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The Peiriguris Family House, one of the seven pillars of the Empire, is a family of warriors with boiling blood like the magic of fire, serving the Emperor for generations and taking on key positions in the Empire.

Those who bear the name Peiriguris consider dying on the battlefield an honor. The only thing they fear is retreating in the face of the enemy.

The current head of the Peiriguris family, Leon, is undeniably brave. With his exceptional physical abilities, he can match the strength of an armored vehicle in close combat. However, the position of Imperial Army General is not one that can be judged solely on bravery and strength.

Leon’s biggest mistake occurred during the first expedition. As the overall commander, he fought on despite seeing the monstrous army led by Aaron. However, with only 20,000 soldiers, it was impossible to stop the skeletons.

It was a battle that no one could win. The problem was that Leon ordered his troops to fight to the end without retreating. His unmatched bravery had turned into reckless arrogance.

Eventually, after Bella’s persistent persuasion, the Imperial Army abandoned the castle and retreated. Of course, by then, the Imperial Army had already suffered heavy losses. The first northern expedition of the Imperial Army ended in a crushing defeat.

At first glance, it seemed like Leon would take responsibility and end it, but an unexpected figure intervened, changing the situation.

Tristan Ruelberta.

He pressured the nobles, creating public opinion that Leon should be executed for the failure of the expedition.

Tristan had two reasons for doing this. One was to eliminate Leon, who was pro-Imperial. The other was to ensure that Bella did not take responsibility for the expedition’s failure.

At the time, Bella, Tristan’s fiancée, had voluntarily entered prison after returning. She felt guilty for the soldiers who died fighting alongside her while she stayed behind to block Aaron’s pursuit.

Her determination was so firm that even Emperor Lucy could not stop her and had to provide a temporary prison.

In this situation, Tristan had a twisted thought. If Leon took all the blame, Bella’s guilt would lessen.

He immediately mobilized the nobles to pressure the Emperor.

Lucy had intended to hold Leon accountable for the expedition’s failure but had not considered execution. Leon was a key figure among the pro-Imperial nobles. He was an indispensable talent for her, so she firmly opposed it.

But Tristan was a persistent man. Although Lucy ended up stripping Leon of his position as Army Commander, he did not give up.

Tristan understood human ‘wrath’ better than anyone. He incited the families of the fallen Imperial soldiers, claiming their deaths were all due to Leon’s incompetence.

“Murderer!”

“Bring back our son!”

From that day on, bereaved families began to gather in front of the Peiriguris mansion, staging sit-ins.

Leon could have used force to disperse them, but he chose not to. Instead, he accepted their resentment and sorrow, believing it was his duty to bear.

However, countless bereaved families came daily to curse Leon. To make matters worse, some were fake bereaved families planted by Tristan.

And as planned, Leon, the once brave head of the Peiriguris family, finally crumbled.

A few days later, Leon committed suicide in his mansion.

Though he seemed like a warrior who only loved fighting, guilt had taken root in his heart.

Tristan had succeeded in eliminating him without revealing himself.

In a way, Tristan could be considered Leon’s enemy.

Recalling that uneasy past, I quickly shook off the thought and looked ahead.

“Whoosh!”

A steel mace engulfed in flames swept through a group of skeletons. The man leading the charge, swinging his weapon, looked like a hero from a myth.

The man who once caused the failure of the first northern expedition was fighting here again.

No need to worry. Now, he can go all out. Unlike back then, I’m on his side now.

“Follow General Leon!”

“Uoooh!”

Leon was not a commander who stayed behind the lines but one who fought alongside his soldiers on the front lines. The morale of the Imperial Army he led was exceptionally high for a reason.

“…Now I see why General Leon is still active.”

As Patrick said, Leon was past middle age and nearing old age. It wouldn’t be strange for him to prepare for retirement, but his attacks were still fierce. He’s a character too good to disappear just like that.

“Huh! What are you talking about! This is my prime!”

“…At least your hearing seems to be in its prime.”

Thanks to Leon’s efforts, a noble knight appeared on a protruding white hill. Seeing skeletons struggling to rise beneath his feet, it was clear.

“It’s you!”

Leon, having spotted Aaron, strode forward. No skeleton could stop his advance, comparable to an armored vehicle.

Of course, that’s what I thought…

“Do not approach recklessly, humans.”

“Huh?!”

Leon, who narrowly dodged something that suddenly appeared behind Aaron, groaned softly as he saw what it was.

“Ugh… When did you hide such a thing?!”

It was a white arm bone reminiscent of a skeleton. The problem was that the bone was as thick as four logs stacked together.

Suddenly, a shadow loomed over us.

Engulfed in darkness, we all looked up. Then, a massive skeleton blocking the moonlight revealed itself.

-!!

