When a person experiences overwhelming trauma, their mind can simply stop working.
This is what happened to Kazan.
For a moment, he couldn't comprehend the scene in front of him.
Even when he looked at the undeniable evidence of death, the horror of what happened here did not register at all.
“You see, Your Majesty the Empress-”
“Shut up”
Kazan did not hear the knight's words.
His reaction was automatic, stemming from an unconscious part of him.
Tack-!
Tack-!
Kazan leaned on his staff, taking one step at a time towards the remains of Yasaris.
The knights who shuddered at his ominous aura and retreated, and the others who silently watched his back – they were all completely shut off from his consciousness.
The distance he traveled was not far.
Kazan put down his wand and reached out to pick up something that caught his eye.
His legs collapsed, exhausted beyond their limits, and he fell to his knees.
Even at the cost of showing a side unbecoming of an emperor, Kazan picked up the object, which was shining in the twilight even though it was soaked in blood.
“I told you...not to take it off.”
I told you that you are mine.
Like it or not, you were bound to me in marriage, and you had to stay by my side.
So why is this ring lying here?
Yasaris.
You are not here.
“This...isn't funny.”
His voice cracked and dry, he muttered softly.
He lifted his muddy red eyes from the ring to look ahead.
The blood and platinum hair scattered before his sunken eyes were reflected back at him.
It was a scene devoid of reality, even upon looking at it for a second time.
He couldn't really believe what he was seeing.
Yasiris is dead.
“There is no way for this to happen”
Kazan, of course, rejected reality.
It was impossible that Yasiris, who he had been talking to just hours ago, was dead now.
Osifia's knights have arrived; All that remains is to return to the palace and make everything right.
Once he recovered, he intended to give her everything she should have rightfully had.
Admitting his past mistakes and apologizing was the first step.
To rebuild his relationship with Yasiris, Kazan was prepared to abandon his pride as emperor.
So Yasiris had to be safe.
There was no way she would meet such an unfortunate end in a place like this.
“Look for the Empress”
“Your Majesty, the Empress already-”
“I ordered you to find her.”
The terrifying sound sent a shiver down Belliton's spine, the commander of the Third Imperial Knights.
He swallowed dryly, realizing that the mission was most likely hopeless, but unable to refuse the imperial order, he bowed his head.
“Yes, Your Majesty”
“There is no flesh on the torn clothes.
There are no bone fragments either.
This indicates that she may have been injured but was able to move elsewhere.”
Kazan slowly stood on one leg.
He mobilized all his contacts, and pieced together the circumstances that might allow Issaris to survive.
There was only one possibility left to cling to, as long as he refused to think about her death.
“The griffin’s tracks suddenly end here.
He probably grabbed it and flew away.
Search the entire mountain, find it, kill it, and bring back the Empress.”
“Yes, Your Majesty”
“And...”
Kazan paused, his words hanging in the air.
Billiton, who had been silently waiting for the next command, glanced upward briefly, only to quickly lower his gaze again in fear.
The Emperor of the Great Empire, with bloodshot eyes, was predicting a massacre.
“Once we return to Ozevia, I declare war on the Kingdom of Herti.”
“…I will prepare.”
Peleton hid his confusion and bowed his head down.
Since the Emperor was under a direct attack, war was inevitable, so there was no reason to be surprised.
But this was not the end...
“Herty could not have done this alone.
Find every group involved.
Their supporters, their families, their nations.
I will exterminate them all.”
“I won't even bother making them vassal states.
If the entire continent stands against me, I will make the world kneel at my feet.
I will show them what a true tyrant is.”
“Your Majesty!”
Peleton's involuntary outburst attracted Kazan's dark red eyes to him like an arrow.
“Are you thinking of opposing me, Commander?”
Billiton realized something then.
He thought that the Emperor was still rational when he calmly assessed the Empress's situation, but this was a mistake.
Kazan was not in his right mind.
The crazy look in his eyes, as if he was going to cut down Billiton if he disobeyed, choked the Commander's throat.
“No, Your Majesty.”
A storm of bloodshed was coming.
Billiton closed his eyes tightly in despair.
Unable to challenge the Emperor, he could only pray that the Hirty Kingdom would be the only force behind the attack.
While the leader was standing there, Kazan caught the ring in his hand.
Blood, whether it was his own or Yasiris's, slowly dripped between his fingers.
“Just hold on a little longer, Yasiris.”
I will kill every single one of the bastards who led you to this.
Forgive me for being late.
No, it's okay if you don't forgive me.
Even if you hate me for the rest of your life, just stay alive.
Just stay alive...
Kazan ignored the amount of blood that was enough to kill someone from excessive bleeding or shock.
