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POV: Roselyn Branford
The delay was small at first… five minutes, ten… then a full hour.
I kept trying to convince myself that my younger siblings had simply gotten carried away with their games, that they had just lost track of time the way children often do.
But ever since the fall of our duchy…
my heart no longer knew the meaning of reassurance.
The scandal my father unleashed—his greed, his betrayal of the races, his crime that nearly burned our entire city—left nothing behind but ashes.
His second wife, a woman of the Beastkin tribe, was executed despite never betraying our nation… all she ever did was protect her children from a man with no heart. I still remember her tears as she entrusted them to me… how she begged me to shield them from her fate.
My father… had never known love.
Not even my mother's death stirred anything in him.
Barely a week later… he remarried.
As if her death was merely an empty seat that needed filling.
Although my name was tainted by his crimes, my integrity during the investigations—and my years of military service—lifted the sanctions placed on us.
I was offered the title of Marchioness… but I refused.
I chose to live among the common people, far from the rot of politics.
The suspicion never faded.
And the authorities… continue to watch me.
I don't mind. As long as their presence keeps my siblings safe, they are welcome.
That evening, my only friend, Celestia—my classmate from the academy and now an instructor there—came to visit.
Her smile was faint… the kind of smile that only looks like a smile to those who don't know her.
"Rose… how are you? I've missed you."
I matched her tone gently.
"And I you."
Then, without any preamble, she said:
"Rose… we want you to join the Academy as a weapons instructor. After the previous professor retired, the position became vacant. We don't trust anyone outside the inner circle, and since you're the only person with a fully monitored record, you were nominated by the Racial Council."
The words froze in my throat.
It was an offer…
an opportunity…
a whole new life.
But I had left the battlefield years ago.
I wasn't ready to see blood again.
I exhaled slowly.
"I can't, Celestia… my siblings are still young."
She smiled with confidence.
"Bring them with you. The housing is spacious."
But before I could respond…
the clock chimed.
Eight in the evening.
Three hours late.
The blood in my veins turned to ice.
"Rose?" Celestia asked, noticing the sudden pallor on my face.
"What's wrong?"
I whispered,
"My siblings… they haven't returned."
She shot to her feet instantly.
She expanded her mana field, scanning the nearby villages…
Nothing.
She scanned again.
And then her eyes widened.
"Corrupted mana ripples… and an alarm code directed at the towers."
Her voice darkened:
"Followers of the Abyss."
My chest tightened…
Why my siblings?
They're weak… just children—
And then everything clicked.
They don't want them.
They want me.
Before I could speak, Celestia said firmly:
"Don't think about that now."
"I can't just—"
"We don't even know if they were the intended targets. Focus."
She gripped her weapon.
"Let's move. The Abyss has no place on our lands."
I reached for my old spear…
Blood Star.
My soul-bound mana weapon, dormant for years…
yet it ignited the instant my hand touched its hilt.
A deep, crimson glow surged from it, as if waking from a long slumber—angry, hungry.
I followed her into the sky.
---
As we flew over the forest, I noticed the absence of the usual surveillance officers.
Ranked "Lord" and "Young King"… they had left the region.
That alone explained how the Abyss dared to appear.
Rage boiled inside me…
I nearly veered off toward the human capital, ready to slap that lust-driven king whose negligence created this security void.
But Celestia's voice cut through my thoughts:
"We're close… prepare yourself."
Blood Star burned against my palm,
mana rushing through my body for the first time in years.
I remembered this feeling…
the taste of strength.
---
We arrived.
We launched a joint attack—
a beam of crimson and white piercing the illusory barrier.
A fox of illusions…
six tails…
a King-tier entity.
Its mere presence here… was catastrophic.
When the barrier shattered,
a wave of corrupted mana washed over us…
thick and suffocating, like the remnants of an ancient grave.
And the scene before us…
was a living hell.
The ground was scorched.
Black and purple flames crawled like feral creatures.
And in the heart of it all… a boy.
A young boy… no more than fifteen.
Half his body broken,
his face torn,
only one eye functioning,
his arm twisted in a way no living being's arm should ever twist…
and yet…
he was fighting.
Standing between my siblings and death…
shielding them with the last remnants of his fading life.
Violet lightning devoured his body,
and a strange blade trembled in his grip…
Every movement he made was a miracle.
He should have been immobile…
dead…
and yet he fought.
I whispered bitterly,
"We need to intervene."
But Celestia gripped my arm with enough force to crack stone.
"Watch. Intervene only when his soul is about to extinguish."
I wanted to scream…
to break…
to run toward them.
But I watched.
My siblings cried behind him.
He took every strike for them.
Every drop of his blood was a scream.
And still… he fought with the courage of seasoned warriors.
While I…
did nothing.
---
Minutes of clashes passed, and the boy's strength was fading.
Even so, his resilience was astounding.
Then the woman—the six-tailed fox—approached him, her eyes glowing with hungry desire.
Her voice dripped with seductive malice:
"Magnificent… truly magnificent. Surrender and come with me. I will heal you… raise you as a king. Bring the children… and be my man."
Celestia and I exchanged a look of disbelief.
Had she lost her sanity?
A fifteen-year-old boy?
He raised his head with difficulty, speaking in a voice far colder—and older—than his years:
"No… you're not my type."
Her face twitched.
Before she could respond, he added:
"If you were a good woman… one who doesn't kidnap children… maybe I would've considered it. Maybe."
It was a humiliating slap.
She screamed,
"Then I'll take you by force!"
I unleashed Blood Star,
but she dodged and attempted to strike the boy again.
Celestia intercepted, forcing the fox back.
Then the real battle began.
Wounds… shrieks…
The woman shifted into a half-fox form, her speed doubling.
We fought together, wounding her, but she was relentless.
Then—
"Sister!"
I turned.
My brother was calling me.
One moment of distraction.
The woman lunged with lethal speed.
"At the very least… I'll return with one vessel!"
We severed her arm…
but she hurled a boulder toward one of my siblings and dashed for the other.
We ran—
but her illusions twisted our path.
And just as her claws reached my brother's throat—
the boy appeared.
As if born from thin air.
Purple lightning ripped the air around him.
He took the full blow.
His abdomen split open…
blood erupting like a fountain.
We all froze.
Even the fox was stunned.
She hadn't expected him to trade his life for a child he didn't even know.
The boy collapsed face-first…
silent…
dying.
Something inside me shattered entirely.
This boy…
who protected my siblings…
was dying before my eyes.
And I… couldn't save him.
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