Episode 745
—…How arrogant.

A tight, clenched reply came after a long silence.

Banusa was drenched in cold sweat, finally smashing her forehead against the ground. The pain was unbearable without doing so.

Ardo, startled, hesitated before stepping closer and grabbing her arm.

“Banusa?”

“Huff, huff… Look, Ardo. Right now, someone’s clutching my heart. For me to live, for you to live, and for Toorun to survive—!”

“Banusa! Calm down. What on earth are you saying? A monster?”

“Ahhh!”

“Your Highness! It’s Ardo! I’m with Banusa! Please, calm your anger and listen to her! You know how she’s lived for Toorun!”

“No!”

Thud!

Banusa grabbed Ardo’s arm, glaring fiercely. The whites of her eyes were bloodshot, veins bursting red. In that brief moment, one could sense the depth of her pain. She trembled violently, muttering through clenched teeth.

“Tear it apart. Crush it if you want. I’m sick of this. That my fate depends on someone else’s will.”

Banusa repeated the last words Ian had left her like a mantra. Faith. Even if her heart felt like it would burst and her mind melt, if she faced death head-on, she could survive.

Each word seemed alive, moving, blurring the line between sense and nonsense—but she didn’t want to question it.

Just faith. Like a piano string—tough and unbreakable. Yet, she wanted to believe there was still a way.

—Banusa. I will destroy your entire family, excising you from Toorun. Starting with you, every last bloodline will die coughing up blood, their corpses torn apart and scattered across the wasteland. The fate of a traitor will be shown throughout my realm.

“So! Speak! Tell me who you really are! Are you connected to that massive monster beneath the Masantar Temple? By the way, Deputy Rajoo wasn’t human. Just—ahhh!”

“Banusa!”

She’s going to die. She’s going to die. She’s going to die…

Banusa’s mind went white. The king was squeezing her heart tightly. Yet strangely, though she hovered between life and death, she still breathed.

What is this? Why is this happening?

Flare!

Banusa’s eyes widened. Ardo’s wall of fire still surrounded them. It was meant to trap Ian’s group, but now it blocked outside sight.

So, the king couldn’t pinpoint Banusa’s exact location.

‘Does a puppeteer need to know the target’s position to attack?’

Then where was this pain stabbing her heart coming from?

Banusa looked up at Ardo with a confused expression. He wore a similarly troubled look.

“…Ardo.”

“Banusa. Don’t say anything.”

“No, wait. Do you remember when we were kids?”

Suddenly? Ardo sighed and wiped the sweat from her chin. The king showed no mercy. She hadn’t expected their bond to end like this…

“At Buk-san Lake, when we were boating and my little brother fell in the water. We only had a thin rope to tie the boat.”

“I remember. The two of us, kids, struggling not to let go.”

“The tighter we pulled, the more it hurt my palm. I remember blood flowing along the taut rope.”

“Banusa.”

“…It’s like that.”

“…What?”

Tears welled in Banusa’s eyes—not tears of sadness or pain, but clear and bright as ever.

Joy surged through her, and she let out a strange laugh, still clutching her heart with one hand.

“It’s the natural pain of resistance. If I overcome this, I can break free.”

“Banusa. You’re bleeding—”

“Your Highness! Are you listening?”

Banusa giggled and shouted defiantly. The pain was terrifying, but knowing it was part of the process made it bearable.

“I pitied your lonely youth. But now I see that was my arrogance. You, monster hiding within, if you’re aware, listen well! Toorun is a great nation! It’s not a stepping stone for your wicked greed!”

—Ardo.

This time, the king’s voice echoed in Ardo’s ear. Calm, but laced with fury.

—Lower the wall of fire.

“…Your Highness.”

No one knew exactly what would happen if the barrier fell, but one thing was certain: Banusa would die. She would take the king’s punishment with her last breath, right here.

As Ardo hesitated, a burning pain surged through his own heart.

“Ahhh!”

“Kill them all! You fool! Kill everyone who opposes you and fill this land with nothing but puppets! Then let’s see how many truly believe and follow you—!”

Sssshhh!

Ardo’s fiery barrier dissolved. It was inevitable—too much pain to maintain the spirit magic.

Banusa stared up at the sky revealed through the flames, shouting desperately. Hurry, hurry, let this rope tied to my heart snap!

“Then you, too, will meet your end!”

Banusa screamed her final words.

At that moment, something binding her shattered with a snap. Freedom. Banusa gasped as her breath cleared and she sprang to her feet.

Whoosh!

A sharp attack flew toward her heart—a needle the king had stabbed in anger.

It was razor-sharp, tiny, and deadly—the same kind that had pierced Ian’s body in the Agiar battle.

‘Ah.’

Banusa instinctively sensed ‘true death.’ But it was okay. She wasn’t going to die tied to puppet strings.

