Beastkin were different from ordinary humans.
They had acquired powerful physiques by combining with the traits of various animals.
Squeeze!
But that also meant they possessed weaknesses humans didn’t.
“Ghk?!”
Nael winced in pain and staggered when Clay grabbed the base of her tail.
That brief moment of imbalance caused her body to collapse.
Crash!
She slid across the floor, then raised her scraped face and turned her gaze.
“Clay…!”
She had been worried about him in her own way, but what she saw left her utterly shocked.
“What?”
Clay was still clutching the base of her tail.
Seeing that, Nael muttered in disbelief.
“……”
Even as they fell together, Clay hadn’t let go. Now he slowly lifted his head and looked at her.
“Nael, even now… do you still regret it?”
He asked, completely unconcerned by the wounds he’d taken from the fall.
“I intend to do everything in my power to stop you.”
“Clay!” She shouted with all her strength, “Come to your senses! This isn’t the real you!”
The real him.
Clay had once devoted himself to everyone as a Hero. He had never betrayed his comrades. But that was only when he was still a Hero.
“The real me?”
Clay let out a scornful laugh as he looked at Nael, who still believed he’d been brainwashed, even now.
“So my ‘real self’ is someone who should quietly accept death even after being falsely accused?”
He had lived as others wished him to.
He had talent.
Clay could have lived a life admired by all.
And in the end, he had obediently accepted death, just as those who had turned on him wanted.
“Nael, you’re gravely mistaken.”
It wasn’t anyone else, but his former comrades—including her—who had driven him to this point.
“I’m not your ally.”
Regret, lingering attachment, guilt—none of it mattered now.
“Treat me as your enemy, Nael.”
Clay spoke like it was all meaningless to him.
No, to him, it truly was meaningless.
Even if the unthinkable happened and she truly saw him as an enemy… it wouldn’t matter.
He had already seized her weakness.
“Beatrice!”
At Clay’s shout, Beatrice ran over and struck Nael across the face.
“Ghk?!”
Nael’s vision blurred, and in that moment of disorientation, Beatrice seized her weakness from Clay without hesitation.
“Clay.” Beatrice looked back at him and spoke, “Don’t push yourself anymore. Step back.”
From her perspective, he was overexerting himself.
To come this far to the frontlines was dangerous, even for him.
‘He may seem emotionless, but that’s not true.’
After all, Clay wouldn’t have chosen to ascend the Demon King’s throne if he were truly devoid of emotion.
Right now, he was confronting Nael.
Asking how she could abandon him so easily.
And that meant Clay still harbored some lingering attachment—no matter how small.
‘For now, revenge is all Clay needs.’
Any other emotion would only weaken him.
Beatrice intended to carry out what Clay had asked of her faithfully.
She would make sure the world never forgave him—show him exactly how to ascend to his new throne.
“To do that…”
Beatrice raised her fist while gripping Nael tightly.
“Hypocrites like you have to disappear.”
Boom!
“Kh!”
Nael reflexively raised her guard, but couldn’t fully absorb the blow and let out a groan.
Beatrice, as if just getting started, raised her fist again.
Bang! Bang! Bang bang bang!
A flurry of punches thundered like explosions.
Nael, whose weakness had been exposed, couldn’t easily escape Beatrice’s grip.
‘Damn it… I can’t…!’
When the base of her tail was seized, Nael couldn’t properly exert her strength.
It felt like all her power was being sucked out through a drain.
‘I let my guard down.’
Clay’s brainwashing hadn’t been undone. She should have considered the possibility that he’d go for her weakness—but she hadn’t.
And now, having handed over her weakness to the enemy herself, the shock was overwhelming.
“Grrrrgh!”
Her strength lay in her physical prowess.
Without that, even the strongest warrior could only take a beating.
And Beatrice—she was a monster with an inhumanly powerful body.
Possessing both the physique and magical prowess of a dragon, she was practically cheating.
“GRAAAAAAAH!”
But Nael wasn’t done yet.
The difference was in their training.
Nael had fought relying solely on her body.
But the world was full of all kinds of enemies.
To become the strongest, brute force alone wasn’t enough.
Fweeeeeen!
A red glow began to rise and intensify between the muscles of her body.
“Beatrice!” Clay shouted, “She’s going berserk!”
The moment Clay shouted for Beatrice pierced her heart with a deep shock.
But right now, she didn’t have the luxury to dwell on it.
“Aaaaaargh!”
Nael slammed her hand over Beatrice’s, which was gripping the base of her tail.
Crack!
Her strength surged. Faster than it had drained like water down a sewer, power flooded back into her body.
And that same mechanism—the one that had once placed her at the pinnacle of martial combat—ripped the Dragonoid’s hand away with sheer brute force.
“!”
Beatrice looked stunned. Seeing that, Nael smirked faintly.
“It’s loose.”
Boom!
Nael’s fist drove into Beatrice’s face.
There wasn’t even a groan. Beatrice flew back at an incredible speed.
