It was as if struck by lightning. He couldn’t even twitch his fingers. It seemed as though only Yerina and he existed in this world.
“Cal? What’s wrong? Do you know her?”
“Just a moment, sister.”
Calisto barely managed to regain his composure and hurriedly dashed out to the balcony. He couldn’t remember how he had descended to the first floor.
“Your Highness! Where are you going!”
Ignoring the calls of the startled knights, he ran towards the fence. In the darkness, the torches flickered ominously. Yet, Calisto’s gaze was fixed on only one place—the very spot where Yerina had stood.
“Yerina!”
But she was nowhere to be found. The demonic beast that had threatened the priest just moments ago had also vanished. Only the impressions of flattened grass remained.
“Yerina! Where have you gone!”
Calisto’s face twisted terribly. A crushing sense of loss overwhelmed him. He searched frantically for Yerina like a madman.
“Come out now! Hurry!”
He had seen Yerina several times before.
Even a few days ago, when he had gained a clue about the prophecy.
He had never felt anything special.
But why today, why this unsettling feeling.
“Screech!”
As he ran around in a frenzy, the chilling howl of the beast echoed.
The first thing that came to his mind was Yerina’s tranquil gaze.
If something went wrong with her.
‘No!’
Calisto instinctively took a deep breath.
Just the thought of something happening to Yerina made his heart sink.
He instinctively ran towards the sound of the beast.
“Yerina!”
“Captain, it’s impossible to capture it alive!”
Fortunately, or unfortunately, Yerina was not there. Instead, there were only knights confronting the beasts.
“There’s no other way! A small scratch and it’s over!”
“It’s better to ask for help from Lady Josephina… Ugh! She can control these beasts!”
“Shut your mouth! If that were possible, do you think we’d be in this situation!”
A beast as large as a house charged at the knights. The knights screamed and swung their wooden swords. Amidst this terrible loss, a thought suddenly struck him.
Why now? At this very moment. Why had Josephina lost control of the beasts?
Nothing in this world happens without reason.
There must be a cause.
“The underground dungeon is completely devastated! We can’t even enter!”
“Damn it! Then… who is guarding the third wing!”
The underground dungeon, Josephina’s third wing, the uncontrollable beasts.
Noel Armos, the new saint, and lastly,
Yerina, who appeared before him.
Calisto’s eyes widened.
A chilling thought suddenly crossed his mind.
“It can’t be.”
Everything around him felt surreal.
The chaotic garden, the crumbling buildings, the rampaging beasts, and the knights fighting them with all their might—it all seemed like a dream.
“Your Highness.”
And finally, she appeared.
The Yerina he had been frantically searching for was suddenly before his eyes.
Looking up at him with a serenity he had never seen before, she said,
“I have something urgent to tell you.”
Instead of responding, Calisto gripped her wrist.
They slipped away from prying eyes into the garden. He had barely taken a few steps before he let go of her hand.
Staggering, he managed to stand straight, only staring at the hem of her dress as he gasped for breath, then finally raised his head.
“Who are you?”
Yerina’s eyes widened slightly.
“Who are you?”
“…Your Highness.”
“You are not Yerina.”
Yerina never had such an expression. No, she couldn’t.
“Could it be?”
Calisto’s hand trembled.
No, his whole body shook.
It felt as if every cell in his body was quivering.
“Could it be…”
That was all he could manage to say.
He staggered a step towards the woman.
Then, just as he was about to grasp her slender wrist again, Calisto’s expression twisted.
It wasn’t a mistake.
The divine power of Josephina, which had tormented him all his life, slowly receded.
At the same time, the persistent pain that had always constricted him disappeared.
Calisto clenched his eyes shut.
“Your Highness, I apologize for the rush, but we are short on time. Now that you know I am not your subordinate, we can hasten our talk. I am…”
Calisto fell to his knees.
Startled, Leticia stepped back.
Calisto’s lips quivered.
“Why…”
That was all he could utter.
Why, you.
Only now, in front of me.
Calisto curled up and cried without making a sound.
Resentment and longing, sorrow and joy, intense affection—all mixed together like fireworks, filling his entire heart.
Leticia.
The one person who could save his soul was here.
* * *
Crash! The furnishings in the room were shattered into chaos. As if that wasn’t enough, Josephina screamed.
