Chapter 71
“How dare a beast try to snatch my sword?”
Calid twisted the sword embedded in the beast’s thigh without a moment’s hesitation. The sharp blade turned sideways along with the dark mass.
“Kyaaah!”
The beast’s scream and the torn flesh flew into the air together. Its thunderous roar, as if this were nothing, remained threatening.
Calid quickly lifted his sword and slashed downward. Piercing through its organs to decapitate it would certainly reduce the beast to ashes. He intended to split its head in one strike.
Swoooosh—
The sound of the well-formed body being cut down to the joints was heavy.
Just as he was about to slash through near its heart, he felt a strange resistance, as if layers of metal had caught on his sword.
The beast immediately turned its head and locked eyes in a terrifying gaze. This was extremely unusual, unlike its normal behavior.
“Lucky.”
The red-eyed monster, grinning like a human, spoke.
Had such a beast ever existed before? The clear pronunciation could not be dismissed as hallucination. This was a completely different kind of being.
Whoosh!
In the moment Calid’s focus wavered, the eerie beast, as if partially healed, regenerated the wound and swung its ferocious arm.
“Kuh!”
Calid narrowly stepped back, his uniform tearing, but he couldn’t fully avoid it. Flesh and blood dripped from his side.
The snow-covered ice quickly stained with his blood. A slight misstep could have left an irreparable hole in his torso.
Calid glared at the beast like a bitter winter wind.
Its massive frame was twice his size, its swinging arms like bird wings, the large dense feathers sharp as blades.
Even its long black tail feathers hung down, giving it the appearance of a crow transformed into a monster.
Veins bulged on Calid’s hand. He gripped his deep wound with one hand and steadied his stance.
If he didn’t take down that monster here, everyone would be in danger. As a ruler, he could never allow that.
His broken ribs throbbed, but his bloodshot eyes shone. Gritting his teeth, he pressed down on the ice and vanished from the beast’s view.
Clang! Clang-clang!
The battle began. The beast’s wings and sharp sword clashed two, three times in succession.
Calid was at a disadvantage. Blood flowed freely from his wounds with each movement. Scarlet traces were scattered everywhere, small pools forming on the ice.
Suddenly, the beast stopped moving and shrugged its shoulders. It seemed already bored with someone who was about to die, scratching its arrogant neck.
“Kikik. Useless. There are only two humans in this world who can harm me…”
Calid didn’t miss his chance. There was no time to listen to the beast’s nonsense. Determined to finish it in one strike, he focused his lethal sword energy and aimed precisely at its neck.
Crack!
The sound of metallic feathers breaking rang out. The sword cut through the feathers and swiftly sliced the beast’s neck sideways, its power undiminished.
Through the clear gap, dark, murky blood gushed like a tide. Shocked by the instant event, the beast opened its mouth in disbelief.
“Three… it was three. Kyaaaah!”
The monster’s scream shredded the eardrums.
Fsssh.
Fsssh-fsssh—
The beast’s head fell to the ground, and from the thick cross-section, a fountain of black blood spouted endlessly.
Calid kept his eyes wide, watching until it turned to ash. His vision swayed and spun, but he kneeled on one leg and drove his sword into the ice to support his trembling body.
Fortunately, when he lifted his head again, the ashes of the beast were blowing in the wind.
Calid finally groaned and twisted his shoulders, slowly collapsing onto the ground. He needed to tear his cloak to bandage the wound, but his fingers wouldn’t move.
All he could do was stare at the sky, watching snowflakes fall one by one.
The night sky over the snowy mountains formed a breathtaking view like the Milky Way. If this place weren’t a blood-soaked battlefield with a long history, it would have been called the most beautiful in the Empire.
“……”
Calid slowly blinked. The more he did, the more a woman’s image came to mind, and an ebbing wave of emptiness surged.
His side felt like it was on fire, yet it was her that invaded his thoughts to the very end, dragging his mood to rock bottom.
