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The appearance of purple energy around and the staggering of Ditrodemian’s body were almost simultaneous.

It was an instant kill that even the ancient high-level mage would not have been able to withstand. No matter how strong they were, it would have made no difference.

As soon as I confirmed his death, I immediately erected a barrier without any hesitation.

The flames that surrounded us did not die out immediately, even though their master was dead.

Teleporting away would have been the best option, but it was impossible.

It was a surprise attack that barely succeeded. And now, because of my burnt eyes, I couldn’t see anything.

I could feel the skin and the muscles in my arms burnt away though, leaving only bones.

It was only a short time, as short as a blink of an eye, but during that very brief moment, the part of my body that was fully exposed to the flames of annihilation became a pitiful sight that could not even be expressed as a “burnt to ashes.”

Didn’t they say that the greatest pain a person could feel was the pain of burning in flames?

Even in this situation, some useless information that I heard somewhere flashed through my mind.

I was sure that what was burning me right now wasn’t real flames, but I could be certain of one thing. Compared to the pain I was feeling right now, a furnace would be nothing.

My head was still filled with this kind of thoughts even during this catastrophic moment. The only thing that was keeping me from losing consciousness before being engulfed in pain was probably the [Soul of the King].

Sh… shit…

I felt like I was about to die, but I held onto my sanity a little longer, thinking that I would endure just a little more.

To make matters worse, there was sudden pressure pushing hard against the barrier.

This was the first time such a situation had occurred, so I couldn’t help but panic for a moment.

What now?

I couldn’t see anything, so I didn’t know what was happening, but I could definitely feel the shock coming through the barrier.

Could it be that the floating veil was breached?

I had been successfully defending against attacks all this time, so I wondered why this was suddenly happening. Then I remembered the purple energy that had spread around me when I made contact with Ditrodemian.

The guy had barely managed to unleash a spatial cut right before he was about to die.

Could it be that the pressure pressing against the barrier was due to his spatial cutting ability?

The shock coming through the barrier became stronger and stronger, to the point where it felt like my body would crumble if I kept enduring it.

However, I couldn’t just release the veil. I had no time to even try anything, as I would simply disappear in an instant.

My body was still burning in the remnants of the flames, and outside, the twisting space was flashing to swallow me whole.

I was barely holding on to my consciousness, which was on the verge of reaching its limit, unable to move an inch.

In the eternal hell where one second felt longer than an hour, at some point…

Huh?

The pressure that had been pushing against the veil suddenly disappeared, like it had evaporated.

Since my burned eyes had not yet recovered, I couldn’t exactly tell what had happened. Did the energy vanish before the barrier was breached?

Since I couldn’t stay like this for long, I finally released the barrier after a little more time had passed.

“…Cough, cough!”

Fortunately, my body didn’t crumble after releasing the barrier.

I exhaled as if throwing my body onto the ground and gasping for air that I had been holding in.

As I convulsed and writhed on the ground, my vision, which had been pitch-black, began to slowly return.

The arm that was bubbling and frothing with foam as it regenerated came first, as the flames had almost died down. My whole body was almost like a half-dead body.

Crazy…

It was amazing that I hadn’t died in this state.

I waited for my body to regenerate, breathing in and out with difficulty while lying on the ground.

After quite some time had passed, my muscles and flesh, which had been burnt to the bone, were covered in new flesh and my skin had partially regenerated.

I blinked my eyes and got up with a completely exhausted body.

“Ugh…”

I barely managed to stand up with my trembling arms, gripping the ground.

I felt disoriented as I looked around.

The forest that had become a ruin due to the battle was nowhere to be seen, and the scenery of the intact forest was in front of me, as if asking if anything had happened just now.

And even the body of Ditrodemian, who should have been right in front of me, was gone.

“What…”

Did his body disappear along with his spatial severing?

…No, that’s not it.

I looked around slowly again.

The landscape itself was different. This wasn’t the forest where I had just been, it was a completely different place.

“…”

“Is it a completely different place?”

As I tried to stand up from my seat in confusion, my body went limp and I collapsed onto the ground.

I could still feel the aftermath of the flames. My body had regenerated, but my injuries had not been fully healed.

And it seemed that regenerating had used up all my stamina, as I had no strength left in my body.

Perhaps the little movement I had just made was the last bit of energy I had. I didn’t even have the energy to move a finger anymore.

Soon, my consciousness began to rapidly fade away.

The state of mind that I had barely managed to hold on to, knowing that I would die if I lost it, had already reached its limit.

I didn’t know what’s going on… I couldn’t take it anymore.

I slowly closed my heavy eyelids like a thousand-pound weight. My consciousness became distant.

***

A dark space.

A woman sat in a meditation position with her eyes closed.

In front of her was a black sword, emitting a golden light, stuck in the ground.

The aura of that golden light, which felt holy in an unidentifiable way, enveloped the woman in a dome-like shape.

“…”

Suddenly, the woman opened her eyes very slowly. It was like she had just woken up from a long sleep.

