Dark magic ritual.

Inferior demons tainted by dark magic.

Everything started with dark magic.

“I’m tired.”

Sharlov whispered softly.

Holding the reins, she silently passed through the yellow road.

“…….”

The lengthening silence made even the Imperial Guards solemn. Signals were exchanged among the guards.

‘What’s going on?’

‘Ask her.’

‘Complicated, waiting.’

‘Soon, clouds. If left like this, we’ll get wet in the rain.’

Indeed, dark clouds were gathering.

“Your Majesty.”

“…….”

“Are you listening, Your Majesty?”

There was no response to the calls of the following guards.

“I’ll go to the side for a moment.”

Katarina held the reins and approached.

“Where are you uncomfortable…”

The Empress turned her body.

A cold gaze swept through the air. Her eyes were vacant. It was like a worn-out pebble.

The worn-out pebble clashed and wore away. And, it became indifferent to everything.

“…….”

Katarina swallowed a dry spit.

‘Something is strange.’

The pupils of the Empress were dilated.

That was, inhuman. It erased the human-like parts by itself.

Humans intertwine in human relationships and mix in culture to remain human, but she didn’t mix in.

The Empress seemed to have emerged from there alone.

‘As if cut off.’

Katarina sensed it. It’s dangerous!

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”

Katarina roughly pulled the Empress’s shoulder.

“Where are you looking!”

“Ah…”

“Your Majesty! You’re losing yourself! Hold the reins tightly!”

Katarina shouted harshly as if waking up a dying soldier’s eyes. Urgent.

Touching the royal body was against the etiquette of the palace, but she knew it was impolite even though she was aware of it.

‘What is this, deep sense?’

Thump,

A pressure pressed down on her brain.

“Can’t you get your minds straight!”

Some guards lost their minds and dropped the reins. Other guards grabbed those who did and sat them straight on the saddle.

“Don’t lose your minds!”

“…Sorry.”

“Seems like he’s possessed by a ghost.”

This was different. It was different from before.

The Empress exuded restrained solemnity.

‘A disparity you feel when facing a different being.’

A being fundamentally different from humans.

Such disparity flowed around the Empress.

“You.”

Soon, Sharlov lowered his gaze.

“What.”

“…….”

“You’re absent-minded.”

Sharlov breathed out lightly.

“What about the imperial guards?”

“Some lost consciousness. Others are holding on. I shouted at the ones who lost their minds. Grabbed their necks and made them sit properly on the saddle.”

“Don’t lose your minds.”

Sharlov carefully felt his throat.

“Where are you uncomfortable?”

“Breathing is a bit stuffy.”
Sharlov tilted his head, straining his neck.

“Did the last trace break off at Pofuta?”

“…….”

“We’re going to Pofuta.”

“That’s the activity suppression front!”

The Imperial Guards spoke as if warning.

“There are paths you have to walk, even if you know you’ll get hurt. Even if everything under your feet gets stripped away.”

Sharlov replied only that much.

The commander of the Imperial Second Knights swallowed a dry spit. The Second Knights were directly under the Empress’s personal guard.

‘A disparity.’

Now, the Empress exuded a disparity. It seemed like she was losing one by one of the qualities that allowed humans to exist as humans….

Such a feeling of disparity.

In the end, he exchanged a brief gesture with the knights.

‘Did you send reinforcements to the suppression unit?’

‘Sent reinforcements, and we received a signal that Her Majesty will arrive soon.’

Pofuta Suppression Front.

The Empress stepped on Pofuta’s land.

Pofuta was the front line where demons wriggled, and it was where the last trace of the Tuuto family was cut off.

‘Why do I feel like it’s getting farther away?’

The Empress seemed like a person who had fallen alone in a remote place.

“The suppression unit is returning!”

“Open the way. It’s the return of Emperor’s Majesty!”

The Emperor, leading the army, gradually approached.

Damp mist formed in the humid air. Everything became silent.

The rain pouring down on the suppression front also quieted down, and only the crying of the grasshoppers was heard.

Zhiruk.

Zhir.

The Imperial Second Knights and the suppression unit also gradually melted into this silence.

The suppression operation also reached a state of calm.

Tock, the raindrops from the dash splashed on the soil. The cold night wind cooled the cheeks.

Dash.

The cape was removed, and the curly hair was soaked by the rain.

Sharlov wet his throat. His cheek was pale without any color.

“Did I tell you something?”

“What story?”

Benjamin tightened the reins in his hand.

“When you’re left alone, you cover my mouth with eyes soaked in melancholy.”

“…….”

“You make me sad.”

Because I can’t get angry at you who came like this.

“Your mouth is blocked again.”

A solemnity flowed into the suppression unit that finished the suppression operation. The suppression unit sighed by the side.