episode_0180

A secret passage located beneath the academy.

Ancient remnants guarded the darkness around it.

The deep, sunken pitch-black darkness resembled dawn, hidden from ordinary eyes.

However, for those who served sinister beings, it was as comfortable as home.

For them, night was a time to unleash their seething desires.

In the thick silence, strange figures were marching.

“Hmm.”

No.

More precisely, they *had* been marching.

Squelch-.

Beneath the firmly planted steps, pools of blood rippled.

No, could it even be called just a pool?

A sea of blood stretched across the basement floor.

“Gack…”

“Ugh, ack.”

“…Gurk, ugh.”

Groans could be heard from all over.

Should it be called lucky, or unlucky?

Those whose limbs had merely been severed writhed their wretched bodies.

With their movements, ripples in the red pond spread noisily.

However, even that ceased in an instant.

Swish-!

A thin line originating from somewhere left a silver afterimage.

A single, straight stroke cut across the necks of the strange figures.

Subsequently, their decapitated heads floated upward simultaneously.

The blood spattering like a fountain and the scene that resembled falling rain were paradoxically beautiful.

The terrible scent of blood, the rolling entrails, and the blood-red mirror spread across the floor.

Everything was enchanting.

“What is this… it’s not even a warm-up?”

A gruesome sight.

Standing at its center was none other than a man.

The man stood motionlessly, treading on the sea of blood.

Yet, not a single speck of stain sullied his sleeves.

Bearing only the redness of his own hair, he rotated his shoulders as if stiff.

It was an utterly nonchalant reaction.

“What good is a large number? They’re all just worthless dregs.”

A staggering 3,000 people.

That was the number of strange figures who had attempted to attack the academy today.

Including the chimeras they had unleashed, the total number would have easily exceeded 10,000.

An incomprehensible difference in power.

But.

“I thought there’d be at least one Apostle.”

The man blocked them.

Single-handedly, without suffering a single wound, in an instant.

The scene was like a dream.

Even in the depths where night had settled, the man’s sword shone.

The starlight surged brilliantly.

“Tsk… it’s my debut match after six years.”

It was truly a scene close to a massacre.

In contrast, the man was clicking his tongue as if disappointed.

He was truly relaxed, but precisely because of that, he was overwhelming.

The fox, who had been observing the situation, held her breath.

‘…This is the Red Sword Saint.’

The Red Sword Saint.

A figure known to have reached the highest night sky throughout human history.

Though he had retired from active service and time had passed, causing him to rust, his starlight remained untarnished.

Irene replayed the dazzling, momentary strike in her mind.

The lingering glow of the flash had not faded.

“…Amazing.”

“Hmm?”

As if he had heard her small murmur.

Kyle laughed heartily.

It was his usual, somewhat boisterous laugh.

“Hahaha! Such a reaction makes me blush!”

“For someone who’s blushing, you certainly made a flashy display.”

“Even this is far short of the Commander-nim’s skill, isn’t it?”

“That’s certainly true.”

Light conversation exchanged.

However, perhaps it was because of the corpses scattered nearby.

The atmosphere was ordinary, yet uncanny.

The red-haired man smiled faintly.

“Besides, aren’t you capable of it now too?”

“…”

“If my intuition isn’t wrong, you also seem to have reached the stars.”

“It just… happened. About 80% of it is thanks to that person’s help, though.”

“Whatever the reason.”

Kyle shrugged his shoulders.

Then, he sheathed the sword he had wielded.

The dazzling starlight had already vanished.

“Haven’t you, too, ascended to the night sky?”

“…The night sky.”

“Soon, you’ll surpass even me.”

“That’s an unrealistic notion.”

“Of course, you’re still immature. But I can feel it. That quiet waves crash on your star.”

“…”

“At first, I was puzzled. I couldn’t understand why the Commander-nim took in such an ordinary child, but now I get it. That person recognized your potential.”

Potential.

The fox pondered that resonance.

Kyle lightly patted Irene’s shoulder.

“So, cheer up.”

“…”

“Because that person needs your light.”

Afterward.

The man turned his back without hesitation.

The footsteps of the old era advanced, treading on corpses and blood.

However, the new generation gazed at his retreating figure for a moment.

‘Someday.’

The fox vowed.

Someday, she too would reach that high… no, even higher in the sky.

To live the world’s karmic flames with such brilliant starlight.

And to stand proudly by the boy’s side.

Thud-.

The girl’s steps advanced.

In her tightly clenched fist, a white flame shimmered.

***

The cultists were utterly decimated.

Ultimately, their academy raid came to naught.

The tactical nukes dropped appropriately proved their destructive power by eradicating the dangerous elements.

I was observing the situation through a crystal ball.

The fluttering starlight was truly beautiful.

“Master-nim.”

“Ah.”

Just then, as I was lost in thought.

A slender voice called out to me.

Standing by my side was a silver-haired girl, imbued with moonlight.

The mansion’s Deputy Commander was in charge of the remaining cleanup.

While my attention was elsewhere, the situation here seemed to have concluded as well.

“It’s finished. I’ve handled it so there won’t be any complications.”

“You worked hard again, Neria.”

“I merely followed your will.”

“You’re always so loyal.”

Swish-.

I gently stroked her head.