He also ignored the fact that hours had passed since the fatal wound was inflicted, making it unlikely that she would survive even if she was found.
Yasiris had to be alive.
He will find her, no matter what.
He needed her to live, because without her, he couldn't breathe.
The Empire of Osifia declared war on the Kingdom of Hirti.
Being less than two years after the end of the last war, many nobles expressed their concerns, but Kazan's resolve was unwavering.
“I was attacked the moment I crossed the border at the invitation of Herti.
If you oppose this war, knowing that your Emperor almost died, will you openly challenge me?”
No one could stop him when he had such an obvious justification.
In fact, even when he had no real reason, he had conquered many countries without hesitation, so this was nothing new.
The Kingdom of Hirti continued to claim its innocence and beg for mercy, but war was looming.
Within just a month, Ozevia's army had gathered on the border, fully prepared.
As the moment of attack approached, a secret conversation took place in the Emperor's office, far from the battlefield.
“Haven't you figured out who's behind this yet?”
“I apologize, Your Majesty.
We searched the entire mountain, but we did not find a single corpse that could be identified as an attacker.
There is no evidence to trace their origin.
Moreover, no nation had moved a force of at least a hundred knights, which was necessary for such an operation, at the time of the incident.”
“No matter how poisoned they are, it is hard to believe that an entire squad of the First Knights of Osivia was wiped out.
Are you saying that such a force only fell from the sky?”
“They are definitely not an official group.
The sword marks on the knights’ bodies do not match any known species on the continent.”
Kazan frowned.
Revealing the truth behind the ambush was more difficult than expected.
Instead of pursuing him down the cliff, the attackers focused on recovering their dead and retreating.
While they may have assumed he was dead, it seems their priority was more about hiding their identities than eliminating the target.
There was no other explanation for how they could disappear so cleanly.
“A large force like this would have left some trail behind them.
Whether they were going up or down the mountain.”
“We tracked their movements to the other side of the mountain range, but all we found were the remains of a large-scale teleportation.
The mana patterns were too sparse to be traced further, indicating that a high-ranking mage may have been involved.”
“This is useless”
“My apologies, Your Majesty.”
Kazan stared coldly at the Shadow Unit Leader, who was prostrating before him.
It wasn't entirely the leader's fault, but wasn't it their job to provide information, even if it seemed impossible to obtain?
He had even paired them with the Third Imperial Cavalry Order, including the guards, and yet they had nothing to show for it.
Disappointing.
Although he desperately wanted to cut that worthless head off the leader's shoulders at that moment, doing so would only slow things down even more.
The Commander had other tasks assigned to him that were of greater importance, tasks that could not afford to be delayed.
Yes, there was a more important mission than uncovering the truth behind the ambush.
This was the result that Kazan was afraid to ask about, and yet he found the words slipping from his mouth, even though they were heavy on his tongue.
“…How about searching for the Empress?”
“The monsters on that mountain have been completely eradicated as of yesterday.
We have searched for four griffin nests in the surrounding areas based on reports, but we have not found any trace of them yet.”
Kazan closed his eyes at the expected response.
He wasn't sure if he still wanted to find Yasiris – or if he was terrified of what he might find.
All they will find at this late hour are traces proving that something terrible has happened to her.
However, Kazan is still desperately searching for Yasiris.
He had to do this so he could hold out hope that she was still alive.
So he can keep moving.
Even when Kazan avenged Lisaris, he could not accept her death.
In a secluded mountain hut.
The smell of fresh bread and birdsong filled the quiet place.
A white hand gently pushed the window open to the animals huddled together at the crack.
A piece of bread fell like snow in front of the bird, which flapped its wings and flew back, tilting its head in curiosity.
Beep-!
Beep-!
“Is it good?”
A silver-haired woman watched with a faint smile as the little creature pecked at the bread.
She did not dare to pet him, for fear that he would get upset and fly away.
She simply watched, then turned to watering the plants.
Bang-!
“Liz, Emperor Ozevia is chasing the wild griffin like crazy.
Isn’t he completely out of his mind?”
“Lena?”
Liz turned around in shock at the news brought by the dark blue haired woman who burst through the door.
The griffins being slaughtered.
She had been afraid that would happen, but now that it was real, something she had hoped to avoid, she frowned slightly.
“I'm sorry... because of me...”
“There is no need to apologize to me.
It was not your fault to begin with.
Their deaths do not mean much to me.”
Liz was left speechless by the remark from the only griffin trainer on the continent.
Lena, who had already hung her robe over a chair, looked at her with a sly smile.
“Isn't that convenient?
He really thinks you're dead.”
Yasiris, known as Liz, did not deny it.
Under her dyed silver hair, her blue eyes held a calm light.
“It's all thanks to you, Lena.
I'm truly grateful.”