Episode 101

The humming in my ears grew louder.
As the darkness in my vision faded, I slowly regained consciousness.

“Ugh…”

The splitting headache had disappeared, but I still felt slightly dizzy.

As my blurred vision cleared, I looked around in confusion.

“Where… am I?”

Just moments ago, I had collapsed on the floor of the carriage, but now I was standing in a completely unfamiliar place.

I was in the middle of a desolate forest.

The trees had been cut down at the base, and the undergrowth had withered away.

Even the passing wind carried an ominous chill.

As I shivered from an inexplicable cold, a voice suddenly echoed from somewhere.

I took a step in the direction of the sound, and soon, my eyes widened in shock as I saw a large crowd.

‘An army?’

There were around a hundred knights gathered there.

Their condition wasn’t the best, as if they had already fought countless battles, but their stance showed they were prepared to charge into battle at any moment.

‘What is this…?’

Whether this was a dream or something else, it seemed that they couldn’t see me.

At the front of the army stood a woman.

She was breathtakingly beautiful.

With long blonde hair pinned up high and clad in silver armor, she looked like the goddess of war herself.

But then, a strong hand suddenly grabbed her arm.

“Tias! Leave this to me and go!”

It was a man with jet-black hair. He held onto her urgently, desperation written all over his face.

“You know we don’t have nearly enough forces right now…!”

Wait… Tias?

If I hadn’t misheard his words—

‘Could that woman be Tias Dissel?’

Golden strands of light fluttered around her.

It was the mark of someone protected by spirits.

“Tias, please…!”

The man was practically begging her.

He seemed to believe that if she stayed, she wouldn’t survive this battle.

But she would not waver.

“I’m sorry. I won’t run away.”

“I’m not asking you to flee! We can wait for another chance!”

“You know there won’t be another chance. If I turn my back now, the South will fall as well. And if we lose Aisil Lake, this land will truly become a world of monsters.”

“But…!”

Tias’s gaze was unwavering.

Despite knowing that her life was at stake, her voice didn’t tremble in the slightest.

Her army was the same.

Even though they were at a severe disadvantage, even though victory seemed impossible, there wasn’t a single sign of fear among them.

Their tattered armor and bloodied bandages made them look like a band of defeated soldiers, but their eyes burned with unshakable determination.

It was a testament to their absolute trust and respect for Tias.

On the other hand, Damon, the black-haired knight, was just as loyal to her as the others, but he also wanted her to live.

“In that case, I’ll be the decoy. I’ll lead the army and throw the enemy into disarray while you regroup with the Dissel Knights.”

It was a noble-sounding offer, but in truth, he was willing to lay down his life in her place.

A faint smile touched Tias’s lips.

“Damon, you know, it’s really embarrassing when you worry about me like this.”

“……I can’t live without you.”

“Then do you think I could live well after sending you to your death?”

“That’s…”

Just then, a giant tree in the distance fell with a thunderous crash.

That was just the beginning. Soon, the ground trembled with the sound of countless approaching footsteps.

Tias’s army tensed and quickly moved into battle formation.

The enemy’s war cries rang out in the distance.

When the enemy forces finally appeared, their sheer numbers were overwhelming.

And they weren’t just human.

Among them were intelligent monsters.

“They’ve arrived, Rosette.”

Tias called the name of the woman leading the enemy vanguard.

Then, she drew her holy sword and raised it high into the sky.

“Do not fall back! We will never let them pass beyond this point!”

“Waaaaahhh!”

With a deafening roar, the two armies clashed.

It was the war of two saints, a battle recorded in the ancient texts, fought by those who had chosen different paths.

Though Tias’s army was greatly outnumbered, they refused to be easily defeated.

Thanks to the knights who had already resolved to die fighting, both sides were locked in a fierce deadlock.

Damon, slashing down countless blades aimed at Tias, stood resolute by her side, protecting her with all his might.

Damon, wielding his sword aura freely, cut down the enemies and monsters like blades of grass. But then, a formidable monster stepped in his way.
It was clearly a high-ranking beast.

While Damon engaged the creature, Tias had already clashed swords with Rosette.

As their blades collided multiple times, Rosette suddenly used dark magic to attack Tias.

The spirits protecting Tias formed a powerful shield around her, making it difficult for Rosette’s dark magic to break through.

However, the ominous black energy around Rosette intensified, and soon, the spiritual protection began to crumble.

At last, Rosette’s cursed sword pierced through the shattered protection and struck Tias.

“…Ro…sette…”

A thin stream of crimson blood trickled from Tias’s lips.

Rosette’s expression twisted, as if something had cracked inside her.

Why did she look like that even after slaying the enemy commander?

Perhaps it was the anguish of killing an old friend with her own hands.

“Don’t hate me, Tias. You should have sided with him from the start.”

Rosette’s voice trembled, as if making an excuse.

“…You… are being used by him.”

“No…!”

Rosette violently rejected the words, stepping back as if recoiling from them.

“Tias!”

At that moment, Damon spotted Tias lying on the ground, bleeding, and rushed to her side.

His face was filled with horror as he collapsed in front of her.

With trembling hands, he carefully lifted her into his arms.

“T-Tias…”

Summoning the last of her strength, Tias cast a protective barrier behind Damon, blocking the blades that aimed for him.

Now enclosed within the barrier formed by the spirits, the two exchanged their final words.

“I’m sorry, Damon.”

With great difficulty, Tias reached out and gently caressed Damon’s tear-streaked face.

“My last selfish request… Can you live on without me?”

“……”

“You are the only one who can put an end to this chaos.”

A soft light began to emanate from her hands.

Warm and radiant, it seeped into Damon’s body.

Though she was clearly exhausting all her remaining strength, she did not lose the smile on her lips.

“I love you too.”

Damon’s eyes widened at her words.

“That’s my answer… to your confession.”

A single tear rolled down from Tias’s eyes.

The light in her hands gradually dimmed… and then faded completely.

At the same time, her hand fell limp.

At some point, her eyes had gently closed, as if in peaceful slumber.

“Tias.”

Damon called her name, but no answer came.

“…Tias…”

The spiritual barrier shattered into nothingness.

Damon held her close, whispering in a hushed voice,

“This is not our end. I will build the world you dreamed of, so please… don’t leave my side.”

Wiping his reddened eyes, he drew his sword.

Why did it ache so much?

I was merely an observer in this moment, yet my heart felt unbearably heavy.

Then, time began to move unnaturally fast—like a time-lapse.

Receiving Tias’s final strength, Damon led what remained of his broken army and utterly annihilated Rosette’s forces.

Even as Rosette fled, Damon relentlessly pursued her, and in the end, his sword found her, ending her life.

From then on, he fought countless battles across the empire, crushing the remnants of the rebellion and ultimately banishing the monsters back to the demon realm.

The people hailed him as emperor, and history remembered him as a wise and noble ruler.

Yet, even in the midst of his reign, whenever he longed for a certain someone, he always returned to the same place.

On the very ground where Tias’s blood had been spilled, golden flowers bloomed over time.

Their color reminded him of her radiant hair.

He would linger there for a while before finally leaving, his back filled with unspoken sorrow.

Watching him disappear from view, I felt my vision flicker.

Blink, blink—

When I opened my eyes again, I was staring at a familiar ceiling.

I was back in my room.

 

 

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