It was a sudden ambush, launched at a time when Calix’s attention was elsewhere.

He only just managed to evade Waldemar’s blow, but the blade still cut through his shoulder. Although it had missed a vital point, the wound was serious nonetheless.

Waldemar lifted the corner of his mouth as he stared at the injury he had inflicted.

Then something unbelievable happened.

Between the torn pieces of Calix’s clothing, the wound began to heal at a visible speed.

“…Hah.”

A breath of disbelief slipped from Waldemar before he could stop it.

In that instant, words his father had once spoken—long ago, when he was still alive—resurfaced in his mind.

“Those who inherit the power of the Sun God grow stronger each time they overcome the brink of death. If you fail to kill him in a single blow, all you will do is make him stronger.”

From a young age, Waldemar was constantly compared to his close friend, Calix.

Determined to surpass his friend, Waldemar pushed himself relentlessly. Yet in the annual evaluations, he never once achieved a top ranking. Time and again, he was forced to kneel beneath Calix’s feet.

Calix claimed the throne as if it were his birthright, seemingly unaware of Waldemar’s existence. But to Waldemar, Calix embodied two things: First, a sun so high that it could never be reached; and second, a hateful existence from which he was determined to escape one day.

“I thought I killed you on the Day of the North Wind…”

Waldemar muttered, swallowing a groan.

Failing to kill him back then had only served as the catalyst that made the bastard stronger.

“Fine. Then this time, I’ll be the one to cut off your breath myself.”

He would just keep cutting until the wounds stopped healing. Even a monster like him would eventually die.

Resolved, Waldemar lunged at Calix once more.

—Clang!

But Calix was different now.

The vacant, distracted figure from moments earlier had disappeared. In its place stood something far more dangerous: a feral beast baring its fangs, ready to tear Waldemar apart at any moment.

Calix deflected Waldemar’s attacks with effortless fluidity. What had begun as mere defense slowly turned into heavy, crushing blows that tightened relentlessly around Waldemar’s throat.

In a one-on-one fight, there was no chance of victory.

Ultimately, Waldemar was forced to change tactics, barking orders at his soldiers instead.

“Attack him. Now!”

At the command, the soldiers surged towards Calix all at once. Dozens of men closed in on him, attacking from all sides. Faced with such overwhelming numbers, it seemed impossible that any beast, no matter how fearsome, could survive for long.

But their opponent was Calix.

He cut down the charging soldiers one by one, his movements precise and unbroken as he sent each of them crashing to the ground.

Even when facing many alone, Calix held the advantage.

“W–we too! Everyone, attack!”

Seeing that Calix had gained the upper hand, the Thalian soldiers shouted as they charged forward. They charged straight at Waldemar’s troops, who still far outnumbered them.

Driven by sheer desperation, the Thalians fought with no thought for their own lives. Overwhelmed by their ferocity, Waldemar’s soldiers began to fall.

‘At this rate… it might work.’

Selina felt the scales of battle slowly tipping in Thalia’s favor.

If this continued, reclaiming the grand ducal castle would not be impossible.

‘If that happens…’

She bit her lip softly.

For Calix, the joy would be enough to wash away the past. For all Thalians, it would be a blessing. Just thinking about it made her happy.

But for Selina, who was standing in a place that was neither here nor there, nothing would truly change.

If there was any meaning to be found in this, it was that she would be able to see Calix smile.

If she could repay even a fraction of the wrongs she had committed against him through this, then that alone would be enough.

In the brief moment that Selina was lost in thought—

“Uwaaaaah!”

A thunderous roar echoed across the battlefield.

Unable to withstand Calix’s onslaught any longer, Waldemar collapsed to the ground. Calix stood over him, the tip of his blade aimed squarely at Waldemar’s throat.

“One last thing to say?”

Having completely subdued Waldemar, Calix asked in a cold, even voice.

“Anything you want to say?”

“……”

Waldemar turned his head away without answering.

Calix took a short, measured breath.

He looked down at Waldemar — or rather, at Eclipse, the son of his uncle — with emotionless eyes.

Eclipse had nurtured his hatred for years, finally betraying Thalia — the land in which he had been born and raised — by becoming a commander of the Empire.

In a way, Eclipse had fought just as desperately as Calix, but in a different environment and for a different cause. He was not so different from Calix himself.

And precisely because of that, Calix was determined to sever this cursed bond once and for all.

“I’ll have to kill you properly.”

Once, out of pity, he had spared him. The consequences of that choice had returned as a fatal backlash.

So now, the wrong connection had to be cut by his own hand.

