That’s it!
The force was unbelievable—blinding speed and terrifying power.
Even to , soone who didn’t know a thing about physical combat, it was imdiately clear: He’s not an ordinary human.
Thick veins bulged from the High Priest’s previously thin-looking arms.
“Khuhk!”
Kiaros struck the High Priest’s pressure point with lightning speed—but a flash of confusion crossed his face.
“What’s wrong? Shocked at the idea that a Dragonblood might actually die at the hands of a human?”
The High Priest even whispered it smugly, a wicked grin spreading across his lips.
“But don’t be too surprised. I’m practically a Dragonblood myself.”
Even after a direct hit to a vital spot, the High Priest didn’t flinch.
In fact, his grip on Kiaros’s throat only tightened.
Despite his bony, wiry fra, it was nearly impossible to shake him off. His eyes glinted with madness and murderous rage.
But there’s always a stronger experint above the experint!
The mont Kiaros slightly furrowed his brow—
“Activate!”
I shouted and launched the attack scroll at the High Priest.
It was one of the scrolls given to by the Master of the Magic Tower.
I poured all my mana into it and calculated with maximum speed.
Normally, an attack scroll only leaves minor scratches...
“GUAAARGH! AAAAAGH!!”
With a deafening bang, the High Priest was blasted away.
Blood was now sared across his back and chest.
Panting, I steadied my breathing. As the emptied scrolls fluttered down like leaves, I stared at the High Priest’s ravaged form.
It wasn’t a scratch—it looked more like he’d been shredded by a blade. His ceremonial robes were drenched in blood.
I bolted for the door.
“AAAAAAAAAGH!”
As soon as I opened it, the soundproofing scroll deactivated.
The High Priest’s screams of agony rang through the hallway, and knights stord in.
“What happened?!”
“Your Highness! Are you all right?!”
They found Kiaros collapsed on the floor, and the High Priest writhing in pain.
They must have been shocked, but Kiaros remained composed. Slowly rising, he gave a crisp command:
“Arrest him imdiately for attempted regicide. Judging by the supernatural strength, he’s clearly a subject of the Modification Faction. Cooperate with the Crows.”
“Yes, sir!”
Despite the blood-drenched figure before them, the knights barely blinked.
They probably assud Kiaros had handled it all. In a calm voice, he added,
“...And for now, everyone out.”
The knights seized the still-screaming High Priest and filed out like the tide receding.
Kiaros slowly turned to .
His shadow lood over .
“Namia Roafi.”
“Y... yes.”
My voice trembled already.
I was afraid to et his eyes. He asked, in disbelief,
“That scroll—what was it? Since when are attack scrolls that powerful?”
“...”
“And...”
He took another step toward . I stepped back to maintain the distance.
His eyes darkened as he asked, low and sharp,
“Why did you use it? As if you were certain that I, a Dragonblood, wouldn’t be able to overpower him?”
He was sharp. Painfully sharp. How could he figure all that out so fast...
I glanced up at him with frightened eyes.
“Do you... know I’m in a blackout period?”
I knew he was smart, but I hadn’t realized this smart...
My back finally hit the wall.
Kiaros ca to a slow stop. His eyes were filled with confusion.
Honestly, if he’d said, “This woman has strange powers—detain her for investigation!” it wouldn’t have surprised .
But even now, he was hesitating—afraid of threatening .
“Your Highness...”
I spoke with a trembling voice.
“I’m sorry... but yes. I am suspicious.”
“What?”
“T-that is... I’m also an experintal subject. I... I didn’t know either, but... my mother... kept doing experints...”
The words tumbled out in a panicked ss. But Kiaros would understand, I was sure of that.
Still, the more I spoke, the more monstrous I felt.
A test subject who didn’t even know she was one...
“I do know the future. And I do have strange powers.”
“Namia. Wait. You’re shaking. Just breathe, and—”
But I pressed on, wringing out the last of my strength.
“I—I’ll die by my own hand, if I must. I will never let the Empire fall into chaos because of .”
“Hold on. What are you—”
“Thank you for everything. And please... tell Kibon...”
The mont I said his na, my throat clenched. Tears stread down.
“Just tell him... I left a letter.”
Then I uttered the final command I’d been holding in my chest:
“Activate.”
The scroll I’d been calculating all along was a movent scroll.
The very sa kind Oson once begged for:
[Namia, make a movent scroll. Right now. Doesn’t have to be far—just enough to get outside the palace. Please?]
Back then, I told him it’d be faster to walk thirty centiters.
But now, I could amplify a scroll’s power thousands of tis over.
Focusing all my mind on the destination, I shut my eyes.
Let see Dad... and the Master of the Tower... just once more...
Whether I died here by Kiaros’s hand or in the middle of the Modification Faction’s lair—it didn’t matter anymore.
There was no middle ground for .
Living in hiding, pretending to be normal, ant nothing.
I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life fearing when my mother’s experint results would manifest again.
If I had to choose, I’d charge into the Faction’s base and die after seeing my family one last ti.
“Namia—!”
Kiaros shouted, but my body was already engulfed in radiant light.
***
How far did I make it?
I’d poured every last drop of mana into it, setting the destination as the South.
I should be sowhere in the southern region by now, right?
I had a rough idea of where my father and the Master of the Tower might be.
[Namia, I’m diving deep into enemy territory to save my daughter and son-in-law.]
The Master’s letter gave the clues.
Deep inside enemy territory...
From what I’d heard, the Magic Tower was already vast. So if he described sothing as “deep and wide,” it had to be massive.
And for a place of that scale to avoid detection by the Crows—
[Once you started suspecting the High Priest, Minister, we deployed Crows to every imperial temple. Until now, we hadn’t interfered due to religious protocols.]
—ant it was a space the Crows couldn’t access.
There was only one answer.
The temple.
The Master of the Tower had said he was headed south.
And the South was ho to the largest Grand Temple on the continent.
[Are you currently staying at the Grand Temple of Parens?]
[Yes. I ca up for the banquet and stayed at the palace’s temple for ten days. I plan to return to Parens after that.]
That was the very Grand Temple in Parens—the one the High Priest had just left.
I closed my eyes and pictured it.
My mother, who had blindly gone south to undergo experints...
My father, who sold himself to that sa illegal organization.
If I go deep enough into the temple... maybe I’ll find him.
I’d never dared to try before.
I was too afraid of getting hurt. I kept waiting for Kiaros to deploy the Empire’s full power to retrieve my father.
But now, I was desperate.
I had nothing to lose. Honestly, I didn’t care if I died—so I was ready to break through by force.
Let’s go. Smash everything if I have to.
I hadn’t ant to, but I’d beco terrifyingly powerful. With an attack scroll in hand, I was afraid of nothing.
Soon after—
My spinning vision began to slow and settle.
That ant the teleportation was nearing its end.
My feet touched solid ground.
“Ah...”
Even though it was November, the air wrapped around with a distinct southern warmth.
Had [N O V E L I G H T] I arrived at a coastal town in the South? I could hear waves in the distance. And the familiar Southern dialect I’d heard in my childhood...
My eyes flew open.
I had arrived in the South.
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