“I’ve been waiting for you.”
Blair raised the arm that wasn’t holding the baby and bowed.
Sepia’s expression hardened at the greeting that seemed to announce the end of the play.
Black snakes seething beneath the calm water.
The sacred place where the fortune of the empire was predicted every year was polluted.
Misfortune brings the same misfortune and grows in size.
To Blair, the underground temple was the most special stage.
His pale face was soaked with sweat.
‘No way.’
Sepia hurriedly rolled up her sleeves and was shocked.
The mark where the fangs had been embedded on his forearm was clear.
The skin around the bite mark was turning black.
“...Sepia.”
His heart seemed to sink to the floor in the hazy golden eyes. He had been holding on since the moment he was bitten.
He shook his head as if trying to come to his senses, but gritted his teeth.
Sepia, unable to bear his weight, collapsed on the floor with him.
The moment she finally laid Roxanne on her lap, a voice full of joy echoed underground.
“Ah, it’s time.”
The spell that began the moment the poison spread through Roxanne’s body.
The completed book floated over a lake filled with black snakes.
The black magic book slowly melted and completed the spell.
Blair placed the baby in the center of the circle.
The baby, who looked like a young wolf, was breathing evenly with his eyes closed.
Blair stroked the baby’s cheek and raised his body to look at Sepia.
“Sepia, the spell will activate the moment you despair.”
The greatest and most perfect misfortune will come when the star that lost its companion cries.
To complete the spell to turn all the beasts into beasts, two sacrifices were needed.
One was a unique young soul with the blood of the firstborn clan.
The other was a great misfortune that the brightest star of destiny would bring when it despaired.
'Please.'
Sepia grabbed his hand and lifted it above the area around his heart.
However, it was only a temporary measure, and there was no way to immediately treat the deadly poison that had even defeated the divine beast.
Every time she felt her uneven breathing, deep despair seemed to grow within her.
Wasn't this the moment that Blair had been looking forward to the most?
Sepia opened her eyes wide.
"...I can't make you die."
She was thinking of that deep dream, the night sea of Leopold.
The High Priest said.
The male she chose would become the Emperor.
'If only I had the power to choose the Emperor.'
If it was destined to place her male on the throne, she had no more hesitation.
"Roxanne, I will make you the Emperor."
The power of the star of Ishtar.
The power to change fate.
The brightest star could even change the fate of the companion orbiting around her.
Sepia's blue eyes burned blue.
The blue light spread around her entire body and even reached the fingertips that were holding Roxanne's forearm.
The star of Ishtar had decided to make her mate the Emperor.
The flame of power to carry out destiny was driving out the poisonous curse from his body.
A black liquid flowed out from the bite mark.
The blue fire burned away the unclean, completely extinguishing it.
Sepia sighed in relief at the even breathing she felt from the one she was holding.
Blair’s expression, who was watching, distorted.
“...You’re making me do it twice.”
Blair pulled out the sword decorated on the temple wall with a sharp noise.
The expressionless face approached Sepia.
What he was aiming for was the companion of the stars in Sepia’s arms.
Sepia hugged Roxanne’s head and crouched down.
The moment the blade reflected in the blue light, he opened his eyes.
“...!”
Roxanne pushed Sepia away and grabbed Blair’s shoulder, snatching the sword he was holding.
In a split second.
The thin sword pierced the warlock’s heart.
Blair’s upper body tilted back and his breathing stopped.
Before his body collapsed to the floor with his hair fluttering like a crow’s feathers.
“Ha, hahaha.”
With a sudden madness, Blair felt the blade embedded in his chest.
Then he pulled the sword out himself.
Black blood spurted into the air.
He laughed while covered in sticky liquid.
“Isn’t it amazing that you're still alive after using so much black magic? The Empress’s body has rotted and decayed.”
His body was composed of poison, not blood.
The heart, which was directly connected to life, had already been moved outside.
A puppet containing Blair’s spirit.
The shell, excluding the heart, moved to protect itself from the side effects of black magic.
A black snake that had come up to the land filled Blair’s body.
When Sepia witnessed the immortal being, her eyes became dizzy.
‘What should I do...?’
No matter how much you stab a doll, it won’t die unless you find its heart. Even if you destroyed it, the unlucky snakes scattered around would reconstruct Blair’s body.
