“Lady Sophie…”
The fallen Holy Knight Captain saw Sophie approaching and tried to stand, but due to his injuries, he nearly collapsed again.
“Don’t move, Captain. I’ll treat you right away.”
Sophie crouched in front of him, channeling what little holy power she had left to cast a healing spell, easing his pain while tending to his wounds.
The beast subjugation battle had ended. Soldiers and Holy Knights were clearing the battlefield, while priests tended to the injured.
Several elite clerics had begun to set up a holy array, working together to seal away the abyssal aura seeping from the Ironblade Wolf’s corpse.
“Lady Sophie, this Ironblade Wolf was truly troublesome. Abyss-tainted beasts are so much stronger than normal monsters. That counterattack nearly wiped us out. We only survived thanks to your intervention!”
The captain paused.
Then, as if speaking for everyone, he voiced the question in everyone’s heart.
“I recall you’ve never trained in swordsmanship. How were you able to make such a precise strike and pierce the Ironblade Wolf’s weak point at such a critical moment?”
Others heard the question and stopped what they were doing, turning their eyes toward Sophie.
This had been the biggest mystery of the battle.
Even veteran warriors might freeze up in the face of the frenzied Ironblade Wolf, let alone retaliate.
But Sophie had done it.
“I…”
Sophie was just as confused.
She had no idea why she reached out and grabbed the sword.
“The way you swung your sword… it reminded me of Lady Selina,” the knight-captain said softly.
“…!”
Sophie trembled. The name Selina stirred a wave in her heart.
Lady Selina, the Silver Sword Princess, who sacrificed herself to defeat Demon King Ville and end the war between demons and humans. She was the great hero who brought peace to humankind.
Sophie didn’t know much about her—just what she had seen of her statue in the Holy Land’s Hall of Heroes.
“Perhaps an angel appeared and descended into Lady Sophie’s body,” said the commander, who had now come to stand beside her. “As Sylvia’s heir, someone who bears a sacred mission, it wouldn’t be strange for an angel to offer their protection.”
Angels—messengers of the divine, powerful and mysterious—weren’t just myths. They truly existed in this world.
The last time an angel descended upon the world was hundreds of years ago—when abyss-tainted beasts overran the human lands, devouring kingdoms one by one.
At the brink of human extinction, an angel appeared and halted the brutal beast tide, granting humanity one last chance.
And after that, angels vanished again.
It was said that only when humanity faces destruction would angels return, bringing divine salvation.
“Lady Sophie, is that what really happened?” the knight-captain asked, filled with curiosity.
“At that moment, I felt like my body wasn’t mine… as if a strange force was guiding me. When I regained awareness, the Ironblade Wolf was already defeated.”
Sophie gave as safe an explanation as possible.
She hadn’t felt any such guidance—but this was easier for others to accept. And it would save her from further troublesome questions.
“Then it truly was an angel!” the knight-captain exclaimed in astonishment.
“But I’m still not sure. The feeling was very faint,” Sophie said. “So please—don’t spread this carelessly. The matter of angels is too sensitive. Until we know for certain, we should remain cautious.”
“I understand.”
The knight-captain and commander nodded, their expressions serious.
With her explanation delivered and tensions eased, the atmosphere lightened. Some had already begun celebrating the successful subjugation.
“Selina…”
Sophie lowered her head and whispered the name that lingered in her thoughts.
It seemed she needed to visit the Hall of Heroes and see the statue of that fallen heroine in person.
…
…
“Not enough… it’s just not enough magic power… my body’s basically… empty already…”
Drenched in sweat, Via collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath.
She’d been working in her dorm, transforming the now-empty bedroom into a makeshift magic workshop.
Building a workshop required many steps.
Setting up mana convergence points, activating intrusion barriers, establishing detection-blocking fields… all required huge amounts of magic to construct.
Via’s magic power was too low. After just a little work, she was already drained. She didn’t have nearly enough mana to complete the process.
“At this rate, working for a bit and resting for a lot, the workshop won’t be finished until the next century.”
The pink-haired girl frowned.
She couldn’t let anyone else build the workshop for her.
Doing so would be no different than letting someone else handle the keys to her personal vault.
Her body hid an extremely dangerous secret—if anyone found out, she’d be dragged off to a dungeon in the Holy Land before she could even scream, and straight to the execution stand without trial.
She already got one more life. She wasn’t about to let this one end in tragedy again.
“Clearly, the biggest problem is this body’s lack of magic power.”
Via raised her hand in front of her and stared at it—her eyes complicated.
A person’s magic power wasn’t fixed. It could increase through training.
But it was tied to talent. Geniuses grew far faster than ordinary mages under the same conditions.
And her problem in this life was simple: her talent wasn’t strong enough. She was born with too little magic power—nowhere near the level of Ville, and even with training, the growth would be slow.
Besides, following the standard path would take far too long. Slow water couldn’t put out a fast fire.
An assassin had already made a move. If she didn’t grow stronger fast, how would she deal with the next crisis?
“A normal method just won’t solve my problem.”
Via sighed.
Most people in her place would’ve just given up.
But a Demon King always has a way.
Slowly rising, she stared at the messy room, breathing in deeply, her eyes hardening with resolve.
“Looks like I don’t have a choice.”
“I’ll have to use that extreme method to turn things around.”