Episode 126

Boom!

The explosion right next to me slammed into my eardrums.

“……”

But I didn’t feel even a hint of pain.

It had happened so fast that I hadn’t even had time to react, and although my legs hadn’t moved an inch, I was safe thanks to someone who had stepped in between me and the monster.

As the thick dust finally cleared, I could see who it was.

“Ludwig!”

“Please step back.”

Ludwig summoned his sword and immediately charged at the attacking monster.

The monster was massive, so tall it could nearly touch the high ceiling of the hall, and it was exuding a heavy, sticky killing intent.

Anyone could tell it was a high-level monster, but Ludwig wasn’t being pushed back in the slightest.

On the contrary, the imperial knights who arrived late couldn’t even manage to interfere in their fight.

That’s how fierce the battle was.

“Sierra! Are you okay?”

Arzen came running over and grabbed my arm, helping me up from where I had collapsed to the floor.

“That monster’s acting weird. Even with His Grace standing right in front of it, it keeps trying to attack you.”

Arzen was right.

Even as Ludwig was dealing with it, the monster’s bloodthirsty gaze was locked straight on me.

That red glare sent chills crawling up my throat.

From the moment the monster gate had opened, its target had been me.

‘Why?’

Monsters were naturally driven by instinct to slaughter humans.

But targeting a specific individual — that was something unheard of.

Kiaaaaaaah!

Meanwhile, Ludwig’s sword aimed straight for the monster’s weak spot — its head.

The monster shrieked in a way that sounded like it was tearing the air apart and became even more violent.

The inside of the hall, decorated with golden splendor for the Founding Festival, had already turned into a complete disaster zone.

The royals had already evacuated elsewhere, and the people left in the hall were scrambling desperately to get through the narrow exits, creating utter chaos.

Father used his power to freeze the monster’s feet in place just as Ludwig’s relentless attacks had it staggered.

Kiaaah!

Trapped in the freezing ice, the monster screamed in agony, and in the next moment, Ludwig’s sword pierced its heart.

At the same time, the monster’s form melted down into a sticky black liquid and oozed away, losing its shape.

Ludwig’s sword disappeared from his hand, and he immediately ran over to me.

“Sierra! Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine. But what about you, Ludwig?”

The monster’s attacks had been so fast they were barely visible, and the onslaught had been relentless enough that even the word ‘barrage’ felt lacking.

I reached out and touched Ludwig’s face.

Just below his eye, there was a thin scratch, like he’d been grazed by a shard.

When I touched it, Ludwig spoke like it was no big deal.

“Probably just a piece of marble flying around. It’s nothing.”

Considering he had fought a high-level monster head-on, getting only this little scratch was actually pretty lucky, but… even so, seeing a scar on his handsome face made my heart ache.

Before I knew it, Father had come over and spoke.

“Your Grace, you have my deepest thanks. I will not forget the debt I owe you for saving my daughter in that fleeting moment.”

“No need. I only did what I should.”

Father, who had been sincerely thanking him, tilted his head slightly at Ludwig’s reply.

“Your duty…?”

“Isn’t it only natural to protect the one you love?”

“……”

At Ludwig’s utterly shameless words, Father and Arzen’s faces froze like cold stone, while Ludwig simply smiled and gently straightened out my messy hair.

“Looks like I scored some points with Father-in-law, Sierra.”

‘Feels more like you lost points, Ludwig…’

I swallowed the words I almost blurted out and gave a very awkward smile.

The inner hall of Rose Palace, once praised as the most beautiful banquet hall, had turned into nothing but ruins and chaos.

The chandelier, encrusted with hundreds of diamonds, had fallen to the floor and was twisted out of shape, and the marble flooring had shattered into sharp pieces scattered everywhere.

Thankfully, thanks to Ludwig’s quick response, the damage hadn’t spread beyond the hall.

It seemed the nobles who had evacuated were now finding some peace of mind after moving to the main hall of Flora Palace, which wasn’t far from here.

Soon, Theodore entered the hall along with the imperial investigation team.

He ordered the investigators to search for evidence and came straight over to us.

“Is anyone hurt?”

“Your Highness Theodore.”

“First, allow me to express my gratitude to Grand Duke Karsian. The Imperial Family will not forget your service and will commend you for it.”

Unlike the other royals who had fled the moment the monster appeared, Theodore had stayed until the very end, managing the chaotic scene and ensuring the evacuation went smoothly.

Looking around the hall, Theodore clicked his tongue and said,

“Not once has a monster gate ever opened in the capital where the Imperial City stands. As long as the Stone of Blessing was kept here, we believed that was impossible.”

The Stone of Blessing was a royal treasure, believed to prevent natural disasters like droughts and floods — and to stop the appearance of monster gates.

“Judging by what happened today, it seems it was just a superstition. It’s almost laughable, how we once waged years of war against foreign nations over that stone.”

He shrugged.

“So you’re saying the gate appeared purely by coincidence?”

“I can’t guarantee that.”

“What do you mean?”

At my question, he lowered his voice, his expression growing serious.

“We found traces of a dark mage.”

“Traces of a dark mage?”

“Normally, the ‘location’ where a monster gate appears is random. But the ‘occurrence’ itself requires certain conditions.”

“If you mean the conditions for a gate to appear… it’s dark magic.”

The reason the world had agreed to ban dark magic was because the more dark magic was used, the more frequently monster gates would appear.

Long ago, the unchecked use of dark magic led to the collapse of entire nations under monster gate outbreaks, which was why it was ultimately outlawed.

“We just received a report from the Imperial Magic Division — they detected strange magical energy. So nothing’s confirmed yet.”

“Are you suggesting someone deliberately used dark magic to open a monster gate inside the Imperial City?”

“That’s correct.”

At those words, Ludwig frowned and said,

“Simply using dark magic isn’t enough to control where the gate appears.”

“That’s true — that part is concerning.”

“But I’ve heard of it before. That there exists a form of dark magic capable of directly opening a gate at a designated location.”

“Opening a gate directly…?”

Ludwig said in a low voice,

“It was written in one of the ancient texts Queensbury deciphered. Although it was just recorded in theory, so it might not be reliable.”

The Demon Realm and the Human Realm were separated by only the thinnest of barriers.

That barrier was what had maintained peace for so long.

A monster gate was essentially a hole punched through that barrier — but because the holes were tiny and closed quickly, there had never been much fear of humanity’s destruction. However…

‘Dark magic that can open a gate directly…’

If that kind of magic really existed — and someone could actually use it — it was a serious issue.

Just then, a servant came running over, his face pale, and spoke to Theodore.

“An unidentified dark mage was found dead outside!”

“What? Where?”

“In the back garden of Rose Palace!”

The servant immediately led us there.

When we arrived, we found what had once been a human — now turning into black powder.

A body turning into black dust after death was a classic sign of a dark mage.

“They must’ve died very recently.”

“Yeah. If the form is still this intact, it can’t have been long. And… it’s murder.”

The dark mage had been trying to draw a magic circle when they died.

The incomplete magic circle was for teleportation — it looked like they had been trying to escape from someone.

“Wait, there’s something here.”

At that moment, I noticed something sparkling among the black dust.

Brushing the powder aside, I lifted it up — it was a necklace.

A necklace of such high craftsmanship that it must have belonged to the daughter of a powerful noble house.

“That’s…!”

Seeing the necklace, Arzen’s face turned pale.