"So... I was defeated."
Kael Veyrath murmured those words as he sat against a shattered wall, staring at the sword embedded in his chest. Blood seeped around the blade and spread beneath him, pooling between the broken stones. His right arm refused to respond no matter how many times he tried to move it, and his own sword lay several feet away, snapped in half.
"To think that I, the successor of the Demon Emperor... would die like this."
A faint, almost amused laugh escaped him. He lifted his head toward the darkened sky, then slowly lowered his gaze to the woman standing before him. She wore golden armor, her face concealed beneath a helmet. Even now, divine power lingered around her, making the remains of his demonic aura recoil.
He still couldn't believe it. He had been defeated by this woman, and he didn't even know who she was. Years of preparation, the followers he had gathered, the enemies he had eliminated—everything had been ruined by someone he had never accounted for.
No. I can't give up yet.
Kael pressed his remaining hand against the ground and tried to lift himself. Pain tore through his chest, forcing blood into his mouth. His arm trembled beneath his weight before giving way, and he fell back against the wall with a ragged breath.
"It's no use," the woman said coldly. "You're about to die."
He stared at her for several seconds, his breathing wet and uneven.
"Who... are you?"
The question had tormented him ever since their battle began. He knew the names of the strongest swordsmen, the most powerful mages, and even the heroes the churches secretly nurtured. He had spent years gathering information because strength alone meant nothing if he didn't know where to direct it.
Yet this woman had appeared and torn through his plans as though all that preparation had been worthless.
How could someone this powerful have escaped my attention?
"Sir Kael."
Her voice interrupted his thoughts. The familiarity with which she spoke his name made his eyes narrow.
"Why have you fallen so far?"
Fallen?
He considered the question before a small smile appeared on his bloodied face. Given the sword through his chest and the broken weapon lying beyond his reach, he supposed she had earned the right to describe him however she pleased.
"Well... I suppose that's one way to put it."
"Don't you regret what you've done?"
Kael coughed, spilling blood down his chin. He thought of the kingdoms he had crushed, the heroes who had died trying to stop him, and the power he had gained through their defeat. Even with death approaching, he couldn't summon the remorse she seemed to expect.
"I don't know," he admitted. "But I must say... it was enjoyable."
The woman remained silent. Beneath her helmet, her expression was hidden, but the hand at her side slowly curled into a fist.
"How disgusting."
Kael raised an eyebrow, watching her through his fading vision.
"To think," she continued, her voice colder than before, "that I was once engaged to a man like you."
His smile disappeared.
"...Engaged?"
He stared at her, certain he had misheard. For a moment, even the pain in his chest seemed distant.
"What did you just say?"
She offered no explanation.
Kael searched his fading memory, dragging up names and faces he hadn't thought about in years. An engagement arranged by his family. An imperial princess he had never met. He remembered hearing rumors about her, a girl once expected to become a great hero, only to be dismissed as weak and eventually branded a failure.
Wait...
A name slowly surfaced in his mind.
Elyria Valtheris.
The Fifth Princess of the Empire.
He remembered that much. Before he could even meet his fiancée, he had been kidnapped, and everything that followed had driven the engagement from his mind. He hadn't heard anything about her in years, nor had he cared enough to find out what became of her.
But now, the woman standing before him possessed enough divine power to overwhelm everything he had spent years building.
No fucking way.
His gaze moved across her golden armor, searching for something that might prove his suspicion wrong.
"Don't tell me..."
His voice grew quieter.
"Are you... the failed hero?"
The words escaped before he could stop them. He stared at her in disbelief, struggling to reconcile the supposedly weak princess he had heard about with the terrifying woman who had just brought him to the brink of death.
How the hell did someone like her become this powerful?
Then a thought crossed his mind.
Kael stared at her for another moment before a low laugh escaped his bloodied lips.
"Heh... Hahaha..."
The laughter made his chest ache, but he no longer cared. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that he understood what had happened.
"Finally... I get it."
His laughter faded, leaving a cold smile on his face.
"So that's how it was. That emperor bastard..."
Kael slowly raised his head, glaring at the woman before him.
"He hid you well, didn't he? All those years, I never heard a single thing about you. Not even a rumor about your strength."
He coughed, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, but his smile remained.
"Well played, Emperor. You kept your greatest weapon hidden so well that even I never knew she existed."
His expression darkened.
"And now you've sent her to finish me off."
"Enough."
The woman stepped closer and closed her hand around the hilt of the sword buried in his chest. Kael's body stiffened as she pulled it free, and a choked cry escaped him before he could swallow it. Blood poured from the wound, soaking his clothes as she raised the blade.
Kael clenched his teeth, staring up at her through the pain. Whether the emperor had truly planned everything or not, one thing was certain. The woman he had never considered a threat was now standing over him, ready to end his life.
"Fuck..."
He wanted to reach for her, to force that sword away, but his hand could barely lift from the ground.
"I was a fool to let you live that day."
