* * *
Screams echoed as waves of fairies swarmed endlessly.
Even the elite Holy Knights, who had faced infamous monsters, were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers.
The commander raised his sword, veins bulging as he shouted.
“Hold the line! We are the chosen of Maya! We cannot fall here!”
Despite his rallying cry, fear gripped the faces of the Eastern heros and knights.
The unending fairies and Oberon’s relentless advance toward the World Tree sapped their will.
Despair spread among the wounded.
“Maya has abandoned us.”
“We’re doomed once the Otherworld’s gate opens. Damn it, I should’ve said goodbye to my wife.”
“Where’s the Empire? Have they already forsaken us?”
Carlisle strode past the despairing soldiers, his expression unreadable, and entered the command tent.
The officers inside bristled at the intrusion.
“Who are you? Do you even know—?”
“Wait!”
One officer recognized him and bowed hastily.
“C-Carlisle! What brings you here?”
“There’s only one way to stop the fairies’ spread,” Carlisle stated coldly. “We must attack the forest itself.”
Carlisle’s sudden words left the officers bewildered.
Pointing to the fixed map of the eastern region on the table, Carlisle continued his explanation.
“Elves are born from trees. With Oberon’s divine power growing stronger, so does the forest’s strength. But burning the forest in this downpour is impossible.”
“T-Then, how are we supposed to—”
“We hold out as best as we can until the rain stops. Select and prepare mages who can cast flame magic. The moment the clouds part and sunlight breaks through, the tide of battle will turn in our favor.”
Carlisle’s composed and precise strategy left the officers silent, a stark contrast to their own inability to devise any solutions.
Finishing his tactical briefing, Carlisle stepped out of the tent.
His crimson hair, revealed as his robe slipped back, whipped in the wind.
“I am Carlisle Edrance, the First Prince of the Kaisa Empire! I have come to reclaim the sacred land of Maya!”
His resounding voice echoed across the battlefield, drawing the attention of the dispirited knights slumped on the ground.
Striding past them, Carlisle swung the Emperor’s Sword.
Flames burst forth from its blade, consuming a horde of elves in a single stroke.
Gasps of astonishment rippled through the ranks at the sight of his extraordinary power.
“A royal… has come to aid us?”
“Then… perhaps we stand a chance after all.”
The knights, bolstered by a renewed sense of hope, straightened their posture.
As Carlisle readied for battle, he paused, his gaze drawn upward.
Shafts of light pierced through the overcast sky, illuminating the forest with an ethereal glow.
The knights, following his gaze, pointed to the heavens.
“Look! The divine dragon!”
The celestial dragon soared gracefully between the beams of light, circling around Oberon.
Yet, it wasn’t just the dragon that captivated the knights’ attention.
Jeanne, poised on the dragon’s back, drew her bowstring with radiant elegance.
Moved by her beauty, tears of awe streamed down the knights’ faces.
“It’s Maya—Goddess Maya herself!”
“She has come to aid us, too!”
The miraculous appearance of Maya rekindled the knights’ courage.
Even the injured gripped their weapons with renewed determination and charged at the elves.
Carlisle, who had been quietly observing Jeanne, let a faint smile spread across his lips.
“She’s truly radiant. It’s as if the light itself gathers only around her… like the sun.”
Jeanne had always been beautiful, but something about her now was different.
Her eyes no longer reflected fear of change but burned with unwavering resolve.
That resolve made her so breathtakingly beautiful that even Carlisle, who had never cared for aesthetics, was left spellbound.
If he could remember only one moment before he died, it would undoubtedly be this one.
As if enchanted, Carlisle reached out toward Jeanne.
The desire to possess that radiant sun consumed him.
“How can I make you mine? How, Jeanne…?”
Laughing wildly, Carlisle clenched his fist against the sunlight streaming through his fingers.
For the first time, a shadow flickered in his golden eyes, usually filled with righteous purpose.
“When the Gate of the Otherworld opens, Jerome will sacrifice himself to prevent this world’s destruction. After all, he’ll do anything to protect the world Jeanne lives in.”
The arrow of light Jeanne shot pierced Oberon’s heart.
The once-mighty figure froze mid-roar as it reached for the World Tree.
Now was the perfect moment to bring him down.
“He’s stopped! Oberon’s stopped!”
“Goddess Maya has saved us!”
With victory within reach, the knights erupted in cheers.
But as Jeanne’s expression brightened in relief, it quickly hardened.
Carlisle, who should have been delivering the final blow, did nothing.
During his inaction, Oberon grabbed the arrow lodged in his chest and, trembling violently, yanked it out.
A piercing screech tore through the air.
With no hesitation, Oberon reached for the World Tree.
A deafening crack resounded as its trunk snapped, and the tree toppled sideways.
Darkness enveloped the area as a black aura spread from the fallen tree.
Carlisle’s thoughts flashed back to a conversation with Luke from a few days prior.
-The Second Prince, Delmos, has been secretly meeting with House Howard. Even Jerome seems somewhat receptive to Delmos’s offer of an alliance.
-That’s strange. Jerome’s never cared about power struggles.
-Perhaps someone’s whispering in his ear.
Luke, smirking, had set down his teacup and continued calmly.
-As much as I hate to admit it, Jerome is a man born to claim the throne. He has the talent to create a king. Leaving him alive will inevitably affect your ascension to the crown.
-That does seem likely.
-You must kill him when the opportunity arises. Jeanne may still have her uses, but Jerome must die to eliminate any potential threats.
