Editor : Amethyst00



Reina opened her eyes.

She quickly scanned her surroundings.

Recognizing the familiar building, Reina quickly assessed the situation.

'My room in the Plov estate mansion.'

Still lying down, she checked the clock and realized it was morning.

Her whole body ached.

From the time of the assault.

It was the aftermath of pushing her body too hard.

'Judging by the fact that my body hasn't recovered yet… not even a day has passed.'

After assessing her condition, Reina noticed no one else was in the room and sat up.

Just then—

Knock knock—

Along with a knock, the door cautiously opened.

"M-Madam…"

The one who entered was Anna, the head maid of the main Plov household.

Looking at Reina, who had regained consciousness, Anna seemed on the verge of tears, trembling with fear. Reina spoke.

"Anna. Where's the uninvited guest?"

"H-He's in the young master's room…"

At that, Reina stood up and headed to Leo's room.

When she arrived at Leo's room, what she saw was the Hero Slayer leisurely reading a book.

"You're here? Reina Zerdinger. Or should I call you Reina Plov now?"

Still wearing a relaxed expression and not even lifting his eyes from the book, the Hero Slayer was met with Reina's cold voice.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm investigating. What kind of person Leo Plov is."

The Hero Slayer raised his head and looked at Reina, smiling faintly.

"Before that, shall we introduce ourselves? My name is Zorua Enel. I'm the one you all call the Hero Slayer."

"Enel?"

Reina's eyes twitched.

It was once a mighty noble house of heroes that had settled in the center of the continent long ago.

Countless heroes had gathered under the name of Enel.

They had truly been the greatest of hero families.

But at some point, the family vanished without a trace.

"Yes. The head of a house erased by the Shadows."

Zorua, wearing a hood, spoke with a nostalgic tone.

"Though lacking, I was once known by the title 'All Master.' Of course, that glory is in the past now."

"All Master?"

It was a title she had never heard of.

If it had left a mark in history, it would have been impossible not to know it.

Reina's face showed confusion, but she soon thought of someone.

"The Shadow Lords."

"How sharp. Just as expected from a once-promising hero candidate."

Zorua whistled.

"Those despicable Shadow Lords completely erased my existence from history. Had I known I wouldn't even be remembered by name, I would've rampaged more violently."

While alive—

Zorua had accomplished feats worthy of becoming a hero.

And he had acted like a hero more than anyone else.

To avoid pursuit as much as possible.

No one could've imagined that a noble hero, just because he craved power, would slaughter other heroes in the shadows.

After being caught by the Shadows and hunted down, all records of him were wiped out.

Thus, being erased from history happened in an instant.

"If you regretted it that much, you should've lived properly."

"It's fine. The world won't forget my name again."

"Your name? All that's left is infamy."

"Hahaha. Looks like you're mistaken. I never desired heroic achievements."

Zorua laughed out loud.

"I just want the world to know I existed. Whether it's infamy or fame doesn't matter. The form doesn't matter. I just need the world to know that the Hero Slayer was none other than me."

"For someone saying that, you've been hiding like a rat even after gaining a new life."

"Of course. I want to leave my name in history in a perfect form. It was good to get a second chance, but—"

Zorua chuckled and took off his hood.

Click—click—click—

White bones clattered against each other.

Despite the grotesque appearance, Reina simply stared at him with a cold expression.

bl

Looking at her, Zorua spoke.

"Such a pity. Such a shame. If you had grown up and become a hero, you would've gained incredible power. Even more than Selde Zerdinger, the current head of Zerdinger."

"You're the one who made me like this. What's so regretful about it now?"

"Of course I regret it."

Fwoosh—

Flames engulfed Zorua's body.

Reina clenched her teeth, realizing those were her own flames.

After the fire subsided, what appeared before her was a young woman, just shedding her girlish looks. Reina's face hardened.

"This is the best thing about losing a physical body. Now, I can become whoever I want."

Zorua spun in place playfully.

Looking at him, veins bulged in Reina's hand.

It was the image of herself—what she had lost.

Standing still, Zorua spoke.

"I target my prey at their brightest moment. Because I want to preserve that moment forever."

Zorua's gaze turned to Reina.

"You shone so brilliantly back then. More than any hero I've seen. Even when you sacrificed yourself, even facing certain death, you burned without hesitation. You didn't seem to regret risking your life for others. You were truly dazzling. So, after reaping the reward, I didn't bother to finish you off. I thought you'd die anyway. But if you survived, I believed you might become a truly noble human."

