The flames faded, and the biting cold turned into steam and vanished into the air.
Thud.
Yuru collapsed, her remaining warmth dissipating as her body gave in.
“Guh… Huff…”
She couldn’t even breathe properly. She had exhausted too much energy. With one hand braced on the ground, she barely managed to keep her gaze forward.
And in her blurry vision stood Beatrice—still upright.
Unlike Yuru, Beatrice was thawing her frostbitten limbs.
“Damn it…”
She had failed to bring her down. Yuru tried to summon more mana but only ended up coughing blood.
Her body was on the verge of collapsing forward.
But she couldn’t accept death just like that. So she propped herself up with her elbow and lifted her head.
“!”
Then, Yuru realized.
Beatrice wasn’t moving either.
“…Impressive.”
Beatrice’s lips moved slowly, muttering in a quiet voice as she met Yuru’s eyes.
“You really were worthy of being called humanity’s protector.”
“Don’t… joke,” Yuru gritted her teeth, “I don’t want to hear empty compliments.”
“I’m only being honest.”
Step.
Beatrice moved forward.
“But it seems I’m the only one left standing.”
“Urgh…”
Beatrice had made up her mind—to crush Yuru completely.
“Step down from the stage now, Yuru.”
“What…?”
“You heard it from Clay himself, didn’t you?”
That he came to put her down.
“If you truly feel any remorse toward Clay, then vanish. Disappear entirely.”
Yuru swallowed dryly.
That was right. Clay had said it himself—he came to eliminate her. There was no doubt. She’d heard it with her own ears.
But whether or not she believed that… was up to her.
And she—
“I don’t believe it.”
—chose not to.
“That’s not what he really wants.”
“You honestly believe that?”
“At the very least, not like this.”
Yuru clenched her fists and gathered every last ounce of strength into her body.
And with great effort, she stood up.
“I’ll see for myself. What’s gone wrong.”
“To not understand even after hearing it all… truly foolish,” Beatrice began summoning flames again.
Thunk.
But even she had reached her limit. Using more power now might trigger a rampage.
This isn’t the time for that yet.
Defeating Yuru here would make things much easier going forward. But risking her life for it? Not efficient.
Clay should’ve reached the rendezvous point by now anyway.
She needed to conserve enough strength to regroup.
In the end, she sighed and spoke.
“Fine. Do as you wish. I’ll be going now.”
“Where do you think you’re going? I’ll—!”
“If you’re hoping for another fight, don’t worry. There are plenty of others who’ll be happy to deal with you.”
With that, Beatrice unfurled the wings on her back.
Even in human form, she lifted off into the air, radiating overwhelming pressure.
“Don’t run!”
Yuru reached out toward her.
But Beatrice didn’t even spare her a glance as she flapped her wings and vanished in an instant.
Thud!
Unable to stop her, Yuru slammed her fist into the ground.
“There! There she is!”
A shout rang out from somewhere.
Turning her head, Yuru finally understood what Beatrice had meant.
“Damn it…”
Yaphenon soldiers were pouring into the canyon.
☆
“Lilien.”
Back in her office, Tia called out to her Royal Guard Captain.
“Begin preparations for a Holy War. Immediately.”
“…Pardon?”
Lilien, summoned by her Empress, turned pale at the command.
“A Holy War?”
“Yes.”
Tia explained the situation.
“The Emperor of Krata has demanded our participation.”
“Which means…”
“Yes. Exactly.”
Tia’s face darkened.
“He’s asking us to execute Yuru—with the charge of kidnapping the Crown Prince.”
“That’s absurd…”
Lilien groaned, her voice trembling.
“Your Majesty, we can’t comply! If we do, Ezer will fall into civil war!”
Yuru was the Master of the Blue Tower.
All the mages under its banner followed her. If they attacked her, would those mages stand by and do nothing?
“The only reason the Blue Tower has remained silent is because Lady Yuru hasn’t issued any commands! But if the mages who serve her loyally begin to move—!”
“Lilien,” Tia met her eyes, “I haven’t told you everything yet.”
“…Your?”
“I already betrayed Yuru.”
Not long ago, during their confrontation, Tia had rejected Yuru’s offer to resurrect Clay through dark arts. Worse, she had intended to report her actions to Krata.
“Of course, she made that easy when she declared she didn’t care about Ezer’s well-being and went rogue.”
