Inside the gates of Drudar Castle, Eleana looked at the laughing figure as her body trembled in rage. The fires of the castle were visible behind Caria as though witnessing them.
Her fair white skin flushed slightly as she said, "Damn it, Caria… you are a demon? How can you kill everyone…?"
Kerin said in a trembling voice, "She is not Caria… she can't be…"
"Oh…! Why do you say that, Mr. Knowledge?" Caria replied mockingly.
Kerin pointed at her and spat, "How many insecurities she had doesn't matter… she would never stoop this low… you fucking demon…"
Caria's face twisted slightly in irritation as she moved her hands. Now there were two swords in her hands—a red flaming sword and a blue icy sword.
"Whatever! Tonight none of you are escaping…" she said as she took a battle stance.
Eleana brought her sword to her forehead and chanted, "Rise, your moon forth…" as light and shadows shifted around her.
Bang… click…
Kerin could only stare dumbly from behind as he whispered, "They are too fast… even Veer from that time…can't compare to them." .He shook his head in disbelief.
Caria gritted her teeth as she blocked Eleana's attack, which came as a downward slash from above, sparkling with light.
As Eleana was still in the air, Caria pushed forward with her sword. Eleana somehow leapt over her gracefully, delivering a kick to Caria's head and landing behind her.
Caria trembled in rage as she thrust her flaming sword.
Eleana vanished and appeared behind her again.
An ethereal moon manifested the moment Caria finished her thrust, and its sudden dispersal sent Caria tumbling backward.
"You…!" Caria groaned.
Eleana descended gracefully through the air, her beautiful figure framed by the dispersing moon fragments and the burning castle behind her.
Caria clenched her teeth and raised her icy sword. But instead of attacking Eleana, she suddenly turned and dashed toward Kerin.
..........
In the outskirts of Drudar where the war happened, Rylagh raised his hand as the demon formed from the Queen's power attacked.
A thunderous collision followed as the impact produced shockwaves in every direction.
Once again, the abomination that required countless warriors to hold back was forced backward.
Sylwen and the others—including the Mythrians—were stunned by the display of Rylagh's power.
Myhria murmured in disbelief, "Father… is this his strength…?"
Sylwen answered in a serious tone, "I heard it from our ancestors. It is said that long ago two Mad Lords roamed the wilds of the Neithelric region. Even giants fell by their hands. One of them was the late Lord Starweaver… and the other…" She looked at Mythia and the rest. "…is your father."
Their eyes constricted as they watched the abomination advance again, making grotesque slurping sounds.All strange puppets were making noises as though demanding freedom.Their hands kept being raised in the open as the abomination moved.The big eye in the chest of the abomination looked all around as it sped up.
Meanwhile, Rylagh spoke quietly to Clayren. "I will support you," he said as the Queen's furious roar echoed again. "We need to hurry."
Clayren slowly turned toward him as she rose to her feet and gently caressed his face.
"How?" she asked softly. "How are you so strong? Have I been meeting a Rylagh who was hiding his identity all along…?"
Rylagh's hair scattered in the wind as he looked at her with a serious expression.
The other Mythrians watched the two of them, some with sorrowful expressions and others with strange looks.
Behind them, the battlefield burned.
"Clayren, I will explain," Rylagh said quietly. "But not now…"
His eyes suddenly began to bleed.
"The timelines… are in a mess…"
"Why are you bleeding like this?" Clayren asked in shock.
"This unexplainable power is not free," he replied with a faint smile, his face now stained with blood. "I also have a daughter witnessing all of this… so we should hurry."
He glanced briefly toward Mythria, who clenched her teeth.
Sylwen spoke firmly. "We will surround the battlefield and provide support, but we do not approach the abomination—as he instructed."
Meanwhile Clayren lowered her voice. "How will we kill her?"
Rylagh answered with difficulty, "I… I can activate your relic. The Emerald Relic can permanently destroy the Shura Relic."
"She has revealed the ultimate product of the Shura Path. Nothing else can destroy it. The only thing capable of opposing that path… is the Emerald Path."
Clayren nodded silently.
........
Meanwhile, in the academy, Sythris seemed to awaken as a strange event unfolded.
She looked at the baby nearby and muttered, "Maybe it's just my imagination… but that boy looks exactly like what Veer and Eleana saw in their analysis…during tehir visit to puppet bazaar."
Suddenly she noticed Veer and Kerin staring ahead in shock.
"Sebastian…?" Veer whispered.
"Who's that?" Sythris asked.
Veer replied in a low voice, his teeth clenched. "That guy controls a part of the city… the place where strange accidents happen. People disappear there, and strange puppets appear everywhere…"
Kerin added grimly, "Why the hell did the king make him the Royal Summoner?"
"I even suspect he's the one making people disappear."
Veer quickly shushed him.
"Stop. That guy might be able to hear us."
Sythris frowned. Something felt wrong.
Sebastian… the Royal Summoner.
Suddenly she shivered as fragments of memory surfaced.
"Sebastian…"
"The strange merchant… the shop owner in the Puppet Bazaar…"
"Wait… when did Eleana tell me all that?"
"Sythris…"
"Sythris!"
"Huh?"
