North. Before the unbreakable wall.

From the mountain range, ice dust mixed with snow flew on the wind.

Edan’s black cloak fluttered behind him as he stood with his back to the grasslands.

The place where the Empire saw the greatest surge of monsters.

The grasslands beneath the mountains were wide open, devoid of trees that might slow the monsters’ advance. Thus, once monsters breached the wall, it was only a matter of time before they infiltrated northern cities and spread into other territories.

Passing through the northern urban center and brushing past several small towns led directly to the capital of the central region.

It was an extremely dangerous location—precisely why mages fortified it with powerful artifact traps.

That wall had now collapsed.

A wall built perfectly, without even a paper-thin gap, had split cleanly down the middle as though struck from above, exploding outward.

It looked as if a colossal monster had kicked it apart—but monsters could not target one precise spot so accurately. Their intelligence was extremely low, and they spent most battles in frenzied states, launching indiscriminate attacks.

For monsters to reach the wall, they had to pass through two stages. First, they had to pierce through the jagged ice mountain range and arrive at the passage known as “The Gap.”

The Gap was a magical barrier created by mages—an invisible, transparent wall. Normally, Edan scheduled fixed times to open this barrier and fight.

Each night, he battled nearly the same number of monsters to prevent them from overwhelming the other side of the wall.

Though the barrier’s seams had malfunctioned or partially collapsed several times before, the wall itself had never been destroyed—until now.

And this happened precisely when monster numbers were dwindling, when the war seemed nearing its end.

Edan frowned, clicked his tongue lightly, and his eyes narrowed coldly.

His sharp gaze, fixed silently on the ruined section, shifted once to the left, then once to the right.

Then it returned, settling beyond the transparent barrier within the split wall.

Inside, everything was drenched in blood.

The ability-knights fought frantically, swinging swords and emitting blue light, but overwhelmed by enemy numbers, all were battered and bleeding.

Monsters, accustomed to darkness, chased bright colors and light—but their eyes were highly sensitive. Thus, under the sun’s intense glare, they could barely see and usually remained dormant during daylight. Yet for some reason, monsters were now awake and rampaging wildly under the midday sun.

Though Edan had waged war against monsters since the first purge began, he had never witnessed a scene like today’s.

“Damn it. Monsters in broad daylight….”

It was at the moment Edan muttered this, tightening his grip on his sword,

that the barrier split open—and a single monster burst out.

“Ah, no!”

One of the battling knights spun around desperately, shouting as he chased after the escaping monster.

At that cry, Edan strode forward decisively.

Like someone who knew no fear, Edan walked straight toward the massive monster charging at him—and swung his sword.

Ssshhhhhk—.

The monster’s red blood poured over Edan’s cheek and head.

Even without activating his ability, Edan’s blade cleanly split the monster’s belly open.

The creature collapsed, spilling its innards.

Unflinching, Edan severed the trembling monster’s neck with a single strike, cutting off its breath completely.

“Your Grace!”

At that moment, Ruben’s silhouette leapt through the split monster carcass toward him. Edan flicked his sword up and down, shaking off the thick blood, and asked,

“Ruben, confirmed?”

“Yes. The number of monsters continues to increase.”

“What do the northern mages say?”

“They believe the barrier seam will hold for a while—thanks to our repairs last time.”

As he spoke, Ruben glanced at the barrier. The tear caused by the escaped monster was already sealing itself shut.

“But with so many monsters, it probably won’t last more than five or six hours.”

The chill wind blew, fluttering Edan’s hair.

“Your Grace. This wasn’t done by monsters. Someone deliberately destroyed the wall—that’s certain.”

“I think so too.”

Someone capable of using powerful magic to dismantle the wall’s traps.

Imperial mages, no doubt. An obvious conclusion.

Only someone of the Imperial mages’ caliber could achieve this—and only one person could command such a being in this manner.

“Say… Prince Killian, for instance.”

“…….”

Ruben thought the same—but offered neither confirmation nor denial.

He understood Edan’s lingering habit of calling the Crown Prince “Brother” when no one else was around.

Edan wiped the monster’s blood trickling down his cheek with the back of his hand.

His face had lost all trace of amusement.

“Send a servant to the eastern fortress to check whether Latieana is safe. And summon Dante from the south.”

“The Duke?”

“Yes. He’s the one who best utilizes magic in the Empire. Inform him the wall has collapsed—and tell him to bring anything that might help.”

If his suspicion was correct—if Killian was behind this—he needed to resolve the situation swiftly.

