episode_0043

The clash of two blades erupted in an explosion, scattering golden dust in all directions. It meant their power was perfectly equal. As if her pride had been wounded, Marika gritted her teeth.

“You still refuse to discard that wicked power? Liel, even for you, do you truly believe you can mimic divine power and be forgiven?”

“It’s no mimicry. What you’re witnessing is undeniably holy magic.”

“Don’t lie! There’s no way the Goddess would grant miracles to you—my enemy!”

Perhaps because she herself felt guilty, Marika’s hand trembled slightly. But the fact that the Goddess had not yet stripped her of her power was proof that she had not been abandoned.

“True. The Goddess didn’t grant me miracles. So I created them myself.”

“That’s impossible! For a human to—”

“It’s possible. Holy magic is far more difficult than sorcery, but it’s not something utterly unattainable.”

Thanks to that, Arina’s head was on the verge of exploding from simultaneously calculating both magic and holy spells.

“It’s just that no one ever tried before, so no one knew.”

In truth, there had already been an attempt in the Magic Tower, but everyone gave up, deeming it impossible. The world, however, knew nothing of that.

What if I reveal the secrets of the Magic Tower here and drag them all down like drowning ghosts? She could already hear her master wailing in her ears.

It would be amusing. If all the mages united in rebellion, even the might of nations wouldn’t be enough to stop them. Just imagining the kings and emperors weeping made her smirk.

Of course, in the end, it would lead to a war of attrition, resulting in their annihilation and the world falling to the Demon King’s army.

This won’t work, that won’t work… Too many things stood in the way of Arina’s revenge. Was the world designed to be this cruel to me?

Perhaps the problem was her own inability to let go. Revenge, friends, honor, morality—she couldn’t abandon any of them, and so she might end up with nothing. Even knowing that, Arina had no intention of giving up.

She had already lost too much. She couldn’t afford to let go of what little she had left. If she couldn’t grasp everything, she would lose everything.

“Which is why I’ll start by finishing you off.”

The core members of the Hero’s Party were, naturally, the Hero and the Saintess. These two were irreplaceable—chosen by the gods.

Fortunately, Marika hadn’t yet regrouped with the others. Taking down the Saintess now would cripple the Hero’s Party’s strength. So this situation was both a crisis and an opportunity.

Whoosh! Arina blasted the surrounding enemies away with wind magic. As long as the Saintess was present, even fatal wounds would be meaningless—just a waste of mana.

Strengthening her body with magic, she leaped high into the air, kicking off the sky to charge at Marika. But Grace, soaring just as high, intercepted her.

The two met midair, where movement was limited. Unlike Grace, who had readied her mace, Arina had no offensive spells prepared—no means to counter.

Grace swung her weapon down with brutal force, intending to slam Arina into the ground.

A spark flickered within Arina’s clenched fist. As she opened her hand, flames burst forth, rapidly expanding before detonating in a small explosion.

The recoil launched her even higher, allowing her to somersault over Grace’s head.

“Tch!”

Marika and Arina’s gazes locked. Though hundreds of holy knights stood between them, none could reach Arina in the sky.

Fwoom! Kicking off the air again, Arina tore through the atmosphere, diving straight for Marika.

“Gyah!”

Arina landed at high speed, kicking up a cloud of dust. When it settled, the holy knights saw her pinning Marika down, gripping her throat.

“I told you, didn’t I? Holy magic is powerful, but you rely on it too much. You should’ve trained your body too. Seems my advice never reached your ears.”

“Liel… let go…”

Her old friend looked up at her with pained, pleading eyes. It was enough to shake anyone’s heart—but Arina only tightened her grip.

“This is the result. I told you not to go near that porter bastard. Why didn’t you listen? Was I the only one who thought of you as a precious friend? Or were you really brainwashed by him?”

“Guh… Ugh…”

Marika tried to speak, but with Arina choking her, only muffled whimpers escaped.

Arina didn’t release her. Instead, she conjured a searing fireball in her free hand, bringing it close to the Saintess’s face.

“Lady Saintess!”

The holy knights rushed forward, but it was too late. Clink! Golden chains burst from the ground, attempting to bind Arina.

But that technique was holy magic—something Arina could also wield. Her own golden chains intercepted Marika’s.

As flames flickered before her eyes, fear twisted Marika’s face. A few strands of her raven-black hair turned to ash.

Marika shut her eyes.

Arina stopped.

Not out of sympathy for her friend. No, it was something far colder—the icy edge of a blade pressed against the back of her neck.

“Isn’t setting a girl’s face on fire a bit much, Liel?”

“Girl? At her age, she still wants to be called a maiden? Leonhard.”

At this distance, Leonhard—a trained warrior—was faster. Arina extinguished the flames and stood up from Marika.

“You’re quick. As expected of the Hero’s Party—arriving at the perfect moment.”

“Actually, I’ve been here the whole time with Marika. Just waiting for you to show an opening.”

She had suspected as much. With their ability to use teleportation gates, they could’ve reached the Holy Kingdom long before her.

In fact, she had used flames instead of beheading Marika precisely to lure them out.

Erwin was already on the opposite side, arrow nocked and aimed at Arina.

“Good. All the people I want revenge on are gathered in one place. Why not call Yuria too? Let’s end this in one go.”

Of course, it was a bluff. If Yuria joined now, she’d be overwhelmed. Even this many opponents were already pushing her limits.

‘To use that, I’d need Marin here.’

Her last remaining trump card. For now, all she could do was buy as much time as possible.