Time seemed to slow, as if nature was giving her a moment to savor the days she’d lived.

“Damn it!”

Shhhhhh!

But then, a flash of red hair blocked her path. Amid the wild strands, a sharp, annoyed gaze flickered.

Though they’d parted not long ago, Banusa felt something different about him. How to put it—

“Beric! Watch out!”

“Shut up and raise the shield!”

Words failed to capture it. His face seemed shadowed, his presence stronger.

Clang!

Beric deflected an invisible attack instantly, and the mages quickly expanded their protective barrier around them.

“…Beric?”

“What about Ian and the others?”

“Too bad. They just headed toward the palace.”

“Seriously. This isn’t working. Damn it.”

“How did you get in?”

Crash!

A mage’s head was struck by the barrier’s impact—proof they’d blocked the king’s attack. The mages pulled Banusa’s arm and glanced at the stunned Ardo.

“If you stay still, you’re dead. We have to keep moving. Banusa, can you stand? Cover your eyes.”

“…No need.”

“Huh?”

“The rope’s broken. The king can’t touch me anymore.”

“Oh, hell. That’s good news.”

The mages reached for blindfolds but gave a thumbs-up instead. Then they looked at Ardo.

“What about him?”

“Ardo. Head of the fire spirit magic family.”

“Friend? Will he come with us?”

“He’s a friend, but no.”

Ardo was still under the king’s control. The mages shrugged and looked toward the palace.

“Then let’s move.”

At that moment, Ardo lifted his head.

The mages belonged to Bariel. Their presence in the heart of Toorun’s capital meant the country’s defenses had collapsed.

One wasn’t even a mage. Banusa recognized him clearly—the mad dog who had stormed the palace before.

“Wait!”

She couldn’t just let them go. As Ardo tried to block them, Banusa gripped his arm tightly.

“Ardo. Please, stop.”

“Banusa, but—”

“No buts. For you, and for Toorun. If you keep blocking us, I’ll have no choice but to cut you down.”

She’d seen it. Bound by the king, he was nothing but a tool.

Ardo looked at her in disbelief. Could she really have broken free from the puppeteer’s control?

“Ardo! Ardo!”

Tap, tap, tap!

Ardo hesitated for a moment as his subordinates reported from behind.

“The Bariel forces have broken through the eastern wall! Requesting backup—ugh!”

The subordinate was stunned to see a Bariel mage standing there. But what shocked him more was that neither Ardo nor any fire spirit mages moved. Confused, he stepped back.

—Ardo. It’s done.

Then the king’s voice came again.

—Tell everyone to enter the palace. I will personally welcome them. Hospitality will be as generous as they desire.

Ardo breathed a sigh of relief without realizing it and stepped back, nodding.

“…The king commands you all to enter the palace.”

“Ha, thank you!”

“You think we wouldn’t come if you asked? Beric! Let’s go!”

“Banusa! Remember! If you leave the shield, you’re dead!”

“Let’s go! Hurry! Catch up with Ian!”

As the wizards began sprinting toward the royal palace, Vanusa slowly started moving as well. Her gaze was fixed on Ardo, but only for a moment before she broke into a full run, pushing herself to keep up with the others.

“Lord Ardo?”

“…Head east. We’ll hold back Bariel’s troops.”

“Ah, yes! Understood!”

Ardo’s body ignited in flames, and with the wind at his back, he moved swiftly.

The eastern wall was chaos. One section had been completely shattered, and Bariel’s soldiers were trying to push through the breach. The Tolrun soldiers were desperately holding the line.

“Hold them here! Over here! The ladder’s hooked on this side!”

“Kill them! Kill them!”

“Ahhh!”

Clang! Clang!

Soldiers scrambled over the broken wall, shoving, stabbing, and struggling against each other.

Ardo and his family members stood at regular intervals, placing their hands on the wall.

Boom! Boom boom!

The Tolrun soldiers beat their drums urgently—a signal for everyone to retreat from the wall.

The soldiers pulled back immediately, and Bariel’s troops cheered triumphantly as they climbed onto the wall.

But then—

“It’s done! Finally—!”

Whoosh!

“Ahhh!”

A massive pillar of flames erupted around Ardo, engulfing the entire wall.

Soldiers caught in the inferno writhed in agony before falling from the wall, while those trying to climb up recoiled and tumbled beneath the ladder.

“Gasp!”

“The flames!”

Even the ordinary soldiers could tell this was no ordinary fire. Even if the heavens suddenly opened and rain poured down, nothing could quell this blaze.

“…”

Beyond the wall, Jin’s eyes gleamed as he watched the scene unfold, as if he had expected this fiery spectacle.

He raised his hand lightly, and at once, Jarrett and the other palace guards stepped forward, drawing their swords. The blades shimmered, reflecting the flickering flames.

Clang!

At last, the emperor gave the order.

“Palace Guards, advance.”