Breathing out white mist into the rain, Ansi charged at Sched Lester once again.

Clang! A sharp metallic sound rang out.

Sched Lester’s mind went blank as he blocked Ansi’s attack.

A child who didn’t even know how to hold a sword was swinging a blade at him.

Just like the corpses beneath the ground had moved, that small child had also become Dietrich’s puppet.

Sched Lester was helplessly pushed back, unable to resist Ansi.

He couldn’t counterattack, carelessly deflect the attacks, or push her away.

It was because he could feel the clumsiness in Ansi’s blade.

No matter how much Dietrich controlled her, with Ansi’s immature body, it was impossible to land a fatal blow on Sched Lester, who was considered the empire’s greatest hero.

Nevertheless, Sched Lester was bewildered by the attacks swung by those tiny hands.

It was definitely not the strength and movements that could come from a three-year-old’s body.

At least the level of a squire in their teens, or even higher.

Although Ansi’s physical development was faster and better than her peers, that alone couldn’t explain it.

‘It’s straining her body…!’

As Sched Lester received Ansi’s attacks, he examined the child’s physical condition.

Every time she swung the sword that was too heavy for her body, her thin wrists bent and nearly broke.

To execute large movements, her muscles and joints twisted, and bruises appeared and disappeared in patches as her muscles and blood vessels burst from the strain on her body.

During the attacks, her body sometimes froze or stuttered, unable to move due to the overload.

However, her immortal body that endlessly regenerated repeatedly charged forward, recovering from the overload.

Sched Lester’s face contorted as he watched.

The body pushed beyond its limits must be feeling pain.

What Ansi had inherited was eternal life, not numb senses.

But due to Dietrich’s brainwashing, the child had to break and tear her own small body.

Thinking of the pain the child would experience, his chest tightened.

Sched Lester thought of Louise as he looked at Ansi’s face that resembled her mother’s.

You’ve been experiencing this pain every day too.

Here is the nightmare that tormented you.

Sched Lester gripped his sword.

He had to end Ansi’s nightmare.

Having grasped Ansi’s condition and movements, Sched Lester finally smoothly received her attack and deflected it to the side.

Then he reached out to grab the child’s slipping arm.

At that moment, black smoke clung to his two arms, paralyzing him.

“Ugh…!”

Sched Lester’s fingertips couldn’t reach any further and only grazed Ansi’s wrist.

“You still don’t realize that I’ve been indulging you because it’s amusing to see you struggle, Sched?”

Dietrich, who had been at the top of the watchtower, slowly descended the spiral staircase.

Sched Lester gritted his teeth at the black energy spreading through his arms.

Strength drained from his arms.

He clenched his teeth and endured, trying not to drop his sword.

“You already know about the curse, right?”

Dietrich pointed at his arms with his eyes.

From the black energy coiling around his arms, a pain like flesh being carved by a knife spread.

The curse inflicted by Parmen.

“But since you entertained me, I’ll give you a reward at the end.”

Dietrich, who had completely descended from the watchtower, grinned.

“I’ll give you the honor of tasting the blade of the child you tried so hard to save.”

Of course, I’ll be the one to take your last breath.

With Dietrich’s words, Ansi, who had been breathing out cold breaths into the rain, raised her head.

The body so small that it would leave room even when hugged with both arms staggered once and steadied itself.

The raindrops drenching her body were so cold that it wouldn’t be strange if they froze into ice.

“Ansi…”

Sched Lester, holding his sword with trembling hands, looked into her faded green eyes.

He realized that he had to be cut by that blade for the child’s terrible nightmare to end.

Otherwise, Dietrich would endlessly control the child.

Knowing the end of the brainwashing, Sched Lester lowered his sword and faced Ansi.

The murky eyes were clearly looking at him.

Sched Lester lifted the corners of his mouth and gazed directly at the child.

“It’s okay, Ansi.”

Sched Lester nodded once, recalling Louise having nightmares.

This dreadful experience of brainwashing would be etched into the subconscious and become a nightmare that would visit the child’s nights countless times in the future.

Therefore, all Sched Lester could say to the child was “it’s okay,” just as he had said to Louise when she had nightmares.

The child, who always chattered, lifted the heavy sword with all her strength instead of answering.

And she ran towards him, stepping on the mud with protruding white bones.

The small footprints splashed closer with a strenuous weight.

It looked excessively burdensome.

Rainwater splashed every time the child’s small feet took abnormal steps.

And just as the blade held in her tiny hands was about to slash his torso.

“Ansi!”

A breathless voice intervened between the two.

At the same time, rain-soaked chocolate-brown hair swayed before Sched Lester’s eyes.

‘Louise…!’

Blood flowed from her forearm cut by the blade.

