How many more times do I have to lose you?

Cadel couldn’t help but remember. From their very first meeting, nothing had ever come easy with the man named Lumen Dominic.

Because of him, he had experienced the departure of a subordinate for the first time. Even though they held feelings for each other, they had to endure the pain of a bitter separation. Repeated goodbyes and reunions. To be honest, it was true that those cycles had deepened his relationship with Lumen. It was through those trials that he had come to acknowledge his feelings for him and realized that he didn’t want to lose Lumen ever again. He even dreamed of an everlasting bond, trusting in Lumen’s vow never to leave his side again. Each day was precious and filled with happiness, because he believed Lumen would stay, just as he had promised. So why—

“Lumen……”

Every breath felt like his lungs were going to burst. With eyes blurred by tears, Cadel stared down the endlessly stretching corridor. He had flung open every door he could, running madly through the halls. But still, nothing appeared before him.

Lumen might be dying. And he wouldn’t even get to hear his final words. How could he be this helpless? Useless and unlucky, that’s what he was. Was it because he followed such a leader that Lumen had to face such a tragic end?

“Lumen, please……”

Crushed by the silence, Cadel slowly collapsed. He dropped to his knees in the center of the quiet corridor, curled in on himself, and sobbed miserably. He couldn’t believe it. He had to see it with his own eyes. Otherwise, he would never accept Lumen’s death. Not Lumen. The irreplaceable vice commander who had always stood by his side with unwavering reliability.

He felt like he was going insane. He wanted to run somewhere, anywhere—but no matter where he ran, he couldn’t reach his destination. No matter how far he went, he was stuck in place. Nothing was changing. It felt like he was trapped in a nightmare he could never wake from, slowly withering away.

Cadel let out a ragged gasp, pressing his forehead against the floor. The pain in his body was nothing compared to the pain in his heart.

And behind him, Garuel, who had been silently following, stepped forward. The long shadow cast by his presence fell over Cadel’s trembling form.

“……”

He didn’t know what to say. He knew he should comfort and console him. But no words felt meaningful enough. He himself hadn’t yet come to terms with what had happened.

From the moment Sorin fell from the top of the fortress and died, he knew their comrades were in grave danger. He knew they had to hurry to rejoin the others before more serious harm came to them. But not once, in any version of the scenario he’d imagined, had he pictured any of them dying.

They often seemed like they would survive far longer than someone like him, with demon blood in his veins. No matter what happened, they felt like the kind of people who would stubbornly cling to life and stay by Cadel’s side for a long, long time. That’s why, although he worried they might get hurt, he never feared they would die. The one he truly worried about was, rather, Modeleine. If he had to pick the most likely to die among those who remained, he would have pointed to his former subordinate without hesitation.

“Knight Commander.”

Garuel sat beside Cadel and gently wrapped an arm around his trembling shoulders. With a soft pull, he brought him closer, revealing a tear-streaked face twisted in sorrow.

His face was flushed red from not being able to breathe properly, his cheeks damp, his pale lips gasping desperately for air. Gazing into that face, Garuel offered the best words he could muster.

“I don’t know what the system showed you, or what you saw that made you conclude Sir Lumen is dead. But no matter how I think about it…… I just can’t bring myself to believe that Sir Lumen is truly gone.”

“The system…… The system said I lost Lumen. No mention of desertion from the Knight Order, just that I lost him. That means……”

Saying it aloud made it feel like he was confirming Lumen’s death. Cadel bit down on his lip and cast his gaze downward. Garuel lifted his chin to make him look into his eyes.

“Even if he really did die, there might still be a way. I consumed Lawrence’s heart. I have a nearly fresh awakening elixir, too. If I combine all of that power, there might be a way to bring Sir Lumen back, even if he is dead. Knight Commander. This isn’t the time to be crying like this.”

“……”

“We need to find him quickly before his death is finalized. Only then will we even have a chance to attempt revival.”

He didn’t actually know how to bring the dead back. Even if he poured out everything he had, he wasn’t confident it would work. But Garuel refused to give up hope. Because if he didn’t hold on to hope, then the collapsed Cadel would lose his light completely, too.

“Take a proper breath, and get up. Crying won’t bring you any answers. I know that from experience.”

Cadel’s bloodshot eyes focused on Garuel’s faintly smiling face. In those mismatched eyes was a fear that mirrored his own. Yet Garuel showed none of that fear. Instead, he offered encouragement.

Cadel quietly accepted that unwavering gaze and slowly nodded his head. Garuel was right. Lying here crying wouldn’t make Lumen appear in a miracle. Even in a situation where it seemed no way forward existed, he had to keep going, undeterred.

‘Lumen has left before, but every time, he’s come back. So this time too……’

He would return, standing proud. For now, all Cadel could do was believe in Lumen’s survival—and move.

