Editor : Amethyst00



Lysinas, having seen the army of the Second Prince's faction on the move, fell into contemplation.

She needed to stop the elves' sinister scheme, but before that, testing the Seiren students took precedence.

'First, I'll test the Seiren students.'

She must not let personal feelings interfere with the test.

She intended to conduct it fairly, just as she had done with the Lumene students.

With that in mind, Lysinas stood at a pass leading to Diviana, blocking the path of the Second Prince's forces.

And then, she paused.

This was a battlefield.

A place where countless lives were lost.

Lysinas was no stranger to the battlefield.

Five thousand years ago—

She had stood on innumerable battlefields to save the world, forced to witness endless deaths.

And after each battle,

It was Lysinas who honored the souls that could not leave even in death.

Resentment, lingering regrets, and wrath mixed with mana were all too familiar to her.

And now, she heard sounds eerily similar to those from five thousand years ago.

Lysinas knelt in the center of the battlefield with care.

With a bitter smile, she asked, "Will you not tell me what troubles you?"

bl

At the forefront of the Second Prince's army, mounted on a white horse, Lunia let out a deep sigh.

She wasn't the only one.

All the elves dispatched from Seiren were riding white horses at the front.

These horses were provided by the Second Prince's faction.

The reason for choosing white horses was to match the color of the Seiren students' white uniforms.

The sight of beautiful elves in white uniforms, all astride white horses before the soldiers, was a spectacular scene.

'Not exactly pleasant.'

Lunia clicked her tongue under her breath.

She already stood out plenty on her own.

While she was indeed stunning enough to catch any eye, it wasn't just her beauty that drew attention.

It was her fiery red hair, as if ready to ignite at any moment.

Lunia's red hair contrasted vividly with Seiren's white uniform, giving her an even more dazzling appearance.

Riding a white horse on top of that only made her presence more prominent.

Moreover, the commander of the Second Prince's army had arranged the formation so it appeared Lunia was leading them, meaning thousands of soldiers were staring at her back.

Lunia glanced back briefly, her expression growing complicated.

Although she had been sent from Seiren, this was her first time on an actual battlefield.

It wasn't only because of her difficult-to-control power of 'flame,' but more so because she understood all too well the weight of the title she bore.

'I'm a hero now.'

[The Chaser of Star.]

Successor to Luna, Poet of the Star, and successor after the Comet Mage, Seiren.

She was not only the successor to a Great Hero, but hailed as the most noble among all elves.

'The soldiers were disillusioned with this war.'

They had been pushed onto the battlefield by circumstance but were not fighting with resolve.

The commanders grew angry, calling the soldiers lazy, but in a war with no just cause, such apathy was normal.

But the moment they saw her, the soldiers' mood shifted.

In their eyes, courage welled up.

Their morale began to rise.

If this were their own war, in a desperate situation, she might have drawn strength from seeing others gain courage through her.

But this was not that.

'My presence is giving them the wrong kind of courage.'

She keenly felt once again the heaviness of her title.

A hero, by existence alone, deeply influences those around them.

That influence can turn toward good—or evil.

'What would Leo have done?'

Lunia looked down at her palm.

The face of the one she had made her goal flickered in her mind.

'I have to end this war as soon as possible, no matter what.'

With a resolute expression, Lunia glanced back once more.

'I want to send them all safely home.'

Surely, that's what the Hero of the Beginning and the Poet of the Star would have done.

Just as Lunia made her silent vow—

"Miss Lunia."

"Hm?"

"Someone has appeared ahead."

At Eiran's words, Lunia looked forward.

There stood a figure, face obscured by a black hood.

They were advancing with an army of thousands.

To block such a force—

'This can only mean one of two things.'

They're insane.

Or they're powerful enough to do it.

"How dare you! To block the army of the rightful heir of this nation, His Highness Prince Badecus the Second! If you are a loyal subject of great Davienne, step aside and bow!"

The captain of the prince's royal guard stepped forward and shouted.

But the hooded figure remained silent.

"You insolent—! I was trying to show restraint before nobles, but I shall now take your head!"

As the infuriated captain moved to act, Lunia stopped him.

"Wait. Let me speak to them."

Lunia, at the very front of the army, dismounted.

Naturally, the army halted as well.

She closed the distance to the hooded figure and asked,

"Who are you?"

Still no response.

"Excuse me, who are—"

"Shh."

As Lunia raised her voice, the hooded figure brought a finger to their lips.

Unconsciously, Lunia fell silent.

Step—step—

The figure began to walk.

Lunia's gaze followed them.

The other Seiren students approached her side.

"Not an ordinary person."

"Agreed. We should be cautious."

The fraternal twins from her class, Alice Trina and Garin Trina, spoke. Eiran nodded in agreement.

Then the hooded figure crouched, dug into the ground, and carefully lifted something.

It was a human head.

"This one died with resentment."

Their gaze turned toward the captain who had shouted earlier.

"He was a soldier of the Second Prince's army. But the prince's knights cut him down—for the sake of merit."

Their voice was chilling.

"Utter nonsense! Knights are honored individuals granted royal medals! You dare suggest they would commit such vile acts?!"

The captain roared.

But in truth, he knew.

That his knights had cut down allied soldiers to claim achievements.

And he pretended not to.

Knights could only rise by proving themselves on the battlefield.

But in this era, there were no battlefields.

Or rather, no safe ones.

Davienne served as the eastern bulwark against the Tartaros domain.

Davienne had become the nation with the most heroes in the east because they had such battlefields where they could achieve feats.

The elite knights all went to the eastern front.

But others didn't want to go.