That undefinable longing… kept settling like snow. It should have frozen after piling up, but the more he tried to let it go, the more his heart burned and stirred impulses.
Amid the stench of blood, the scent of flowers brushed past him. He wanted to pluck a winter flower, wherever it might be, and return with it.
“This is insane. Why do I even want to see her?”
Calid closed his eyes for a long time. The warmth at his ears surrendered to the biting wind. He wanted to deny that it was only because he had bled too much.
The Empire’s capital. Western Reva.
In the black bushes of the imperial garden, pale-faced Ash slowly rose.
“Ayaya.”
He murmured softly, leaves tangled in his hair. He drew a handkerchief from his robe and pressed it hard against the side of his neck, where blood gushed profusely.
The white handkerchief reflected the moonlight and quickly soaked in dark crimson.
‘I never imagined he could harm me. So it’s not entirely unrelated.’
Ash frowned at his misfortune. He had escaped the beast’s body before it died.
He had intended to use a hidden gate to return to the Mage Tower, but his mana had scattered, and he ended up here instead.
He bit his finger in frustration. Apart from ruining the opening ceremony and meeting Luna, nothing had gone well.
The disappearance of the vicious guild, which was nothing more than a hobby, was trivial. The problem was the wound, which ached as if stabbed with needles.
The injury was healing slowly. He had confirmed firsthand that Bahir’s bloodline was his natural enemy.
Ash laughed like a madman, almost sobbing.
‘Not only did she marry him, but she could have killed me too?’
Suddenly, thick veins bulged across his pale forehead. The handkerchief pressed against his wound quickly turned dark red.
Perhaps this opportunity would never come again. A chance to easily kill the bastard had slipped through his fingers.
“I shouldn’t have hesitated. I should’ve killed him without letting my guard down.”
“Who are you talking about killing?”
“…!”
At that moment, a playful voice suddenly reached Ash’s ears. Someone who had concealed their presence appeared beside him, sniffing as if examining his wound.
“Wow. The smell of blood is intense. What’s going on?”
“Greetings, Your Highness, the Crown Prince of the Empire.”
“Hello? Master of the Mage Tower. Why are you here instead of at the Tower?”
The man speaking strangely was none other than Cedric. He crossed his arms and looked at Ash with a disdainful gaze.
Master Helios of the Mage Tower. His father’s most cunning subordinate.
He appeared in an entirely opposite location, absurdly showing up badly injured.
Ash narrowed his violet eyes like silk and smirked.
“I hope you’ve been well. As you know, these things happen from time to time. Due to a failed magical experiment requested by His Majesty the Emperor, I was compelled to request an audience like this.”
“Is that so? Aren’t you working too hard this late at night? Take it easy. Or is it that certain things can only happen at this hour? Like, you know… someone needing to be killed.”
Ash stared at Cedric calmly. His confident dark blue eyes were provocatively mischievous.
“I spoke of herb extermination. To be effective, magical ingredients must be killed and dried at precisely the right moment.”
“So that dangerous weed cut your neck and hands in the process?”
Ash nodded, rubbing his temple. Encountering this annoyance here was just too much. The string of misfortunes gave him a splitting headache.
“My apologies, but I’ll be leaving now. I should get treatment.”
“Shall I go with you?”
Cedric leisurely asked, rubbing his chin. Of course, there was no genuine concern in his offer.
Ash offered a refined smile and bowed politely.
“It seems your sense of humor has diminished considerably. I’ll decline.”
Like a snake slithering past, Ash moved smoothly yet chillingly, bypassing Cedric.
“Hah. Really.”
Cedric watched the man who appeared and vanished at will. The Mage Tower Master, whose face hadn’t changed since birth, always made him uneasy.
A part of him envied the secret to his youthful appearance.
Cedric chuckled at the thought and absentmindedly tilted his head. One of his smooth eyebrows twitched slightly.
“What’s this black feather?”
