Chapter 26
All humans are fragile. Even a Sword Master who could cleave mountains with their blade, a grand magician who summoned tsunamis with a flick of the wrist, an emperor or king ruling a nation—they were all, in essence, nothing more than a handful of dust.
Humans cannot resist the chains of cause and effect. They cannot foresee even a single step ahead. Life and death are not theirs to command, and they are powerless against the unforeseen.
"Sis... ter... Ah, Pa..."
That held true even for the mercenary king Mir, called a calamity, and for me, Kashmir, who had clawed through a brutal life.
Crash!
My grip slackened, and the magic orb in my hand shattered with a deafening crack. Darkness swallowed the lightless room. Though my vision was obscured, my cursed, razor-sharp senses drank in the death throes of my beloved through every inch of my skin.
"......Aria."
A strangled rasp clawed its way past my lips, my throat crushed. Cold sweat drenched my body, emotions flooding like a breached dam. The aura cloaking me churned wildly. I wanted to rip out my heart, pounding in agony.
I collapsed utterly.
Why?
The original story had twisted. Aria had fallen at a different time than in the plot. I'd been dosing her regularly with the fairy forest's spring water. Her condition should have improved. She might collapse later, but earlier? That was outside my calculations.
I'd thought her body had stabilized. So why—
"Cough."
"Aria!"
A torrent of questions vanished like dust in the wind, soaked into the bloodstained bedsheets. My mind went blank.
I stumbled to the bed, scooping her up in arms that refused to obey. Her cooling body and faltering heartbeat pulsed vividly against me. She was a dying woman.
No.
Tears blurred my sight like spilled ink. The world shattered with a roar in my ears. Shock locked my brain; thoughts wouldn't come.
Think. I have to think—
My body shuddered violently. Reason drowned beneath surging emotion. It hurt too much. My heart felt pulverized. I just wanted to let go and sob.
But one thing dragged me upright amid this world-ending catastrophe.
I have to save her.
Aria, my cherished love, could not die here. I clenched my jaw, desperately clinging to my fading mind. Yet consciousness slipped away.
Damn it! Snap out of it!
Thud! Thud! Crack!
Like a madwoman, I smashed my head against the wall. A jagged nail gouged my forehead; thick blood streamed down, pain exploding in my skull. My vision spun. It felt like someone had seized my brain and shaken it.
I gagged briefly, but it was enough to jolt me awake.
A way. I need to find a way.
No time for panic. I crushed Aria's chilling body to my chest and bit my lip until it split, blood welling bitter on my tongue.
Aria's illness stemmed from her fairy blood. Like a fish needed water, fairies needed the fairy forest's essence to live. That's why they were a reclusive race, confined to their woods.
Deprived too long, a fairy withered slowly to death.
The spring water only delays it temporarily. She should live in the fairy forest, but since she wants to stay in the empire, I need a long-term fix.
The original story explained it: fairy essence, far more potent than the spring water. One dose could buy a decade easily.
But it's rare.
It took a century to brew a single vial. The only source was trade with the fairies, who shunned humans—so none had entered the empire in decades.
I had to find whoever held a stockpile now.
Freya? Decardo? Ainheart? Sun Temple?
Powerful groups linked to me or Aria flashed through my mind.
The wealthy Freya count family was known in the original to possess fairy essence. The Decardo marquis house collected jewels and antiques; rumors said their mansion lacked for nothing valuable. Ainheart, the frugal knightly house, was less certain, but as an ancient lineage, they might have one as a curio. The Sun Temple overflowed with tribute treasures; they could have some too.
Freya only helped by lucky coincidence. Llewellyn Decardo offered repayment, but not something that priceless. Ainheart? Rainer barely tolerated handing me a sword—fat chance. El at the Sun Temple shows favor, but it's not reliable.
My overheating brain felt ready to burst. No one. No group would help us.
I buried my face in Aria's chest, her blood-scent laced with death driving me insane. Swallowing a beastly howl, I racked my mind frantically.
Chrysis Ducal Residence.
One name blazed like lightning. Ancient, wealthy house with vaults rivaling the imperial family or temple. They'd taken in Kashmir in the original. Obsessed with martial prowess. And I had cause to beg.
My father, Kaiser Crisis.
One path. I wiped away tears and blood with rough swipes. No more delays, no turning back.
