My shoulders shook violently.

The pressure weighing down on them made it hard to even breathe.

But I had to do it.

If that’s what you wanted so badly, I’ll do it.

*Swoosh-*

I raised my head.

The dark sky, whether filled with joy or sorrow, I couldn’t tell, continued to look down on me.

The rain poured down without end.

With my head bowed once more, I turned around.

I had to go to Rene, who had been warmed by Crete, who would now become my family.

I prayed that she had arrived safely at the place I had told her.

…Crete was dead.

But to fulfill his dying wish, I took a step forward.

My shoulders felt incredibly heavy.

Samuel, Adel, Crete…

Could I really fulfill their wishes?

I wanted to be hopeful, but for some reason, an ominous premonition clung to me like a noose around my neck.

***

Meanwhile,

Kyle and Rene were fleeing together toward the location marked on the map Adel had drawn.

Thanks to Adel, they had managed to escape the battlefield, but they had two pursuers on their tail.

Experts whose strength Kyle and Rene couldn't possibly match.

*Swoosh-*

Still, Rene looked back.

“…Something’s…”

A sense of unease continued to gnaw at the edges of her mind.

What was it?

Rene tried to suppress her anxiety, but she couldn’t seem to calm down.

“We have to, go back.”

Rene said to Kyle.

But Kyle was so focused on running that he didn't hear her.

“We have to, go.”

Rene said again, this time in the loudest voice she had ever mustered.

Her voice finally reached Kyle, but he countered her words.

“We can’t!”

“…We have to go.”

“I said we can’t!”

Kyle stopped running.

He glared at Rene angrily.

His intensity startled her, making her flinch.

“Why… why not…?”

Rene asked, on the verge of tears.

Regretting his harsh tone, Kyle clenched his fists and spoke.

“This is the chance that the Lord and Adel worked so hard to create! Do you have any idea how much effort they put into saving you?!”

“…I know, but…”

“Then don’t say such things!”

“…”

*Thump-*

Rene lowered her head at Kyle's words.

Because he was right.

Adel and Crete.

Both of them had put their lives on the line to save her.

From the beginning, both Adel and Crete had tried to prevent Rene from coming here.

But it was Rene who had ignored their opinions and come anyway.

And what was the result?

Rene had only become a burden to Adel and Crete.

Adel couldn’t help the Demon soldiers because he was protecting Rene, and if it hadn’t been for Adel at the last moment, she would have died in front of her father.

It was all her fault.

Rene burst into tears, overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness.

A trickle of blood ran down her hand as she clenched it into a fist.

Watching Rene, Kyle felt a surge of anxiety.

He didn't know what was happening back there, but it couldn't be good.

If the worst had happened…

*Swoosh-*

Kyle shook his head.

‘…That guy, Adel, wouldn’t die so easily.’

Adel was weaker than Crete or the Sword Saint, but he was more tenacious than anyone else.

Besides, he was strong enough to single-handedly handle three Swordmasters.

He wouldn’t die so easily.

And yet, the source of his persistent anxiety was probably that.

…But Kyle couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud.

He couldn't say it in front of Rene.

All he could do was encourage her and keep running.

The gate to the Demon Realm.

If they could just reach it, both Rene and he could survive.

Adel had entrusted him with her, and Kyle had a duty to keep her safe.

“Let’s go, My Lady. Hurry!”

“…”

*Grab-*

Kyle grabbed Rene's wrist and started running again.

As they ran, Kyle muttered under his breath.

‘You said you’d show me something extraordinary?’

Hah, at first, he’d scoffed.

He’d thought Adel was trying to convince him with some fancy words.

What Adel had said was too unrealistic, too illogical.

There was no way the world Adel spoke of would ever come to be.

It was impossible.

And yet, Kyle had been persuaded.

The dazzling vision of the future that Adel had presented had moved him.

His head had coldly mocked Adel's words, but his heart had been set ablaze.

That’s why Kyle had accepted Adel's proposal.

So.

‘…Hurry up and get here, Adel.’

Kyle muttered, his gaze fixed on the two humans who stood before them.

An 'Absolute', stronger than Crete and the Sword Saint, were blocking their path.

Their pursuers had caught up with them.

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