“Lian, is that you?”
Senia was dazed by the smile of the girl in front of her… Then she tightly embraced Lian in her arms.
“I can touch you… Is this another layer of illusion? Like at the beginning—”
“It’s not an illusion.” Lian patted her shoulder to comfort her. She helped Senia stand up, then said to her:
“Aren’t you trying to break through the barrier of mist? We saw from the shore that the barrier was suddenly eroded by some kind of curse… Then we heard you cry out from inside. Lady Waletidina immediately rushed into the mist. I was worried about you two, so I followed in—”
“Nonsense…! I told you before, it’s life-threatening for someone outside the royal family to enter the barrier. Back then, one of Father’s knights broke in and even his remains couldn’t be found!”
“But we can’t just wait outside knowing you’re in danger. You know I can never do that again… And I’m not a child anymore.”
Lian smiled at her… Just like she had described before, it was that kind of heartfelt, relieved smile.
“You, you knew I was watching? Isn’t all of this just a memory? These things I saw…”
Senia was a bit confused. She looked around and found that the entire pine forest had suddenly become empty.
“…What’s going on?”
Not only the young girl Vera and the soldiers under her command who were cleaning up the battlefield, but even the remains of the demon army that had been cut down by the demon sword had vanished without a trace.
“I’m not sure either… I felt like I was having a very long dream. This dream was my past… But until just now, I didn’t realize I was trapped in it. After hearing your voice, I realized you had been watching all along—maybe this is the trial set by your Ancestor Lord.”
Lian’s gaze fell at the foot of the pine tree that had regained its green due to her healing magic. There, the young girl who had fallen asleep in her arms was no longer lying.
“…Now that you mention it, it does seem like that. Although I can’t remember the specifics of the previous trials, I have the impression that the Ancestor Lord used this kind of method to test the character of the royal family.”
Even though this thought was a bit irresponsible, participating in the barrier’s trial together with others… this situation was also a first for Senia.
“But I still find it a bit strange… If all of this is just an illusion, then why did I hear your voice that day?”
Lian looked at the pine tree and suddenly asked this question.
“Heard my voice…?”
“Yes. Just like you saw. That day, after hearing what Vera said, I did consider ending my own life.”
“Lady Vera… she really said those things to you.”
“I don’t hate her because of what she said. Although her words were always harsh, I knew she actually sympathized with me. And the reason she became like that that day was because she loved that child very, very much.”
“You can understand her. Because the pain and despair she felt that day were only deeper than mine. At that time, I couldn’t bear it all, so for a moment I thought of that.”
“And what made me hesitate was a voice that seemed to ring directly in my mind. The words that voice transmitted to me were exactly the same as what you just said.”
“You heard these words from me back then?” This time it was Senia’s turn to fall into thought. “I’ve heard of that Demon Army Commander’s name… Starting with his death, Yilansiya launched a full counteroffensive against the demon army entrenched within the country, and by the end of the year they drove the demon army out of the national borders, recovering all lost territory.”
“Yes. That was the year I was summoned… Saint Calendar 1434, nineteen years ago. But our first meeting should have been in 1435, eighteen years ago.”
“You mean… nineteen years ago, you heard what I am saying right now?”
“Yes. Even if I am in an illusion now, my memory cannot be wrong. Because you said those words, I fled from Vera… fled out of that pine forest. After that, I took some time to sort out my thoughts, and then made up my mind to become a true hero worthy of the name.”
Having said this, Lian turned and looked seriously at Senia. Her eyes were very firm and clear, not at all like she was joking.
“Impossible.”
Suddenly, a third person’s voice startled the two present. The voice made it impossible to tell its exact direction; it was like an echo reverberating through a valley.
“Who’s speaking…?”
“…”
Senia looked around trying to find the source of the voice, but Lian furrowed her brows, extended a hand to shield her behind her, and signaled with her eyes for her not to act rashly.
“This is impossible. Just a barrier left by a residual soul… Even if that woman were still alive, her magic power could not cross time and space to influence the past—no, not even the Demon King could do such a thing. There is no spell in this world that can interfere with time!”
This voice was filled with bewilderment, anxiety, anger… but it contained astonishing magic power. Under the influence of this power, the entire world that the two saw began to distort—
“Lian…!”
Suddenly the ground shook, and the earth beneath their feet turned soft like mud, then collapsed. Losing her balance, Senia fell downward, but Lian grabbed her hand at the critical moment, so they were not separated.
After the collapse, there was no foothold; the two seemed to be falling into a bottomless abyss. During the fall, Lian gradually felt a strong malice coming from all directions—
“Senia, hold onto my arm and don’t let go!”
The two kept falling… then crashed into a deep pool of water. In the pitch-black water, they struggled to lift their heads above the surface.
“Are you okay? Senia!”
“I’m fine…! What, what is this?”
They confirmed each other’s safety, but the surrounding environment made them shudder.
The color of this pool was a shocking blood red. Moreover, above the pool, a layer of scarlet mist hung.
“Is this the curse I saw from the shore? Do you feel any discomfort?”
“No, no—”
Senia’s response suddenly cut off. Because from the pool beside her, a tall figure suddenly emerged.
That figure had disheveled hair, and blood-like water dripped from it continuously. But even with the mud and water stains, Senia would never mistake it—
“Father…?”
Looking at the man before her, her mind went blank.
“Why did you… abandon me and run away? Why… didn’t you come to find me?”
His voice was hoarse and muddy. As he approached Senia, he lifted a longsword from the pool. He swung the sword to strike down at his daughter… But before that, Lian stepped in front of him and punched him in the chest.
This punch was incredibly powerful. The zombie-like man was thrown back, parting the pool water, crashing into the distant blood mist, and disappearing from sight.
“This is not real! Pull yourself together, Senia!”
Lian turned and patted Senia’s cheek… But his gaze was fixed on something that appeared behind her:
“Brother… Brother Leon… it hurts so much…”
Emerging from the water was a blue-haired girl with a huge wound on her chest. She opened her arms and slowly approached the two… Her hollow eyes reflected Lian’s face, and her mouth emitted indistinct murmurs.
Looking at this walking corpse, Lian’s eyes became colder than ever before.