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Chapter 36
There was one thing no one had expected.
Especially Corellia and Charlotte—something they couldn’t even imagine.
In the territory of the Wolf Tribe… there was a Sword Master.
The words Duke Asili had once thrown at Ferdin as a joke had become reality.
“Who knows? Maybe this time, too, a passing Sword Master will show up to help.”
Meanwhile, Erin—who had reached the realm of Sword Master after living through three lifetimes—gazed heavily at the figure that appeared before them.
The one who had hurled the spear at Lillia was none other than the chief of the Wolf Tribe, who had suddenly emerged.
His eyes had lost their reason, and his entire body overflowed with uncontrolled mana.
He didn’t look normal at all.
But Erin herself had also lost her reason.
The person she had sworn to protect had been injured—just because she had let her guard down for a brief moment.
Fortunately, Ferdin—who had taken the spear in Lillia’s stead—was not in as grave a condition as it first appeared.
Just before the spear could pierce his body, the child they had rescued had stirred mana and slowed its speed for a moment.
But still—it was a spear thrown by a Sword Master. Even slowed, it was enough to inflict internal injuries on Ferdin.
Amon screamed and rushed to Ferdin’s side, while Lillia cast healing spells on him nonstop.
Erin tried to calm herself as she watched.
He’s not fatally wounded. You know that, Erin Lysus. So breathe. Calm down.
But no matter how she tried to soothe herself, her hands trembled from rage.
She had witnessed countless deaths, and she herself had experienced death before.
Though Ferdin had sustained internal damage, the wound was not deep—he would recover fully after a few months of rest.
Yet the moment he was hurt, fragments of past memories flashed in Erin’s mind.
Ferdin departing on a mission decreed by the Emperor.
Her waiting in the cold March estate, praying for his safe return.
The messenger who finally arrived with news.
The look of devastation on Amon’s face as he heard it.
And the helpless despair that had torn a scream from her throat back then…
Erin felt as though something inside her had snapped.
Staring at the tribal chief, she muttered,
“Who the hell are you?”
Her eyes sank low and cold.
In truth, she had still been holding onto a faint hope until now.
Wouldn’t it be alright to just live on like this? Forget the past… and live peacefully?
Life at Atens Academy had been different.
Training with the swordsmanship students, laughing and chatting—it wasn’t bad at all.
No… in fact, it had been happiness.
She had even thought that maybe—just maybe—if she could go on living peacefully, she might forget everything Corellia had once done to her.
But you know better, Erin.
She felt as if unseen hands were dragging her back down into the mire.
Unless she uncovered who had sought to destroy the Marquisate…
Unless she eradicated them all…
The future would play out the same way again.
In the past, Ferdin had been gravely wounded here. That was why she had never strayed far from him.
But now… he was injured again.
The place of the wound might be different, but the fact remained: Ferdin had been hurt.
And that alone made Erin feel as if she were plummeting off a cliff.
“If you’d just left me alone… It would’ve been fine…”
Why do you make me angry?
ROOOOAR!!
The Wolf Tribe’s chief let out a beastly shriek and charged at Erin.
The murderous pressure of it made Amon’s face go pale as he shouted,
“Erin! Watch out!”
Something was terribly wrong with the chief. Was this what those knights corrupted by black magic were said to be like?
Even without that corruption, the power of the Wolf Tribe’s chief—known to be near the level of Sword Master—was overwhelming, beyond what Amon could measure.
The chief’s eyes had rolled back, and mana stormed around him like a raging tempest.
Amon realized instinctively: even a seasoned Sword Master would struggle against this foe.
No matter how strong Erin was, she couldn’t possibly win.
In the next instant, the chief’s claws sank into her side.
The force shook Erin’s body violently.
It all happened too fast for Amon’s eyes to follow. Beside him, Lillia screamed.
“No!”
Erin’s clothes were shredded, her body covered in blood.
The chief drew back his claws, preparing to strike again, intent on ripping out the human woman’s throat in one blow.
But he could not move further.
Erin’s hand had clamped around the arm he had struck her with.
Amon realized—she had let the blow land on purpose.
Veins bulged across the chief’s arm. But held fast by Erin’s small hand, he could not budge.
She was channeling the maximum of her mana to hold him in place.
And then, with a calm smile, she slowly raised her sword with her free hand.
Blue mana shimmered on its edge.
Erin thrust the blade straight into the chief’s heart.
Lillia’s hands trembled faintly.
Erin Lysus lay collapsed, covered in blood.
Lillia was dizzy from casting healing magic without pause.
“She’s insane…”
Yes—Erin Lysus was insane. Why had she gone so far? Was she even in her right mind?
The words slipped out without her realizing.
Erin’s state was even worse than Ferdin’s.
Though her own mana reserves were nearly depleted after healing Ferdin, Lillia still poured what remained into Erin frantically.
And yet, as she worked, a question gnawed at her.
Why am I doing this?
If she stopped now, Erin Lysus might die without her having to lift a finger.
She could finally exact the revenge Charlotte had always whispered about.
But instead, she was desperately trying to save Erin—because Ferdin’s words kept echoing in her heart.
What if Erin Lysus… wasn’t the one? What if she wasn’t truly the enemy she had sworn to hate?
Lillia felt like invisible hands were strangling her, stealing her breath.
Then—someone grasped her wrist.
Startled, she looked down.
Erin Lysus, half-conscious, was staring up at her.
“You… what are you—”
“Not me… Ferdin… heal him…”
“What nonsense are you spouting? Ferdin isn’t nearly as hurt as you! I’ve already stabilized him with healing magic. There’s nothing more I can do for him here!”
“I’ll… be fine.”
“What do you mean, fine?!”
Why? Why did Erin Lysus always sacrifice herself like this?
Lillia didn’t want to admit it, but she knew why Erin had risked everything to kill the chief in a single stroke.
If Erin hadn’t pinned him down with her own body, the clash between two Sword-Master-level fighters would’ve devastated everyone around them.
Yes… Erin was in this state purely because she had chosen to protect them.
But that makes no sense. If she’s so kind… then why did she kill Calypsus…?
As that thought plagued her, Lillia’s eyes caught on something.
A black, glimmering orb hanging around the chief’s neck.
“That… Why is that here…?”
It was the strange mana stone Charlotte had once shown her.
Lillia had never fully trusted Charlotte, even when she whispered to her—promising revenge, promising that she could help.
But after Calypsus’s death, Charlotte had been the only one who stayed by her side.
Whenever she looked at Charlotte, who claimed to be Calypsus’s close friend, she remembered her brother.
She had wanted to feel even a trace of him again—so she had forced herself to push aside doubts about Charlotte.
Even if she was hiding something from me… Calypsus was gone, and she was the only one who still cared for me…
But now, thinking back, everything about it seemed suspicious.
Erin Lysus had killed Calypsus?
A child around her own age at the time?
Piece by piece, all the clues came together—until the thick fog clouding her mind finally began to lift.
Wait… why did I believe it so easily?
Lillia pressed her hand over her mouth, nausea rising.
She could not forget the sight of the chief, his mind consumed, or his body slowly crumbling after death.
And why—why had the black mana stone Charlotte had promised to give her been hanging from the Wolf Tribe chief’s neck?
She didn’t know exactly how it had happened.
But she understood now what Charlotte’s true intention had been.
Charlotte had wanted to deceive her—
to turn her into another mindless creature like the Wolf Tribe’s chief.