She snapped out of her trance and saw Veer and Kerin staring at her strangely.
"You should probably get yourself checked," Veer said.
She shook her head. "No… I was just thinking about that."
"Oh, the important topic," Kerin muttered.
A girl behind them suddenly cheered, "I want to become like Lady Caria! She is so gorgeous and valiant!"
Kerin spat angrily. "She's a demon. You really want to be her?"
"Nonsense!" the girl barked.
Suddenly Kerin shivered as he felt a pair of eyes on him.
"You're right," he corrected quickly. "I was speaking nonsense. She is a valiant knight."
The strange pressure vanished.
"Kerin… I think I should tape your mouth," Veer remarked.
"Ahem… wait a minute…"
The crowd turned toward the stage.
"Boy, give me my spectacles," the Royal Summoner said.
The small boy spun around and handed him a large pair of glasses.
"So… where was I? Ahem…"
"At least start speaking!" someone shouted from the crowd.
"Ahem…"
Kerin muttered, "I'm going to kill that guy."
Many in the crowd were growing irritated by his delays.
"Alright, everything is prepared. So… where was I?"
"Damn it," someone groaned.
"Okay, I'll keep it short."
"It all started two decades ago. It reached its peak during the last decade. The enemies of this world… all the major realms participated in that event."
Badump.
Badump.
For some reason, Sythris felt extremely anxious.
The crowd's shouts blurred around her.
She looked at Veer beside her and noticed he looked annoyed, as if he simply wanted to leave.
"There was a clan… the Starweaver Clan. They are the vilest people in this realm."
"Sadly, we are here today because we are pursuing one of them."
"One of them is here… among you… even keeping the Starweaver surname to deceive others."
Sythris looked to the side and saw Veer and Kerin's expressions suddenly drop.
"Sythris… is this related to what you were saying earlier?" Kerin asked.
She nodded slowly.
"Yes… the Starweavers…"
The small boy near the dais began scattering flowers across the crowd.
But to Sythris, the stage seemed to expand and contract.
Sebastian's face suddenly appeared close to her at a strange angle.
"You are not from now, are you?" he whispered.
"We succeeded… haha… perfect…"
Sythris's breathing tightened.
The scene suddenly shifted again, and Sebastian was once more delivering his speech while Veer and Kerin looked tense.
She looked toward Eleana.
Eleana was frowning deeply.
Suddenly many things rushed into Sythris's mind as the illusion began breaking apart.
"Ah, Sythris… you are crying," Veer said softly.
She looked at the long-haired boy standing before her. He seemed nervous, yet still concerned for her.
She gently raised her hand and tried touching his face.Before he could the realm started distorting.
Then she felt it.
Something changed.
Sebastian's face began melting into the surroundings as the world itself seemed to dissolve.
There were screams and the heavy footsteps of knights. Why? Why can't she see what's happening?
The scene shifted again.
Veer screamed.
"Stop it… Ahhh!"
He was now in the middle of a dark alley.
Sythris stood some distance away, watching helplessly.
A small boy danced near Veer while a veiled woman gripped his head.
"Starweaver's bastard… where will you escape now, you rat?" she hissed.
Veer struggled desperately.
"I will extract your soul…"
"You damn Starweavers… your father was a bastard and so are you…"
"The last of you rats…"
As Veer screamed beneath the night sky, starlight slowly gathered above them.
A baby formed from pure starlight.As it was forming the veiled woman seemed stunned as she muttered,"What is that?"
The glowing child howled softly.
"Da… da…"
Then it turned its shining eyes toward Sythris.
The realm shattered like glass.
"No…!" Sythris cried out as she choked.
She opened her eyes to see Caria lifting her by the neck. She was in the battlefield. All around was bodies of man and it was Drudar.
Despite her shock, she kicked Caria and dropped to her knees, her soul feeling hollow.
"Our… our memories ... does that mean they were altered that day…?"
........
In the real world, near a forest, the void expanded and collapsed before vanishing.
A figure fell into the bushes.
Veer coughed as he pushed away the debris.
Slowly he stood up and looked around.
The forest was silent. In the distance he could see the top of a massive castle rising above the jungle.
But the sky was strange.
The last time he had seen it, it was completely dark.
Now it looked as though something had pierced through the darkness and landed there. Faint red light spread across the forest like the aftermath of a massive explosion.
Suddenly he grabbed his head.
"Damn… what attached to my leg earlier?"
He looked around but found nothing.
"Just my imagination… probably."
He opened his palm.
The rune paper the old man had given him had already burned into ashes.
His hand was covered in blood.
"I need to get out first…"
"Only if that old man can make it out..."
"That damn woman…"
He began walking toward the distant castle.
After he disappeared from sight, something crawled out from the bushes.
Its face looked eerily similar to Veer's.
But its body was horribly mutilated.
Its exposed bones were twisted in ways that were not human.
It whispered hoarsely:
"That damn woman…"
At that moment something strange happened in the air.
Starlight began gathering above the forest.
Veer stopped and stared.
A massive cluster of starlight formed in the sky.
Then it slowly took shape.
A baby made entirely of starlight appeared, screaming into the night.
"Da… da… da…"
Tears began falling from Veer's as he looked at the scene.