“Are you injured?”

Mikhail first checked on Blair’s well-being.

Blair blinked, seemingly surprised by Mikhail’s unexpected appearance, then nodded.

“I’m fine, thanks to you. But how did you know to come here?”

The knights who had been wary of the stranger’s arrival relaxed their guard upon seeing Blair’s gesture indicating it was alright.

Mikhail glanced once at the monsters moving in groups towards Nerha before speaking.

“I was on my way to Nerha. I was avoiding the monsters’ path, but there was a section nearby where they were stagnating, so I came to check. I’m glad I was able to help you in time.”

“You’re going to Nerha? Even after seeing that?”

In response to Blair’s question, Mikhail gave a bitter smile instead of answering.

On the day he confronted Gerard, Mikhail had been buried under the debris of the collapsed villa.

At that time, having sustained fatal injuries from the battle with Gerard, he survived by deploying a barrier using his remaining holy power just before being buried under the debris.

However, having exhausted all his holy power in creating the barrier, he couldn’t immediately heal his wounds and lost consciousness. It was Anna and his subordinates who rescued him.

Mikhail, who had been hovering between life and death due to his critical injuries, was only able to heal himself using holy power after regaining some strength.

It took a full two days just to recover enough strength to barely heal himself.

The first thing he asked upon regaining consciousness was about the fate of the subordinate who had accompanied him to the villa.

Anna hesitated for a moment before answering.

‘We couldn’t bring Lord Frederick back.’

He, who had been waiting on the ground, lost his life buried under the building’s debris, and Gerard, unaware that Mikhail’s subordinate had come along, mistakenly thought Mikhail had died.

One more reason to settle things with Gerard by his own hands.

After recovering for a few days, Mikhail came straight to Nerha.

It was clear that Gerard, who had been planning to summon undead to provoke Herdin’s rampage, would cause trouble, and Blair would be in danger in the process.

Looking at the unharmed woman before him, Mikhail answered.

“There’s a matter I must take responsibility for and finish.”

He answered with a smile, but his eyes were filled with an unbreakable resolve. That appearance overlapped with Herdin’s, who had said he would end his ill-fated relationship with Gerard.

Blair was curious about what reason could be so compelling as to risk one’s life to go to Nerha, but she had no right to ask.

Because the line she had drawn between them was clear.

“By the way, where are you headed, my lady?”

“I’m going to Libren. It seems Nerha is dangerous.”

“A wise decision. But where is His Excellency?”

Blair’s expression darkened at his question.

“He… is still in Nerha. He also has something to finish.”

Mikhail furrowed his brow.

Gerard, who had been planning to summon undead to provoke Herdin’s rampage, and Herdin, who had evacuated Blair in advance.

Knowing all the circumstances between the two, Mikhail immediately realized what ‘that matter’ was that Herdin needed to finish.

“…That doesn’t seem like a very wise decision.”

He knew that Herdin was the only one capable of facing Gerard. But it was too reckless.

Right now, he was in a state where his imprint with Blair hadn’t been severed.

If he were to lose control and go on a rampage during the battle with Gerard, it would be Blair, connected by the imprint, who would be in danger.

He regretted not telling them about the imprint earlier.

But unlike what Mikhail knew, Blair, who was already aware of the imprint, was worried not about herself but about Herdin.

‘If Herdin goes on a rampage…’

He had lived in fear throughout his past life, dreading that he might die caught up in that rampage.

The rampage only ends when one of the two dies.

If nothing is done, Blair, who would have her mana drained, is more likely to die.

Herdin, who knows this fact better than anyone, would make an obvious choice just before going on a rampage.

“I think I should hurry to Nerha.”

As Mikhail was about to turn around with a grim expression, it happened.

“Ah…”

Feeling as if something was being drained from her body, Blair’s vision blurred and she grasped the carriage seat.

“My lady!”

Mikhail hurriedly caught Blair as she collapsed, her legs giving out beneath her pale face.

As he examined her condition, he noticed a clear magic circle glowing on Blair’s collarbone.

The imprint had begun to react, and Blair’s mana had started flowing into Herdin.

Feeling this, Blair instinctively knew.

‘Herdin… is in danger.’

It was the situation she had been so worried about.

* * *

Miela, who had lost consciousness, opened her eyes with difficulty. As soon as she regained consciousness, her head and back ached as if they were about to break.

After blinking a few times, her blurry vision cleared and she saw the scene in the room.

The corpses of knights strewn throughout the elegant room.

“Gasp…”

Miela inhaled sharply at the horrific sight before her. With that breath, the memories from before she lost consciousness came flooding back.

The knights of Nerha had rushed at Herdin, who stood in their way. He dealt with Miela first. Keeping a cleric with healing powers alive would mean the dying knights could be continuously revived.

Miela was helplessly attacked by the sudden magic and crashed into the wall behind her, losing consciousness.

As Miela, who had barely regained consciousness, surveyed the room, she saw a knight falling with a final scream.

As the knight collapsed lifelessly, Herdin’s blood-stained figure was revealed behind him. Those eyes, so terribly calm despite having killed so many people, didn’t seem human.

At that moment, the man she had loved so much felt utterly alien. Her heart sank.

Now, the only living people in this room were Miela and Herdin.

Miela, who had been breathing heavily, froze as her eyes met Herdin’s gaze.

Herdin, who had been looking at Miela, approached her, stepping over the corpses. Uncontrolled mana was rippling around him.

It was as if death itself was walking towards her.

