~Chapter 05~
“P-please, save me!”
“Get it off me! Someone get this thing off my neck!”
“Attacking the body is useless! Aim for the head! The head!”
Amidst the chaos in the interrogation room…
*Fwoosh!*
A lightning-like flash streaked before Ivyn’s eyes, and then, the bonds restraining her body snapped, *thumping* to the floor.
“Ah…!”
Finally able to move her hands freely, Ivyn looked at Ron with grateful eyes.
Ron was draping his own cloak over her slender shoulders.
“Let’s go home now.”
Ron carefully lifted Ivyn into his arms, as if cradling a baby in swaddling clothes.
As the two of them stepped out through the collapsed wall, the cold morning air bit into her tender skin.
*Flutter, flutter.*
Over the trees, over the broken buildings, over the dying Theocracy soldiers—what was beautifully scattering was ash.
*Hellscape.*
Seeing the seemingly ruined scenery outside, Ivyn thought of that place.
*Is this what it feels like to actually face the kind of apocalyptic world I often saw in my past life?*
“Our little princess, are you okay? Your brothers were too late, weren’t they?”
Ron looked down at Ivyn, buried in his embrace, with a truly ashamed, dejected look in his eyes.
“Really…”
“Huh?”
Ron tilted his head toward Ivyn and asked again, as if he hadn’t heard her small voice.
“Really… if you’d come just a little later, I would have been…”
*Gush.*
Suddenly, tears welled up.
This kind of sorrowful emotion was something only someone who had stood at the brink of life and death could feel.
*Every minute.*
*Every second.*
*What it feels like to desperately wish for someone to come and save you.*
“I’m sorry, sorry, really…”
Ron was at a loss, seeing his youngest sister pouring out tears.
“When we realized you’d disappeared from home, the whole house turned upside down. Father was in such a rage it seemed like he’d flip the whole Empire… The problem is…”
Ron Kinzell, who had paused briefly, let out a short breath and slowly continued.
“…is that there was a spy for the Holy Theocracy hiding within our house.”
“…What?”
Ivyn, who had been dropping pearl-like tears, abruptly stopped sobbing and looked up at her youngest brother.
“A spy?”
“Yeah, we received completely false information. It just wasted precious time. They fed us fake info that you’d been kidnapped beyond the border to throw us into confusion.”
“Who on earth was it?”
“That is…”
Just as Ron was about to move his lips to reveal the spy’s identity…
“Ddarachuiiii!”
Three figures came sprinting and leaping as if flying over the burning ground, covering the distance in one breath…
“Ivyn! Iveeeen!”
“Our little squirrel!”
“Youngest aaah!”
It was none other than the Kinzell family’s triplets: the third, fourth, and fifth sons.
Their names, in order, were John Kinzell, Hon Kinzell, and Dun Kinzell.
Readers enjoyed grouping their names together, calling them the ‘John-Hon-Dun gang.’
“Found you, our little squiiirrel!”
*Swoop!*
The triplets clung to Ivyn from all sides at once.
“Oh dear, look, our squirrel’s face has gotten so thin already.”
“Don’t worry, Bean! We were on our way after beating up all the Theocracy bastards!”
*Mwah, mwah, mwah.*
The triplets were busy planting kisses all over Ivyn’s cheeks.
“Mmf, mmf… W-wait a minute!”
As Ivyn squirmed under the relentless shower of kisses, Ron’s voice was heard.
“Brothers, this isn’t the time to be happily fooling around. Have you forgotten Father ordered us to return immediately upon rescuing Bean?”
Ron said to the triplets while looking at the white flashes sparkling on the distant horizon.
“Why not? Wouldn’t it be great to sweep away the Holy Theocracy bastards while we have the chance?”
“You think I don’t want to do that? But, if we disobey orders and act alone…”
That’s when it happened.
*KWA-BOOM!*
A tremendous explosion erupted on the horizon.
With each flash of light on the dark sky, an enormous amount of holy power shot out like sparks in all directions.
“What are you all still doing here, not going back?!”
Bill, who had now joined the group, leaped down from his phantom steed and shouted at his brothers.
Bill Kinzell—the second son among the Kinzell brothers—was a man with a thin frame and a pale face. He also currently served as the family’s administrator and the patriarch’s aide.
“Don’t you see why Big Brother is struggling so much on the front lines? He’s deliberately buying time right now because of you all! What about the others? Did you rescue them?”
“Yeah! They already tore their scrolls and went back first!”
The triplets chattered together, huddled like baby birds. But the expression on Bill’s face as he looked at them was only cold.
“Then you should have returned immediately with the youngest! Are you bragging about that?!”
“But we haven’t even been with our Bean for 3 minutes…”
“We were just about to go…”
*Pout.*
With crestfallen expressions, John rummaged in his pocket and tore the return scroll.
