The battlefield was alive with chaos.
Light had just finished writing on a blank sheet of paper—detailing the enemy's formations, tactics, and weaknesses—before returning his gaze to the war unfolding below. What he saw was not just a clash of armies. It was the anatomy of chaos. No… it was a world made of choices.
Everyone was doing what they were meant to do.
The soldiers were fighting. The generals were commanding. The high-ranking officials were observing, calculating what to do next. And those who weren't doing anything… were already dead.
Lifeless bodies—some crushed in their armor, some torn apart—lay across the field. Some were trampled so badly their faces were unrecognizable, while others twitched, clinging to their final breath, praying for someone to end their pain. A few still tried to fight, even on the brink of death.
Thanks to his enhanced skills, Light could see all of it—he could hear every desperate breath, the clang of steel, the smell of blood that had soaked into the air itself. He could even taste it.
> "Some are dying," Light thought, "some are trying to survive. Some are dying to protect others. Every man here has a mission, a purpose, a story."
He looked at their faces, and for a moment, it was as if the battlefield turned into an open book. Greed. Lust. Fear. Confusion. Pain. Joy. Despair. Hope. All of it carved into expressions of war.
> "War doesn't just reveal the enemy," Light mused. "It reveals what kind of animal lives inside every man."
He activated his Cool Mind skill. His breathing slowed. His awareness deepened. The weight of existence settled in.
> "So this is what they meant… when they said On the battlefield, tomorrow is a luxury only the lucky get" he realized.
---
Meanwhile, the clash between the Rebellion King and the Special Unit Leader had turned into a brutal duel. The leader's armor was shredded, a sword piercing clean through his stomach. Yet he stood firm. The Rebellion King's own armor was cracking, blood leaking from his side as he fought one-handed, refusing to yield.
Finally, the Special Unit leader crossed his blade against the King's shoulders and dropped to his knees, blood spilling beneath him. Dead.
The emperor's first and second sons—who had now pushed through their own battles—saw the moment and thought it was their opportunity to finish the Rebellion King.
But their enemies were too skilled. The duel hadn't made the Rebellion King weak. If anything… he was growing stronger.
On another side of the battlefield, the Assassin Queen had already slaughtered most of her enemies, her cloak soaked in blood. Only three knights remained by her side. The rest had fallen. And now, she too faced the Rebellion King directly.
The two locked eyes.
Without a word, they clashed.
Their duel was fierce—equally matched in speed, technique, and power. But over time, Light noticed… the Queen was slipping. Slowly but surely, she was falling behind.
The Rebellion King was bleeding heavily, yet he didn't falter. Even when his vision blurred from blood loss, he kept fighting.
Then it happened.
She saw her moment—an opening.
Her short sword drove straight through the King's heart.
The Queen stood there, breathing heavily, drenched in blood.
She pulled off the King's mask.
> "I win," she whispered with a smile.
But as the King collapsed, still smiling, he whispered back:
> "No... I win."
And the light vanished from his eyes.
He was dead.
But… he wasn't the real King.
The Queen realized it instantly.
> "A decoy," she muttered, stunned. Her eyes flicked to where the fake Rebellion King had been looking before he died.
---
Back at the battlefield—
The first prince, having finally defeated his opponent with help from his remaining three soldiers, crushed his enemy's skull with his bare hands. But in the process, he sustained a severe leg wound—deep and bleeding.
Light had seen it all.
He'd witnessed the full fight. And now… something else caught his eye.
A figure was rushing toward the camp. Fast. Too fast.
A small body… a child?
No.
As Light focused his vision, he realized the head of the third prince had been sliced clean off—hanging midair—and his body still stood upright for a second before collapsing.
Beside the body stood a woman in black full-body armor, both swords dripping with blood. Her presence was so terrifyingly silent, even the guards didn't react until it was too late.
With a single motion, she eliminated the prince's advisors and personal guards. They died before they even realized they'd been attacked.
> "Should I step in?" Light thought. "No... not yet. Why risk myself?"
The Queen's voice rang out from the distance.
> "Rebellion King!"
Everyone froze.
It was him.
Still alive.
And worse, he had just assassinated the third prince.
---
The Assassin Queen raced toward the camp. She knew she wouldn't make it in time—but she had to try.
Light, meanwhile, noticed another detail: the emperor's two daughters—still alive—were watching the battlefield from within their tents.
> "So... the Rebellion King is a woman," Light realized, spotting the feminine armor structure and gait using his Focus skill.
The Queen noticed it too. She didn't say it, but her widened eyes said everything.
> "She was watching us all along," Light thought.
The Rebellion King understood her identity had been revealed. Her plan compromised.
She turned and vanished into the forest—so fast and quiet, she might as well have dissolved into the mist.
Soldiers chased her—but found nothing.
Taking advantage of the chaos, the Rebellion's army slipped away through secret escape routes. The Rebellion General cut off the arm of the Imperial General before fleeing, though he was badly injured himself, one eye bleeding.
The battlefield was left with broken armor… and broken truths.
---
And then—betrayal.
As the Empire's soldiers celebrated victory, the second prince stepped behind his wounded elder brother and stabbed him through the back, killing him instantly.
Only Light saw it.
Only he witnessed how the second prince smiled wickedly, then fled the scene under the cover of confusion.
Some fleeing rebels saw it too—and laughed.
> "They're killing each other now? This just got easier for us."
The second prince gave orders to his guards in hushed tones. Though Light couldn't hear them, he knew something was being planned.
Once safely back at camp, the second prince looked toward his sisters' tents.
He spoke clearly now.
> "We have a chance. Go."
His soldiers turned and began marching toward the princesses' tents.
Now the second prince returned to the battlefield and pretended to grieve—claiming the rebels had killed his brothers.
Everyone knew it was a lie.
But no one dared challenge him.
He was the last one left.
Light clenched his fists.
> "It's time," he whispered. "My move."