A death-defying resolve.
Time shifts back slightly. In the Kingdom of Helgner, Duran fell silent, his face grim, upon receiving the report.
The intelligence sent from the grasses in the Kingdom of Tembarl stated that a black cat spirit had appeared, and the Tembarl King had moved.
(No way... could it be Lady Lore...?)
The Kingdom of Tembarl had no spirit protection. Whether the Vanklyft Family would act or not—whether they’d lend their spirit’s power—was easy to predict.
But if Lore, furious at the cursed being’s presence in Helgner, had come herself to deliver the news and ordered Duran to take the cursed being directly from Tembarl, then Duran would have been completely abandoned by Lore.
(…………)
Lore, who hadn’t shown her face since her brother’s death, now stood in defense of Tembarl. Unforgivable.
He hadn’t been entirely unprepared. But he hadn’t wanted to believe that Lore herself would betray their own country.
I’d even entertained the faint hope that, thanks to this whole mess, she might finally show up. That’s why I set that woman up in the first place.
What did you mean by that? I’d been praying she’d appear right here, right now. Then I could’ve granted Lore’s wish exactly as she’d wanted.
“Here we go.”
“Huh.”
Durant didn’t say where he was going—just yanked the door open with a violent shove. His retainer, Orgas, followed right behind.
Now that things had come to this, that woman was useless. Furious, Durant burned with the desire to redirect his anger toward her—then finish her himself.
＊＊＊
A fragment of the scattered darkness writhed slowly back toward Amiel.
Amiel muttered something in a muffled voice. It sounded like resentment, but also like a plea for help. The whisper of Amiel’s consciousness mingled with the cries of her fellow clan members, now cursed and scattered.
Elen felt a wave of relief that Lovell had safely returned to the Spirit World. One problem solved. Next, this girl, Elen thought, glaring at Amiel.
"Princess!!"
Van and Kai appeared, having teleported in a panic. Kai still looked pale, but the moment he saw Amiel, his expression hardened instantly.
"Elen-sama, are you alright?!"
"Van, Kai, be careful!"
Elen summoned a boulder in an instant and hurled it at the oncoming darkness, shattering it into fragments. The humans Lovell had shielded earlier stared wide-eyed in shock, mouths agape.
Elen spotted one person in the crowd shouting directly at her, and panicked.
“Elen!!”
“Don’t come over here! Van, get them to safety, quick!”
Elen yelled, encircling Amiel with rocks, urging them to flee while they still could.
Van obeyed, one after another teleporting the guards away. Kai tried to rush to Elen’s side, but bit his lip and instead used spirit magic to shield them, just as she’d asked.
But something was off—Gadiel, refusing to come near Elen, shouted back instead, “Lovell-sama?!”
“Father’s not safe!”
No time to explain. Her focus had already slipped to Gadiel—too slow.
Seizing the moment, Amiel exploded the rocks binding him, sending them flying.
“Eeek!”
I flinched, instinctively jerking my face away from the deafening boom. From somewhere a little further off, I could hear everyone shouting Elen’s name.
‘…You’re such a nuisance… always interfering… always… a nuisance…’
A muffled, distorted voice swayed through the darkness, wavering like smoke. Elen thought, *Bad idea,* and tried to teleport away from the spot—but before she could, a long, black arm shot out from the shadows, snaking toward her with terrifying speed, pulling her attention away.
“Elen!!”
Gadiel dashed forward. In an instant, he yanked his sword from its sheath and brought it down hard on the arm.
“Gadiel…!”
Furious at being severed, Amiel lashed out, stretching more arms toward Gadiel in quick succession.
Gadiel didn’t back down. He swung his sword again and again, cutting each limb down. He shouted.
“Stop it, Amiel! You think you’ll gain anything by doing this?!”
‘Gah… e… luh… uuuh…!’
The spear of anger shifts, now aimed at Gadiel. If this keeps going, Gadiel’s in real danger. Just as Elen was about to scream “No, Amiel! Do you really think you’ll gain anything from this?!”—it happened.
Too close. The curse clinging to Gadiel had sensed Elen’s presence. Amiel, picking up on the sudden panic from the two, instantly grinned and shot out countless hands toward Elen in one motion.
“Stop it, nooo!!”
Gadiel shoved himself in front of Elen, shielding her with his body.
Elen was crushed against Gadiel, staring blankly at the scene before her. The curse erupted violently from Gadiel, writhing as he fought to hold on.
Elen froze—mind completely blank, unable to move. Still, Gadiel managed to whisper through gritted teeth:
“We nobles… always asking too much of you… I’m so sorry…”
“…Gadiel…”
“I heard… it can be changed. If there’s even a sliver of hope… then I… I want to… for you…”
The black curse emanating from Gadiel faded, turning pale and glowing white. Elen’s eyes snapped open, stunned.
“You’re just like yourselves! Always begging for help, shoving everything onto her!!”
Gadiel shoved Elen away, releasing her from his grip, then clenched his sword tighter—still locked onto Amiel—and charged forward.
No matter how completely the darkness from Amiel engulfed him, Gadiel didn’t stop. He swung the sword high.
“Gadiel!!”
At the same instant Elen screamed, Gadiel’s blade pierced Amiel’s throat.
The darkness surrounding Amiel froze instantly. The black fog that had wrapped around Gadiel vanished in an instant—revealing a faint, glowing curse, gently wrapping around him like a shield.
“E…?”
I can’t even tell what’s happening. Elen stands frozen, her mind scrambling to make sense of it all, but a nasty premonition clings to her like cold sweat, her body trembling too hard to move.
“Stop… stop…”
Amiel pauses for a moment, but then writhes violently, trying desperately to pull the sword from his throat.
At that moment, Amiel’s darkness bursts out again, enveloping Gadiel.
“Stop it!!”
Elen screams, voice cracking with tears. Gadiel can’t possibly be okay.
She channels every ounce of power she has, manipulating the surrounding particles and blasting them away in one direction, forcing a violent explosion. Distracted by the sudden chaos, Amiel’s darkness recoils all at once from Gadiel.
Elen seizes the opening—she seals Amiel in a cage of solid matter, packing it tight. No second chances this time. She makes sure it’s locked down tight.
Only a round sphere enclosing Amiel remained in the air. Silence settled in—but Elen’s heart was hammering like a frantic drum.
Gadiel lay prostrate on the ground. His body didn’t move.
“Gadiel…?”
She remembered how he’d held her just moments ago. To confirm the fact, she gently touched his shoulder, still bowed low.
No trace of the spirit’s curse. She felt a flicker of relief—then shook his shoulder anyway.
“Gadiel…?”
She levitated him slightly with magic, turning him onto his back. But his eyes stayed shut.
“Gadiel…!”
She called his name again and again.
Tears dripped down her cheeks, one after another.
It couldn’t be safe. The curse, Amiel’s darkness—everything was the same thing. And that meant even Gadiel’s soul was of the same substance.
“No… no… no…!!”
The silence was torn apart by Elen's screaming.