At the square before the Tower of Judgment, execution day.
Heavy snow fell like a pure white curtain descending from the sky, covering the grim square in front of the tower.
The biting cold wind whipped up snowflakes on the ground, stirring the black masses of refugees kneeling in submission.
Their anguished cries rang out.
“Lady Saint is innocent! She’s kind-hearted—there’s no way she would poison her comrades!”
“Release Miss Rosewater! This must be a setup—Chief Inquisitor, I beg you to see through the lies!”
“She’s been wronged! My entire family’s lives were saved by Miss Rosewater!”
At the front of the crowd stood Regilith, clad in the shining silver armor of the Knights Commander, leaning on her sword.
Her face was stern, but her eyes resembled a frozen lake—still on the surface but roiling with dark undercurrents beneath.
Snowflakes settled on her deep blue hair and pauldrons, but she was utterly unaware.
The struggle inside her nearly tore her apart: on one side, the survival of her family, the stigma of being “the Traitor’s Daughter” for over a decade, and a deep-seated reverence for the Church;
on the other, her dearest friend Rosewater, pale as a withered flower in the snow, tied to the cold stake.
‘I can’t raise my sword… I can’t betray the Church… or else my family… all these years of endurance and sacrifice would be for nothing, but… but…’
That thought chained her movements like shackles.
For the past three days, she had been inseparable from Rosewater. Yet in the end, reason subdued emotion.
Her mother’s dying words, the earnest hopes of the family elders—they all became unbreakable fetters.
She could only stand there like a cold statue, watching Rosewater bound to the icy pyre, the wood stacked at her feet.
‘Rosewater… I’m sorry… I…’
Each cry from the refugees pierced her heart like a dagger.
On the raised platform, Heinrich watched everything expressionless, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
The trap was set, now all that was left was for the prey to be caught.
“The time’s about right. Light the fire!” Heinrich ordered coldly, sensing the moment.
An inquisitor wearing suspenders stepped forward, torch in hand.
As expected!
Just as the executioner lifted the torch, ready to ignite the pyre, a sharp killing intent suddenly exploded from within the blizzard!
An arrow sliced through the air, striking the inquisitor squarely between the eyes. He let out a pained cry and tumbled off the execution platform.
Heinrich’s eyes narrowed slightly at the scene.
Good archery! No sign of where that marksman came from.
To be able to snipe from that distance—when did the Shadow Blade Guild get such an ally?
Dozens of black silhouettes rose like phantoms from the edges of the square, rooftops, even the refugee crowd!
Clad in nondescript gray-black attire, swift and ruthless, their target was clear—they charged straight for the pyre!
“They’re remnants of the Shadow Blade Guild! Protect the Chief Inquisitor!”
The knights shouted sharply, bracing themselves as the Church’s elite moved to intercept.
The clash of swords and steel, shouts and screams, instantly tore through the wails beneath the snowy veil!
The Shadow Blade Guild’s members were all exceptional fighters, fearless to the point of recklessness, like moths to flame, unleashing astonishing ferocity.
With flawless coordination and desperate resolve, they tore holes through the knightly encirclement, closing in on the pyre!
But their overwhelming numerical disadvantage, combined with the knights’ superior equipment and training, made their breakthrough extremely brutal.
For every step forward, a figure fell, blood staining the pristine snow red.
As Knights Commander, Regilith had a duty to fight—even if it meant sending Rosewater to her death.
She took a deep breath, suppressing the turbulent storm inside her, and charged at the nearest Shadow Blade member.
Her sword strikes remained fierce, but lacked their usual decisiveness, tinged with hesitation and pain even she hadn’t noticed.
As she forced her opponent back with a strike, a familiar figure surged forth, cutting through the icy wind to block her path!
Silver hair whipped wildly in the snowstorm, golden eyes reflecting Regilith’s moment of confusion.
Irene shimmered with magical radiance. As the Mage King, her gear made her shine like a beacon.
The Miracle Weaver’s magic was running at its limit—the power consumption terrifyingly high!
It was only thanks to the favor of miracles that the Shadow Blade members could keep the knights exhausted and off balance!
Her face was pale from the heavy mana drain, beads of sweat covered her forehead, breath coming quick, but those golden eyes blazed with unwavering determination.
“Regilith!” Irene’s voice cut through the clash.
At the sight of Irene, the last tense string inside Regilith snapped.
A wave of near-relief fatigue swept over her. She stopped her attack, staring at Irene with a complex expression that slowly turned to hollow desolation.
