The throne of Krata.

Lutan sat there with his eyes closed.

“……”

There was no one around him. The only thing nearby was a single, large sword—clearly his own.

Rumble…

Suddenly, the space around him began to tremble violently. It felt like an earthquake. Slowly, Lutan opened his eyes and looked ahead.

Step.

He stepped down from the throne and picked up the sword. Then, he began to walk forward.

When he opened the doors and stepped out, a commotion greeted him. Several attendants rushed toward him and cried out,

“Y-Your Majesty, the court mages have confirmed a spatial distortion phenomenon!”

“It’s in the palace garden! We don’t know what’s happening, so please, we must escort you to safety—!”

“Lead the way.”

But Lutan's response completely ignored their concerns.

“Pardon? Y-Your Majesty, but…”

“I will not repeat myself.”

The low voice rang with warning, and the attendants, flustered, had no choice but to bow their heads.

One attendant who had seen the exact location with his own eyes led Lutan to the southern lawn of the palace garden.

“…So this is where the World Tree once stood.”

Traces of it still remained in the area.

“Heh… heheheh.”

When Lutan suddenly began to laugh, the attendant who had guided him wore a puzzled expression.

“Y-Your Majesty?”

“Yes. It’s about time.”

Crack!

A rupture tore through the air as a violent gust of wind surged forth.

“Ah—Aaargh?!”

The rift extended to the attendant’s body, knocking him off balance and toppling him over.

“Gah?!”

BOOM!

The rupture exploded, disintegrating the attendant and the surrounding area into dust. And then, standing in the aftermath—

“Yelena.”

A white-haired elf.

Once a member of the Hero’s party, she now stood before Lutan.

“So, you used a branch of the World Tree.”

Lutan’s eyes shifted to Yelena’s hand.

Her bloodstained hand no longer held the bow she always carried.

“Yes. Breaking it wasn’t easy.”

She confessed that her hand had been bloodied from snapping the bow for this very reason, and met Lutan’s eyes directly.

“It’s been a while, Lutan.”

“You’re still as disrespectful as ever.”

“There’s no reason to show respect to someone who is merely the Emperor of Krata. A short-lived species like you cannot compare to me in lifespan, either.”

“Is that so.”

The smile vanished from Lutan’s face.

“Then you must already know what I want.”

“Yes. You seem to desire immortality.”

Yelena tilted her head slightly.

“Frankly, it seems like nothing more than greedy obsession. I’m also puzzled as to why Elhaen hasn’t dealt with you yet.”

“Blasphemy. So you don’t intend to survive.”

“I never had survival in mind when I came here.”

Yelena raised a hand.

A bow formed from mana appeared above it.

“But that doesn’t mean I came here intending to die either.”

“Do you wish for my death?”

“Yes.”

Rage burned in Yelena’s eyes.

“You started all of this. Out of greed for power, you ensured that Clay—who could have threatened you—would be executed. And because of that, Clay has returned as a calamity.”

“You place all the blame on me.”

“I don’t intend to deny my own part in abandoning Clay.”

Yelena knew full well that her betrayal didn’t erase her guilt.

“But if you remain alive, the same thing will only happen again. I will break that cycle today.”

“Hahaha!”

Lutan burst into laughter again.

“Elf, you’ve lived a long life, and yet you are a fool.”

“……”

“You know nothing.”

Lutan stretched both arms outward.

“You think I desire immortality out of vanity? That I had Clay executed just to protect my power?”

A smirk spread across his face.

“Do you truly believe that?”

“!”

“I’m asking you—do you truly believe that, you pitiful elf from the Forest of Mystery?”

Yelena’s face contorted with a sudden sense of dissonance.

“What are you trying to say? If you’re just trying to talk your way out of this, you’d best stop.”

“Well.”

Lutan raised his sword.

“There’s nothing I want to stop.”

KWA-A-A-AM!

A powerful wave of energy burst out from around him.

“You had to enter this place to try and kill me. But now you’ll realize—it was an irreversible mistake.”

Light gathered on his blade.

Crack!

At the same moment, Yelena quickly formed a magic arrow and set it on the bowstring.

“Sphere!”

She fired. The arrow flew straight toward Lutan’s heart.

“Just because you aim doesn’t mean you’ll strike.”

Lutan’s sword cleaved the arrow. And in that instant—

BOOM!

The light contained in the sword exploded, scattering lightning in all directions.

The Thunderblade.

A divine sword imbued with the supreme light of thunder, capable of annihilating enemies outright.

“Do you know what it means to be an Apostle?”

Lutan rushed at Yelena as he spoke.

“It means one who devotes themselves to sacred purpose.”

BOOM!

Yelena raised her magical bow to block the Thunderblade, but the lightning struck her body.

“Gah?!”

“Someone ignorant of ‘Her’ grand will dares speak of sin and punishment?”

KRAASH!

With a sweeping strike, Lutan sent her flying far back.

“Urgh, kuh?!”

Yelena rolled violently across the ground. Without even a moment to process the pain, she forced her upper body up.

“No need.”

Lutan, already right in front of her, stomped down on her shoulder.

“No need to stand.”

