Vol 1 Prologue (1/2)

VOLUME 1

Prologue: The End of “War-Torn”

The days had been continuing on nor had ended

Maybe the writing had been on the wall since long ago But the girl wasthe kingdo like that Everything had begun and ended in places she was not fa she could do was stand there in a daze at this sudden turn of events

So somewhere

So somewhere

So somewhere

The countless layers of unending cries of agony edy, the bellowing, the screa nu of the wind that formed a twisted symphony of destruction It was impossible to tell whose voice hose

And so it was then an eony for the final time

“Your Highness!”

Outside the , she could see soe

In the sky, far away, an enor

She didn’t know exactly how far away it was, but she instantly understood that the sheer size of it was incredible In cohts who had also flown into view, it looked like it was as large as a castle—no, perhaps even a mountain

But it was floating

There were no supports to hold it up There was nothing suspending it in the air It behaved just like a cloud The only way this could be possible ith ic, but even then, this was far too extraordinary a feat

At first glance, she thought it looked like a cylinder standing upright, but further inspection would reveal that it more closely resembled a certain type of statue It looked like athe act of prayer

To su in the sky

It was—

“Your Highness!”

It was the ene to attack, but it would take her a while to realize that

I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared out of my mind

The girl looked doard, in an attempt to avert her eyes

But it was too late The scenery of hell was already spread out before her

An enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier Another enemy soldier There were enemy soldiers—everywhere

The ene before her eyes

An incalculable nu towards their opponents with great force

She watched the soldiers overwhel their weapons and putting up their shi+elds as they rushed in She saw it all

“Your Highness! Your Highness, where are you?!”

She was too young to understand strategy or tactics or the like, but even so, she was convinced

There was no hope of winning

“Your Highness…!”

With enough force to break down a door, a lady-in-waiting who looked to be in her forties tumbled into the room

“Ah, Highness, you were here!” she shouted, as her face contorted into the very ie of panic She looked absolutely wretched; her hair and clothes had become a mess Her usual insistence that “ladies of the court must be prim and proper, first and foremost” now seemed like a farce She had more than likely tripped and fallen somewhere Blood trickled down from a cut on her cheek

“Please! Come with me, and quickly!”

“…”

The lady of the court grabbed the girl’s hand, and they continued to h the castle She expected to see the faed completely

Just about everything was red

It was all the color of blazing flames, the color of spattered blood—the scenery hich she was acquainted to the point of being sick of it had been completely crushed and dyed in the color of death and destruction The flags that had been hoisted proudly were burning, ores that hadn’t gone up in fla it

The bloodstained carpet was covered with nu them would have been truly i human Many of the bodies had been cut doith swords, but there were also corpses that had been burnt black, and others that looked like they had been roasted froolden-brown How on earth these people had died could only be left to the iination

There were corpses of men, there were corpses of women, there were corpses of children, and there were even corpses of the elderly The deaths of each and every one of theht there

Walking through all that—

“It’s all right, Highness It’ll be all right”

The lady-in-waiting h the dead bodies, occasionally stepping over corpses as she continued onward She sounded as though she was trying to reassure herself rather than the girl

She didn’t even try to figure out which corpse was an ally or an enemy; they didn’t have the time for that

“If we could just reach His Majesty’s quarters and be by his side…”

Picking their way slowly through the corpses, the girl and the lady-in-waiting walked through the interior of the castle

The fact that they didn’t encounter any enemies here was a stroke of luck that could be considered a miracle

However–