“What are you doing, Your Grace?!”
The instant the knights’ lives were snuffed out, a strange response followed. Even with the monstrous shadow looming just behind them, the Queen looked around as if she couldn’t see it. Only when she laid eyes on the slain knights did she cry out in horror at the silver-haired woman.
“Where in the world is Nir’a?! Why are you suddenly attacking the knights like this?!”
As the Queen shrieked out her reproach, the woman’s face twisted. But her reaction wasn’t much different from that of the other knights nearby—all of whom were whispering in alarm, their eyes fixed not on the creature, but on the silver-haired woman. As if savoring the chaos, the shadowy snake flicked its tail and slithered closer to the Queen.
“Shildras, you can see it, right?! Get Her Majesty to safety—now!”
At the woman’s shout, the snake moved. In the blink of an eye, it lunged toward the Queen, jaws gaping wide behind her and the man by her side. Though the shadow unmistakably loomed, the Queen looked confused, fearful even, as she continued to scold the woman.
“Stay back, Your Grace! I warned you—this behavior is not normal. I will ask His Majesty to purify you…!”
Shhhk!
The snake hissed as it sprang at the Queen. One of the young boys watching, unable to tear his eyes from the nightmarish sight, gasped and covered his face. Jasper, frozen in fear ever since the knights were struck down, stood motionless, unable to even think of moving.
The woman ignored the Queen’s words. Drawing her longsword, she leapt at the snake. In a flash too fast for the boys to see, she closed the distance and swung the blade over the Queen’s head, stabbing directly into the serpent’s throat.
Kyaaaaa!
The Queen screamed and collapsed to the ground, and the snake’s severed head dangled and swayed just above her. No living creature could survive a beheading—Jasper, though young, began to feel a faint surge of relief.
‘It must be dead… right?’
As if mocking that naïve thought, the snake spun its limp head in a circle—and then reattached it to its body. Chaos erupted.
Instead of charging the shadowy monster, the knights cried out in panic and tried to stop the woman.
“Restrain the Grand Duke! Tither is rampaging!”
Swords drawn, they rushed at her. But before they could reach her, they were swept away by the snake’s tail lurking behind the Queen.
“Aaargh!”
“Your Grace, what are you doing?!”
Screams spread like wildfire. The knights, their final words bitter reproaches toward the woman, were slaughtered by the monster. She swung her arm in wild desperation. Shadows erupted from the ground at her gesture, binding the snake as best they could.
“Everyone, please get out of the way—run! Shildras, you bastard! Why the hell aren’t you doing anything?!”
The way shadow bound shadow made it seem, at a glance, as though the woman had summoned the snake herself. The middle-aged man with golden-brown hair who had stood by the Queen doing nothing finally drew his sword upon hearing her cry. The thin rapier shimmered, reflecting light across the entire plaza like a blinding flash.
“You rejected purification again and again… and now you’ve lost your mind. Where exactly is this Nir’a you speak of? There’s nothing here—nothing but the madwoman of the North.”
He spread his arms, clearly seeing nothing around him. The woman’s strange power released its grip from the snake. Freed from its restraints, it wasted no time and began thrashing through the plaza.
The people reacted strangely. Even as the monster clearly chased them, they didn’t flee. Instead, they ran toward it—only to be devoured or crushed. The once pristine, radiant plaza turned into a blood-soaked hellscape in moments. The stench of blood grew so thick it was suffocating.
The boys, frozen in place all this time, finally realized how dire the situation had become—and found the courage to run.
“Let’s go, Jasper!”
“We have to move—we’ll die here!”
One of his friends yanked Jasper’s arm, pulling him into motion. Just barely managing not to collapse, the trembling boy began to run. His breath came in short, frantic gasps. Kurthu, still bound in the dreamlike memory, began to feel Jasper’s mounting terror seep into her consciousness. The boy’s fear was so immense, it choked the air from her lungs.
“Shildras!”
The woman’s scream, saturated with rage and betrayal, echoed through the forest. Jasper, running for his life, flinched involuntarily at the sheer force of her voice and glanced back.
His foot caught on a tree root, and he fell hard.
The woman now faced off against the man charging at her. Though they had seemed to be allies, they were clashing with deadly intent. Her strikes were defensive, desperate to block, while his blade sought to kill without hesitation. This wasn’t a human fight—it was all most could do to glimpse their forms.
“You bastard! You lured me into a trap!”
“You’ve truly lost your mind. Serena, look. Where do you see Nir’a here? There’s nothing—nothing but your filthy shadows!”
Their duel paused briefly, and the man shouted with absolute conviction. At his words, the woman glanced around.
And sure enough, nothing was there. Only the corpses of the fallen knights hinted that anything had happened. The massive shadow had vanished completely—without a trace.
“…That can’t be.”
