their comrades stood silently beside them, so lowering their heads while others clenched their jaws hard enough to tremble.
Several bodies were damaged so badly that their faces could barely be recognised anymore.
The battlefield suddenly felt colder.
Victor watched silently as faint white lights erged from the fallen soldiers’ bodies.
Each light was no bigger than a human palm.
They slowly floated upward toward the brightening sky.
Beside him, Helena clenched her fists so tightly that blood dripped from her palms.
Victor gently placed his hand over hers.
She trembled beneath his touch.
Helena wanted to scream.
Wanted to ask why the world kept demanding sacrifice after sacrifice from those already suffering.
Why survival itself always carried a price written in blood.
Even though they had lost only ten people compared to the hundreds of corpses scattered across the enemy side... loss still remained loss.
Especially because they were soldiers from the Pyra Empire.
Lives entrusted to her Empire.
A debt carved directly into her chest.
Victor slowly took a deep breath while staring at the fallen warriors.
Just ten souls.
Only ten.
Compared to this battlefield, the number sounded small enough to ignore.
So many saved by them!
This was worth it!
Still, Victor’s hands remained tightly clenched as he stared at their mangled bodies.
His chest felt unbearably heavy, as if sothing inside him was slowly cracking apart.
They must have families... right?
Wives waiting for them to return ho.
Children waiting to play with their parents again.
Parents praying for their safety.
Yet this was war.
This was life.
All he could do now... was make sure the world rembered that they had died with honour.
"Y-Your Majesty..."
A pained voice suddenly echoed across the silent, burning battlefield.
Victor imdiately turned toward the sound.
From the blood-soaked ground, another soldier painfully crawled forward using only his arms. Trails of blood dragged behind him as his broken fingers dug into the dirt.
Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The man’s lower half was completely gone.
Nothing remained except his upper body.
Burned flesh, shattered armour, exposed bone.
Yet sohow... he was still alive.
Several soldiers nearby imdiately looked away, unable to endure the sight.
Victor disappeared from his position and instantly appeared before the fallen soldier.
Despite the horror before him, Victor forced a calm smile onto his face before kneeling down beside him.
"You fought well, my brother."
His voice carried warmth like a father seeing his son.
"You can rest now. Leave the rest to ."
Victor slowly brushed the man’s blood-covered hair back with gentle fingers.
The soldier’s trembling eyes widened slightly.
Brother.
That single word struck him harder than victory itself.
Recognised by the Dragon Emperor.
Acknowledged not as a re subordinate... but as family.
For a dying soldier, what greater honour could exist?
"T-Thank you... Your Majesty..."
Blood spilt from the corner of his lips as his body shook violently.
"I-If you don’t mind... cough... cough... may I ask... one thing?"
Victor nodded without hesitation.
"Of course. You do not need permissi—"
Yet before another word could leave his mouth...
The light inside the soldier’s eyes faded.
His body went still.
Silence swallowed the battlefield once again.
A faint white glow slowly erged from the centre of the soldier’s chest.
A pure orb no larger than a palm floated upward while tiny particles of light spiralled around it like drifting stars before disappearing into the sky above.
"..."
Victor remained completely silent.
No one nearby dared to speak.
So soldiers quietly lowered their heads while others wiped their eyes, unable to stop the grief pressing against their throats.
Victor simply stared at the dead soldier with an unreadable expression.
Crack—
A sharp sound echoed softly only to him.
The eternal chain-like bracelet wrapped around Victor’s right wrist suddenly cracked slightly, as though sothing beneath it was trying to force itself free.
Helena, who stood nearby, hesitantly stepped closer.
"Ae-Victor... he’s go—"
Before she could finish speaking, Victor suddenly let out a low chuckle.
"Hehehe..."
His laughter sounded quiet.
"I could never find the answer... could I?"
He muttered softly while gently closing the soldier’s eyelids with his fingers.
Although his tone sounded casual, almost joking...
Everyone who loved him could hear the pain hidden underneath.
That voice carried exhaustion far deeper than grief alone.
Victor carefully lifted the soldier’s upper body into his arms.
Blood stained his clothes instantly, yet he paid no attention to it.
Slowly, he walked toward the other fallen soldiers and laid the man beside them with care, treating him as though he were placing down soone precious rather than a corpse torn apart by war.
