Turning the point of view slightly back into the past.
It was when Ludger created a massive wall of shadow with Ater Nocturnus to signal the beginning of the true battle.
Catherine saw the pitch-black tidal wave soaring high into the sky and instinctively realized that this was the signal.
“He did say he would give me a signal, but he never said it would be this flashy. Well, it is easy to recognize, so that part is nice.”
You could only see it properly from inside the forest; from outside, the darkness would make everything invisible.
With a rustling sound, people pushed aside the thick bushes and revealed themselves.
They were people in robes marked with the symbol of the Order—garments that people now avoided even looking at.
The remnants of the Lumenis Church.
Those who could not forget the past and were still trapped by it.
They froze in place the moment they saw Catherine.
The person they intended to abduct wasn’t hiding at all but was instead openly waiting for them.
“I’ll show mercy even now. This is my final warning.”
Catherine spoke in a calm tone.
She was in a good mood today. A long-lost friend had come back, and she had spent a meaningful time with him.
Catherine liked her life now.
Honor, glory—she needed none of it. Living with her family was what made her happy.
She was glad when she worked the fields with her sisters.
She enjoyed sharing trivial conversations with the villagers.
Yes.
Even a life others might call dull or insignificant—
To Catherine, it was priceless, something she wouldn’t trade even for a fortune.
That was why Catherine wanted to protect her current life.
She wanted to live not as Saint Catherine, but as Catherine Unsho.
“I chose not to cling to the past. Because we’re human. We can only live in the present and hope for the future.”
The attackers silently listened to Catherine’s words.
Her voice still carried a certain power.
“You have it too, don’t you? A reason to live. Even if you don’t, you can surely find one. So leave this place. Go and look for new possibilities.”
“Do you think such a thing exists for us?”
The one who stepped forward was clearly the leader of this group—a high priest.
He should have lost a considerable portion of his strength, and yet his body was overflowing with sacred power.
No, this wasn’t his own power alone.
The other priests had transferred their sacred power to him.
For this moment.
“I have received the wishes of my brothers and sisters in their stead. You thought our resolve—having come this far—would falter because of a few words?”
“That isn’t a wish. It’s just greed and stubbornness.”
“Call it greed if ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) you want. As long as it allows us to reclaim our former glory.”
Catherine shook her head as if pitying him.
“Even if you take me, you can’t reclaim your old glory. You already know that, don’t you?”
Of course they knew.
Even if they took Catherine and used her as their center, the Order would never be restored.
Even if they wore the name of the Lumenis Church as a mask, they would be nothing compared to how powerful it once was.
They were not ignorant of that fact.
Some of them were still deluded, believing they could reclaim the brilliant glory of the past.
But reality was not that kind.
Lost power does not suddenly return, and scattered people do not magically gather as if bewitched.
They might end up stronger than they were now—practically a network of isolated cells—but...
In the end, all that awaited them was becoming a larger-scale anti-social organization than before.
“I know it’s not easy. But this is your last chance. Stop here. Return, and find your own lives.”
“This is our life. Having come this far, we cannot stop.”
The high priest spoke as their representative.
Everyone behind him showed clear hostility in their eyes as if in agreement.
Catherine let out a long sigh.
“Right. So this is how it ends.”
She had known deep down.
If people could be persuaded with mere words, why would there be disputes and wars in the world?
In the end, people cannot understand one another.
They exclude and trample others for the sake of their own desires.
She knew not everyone was like that, but even so, she couldn’t help lamenting.
Because in the end, it was always this kind of selfishness that destroyed the world.
“All right. Enough pointless worrying.”
Catherine clenched her fists and struck them together.
KWAANG!
That alone created a deafening explosion and a violent gust of wind.
The attackers’ hoods were blown off by the wind.
They seemed unable to adjust to Catherine’s sudden change in demeanor.
“I gave you a warning, and you refused to listen. I won’t try to persuade you any further.”
