Marc returned after yet another sprint. He was exhausted, his body screaming from the prolonged running, but in the end, he had made it back to where it all started — near the Kurk, which he had destroyed so that such a horrifying bomb could never be launched again.
Everyone present had been left speechless at the sight of the man in black armor walking out of the merciless flames caused by the explosion.
And somehow, even if it made no logical sense, they all knew he had been the cause of it. The terrifying black knight, with his white mask, inspired both awe and fear in everyone who laid eyes on him.
But the black knight was not as calm as they imagined.
In truth, the image of Elie stopping the missile kept replaying in Marc's head. She had grown strong, far stronger than he had ever imagined, and it filled him with pride and joy.
A sudden surge of excitement hit Marc. He, who had always been haunted by despair, finally found a spark of hope in Elie. The A42 could no longer threaten the capital. That alone was a relief . His parents were safe now.
Yes, the enemy could still strike again, but as long as Elie was there, miracles were still possible.
It was a heavy burden off his shoulders to know she was watching his back.
"Alright. Now I need to find those damned books. The Empire must have hidden them somewhere near Garid. There's no way he destroyed them. That's impossible."
Marc tried to focus, rain pouring down on his armor. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the auras by projecting them in his mind.
He saw the trees. The buildings. The tiniest drops of rain. The people inside their homes.
Every aura was visible to him now , their shapes, their movements, but his perception reached no farther than a hundred meters around him. It was a step forward, but still far too limited to be useful. The fact frustrated him, though he had to admit… it was helping.
Suddenly, in the middle of his concentration, he felt a small, cold hand clutch his armor at the leg.
"Mister, what are you doing? Are you a knight?"
Marc looked down at the source of the voice.
"Huh?"
A little girl stood there, gazing up at him with wide blue eyes. Her black hair danced in the rain and wind as her tiny head tilted back to take in the sight of Marc in his dark, menacing armor. She was so small, so adorably fragile, that Marc couldn't help but wonder what she was doing outside, in the middle of a warzone.
She kept speaking, unfazed by his silence.
"You know, in the fairy tales, knights save princesses. Did you come to save me?"
Marc stared at her. The thought struck him like a blade — if the Emperor showed up, this child could die in an instant, caught in a battle she never asked for.
She was in the enemy camp after all. At least, she was in the Empire of the enemy camp. And while Marc wanted to save everyone, if the Emperor decided to launch an attack, this little girl would be caught between gunfire and screams.
Marc didn't want that.
Yes, he doubted humanity sometimes — but this child was innocent. She had nothing to do with any of this. And it wasn't as though he wanted to kill everyone just because he didn't trust them.
No, if anything, he wanted to save them all. Especially this little girl, who couldn't have been more than six.
Slowly, Marc crouched down to her level and smiled — or at least, he tried to. He had forgotten his face was hidden behind his mask.
"Yes. I'm here to save you."
The girl's face lit up with a huge smile, and she jumped up and down with joy.
"Yay!"
Suddenly, a worried voice echoed from behind a nearby wall.
"Elie, don't go near him! He's dangerous!"
Marc's chest tightened at the sound of the child's name.
Elie...
The little girl had the same name as his precious friend. The coincidence sent a shiver through him.
He then saw who must have been her mother, peeking fearfully from around the corner. Her eyes were filled with terror as she looked at Marc. Through her gaze, he saw his reflection — the black armor, the white mask — and he couldn't even blame her for seeing him as a monster.
The girl turned to him again.
"Why does my mommy say you're dangerous?"
In truth, Marc had been placed on a wanted list since his clash with Garid. But the one the mother feared was not Marc Zeymond, it was the Death of War, the man who had defeated Lori.
"Come here, please," the mother called again, her voice breaking.
Marc stayed still, watching the girl. He thought of everything he had done to keep people like this alive. He thought of how many times he had nearly died just to protect women and children like them.
She didn't know the truth. He couldn't be angry at her.
But it was frustrating, very frustrating. And it hurt his heart.