Zorua's eyes—still in Reina's form—narrowed.

"But I was wrong. You regret it. The sacrifice you made back then."

He clicked his tongue.

"If I had known, I wouldn't have hunted you so early. I would've waited for you to become nobler."

"Then why not kill me now?"

"Are you even worth that?"

Zorua burst into laughter.

"You're enough just as bait to draw in Leo Plov."

Reina's clenched hand trembled.

"So. What is Leo Plov, really?"

Zorua looked around the room.

"It's rare to see someone this empty."

People usually leave traces of themselves where they stay.

Personality, likes, dislikes.

More things than one realizes are left behind.

They may seem trivial.

But those trivial things add up and become the prey's weakness.

That's why Zorua came to this room—to learn about Leo.

But in Leo's room, he felt nothing.

Zorua looked at the silent Reina, then spoke with disinterest.

"You really are useless except as bait."

Leaving those words behind, Zorua walked out.

"Well then, let's go greet our guest."

Left alone in Leo's room, Reina looked down at her hand.

Gritting her teeth, Reina recalled the past.

A long time ago—

Before she lost her flame.

She had heard that Ellen Lunda, the honor student of Seiren, who had competed with her since their first year, was in danger.

They both used the Phoenix Flame and felt a sense of kinship.

Though from different schools, they had become close friends—enough to risk their lives for each other.

When she heard that Ellen had failed in a hero dungeon raid—

Without hesitation, Reina rushed into the dungeon to find him.

Normally, re-entry into a hero's world was impossible.

But when a dungeon rampaged, one could get swept into it.

That's how they knew Ellen's party had failed.

Had they succeeded, the rampage would've stopped.

But it didn't—meaning failure.

Despite not knowing whether Ellen was alive or dead, Reina entered the dungeon for him.

And saw it—

'The gray sky.'

From that, Reina knew.

That unknown Hero World was from the Age of Calamity.

She searched the area and finally found Ellen, the sole survivor.

To complete the dungeon's requirements, she poured all her strength into the effort.

Fought endlessly against grotesque monsters.

Before long, she reached her limit and felt death approaching.

And then—

'When I came to… the dungeon was cleared, and I had lost my flame.'

Surviving had been a miracle.

Her wounds were that severe.

She had thought she lost her flame from overexertion.

'That's what I thought… I never imagined the Hero Slayer had stolen it.'

Reina clenched her teeth.

Zorua had been right.

She regretted that day.

Throwing away her future to save another.

Even now, she regretted that choice.

Zorua had been right.

She wasn't a noble person.

But then—Reina's expression shifted in confusion.

She remembered the gray sky.

'…Come to think of it. Why didn't I give up then?'

Her last memory of that world was hazy.

She had avoided remembering it until now—but it surfaced.

That moment when she had given up, and then regained her resolve.

'Yes… I think the sun rose then.'

From a faint memory, she recalled the dawn in that Age of Calamity.

And there was something else—something she had dismissed as a hallucination.

'A person.'

Someone descending from the sky with the sun at their back.

She had found hope in that person, and regained her will to live.

She'd thought it was just an illusion.

But—

'Could that have been… the moment the Age of Calamity ended?'

With that thought, Reina looked around the room.

It was the room of her son, who succeeded Kyle—the Hero of Beginnings.

Reina took a deep breath.

'Yes. It's because I didn't give up then that I'm here now.'

She stepped out of the room.

'Leo will win.'

But she couldn't just leave everything to Leo.

Returning to her room, Reina looked at the sword hanging on the wall.

It might not be of any help.

She was no longer a knight of Zerdinger.

'But that doesn't mean I'm not a knight.'

Not once did Reina stop thinking of herself as a knight.

"A knight is someone who protects."

And this was the land of House Plov. She was its lady.

'There's still something I must protect.'

When she first picked up a sword—

She had admired the knights in fairy tales.

She had dreamed of becoming one of them.

It may have been a foolish dream.

That dream had turned everything she had into ashes.

She regretted the moment she saved her friend and sacrificed everything.

But—

Even if she faced that moment again,

Even if she were to live with regret again—

'Reina would make the same choice.'

'Because that's who I am.'

And so, Reina picked up the sword.

'So that no harm comes to the people living on this land. I will protect them.'