TRAGEDY & REUNION

The night was silent, a cool breeze sweeping through the barn. A mysterious black miasma slipped inside, seeping through the gaps of the wooden enclosure and reaching the entrance of the livestock stalls.

The animals awoke from their sleep and rushed into the corners, desperately avoiding the black haze that spread throughout every inch of the barn. Vein-like black rashes crawled across their bodies. One after another, the animals collapsed onto the ground in succession.

The night ended with the strange death of countless livestock.

And it marked the beginning of a chain of disasters that struck the kingdom—crop failures, devastating droughts, plague, and mass starvation.

Several weeks later, the dead numbered in the thousands. Under the king’s command, mass funerals were held, including for members of the royal family themselves.

Rain poured endlessly.

“Begin!” the king ordered loudly.

The soldiers immediately began sealing the graves.

GROOM—GROOM

The thunderous sound of thousands of horses echoed as royal soldiers galloped at full speed. They finally stopped at the hillside, their eyes fixed upon the castle towering above.

BANG!

The soldiers smashed through the castle’s main gate, searching every corner only to find the castle completely empty.

One of them discovered a sheet of paper marked with the emblem of a tiger’s head.

Elsewhere, at the edge of a bottomless cliff, dozens of torches burned brightly. Their flames danced violently beneath the cold night wind. With every passing second, the fire grew larger, illuminating the figure bound to a pillar at the center.

The world knew her as Ennis Primrose.

One of the Primal Knights—the living sword of the gods.

“Tell me where the rest of your members went,” the king demanded coldly from his throne.

Ennis remained silent, her face tilted toward the sky as memories of her contributions to the kingdom resurfaced in her mind.

Now, the life she once had ended with her chained to a sturdy pillar.

Her body hung helplessly in a miserable state, covered in bruises, cuts, and dried blood.

“You said the Demon King was defeated, you liar!”

“Shame of the kingdom!”

“Sinner! Die already! Throw her into the abyss!”

The crowd’s insults grew louder alongside the crackling flames. The very people she had protected all this time cursed her without mercy.

Back then, beneath the pale glow of the full moon, knights moved casually around the camp. Some sharpened their swords, while others polished their armor and checked their equipment. A few had already fallen asleep while leaning against large rocks.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

Everyone’s attention shifted toward the heavy footsteps that sounded all too familiar.

As the sound drew closer, several knights swallowed nervously.

Long golden hair swayed gently beneath the moonlight, gleaming like strands of gold. The woman walked forward clad in heavy armor, a massive sword hanging diagonally across her back.

It was no surprise that her overwhelming aura caused the knights to instantly stand upright and salute.

“Welcome, Dame Primrose. We’ve all been awaiting your arrival.”

Meanwhile, news of Ennis and the knight order marching to defeat the Demon King had spread throughout the kingdom. Families gathered around the mural bearing the symbol of the Primal Knight Order, praying earnestly for the warriors’ safety.

“May the knights return safely.”

“May the Gods and Goddesses protect them and grant them strength.”

“And may this war become humanity’s final victory.”

As the night deepened, the war finally began.

The battlefield resembled the outermost layer of hell itself.

Flames burned among piles of corpses, spreading through dry grass and consuming everything they touched. The ground was soaked with blood, marked by human iron boots mixed with the clawed footprints of demonic creatures.

Shouts, screams, and roars merged together into chaos.

The demon army surged forward like a black tidal wave.

The battle was brutal, swift, and merciless.

At the frontlines, a knight clad in golden armor charged ahead, cleaving through dozens of demon soldiers with massive swings of her greatsword.

“Do not retreat! Dame Ennis is still with us! Victory belongs to humanity!”

One battered knight shouted loudly.

Hearing those words, the other knights glanced toward Ennis and tightened their grips on their swords. The exhaustion on their faces vanished instantly, replaced by renewed determination.

“Attack! Slaughter the demons!”

“Victory is ours!”

With cries that answered one another, the knights continued swinging their swords. Even with half their bodies torn apart, cut open, and drenched in blood, they refused to stop fighting.

Their coordination required no words.

The knights instinctively moved away from Ennis, carefully estimating the range of the Primal Knight’s attacks so she could fight freely.

The battle lasted far longer than expected.

Countless soldiers and knights had already fallen. Those still standing relied purely on instinct, even as their trembling hands reminded them that human bodies had limits.

And Ennis was no better than the others.

Her face was covered in dust, blood splatters, and cold sweat. Parts of her armor had been torn apart, exposing wounds and bruises beneath.

Breathing heavily, Ennis dragged herself toward the foot of the mountain.

“Just a little further… only a little more…”

They had come this far. They had pushed back the demon army.

Victory was right before them.

She only needed to endure a little longer and sever the Demon King’s head—

BOOM!

The mountain where the Demon King resided exploded violently.

Ennis was thrown away, crashing onto the ground as her vision blurred.

In the final moments before losing consciousness, she remembered the two people she loved most.

Her son.

And her husband.

Memories slowly resurfaced of the peaceful days they spent together in their cottage. It was not grand or luxurious, but it was warm and comforting.

Whenever rain fell, wildflowers bloomed beautifully across the yard.

Her husband’s gentle smile and her son’s mischievous laughter still echoed vividly in her memory, as though only yesterday the three of them had played together by the lake near their home.

The fragments of the past slowly faded away as reality returned.

“After everything I’ve done… is this how it ends?” Ennis muttered weakly while the citizens’ insults buzzed faintly in her ears.

“I never did anything wrong. None of those accusations… were true…”

“I’ll ask you one last time,” the king said sharply. “Where did the others go?”

“We defeated the Demon King…” Ennis answered softly.

The executioner swung his axe into the wooden support beneath her.

