Clash of Crown and Sword

The western corridor’s doors slammed shut. Massive stone gates descended from both sides, sealing the entrance and exit simultaneously. The entire corridor became an isolated sealed space. The stained glass on the walls turned a deep crimson, and on the floor, the emblems of a blue crown and red swords overlapped and rose. In that instant, the air changed—cold and sharp. Rhea Silverrian’s chill and Siella Bayern’s sword aura reacted at the same time.

“Delegation to the center.” Rhea issued a curt command. Blue frost spread from the tip of her staff. A semicircular ice barrier enveloped the Holy Church delegation and the students. High Priestess Eline and the church priests immediately stepped inside. But Siella did not move. She stood with her sword drawn, staring at the center of the corridor.

Ice thrones and red swords rose from the floor. They slowly leaned toward each other. The throne towered as if issuing orders, while the red swords were embedded in the floor beneath it, heads bowed. The voice of the Black Moon echoed once more.

Siella’s gaze grew cold. “Nonsense.”

As she took a step forward, the red swords on the floor trembled in unison. With a sharp metallic ring, they were drawn upward. The swords did not fly at Siella. Instead, they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠encircled her in a perfect ring, as if creating a dueling arena.

Ice chains bloomed around Rhea. They stretched from the throne, attempting to coil around her ankles. Rhea struck the floor with her staff and the chains shattered. Yet they did not vanish. The broken ice reformed, thicker and colder than before.

This time, a different voice answered from Siella’s side.

I gritted my teeth. “Don’t listen to either of them.”

Rhea and Siella both looked at me at once. Their gazes were more frightening than anything else.

“The Black Moon’s goal is to make the two of you fight.”

“I know,” Rhea said.

“If you know, then lower that chill a little,” Siella said.

“Withdraw your sword aura first, Lady Bayern.”

“Your barrier is freezing up to my feet, Your Highness.”

“Because you tried to leave your position and enter the center.”

“I was trying to protect the delegation.”

“That can be done inside my barrier.”

“There’s no guarantee your barrier is perfect.”

The air grew even colder—and hotter. A contradictory sensation. Rhea’s frost and Siella’s sword aura pushed against each other, tearing through the corridor. My head began to throb.

This is why they targeted both of them at once.

The Black Moon knew their weaknesses precisely. Rhea sought to control. Siella refused to submit. Rhea tried to pull everyone inside her barrier to protect them, while Siella charged outside the barrier to protect people. Neither was wrong. That was what made it dangerous.

“Stay inside my barrier.” Rhea’s words were an order. The barrier she spoke of was not mere magic. It was both protection and control—a declaration that those within it fell under her responsibility.

Siella did not smile. “Will everyone be safe inside Your Highness’s barrier?”

“I will make it so.”

“Then who protects the places Your Highness cannot see?”

For a moment, Rhea’s eyes froze over like ice. “Do you have the right to say that?”

“I do.” Siella’s hand rested on her sword hilt. “If Kyle must remain within Your Highness’s sight, then he must also remain within reach of my sword.”

The moment those words fell, the mana in the corridor surged again. The Black Moon’s emblem glowed mockingly on the floor. I swallowed hard.

This was no simple clash of strategies. Rhea’s “within sight” and Siella’s “within sword’s reach” both pointed to the same person.

Me.

It was painfully obvious. The Black Moon knew it. As long as I stood between them, protection could always be mistaken for possession, and possession could always ignite jealousy and conflict.

Aria approached my side. “Kyle.” Her voice was quiet but tense. “Their mana is colliding. If this continues, the Black Moon’s spell will feed on their power and grow stronger.”

Ethan, sword in hand, added, “Even without fighting, the spell is already devouring their clash.”

Noel’s voice echoed in my mind.

Exactly. This spell feeds on emotional reactions rather than direct attacks. Crown and sword. Command and defiance. Protection and autonomy. The more they clash, the stronger the emblem becomes.

“What’s the solution?” I asked.

The two involved must stop seeing each other as enemies.

“That’s the hardest part.”

Yes. That’s why the Black Moon chose this.

Utterly unhelpful commentary.

Then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the ice throne in the corridor began to move. A figure formed upon it—Rhea, yet not the Rhea of now. A far colder, far more arrogant princess. No emotion in her eyes, not even a smile on her lips. A blue royal scepter rested in her hand, and countless swords knelt at her feet.

