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We passed through the forest in an instant, drawing closer to Aquiline Academy.

The closer we got, the more clearly we could see the black smoke rising thickly in the distance.

"You're coming with me."

At that moment, Isabel caught up to me, following closely.

With her wings spread, she ran alongside me.

"Are you really going to end the civil war?"

"Yeah. Now I have a cause of my own."

At Aquiline Academy, there were students from Zerion Academy.

As their instructor, it would be perfectly reasonable for me to say I was standing against the enemy to protect them.

Above all, Card was involved.

Though we constantly bickered, he was still my friend.

"I realized it when we almost lost Seron recently."

My eyes, unlike before, shone with renewed determination.

"I’ve always been the type who wanted to protect what I held in my hands."

The network of relationships surrounding me.

I vowed that every connection I was tied to would find a happy ending.

That desire was both my ambition and my possessiveness.

And possessiveness is one of the emotions included in love.

Long ago, I lost love.

This was the first step to reclaim it.

I would turn this world into a happy ending.

Even if it meant I would remain just an extra.

To me, in the story I am moving forward in, everyone is a main character and every star shines brightly.

I reaffirmed the conviction that had once faded along with my emotions.

"You really are..."

Isabel gazed at me quietly and then asked softly:

"Am I included in that too?"

A slight expectation shimmered in her eyes.

"You're stating the obvious."

Isabel’s lips curled into a smile.

She looked genuinely happy.

"Actually, there’s no need to rush."

It didn’t take me long to understand her words.

Far ahead, a massive defensive magic barrier enveloped Aquiline Academy.

"The strongest mage is on our side."

Of course, the students were still just fledglings.

They weren't ready to defeat fully trained mages and knights.

But every once in a while.

Truly rarely.

There exists a monster even adults can’t handle.

Sharin Sararis.

A genuine monster, hailed as the Empire’s candidate for the next Blue Tower Master and one of the strongest mages.

Her magic didn’t permit mere soldiers of the Panisys noble faction to even approach.

Her powers had evolved further, forged by countless brushes with death.

In terms of sheer mana, she could now rival the Blue Tower Master.

As long as Sharin was here, Aquiline Academy would not fall.

And it wasn’t just her.

Two spirits rose above the defensive barrier.

One was a Spirit Lord who commanded storms.

The other, a top-tier spirit who controlled the flames of karmic fire.

At their appearance, the soldiers broke ranks and fled in terror.

They were beings that ordinary soldiers simply couldn’t handle.

However, exceptions always exist.

Boom!

An arrow flew out of nowhere, striking and blowing off the head of the top-tier spirit.

An arrow, condensed with massive energy, pierced through flame and storm to strike the spirit.

Taking advantage of that gap, soldiers began hammering at the magic barrier.

The Spirit Lord blew them away, but it wasn’t enough.

Foara, by nature, couldn’t harbor killing intent against humans, and thus lacked sufficient strength.

It couldn’t be helped.

"Isabel, remember this."

I formed a knife hand with my palm and stomped the ground heavily.

"Those with black feathers on their heads."

At the same time, flames of ash spiraled in my grasp.

"Be careful of them."

Breaking through the forest at high speed, I emerged into a clearing.

There, I encountered a man wielding a massive bow, aiming to snipe the spirits.

The helmet on his head was adorned with black feathers, resembling a bird.

He was a member of the Blackbird Knights, the proud elite force of the fantasy kingdom Panisys.

His bow immediately shifted its aim at me.

The massive bow suddenly shrank.

The magic-formed arrow also shrank accordingly.

Instead, the number of arrows on the string drastically increased.

Swish!

Arrows shot toward me in rapid succession.

A rain of arrows, endless and overwhelming.

But he had miscalculated.

If he were to fight me, it would’ve been far better to stick with that giant bow.

The arrows clashed against my body.

An endless rain of arrows hammered me.

Yet not a single arrow managed to pierce me.

There was no need to even swing my hand.

Simply moving forward was enough to shatter and crush every arrow.

Surprised by the unexpected advance, the Blackbird Knight hurriedly changed the form of his weapon.

Clang!

He now held a heavy mace.

Smart move.

He must have realized that cutting weapons wouldn’t work against me.

The moment the distance between us closed, he swung the mace heavily.

Just before the mace could hit, I twisted my knife hand and swung at the mace.

With the strength of my reinforced body and the addition of the ash flames, intense heat radiated from my strike.

Crunch!

The head of the mace was penetrated, and the ash flames dug deep inside.

Weapon Breaker.

Clang!

The mace head shattered into pieces, scattering fragments all around.

Beneath the falling debris, the Blackbird Knight swung a dagger forged purely from aura.

Although its output was less compared to the larger weapons, the aura blade could cut through anything.