However, her gaze that appeared from under her closed eyelids was clear and sharp beyond words.

The woman, who had been staring at an empty space or something else for a long time, stood up from her seat.

As she reached for the sword, the golden light dissipated and gradually faded away.

The woman murmured a sigh.

“Well, there’s nothing else I can do.”

***

Ganesha, a nun from Robelgio Monastery, sighed as she touched her forehead.

It was early morning, after finishing the morning prayer with a devout heart. She was about to start her work. However, one troublesome young lamb in the monastery was already making her day difficult from the very beginning.

“So, Erica, could you please explain why Rex’s nasal bone was broken from this morning?” she asked the girl standing in front of her. The other had an expression that seemed annoyed by everything.

“I didn’t intend to break it. I just slapped him in the face, and his fragile bone was softer than my fist,” the girl replied calmly.

Ganesha, with patience in her heart, asked again, “Alright, no matter what happened, why did you hit Rex’s face?”

“That idiot…” the girl began to say.

“Erica,” Ganesha interrupted her.

“…That jerk keeps bothering me. You know, Mother Superior, he keeps talking about how I am from a lowly commoner family and irritating those around him. Ignoring him one or two times was fine, but…” the girl continued to explain.

Ganesha sighed quietly. Rex was a boy who had recently entered the monastery. He was from a noble family in northern Santea, but due to their downfall, he ended up here. However, he still could not blend in with the monastery’s environment and often caused conflicts. Although most children in similar situations knew how to get along, girls like the one in front of her were not always so gentle in nature, which inevitably led to clashes. Today, it was especially severe.

“How many times do I have to tell you to listen to me? I told you violence is never the answer,” Ganesha reminded her.

“I tried my best.”

With a stern gaze, Ganesha looked at the girl, Erica, who avoided her gaze and spoke.

“And it’s also in the scriptures, right? Love your kin, love your comrades, and love yourself.”

“…Yeah, but why? If you stay silent when you hear words that insult your lineage, isn’t that not loving your kin and yourself? So, I followed the teachings faithfully…”

“Erica!”

“I’m sorry. I’m reflecting on my actions. I won’t do it again.”

Finally, as Ganesha exploded, Erica immediately changed her posture and bowed her head.

Ganesha sighed deeply a few times before saying like she was giving up.

“Even though this had happened a couple of times, this time was too much. You know that, right?”

“…”

“Go to the forest and bring back some firewood before lunch. If you ever use violence again, it won’t end with a punishment like this. Do you understand?”

Erica didn’t think it was too severe, but she nodded her head obediently without arguing.

“Then, I’ll leave now. I’m sorry for shouting.”

“Yes, I’m sorry too.”

Erica came out of the room and scratched her head as she walked away.

As she came out of the monastery, a boy who had been swinging a wooden sword in the courtyard stopped his actions and cheerfully waved his hand at her.

“Hey, did you escape?”

Ignoring him and passing by, the boy quickly followed her.

“You should have controlled your strength. Even though that guy is really annoying, breaking someone’s nose is too much, isn’t it? What kind of cruel thing is that to do to someone who’s already ugly?”

At that time, another boy who was sitting on a nearby rock reading a book approached and asked, “What did the mother superior say?”

Erica shrugged and replied, “Go bring firewood until lunch.”

“What? You didn’t even get punished? Anyway, the mother superior must be too lenient. You should have been locked up somewhere for half a day…”

“Shut up.”

As Erica lifted her foot as if to kick, the other boy, Tom, who had been grumbling, flinched and stepped back. It was a reflexive action that he often did. The boy reading the book was named Heron.

“Well, anyway, let’s go. I’ll help you.”

Erica was the only one who had done something wrong, but the other two also took up their axes and moved into the woods as if it were natural.

The three of them, who had grown up together in the monastery since childhood, were like the Three Musketeers of Robelgio Monastery, always sticking together no matter what they did.

Puh-uck!

As they settled into their positions and chopped wood for a while, Tom wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, “Hey, did you guys hear about this? Sir Clendam, one of the knights in the monastery, is going to the sect in Santea Monastery.”

“I heard about it. He’s a really talented young knight among the knights in the monastery, so it’s not surprising.”

Clendam was a young, skilled knight among the knights in the monastery.

“Hey, I want to become a real knight someday and be called by those great people, too.”

“Wake up. What are you dreaming about?”

“What’s wrong with me? Is there anyone my age, other than Erica, who can wield a sword better than me?”

Tom asked Erica, who was silently chopping wood, “Hey Erica, how about you? Don’t you want to become a knight?”

“I’m not interested,” she replied.

Tom retorted, “Come on, you’re always saying that, but you’re practicing swordsmanship even harder than me. You’re just not honest with yourself.”

Erica rolled her tongue and threw down her axe, saying, “I’m going to get some water.”

She left the two behind and walked towards the flowing stream.

As she was walking alone on the forest path, something caught her eye.

“……?”

She narrowed her eyes and looked at the figure in the distance. Soon, her eyes widened.

It was because a man had collapsed in the middle of the forest.