A giant skeleton, easily over 10 meters tall, roared at the night sky.

A giant bone standing tall on the snowy plain.

Even the Imperial soldiers, faced with this surreal sight, momentarily forgot their will to fight.

The ‘Winter Giant,’ said to be the most powerful skeleton Aaron could summon.

Seeing it in person, the pressure was no joke.

“Are you the overall commander?”

Aaron’s eyes were on me.

His sharp eyes, recognizing me as the overall commander even with Leon and Patrick in front of him, were commendable… but I had been feeling his gaze for a while now.

“I am Aron, knight of Lady Arisa.”

Aron, realizing I was the most dangerous, drew his sword from the air.

“I am the one who will bring you an endless winter.”

“……”

“Reveal your identity, ominous human child.”

At his somewhat forceful demand, my ‘pride’ stirred. It was truly an arrogant thought, but I had no intention of hiding it.

There’s no reason to be ‘patient’ after coming this far.

“I am Tristan Ruelberta.”

I also drew my sword, just as Bella had taught me.

And with ‘pride,’ I declared to him.

“I have come to end this winter.”

*

“Ah… Revenge is truly futile.”

Helga stood blankly on the snow.

“Revenge? Did something happen to you?”

“A lot. They grabbed my ankles and even blocked my way, showing hostility. Isn’t it only natural to pay them back?”

“…Isn’t that just venting?”

“Saying it’s revenge makes it sound more justified.”

Helga shook off the blood dripping from her fist. At her feet lay the Hoin tribe, incapacitated from the fight.

Somehow, they had returned near the castle during the fight. The Hoin tribe had been advancing towards the castle, likely to attack it, and the two had stopped them.

Compared to skeletons and other demons, the Hoin tribe was a dangerous opponent. With hunting instincts like carnivores and strength enough to tear humans apart alive, they were undoubtedly the top predators of the Demon Forest.

But they were no match for an angry Helga.

The Hoin tribe was literally shattered in the face of merciless violence. Even when they blocked attacks, their arms broke, and their sturdy fangs were shattered with a single elbow strike.

The playful tone and actions she usually showed were nowhere to be seen. There was only a weapon that crushed them alive.

As Helga said, it was a one-sided fight… no, one-sided violence. Although Blanshe helped, they were essentially taken down by Helga alone.

“…Let’s hurry and follow the Count.”

“Huh? Didn’t the Count tell us to guard here?”

“Look around. There are no enemies coming here anymore.”

“Now that you mention it…?”

As Helga said, the endless stream of skeletons had abruptly stopped.

This meant that Tristan, who had gone ahead, had encountered the one summoning the skeletons.

“Let’s hurry. My horse must be nearby…”

“Aren’t you going to finish them off?”

“Huh? Oh… It’s fine. Even the Hoin tribe won’t be able to move for a few days.”

Helga looked down at the Hoin tribe members groaning on the ground. Their tenacious vitality kept them alive, but another reason was that Helga had avoided their vital points.

“Is that so? You’ve become quite generous.”

“…They weren’t worth killing. Besides… if the Count were here, he would have said the same.”

Indeed, apart from being the Empire’s worst villain, the Tristan Blanshe had seen did not commit unnecessary killings. Perhaps it was because they were too insignificant to be worth killing. But… she didn’t think so.

The Ruelberta family was a family of sin, conducting inhumane experiments and committing heinous acts in the shadows. The fact that Tristan, as the current head, was struggling alone… perhaps this was his way of atonement.

And his subordinate Helga, influenced by him, seemed to wield violence indiscriminately but was actually controlling her strength as much as possible.

“Huh? Why are you looking at me with such a sentimental gaze?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

“Anyway, let’s hurry and find my horse. I don’t know where it ran off to… Hmm?”

Helga’s eyes narrowed as she looked around.

“Wait, what is that?”

In the distance, a giant skeleton larger than trees was rampaging. It didn’t take long to realize that was where Tristan had disappeared.

“…We need to hurry.”

“Yes. Let’s find the horse quickly.”

“Ah! There’s a horse here…”

Clip-clop!

Before they could grab it, a horse sped past them. Enhanced by magical tools, the horse galloped towards the giant skeleton.

And in that brief moment, the two made eye contact with the person on the horse.

After the horse passed, the two shouted simultaneously upon realizing who it was.

“W-wait?!”

*

“Oho…”

I was engaged in a fierce exchange of blows with Aron, our swords clashing. Sparks flew wherever our swords met.

Mimicking his movements with ‘jealousy,’ I narrowly dodged his attacks. Each time, Aron’s eyes widened in surprise.

“More I see, the more amazed I am…”

“Stop annoying me and just die!”

Suddenly, Patrick leaped, and lightning flashed from his fist. Aron quickly blocked the strike with his greatsword.

