I was drenched in sweat as I counted the rapidly dwindling clusters of blue life force in my mind. My limbs grew cold, and my vision swam, but I fought desperately to stay conscious until the very end.
A world of absolute white.
Within it, everything—including myself—seemed to flow in slow motion.
Manipulating mana was an incredibly delicate task. It was like plucking apart thin strands with tweezers or picking up scattered grains of rice one by one. Every second, it gnawed away at my concentration and mental strength.
Fortunately, the monstrous wave of beasts had been reduced to roughly ten percent of its original force. The ogres advancing toward the fortress wall had been mostly dealt with, and the airborne beasts filling the sky were falling one after another as their cores shattered.
‘Almost done…’
But I had to bring down even one more. Just one more.
A mutated beast was a nightmare to handle, even for five trained knights. If even a single one slipped past us and attacked the civilians, the damage would be catastrophic.
But my body was reaching its limit, no matter how much my mind refused to accept it.
“Hah…!”
A sudden wave of exhaustion crashed over me, and a ragged breath burst from my lips.
Clutching my chest, I coughed harshly. In the same instant, the white void around me shattered, ejecting me back into reality.
It felt like I had just been pulled out from the depths of the sea—my nose and throat burned sharply. As I raised a trembling hand to my face, I felt the hot trickle of blood streaming down from my nose.
[(;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`)]
Ignoring the system’s panicked reaction, I quickly assessed the situation.
Most of the beasts whose mana I had drained had collapsed like puppets with severed strings. Below, the waiting knights of the Blake Order were making sure to finish off any remaining threats while maintaining control of the battlefield.
Their swords struck with unwavering resolve. Every one of them fought with a singular purpose—to protect their home.
“Alright, now…”
Time to take care of the remaining monsters.
Just as I reached into my inventory to retrieve my bow and arrows, a familiar voice called out from behind me.
“Sir Shu.”
It was James Russell, the commander of the Blake Order. Behind him, several knights stood with resolute expressions, looking straight at me.
“You should not remain here. Please move to a safer location.”
“…What? No, what are you talking about? Look at all those beasts still out there! What do you mean, ‘safer location’?”
I gestured wildly with my bow-wielding hand, pointing at the remaining monsters. As I ranted, James responded in his usual composed tone.
“Thanks to your efforts, most of the monsters have already been eliminated. Please, allow us of the Blake Order to handle the remaining stragglers.”
“…”
His voice was both respectful and unwavering.
Wiping the blood from my nose with a careless swipe of my sleeve, I turned to gaze beyond the fortress wall.
The mutated beasts continued their relentless advance, trampling over the corpses of their own kind. The Blake knights, in turn, fought desperately to hold them back.
They were the people of Blake, warriors who loved the North more than anyone else—who fought for it with their lives.
As I watched, almost mesmerized, James called my name once more. When I turned back to him, he bowed his head slightly and spoke.
“Thank you, truly.”
It was too soon for words of gratitude in the midst of battle. But his solemn expression left no doubt about the sincerity behind them.
“There was a time when I doubted you. But now, I understand—no one loves this land more than you do.”
“I…”
“We will prove it. It is true that Your Highness has protected us, but we are also members of Blake. We do not wish to simply stand by and be shielded.”
I nodded slowly.
“Alright.”
This was their land.
I couldn’t take sole responsibility for everything. Nor should I.
Glancing downward from the fortress wall, I took in the battlefield once more.
And there—amongst the carnage—stood a lone figure, watching me.
Nox.
I still had unfinished business. If I wanted to face him, I needed my strength.
“I’d love to retreat to safety, really, but there’s just one last thing I need to take care of.”
“…What?”
“That bastard mage.” I jerked my chin toward him. “I’m the one best suited to handle him.”
Even though my body was barely listening to me, I was still the only one who could counter his Deviation Interference.
‘I can hold on a little longer.’
The nosebleed was slowing.
Roughly wiping my face with my sleeve, I descended from the wall.
Somehow, I must have looked just as determined as the knights of Blake.
***
“Hello.”
A man with eyes as pale as snow.
His presence was eerie, as if he had been sculpted from the North’s unmelting ice.
Like the cold itself—the very force that made this land so barren.
It felt just like the first time I met him.
That same creeping fear slithered coldly across my skin.
“Hello, my ass.”
But I didn’t back down.
Saying I wasn’t afraid would be a lie, but that didn’t mean I had any intention of turning tail and running.
