Level 0 Master

The day after the strategy meeting, Ereka was spending a fruitful day. She worked on the state affairs, trained herself to get ready for the battle, and prepared meals and bedding for Sungjin.

What should I make Sungjin for dinner?

While considering the perfect dinner to please Sungjin, she came up with an excuse for her own thoughts.

The destiny of the kingdom relies on Sungjin's strategy after all.

Keeping him in his best condition was her way of showing gratitude on behalf of her kingdom, and not because… Of her desire to gain his favor.

A man approached the princess who was about to burn another frying pan with her thoughts.

"Your Highness."

"What is it?"

She didn't know the servant, but she answered him with a kind smile.

"This is… from the Blood Ruler," said the servant. He handed her a Wind Spirit Stone that would send not only a voice but also a video.

"The Blood Ruler? Now? For what?"

"I do not know, Your Highness. I just got the order to hand it to you."

"Okay. You can leave now."

Ereka looked at the Wind Spirit Stone with a drawn face.

I don't want to deal with it… but I can't lose this psychological war.

She activated the stone and the Blood Ruler, Riad, appeared.

"What is there to be said between us any longer?"

"Since I have met that man previously, it is now my desire to speak with you."

"I believe there is nothing left between us but a clash of our weapons."

"Hahaha. Why don't we speak as sisters, then? I am waiting for you at the Brin Mountain behind the castle."

"A chat as sisters? That was over when you ignored the rulings of the late king and sacrificed my people for your magical sword."

"Really? I brought some entertainment for you. If you are not coming, I will enjoy it by myself."

"What entertainment...!"

The video zoomed out to show the area around Riad. There were 30 children tied up with ropes. They all looked to be seven or eight years old, and they were covered with scratches.

"What are your trying to say."

"I told you. Entertainment. I am planning to play hide and seek. That's supposed to be a popular game among children."

"Hide and seek."

Ereka's hairs stood on end. She felt instinctively that the Blood Ruler wouldn't play such a childish game. She felt as though something terrifying was about to happen.

"Now, I will count to ten. I will catch one, then count to ten once more. If you wish to join, come."

The Blood Ruler pulled out her sword while talking.

"Now, run."

The sword glinted, and the ropes were cut. Frozen with fear, the children couldn't move. The Blood Ruler revealed a cruel smile and counted to ten.

And…

"Stop!" shouted Ereka, who knew what would follow.

Slash.

A head as cut, and blood spurted.The huge sword pulled the blood in and absorbed it.

"Uuu… waaaah!"

The children then started crying and running in all directions.

"One, two..."

The Blood Ruler started counting again.

Bang!

With a loud sound, the kitchen door blew up. In a second the princess was in armor and running at her maximum speed using her Heroic Power.

She had no time to tell the others.

1 second.

She had to be there faster than at least a second to save those children.

Ereka arrived at the peak of Brin Mountain.

And there, was the party of blood stained madness.

There was a body without a head. A body cut in half. A body rolling around without arms or legs.

They were all children.

Lives which didn't have the chance to live to its fullest were all gathered.

They were lives which were meant to have grown.

They were lives which would have enjoyed another day of a family's happiness and hope, if only the evil, the violence hadn't snuffed them out.

They were lives with endless possibilities.

Even if they were meant to live a normal life, this was not the way for the lives to have died.

Their faces laced with fear and pain left their deaths to the imagination.

If only… I was able to make it… sooner...

Ereka's fist tightened around her spear. The anger caused her Heroic Power to ruffle her blond hair.

"You are late. The party is nearly over.."

Nearly?

She looked around.

In the middle of this bloody madness, there was a child that was still alive. The tiny child was frozen with fear and was rolled up into a ball without moving.

At least this child.

It was too late, but she thought she could save this one. Ereka stood in front of the child and pointed her spear at the Blood Ruler.

"Ho. Will you finish up? Okay. As a sister, I will share."

"Bullsh*t!" shouted Ereka in anger.

I need to take this child to the castle to rescue...

The good thing was, it was forbidden to have a fight outside of the battlefield between heroes.

Even if the Blood Ruler was much stronger, she couldn't attack the princess.

Ereka took up her shield with one hand and held the child with the other.

"I was being generous, but it seems like I need to finish this."

The Blood Ruler's sword sliced the air.

"Bloody Needle."

It was then, that the blood of corpses around them rose into the air in forms of a hundred needles. Although they looked like needles, each and every strand contained a destructive power comparable to a spear.

Despite all that, Ereka didn't hesitate. She protected the child with her whole body.

Tak tak tak.

Needles struck her body, but Ereka hugged the child even tighter.

"Wahh!"

The child finally snapped out of it and started crying. The child had regained emotions when there was hope to be found.

"It's okay. I will protect you," Ereka promised. She started to run with the child in her arms.

"Ha. Still so naive."

"I'm not listening to your words."