“You still plan to fight? It’s different now—there are three of us.”

Three members of the Hero’s Party together held great significance. It meant at least one of the two—the Hero or the Saintess—was present.

Some said the Hero’s Party was only complete with the Saintess. Because only with her buffs and blessings did their true power emerge.

A dazzling golden aura enveloped Leonhard and Erwin.

Arina was grateful Yuria wasn’t here. A Hero charging under the Saintess’s buffs was a true nightmare.

“Release my father.”

“That’s a tough request. How about I freeze you alongside Klaus instead?”

Leonhard, who had been passive until now out of guilt, narrowed his eyes sharply.

“You’ll regret this. I’m serious, Liel.”

His gaze was so cold the surrounding holy knights shivered. Arina, however, only scoffed.

“Oho~ How scary. So you thought I was joking until now?”

“Traitors who betrayed their comrades, their friends—worse than beasts. Fine, I could’ve understood if it was just because you liked that porter bastard too much. But you knew I was dating Yuria, yet you dragged her into this? Come to think of it, you were the ones who targeted my family first.”

“In the party, only you and Marika knew where my sister and brother lived.”

Suddenly put on the spot, Marika’s pupils shook. The Pope, Grace, the holy knights—all eyes turned to her. None of them knew the full details of what they had done.

They wouldn’t turn on her, the Saintess, but their perception would undoubtedly change. The holy knights, who had been listening to Arina’s loud accusations, were already casting doubtful glances.

“Stop it. Just stop.”

“Why did you do it? What reason could you possibly have to betray a friend you’d known for over ten years?”

It was a question meant to buy time, but Arina genuinely wanted to know.

Before the fight over the porter, Marika had been a good friend. If their relationship had been one-sided, Arina wouldn’t have followed her into the Hero’s Party.

But Marika, as befitting a Saintess, had been kind to everyone—especially Arina, whom she cherished dearly.

When young Arina fell ill, Marika visited daily for over a month to nurse her. On the battlefield, she even took attacks meant for her.

That was why Arina couldn’t understand. Why had that friendship turned to betrayal?

Meanwhile, Marika seemed to finally break under the weight of Arina’s words—friendship.

The suspicious eyes fixed on her, the word friend that had always grated on her ears, and now friendship itself.

“I hated it.”

“What? Me? If you hated me so much, why did you ask me to join the Hero’s Party? I truly thought of you as—”

“I hated that word—friend!”

Tears welled in Marika’s eyes as she glared straight at Arina. Reflected in them was the face of the woman who had grown even more beautiful than herself.

The sight was both painful and perversely comforting.

“What are you talking about? So you’re saying you hated me after all?”

Still oblivious, no—she, furrowed her brows in confusion.

“You still don’t get it? I loved you! Since way, way before… long before Yuria ever came along…”

Nursing someone for a month. Taking a fatal blow in their place. Waking up early to pack lunches for a man who slept late, covering him with a blanket when he dozed off.

None of these were things one did for someone they didn’t love. She did it every day, yet the other person never noticed—not even a hint. Only now, after spelling it out, did they finally react with a clueless expression.

“And then it was always Yuria, Yuria, that damned Yuria! What did she have that I didn’t? I knew you longer, devoted myself more to you, my chest is bigger—so why couldn’t you see even a fraction of my fifteen years of love?”

The porter was different. He noticed her feelings within weeks and gave her what she truly needed.

As Marika poured out her long-unrequited love, Arina stood frozen.

She was stunned. Some things finally made sense. But above all—

“That’s it?”

“What?”

Arina’s response to Marika’s confession was icy.

“You never confessed, and you’re mad I didn’t notice? And then you’re angry because I dated Yuria?”

It was absurd. If she loved her so much, why not say it sooner? Instead, she stayed silent, then got angry when Arina dated someone else. Arina almost doubted if this was the same friend she once knew.

To be precise, that incident had given the porter the opening to sink his claws into Marika. But Marika had no room to explain coherently.

“All this… just because of that?”

“I didn’t mean for it to go this far. I just… went along with what the porter said, and by the time I realized, it was too late. I just wanted to stay friends, even now…”

“Marika.”

It was the first time—the first time since becoming Arina, and perhaps the last, that she called her friend by name.

“We’ve gone too far for that. It’s too late to turn back now.”

“No, it’s not. If you just become the porter’s woman too, we won’t have to fight anymore. We can be close again.”

“That again? You’re really insane, aren’t you? Hey, Erwin.”

Suddenly addressed, Erwin merely tilted his head, urging her to continue.

“If you’ve got something prepared to piss me off too, say it now. Those two already have my blood boiling.”

“Nothing like that. The porter was just a better man than you. That’s all.”

“Your mouth… Well, at least you’re better than them.”

“I knew it’d come to this. Liel, you never understand unless you experience things firsthand. So I’ll just have to make you obey by force.”

Leonhard raised his greatsword. In response, Erwin drew his bowstring again.

“Bullshit. If it were you, would you just roll over and let that bastard have his way?”

A magic circle materialized in Arina’s palm as the holy knights readied for battle.

But then, another voice cut through the tension.

“E-everyone, freeze!”

The booming voice echoed across the plaza, coming from above—the tallest building nearby.

On its rooftop stood a girl, a blanket draped over her shoulders fluttering in the wind. Strangely, she wore pitch-black glasses (though sloppily painted, with some transparency peeking through).

Still with her arms crossed, she adjusted the frames with a finger and declared:

“I’ve come… to end this fight.”