Vercheria’s gaze slowly scanned the surrounding scenes. The Northern knights who had intended to trample over the war were already surrounding their Imperial Guards with the expression of victors.

“This…”

And in the midst of that chaos, Lachrahan was standing, looking at him.

Without doing anything special, he already had the aura of an emperor.
And in the midst of that chaos, Lachrahan was standing, looking at him.

Even though he hadn’t done anything particularly, he already had the demeanor of an emperor. His broad shoulders seemed sufficient to bear the entire empire, and the long legs standing on the ground seemed to showcase Lachrahan’s firm and upright character.

“That bastard…”

Gerard could now clearly realize.

“Anyway… I can’t win.”

Even if he sacrificed Groovy and put all his Imperial Guards into the portal, it was a war he could never win.

Gerard could deeply feel it from the depths of his chest.

“O deity.”

He had tried to enter the hellfire driven by the faint whisper of the powerless deity, thinking that if the deity sided with him, he could win.

But that was only Gerard’s misconception.

The deity had only tried to use Gerard for its victory.

Just as he had tried to use Groovy.

And the plan failed before it could even be attempted.

“It’s over.”

Gerard closed his eyes, giving up everything.

There was nothing that the powerless Imperial Guards could achieve.

Gerard bit his lip and straightened his neck.

Then, turning away from Lachrahan, he faced Vercheria.

The last regret he couldn’t have.

If he was going to die, he wanted to die at the hands of Vercheria, not Lachrahan.

He wanted Vercheria to cut his throat with those white hands.

Dying at Lachrahan’s hands was a blow to his pride just by thinking about it.

Maybe Vercheria could light up his last moments with that fantastic image he had seen in books when he was young.

“Haah, haah.”

With the desire he couldn’t let go of until the end, Gerard fixed his eyes on Vercheria.

“Vercheria. Kill me. I will die honorably here.”

Vercheria stared at Gerard blankly and then turned her expressionless face away.

She was looking not at the one in front of her but at Lachrahan.

“No. No way! Look at me! Look at me, Vercheria!”

As he started to protest, the blade Lachrahan was holding plunged even deeper.

“Ugh!”

Gerard stiffened his body in pain.

The overwhelming pressure from Lachrahan made his jaw tremble.

“Damn it.”

Endure.

Yes, it’s over anyway. If you endure for a moment, this humiliating moment will disappear.

Closing his eyes, Gerard looked at the past flashing by like a lantern.

Come to think of it, life wasn’t that bad. It was even a life that was more than enough.

Except for Vercheria, was there anything he hadn’t grasped?

Thinking back, the pain of death was short compared to what he had gained so far.

Whether someone cursed him after his death, honestly, it didn’t matter.

Just that was enough to feel a sense of liberation.

The one who was the emperor couldn’t continue a miserable life receiving someone’s blame.
Gerard shouted towards the Imperial Guards and the gathered people who were looking at him.

Among them were nobles who used to flatter him like dogs and members of the royal council scattered here and there.

“Listen well! I was the greatest in the empire, at the pinnacle of power! So, let everyone engrave my honorable death deep into their hearts!”

With a proclamation-like shout, Gerard closed his eyes.

He spread his arms wide, waiting for the impending death, but for some reason, he felt no sensation at all.

Has the true god, who pitied even my suffering, taken everything away?

When he lifted his thin eyelids, Gerard was greatly surprised.

Lachrahan was standing, looking at him, having lowered the sword he held towards himself.

“What, what are you doing! What more do you want! Kill me quickly!”

Lachrahan, exhaling a low breath as if he found it pathetic, responded, “Why bother.”

Gerard’s face wrinkled more dramatically than when he was told to kill himself.

“What?”

Gerard felt a greater sense of terror than when he was told to kill himself.

“Uh, don’t be ridiculous! Kill me quickly, you bastard!”

As he tried to rush towards Lachrahan, knights from the Northern Order ran over and bound his arms from both sides.

Lachrahan, looking at Gerard, who was struggling and shouting in frustration, responded as if finding it pathetic.

“Emperor Gerard. You are not worth killing.”

With that one sentence, Gerard heard the sound of everything he had built up so far shattering into pieces.

“Aaargh!”

It was a miserable end.

Lachrahan turned his head to look at Vercheria.

His once cold and refined black pupils were now filled with warmth, solely fixed on her.

He threw the sword on the ground and, in a voice that had lost its strength, whispered, “Come here, Vercheria.”

As he raised his hand, one of Vercheria’s legs, which had been stiff the whole time, moved.

For hundreds of years, the two had to endure many trials without narrowing the distance between them.

Because of the intervening Absolute Deity, Leone, and many others, including Gerard.

There were too many things to sacrifice just to live with a loving heart.

But the two never gave up.

Nevertheless, they knew that each other was a perfect existence for one another.

“Lachrahan.”

After taking the first step, she hadn’t walked since.

With a determined step, she leaped into Lachrahan’s arms.