SOKM CH 02

Episode 2

The letter I forced myself to read began with these words:

Suilen. How are you? If you are reading this letter, then I must already be dead.

“Huh?”

So he got married and suddenly developed a sense of humor?

But if his goal was just to get my attention, then he succeeded.

What an outrageous greeting. Hayden, the greatest holy knight blessed by the God of Light, someone who seemed impossible to kill, saying he was dead?

He went on with jokes, opening with silly remarks about a new medicine I’d once developed before retiring.

“Ha. I bet he tried it? He hated sleeping pills so much.”

The first page was filled with ridiculous jokes, but from the second page, he became serious.

Suilen. Blier has betrayed me. She is carrying Cairo’s child, and I will soon be sacrificed to the Goddess of Darkness.

“…What?”

I read that line again.

And again.

But no matter how many times I read it, I couldn’t believe it.

Blier, who served the God of Light, was pregnant with Cairo’s child, the child of Darkness?

Blier, who blushed like a girl every time she said Hayden’s name—she betrayed him? Killed him?

“That’s impossible.”

I shook my head hard and checked again. The holy power clinging to the letter, the handwriting—it was definitely Hayden’s.

Whether I believed it or not, the letter ended with these words:

If Blier has harmed me, she will no doubt try the same with you. If I left any trace behind, she’ll suspect it’s with you. And she’s right. I will name you as my successor.

“…What did you say?”

Who gave him the right to drag me into this?

But of course, there was no reply. His writing suddenly twisted into tangled scribbles, like knotted thread.

“Ah…!”

I tried to make sense of the strange lines, half scribbles, half cipher, but gave up and turned the page.

His handwriting returned to neat, precise strokes.

I want to explain more, but whenever I think of certain things, my mind becomes foggy. It seems I’ve already been brainwashed. I’ve created a defensive spell—please use it. Unfortunately, it is incomplete… but if it’s you, Suilen, you can finish it. Please hurry. It may sound forced, but—

The words “sound forced” were pressed down with heavy force.

Even my hand holding the letter tensed up.

On the last page, there was only a single line:

You’ll manage it, won’t you? I leave everything to you.

“….”

I read the letter one more time, checked the empty last page and even the envelope, then crumpled everything up and tossed it in a corner.

“How arrogant. He still thinks he’s my boss?”

If he couldn’t finish it alone, he should’ve called me sooner. Instead, he rambled on like this, full of complaints.

“To think he fooled around, died, and now still gives me orders…”

I wanted to curse at the air, but the words wouldn’t come.

Before I realized it, my nose was wet and I sniffled, then bowed my head briefly in silent prayer for Hayden.

After a pause, I picked the letter back up from the trash.

Seeing it all crumpled made me feel strangely miserable.

“So the first contact in years turns out to be this… Still, if it’s revenge against Cairo you want, I’ll do it.”

Resigned, I infused the letter with holy power.

And then—

“…..”

Magic circles and theories I had never seen before unfolded in the air.

More and more appeared, until they stretched from one wall of the large room to the other.

“…This insane bastard…”

A groan slipped out of my mouth.

Did he send this to me so I’d complete it? Or so we’d both die from overwork?

He was always like this.

He’d hand me an impossible task, then with that infuriating face and smug tone, he’d add: “You can do it, can’t you?”

Pathetically, just remembering his arrogant expression made my chest ache.

Was it rage at losing a comrade? Or despair at the impossible burden he’d left behind? I couldn’t tell.

“You think I can’t do it?”

Instead of wallowing, I ran down the long corridor and shoved open my lab door.

The desk was piled with precious plants and research materials I’d been working on. I swept everything to the floor with one arm.

Then, I boldly set Hayden’s letter in the center of the now-empty desk.

“I’ll grind those vermin into dust!”

***

In the end, the one who was ground to dust was me.

No—at least not yet. But in an hour? Probably.

The one turning to dust will be me.

What my partner left behind was meant to last five years, but the enemy came crashing in after only three months.

“Damn fool. If you said you’d hold them back, you should’ve bought me at least half a year!”

Grinding my teeth won’t make the dead hear me.

Two days lost in research, three days in sudden battles.

Medicine could only carry me so far—after six days without proper food or sleep, my mind was at its limit.

“Why do they keep coming? No matter how many I kill, they don’t stop!”

Leaning on my staff, barely holding myself upright, I glared at the enemy. They shifted formation, waiting for the slightest gap to charge in.

Wooong.

Without my asking, the wind spirit I was bound to strengthened the barrier around me.

I checked my nearly drained holy power and the spirit’s waning energy, and whispered softly:

“Let’s pace ourselves.”

A breeze, cold enough to sting, brushed my cheek.

A playful kiss. But I couldn’t smile.

One thought rang clear in my head:

I will die today.

My barrier blocked magic, so they couldn’t strike from afar. But if sword-wielding knights charged all at once…

I forced myself to ignore the fear and lifted my head high.

“But what are those rats doing over there?”

Something strange was stirring in the back ranks, but I couldn’t see beyond it.

Sensing my tension, the spirit gathered sharp shards scattered on the ground, pulling them together.

The sandy ground began to boil like water, and faint murmurs spread among the enemy.

Wooong.

“Can I fight one more round? Or maybe escape…?”

Before I could finish counting their numbers, a high-pitched laugh echoed from the sky.

“Oh my, what’s this? Did I miss all the fun already?”

“!”

At the sudden intruder’s voice, the dark priests raised their staffs as one.

A massive wave of magic, ready to explode, locked onto her. But she only laughed brightly.

“You weren’t at the mansion, so I had to search everywhere. Ren, you ran all the way here just to survive?”

Without even needing to look up, I knew who it was.

A woman flew on the wind and landed smoothly right in front of my barrier.

Flight magic of that level was high sorcery, yet she did it with flawless ease.

I couldn’t hold back a groan.

“Blier.”

Wearing a dazzling dress utterly unsuited to the battlefield, Blier looked radiant, as if she’d slept well.

A dress at war? Seriously?

I wanted to hurl an insult, but now was not the time.

Hayden only sent a secret letter to Carl Suilen because the palace and the temple both had spies for the Goddess of Darkness.

That was how nobles and high priests had explained it, before deciding to keep Hayden’s death secret.

I hadn’t liked their cowardly decision to bury the truth, but hiding information from the enemy was at least reasonable.

So I’d chosen to defend the lab alone.

“I was overconfident. I never thought those vermin would come for me first.”

If I’d known, I would’ve begged for reinforcements—Holy Knights, Imperial Guards, even mercenaries.

Even with Hayden’s warning, I never believed Blier would personally turn on me.

I bit my lip hard, while Blier laughed again.

“Ren. You’re that shocked to see me?”

“…Of course I am. To think you were a servant of Darkness.”

I snapped back bitterly. She only waved her fan with leisurely grace.

Her long blue hair rippled gently, every word and gesture perfectly composed.

“I never lied. You were just too stupid to notice. Hm. Still, I’m surprised. I thought you’d be crawling on the ground by now.”

“What? There were only small fry here.”

“Small fry? You look like they beat you black and blue.”

“…What?”

Beaten up?

Her words stung more than the bruises. My pride burned hotter than the pain.