[Duke Orian's POV]
"How could you possibly suggest such a thing—?!"
"Your Grace, these circumstances leave us no choice—"
"Duke, please reconsider the Imperial Family's invitation regarding the grant—"
"It is the only remaining path, Your Grace—"
The council chamber drowned in the endless chatter of old fools.
Voices layered atop one another like crows fighting over a corpse.
…
'How is that child's condition…?'
A quiet sigh escaped me.
Resting one arm against the long council table, I closed my eyes briefly while these buffoons continued their senseless prattling.
Then—
Tap.
My finger struck the table once.
The sound echoed sharply across the chamber.
Silence followed almost instantly.
I slowly opened my eyes.
"You all seem rather eager to see heads rolling tonight."
The room stiffened.
"You cannot possibly be deranged enough to believe I would become a chained dog for those Imperial bastards."
My voice remained calm.
Cold.
But heavy enough to suffocate the room.
I brushed a hand through my hair before speaking once more.
"Send the Emperor the head of his messenger."
A brief pause.
"And attach a note."
My gaze darkened.
"Even a chained hound bares its fangs when starved."
[Ruvan's POV]
I glanced toward the Duke.
…Yeah.
This situation definitely favored heads flying tonight.
'Should I simply retire early?'
The council had barely begun, yet these old idiots were already pushing His Grace to obey the Imperial Family's absurd demand to travel in the middle of a dead winter.
Idiots.
I suppressed a sigh.
'Lately, work has been chasing me to my grave.'
"You cannot possibly be deranged enough to believe I would become a chained dog for those Imperial bastards."
The Duke's cold voice swept through the chamber.
Instant silence.
No one dared speak.
That overwhelming pressure—
It was the same presence he carried onto the battlefield.
Enough to make even seasoned men lower their heads instinctively.
'Oh…'
'These old men truly still look too young to die.'
Suddenly—
BANG!
The council doors burst open.
"YOUR GRACE!" a knight shouted breathlessly. "Monsters have begun swarming the duchy!"
"!!"
Without hesitation, the Duke rose from his seat.
And for a fleeting moment—
That expression returned.
The same look from the battlefield.
Blank.
Unreadable.
A face that hunted not only monsters—
But men as well.
The atmosphere in the chamber froze instantly.
His Grace was always prepared for war.
At any moment.
I immediately followed after him—
Only for another figure to come rushing forward.
Theron.
He looked as though he had sprinted through the entire palace.
"YOUR GRACE—!" he shouted desperately.
"The Lady…!"
"…She has disappeared."
The moment those words fell—
The Duke stopped.
And for the first time—
I saw shock cross his face.
Not rage.
Not fury.
Shock.
A single fleeting expression—
Yet terrifying enough to send chills down my spine.
Not only mine.
Everyone in that chamber felt it.
[Astra's POV]
I ran desperately out of the forest.
The monsters had already begun crawling from the darkness.
My breaths came out ragged as I abandoned my slippers somewhere along the way, panic driving my small body forward without pause.
That horrifying howl still echoed in my ears.
And for some reason—
I knew.
Something far more dangerous had arrived.
'Dangerous enough to kill the Duke.'
Behind me, the claws of Dire Wolves scraped violently against stone and snow as they pursued.
My feet were bruised raw, bleeding against the frozen ground—
But I could not afford to care.
The moment I reached the duchy—
CRASH.
The castle walls shattered before my eyes.
"!!"
'They already broke through?!'
As I rushed past the ruined gates, another explosion erupted nearby.
Flames burst from homes.
Smoke swallowed the night sky.
The duchy had already descended into chaos.
I froze briefly at the sight before me.
People screaming.
Knights bleeding.
Children crying.
And this—
This was only the beginning of the massacre.
"AHHH—HELP—!"
"Please—NO!"
A mother's desperate cries echoed nearby as she used her own body to shield her child from the approaching monsters.
"My dear Elly… I'm sorry…"
"UNDINE!"
The moment I called her name, Undine's mana surged through me.
Cool.
Gentle.
Yet overwhelmingly vast.
At the same time, I could feel her desperately suppressing the violent mana rampage tearing through my body.
Even then—
It still hurt like hell.
Water flowed around me instinctively.
As though my body already knew how to wield her power.
With a simple motion of my hand—
A massive orb of water swallowed the monster whole, suspending it midair before crushing and drowning it within the current.
I had no time to think about myself.
Not now.
I quickly surveyed the battlefield.
Monsters had already flooded past the castle walls.
Which meant—
The duchy itself had long since been overrun.
My gaze swept across the chaos.
Sir Hale struggled desperately to maintain a barrier around parts of the duchy while simultaneously fighting off Frostmane Beasts.
Several knights had already fallen.
Others continued fighting despite their injuries, shielding civilians with trembling swords and broken shields.
'No matter how insane this novel is…'
'No matter how much I know about what happens…'
'I can't just stand here and watch people die.'
After all—
'I'm not cruel enough to turn a blind eye.'
I clenched my teeth tightly.
"Undine."
The spirit looked at me immediately, her watery eyes filled with worry.
She already knew what I intended.
From the very beginning.
"At this point…" I muttered weakly, wiping blood from my lips.
"We may as well let it rampage to its heart's content."
I ran toward the broken castle gates.
Raising both hands—
I forced mana outward.
An enormous wall of water erupted into existence, thick with condensed mana, crashing down across the destroyed entrance like a tidal fortress.
No monster could pass through it.
But the backlash—
"Ugh—!"
Blood burst from my mouth instantly.
Pain shot violently through my chest.
Still—
I held the barrier together.
Anything to lessen the number of monsters entering the duchy.
"Ah… it stings a lot," I muttered sarcastically to myself.
"Hah… good enough—"
I glanced down at my nightgown.
It was ruined.
The once beautiful white fabric had been soaked completely red with blood.
"…Ah."
I let out a weak laugh.
"I look absolutely insane right now, Undi—"
I stopped.
Undine's cheeks were puffed up as tears streamed endlessly down her watery face.
"…Why are you crying?"
The spirit flew frantically around me, buzzing like an upset little bee while glaring at me motioning me it was my fault.
…
I sighed tiredly and waved a hand dismissively.
"Fine. I'll consider proper compensation for making you work overtime."
Undine shook her head violently, still pouting through her flowing tears.
Another exhausted sigh escaped me.
'Honestly… what does she even want from me?'
She looked exactly like a crying toddler throwing a silent tantrum.
"Undine," I said softly, my expression sharpening once more.
"We'll save the apologies for later."
I slowly turned toward the endless horde gathering beyond the gates.
Monsters snarled beneath the moonlight, ready to tear me apart in an instant.
I inhaled deeply.
'There's no turning back now.'
Then—
I don't know where this confidence stems from...maybe its coping mechanism but-
A smug look slowly spread across my face.
"It's time to unleash your greatness don't you think our Undine~?"
The mana around us trembled violently.
Water began rising into the air.
The moon reflected endlessly across countless floating droplets.
And with blood staining my lips beneath the night—
I smiled.
"Now then…"
"It's time to cool down."