“The Hero is…”
The knight who had muttered under his breath suddenly froze, his eyes going wide.
“The Hero?!”
“What is it?”
Another knight shoved past him, took one look at the scene below, and also paled in shock.
“H-How is the Hero here?!”
The Clay they saw was completely different from the one the world remembered.
He wasn’t a corpse.
He stood tall, alive.
“And that—?!”
And then they noticed the other figure standing with him.
The Dragonoid who had once been one of the Demon King’s Four Generals—Beatrice.
“Be-Beatrice!”
One knight shouted in recognition, and the others, who only then realized who she was, recoiled with terrified gasps.
“Beatrice?!”
“She disappeared!”
“Why would one of the Demon King’s Four Generals be here?!”
In the midst of the confusion, Lilien, Royal Guard Captain and leader of the knights, climbed to the top of the mound and looked down at the scene.
No way…!
Clay was truly alive. That alone was unbelievable. But now Beatrice—long thought missing—was with him?
“Prepare for battle!”
Lilien barked orders at the panicked knights.
“It’s Beatrice of the Demon King’s Four Generals! Don’t act rashly—await my command!”
Beatrice stood still, expressionless, as Lilien called out.
Then, without turning her head, she leaned toward Clay and whispered,
“Wait here a moment.”
And then she walked forward—
Not toward the Primordial Flame, but toward the knights.
“Beatrice?”
Clay called out in a daze.
By now, wings of flame had spread wide from Beatrice’s back.
“Fools of Ezer,” she said to Lilien and the others.
“You should have kept walking when you saw me.”
“Silence!”
Lilien raised her voice, trying to maintain authority despite her shaken expression.
“You dare speak the name of great Ezer, traitor to the realm?!”
“Dare?”
Beatrice’s eyes gleamed with draconic magic as she stared down Lilien.
The moment their eyes met, Lilien staggered, briefly losing her balance.
“Ghk?!”
“Who’s really overstepping their place here? You, who spit my name from your mouth without knowing your standing?”
“Y-You…!”
Cold sweat trickled down Lilien’s face.
She’s as strong as they say…
Beatrice wasn’t just one of the Four Generals—she was known to be the only one capable of standing toe-to-toe with either the Demon King or the Hero in one-on-one combat.
Only the finest combatants from Ezer’s elite knight order, or the Guardian Knights dispatched from the Holy Alliance, could hope to match her.
But I, too, wield the sword.
Her swordsmanship was not weak. In fact, Lilien was considered among the best in Ezer.
Granted, she knew she had been chosen more for her loyalty to the throne than pure skill, but she had never once taken her role beside Empress Tia lightly.
Sching!
Lilien drew her sword from its sheath.
“Beatrice! I’ll subdue you and bring back the Hero—no, the criminal Clay!”
“That’s absurd,” Beatrice said flatly, not even blinking at the drawn weapon.
“Clay is dead. You all confirmed yourselves.”
“That’s—!”
“Did you come all this way just to recover his corpse?”
She tilted her head.
“Did your Empress decide to give him a proper funeral after killing him?”
“You vile—!”
“In that case, I definitely can’t hand him over.”
Beatrice’s eyes turned ice-cold.
“The corpse of Clay, once Hero… I picked it up.”
“What…?!”
Had she turned him into an undead?
Did he still possess his soul?
Lilien’s mind spun.
“You’ve committed a forbidden act!”
Even without knowing the details, she knew Beatrice had gone against the natural order.
She raised her sword.
“I’ll deliver judgment right here!”
『Try it.』
Beatrice’s voice, laced with ancient draconic speech, pressed down on Lilien’s shoulders.
『If you think you can live afterward.』
“C-Captain!”
The knights cried out, trembling under the weight of her aura.
“There’s only twelve of us!”
“If we fight unprepared, we’ll be wiped out!”
“Silence!”
Lilien snapped at the panicked soldiers.
