Entering further into this place was nearly impossible for them, as even standing here was already a struggle.

Yet they couldn’t simply give up. If they fled now, he would surely regret it.

‘Even if we try to escape, our chances of making it out alive are slim.’

Hellix glanced at Erin, who was quietly observing the monster horde, and felt a twinge of guilt. No matter how insistently she had wanted to come along, he should have firmly refused.

‘What should we do? Is there any way to resolve this situation?’

Hellix recalled the Saint’s final words.

“Even without me… you will survive.”

But Saint, your prophecy seems to have been wrong. A look of resignation crossed Hellix’s face. At that moment, Erin turned to them with a stern expression.

“Swear to me.”

“Lady Erin?”

“Swear that you will tell no one about what you see here, until the moment of your death.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can help you only if you swear.”

Help? Could anything change if she helped them?

Even having a high-ranking knight here wouldn’t alter their desperate situation. But Hellix could tell Erin was completely serious. She was staring at him and Isis with cold eyes.

“Do you understand what it means for those in holy service to swear before God?”

“I understand perfectly well, which is why I’m asking you to do it.”

“Lady Erin, you…”

“We don’t have much time. Swear now, and I’ll explain everything when we return.”

Hellix was dumbfounded. Blood continued to flow from the arm Erin had wounded, and her face had turned deathly pale.

She was clearly the one who needed help. Yet her eyes remained sharp and determined.

Just as Hellix was about to protest, Isis stopped him.

He grabbed Hellix’s arm and shook his head, “I swear.”

“Isis?”

“I swear before God that I will tell no one about what I see here.”

Erin’s gaze shifted to Hellix. After a moment of hesitation, he too responded.

“I… also swear.”

Hellix felt his holy power stir. A vow made to God could never be broken. Breaking such an oath would result in the complete loss of one’s holy power.

This was why people of the temple avoided making such vows. But it also made them the most binding of promises.

As soon as they finished their oaths, Erin turned around, sword in hand. A strange light gleamed in her eyes.

* * *

An impossible feat.

Something beyond human capability.

Blood splattered across Isis’s cheek. Erin, who had been standing beside him, lunged forward with incredible speed.

He could see numerous monsters reaching out to grab her.

Facing multiple monsters simultaneously was challenging even for knights with extensive combat experience.

Yet Erin’s response was masterful. Though the monsters moved quickly, she moved even faster.

Screech!

When Erin’s sword made contact with a monster’s neck, a strange sound echoed. She felt resistance, something preventing her blade from cutting through cleanly.

If she hadn’t reinforced her arms with mana, she wouldn’t have been able to wound them at all.

The monsters here were unimaginably powerful. There was a reason why even Hellix, using his holy power, couldn’t easily cut them down.

“Am I dreaming?”

Watching this scene, Hellix unconsciously let out a gasp of admiration.

Erin was fast, strong, and unhesitating in her strikes. Her movements couldn’t possibly belong to a knight without combat experience.

The way she weaved between monsters made it seem like she had wings. Her expressionless face as she confronted the monsters reminded him of Duke Asili.

In truth, Hellix couldn’t follow her movements beyond this point. Beside him, Isis was equally amazed.

Even to someone unfamiliar with swordsmanship like him, Erin’s movements were clearly different from those of ordinary knights.

Watching Erin, Isis slowly spoke to Hellix.

“She’s been hiding tremendous skill.”

He was right.

Erin Liserth possessed abilities far beyond what an academy student should have. For reasons unknown, she had been concealing her true capabilities.

Hellix turned to Isis and said, “Perhaps we might survive after all.”

He was already breaking into a cold sweat just trying to fend off the monsters approaching Isis.

Yet in this dire situation, Erin was carving a path for them.

Observing her, Isis spoke with sudden realization, “Don’t the monsters seem strange to you?”

“Yes, it’s like they’re deliberately leading us somewhere…”

The monsters were subtly creating openings, allowing them to move deeper inside. They seemingly wanted them to reach a specific location.

“But we have no other choice. We must trust Lady Erin.”

They didn’t know why the monsters had appeared here. Though Erin was doing her best to clear a path, they would ultimately end up wherever the monsters were guiding them.

“We need to return quickly and evacuate everyone.”

The western territories couldn’t handle a monster horde of this magnitude. They needed to return immediately and request reinforcements from the Empire.

Terrible casualties would occur while waiting for those reinforcements. Many would die.

But Isis was grateful that they still had time to respond.

‘Is Erin Liserth truly on the Emperor’s side?’

The thought suddenly crossed his mind.

If she were allied with the Emperor, she could have abandoned them and fled.

Instead, she was pushing herself to protect them.

Hellix grabbed Isis’s arm.

“Let’s just get out of here. We can think about the rest after we survive.”

“…”

“You need to survive to protect the west.”

As he spoke, Hellix cut down another monster. He gritted his teeth.

If only he and Isis had been here alone, they wouldn’t have been able to return alive.

They would have met their deaths.

But with Erin here now, there was hope.

* * *

The orphanage in the western territories.

Charlotte had arrived at this monster-infested place a few days ago. After hearing that Erin had departed for the west, she too had set out.

‘How did that rat Hellix discover this place and come to investigate?’

Charlotte surveyed the orphanage with nostalgic eyes. This was her masterpiece.

The place where she had begun creating monsters in earnest.

‘If only I had a few more years, it would have been perfect.’

Originally, she had planned to remove the barrier preventing monsters from leaving the orphanage after a few years, devastating the western territories.

‘But first, I need to deal with those rats.’

Charlotte was watching Erin’s situation through her crystal ball.

In the slightly cloudy sphere, she could see Erin. With Hellix and Isis behind her, she was swinging her sword without rest.

Seeing this, Charlotte smiled.

Humans were truly stupid and pathetic. It was laughable how Erin stood against monsters to protect people she had barely met.

It wouldn’t make any difference anyway. But the scene that unfolded next distorted Charlotte’s face.

“What is this? It was you, Erin Liserth?”

The revelation was shocking.

Erin’s sword cut through the monsters with frightening precision. Charlotte’s hair stood on end as she watched through the crystal ball.

Fear flickered in her eyes.

‘No wonder I never knew.’

Charlotte had done her utmost to identify the mysterious Sword Master.

She had investigated everyone who had approached Sword Master level, without exception, but could never determine the Sword Master’s identity.

Who was helping Ferdin? How did they repeatedly foil their plans? Yet throughout this process, neither Charlotte nor the Marchioness had ever suspected Erin.

It was understandable. No one who had witnessed Erin’s upbringing would have imagined her as a Sword Master.

How could a girl who had never held a sword become a Sword Master?

‘It’s impossible.’

But now, before Charlotte’s eyes, the impossible was happening.

Monsters were falling one by one to Erin’s sword. All of them were masterpieces Charlotte had created with great care.

“I must, I must eliminate her now. That monstrous woman…”

Charlotte realized that if she missed this opportunity, she might never get another chance.

She had to kill that monstrous Erin Liserth immediately.

If Erin escaped from here alive, Charlotte couldn’t imagine what catastrophe she might bring next time.