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Somewhere, the sound of cheers, the clashing of weapons, and the screams of frightened people could be heard. Had the Imperial Army finally launched a full-scale offensive?

It was unclear how long the Northern Army defending Roelgreen Castle could hold out. But if the Imperial Army stormed the castle, something terrible would surely happen.

To prevent that, William had to take Kyle with him. But…

*Clang!*

Before William could stop him, Kyle swung his sword, Prandecker. William quickly drew his own sword to block, but he had to absorb the full impact of the strike.

“Ugh?! What are you doing, brother?!”

“……”

Kyle’s face, hidden beneath his helmet, was unreadable. But the aura he exuded was far from the gentle brother William knew.

To anyone watching, Kyle was clearly not in his right mind. As if controlled by something, he swung his sword at William.

*Clang!*

William blocked the sword strike aimed directly at his head. Kyle was targeting his life.

“Stop it, brother!”

“……”

“I didn’t come here to fight you!”

*Screech—*

Kyle, pressing his sword against William’s, began to push him back. William, overpowered, gritted his teeth as he was forced to retreat step by step.

“Snap out of it!”

With all his strength, William pushed Kyle back. Kyle staggered, losing his balance, but William didn’t press the attack. He had no intention of harming his only close friend, Kyle.

“What happened to you?”

“……”

“Brother! If you don’t tell me, how can I help you?!”

Despite William’s pleas, Kyle remained silent, focused solely on cutting down William.

*Whoosh—*

Kyle’s sword grazed past William’s face. William quickly twisted his body to dodge. His movements had noticeably improved, likely due to the surgery that had cured his once frail body.

On the other hand, Kyle’s movements were far from his former self. His sword strikes, once worthy of the nickname “Sword Demon,” were now just simple swings, despite wielding the famed Prandecker. As a result, William had little trouble blocking or dodging Kyle’s attacks.

“Ugh?!”

The problem was that William had no intention of counterattacking. Under the relentless assault, William was gradually tiring.

“Brother! Please!”

“……”

If this continued, the outcome was predictable. No matter how much healthier William had become, his stamina wasn’t infinite. It was only a matter of time before Kyle’s sword struck him.

“…This won’t do. I need to step in.”

Ariel, unable to watch any longer, tried to intervene. But… I stopped her.

“It’s pointless.”

“……”

“You know it too. There’s no use.”

After all, this was just the past. No matter what we did, nothing would change. Ariel knew that. It was just hard for her to bear.

Facing a painful past and being unable to do anything about it.

“Ugh…”

Eventually, Ariel slumped to the ground in helplessness. But I felt the same way.

[You are resonating with the Trial!]

[Your resonance level is now 50%!]

Just by watching the past, my resonance level had reached 50%. And with that, I naturally understood what resonance meant.

The strange discomfort I felt while watching William’s past was becoming more vivid. It seemed that as the resonance level increased, I began to feel the emotions William had experienced.

Having someone else’s emotions flow into you was an unpleasant experience in itself. Especially when those emotions were desperation, pain, and sorrow.

‘Damn it…’

I rubbed my temples, trying to endure the piercing headache without using “Patience.” But with the resonance level at 50%, it was becoming overwhelming.

Maybe that’s why Wendy kept trying to take care of me. She might have vaguely sensed that I was barely holding on.

Please, let this excruciating past end soon…

As I desperately wished for that, William deflected Kyle’s sword.

*Clang!!*

William, who had been defensive until now, suddenly changed his stance and began to attack aggressively. Perhaps due to the increased resonance, I could guess his intentions.

“Tsk… This might hurt, but bear with it!”

William redirected the attack and struck Kyle’s chest with the hilt of his sword. Kyle staggered from the impact, but William didn’t stop. Unable to cut him down, William chose to incapacitate him instead. And his plan quickly showed results.

*Crack!*

Unable to withstand the continuous attacks, Kyle’s armor split open, revealing his chest.

“?!”

For a moment, both William and I widened our eyes.

Our gazes were fixed on the faintly glowing mark on Kyle’s left chest—right where his heart was. If I wasn’t mistaken, it was a magic formula.

“……”

William seemed to have noticed the magic formula as well, along with the unusual magical power emanating from it.

