I Reject the villain’s ending.

Episode 88.

The disappearance of a saint and a crown prince from a hunting tournament organized by the imperial court and the temple was a big deal.
The crown prince’s knights reported it, and the weak emperor collapsed on the spot, white in the face.
‘It’s the work of a group of half-humans and half-horses! In the middle of a battle with them, the Holy Saint and His Highness the Crown Prince were hit by a teleportation spell and disappeared!’
‘Alas, my God. My, my son. My son…….’
‘Her Majesty the Empress has fainted! Bring the imperial physician!’
‘Knights and soldiers, divide into two groups and search for any trace of the half-elf!’
‘Kaaak, the half-man half-horse. Is there still such a thing alive? Doesn’t that mean we’re in danger? Hurry up and return to the clan……!’
Abigail shouted. The hunt was quickly disrupted by panic, and everyone scrambled to get out of the hunting grounds.
In the midst of this chaos, Leo gritted his teeth and tried to calmly give instructions and take control of the situation.
But it wasn’t enough.
In the midst of the chaos, Lysen pushed his way through the crowd and approached Leo.
‘Leo, is it true that the king and the saint are missing because of the half-man-half-horse?’
‘Yes. While we were fending off their attacks, that grey-haired half-demon and the other one prepared a spell and sent them off somewhere.’
‘And you’re a magician yourself, don’t you know where they sent them?’
‘No clue. The coordinates were obscured, so I couldn’t see them, and there was more than one magic circle, so there’s no way I could figure it out without being an expert.’
‘But what about the two who went with him? The Guardians?’
‘They were…….’
Leo said sparingly, jerking his head towards the dense forest.
‘I couldn’t bring them with me because the Saint disappeared and Lord Iros was out of his mind, and Lord Dian sent me ahead to guard the site.’
Leo’s expression was grim as he said this.
‘You and Lord Iros have just become lovers, and it must be quite a shock to have her disappear under your nose like that.’
‘Ah. I suppose so.’
‘And one more thing.’
‘What is it?’
‘High Priest Diego. He was the leader of the half-demons. I think he’s a half-demon who can use divine powers.’
‘What? That’s why he brought the priests, and why you don’t see them?’
Lysen muttered gravely in disbelief.
All the priests and priests from the hunting tournament, including High Priest Diego, had vanished into thin air.
Not a single one of them could be found as if they had evaporated into thin air.
Leo’s expression grew grave.
If what Lysen had said was true, it was obvious that the moment this news got out, it would be a disaster.
Leo squeezed his eyes shut and turned to God.
‘Dear God, how in the world did this come to be…….’
* * *
Meanwhile, Iros, who crouched like a gargoyle in the spot where Sierra had disappeared, denying and rejecting reality, finally calmed down after what seemed like an eternity.
Clutching at the dirt, Iros raised his head, his hair falling in a dizzying mess as he pushed down on his seething stomach.
A small voice escaped his lips.
‘It’s okay, we’ll find it again.’
His tightly clenched lips twisted in a grimace.
‘Find her again, bring her back to my side. We’ll find him again, and we’ll tie him up so he can’t fall off forever.’
Iros pushed himself slowly to his feet, vowing.
When I find her, I will tie Sierra’s wrists tightly together with mine. Make sure she can’t go anywhere.
‘To never leave my side again.’
I calmed my breathing as I imagined spending all my time with her like that.
When my head cooled down a bit, reason returned. The light returned to his eyes, which had been like the eyes of a dead animal.
They glowed a vivid mauve again, and Iros spoke in a low voice.
‘If she is hurt or in danger, my heart will be the first to respond, for the imprint is still intact.’
Once in a lifetime, a half-elf imprints a loved one, and when that person is injured or killed, it feels as if their heart will be ripped out.
When Sierra died suddenly, it hurt just as bad, like he wanted to end the world.
But his heart didn’t hurt yet.
‘That means she’s okay.’
My dazzling lover is still alive. She’s alive and well, without a scratch on her body.
No matter how far away I was, no matter how impossible it was to find her, I was certain of this.
Sierra is safe.
‘So what do I do now, then? Think, Iros Elijah, I need to get my head around getting her back as soon as possible.’
Then it dawned on me.
Jozef had told me that once magic is used, the power lingers in the space for a while, so you can follow the mana’s footsteps.
‘Diane, go to Jozef’s mansion right away and bring Mei and Jozef with you.’
‘Suddenly?’
‘Come on!’
‘Oh, I see. And you?’
Diane asked, and Iros drew a finger in the dirt and began to trace a magic circle.
‘I’ll do everything I can, so go and make sure you bring Mei and Jozef back.’
‘I understand. I’ll be right back.’
After Diane left, Iros drew as much as he could before his memory faded, remembering the last time he’d seen Sierra and the crown prince and the magic circles that had blown them away.
Hoping that this would be a clue to finding Sierra.

