千寻影视

They were set up.

An elaborate ploy to annihilate the top guild.

Brandon wouldn’t let this slide.

This cold war….

Despite their disadvantageous position.

He didn’t plan on fleeing.

As long as he played his cards right.

Because he knew.

He was already well aware of it this entire time.

"Lucian Frost."

That Lucian Frost should be somewhere out there alive.

That he was inside the rift.

But Brandon didn’t have the confidence he could pull him out of the rift.

Nor did he have the power to dive into the rift and pull him out, all while guaranteeing his own safety at the same time.

But he was out there somewhere—and would be a substantial asset in the war.

’Don’t die.’

He solemnly hoped.

Because if it wasn’t actually the case then….

"Huu…."

It didn’t matter.

"I’ll do it all myself."

His thoughts gathered together.

In front of him, Yi Jihyeon’s life was fading—a broken shell of her former self.

"I’m sorry, Miss Jihyeon. But I can’t prepare a proper burial for you."

His muscles were screaming in pain. He didn’t have the luxury to prepare a proper burial for her.

For all of them.

"Ah, it’s really hitting me now…. I really am about to die…. aren’t I?"

Snap—!

Brandon snapped his fingers. At that moment, amethyst flames ignited, contorting into a flower.

"I can’t offer a real flower. But I hope this makes up for it."

Brandon gently laid the blazing amethyst flower right beside Yi Jihyeon.

Yi Jihyeon stared at it intently, her eyes flickering with signs of life.

"It’s beautiful."

That was all she could say, staring at the flower with her fading eyes.

Then, she returned her attention back to Brandon.

"But…. can I make one last request…?"

"Of course."

Brandon nodded his head.

What more could she ask for?

There was not much he could do at the moment.

But he would try his best to fulfill any of her wishes as possible.

"....Hold me?"

"Yes?"

Was he hearing it right?

"I don’t want to die alone."

It was one of the reasons why Yi Jihyeon took up mentorship.

So she could surround herself with people she would come to love.

And now, it must’ve pained her heart to know she was the last one alive amongst the people that died.

Her people.

Brandon nodded and leaned in, carefully wrapping his arms around Yi Jihyeon, mindful of her wounds to avoid causing her pain.

It was finally when he noticed it.

No wonder Yi Jihyeon had only been using one hand this whole time.

"...."

….Because she had lost the other one.

It was clearly deliberate.

They had tortured her, leaving her alive to watch everything she had worked so hard for crumble.

The two remained still as Yi Jihyeon’s shoulders trembled frequently, the dreadful silence punctuated by her occasional sobs and whimpers.

Unable to find any proper words to console her, Brandon could only grit his teeth, softly stroking Yi Jihyeon’s hair as her breathing grew weaker with each passing second.

And moments later…

Voosh—!

The amethyst flames died out, and….

"...."

Yi Jihyeon passed away in his arms.

***

A day had already passed since the final examinations.

Things had been quite hectic inside Imperial Academy.

The news of the Iron Fist–guild members’ sudden deaths had been kept strictly confidential.

However, as an Imperial Army officer, Amelia and Belle had the right to know what happened behind the scenes.

In just a single day, so much has happened.

The order to close academy grounds had already ceased, and cadets were instructed to go home for the day.

But Amelia didn’t feel like going home.

Her house—the apartment she grew up in—now finally had people. Yet for some reason, it felt lonelier than ever.

And it seemed like Belle had the same thoughts as her as she sat right beside Amelia.

The two were currently by the academy entrance, seated on the flight of stairs as they stared at the snowflakes.

[1:00 PM.]

It was currently the afternoon.

The sky was a bleak shade of gray, and the heavy snow showed no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Amelia glanced at Belle. She seemed to be doing a lot better now compared to the exhausted look on her face earlier.

Amelia had told her about the ring she shared with Brandon—revealing his current status.

He was alive.

Amelia was sure of it.

If he wasn’t….

"...."

Amelia didn’t want to even think about it.

"I don’t regret what I said. Desertion is a grave sin—you know that, right?"

Belle asked, her voice rather soft.

"Of course, I understand. But did you really have to tell him to drop out? That’s really harsh."

"Well, if he does drop out because of what I said, then that just proves my point further. This place isn’t for him."

"Trying to justify yourself now, Belle?"

"....Now I feel bad."

