"Don't worry..."

Sniff...

Sniff...

"I'll keep you safe."

Her tiny hand squeezed mine.

Even as the world burned around us...

Even as houses collapsed beneath the flames...

Even as screams echoed through the smoke...

She was still trying to protect me.

Then—

Crack!

The sound split the night.

A massive tree crashed down.

The ground shook violently.

Dust filled the air.

For a moment, everything went silent.

Then the dust began to settle.

My breath caught in my throat.

"No..."

She was trapped beneath the fallen trunk.

Blood slowly spread beneath her small body.

"No..."

My knees hit the dirt.

"Sis...?"

I crawled toward her.

My hands shook.

My entire body shook.

When I reached her, I gently touched her cheek.

Cold.

Too cold.

My heart stopped.

"Wake up..."

My voice cracked.

"Please..."

I shook her shoulder.

"Please wake up, Sis..."

Nothing.

No answer.

No movement.

Her eyes remained closed.

The hand that had been holding mine only moments ago now lay motionless against the blood-soaked ground.

Something inside me broke.

"Why...?"

My fingers tightened around her shoulders.

Tears blurred my vision.

"Why...?"

My voice rose.

"WHY?!"

The scream tore from my throat.

But no matter how loud I screamed...

No matter how desperately I begged...

She didn't wake up.

I couldn't save her.

I couldn't protect her.

I was powerless.

The helplessness threatened to swallow me whole.

Then…

From somewhere beyond the darkness...

A gentle voice spoke.

"You are not powerless, my dear."

The voice was warm.

Ancient.

Comforting.

Like a gentle hand reaching through the darkness.

"You are destined for greatness."

"All that you seek already lies within you."

For a moment, I didn't understand.

The words felt distant.

Unfamiliar.

Then—

Memory returned.

The duel.

Luna.

The promise I had made.

The snowpear parfait.

I was fighting for her.

My consciousness drifted back toward the arena.

The scene unfolded beneath me as though I were watching from far away.

I saw my body lying motionless on the dirt.

Broken.

Bloodied.

Barely breathing.

Gasps echoed through the crowd.

Luna had risen from her seat.

Reginald's face was pale.

Even King Valerius had stood.

And approaching my fallen body...

Was Valen.

His sword burned with roaring flames.

The killing intent in his eyes was impossible to miss.

He wasn't aiming for my chest guard anymore.

He wasn't trying to win.

He wanted to cripple me.

Perhaps even worse.

Commander Kael was already moving.

His expression had changed completely.

For the first time since the duel began, genuine alarm appeared on his face.

Yet everything felt strangely slow.

Far too slow.

The flames moved like drifting embers.

The crowd's voices became distant echoes.

Even Kael's desperate sprint seemed frozen in time.

As though the entire world had slowed to a crawl.

Then I saw it.

A single violet thread drifting within the darkness.

It shimmered softly.

Pulsing like a living thing.

As though it had been waiting for me all this time.

Calling to me.

Inviting me.

Instinctively, I reached out.

The moment my fingers touched the thread—

Power surged through me.

Not from outside.

From within.

It flooded every part of my being.

Warm.

Ancient.

Familiar.

As though something long forgotten had finally awakened.

And so…

I pulled.

In the royal stands, Luna sat perfectly still.

Only her trembling hands betrayed the storm raging beneath her calm expression.

"Get up, Az..."

The whisper barely escaped her lips.

This time, it shook.

Valen stood over my unconscious body.

His flaming sword rose high into the air.

The flames reflected in Luna's eyes.

Her breathing faltered.

For the first time since the duel began, her composure cracked.

"Father..."

Her voice trembled.

"Please stop the duel."

King Valerius's expression darkened.

He had already risen from his seat.

"I know."

His eyes never left the arena.

"And Kael knows as well."

Below, Commander Kael was already moving.

But he was still too far away.

But before anyone could move—

Fwoom.

Every flame surrounding Valen vanished.

Instantly.

The blazing sword.

The lingering fire.

Even the embers drifting through the air.

Gone.

Commander Kael froze.

Something was wrong.

Terribly wrong.

Valen's furious expression twisted into confusion.

"What...?"

Kael's gaze snapped toward me.

Violet sparks danced around my body.

Tiny at first.

Then brighter.

And brighter.

The air began to hum.

A low vibration spread across the arena.

The spectators shifted uneasily.

No one understood what they were seeing.

Then—

WHOOSH!

A torrent of violet flames erupted around me.

Gasps echoed from every corner of the training grounds.

Yet the flames did not burn.

