The moon rose in the now completely dark sky. Heath occasionally glanced up at it. The sheer might of the Caladrius was immense.

There was no way for the Imperial army to defend against an attack from the air. No, even the Kark tribe would struggle to withstand such an *ssault. The final battle had been fierce, but the tide had certainly turned in their favor.

Heath was confident. They could defend the fortress of Nopthal.

However, outside the walls, fierce fighting continued. Soon, the combatants became so intermingled that it became difficult for the Caladrius to continue its aerial attacks effectively.

‘If we don’t end this quickly, the casualties will be too…’

The only silver lining was that, thanks to the Caladrius, many of the Imperial soldiers either fled or were killed. At that moment, Franz called out to him from behind.

“Heath!”

Heath looked up at the sky where Franz was staring. The Caladrius, which had been hovering quietly near them, was now flying towards the darkened sky.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure, but it looks like it’s trying to tell us something!” Franz shouted as he deflected an incoming arrow.

‘What is it trying to say?’

At that moment, the Caladrius’ opalescent eyes gleamed, and it began flying north.

North.

Heath stared at the bird, now flying away, with a growing sense of dread. Its white wings and tail quickly disappeared into the distance, shimmering like a fish’s fins under the moonlight, resembling Rohana’s retreating figure.

‘Rohana, it can’t be…’

Heath frowned. He had a bad feeling. But he was the leader of R.D. Now wasn’t the time to show such emotions.

“Do not falter!” Heath shouted loudly. The Kark soldiers responded with enthusiasm. Kaiden was fighting his own battle, and Rohana hers. As for the fortress, it was up to Heath, as the leader of R.D., to defend it.

With a resounding *twang*, an arrow charged with magic flew through the air, decapitating the horse of one of the Imperial commanders.

“From here on, it’s up to us,” Heath said. Franz nodded and relayed the orders to the rest of R.D.

They had to win and protect everything. Heath reminded himself that this was the only thing he could do for everyone.

The voice of his father, Axton, who had ordered Kaiden to execute him despite having more time to live, echoed in his mind.

“When hesitation disappears, a person can unleash their greatest strength.”

Even as illness weakened him, Axton had been resolute.

Heath pulled back his bowstring once more.

“When the time comes, you too will naturally fulfill your role.”

Axton would often say that to both Heath and Kaiden, who were unsure of their path. This time, the arrow struck a soldier from the Imperial army who had been preparing to launch an explosive.

“The war ends today! The unification war ends today!” Heath’s rallying cry united R.D. and the rest of the Nopthal army. As they moved as one, the gates of Nopthal Fortress began to open, but Heath stopped them.

At that moment, a familiar figure appeared in the sky.

“Iz!”

The black bird, Iz, descended rapidly to the ground. Heath quickly lifted her onto his horse and asked, “What happened?”

“We succeeded in reclaiming the east gate and the hostages. But His Grace doesn’t have much time.”

“What?”

“His Grace has become a hostage himself. He did it to scatter the Imperial forces.”

*Thwack!* An arrow embedded itself in the side of the horse, but Iz quickly removed it and used her healing magic. Both of them nearly toppled but managed to regain their balance. Gripping the reins tightly, Heath asked again, “So you’re telling me Kaiden just walked into the Imperial palace alone?”

Iz’s expression was all the answer Heath needed.

“At least you and I should go back. I can take you with me. We can’t just let him die.”

“He didn’t give any orders?”

“Orders? You’re really going to let him die?” Iz shouted, her sharp eyes filled with disbelief.

It was then—

*BOOM!*

A deafening explosion rang out.

“Caladrius!”

The cheers of the Kark soldiers echoed through the battlefield.

It had returned.

“Caladrius? And what about the Duchess?”

The Caladrius targeted the Imperial army with precision, as if a person were controlling its magic directly.

It was an astonishing event.

“The Duchess, Heath!”

Iz shouted as she grabbed Heath’s shoulder roughly. Heath thought as quickly as he could, even if it was just for a brief moment. The Caladrius had disappeared and then reappeared, and now Iz was telling him they needed reinforcements there.

“Franz!”

Instead of responding, Heath shouted. Franz, who had been stationed in the west, galloped over after some time.

“I’ll head to the capital with the 1st platoon. It seems like they need our support.”

Franz nodded.

“You’ve filled in as the deputy leader when Aurelia wasn’t here, so you should be able to handle things here too, right?”

“The Caladrius has returned, so…”

At that moment, an explosion rang out, and all three of them instinctively ducked.

“You needn’t worry,” Franz said, managing a calm smile despite the chaos.

