Chapter 02
The enemies outside were far too strong for a young boy to face.
“Yet he’s trying to protect me.”
The carriage, which had lost its driver, came to a complete stop.
Not long after, a low voice was heard outside.
It was a harsh, grating voice that sent chills down the spine.
“Come out.”
Ezekiel, who had been silently watching Irina, opened the carriage door without hesitation.
The people cloaked entirely in black looked suspicious at first glance.
“They are the evil god worshippers chasing me. The ones who kidnapped me and dragged my life into hell.”
Ezekiel exhaled heavily. Irina felt puzzled by the situation.
Ezekiel was afraid now because the evil god worshippers appeared far stronger than him.
They had unnaturally enhanced their bodies, making them formidable opponents even for knights formally graduated from the academy.
Could Ezekiel protect Irina from them?
He looked down at Irina in his arms. The frail little sister was quietly breathing.
Escaping together was impossible.
Was there another way?
“I have to make sure Irina escapes.”
Resolute, he hugged Irina tightly.
“Leave Irina Ledders and go, Ezekiel. Then I might spare your life.”
The evil god worshippers smiled cruelly as they said this.
Ezekiel glared and responded, “Don’t talk nonsense.”
Despite the bold words, he was clearly tense.
Noticing this, one of the evil god worshippers burst into laughter.
“Ezekiel, you’re a talented knight. Born with the talent of the Ledders swordsmanship family, you should only grow stronger.”
“…”
“Have you never thought you might one day reach the top ten in the land? And yet you waste your precious life protecting your half-finished failure of a sister?”
Ezekiel clenched his teeth.
“If only I had one more year, maybe two, I could have escaped with Irina. But with my current strength…”
He whispered to Irina.
“Irina, run when I start fighting.”
“Run?”
“Yes. The family probably sent reinforcements. You just need to meet them.”
“…”
“You’re just a burden anyway. So run quickly!”
Irina silently stared at him.
“Typical of my socially awkward family.”
She had thought Ezekiel disliked her partly because of his poor way with words.
“I’ll buy you time to run.”
Ezekiel was ready to risk his life.
He planned to open the mana core inside his body.
Breaking the mana core would temporarily push him beyond limits, making him stronger. It would end his life as a swordsman, but that didn’t matter.
“As long as Irina is safe.”
At that moment—
“No, Ezekiel.”
His sister spoke strangely.
Irina’s hand rose and placed on Ezekiel’s chest.
“Do you really think I can escape alone? I’d be caught quickly. Be realistic. You’re still a rookie compared to the evil god worshippers.”
“Ir-Irina…?”
She was right.
This had happened before.
She tried to run but was caught by the evil god worshippers.
Hearing Irina’s cries, Ezekiel eventually dropped his sword and surrendered.
That was why he never fought the last battle risking his life.
Irina didn’t say this aloud.
Ezekiel stared at her in disbelief.
His sister was hardly objective.
“Was she really capable of saying that?”
To Ezekiel, she was timid.
No matter how much of a rookie he was, he couldn’t say that directly.
“Actually, I’m not that much of a rookie.”
Even in this urgent moment, Ezekiel felt unfairly treated.
Instead of running away, Irina repeated to him what he had said to her in the past.
“If you close your eyes for a moment and open them, it’ll all be over.”
“What… what does that mean…?”
Ezekiel couldn’t finish his sentence.
His sister, who barely stood, swung her hand.
Ezekiel’s body collapsed.
He didn’t understand the situation even as he fell.
“What the hell is happening?”
Irina struck his neck, and he collapsed completely.
Ezekiel was more shocked at his failure to block her attack than the attack itself.
But he couldn’t think further.
Irina looked at her tingling hand.
Though she had only struck a child’s neck, her body ached.
Yet she was satisfied.
At least she had successfully knocked out Ezekiel with her fragile body.
“Cough, cough!”
She started coughing from using mana.
After coughing for some time, she calmed down.
Her hand covering her mouth was stained with blood.
The price of using mana with a body full of turbid energy and no mana rings.
Mana rings help use mana efficiently inside the body.
The more rings, the easier the control and less burden.
Mages judged others by the number of rings.
Irina had none, so using mana burdened her body greatly.
“No wonder. Using mana without rings is too much. I pushed myself too hard.”
Her lungs hurt as if torn.
Her heart pounded.
It was a pain she hadn’t felt in a long time.
She closed her eyes and savored the feeling.
Pain that reminded her she was human, not a monster.
She looked around.
The evil god worshippers stared at her, lost for words.
Ignoring them, she looked up at the sky.
She felt the wind.
Heard birds chirping and Ezekiel’s breathing nearby.
Only then did she realize.
This was not a dream.
I am alive.
Irina slowly turned her gaze.
“Have I returned to the past?”
If not, this situation made no sense.
She had returned to the moment she most wanted to change.
The moment all her tragedy began.
Ezekiel alive beside her and the situations she had already experienced in the past.
But there was no time to think.
The evil god worshippers who had regained consciousness raised their swords at her.
“Irina Ledders? Are you crazy?”
“What the hell happened? Did that kid just attack Ezekiel?”
“They say Irina’s attack knocked out the academy’s top student Ezekiel? Did anyone see the attack clearly?”
Originally, Irina was dragged away by them.
She later became the cause of many massacres she didn’t want.
“Why are you taking me?”
The evil god worshippers exchanged glances.
Then, slowly, their faces lost surprise and replaced it with sinister smiles.
Though surprised by Irina’s sudden behavior, they saw only a fragile little girl.
“Well, I’ll be merciful and tell you.”
The fact that an evil god worshipper spoke of mercy was ridiculous.
Irina answered.
“I’m the one who’ll be merciful.”
“What?”
“To be honest, I’ll kill you quickly and painlessly.”
They were momentarily stunned, then burst out laughing.
They clearly did not take Irina seriously.
“Since you want an answer, it’s because of your father, Adel Ledders. He’s a monster interfering with our great cause, and we need you to threaten him.”
“…”
“More precisely, we need you, Irina Ledders. You are Adel Ledders’ biggest weakness.”
From others’ viewpoint, it made no sense.
Kidnapping the family failure Irina would only help the Ledders family.
But Irina, who knew her father best, felt pain.
Her father cherished her.
Because she looked so much like her late mother, and was given the same terminal prognosis.
To Adel, Irina was precious.
He was willing to sacrifice his brilliant future to protect her.
I love her confidence bro