“There’s no time—no time.”
Within a long-stretching canyon, Yuru muttered ceaselessly as she dragged something behind her.
“Ugh, ngh!”
Clutched in her hand was none other than the Crown Prince of Krata, Neville von Lagnarich.
He had tried to escape once, only to be caught again. Since then, she had shown him no mercy.
No—she had actively abused him.
“This... this is an unforgivable act!”
At first, she had broken both his legs to stop him from running again.
But Neville was protected by divine blessings. His injuries healed almost instantly. So long as he didn’t outright die, he could recover at any time.
So Yuru took a firmer approach—she grabbed him by the back of the head and dragged him without pause.
Since then, he had become a tattered mess.
‘Too strong...!’
Among his blessings was one that fortified his body to endure great hardship—bestowed by intense prayer and genuine divine grace.
It was not just ceremonial.
‘In this state, I can’t do anything…’
Neville gritted his teeth and shouted toward the woman dragging him, “Tower Master! Are you listening to me?!”
Yuru suddenly stopped.
But it wasn’t because his voice had reached her.
“This won’t work. I need to think. Think…”
“Tower Master?”
“Ah.”
Yuru stared into empty space, then widened her eyes as if a thought had struck her.
“Yes… that place.”
Boom!
Yuru kicked off the ground and soared into the air.
“W-Wait?!”
Still in her grasp, Neville was hauled into the sky with her.
Bang!
With another leap, they landed before a graveyard.
Rows upon rows of tombstones stretched before them. Neville’s face paled instantly.
‘What is she… planning?’
A terrible premonition swept over him.
Step. Step.
“Tower Master, what are you doing?!”
He spoke with a stricken voice, but Yuru offered no answer. She simply gazed across the graves in deep thought.
‘Tia surely didn’t prepare anything.’
The Empress, after all, had sent word to Krata the moment things turned inconvenient.
Of course there were no "materials" prepared.
Not enough to suppress Neville’s soul-protection blessing, Yaganel.
‘For Clay’s soul to take root, that blessing must be destroyed.’
The other blessings, on the contrary, could greatly assist Clay in regaining strength and stability.
With a flick, Yuru threw Neville to the ground.
“Ghk!”
Ziiing.
As he groaned, Yuru pressed her hands together and etched a formula into the air.
“Knock, knock.”
A blue glint danced in her eyes.
“Is there one among the dead behind the veil?”
Rumble… rumble…
The earth began to tremble. Neville stumbled upright, desperate to flee.
“If so, answer me. I’ve prepared a body for you to dwell in.”
“Uaaaaah!”
Neville bolted. He didn’t care where he went—he just had to live.
“Follow the path I’ve prepared, and walk toward it.”
She pointed at him and shouted:
“SIRAVAS!”
Fwoooosh!
From each tombstone, translucent orbs of light burst forth.
They were the souls of the dead, summoned through the gateway she had formed.
—There he is.
—We can return!
—I’ll be first!
The spirits all shot toward Neville at once.
“Grahhhh!”
Horrified, Neville ran harder—but not faster than the spirits.
Crash!
One collided with him. But it failed to enter his body.
—KIIIEEHH!!
The Yaganel blessing flared to life, surrounding the intruding spirit with divine fire until it shrieked and burned away.
—Move! He’s mine!
—Out of the way!
But that didn’t stop the others.
They had been wholly ensnared by Yuru’s magic. All they could do was rush at Neville, gradually depleting his divine shield.
“Khak!”
Yuru coughed blood.
“I-I can endure this…”
To forcibly pull spirits from the realm of death and implant them into a living host… It was far more taxing than simply animating an undead shell.
If not for the "Grimoire" she carried, stabilizing her mana, she would’ve collapsed already.
“Go!”
She screamed at the spirits.
“Destroy it all!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Gah—! Guhk?!”
The constant impact against Neville’s spiritual barrier finally took its toll—Yaganel’s protection began to falter.
“Tower Master, please—stop…!”
He realized now: Yuru was trying to replace his soul with another. One without protection.
“Even if you take this body, your plan is doomed to fail!”
Whatever preparations she had made… her bleeding form told him she was nearing her limits.
