Chapter 63

Breath doesn’t connect.

A completely exhausted body loses control and staggers.

I watched my body slowly kneel down as if observing from a step behind, dazed.

Recalling what had just happened in my mind.

It felt like everything had connected into one.

The things I had learned. The things I had. The things I had gained.

Swordsmanship. Body. Up.

The strike I swung cleaved through the enemy with unbelievable force.

This was the realm of a master. Now I knew for sure.

How I should fight.

How to properly use this power.

Even the vague power of Life Force, I felt like I knew how to wield it.

Though controlling that ferocious power would be difficult.

Still, with this, I had finally gained the strength to push forward.

There was no joy.

Too many people had died.

I just felt a tiny bit of relief.

The flames were dying down.

Finally, this hell was coming to an end.

Had I done what I needed to do properly?

There were two answers before my eyes.

I let out a long breath.

As if extinguishing the Up-hwa in my chest, as if spitting out life.

A deep sigh that wouldn’t break.

This was it.

My fight was over. Finally.

It had been too long, a night that felt like an eternity.

No more sounds could be heard.

The smell of burning, the taste of blood, nothing could be felt.

Sensation faded from my fingertips to my entire body.

My weary consciousness drifted away from my exhausted body.

Like oil and water separating, clearly.

The sword slipped from my loosened grip and rolled on the ground.

Beyond my darkening vision, I looked down at the sword.

Its golden gleam had already disappeared, as if it had fulfilled its role.

It was time to sleep.

……

…Suddenly, a question brushed through my mind.

A question I had taken for granted, never doubting even once. Only now.

Since when?

Since when had I wanted to save people so desperately?

Surely, it wasn’t like this at first.

I thought they were pitiful. I thought I’d save them if I could.

But was I this desperate? To the point of grinding my body to save people I’d never seen?

**Something had changed.**

…Since when?

Thoughts didn’t connect. My consciousness gradually faded.

*Ah, right.*

With a mind left in ruins, I remembered.

*When I…grasped that sword…that’s when I…!*

The mind trying to recall something sank just like that.

My vision darkened.

—-

*- You figured it out, huh?*

Someone whispered.

*- Maybe it was a bit too soon? But it’s still okay.*

A pure white hand gently stroked my forehead. Affectionately.

With a gesture full of warm tenderness.

*- Forget it, and rest easy for now.*

And then. Once again.

—-

The morning sun rose.

The long night ended, and dawn finally arrived in the Capital.

The survivors sat dazed, staring into the void.

At the gray sky covered in ash and dust.

The Great Fire of the Capital.

A large-scale terrorist act carried out by the Suin organization, so-called Militia, who had infiltrated the Capital and contacted mixed-blood slaves within.

Taking advantage of the elite knights heading north, countless lives were lost in a diversionary tactic.

In one night, 30% of the city burned to ashes, with an estimated 20,000 civilian deaths.

The number of injured also reached 8,000, an unprecedented catastrophe.

Thanks to the Academy’s quick response, it was barely contained, but at the cost of over 30 students killed by the Suin.

The world was in shock.

The claw marks that tore through the Empire left a vivid scar.

People trembled with fear, shock, and anger.

The non-humans watched intently.

The Empire’s centuries-old order. The unshakable myth now bore a clear crack.

Quietly, very calmly.

But without looking away.

The world was changing.

Toward the past.

—-

Where I woke up was an unfamiliar hospital room.

Four beds lined up, and a cross hung on the white wall.

The air smelled of blood and disinfectant.

On each bed lay students wrapped in bandages.

I turned my head with difficulty. Just that movement took nearly a minute.

My body didn’t move well.

On the left bed, a familiar blond boy was asleep.

It was Damien.

His complexion was calm, as if he had received some treatment.

And between Damien and my bed, a green-haired woman sat dozing in a chair.

“…Milia…?”

A cracked voice escaped.

Hearing my voice, Milia slowly woke up.

Rubbing her half-closed eyes, she met my gaze and blinked dazedly, as if in disbelief.

She blinked again, then quickly turned toward me.

“Ha-shal-leur! You’re awake?! Thank goodness! Really…!”