A black snake’s nest.
This was Blair’s territory.
It was a trap from the beginning. But the moment she realized this, she also learned the weakness of this place.
'Just put it back the way it was.'
To the purest temple.
The dark magic of a huge scale blooms in misfortune.
In that case, she had to push away the misfortune with a strong light.
Sepia and the high priest were connected through a mirror. When she raised her head, she saw the light reflecting off the old stained glass of the temple.
"Roxanne, break that."
Her companion crouched down without asking why.
Roxanne's body expanded, and a huge wolf leaped out and leaped towards the stained glass.
Clang-!
It was a clear noise, like a bell ringing the hour.
The colorful pieces of glass that shattered brilliantly floated in the air like delicate flower petals.
Sepia greeted the brilliant light below.
'Please, give me the strength to overcome the darkness.'
That earnestness reached the sea connected to the fragments.
The blue spread like the hot sun beating down on the sea.
The light that spread from the broken pieces of glass quickly flooded and bloomed into a huge divine power.
The pure light touched the polluted waters.
Beneath it, the wicked snakes that had been coiled were writhing in pain and disappearing.
Blair screamed at the sight of his children melting away.
“What are you doing...! How can you not know that you are ruining everything!”
Sharp words taunted Sepia.
Surrounded by blue rays, she laughed.
“You speak words that are very familiar to me.”
Those words were the lot of those at the top of power.
They trampled and denied others to maintain their own beliefs.
So even if Blair’s theory was true,
‘You are the most polluted one.’
Sepia looked over Blair’s shoulder.
All the snakes had disappeared.
But one.
The only snake that survived the pouring divine power was Blair’s heart.
Sepia and Roxanne exchanged glances.
“Roxanne!”
“...Wait, no!”
With a long howl, the giant wolf ran to the edge of the water.
The black snake tried to quickly dive under the water, but was already caught by the feet of the god.
The moment Blair stretched out his arm, the black snake's neck was ripped off with a low growl.
Thud. Thud.
“...Ah...”
Something red flowed from the corner of his mouth down his chin.
Not poison, but blood.
As Blaire clutched his heart and sank, the underground trembled.
The temple was about to collapse under the repeated stimulation.
The divine beast that threw away the last snake protected Sepia from the falling rocks.
Deciding that he should reduce his size, he returned to the form of a beastman and wrapped Sepia’s head with his cloak.
“We have to get out of here.”
If he delayed even a little, they would be crushed by the rocks. Sepia, who was about to follow him, suddenly stopped walking.
“Wait a minute.”
Sepia turned around urgently and headed toward the center.
She returned to her arms, holding a small baby.
Roxanne nodded with complicated eyes for a moment.
“Hurry.”
Roxanne led Sepia outside.
The late summer night air was damp and wet. A shower of rain was putting out the blazing fire.
The screams that disturbed the imperial palace could no longer be heard.
Only the movements of the knights who served the new master could be felt.
'The dawn is breaking.'
The falling rain was like a blessing.
Roxanne hugged her. She could hear her heart pounding as she rested her cheek on his solid chest.
It was the warmest and most comfortable embrace of a male.
It was when they were enjoying the drenching raindrops.
The sound of feet shuffling on the wet ground.
She absentmindedly turned her gaze to the unfamiliar presence.
'...Demios.'
The eyes of the shabby beast soaked in rain gleamed beyond the bushes.
Blair raised the arm that wasn’t holding the baby and bowed.
Sepia’s expression hardened at the greeting that seemed to announce the end of the play.
Black snakes seething beneath the calm water.
The sacred place where the fortune of the empire was predicted every year was polluted.
Misfortune brings the same misfortune and grows in size.
To Blair, the underground temple was the most special stage.
“Innocent people are dying because of your mistake.”
“You say it’s a mistake. How sad.”
Blair stroked his chest as if his heart ached.
“But you will understand. Don’t you know how disorderly and greedy humans are?”
His words about returning the empire of the beastmen to its beginning.
That meant returning to perfect purity.
“The natural world takes only what it needs. Life and death naturally circulate. Unlike humans, the world of beasts is beautiful. However, when beasts became beastmen, that infinite cycle was broken.”
Blair was no longer laughing.