“This is just murder!”
Battered by the relentless assault, Neville fell to his knees and screamed.
“You’ll be nothing but a killer!”
He collapsed to the ground.
Like jackals upon fresh prey, the spirits swarmed over him.
Crash! Craaaash!
The noise was deafening. At this rate, Neville’s soul would be completely overrun.
‘Sir Hero…’
Neville clenched his jaw.
‘You told me never to forget that I’m strong.’
He hadn’t accomplished anything in Clay’s lifetime. But he recalled Clay’s words clearly.
That when one reached the threshold of agony, numbness would follow. And if in that moment, one could take a single step forward—he would survive.
Crunch.
Neville clenched his teeth until they nearly cracked.
The silhouette of the Hero—his savior—flickered before him.
“I offer this prayer.”
He clasped his hands tightly.
♧
“Beatrice. I have something to ask you.”
Clay had already informed everyone that Neville had been kidnapped by Yuru.
Now, alone with Beatrice in the Demon King's Castle, he posed his question.
“I want to retrieve Neville. Even though we’ll use Yuru’s actions to sow chaos… I want to secure him. Can you do it?”
“Neville?”
Beatrice tilted her head.
“He’s Krata’s heir. He’s your enemy. Are you trying to play Hero again?”
“No.”
Clay recalled Neville’s resolute gaze.
He’d heard the prince opposed the execution verdict, even if Neville himself thought it meant little.
Neville was intelligent. Kind. Nothing like Lutan.
But that didn’t mean Clay planned to save him for sentiment’s sake.
“Neville is the Crown Prince of Krata. Lutan may not care for him, but honor’s another matter.”
Failing to retrieve a royal heir would disgrace Krata’s name.
“They’ll move to reclaim him—no matter the cost. Even if all that’s left is a corpse.”
“If we have him, he becomes a powerful bargaining chip.”
“That might provoke Krata into attacking us.” Beatrice voiced her concern, “Isn’t it too soon?”
“It is. But if we succeed, it’ll be worth it.”
He finally confided the true reason.
“Beatrice, do you know why the Holy Alliance rushed to execute me?”
“Hm? Because you were too powerful, obviously.”
“That’s part of it. But not the full story. I also knew too much.”
He lowered his voice.
“For example—Krata’s Emperor’s weakness.”
“Weakness?”
“I can’t tell you just yet.”
He opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue.
“……!”
Beatrice frowned.
Etched into his tongue was a golden mark—the Brand of Silence.
“I can’t speak certain words. Not with my mouth, nor any part of my body.”
“Gods, they really didn’t hold back,” Beatrice clicked her tongue, “I see. They really do deserve no mercy.”
Her eyes gleamed with fury. Clay offered a wry smile.
“For now, all I want is to secure Neville.”
Nothing more.
‘Neville…’
He remembered the boy who once owed him his life.
‘He was sharp.’
Unlike his father, Neville had the makings of a true ruler.
But he would never ascend the throne.
‘Lutan will never relinquish power.’
Clay had overheard it during his final days. Lutan planned to transplant a Longlived One’s heart to extend his reign eternally.
He meant to wield that monstrous longevity for his own ends.
‘He must’ve panicked when Yuru lost control.’
Clay couldn’t say it aloud, but Neville… Neville was Lutan’s greatest weakness.
Because the Emperor’s greatest vulnerability lay in his own bloodline.
A spell cast through the divine power of a blood relative couldn’t be blocked—not even by Lutan.
That was why the Emperor had branded his family to ensure none could ever raise a hand against him.
That was the kind of man Lutan was.
“Will you help me?”
Clay looked at Beatrice.
“Neville could become a powerful weapon.”
“Hmmm…” Beatrice sighed, “To be honest, I didn’t want you doing anything reckless until your strength returned. But if you’re asking me like this, I suppose it matters.”
She understood what lay beneath his words.
“If he really could be your weapon… I’ll make it happen.”
“One more thing.”
Beatrice’s eyes narrowed in protest.
“You said just one request.”
But what came next left her speechless.
“I’ll join the mission to take Neville back from Yuru myself.”
(End of Chapter)