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Chapter 37
Bang! Boom!
A series of thunderous explosions echoed from afar, drawing everyone’s attention in that direction. It was a sound like lightning had struck a clear sky.
“Um…”
Margaret’s confused voice made them turn around—far in the distance, a blinding light was flashing. A surge of vivid, burning red burst out, so intense that it instantly seized everyone’s gaze.
The sky above the capital was dyed crimson, as though drenched in blood. Screams soon followed from somewhere far away.
“Help me!”
“My god!”
“What’s going on?!”
Silia felt a jolt of déjà vu. This scene—she knew it. It was just like the battlefield where she had fought her last war…
Rustle—
“What is that? That red light… Silia, are you okay?!”
“I’m fine…”
BOOM! BOOM!
The next explosion was even greater than before—louder than any lightning strike could ever be. If it were lightning, the heavens would already have been torn apart.
Debris shot into the sky. Servants nearby stopped in their tracks, staring upward in shock. Even the guards who had been training in the drill yard rushed over in alarm—with Flir among them.
“Silia, your face…” Flir said worriedly.
Juline, squinting toward the horizon, murmured blankly, “Isn’t that… the Magic Tower?”
The moment he said it, Silia shot to her feet.
“Wait—wait a second!”
“Hold on!”
“Silia!”
Ignoring their calls, Silia ran—madly, recklessly.
There was a spell she’d learned for moments like this—one to run faster or make long leaps.
‘What was it again?’
Her thoughts were a mess, tangled and chaotic.
Forgotten memories surfaced. That red sky brought them back—the last words she’d heard before being stabbed by Illode.
“Why does it have to be like this?”
“I don’t want to die.”
“…Redhead, tell my family back home…”
The nightmare she had seen in the treasure vault was coming to life again. Memories she had buried deep, pretending not to see them, surged up. Silia clenched her teeth.
“…That didn’t happen anymore.”
That’s what she always told herself when the memories came. Time had been turned back. None of them had died. She bit her lip, repeating the words—but the anxiety wouldn’t fade.
‘They’re alive somewhere… they must be.’
But could something that truly happened ever not exist?
Did those memories really mean nothing now?
Her comrades in the army had said things like that—before leaving her behind. Even those she wasn’t close to had begged that at least someone live on to tell their story.
She didn’t want to be the last survivor again.
She didn’t want to watch people die helplessly again.
She didn’t want to die like that again.
She nearly stumbled several times as she ran. The Magic Tower was already engulfed in the red light.
“Rose… Marin…”
They were inside that tower. So were Archmage Akla and the other research mages—people who had always treated her kindly, helped her, smiled at her.
Then, a voice echoed in her mind—she couldn’t tell if it was hers or Illode’s.
“And there’ll be beasts, too.”
“Maybe even the Heart of the Earth.”
“Yeah, screw you.”
The metallic taste of blood spread from her bitten lip.
“You think I’m scared of that now?”
It was true—she had fought them before. After facing them once, she knew that each beast wasn’t as terrifying as she had once believed.
What truly terrified her was something else—
‘I won’t let myself be powerless again. I won’t watch it happen again.’
She finally had a few people she could truly talk to. She wouldn’t let them die. That’s why she wanted to catch Illode, return his power, and end the war before it could even begin.
But right now, that bastard was nowhere to be found.
She wanted to scream at him—to ask why, to demand that he save them, to shout that saving people was his job. But—
She couldn’t. This was her responsibility. Somehow… she had to handle it.
‘…I remember now.’
The spell for times like this.
Silia cast a leap spell on her legs and looked upward.
The main streets were too crowded—too many people, too much debris.
“Then I’ll just take another route.”
With a powerful jump, she bounded onto the rooftops of the capital and sprinted across them.
The closer she got, the more horrifying the sight became. The explosion from within the tower had blown off entire spires; massive chunks of debris floated in the air, suspended by lingering mana.
There was no way the people inside could be okay.
‘No…’
The image of her fallen comrades overlapped with Rose and Marin. For an instant, she saw them all lying cold and still on the floor of the tower.