But Louise embraced Ansi in her arms just like that.

Ansi, who had lost her grip on the sword, resisted to break free from the embrace, twisting her body according to the brainwashing.

Louise’s body swayed from the desperate struggle.

Pain spread throughout her body, and it felt like her strength would give out because her body hadn’t fully recovered.

But Louise couldn’t give up.

“Ansi, it’s okay. Mom is here.”

Louise whispered, holding Ansi tightly in her arms.

Ansi hit her face and body with all her might.

Bruises formed on her torn body, and the wounds that had been healing from regeneration festered again.

“It hurts a lot. It’s okay. This is all a scary dream.”

Louise whispered in a gentle voice into the brainwashed child’s ear.

She understood Ansi’s heart better than anyone right now.

Sched Lester probably thought everything would be resolved if he was stabbed, but no.

The agony of crimes committed by a body beyond one’s control remains forever.

The experience of stabbing Sched Lester with a sword would also vividly remain in Ansi’s mind and repeat.

Therefore, Louise had to give the child what she had wanted most when she had nightmares.

“It’s not your fault. Ansi did nothing wrong.”

Even as her forearms were scratched by Ansi’s nails and flesh was torn off by her bites, Louise whispered to the child.

“I love you, Ansi.”

Louise kissed the head of Ansi, who was biting her shoulder.

Gradually, Ansi’s resistance subsided.

Louise held Ansi tightly like that for a long time.

Then.

“Mo…m.”

A faint voice flowed from the mouth of the child nestled in her arms.

Louise smiled, seeing the eyes that had found a faint light.

“Yes, Ansi. Now let’s sleep deeply. Don’t have nightmares.”

When you wake up, Mom will hug you tightly then too.

Louise gently kissed the child’s forehead.

Soon, strength slowly drained from Ansi’s body, and she went limp.

Dietrich watched the scene and irritably brushed back his silver hair dampened by the rain.

‘I’m sure I made it so she couldn’t move until tomorrow, did I miscalculate?’

To think Louise would intervene.

He hadn’t expected her to crawl all the way here when her body condition shouldn’t be normal due to drugs and sorcery.

It seemed there was a mistake in his calculations because he was progressing too many things at once.

“Louise, you’re just a useless hindrance.”

As Dietrich clenched his fist, black energy spread from around him.

“If it weren’t for Felix, I wouldn’t have given you that power in the first place.”

He was disgusted by Louise, who still hadn’t escaped the low-level thinking of mortals and continued to regress.

“You’re most useful when only used for sharing immortality.”

From the fingertips of the coldly muttering man, an intense power poured out.

The black energy charged at Louise as if a giant beast was pouncing.

At that moment.

Kwang—!

A dazzlingly blue light shone, and Dietrich’s power was shattered in midair.

“Don’t touch her.”

Sched Lester stood in front of him, holding his sword with blackened hands.

Blue energy was gushing out from his sword.

Seeing him, Dietrich’s eyes narrowed.

“…You regained your aura?”

Surely he should have lost the power of his aura due to the curse…?

Moreover, his two arms were currently stained black by the curse.

It should be difficult to even move a finger.

“It seems I made a mistake by momentarily weakening.”

Dietrich muttered, looking at the curse imprinted on Sched Lester.

Sched Lester gripped his sword tightly and stood protecting Louise and Ansi.

His arms were numbly paralyzed by the curse, but it wasn’t over yet.

‘The regrets I’ve accumulated so far are already heavy enough.’

He couldn’t lose Louise and Ansi here.

That will made him surpass the limits that had confined him once again.

The blue blade that had awakened from slumber didn’t stop at counterattacking but charged towards Dietrich’s heart.

Surprised by the unexpected sharp attack, Dietrich wrapped his body in a pitch-black power and deflected it.

Although he prevented being pierced by the blade, a strong impact engulfed Dietrich.

“Ugh!”

Breath surged out from his crushed lungs as if hit by a strong blunt weapon.

It was an unbelievable strength that shouldn’t come from two arms engraved with a curse.

Sched Lester re-gripped his sword and persistently pursued Dietrich.

‘If Ansi did that much, I can’t collapse.’

He recalled Ansi, who had suffered in pain while breaking her own body.

If Ansi had endured like that, he couldn’t succumb to Dietrich with just this curse.

As Sched Lester dug into the gaps of the staggering Dietrich again, Dietrich shouted as if screaming.

“It’s a fight you can’t win anyway!”

Black light tore out from his body in several strands and attacked Sched Lester from all directions.

“In the end, you will die, and I will live.”

Nothing changes just by re-awakening your aura.

Because fate is already determined.

Dietrich stretched out his two arms, and pitch-black attacks poured down from above his head.