“Aaaah!”
The priests lay prostrate, trembling. No one dared to speak a word.
To speak was to invite the wrath of the saint.
“Why! Why are the beasts rampaging on their own!”
The beasts were completely out of Josephina’s control. Thanks to this, the Divine Palace was in ruins. Several priests had already been injured.
“Why, why!”
The idea that the beasts were rampaging uncontrollably seemed maddening more than anything else.
“Why indeed!”
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t control the beasts. The fear that the goddess’s power was fading crushed her.
“It can’t be! I can’t be weakening!”
Josephina, furious, glared at the prostrate priest with bloodshot eyes.
“What is the situation! How is it going!”
“Everything has been done as you commanded! We have perfectly controlled the beasts, ensuring not one escapes the Divine Palace!”
“Get a grip! No one outside the Divine Palace must know about this. Never!”
“Don’t worry, Holy One! We will do our utmost…ugh!”
“Your best is not enough!”
Josephina raged.
“It must be perfect! There must not be a single error! Kill all witnesses! Kill them before they even open their mouths!”
Even amidst this, Josephina desperately thought.
I can’t have lost control over the beasts. It must be just a temporary thing. I’ve been under too much stress lately. That’s it, just a momentary falter!
“Call Ahwin immediately…!”
As Josephina habitually sought Ahwin, she clenched her teeth.
Ahwin, who always empowered her, was nowhere to be found.
Because she had trampled him.
‘It can’t be helped! I was so angry I felt crazy then!’
When she heard that Tenua had died, it felt like her last thread of rationality had snapped.
The anxiety she had been suppressing exploded.
She had to calm herself down somehow.
So, she ordered Ahwin to stab his own heart.
Confirming Ahwin’s loyalty somewhat soothed her feelings.
However, the escape of the beasts plunged her mood to the depths again.
Reluctantly, Josephina looked for Noel.
“Noel!”
“She has not been reachable since she left the Divine Palace earlier. It seems she has taken a great shock.”
“That fragile thing…!”
Josephina’s face contorted like a demon’s. Unable to contain her anger, she stomped her foot violently.
“Truly useless! Utterly useless! That’s why she’s only ever been ninth!”
Recently, Noel had indeed brought her much joy.
But still, she was no match for Ahwin.
‘What should I do? Should I ask Kaylas to heal Ahwin?’
Kaylas, the fourth wing and the wing of healing.
She was following Josephina’s orders in a small town on the outskirts.
Eventually, Josephina made up her mind.
‘I must call Kaylas after all. I need Ahwin to handle this situation. I need Ahwin’s abilities! Who knows what bigger issues may arise!’
Her instinct whispered to her.
The escape of the beasts was not the end. Something even greater loomed ahead, waiting for her.
“Nothing but a miserable death.”
The damned prophecy kept coming back to her. It was while Josephina was furiously smashing the furnishings in the room.
“Holy One! There is a disaster!”
The door burst open. The prostrate priests turned pale. Opening the door without Josephina’s permission was madness. It seemed the lives of those who barged in were over.
“The third, the third wing Ahwin is…!”
But the words that followed revealed an even more dreadful event had occurred.
“He is dead!”
* * *
Ahwin’s end was tragic.
In the middle of the devastated underground dungeon, Ahwin lay dead.
Even as she looked at the scene, Josephina’s face showed disbelief.
“Ahwin is dead?”
“Yes. It seems the wound in his chest was too deep. If the guards had been nearby, they could have treated him, but the rampage of the beasts made it impossible…”
A dagger was still deeply embedded in Ahwin’s chest.
Josephina’s face contorted horribly as she looked at the blood-stained priestly robe.
“Damn it! What exactly did Noel do with this task! I clearly ordered her to ensure Ahwin’s survival at all costs! To let him die just from the shock of a beast invasion! How can she mess up this badly!”
“I will call for Noel Armos immediately!”
“Aaaah!”
Josephina screamed.
Fearing that a bolt of lightning might strike next, the priests hardly dared to breathe.
All they could do was hope that the sudden series of calamities would end.
Therefore, no one there noticed.
The powerful magical energy flowing near Ahwin’s body.
The remnants of an illusion spell disappearing into the darkness, too.
Moreover, the calamity that had struck the Divine Palace was just beginning.
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