A black object appeared through the scattered dirt dust. The King of Silentium, now even more skeletal and blackened than before, dripped black blood from his eyes. And in his hand was the holy sword, covered in black energy.

“What’s happening right now……”

Lucian, watching everything from the tree, was confused by the situation unfolding before his eyes.

Adelia indiscriminately attacked a man who looked no different from a monster. Not only was it amazing how she freely wielded white magic, but the man who could offset it was also surprising.

The brief confusion about there being a power that could match white magic so evenly soon gave way to realizing the energy coming from the man was not normal. He easily deduced that man was the source of the unpleasant feeling he’d been sensing.

“This is clearly not a simple situation.”

What best showed the gravity of this situation was Adelia’s expression. That emotionless expression as if she’s looking at trash. There was no vitality in her coldly sunken eyes.

Lucian’s heart ached seeing that face.

‘It seems like seeing your pain.’

It looked like an expression made from gathering all the pain and sorrow that occasionally flickered across Adelia’s face.

Lucian wanted to run to Adelia’s side right away. But the barrier she left when departing stopped him. Unable to break through the barrier even with his sword, Lucian had no choice but to watch Adelia.

Anyone could see Adelia had the upper hand. Her attacks were fierce, and her opponent appeared to struggle just blocking them.

“Please…… Don’t get hurt.”

Lucian watched Adelia while speaking words that wouldn’t reach her.

Her appearance as she unleashed her power to subdue her opponent was dizzyingly beautiful. But after knowing her magical power was running low, he couldn’t watch comfortably. He didn’t take his eyes off Adelia for a moment.

Only after Adelia poured down star-like arrows at the man did the barrier blocking him disappear. And at that same moment, Lucian’s heart began pounding.

“Ugh……”

Lucian clutched his chest and leaned against a large branch.

His heart thundered as if it were attached to his ears. An inexplicable anxiety wrapped around his entire body. Goosebumps rose as if warning that something was going wrong.

Lucian instinctively raised his head to find the cause. His holy sword. As the dirt dust cleared, the somehow strange holy sword revealed itself. Along with the man who had become even more monstrous.

* * *

Wastewater-like blood dripped from the King of Silentium’s right eye. Even to Adelia, who knew nothing of medicine, it was clearly beyond regeneration. He exhaled rough breaths while frowning in pain.

“Hey! Holy sword!”

Though Adelia urgently called out to the holy sword, there was no answer.

The silence of the usually chatty holy sword… Anxiety swept over her as her conversation with Kai flashed through her mind.

‘Corruption……”

Just as white magic had been corrupted in the original story, could the holy sword be corrupting? If so, was anything better than the original?

Adelia was confused.

She had been certain they were one step back from the world’s destruction since she possessed white magic. But the holy sword ending up in the king’s hands like this was unexpected.

‘That person being alive in the first place was unexpected.’

Adelia frowned as she glared at the holy sword. Fortunately, the holy sword wasn’t corrupted yet. Though faint, pure white energy rippled rebelliously within the black energy covering the holy sword.

Adelia internally sighed in relief at the fact it wasn’t corrupted. But she couldn’t let her guard down.

‘First I need to take back the holy sword. His condition looks bad too.’

The King of Silentium’s condition was steadily worsening. His face was pained as he gasped irregular breaths, covering his bleeding right eye with his hand. His staggering body that couldn’t stand still and his appearance gradually turning bluish-black from the toes up were concerning.

“Someday…… I’ll take that power from you…… I won’t kill you but let you live in eternal pain.”

“Is that wishful thinking? If you want, I’ll make you like that.”

Adelia brought her hands together to prepare for the final strike.

Even a vast lake will dry up if continuously drawn from. The seemingly endless white magic was starting to show its limits.

Though frustrated at not being able to kill him right now, she couldn’t just let the holy sword be taken.

Regrettably, she had to be satisfied with retrieving the holy sword and blinding one of his eyes.

Adelia gathered and compressed white magic into a tiny mass.

“I may not be able to kill you, but be consumed by pain.”

The moment Adelia threw the small mass. The King of Silentium threw the holy sword with his last remaining strength. The holy sword, heavily stained with black energy, flew at high speed.

Adelia’s thrown mass reached the king’s right eye before the holy sword. The light scattered on his body darkened by shadows erased the darkness. Light was worst for the king who was darkness itself.

The light burrowed deeper, and the king writhed in agony.

‘Now just the holy sword!’

Adelia didn’t try to catch the holy sword flying toward her. She didn’t have enough strength left to catch it. Instead, she wrapped her entire body in white magic to prepare for the attack. Though being hit by the holy sword would be painful, she wouldn’t die as long as she was wrapped in white magic.

Adelia dropped her hands and squeezed her eyes shut.

