At the moment when I was about to abandon all attachments to life and let everything go, the voice I desperately wanted to hear echoed in my mind.

‘Come back without getting hurt.’

The promise we made before parting.

Herdin, who was pointing a dagger at his own heart, hesitated at the sudden voice that came to mind.

He hadn’t properly kept any of the promises he made to her.

Neither the promise from his past life to attend Asiel’s birthday, nor the promise to divorce her after resolving the incident at the Empress’s palace.

He believed it was all for her sake.

That it would be better to resolve everything before going to Asiel’s birthday, even if he was late.

That it would be better for her to stay by his side rather than divorcing him and becoming another nobleman’s second wife.

Now he knows.

That wasn’t what she wanted.

It was just his selfishness, pushed forward under the guise of love.

Herdin turned the dagger pointed at his heart and stabbed his palm instead.

With pain as if his hand would fall off, his consciousness returned. His eyes, which had been blurring from mana corruption, regained focus.

Herdin gritted his teeth, enduring the pain.

He didn’t want to become her guilty conscience. So he had to return no matter what.

Though he had already missed too much, he would keep his promise to her from now on.

You were my last attachment to life.

Herdin advanced, launching area-effect magic at the demons blocking his path. His hand, stabbed by the dagger, hurt as it gripped the horse’s reins, but he paid it no mind.

Each time he used powerful magic, his consciousness was momentarily consumed before returning. Herdin bit his hand and reopened the wound with the dagger.

‘…Blair.’

With the sole determination to return to her.

Countless demons attacked them, and fell to Herdin’s attacks. As this continued, the self-inflicted wounds on his body multiplied.

As the pain repeated, his attachment to life, which he thought he had abandoned, became clearer.

I don’t want to die.

I want to see you. Again, you…

By the time he had stabbed his left arm with the dagger so much that the pain no longer registered as pain, his consciousness was fading from blood loss rather than mana corruption.

Another demon appeared before him in that state.

‘Just a little more.’

Herdin clenched his teeth, desperately trying to hold onto his fading consciousness. And just as he was about to use magic and inflict another wound on himself,

There was a flash before his eyes, and bright light erupted from the ground around him.

The demon, unable to avoid the light, screamed and writhed in agony. At the same time, the wounds covering Herdin’s body were healed.

‘…Holy power?’

Gerard was dead, and Miela was bound, unconscious, and loaded into the carriage.

Then who could it be?

As if answering that question, a shadow swiftly appeared and carved out the demon’s core, crushing it.

Herdin’s eyes widened as he recognized the face.

“You…?”

“Please refrain from using your power as much as possible. If you go berserk, it will endanger your wife.”

“How do you know that?”

Herdin asked, then immediately followed up as if he had an idea.

“Did you meet Blair?”

“This isn’t the best timing for a detailed explanation. But one thing I can say for certain.”

Mikhail added.

“At this moment, I am your ally.”

As Herdin looked at him as if to ask what he meant, a demon approached from behind them. Seeing it, Mikhail said,

“Let’s hide and talk for now.”

Herdin’s group and Mikhail hid behind a collapsed building to avoid the demon.

Herdin looked at his left arm, which had been covered in wounds. Though still wet with blood, the wounds were completely healed.

‘I thought he wasn’t an ordinary bartender since I received Caligo’s report, but to think he even had holy power.’

At that moment, Mikhail asked Herdin.

“Is the Pope dead?”

Instead of answering, Herdin stared at Mikhail. He seemed to know something for certain.

“Yes. He’s dead.”

“Did you confirm the body?”

“Unless a human can survive having their head cut off, he’s dead.”

At Herdin’s words, Mikhail’s expression hardened.

This meant that even though Gerard was dead, Herdin and Blair’s seal remained.

‘Still, now that the one inducing the berserk state is dead, there shouldn’t be much risk of going berserk even without removing the seal.’

The problem now was surviving this place overrun with demons.

“This is just my guess, but I think the demons have gathered like this because of something that man did before he died.”

“That’s a reasonable deduction. The demons appeared after the Pope died. But if it was magic that summoned the demons, it should have stopped when he died.”

The two fell into thought. After pondering for a moment, Mikhail spoke first.

“I’ve heard that dark mages who have practiced black magic for a long time have their bodies mixed with mana from another world, becoming similar to demons.”

“Similar to demons?”

“Apparently, while they look human outwardly, their body composition becomes similar to that of demons. I wonder if the demons are recognizing him as one of their own and are agitated by his death.”

Herdin found a flaw in Mikhail’s reasoning.

Demons, except for a few rare individuals, don’t become agitated even at the death of their own kind. This means that so many demons wouldn’t move for the death of a mere human who was once a dark mage.

