Zap!

An electric current barrier appeared between Kalia and Buford.

The transparent barrier, thin enough to reveal the dominance of magical power, spread thinly like the auroras of the Winter Isle.

However, the destructive power of the thin and mysterious translucent barrier was not as beautiful as it appeared.

When Buford’s fingertip grazed the barrier, sparks flew.

“Argh.”

Feeling a sharp pain, Buford instinctively withdrew his hand.

Nevertheless, the skin on his longest extended finger was completely burned.

Buford, who held the burnt flesh, glared at the owner of the barrier approaching him.

“To think that words of salvation would come from that filthy mouth… This is the ultimate blasphemy.”

His calm words were sharp.

His gaze was as cold and chilling as the silver hair shining brightly.

Kalia, without any emotional response, gazed at the sudden appearance of the barrier in front of her, as if she had expected it.

Even Buford, whose finger was burned through the barrier, looked at her with an expression devoid of emotions.

“…Look at this, look. My words were right, weren’t they, Prince? You said we should be careful?”

The air tore open with a swoosh, and a demon emerged from the black void.

The warlock with dark skin embraced the injured prince, planting a kiss on his injured hand.

The burned skin was healed by the dark magic.

“You’re someone who doesn’t even flinch when you’re hurt. But why do you desire something so trivial? Really… how envious.”

Damon stared at Kalia with its torn eyes and then turned to Simon beside her, laughing.

“You call yourself the Archmage, yet you have such a terrifying presence. You.”

“You call yourself a warlock, yet the stench of evil emanates from you.”

Simon’s sarcastic remark sharpened Damon’s eyes.

Those words were the worst for her, who was always rejected for using dark magic and treated as filthy.

“Well, history is written by the victors. After becoming the losers in this war, can you still say such arrogant words?”

“Well… I’m sorry, but I’ve never learned the word ‘defeat,’ so I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“An arrogant man whose cheekiness is sky-high.”

Thud! Kwaang!

A surge of black and blue magical currents collided in the air.

The impact created a small whirlwind.

The paper and curtains were in disarray, and the people who had been lost in thought screamed and pressed themselves against the wall.

Just with the slight release of their power, the spacious tournament hall became a mess as if a storm had hit.

The guards who were waiting couldn’t even think of intervening in the clash between the Archmage and the warlock, so they tightly gripped their weapons.

Amidst the chaos, Buford approached Kalia again.

“What’s so difficult? I just… want to make sure.”

He looked at her, grumbling with annoyance.

Kalia, with her expressionless face, watched him without any hint of wavering, as beautiful as a finely crafted statue.

When he glimpsed her through the black shadows, she seemed to be someone who could easily laugh, but the Kalia that Buford faced was always that expression.

No emotional response, as if saying, ‘You are nothing more than a passing breeze,’ a dignified expression.

But why does his heart flutter like this?

Why does he feel such a strong desire to reach her?

Thump, thump. Thump. Thump.

His heart pounded roughly.

“General, my heart feels like it’s going to burst when I see you. Why is this happening?”

As Buford approached fearlessly, a while ago, Simon, who was close to him, caused the current barrier to spark once again.

He glared at Simon, who stood still and suppressed the demon magic.

Even though Damon was a warlock using an unknown power, it couldn’t compare to the overpowering magic of the Archmage who had surpassed enlightenment.

She was gradually retreating, while Simon didn’t seem the least bit strained.

“If you come any closer, I can erase you from that spot without leaving a trace.”

Buford frowned at Simon’s words, his face showing annoyance.

‘How did it come to this? Why are there so many obstacles?’

He felt frustrated.

Should he release all the chimeras he brought and scatter the young Archmage’s focus? He pondered this thought.

Just as he was thinking that, Kalia, who had been standing like a statue all this time, moved.

“…!”

Simon’s translucent shield rippling in front of him had no effect on Kalia.

She effortlessly pierced through it and approached Buford.

“Kalia!”