Even reinforced flesh could be severed.

True to his reputation as a Blackbird Knight of Panisys.

Despite the unexpected turns of battle, he adapted swiftly without a hint of panic.

But maybe because I had already faced apostles capable of high-speed movement.

His adaptability and judgment couldn’t match mine.

Crack!

Even before his aura dagger could reach me,

my foot had already swept his leg.

Having undergone hellish training, my body was hardened, and thanks to the ancient dragon’s magic, parts of me had even begun to transform into a dragonkin.

No matter how strong the legs of a Blackbird Knight might be, they couldn’t withstand this.

His leg twisted unnaturally, and his body toppled sideways.

At that very moment, my fist was already at his face.

Wham!

With a crisp sound, the knight’s nose and face caved in.

Spinning once in midair, he crashed to the ground.

The knight was strong, no doubt.

Most students wouldn’t even dare to face him.

But I had long since surpassed the level of a mere student.

Having crossed countless lines between life and death, having absorbed countless mysteries and miracles, I had grown powerful.

There was no way I would fall to a knight now.

Plucking a feather from the plume atop the fallen Blackbird Knight’s helmet, I dashed deeper into the forest once more.

Ordinary soldiers didn’t matter.

My only targets were the knight-class enemies.

This was a special strike force assembled to capture Prince Maron and bring the civil war to an end.

The Blackbird Knights were not only high-level but also numerous.

I continued rampaging through the forest, striking down more Blackbird Knights.

Occasionally, I encountered knights from other divisions too.

But if the strongest of the Blackbirds couldn’t match me, neither could they.

Still, the knights were no fools.

The moment they realized their forces were collapsing, they began regrouping in perfect coordination.

Individually they were no threat.

But grouped together, they posed a different challenge.

Their judgment was sound.

It was, in fact, the correct decision.

Even for me, charging straight into a cluster of knights was suicidal.

However—

there was one thing they had miscalculated.

"You."

You’ve come.

Isabel appeared, battered and disheveled from fighting multiple battles herself,

but the Wings of the Goddess still shone brilliantly on her back.

"Isabel, you haven’t used the Goddess’s Victory Declaration yet, have you?"

"No. The knights were strong, but nothing I couldn’t handle."

"They’re fighting a civil war too. They must be far from their peak condition."

Knights fighting at the frontlines were inevitably worn down.

Especially those who had chased us all the way from the royal capital to here without a moment’s rest.

Compared to us, who had at least managed some rest, they were utterly exhausted.

Thus, I decided to graciously offer them the rest they deserved.

"Isabel, please invoke the Victory Declaration."

I climbed up a tree and raised my hand to the sky.

Dark clouds began gathering amid the night’s gloom.

There were still knights unaware of the situation.

Knights, bound by their nobles’ orders, no different from pawns.

Yet to break their will, it was necessary to display overwhelming force.

I tightened my grip on the ringed right hand.

In response, massive power began to roil above.

Flutter!

At the same time, Isabel’s Wings of the Goddess unfurled.

The power concentrated in her wings coalesced at the tip of her sword,

and then shot toward the sky.

A colossal light illuminated the night, only to be swallowed by the thick clouds.

Startled by the sudden brilliance, the Blackbird Knights and soldiers turned their eyes toward us.

Among them were mages, who had been preparing spells to counter Sharin’s magic.

I waved my hand at them, offering a mock greeting.

Come, Lightning Caller.

Soon, the heavens themselves answered my call.

A massive convergence of energy, infused with the Victory Declaration of the Goddess,

condensed into a single bolt of lightning and hurled itself downward.

The searing brilliance swallowed even the sound around it, engulfing the entire forest.

The magic engraving on my palm began to radiate power in response.

Magic Inscription · Lightning Catcher.

The lightning flowing through my hand transformed into the shape of a spear.

Within the thunderbolt surged the immense, boiling power of the sun blessed by the goddess.

Realizing the threat too late, the enemy mages tried to erect defensive spells,

but it was already too late.

Every person has a limit to the power they can endure.

None among them could stop me.

The Blackbird Knights, with admirable resilience, drew their greatbows and loaded arrows,

trying to bring me down even now.

Their efforts were noble.

But the spear of divine thunder in my hand was a force that could even swallow their final resistance.

My arm swung with all its might, the strength from my waist adding weight to the blow,

and the magic inscriptions around my elbow exploded in brilliant force.

If I must act, let it be with overwhelming brilliance.

A strike to sear itself into the memory of the nobles who had dared raise a civil war.

The Goddess’s Spear left my hand, engulfing the archers’ greatbows and everything else in its path.

KWA-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-AANG!

Before the Aquiline Academy—

the entire forest, and everyone within it, was blown away in an instant.