“Here and now, I will put an end to your indulgence.”

The First Prince of the Empire stood before us and declared.

A situation far too sudden.

And yet—

The aura I felt, the murderous intent radiating from him, made it clear that this was real.

‘…How is this even possible?’

Only two people knew where we were headed: Miss Rubia and Hans, who just died earlier.

We had used Lucy’s contract, so it made no sense for Hans to have betrayed us. And obviously, there was no way Miss Rubia would have divulged our location to that man.

But judging by what he said, the First Prince somehow knew where we were and had come to deal with us personally.

Then how—how in the world did he find out our location? I simply couldn’t make sense of it.

But…

That wasn’t the important part right now.

Even if I figured out the reason, it wouldn’t change the situation we were in.

Instead of wasting time on deduction, we needed to focus on getting out of this mess—whatever it took.

There was no time to hesitate.

Before he could complete his spell, I kicked off the ground and charged toward him.

However—

“…It’s been a while since I’ve seen that sword.”

My blade never reached the First Prince.

A deafening crash rang out.

The silver-haired man’s sword collided with mine.

A sacred sword against a sacred sword.

The vow I made back then—the will that would never break—as long as that remained, the sacred sword would not shatter. No matter how fierce the blade, it would not be cut down.

But even so, forcing him back with sheer strength wasn’t working. The ominous energy radiating from the man in front of me—

And the face I knew all too well.

They made one thing unmistakably clear.

“I thought you’d never show your face again… but is this what fate has in store?”

…A Swordmaster.

The First Prince’s earlier claim that he didn’t need luck to deal with us hadn’t been a bluff.

An imperial knight under direct royal command.

Carl now stood before me.

If we kept up this standoff, we’d be in serious danger. Unlike during the incident with Balzac, this time they had a mage on their side.

Gritting my teeth, I retreated to put some distance between us.

‘This is…’

The situation was bad.

Really bad.

I could feel cold sweat trickling down my back.

By sacrificing the talented, he had fueled his own growth—and even ten years ago, the First Prince had reached the Ninth Circle.

Judging from the power he radiated now, he had clearly ascended to the level of an Archmage.

As if just facing a Swordmaster weren’t already too much—now we had to deal with an Archmage too?

Could we win?

No—more than winning…

‘Can we even escape?’

I didn’t have an answer. The path ahead was shrouded in uncertainty.

But of course, the enemy wasn’t going to wait around for us to figure things out.

The moment I stepped back, it was as if he’d been waiting for it—waves of sword energy came flying at us. Hundreds—no, thousands of slashes surged toward us like a storm.

Siel’s shadow rose to devour them—

But it was too much. Even Siel couldn’t absorb them all. Not even half. Only a portion was blocked.

In the end, I swung my sacred sword to cancel out the incoming slashes with a strike of my own.

…No, I tried to cancel them out.

But why?

I was certain I had swung my sword—yet it hadn’t moved.

The fact that I had attacked was twisted into a distorted mess.

Reality manipulation.

The act of bending cause and effect.

A spellcraft that only one who had reached the realm of an Archmage could perform.

And just like that, my attack was erased as if it had never happened.

The wave of slashes surged right up to us. There was no way Siel’s body could withstand a hit like that.

I had no choice but to throw myself in the way and take the attack head-on.

‘…You’ve got to be kidding me.’

They say pain beyond a certain threshold is closer to mental torture—and maybe that was true. I couldn’t feel the pain, but my head was throbbing all the same.

The more we fought, the more it became painfully clear: that duo had no weaknesses.

Normally, a high-level magic like that would take time to cast. And if the caster were interrupted mid-cast, they’d suffer massive backlash.

So the best strategy would be to find the right moment and attack.

But they had a Swordmaster.

Even if I tried to prevent the First Prince from completing his spell, I’d only end up getting blocked by that monster’s defense.

In short—it was nearly impossible to get an attack through to the Prince.

‘Still… there’s no other way.’

Even against just a Swordmaster, there was no guarantee of victory. So there was no chance we could win against one who had an Archmage backing him.

No matter what it took, I had to break through that guy’s defense and neutralize the Prince. That was the only path to victory.

I signaled to Lien, and together, we pushed off the ground and rushed toward the First Prince.

I poured every last drop of divine power into my sacred sword.

…Of course, I had no intention of actually using it.

Divine power isn’t infinite.

If we were going to take them both down in one blow, we’d need to save everything we had for that moment. I couldn’t afford to waste our trump card now.

So the reason I made such a move was simple.

Bluff.