They coiled around my shattered body like living energy.

Warm.

Ancient.

Protective.

The broken bones.

The burns.

The blood.

Everything seemed insignificant beneath that violet glow.

In the royal stands, Luna covered her mouth.

Her blue eyes widened.

For the first time since the duel began...

Hope appeared within them.

Slowly, my eyes opened.

The pain was still there.

I could feel it.

Yet somehow, it seemed distant.

Like something happening to another person.

I rose to my feet.

Slowly.

Calmly.

As though my broken body no longer mattered.

Silence swallowed the arena.

Valen stared at me.

Disbelief filled his face.

"You mutt..."

His voice wavered slightly.

"You're still breathing?"

A sneer slowly returned to his lips.

"How persistent."

Commander Kael immediately stepped forward.

"Lord Valen, that's enough!"

Too late.

Something had already awakened.

I moved.

Or perhaps vanished.

No one could tell.

Shing.

A single silver note echoed across the arena.

Then I appeared behind Valen.

Silence.

For one heartbeat, the entire world seemed to stop.

Valen froze.

His eyes widened.

Confusion.

Disbelief.

Fear.

His flaming sword slipped from his fingers.

Clang.

The weapon struck the ground.

Then his knees buckled.

He collapsed forward.

Nobody understood what had happened.

Then—

Crack.

A thin line appeared across the massive stone wall behind him.

The crowd stared.

The line widened.

Boom!

The wall split apart.

A perfectly clean slash ran through solid stone as though it had been cut by a divine blade.

Gasps rippled through the arena.

Several nobles stumbled backward.

Others simply stared.

Unable to comprehend what they had witnessed.

For one horrifying moment, many believed Valen had been cut in half.

Then—

"AAAAAAGHHHHHH!"

Valen's scream shattered the silence.

The sound echoed across the training grounds.

Raw.

Terrified.

Unlike anything the proud noble had ever shown before.

His hands clawed desperately at his chest.

Yet there wasn't a single wound on his body.

Not one drop of blood.

And somehow...

That only made the scene more terrifying.

It was not the scream of physical pain.

It was something far worse.

A scream born from pure terror.

As though something deep within Valen was being torn apart.

The sound sent chills through the entire arena.

Valen clawed desperately at the dirt.

His body writhed uncontrollably.

Panic.

Fear.

Agony.

Then, just as suddenly—

He went still.

Silence followed.

Not a single wound marked his body.

No blood.

No burns.

No cuts.

Nothing.

Yet the terror lingering on his face was enough to make several nobles look away.

Commander Kael was the first to move.

He immediately knelt beside Valen and checked his condition.

A pulse.

Breathing.

No visible injuries.

The confusion on his face deepened.

Slowly, he turned toward me.

Then he froze.

For the first time that day, genuine shock appeared in his eyes.

Extending from my right palm was a blade of pure violet energy.

Its surface shimmered like starlight.

Elegant.

Ancient.

Deadly.

The surrounding air distorted around it.

Kael had seen countless forms of magic.

Countless forms of aura.

Yet this was neither.

It was something entirely different.

Something he had never seen before.

For several long seconds, the Commander simply stared.

Then he straightened.

His voice echoed across the silent arena.

"Azrael—third strike!"

The words shattered the silence.

For a moment, nobody reacted.

As though the crowd had forgotten how to breathe.

Then the realization hit.

The duel was over.

Azrael had won.

For one silent moment, nobody moved.

Then the arena erupted.

Knights cheered.

Servants stared in disbelief.

Even the nobles could no longer hide their shock.

A commoner had defeated Lord Valen Gregarius.

And above all—

Luna.

Though she remained seated, relief flooded her trembling expression.

The bloodied fingers gripping the stone railing slowly loosened.

At last.

It was over.

The violet energy surrounding me began to fade.

The shimmering flames dissolved into countless particles of light.

My vision darkened.

The arena spun around me.

Every ounce of strength left my body.

I collapsed.

But before I could hit the ground, a pair of strong arms caught me.

The scent of steel and wildflowers reached me first.

Then I saw her.

A woman with jet-black hair tied in a high ponytail.

Emerald-green eyes.

Sharp.

Confident.

Dangerous.

Yet a faint smile rested upon her lips.

She looked down at me as though she had just discovered something precious.

Then she leaned closer.

The last words I heard before darkness claimed me were whispered beside my ear.

"I have finally found a worthy apprentice."

My consciousness faded.

Yet just before everything went dark, I caught one final glimpse.

Luna had finally risen from her seat.

And her eyes...

Never left me.