Episode 145

Unable to find Yvonne in the Imperial Palace, the emperor headed for the city. If she had escaped, the village was likely the farthest she could’ve gone. With all the gates sealed, she couldn’t have left the capital yet.

“Aaaah!”
“Please, spare us!”
“Your Majesty!”
“No!”

Hildebrandt erased people like they were nothing—like wiping away something useless, turning them to dust. Even though he was continuously using his magic after that abnormal second awakening, he felt no exhaustion.

It was as if he were endlessly drawing on someone else’s mana.

As though the lives he took with his own hands were fueling his power. A sensation like each death he caused filled him with more magic.

“Run!”
“Aagh!”

Hildebrandt erased everything in his line of sight, one by one.

Francis watched his lord’s actions, troubled. But he knew—if the emperor were to regain his sanity, it would only be if Princess Yvonne was by his side.

“Your Majesty. I’ll find Her Highness. It would be best if you return to the palace.”

“Francis.”

“Yes.”

Hildebrandt’s eyes had gone dull. Without Yvonne in front of him, they no longer carried the vibrance they once did.

“Bring Yvonne to me. Right in front of my eyes.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“And kill her.”

“…But, Your Majesty—”

“This time I’m not just saying it. Kill her. Right in front of me.”

Hildebrandt unconsciously touched his earring.

The amethyst earring—pierced and given to him by her.

* * *

“Ugh…”

Yurian regained consciousness. He had wrapped his body in magic to shield himself from the falling blades, but the strain had knocked him out for a moment.

He now had to pull out the swords embedded in his shoulder and side.

“Damn it.”

The recovery artifact he’d been carrying was completely drained of magic. It must have activated while he was unconscious.

“Ah…!”

When he pulled the one from his shoulder, blood poured down. The more serious wound was in his side. Thankfully, he managed to yank the hilt out from the front.

“Haa…”

Yurian scanned the area, his eyes passing over the strewn bodies nearby. He clenched his teeth at the sight of his fallen men.

He walked over to the one who had served him most closely, placed the man’s body on his lap, and took his hand. The ring on the corpse’s finger passed its remaining healing energy into Yurian.

The fact that the ring hadn’t activated meant the man had died before it could—likely too fast to even feel pain. Maybe that was mercy. But it didn’t make the pain in Yurian’s chest any less sharp.

“I’ll make sure you’re avenged.”

He gently laid the body down and then activated his ability to track the emperor’s path.

‘Ugh… Evony…’

He thought he heard Yvonne’s voice from somewhere.

‘Evony, wake up.’

It echoed like it was coming from within a cave—either because she was crying, or because she was in some kind of cave-like place. Or maybe… maybe he had finally lost his mind and was imagining her voice.

‘Evony…’

And then—suddenly—Yurian knew where she was.

“Yvonne.”

He gathered power into his fist. He was about to strike the ground when he paused.

If Yvonne was in the underground waterway, destroying it with force could bring it down on her. Something had clearly gone wrong when the earthquake hit. The fact she was still down there proved it.

He felt like he could hear her crying. He was the one injured—but the thought of her crying made his chest ache unbearably.

Yurian began using his powers again.

He raced to the entrance of the underground waterway. Sure enough, unconscious knights were scattered about. Evony must’ve been the one who took them down.

And that was a relief. Being knocked out by Evony was better than being crushed under a collapsed building.

“Damn…”

He broke into a cold sweat when he saw the collapsed entrance. He had to break through—but if the shock triggered a collapse inside? If it hurt Yvonne?

He had no choice but to begin removing the stones with his bare hands.

The frustration nearly drove him mad. Yvonne was inside, and here he was—reduced to scraping away rocks with his hands.

But he was fast. It took less than a minute to clear the entrance—though to him, it felt like an hour.

“Haa…”

Yurian descended into the underground.

The tunnels had partially collapsed. He hadn’t expected that. These were sturdy water channels, not easily broken.

He was deeply anxious.

He shoved it aside and kept going, clearing more and more debris, pushing forward with terrifying speed. He couldn’t count how many stone piles he’d cleared by now.

“Why is the water level rising?”

The further he went, the higher the water climbed. It should have remained stable—an ability was supposed to regulate it. But clearly, something had failed.

That meant there must be a tightly blocked passage somewhere ahead.

He heard a clatter from up ahead.

Yurian sprinted toward the sound.

“Yvonne!”

“Yurian?”

Relief washed over him at the sound of her voice. He placed a hand against the wall, realizing she was just beyond it.

“I’m going to get you out. Please step back.”

“No! If you break it, the whole thing could collapse!”

“I’ll do it by hand.”

“Oh…”

Her voice trembled. Yurian’s heart ached. Hearing her voice shake made his hands tremble too.

“Yvonne, why do I smell blood?”

“I’m hurt…”

“Damn it.”

He worked faster, digging at the stones with all his strength.

“Yurian…”

“Yes, Yvonne. I’m here.”

“I’m scared… Evony, she got hurt because of me—ugh…”

Yurian was caught off guard. She was really crying. Her trembling voice, so full of fear, made it hard for him to breathe.

“It’ll be alright.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

He felt pathetic. That was all he could say when she needed comfort.

Still, his hands didn’t stop. The water was rising—up to his shoulders now.

“Yurian!”

“I’ll get you out before the water rises any further. Don’t worry.”

“Ugh… Okay!”

He realized he couldn’t wait any longer.

“Step back for a moment.”

“But if it collapses—”

“I’ll handle everything if it does.”

He heard the sound of wet cloth shifting. She was backing away.

He forced himself to calm down. He should have done this from the beginning—but hearing her cry had rattled him.

He gathered mana into his fists and struck the stone wall.

Boom!

A loud crash—and he broke through.

He created not one, but two openings. One toward Yvonne, and another behind her to release the pressure.

He kept breaking through the rocks.

Boom! Boom! Boom! CRACK!

The whole tunnel began to shake. The upper structure was collapsing. The sky opened above them as the building overhead came crashing down.

And then—Yurian saw her.

He had shielded both Yvonne and Evony with his body. They were safe.

“Yurian…”

Yvonne came to her senses and immediately threw her arms around his neck.

“I need to get Yvonne to safety.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere. As long as she’s safe, I can fight properly.”

“You’re going to fight the emperor? Are you insane?!”

Yurian didn’t want to argue. With her holding his neck like that, he simply pulled her close.

“Eek!”

“Hold on tight.”

He picked up Evony and carried them both outside.

Yvonne felt grass brushing her knees, her damp dress clinging to her, and her hair catching in the breeze. She was relieved just to feel air in her lungs again.

“Will Evony be okay?”

“She’s just unconscious.”

“You can tell?”

“My ability tells me everything.”

“Oh…”

Listening to her breathing and pulse, he could tell she had injuries only on her head—and not serious ones, since the blood flow hadn’t surged.

“She’s hurt her shoulder too.”

“She saved me…”

“There’s a healer at my estate. She’ll be fine.”

“Okay…”

Hearing that, Yvonne felt like she could faint. Seeing Yurian again had brought her complete relief.

“Let’s run away. Together.”

“To where?”

“Somewhere the emperor can’t find us.”

Yurian felt joy at her words—at being the one she chose.

He wondered—was this the feeling Marquess Rohan had once felt? The thought made him want to use the chaos as an excuse to kill Rohan altogether.

“Yvonne, I’ve completed my second awakening. That’s why I can face the emperor now.”

At his words, Yvonne’s eyes trembled.