The Fifth Imperial Princess of the Empire, Shi-en, was completely disoriented.
Anyone would be in such a situation. Suddenly, a series of explosions erupted, and the surroundings turned into chaos in an instant.
The cries that echoed while lying on the ground violently shredded the previously charged atmosphere. Injured people began to emerge, and a wave of negative emotions swept over the princess.
A fear so intense it made breathing difficult.
It was an emotion so powerful that it momentarily halted the princess’s breath. To be honest, she was not accustomed to such sudden emotional turmoil.
Because the ‘eyes’ that Shi-en possessed could read all kinds of feelings.
Not only the emotions of people. The princess could vaguely sense and understand the innermost thoughts of anything that possessed life.
Malice and murderous intent were no exceptions.
Therefore, no matter how unexpected the attack was, the princess should have sensed it beforehand.
Just a little earlier, but she was completely oblivious to even a hint of malice or murderous intent until the moment the explosions occurred.
It was impossible.
No normal living being could remain so calm in the face of death. It was as if the cat-like monsters separated their physical bodies from their emotions.
As this was the first time experiencing such a situation, the princess’s body trembled uncontrollably.
With each explosion, her knights stepped forward one by one to serve as shields. If the defense had not been reinforced, the princess would not have been able to ensure her own safety.
Perhaps thinking of the future that might come, the princess sat down on the spot. A fleeting image of someone’s back crossed her mind.
A man with black hair and golden eyes.
He had once advised her to increase her escorts. The emotions she felt from that man were solely genuine concern.
Could it be that he had foreseen this attack?
It was just a thought. However, as she applied that hypothesis to reality, the questions she had were beginning to align one by one.
There was no definitive evidence. She merely recalled the possibility that this might be the case.
Even that alone was enough to dull the princess’s gaze. The notion held considerable persuasive power.
However, that question soon led to another.
If so, what should I do?
As this question arose, the princess tightly shut her mouth.
She shouldn’t be thinking like that. No, it couldn’t be true. Even the Imperial Court was unaware of the attack; thus, it was impossible for the second son of a rural noble family to have sensed it beforehand.
Let alone putting his reputation at stake and risking those around him to save the princess.
It was strange.
The princess did not trust humans. What she believed in was only desire.
She had never seen someone escape from it. So surely, I-an would be no different.
To sacrifice oneself out of pure goodwill without any desire and to save others?
It was a fantasy. The princess had to deny I-an’s goodwill with all her effort.
It was then that her consciousness was awakened by Irene’s voice.
“Your Highness… You must escape.”
The trembling voice represented Irene’s anxiousness. Her eyelids were quivering.
She was no longer the confident and reliable figure from before. But Irene was doing her best to ensure the princess’s safety, and the conclusion was to flee.
As she was so disoriented, the princess nodded silently.
While a few students were responding, to form a defensive line against an unannounced attack required repeated training and substantial field experience.
Unless someone had foreseen the assault and prepared for it, the likelihood of casualties amidst the chaos was far too high.
They had to flee.
Irene’s judgment was undoubtedly correct, but there was only one thing weighing heavily on the princess’s heart.
If she left, the knights would also withdraw.
Naturally, a significant void in strength would arise. Concerned about the potential casualties among the academy students, the princess hesitated.
However, for the knights, what mattered most was only the princess.
Dragged along by their hands, the princess began to flee. Irene, embracing her, was breathing heavily.
“Your Highness, there is an escape route in the basement of Verlata Palace. We will get out through there.”
This was primarily directed at the princess, but it was also an instruction to the remaining knights and maidens.
Their heads nodded in unison. Until that moment, the princess had remained silent.
Again, an explosion thundered from behind. Cries filled with grief, sharp noises of metal clashing pierced her eardrums like daggers.
When she opened her eyes, it felt as if she would see their emotions again, so the princess tightly shut her eyes.
This place was hell.
Having exited the battlefield and heading toward the academy, she realized several things.
First, while the monsters attacking the procession were the main threats, the number of monsters targeting the academy was also considerable.
Just looking at the entities rushing toward the academy was enough to see that.
Countless cat-like monsters were sprinting with their limbs stretched out. Among them were those suddenly jumping out from alleyways to attack pedestrians.
Of course, those creatures had to meet their death as soon as they were spotted.
Second, the monsters were not only lingering around the procession. They were hiding throughout the city, disguised as stray cats.
No matter how rapid the escape, it was inevitable to encounter a few monsters along the way.
Because of that, a few students had to band together to face the cat-like monsters.
However, the number of cat-like monsters was high, and thus the longer the battle dragged on, the more monsters would join in. The chances of losing lives were exceedingly high.
If she was not mistaken, there might have already been casualties.
Especially since the fleeing students were mainly younger or non-combatants, there was even more worry. In a fit of anxiety, she had to sprint with all her strength.
It seemed those efforts were not in vain.
After dispatching a few monsters, she spotted a group presumed to be academy students rushing toward the academy.
They were confronting the cat-like monsters.
It seemed quite some time had passed since the battle commenced, as their expressions clearly showed signs of exhaustion. Yet, the cat-like monsters continued to flood in.
They were in a pinch.
The time taken to defeat the cat-like monsters was slower than the new monsters joining the fight. The grim outlook on their faces painted a desperate picture.
Just then, a cat-like monster leaped off the ground.
With an unexpectedly nimble leap for its heavy body, the man it targeted was already preoccupied with another monster.