The strands of hair touched my fingertips.

Subsequently, her pure white face flushed instantly.

Unlike her usual stiff demeanor, at times like this, she was undeniably a girl.

I would sometimes intentionally poke her cheek as if teasing her.

Our Deputy Commander eventually “sank.”

“M-Master-nim…”

“Hmm?”

“In this state, I-I can’t possibly make a report…”

“Neria, you’re always so endearingly immature. It’s like you’re fun to tease in various ways.”

“Y-You flatter me.”

“Shall we hear the report, then?”

Neria returned to a businesslike demeanor.

The girl calmly summarized the situation.

Most of the knight order under the family’s command had been neutralized.

Especially those who operated directly under the head of the family, those “Awls” or whatever they were called, were all killed.

I heard they had been committing all sorts of vile deeds under Deron’s orders.

Additionally, the heads of those who had contributed to the defection, such as the elders and close aides, had all been severed.

Only those who had not betrayed the name of Vaniti were spared.

However, their number was so small it could be counted on one’s fingers.

In short.

‘Is this the end?’

The Vaniti family had fallen.

A pillar supporting the empire.

The guardians of the blue winter.

On the other hand, the most noble lineage after the imperial family.

That proud history had finally reached its final chapter.

As the one who wrote their final chapter, I looked down at the ink smudged on my palm.

For downfall was ever so fleeting.

Whoosh-.

The gentle scent of winter wafted by.

I surveyed the serene world, still veiled in dawn.

The lightless snowfield flowed by in a gentle, subtle beauty.

The things of today that were still awake, heading towards a tomorrow that would no longer exist.

I chewed over the needlessly complicated lingering taste.

‘Emilia.’

My eyes naturally stopped before the girl.

The girl with blue hair, befitting winter.

I held my breath for a moment.

“…”

The girl stood still, looking down at her feet.

Rolling on the floor was a frozen chunk of flesh.

It was none other than her uncle.

‘So that’s it.’

I quietly stepped back.

The look in the vain girl’s eyes seemed as if she would shatter at any moment.

However, that agony was not something I could share with her.

Nor should I.

I merely watched.

‘Deron Vaniti.’

The villainess’s uncle.

Even though he had betrayed them, he was once a beloved family member.

It would be a shallow lie to say her feelings weren’t complicated.

The girl bit her lip.

-Deron Vaniti was a good pawn.

-Didn’t I tell you? It was all a scheme orchestrated by us.

She realized that beyond that betrayal, there had been cultists.

Perhaps her uncle could have taken a different path.

The twins too, might have had a different path.

The bitterness after a tragedy always gnaws at the heart, leaving a dry, unpleasant taste.

Because the carelessly uttered word ‘perhaps’ often pricks the heart.

Emilia’s shoulders trembled slightly.

“Uncle… no, Deron Vaniti.”

The girl did not break.

Because she had accumulated many experiences and countless frustrations until now.

Her more mature reason accepted the bitterness.

Her trembling voice rang out with a quiet solemnity.

“Your sins will remain in history.”

Emilia knew.

No matter how much the cultists had instigated the corruption, the subsequent events were clearly Deron’s responsibility.

He had disposed of those loyal to the family and bound the twins to prevent their escape.

In the end, driven by his greed to become emperor, he had sought to overthrow the empire.

She didn’t want to add any melodrama to such clear karma.

“The pride you discarded has sullied all of us.”

His breath had ceased.

The girl was facing the adult she had once feared.

No longer a child, but an adult herself.

There was no tremor even in her long breath.

“Those who remain will bear that sin. The name of Vaniti will no longer be honorable; it will be remembered as the mark of a traitor. There is no glory left in this lineage.”

However.

“I will gladly bear that name.”

A name that no longer shone.

Merely the mark of a sinner.

Nevertheless, the girl said she would bear it.

It was not for the Duke and Duchess who had passed away early, nor for the defector who had fallen for the cultists’ temptation.

It was solely for herself.

“Because this is my pride.”

The essence now forgotten.

The epithet that the Vaniti family held, and the value the girl had yearned for.

Although the brilliant glory would vanish, the will of her predecessors would not be severed.

Indeed, will is something that is passed from person to person, not from a family or glory.

Even amidst fallen honor, the villainess stood.

Above all, she had not lost her pride.

“I will be different from you.”

A final remark, exhaled.

Perhaps her emotions had risen, for the girl’s throat was choked.

But the steadfastness in her eyes remained unchanged.

Beyond the half-open window, the wind brushed by.

Whoosh-.

A name that would now remain as a page in history.

The vain girl stood treading upon it.

Embracing the swirling winter and the pride she had last vowed to uphold.

She was no longer the quarrelsome child who had been jealous of others at the academy.

She was an adult.

“Lady-nim.”

I stood beside the girl with careful steps.

As if her tension had finally eased, Emilia leaned her shoulder against me.

I supported her with softly opened arms.

And a quiet whisper in her ear.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“…”

The vain girl buried her face silently.

Holding her warm body close, I gently patted her slender back.

Just then, the brightening dawn outside the window seemed to herald the end.

We stood for a long time within the fading morning.

[EP31. Vaniti]

-Betrayed Pride, Unfading Light-

And so.

The episode concluded.