The honor guards who accompanied Remia were the ones who reacted to Rudger's killing intent.

"How dare you!"

The holy knights wore pure white coats with zippers fastened all the way up to their collars, with silver armor reinforcements on their shoulders, forearms, and shins.

Seizing the opportunity, they drew their swords from their waists and inwardly thought this was perfect timing.

Although they had followed the priestess who said she had business to attend to personally, they weren't pleased about killing time in a place like this.

Since the opponent had raised his blade on his own and given them justification, they had no choice but to step forward.

"What insolence toward the priestess! I'll cut out your tongue and teach you the meaning of repentance!"

"Repentance? You dare speak of repentance before me?"

Rudger stared at the holy knight who had raised his voice.

The moment the knight met that cold gaze, he felt his breath catch.

'What, what is this?'

He couldn't breathe. His lips trembled, and cold sweat formed on his palm gripping the sword.

The moment he faced Rudger's killing intent, he felt as if he had encountered an unprecedented existence that was difficult to put into words.

He was supposed to be a sword that served the god and protected the priestess, yet he was intimidated by a mere human?

This couldn't be happening.

-Creak.

He tried to shake off the pressure by gripping his sword tighter, but the more he tried, the more the holy knight felt like he was sinking into a quagmire.

His face turned bright red, and as the whites of his eyes were about to be covered with red bloodshot lines—

"Would you please stop there?"

"......"

The killing intent that had been choking him suddenly dissipated.

Rudger quietly gazed at Priestess Remia, who spoke with a gentle smile.

"He stepped up for my sake, so I couldn't just stand by and watch."

"Priestess Remia."

"Both of you, please remain still until I say it's okay. I don't want any commotion here."

"But that's......"

"Ah, what I mean is this: whatever you two might try, it won't work against the person in front of us."

At those words, the honor guard bit his lip.

His face contorted as if his pride was hurt, but he couldn't talk back.

This was because the earlier confrontation had made him acutely aware of the significant difference in ability between him and Rudger.

"Let me continue our earlier conversation. Access to the holy relic has been granted, and it has already left our country for transport. It should arrive at its destination soon."

"So, are you telling me to just sit here and listen while you talk about killing my master?"

"Of course not."

Remia tilted her head slightly to the side.

"I told you, didn't I? I came because I want to help."

"Help. Help, you say."

After muttering those words, Rudger slowly rose from his seat.

-Boom!

At that moment, the surrounding air became twice as heavy, pressing down on Remia's shoulders.

Her body, which had been sitting quietly, staggered and swayed.

Remia's expression, which had always been smiling, hardened for the first time.

Rudger looked down at Remia with a cold gaze.

The honor guards who were supposed to protect Remia couldn't take any action.

They too were forced to kneel on one knee, pressed down by Rudger's aura.

"When did I ever say I wanted help?"

"Th-that's......"

"It seems you thought you could get on my good side with such words, but contrary to your intention, your neck is quite stiff."

Remia tried to somehow lift her trembling lips into a smile, but it wasn't as easy as she had hoped.

"If you came to help me, you should have pleaded desperately. Saying that you want to help, so please listen to what you have to say."

‘Arrogant words.’

The holy knight, pressed down by Rudger's presence, thought Rudger must be insane.

How dare he speak such insolence to a priestess of the Bretus Holy Nation?

Doesn't he fear the consequences?

But what happened next was even more surprising.

"I... am... sorry."

Remia, the priestess of the Bretus Holy Nation and the sister of the Holy Maiden, apologized to Rudger.

"I... was... shortsighted."

"......"

When Remia apologized with sincerity, Rudger finally withdrew his aura.

Remia, barely regaining her composure, caught her breath with a much paler face.

Rudger sat back down, still looking at Remia with a cold gaze.

"Speak. What exactly are you trying to do?"

Grandel stood at the top of the mountain.

Beyond the valley, a huge crater-like formation was visible.

While the surroundings were lush with forests, it seemed as if a barrier had been placed around the crater, as nothing was visible there.

Not even common weeds or insects.

"Isn't it fascinating?"

A man approached Grandel's side and spoke.

Cardinal Patricio continued speaking with a benevolent smile befitting his position.

"Despite the passage of a very long time, no life has taken root in that crater. It's as if death has descended upon that place alone."

"So what?"

"Don't you think it's the perfect place to meet the end you so desperately desire?"

At those words, Grandel snorted.

"Do you think I don't know that? Even such lands of death couldn't give me peace."

"Yes. That alone wouldn't be enough. But with the holy relic from our country, it's a different story."

God's Stake.

Yes. The reason Grandel was tolerating Patricio's presence was because she believed in the power of that holy relic.

"In the past, that place was overflowing with vast life force. You can tell just by looking at the dense forests around here. It was also where Holy Maiden Arkenis fought the final battle against the Great Demon Surna. The Holy Maiden defeated the Great Demon Surna through her sacrifice, but due to the demon's energy, only death remained there."

"Ha. Defeated, you say."

"Why are you laughing?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter if you don't know."

"Hehe. You don't need to worry. Your death is also what our country desires. The holy relic, God's Stake, tempered with prayers to Lumensis, can certainly bring death."

"Is that why you gathered such trivial beings?"

Grandel's gaze, which had moved away from the crater, turned toward the ridge behind.

Tents had been set up at the foot of the mountain, where more than a thousand people had gathered.

People who had responded to the call of the Lumensis Order from all over the world.

Each one was close to being an elite, and among them were even two mages with colour titles.