Thick veins rose on Edan’s knuckles and nape as he gripped his sword.

Then, overwhelming blue light surged powerfully around him.

For some unknown reason, my entire body felt as if it were shattering with pain.

Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around the hurting areas—only to invite even more agony.

“Ugh….”

I groaned instinctively and opened my eyes.

My vision was blurry, my eyelids heavy—I blinked several times before I could see clearly.

And before me stood Ivy.

“Hello, my friend. Beloved Latieana.”

Backlit by sunlight pouring through the large window, Ivy greeted me warmly.

“Ivy…!”

I quickly sat up and scrambled backward.

That was it—I hit something behind me with no room left to retreat.

I turned to see the bedpost blocking my path.

I swiftly scanned my surroundings.

This wasn’t Ivy’s bedroom from my last visit to the temple.

It was a smaller room—with a large window and a long sofa beneath it.

And one bed. That was all the furniture.

One of the temple’s chambers, perhaps? I clearly remembered fainting after seeing the black-haired man.

I recalled that much…

‘Red eyes.’

The same eye color as Edan’s. Handsome features, raven-black hair like the night. Could that man have been Crown Prince Killian?

Damn it, Ivy. You’ve dragged even the Crown Prince into this.

Seeing my darkening expression, Ivy smiled with evident satisfaction.

“What’s wrong, Latieana?”

Are you insane? Ivy was acting shamelessly, as if what had happened between us last time had never occurred—

as if we were truly long-lost, cherished friends reuniting.

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you glad to see me? We’ve finally met again—why do you react like that?”

“Don’t make me laugh. How can you possibly say you’re glad to see me?”

I staggered to my feet.

As if to confirm the pain I’d felt moments earlier wasn’t imaginary, agony surged through my body again.

It was true I’d collapsed facing Killian—but even if I’d hit the floor then, could it possibly hurt this much?

Just as I grimaced, struggling to endure the strange pain coursing through me,

Ivy settled onto the long sofa and grinned.

“Hurts?”

I hadn’t said a word about pain, yet Ivy clearly knew exactly what I was feeling.

“What did you do to my body?”

“Nothing. Not yet.”

Ivy’s eyes raked over me from head to toe. I rolled up my sleeve to inspect my throbbing arm.

What the—?

Both my left and right arms were covered in dark bruises, as if I’d been beaten with something.

Since my calves and thighs also ached, I lifted my skirt.

“…!”

Sure enough, bruises dotted my legs too.

I hadn’t seen a mirror, but given how much my shoulders and back hurt, they were surely in the same state.

I bit down hard on my lower lip and glared up at Ivy.

“You call that ‘nothing’? Ivy, you…!”

Ivy clasped her hands together and burst into giggles.

“What’s so shocking? I beat you—of course you’d have injuries like this.”

Ha. Unbelievable. What?

You mean you beat me while I was unconscious? Enough to leave my body this wrecked? How?

I examined my injuries again.

The bruises were far too severe to have been inflicted by a frail woman. Closer inspection revealed reddish hues—clearly blood bruises.

“Latieana, did you know? Since coming here, I’ve learned so many new things.”

Ivy rose from the sofa and stepped toward me.

“The position of Great Saintess is quite something, isn’t it?”

I braced my trembling legs, gripping the bedpost tightly to keep from falling.

“You won’t feel pain the moment you’re struck—but when you wake up, it becomes this agonizing.”

Ivy, now standing right before me, pressed her fingertip firmly onto my bruised shoulder and smiled.

“Even when beaten thoroughly with a solid wooden rod, you remained completely unaware—just like always.”

This girl is insane.

I seized Ivy’s hand pressing my shoulder and violently shoved it away.

“Ugh!”

Clearly unprepared for this reaction—her expression, smug and condescending moments before, crumpled.

I didn’t stop—I shoved Ivy’s shoulder hard with my palm.

Weak as I was, my shove carried all my hatred—and Ivy staggered backward.

“What?! Are you insane? How dare you—?!”

Panicked, Ivy raised her hand toward me—but I struck her cheek first.

Smack! Her head snapped sideways. A moment of silence passed, then Ivy slowly straightened her head.

She stared at me, bewildered as if deeply shocked—then suddenly began screaming.

“You mad bitch! How dare you hit me? Who do you think you are? Latieana! Are you insane? Absolutely crazy! Do you even know who I am?!”

I stood straight, looking Ivy directly in the eye, and said,

“I know. You’re a witch.”

At that moment, Ivy lunged at me like a person possessed.