I steeled myself. I had no idea how to describe my feelings at the moment other than that. Of course, the fear and dread were still there.
More than that, Aina Peneloti wanted to protect those she held dear. At one time, she cursed the world and harbored resentment, believing she had been alone since birth and would remain alone until the very end, but now, she knew that wasn't the case.
She had realized that the light wasn't the only thing that could illuminate the world. She realized that many people could illuminate her world as well.
She no longer had to wait for the morning to arrive. She no longer had to wait in the shadows. She no longer had to stand idly by in the towering prison, staring blankly at the sky. She didn't even need to look at bright scenery to see how beautiful the world bathed in light could be.
Simply by looking around, she would understand how precious this place and these people were.
Finally, she took a step forward. The once dull black-and-white world was suddenly filled with beautiful colors. Her field of vision expanded, and in her mind, only one thought existed.
‘I want to protect these people.’
If it was for the sake of protecting this light, she would gladly throw away her own life. Perhaps Aina Peneloti was born for this very moment. Perhaps she was born for these people who were shining so brightly.
“P-Peneloti?” Lady Pastel stuttered.
“Th-thank... you,” I said, gnashing my teeth.
After turning away from the confused Lady Pastel, Aina Peneloti immediately faced the unknown monster. She moved forward, slowly at first, before moving increasingly faster.
To be honest, it was not exactly a heroic scene.
After all, she was just running away from the tower that had been trapping her all her life. It was more of a reckless, absurd act, but she had to move forward. She tore apart her cumbersome dress and hurled her jewelry away as she moved forward.
The unknown monster laughed mockingly at her and shot arrows at her, but she neither flinched nor retreated. She knew she was not alone. The guards up ahead raised their shields and took the brunt of the black arrow.
“Aaaaaaah!”
“Thank you!” I shouted.
“Hold on! You bastards! Just a little longer!”
“Don’t give up, you damn fools!”
“...”
“...”
“Lady Peneloti. Good luck...” the commander of the guards mumbled.
“Clear the path for the lady!”
The guards were blasted away, slamming into a wall with a thud.
They didn’t hold out for long and crumbled easily, but their sacrifice wasn’t meaningless.
They allowed Aina Peneloti to take five steps forward. Thanks to them standing there, Aina Peneloti could take five steps closer to the unknown monster.
Swoosh!
Arrows flew again—no, the surroundings were swallowed by darkness first. Sensing the danger, the unknown monster chose to hide within the storm of magic.
For a moment, Aina lost her bearings, but she didn’t stop running as voices were calling out from all around.
“Light the way!”
“Light... light the way! Shine the light!”
“The light... Shine the light! Shine the light!”
“Shine the light!”
In an instant, the world brightened up. Tiny sparks of light pierced the storm of magic. No, more accurately, they cut through it. The darkness gnawing away at the surroundings was being sucked into the light. However, this light revealed not just one beautiful lady.
When dozens of arrows flew toward Aina Peneloti, dozens of lights came to light as barriers appeared before her eyes.
“Thank you, Paint!” Aina Peneloti shouted with gnashed teeth, breaking her decorum.
“Go! Peneloti! Hurry!”
“Yeah! Got it!”
She tried to push through the storm, but she slipped. Just when it felt like everything was over, dozens of ladies appeared in her sight, shielding her with their bodies.
They weren’t really doing anything. They weren’t like the guards, blocking attacks with their shields. They didn’t even know exactly what they were doing. They were just throwing themselves into the arrows, protecting her with their sheer will.
“Lady Hamgardia,” I said.
“How about we drop the formalities, Lady Peneloti?” Lady Hamgardia suggested.
“Lady Rusvilla...” I mumbled.
“I’m sorry for misunderstanding you all this time, Lady Peneloti. After this, I’ll personally send you an invitation to drink tea,” Lady Rusvilla said.
“Pardon? I...” I paused.
Even someone with burns across her face boldly stepped forward to stand before me.
“Lady Rainelpia,” I said.
“I-it’ll probably hurt, right? Right? It’ll really hurt, right? I hope it won't leave scars,” Lady Rainelpia questioned.
And then...
“Lady Brush,” I said.
“I-I’m sorry. I’m a fool who can’t really do much. Peneloti, I’m sorry,” Lady Brush said.
“No, thank you, Lady Brush. Really, thank you,” I said.
Of course, the arrows struck them, sending electricity running across them.
“Kyaaaaah!”
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Nooo... Nooo!”
Even so, they didn’t dodge or run. They clung to each other and endured the pain together. Lightning struck them again and again, tormenting them, but they never let go of each other’s hands.
Their efforts allowed Aina Peneloti to take ten more steps.
Just then, the unknown monster lowered its bow, but I wouldn’t say that the situation had become better, as the unknown monster brandished a massive spear of lightning.
Before anything else could happen, Aina Peneloti found herself being lifted off the ground against her will. She looked down and saw faint smoke wrapped around her. She instinctively looked back and saw Lady Palette exhaling smoke.
“This is the last one,” Lady Palette said.
“...”
“I’ll try to make sure I quit when you return,” she added.
‘No, you shouldn’t quit.’
