Chapter 107
The evacuation had begun.
Every knight left in the stronghold, even those who had been stationed at the borders to protect the North, were called back. People living closest to the forest were the first to evacuate. The shelter was located on the opposite side of the forest, in an old fortress. It had been built long ago to fight against monsters, but it had since been abandoned and was now covered in thick layers of dust.
In the original story, this part never happened.
There had never been an evacuation.
That was because, back then, Lorencia and Janice had successfully closed the Gate at just the right moment.
I watched the people moving in a long line and murmured quietly,
“What are you even doing now?”
Even though I had been suspicious of Janice and Lorencia, I let them go. I had allowed it because I believed it was necessary—for this moment. Whether they opened the Gate or not, I had trusted that they would be the ones to close it in the end.
But now, they weren’t doing what they were supposed to. Worse, they had taken Theo with them.
Panic rose in my throat.
Whatever they were up to, it wasn’t out of kindness.
Theo had to be rescued.
I prayed the mercenaries would do their job well.
As my thoughts swirled, a knight approached me.
“Duchess, the evacuation of Sector 3 is complete.”
“Good work,” I said. “Now, set up cooking stations near the shelter. Hang large pots and prepare to make food. We’ll need it quickly. Also, we need to secure clean drinking water. If people go hungry or thirsty for too long, their strength will fade fast.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
The well in the fortress had dried up long ago. That only showed how rare large-scale attacks like this had become.
I didn’t know how long we’d have to stay here, but we had to prepare to endure as long as possible. Everyone needed to survive.
When this war ended, I didn’t want anyone to be left grieving.
I wanted us all to smile again when Cassius returned.
Celia waved at me from a distance with a bright smile. Others who met my eyes offered me faint smiles of their own.
Even after losing their homes, they could still smile. I was thankful—and I made a silent vow to protect those smiles.
And then—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion shook the skies.
A nightmare that should never have come into the human world appeared.
Massive black wings. Flames burning from its mouth. Sharp fangs. A huge body, visible even from this distance.
I had never imagined anything like it.
***
Cassius gripped his sword tightly.
The heat around him was intense—so hot it melted even the monsters. It was like the fires of hell had come alive.
“Fall back!” he shouted.
His deep voice echoed through the forest as flames clung to the trees, spreading faster and faster.
“Retreat!”
Snowbeasts and knights alike fled, scrambling backward. Cassius’s sharp eyes focused on a monstrous figure rising from the flames.
“…Tarsila.”
He turned his head quickly.
Stephanie, who had been standing safely behind him, was now in front.
Her eyes glowed like stars.
“A fire dragon born from the darkness, Tarsila. A nightmare from hell that should never enter the human world,” she whispered as if in a trance.
“Stephanie, what are you talking about?”
Cassius tried to grab her shoulder—but before he could, Stephanie began to rise into the air.
A radiant light exploded from her small body.
Cassius stood frozen, staring in disbelief.
“The only one who can stand against Tarsila. The light of the world—Stephanie—will destroy you,” she declared.
Stephanie turned into light, becoming a shining dragon that soared into the sky to face the terrifying monster.
People watching the battle cheered with hope.
But Cassius didn’t cheer. He clenched his teeth and watched, knowing deep down what it meant.
She had given everything—her entire being—to fight this monster.
A dragon’s roar echoed through the heavens.
“You cursed creatures dared to leave behind this final weapon!”
Tarsila’s voice boomed through the skies.
As if that was a signal, monsters poured out of the Gate in endless waves.
Cassius tightened his grip on his sword.
“Not a single one of you will leave here alive!”
“Waaaaaaah!”
The battlefield widened.
The burnt forest, the nearby villages—everything was consumed in chaos.
Monsters, knights, and snowbeasts all clashed together.
It was hell.
***
Janice stared up at the sky, watching the disaster descend.
“…This is insane.”
She had never imagined something like that would appear.
‘Did I… did I bring that thing into this world?’
Her hands shook uncontrollably.
Could the Gate even be closed now?
Even if it could be closed, could they survive afterward?
A wave of red fire swept through the forest, leaving nothing but death.
Even the animals fleeing for their lives were scorched in the blaze.
The only reason Janice was still alive was because of the sacred tree she carried.
Behind her, Lorencia came running, sobbing.
Theo was attached to her back, protected by branches of the sacred tree.
“We’re all going to die, aren’t we?! I don’t want to die! I want to go back! I want to go to my brother!”
Janice didn’t look back. Her voice was cold and harsh.
“How are you going to run away from this? Do you really think your brother will be spared? If we fail, everyone dies. Every last one of us. Those monsters won’t stop until humanity is wiped out. So shut up and follow me.”
Janice pushed forward, legs trembling.
Above them, the rainbow-colored dragon fought against Tarsila.
Janice had heard about dragons before—tales passed down for generations.
According to legends:
“Before leaving this world, dragons planted a single seed of light in the human realm. When hell descends upon this world, that light will return and drive out the darkness.”
She had thought it was just a story. But now, that legend had come to life.
As long as that dragon was there, humans still had hope.
Janice pushed strength into her shaking legs.
They had planted two sacred trees already. Only three remained.
Two of them needed to be planted in the opposite direction.
Each time Janice planted a tree, she took a small amount of blood from Theo’s palm and sprinkled it on the roots.
‘This is the third one.’
The pure blood of a child made the sacred tree grow fast. The withered land accepted the roots, and leaves began to sprout.
Lorencia, watching in horror, muttered,
“This is disgusting… how can a tree grow from blood?”
“Sacred trees grow from life,” Janice said quietly. “It doesn’t matter where that life comes from—soil, water, or blood. As long as it’s pure. That’s why their growth is so slow. I’m just glad I managed to find enough branches to use.”
She pressed down the soil around the tree and stood again.
Now they had to reach the other side.
Janice clutched the next sacred tree and prayed the others would hold the line long enough.
***
And behind them—there were others following.
“We’ve found the tracks of two women,” a mercenary reported.
“They’re light, but one of them is carrying weight.”
“I heard both women are thin. The one carrying the boy must be the heavier pattern of footprints.”
“Then they’ve got the young master with them. Let’s pick up the pace.”
The mercenaries’ faces were covered with smoke and sweat.
They had risked their lives, just like everyone else.
But they wanted to do more—to help those who were fighting monsters head-on, and to uphold the honor of Istheria’s blade, which had never once broken.
As people who had lived their whole lives under the northern sky, protecting their own was second nature.
They would save the young master. No matter what.
No matter what it costs.
