“Bernoa.”
Eldakrad looked at the saintess with unwavering eyes.
“It’s fine. You don’t have to accept my feelings. To me, this is an act of atonement. If it meant saving you, my lord, and ensuring you could overcome Seto, I would have done far worse.”
If she could save her lord, she would do anything—even take her own life if necessary.
“What could I possibly do to repay you?”
“Repay me with victory. That is enough.”
A future where her lord survived thanks to her efforts.
That future alone would be enough.
That victory would be satisfying.
At Bernoa’s words, Eldakrad nodded.
“I shall do so.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
That was all she needed.
Afterward, she planned to leave her lord’s side, living quietly in the forest while occasionally hearing news of him.
“However, this victory is not mine alone.”
“What?”
‘What did he mean?’
‘If the victory wasn’t solely his, did that mean he intended to yield to Seto again?’
“This is also your revenge against Seto and the Demon King, who toyed with your life. This battle is not mine alone.”
“My lord…”
Not just her lord’s fight?
Bernoa, the saintess, would also be fighting alongside him?
For some reason, those words deeply resonated with her.
“We fight together. Now, let’s go capture Seto.”
“Yes, my lord!”
Thus began their war of vengeance against Seto and the Demon King.
Just as she had seen in her dreams, Bernoa lured Eldakrad in by pretending to be an ally of Seto.
‘Not yet.’
There was only one way to strike a decisive blow against Seto.
She hadn’t revealed all the details.
She felt guilty about keeping things from her lord, but after decades of experience in battle, she wasn’t ignorant of strategy.
So, perhaps she would make her lord a little sad.
“March on the Demon King’s castle!”
Eldakrad’s Ashtar army launched their assault.
So far, everything was unfolding exactly as it had before his regression.
Their advance was unstoppable, and the Demon King’s forces were no match for them.
Even if the Four Heavenly Kings arrived, the Demon King’s castle was already doomed.
“There! That’s the Demon King’s castle!”
The vanguard sent word that they had spotted the castle.
The Ashtar army was the same size as it had been before the regression.
Nothing had changed.
Eldakrad assumed it would continue that way since the saintess had said so.
RUMBLE—!
A massive black wall suddenly rose, cutting off Eldakrad from his army.
“My lord!”
“Kyle!!”
To be separated from his forces at a time like this…
At this rate, Seto’s army would overwhelm him.
Had she known this would happen, she would have warned Kyle in advance.
“My lord, I’m sorry.”
“What is this… Bernoa!”
Had she betrayed him again?
‘Had this all been part of her plan, from the moment she spoke of her dreams?’
‘No, that couldn’t be.’
If she had betrayed him, she wouldn’t be looking at him with those eyes.
As he wrestled with his thoughts, Seto appeared.
“Kahahahahaha! Eldakrad! How does it feel to be betrayed by someone you trusted?”
“You bastard, Seto!”
So it was him.
Seto had been behind everything.
“Kahaha! See? You should have won her heart properly. You command armies with ease, yet it seems you have no talent for handling a woman’s feelings.”
At Seto’s sneering words, Eldakrad turned to Bernoa.
“Is it true…?”
“This was the only way.”
‘What did she mean?’
‘The only way? What was she thinking?’
Why was she bowing her head?
He couldn’t read her expression.
“What are you talking about—”
“In this situation, there was only one way to capture Seto. This was the best strategy.”
“Hahahaha! Huh? What did you just say?”
Seto, who had been laughing smugly, suddenly froze.
This… This wasn’t part of his plan.
“By now, the demon soldiers I brainwashed should be attacking Seto’s forces, causing total chaos.”
“You—”
Only now did Seto realize something was going terribly wrong.
“Kyle, as the second-in-command of the Ashtar army, should be leading the charge, slaughtering Seto’s forces right about now.”
Yes.
From the start, this had been a strategy designed to deceive both Eldakrad and Seto.
A battle plan crafted from decades of experience as one of the Four Heavenly Kings in the Demon King’s army.
That fool had fallen for it completely.
Did he still see Bernoa as a woman blinded by obsession for her lord?
No.
This success was only possible because of the knowledge gained from her regression.
And with that, the plan had worked.
“In that case—”
“Yes. This place is Seto’s execution ground.”
“You wretched woman! How dare you deceive me?!”
His furious outburst was pathetic.
“If you couldn’t even defeat my lord without resorting to tricks, you were never worthy of victory to begin with, you worthless insect!”
This time, Bernoa wouldn’t just stand by.
Seto never expected her counterattack.
No—he never even imagined such a scenario.
Before he could react, Bernoa struck him with dark magic.
“Damn it! If I just kill you, this will all be over!”
Seto hurled a spear of fire.
SHUNK!
Bernoa didn’t dodge.
The spear pierced her body.
But she clutched it tightly.
This alone wouldn’t kill her.
“My lord, Seto is the type to rely completely on his weapon. If he loses his spear, he won’t be able to match you in sword magic.”
“Bernoa!”
“While I can still hold on… please, end this.”
