Lusian arrived at the Duchy.
And his eyes widened at the devastation.
His world shattered.
The corpses of Lord- and Magister-ranked soldiers lay scattered among the rubble.
Dead riders remained beside their magical beasts.
Some creatures were still breathing weakly amid pools of blood and mana.
That fortress city...
That city that was supposed to hold out until the end of the game...
Was on the verge of collapse.
—No...
Lusian's voice came out broken.
Emily covered her mouth.
The smell of blood, smoke, and demonic mana saturated the air.
It was unbearable.
—Lusian...
He didn't answer.
With every step he took, his breathing grew heavier.
More difficult.
As if his own body were screaming at him to turn back.
To run.
The demonic pressure covering Norvind was monstrous.
Even the elite soldiers who had arrived with him were beginning to pale.
For the first time since arriving in that world...
Lusian felt small.
Powerless.
Then he saw them.
In the distance.
Amid storms of black mana and white lightning, two colossal figures continued clashing like monsters born from a nightmare.
Every impact distorted the air.
Every roar shook the ruins.
Sofia.
The most powerful woman in the kingdom.
Perhaps even in the entire world.
She was wounded.
Her armor was destroyed.
Blood covered part of her face.
And yet she continued fighting.
Beside her, Larriet could barely remain standing.
In front of them...
The demon was smiling.
Lusian's eyes slowly widened.
—Mother...
Thunder suddenly reared onto his hind legs.
The electric steed threw Lusian to the ground before bolting forward.
—Thunder!
Lusian fell to his knees.
But Thunder was already running.
Every hoofbeat sent sparks of electricity flying.
The creatures that tried to approach were struck by bolts that left them convulsing on the ground.
Umber didn't wait either.
The dark wolf activated his ability and raced after him.
His claws tore through monsters.
His fangs crushed flesh.
Then he raised his head.
And howled.
The sound tore through Norvind.
Thunder answered with a furious neigh.
Both accelerated.
Toward Sofia.
Toward the center of that hell.
Lusian remained on his knees.
He wanted to run.
He wanted to help her.
But he knew the truth.
If he entered that battle...
He would die.
He wouldn't be able to change anything.
And that was what frightened him most.
Being completely unable to do anything.
Thunder arrived first.
The sky roared.
A gigantic bolt of lightning descended from the clouds and struck Vordrak head-on.
The explosion illuminated Norvind.
The demon was hurled several meters across the rubble.
Umber arrived an instant later.
The two beasts positioned themselves beside Sofia.
Thunder neighed.
Umber bared his fangs.
Sofia's eyes widened slightly.
—Thunder...
Her gaze shifted to the wolf.
—Umber...
For the first time since the battle began, an expression of relief appeared on her face.
But Vordrak rose again.
Fragments of electricity crawled across his body.
His eyes slowly opened.
—No...
He looked at the three beasts.
—No...
Then he understood.
His opportunity was gone.
The three beasts attacked at the same time.
Thunder descended upon him like a bolt of lightning.
Umber lunged from the side.
And Larriet...
The Solar Lion roared.
His roar tore through the city.
The remaining walls trembled.
The monsters froze.
Vordrak took all three attacks.
His body was violently driven backward.
The demonic mana inside him began to spiral out of control.
—NO!
Black cracks appeared across his body.
Sofia's eyes widened.
—Everyone, get back!
Too late.
Vordrak exploded.
A storm of black fire swept through Norvind.
Larriet reacted on instinct.
He leaped in front of Sofia.
His enormous body took the full force of the explosion.
—RAAAARGH!
His roar of pain shook the city.
Larriet was sent flying dozens of meters.
But he had protected Sofia.
The remaining shockwave struck the duchess.
The last remnants of her armor shattered.
Sofia fell to one knee.
Thunder let out a desperate neigh.
Umber ran toward Larriet.
And for a moment...
Norvind fell silent.
Lusian ran.
He didn't think.
He didn't listen to anyone.
He simply ran.
