Dark clouds loomed overhead, and the sky had dimmed to a gloom.
Within a canyon, two armies clashed in a fierce battle.
“Charge! Crush the Lanska forces! Win this battle, and the final victory will be ours!”
With a rallying cry to boost morale, Sersis led the charge, his fierce assault tearing open a gap in the deadlocked front.
As the youngest commander in the history of the Holy Knights, Sersis had lived a life of legend.
Born an ordinary human, he had been mentored by a grandmaster, mastering both martial arts and magic.
Rising from a powerless commoner to lead the knight order, he had supported a frail, orphaned princess during a civil war, helped her ascend the throne, and kept the noble houses in check, restoring stability to the nation.
If they could win this war, they would reclaim the territory lost during the unrest.
Sensing the threat, the armored enemy saintess reacted immediately, shouting and blocking Sersis’s advance.
“Don’t even think about getting through!”
She was his longtime rival—Ariel, the so-called “Saintess of Salvation.”
They had clashed countless times on the battlefield, yet neither had ever managed to best the other.
Their blades met with a shower of sparks.
The force of their aura-infused strikes drove back those around them, creating a circle of empty space centered on the two.
She’s as troublesome as ever…
Irritation welled up inside Sersis.
At that moment, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest—an excruciating, piercing agony that spread rapidly through his body.
Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, then from his eyes, ears, nose—every orifice.
No matter how handsome his face once was, it now twisted in agony.
“…You…”
Sersis assumed his opponent had used some underhanded trick during their duel and glared furiously at Ariel—only to see her face filled with equal shock.
Then it hit him.
No… it wasn’t Ariel.
These symptoms—it was the Flameflower’s poison!
According to legend, the Flameflower grew on volcanic ridges.
Its toxin wasn’t especially strong, but it was nearly impossible to purge.
If consumed over time and then triggered by its complete opposite—the Icepetal flower—the dormant poison would explode into a deadly toxin in an instant…
The Flameflower was already rare, and few even knew of its effects.
Who could have fed it to him for years without his knowledge—and then triggered it with Icepetal?
In his mind flashed an image of the girl who had offered him a cup of victory wine before his departure.
She had smiled gently, seemingly delicate and harmless.
The liquor had burned going down—yet oddly, it left a cold sensation.
She was the very queen he had raised, supported to the throne with his own hands: Queen Flora.
He had once shared the story of the Flameflower with her, casually, as an amusing tale.
Now, back in the royal palace, a pair of slender hands accepted a cup of tea from a waiting maid.
The elegant young woman gazed at the steam rising before her.
She took a small sip, and her rosy lips curved into a faint smile.
By now, the poison should’ve kicked in.
Sersis, don’t blame me for being cruel.
You seized all power, suppressed those close to me, and gathered the people’s loyalty for yourself.
Weren’t you just using me?
Hoping to one day stand above all, becoming king of this land?
With clenched fists, Flora crushed the teacup in her hand. Shards cut into her fingers, pain lancing through her—but all she felt was a surge of satisfaction.
Meanwhile, Sersis was calculating every possible way to escape.
He couldn’t die—not yet. He had to make it back to the throne room and demand an answer from that woman. How could she do this to him?
With a surge of overwhelming aura, Sersis repelled the ever-persistent Ariel.
“Kristin!” he shouted to his comrade.
“Something’s gone wrong—escort me out!”
Kristin was Sersis’s childhood friend.
They had grown up together, and when they first set out on their journey, she had been one of his original companions.
Sersis had never married, but he thought that if he ever did, the only possible choice for a wife would be Kristin.
In fact, they had been in a steady relationship for many years.
On this expedition, Kristin served as the commander of the magic corps and remained one of his most trusted allies.
A barrage of ice arrows rained down from behind, forcing nearby enemies to retreat.
Just as Sersis felt a surge of hope, the shattered shards of ice suddenly reformed in midair.
A long spear of razor-sharp ice materialized in an instant and pierced through his chest before he could even react.
With the sound of chanting, the ground erupted, breaking the battlefield into fragments and cutting off every possible escape route.
Ice arrows flew in waves, riddling Sersis’s body like a sieve.
But what truly sealed his fate was the massive sword of crystal ice that drove through his already bloodied chest, pinning him to the wall of upturned earth.
“…Kristin… you too…?”
Blood gushed from Sersis’s mouth, his vision blurring.
He stared in disbelief at the woman walking slowly toward him.
“Ten years… do you have any idea what these ten years have been like for me?!”
Kristin screamed at him hysterically, her eyes burning with unfiltered fury and hatred.
“You killed Victor! He was our companion—our most trusted friend!”
If it weren’t for you, Victor and I would’ve been together long ago!
“For ten years, I’ve endured it all, waiting for this day—to let you know what it feels like to be betrayed by the person you trust most!!”
“…That was because…”
Sersis tried to explain, but there was no chance.
The dizziness was growing stronger, and his strength was fading fast.
If he didn’t escape now, he would definitely die here!
He bit his tongue hard, using the sharp pain to stay conscious.
Then, with the last of his will, he yanked the necklace from his chest and crushed the shimmering gemstone embedded in it.
It was a precious Sky Crystal—his ultimate trump card, a life-saving relic.
Once activated, it could instantly cast teleportation magic, regardless of distance!
He could no longer control the destination, but as long as he escaped, there was still hope…
“Master.”
A cold voice rang out as the spatial field suddenly activated, locking down the space around Sersis.
The teleportation completed, and Sersis’s figure vanished—only to reappear in almost the exact same spot, less than a meter away.
Kathy…
Before the expedition, he had explicitly ordered her to remain in the royal palace to protect the queen.
And yet here she was, on the battlefield.
Sersis didn’t even want to ask why anymore.
The long-eared elf gazed at her former master, sorrow and resolve flickering across her lips as she spoke.
“I only ever wanted freedom. But since you won’t break the contract, then… please just die, Master.”
“So, all of you… were waiting for me to die.”
Perhaps at first he had been furious at the betrayal, but now Sersis felt nothing but bone-deep cold and utter numbness.
So all the love and sacrifices he thought he had given—were seen as hypocrisy and disgust.
Their response was nothing but hollow affection, a performance, all while biding their time for revenge.
How laughable… that he hadn’t seen through any of it, and had cherished them as his most precious people, protecting them at all costs.
The poison surged, his aura shattered, wounds tore open, and his consciousness began to fade.
With no strength left to resist, Sersis was consumed by despair, his will to live slipping away.
“Enough talking!” Kristin shouted sharply.
The ice crystals formed again, and the massive sword drove straight through Sersis’s heart.
The light in the young man’s pitch-black eyes gradually dimmed.
Still fearing he might cling to life, Kristin stabbed him over and over.
Only after confirming that Sersis had no breath left did she finally stop.
The ice mage dissolved the crystals.
The elf with pointed ears looked up to the sky.
The girl in the royal palace set down her teacup.
All three exhaled in unison, as though a great weight had finally been lifted.
It was over…
And so, a legend came to its end.