And crucially, Mikhail’s hypothesis doesn’t explain why the magic is maintained even after Gerard’s death.

‘Becoming like a demon’s body…’

Herdin considered the characteristics of the demons he had dealt with so far, assuming Gerard was not human but a demon.

He had seen countless demons in the North. Surely there must be a way to overcome this situation in their characteristics.

After considering various hypotheses, Herdin seemed to have an idea and asked Mikhail:

“Can you cover me? With holy power.”

Mikhail looked at him with puzzled eyes.

“If he became like a demon, the Pope should have a core too. That would explain why the demons have gathered like this.”

“What’s the connection between the core and the demons gathering?”

“Demons sometimes eat the cores of other demons to become stronger. For a dark mage of the Pope’s caliber, that core would possess strong power.”

The demons were drawn to this power and came to Nerha to claim the core. This was a deduction only possible for Herdin, who knew demon physiology well.

“Among high-ranking demons that use magic, some maintain their magic through their core even after death. The Pope might be maintaining the seal using the same principle.”

“…If we think of it that way, this whole situation makes sense.”

“So we need to destroy it before the demons devour it.”

It would be troublesome if a demon appeared that had absorbed Gerard’s power. Fortunately, judging by the demons still swarming around, it seemed none had claimed the core yet.

Mikhail finally understood Herdin’s plan and nodded.

“We don’t have time to hesitate. Let’s go.”

“If my hypothesis is correct, there will be far stronger and more numerous demons swarming there than here. Are you prepared?”

“If I didn’t have that level of resolve, I wouldn’t have come this far.”

Mikhail was the one who felt the most responsibility for this situation.

He felt that only by resolving this situation with his own hands could he forgive the blood of the one he hated flowing in his veins.

As Herdin and Mikhail were about to move after formulating their plan, Luth and the Delmark knights who had been listening interrupted.

“Your Excellency, we’ll join you.”

“This is a matter of our lives too, we can’t just stand by, can we?”

Herdin stared at them for a moment before readily agreeing.

“Well, it would be better if those creatures had more prey to choose from.”

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to use us as bait?”

Luth and the knights exclaimed in horror and grumbled.

Mikhail quietly observed Herdin as he skillfully gave tactical instructions to the others.

Though the holy power had healed the external wounds, it couldn’t restore the blood and energy already lost. Judging by his torn clothes and the wounds they suggested, he must be struggling just to stand right now.

But seeing how perfectly he concealed and endured it, Mikhail thought he truly was a born leader.

Seeing him like this, he could somewhat understand why Gerard had so despised Kashion and Herdin, who resembled him.

* * *

Herdin’s group, having formulated their strategy, arrived at the place where the final battle with Gerard had taken place, avoiding conflicts with demons as much as possible.

As Herdin had predicted, powerful demons were swarming there.

The demons were fighting among themselves to claim the core. This was a favorable situation for Herdin’s group.

“When I approach, use holy power to temporarily block their vision. During that time, I’ll destroy the core.”

“Understood.”

“And after I destroy the core, you all take care of the demons.”

If they failed to find and destroy the core in that window, the demons would regain their sight, discover Herdin right in front of them, and attack all at once.

In that case, Herdin, who wanted to avoid going berserk, would have only one option. Suicide.

Therefore, they had only one chance.

Mikhail and the knights nodded, understanding the instructions.

Herdin created a foothold with magic and instantly approached the demons.

“Grrrr!”

Just as the demons fighting among themselves noticed his presence, Mikhail cast holy magic. In an instant, everything was enveloped in light.

‘Come back without getting hurt.’

Herdin plunged into the light, recalling that voice.

* * *

At that time, Blair was still in the forest where she had met Mikhail. Due to the seal reacting and initiating mana resonance, she felt uneasy about moving somewhere else.

Above all, she couldn’t bear the anxiety of crossing the border and leaving Herdin behind in this state.

The maid anxiously watched Blair, who was quietly leaning against the carriage.

“My lady, are you alright?”

“…I’m fine. It’s just that I feel a bit strange.”

The mana resonance was draining her mana but didn’t cause pain. It was just the unpleasant feeling of something leaving her body.

Blair sighed, feeling her rapidly beating heart. Though this feeling was unpleasant, she could endure it indefinitely.

If only Herdin would return safely.

As Blair was anxiously fidgeting, hoping for his safe return,

‘The mana…’

The mana resonance stopped.

Surprised, Blair looked down at her collarbone and saw the magic circle, which had been glowing bright red, gradually fading.

Seeing this, Blair’s eyes began to show great agitation.

The cessation of mana resonance meant either the black magic linking the seal had been broken, or… the other party of the seal had disappeared.