Her body fell into the darkness of the abyss.

SWOOSH

Ennis slowly closed her heavy eyes.

“I accept all of this. But if I’m given another chance… I’ll hunt down the mastermind behind it all.”

A black silhouette suddenly caught her before she could crash below.

“This is not the right time for you to die.”

“Hyah!”

The childish voice of a young boy echoed each time he swung his wooden sword. Sweat dripped down his temples and across his still-round cheeks. Though only around eleven years old, he was already taller than most children his age, a sign of the strong genes he inherited.

His face looked handsome when serious and adorable when startled—like now.

The boy immediately lost focus when he spotted a white rabbit leaping through the bushes.

“Rabbit! Wait! Don’t move!”

Without hesitation, he chased after it.

Unfortunately, luck was not on his side.

Instead of catching the rabbit, he tripped over something the moment he landed behind the bushes.

Rubbing his aching nose, the boy blinked to clear his vision.

And then he froze.

A massive brown bear lay beneath him.

“…H-Huh?”

He staggered backward instinctively.

Unfortunately, the slight disturbance awakened the beast.

A towering shadow immediately loomed over the boy as he slowly looked up with stiff movements. His tiny hands trembled while gripping the wooden sword.

“I-I’m not afraid of you,” the boy lied, pointing the shaking sword toward the bear. “I-I’m the son of my mother… a strong, beautiful, and terrifying woman—”

ROAR!

The bear roared furiously, cutting him off before swiping its claws toward the child.

The boy immediately fell backward and covered his head tightly.

But instead of pain, he felt a powerful gust of wind from the side.

A loud impact followed.

Carefully opening his eyes, the boy saw the bear collapsed motionless on the ground.

His eyes widened in amazement.

Standing beside him was his mother.

“Mama!”

The boy immediately jumped up and ran toward her, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist like a koala.

“Mom! You were so cool! Just like a hero arriving right on time to defeat an evil monster!”

His mother simply sighed softly before patting his head.

Then she crouched down to meet his eyes.

“Why didn’t you run away?”

The boy smiled brightly.

“Because I want to become strong like you!”

Soft footsteps approached alongside the gentle voice of a man.

“If that’s the case, then you’ll need to finish all the food your mother prepared. I mean all of it. Including the vegetables.”

The speaker was a handsome bespectacled mage with delicate, scholarly features.

Children were terrible liars, and the boy’s pale expression revealed everything instantly.

“Heuph!”

He quickly covered his mouth as memories resurfaced of the horrifyingly healthy soup his mother always made.

As a result, the woman immediately shot her chuckling husband a threatening glare.

The two males with similar faces continued joking together at the dinner table while watching the woman wash dishes.

It was an ordinary yet warm scene they shared every evening.

Sadly, that peaceful life did not last forever.

The furious screams of citizens and soldiers eventually echoed through the village.

People burned down their home.

They persecuted her and her family.

“NO—!”

Ennis abruptly opened her eyes and reached out desperately toward the two figures that vanished from sight.

Instead of the burning cottage, she found herself staring at the strange ceiling of a dark room.

“…This…”

Just as she tried to understand where she was, an unfamiliar voice spoke once more.

“Welcome.”

Her instincts exploded with caution.

That presence…

It was unmistakably the Demon King.

After fighting demons countless times, she knew no being possessed such overwhelming darkness except him.

Without hesitation, Ennis lunged forward to attack.

But their power was incomparable.

The black silhouette merely waved its hand lightly.

A powerful force like a violent gust of wind sent Ennis flying into the wall.

She gasped sharply, only for an invisible force to suddenly seize her throat and lift her into the air.

“Ugh—!”

She clawed desperately at the unseen grip, but only managed to scratch her own neck.

As if amused by her futile struggle, the demon chuckled softly while approaching.

The black smoke surrounding the figure gradually disappeared, revealing the true form of the Demon King—someone who should have been defeated a thousand years ago.

“How does it feel to live?” he asked with a falsely gentle smile that sent chills down her spine. “Has the warmth of your life dulled your strength?”

His black-clawed fingers gently caressed her cheek before gripping her chin firmly.

“You, the so-called Primal Knight… the divine sword of the gods… were defeated by something as trivial as love. And even more amusing, you were betrayed by someone you trusted.”

Recalling that truth, Ennis bit her lip until it bled.

“You talk too much. Why don’t you just kill me? I have no reason left to live.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

The Demon King raised another hand, summoning a floating mirror before her.

“What about this? Though part of this disaster was indeed my fault… they should never have treated you that way. It was terribly unfair, wasn’t it? Don’t you want revenge for your family’s deaths?”

The mirror displayed the suffering endured by her husband and son before their painful deaths.

Just a brief glimpse of those memories made Ennis’s chest tighten painfully.

Hatred, grief, and rage twisted together inside her until breathing itself became difficult.

The surrounding room began trembling violently.

Cracks spread across the glass windows.

The Demon King quietly muttered to himself,

“Even in this realm… her power remains intact.”

Then he smiled faintly.

“I’ve decided to use you. In return, I’ll give you what you truly need.”

After whispering those words, he pressed a finger against Ennis’s forehead, transferring mysterious magic into her body.

In the next instant, Ennis vanished alongside an explosion of mist.

Once alone, the Demon King looked toward the dark sky while gripping something tightly in his hand.

It was a pocket watch containing the photograph of a little girl with short blonde hair.

“Farewell, Ennis,” he murmured softly. “For now, this is all I can do for you. Good luck.”

At the same time, Ennis was transported into the middle of a vast wilderness.

some of Her appearance had changed, her tip of the hair some are turn into red color.

And around her neck hung a necklace with a small pearl at its center, inside there is crafted shape of a miniature human womb.