“You idiot!?”
Frederica shouted in furious exasperation.
“Why didn’t you dodge! What if I hadn’t blocked that strike!?”
“Hahaha!”
Barbas laughed boisterously.
“Simple—I knew I could count on you to cover !”
“Huh?!?”
“You really are a brainless fool!”
“Say what you want! Because right now, I’m burning with battle fever—absolutely burning!!!”
BOOM!
A raging inferno surged toward Dunan once more.
“Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora......”
From the flas, fiery fists rained down like a teor shower, relentless and dense.
“Guh...... damned humans!”
Beneath the brutal assault, Dunan’s body stumbled backward step after step.
“I...... I’m being forced back by re humans!? Impossible! This can’t be happening!”
SWISH——!
A sonic boom sliced through the air toward Barbas once again.
“You think the sa trick will work twice?”
HUM!
A barrier flared to life, sealing off Bafon’s retreat in an instant.
“Crap!”
His face paled with shock, and he lunged to change position—
but every direction was already blocked by shadowy figures.
SLITHER!
The rattle of chains slithering beneath the ground echoed out.
Bafon twisted and dodged with inhuman agility,
yet his space to maneuver was shrinking, thodically closed off by his foes.
The situation was growing more desperate by the second......
Damn it.
What the hell is with these humans?!
I have to find a way out.
If I don’t...... if I don’t,
I’ll die!
Think! Think! Is there any way out of this!
Bafon’s mind raced with panic, scrambling for a plan.
And then his gaze fell on a small group of figures standing apart from the battle, far away.
That’s it—
him!
That golden-haired man.
They called him Your Highness, didn’t they?
I know what that ans.
He’s one of these savages’ nobles, raised to power just for his bloodline.
Weaklings, the lot of them—yet infinitely important to their little pack.
Yes!
This is my chance!
If I capture him!
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I can hold him hostage and threaten the rest!
A glint of hope flared in Bafon’s eyes.
“I’ll take you all down with !”
BOOM!
He feigned a suicidal charge, unleashing a surge of violent, unbridled mana.
The sheer pressure forced Frederica and the others to leap back, putting distance between themselves and the demon.
Now!
SWISH——!
The violent mana vanished without a trace, and Bafon’s figure followed it, gone in the blink of an eye.
“That bastard—he’s trying to—!”
Frederica stared in shock as Bafon streaked toward Drehack—
then slowly fell silent, lowering her outstretched right hand.
How foolish......
“......”
Ella and another guard stepped forward silently, ready to intercept—
but Drehack raised his right hand, stopping them.
Then he rested his hand on the hilt of his sword.
“Haha! Got you——!”
His elongated arms stretched out, re inches from his target.
Bafon could already see victory in his mind’s eye.
CLANG——!!!
A streak of crimson sword light cut through the air.
Huh......?
His vision suddenly began to spin.
What?
Confusion flooded Bafon’s mind.
What just happened......?
A familiar figure lay before him—his own body, minus the head that should have sat atop it.
This is...... my body?
Why—
“......”
So this is how it ends.
So I’ve been beheaded......
Thud. Thud. Thud.
His grueso, severed head bounced across the ground like a ball, finally rolling to a stop at Drehack’s feet.
Seconds later, his headless body crumpled to the earth.
Sizzle......
The sword’s blade, dyed a vivid crimson with blood, pulsed for a mont—then countless thin streaks of blood, like veins, receded toward the eye-shaped gem on the hilt.
When the last trace of blood vanished, the gem’s glowing eye snapped shut, returning to its ordinary ruby hue.
“......Hmph. Such a clever fool, choosing the fastest way to die.”
Frederica scoffed, shaking her head.
Then she twisted around, shouting toward Barbas, who was still trading blows with his foe.
“Barbas! You bastard! What are you doing!? Do you dare make His Highness wait for you——!”
“Ha! Alright, alright! I hear you!!!”
BOOM!
In an instant, Barbas was wreathed in flas, his entire body blazing like a living torch.