“What do you—”
“Since you came all the way here and said you can’t back down, I can’t yield either. So the only thing left is to clash with all we’ve got.”
Her reaction was completely different from just moments earlier, when she had been trying her utmost to resolve things peacefully.
The high priest sensed danger and tried to say something—
PUEOK!
Catherine’s fist slammed straight into his mouth.
His shattered teeth flew out with blood.
Even though he had reinforced his body with sacred power and defended himself with sacred techniques, it was useless.
His body flew backwards and crashed violently into the other remnants.
People tangled together and fell in a heap, and the ones who remained standing widened their eyes in disbelief.
“What. Never seen me throw a punch before?”
Catherine opened and closed her fist.
It was almost unbelievable that such destructive force came from that slender hand.
“For the record, I gave you a chance. Staying here was your choice.”
“W-why would a Saint...?”
“I’m not a Saint anymore. So I don’t have mercy or anything like that. You really came here without even knowing that?”
A cold smile formed at the corner of Catherine’s lips.
“You’re unlucky. To think you’d come looking for me on a day like this.”
The ones sent earlier—she had dealt with quietly so her parents wouldn’t find out.
She purposely suppressed her strength and acted silently to prevent noise from leaking out.
But today was different.
Thanks to Ludger, no matter what kind of chaos erupted here, no sound would reach the mansion.
In other words, the restraints Catherine normally placed on herself—her suppressed personality and restraint—had been completely undone.
“Think of it as this: every one of you is dead today.”
* * *
The fight ended so quickly and easily that it felt almost anticlimactic.
“That was the last one?”
“Yes.”
Ludger looked down at the priest who had been beaten senseless by Catherine.
The man who had once been a high priest was now so battered that it was hard to recognize his original face.
For an ordinary person, such injuries would mean instant death, but the remnants of sacred power lingering in his body refused to let him die.
Ironically, because of the sacred power, he could not die—only suffer.
“W-what... is this...”
His face had swollen nearly threefold into a dark bruise. With one eye barely open, he stared at the scene before him.
His proud comrades lay dead on the ground, their bodies cold.
Not a single one was alive.
Once-promising individuals had been wiped out in mere moments.
“Who in the world...”
His eyes turned toward the one responsible for this carnage.
“Y-you!”
His eyes widened as far as they could when he looked up at Ludger.
Disbelief, shock, and fear.
His trembling body and twisted expression spoke for him.
“I didn’t expect there would be anyone left who recognized me. So you’re not some remnant dispatched to the continent—you’re a survivor of the Holy War back in the home country.”
“H-how are you here...? You were... definitely dead!”
His partially recovered eyes turned toward Catherine.
“Saintess! Why! Why would you join hands with a Demon King!”
It was unbelievable.
It was already shocking enough that the Demon King he thought dead was alive—but for the Saintess to be cooperating with him?
“I am tired of answering this.”
Ludger lightly swung his swordstick.
The severed head rolled across the ground.
Moments later, the earth rippled and swallowed all the bodies whole.
It was like watching a bottomless swamp devour people alive.
After clearing all the enemies, Ludger sheathed the swordstick back into his cane and asked Catherine:
“You’re not going to complain about me killing people, are you?”
“At this point?”
Her answer contained many implications.
Ludger let out a small laugh and shrugged.
Well, on the other side of the forest, there were probably people who had died from her punches anyway.
“Still, even weakened, you’re as fierce as always.”
“Yeah. So you better behave yourself. Got it?”
Catherine showed her neat teeth as she playfully shook her fist.
* * *
The next morning.
Life in the Unsho household was the same as always.
The villagers had gone out to the fields early, and the people of the estate were bustling about starting their daily work.
No one knew what had happened in the forest the previous night.
As if nothing had ever happened, the world remained peaceful.
After finishing breakfast, Ludger had completed his preparations to leave.
Reuniting with Catherine had been enjoyable enough—it was now time to meet others.
“You’re going?”
“Why. Feeling sad now that it’s time for me to leave?”