“In this unnecessary law of the jungle, the strong die from their greed, and the weak are exploited and left behind. It’s like the triangular nature has been turned upside down and is now propped up on its edge.”
By creating beastmen, a hole was made in pure nature.
That’s why the goddess polluted the beasts.
“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time. This moment when the world will return to nature.”
At that moment, Roxanne staggered beside Sepia.
Sepia instinctively hugged the large man and examined his complexion.
“Cold sweat...”
“You say it’s a mistake. How sad.”
Blair stroked his chest as if his heart ached.
“But you will understand. Don’t you know how disorderly and greedy humans are?”
His words about returning the empire of the beastmen to its beginning.
That meant returning to perfect purity.
“The natural world takes only what it needs. Life and death naturally circulate. Unlike humans, the world of beasts is beautiful. However, when beasts became beastmen, that infinite cycle was broken.”
Blair was no longer laughing.
“In this unnecessary law of the jungle, the strong die from their greed, and the weak are exploited and left behind. It’s like the triangular nature has been turned upside down and is now propped up on its edge.”
By creating beastmen, a hole was made in pure nature.
That’s why the goddess polluted the beasts.
“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time. This moment when the world will return to nature.”
At that moment, Roxanne staggered beside Sepia.
Sepia instinctively hugged the large man and examined his complexion.
“Cold sweat...”
His pale face was soaked with sweat.
‘No way.’
Sepia hurriedly rolled up her sleeves and was shocked.
The mark where the fangs had been embedded on his forearm was clear.
The skin around the bite mark was turning black.
“...Sepia.”
His heart seemed to sink to the floor in the hazy golden eyes. He had been holding on since the moment he was bitten.
He shook his head as if trying to come to his senses, but gritted his teeth.
Sepia, unable to bear his weight, collapsed on the floor with him.
The moment she finally laid Roxanne on her lap, a voice full of joy echoed underground.
“Ah, it’s time.”
The spell that began the moment the poison spread through Roxanne’s body.
The completed book floated over a lake filled with black snakes.
The black magic book slowly melted and completed the spell.
Blair placed the baby in the center of the circle.
The baby, who looked like a young wolf, was breathing evenly with his eyes closed.
Blair stroked the baby’s cheek and raised his body to look at Sepia.
“Sepia, the spell will activate the moment you despair.”
The greatest and most perfect misfortune will come when the star that lost its companion cries.
To complete the spell to turn all the beasts into beasts, two sacrifices were needed.
One was a unique young soul with the blood of the firstborn clan.
The other was a great misfortune that the brightest star of destiny would bring when it despaired.
'Please.'
Sepia grabbed his hand and lifted it above the area around his heart.
However, it was only a temporary measure, and there was no way to immediately treat the deadly poison that had even defeated the divine beast.
Every time she felt her uneven breathing, deep despair seemed to grow within her.
Wasn't this the moment that Blair had been looking forward to the most?
Sepia opened her eyes wide.
"...I can't make you die."
She was thinking of that deep dream, the night sea of Leopold.
The High Priest said.
The male she chose would become the Emperor.
'If only I had the power to choose the Emperor.'
If it was destined to place her male on the throne, she had no more hesitation.
"Roxanne, I will make you the Emperor."
The power of the star of Ishtar.
The power to change fate.
The brightest star could even change the fate of the companion orbiting around her.
Sepia's blue eyes burned blue.
The blue light spread around her entire body and even reached the fingertips that were holding Roxanne's forearm.
The star of Ishtar had decided to make her mate the Emperor.
The flame of power to carry out destiny was driving out the poisonous curse from his body.
A black liquid flowed out from the bite mark.
The blue fire burned away the unclean, completely extinguishing it.
Sepia sighed in relief at the even breathing she felt from the one she was holding.
Blair’s expression, who was watching, distorted.
“...You’re making me do it twice.”
Blair pulled out the sword decorated on the temple wall with a sharp noise.
The expressionless face approached Sepia.
What he was aiming for was the companion of the stars in Sepia’s arms.
Sepia hugged Roxanne’s head and crouched down.
The moment the blade reflected in the blue light, he opened his eyes.
“...!”
Roxanne pushed Sepia away and grabbed Blair’s shoulder, snatching the sword he was holding.
In a split second.
The thin sword pierced the warlock’s heart.
Blair’s upper body tilted back and his breathing stopped.
