“The new prisoner is a dark mage? Seriously?”
The guards at the prison’s back gate were deep in conversation.
“That’s what I heard. Nearly jumped out of my skin when they brought her in.”
“So why’d they bring a dark mage here of all places?”
“How should I know? The Young Master is interrogating her personally at dawn.”
“Has the territory been cursed? In two years we’ve had more incidents than most see in a lifetime.”
“Tell me about it.”
Their idle chatter was suddenly interrupted.
“Hey there, boys.”
A woman’s voice from behind made them whirl around—only to meet glowing crimson eyes.
The guards’ gazes instantly glazed over.
“……”
“……”
“Mind stepping aside? I need to get through.”
“Of course.”
They moved aside like obedient puppets.
“Once I’m gone, you’ll fall asleep and forget we ever met.”
“Yes.”
As Roana slipped past, the guards collapsed into deep slumber.
“That was… disturbingly easy.”
She couldn’t believe her luck. From unconscious prisoner to free woman in under thirty minutes—her charm magic made child’s play of the escape. Even bound, all she needed was eye contact to captivate her jailers.
‘Still… this seems too lax.’
Whether all prisons were this vulnerable or she’d gotten exceptionally lucky, Roana didn’t know. But she wasn’t about to question her good fortune.
The safehouse was miles away, and stealing a horse seemed beneath a dark mage of her standing—though necessary under the circumstances.
The mocking laughter of her colleagues already echoed in her mind.
Clop clop clop
Hoofbeats startled her—until she saw the riderless horse tied near the gate. Someone had left it unattended.
“Perfect.”
Without hesitation, she mounted and spurred the horse onward.
Unseen in the darkness, a pair of crimson eyes followed her departure.
Meanwhile, at the frontline camp
Crunch crunch
Sera chewed stale bread by the fire, exhausted from the day’s battles. Dinner at midnight had become routine.
Sigh
Today’s skirmish had been particularly brutal. While there’d been no fatalities thanks to Schrantz’s elite troops, two soldiers were injured—a first for their campaign.
‘They’re multiplying.’
They’d slaughtered over five hundred undead already, yet the hordes kept coming. The unrelenting pressure wore on everyone’s nerves.
“Found you.”
Dwayne, her knight escort, approached. Assigned by Oswell as both reinforcement and protector, the young knight had become an unexpected companion.
“Join me,” Sera offered, scooting over.
“You fought well today. Not too tired?”
“Exhausted. But the frontline troops have it worse.”
She’d gained new respect for the commanders—Hubert, Oswell, Collin—who bore the weight of every life under their charge. And to think Ian had endured this constantly…
“Does the Young Master always fight like this?”
“He does far more than that. You must have heard the rumors—he literally fights at the vanguard.”
Sera recalled the soldiers escorting the merchant caravan when they’d nearly reached Ansen. Imagining Ian charging ahead like that gave her a sense of how he fought.
‘And he’s done that against hundreds of enemies?’
Could she ever rush into battle like that alone?
Even with defensive spells and sturdy armor, she doubted she’d dare. That wasn’t just confidence—it was sheer audacity.
“The Young Master is incredible.”
No, “incredible” didn’t quite cover it. She was starting to admire him.
“Well, everyone starts somewhere, right? You’ll get used to it too.”
“Thanks. That actually helps.”
“It’s nothing. We serve the same lord—might as well get along.”
Most others hesitated to even speak to her—whether because she was the only woman here, or because she was Ian’s retainer and a mage. Having someone like Dwayne approach her so casually meant more than he realized.
“But you didn’t come just to cheer me up, did you? Is there something you wanted to ask?”
Dwayne nodded.
“By any chance, do you know of a potion that reduces eye strain?”
“Not that I’ve heard of. Why? Are your eyes bothering you?”
“Nothing serious, but sometimes they’re… overly sensitive. Even on cloudy days or nights like this. It gets worse during battles.”
“…That’s a new one. Have you seen a physician?”
“I’ve been to the army medic, even consulted apothecaries and doctors in Rosen and Ansen.”
All of them had been baffled. No abnormalities, no known treatments. Even eye-strengthening tonics did nothing.
Desperate, he’d turned to her as a last resort.
“I’ll look into it when we return. For now, try this stamina potion—it might just be fatigue.”
“Thank you.”
Disappointed but not hopeless, Dwayne accepted the vial.
She wished she could tell him to rest, but that wasn’t an option. A stamina potion was the best she could offer.
“Ah, please keep this between us.”
“Worried it’ll affect your knighthood?”
“Yes. This position—I owe it to the Young Master. I don’t want to retire over something like this.”
For any knight, impaired vision was a career-ender. For an archer like Dwayne? Catastrophic.
As fellow retainers, she’d help however she could.
“Of course. But try not to overstrain your eyes.”
“I won’t.”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
“Alert! All units assemble! Unidentified monster approaching from west—two kilometers out!”
The camp erupted into chaos as soldiers scrambled for their weapons.
“Let’s move.”
“Right!”
Dwayne and Sera joined the forming ranks.
Then—
Thud… Thud…
A distant tremor, growing louder.
THUD! THUD!
Until finally—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
—the earth itself seemed to scream.
As the creature appeared over the horizon, the soldiers gasped.
This was no ordinary undead—no skeleton, lizardman, orc, or goblin.
SKREEEEE—!
The abomination shrieked, its 5-meter-tall frame wielding a tree-trunk club.
“A… TROLL?!”
Meanwhile, Roana reined her stolen horse to a stop beside a boulder in the wilderness.
The guards at the village outskirts had been trivial to bypass—a flick of charm magic, and she’d slipped through unseen.
‘The prison must be in an uproar by now.’
Search parties would scour the village, but they’d waste hours checking every nook. She’d left the gate guards’ memories intact—none would report her escape.
‘Pity I couldn’t see that mithril-wielding bastard lose his mind.’
But survival came first. Right now, she just needed to report and rest.
Placing a palm on the boulder, she channeled mana.
Whoosh!
The rock shimmered like a mirage, revealing a hidden cave entrance.
Stepping inside, she descended into darkness until a steel door stopped her path.
Pressing her hand to it, she whispered:
“If the sun is up—”
A ghastly voice echoed back: “—prepare for darkness’ descent.”
“It’s Roana. I need to see the boss now—this can’t wait.”
Silence.
No clicking locks. No scraping bolts.
Just… stillness.
Then—
“So the one behind you isn’t your puppet or undead fodder, I take it.”
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