“Ti to finish this——!”
BOOM! BOOM!......
Minutes later.
Barbas sat atop a charred corpse, gasping for breath,
a wide, triumphant grin splitting his face.
“I win——!”
“Took you long enough, you idiot!”
“......”
When the battle ended,
all the figures returned to Drehack’s side.
“......”
Zieg stared in stunned silence at the jungle, now reduced to a smoldering flatland.
They’re so strong.
This is Drehack, the Crown Prince of the Empire.
And these are his n......
His gaze slowly drifted over the others, each one exuding an aura of deadly power.
......the Bloodguard.
“Zieg Heyerar.”
Drehack stepped forward, stopping in front of Zieg.
“Your Highness Drehack...... you...... you know my na?”
Zieg stared up at him, awestruck.
“Every man under my command.”
Drehack spoke in his usual cold, calm tone.
“I know all their nas.”
“Return to camp and rest. Heal your wounds properly.”
With that, he turned his back on Zieg, issuing a new order.
“Retrieve the bodies of the fallen.”
“Yes, Your Highness!!!”
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh......
Several figures streaked off into the forest, faster than the eye could follow.
Monts later,
the lifeless bodies of the Imperial Knights were laid out before them.
“......Carter, Layla, Shaw, Henrik......”
Drehack walked past each body, uttering their nas one by one.
Just as he’d said—he rembered them all.
After confirming every fallen knight’s identity,
Drehack stopped at the head of the line, planting his sword in the ground before him. He bowed his head slowly, a gesture of solemn respect.
Behind him, the Bloodguard followed suit, bowing their heads in silent mourning.
When the mont of silence ended,
Drehack raised his head, his voice ringing out with unshakable solemnity.
“In the na of Drehack Serions, Crown Prince of the Empire—you are the bravest knights of our realm. I will not let you lie unburied in this wilderness. You shall return to your holands, honored as the heroes you are.”
......
Windrock City.
The Imperial Sanitarium.
“Brother——!”
An Imperial soldier burst into the room, breathless and frantic.
“How are you!? Are you alright!?”
Zieg sat by the window, turning slowly to face him.
“Reid? What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here......”
Reid stared at him, a mix of anxiety and frustration in his voice.
“I heard you were nearly killed! I rushed here the second I got the word!”
“Heh.” Zieg forced a weak smile. “Look at —I’m fine, all things considered.”
Reid’s eyes raked over Zieg’s body, wrapped in bandages and held in place with splints.
He exploded with frustration.
“Fine?! This is what you call fine——!”
“Ahem!”
A clergyman stood in the doorway, clearing his throat sharply, his gaze sharp with disapproval at the noise.
“Uh—my apologies. I’ll keep my voice down......”
Once the clergyman left,
Reid sat down beside Zieg, his tone softening with worry.
“Brother, what really happened? How did you end up like this?”
Faced with Reid’s question,
Zieg let out a heavy sigh, his gaze drifting back to the window, to the distant forest beyond the city walls.
After a long, quiet mont, he spoke.
“We were ambushed by demons......”
And then Zieg told him everything—the scouting mission, the ambush, the death of his comrades, the brutal battle in the jungle, and the arrival of Drehack and the Bloodguard.
When he finished his tale,
Reid bowed his head, his shoulders slumping with guilt.
“Brother, I’m so sorry. I’m useless...... you were fighting for your life out there, and I was stuck safe in the rear, unable to do a thing......”
“Reid.”
Zieg placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder, his voice steady.
“There is no guilt to bear. The mont I stepped onto the battlefield, I knew this risk was mine to take.”
“But! Brother, if I were stronger—if I could fight by your side—!”
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM......
Magical fireworks burst into the sky above the city, painting it with brilliant colors.
A low rumble echoed through the streets as the massive iron gates of Windrock City, sealed tight for days, creaked open slowly.
“Huh?”
Zieg stared out the window, confused.
“What’s the occasion? Why the fireworks? Why open the gates?”
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