Milia reached out tearfully, then hesitated and withdrew her hand.

As if unsure if she could touch me.

My condition must have been that serious.

I couldn’t tell well because I couldn’t feel anything.

“Yeah… Milia, are you okay? No injuries…?”

“Compared to me, your body…”

“Or else I’d be worried! If it weren’t for Senior Lacey, I really would’ve died!”

“Lacey? The saint candidate…?”

Was she nearby? Ah, so that white flash that covered the city back then must have been Lacey’s doing.

Luckily, I was within the range of her blessing, so I managed to fight somehow.

“Yeah. Damien, who had regained his strength, found you all battered and carried you to Senior Lacey. If it weren’t for her healing, you would’ve died…”

Damien came back…? Good thing I got close to him. Thanks to that, I survived.

I realized my burden and used that power to kill Natalia, but I also ran out of stamina and immediately lost consciousness.

Immediately collapsed… right?

…Did I?

Something feels a bit off. There’s a strange sense of dissonance. I don’t know. It feels like I’ve forgotten something.

Ah, right.

“My sword…?”

Yeah, that’s it. I must’ve dropped my sword when I passed out. Surely I didn’t lose it for good, right?

My sword. I had to find it. A sword of that caliber might have been stolen by someone.

“Ah, about that—”

Milia pointed to the corner of the bed. Ai-mel-ra’s sword, sheathed, was leaning there.

I felt a wave of relief. Thank goodness. Damien must’ve taken care of this too. I should thank him later.

Only then did I feel a bit calmer.

“So, how much time has passed? …What happened to the people?”

“A week. Hashalle, you just woke up after a week. Even with daily healing spells… they said you used up too much energy.”

So that’s why I have no strength left in my body.

A week, huh? That should be enough time for things to settle down.

…Settle down.

“About the people… it might be better to talk about that later. For now, you should rest—”

“I want to hear it.”

I needed to know.

Hesitating, Milia carefully recounted what had happened.

Shortly after I collapsed, the riot was suppressed. About a third of the rioters had already been cut down by my sword, and the paladins who marched in from the opposite side literally ground the beastmen to pieces.

Around that time, the commotion at the Imperial Palace was also quelled, and the knights rushed back to the capital.

Thus, every single beastman who participated in the riot was slaughtered. Except for three who were captured as prisoners.

A gray bear, a lioness, and a vixen.

Those three were subjected to every conceivable form of torture. Afterward, they were displayed in the square with their limbs severed.

Thanks to the beastmen’s vitality, they clung to life for five days.

Considering what they did, it’s not exactly a sympathetic story.

“And the others…?”

The hesitant answer that followed was brutal.

Twenty thousand, and thirty, was it?

In the original, fifty died. So, twenty more survived. For every student, a thousand civilians sacrificed.

It was a mad equation.

My mind began to drift again.

No, snap out of it. I can’t break down here. I can’t stop now, not after killing twenty thousand.

So I have to endure. A sense of duty pushes my mind forward.

“…What’s the situation in the capital now?”

“The dead were gathered over four days and cremated. Leaving them would risk an epidemic… After that, they’ve been rebuilding the burned buildings.”

Four days. Is that fast or slow? It’s hard for me to say. At the very least, it’s far too short a time for the grief to subside.

“If you’re asking about the people’s mood… it’s not good. Everyone’s grieving, everyone’s angry. There’s even talk of marching into the northern tundra.”

“…That would be difficult.”

“Yeah, it would.”

Marching an army into the northern tundra is madness. Half would be lost crossing the Sky Mountains, and the other half to the tundra’s cold.

That land is still unconquerable by humans. Only fur-clad beasts can survive that frozen wasteland.

So, the pent-up anger turned toward the remaining beastmen. The beastmen slaves who remained loyal to their masters, not swayed by Milichia’s incitement.

Whether out of loyalty or self-preservation, it’s impossible to know now.

They were all dragged out and slaughtered. In ways too gruesome to describe. Over three days.

With ears and tails removed, they looked almost human, which made their deaths even more horrifying. Recalling the scene, Milia shuddered slightly.

To betray your kin for survival, only to meet a more gruesome end than them. What a cruel twist of fate.