“Go ahead.”

Even so, Heath wasn’t entirely convinced. As he hesitated, a familiar trumpet sound came from the east.

“Heath!”

Iz shouted.

“Isla.”

It was Shatonwell. Then, a messenger pigeon with a purple ribbon flew in. A brief note from Isla stated that they had dealt with the rebels and would soon enter Nopthal’s domain.

Heath made his decision and yelled an order to the surrounding troops in a voice so loud it was almost a roar.

“The 1st platoon, gather at the Imperial Palace! We’ll join up with Galad’s unit there!”

As soon as Heath finished giving orders, Iz grabbed him, and they transformed in an instant.

“Let’s go as fast as we can,” she urged.

Piercing through the gunpowder-laden sky, they headed straight for the palace.

***

It all happened in an instant.

As the poisoned needle slowly approached, Kaiden raised his hand and blocked it with his ice magic. The power that had always protected him acted decisively, even as his consciousness began to fade.

It was as though the magic had a will of its own, manifesting with absolute resolve.

Neither monsters nor magic could be completely controlled by human will or ability.

That’s why the Kark tribe was always seen as a dangerous presence.

The history of the Kark tribe was one of constant persecution, hunted down relentlessly as “dangerous beings.”

Instinctively, an enormous ice spike materialized and pierced Bardi’s chest.

In that brief moment, Bardi’s fading consciousness focused on Kaiden. Kaiden’s face was contorted with an expression of indescribable pain.

‘Good grief,’ Bardi thought.

‘Why is he making that face?’

It made no sense to him. After all, this was a battle where someone was bound to die sooner or later.

‘Seems like he really intended to spare me.’

Bardi could feel Kaiden’s grip tightening on him. Their blood mixed in the puddle beneath them, making the marble floor slick. Bardi’s body slid across it.

“Your Majesty!”

“Stay where you are!”

Kaiden’s shout was so forceful that the soldiers who had been advancing were too intimidated to come any closer.

He wouldn’t let him die. He would keep him alive so that both tribes could witness the future together.

Healing magic flowed out, but something was wrong. For some reason, the ice spike wouldn’t budge from Bardi’s chest.

“What’s going on…” Bardi murmured weakly in disbelief.

“Really…”

“Just shut up.”

It wasn’t because Kaiden liked him or felt pity for him. If anything, sparing Bardi would give whoever ascended to the throne more political leverage, and from a strategic standpoint, the Emperor still held value as a hostage.

And finally—

“Rohana…”

At that moment, Bardi spoke again. Kaiden sensed it would be his last words.

“Do you really love Rohana?”

Was this really going to be his final question? Kaiden looked down at him, feeling both exasperated and dumbfounded. The shadow of death was only two steps away.

“Yes,” Kaiden replied.

Bardi spoke quietly, almost as if he were drifting into sleep.

“Now I think I understand.”

Understand what? Before Kaiden could ask, Bardi’s voice faded into silence.

“Your Majesty!”

The soldiers, tense with raised shields and spears, were now in disarray without their leader. For a brief moment, Kaiden, without realizing it, offered a prayer. He wished that the departing soul would at least find peace. It would be too tragic if even the path to the afterlife were filled with suffering.

He hoped that, even if it was a delusion, Bardi would leave with good memories. There had been a time, however brief, when they had gotten along.

Even though he had known it would come to this, it still hurt as if he hadn’t expected it at all.

“His Majesty has passed!”

From a distance, the soldiers began to murmur as they realized what had happened. It wouldn’t be long before they attacked.

Only now did Kaiden remember that his own body was in bad shape. Was that why the healing magic hadn’t worked on Bardi?

In his fading consciousness, Kaiden thought to himself:

‘I’ve shed blood, but at least the immediate crisis has been averted.’

The murmuring soldiers began to close in. It became harder and harder for him to breathe, as though his lungs were filling with blood or fl*id. Based on the earlier reports, it seemed the eastern gate had been secured, and the hostages had been freed.

Even Bardi had fallen. There was nothing left to worry about.

As his consciousness dimmed, Kaiden finally understood why Bardi had asked about Rohana.

‘Maybe that was the one thing he was sincere about.’

Kaiden, still kneeling beside Bardi, gathered his strength. At the very least, he wanted to stand up.

Suddenly, a roar of cheers came from the distance.

*Clang!*

In an instant, there was an explosion.

With a series of shattering crashes, the windows of the grand banquet hall were blown to pieces. Kaiden turned his head and saw a bright star shining beyond the broken glass.

And then, a familiar face came into view.