* * *

“It’s so unfair. She trapped me in some made-up space-time distortion and made me fight like that! The snowstorm was so thick I couldn’t see a thing! I’m not Yozen. How was I supposed to fight blind? If I could’ve fought properly, I wouldn’t have fainted so easily! And I’m supposed to be on par with Van? Unfair, unfair, it’s completely unfair!”

“……You’re loud, you damn fairy. My head’s pounding, go whine somewhere else.”

Among the knights slowly regaining consciousness, Lydon was busy ranting about why he had passed out so easily. According to him, there was no way a fairy like him would go down without a fight—Emilia had used underhanded tricks. Van could have argued the same, but wasting energy on a long-winded counterpoint didn’t seem worth it.

He rubbed the side of his torso where Mamil had cauterized his wound and furrowed his brow. It seemed quite a lot had happened while he’d been out cold.

First, Sorin had vanished. There was no way to determine where he’d gone, and Ector, who had awakened, chose to remain silent on the matter. In his gaze, fixed distantly on the air—was the bitter weight of a man who had already sensed the death of a subordinate.

Second, Lumen was facing the Demon King. It was a shocking turn of events. The fact that he had lasted longer than Van alone was surprising enough, but for the Demon King’s true form to take the field against him personally?

Van’s gaze turned toward the open door. The view beyond was blurred, like looking through heavy fog, making it impossible to assess the situation.

He himself had struggled just to fight a clone. And yet Lumen was taking on both the clone and the real Demon King. There was no room for optimistic thoughts. Acknowledging someone’s strength was one thing, but when the opponent was the Demon King, hope was hard to come by. It wasn’t as though they could jump through the warped space and assist him either. For now, the only solace was that no corpse had yet come flying through the door.

And third, according to Mamil, there was a high likelihood that Cadel had already arrived at the castle. It was just a guess based on the Demon King’s reaction, but the timing lined up. However, since this space was entirely under the Demon King’s control, Mamil figured it would be nearly impossible for them to meet without her permission.

‘So Commander is finally returning.’

Garuel was probably with him. If those two arrived, even facing the Demon King might not seem so hopeless. And yet Van couldn’t entirely rejoice in the thought of Cadel’s return.

‘Will I really be able to fight at his side? In this condition…… with this broken body……’

He was more worried about being a burden than a help. His body, hastily patched up by Modeleine’s emergency treatment, was already at its limit. And he wasn’t the only one. Yozen, moving from place to place checking on the knights, was clearly worn down. Lydon, trying to act tough, was barely hiding his pain. Lumen—stuck in the worst situation of all—was already beyond his limit.

How much could they accomplish in this state? Would they truly be of any use to Cadel?

Shaking off the weakness in his thoughts, Van gave his head a firm shake, then used his greatsword as a makeshift cane and pushed himself to his feet. Limping, he walked over to the entrance of the warped space where Lumen had been taken. After staring into the hazy veil for a moment, he turned to the others and spoke.

“If you’re done pulling yourselves together, get over here. Let’s find a way to save that damned noble brat before he dies.”

* * *

While everyone else was worrying and fearing for Lumen’s death, the one who had killed him—Emilia—stared at her hand with a displeased expression. The sealed Kelligan’s sword had allowed her to touch it. She had seized the sword in an instant and pierced Lumen’s heart, confident that she had taken his life. Then, she tried to reclaim the sword. However—

“……It’s being devoured.”

It was as if the blade had been embedded into solid rock—it wouldn’t budge an inch. Lumen’s limp corpse was still impaled on the sword, unable to collapse. His heart clung tightly to the blade, refusing to let it go.

“What is this dead man’s heart trying to do, devouring the sword like that? There’s no one here left to wield you.”

Clicking her tongue in frustration, Emilia tried again to pull the sword free. Despite all her effort, it wouldn’t come out. If it resisted her this much, then so be it. There was no time to waste wrestling with it now.

Cadel Lytos was somewhere inside the castle. So long as he remained within the space she had created, neither the sword nor the corpse could do a thing. She had overridden the space’s force that would normally eject Lumen’s body—he would remain bound here. She would leave him stored in this place for now and move quickly to eliminate Cadel Lytos.

Once everything was settled, she would retrieve Kelligan’s sword and drive it into the heart of the deceased Cadel Lytos. She would preserve his corpse and display it at the gates of the castle, leaving it to be a symbol of disgrace for generations to come among the demonkind.

When Emilia finally let go of the sword, Lumen’s body slumped backward at last. With a dull thud, it collapsed to the ground. Snatching up the scabbard from his lifeless form, Emilia raised her hand toward the air. At her gesture, her stationary clone dispersed into mist, and the fragments of soul she had distributed returned into her body.

“Wait for me, Cadel Lytos. Your death is coming for you.”