When Ereka answered, the child's face suddenly crumpled in pain.

"Ah… ahah..."

"What's wrong?"

Ereka panicked. She had blocked all of the bloody needles, hadn't she?

"Bloody Bomb."

The child's hands clutched the chest.

And soon, the entire body exploded.

Pitter-patter.

A bloody storm covered Ereka, and remnants of the body slapped against her own. Her entire body was covered with blood, and bits of skin became ensnared in her hair.

"Hahaha. The kid was already dead."

Riad's laughter echoed in Ereka's ears. With overwhelming anger, Ereka's mind blurred red.

Craash.

Heroic power erupted from Ereka's body. The air howled, and her blond hair shone like a lion's mane. The blood stains and remnants which covered her body evaporated.

"I won't forgive you!"

Powered by the cry of the child who died in a bloody death, the knight princess' power reached its highest point.

Her spear was raised against the Blood Ruler in judgement.

She could not forgive this woman.

The woman had destroyed everything her father had protected.

She had killed too many lives for her power and beauty.

The witch should not exist.

The Blood Ruler raised her arm to block the spear. The impact lasted a second, but the power dented the ground.

"Haha. Thank you for attacking me," said Riad, laughing in satisfaction.

Oh.

Ereka realized her mistake.

A clash outside of the battlefield was not just a fight. Especially when the clash was caused by the head of an army.

"Now you declared your intention to attack, I accept this challenge and take this into the battlefield by the decree of the gods! As it is a fight between two kings, I accept your challenge with my kingdom on the line!"

The shout of Riad became letters in the air and blew away into the sky.

"Kuk…"

Ereka's hand began to tremble.

With this, she had declared war. She had no choice but to advance towrds the battlefield on the next battle day. If not, it was an automatic defeat. Sungjin had emphasized so much on defence, but she had just ruined it.

"Hahaha. This why I call you naive," said Riad cruelly, but Ereka couldn't answer her.

It had been clearly a trap, yet she hadn't been able to control her anger.

Aah...

An excuse like the children's safety wasn't going to work in this world.

The Blood Ruler hadn't initiated the attack. The lives of the extras were possessions of the ruler's within the land. Riad had done whatever she wanted to her possession, and Ereka had interfered.

Therefore Ereka was the one who 'attacked' Riad, showing her animosity.

According to the rules, this was a declaration of war.

Ahh… aahhhh...

The Blood Ruler's tyranny had to stop.

She had to save the poor child.

But that was just her wish. To create a kingdom-wide crises due to her uncontrollable emotions wasn't a decision a king would have made, especially when she didn't have the power to fight.

And now… today's massacre was going to… spread all around her kingdom.

It was her wrongdoing that caused the massacre. It was her incompetence that couldn't save the children from dying in front of her. Still… She could be forgiven… With the excuse of a human's limit.

But… What was she going to do about her mistake which would cause more deaths?

"To celebrate the final battle between sisters, I will give you a great present!" the Blood Ruler shouted, and held her magical sword up in the air.

Ereka couldn't hear the name of the sword. Riad's blood power had already become a torrent of Heroic Power which battered her eardrum.

Instead, Ereka saw endless despair. Every single thread of blood energy revealed contained the compressed power of a flood that swept up everything.

The ground split under the blood torrent.

Rocks shattered and fell into the rift between the split earth.

Cliffs broke down, changing the shape of the ground.

A human-caused avalanche was created.

There were no traces of trees, and there was nothing that could stand in the way of the rushing, bloody torrents.

It was an absolute power that refused any resistance.

The awakened Blood Ruler who sacrificed everyone was now fear itself. It was not a surprise that the three knights were felled in one blow.

One level 6 knight alone was like a military unit. But this torrent was something that could sweep several units away.

It was a natural, no, human disaster.

All that was left in the aftermath of the torrent was the crater on top of the mountain, where the peak was peak was meant to have been.

Ereka's knees gave way. She collapsed, as she had no strength.

This is the ultimate skill of the Blood Ruler.

It was far. Too far.

This wasn't beatable.

Even if they held a defensive battle, they had no chance.

It was impossible, even for Sungjin.

"Suffer more with despair until the battle day," Riad cursed her.

Hmph. With this, it is my victory.

The world ran by the survival of the fittest. Sungjin or Ereka who, with their weak wills, hesitated to sacrifice the people were incapable of beating her.

Riad had realized this long ago when she was kidnapped as a child.

The wizard who kidnapped her and the other kids to awaken the magical sword locked them all in a dungeon. The wizard gave less and less food from the hole in the ceiling to make them fight and kill each other to survive.

But until then, she believed in her father, who said that the strong had to use their strength to protect the weak.

That was why she believed Aska, the strongest and oldest child, when he rounded the kids so as to not fall for the magician's scheme and resist against him together, despite their devastating situation.

But even after they swore to the cause, kids started ending up dead during the nights one by one when there was less food. They tried to find the killer, but she didn't realize one cruel fact.