“Guh!”

Her shoulder, neck, and face were slammed into the earth in sequence. She gasped, wheezing in agony.

Lutan spoke as if her suffering were irrelevant.

“Your role was only ever meant to go this far. Still, you did your part—helping shape the Hero into a proper vessel.”

“W-What…?”

“But that vessel, which was supposed to remain empty, wasn’t. That was the one miscalculation I hadn’t foreseen. Of all things—he became the Demon King the moment he was executed.”

He hadn’t truly died. His breath had returned as if resurrected—because he had already become the Demon King at that moment.

“Clay… was already the Demon King… even then…”

Only then did Yelena understand.

Clay had not merely ascended to the position of Demon King. He had already become a complete Demon King even before he ever entangled himself with the demons. A being that could only be killed by burning its heart through the designated method.

Ah…

The moment of Clay’s execution came rushing back to her. When he turned to look at each of the party members one by one—she hadn’t even been able to meet his gaze properly.

What had he been feeling at that moment? How deep was the pain that could drive someone as strong-willed as Clay to fall beneath the Demon King’s shadow in an instant? What sort of suffering could cause such a transformation?

She felt like vomiting. Her body wouldn’t respond properly, and she couldn’t push away Lutan’s foot. Dust clung to her breath, stinging her throat and pounding in her head. Tears welled up in her blurred eyes.

“Because of… me…”

Yelena gritted her teeth.

“Because I spoke of every little thing…”

She pressed her arm to the ground and pushed against Lutan’s foot to lift her upper body.

“Clay was forced into that, driven all the way to his limit…!”

“Hm?”

“AAAAAARGH!”

Thud!

Throwing off Lutan’s foot, Yelena rolled to the side and rose to her feet.

“Sphere!”

She loosed another arrow.

“The same trick again?”

Lutan moved casually to deflect it with his sword—but just then—

“Twist!”

At her command, the arrow sharply spun along the motion of her twisting hand and veered away from Lutan’s sword.

“!”

Lutan tried to twist his body quickly, but he was too late. The arrow had already embedded itself in his side.

KWA-A-A-A-AM!

The powerful mana in the arrow burst again, pushing Lutan’s entire body back. He reached to yank the arrow free, but lost balance and was hurled away.

Like a falling meteor, Lutan tore a straight blackened trail across the garden lawn and slammed into a stone wall at the far end.

Cracks split the stone, flinging dust into the air, and Yelena unleashed a barrage of arrows toward it.

Each one detonated with an explosive force that rocked the area. Even though she had surely fired enough to bring anyone down, she didn’t stop pulling the string.

“You’re disgusting! Revolting! Just disappear from this world already!”

Her voice trembled with rage and pain, as if screaming through agony. From the stone wall, there came only the thundering blasts of arrows exploding—no response.

Only after several minutes—

“Haa… Haa…”

Yelena finally stopped. Her breaths came heavy from unleashing a relentless storm of attacks. As she caught her breath with a fatigued expression, people began to gather around.

Sensing the presence of others, she glanced to the side—and saw a large number of knights and soldiers rushing in, drawn by the noise.

“Yelena…?”

“What on earth is going on?”

“Why are you here…?”

Gasps erupted among them.

A former member of the Hero’s party, a legendary figure, a savior of the world—had appeared in the heart of Krata’s imperial palace, stirring up mayhem.

No one understood how she had infiltrated the palace alone, nor could they comprehend the scene of utter chaos she had wrought.

RUMBLE.

Their attention shifted at the sound of crumbling stone.

“…Indeed. They say you're the strongest archer for a reason.”

As the dust cleared, the figure of Krata’s Emperor Lutan appeared, still standing, tattered but upright.

“Y-Your Majesty!”

Some of the soldiers rushed to his side, while the rest raised their weapons and swiftly surrounded Yelena.

“What are you doing, Yelena?!”

“You tried to assassinate His Majesty!”

“Have you become a traitor to humanity, like the Demon King?!”

The Hero—and now, a traitor to mankind.

Yelena’s gaze turned cold as ice.

“Watch your mouths.”

Within a 5-meter radius, magic arrows appeared embedded in the ground in a perfect circle. Bow still in hand, Yelena plucked one out.

“Don’t speak his name so carelessly.”

“W-What are you trying to do…?”

“We are all sinners. We must be forgiven by him, but we don’t even have the right to ask.”

She set the arrow on her bowstring. The soldiers, alarmed by the sight, immediately prepared to retaliate.

At that moment, just as something seemed about to erupt—

KRAKKA-BOOM!

Lightning struck her.

“Kh—?!”

Yelena barely managed to lift her head—and saw Lutan walking toward her from the direction of the shattered wall.

BOOM! CRACK!

Every time he swung his sword through the air, lightning struck her again.

“Divine punishment does not spare the wicked.”

With each strike, her body crackled, and she slumped to the ground, steam rising from her wounds.

Lutan stepped beside her, leaned down, and whispered close to her face:

“All of this is part of Her great plan. Elhaen’s divine will.”

Just as Yelena parted her lips to speak—

Lutan’s sword pierced her body.

(End of Chapter)

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