The Tartaros front was pure hell—once battle began, lives were at constant risk.

Why should they go there?

Those who served as guards to incompetent royalty and nobles had no intention of risking their lives in such places.

Still, they envied the knights who returned with honor.

There was a stark difference in treatment between knights with and without achievements.

Then the civil war in Davienne broke out.

The Second Prince's knights became excited.

A golden opportunity to gain merit by cutting down clearly weaker, ordinary soldiers without aura.

Though they were incompetent, they had aura.

From a normal person's perspective, they were superhuman.

The knights became crazed, cutting down more and more enemies.

Eventually, some even began killing allied soldiers secretly.

There was no honor in it—only filth.

But they didn't care.

They were knights guarding noble royalty.

Common soldiers' lives, to them, were expendable.

The very captain had two units he wiped out in night battles by disguising them as enemies.

'The dead cannot speak.'

The Seiren students gaped.

"What… what is…"

Eiran's voice trembled.

The captain erupted again.

"Don't believe this! It's a trick of this vile witch!"

"You think the dead won't speak?"

The hooded figure's voice dropped even colder.

"Then let's ask."

"What…?"

Fwoooooom—

Black energy flowed from the figure—Lysinas.

A tremendous pressure swept over them. The captain's face turned pale, as did the Seiren students.

Clink—clink—clink—!

Metallic sounds echoed.

This place had been a battlefield for days.

There were many bodies left—ordinary soldiers discarded, while knight corpses were always retrieved.

Those corpses now rose.

"This is the grudge of the soldiers against you."

Lysinas' voice was frigid as she performed spirit evoking.

Typically, only those with great power in life could be summoned.

But the soldiers here had only recently died.

Lysinas, whose mastery of necromancy had reached the pinnacle, called them forth.

"A necromancer! A servant of the wicked Lich King!"

"Great students of Seiren! Please vanquish this vile witch!"

Nobles of the Second Prince's faction shouted hysterically.

Even the Seiren students, overwhelmed by the situation, drew their weapons.

"A demon?!"

"B-but… something feels different from a demon…"

They were bewildered.

Raising so many corpses?

Spirit evoking was rare—this scale was unheard of.

The power Lysinas displayed seemed like necromancy to all eyes.

But it lacked the usual foul and sinister aura of necromancy.

"Lunia-sunbae, what do we do?!"

"First… block them."

Lunia answered firmly to Leah.

The corpses clearly bore hostility.

As the Seiren students prepared their energy—

[Graaaaah!]

[Unforgivableeeee!]

The dead soldiers howled in rage, brandishing weapons.

As the Seiren students braced for an attack—

"Huh?!"

The soldiers charged not at them—but at the knights.

"S-s-stay away!"

"D-don't come near!"

"Filthy undead!"

The knights screamed.

The Seiren students blinked in confusion.

"You're Seiren's students, aren't you?"

Lysinas stepped toward them.

The students tensed.

"You're descendants of Luna, yes?"

Lysinas smiled and asked.

Just as Lunia was about to answer—

"No! We're not descendants of Lady Luna!"

Leah suddenly stepped forward.

Lysinas froze.

Not descendants of Luna?

Even she hadn't expected that answer.

"We're descendants of Lady Luna and the Hero of the Beginning, Lord Kyle!"

"That's right!"

"Well said, junior!"

Third-years chimed in, excited by Leah's claim.

Emboldened, Leah pointed at Eiran.

"And! That's Eiran-sunbae, descendant of Lady Velkia, born between Luna and Kyle! The fruit of their love!"

"No! Lady Velkia was a pure elf!"

Eiran panicked and corrected her, but Leah wasn't listening.

Elves often believed what they wanted to believe.

Lysinas smiled faintly.

'Just a child talking. Don't let it get to you.'

She tried to calm herself as she spoke.

"There's even a tale that the Hero of the Beginning was in love with the Wise Queen. Don't view history solely through the lens of elven pride."

But in the end, Lysinas couldn't maintain her composure. Her true thoughts slipped out.

Lunia and Eiran immediately sensed something off.

"Ah… I suppose that story Lady Luna told during her descent was twisted around…"

Leah smirked and wagged her finger.

"The idea that Kyle and Lysinas were in love is a mistake! In truth, the Wise Queen loved the Hero of the Beginning unilaterally! That's why Lysinas was jealous of Kyle and Luna's love!"

"Who said that nonsense?!"

"Lady Luna did!"

It was a lie Luna had once drunkenly told in Lumeria City.

That Kyle loved Luna, and Lysinas loved Kyle—a triangle.

She had said it in a way that clearly favored herself, and that tale had spread wildly through elven society, mutating into a story that Lysinas had been jealous of Luna.

"Aah… poor Lady Lysinas… why did you have to fall in love with someone like Lady Luna? Such a tragic love! But I suppose it means Lord Kyle was just that dashing!"

Leah, a zealous Kyle fangirl, gushed.

Lysinas's hand began to tremble.

'No! It was mutual unrequited love! How did I end up as the jealous dragon who lost to Luna?!'

She tried to stay calm—but with anything Kyle-related, that was impossible.

Especially when faced with such slander—

'Why am I being pitied by this naive brat?!'

And finally, Lysinas exploded.

"Luna… that rotten wench… saying that bullshit…!"

Crack—!

Her voice cracked with fury as her teeth ground together.

The Seiren students gasped.

"How dare she insult Lady Luna!"

"Unforgivable!"

But unlike the others, Lunia and Eiran, who knew the truth, realized in that instant who stood before them.

Eiran turned pale, trembling. Lunia looked up at the sky and muttered unconsciously,

"We're fucked…"