The flas around the battlefield continued crackling softly.
Smoke drifted through the cold air.
"Inform their families..."
Victor’s voice remained steady, though strangely distant.
"I will visit each of them personally."
Before anyone else could respond, Thalia stepped forward.
"I’ll handle it."
Her expression remained stern, but her eyes carried restrained sorrow.
"They were my soldiers."
The battlefield fell quiet as she looked toward the fallen bodies.
"I trained every one of them personally."
Her fists slowly tightened at her sides.
"If soone must bear responsibility for this... then it should be ."
Victor did not argue.
He simply turned toward the destroyed tallic figures lying motionless across the battlefield, their broken bodies still releasing faint sparks into the smoke-filled air.
"Vesperine."
His cold voice echoed softly.
Vesperine imdiately understood what he ant without needing another word.
She calmly walked toward one of the fallen tallic figures nearby while everyone silently watched her movents.
The girl raised her hand.
A glowing Origin Card materialised before her fingers.
Without hesitation, she lowered the card toward the tallic figure’s chest.
The mont it neared the corpse...
Hummmm—
The dead figure’s chest suddenly glowed.
An Origin Card slowly erged from inside the tallic body itself, as though sothing hidden within had finally awakened in response to her presence.
Several soldiers nearby widened their eyes in shock.
Vesperine gently nudged the floating card using her own.
The instant both cards touched, the dead card shattered into countless glowing particles before flowing directly into Vesperine’s Origin Card like streams of light being swallowed whole.
Her card pulsed brightly for a brief mont.
Everyone stared at the scene in stunned silence.
Victor alone remained calm, his eyes silently observing every detail without missing a single reaction.
"See?"
Vesperine turned toward him with a small victorious smile.
"I told you I wasn’t lying."
There was a faint hint of pride in her voice, as if she had finally managed to prove sothing everyone doubted from the beginning.
Victor humd thoughtfully before shifting his gaze toward Thalia.
He did not need to speak.
The aning behind his eyes alone was enough.
Try it yourself.
Thalia imdiately stepped forward toward another destroyed tallic figure nearby.
Her expression turned serious.
An Origin Card appeared before her as faint energy spread around her fingers. Slowly, she lowered it toward the dead figure’s chest plate.
Nothing happened.
Thalia frowned slightly.
"...Nothing?"
Victor raised an eyebrow in surprise.
His gaze imdiately shifted toward Vesperine.
Yet to his surprise, Vesperine herself looked equally confused.
Because until now... she had always been able to do this.
Victor narrowed his eyes slightly before motioning for her to perform it again.
This ti, everyone watched more carefully.
Vesperine swallowed awkwardly before stepping closer to the sa tallic corpse.
She raised her Origin Card once more.
Instantly, the dead figure reacted again.
Hummmm—
The hidden card erged from the corpse as though it had been personally called by her alone.
Thalia’s eyes widened slightly.
"What the hell...?"
Suspicion imdiately crossed her face.
She glanced sharply toward Vesperine, wondering if the girl was sohow manipulating the process.
Before Vesperine could move first, Thalia abruptly pushed her hand forward and tapped her own Origin Card directly against the dead figure.
Nothing.
Not even a flicker.
The corpse remained completely unresponsive.
Then Vesperine cautiously tapped it again.
The dead card instantly reacted.
Just like before, it dissolved into glowing particles and flowed directly into Vesperine’s card, causing the value inside it to increase once again.
The surrounding soldiers began whispering among themselves.
Victor’s frown deepened.
"Everyone. Try it."
At his command, soldiers and even his wives stepped forward one after another to test the tallic corpses themselves.
Victor remained where he stood without moving.
After all...
Unlike everyone else here, his Origin Card was never real to begin with.
It was rely an artificial construct established through Rosavere’s contract.
A fake existence.
In truth, Victor did not possess a genuine Origin Card at all.
Yet even so, he silently observed the others with sharp attention.
One after another, disappointnt filled the battlefield.
"Your Majesty... I cannot perform it."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Mine isn’t reacting either."
"It’s not working for ."
Even his wives eventually stepped back with troubled expressions.
None of their cards reacted.
Not a single one.
