“I’m scared, Wiegratz. Please save me quickly.”

Rukna’s voice seemed to flow out from within.

She usually didn’t call me Wiegratz, but it kept bothering me.

Matian asked those around if they had heard anything. But the other knights shook their heads, saying they hadn’t heard a thing.

‘It must be some nasty trick of the demon.’

Get a grip. Matian held his ground.

Soon, the cabinet door creaked open and a woman in a crimson red robe slowly walked out from inside.

She elegantly wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand and muttered, “Not as promised. I ate something tasteless.”

Her face wasn’t clearly visible, but every step she took and each small gesture was bewitchingly seductive.

The knights at the front couldn’t take their eyes off the mysterious woman.

“Could that woman also be a demon?”

“No way, her attire is similar to that of the holy women depicted in biblical paintings. How could a demon be so beautiful?”

The knights began to whisper among themselves.

“How can we, as knights, just stand by and watch a frail woman?”

“That’s right. She could be the legendary holy woman who sealed the demon’s egg.”

As if possessed by something, they were desperate to help the woman.

Watching the scene, Matian opened his heavy mouth.

“Get a hold of yourselves. There’s a high possibility that woman is the Demon King who has taken over the holy woman’s body.”

“Ha, you really lack flexibility, young master.”

“I agree. Let’s at least show chivalry and escort that woman.”

Two knights ran forward.

They spoke kindly to the woman, then suddenly stiffened. Then, they began walking like wooden dolls on either side of her.

Sensing an unusual energy, Matian pointed the tip of his sword at the woman.

The blue aura that had reached its peak fiercely enveloped his entire body, preparing for the upcoming battle.

The woman approached right in front of the imperial army camp and removed her deeply pulled hood.

Platinum blond hair that had been hidden inside flowed out, creating a beautiful appearance.

“It’s been a while, Wiegratz.”

A familiar yet unfamiliar voice penetrated his brain.

Matian’s eyes shook uncontrollably.

The Demon King, who had taken over the holy woman’s shell, also known as the Black Sage, had the exact same face as Rukna Closet.

[This is the timeline separator]

Rukna crossed the school grounds and came outside.

The thick fog that had blanketed the military academy had almost disappeared.

As if it had been blocking the outside, she could now see the chaotic state of the capital.

The tide of battle was flowing unfavorably for the humans.

Rukna searched for Matian, who would be at the vanguard.

Even though they were all wearing the same armor, it wasn’t difficult to spot him, who was taller than the others.

‘But why is he so injured?’

His body was covered in wounds. In the midst of that, far from doing his best, he focused on defense and couldn’t properly wield his sword even once.

‘What happened?’

Rukna scanned the enemy lines to grasp this ridiculous situation.

A dark mage? The moment she confirmed the opponent who had cornered Matian with narrowed eyes.

‘Who the hell is that?’

Rukna thought she would faint.

A woman who looked exactly like her was smiling at him.

‘…It’s the Demon King.’

Even without being told, she could instinctively tell. That was the Demon King who had taken over Closet’s body.

The Demon King, who had not fully recovered her power, retreated into a black portal from time to time to replenish her energy.

Just then, a very brief respite also came to the allied camp.

Rukna hurriedly ran towards Matian.

She couldn’t let him misunderstand the Demon King as her.

She wanted to let him know as soon as possible that it was clearly a fake and that she was the real one.

However, the path to Matian was not smooth.

“What’s with that priestess?”

“I know, she looks similar to the Demon King? Ominous.”

“Unlucky. Shouldn’t we restrain her right away?”

The imperial army, which had been attacked by the Demon King, was wary of Rukna, who looked exactly like it.

Even the soldiers who had received help from Rukna mixed in with the crowd and gave her sharp glares.

‘Was this how Matian felt?’

Being misunderstood as a demon was a first for her today, but he had lived like that his whole life.

‘I’m so frustrated just dealing with it for one day, how did that guy endure it?’

She belatedly felt like she truly understood his feelings, and emotions welled up.

Rukna roughly wiped the tears that had gathered in the corners of her eyes and hastened her steps.

After one round of fighting ended, Matian was leading the soldiers.

As soon as his gloomy eyes spotted Rukna in the crowd, they regained their clear light.

“Rukna?”

A delighted expression appeared on his face, then quickly darkened.

“Why are you here? It’s dangerous.”

“Can you recognize me? You didn’t confuse me with the demon?”

“Haha, how could I not recognize you?”

He answered firmly, saying that would never happen even if he died.

“Then why are you just taking hits like an idiot! It’s infuriating!”

“It’s because that demon looks like you. At important moments, the face of the one I love kept coming to mind.”

“….”

“But now that I’m facing the real Rukna, I don’t think it will come to mind anymore. So go back now.”

Matian pushed on Rukna’s back.

Then, as if pleading, he ordered her not to think about fighting directly as it was dangerous here, and to support the rear by taking care of the injured in a safe place.