“So… you came too… Irene…” Regilith’s voice held a strange calm.
“That’s good…”
She slowly lowered her sword, even slightly lifting her chest to face the doll Lilysa rushing forward under Irene’s command.
“Kill me, Irene. Dying by your hand will be my atonement.”
Regilith closed her eyes, her voice carrying the resignation of someone who had given up everything.
Using her life as the price to let you break through and save her… in this way… the honor of the Knights Commander… the survival of the family… and Rosewater… all could be preserved.
…
She seemed to have found the only cruel compromise—to atone through death and end this endless torment.
Lilysa’s iron fist, whistling through the air, grabbed at Regilith’s unguarded throat, pinning her to the ground.
Regilith’s expression was calm as she silently closed her eyes, waiting for the final moment to come—
“Foolish! Regilith, I never taught you to escape by death!”
A low, majestic roar thundered in Regilith’s ears like a clap of thunder!
That voice… so familiar it made her soul tremble!
Lilysa’s motion halted instantly. Her iron fist smashed into the snow by Regilith’s neck, sending a spray of white powder flying.
Regilith snapped her eyes open. At the same time, Lilysa leapt back at Irene’s command, creating distance.
She slowly rose, looking in disbelief toward the voice’s source—a figure in black robes from the Shadow Blade Guild stepped forward, striding toward her.
Her mind went blank, desperately telling herself: Impossible! It must be a hallucination! I misheard, absolutely misheard!
But—
The black-robed figure suddenly pulled back his hood!
A face weathered by years but still resolute, deeply etched into Regilith’s memory, appeared in the snowstorm!
Her father—Leo Eisenhart!
Years had passed, and his face was heavily aged, but Regilith recognized him at once, feeling a flood of strange emotions crash down, shattering her.
“Fa… Father?!”
Regilith was struck as if by lightning, pupils dilating, body trembling violently.
The shock lasted only a few seconds before the bottled-up anger, grievance, and pain of over a decade ignited completely!
“Why?!!” Regilith’s voice suddenly rose, trembling with sobs and a ripping demand, “Why did you betray the Church?! Why become a traitor?! Do you know Mother… she… she cried every day because of you, and finally died of depression?! Do you know how many times I was scorned, called ‘the traitor’s daughter’ behind my back?! Do you know how the family fell because of you?! Answer me!!!”
“Why are you still alive!!!”
Facing his daughter’s bloodied accusations, Eisenhart’s eyes filled with profound pain and guilt.
But he did not flinch—he quietly bore this long-delayed storm.
When Regilith’s barrage finally paused, he spoke in a steady, clear voice that pierced through the battlefield noise, word by word:
“I’m sorry, Regilith. But I am not a traitor.”
“What?” Regilith was stunned.
“Rosewater,” Eisenhart’s gaze shifted to the slender figure on the pyre, filled with fatherly love and protection, “she is the true Savior Saint! The goddess’s chosen vessel! Over ten years ago, I fought to protect her newborn self from the then Pope Gerolaur, whose body was possessed by an Abyssal demon.
I was gravely wounded and fled the Holy Capital with her.”
“The Pope… was a demon?!”
Regilith’s worldview was shattered in an instant.
The Pope, who radiated divine light and treated her, a supposed traitor, with kindness—was he a servant of a demon?!
Impossible, how could it be?
“Yes! That mad witch hunt, those merciless atrocities against the people—all disasters wrought by the demon occupying the Pope’s body, to consolidate power and harvest fear!”
Eisenhart’s voice was resolute, “I was powerless to protect her alone, so with the help of comrades, I risked everything to send her back to the Holy Capital, disguised as a commoner, so she could grow safely within the Church and eventually expose the truth! …But now, everything has changed!”
He looked to Irene, gratitude and resolve shining in his eyes: “Miss Irene’s arrival showed me another path! To overthrow the false Pope, to save the true Saint—that is our only way! Regilith, what you’ve been protecting was never true faith! Your loyalty has been to a demon usurping the divine throne!”
Father was not a traitor? Rosewater was the true Saint? The Pope was a demon-possessed vessel?
Over a decade of suffering, grievances, family downfall, mother’s death— all the painful origins were a burden borne to protect hope?
Regilith felt an indescribable warmth break through every dam inside her!
Tears blurred her vision in an instant.
These were not tears of sorrow, but a flood of anger, regret, release, and determination long bottled up finally finding a way out!