Eldakrad was momentarily overwhelmed by how quickly the situation had changed.
But one thing was clear—
Bernoa had set all of this up for him.
She was begging him to defeat Seto.
Eldakrad gripped his brilliant blue mana sword, formed through sword magic.
Then, he slowly approached Seto, who was now trapped inside the barrier.
“Seto. It’s time for you to leave this war.”
He raised his sword high above Seto’s head.
“Damn it. No… I, Seto, cannot—”
With one swift motion, he brought the blade down.
SHLUK!
Seto’s severed head tumbled to the ground as he let out a twisted scream.
Then, his face and body erupted into flames.
“Is he really… burning to death?”
Before long, Seto was reduced to nothing but ashes.
Now, the only ones left were Eldakrad and the saintess—her body pierced by Seto’s spear.
“Haa… Haah… Ugh.”
Bernoa gritted her teeth as she pulled the spear from her abdomen.
‘This… might hurt more than I expected.’
But it was bearable.
The fact that Eldakrad had slain Seto meant history had already been drastically altered.
She couldn’t afford to die just yet.
Since Seto was dead, the power within his spear had also weakened.
“Bernoa, are you alright?”
Eldakrad hurriedly caught her as she staggered.
“Yes, I’m fine. This is nothing. If I use the demonic energy within me to counteract the spear’s power and heal myself, it won’t be a problem.”
Even now, she was still a saintess.
Healing herself was well within her ability.
By the time they brought down the Demon King’s castle, she would have fully recovered.
“Is that so? You’re not thinking of dying, are you?”
“No. Even though I use dark magic, I am still a saintess who can perform miracles. I can heal myself just fine.”
She really was alright.
She just needed a little time.
She had to stay alive long enough to see the Demon King’s castle fall.
“I will buy myself some time to heal, so please… finish this battle.”
“Understood.”
Eldakrad grabbed Seto’s fallen spear and snapped it in half.
With that, the barrier Bernoa had placed was lifted.
Just as she predicted, Kyle had gathered the main Ashtar army and was now slaughtering the remnants of Seto’s forces.
The battle ended not long after.
As expected, Seto’s troops had been thrown into complete disarray by their unexpected betrayal.
Eldakrad’s Ashtar forces swiftly cut them down.
Of course, the Demon King’s army was still vast.
The Ashtar army alone couldn’t completely annihilate them in a single strike.
At that moment, a new army appeared on the battlefield, their war cries filling the air.
“Wait… Bernoa, who are they?”
Eldakrad turned to Bernoa, who was in the middle of healing her wound.
She glanced at the unfamiliar soldiers in the distance—each wearing different armor and clothing.
Ah. She knew who they were.
“They… are the militia I gathered from the villages I was supposed to massacre. Many of them are former adventurers who have fought monsters before. They should be more than capable of handling Seto’s remaining forces.”
The very people she was meant to kill had survived, gathered an army of their own, and now fought for humanity on the battlefield.
Unless another of the Four Heavenly Kings arrived, the Demon King’s main forces had largely consisted of Seto’s army.
Now, that army was steadily being wiped out.
“My lord, are you alright? Wait… what about the saintess?”
“She sacrificed herself to ensure Seto’s death. But she can heal on her own… For now, I will focus on reorganizing the army.”
Seto was dead.
Now, the real battle was about to begin.
With Seto’s forces in complete collapse, the remaining clean-up was swift.
“The saintess’s sacrifice has secured Seto’s defeat! Now, nothing stands in our way! Ashtar army, march on the Demon King’s castle!”
The final assault began.
At a glance, the Demon King’s castle was an imposing fortress.
But the creatures lurking inside were barely recognizable as living beings.
Eliminating the army guarding the castle wouldn’t be difficult.
Eldakrad and the entire Ashtar force believed so.
The siege began.
It was an exhausting battle that stretched over several days.
The Demon King’s forces fought desperately, perhaps fueled by their master’s presence.
Naturally, the Ashtar army suffered heavy casualties.
‘What are we supposed to do now?’
They had defeated Seto and reached the Demon King’s castle… yet now they were stuck.
“We have captured all seventy-two watchtowers and outer walls, but we are unable to breach the inner sanctum. A barrier is blocking our path.”
So, it had come to this.
If they couldn’t advance, their rear lines would be vulnerable.
So far, Seto was the only one among the Four Heavenly Kings they had eliminated.
The only other significant figure left was Clanis.
‘Would Clanis bring reinforcements?’
“What about the remaining Four Heavenly Kings?”
“It seems the traitor, Clanis, is hastily leading his forces here.”
“Hmm. We’ve already taken out Seto, the biggest talker. Clanis is acting faster than expected… Strange.”
If Clanis was truly bringing an army…
They could be slaughtered right here in front of the Demon King’s castle.
They had suffered losses, but at this point, they had also nearly wiped out the Demon King’s forces.
Even if Clanis’s troops arrived, they would not be enough to threaten the kingdom.
No matter how powerful the Demon King’s army was, suffering this level of devastation would cripple them for a long time.
‘Then… what about Bernoa?’