Hearing the full story, Lilien swallowed hard.
Then… we’re already enemies.
With Yuru at the helm, the Blue Tower had dramatically increased its strength in recent years.
And now, they’d fallen out with her.
Her attempt to warn Krata must’ve failed too.
If she had succeeded, Yuru wouldn’t have been able to abduct the Crown Prince. She must’ve found out that Ezer was trying to move against her.
“You think we’ve already lost, don’t you?”
Tia looked at Lilien.
“Yuru is our enemy. And we’re about to lose Krata’s trust.”
“Your Majesty…”
“At this point, I wonder why I let Clay be executed at all.”
Words she had never dared to say before now spilled out.
“I accepted the evidence Krata provided in Clay’s trial—used all of it. I did it to preserve their trust. And this… is the result.”
“Your Majesty…”
“Lilien.”
Tia spoke with newfound resolve.
“You said you encountered Beatrice—the Demon King’s General, right?”
“…Yes! That’s right.”
“And that she took Clay’s body.”
Tia clenched her fists as unpleasant emotions surged within her.
“I don’t know what she’s doing to his corpse, but it’s likely part of a plan to revive the Demon King’s army.”
The Demon King was dead.
The demons had lost their rallying point.
To rebuild their army, they needed a new one.
“Beatrice probably intends to use Clay’s corpse to unite them again.”
“That’s unthinkable…”
“Which is why we need to think carefully.”
One misstep, and Ezer could be destroyed.
The Holy Alliance, the Blue Tower, and Beatrice—any one of them was a disaster waiting to happen.
But Tia no longer intended to submit to anyone.
That kind of compromise had already cost her too much.
“Lilien. First, we need to divert the Holy Alliance’s attention and buy time. Do you remember where Beatrice went?”
“When I came to, she and everyone else had vanished. I’m afraid I don’t.”
“Then go back to the site. See if there are any clues—”
Bang!
The door burst open.
“Nael!”
The maids had tried to stop her, but no one could hold back her strength.
“Beatrice took Clay’s body?!”
“Nael…”
“I heard everything!” Nael pointed to her ears, “You know how sharp my hearing is! I heard everything from the hallway! Don’t you dare lie to me!”
She was right.
With that much already overheard, hiding the truth was pointless.
“Fine, Nael. I’ll tell you everything.”
Tia explained it all. Beatrice animating Clay’s corpse, Yuru kidnapping the Crown Prince.
“That’s all true?”
Nael’s face went pale as she processed the weight of the revelations. Then her fangs bared.
“Then forget Yuru. We’ll deal with her later. First, we take care of the ones defiling Clay’s body.”
“I agree, Nael.” Tia extended her hand, “You can track demonic traces, can’t you?”
Nael, of the beastkin.
Her senses were exceptional even among her kind. Her sense of smell was beyond belief—but she wasn’t using it.
“Right now, I can’t use my original abilities.”
“Yes, you can.”
“…What?”
“You’re not using them because you’re afraid you’ll forget Clay’s scent, aren’t you?”
Nael had stored the scarf Clay once gave her at home and only ever used her sense of smell to recall his scent.
“You can’t suppress it forever.”
“Don’t patronize me,” Nael’s glare turned icy, “My senses are mine to control.”
“I know. But right now, we need every advantage.”
Beatrice had taken Clay’s body.
“You heard what’s being done to him. Are you really okay with doing nothing?”
“…Damn it.” Nael shut her eyes tightly, then opened them, “Fine. What do you want me to do?”
“I already said,” Tia lowered her voice, “Track Beatrice’s trail. Find Clay with your own senses.”
“…Got it.”
Nael turned around, resigned, and added as she walked away, “But I’ll say one thing.”
She glanced sideways at Tia.
“Don’t use Clay. Not too much. Even if he’s just a corpse now.”
Step. Step.
With those words, Nael walked out.
“…”
Tia sat in silence long after she’d gone.
“Your Majesty…”
“Don’t use Clay?”
A warning not to use him as a pawn to deflect the Holy Alliance’s attention.
“But Clay already abandoned us.”
She stared down at her desk, covered in scattered documents.
“He’s dead.”
Was it such a sin to rely on someone already gone?
“He used his friends first, then threw them away.”
Tia muttered like she was trying to convince herself.
But she still didn’t know—
Whether she could say the same when she stood face-to-face with Clay again.
(End of Chapter)