I steadied my trembling legs. Draped my thick cloak over Aria's cold form and lifted her slight body. Ignoring other disguises, I donned only the black mask.
A man who'd killed his father for the dukedom wouldn't yield to daughterly claims. But that didn't matter. I wouldn't lean on such flimsy ties anyway.
Click. I buckled my sword sheath at my waist.
Daughter was mere bait to make him listen. I wouldn't beg gifts as kin.
I'll offer a deal in the name of Mir.
Become his loyal sword and seize it. Slave contract or not, wielded mercilessly for the Chrysis house my whole life—it didn't matter, if Aria lived.
"Please... just hold on a little longer."
Transparent droplets fell on my love's pale face. I kissed her soft forehead, secured her tiny frame, and leaped from the window.
"I'm never letting you go."
Aura raged in mad fury with my quaking heart. I kicked off the ground, explosive mana wrapping my legs. Clutching Aria, I fled the village in an instant.
The Chrysis Ducal Residence always hung in heavy silence. First, because the great and lesser masters despised noise. Second, because no one dared challenge the haughty strongest house, rivaled only by the imperial family and temple.
That night was a winter blizzard blanketing the world in white. A quiet night filled only with falling snow. Late, when most—including the duke—slept.
Among the few awake was Taylor, the head butler, sorting dawn tasks busily.
The mansion's scant servants moved silently and swiftly; managing the vast estate demanded it.
Taylor's days were longest among them. The elderly veteran ended late nights and began at first light. That night seemed routine—until it wasn't.
BOOM!
An unearthly crash echoed. Like thunderous pounding.
"Damn it! Open the door! Come out!"
It could jolt sleepers upright, terrify the wakeful—like kicking the devil from bed.
BOOM! Boom-boom!
"Haine, calm the servants. I'll check."
"Y-yes!"
Taylor regained composure swiftly—a ducal servant's skill. Fearing the fuss might irk the masters, he ordered a nearby valet. The sensitive lesser master was away in a northern village, but the perceptive great master was surely awake.
As Haine rushed to soothe the staff, Taylor prepared for the night guest.
An enemy of the master? Perfect mark for this lunatic who dared disturb the devil's sleep.
Recalling the master's overflowing foes, Taylor narrowed suspects methodically.
He pushed through the huddled, panicked servants—unable to open or ignore the menacing door.
"Please stop, Lady Mir! This is trouble!"
"Open it! Please!"
Knights' voices clashed with the intruder's from outside. Their dismay drowned in near-screams.
......Mir? Mercenary Mir?
Taylor halted at the unimaginable name.
Mercenary Mir: hero aiding poor villages, one of the continent's rare Sword Masters, unmatched beast slayer. The odd one who'd volunteered for Luju Village recently. Word via telegram said she'd left before the knight orders aiding reconstruction—refusing pay, vanishing. Why visit the ducal house at midnight? Unthinkable.
"Please, open it!"
......But wasn't Mir a young man?
Taylor felt lost in a maze. The voice was ragged, childlike—a girl's, despite the ruin.
Then the pounding stopped abruptly.
Danger.
Taylor deep-breathed, eyeing the dented door. He'd grown numb to Sword Master might guarding Kaiser, but the grand iron door crumpled like rag from mere knocks? Primal fear of overwhelming power invaded him.
"Damn it! Everyone back—"
A warning roared.
Whoosh! Black smoke seeped through cracks like a gale.
"Argh!"
The fog-like smoke coalesced into a whirlwind, savagely shredding nearby servants and knights. Taylor too was hurled back by the black wind.
The massive ducal gate blackened.
BOOM! An explosion rocked the area. In a blink, the steel guardian became windblown dust.
Fierce winter gusts and fat snowflakes invaded the breach.
"Uh..."
"Ahh......"
Witnesses to the criminal's miraculous feat froze, voiceless. Even Taylor, inured to Kaiser's mighty aura, was struck dumb by this savage one.
Step, step, thud.
The black fury's mistress entered, back to the snowy world. Night winds whipped her long raven curls. Withered, diminutive frame shivering in cold sweat despite the chill. Small hand gripped aura-sheathed sword. Slender arms cradled an even tinier girl.
Fluorescent pink eyes, smeared in shadow, plummeted toward ruin. Staggering thin legs bore her to the central hall.
In the stunned silence, Kashmir's bloodless, trembling lips parted.
"......Please, let me see your master."
A voice from the precipice of despair.