“My place is here. Right now, no one would want to receive treatment from me anyway.”

Rukna picked up a sword that had been discarded on the ground.

Matian grabbed her wrist and took the sword back, placing it where it was.

“Still, you can’t. I can’t bear to see you get hurt.”

“You think I’m not the same? You stupid idiot!”

Rukna punched his chest and infused holy power.

Black smoke rose like a haze from the wounds he had received from the Demon King, and the festering wounds healed cleanly.

“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t heal me even if I came back injured?”

Nice. Matian smiled crookedly.

“Is this the time to smile? Get a grip.”

“Yeah, I need to get a grip. I will definitely do it. This is my destiny.”

Matian adjusted his grip on the holy sword and mounted his horse. The Demon King was descending to the ground again.

As Rukna looked up worriedly, Matian leaned his upper body down and closed his eyes.

“Pray for victory, Rukna.”

This was his way of asking her to kiss him.

Rukna infused holy power over his rough lips, wishing for him not to get hurt.

“I was hoping you’d put something else in.”

Matian made a mischievous remark and slyly opened one eye.

As the soldiers glanced over, Rukna hurriedly straightened his tilted upper body.

“What the hell are you asking for on the battlefield, Commander? Have some decorum.”

“I’ll be back. I’m not planning on keeping any decorum if I win, so prepare yourself, Rukna.”

Matian grinned and spurred his horse forward again. The soldiers shouted and advanced behind him.

[This is the timeline separator]

Rukna, who had been watching Matian from a distance, clenched her fists tightly.

Matian’s sword moved more sharply than before, but his tactic of focusing on defense remained unchanged.

‘We can’t win like this.’

Seeing his passive appearance, the prophecy book of Carzan came to mind.

‘In the prophecy, Matian died in vain without even being able to demonstrate his skills.’

Back then, she couldn’t understand why he did that. But now, she felt like she knew the reason.

‘Holy Woman Closet must have tried to seal the Demon King, but instead was consumed by it.’

However, the holy woman’s soul definitely still remained faintly inside.

The subtly distorted holy power emanating from the Demon King attested to that fact.

‘Matian wants to protect that.’

It was difficult to distinguish whether he was doing it as the reincarnation of Wiegratz for Closet, or as Matian out of regard for someone who resembled her.

But one thing was certain.

‘You truly love me.’

The man who had walked the path of a hero his entire life with the sole determination to defeat the Demon King hesitated to point his sword, that’s how much he cherished her.

‘What a fool.’

Rukna burst into a hollow laugh as she recalled her memories with him.

Strangely, in all those scenes, Matian was always considerate of her.

Believing her obvious lies, waiting for a cowardly runaway, and secretly protecting her on dark nights – Matian Wiegratz.

Then the conclusion was obvious.

‘Matian can never kill the Demon King.’

Just like in the prophecy book, he would have the Demon King’s fragment embedded in his heart taken away, but he would not be able to perfectly cut down that existence.

At the most crucial moment, she was certain that his love in this life and his connection from his past life would make his hands hesitate.

‘So this is my role.’

From the moment young Rukna’s soul was split in half and bounced to Earth to become Kim Ha-young.

To the holy sword being dawn delivered to the girl who had been living like a foreigner, causing her to return to her original world.

Going through a bumpy process, she had become the world’s sole variable.

The one whose name was not mentioned even once in the prophecy book had become the game changer who would alter the fate of the world.

〈Closet is the anchor that sustains the world from the black waves.〉

The words her mother had left long ago suddenly came to mind.

She had hugged her tightly, saying she would grow up to be the strongest hero who could support a vast world.

As if she had anticipated this day.

‘I don’t really understand such a grandiose mission of sustaining the world, Mom.’

But she felt she could gallantly protect at least one man she loved.

For him, she would gladly sink into the cold night sea where light does not reach.

‘Can you hear my voice, Bisby?’

Rukna repeated the name of the holy sword for the first time in a long while.

‘If you can hear me, answer me.’

With firm resolve, she instinctively became certain of the one and only way to achieve victory.

As if struck by lightning, what she had to do going forward clearly came to mind.

‘Why aren’t you answering? You can hear my voice.’

Rukna spoke, following the traces of the sword that emitted a sacred light in the distance.

‘I understand now. Why you chose me as your master from the beginning.’

The holy sword must have crossed countless dimensions to come to her in order to meet the master who would save this world.

But the master treated it as a wrong coincidence, entrusted it to the wrong person, and ran away.

From the holy sword’s perspective, it was enough to make it angry.

‘I’m really sorry, Bisby. I’m sincerely reflecting on my actions. I hope the great holy sword will forgive its lacking master one more time.’

I miss you. You were my first comrade, Bisby.

Rukna prayed earnestly with eyes brimming with tears.

Perhaps sensing her heart, after a few seconds, a welcome voice was heard.

[…Anyway. The great holy sword is too soft-hearted for its own good.]