CHAPTER 9 - III -
**Madelaine**
The last of the group of soldiers had finally arrived, together with an unconscious Lily—who was extremely exhausted after using her Bloodbath skill.
“Where’s Kuro?” I kept on asking those who would arrive, “And where’s Simon?”
However, the soldiers never answered. Instead, they hurried away from the battlefield, which became strangely silent.
From that moment, I knew something must’ve happened to Kuro and Simon.
“Fetch me a horse!” I ordered the vice-captain of the Paladin Corps as I unsheathed my sword.
“Dangerous!” Dame Atkins told me.
“I don’t care! Let me fight with them!”
However, Dame Atkins and her fellow paladins surrounded and restrained me.
“Let me go, please!” I pleaded, “I would fight together with Kuro!”
“Keep Her Holiness down!” the paladins tried their best to hold unto me, who was already thrashing around.
“Your Holiness, please.” Dame Atkins tried to calm me.
“Kuro! Simon!” I don’t want Kuro to die! I don’t want Simon to die! Why, of all times, my magic has failed me again? Why do I keep on losing the people that I love?
“Yes, it serves you right, Madelaine! How does it feel to lose your loved ones?”
“!!!”
Much to my surprise, I saw my godfather, Prince Umberto Benicci, pointing a demon weapon against me. And he wore the same clothes as Sir Lange! Why is he here?
Don’t tell me…that’s him in disguise—
“Don’t!” I heard Dame Atkins shout as a loud explosion tore through the air and I felt a strong pressure hit me in the chest. Then I blacked out.
**Kuro**
“…”
“…”
Seirna and I locked stares as blood trickled down from her.
“Kuh…” She stood up and staggered as she backed away from me. Her hands were on the wound on her neck, attempting to stem the flow of the blood.
“…” Even I was shocked at what happened. Perhaps it was all because of the adrenaline rush, but at the last moment, as she was about to kill me, I summoned my last strength, pulled Luisa’s broken blade, and threw myself on her as I aimed for her neck.
I never thought I would be successful in my try, “That is for Luisa and Griffyth, you fucker!”
“Y-You…” the gargling voice of Seirna came out from her mouth, now filled with blood, “Y-You…kof…will…regret this!”
Though she was struggling to breathe and her legs were wobbling, the Saint of the Flame still ordered her zombies to attack me.
I braced myself for those creatures, however…
“!!!”
The zombies suddenly were lit in black flames. It also caught Seirna’s clothes, and she screamed in pain as she ran away in panic…
…and with that, the Saint of the Flame disappeared into thin air.
“Whew! It’s good that we arrived in time and drove that bastard for good!”
“!!!”
I turned around, for I heard a familiar voice. Then, behind me, lo-and-behold, was the 2nd Prince of Nerfes, Sir Simon, and the long-lost black-haired saint…
“The Saint of Darkness has just arrived to kick some zombie ass!” she said.
“Natasha!” I could only blurt out.
What happened next was a miracle for me. Not only did the black-haired Saint appeared, but she also brought an army as deadly as the undead with her…
Yes, an army of demons.
“Clear these disgusting creatures!” Natasha told their commander, “Don’t let any of it survive, or it’s a grave insult to your ghouls.”
“Your Dark Holiness! You’ll never know how much I’m glad to see you!” I greeted her. If only I could embrace her, I would do it. However, common courtesy dictated that I shouldn’t.
“Pardon for the late arrival, Kuro.” Natasha sadly smiled, “You lost a lot of friends because I was too late.”
“Please don’t blame yourself.”
Sir Simon then patted me on the back, “Hey, Sir Kuro! I’m happy that you survived that! We’re really worried about you. Good thing, Her Holiness the Dark Saint Natasha arrived just in time to turn the tide.”
“Yes, and thank you for coming with her as well.”
“Oh, by the way, Kuro!” Natasha told me with a wry expression on her face, “You shouldn’t just thank me. Thank your slave, too…”
“Huh? Her Holiness Ruro of the Wolf?”