Her shaky voice rang out over the plaza. Seeing her bewilderment, the man raised his sword in a decisive motion—clearly intent on killing her. Whether she allowed it or was too stunned to notice, the woman stood frozen, spinning around in all directions like someone gone mad.
The few surviving knights cautiously closed in, fear etched into every step.
“Stop—no! Sirkhan, executing Tither is not within your authority!”
The blade poised to strike the woman faltered at the Queen’s cry. The man turned to glance at her where she still sat, collapsed behind him. Though his expression remained unseen, he appeared to be listening.
“The rampage… seems to have stopped. We must restrain the Grand Duke and bring her to the palace. This isn’t something you need to handle, Brother.”
Gasping for breath, the Queen’s voice gradually regained composure and clarity. Jasper caught a subtle movement in the man’s sword. Despite the distance, the faint quiver at the tip of the blade was unmistakable to his eyes.
Still lying dazed on the ground, Jasper was soon pulled up by his friends who had rushed back for him. The children tugged at his arms with all their strength.
“You’ll die if you stay here!”
Urged on by the desperate whisper, Jasper started running again. But his mind was in complete chaos.
Am I the one who’s crazy? He had seen the shadow monster kill people—so why was everyone acting as if it hadn’t been there?
“You guys saw it too, didn’t you?”
Catching up to his friends, Jasper grabbed one of them and demanded an answer. One boy, terrified, clamped his mouth shut. The other snapped angrily.
“Even if we did see something, we have to pretend we didn’t! The Queen was there! We can’t leave any trace we were involved. My father always says: Never get tangled up in the business of the powerful!”
“But—!”
“We saw nothing!”
The conversation ended there. A silent consensus passed between them, and all the boys focused on escaping the forest as fast as they could. The boundary of the woods gradually appeared in the distance. Beyond it, the main road to the capital awaited. Relief began to settle on their young, frightened faces.
That was when a voice called out from behind.
“So many little rats, scurrying about.”
It was a low, youthful voice. Instinctively sensing danger, Jasper froze and turned around. His abrupt stop sent him tumbling to the ground. Though it was broad daylight, the forest suddenly felt steeped in darkness—and within it, red eyes glowed.
He barely had time to think before it happened: a formless entity with glowing crimson eyes surged past Jasper and overtook the running boys. The darkness slipped around behind them—then swallowed them whole.
Not even a death cry rang out. Their running bodies simply collapsed. Thud—small, limp figures tumbled like dolls. One rolled and slammed into a tree trunk with a sickening thump, another crumpled straight into the dirt.
Fear rooted Jasper in place. His throat clenched like all his airways were blocked. The darkness inched toward him.
A childish laugh echoed faintly, as if whispered directly into his brain.
“Shall I leave this one to you, Sirkhan?”
Just before losing consciousness, Jasper heard footsteps approaching. His vision flickered white, and then—he saw golden-brown hair.
The middle-aged man, face drawn with conflicting emotions, looked from the dead children to Jasper and sighed slowly.
“Enough have died already. With your power, you can indoctrinate him. Just erase the memory.”
“What? Thinking of your precious son waiting at home, is that it? Your pitiful conscience showing itself now?”
“Shut your mouth.”
“If you get your way, this whole land will die anyway. So what’s the point in pretending to be human now? That’s even more revolting.”
Yet the young man chuckled, as if genuinely amused, and stepped closer to Jasper. The last thing Jasper saw was the hazy form born of shadow—then everything went black.
“Wouldn’t it be boring to just let this go? No, let’s stir up some fun rumors. That’ll be enough to isolate them. Just imagine the chaos… I can’t wait.”
With those words, Jasper’s memories came to an end. Sleep crept in like the arrival of death. Kurthu, overwhelmed by the terror invading her soul, wished desperately to fall asleep too. Her lips clamped shut as she stared blankly, her eyes rolling back.
Her knees gave out, and her body tipped backward. Just before she hit the ground, a rough hand grabbed her hard.
A force yanked her sinking soul upward. Kurthu gasped and jolted back to consciousness, a scream escaping her lips. Cold sweat drenched her entire body. Shaking uncontrollably, she forced herself upright—and saw Duke Axid right in front of her, gripping her arm.
“Y-Your Grace…”
Her voice came out in breathless gasps as she called out to him. Tears streamed from her reddened eyes.
He said nothing. His wide, blazing eyes bore into her—and from him, a torrent of indescribable anguish flooded into her in an instant.
Ah… It was so sharp, so searing, it felt like her insides were being torn apart. As if her skin were peeling away, her veins bursting. It was pain beyond pain.
So utterly raw and hopeless that it made her wonder how a human heart could still endure it—he was screaming in silence.
She looked up into the Grand Duke’s gray, colorless eyes—piercing, unwavering—and wanted to offer him her deepest sorrow. The memories that had just surged into her were vast and chaotic, but one thing stood out with painful clarity.
“I’m… truly sorry.”
What the world believed about the former Grand Duke’s rampage—It had never happened at all.
