Chapter 1

'Every story meets its end eventually.'

It was a sentence I'd found in a worn-out Imperial history book during my cadet days.

Under that aged teaching, the Empire had crushed the other races beneath blood and steel, and I had always been at the very front lines.

That I could wholeheartedly nod at the implication of that sentence was perhaps only natural. The timing of the ending might differ from story to story, but the fact that every story has an end was an immutable truth.

And—

'Is this my ending?'

The moment a silver blade extending from my subordinate's waist flickered across my blurring vision.

The moment that blade unfolded amid the haze of my disorienting sight. For some reason, that sentence crossed my mind.

It should go without saying, but I am not some monster as classified by the Empire.

Quite the opposite.

The Sword Demon of House Erche, who bore the blood-red sun upon his breast. A blade that guarded the Emperor.

An asura who had drenched battlefields in blood for the glory of the Empire.

That was the path I, the man called Evan Erche, had walked.

No one could have known that the final chapter of my history would be written at the sword-point of the Imperial Knight Order I had trusted most.

"...Why?"

My voice trembled of its own accord. Even to my own ears, it shook far too much.

A tangle of emotions I couldn't reduce to one drifted through my mind.

Shock, rage, bewilderment, hollow disbelief.

SQUELCH.

"Gah...!"

And lastly, excruciating pain.

A sensation both freezing and searing spread from the pit of my stomach like ink bleeding through my entire body.

I dropped my gaze following the burning, and there it was—a silver-white sword buried deep in my chest. Engraved upon it was the familiar crest of the Imperial Knight Order.

"See, you should've picked the right side."

The low voice belonged to the vice-commander—the man I'd entrusted my back to not even an hour ago.

"...Cough."

A cough, and then a hot lump of blood surged up and spilled out.

The distinctive tang of blood, and a vision growing ever more distant.

I struggled with everything I had to hold onto my fading consciousness, but it wasn't enough. I couldn't stop the strength draining from my body. I'd realized it far too late, but some manner of curse seemed to have been laid upon this space itself.

'Betrayal... since when...?'

SQUELCH—

As if severing the thought itself, another impact pierced through my chest from behind.

"Phew, even if he's the commander, this should be enough to finish him off for good, right?"

"Obviously. We ground up every Calamity-class monster captured in this subjugation to make that drug. Even an Ancient wouldn't be able to keep its wits."

Another silver-white longsword bearing the Order's crest.

Perhaps because my senses had dulled, I could no longer even feel the pain properly.

"Why...."

I wrung out every remaining shred of strength to raise my head.

The steadfast comrades who had stood by my side just moments ago. No—the sons of bitches I'd merely believed were comrades stared down at me with vacant eyes. The dying sky reflected off their silver armor.

"Our dear commander, stubborn as ever. Told you—you picked the wrong side."

"Side...?"

"Let's wrap this up and go. If we drag it out, it'll raise suspicion."

"Still, shouldn't we at least watch him stop breathing before we leave?"

The murmuring voices grew distant, as though submerged underwater. They weren't moving away from me. My consciousness was the thing drifting away.

Suddenly, a woman's voice echoed in my ears.

'Don't trust just anyone so easily. There's no one in this world who'll be on your side forever. You have no idea how terrifying a place it is.'

'Silvia.'

My lover, my sole reason for living.

"Oh, right—want to hear some good news before you die?"

A voice that had been growing hazy suddenly cut through, vivid and close, as if someone had leaned in to whisper right against my ear. I couldn't even tell whose voice it was, but the words were bone-chillingly clear.

"That princess you cherish so much—we'll be sending her off soon enough so she won't be lonely. So don't be too lonesome in the next world."

THUMP.

'...What did you say?!'

"Ngh...!"

Against my will, only a low, bestial groan escaped my throat. I could faintly hear them break into snickering at the sight.

'Silvi... a...!'

"Gakh...!"

"Enough noise. It's been a pleasure serving under you, Commander Evan Erche."

THWACK—!

With that parting farewell, I felt the sole of a military boot slam into my chest. The embedded sword ground through my ribs and drove in deeper.

What entered my barely open eyes were the retreating silver-armored backs. They were my subordinates dispatched alongside me for this operation—comrades, friends, or so I had believed.

'Silvia....'

Even so, what surfaced in my final moment was still her face.

Silvia Vernice.

My beloved fiancée, and the Third Princess of the Vernice Empire.

She was in danger.

"Ah... aah...!"

With the image of Silvia smiling brightly as she gazed at me as the last thing I saw, the sensation of life's flame guttering out engulfed my entire body.

And then came absolute darkness.

Nothing to see, nothing to hear, nothing to feel.

That was the ending of my story.

And then.

Amid a vicious thirst I had never once experienced, amid a heartbeat pounding more vividly than ever before.

"Hah—!"

I opened my eyes again.