Closet desperately fled towards the central temple to escape the pursuit of the monastery.

‘I should have left that damn monastery long ago!’

It was a place where she wanted to hide for a few days to avoid her entangled ex-lover.

She liked the scenery overlooking the sea, so for the first few days, she stayed there doing volunteer work with a quite comfortable mind.

But as soon as she learned about the dirty acts they were committing with the orphans there, her sentiment changed. She had been stuck there for months, secretly helping the children, and if she got caught, she was beaten.

She had thought about leaving alone. But the children kept lingering in her eyes, so her feet wouldn’t move.

‘My nose is three feet long, and I’ve been too nosy.’

Thanks to being chased away many times, she was confident in running away.

She moved to the central temple to meet the high priest, but was flatly rejected. Damn that high priest.

‘Maybe I should go see Wiegratz instead.’

But he was a rising star who had just emerged in high society.

If he got involved in a troublesome incident, his prestige might be damaged.

‘If he’s a capable and handsome disciple, he should marry into a good family.’

Imagining him holding another woman’s hand and smiling happily strangely made her heart ache, but Closet shook off the thought.

As a teacher, she should hope for her disciple to meet the right woman and be happy.

As a second choice, Closet chose Golden, who had risen to the rank of great mage. He was a human mage with elf blood.

Originally timid by nature, but also very curious and enjoying people’s attention, he was famous for causing big problems once in a while, the empire’s troublemaker.

‘If the rumors are true, he should be here.’

She looked around the sacred forest. This place, which preserved the primeval forest as it was, was the land of elves proficient in magic.

Golden was holed up in a cave in the forest.

He was proving the hypothesis that mana operation was most efficient in the primeval forest or something.

“Don’t disturb my experiment and get out, get out please.”

He covered his face with his disheveled blond hair and issued an order to expel the guest. As if he didn’t like Closet’s approach, he even stepped on the nearby wildflowers for no reason.

His appearance mixed with elf blood was as pretty as a woman, but his timid and dirty personality was not lovely at all.

“Please listen to me. The black mage Karzan is trying to summon a demon.”

Closet recited the facts she had heard at the monastery.

At first, Golden’s eyes seemed to sparkle with curiosity, but as soon as she pleaded, “Please stop them!” they went cold.

“You want me, me to sacrifice myself for others? You must be as crazy as I am.”

As if he was some saint. Golden ignored her words, muttering to himself. He hated others.

Even if he helped others, they would just steal his research and run away or take credit for it.

Now all he had left was his extraordinary talent and pride, and Closet touched one of them.

“Are you perhaps afraid of Karzan?”

His pride, that is.

“Now, who’s afraid of whom?”

“Well, how could you beat the genius mage who pioneered black magic? I understand. Even I would have shrunk back and holed up in a forest like this.”

Every time Closet threw out a word, Golden’s face turned bright red.

Finally, he got angry and manifested magic, and a huge pillar of fire erupted from under Closet’s feet.

Fortunately, Closet’s holy power enveloped and protected her.

She had drawn her holy power to the maximum just in case, and if she hadn’t prepared in advance, she would have turned into ashes.

As Closet was sighing in relief while looking at her slightly singed hair, Golden was staring at her with his eyes wide open.

“You resemble a shooting star falling and burning. Your holy power is sparkling!”

Although the expression was a bit crude for a compliment, it was fortunate that she could gain his favor.

Having gained such a reliable ally, Closet headed to the capital to stop Karzan.

However, moving with the emotionally volatile Golden was not easy.

He called Closet a shooting star and made demands like “I can’t sleep without a feather pillow, so shooting star, put me to sleep” or “I’m depressed today, so I won’t move until shooting star feeds me a tart.”

Then on days when Closet went out alone, he even showed strange obsession, saying that she had disappeared leaving him behind.

Naturally, time was delayed while catering to his whims, and by the time they arrived at the capital, it had already turned into a wasteland.

‘We’re too late.’

With the school at the center, corpses overflowed from the stores to the nearby villages.

On the school’s roof, a large black portal called the “Demon’s Egg” was open.

Although similar in appearance to magical beasts, demons, ancient lifeforms with intelligence, were crawling out one by one through the hole and hunting humans.

The imperial knights and priests were struggling against them. Golden’s outstanding abilities were making a huge contribution, and the tide of battle was about to turn.

Several huge fingers suddenly popped out of the Demon’s Egg. They belonged to the “Demon King.”

Soon, between the fingers, a pair of eyes as large as the portal glowed red, looking at this place with interest from beyond the portal.

“Oh my god! If one eye is that big, how big is the body?”

“God has abandoned us. The world will surely perish!”

Seeing that, humans began to faint or run away in fear.

Only Karzan faced the Demon King’s eyes and muttered something.