“Ahhhh—!!!” She howled to the sky, as if shouting out every ounce of pressure from those years!
At this moment, no more restraint was needed, no more endurance.
She could proudly raise the sword in her hand, because it bore the ‘Honor of the Knights’! She was no longer bound by the chains of being the traitor’s daughter.
She would be her true self again!
Her father never betrayed anyone; he had always walked the path of justice!
What once was ashes in her heart now blazed like fire!
Nothing else mattered—if this shield could not protect her comrades, then it was meaningless!
For the first time, she truly felt alive!
The next moment, she raised her sword sharply, the tip aimed at the pale-faced Heinrich on the platform!
Her voice infused with all her magic, sounding like a trumpet blast, echoing across the chaotic square:
“In the name of the Goddess! Knights Commander Regilith Eisenhart hereby declares: Pope Gerolaur is possessed by an Abyssal demon! All her actions are blasphemy! All her commands are evil! The true Saint is Rosewater Eisenfield!”
“To all knights who hold true reverence for the Goddess’s glory! Follow me—restore order! Protect the Saint! Destroy the evil!”
Regilith’s proclamation was like a spark thrown into boiling oil!
The knights already shaken by Rosewater’s kindness in the refugee camp, and witness to today’s unjust trial, heard this earth-shattering accusation.
Seeing their Knights Commander defect, the scales of their hearts tipped instantly!
“Protect the Saint!”
“Follow Lady Regilith!”
“Slay the demon!”
First a few, then dozens—like wildfire spreading across the snow.
Not only the Goddess’s Shield Knights under Regilith’s command, but even over half of the Goddess’s Crown Knights led by Ingrid hesitated briefly before turning their weapons on their former comrades and the Chief Inquisitor on the platform!
The holy light emblems on their armor glowed faintly, as if answering a summons.
This left Ingrid somewhat at a loss. She looked at Janus beside her, only to find a sickly smile on the latter’s face.
More confusingly, the Goddess’s Sword Knights remained entirely silent, unmoved.
On the platform, Heinrich’s face darkened like iron.
He never imagined Eisenhart would appear in this way, nor that Regilith would so resolutely betray them.
The situation spiraled out of control instantly!
“Traitors! All of you are traitors! Kill them!” he bellowed furiously.
The situation had changed; he had to execute Rosewater immediately to prevent any further upheaval!
He descended from his seat and looked at Rosewater tied to the pyre, murder in his eyes.
Since the Shadow Blade Guild had shown up, the bait’s usefulness was gone.
If he just killed her, everything would be over!
“Die, Rosewater!”
His eyes flashed crimson, but the prayers on his lips no longer served the divine.
They had turned into demonic whispers.
In the next instant, a massive demonic claw tore through the clouds, descending fiercely toward Rosewater!
Irene and Regilith both saw the scene, but with a thick human wall between, they were powerless!
“Rosewater!” Regilith spun around, charging desperately toward her friend.
No matter if swords and blades cut into her, blood flying—she didn’t care!
No, no! After finally learning the truth, after no longer needing to pretend!
How could she lose Rosewater now?!
The next moment, golden light melted the darkness.
Rosewater saw it.
‘Everyone… for me…’
She saw everything— Iren, Serena, Regilith, Helga—all risking everything to save her, utterly without regard for themselves—
She would die, truly die. Though some knights had betrayed mid-battle, the odds were still overwhelmingly against them.
The black demonic claw gripped her, darkness taking control.
Her consciousness began to sink deep within.
There, a figure almost identical to her own face but radiating endless divine light stood quietly, as if before a massive full-length mirror.
“Are you certain? Calling on my power again could cause your consciousness to vanish completely, becoming only a vessel for divinity.”
The goddess’s voice was ethereal, full of compassion. “In Endymion City, you already unleashed my power once to save them. This time, there will be no more miracles.”
Rosewater’s gaze seemed to pierce through her physical bonds, clearly seeing every figure fighting for her on the battlefield:
Regilith’s resolute cries, Irene’s pale but determined face, Serena’s bloodied struggle, Eisenhart’s fatherly protective gaze…
‘It doesn’t matter anymore!’ Rosewater shouted silently in her heart, her eyes more determined than ever.
‘If they can risk their lives for me, then if I hesitate now, it would be the greatest betrayal!
I will fight alongside them!
Even if I disappear after this, I will do so willingly!
Please, grant me… your miracle!’
‘Another me!’
‘Lady Goddess!’