Kyle was being controlled by that magic formula. Realizing this, William fixed his gaze on the formula and adjusted his grip on his sword.

Thanks to the high resonance level, I could feel it. William was focusing all his energy into the tip of his sword.

Kyle’s sword swung toward William again. William didn’t move. The moment Kyle’s sword touched his shoulder…

William finally swung his sword.

*Whoosh!*

It was a strike so fast it was almost invisible. A strike filled with the same sincerity Kyle had shown earlier. William had almost perfectly replicated it.

*Splat!*

Blood spurted out.

But it wasn’t Kyle’s blood—it was William’s, gushing from his shoulder.

“Haa… Haa…”

William staggered, clutching his shoulder. He had sustained a serious injury, one that made it impossible for him to hold his sword. But the risk he took was worth it.

William had aimed for the magic formula on Kyle’s chest. His sword had cleanly cut the suspicious formula controlling Kyle in half.

*Clatter.*

Prandecker fell from Kyle’s hand.

Finally freed from the magic formula, Kyle collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

It was over.

“Brother Kyle…!”

William rushed to Kyle’s side and removed his helmet.

“Snap out of it! Brother!”

Kyle’s closed eyes were revealed. He didn’t respond to William’s calls, as if he had lost consciousness.

“What’s going on? Brother, why are you so cold…?”

William’s expression darkened as he checked Kyle’s condition. Just when it seemed they had escaped a desperate situation, things hadn’t improved at all. Kyle’s face was as pale as a corpse’s.

In a situation where most would panic, William calmly helped Kyle to his feet.

“Ugh…”

Using his uninjured shoulder to support Kyle, William began to stagger down the stairs.

From our perspective, it was as if a camera was following them, naturally showing their movements.

“Damn it. This hurts like hell… Brother, don’t you owe me an apology?”

“……”

“But brother… why have you gotten so light? Did you lose weight or something? Huh?”

“Why…”

Kyle, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

“Brother Kyle?! Are you awake?”

“…Why didn’t you run away?”

“Where would I go without you? I came here to save you.”

“No. Go back. It’s too dangerous here…”

“I know. That’s why I’m trying to take you back now. And I knew it was dangerous when I came.”

“Why…”

“I told you. I want to be a hero like you.”

William forced a smile as he spoke.

“Rushing into danger to save someone in trouble. Isn’t that what a hero does?”

“……”

“So, brother. What exactly happened? What’s this about a rebellion? And why is the Emperor acting like this?”

“……”

Kyle remained silent, either unwilling to answer or deep in thought. Unable to wait any longer, William sighed.

“Fine, we’ll talk later. Let’s just get out of here…”

“……”

Kyle’s body went limp.

William took a deep breath and kept talking.

“…By now, Sister Ariel must be waiting for you, brother.”

“…Ariel?”

Kyle reacted to the mention of Ariel.

“Yeah. If you don’t want to get scolded by her, you better snap out of it. And you have a son who doesn’t look anything like you to hold, right? Huh?”

“……”

“Haa… We’re almost there. Once we get out, we just need to reach where Aslan is.”

“…William.”

“Don’t worry, brother. No matter what the Imperial Army says, I won’t hand you over. I won’t let them take you.”

“No… I don’t have time…”

“Huh? Time?”

What was he talking about at this point?

Kyle muttered as if resigned.

“I’m already dead…”

“…What?”

*Clap, clap, clap…*

At the bottom of the stairs, a group of people stood before them.

“Lord William. You’ve worked hard.”

“Dolan…?”

The one clapping was Dolan, the Imperial Army commander who had argued with William earlier.

The man with a catfish-like mustache greeted the two with armed soldiers.

But how had they gotten here?

“You… How are you here?”

“Ah. Thanks to you discovering the secret passage, Lord William, we were able to take the castle without casualties.”

“What?!”

William’s expression hardened.

“…Were you following me?”

“My apologies. We couldn’t risk you causing any trouble, so we had no choice. But thanks to you, we were able to enter the castle with minimal losses. We are truly grateful.”

William bit his lip.

Through the resonance, I could feel his frustration and self-blame.

“Moreover, Lord William, you’ve personally captured the leader of the rebellion, Sir Kyle. Truly remarkable. Now, leave the rest to us.”