Before his body collapsed to the floor with his hair fluttering like a crow’s feathers.
“Ha, hahaha.”
With a sudden madness, Blair felt the blade embedded in his chest.
Then he pulled the sword out himself.
Black blood spurted into the air.
He laughed while covered in sticky liquid.
“Isn’t it amazing that you're still alive after using so much black magic? The Empress’s body has rotted and decayed.”
His body was composed of poison, not blood.
The heart, which was directly connected to life, had already been moved outside.
A puppet containing Blair’s spirit.
The shell, excluding the heart, moved to protect itself from the side effects of black magic.
A black snake that had come up to the land filled Blair’s body.
When Sepia witnessed the immortal being, her eyes became dizzy.
‘What should I do...?’
No matter how much you stab a doll, it won’t die unless you find its heart. Even if you destroyed it, the unlucky snakes scattered around would reconstruct Blair’s body.
A black snake’s nest.
This was Blair’s territory.
It was a trap from the beginning. But the moment she realized this, she also learned the weakness of this place.
'Just put it back the way it was.'
To the purest temple.
The dark magic of a huge scale blooms in misfortune.
In that case, she had to push away the misfortune with a strong light.
Sepia and the high priest were connected through a mirror. When she raised her head, she saw the light reflecting off the old stained glass of the temple.
"Roxanne, break that."
Her companion crouched down without asking why.
Roxanne's body expanded, and a huge wolf leaped out and leaped towards the stained glass.
Clang-!
It was a clear noise, like a bell ringing the hour.
The colorful pieces of glass that shattered brilliantly floated in the air like delicate flower petals.
Sepia greeted the brilliant light below.
'Please, give me the strength to overcome the darkness.'
That earnestness reached the sea connected to the fragments.
The blue spread like the hot sun beating down on the sea.
The light that spread from the broken pieces of glass quickly flooded and bloomed into a huge divine power.
The pure light touched the polluted waters.
Beneath it, the wicked snakes that had been coiled were writhing in pain and disappearing.
Blair screamed at the sight of his children melting away.
“What are you doing...! How can you not know that you are ruining everything!”
Sharp words taunted Sepia.
Surrounded by blue rays, she laughed.
“You speak words that are very familiar to me.”
Those words were the lot of those at the top of power.
They trampled and denied others to maintain their own beliefs.
So even if Blair’s theory was true,
‘You are the most polluted one.’
Sepia looked over Blair’s shoulder.
All the snakes had disappeared.
But one.
The only snake that survived the pouring divine power was Blair’s heart.
Sepia and Roxanne exchanged glances.
“Roxanne!”
“...Wait, no!”
With a long howl, the giant wolf ran to the edge of the water.
The black snake tried to quickly dive under the water, but was already caught by the feet of the god.
The moment Blair stretched out his arm, the black snake's neck was ripped off with a low growl.
Thud. Thud.
“...Ah...”
Something red flowed from the corner of his mouth down his chin.
Not poison, but blood.
As Blaire clutched his heart and sank, the underground trembled.
The temple was about to collapse under the repeated stimulation.
The divine beast that threw away the last snake protected Sepia from the falling rocks.
Deciding that he should reduce his size, he returned to the form of a beastman and wrapped Sepia’s head with his cloak.
“We have to get out of here.”
If he delayed even a little, they would be crushed by the rocks. Sepia, who was about to follow him, suddenly stopped walking.
“Wait a minute.”
Sepia turned around urgently and headed toward the center.
She returned to her arms, holding a small baby.
Roxanne nodded with complicated eyes for a moment.
“Hurry.”
Roxanne led Sepia outside.
The late summer night air was damp and wet. A shower of rain was putting out the blazing fire.
The screams that disturbed the imperial palace could no longer be heard.
Only the movements of the knights who served the new master could be felt.
'The dawn is breaking.'
The falling rain was like a blessing.
Roxanne hugged her. She could hear her heart pounding as she rested her cheek on his solid chest.
It was the warmest and most comfortable embrace of a male.
It was when they were enjoying the drenching raindrops.
The sound of feet shuffling on the wet ground.
She absentmindedly turned her gaze to the unfamiliar presence.
'...Demios.'
The eyes of the shabby beast soaked in rain gleamed beyond the bushes.
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