When her cigarette burned down completely, Aina Peneloti returned to the ground to face enemies made of black lightning.
‘A new attack pattern.’
Of course, Aina Peneloti didn’t panic. Armed men were charging straight at her, but to her surprise, the Republic’s troops protected her.
Their faces or names remained unknown to her, but they carried the resolve to protect her at all costs. Of course, this could be the only way to get through this crisis, but still, they struggled desperately to protect her.
“Protect the mistress!” Zhang Liang ordered.
‘What did you say?’
“I have no choice but to acknowledge it,” she said.
“P-pardon?”
“Once this is over, come to the Republic. You won’t be poorly treated. As for marriage with the Commander, that will need... a bit more time,” she said.
“Don’t waste words, Zhang Liang. Right now, our top priority is getting Lady Peneloti to the other side.”
‘What are you guys even talking about?’
Even the nobles and elites from the Republic stepped forward as well. They, too, were grappling with the lightning-born soldiers charging at them with weapons in hand.
Of course, the weaker ones fell quickly, and in the midst of it, a massive spear crashed down. Both the Republic’s shield-bearing troops and the Union of Kingdoms’ fighters were swept away at once.
Many clung desperately to the spear, trying to stop its advance, but it wouldn't slow down at all. It was like a group of ants was trying to lift something far too heavy for them to carry, so they could only cling to it pitifully before being blasted away.
The last one standing was a small-framed girl. The spear was larger than her, but she held it firmly in both hands.
“Lady P-Pastel,” I mumbled.
“Heuk... heuuuk... Peneloti... Penelotiii...” Lady Pastel sobbed.
She was crying, but the electricity coursing through her didn’t let her tears flow. Despite that, she still sobbed uncontrollably. Her face quickly became a mess of tears and snot.
From behind, all I could do was watch, but through the Telescope, I saw her face becoming twisted in pain. She was choking and gasping, unable to speak properly. She looked so pitiful that I couldn't even describe her condition.
“...”
“Don’t go... heuk... Can’t you just stay? Heuk... please... please...” Lady Pastel begged.
“...”
“Heuk... don’t go... Peneloti... please... don’t go... heuk... Stay here with me, please? Y-you don’t have to go. Peneloti, you don’t have to go,” Lady Pastel continued.
“...”
“You can just stay here. Don’t go, Peneloti. Heuk... don’t go any further... heuuuk... kgh... Don’t go... heuk... please don’t go...” Lady Pastel repeated.
After gently holding her from behind, I whispered, “I’ll come back.”
Whether that was a lie or not, she couldn’t know for sure.
With no other choice, however, she could only nod.
“You have to. You have to come back,” she said.
I took another step forward, and I finally reached Kim Hyun-Sung. Even he couldn’t get any closer in this chaos, but I pressed forward through the gap created by the ladies, the Republic troops, and the Union of Kingdoms' guards.
Surprise flickered on his face. The situation was so bad that he couldn’t even look back, so he couldn’t comprehend how Aina managed to get here.
Of course, he definitely heard something, but I doubt he had imagined it would be Aina Peneloti. His confusion and shock passed quickly, and a brief opening was born out of the brief disbelief.
Upon realizing that an intruder had entered its domain, the unknown monster shifted its gaze from Kim Hyun-Sung to Aina Peneloti.
Kim Hyun-Sung was fast enough to close that opening in mere moments. He could slip beyond the spear’s reach and swat it away before it could reach Aina Peneloti.
Aina Peneloti knew he would reach the unknown monster first.
Kim Hyun-Sung stomped forward to seize the opening, but...
“A sword?”
The otherworldly beast chose to draw a sword instead of a spear. Exploiting its weakness in close combat was part of the trap, and the expression of dismay on Kim Hyun-Sung’s face made it clear that he hadn’t expected to see a sword.
To make matters worse, Aina Peneloti was within its attack range.
“Peneloti...” Kim Hyun-Sung mumbled.
Kim Hyun-Sung couldn’t dodge the sword, but Aina avoided it with a single, fluid motion.
“Lady Peneloti...?”
Time seemed to stretch infinitely, and everyone watching, including Kim Hyun-Sung, felt the same. It wasn’t because a miracle had occurred, and it also wasn't because she was a superhuman.
‘The curse.’
More precisely, it was the blessing she once thought was a curse.
Her ability to foresee the near future had finally awakened.
Aina Peneloti’s eyes shone, and she saw the trajectory of the beast's sword. Things that had never been visible to her before came into focus. She crouched low and slid forward before stretching out her hand.
Covered in dust and clad in a dress torn to rags, she did not look a noble lady at all, yet she shone brighter than anyone else.
“Reach it...” someone murmured.
“Reach it!”
‘That same feeling back then!’
“Peneloti!”
BOOM!
When Aina Peneloti’s hand touched the summoning circle, a massive explosion erupted. Instead of sweeping away everything, it sucked everything toward it with a deafening roar.
Of course, Aina Peneloti was within its range.
Aina Peneloti felt like she was being pulled in, and before anyone could react, a brilliant light engulfed the castle.
RUMBLE!
“PENELOTIII!!!"