Just as the First Prince’s spell neared completion, my arm—ready to swing the sword—froze mid-motion.

Naturally so.

If I had unleashed that divine power, even he wouldn’t have walked away unscathed.

From his perspective, he had no choice but to stop me.

And once that happened—

“Go all out, Lien!”

No matter how powerful a mage might be, even an Archmage can’t cast a spell that alters causality on two people at once. It was inevitable—a gap would form.

And Lien didn’t miss that opening. She darted forward like lightning the moment she heard my shout.

Of course, Carl moved to protect the First Prince, but—

Chains of shadow coiled around Carl.

A spell Siel had prepared in advance. It wouldn’t hold long against a Swordmaster—but it didn’t need to.

We didn’t need him bound for long. Just enough to stop him from guarding the Prince at that one, critical moment.

Eyes blazing, Lien launched her fist with everything she had.

A shockwave tore through the air, loud enough to make our ears ring.

An earth-shaking blow.

And with that, we managed to neutralize the First Prince—finally tipping the battle in our favor.

At least, we should have.

That’s how it was supposed to go…

But something changed.

A monstrous, suffocating aura rose—so fierce, it made our skin crawl.

From the First Prince’s shadow… a woman stepped out.

She moved like a Swordmaster, blocking Lien’s attack with her blade.

At the same time, she dispelled Siel’s carefully woven spell like it was nothing—melting away the chains as if they were made of air.

After doing something so utterly impossible—

That woman—no, that corpse—turned to look at me.

“Please… kill me.”

That’s what she said.

My head spun. I couldn’t make sense of what I was seeing. Of course I couldn’t.

That person shouldn’t be here.

She was someone who should never have appeared again.

Why?

Why now, of all times?

‘Why is a former comrade showing up here…?’

I clenched my teeth.

I had to survive. I needed to live. That meant I couldn’t afford to be shaken or waste time trying to figure out what was happening.

I had to think.

About what to do—how to act.

How I could possibly survive against them.

But…

“……”

There was no answer.

And honestly, if an answer had come to mind, that would’ve been even stranger.

A Weapon Master. The ultimate all-rounder.

A born genius—someone granted the right to stand beside the Hero, at the very center of the world.

To face someone like that alone was already unthinkable.

But together with a Swordmaster and an Archmage?

That defied logic itself.

Which meant…

If things continued like this, there was no way we could win.

****

Siel stood there, blankly staring at Ian.

The moment she saw his face, she understood.

There was no chance of victory.

That was what Ian had concluded.

And he was probably right.

Even facing just one of them would’ve been nearly impossible. But three?

Victory was out of the question. Even escape seemed like a fantasy.

So the girl began to think.

What she needed to do right now.

And it didn’t take her long to reach an answer.

The mocking laughter of the wolf faded into the background.

The sneering voice that asked, “Are you sure about this? Won’t you regret it?”

—It didn’t matter anymore.

Of course it didn’t.

Because from the very beginning, there had only ever been one person who truly mattered to her.

“Ian, do you remember?” Siel asked softly.

“That thing that happened a long time ago.”

At her words, Ian’s expression turned to one of confusion.

Understandably so.

“What… what did you do?”

A shadow had enveloped the three enemies before they even noticed.

The strange Swordmaster.

The silent Archmage.

The mysterious woman who’d deflected Lien’s attack.

None of them could land a hit now.

Inside the barrier of shadows, it was completely still.

Utterly quiet.

That’s why Ian couldn’t help but feel unsettled.

“No, wait—that’s not what matters right now. What did you offer…?”

His voice trembled. The question came out heavier this time.

But Siel didn’t answer.

“Remember back then? You promised you’d grant me one favor, just once.”

“You haven’t forgotten, right?”

The moment those words left her mouth, Ian’s face darkened.

He understood.

He knew what she was about to do.

But it was too late.

Lien, who had been struck down by the mysterious woman, and Ian—both of their legs were already swallowed by the shadow.

Once they returned to the mansion, they would be safe.

She wouldn’t be.

But that was okay.

It had to be okay.

Maybe… it would be okay.

“It’s my only request.”

For some reason, her voice caught in her throat.

Her heart ached.

Her eyes stung.

But she still had to speak.

Because if she didn’t, Ian would undoubtedly try to save her again—throw himself into danger for her.

I love you.

I’ll miss you.

I wanted more time with you.

Please remember me.

She locked those thoughts deep inside her heart so they wouldn’t slip out.

Forced a smile.

And then, the girl spoke a lie—one her heart didn’t believe at all.

“Forget someone like me… and live on.”

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