“What, are we just going to report back that we let Beatrice steal Clay’s body?!”
She wasn’t being reckless.
Her Majesty has lost her clarity.
Tia’s judgment was fraying. And who knew what this discovery would do to her.
Lilien gritted her teeth, tightening her grip on her sword.
“We’ll take Clay back, no matter what! Blades up!”
Reluctantly, the knights drew their weapons.
Beatrice looked at them, and smiled.
“So that’s your choice.”
Whooosh!
Suddenly, she soared into the air.
“If you thought I’d fight you while walking on the ground, you were sorely mistaken.”
Her wings burst into blazing flame, casting an intimidating radiance over the knights.
“I, Beatrice, have been summoned today by a grieving soul. I will not look away.”
None of the knights understood her cryptic words.
And that only made the fear grip them tighter.
Then, at last, Beatrice raised both arms high, and brought them down.
BOOOOM!
An explosion erupted in midair, crashing down like a falling curtain upon Lilien and her knights.
♧
“It’s taking longer than expected.”
In the royal palace of Ezer, Empress Tia sat alone at a table in the garden.
A royal advisor standing beside her responded,
“The Royal Guard Captain herself is leading the mission. They’ll surely return soon.”
“We’ll see.”
Tia exhaled, eyes blank as she stared beyond the table at the scenery.
“When is the Royal Knight Order returning from their monster suppression campaign?”
“We haven’t received a schedule from the Holy Alliance yet.”
Clatter!
Tia slammed the table.
The teacup atop it overturned.
Drip… drip…
Tea trickled off the table’s edge. The advisor quickly moved to clean it up and called over the nearby maids.
Even as they cleaned, Tia’s expression remained clouded with frustration.
“Send a message to the Holy Alliance. Tell them to return Ezer’s royal knights immediately.”
“Pardon? But, Your Majesty…”
“Whose advisor are you?”
Tia’s cold gaze bore into him.
“You’re not an advisor for the Holy Alliance, are you?”
“Kh-khmm.”
Flustered, the old man cleared his throat and lowered his voice to offer counsel.
“Y-Your Majesty… the Holy Alliance is putting all resources into subjugating the remaining monsters. They’ve classified it as a Holy War. Forcing our knights to withdraw now could offend them…”
“Is that so? How frightening,” Tia’s voice was flat, “And because I was so scared, I gave them everything they asked for. Everything.”
“Your Majesty…”
“Leave me.”
After dismissing the maids who had just finished cleaning, Tia rested her arms on the table and buried her face into them.
She said nothing more.
Sigh… She’s losing it…
The advisor stroked his white beard with a sigh.
The Holy Alliance is going too far.
It hadn’t been long since they’d pushed Tia into executing the Hero.
And now they were dragging other royal orders into their so-called “Holy War.” Rumors said they’d soon demand tribute too. If that happened, Ezer would only continue to suffer losses.
It was our failure to resist.
Due to religious pressure, the people of Ezer had become deeply dependent on the Holy Alliance, especially their lead nation, Holy Krata.
That blind faith had made them accept the Hero’s execution without hesitation.
Even if the evidence was strong…
The execution had been far too hasty. The Holy Alliance had even sent delegates to ensure Tia didn’t defend him.
They had essentially supervised the entire process.
The real problem is Her Majesty.
There was no real way to counter the Holy Alliance—they held too much influence across the continent.
Which meant Tia needed to pull herself together.
But ever since she’d been forced to sacrifice the Hero, after enduring relentless pressure to fulfill her imperial duty, she had not returned to herself.
Perhaps even she hadn’t expected it to be this hard.
But clarity only comes after something is lost.
And Tia was teetering on the edge of madness.
I should bring back Yuru, the Master of the Blue Tower.
Even if they had to rely on her magical knowledge, they had to stabilize the Empress.
What the advisor didn’t know…
Was that Yuru and Tia were never meant to meet again.
(End of Chapter)