The Honorable End You Always Desired
The vast expanse of Canna Forest stretched endlessly, its ancient trees rising in a dense, living canopy. No one could count the countless trunks that had grown here over millennia. This was a place where myriad creatures lived out their lives in their own ways, a bountiful source of timber, fruits, medicinal herbs, and all manner of natural riches. For ages uncounted, it had bestowed nature’s grace upon the living beings of the continent.
To the elves of the Elf Theocracy, it was more than a treasure trove of nature. It served as their homeland, their breathing, steadfast fortress. For thousands of years, the gods had declared it a sanctuary, earning the respect and reverence not only of the elves but of countless others across the continent.
However.
At this very moment, deep within the forest, none of that mattered to the squad of soldiers who had appeared.
“So this is Canna Forest? I’ve heard the stories, but it doesn’t look like much.”
“Whatever else it may be, it is still a forest, General. It’s only natural that all we see are trees and insects.”
The words came from Cassandra, one of the Empire’s Three Knights, spoken in a bored tone. Her adjutant offered the usual polite reply. Listening to him, Cassandra suppressed the faint displeasure she felt and immediately moved on to action.
“Well, I suppose that’s true. In any case, we begin the operation now.”
“Yes, General.”
At Cassandra’s command, the soldiers sprang into motion. Every one of them held a black bottle-like container. Inside each was an oval orb the size of a quail egg. At a glance, the objects radiated an unmistakably ominous aura.
Cassandra held an identical container in her hand, staring at it in silence as a thought crossed her mind.
Achilles… No matter how many times I see it, you always come up with such filthy schemes. Still, if we are to fulfill our family’s long-cherished wish, that man must be eliminated first…
At that moment—
“!”
A sharp presence sliced through Cassandra’s senses. She leapt back instantly, raising her shield to conjure a massive wall of light.
The very next instant—
"Holy Light, become my unbreakable shield!"
⟨ Sacred Barrier ⟩
—KWA-KWA-KWANG!!!!
Beams of green light slammed into her barrier. A cold smile slowly spread across Cassandra’s lips.
“My, my. If it isn’t my old teacher. It has been quite a while.”
“Cassandra… I felt a familiar presence and came to check. So it really was you, you wench.”
A male elf clad in green armor appeared before her, accompanied by a small number of elven soldiers. He appeared middle-aged, with a black eyepatch covering one eye. Sula stared at Cassandra Incliment of the Falcon Empire—or more precisely, at the young holy knight who had once been his proud disciple—with an icy expression.
“Goodness, I never imagined I would meet you again in a place like this, Teacher. Honestly, I would love to have a warm conversation between master and disciple, but I’m rather busy at the moment, so I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”
“Silence! I have nothing to say to you. Get out of here at once! Do not even think of committing any suspicious acts in this sacred Canna Forest!”
While Cassandra remained perfectly composed, Sula was visibly seething. She offered her former master a light smile.
“Unfortunately, I cannot do that. As you can see, I must move quickly to fulfill His Imperial Majesty’s will.”
“! That… you don’t mean—”
Cassandra glanced at the black bottle in her hand as she spoke. Sula’s face hardened the instant he saw it.
“You bastard… Do you even understand what you are about to do?”
“Of course I do, Teacher. I am simply removing a troublesome obstacle for the sake of the Empire’s victory.”
“You—!”
With a face twisted in deep fury, Sula leapt down from the tree and stood before Cassandra. He summoned a sword of green light and leveled it at her. His stance made it clear he had no intention of further conversation or compromise—he meant to execute her on the spot.
Cassandra drew her own sword and shield, releasing her holy power to envelop them both.
“It’s been quite some time, yet your temper remains unchanged, Teacher Sula. Very well. This was something we would have had to settle eventually. Today, I shall end it by taking your head.”
With those words, Cassandra charged straight at her opponent. Sula swung his glowing green blade downward to meet her.
—CLANG!!
Their weapons collided with a sharp ring. Cassandra’s shield, surrounded by blue light, was no mere defensive tool—it struck Sula’s sword like a blunt mace, knocking it aside. She immediately followed up with a slash from the sword in her other hand.
But the attack was repelled as if it had struck an invisible wall.
—CLINK!
After exchanging a single blow, both immediately swung their weapons again. Sula unleashed a fierce barrage of rapid, precise sword strikes rather than relying on brute force. Yet every attack was either blocked by Cassandra’s unnaturally swift and heavy shield or had its momentum broken midway, rendering them useless.
In contrast, Cassandra’s strikes continuously targeted the gaps in Sula’s defense. Though each was stopped by an unseen barrier and failed to land cleanly, she showed no impatience or disappointment.
She already knew the reason perfectly well.
Unlike her own defense—maintained without the slightest tremor thanks to the immense power contained within her shield—Sula’s barrier relied purely on his magic power. With each passing second, it was growing weaker.
And then—
“!”
—CRASH!
With the sound of shattering glass, Sula’s barrier broke into countless pieces. Cassandra’s sword immediately flew toward his abdomen.
But—
“Tch!”
—WHOOSH!
In the blink of an eye, Sula vanished as if evaporating into thin air. Cassandra clicked her tongue. Roughly ten meters away, he reappeared.
“Huff… huff…”
Sula was breathing raggedly, his condition clearly poor. Cassandra looked at him with an expression that still carried plenty of leisure.
“You’ve grown quite weak. You can’t have aged, being an elf… so it must be that old illness of yours, I suppose?”
“Khh…”
“Just as I thought. How regrettable… To think the mighty Sula would show such a pitiful sight. As your disciple, it truly pains my heart. In light of that—”
“!”
“As your disciple, I shall grant you the honorable end you have always desired, right here and now, Teacher.”
With those words, Cassandra sheathed her sword and pulled out the black bottle she had kept in her coat. The moment Sula saw it, his face froze solid.
“Y-you—!”
“Farewell, Teacher Sula!”
She lightly crushed the bottle and hurled it. But not toward Sula standing directly in front of her.
Instead, she threw it toward the small group of elven soldiers Sula had brought with him—his own disciples, recognizable at a glance.
Sula instantly threw his body in front of them to block it.
And then—
—KWA-KWA-KWA-KWAAAAANG!!!!
An enormous black explosion erupted. Within the blast, Sula’s body burned away like a scrap of paper tossed into flames.
Sula, who had lived for hundreds of years and raised countless holy knights, met his end fighting to the last for the disciples he had always cherished. Yet in his final moments, there was no trace of happiness or glory in his heart.
The only thought that filled his dying mind was the inevitable future that would follow his death—the colossal vortex of catastrophe that would soon engulf the Elf Theocracy and, beyond it, the entire continent.
Elf Holy Knight Octavia. The last sight she witnessed while fighting alongside Sula was her master pouring out the last of his magic power to protect them.
After that, she saw him engulfed in black flames and consumed by death. Yet she had no time to feel sorrow. The overwhelming catastrophe that erupted from that moment filled her with pure terror.
The black fire that had completely devoured Sula spread outward like a fuse, swallowing every corner of the forest in an instant.
The trees of Canna Forest had lived for hundreds, even thousands of years and possessed the strength to withstand ordinary flames. But at this moment, those ancient trees were instantly reduced to charcoal by the unidentified black fire.
It was a scene that looked as if nature’s paradise was being swallowed by the flames of hell. In the end, despite Sula’s sacrifice, Octavia lost consciousness amid heat so intense it could no longer be endured.
In her final moment, the horrific sight of her comrades collapsing around her was burned into her eyes…