Luke had been right.
Now hailed as a hero, Jerome’s mere presence threatened Carlisle’s imperial ambitions.
Should Jerome enter the royal power struggle, all of Carlisle’s efforts to become crown prince would be in vain.
Laughing bitterly, Carlisle murmured, “So this is what Luke meant by ‘opportunity.’”
His gaze shifted to the Otherworldly Gate, now fully open.
From its abyssal depths, countless monsters surged forth—an unprecedented disaster none had foreseen.
“Interesting. Even you can make such choices,” a voice remarked.
Carlisle turned his head.
Jerome stood amidst the chaos of fleeing men, watching him with a look of quiet pity.
Carlisle responded evenly, “A good ruler and a good person are not the same.”
“You’re just blinded by love, and yet you make excuses.”
“You can resent me if you want.”
“I won’t.”
Jerome’s serene demeanor made Carlisle narrow his eyes.
Even as the Otherworldly Gate unleashed a torrent of monsters, Jerome remained unshaken.
Gazing up at the darkened sky, Jerome spoke with a calmness that belied the destruction around him.
“I’ll fill my heart with nothing but love for Jeanne.”
Shock flickered across Carlisle’s face.
Jeanne, now back from the fray, dismounted the divine dragon with a grim expression.
Removing the magic-controlling accessories from his ears and fingers, Jerome nodded at Carlisle.
“Hold Jeanne back for me, Carlisle.”
Without hesitation, Jerome turned and walked toward the fallen World Tree.
Jeanne’s pace quickened as she watched him walk away.
Before she could follow, Carlisle stepped in her path, blocking her way. Jeanne frowned.
“What are you doing? Why… Why are you stopping me?”
“…”
“Carlisle! Answer me! Why didn’t you act? Why is Jerome—why is he doing this?”
Her voice quivered, her eyes brimming with tears. Carlisle, silent for a moment, finally spoke.
“It’s something that must be done.”
“What?”
Once the gate to the otherworld opened, there was only one solution.
Jerome had to personally open the gates to the netherworld and absorb all the creatures of the otherworld into it.
But… doing so would trap Jerome in the netherworld as well.
Jeanne’s grip tightened on Carlisle’s arm.
She stared blankly at Jerome’s retreating figure before letting out a hollow laugh and shaking her head.
“That can’t be. There must be another way, right? A way to resolve this without Jerome having to sacrifice himself….”
“….”
“We can’t let Jerome die like this. He’s only just—just now—found meaning in life. He’s finally wanted to live. Please, save Jerome. I’ll do anything, just save him.”
“Jeanne, I intentionally didn’t attack Oberon.”
Jeanne froze and slowly turned her head.
She met Carlisle’s gaze, her face blank, before she spoke in a trembling voice.
“Why?”
“Because I wanted you.”
“….”
“I wanted it to be me standing beside you, not Jerome.”
For a moment, Jeanne’s eyes lost focus, but then a light slowly returned to them.
Her lower lip quivered as she raised her hand and slapped Carlisle’s cheek, hard.
Smack!
Carlisle’s head snapped to the side, and he wiped his split lip with his thumb.
Jeanne, fists trembling, gasped for air. Carlisle, who had remained silent, grabbed Jeanne’s wrist as she tried to walk toward Jerome.
Forced to stop, Jeanne lowered her head and spoke in a low voice.
“Let go, Carlisle. At least don’t make me hate you.”
“I don’t care. Whether you hate me or not, you’ll stay by my side forever.”
“Shut up! Let me go! I’d rather die with Jerome than stay tied to someone like you!”
Unable to contain her rage, Jeanne pushed Carlisle’s shoulder roughly.
She cursed at him, struggling to free her arm.
But Carlisle’s grip only tightened, and Jeanne’s face turned pale.
Her body trembled as she pleaded.
“I can’t just let him go like this. I haven’t even said goodbye. At least let me say goodbye.”
“….”
“Please.”
Rain began pouring down again, soaking them to the bone.
Carlisle stared at the raindrops streaming down Jeanne’s cheeks before finally releasing her wrist.
Jeanne, free at last, ran toward Jerome. Her heart pounded faster as Jerome’s figure came closer.
“Jerome, wait… Jerome!”
No matter how desperately she called his name, Jerome didn’t stop.
Her hurried steps faltered, and she stumbled, falling forward.
Jeanne groaned and struggled to get up, wiping mud from her face with the back of her hand.
“Look at this. I’m hurt. Come here and look at me. You said you loved me.”
Her scraped knee throbbed, her rain-soaked body shivered from the cold.
She couldn’t imagine feeling more wretched.
Tears welled up as Jerome kept walking without looking back. Limping, she forced herself forward again.
“I’m serious. I’m bleeding. Please, come back….”
She didn’t make it far before collapsing onto the ground, burying her face in her hands.
Her frail shoulders shook under the relentless rain.
A shadow loomed over her, and Jeanne slowly lifted her head.
Jerome, who had returned, knelt before her, meeting her gaze.
“Show me. Where are you hurt?”
“….”
“You seem fine. Were you lying?”
Jerome examined her closely, then let out a playful laugh.
Jeanne silently watched him before slowly wrapping her arms around his neck.
She let out a choked sob, and Jerome gently stroked her back, his smile tinged with bitterness.
“It’s strange. I know you’re lying, but I always want to believe you.”
* * *
No way in hell!!!
WTF DUDE