Simon urgently called out to her.Even Buford, who had desperately wished to reach her, was taken aback by her sudden movement.

“Do you want me?”

In just two steps, Kalia and Buford faced each other.

“Why? There should be no connection between you and me.”

Buford, who seemed somewhat dazed, twisted his lips and chuckled.

“That… I don’t know either. But maybe that’s why it feels like this is fate, General.”

Fate. Fate.

Kalia, who had smirked, replied briefly.

“Nonsense.”

She reached out her hand towards Buford.

Toward that heart that still beats fiercely, as if it could leap out even now…

Her fingers circled around near Buford’s chest, precisely tapping on the spot where his heart was.

“Your heart reacts like this only when it sees me. The reason it beats so intensely…”

“…”

“That’s because this heart already has an owner.”

Buford’s eyes widened for a moment at Kalia’s words.

Right at that moment, her hand, which had been circling around his heart, grabbed his chin.

“It’s not yours.”

“Guh!”

“Because it belongs… to my… mother.”

Her rough and calloused hand, full of scars, exerted terrifying force as it forcefully pried open his lips.

Simultaneously, Kalia tore at her other hand, drawing blood.

“…!”

Though her face appeared calm, her inner self was seething like lava.

Since Buford approached, a chilling bracelet on her wrist had been silently resonating.

Her chest ached, and her vision turned red like flames.

She raised her fist, dripping with bright red blood.

“What can a mere mage do?”

And with a powerful thrust, she let the blood flow into Buford’s mouth.

Infused with a purification power stronger than ever before.

“Gah, gulp!”

Buford’s eyes widened as Kalia’s blood flowed down his throat.

It was as sweet as melting honey, but at the same time, it felt scorching, scraping against the inside of his throat.

“No, this can’t be!”

Damon who had been watching the scene hastily opened a gate and unleashed four chimeras randomly.

“Kyaaah!”

“Uh, uwaah!”

The royals and nobles from various countries who were unable to escape or move were thrown into chaos by the sudden appearance of the chimeras.

The guards who had been assessing the situation up until that point immediately sprang into action.

Clang! Clang!

Some drew their swords, while others began casting spells.

In an instant, the castle turned into a battlefield.

Kalia, holding Buford’s chin with one hand, drew Nua’s ice sword.

She placed her hand on the mark engraved on her forehead and whispered her name softly, and a massive ice sword materialized in her hand.

Amuntia’s sword, which contained Gaia, wasn’t drawn because Buford was present, just in case.

“Kuh, ugh, huuu…”

Buford’s retinas blurred and flickered.

His body, weakened by Kalia’s formidable strength, swayed like a wet cloth, and his eardrums rang as if submerged in water.

-Buford, my baby…-

-Join us. Come here.-

Once again, it was the beginning of an auditory hallucination.

His body heated up as if it were immersed in boiling soup.

In his hazy vision, he saw his mother, now reduced to a skeleton, grabbing onto his body.

In his grasp, the young Buford from his childhood clung to his walking stick with a pale face.

‘…Go away. Leave me alone.’

He wanted to push her away, but his body didn’t obey.

His breath was being choked off.

The purifying power that had seeped into his body was dispersing the demonic magic that had sustained him for a long time.

‘No, I can’t. If this disappears, I’ll… die.’

In an attempt to break free, he exerted all his strength and twisted his body, slipping out of her clutches in the moment when two chimeras charged at him.“Buford!”

Damon, who had been summoning the chimeras and waiting for an opportunity, rushed towards him desperately.

“You foolish man! Why did you approach that woman!”

“Shut up, Da… mon.”

“Hah! A prince who thinks he’s so superior.”

Buford chuckled bitterly despite being pulled by Damon.

“You’re just as foolish as me, so what…”

With a pale and disgusted face, she quickly created a dimensional rift.

Even in the midst of it, Buford’s gaze never wavered from Kalia, and Kalia, too, didn’t take her eyes off him.

Was it because his heart belonged to a different owner? That didn’t matter.