What meaning did his attempts at repentance hold if everyone still saw him as nothing but a monster?
He looked back at the little girl.
"Little one, you should go back to your mother. She's worried about you."
But the girl pouted, crossing her arms.
"I'm not little. I'm almost six!"
Marc let out a small sigh and chuckled softly behind his mask.
"Alright then, big girl."
He rose to his feet, ready to leave, but the girl clung to his leg again.
"I don't want to leave you, Mister Knight. You have to save me."
This time, Marc was genuinely surprised.
Maybe… maybe if he succeeded in saving the world, at least this little girl would thank him with all her heart.
Maybe there was still light left for a man like him — a man who had sacrificed so many lives out of his reckless curiosity, a man running everywhere in search of redemption, a man who wanted to apologize to the world in the grandest way possible.
This little girl's attachment reminded him of the real Elie...
And it warmed his heart.
"Alright. Go tell your mother I'm not dangerous. I'll walk you there."
The little girl's face lit up, a wide smile spreading across her rain-speckled face.
"Okay!"
She darted off, her small steps splashing in the puddles as she ran straight into her mother's arms. Then she turned back, pointing at Marc with pride.
"Look, Mama! I found the knight who's going to save me..."
But Marc was gone.
Not a trace of him remained.
The little girl's smile slowly faded, her bright expression melting into confusion. Her eyes darted around, searching desperately for the black knight.
"Mister Knight?"
Her mother picked her up and quickly turned away from the place where the Death of War had stood only seconds ago.
"Come, sweetheart. We're leaving."
Cradled in her mother's arms, the girl kept her gaze fixed on the spot where Marc had been.
Her knight had left her.
The disappointment sank deep into her tiny heart, leaving her both sad and betrayed.
But just before the rain swallowed the world in gray, she thought she saw him.
A black knight, his white mask gone, standing in the darknes, waving at her.
"I'm sorry, little one, I'm no knight."
Some time later, Marc stood before another heavily fortified military base.
One of Garid's soldiers spotted him approaching through the rain, terror flashing across his face. But forcing himself to stay calm, he barked his orders loud enough for everyone to hear.
"He's here! Bring out the missiles! Everyone, take positions!"
Marc had already taken his time to study the base. He had known for a while that the books weren't here. And yet, he stayed.
He wanted to teach the Garid Empire a lesson.
The soldiers scrambled into formation, aiming their most devastating weapons at him. But the black knight, the terrifying figure they had all heard rumors about, just kept walking toward them at a steady, unhurried pace.
"Positions!" the soldier shouted again, his voice cracking under the weight of the moment.
And then..
Marc's aura surged.
It swept through the entire area, washing over the soldiers like an invisible wave. A primal terror gripped their hearts. They couldn't see the aura, but they could feel it — crushing them, pinning them to the ground in spirit before the battle even began.
They all swallowed hard, sweat and rain mingling as their grips tightened on their weapons.
And then, through the downpour, came the voice of the man in the black armor. Despite the helmet that concealed his face, his words reached every soldier, vibrating through the air like a verdict.
It froze their blood.
"I won't be showing mercy."
Nathanael was staring at as many screens as he could, devouring every bit of data they displayed. His eyes and mind tried to retain as much information as possible, even though it felt like his brain was about to explode.
There was no way to help Marc and Elie in this situation. War was inevitable, even though there wasn't even a real conflict yet, and he was missing the books that could have given him more clues.
"Marc couldn't have taken them with him since he's still roaming around Garida. If only I could get my hands on those books. Two are missing. Marc said the first one had a cover with weapons. And the other one… with various natural disasters and....damn it."
It didn't take long for Nathanael to put the pieces together.
"Damn it. Damn it. War is one of the horsemen. Just like Natural Disaster. Damn it, damn it… What else could there be? Let's see...fear, famine, pesti..."
Suddenly, a new alert popped up on one of his screens.
And just like that, his heart nearly stopped when he saw what it was.
"…Damn it."