He stumbled through the rubble.
Fell.
Got back up.
And ran again.
Tears were already blurring his vision.
Emily followed him.
And then...
He saw her.
Sofia was on her knees.
Bleeding.
Lusian stopped.
All the noise disappeared.
—Mother...
The word barely left his lips.
Sofia slowly raised her face.
And smiled.
It wasn't the smile of a duchess.
It wasn't the smile of a commander.
It was the smile of his mother.
—Lusian...
He fell to his knees in front of her.
He took her hand.
It was cold.
—No...
He squeezed it tightly.
—No, no, no...
Emily knelt beside them.
—Let me see her.
Her hands began to glow.
Divine light enveloped Sofia.
Healing.
Purification.
All the power Emily could muster.
But the light began to fade.
Emily's eyes widened.
—No...
She tried again.
Nothing.
The light dissolved over Sofia's body.
—It's not just her body...
Emily swallowed.
—Her soul...
Her voice trembled.
—Something is damaging her soul from within.
Lusian stopped breathing for a moment.
—Do something.
Emily looked at him.
—I'm trying...
—Do something!
His voice broke.
Emily tried again.
Once.
Again.
And again.
Nothing.
Lusian lowered his gaze toward Sofia.
Then he remembered.
The game.
The story he knew.
The city.
The characters.
The events.
Sofia was supposed to survive.
She couldn't die here.
Not her.
Not his mother.
Although he had initially called her that only to maintain appearances...
Over time, he had stopped pretending.
He didn't know when it had happened.
Maybe it had been a conversation.
A meal.
A night.
One of those countless moments when Sofia had been there.
Since he had arrived in that world, she had been the one who protected him.
Who cared for him.
Who trusted him.
Who supported him.
She wasn't his biological mother.
She never had been.
But...
She was his mother.
Lusian gritted his teeth.
—You can't die.
Sofia slowly raised a hand.
She caressed his cheek.
Just like when he was a child.
—My little one...
Lusian closed his eyes.
—Don't call me that...
His voice broke.
—Don't leave me.
Sofia smiled.
—You've grown so much...
—No...
—I'm proud of you.
—No!
Lusian squeezed her hand.
—Don't say that.
Tears began to fall.
—Emily can heal you.
He looked desperately at the heroine.
—She can do it.
Emily lowered her gaze.
She couldn't lie to him.
Sofia breathed slowly.
—You have to keep moving forward, Lusian.
—I don't want to.
—I know.
A small smile appeared on her lips.
—But you'll have to.
Thunder lowered his head.
Umber let out a deep howl.
In the distance, Larriet tried to stand.
His legs trembled.
Finally, he managed to rise.
He looked toward Sofia.
And roared.
A roar filled with pain.
Sofia looked back at her son.
—Live.
Lusian shook his head.
—No...
—Live for me.
—Mom...
Sofia smiled.
—And be happy.
Her hand trembled.
Then she caressed his face one last time.
—I love you...
A pause.
—My son.
Her hand lost its strength.
It fell.
Sofia's chest stopped moving.
Lusian remained motionless.
He didn't scream.
He didn't cry anymore.
He simply stared at her.
As if his mind refused to accept what had just happened.
Thunder took a step toward him.
Umber slowly approached.
Larriet lowered his head.
He tried to stand one last time.
His legs trembled.
He couldn't.
The enormous Solar Lion collapsed beside Sofia's body.
His golden eyes remained fixed on her until the very end.
Then his breathing stopped.
—Larriet... —Lusian whispered.
The Solar Lion was dead.
Thunder lowered his head.
Umber let out a deep howl.
Emily cried silently.
The army that had arrived behind Lusian came to a stop.
No one spoke.
No one dared approach.
Because everyone could feel it.
Something had changed.
Lusian was still kneeling beside Sofia's body.
But the young man who had arrived in Norvind...
Was no longer there.
Something inside him had died alongside them.
And something else...
Something far more dangerous...
had just awakened.