Giselle let out a hollow laugh as she watched Louise calmly fend off the dragon. So the punishment would be the same either way. To face it so unflinchingly, knowing what it meant…

By then, Luise had already turned her gaze back to Gelevan. The beast, unsettled by the power that had blocked its path, retreated once more into the skies above.

The heavens had become a strange, unreal place where the blistering heat of the dragon’s breath collided with a raging snowstorm. One moment the sky flared red; the next, it faded to pale white. In the swirling currents of searing and frigid air, thick clouds churned and split open, illuminated by bolts of lightning.

If the end of the world were to come, surely it would look like this. Those still standing in battle thought this as they looked up at the apocalyptic sky.

But it lasted only a moment.

“It’s coming down again!”

From high above, the colossal form grew larger and larger as it plunged downwards like a falling star.

There was no time to fully restore the melted barrier.

“Everyone underground!”

Realizing they had no chance of standing against the dragon in this state, Carlisle rushed to drive the soldiers toward the underground shelters.

But how could men outrun a dragon’s speed?

Its massive silver wings cleaved the sky and struck downward without mercy.

With a crash, black power flared again, blocking the beast’s *ssault.

The shockwave drove everyone to crouch low, breath caught in their throats. Shabby houses collapsed beneath the gale, trees toppled as the earth itself shook.

Gelevan’s attack was force enough to make the flesh tremble.

But so too was Luise’s power.

The knights could do nothing but stand at a distance, spectators to the clash.

Even during Dietrich’s time, it had felt surreal. But this—facing a dragon so vast it seemed to swallow a castle whole—was on another plane entirely.

A single collision made it feel as though heaven and earth might split apart.

Now they understood why the greedy had coveted the power of black magic. That overwhelming presence alone was enough.

Sir Hedrick, watching from the ranks, felt the thought flicker in his mind: How ridiculous must I have seemed to her, swinging my sword?

He remembered striding before her, puffed up with pride at being called a knight. And yet, another thought struck him—something strange.

“Why isn’t she attacking Gelevan?”

Luise only defended against its strikes. She never once lashed out.

“Isn’t black magic supposed to be built for offense?”

It was a power meant to steal life away. With it, she could surely drive a blow strong enough to drag Gelevan from the sky.

Watching him, Giselle furrowed her brow and rubbed her forehead with her fingertips.

‘She’s afraid.’

Luise was afraid of her own power. More than anyone, she knew just how overwhelming it was.

‘But she handled it well against Dietrich. Why not now…?’

Giselle’s doubt was not unfounded.

Luise clutched her right wrist tightly.

‘Control…’

The strength she once wielded like an extension of her own body no longer obeyed her so easily. The power twisting through her veins surged more violently, more savagely than before. Because of that, Luise could not bring herself to release it fully.

What if, in striking the dragon, her force spun out of control and swept others into it? What if, once again, someone was hurt—or worse, killed—by this power?

Her teeth sank hard into her lip. It felt as if Dietrich’s curse was burning through her bloodstream, searing her whole body. The nightmare of the past resurfaced, raw and vivid.

She knew she could not bear the weight of sins piled high the instant her control slipped.

That was why she did not strike the dragon down. She did not drive a blow into its body, did not sever its neck, did not break its wings, did not brand it with a curse.

“Sir Carlisle, the countermeasures—!”

While Luise held Gelevan at bay, the knights hurried to prepare the ballistae and catapults once more. However, in a storm fierce enough to uproot trees, it was almost impossible to hurl stones or bolts with precision.

Several attacks went astray, while Luise alone endured, blocking strike after strike from the dragon.

The mighty beast finally seemed to understand who it was destined to rend and devour. Its crimson eyes were fixed solely on her.

A massive claw shot toward her.

Thud—!

“Ugh…!”

Luise confronted the strike head-on, deflecting the talons aimed directly at her. However, she could not avoid the force entirely. Her body was thrown back, leaving her staggering with throbbing limbs as though they had been hit by a colossal club.

Before the pain had even begun to fade, she saw crimson flames gathering in Gelevan’s mouth.

Their eyes met, and in the dragon’s vast, burning gaze, she could see its clear intent.

This breath would fall upon her alone.

Luise quickly scanned the ground around her to ensure the others were safe, before jumping back to create more distance.

Gelevan’s gaze followed her every move. At the same time, the condensed orb of fire flared up and shot towards her.

Grasping her burning wrist, Luise unleashed the power of heresy once more.

Almost simultaneously, the two forces exploded and collided high above Faradel.

Red flames and black magic clashed, whirling into a maelstrom and scattering shards in every direction.

Fragments of shattered earth and crumbling walls rained down. Ice-sheathed branches burst into flames.

‘Faradel…!’

Luise braced against the dragon’s breath as she watched Faradel crumble before her eyes. The shockwave from the collision was tearing apart the city she had only just managed to restore.

