Ferdin never imagined Atenz Academy would be engulfed in flames before his arrival. Yet the sight that greeted him was buildings consumed by raging fire, with people screaming and fleeing from the inferno. Had he been even slightly delayed, the situation would have become irreversible.

‘Fortunately, I was able to mobilize the imperial army.’

Though Ferdin had not yet undergone his coronation ceremony, the imperial throne remained vacant. This meant he couldn’t freely command the imperial forces. However, thanks to Duke Hedor, who led the council of elders and persuaded the nobles, Ferdin had been granted temporary command authority.

Ferdin sighed. The reason Duke Hedor had gone to such lengths to help him was because of his own son.

“Lord Amon has been kidnapped by someone.”

The news of Amon’s disappearance amid the chaos troubled Ferdin deeply—though surely not as much as it troubled the father who had lost his son.

In truth, Duke Hedor’s actions on behalf of his son came somewhat unexpectedly. Since Amon had joined Ferdin’s knight order, the relationship between father and son had been rather strained.

No noble would be pleased to see their heir join the knight order of the powerless Second Prince of the Empire. Because of this, Amon hadn’t returned to the Hedor estate even during academy holidays.

Ferdin recalled Amon’s frequent complaints: “You have no idea how much my father is looking forward to throwing me out of the family,” and “That stubborn old man wouldn’t even blink if I died.”

Amon had been wrong. Duke Hedor proved to be someone who could rage more fiercely than anyone else over his son’s disappearance. The Duke had immediately persuaded the council of noble elders to act and made his request to Ferdin.

“What I want is simple. Find my son who disappeared from the academy, Your Highness.”

“If he is dead, avenge him against those who killed him.”

Ferdin’s thoughts were interrupted by screams coming from all directions. People fled with faces filled with despair. Massive flames conjured by the Emperor’s magic were rising throughout the academy. Terror seemed to dominate the entire academy.

Ferdin cut down a monster blocking his path, sword in hand. Yet monsters continued to pour in endlessly.

“Ferdin. I didn’t try to stop you from coming here, but you must be careful.”

Ferdin turned toward the person addressing him. Duke Asili and Alexis stood beside him. Duke Asili had spoken.

Mages from the Magic Tower accompanied Alexis. They were chanting incantations with their eyes closed. With their help, Alexis was deploying a large-scale barrier around the academy to prevent monsters from escaping beyond its grounds.

“There’s a massive mana stone at the center of the academy that supplies mana for daily needs. I’ll use that mana stone to create a barrier with the help of other mages.”

Ferdin and his knights were protecting Alexis and his team. Lilia, who had been anxiously watching Ferdin from Alexis’s side, finally approached him.

“Have you found where Erin is?”

Erin’s whereabouts had also become uncertain after she went searching for Amon. Ferdin silently shook his head at Lilia’s question.

“She asked me to use spatial teleportation magic to the academy this morning. Do you think she knew something?”

Being a mage, Lilia sensed the black magic mana more strongly than anyone else, making her more anxious than others.

“She always hides something. Maybe… maybe she’s in danger.”

Lilia’s words made Ferdin increasingly uneasy.

“You heard what that Swordsmanship Department student said. She was asking about Amon’s whereabouts. Erin clearly went looking for him.”

“I trust Lady Erin. If she went looking for Amon, he’ll be safe.”

Ferdin believed in Erin. There had always been reasons behind her actions. Even her silence toward him must have had some purpose.

With this thought, Ferdin gazed straight ahead. He desperately wanted to deploy troops to find Erin, but most of the forces he had brought were helping citizens escape. Sending troops to search for her would certainly create a gap in their defenses.

“Don’t worry about Lady Erin.”

Duke Asili approached Ferdin’s side, fully armored and already covered in monster blood.

“If a knight of her caliber is in danger, then there’s no safe place left in this empire.”

Duke Asili’s eyes looked fierce as he spoke. He was clearly enraged, no longer concealing the distinctive aura of a Sword Master that he usually kept in check. His anger was so intense that nearby knights cowered.