“Yeah. You’re right, kid. There’s no being ‘fine’ after having your heart ripped out right before your eyes.”
Nox’s voice dropped to a chilling murmur. His blue eyes swept over the scene—the mutated beasts lying lifeless on the ground.
“I even extended a little generosity, thinking your desperate little struggles were amusing.”
“Well, even a trusted axe can chop your foot, so isn’t it only natural to get your ankle bitten by a hamster you never trusted?”
He had underestimated me, convinced that I wasn’t a real threat. More than that, he had believed he could toy with me, pretending to show goodwill just to mock me.
And then I cracked him across the back of the head with a damn boulder.
Yeah, I bet that stung.
‘Serves you right, you son of a bitch.’
I pulled out a Freely Extendable Pepero Stick from my inventory, a novelty snack I’d picked up at Messenger of Love, and twirled a finger at him with my free hand.
“Come on. I’ve got nothing to say to a bastard who barged into someone else’s land without permission.”
His smirk twisted.
He had lost Winter’s Heart. Now, to fill that void, he’d try to claim every living thing in the North.
There was no room for compromise. This was a fight to the death.
Without warning, we clashed.
Nox immediately summoned five gleaming white daggers, but I disrupted his magic.
With the system’s assistance, all five blades vanished, clattering uselessly to the ground. I crushed one beneath my heel, and with a brittle crack, it crumbled to nothing.
I swung the Pepero Stick like a club. I may have trained with the knights, but it had only been for a few months. There was none of that graceful, polished swordplay they had—but I didn’t give a damn.
‘I have to be ready to kill.’
If I didn’t kill him, I was the one who would die.
I could always cancel Reload and escape, but if I abandoned this battlefield now, the entire northern defense line would collapse.
I aimed for his neck, head, and chest, striking relentlessly. But when I failed to fully disable one of his daggers, it came at me fast—I deflected it, but my weapon was knocked from my grip.
So I clenched my fists and lunged at him barehanded.
Nox, realizing his magic had little effect on me, did the same.
“You arrogant brat!”
He shouted as his fist crashed into my jaw.
A blinding white burst filled my vision.
The inside of my mouth stung—yeah, definitely split my lip. The familiar taste of iron seeped in.
“…Damn, your punches are spicy as hell.”
I spat a mix of blood and saliva onto the snow and muttered.
Then, I feigned staggering, pretending to be more dazed than I actually was.
Nox took the bait. The moment he stepped closer—I punched him in the face.
Hard.
So hard my knuckles ached.
His pretty little face didn’t flush, probably because he was technically already dead, but he coughed up a mouthful of dark blood.
I think I even saw a tooth fly out.
‘Hah.’
I smirked to myself.
For all his airs of superiority, always watching from a distance with that aloof, scholarly demeanor—one punch and he wasn’t so different from the rest of us.
All that intellect, huh?
The “materials” he toyed with were the same people Kyle had risked his life to protect. The land he discarded after taking what he wanted was the homeland these people had spent lifetimes building.
‘If you want to drag others down to ruin, you’d better be prepared to drown in shit yourself.’
Nox lunged and wrapped his hands around my throat.
Unlike before, this time, his grip carried raw, unfiltered bloodlust.
Pain and icy numbness spread from where his fingers touched—I recognized the sensation. Frostbite Poison.
Just like when he grabbed my arm before.
But I wasn’t going to just sit and take it.
I drew up my mana, canceled his magic, and slammed a fist into his ribs.
I spat blood as pain flared in my own body, but I ignored it.
We descended into a brawl.
No magic, no weapons.
We punched, clawed, grabbed hair, and rolled across the snow, tearing into each other like wild animals. It was a goddamn mess.
“…Tch.”
A stray dagger I hadn’t fully neutralized slashed across my forehead.
Sharp pain followed immediately.
Blood trickled down my eyelid, blurring my vision—but there was no time to wipe it away.
Instead, I reached for a fallen dagger, palming it as I curled up slightly.
[Emergency Escape Pumpkin Seed Stick ｜ 8% Miracle Consumption ｜ Allows instant teleportation within a 10m radius.]
I bit into the hastily retrieved snack.
It tasted awful—dirt, ice, and blood all mixed in.
Ignoring the nausea, I forced myself to swallow.
Then, in an instant, I shifted behind Nox and slammed my knee into his back, pinning him down.
At the same time, a dagger he threw pierced through my shoulder.
And in that moment—
—the blade hidden in my hand finally sliced through his throat.