With a face filled with joy, he mumbled nonsense that the Demon King had revealed the future only to him and worshipped his opponent.

The black portal began to slowly expand. At this rate, the Demon King might descend.

‘I must be crazy to come here!’

There was no chance of winning like this. It was an unannounced war, so there was no reinforcement, and other races usually did not interfere with human affairs.

‘It’s the end of the empire too.’

If she took a boat and ran away, she could live. Closet had made up her mind.

Then she saw Golden, who had stopped fighting, crouching in a corner reading a black magic book he had picked up from somewhere.

“What are you doing here?”

“Hmm, I’m reading a book someone dropped.”

Closet looked next to Golden. The black mage who had allegedly dropped the book had been burned to ashes.

“It says here how to seal the Demon’s Egg again.”

At those words, those who had been hiding and trembling flocked to Golden’s side. Among them were high-ranking priests.

“What exactly is that method!”

“You’re a genius. Do it right now!”

They urged Golden, praising him. Excited by being called a genius, he began to reveal what he knew.

“What you need for the seal is holy power.”

Black magic was the power to destroy and create order. Magic was the power to transform and amplify order. And holy power was the power to maintain and restore order.

Naturally, holy power was needed to make that heterogeneous portal disappear.

“Theoretically, it seems possible with the holy power of a high priest, but from what I see…”

Golden looked at the high priest emitting holy power towards the demon in the distance.

Then he shook his head and turned his gaze back to Closet, making the worst verbal mistake.

“Clearly, our shooting star’s holy power sparkles much more. Right?”

Being born with a very powerful ability may not be a blessing for the person. Closet was like that.

She became a priestess with her outstanding holy power, but had to leave the temple due to the harassment of the high priest who was anxious that his position would be taken away.

And she thought she would never be recognized for her holy power again.

But at this moment when a sacrifice was needed, all the priests were praising her ability. Even the high priest.

“If not you, then who will do it? God gave you outstanding abilities for this day.”

She had no intention of readily accepting such dog-like words.

But the moment Karzan prepared another sacrifice on his side to hasten the Demon King’s descent, she changed her mind.

She couldn’t turn a blind eye to the children trapped in the wagon, screaming.

‘This isn’t being kind, it’s being damn stupid.’

What a foolish thing to do! Closet reproached herself like that, but still weighed the lives of numerous children against her own life.

Her judgment tilted towards the children without hesitation.

She felt like her life was becoming even more worthless at the words that if she alone was sacrificed, all this slaughter would end.

‘If there is a next life, let’s live then valuing my life preciously. Cherishing myself the most.’

Tears fell for no reason. Worried that Closet might run away if she saw that, others sent her even more cheers.

Something about your noble sacrifice. Closet listened to the empty words and wiped her tears with her sleeve.

“You are a saint who saved the world!”

“Wow, it’s the saint who will seal the demon!”

The crowd shouted at Closet, who was walking towards the Demon’s Egg holding a staff.

Strangely, no one interfered with her approach. Not the priests, not the knights, not even the demons.

The only one holding her ankle was Golden.

“I’m sorry, shooting star. No, don’t go! Don’t leave me! I don’t want to be alone again!”

Golden, who belatedly realized his mistake, made a fuss, but people stopped him.

If one person is sacrificed, we can live! They poured selfish words into Golden’s ears without shame.

The mages levitated Closet’s body and sent her into the portal.

Inside, it was all darkness. Then a pair of eyes, as large and bright red as the setting sun, appeared.

Closet immediately emitted all her holy power. The immense holy power filled the empty space with white.

Kieee! The Demon King made a bizarre sound and suffered in pain for a moment, and Closet quickly chanted a spell.

Then, a sphere that looked like a crystal ball floated above her palm. It was her soul. She had to imprison the Demon King’s soul here.

‘My holy power will run out in a few seconds. I have to finish before then.’

As she looked straight at the Demon King, the black smoke flowing from the Demon King began to be sucked into the crystal ball.

The clear and transparent ball gradually became murky.

Every time the Demon King struggled, some of the crystal ball that couldn’t withstand it shattered and scattered into the air. It was very painful.

Endure it. I have to endure.

If she succeeded in sealing, she could protect those she wanted to protect.

Closet tried hard to recall their faces.

But the children came to mind only for a moment, and the only face that haunted her mind was Wiegratz’s.

‘I must have grown quite attached.’

How shameless. What’s so good about that young kid…

Then Closet began to cry. The dam of emotions she had been suppressing finally burst.

Huk, hueung! The tears turned into wailing.

I miss you, Wiegratz. I’m scared. Please help me. She cried out with all her heart.

But what actually came out of her mouth was only an inarticulate sob.

But then someone entered here. The face she had been drawing with tears was right in front of her eyes.

“Master!”