The illusory Rhea spoke. “The sword exists for the crown.”

The red swords around Siella trembled violently. On the opposite side, another Siella appeared—a crimson knight gripping a blood-stained blade. Her cloak was torn, her eyes filled with rage.

The illusory Siella spoke. “The crown sits upon the blood of swords.”

The real Rhea and Siella both stiffened at once.

An illusion created by the Black Moon—manifesting their most uncomfortable beliefs. For the princess, the sword was a force that must swear loyalty. For the knight, the crown was a power to be protected yet simultaneously guarded against. An ancient rift in noble politics, now trying to erupt in this corridor.

The illusory Rhea raised her staff. “Siella Bayern. Kneel.”

The illusory Siella pointed her sword. “Rhea Silverrian. Step down.”

The real Siella gritted her teeth. “That tone is unpleasant.”

The real Rhea spoke coldly as well. “That attitude is displeasing.”

“Both of you, those are your own illusions,” I said.

“That’s exactly why it’s unpleasant,” Siella replied quietly. Rhea did not deny it.

In that moment, both illusions moved at once. The illusory Rhea’s frost lances rained toward Siella. The illusory Siella’s crimson sword light flew toward Rhea.

The real pair reacted instinctively to defend. Rhea raised an ice wall; Siella swung her sword. The problem was that their defenses only strengthened the opposing illusions. The illusory Rhea’s crown shone brighter blue. The illusory Siella’s sword grew a deeper red.

Noel shouted.

Don’t react! Defending only feeds it!

“How are we supposed to not do that!” Siella yelled, blocking an incoming sword light.

Ethan stepped forward. “We’ll block them.”

“No,” Rhea said immediately. “This spell targets the two of us. If outsiders interfere—”

“It’ll only get more tangled,” I finished. “But if no one interferes, the two of you will get tangled instead.”

Rhea’s gaze turned to me. “Kyle.”

“Yes.”

“If you’re thinking of stepping in right now—”

“No. This time, it isn’t me.” I looked at Ethan. “Ethan.”

He understood at once. “I’ll block Lady Siella’s side.”

“I’ll block Her Highness’s side.”

“Kyle!” Aria grabbed my wrist immediately. “You said you wouldn’t step forward.”

“I won’t face it head-on.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“This time, it’s true.”

Aria stared at me intently, then spoke softly. “If you get hurt, I’ll be angry.”

“I’ve been getting scolded a lot lately.”

“You deserve more.”

I gave a bitter smile and stepped forward.

The illusory Rhea’s frost lances rained toward Siella again. I did not throw myself between them. Instead, I stepped on the emblem on the floor—the point where crown and sword overlapped. There, the Black Moon’s spell lines flowed.

“Noel, is this the right spot?”

Yes. If you cut it here, the connection between the two illusions will slow for a moment.

“A moment is all we need.”

I brought my sword down.

BOOM!

The black line recoiled. The mana circuit screamed. But this time, Aria’s holy arts wrapped around my wrist before the pain could spread. Light enveloped the circuit. The illusory Rhea’s frost lances slowed for an instant.

Ethan seized the opening. He intercepted the crimson sword light flying toward Siella.

“Lady Bayern!” Ethan shouted. “The illusion is not Her Highness!”

Siella’s sword tip paused.

Ethan gritted his teeth and pushed back the illusory Siella’s sword light. “And Her Highness does not see you as a mere tool!”

Siella held her breath. “How would you know that?”

“I saw it in B-7. I watched Her Highness relearn how to hold someone’s hand.”

Rhea’s eyes wavered for the briefest moment.

Ethan continued. “Someone like that would never see the sword at her side as nothing more than a tool.”

Siella did not answer. But her sword aura eased slightly.

This time, I turned to Rhea. The illusory Siella’s crimson sword light flew toward her. Rhea reflexively tried to freeze it.

“Your Highness!” I shouted.

Rhea’s hand stopped.

“Lady Siella is not trying to cut you down.”

“That illusion is.”

“It’s an illusion.”

“I know.”

“Then look at reality.” I pointed at Siella. The real Siella stood with her sword raised, but its tip was not aimed at Rhea. Instead, she was blocking the red swords targeting the delegation and students.

“Lady Siella may dislike Your Highness’s orders, but she will not abandon the people you’re trying to protect.”

Rhea’s eyes turned to Siella. Siella cut down the black swords and spoke irritably. “Don’t look at me. It breaks my focus.”