Belle hugged her knees, feeling remorseful.

While she did lash out, Amelia couldn’t blame her. If she wasn’t aware of Brandon’s survival, maybe she would’ve reacted the same way as Belle.

"Just go and apologize."

"You’re right, I should."

And that was that.

A few moments passed, and suddenly, the door behind them creaked open.

A woman, with dark–purple hair and azure eyes emerged, looking rather exhausted.

On her hand was a cigarette which seemed to have been unlit.

"Miss Eve—Field Marshal?"

Amelia corrected herself.

"Never thought I’d be so glad to see it snow."

Flick—

Evelyn lit the cigarette, taking a long drag before exhaling, letting the smoke dance gently in the air.

"Now I don’t have any reason to go outside. It’s been kind of painful lately."

She spoke as she stared at the gentle snowflakes not sparing the two girls any glances.

It was her birthday.

She had never looked forward to it.

Because it had always disappointed her.

It may have seemed ungrateful, especially knowing how much Yi Jihyeon, Vanessa, and the other Incandescent Flames guild—members—had always thrown her a party.

But Evelyn could never shake off the feeling of disappointment whenever it was her birthday.

She had never told anyone why.

Because it hurts.

Because her birthday entailed a promise.

A promise that was broken—but somewhere inside Evelyn’s heart, she was still waiting for it to be fulfilled.

For her father to return.

But that had never happened.

She recalled his words from back then.

—Hehe~ Happy Birthday, Eve~!

—After Daddy gets his paycheck for the day, we’ll have a big feast tonight~!

Growing up in the slums, they didn’t have much.

But Evelyn was quite content with her family.

A family of two.

After all, Evelyn’s mother had died after giving birth to her.

Somewhere deep inside her, Evelyn blamed herself for her mother’s death.

The reason being, Evelyn was born with greater mana than normal.

Her mother, being a subpar mage, couldn’t handle the pressure during childbirth.

It might’ve been mitigated if her mother had been born in a better environment, given proper guidance, and given the opportunity to improve her mana core.

But unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

But despite all that, her father had never blamed her for it.

He had worked hard for her.

’Liar.’

And he had never returned on that day.

"Ah."

She massaged her temple. It felt like she was having a headache. She didn’t want to remember those painful memories.

Then, she glanced at the two girls, seated by the flight of stairs beneath her.

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"Hello."

She smiled, holding the cigarette up.

The two girl’s nodded their heads in response.

As Brandon’s mentor, Amelia had told her about the ring.

She was truly glad.

But that emotion was only brief, as she remembered the uncertainty regarding Yi Jihyeon.

She wasn’t fond of her, finding her annoying, maybe even afraid of her.

But….

’Maybe that’s how it feels like to have a mother?’

She wasn’t sure.

Because she grew up without one in the first place.

All of a sudden, there was a commotion outside the academy gate.

Tak.

Evelyn dropped the cigarette and stepped on it, before glancing at the two girls, giving them a nod.

The academy was in shambles at the moment. If there was a commotion happening now, it would most likely be related to the incident.

Evelyn clenched her fist at that moment.

Another shitty birthday.

The two immediately rushed towards the academy gates, only to find the guards trying to push someone back, a metallic sound ringing from the gate.

"Please go back, Sir. The academy isn’t accepting any visitors."

"In the first place, you should be at a hospital. Please follow our advice, look, I’ll call an ambulance for you."

The guards were currently trying to control the situation. There seemed to be an unwanted guest.

Evelyn stared intently, narrowing her eyes as she tried to recognize the guest.

He was familiar.

Really familiar.

Much to the point where Evelyn had no doubts of his identity.

Additionally, his appearance was rough.

His pale-white hair was unkempt and disheveled, his face smeared with dirt.

His outfit was torn, riddled with holes, and the sleeves had been ripped off, revealing visible wounds on his body.

And, on top of it all,

"...."

He reeked.

It seemed like the guards didn’t recognize him due to his rough appearance.

But on normal occasions, he should’ve been able to enter the academy easily.

It goes without saying.

"Brandon—"

Before Amelia could finish her words, Brandon’s voice echoed amidst the cold wind, silencing the guards.

"My name is Brandon Locke."

He stared straight ahead with wide exhausted eyes, paying no glances to Amelia, Belle, Evelyn, even the guards.

"And I’d like to make a report."