Kael spat the words through bloodied lips. She stood over him without moving, her sword held ready. Her helmet concealed her expression, but he was certain she was looking down on him.
Of everything he had endured, that feeling was the one he hated most—the knowledge that someone considered him beneath them.
"Are those your last words, Sir Kael?" she asked coldly.
"Last words?"
His fingers scraped against the shattered ground. He tried to straighten against the wall, refusing to let her see how much effort it took merely to keep his head raised.
For a moment, Kael said nothing.
He had lost everything. His followers, his ambitions, the power he had sacrificed so much to obtain. Even his life was now in the hands of a woman he had once considered insignificant.
And yet, the only thing he truly regretted was allowing her to live.
"If I'm ever reborn..."
Kael slowly raised his bloodied face. The fury in his eyes had not disappeared, but his voice had grown strangely quiet.
"I'll remember you."
The woman remained motionless.
"Your voice. Your face. Everything you've done to me today."
A faint smile appeared on his bloodied lips.
"And when we meet again, I'll make you regret the day you decided to stand before me."
His fingers curled against the broken stones.
"I won't make the same mistake twice."
The woman merely tilted her helmet toward him.
"There's no need to pray for another life, Sir Kael."
Kael frowned.
"...What?"
"Your prayer was answered long ago."
She raised her sword.
"I'll be waiting for you."
Her blade swept downward.
Kael's head struck the shattered ground and rolled, his final glimpse of the world tilting until the woman in golden armor filled his fading vision. His former fiancée. The strongest enemy he had ever faced, and the one he had never bothered to fear.
Why didn't I kill her when I had the chance?
The thought clung to him as everything began slipping away. He felt no regret for the lives he had taken, only fury at the one he had left untouched.
If I'm reborn... I'll never make that mistake again.
Then his vision went dark.
Silence surrounded him.
Kael could no longer feel the shattered ground or the pain that had torn through his body. There was only a strange sensation of floating, drifting with a current he couldn't see.
He tried to hold on to his last thought, but even his anger began slipping beyond his grasp.
Am I... dead?
He couldn't tell how much time had passed. There was no light, no sound, and nothing to indicate whether he was moving or remaining perfectly still.
Then, somewhere in that endless darkness, a voice reached him.
"Kael."
It sounded distant, almost like someone calling from the other side of a wall.
"Kael."
His eyes opened to a brightness that made him squint. For several seconds, he could distinguish nothing clearly. Then his vision settled, revealing a desk and the middle-aged man sitting behind it, his hands folded before him.
"You foolish brat. Are you ignoring me?"
Kael's eyes widened.
He knew that face.
There was no doubt about it, yet he stared at the man as though recognition might somehow prove him wrong. His gaze shifted to the side, where two familiar figures stood nearby.
His brothers.
What is happening?
He looked around the room, taking in the familiar furniture, the decorations along the walls, and the desk he had stood before countless times during his childhood.
Everything was exactly as he remembered it.
Am I dreaming?
No. That didn't make sense.
He had died. He remembered the sword descending, the cold ground beneath him, and the sight of that woman's golden armor as his vision faded.
Then what is this? The afterlife? Some kind of illusion?
Kael looked back toward the desk, his lips parting, but before he could speak, the man released his aura.
The pressure struck Kael so suddenly that his knees buckled. He dropped to the floor, a cry escaping him as the weight of that presence forced his body downward. His arms trembled when he tried to brace himself, and he clenched his teeth, struggling to endure something he should have been able to withstand.
What...?
His eyes widened in disbelief.
This pressure... why can't I resist it?
Then the pressure vanished.
Kael remained on his knees, breathing hard. Behind the desk, the man watched him without a trace of concern.
"I will tolerate this once, Kael. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Patriarch," he answered.
The response came almost instinctively. Kael kept his head lowered for a moment, giving himself time to steady his breathing before looking up again.
There was no mistaking it. The man before him was his father, and the two standing nearby were his brothers. But knowing who they were only made the situation more impossible.
How? Where am I? I'm certain I died by that bitch's hand.
He remembered everything far too clearly for it to have been a dream.
Kael lowered his gaze to his hands.
They were young and thin, lacking the muscle and scars he remembered. Even that brief exposure to his father's aura had left them trembling. He slowly flexed his fingers, watching them move, then looked down at the rest of his body.
There was no wound in his chest, no blood on his clothes, and none of the strength he had spent years acquiring.
He touched his chest, pressing his palm against the exact spot where the woman's sword had pierced him.
Nothing.
Not even a scar.
His breath caught as a possibility formed in his mind.
Did I... return to the past?
"Answer me, Kael."
His father's cold voice interrupted his thoughts. Kael raised his head, still struggling to comprehend what was happening.
"Are you going to accept the marriage proposal or not?"
"...What?"
Kael stared at him.
Of all the things he had expected to hear, those words hadn't been among them.
"Marriage?"
To be continued.