Even if it wasn't God's will. Even after she divorced and was no longer the Grand Duchess. Karina didn't care about her status and chose and acted solely on her own will and intention. And although she said it was for her own sake, she came to rescue herself, who was imprisoned and risking her life to kill the Emperor. She boldly stepped into this dangerous battlefield for Jeremiah.
How many people can throw away everything they have just because they love someone? How many people can unhesitatingly sacrifice their lives for someone else?
'If you love someone so much without expecting anything in return, and give everything you have, then you will definitely receive an absolute reward for your love.'
Lucia admitted. Karina deserved to be loved. If it were her, she wouldn't have acted like Karina. If she were an ordinary person who hadn't been chosen by God, she would have run away without looking back, saying there was nothing she could do.
The Saintess felt respect for Karina in a corner of her heart. She smiled at Karina, who was looking at her with wide eyes and a puzzled expression.
"Don't worry. I will definitely break the barrier."
The Saintess began to gather her divine power to the utmost in her outstretched hand toward the barrier.
***
“Keeeeeek!”
The strangely shaped creature let out a final scream and fell to the ground with a thud. The knights of the Royal Guard inside the Great Wall were the same. They were all knocked out by Jeremiah's merciless hands, lying unconscious on the ground. The Emperor's face turned pale as he realized that there was no one left to protect him.
"...You are the last one."
Jeremiah aimed his sword at the Emperor's face.
"I will never leave you alone."
The fact that he had oppressed the North and killed his parents had made him gnashing his teeth and driving him crazy, but the thought of Karina suffering unnecessary pain because of the Emperor was something he could not contain in his anger. Jeremiah grabbed the Emperor by the collar.
"Let go! Who dares touch my body! Can't you let this go?!"
"You are not worthy to sit on the throne."
Jeremiah dragged the rebellious Emperor down from his throne, but the altar shook as the Emperor's struggling feet struck it, and the red-hot stone on top of it fell down at Jeremiah's feet.
"...!"
Jeremiah, who had thrown the Emperor down, quickly picked up the stone. But...
'Hmm?'
Something was strange. The stone, which contained the heart of a dragon, should have been radiating such strong energy, but he felt nothing. It had certainly been vibrant and dynamic when he saw it from the north, but it wasn't like that now. It was as if all its strength had been drained away, leaving only an empty shell.
'I got tricked.'
Jeremiah glared at the Emperor with a stern face.
"Where is the dragon's heart?"
The Emperor snorted and spoke in a sarcastic tone.
"Why do you seek from me what you have in your hand?"
"I don't intend to joke around. Tell me where you stole the dragon's heart."
“Kukukuk.”
The Emperor chuckled, making a sound he didn't like to hear, and then smiled wickedly.
"Do you think I would tell you that?"
"..."
A murderous aura settled on Jeremiah's expressionless face, devoid of any warmth. The intimidating aura he radiated made the surrounding temperature drop for a moment, making him feel chills.
The Emperor, who was directly exposed to his aura, unconsciously shut his mouth tightly.
"No. There's no way a vile person like you would say that so easily."
Jeremiah continued speaking calmly and in a flat voice.
"...If they don't speak, just make them speak."
Bam!
As soon as he finished speaking, Jeremiah's foot kicked the Emperor hard in the stomach.
"Ugh!!"
The Emperor clutched his stomach and curled up in pain that was too painful to speak of.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Jeremiah continued his indiscriminate violence.
"Ahh!"
The Emperor, who seemed to be holding out for a while, soon raised his hand.
"S-Stop it! Stop it! I'm going to talk!"
The Emperor lay panting at Jeremiah's feet.
His face turned red and blue with anger. The Emperor bit his lower lip and suddenly declared surrender.
"I lost."
He raised both hands, indicating that he had no will to fight any longer. Jeremiah's brows furrowed in displeasure. He treated others' lives worse than insects, killing them like that, but he could not even endure this much pain. The Emperor was a piece of trash who was only this good.
"I want to dress up before I die. Can you afford to treat me, the Emperor, with that level of courtesy?"
The Emperor pointed to a large mirror next to the throne and asked to be brought before it. But Jeremiah coldly retorted without changing his expression.
"Do you think you deserve that kind of treatment?"
Then the Emperor replied with a mean and vile expression.
"As the Emperor, am I not qualified to do so? I just want to take a final look at myself in front of the mirror. This isn't such a difficult request, is it? If you do so, I will truly tell you where the Dragon's Heart is."
Jeremiah looked down at the Emperor with a face that was still filled with doubt. He wanted to tear him to pieces right away, but he had to retrieve the dragon's heart to save Karina. It was unpleasant, but the fastest way was to grant the Emperor's request and hear where the dragon's heart was. Karina's condition was worsening by the minute. There was no time to waste on petty emotional arguments. Jeremiah, having made his decision, grabbed the emperor and stood him up.