Slowly...
Every pair of eyes turned toward the innocent-looking girl with twin tails standing in the middle of the battlefield.
Vesperine instantly stiffened beneath the overwhelming attention.
She awkwardly raised both hands defensively while forcing a nervous smile.
"I-I really don’t know why it only works for ..."
Thalia frowned as she stepped closer toward Vesperine.
"Are you sure?"
Her sharp eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Or are you still hiding sothing from us?"
As she moved forward, flas slowly ignited around her hand, their fiery glow illuminating the smoke-filled battlefield.
She could not trust this woman.
Everything about Vesperine felt suspicious.
Why was she the only person capable of extracting those values while everyone else completely failed?
The more Thalia thought about it, the less comfortable she beca.
Vesperine imdiately noticed the dangerous look in her eyes and panicked slightly.
"H-Hey, wait a second...!"
Just before the atmosphere could worsen further—
"Thalia."
Victor’s stern voice instantly stopped her.
The flas around Thalia’s hand flickered before slowly calming down.
Victor walked forward and quietly stopped beside Vesperine.
Without hesitation, he gently patted her head.
The simple gesture made everyone nearby pause slightly.
"Is it possible for you to share those values with others?" Victor asked calmly.
"Like you did with Kaelen before?"
Hearing that, Vesperine imdiately nodded.
"Yes! I can!"
Relief visibly appeared across her face, knowing Victor still trusted her, unlike the other won glaring at her as though she were so kind of criminal.
’Hmph! One day, all of you jealous won will bow before !’
She inwardly puffed her chest proudly while maintaining an innocent face outwardly.
"Vesperine?"
"Yes~"
She quickly turned toward Thalia.
"Raise your Origin Card first."
Thalia hesitated slightly.
Her eyes clearly showed distrust toward the twin-tailed girl standing before her.
Still, after seeing Victor quietly nod toward her, Thalia finally let out an annoyed huff.
"When did my husband start taking another woman’s side...?"
She muttered under her breath with a faint pout before reluctantly summoning her fiery red Origin Card.
The card hovered before her, radiating waves of crimson heat.
Vesperine imdiately smirked.
She raised her own card and lightly nudged Thalia’s.
The mont both cards touched—
Hummmm—
A soft yellowish-pink glow erupted from Vesperine’s card.
Several strands of shimring energy slowly flowed outward like streams of liquid light before entering Thalia’s fiery red card.
The surrounding soldiers stared in complete silence.
Then suddenly—
The value displayed at the top-right corner of Thalia’s card changed.
0 → 1
Thalia’s eyes widened slightly.
The flas around her card flickered from surprise.
"Hah..."
Vesperine crossed her arms proudly before lifting her chin.
"Now do you believe ?"
Her face carried an openly victorious expression as she turned toward Victor, clearly expecting praise.
However...
Victor’s frown only deepened.
Confusion silently filled his thoughts.
’Why only her?’
He stared at Vesperine thoughtfully.
’Am I missing sothing important here?’
For a brief mont, suspicion crossed his mind.
Perhaps she truly was hiding the real thod from him.
After all... she had already hidden many things before.
Maybe this was simply another secret.
Victor’s fingers slowly clenched.
The battlefield air suddenly grew slightly colder around him.
Yet after a few seconds, he quietly loosened his hand again.
Violence was not the answer.
Not now.
The reason today’s casualties remained only eleven... was largely because of Vesperine’s help.
Even if she herself did not fully understand when or how her knowledge appeared, her warnings had allowed them to prepare defences early, evacuate civilians, and organise the battlefield properly.
And because of her...
He managed to reach Sera before sothing irreversible happened.
Victor slowly exhaled inwardly before finally looking toward Vesperine again.
Then he smiled faintly.
"Thank you, Vesperine."
His voice carried genuine sincerity.
No manipulation.
No suspicion.
Only honest gratitude from the bottom of his heart.
[ 4000 AP]
[ 4000 AP]
[ 4000 AP]
[ 4000 AP]
The mont she heard his heartfelt tone, Vesperine’s heartbeat skipped violently.
Her cheeks flushed slightly.
Those simple words made her happier than she expected.
Far happier.
Because for the first ti since arriving here...
She truly felt acknowledged.
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