Suddenly, Lumiana noticed sothing and said, "It seems… we have a guest."
"Guest?" Lathel asked, tilting his head in confusion.
Lumiana didn't respond but simply pointed toward the distant horizon. Lathel followed her gaze and saw a blazing fireball hurtling toward them.
"What the hell?" Lathel was startled, instinctively thinking it was an enemy attack.
However, before he could react, the cry of a phoenix echoed across the sky.
KRIT!!!
A clear yet majestic sound resonated for hundreds of miles as a sea of flas engulfed the entire allied army of the gathered kingdoms below.
The soldiers didn't even have ti to scream before they were completely swallowed by the inferno.
A fire phoenix, radiating an intense and blinding brilliance, was soaring straight toward Lathel.
Yet, instead of running, he suddenly felt a sense of familiarity and chose to stay still.
The phoenix was still far away—over ten miles—but in a brief mont, it had already arrived before him.
Now that it was close, Lathel finally realized how enormous the phoenix was. Its wingspan stretched over a thousand ters, and the flas emanating from its body radiated an unbearable heat like a second sun descending upon him.
However, as the fire phoenix approached, Lathel felt no scorching heat. Instead, the strange sense of familiarity from earlier beca even more distinct.
When the distance between them shrank to just a thousand ters, the fire phoenix suddenly vanished, dissolving into countless embers that scattered into the air.
From within the dissipating flas, a breathtakingly beautiful figure erged.
Her long, wavy red hair cascaded like fire, and she wore a golden dress with a crimson cloak billowing behind her in the wind.
Lathel's eyes widened as he tried to say sothing, but before speaking, the stunning figure had already embraced him tightly.
"Lathel… thank the Gods, you're still alive…"
The once majestic voice was now trembling, laced with worry and fear.
Lathel held himself tightly against a soft body. His face pressed into two towering peaks, the intoxicating fragrance invading his senses.
Yes, it was Catheryne.
She clung to him desperately, tears streaming down her face like twin rivers. Her embrace was so tight it felt like she wanted to rge into him, never letting go.
"I'm sorry… Lathel, it's my fault. I shouldn't have let you co to such a dangerous place."
"I'm sorry… so sorry…"
Lathel was confused. He didn't understand why Catheryne was here, nor why she was apologizing to him.
But what he did feel was an overwhelming sense of familiarity—sothing he had unknowingly longed for, sothing that felt like it had been missing for a long ti.
Then, suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind. His face filled with disbelief, his lips parted as if to speak, but no words ca out.
Standing nearby, Lumiana watched in silence. It was the first ti she had seen the infamous Red Queen, Catheryne, behave like a lovesick girl. A deep confusion swirled in her heart.
Yet, as if realizing sothing, she quietly turned and left.
Before disappearing completely, she glanced back at Lathel one last ti.
A complicated emotion flickered in her eyes for a brief mont—but it was gone just as quickly.
The cold wind howled over the watchtower, carrying the scent of burning wreckage.
In the distance, the shattered remains of warships burned fiercely, the sea of flas consuming everything.
Beyond that, an army lay in ruins, reduced to cinders by Catheryne's fire.
Yet in the eerie silence, only the whisper of the wind and the soft sobs of Catheryne remained.
Her body trembled, her arms tightening around him, her nails digging into his back.
It hurt—just a little.
But he wasn't angry.
On the contrary, he understood that Catheryne had been so worried about him that she had beco this emotional.
After a brief silence, Lathel took a deep breath and softly spoke:
"Mom?!"
Catheryne froze. She imdiately released Lathel from her embrace, her tear-filled eyes staring at him in pure disbelief.
"You… what did you just say?"
Lathel pressed his lips together, then sighed before repeating, "Mom…"
Catheryne trembled. Her hands reached out, gently caressing his face, her lips quivering as if she wanted to say sothing but couldn't find the words.
"Mom…" Lathel continued. "You ca here too?"
As soon as those words left his lips, sothing inside Catheryne seed to break.