“You really keep testing me, don’t you?”
A vein popped on Catherine’s forehead.
Her tightly clenched fist trembled as if roaring, but she soon relaxed her shoulders.
“If I say I’m sad... would you stay?”
“......”
Catherine’s voice trembled.
Ludger couldn’t answer properly.
He had never expected her to show a vulnerable side so suddenly.
With her head lowered, Catherine’s shoulders shook.
He was just about to consider comforting her—
“Pff—hahaha! What are you doing? Were you seriously worried about me?”
Catherine lifted her head and clutched her stomach, laughing.
“My god, look how flustered you were! Ah, that’s hilarious. You’re so cute.”
Ludger sighed as he watched Catherine wipe tears of laughter from the corner of her eyes.
“Haah. I feel like an idiot for worrying.”
“This big sister knows how to take care of herself, so stop worrying already.”
Thunk.
Catherine lightly tapped his chest with her fist.
“You still have a lot to do, right? So don’t stop. That’s your strong point.”
Don’t stop.
At those words, Ludger went blank for a moment before nodding.
“Right. I won’t.”
“And that spatial movement thing? You can use it anytime, so visit whenever you get bored. Okay?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Oh? Are you sulking because I teased you just now? No way, right?”
“No.”
“Oh, please. You totally are.”
“I’m not.”
“You’re not~?”
Catherine snickered and waved at him.
“Then, take care. See you next time.”
“Yes. See you next time.”
Catherine immediately turned around and disappeared into the mansion.
She was probably going to help with housework alongside her sisters today.
Just as Ludger was about to leave—
“May I have a moment of your time?”
The head of the Unsho family, Bradley Unsho, approached Ludger.
“Yes. What is it?”
“I simply wanted to say thank you.”
“I believe I already received your gratitude plenty yesterday. No need to repeat it.”
“I am thanking you for what happened after that—what transpired during the night.”
“......”
Ludger did not respond, merely watching Bradley with an unreadable gaze.
“You need not try to hide it. I’m not completely oblivious, you know.”
The moment Ludger saw Bradley’s eyes, he realized he could not hide it.
“How did you know?”
“This is our land. My family’s home for generations. As the head of the house, not knowing would be unacceptable, wouldn’t you say?”
“Then you knew even before this...”
“Catherine—my child—has been fighting difficult battles in secret. But as her father, I haven’t been able to help her. Because I am nothing but a weak human who cannot use magic.”
Bradley gave Ludger a gentle smile and patted his shoulder.
“So I am truly grateful to you. Thanks to you, a great weight has been lifted from my heart. It has also been a long time since I’ve seen Catherine so happy. I could do nothing for her myself.”
“You need not blame yourself. You did not do nothing.”
Bradley blinked in surprise.
Ludger’s voice remained steady.
“Just being there for her. That alone is enough for Catherine.”
“Is that really enough?”
“Yes. That is more than enough. Because you’re her family.”
That is what family is.
Even without words, without saying anything—
Just being there gives strength.
Hearing Ludger’s words, Bradley let out a soft sigh of relief and nodded with a much more relaxed smile.
“Hearing you say that... brings me comfort.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“If you ever have the chance, visit again. You will always be welcome here.”
“Yes. I will. I truly liked the food here.”
After giving a final nod, Ludger vanished into the shadows.
Catherine approached Bradley from behind.
“He left?”
“Catherine.”
“That idiot. He really went.”
Catherine looked toward the spot where Ludger had disappeared, took a deep breath, and shouted:
“See you again next time! My friend!”
* * *
“......”
Far from the Unsho estate.
Ludger let out a faint laugh when he heard Catherine’s voice echoing from afar.
Pretending otherwise, yet secretly feeling reluctant—she hadn’t changed at all from the past.
“All right. I’ll see you again next time.”
Ludger used the shadows to leap through space.
And the place he emerged into was the Yuta Kingdom, where icy snowstorms raged.