After leaving the mountain, Rose split ways with Silva, June, and Julie. One last matter still lingered—the City Lord.
She strode straight through the heart of the mining town, townsfolk who recalled the earlier commotion quickly stepping aside. Whispers of the clash had spread, though no one knew the true identity of the red-haired woman.
The guards at the Lord's estate moved to block her, but she didn't break stride. Her newly bolstered aura flared for only a heartbeat, and the doors burst open. She swept through the manor and into the City Lord's office without warning, making the man leap to his feet.
"OUTRAGEOUS!"
He slammed his hands onto the desk.
"Who gave you permission to enter my estate?! Do you even know who controls these lands?"
Rose just stared, then smirked. Without a word, she drew her sword.
The blade slammed into the stone floor between them.
The City Lord froze.
Rose rested a hand on its hilt. "Look at the crest on the sword, you fool."
His anger vanished. Slowly, his gaze dropped to the weapon, where the royal crest of the Dacian Kingdom was engraved beneath the guard—a mark only a royal could bear.
His face went pale. He looked at the crest, then at Rose, then back again.
"P-Prin..." His legs shook. "Princess Rose..."
All arrogance drained away. He stumbled from behind his desk and dropped to all fours.
"Your Highness! Mercy!"
Rose's eyes hardened. This man had abused the power her family gave him, stolen from the families of fallen soldiers, and driven Rin from his home as a child. When she challenged him, he struck from behind—had Rin not stepped in, she would be dead.
"Mercy?"
She pulled her sword free. The guards started to draw their weapons but froze when Rose turned the blade toward them.
"I am Rose, daughter of the royal family." The room went silent.
"Your authority comes from the Crown. Your soldiers are paid by the Crown. These mines belong to Dacia." Her eyes fell back on the trembling Lord.
"And this man treated all three as if they were his own."
The City Lord pressed his forehead to the floor.
"Princess, please! I can repay it all—gold, ore, land, anything!"
"You misunderstand." Rose strode toward him.
"I am not here to negotiate."
She turned to the guards. "Arrest him."
No one moved. Rose's gaze hardened.
"Was my order unclear?"
The guards quickly seized their former master.
"WAIT!" The City Lord struggled as they pulled him upright.
"Your Highness! Please! I've served the kingdom for years!"
Rose let out a cold laugh.
"Then you can keep serving it."
He froze, realization dawning.
She pointed her sword toward the distant mines. "Take him below."
His eyes went wide.
"No..."
"Strip him of his title, lands, wealth, and power. Everything he took will be investigated and returned where possible."
The guards' grip tightened.
"From this day on, he is no longer Lord of this city."
Rose stepped closer.
"You profited from those mines while others broke themselves in them."
Her voice turned icy.
"Now you'll learn what they're worth."
The former Lord shook his head frantically.
"Princess Rose—mercy! Please!"
Rose turned away. "Put him to work in the mines."
She slid her sword back into its sheath.
"If he wants to serve the kingdom…"
She glanced over her shoulder one last time.
"…then he'll serve until the end of his days."
His desperate cries echoed behind her as she left the manor.
Outside, workers and townsfolk gathered, drawn by the commotion.
Rose stepped into the street, her gaze fixed on the volcano towering over the city.
Somewhere on that mountain was a man with every reason to despise this place.
Yet Rin had never come back for revenge.
In the end, he hadn't needed to—Rose had done it for him.
After dealing with the former Lord, she thought she'd be alone.
Silva, June, and Julie still had their own path to follow, their destination far ahead, and Rose figured they'd be gone by the time she finished in the city.
But when she reached the road out of town, she stopped. Three familiar figures were waiting for her.
Silva sat on a rock with his wooden staff resting against his shoulder. June stood quietly beside him, while Julie impatiently kicked pebbles across the road.
The moment Julie spotted Rose, she waved.
"Finally!"
Rose blinked.
"You three are still here?"
Julie placed her hands on her hips.
"Obviously."
June smiled softly.
"We couldn't leave without saying goodbye."
Rose stared at them for a moment.Somehow, those simple words caught her more off guard than anything that had happened on the mountain.
Their journey together had not lasted particularly long.
They'd met because of Talon, who had dragged them toward a volcano in search of something to make her stronger—only to nearly get swindled by thieves, battle a strange man living in molten rock, and almost get herself killed through her own recklessness.
Somewhere along the way, though, these three troublesome kids stopped feeling like strangers.
Rose approached them.
"I thought you were in a hurry to reach your destination."
"We are," Silva replied.
"Then why waste time waiting for me?"
Silva shrugged. "Because it would be rude to leave without saying anything."
Julie quickly pointed to herself. "That was my idea."
"No, it wasn't."
"It could have been."
June chuckled quietly, and Rose shook her head.
After everything they'd been through, their silly squabbling was oddly comforting.
"So this is really it?" Rose asked.
Silva nodded.
From here, their paths diverged. Rose had her hands full—tracking down corruption in the mining city, reporting the former Lord's crimes, and making sure someone reliable took charge.
Silva and the twins were off to a different destination.
The demon lands.
Rose sighed. "Fine." She shot a look at June and Julie. "And you two—try not to get him killed."
Julie smirked.
"No promises."
June nudged her.
"Julie."