“The Emperor has lost his mind. He’s an enemy of the empire. To dare commit such atrocities…”

Duke Asili looked at the events unfolding at the academy with eyes full of rage. They say life changes with a single choice, but Duke Asili never anticipated that his oath to be the empire’s sword would lead to such consequences.

“This is my failure.”

Ferdin shook his head at Duke Asili’s words.

“It’s not your fault, Duke. No one could have predicted that my father would use black magic.”

Despite his words, Ferdin couldn’t hide his own complex emotions. The burning academy, dying people—knights were doing their best to hold back the monsters, but some people would inevitably remain unprotected.

Then it happened.

Whooosh…

An eerie wind sound echoed. Simultaneously, powerful vibrations began to rise from the ground.

Duke Asili recognized these vibrations well. It was a phenomenon he often experienced near the border—vibrations caused by large-scale monster movements.

Soon after, making the previous monsters seem like mere jokes, more monsters began to pour in.

The knights beside Duke Asili exclaimed in shock.

“Wh-what is this…”

“We must retreat!”

“Facing monsters of this magnitude is impossible!”

Even those with the strongest resolve would fear such a situation. Yet Duke Asili simply gripped his sword and stared straight ahead.

* * *

The Emperor watched Ferdin and Duke Asili from a distance with an expressionless face.

“Useless.”

Corelia had failed to kill Erin. He knew this fact in detail through Corelia’s eyes, their minds connected through the mana stone she had consumed.

The clear image of Erin, vivid before his eyes, had cut down Corelia without hesitation. It seemed a rather merciless action for cutting down someone who had been family for years. And somehow, that appearance resembled the cold-blooded Duke Asili.

‘At least she managed to wound Erin Liserth.’

To think he would consider that fortunate…

The Emperor couldn’t understand how the situation had come to this. This had been his long-planned scheme since discovering the black magic book deep within the imperial palace. The plan he and Corelia had devised was perfect.

If everything had proceeded smoothly, everything in this land would have fallen into his hands. He had even prepared black magic to extend his lifespan. He intended to reign as a god for life, sacrificing the lives of useless beings.

But everything had gone wrong.

“D*mn those Sword Masters. I should have killed them all.”

He glared at Duke Asili who was fighting the monsters, grinding his teeth. He had created masterpieces for this moment. With them, he could certainly deal with Duke Asili.

“You think things will turn out as that woman said?”

The Emperor recalled memories from the past. He often summoned the Saint to ask about his future.

He knew that prophesying about the future shortened her lifespan. But the Emperor didn’t care. She was merely his expendable tool. Whether she lived or died made no difference to him.

However, when the Emperor asked about his future, the Saint sneered and spewed curses.

“Everything you’re planning will fail.”

“You say I will fail?”

“Yes, shall I tell you about your end? You will pay for all the sins you’ve committed. You’ll suffer for what seems like eons in a terrible h*ll.”

“You’ve gone mad.”

“Who’s really mad here? Let me give you a prophecy.”

“…”

“Those you most want to eliminate will bring you a terrible end.”

“…”

“So just wait for the pain the goddess will personally deliver to you.”

The Emperor felt strongly displeased by her words. What made him more anxious was that after making this prophecy, the Saint’s health rapidly deteriorated. This meant her prophecy was genuine.

‘Those beings cannot speak falsehoods in the first place.’

The fortunate thing was that he knew exactly who he wanted to eliminate. He hated people like Duke Asili—powerful individuals who could defy his orders. They were unnecessary in the new world he would create.

So the Emperor began disposing of those with the potential to become strong. He looked down at his hands, already drenched in blood. He had never once regretted his actions and would never regret what was about to happen.

With this thought, he turned his gaze toward Duke Asili. The monsters he had meticulously created were cornering Duke Asili.

The Emperor smiled darkly. But his eyes soon filled with shock at the sight of someone approaching.

Moving rapidly toward Duke Asili and Ferdin was someone more monstrous than the monsters themselves—Erin.

Watching her, the Emperor unconsciously muttered, “Such a… monster…”