Then, a dazzling green light spread from John’s hand holding the seal and enveloped the triplets.
“Little squirrel… We’ll go ahead first, okay?”
“See you in a few seconds, my baby?”
“Love you, smooch!”
*Whoosh!*
By the time the green flames subsided, the triplets had already vanished.
“Ron, why are you just standing there?”
Bill asked Ron, who was still standing in place holding Ivyn.
“Ah, I think I lost my scroll during the scuffle earlier, dammit.”
“You went in relying on just your body again?”
“Well…”
“Ugh, fine. Here, take this.”
Just as Bill, with an exasperated expression, tossed a teleportation scroll toward Ron…
“Halt right there!”
*Fweeeeng!*
A silver mana arrow, splitting the air with a sonic boom, flew at high speed and embedded itself at their feet.
“That bastard…!”
Seeing Theodor rapidly approaching them, Ron’s eyes widened, bloodshot veins bulging.
“Brother, I entrust Ivyn to you. I’m going to skin that bastard alive…”
“Ron! Tear the return scroll now! Avoid unnecessary confrontation.”
*Spat!*
What followed was a flashing light and a green spark shooting into the sky.
Simultaneously, the figures of Ron, Bill, and Ivyn also vanished from the battlefield.
*Bang!*
*Pupupupubang!*
Like fireworks going off in the sky, the ignition flares flashed, sending a message to the opposite side of the battlefield:
―Ivyn rescue complete.
―Youngest line return complete.
―Requesting withdrawal.
***
Meanwhile.
“The signal is up.”
On the opposite side of the battlefield, the eldest son, who had taken on the role of tank and aggro to distract the Theocracy forces, confirmed the signal and finally let out a sigh of relief, then slammed his fist into the ground.
*Thump!*
“Self-destruct.”
As the eldest’s words fell, the undead scattered like sand across the battlefield, facing off against the soldiers, all stopped their movements at once and raised their heads toward the sky.
And the next moment.
*Boom!*
*Boom-Bang!*
*KWA-BOOM!*
A chain explosion began.
The heads of the undead began popping one after another.
*Whoooosh.*
A storm of bone powder swept across the battlefield.
“Cough, cough!”
“Ah, I can’t, I can’t see!”
A few seconds later.
When the ash storm settled, everything was already over.
All that remained before the holy knight battalion was the trace of the undead army turned to dust.
“Dispel.”
Feeling the faint, pitch-black aura left by the enemies who had vanished in an instant, Theodor slowly released the holy power coiled around his hand.
“Haah…”
Theodor glared for a while at the spot where they had been just moments before, then removed his iron gauntlet and roughly swept back his sweat-drenched hair.
A feeling of cold anger washed over his entire body.
―I… I really don’t know anything.
*She tricked me with those fake tears to buy time to escape…*
“…Ivyn Kinzell.”
A voice tinged with unmistakable defeat fell upon the now-empty plain.
*She was right there, within reach, just a moment ago.*
But now, she had disappeared without a trace, like a bird that had left its branch.
“Next time we meet… I will definitely end you with my own hands.”
***
The same time.
Inside the audience hall of the Imperial Palace, located in the capital.
At the end of the audience hall, adorned with high ceilings and dazzling golds, was the emperor’s throne carved from white marble.
Standing like a mountain below it was the head of the Necromancer family, Dylan Kinzell.
The sole reason he had urgently sought the emperor today was to obtain approval to declare war on the Holy Theocracy.
Within Imperial territory, one could not declare war on another faction without the emperor’s approval. Though the Theocracy was an independent state, it was still located within Imperial territory, requiring the emperor’s permission.
“I’ve heard the full circumstances, Duke Kinzell.”
In contrast to Dylan, who had barely suppressed his anger to deliver a calm report, the expression on the face of the young emperor lounging obliquely on the throne was one of utter annoyance.
“But, you see… I have to leave for an inspection tour to the eastern and western borders at the crack of dawn tomorrow. As you’ve probably heard, it’s a matter concerning salt resources. Let’s deal with that issue first.”
“But…!”
“Duke, you have completely lost your composure right now. Making any decision in this agitated state is not good.”
The emperor looked down at Dylan Kinzell, whose face was flushed red with rage, and smirked.
“Peacefully, let’s try to resolve it through dialogue first. In a week. As soon as I return from the inspection tour, I’ll arrange a place for a three-party meeting with the Theocracy side. Until then, take good care of your daughter, hmm? Calm your mind a bit too.”
Having unilaterally ended the audience, the emperor rose from the throne.
“Then, let’s see each other again then, Lord Kinzell.”
The emperor, accompanied by his guards, swished his red cloak and strode out of Dylan’s view.
“…”
Dylan merely watched the retreating back of the young emperor, clenching his large fists tightly with an expression of suppressing something.
