Seeing my resolve, Snow let out a quiet, bitter laugh as he lowered his gaze.
"You’ve always been this type of bastard, Frey.
I’m not surprised you’re willing to abandon all of us for your sister.
It’s just who you are."
He stepped toward me.
For a moment, I wondered ..
would he try to stop me?
If he did, things would get complicated.
His strength had grown so much he could fight me evenly now.
I was ready to draw my sword ..
But I stopped at the last second.
There was no hostility.
No killing intent.
No aura.
Snow simply walked toward me calmly, hands empty.
What was he planning—?
I got my answer the moment he reached me.
His fist clenched..
and he punched me straight in the face.
A clean, brutal blow from nowhere.
I flew several meters back, the heat of the impact burning across my right cheek.
And that was just a physical punch.
No aura.
Nothing supernatural.
Even so ..
it hurt like hell.
I hit the ground on my back, staring up at the sky.
Snow stepped forward again, stopping beside me.
"Frey... everything you’ve suffered through has carved deep scars inside you.
You always try to solve everything alone, without even noticing it.
And I can’t help but curse your selfishness for that."
He calmly sat beside me with a frustrated sigh.
"Who said I would stop you, you idiot?
...I just wanted to help."
My eyes widened slightly as understanding clicked.
I turned to look at him.
"Why didn’t you ask me to come with you?
If the two of us go together, our chances will increase...
and we’ll be able to return alive.
Together."
"..."
So that was what troubled Snow.
He never meant to stop me.
He only wanted to go with me ...
to help me save Ada.
Looking back... it was obvious.
We had fought side by side for so long that he could predict my thoughts before I formed them.
Of course he knew I would go after Ada.
Of course he wanted to come and help..
But I failed to see that, blinded by my twisted nature ..
that cursed instinct to rely only on myself, shaped by everything I lived through...
Life taught me one thing:
in the end, I only had my own strength.
No matter how many allies stood around me,
I always ended up alone.
That was Frey Starlight’s reality since the day I opened my eyes in this world.
But Snow...
Snow was different.
He was the one person who stood beside me ..
through everything.
Even against Wesker.
He was different.
Slowly, I pushed myself up into a sitting position beside him.
"I’m sorry...
It seems the shadows of my past still dig too deep into me."
I gave him a strained smile.
"From now on, I’ll try to change that way of thinking...
But I’m going to be selfish one more time.
And ask you to let me go alone.
Just this once."
I stood again, giving him the decision he didn’t want.
"Your presence here is necessary.
For our friends, for the survivors ..
you’re the only one whose strength I can rely on completely if something happens."
The Shadow Sect wasn’t fully trustworthy.
Human forces were too weak.
Snow was the only one I could trust with this responsibility.
"Stay.
Lead them.
Keep them alive."
Snow looked up at me, his jaw tightening.
"Our enemy is too strong, Frey...
You won’t be able to win alone."
Snow wasn’t convinced by my words.
He knew too well how strong our enemies were.
But in that moment, I could only offer him a faint smile.
"Don’t worry. I’m not alone this time."
As soon as those words left my mouth, Snow froze for a heartbeat.
A purple shadow flickered behind me for an instant ...
The silhouette of a man wearing a black metal mask...
A presence so regal and oppressive it belonged only to kings.
"I’ll come back no matter what it costs.
Until then, I’m leaving everything in your hands."
A surge of deep violet aura swept through my body as I prepared to teleport.
Snow let out another troubled sigh .. still unconvinced.
But when he saw my resolve, he didn’t try to stop me anymore.
"Make sure you save your sister and return alive.
We’ll be waiting for you."
I nodded, and in the next moment, I vanished from the Shadow Sect, leaving him and the others behind.
---
...
Snow remained standing there for a while, staring at the spot where I disappeared.
Then, slowly, he turned toward one of the dark corners.
"Are you really planning to hide until the end without saying anything?
Sansa..."
His expression was blank, voice cold.
From the corner he pointed at, the darkness thickened ..
And after only a few seconds, Sansa emerged from nothingness, fully in her demonic form.
"He’s gone.
It’s too late to tell him anything now..." Snow said, and Sansa gently shook her head.
"It’s fine.
I wouldn’t be of any help to him... not with my current strength."
Snow didn’t deny it.
Sansa’s demonic power was indeed strong...
but still far below his, and far below Frey’s.
Even so, Snow was certain of one thing:
Sansa could influence Frey emotionally far more than he ever could.
Which made her existence important—critically so.
"He knew you were here.
His senses are far sharper than mine."
If Snow had noticed her, then Frey had definitely sensed her from the very beginning.
He simply chose to ignore her until the end.
"I know that very well..." Sansa replied, her expression empty as she tightened her fist.
"One day... I’ll be able to approach him the way you did.
Not today, but someday... I definitely will."
Snow didn’t answer.
He only let out a quiet laugh.
Unlike Snow, Sansa hesitated—
because she was weak, unable to be of use to Frey the way he was.
But she made a vow to herself:
To become strong enough to stand beside Frey one day.
Strong enough to fight with him.
Strong enough to reach him, like Snow did today...
Instead of hiding in the shadows, incapable of doing anything.
She understood perfectly what she needed.
Power.
Nothing else.
Realizing this, Snow chuckled softly before turning away.
"The two of you...
you really are alike."
---
...
---
— Frey Starlight’s Pov —
In the blink of an eye, my feet landed on Imperial soil once more.
I was standing in the Starlight Region...
but it was nothing like I remembered.
Flames.
Ruins.
Destruction everywhere my eyes turned.
"It seems a massive battle took place here..."
Judging by the aftermath alone, it was clear that something catastrophic had unfolded.
I wondered for a moment what kind of monsters had clashed with such force ..
but I had no time to waste.
My goal was to find Ada, nothing else.
So I rushed deeper into the region.
"Spread your aura and be ready to fight at any moment.
There is a powerful enemy close by."
Nameless’s voice echoed unexpectedly.
I knew this level of destruction wouldn’t come from an ordinary battle...
But the fact that Nameless himself acknowledged the strength of whoever caused it only fueled my concern.
Could it be... one of the Ten Upper Demons?
That was my first thought .. they were the strongest, after all.
Nameless heard my thoughts clearly, but he didn’t respond.
He stayed silent.
Because he already knew I was wrong.
The one responsible for this devastation wasn’t a demon.
It was a human.
He could tell just from the lingering traces of aura .. something I couldn’t do.
And from that alone, a specific idea flashed in his mind about the identity of the culprit...
But he chose not to tell me.
Unaware of all that, I continued pushing deeper into the region, hoping Ada was safe.