* * *

An endless expanse of pure white snow.
I stared blankly at the horizon before turning to the crown prince.
‘Your Highness, I think we’ve been transported to a strange place, don’t you?’
‘I suppose so, half-man, half-horse, you madmen.’
We stared at the landscape for a long moment, and then I sighed.
‘Two people in chains in this snowy wasteland. We’re in distress, aren’t we?’
‘Can’t you tell by looking at them? They’re chained pretty tightly. I’m guessing they sent you here on purpose to freeze to death.’
‘You must have been pretty sure you were going to freeze to death in here, damn you, Diego. You’ve got one hell of a brain.’
I laughed weakly. I can’t believe how unexpected this is.
I was caught off guard because magic moves the mana around it and the circle glows according to the caster’s disposition.
Now that I think about it, I can sense holy power and life force, but not mana.
So I didn’t realize that the boys behind Diego, Moringa, and Jess, were preparing a spell that would send me to the snowfields.
‘I suppose Iros didn’t know either. He could feel the mana, but he couldn’t tell with all the demi-humans attacking him with magic.’
The result is a disaster film situation like this. I’m the main character, about to freeze to death.
The crown prince behind me grunted and shifted his body, trying to break the chains, then gave up, chewing harsh words.
‘Damn it, we’re stuck.’
‘Wait a minute.’
‘……?’
Ooof, snap. I jerked my arm to break the chains, dusted off my clothes, and stood up.
As I did so, the crown prince stared up at me, dumbfounded, his golden eyes fluttering.
I moved my whole body, checking examining, and thinking.
‘Being a saint and being so inhumanly strong is very convenient in times like this.
The crown prince looked back and forth between the loose chains and me, and his lips twitched.
But no words came out of his mouth.
‘Are you going to keep sitting in the snow? Get up if you don’t want to lose your body heat.’
‘You… there’s a lot about you I didn’t know. I should be thankful I didn’t get beaten to death.’
‘You’re welcome. I know you want to celebrate my generosity, but get up if you don’t want to become an ice statue.’
‘I will.’
The crown prince nodded shakily and complied. I rummaged through my subspace pockets for something useful.
Fortunately, I’d left everything in there, so it wasn’t hard to find what I needed now.
‘Coat, gloves, fur boots, hat, cloak. Get dressed first, unless you want to freeze to death.’
‘Thank you, but my coat seems to be a little tight around my forearms and chest.’
‘Don’t say that in front of Iros.’
‘Is it Lord Iros, or is he less fit than I thought?’
‘No, it’s just that you’ve been over-exercising. You haven’t forgotten that Airos is the best knight in the Empire, have you?’
He’s the Guardian of the Sword, so how could he be out of shape? He’s very muscular. …….
‘Hmph. Anyway, we have some emergency rations and crawfish, so let’s find a way back before we run out.’
‘Can we get back……?’
‘…….’
‘Well, it looks like it’s all snow as far as the eye can see, so we’re going to have to get out of here.’
I don’t know if we can get out.
The crown prince added, looking around in all directions.
I find myself vehemently agreeing with him. I can’t believe we’re here and all I can see is snow.
I also feel a sense of dread, as if living in such a white place would give me a mental illness. There are only two of us here, the crown prince and me.
The wind whips around. A cold, dry wind whipped past my cheeks.
‘We must survive somehow.’
I’m going to go back and spend the rest of the day being scolded for worrying Iros, I’m going to go shopping with Mei, and I’m going to make Yongyong a new necklace.
So much to do.
‘I will go back, no matter what.’
It’s enough to be missing like this to worry about the people I love and care about.
So I can’t go back because I’m injured or dead.
I steeled my resolve and made up my mind.
‘We’re going to go back somehow, Diego, and we’re going to punch that bastard in the face, okay?’
‘Haha. I’m going to need a sword, not a fist, to unlock my intuition. How dare you send me to a place like this.’
‘Good idea.’
The crown prince also bared his teeth in agreement, and with a cheerful smile, he grabbed the sword.
‘Then let’s get going!’