"Keep your word, or I'll make you beg to be killed."
Jeremiah grabbed the Emperor by the collar with a reluctant expression and dragged him in front of the mirror. At that time.
'No!'
Suddenly he felt like he heard Karina's voice.
"Karina?"
Jeremiah stopped walking and looked back, but there was nothing behind him.
"What was it just now...?"
That moment.
"...!?"
An inexplicable sense of discomfort and inexplicable anxiety struck his entire body. His body tightened with tension and his nerves became sharp. As expected, something black shimmered inside the mirror and a human figure appeared. As soon as he realized this, he knew it was a trap. Jeremiah immediately threw himself and escaped the place. At the same time, blackthorns appeared around the mirror and shot towards where Jeremiah had been standing.
Pavabak!
"Khuuuuk!"
The thorns pierced the Emperor's body without mercy.
"Uh... So I..."
The Emperor looked into the mirror with eyes of disbelief and confusion. However, there was no answer from the mirror. The Emperor's bloody body fell to the floor with a thud.
"Huh."
The black magician, who had been watching the whole scene in the mirror, snickered.
'That stupid Emperor.'
Did you really think that you would hand over the dragon's heart?
'That's stupid.'
He was an idiot who thought it was natural for everyone in the world to kneel before him and submit to him despite his incompetence.
So that's how you die.
The warlock ignored the Emperor's presence and randomly fired magical attacks beyond the mirror, intending to kill Jeremiah. He didn't care what happened to the Emperor.
'I don't know how the Grand Duke came out of the North alive, but now no one can stop me.'
A satisfied smile appeared on the warlock's face. The Emperor's blood would be the signal for all the plans he had been preparing.
'The moment has finally come when my wish comes true.'
The warlock's eyes were filled with joy. At that moment.
"I finally found it."
Behind him, a strange voice was heard, along with a noise.
"...?"
When he turned around, a silver-haired man with a cold and ferocious aura was glaring at him. The warlock, who recognized who the man was, opened his mouth leisurely without panicking.
"You are a disciple of the Magic Tower. How did you find this place?"
But Mikhail seemed to have no intention of answering the warlock's question.
“It's you, isn't it? The son of a bitch who raided the Magic Tower and killed my companions and my father. You're the one, right?”
Mikhail glared at the warlock with dark eyes that were too deep to be discernible. The vengeance within him burned like a fierce flame.
"If that's true? Are you here to seek revenge?"
The black magician asked back with a sneer on his lips. At those words, Mikhail's demeanor changed significantly.
"You ruined everything for me."
Mikhail's low voice seemed calm, but the emotion contained within it was not.
"Magic tower, which is like my hometown, my colleagues who have been like my family since I was young, and my teacher who became a real father to me when I was wandering as an orphan."
Everything was destroyed and disappeared.
"I came to pay you back."
The black magician smiled lazily at the words that he had come to take revenge.
"It's too late. My plan has just come to fruition."
"What does that mean?"
Mikhail's face, which had been furrowing his eyebrows and showing hostility, suddenly hardened when he saw the sight beyond the mirror.
"You really..."
Beyond the mirror, the place that was clearly the palace was covered in pitch-black darkness. A rough whirlwind was violently swirling through the palace. And the polluted magic and evil energy that filled it began to form and gather. The ominous figure grew larger and gradually transformed into the form of a dragon.
"All the magic stones taken from the Magic Tower have been placed in the basement of the palace. All the humans in the capital have been sacrificed, and even the Emperor's blood has been sacrificed. Now all that remains is to use the resurrected dragon to destroy the empire. That is my wish."
Mikhail's eyes opened wide in shock.
"You crazy bastard. Are you planning on killing everyone in the empire?"
"Is it only the Empire? My wish is to kill everything that breathes on the continent."
Mikhail gritted his teeth. He had to stop that mad warlock. If he didn't, the only precious person he had left would be in danger.
"I won't let you do what you want!"
He was determined. He would protect Karina. No matter what it took. No matter the price.
"I will never let you touch her."
Mikhail's eyes flashed fiercely.
"We can't let the ashes be scattered at the end when it's almost over."
The warlock raised his magic power. Mikhail also raised his magic power without giving up.
"That sounds fun. Let's see who wins."
"I will end you with my own hands."
Mikhail and the warlock, each wearing their own magical powers like armor, clashed.
***
Ku-gwa-gwang!!
The palace building collapsed, and debris fell. It was difficult to open her eyes, let alone breathe, because of the fiercely blowing tornado. The stones and pebbles mixed in the wind cut the surroundings like sharp blades. It was as if adding insult to injury.
"Kuaaaahhhh!!!"
A huge dragon appeared with a roar that seemed to rupture our eardrums.
“Dr... dragon?”