If left unchecked, he was certain to die.
Before that judgment could even be finalized, her arm was already instinctively slicing through the air.
With a bang, a sonic boom pierced the air as a beam of light shot forth.
It was a terrifying perforation.
The silver line, piercing through the frozen time, struck the forehead of the cat-like monster at its apex. A crack, loud enough to echo, indicated the breaking of bones.
With blood and brains splattering, as the cat-like monster fell back, the eyes of those confronting the monsters fell blankly upon her.
Regardless, she was already drawing her sword.
The instincts of the monsters seemed to have instantly identified her as a target.
The eyes of the cat-like monsters skirting around her companions turned towards her in unison. One of them, baring its teeth, charged at her.
Then, two more monsters followed suit, rushing towards her. The first victim, the hand-axe embedded in its forehead, returned just then.
With a whack, the hand-axe struck the back of the head of the cat-like monster leading the charge.
The monster immediately released a death cry and collapsed. Those that followed, astonished, had no choice but to leap over its body.
The price of performing acrobatics mid-battle was brutal.
The aura enveloping her sword cleaved the head of one of the cat-like monsters in two. Blood gushed out, creating an unintended rain of crimson.
The skull, falling with a thud, spilled its contents. Just as a newly landed cat-like monster was about to claw at her, she had already penetrated its embrace.
Leaning back, the monster’s arm naturally rested on her shoulder. She used that momentum to throw the cat-like monster down.
With a thud, the cat-like monster writhed and screamed.
Its spine had shattered. She decided to end the tortured cries of the creature.
The blade sank into the nape of the beast.
Instantly, white bubbles that had been boiling from its mouth turned a shade of blood red.
The slowing convulsions testified that the flame of life was extinguishing.
Pulling out the blade, blood sprayed forth as the corpse made one final tremor. Her body was long drenched in the monster’s blood.
The gazes of her companions, who were battling the monsters, were nailed to her, sensing fear in the fact that three monsters had been subdued in an instant.
But that couldn’t be the case. The battle was not over yet.
While they stared blankly at her, two small cats leaped up behind them. In an instant, their bodies began to swell.
“Get down!”
Even as she shouted that, they merely emitted confused sounds. Cursing inwardly, she threw the sword in her hand.
The spinning blade punctured the skull of one of the cat-like monsters with a thud. However, there was still one remaining, and she had to shove a student out of the way with her momentum.
The bared teeth were terrifying beyond measure. There was no choice but to concede a hit.
So she raised her forearm.
With a crunch, the sound of bone grinding reverberated through her spine. The intense pain made her teeth clench instinctively.
She tossed aside the cat-like monster that had bitten into her arm. Despite the thud that issued from the collision, the monster would not let go.
So she climbed onto the top of the downed cat-like monster. Her fists hammered its face over and over.
The punch of a swordsman enhanced by magic was closer to hammering.
As the harsh impact echoes rang out, blood and flesh sprayed into the air. It took less than a minute for the cat-like monster’s face to collapse completely.
The eyes of the cat-like monster, unable to withstand the pressure, bulged out. After its jaw muscles trembled, it finally spat out her arm.
It was a mess.
She couldn’t use her arm properly, but it wasn’t that severe. However, exerting force would cause convulsions. She poured a healing potion, which she had prepared just in case, over her arm.
The flesh quickly began to regrow.
The problem was still that her muscles had not regained their strength, and as she grumbled inwardly, she gathered the sword and hand-axe that were embedded in the monster’s corpse.
Today, she had already sustained two injuries that hindered her movements.
At this rate, she doubted whether she could face the true power of the Dark Cult targeting the princess. As she sheathed her sword, her arm holding the hand-axe was trembling.
For a while, she wore a gloomy expression. It was then that she suddenly recalled the presence of her companions who were up against the monsters.
Her gaze naturally turned to her group. Then, a customary greeting followed.
“Hey, are you guys okay…?”
“…Why did you save us?”
The response from someone she had saved was quite surprising.
Clenching his fists tightly, he glared at her with an expression of frustration.
Her face turned momentarily blank.
What was even more surprising was that she was not the only one behaving this way. Her companions were either biting their lips or avoiding her gaze, yet the strange heat in their eyes remained unchanged.
The nature of that emotion soon became clear.
“W-We… we bullied you and your friends! So why did you save us?! You even risked one of your arms for it!”
It was a mix of shame, regret, and guilt that forged animosity.
Their extreme apologetic feelings were instead being channeled into anger.
The fact that they had their lives saved by someone they had tormented was tormenting them. After staring at them blankly for a moment, she couldn’t help but smile wryly.
As she silently rummaged through her memories, she recalled those who had shoved Reto into the trash, snickering as they walked out of the alley. It was a funny connection.
She had just one thing to say to them.
“Y-You could have just left us alone… Were you planning on making us miserable?! W-We have already done something terrible to you…!”
With a thud, a dull sound resounded as a heavy blunt object struck the back of the man’s neck.
The back side of the hand-axe thudded against the neck of the man. His eyes shook violently before his body flopped to the ground.
Now it was the turn of his companions to look bewildered.
Receiving their puzzled gazes, she smiled slyly.
“…Well done, man.”
She never expected someone would willingly confess to their crimes; it was more than enough to consider him a model prisoner.
Once the expressions of fear filled the eyes of her companions, a considerable amount of time did not pass.
