BOOM—!
With an explosive burst, the magic suppression barrier shrouding the entire theater shattered.
The invisible veil that had blanketed the area slowly crumbled, dissipating like mist.
Cedric’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
“Impossible…”
Rashiel had just destroyed a spell created by two legendary mages—unparalleled figures who had cemented themselves as myths.
A spell that no one had ever been able to break.
At that moment, Cedric was forced to confront a truth he had desperately wished to deny.
The rightful heir to the legacy of their predecessors—
Had never been him.
It had always been Rashiel.
“No… No, that’s not true!”
Cedric clutched his head, his voice trembling with rage and refusal.
Then, in a sudden burst of manic resolve, he turned to his subordinates.
“Kill them all! Not a single one leaves this place alive!”
Truth no longer mattered.
If Rashiel died here, there would be no one left to challenge his claim to the throne.
At Cedric’s signal, one of his men let out a sharp whistle.
WHIISTLE—
Rashiel may have broken the barrier, but he had spent an immense amount of mana to do so.
He wouldn’t be able to launch an immediate counterattack.
This was their chance.
Archers positioned across the second and third floors loosed their arrows in unison.
A rain of death poured down toward Rashiel, Elsez, and Cassian.
There was nowhere to dodge.
But—
A shimmering barrier suddenly rose, deflecting every arrow before they could reach their targets.
The arrows bounced off harmlessly, falling to the floor.
Then, the protective shield expanded, stretching all the way to the archers’ positions.
Elsez glanced at Rashiel beside her.
“He must be exhausted…”
Though he showed no signs of struggle, he had used an unfathomable amount of mana to destroy the barrier.
Maintaining the current shield alone had to be draining him.
“Now then,” Cassian said, cracking his neck.
“Let’s see how you bastards fight when the playing field is fair.”
He immediately launched himself upward, cutting down the archers one by one.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Tezette gritted his teeth, seized the sword pressed against his neck, and twisted it out of his opponent’s grip.
A moment later, he buried the blade into the stunned soldier’s chest.
“You bastard—!”
Cedric recoiled as Tezette staggered to his feet.
One of Cedric’s men attempted to finish him off—
But before he could—
“Touch my people, and you die.”
A chilling whisper.
Before anyone could react, Elsez was already there.
With brutal force, she drove her fist into the attacker’s gut.
“Ugh—!”
The man flew backward, crashing into the audience seats.
Cedric immediately retaliated with a spell, aiming directly at Elsez—
But she dodged with ease, the fabric of her dress billowing around her.
Then, in one fluid motion, she closed the distance and—
CRACK!
Cedric was sent flying.
“Guh…!”
He crashed into the rows of seats, coughing violently.
“…She’s no ordinary noblewoman.”
That monstrous strength.
That incredible agility—enough to catch a flying arrow mid-air.
For the first time, Cedric realized that Elsez’s survival in the palace attack may not have been Rashiel’s interference—
But her own power.
Yet he had no time to dwell on it.
Elsez was already upon him again.
Cedric attempted to cast another spell, but—
“Damn it! She’s too fast—I can’t even finish a chant—!”
No matter how powerful a mage was, fighting at close range was always difficult.
And on top of that, Elsez was ridiculously fast.
Even in a dress that should have restricted her movements, she was relentless.
He was barely managing to hold her off with a defensive barrier.
Elsez smirked.
And threw his own words back at him.
“I’d say this is a meaningless fight for you to keep dragging out.”
Cedric’s arms trembled as he struggled to maintain his defenses.
But then—
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of his soldiers taking aim at Elsez’s exposed back.
Cedric’s mind whirred.
If he could take her hostage—
The entire fight could turn in his favor.
Tezette, Rashiel, and Cassian—
All of them seemed to care about her.
He intentionally shifted backward, drawing Elsez’s focus entirely on him.
She continued pressing him, completely unaware of the arrow aimed at her.
The archer released his grip on the bowstring—
THUD.
The soldier staggered, his eyes widening in shock.
A sword had pierced through his chest.
CRACKLE—
A second later, a bolt of lightning struck, electrocuting him where he stood.
Elsez instinctively dodged as the now-misdirected arrow whizzed past her.
On one side, Tezette stood with an arm outstretched, having thrown the sword.
On the other, Rashiel stood with his hand raised, having momentarily lowered his shield to strike.
Cedric barely had time to process what had happened—
Because in the next instant, Elsez’s fist crashed into his stomach.
BAM!
“GUH—!”
Cedric collapsed, gasping for breath.
Elsez grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him up.
Her golden eyes burned with fury.
“Why did you resurrect the demon god?”
Cedric gritted his teeth, refusing to answer.
Elsez’s grip tightened.
“What ‘grand cause’ did you believe in so much that you sacrificed innocent people?”
She didn’t expect to understand him.
But she needed to know.
For the countless lives he had taken.
And—
“Answer me. Why did you bring the demon god back?”
Because she needed to know why she had been pulled back into this world.
But the response she received—
Was infuriatingly empty.
“Do you have proof I did such a thing?”
Cedric, despite his injuries, sneered.
“This is the Empire of Artes. I am its crown prince. I currently serve as the emperor’s proxy.”
“……”
“And yet you—without any evidence—dare interrogate me?”
Elsez clenched her jaw at his shameless defiance.
But before she could respond—
“Who said we lacked evidence?”
A familiar voice rang from the entrance of the ruined theater.
Turning, Elsez saw Astaire stepping forward.
In his hands—
Was a book.
Cedric’s eyes widened in horror.
“That… How did you…?”
It was from his private collection.
A forbidden text hidden deep within the secret archives of the crown prince’s palace.
A book detailing dark magic, dimensional rifts—
And power from another world.
There was no way Astaire should have had access to it.
But the book in his hands was unmistakably Cedric’s.
His mind reeled, then abruptly locked onto a single realization.
His gaze darted to Rashiel.
Rashiel, who watched the scene unfold with composed, knowing eyes.
As if this had all gone exactly as planned.
Cedric’s blood ran cold.
“…You planned this.”
Rashiel had anticipated everything.
Astaire lifted the book and declared in an icy voice,
“As the representative of the Holy Nation, I hereby proclaim Cedric Ruisel de Hartwig, crown prince of Artes, as a threat to world peace and the mastermind behind the demon cult’s recent actions.”
****
That night, the bell tower overlooking the theater.
In the desolate square, beneath the shadow of the towering clock tower, a lone figure stood.
A woman, her form cloaked in a black robe, watched the distant theater in silence.
Then—
BOOM!
An explosion rang out from the direction of the theater.
A moment later, an overwhelming surge of mana rippled through the air, reaching even the bell tower where she stood.
The force of it sent the atmosphere into a frenzy, stirring violent winds that whipped at her cloak.
As her hood shifted, soft brown hair spilled out, catching the moonlight.
The woman gazed toward the theater, crimson lips curving slightly as she murmured,
“…A chess piece that refuses to obey its master is nothing but a nuisance.”
A shadow emerged behind her.
“Priestess.”
She showed no surprise at the sudden presence.
The shadowed figure spoke.
“What shall we do about the crown prince?”
The woman stood still for a moment, eyes lingering on the theater.
Then, without hesitation, she turned away.
“Abandon him.”
A magic circle spread beneath their feet.
And with that, the two figures vanished.
Leaving nothing behind but the whispering wind in the empty bell tower.
Comments (0)