“Step aside.”

“Pardon?”

“I said step aside.”

William glared down at Dolan and the soldiers with a terrifying gaze. Despite his frustration, he must have decided that clearing Kyle’s name was the priority.

“Ah, are you worried we’ll take credit? Don’t worry. We’ll inform His Majesty that you personally captured Sir Kyle…”

“No. I’ll handle Sir Kyle’s custody. Stay out of it.”

“Excuse me? But we have His Majesty’s orders…”

“Didn’t you hear me? Get out of my way.”

William was the heir to the Ruelberta family, a family even the Emperor couldn’t touch lightly. Dolan wasn’t foolish enough to not know that.

“My apologies…”

Even the Imperial Army commander had no choice but to make way for William.

But then…

“Da, danger!”

Wendy shouted, but her warning didn’t reach the past.

“Ugh?!”

William, who had been supporting Kyle, fell to the ground. An arrow was lodged in his calf. The pain was so intense that even I had to endure it with “Patience.”

What on earth was happening?

“I truly grieve for you, Lord William.”

When William looked up, he saw the face of the knight who had just apologized to him. Dolan spoke dramatically.

“Lord William, who came as reinforcements, tragically fell to the rebels. That’s the story.”

“You bastards…”

Dolan revealed his true colors with a sneer.

“Don’t look at me like that. The Ruelberta family is His Majesty’s enemy, isn’t it? If you had just obediently served His Majesty, you wouldn’t have met such a futile end…”

“…Was this your plan from the start?”

“Hahaha. Of course not. Even we wouldn’t dare do something so blatant. But I never let an opportunity slip by.”

“You damn bastard…”

“Sir Kyle and you, Lord William, are both fools. With such powerful backgrounds, both families provoked His Majesty’s wrath. This is the result.”

Dolan stomped on William’s injured leg. William didn’t flinch, despite the excruciating pain.

Though he hadn’t learned it yet, “Wrath” flickered in his eyes. Intimidated, Dolan eventually stepped back.

“…Even in this situation, you maintain such arrogance. No wonder His Majesty despises the Ruelberta family.”

“……”

“Hmph… In that case, it’s better to deal with Sir Kyle first.”

“What? Deal with him?”

“Yes. Rebels are executed without trial. If I behead him before your eyes, Lord William, you’ll understand your place.”

Dolan drew his sword to behead Kyle, who was lying on the ground.

Unable to hold back any longer, William shouted.

“What are you…! Sir Kyle is a hero of this nation!”

“This is the Meikhael Empire. His Majesty’s word is law. Do you think this nation belongs to the Ruelberta family?”

“Do you think it’s right to brand a hero of this nation a rebel without evidence, just based on His Majesty’s word?”

“If His Majesty says so, then it is so.”

“Dolan…!”

“Even if it’s a false accusation, if it’s His Majesty’s will, then it is so. How could we, mere servants, fathom His Majesty’s deep intentions?”

At Dolan’s words, William lowered his head.

A shadow fell over his face. At first glance, it seemed like he had resigned himself, but through the resonance, I could feel it. William hadn’t given up.

“…I see. There’s no point in talking any further.”

“Pardon?”

William grabbed the sword beside him and stood up. His leg trembled violently, and blood still flowed, but he managed to stand and grip his sword.

“If you’re going to frame Sir Kyle, you’ll have to go through me first.”

“Huh…? You plan to fight us in that state?”

“Yes.”

“Pfft…”

Dolan and the soldiers burst into laughter.

“Puhahaha! You think you can take us all on by yourself?”

“Some pampered young master you are!”

“Did you lose too much blood and go crazy?”

“Don’t underestimate me. There’s one thing you’re overlooking.”

“Huh?”

William warned them in a low voice.

“Aslan is on its way here.”

“Aslan?!”

A stir ran through the soldiers. Even the lowest-ranking soldiers knew of the Ruelberta family’s private army, Aslan, and their ruthless reputation. Aslan was known as the Empire’s elite, merciless and unwavering in their missions.

The soldiers’ confidence visibly wavered.

“I’ve already given them orders. It’s been a while since I entered, so they should be here soon.”