Clang!
“Damn it!”
Her foot slipped.
Before she could recover, Silia’s body plummeted downward. A mistake she would never have made normally.
The blazing red sky filled her eyes as hatred, fear, and sorrow all crashed into her at once.
“I’m tired.”
It was Illode’s voice—the same words he had whispered the first time they faced a beast together.
“Don’t just stand there—MOVE!”
She shouted at her own legs, but her body refused to obey. Frozen stiff, she kept falling—faster and faster.
Maybe if she hit the ground hard enough, the pain would wake her muscles. That was the only thought she had left.
But before the impact—
Thud!
Warm, strong arms caught her.
“…”
“Are you okay?”
Golden light wrapped gently around her shoulders in comfort.
“See? That tourmaline necklace you gave me—it just glowed. I think it absorbed the shock from our fall.”
“…You…”
“A prince getting crushed by a lady falling from the sky instead of meeting an angel—funny, right?”
It was Krondel.
The prince carefully set Silia down, speaking softly.
“You don’t look well, so I feel bad asking, but…”
“Why are you here…?”
“Do you know what that is? Looks like a mana explosion, but I can’t be sure. You’d probably sense it better than I can.”
…She did know. It had to be related to the beasts. She opened her mouth to explain, but Krondel spoke first.
“To be honest, I was worried. I’d been under confinement after that treasure vault incident, but when the tower exploded, I couldn’t just sit still.”
“…”
“I ran out, and then I saw you. I figured if I followed you, I’d reach the tower faster—but then you fell, so I caught you.”
He tilted his head with a faint smile.
“I want to go check what happened right now. Will you come with me? I’d rather not go alone…”
That’s when she noticed—his hand on her shoulder was cold. He wasn’t even disguised this time; his blond hair and fine royal clothes were completely exposed. He must’ve broken his confinement order and rushed here without a second thought.
His face, strained but determined, was full of emotion. His pale expression betrayed the fear he was trying to suppress.
He looked toward the crimson sky—anxious, almost trembling. He wanted to run straight to the tower, yet also didn’t want to. He looked scared—unlike his usual self.
“To be honest,” he said quietly, “I’m afraid. I don’t know what’s left over there after such an explosion.”
His voice grew weaker.
“There’s someone I want to save… if it’s not too late.”
For a moment, Silia felt the same emotion in him that she felt herself—the fear of losing someone precious.
“I don’t know if I have the strength,” he added, but he didn’t let go of her hand. He held it firmly, as if to reassure her.
‘What am I doing…’
Guilt pricked at her chest.
‘He’s younger than me, and he’s still trying to comfort me while he’s scared too.’
In her real age, Krondel was six years younger. Acting on instinct, Silia lifted her hand and smacked her own cheek—hard.
Smack!
The sharp sound echoed through the alley, making Krondel flinch.
“Are you okay? That sounded painful.”
“Of course.”
At last, the blood in her body began to move again. Silia clenched and unclenched her fists, straightened her posture.
“Alright. Let’s go together.”
“Good. I was hoping you’d say that—”
Before he could finish, Silia slipped her arm under his as if to support him—and took a running stance. Krondel’s feet left the ground slightly, and he muttered in surprise, “You’re… very assertive.”
“Why? Want me to princess-carry you instead?”
“Would you really?”
He was already sounding like his usual self again—flippant and carefree. Silia couldn’t help a brief, amused snort.
“To be honest,” he said, grinning, “riding through the capital in your arms sounds kind of fun—but I’ll pass. A prince has his pride.”
“Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”
“You don’t strike me as the type to let someone carry you. But if you wanted, I’d give it my best shot.”
“Please. I’d sooner carry you—it’d be faster.”
Silia said that, then grabbed him firmly by the waist.
“Hold on tight.”
Krondel’s hands gripped her shoulders with determination.
“I’m going to use leap magic—we’ll move fast.”
Mana flared around them, blazing like a meteor shooting across the crimson sky.