“Such a predictable attack…”

“Ha! Got you!”

“!”

Crack!

As Patrick’s magic touched the greatsword, Aron unknowingly dropped it.

Now completely defenseless, Patrick didn’t miss the opening and swung his magic-infused fist at Aron’s face.

“?! Not yet! Patrick.”

“What the heck?!”

A shadow cutting through the air struck Patrick’s chest. Sent flying onto the snow, he tried to get up but collapsed again.

“Human magic truly has a barbaric level of power.”

Aron muttered as a sharp blade appeared on his back. But it wasn’t just any blade.

“I borrowed a rib in a hurry.”

What Aron summoned was a rib from the giant skeleton. Reflecting the moonlight, it gleamed with a cold light like his skin.

“Ugh… Cough… You coward…”

Patrick spat blood, likely injured internally by the earlier strike. The red pool spreading on the white snow. Now, he couldn’t fight.

“Hahaha! It’s hot!”

A hearty shout, out of place in this situation, came from Leon, who had thrown off his coat and was fighting the giant skeleton with his soldiers. Steam rose from his body.

While the Wolfbert family gained speed and destructive power akin to light through lightning magic, the Peiriguris family’s specialty was explosive power.

Hot magic continuously exploded within his body, like an engine, imbuing every movement with destructive force.

He resembled a berserker.

Overheating had side effects, but the northern cold quickly cooled him down.

If he held out a bit longer, he might take down that skeleton. If Leon joined, they could face Aron.

But could I hold out alone until then?

“…Impressive.”

“?!”

I quickly deflected Aron’s swung sword.

“I’ve faced many swordsmen, but… I’ve never seen a human like you.”

“……”

My hand, which had been numb, started to tingle. I had deflected the heavy greatsword as much as possible, but I couldn’t completely absorb the impact.

“Haa… haa…”

I calmly caught my breath.

Even with ‘jealousy’ at its peak and using Bella’s swordsmanship, it wasn’t enough to defeat Aron. Even with Patrick’s help, we failed to deliver a decisive blow.

‘He’s… stronger than I thought.’

In the original story, he was mentioned as the strongest swordsman on the demon side. Aron’s swordsmanship was incredible even to a novice. Wielding such a large greatsword with one hand and even executing precise thrusts.

But this wasn’t even his full strength.

“Tristan, was it? You have a very flexible swordsmanship. Not only do you use unfamiliar techniques, but you also try to learn my swordsmanship with each clash. You must be a renowned swordsman. I’ll remember your name.”

“……”

Hearing that line, I was reminded of a face I missed. The only human swordsman who could match Aron, the beautiful swordsman whose name he remembered first.

Ah, unintentionally, I cut in line, so it’s not the first time… but anyway, it’s all useless now.

Even if she came, nothing would change.

She had lost to Aron once. Even if they fought again, the result wouldn’t change.

I glared at Aron, recalling the original story.

Him mercilessly killing fleeing humans. The soldiers who had to die to safely return Bella, who fought until she collapsed. And Bella’s monologue, tormented by guilt in a dark prison.

-If only… if only I were stronger…!

I remember that powerless cry.

“…Huu.”

That’s why I had no choice but to grip my sword again. As I prepared to fight, Aron muttered.

“Two of you couldn’t win, do you think you have a chance alone?”

“…I don’t know.”

I still had a few cards up my sleeve.

Moon magic, ‘wrath’ I had saved just in case, and a handgun for self-defense.

With only these, I had to buy as much time as possible until Leon arrived.

Aron drew a new sword from the air. This time, not a greatsword but a sleek scimitar.

“If you don’t know, then you’ll have to clash with me directly. And you’ll realize.”

“……”

“No matter what you do, humans cannot defeat demons…!”

“!”

Aron closed the distance in an instant.

I quickly thrust my sword at him.

His curved sword cut through the wind, aiming for my neck.

‘Deflect quickly…?!’

Thinking that, I swung my sword, but strangely, I felt nothing. Like cutting through air. Did I miss?

But even in that crisis, I was absurdly aware of the sound of hooves coming from somewhere.

Clang-!

At that moment, Aron’s sword sparked and was deflected.

Neigh-

“Ugh?!”

Aron looked incredulous.

A horse suddenly appeared before him.

Then, flashes of light struck in rapid succession.

Clang-!

Clang-!

The fierce light pressed Aron back with just two flashes.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Aron quickly distanced himself.

Of course, I was just as stunned.

“Really… You were being this annoying here?”

The woman who had dismounted brushed the snow off her knees.

“You…”

“Why are you making that face?”

It was a magical sight.

Under the moonlight, the silver-haired swordsman smiled down at me. The mischievous smile on her face showed no intention of hiding.

“I missed you.”

With that, Bella Izakhel readied her sword.

 

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