Lucia looked up at the dragon with a dumbfounded expression. The dragon was a mythical creature that was long thought to have gone extinct.
"What on earth is going on?"
"..."
But Karina had no idea what was going on. She desperately called out to Jeremiah, who was clearly approaching the mirror. She had seen Jeremiah standing in front of the mirror and being pierced by black thorns in her dream. She was desperate because she couldn't let that happen for real.
As she called out to him at the top of her lungs, fortunately, Jeremiah stopped walking for a moment. Unlike what she had seen in her dream, he narrowly avoided the sudden attack. However, the moment of relief was short-lived. A red line spread from where the Emperor had fallen, bleeding. The surroundings lit up as if magic was being activated. Immediately after, the ground shook like an earthquake, the palace collapsed, and a fierce tornado began to blow in. And the giant dragon that she had only seen in her consciousness actually appeared. However...
'It's different.'
It felt distinctly different from the dragon Karina had seen in her consciousness. The dragon she had seen in her consciousness had an overwhelming presence that seemed to crush her but also gave off a noble feeling. However, the dragon she was seeing now was...
'Unstable and ominous.'
Karina said to the astonished Lucia.
"That's not a real dragon."
Lucia, who had come to her senses a little after hearing Karina's words, carefully examined the dragon's appearance.
“Ah.”
She groaned as if she realized something.
"That's right. It feels ominous and artificial for a natural creature."
At that moment, David, who had arrived late after dealing with the knights at the capital city gate, appeared and spoke.
"They made it move by offering magic stones and sacrifices to the remaining dragon bones and covering them with contaminated magic energy."
"Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
"The situation is serious."
David expressed his discomfort, saying that It was an unexpected situation.
"It would have been infused with not only magic but also the power of the dragon."
Karina said with confidence. He was the one who took her and Jeremiah's power when they were captured in the North.
'I never thought it would be written like this.'
However, even if it was fake, the dragon's existence could not be ignored. Although it was not yet complete, the dragon raised its head amidst the swaying black magic.
"Kuaaaahhhhh!!"
With one breath of the dragon's breath, an entire mountain range in the distance disappeared.
"...!!"
Everyone was amazed by the destructive power of the breath.
'This is a scam!'
It wasn't at a level where you could stop it or not.
"Now that the dragon has appeared, it will be difficult to turn the situation around with just my divine power."
Lucia's face was distorted with despair.
"Too many have already been
sacrificed, and the entire empire is being polluted by tainted magic. This is truly wrong."
A gloomy voice was heard along with the saint's self-reproachful words.
"Unfortunately, His Highness the Grand Duke has already..."
Lucia glanced at Karina and trailed off. As she said, the chances of Jeremiah being safe were extremely slim. The battlefield beyond the border where he had been was no longer in its original state. It was covered in pitch-black darkness, and a huge sinkhole had formed, and it was filled with polluted magic. It almost looked like a black lake.
'There's Jeremiah in there.'
She had to find him. Lucia, reading Karina's mind, tried to dissuade her.
"Your Highness, you must not go. If you go, you will die. Once you go in, you will not be able to get out."
Lucia came up with a desperate story. But Karina couldn't give up easily like the Saintess said. Especially not to anyone else but Jeremiah.
"I can't give him up. So I have to go."
When Karina didn't change her mind, David stepped in.
"It won't help him at all if you go. It's no different from going to die, let alone saving the Grand Duke."
"Your Highness the Crown Prince is right. You were even sacrificed and had your powers taken away. The power of the dragon that the Grand Duchess possesses is not in perfect condition, so there will be no miracle, such as a reversal of the situation."
Despite their strong opposition, Karina's will did not change.
'I wish I had the power to save everyone.'
It was a fitting ending to a dreamlike story.
But, Karina had no power or ability. She had no intention or will to even sacrifice her life for the Empire. Just...
'I want to protect my precious people.'
She desperately wanted to protect those she loved. And she couldn't let her loved ones die alone.
'Because I know how sad and painful it is.'
I had to go to Jeremiah's side. I had to be there for him.
"It doesn't matter."
Karina answered blandly. Her face turned determined.
"If this is really the last time, I want to be with the person I love. That's all."
After leaving those words, Karina threw herself without hesitation into the pitch-black darkness where she couldn't see even an inch ahead.
"Your Highness!!"
"Lady Karina!!"
Karina didn't turn around, though she heard two voices calling her from behind. Her figure was swallowed up by the deep storm of the night.
"Ah..."
David and Lucia, who were left behind, sat down with bewildered faces. However, Lucia was absent-minded for a slightly different reason.
'Just now... clearly...'
Just before Karina disappeared, she felt a new dragon's energy faintly sprouting from her.
'If what you saw was not an illusion!'
"I hope you are safe."
Lucia clasped her hands together and prayed earnestly.
'Because a miracle might happen.'
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