Thunk—

The sound of the rapidly flying holy sword embedding itself rang vividly in her ears. The metallic smell of blood brushed her nose.

But it didn’t hurt.

Adelia slowly opened her tightly closed eyes. Her long eyelashes like white butterfly wings trembled.

A dark shadow fell before her eyes, her entire view filled with familiar outlines. Light-colored fabric, navy decorations and blue jewels attached to it…

Only then did the familiar scent hidden by the metallic smell of blood and earth brush her nose.

“Lucian!”

Adelia raised her head. Her chin trembled as she confirmed the owner of the shadow.

There was Lucian, looking at her with a faint smile.

Lucian raised his trembling hand. With precariously quivering fingertips, he tenderly caressed Adelia’s cheek.

The waves sway, rippling in a dizzying motion as if they were on the verge of overflowing at any moment.

Various emotions welled up in her throat. She couldn’t decide what to say, whether to scold him or thank him. Nothing came out of her mouth.

“Are you alright……”

Lucian forced up the corners of his mouth with all his might. Deep pain rose from his lower back where the sword was embedded. Every single word he uttered was agonizing, as if all his nerves were being pulled out. Raising his hand felt like it would fall off, opening his mouth made his throat burn. But he couldn’t let go of his worry for Adelia.

He had tried to wait quietly in the tree as Adelia said. But when that damned person threw the sword, and Adelia lowered her hands with a half-resigned face at that moment, Lucian’s reason snapped.

Though it was painful, he didn’t regret it. Because him dying was better than Adelia being in pain.

“How can you say that right now?”

Adelia swallowed her choked voice. Her entire body trembled strongly, rejecting this situation. It felt like her legs would give out and she would collapse to the ground any moment.

Yet there was only one reason why she didn’t shed tears, why she didn’t collapse to the ground.

Because Lucian was right in front of her. She couldn’t show any more weakness in front of the person who took the sword to protect her.

“Why did you do it…… Why! Why did you step in!”

Adelia raged with an enraged voice. But her face was filled with worry and sadness rather than anger.

How could she be angry at him for saving her? She was just sad because he was such a fool for getting hurt instead of her.

Perhaps influenced by Adelia’s unstable emotions, white magic flowed from her body. Though her white magic was already scarce, Adelia didn’t notice it.

Fortunately, thanks to that white magic, as the black magic faded, the holy sword didn’t drain Lucian’s life force.

The wind blew and the hood of Lucian’s robe that had been covering his face fell down.

The night sky is full of stars, the round moon embedded in its center. And there was Lucian, shining most beautifully between them.

His red eyes full of worry were filled with Adelia. It was an intense gaze as if he could only see her.

“I’m glad……”

Lucian’s face grew increasingly pale. As strength gradually left his body, his head drooped down, and his tender caressing hand had long since fallen.

His cleanly stretched eyes blink slowly. His red eyes become blurry, unable to focus.

His vision gradually darkens. His consciousness fades until he can’t even feel the pain in his lower back. The world spins dizzily and strength leaves his entire body.

“Ugh……”

Finally, Lucian collapsed into Adelia’s arms.

Unable to bear his weight, Adelia sank to the ground. Though her pelvis hurt from strongly hitting the dirt, she couldn’t feel the pain.

Just as Adelia’s image filled his red eyes, Lucian’s image filled her blue eyes, and all the nerves in her small head and entire body clung to Lucian.

“Lucian! Lucian!”

Lucian’s head fell onto Adelia’s shoulder. The scent of his body and blood filling her arms made her dizzy.

Now she could see his wound. Though the black magic surrounding the holy sword had disappeared, the holy sword seemed unconscious as if it had lost its mind.

Red blood flowed from his lower back where the holy sword was embedded, and Lucian’s face against her neck was cold.

Adelia held Lucian tightly in her arms.

“I’ll pull out the sword first. Bite my shoulder if it hurts.”

Adelia moved her upper body and brought her shoulder to Lucian’s lips. His red lips against her snow-white shoulder were cold like a corpse.

Adelia wrapped one arm around Lucian’s body and reached out with her other hand to pull out the sword. Blood gushed out from where the sword had been.

Lucian faced the pain through his faint consciousness. He unconsciously bit what was at his lips. A grinding sound mixed with a faint scent of blood.

Adelia pleaded with a voice on the verge of tears.

“So…… why did you do it! I wouldn’t die even if I got hit by that…… why……”

“Because…… I don’t want…… you to be hurt……”

Lucian’s faint voice, holding onto a very weak consciousness, brushed past her ear. Adelia gritted her teeth until her lips split.

“And it’s okay for you to be hurt? Why did you do it. Really!”

“Because…… I love you.”

At that moment, something completely collapsed inside Adelia. Not something light like mind or consciousness, but as if the whole world had collapsed, all emotions swept through her.

Adelia sensed it.

‘My world has changed.’