Only Grandel could call such individuals trivial beings.

After all, she was the living legend of mages and the pinnacle of all who walked the path of magic—an 8th tier mage.

"No matter how many of those you gather, they are useless against me."

"I know. Nevertheless, we gathered them because we also need certain justifications and practical benefits. Rather than using the stake with nothing, wouldn't it be better to have a semblance of an intense battle?"

"And you plan to solidify your order's achievements using that as a pretext."

Patricio shrugged at Grandel's pointed remark.

"Since we're doing this anyway, isn't it better for both of us?"

"......"

Grandel didn't like the idea that her death would coincide with the growth of the Lumensis Order but that didn't mean she was going to give up now.

This was the death she had longed for.

She had wandered the world for a long time for this purpose.

'That foolish disciple of mine is what worries me.'

Originally, Grandel should have died by Rudger's hand.

She taught Rudger for that purpose and made him strong.

But when did it start?

She began to find the days spent with Rudger increasingly enjoyable.

Like the morning mist gradually seeping into clothes.

By the time she realized it, Grandel found her heart growing cold as she discovered herself completely soaked.

'It's poison.'

To develop feelings for a disciple she had raised to kill her.

Living alone through an eternity, she had vowed never to form bonds with others.

To her, not only humans but even elves were just fleeting lives.

Even if they all died, their children were born and died, and their descendants were born and died.

Grandel was always alone.

'This must end here.'

Grandel had intended to use Rudger, who was to become a vessel for the divine, as a dagger to kill herself, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

While raising Rudger, watching him grow, learn magic, and mature.

At some point Grandel began to harbor a warmth for Rudger that she had never felt before: maternal love.

It was laughable.

A pureblooded vampire who had lived for ages feeling maternal love for a descendant of the Holy Emperor.

Wasn't it like a monster raising a child of god?

It might have been better if this was just a one-sided feeling.

The problem was that her foolish disciple was also someone with a tender heart.

To develop feelings in a relationship meant to kill or be killed.

It shouldn't have happened. It shouldn't have been this way.

But how willful and unpredictable the heart can be.

Even she, who could claim to have reached the pinnacle of magical hierarchy, had been swayed by such a trivial emotion and ended up here.

She wasn't afraid of parting.

What she truly feared was asking her disciple, now like a son to her, to kill her.

Perhaps the decisive catalyst was when Rudger killed Rene's mother with his own hands.

'For me, the terror of the Holy Nation and an immortal monster, to worry and be anxious over a mere human—it's truly ridiculous.'

But that too is coming to an end now.

She can finally meet death.

With the power of a holy relic tempered with divine power, it could erase even the immortality established within the framework of this world.

'My disciple has gathered the relics he was aiming for, so he won't be concerned about me. Considering the forces gathered around here, even he wouldn't rashly come.'

So it was fine.

This was enough.

Grandel finally decided to let go and accept death.

Rudger stood motionless in Grandel's room.

The room was prettily and daintily decorated to match Grandel's appearance, but without its owner, it felt empty, as if an important cog was missing.

'Master has left.'

Grandel's goal was to put an end to this eternal life.

For that purpose, Grandel had come to the Holy Nation and taken in the abandoned Rudger to make him the dagger that would kill her.

Rudger wasn't unaware of this fact.

Grandel had never hidden her purpose from the beginning and always told Rudger the same thing.

'She has gone to meet her end.'

Yet Grandel had left, saying there was no need to keep her promise.

Has she changed her mind?

That wasn't it.

She had always desired death. She wanted this hellish life to end.

She rescinded her promise because a new path had opened up.

A path where her disciple, who had become like family, wouldn't have to stain his hands with blood to achieve her goal.

Rudger closed his eyes and recalled his past with Grandel.

-You dull-witted boy. How many times have I told you not to draw the magical formula like that?

-The combination of reagents must be precise. The moment you deviate, know that you'll have to start over.

-Don't stop thinking even while moving. Are you a sluggard or something? That would be better at this point.

-Don't be conceited. There are plenty of mages in the world more talented than you. At best, you're only average.

The memories of learning magic from Grandel weren't particularly pleasant.

Grandel never gave proper words of praise.

Even when Rudger brought results beyond expectations, all he heard were rebukes and disparagement.

And yet.

Nevertheless.

Rudger clearly remembered.

-Ha. This kid.

The satisfaction and warmth that flickered in her eyes as she smiled in disbelief.

The kindness embedded in her voice even as she uttered complaints and harsh words.

Grandel, who always acted selfishly, demanding meals to be prepared.

When Rudger fell ill with a high fever for the first time, she nursed him by his bedside and made porridge herself.

And how, as if embarrassed by that fact, she scolded him about what he was doing as soon as he recovered.

Rudger silently left Grandel's room.

Alex, who had been waiting leaning against the wall next to the door, asked.

"What? Are you going?"

"Did Hans tell you to stop me?"

"No way. If anything, that guy was almost certain the leader would go."

"What about you? Are you going to try to stop me?"

"Well, the plan you've laid out is almost within reach, and the end is starting to come into view..."

Alex grinned.

"But following orthodoxy too strictly isn't my style. The leader can do as he pleases."

"You're not even going to offer to come along, even as a courtesy."

"You wouldn't allow it anyway, right? Then there's nothing I can do. But, you will come back, won't you?"

"I've never once gone into something with the intention of not returning."

"What tremendous confidence."

Alex asked Rudger, retreating back as he slowly walked away.

"Why are you going this far?"

Without looking back, Rudger replied.

"Because I've received too much."