“Yep. She’s the one who freed me from Seirna’s Consciousness Prison spell, and asked for my help.” the Dark Saint narrated, “In fact, I wouldn’t be able to come here if it wasn’t for her!”
“Man, I feel like giving her a year’s worth of cookies and tea.”
“Please don’t.” Natasha replied, “She’s got a bad stomach for those, even though she loved it. And don’t come near her for now…I think she told you why, yes?”
“Oh…right.” Well, Natasha and I both knew the real reason Ruro couldn’t show herself.
“Well, anyway. At least, you’re safe now.” Natasha smiled, “By the way, let me introduce you to the commander of the demon army that came to help you.”
“Ah please, let me express my thanks to him.”
“Yes…” Natasha then called the commander’s attention, and much to my surprise again, I knew this guy! “This is His Infernal Highness, Hurion Devras IV, the prince of the demon clans. He also loves to play as a merchant in the human world. I believe you met him before, in Fen?”
**Madelaine**
When I came to my senses, the battle for Huirot was over.
Demon soldiers roam the land, but not as our enemies. Since they knew about the spells in controlling the undead, they took over us humans in fighting those creatures.
Kuro and the others were nowhere to be seen. But a paladin assured me they were all fine. I would visit them later…
“…”
In the meantime, I went to take care of an urgent matter.
My would-be assassin and godfather, Prince Umberto, was already restrained by the paladins and other soldiers who came to help. They put him inside the Huirot keep’s dungeon for the meantime, so I took the time to talk to him.
“…”
I could only stare at him in silence, as the other paladins told me what happened. Dame Atkins shielded me from his demon weapon, taking the bullet herself. Fortunately, she got hit on her arm, and her wound wasn’t life-threatening.
“…”
“Why do you keep on staring at me, Madelaine Rubinforth?” he asked with a scowl on his face, “Why don’t you kill me, like what you did to my family?”
“Your Highness…”
“Don’t call me that, whore!” he shouted, “It’s better for you to kill me now than to let me live; for I’ll come back for you!”
I could only swallow my pride, for I knew I was at fault here, “Prince Umberto, I understand that what I did is unforgivable. Despite that, I would want to apologize for my foolishness back then. So, whatever you wanted to do to me, I will gladly accept.”
“I’ll kill you if I could!” However, he could only spat on my face, “Just kill me now, Madelaine!”
“However, if you wanted me to eliminate you, I wouldn’t do that.”
“!!!” The Prince was shocked to hear that from me.
“I already saw my stupidity, and immaturity as a person. I know the blood of the people I killed or caused to die, will remain as a stain in my hands.” I bowed low before him, “And I don’t want to correct my mistakes in the past by doing another mistake. You’re a good man, Prince Umberto. You cherished your family…and I took it all from you!”
“You’re right! May it be a curse in your life, for as long as you live!”
“Yes…however, I only ask of you not to forgive me, but let me reverse every wrong I did in the past.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know my crimes, Your Highness.” I reminded him, “I massacred people in the past wars. I killed every rival that has risen against me. I destroyed families, like yours. And when I became the saint, my single-minded vision for peace caused hardships and deaths for many who hasn’t able to adapt to the changes.”
“And what do I care about those?”
“I’ll let you kill me.” I removed his shackles and put a dagger before him.
“!!!”
“But will you please let me try to fix my mistakes first?” I pleaded, “If you deemed I must face death when the time comes by all means, do it. I won’t run away from you.”
The Prince then fell silent as he pondered for his options. It was a long, tense moment. But in the end, he sighed, took the dagger, and kept it with him.
“What you did is unforgivable, Madelaine Rubinforth, and killing you now would be too good for you.” he said, never removing his eyes from me, “I’d like to see what you’re trying to tell me about this ‘fixing your mistakes’.”
And with that, I stood up and gave my uttermost respects to the person I owe my second chance in life. I’ll make sure I’d never disappointed him.