After all, what contained this heart right now was his own body, and he was the one feeling the burning passion towards her.

As the black rift enveloped the two of them completely, Buford’s vision also turned completely dark.

* * *

The conference hall where they had completely vanished.

Simon and Kalia quickly disposed of the remaining chimeras and surveyed the chaotic scene.

There were some who sat down and sobbed, and others who fainted while holding onto doors that wouldn’t open due to the chimeras’ corpses.

A few wicked individuals crawled into the defensive barrier Simon had created for Louismond.

Fortunately, while there were some who lost limbs, there were no casualties.

“W-What happened…”

“I-If it’s like this…”

With fearful faces, they looked at the chimeras’ corpses.

The ones still alive were writhing and moaning.

Kalia’s ice sword was lodged in its head.

Kieeek!

With a final scream, the last chimera was taken care of.

Startled nobles instinctively gathered where Kalia and Simon were.

The short-lived battle was over, but fear still dominated the space.

Louismond looked at the chaotic tournament grounds with cold eyes.

Then, he stepped out of Simon’s barrier and surveyed the dazed representatives of the host countries.

“I understand that there are weaknesses. The leaders of just and proud nations have stooped so low and lowered their voices because precious ones are at stake, I suppose.”

Louismond’s voice filled the silent space.

“In one nation, the safety of the people may be at stake, like in Rojas, and in another nation, they may have been forced out by a corrupted royal family consumed by darkness. However… if we continue to be swayed by darkness, we will be consumed by an even greater darkness.”

“They… if they don’t take the antidote they provide, all the royals will be exterminated. How can we do anything about it? Even if we join forces and defeat them… everyone will die in the meantime!”

As he exclaimed those words, some people hung their heads in despair.

Some clenched their fists, filled with gloom and misery.

“No, we won’t die.”

Kalia said quietly.

She returned the ice sword and summoned Amuntia’s sword.

As the massive ice sword disappeared like magic and the flame-engulfed sword of Amuntia appeared, the royals of the participating countries all swallowed hard.

They looked at Rojas’ General Commander, who was performing non-magical but seemingly magical feats, with awe-filled eyes.

“No one will die by demonic magic. I will make sure of that. I will ensure they don’t die.”

With those words, Kalia firmly plunged Amuntia’s sword into the ground, holding it with both hands.

Thump!

At that moment, a burst of white light erupted from the point where the sword was embedded, so bright and dazzling that everyone present had to close their eyes.

The radiant light, so white and blinding, as if their souls were being cleansed.

When the light became too intense for everyone to breathe, just as it became difficult to breathe, the light disappeared in an instant.

People slowly opened their eyes.

They exhaled as if their breath had been taken away, their breathing quickened by shock.

“…It’s gone.”

“What… what is this…”

Then, where magic had vanished, there were only fairies and monsters with their bodies torn apart, like stuffed dolls, and human corpses remaining.

Louismond addressed the stunned crowd with a solemn voice.

“Rojas will never surrender to the power of darkness. We will find our own path to salvation.”

Everyone fell silent and looked at the Crown Prince. And they looked at Simon and Kalia, who stood on either side of the Crown Prince.

The pupils of those who gazed at the three pillars of Rojas’ youth flickered.

“The more afraid we become, the larger the darkness grows. We must never give in to fear.”

Looking at each one of them, Louismond forcefully spoke his final words.

“If you want to protect, don’t be afraid. Stand up on your own. We may have suffered individually, but together, we will fight back.”

With those words, Louismond turned around.

Simon and Kalia followed slowly behind him, their cloaks fluttering.

The light of Simon’s protective enchantment enveloped the three of them.

Leaving the closed door behind, the remaining people stood there for a while, dazed and with a lingering smell of blood.

The first to rise was the King of Datrian, who had lost his heir.

Without hesitation, he immediately sent a message to the kingdom.

[We have lost the prince, and there is no need for further hesitation. We prepare for war.]