‘I have to stop it.’

She had to shield Faradel from the shockwaves born of their clashing powers.

She spread the black barrier wider, desperate to cover and protect her homeland.

Then—

Fwoosh!

As if to punish her greed, searing flames burned straight through the dark veil. For a moment, a blinding crimson blaze filled her vision.

The heat was so intense that she felt as though her body would melt away.

In that instant, one thought flickered through her mind.

‘Even if I’m engulfed by those flames, even if my body burns to ash, I’ll survive—horribly. While I, like a monster, regenerate and go on living, Faradel will once again be reduced to ruin and death…’

“Luise!”

A great cloak wrapped around her like a net, pulling her close.

At the same time, a piercing blue light shot toward the flames. The blow cleaved into them like a sharpened blade of wind, cutting through and surging upward—reaching all the way to the dragon.

The blow to its muzzle forced Gelevan to break off its breath. It twisted its body and soared back into the sky.

Luise could smell the coppery tang of blood in the arms holding her. With it came the musky scent of a familiar forest.

She forgot entirely that she had been standing against a dragon. She lifted her head. And there, at the end of her gaze, were the violet eyes she had dreamed of for countless nights.

“Shed…”

“Sorry I’m late.”

The arms around her tightened with solid strength.

The voice she had longed so desperately to hear rang in her ears.

The warmth enclosing her made her eyes sting.

She had been afraid that she would never see him again before he left. She had hoped that the day she had to refuse his wish would not mark the end of their time together.

Before she was shut away in eternal punishment, she wished for just one more day with him, completely and utterly.

Luise wiped at the tears threatening to fall with the back of her hand. Then, following Shed’s gaze, she too looked into the distance.

This was no time for respite.

Gelevan, having pulled away from Shed’s strike, was already wheeling back toward them.

“Luise, could you restrain Gelevan for a moment?”

She asked, not taking her eyes off the dragon in flight. Although his tone was no different to that of any other soldier, his voice carried an air of utter reliability.

“Yes.”

Luise answered with a tight nod; her voice was firm, but tense. Although the idea of attacking was still frightening, she believed she could restrain the beast, if only briefly.

Seeing her unhesitating agreement, a faint smile curved Shed’s lips.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Shed gently released her and, facing Gelevan head-on, raised his sword.

Luise nodded. They stood together.

From the flicker in his eyes, she caught a brief signal.

Gathering her strength, she sent it shooting toward the dragon’s wings and legs. Black chains of power streaked into the storm-ridden sky, coiling tightly around Gelevan.

But the beast’s furious resistance and battering wings made it impossible to drag him fully to the ground. At best, she could hold him suspended for a few seconds.

Yet Shed, with a slight, unhurried tilt of his head, seemed to find that more than enough.

In the next heartbeat, he had vaulted up the fortress wall.

Blue light, sharper and stronger than before, blazed around the edge of his sword.

“Carlisle!”

Leaping into the gale-swept air, he called to the knight below.

And at that single word, every knight and soldier stirred. No lengthy orders were given, yet all moved as if they were one body.

At the same moment, Shed’s azure blade descended upon the dragon bound in Luise’s chains.

The strike, vast enough to split mountains, shot toward Gelevan.

“Kuwaaaah—!”

The blue slash tore through the dragon’s previously impenetrable scales, splitting open its enormous torso.

Blood sprayed out in sheets, falling like rain.

The beast thrashed around in agony, struggling to climb higher into the sky. However, its body was trapped, so its efforts were useless.

Seeing their chance, the waiting soldiers seized it. They released the ballista bolts and hurled the catapult stones they had prepared in advance.

With their target fixed in the air, each arrow and stone found its mark, piercing the wounded wings.

The impact resounded in brutal succession.

“Kuwaaaah!”

At last, the dragon’s massive body plummeted, crashing into the earth beyond Faradel’s walls.

Thoom—!

The sound reverberated across the storm-swept plain.

Shed was upon the fallen beast in an instant.

Gelevan thrashed its wings into the ground as it strained to lift itself back into the air. With each violent heave of its body the size of a fortress, shockwaves rippled through the land, freezing the earth wherever they struck.

Shed raised his sword towards the dragon again.

Then, suddenly, his body seized up. A violent pain twisted his heart.

‘D*mn it, I… can’t breathe…’

His hand clawed at his chest. With each breath, it felt as if a blade was scraping through his lungs.

Cold sweat poured down his body.

‘So the aura… was too much after all…’

He remembered Felix’s prayer chamber. The curse etched into the stone gate.

That small gate had only opened after it devoured his life force—and now the aftereffects had come to claim him.

The dragon’s gaze fell upon the lone human before it. The one who had carved deep wounds into its body.

Its dangerous foe.

Gelevan lashed its massive, armored tail toward him with crushing force.