Like a floodgate bursting open, tears stread down her face even more fiercely, carrying with them an avalanche of emotions she had buried deep in her heart.
"My son…"
—
Elsewhere…
Ikarys had barely escaped in ti, using magic to teleport himself to a dense forest more than 50 miles from the Church.
However, burns still covered parts of his body, and several sections of his clothes had been charred black.
Dragging his exhausted body through the woods, his face twisted with fury, his voice hoarse as he cursed under his breath:
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
"Why did this happen?! I gathered an alliance of 13 kingdoms, three Ancient Clans—how did I still lose?!"
"That bastard… why is his power so terrifying?!"
Ikarys still couldn't believe it. A nobody—a re unknown existence—had wielded power akin to a God's.
The image of the sword light piercing through the dark clouds haunted him.
That single, incomprehensibly fast sword strike wiped out all ten warships instantly.
He couldn't fathom it.
Warships were built to be nearly indestructible—even a Level 100 Grandmaster would struggle to destroy just one.
But that man… had obliterated ten warships in the blink of an eye.
There was only one way to describe such a force.
"The power of a God."
And Ikarys had no idea how to fight against it.
Ikarys ca to a stop, leaning against a massive tree, panting heavily. Sweat poured from his body like rain, yet he didn't feel hot.
On the contrary—he felt cold.
Cold from the sheer terror of Rakka's overwhelming power.
"Damn it! I will co back!" Ikarys growled under his breath. "As long as the System exists, I will grow stronger—I will beco the ruler of this world!"
He took a deep breath, then thought of his current System quests and commanded, "System, give a new quest. I need more power."
[Ding! Host, you currently have three unfinished quests. If you accept a new quest, the previous three will be discarded.]
"Abandon them!" Ikarys decided instantly.
After all, those three quests were connected to people he had no way of dealing with anyti soon.
That's right—those quests were related to Catheryne, Arine, and Lafien.
It was also why he had risked infiltrating the Karol Empire to rescue Lafien.
Lafien wasn't as beautiful as the other won, but she possessed sothing far more valuable—the Light Elent.
If he could make her his woman, achieving Sainthood would be far easier.
Clenching his teeth, Ikarys said, "Keep the Lafien quest. Give another one—but make it an easier task."
[Ding! The first two quests have been abandoned. The quest to conquer Lafien remains.]
[Ding! Issuing new quest— Conquer the offspring of King Haro.]
Ikarys: "…"
"Motherf—! System, are you screwing with ?! King Haro's daughter is a damn pig! You want to conquer that pig?!"
[Ding! Since you abandoned two quests, this is your punishnt, my dear host. If you refuse to complete this mission, the System will automatically detach itself from you.]
Ikarys clenched his jaw so hard it nearly cracked.
He wanted nothing more than to stomp the damn System to death.
But he knew the truth.
The System was untouchable. He couldn't destroy it—he couldn't even abandon it.
Because without the System…
He was nothing.
Ikarys shuddered at the thought of King Haro's monster.
It made him sick to his stomach—because it was literally a pig.
A real, actual pig.
However, this was a System-issued quest. If he refused, the System would abandon him.
"Damn it!"
He swallowed his disgust, muttering under his breath, "Just endure it. I can move on to higher-level quests."
Taking a deep breath, his eyes burned with determination as he turned toward Haro Kingdom and began his journey.
—
Not far away…
Perched atop a tall tree branch, two figures silently watched Ikarys from afar.
One appeared over seventy years old yet possessed an indescribable elegance and beauty.
The other was a young woman, equally stunning, clad in white robes.
Yes—Lilith and Lafien.
Watching Ikarys disappear into the distance, Lafien frowned.
"Teacher Lilith, shouldn't we chase him down and capture him?"
After learning that Lilith was Lathel's teacher, Lafien addressed her with the utmost respect.
It could be said that after being imprisoned at Laura's Headquarters, Lafien's once-arrogant deanor had softened considerably.
Lilith, however, simply chuckled and shook her head.
"Hehehe… no need. We'll just keep an eye on him."
"Let him be the clown in the circus."
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