"What? Silva's a trouble magnet."
Silva scowled.
"You two caused most of the trouble."
Rose laughed.
A genuine laugh this time.
Then her expression softened.
"Thank you."
The three looked at her.
Rose touched the hilt of her sword.
"I came here looking for something that would make me stronger. Instead, I nearly died because I was too confident in my own strength."
Her gaze briefly moved toward the distant volcano.
"And someone I barely know sacrificed what he had protected for years to save me."
The Phoenix Spark was now part of her.That power was not merely a treasure she had obtained.It was something entrusted to her.
Rose looked back at Silva.
"The next time we meet, I intend to be worthy of it."
Silva smiled.
"By then, we'll be stronger too."
Julie slung an arm around June.
"Obviously. When we return, Princess Rose might not even be able to beat us."
Rose's eyebrow twitched.
"Oh?"
June immediately tried to wriggle free of her sister's grip.
"Don't include me!"
Rose's hand drifted to her sword.
Julie took a cautious step back.
"…We should probably go."
"Probably," Silva agreed.
Rose laughed again.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Silva grabbed his staff, June adjusted her pack, and Julie gave Rose one last exaggerated wave before the three set off.
Rose stayed by the roadside, watching them shrink into the distance.
"Silva!"
He stopped and turned.
Rose lifted a hand.
"Safe journey!"
Silva smiled.
"You too."
And then they walked on—toward the desert, toward the Sien Domain.
They headed toward whatever lay beyond the lands of humans. Rose watched until they vanished down the road, then finally turned back toward the city. Their paths had split, yet something told her this wouldn't be the last time she crossed paths with those three.
And perhaps—
Rose cast one last glance at the solitary volcano. I still haven't thanked you enough for saving my life.
—The next time their paths crossed, there would be one more person traveling with them.
Once the mining village had disappeared behind them, the trio left the main road.
Silva cast one last glance over his shoulder. The volcano loomed on the horizon, a dark column of smoke curling into the sky. Somewhere at its peak, Rin stayed behind, with nothing left to guard. He found himself wondering what the odd man would do next.
"All right."
June's voice broke his thoughts. She dug through her pack and pulled out the teleportation stone Talon had given them. Julie's face lit up.
"Finally. I was starting to think we'd have to walk."
Silva looked at her.
"We've barely been walking."
"Exactly. I've already had enough."
June paid no attention to her sister, gripping the stone with both hands. Talon's teleportation stones could span vast distances, but they weren't flawless—safe travel required a destination the user could clearly picture and fix in their mind. Closing her eyes, June let mana seep into the stone, thin lines of light tracing across its surface. Silva observed her intently.
"The Domain is tricky," she murmured. "Its barrier disrupts teleportation."
"So we can't teleport inside?" Silva asked.
June shook her head.
"Not safely."
Julie leaned in.
"Try the old entrance."
"I am."
June dug through her memories—years ago, she'd gone there with Scarlet. She recalled the suffocating demonic mana that clung to the place. And, most vividly, the massive demon bull guarding the entrance.
Aster.
Her expression twitched. Scarlet had beaten him so badly that the once fearsome gatekeeper had turned surprisingly polite afterward.
"There."
The stone gave a faint pulse.
June's eyes lit up. "I found somewhere nearby."
"How nearby?" Silva asked.
She paused. "…Close enough."
Silva frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Julie tugged his sleeve. "It means stop asking."
The stone cracked, and space twisted around them. Silva barely tightened his grip on his staff before— the world was gone.
For a heartbeat, there was nothing under his feet.
Then—
THUD!
Silva hit the sand face-first.
Julie crashed down beside him.
June, somehow, stayed on her feet.
Silence.
Silva lifted his head slowly.
"June."
"Yes?"
"A little warning would've been nice."
"I told you—close enough."
Julie spat sand from her mouth.
"This is why I should handle teleportation."
June stared at her.
"The last time you handled one, we appeared in a tree."
"We survived."
Silva pushed himself upright.
He stopped, the joking gone. Before them lay a vast wasteland. The golden sands of the Dune Empire's southern desert slowly darkened to near black, jagged mountains rising ahead like a natural barricade. But it was what lay beyond that held Silva's gaze.
The sky seemed somehow changed, a faint crimson haze smudging the horizon. The mana in the air felt thicker—older, darker—and his demon blood stirred in response. June stepped up beside him. "We're close."
Silva gazed at the distant mountains.
"The Sien Domain?"
Julie grinned.
"The border."
His grip on the staff tightened.
After the Academy.
After Nella.
After awakening Pandora.
After crossing half the continent and getting tangled up with Rose, Rin, and the Phoenix Spark...
They had finally made it.
June pointed toward a narrow passage between two distant cliffs.
"That leads to one of the entrances."
"And that's where Aster is?" Silva asked.
The twins shared a quick glance.
Julie's smile crept in. "Oh, you're going to love him."
June let out a sigh. "Please don't provoke him."
"I wasn't talking about me."
Silva's gaze shifted between them. "…What aren't you telling me?"
No one replied.
They set off toward the mountain pass, the air thickening with demonic mana at every step. Beyond the cliffs waited the Sien Domain's gatekeeper—
the demon bull who decided who was worthy to enter.
Aster.