Nael leapt up instantly and pounced atop Beatrice, who had just landed on her back.
Berserk Pounding.
A vicious, killing technique where Nael rained down punches like a wild beast from atop her opponent.
“RAAAAAAAGH!”
Her fists poured down like a storm.
Flickers of red light flashed between her flurries, so violently that it was impossible to tell if it was her berserk energy or simply the color of blood.
Clay rushed toward her.
“Again!”
As he reached out toward her tail once more, Nael whipped her head around and shouted instinctively.
“What the hell…!”
Even though she believed he was still brainwashed, she lost her composure.
Her expression twisted with emotion.
And in that split second, Beatrice’s knee slammed into her solar plexus.
“Guhk!”
It had all been a setup to make her drop her guard.
Staggering from the blow to a vital point, Nael caught a glimpse of Clay checking on Beatrice.
“Clay…”
Was it brainwashing?
Was Clay truly under someone’s control to be doing all of this?
Nael felt a flicker of doubt.
That single question brought her thoughts to a blur.
She shut her eyes tightly, trying to suppress the swell of emotion.
Don’t waver.
Nael had once belonged to a wolf beastkin tribe that had been subjugated by a mysterious nomadic group.
But she had been cast aside for being weak—deemed not even worthy of becoming a slave.
Even so, her pride remained. She had clawed her way up alone, desperate to survive. And eventually, she had become a powerful adventurer.
But she had grown strong relying solely on brute strength, without any proper training or system, and hit her limits quickly.
She faced countless crises. There were dozens of times she nearly fell to monsters stronger than herself.
To survive, she had to change.
And it was Clay—whom she’d met by chance—who taught her how.
It was the day she nearly died.
Clay had saved her from a massive monster, and changed her mindset.
—“Stop thinking of yourself as weak.”
She thought she never had.
But she was wrong.
From the moment her tribe abandoned her, she’d believed she was weak.
That’s why she devoted herself to building strength—to make up for what she lacked.
Clay had taught her the meaning of patience.
How to breathe after enough training. How to watch for timing in battle. How to create a sliver of space before throwing a punch, so she could make a decision.
All of it, he said, came from trusting in your own strength and waiting for the right moment.
And yet…
Where had it all gone wrong?
She had waited when Clay stood at the execution platform.
She waited for the moment when she could do something—anything.
But in the end, she had done nothing.
There had been wolf beastkin at the execution.
Her old tribe—whom she had searched endlessly for, hoping to free them from slavery—had suddenly appeared after being gone all this time.
As if someone had put them there on display.
She didn’t know why they had been there, but one thing was clear:
If she moved, they would all be slaughtered.
She had seen it.
A mysterious white-masked member of the tribe that once subjugated hers stood beside them.
Ah.
Only then did she realize—
She had waited too long.
She waited, hoping Clay’s crimes wouldn’t be deserving of death. That he had some hidden plan. That at the very least, he would ask for her help.
She had waited for something—anything—to give her certainty.
In the past, she might’ve jumped in without hesitation.
But it was Clay who had taught her to wait.
And if you wait, things are supposed to turn out fine, aren’t they?
She only realized afterward—waiting wasn’t the problem.
It was faith.
Faith that he wouldn’t do anything wrong.
But her faith had wavered. It faltered at the priest investigator’s words—that Clay had hidden her tribe, that he had fabricated everything to use her and aid the Demon King.
Because of that, she hesitated.
And when she finally moved—it was already too late.
“Clay!”
He had stood at the gallows with a noose around his neck, closing his eyes in front of her.
“That’s not where you belong!”
It was late, but now—at last—she had to stop waiting.
Because what Clay had taught her wasn’t that kind of patience.
“Come back!”
She reached out her hand.
“There’s still time! You can still come back!”
She finally understood where he was trying to go.
But it was a path he should never take.
She had failed to give him faith. She knew she had no right to say these things now.
And yet, someone who finally understood… couldn’t help but speak up.
“I… I was too late, Clay!”
She wore a sorrowful expression.
“Please, come back! If you can hear my voice—!”
Drip.
Suddenly, pain exploded in her gut.
She looked down.
There—Beatrice’s Dragon Sword had pierced her.
“Kh?!”
Blood welled up and poured from her lips.
“You were so lost in your feelings… you didn’t even notice the attack.”
Beatrice stood, holding Clay’s hand, and rose to her feet.
“Too late, was it?” She sneered, “Then you should’ve acted before it was too late.”
“I…”
“You should’ve made your choice sooner.” Her face hardened, “Clay already waited long enough.”
Which meant she refused to acknowledge any regret.
“You could have avoided this regret.”
Fwoooosh!
Two massive wings burst from Beatrice’s back.
“Looks like we need to regroup for now.”
Far off in the distance, a crowd was approaching—calling Nael’s name.
“Well then. If you survive, we’ll meet again.”
With those words, Beatrice embraced Clay and soared into the sky.
Nael stared up helplessly at them.
“Clay…”
Thud.
She collapsed to the side.
(End of Chapter)