Aska was the culprit.

She realized this only when he tried to kill her one night.

She realized that he was acting, because he thought that if he showed his true colors, the weak would team up to fight him.

Because death was for the weak.

Because the strong protecting the weak was a lie.

Reality showed her that one had to survive by killing others.

Once she realized this truth, her power was awakened.

It was easy after killing Aska. The fact which revealed that the more she killed, the stronger she became, convinced her.

The day after she killed everyone, the wizard opened the dungeon door. The wizard had said that the ritual of solitude was completed and tried to unseal the magical sword with her as a sacrifice, but that was a mistake.

She had already become stronger than the wizard.

When she killed the wizard, she did not feel anger or avenged. She had only been used by him because she was weak, and now that she was stronger, the wizard was bound to be killed, and robbed of the magical sword. That was it.

With the wizard as a sacrifice, the magical sword was unsealed.

The magical sword accepted her as its owner on the condition that she gave the weak as its sacrifice, so that she didn't become weak. Of course, that was what she wanted anyways.

And with that, the Blood Ruler was born.

As the contract with the sword stated, she was going to continue winning, continue stealing, until she became stronger. Until the day she stood as the center of the world, she was going to keep sacrificing others for her strength.

Her sister was but a stepping stone in her path.

In the middle of the ruins, Ereka couldn't move or stand. The cursed despair washed over her entirely.

I… I am sorry… everyone...

She couldn't protect anyone from this.

Rittier and Jenna appeared before Ereka who was sitting blankly in the middle of the ruins.

"Your Highness! What is going on?"

"Everyone, I am… sorry."

Ereka's head drooped powerlessly.

"Princess, what happened?"

"Jenna…"

Ereka held Jenna, unable to find the words to explain.

With the heavy smell of blood form the ruins, and a pained Ereka, both could tell this wasn't simply abnormal.

Then Sungjin arrived.

"These bloody ruins… That smell..."

At a glance, they found a shoe soaked in blood with a foot still attached to it. Once they found one, they could find several.

One-fourth of a face.

An arm without any fingers.

The horrible scene reflected the tragedy that had happened.

"Wah… wahhh…!"

Jenna fell down and cried.

"What are these… this… the pain… the poor children… this is terrifying..."

"Ugh." Sungjin refrained from throwing up.

He took being cold and calm as his motto, but he was still a high school student. He was shocked by such a terrifying scene.

The only reason he didn't break down was because there was something bigger than the shock. Anger.

"What happened?"

"Sungjin… I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing and tell me what happened. I need to know what happened to deal with this."

Truthfully, Sungjin had already grasped what had happened. It was also the reason why his anger flared even more.

These were the traces of a 'massacre'.

"Okay..."

Ereka told everything to Sungjin.

She told him about her mistake of being unable to overcome the Blood King Riad's provocation with the hostage children.

Rittier's face stiffened as he listened to her story.

"Your Highness… That was a mistake."

"Yes."

"That was a huge mistake..."

Rittier looked into the sky and groaned.

"Yes. I know."

"Sungjin's strategy was the only way to win. It would only be possible if we were on the defensive against the Blood Ruler's awakened power."

"Yes. I knew… but I forgot for a second."

"You should have ignored her in the first place. You have learned that if you become played by a hostage show, the opponent will use that weakness against you."

"Yes. It's all my fault."

Ereka's head hung lower and lower with Rittier's onslaught of lecture.

She didn't have any excuses.

"Princess."

Jenna called to her with a regretful voice, but she couldn't find any words to defend her. Even young Jenna understood how serious this situation was.

"Your Highness… It is great that you cherish the lives of the extras, but it is an ideal to save every last one of them. Haven't I advised you several times that pushing the borders of reality will bring about more devastation."

"Yes… you did… you told me… I kept that in mind but..."

Ereka understood the magnitude of her mistake.

Killing children was unacceptable. But stopping all injustice was impossible in reality. It was similarly stupid to kill a hundred for a single life.

With this, the Blood Ruler was going to take over the kingdom and sacrifice the people in the name of tyranny. No, not just her kingdom. The power was going to spread across to other nations.

Sungjin had promised to make them win in a defensive battle, but she lost control of the moment and ruined everything

A ruler had to be cold when necessary. A ruler needed to judge the best decision for a better outcome.

It was then that Sungjin stepped between the two.

"That's enough."

"But Sir Sungjin. Now your strategy has become useless."

"I know. You are right, and it is clear that the princess has made a mistake. Still, your point should have reached her by now."

Ereka teared up, gazing at Sungjin.

"Sungjin, be angry. I don't want you to take my mistake lightly."

"It's enough as long as your realize your own mistake. And moreover..."

Sungjin picked up a bloody shoe from the ground.

There was a tiny foot with its leg cut off.

The bloody red shoe used to be a cute yellow one with little chicks printed on it.