Just as Calix raised his sword high—

—Bang!

The tightly shut castle gates burst open with a thunderous crash.

“The one who truly deserves to die isn’t the commander—it’s you!”

A voice overflowing with barely restrained fury roared through the interior of the castle.

Selina instinctively turned toward the source of the shout.

“I should have snapped your neck and killed you back when you were fluttering around in front of me!!”

It was Bryson—Selina’s father, and a duke of the Empire.

‘How is Father here…?’

He had said there was urgent business to attend to—something that might take weeks to resolve.

So how had word of what was happening here reached him?

‘And how did he bring so many troops…?’

Selina’s gaze wavered as she surveyed the army that Bryson had brought with him.

Even at first glance, there were so many soldiers that they spilled beyond the castle gates and stretched so far that they seemed to go on forever.

They felt like a sandcastle before an incoming tide — one that could be swept away in an instant.

No matter how formidable Calix was — a warrior who could face a hundred enemies alone — this many were simply too much to handle.

‘What should we do?’

It was like a ship that had been sailing smoothly, only to strike hidden rocks and face the risk of running aground.

The mere appearance of the duke leading such a vast army was enough to shake the Thalian forces. Little by little, they were being pushed back.

‘I have to think of something.’

A way to overcome this deadlock.

Just as Selina was racking her brain—

“Oh? And who might this be?”

Out of nowhere, Duke Bryson turned his gaze toward Selina.

The pupils within his sly, serpentine eyes recognized her—and widened slowly.

“So it’s the daughter who disappointed her father. My disappointment in you is beyond words.”

He spoke in a tone tinged with grievance, but Selina replied calmly.

“Then that’s a relief. To think I was at least someone capable of disappointing you.”

“This is hardly the time for wordplay with me, don’t you think?”

Bryson dismounted his horse and drew his sword.

The cold blade gleamed, and the look in his eyes was not that of a father facing his daughter—but of an enemy standing before a sworn foe.

“I never thought you’d dare betray me twice. Your mother never had that kind of nerve.”

At the mention of her mother, a sharp ache pierced Selina’s chest.

Before coming here, she had heard a story from Sion—about a woman presumed to be her mother.

“They say the power of a spirit summoner is passed down through blood. That’s why so many people targeted her.”

Bryson had likely seduced her from the very beginning with that intention in mind.

So that if the child born from her displayed the power of spirits, he could put it to good use.

‘But the power never manifested. And because of that, I was locked away in a monastery for years.’

The duke did not spare her life out of mercy.

It was simply because the spirits’ power might awaken one day.

She might prove useful one day.

She had been kept alive not out of kindness, but because killing her would have seemed a waste.

Now that she understood everything, her heart felt lighter and she felt almost relieved.

Thanks to this realization, Selina was finally able to sever all traces of the emotion she still held for Bryson.

“I intend to disappoint you even more from now on, Duke.”

And with that resolve, a single way to overcome this crisis came to her.

Without a hint of fear, Selina lifted her chin high as she faced her approaching father. The sight was so unlike the meek, guileless demeanor she had always shown before that the duke’s brow tilted in wary confusion.

“And what exactly do you think you can do? Now that you’re trapped in here, all of you are destined to die.”

With that, the duke gestured sharply, ordering the army he had brought to attack Calix.

Countless soldiers surged toward him. With enemies swarming like hornets, Calix had no room to help Selina—he was too busy cutting them down one after another.

“Calix won’t be able to save you. If you’re so inseparable, then perhaps I’ll grant you the mercy of dying on the same day.”

Smiling cruelly, he charged forward, intent on killing his own blood.

“Are you sure you can?”

Selina traced a sigil in the air and summoned a spirit.

A light no bigger than a firefly appeared and grew into a radiant glow. In the dim, clouded interior of the castle, it was as if a bright moon had suddenly risen.

The light soon took shape, transforming into a beautiful sword.

Petal-like flickers danced and swayed along its shining blade, leaving behind a trail of light as if blossom petals were falling.

“Y–you—how can this be…?!”

Realizing that Selina was harnessing the power of spirits, Bryson recoiled in shock.

Despite having monitored her every move for years, it had never once occurred to him that she could command a spirit. As expected, the duke was visibly shaken.

“It’s time for you to pay for your sins as well, Father.”

Selina levelled her radiant blade at him.

Their relationship was steeped in long-buried emotions, and she was determined to put an end to it once and for all.

After all, if the Empire were to lose its leader, its forces would have no chance of continuing to hold the upper hand in this battle.