“Nonsense! They were still outside the castle when we came in!”

“Yeah! Even if they hurry, it’ll take at least another hour to get here!”

“Do you think they’re as slow as you ragtag bunch?”

“Ugh?!”

Fear of Aslan spread among the soldiers. But not everyone was affected. Especially not their commander.

“Don’t panic, you idiots.”

Dolan sneered.

“Even if they arrive in five minutes, we just need to kill this guy first. Can’t you figure that out?”

“R, right…”

“Understood? All of you, attack at once. Make it quick. Got it?”

“Yes, sir!”

The commander was indeed the commander.

At Dolan’s order, the soldiers surrounded William with swords and spears.

With no idea how long it would take for Aslan to arrive, William’s hand trembled from the wound on his shoulder and the arrow in his leg. And before him stood fully armed Imperial soldiers.

But he wasn’t afraid.

Instead, he spoke to them with an arrogant tone.

“I hate the Imperial Army more than demons.”

“…Is that so?”

Dolan’s mouth twisted.

“Then blame your birth into the Ruelberta family.”

At Dolan’s signal, the soldiers charged at William. I covered Wendy’s eyes again.

Sure enough, bright red blood spurted out.

But the blood wasn’t William’s.

“What, what’s going on?!”

Dolan’s face was filled with shock.

The upper bodies of the soldiers who had charged forward were cleanly severed. No, they had been cut apart by something and were now gruesomely embedded in the wall.

“Ugh…”

In the face of the sudden carnage, no one could speak. But those of us watching from a step away could understand what had happened.

“What… why… why…”

Ariel muttered as if in pain. Tears streamed down her face.

She had noticed the tattered figure of a knight standing behind William.

“Brother Kyle?!”

Had he finally regained his senses? William turned around, his face freezing in shock.

“B, brother… your face…”

“I’m… fine, William.”

Sand was flowing from Kyle’s face. His face was slowly weathering away, like a rock eroded by the wind over time.

“Aah… Kyle…”

Ariel staggered toward her husband, now in tatters.

Even though she knew it was the past, she still approached him.

“How… how did this happen…”

Ariel reached out to touch Kyle’s cheek.

“To end up like this…”

She caressed his face, which she could never truly touch, and then slumped to the ground.

But then, something astonishing happened.

“Ari…el.”

“?!”

Kyle’s mouth uttered her name.

Ariel sprang up and rushed to Kyle.

“K, Kyle…? Can you hear me…?”

“Sorry…”

“What?”

“Tell her… I’m sorry… William.”

Only then did Ariel realize that Kyle’s gaze was fixed on William, not her.

“Ugh… ugh…”

Even if it was just an illusion, it was enough. Ariel covered her mouth and sobbed. She couldn’t help it.

From their earlier conversation, she had anticipated Kyle’s end.

Despite his disfigured face, with bones visible through the weathered flesh, Kyle’s eyes had regained their former gentleness.

“Now… I don’t have much time left.”

“Brother? What are you… what are you saying?”

“Remember… the promise?”

“Uh…?”

“Godfather… my son…”

Perhaps because half his face was gone.

Kyle’s speech became increasingly unclear. William could only catch fragments.

“Yeah… I remember. I promised to be your son’s godfather.”

Kyle nodded at that, as if grateful that William hadn’t forgotten.

Then he muttered to William.

“My room… closet… hide… save him.”

“?!”

“…Go.”

With those words, Kyle stood before the Imperial soldiers, ready to face them.

“Brother… let’s go together.”

“…Go.”

At that moment, the expression on William’s face was indescribable.

He, too, realized that this was his final moment with Kyle. But the time they had to say goodbye was far too short.

“…Ugh.”

In the end, William left Kyle behind and ran toward the stairs at the back. Despite his injuries, he ran desperately. To fulfill Kyle’s last request.

Only then did Dolan, who had been watching in a daze, snap back to reality.

“Wh, where do you think you’re going! Surround him!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Don’t let him escape!”

Before the bloodthirsty Imperial soldiers, Kyle, with his crumbling body, tightly gripped his sword.

“Hey, hey! Don’t let him get away!”

“He’s just a dying corpse!”

“Shoot! Shoot the arrows!”

Am

 

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