“Are you giving me orders?”

“Advice.”

“Clumsy advice.”

“Better than Your Highness’s orders.”

The two were still clashing, yet the sharp hostility from moments ago had vanished.

Noel laughed.

Good. The spell’s reaction is weakening. Keep going.

“Are we romance counselors now?”

Something like that.

Even in this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠situation, that kind of remark.

Then the illusory Rhea and illusory Siella screamed simultaneously. The two illusions seemed to react to the fact that their real counterparts no longer saw each other as enemies. The crown-and-sword emblem trembled unstably. Beltran’s lingering voice echoed through the corridor.

Rhea slowly raised her staff. “Siella Bayern.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Siella answered, sword still in hand.

Rhea was silent for a moment. Then she spoke. “The right side of my barrier is exposed. Block it with your sword.”

Siella’s eyes widened slightly. It was an order. But at the same time, it was trust. Rhea had acknowledged a gap in her own barrier and entrusted it to Siella.

Siella gave a short laugh. “Leave it to me.”

She moved. Crimson sword light filled the right side of Rhea’s barrier. Rhea’s blue frost and Siella’s red sword aura intertwined for the first time without clashing.

The crown-and-sword emblem began to lose its light. The illusory Rhea distorted. “A crown does not ask anything of a sword.”

The real Rhea spoke coldly. “Then your crown ends here.”

The illusory Siella cried out. “A sword does not bow its head for a crown!”

The real Siella swung her sword. “I am not bowing my head.” Her blade glowed crimson. “We are standing together.”

Rhea’s frost and Siella’s sword light erupted simultaneously. Blue crown and red sword overlapped. Both illusions shattered at once. The emblem on the corridor floor broke into pieces. The ice throne collapsed, and the red swords turned to black ash.

Silence.

In that silence, Rhea and Siella looked at each other.

Siella spoke first. “That order just now wasn’t bad.”

Rhea replied, “That execution wasn’t bad either.”

“Was that praise?”

“If it sounded like it.”

“Very much like Your Highness.”

“And you are very much like House Bayern.”

They said nothing more. Yet somehow, that brief exchange was enough.

The Black Moon had tried to make crown and sword collide. In the end, the two had acknowledged each other’s gaps for the first time.

I breathed a small sigh of relief at the sight. But the peace did not last.

Siella suddenly turned her head toward me. “Kyle.”

“Yes?”

“That thing I said earlier—about keeping you within reach of my sword.”

“What about it?”

“I’m not taking it back.” She spoke far too calmly. “Just because the Black Moon tried to use those words doesn’t mean the words themselves were wrong.”

Aria’s hand tightened ever so slightly around my wrist. Rhea’s gaze also grew cold.

“Lady Bayern.”

“Kyle must remain within my sight as well.”

“Then they can overlap, can’t they?”

“……”

“Within Your Highness’s sight, and within reach of my sword.” Siella’s lips curved upward. “Not a bad arrangement.”

Rhea was silent for a moment. Then she spoke quietly. “It displeases me, but tactically, I cannot deny it.”

Aria quietly interjected. “Then he should also remain within healing range.”

All eyes turned to her at once. Aria’s cheeks flushed slightly, but she did not let go of my wrist.

“Kyle gets hurt often.”

Noel burst into laughter.

Nice. We now have a triple encirclement more complicated than the rift the Black Moon just created.

“That phrasing is a bit…”

Noel answered cheerfully.

Congratulations, Kyle. You’re now trapped inside the crown’s sight, the sword’s reach, and the saintess’s healing range.

Trapped. The word was disturbingly accurate.

Ethan murmured quietly beside me. “Still, it seems safe.”

“Please don’t say that too, Ethan.”

“Objectively speaking, it is.”

I wanted to look up at the sky, but we were still inside the corridor. Instead, I looked at the ceiling.

Sometimes, the people around me were more terrifying than the Black Moon.

Then new text rose from the floor once more.

My heart sank.

Aria’s hand gripped my wrist. Ethan looked at me. Rhea and Siella turned at the same time.

The subtle tension and playful atmosphere from moments ago vanished instantly.

Noel’s voice lowered.

Finally, the main event. The Black Moon’s next move.

It had been aimed at me from the very beginning.

Only this time, it wasn’t trying to kill me.

It was trying to separate me from everyone else.

Isolation of the Villain.

Those words glowed black on the corridor floor.