Was it due to the extreme fear of facing death, or because her feelings for him were true love?

Even at this sight, her heart raced.

Miela, who had been trembling in fear, had become inexplicably composed by the time Herdin reached her. It made her appear rather bizarre.

Herdin looked down at her with cold eyes as she still gazed at him with eyes of admiration, then pressed his sword to her throat.

Clerics belonged to the temple, so punishing and executing them was only possible if accepted by the temple.

Also, as she was the main instigator who had driven a wedge between Nerha and them, keeping her alive would prove where the tangled diplomatic issues originated.

But Herdin, whose emotions were beginning to be swayed by the turbulent mana, no longer had the rationality to consider such things.

Just as Herdin’s sword was about to slash Miela’s throat.

“It’s sad that I couldn’t save you in the end, but… I’m happy that I can die for you.”

Her words stopped him.

Miela’s eyes, as she spoke, were filled with terror, but at the same time, they were full of belief in her convictions.

For me.

The sight of her justifying her actions with the same words he had said to Blair was nauseating.

Seeing her use the same words he had said to Blair to justify her actions made him laugh.

Was this how Blair felt about him?

Herdin, who had been laughing like a madman with blood splattered on his face, lowered the sword he had been pointing at Miela. Soon, the laughter disappeared from his face as if it had never been there.

“No, you shouldn’t die so easily.”

She’s a woman who has lived half her life revered as a cleric.

She would have believed that she was righteous and that all her actions were just.

The moment when those who had supported her all turn their backs, and that belief is completely shattered by others, would be a hell worse than death for her.

At Herdin’s unexpected judgment, Miela’s expression twisted as she had been prepared to die with a sense of relief.

“Your Excellency.”

Luth, who had just finished preparations to leave and come looking for Herdin, paused at the horrific scene in the room.

Herdin turned to Luth and gestured towards Miela with his chin.

“This woman, tie her up and load her into the carriage. She’s a traitor.”

Luth followed Herdin’s order and tied up Miela, loading her into the carriage.

Just as the remaining servants and few knights, along with Herdin who had mounted his horse, were about to leave the mansion.

“Stop!”

The knights of Nerha blocked their path.

“We sent knights to escort the Duchess, didn’t you meet them?”

At the knights’ questioning, Herdin let out a low, irritated sigh. Having killed them all, he now faced the troublesome task of explaining the situation with his own mouth.

“I met them.”

“Where are they?”

“I killed them. They broke their oath first and attacked.”

Threatening mana flowed from Herdin’s body as he spoke impassively, as if devoid of emotion.

Even at a glance, his appearance was far from normal, and the knights of Nerha, though angered, couldn’t respond rashly.

The tense atmosphere was broken by the sound of hoofbeats.

“Captain!”

A knight who had hurriedly returned from outside the mansion delivered the news with a pale face.

“Monsters have appeared in the town.”

At this news, not only the knights of Nerha but also Herdin furrowed his brow.

“‘Monsters’? How many?”

“M-Many…”

As if to add to his explanation, the sound of buildings collapsing and screams could be heard in the distance. The knights who were about to head to the town hesitated, looking at Herdin behind them.

To this, Herdin spoke in a cold voice.

“Will you die fighting me?”

“…”

“Or will you go to save your families?”

After a moment of contemplation, the captain of the Nerha knights shouted to his subordinates.

“Everyone, to the town!”

The knights of Nerha quickly dispersed to fetch their horses. Herdin, who had been looking at the cleared path ahead, immediately mounted his horse.

“Let’s go.”

* * *

No sooner had they entered the town than a worm-like monster attacked Herdin’s group. Herdin quickly killed the monster by destroying its core and surveyed the city.

The situation was much worse than he had thought.

Monsters that filled Nerha were mercilessly attacking humans. There were so many that it was impossible to pass through without eliminating the monsters.

In the brief moment he was assessing the situation, monsters that had spotted them came attacking. Herdin cursed and used magic to dispatch the monsters.

At that moment, he felt his heart sink and then start beating violently. Simultaneously, an uncontrollable murderous intent surged.

‘This feeling…’

The mana overflowing in his palm began to ripple.

It was the precursor to a rampage.

“Your Excellency, what should we do now… Your Excellency?”

Luth, who had been dazed by the seemingly hopeless situation, turned to look at Herdin.

Herdin looked alternately at the reality before him and his own physical state, then clenched his fist as if he had made a decision.

“…I’ll clear a path, you run at full speed without thinking of fighting back.”

“But…”

Luth was about to object to Herdin’s order but closed his mouth.

If everyone got off the carriage and fought the monsters, they would become monster food without being able to escape this place. For now, Herdin’s judgment was the most rational decision.

“There’s no time. Hurry.”

Luth reluctantly climbed onto the carriage, unable to resist the urging.

Herdin fingered the dagger in his inner pocket. It was something he had prepared in case of emergency before the battle with Gerard.

To stop the rampage by killing himself if he were to go on a rampage.

As Herdin was lost in thought for a moment, the monsters spotted them and began to attack.

He cleared a path and moved forward, killing monsters with area-of-effect magic. With each use of magic, the mana inside his body surged violently. Herdin gritted his teeth.

Not yet.

Just a little more.

But no matter how many monsters he cleared and moved forward, there seemed to be no end. In his consciousness, gradually being consumed by uncontrolled murderous intent, only one person remained.

‘…Blair.’

He could feel that he was really approaching his limit now.

Herdin took out his dagger as he used his last area-of-effect magic.