The Runic Alchemist

Chapter 491: Land or Water ? Part - 3

[Reize's POV]

Her earliest memories were of the sea—a vast, endless expanse of dark blue water. Whether it was real or not, she couldn't tell. It felt like a dream, something fleeting and uncertain.

But the memories that weighed heaviest on her, crushing those brief, pleasant moments, were of her prison. A dark, smelly, stifling room—just a little over 15 meters on each side. Two of its walls had small, iron-barred windows that let in just enough light and air to remind her of the world outside. That was her life, most of her life.

Her only source of light, her only glimpse of freedom, was that small barred window, beyond which lay an endless expanse of barren land and an unforgivingly bright sky. Nothing ever moved out there. But when something did, it was an event—something she and Yomi clung to like a lifeline.

Day after day, Reize spent her time caring for her baby sister, imparting to her the little knowledge she had gathered in her short life. She was nine then, and Yomi was three. There was nothing else to do. Their mother.. She was always being called away to serve the man who owned them. Something about them was different, normal humans did not have horns coming out of their heads. Her mother didn't, just Reize and Yomi did. Her mother called it a blessing of the heavens, but she always had doubts about that.

Everything changed, however, the day their mother returned with a book. Reize had no idea where she had found it—if she had stolen it or not—but it had to belong to him. That book became their world. For days, they pored over it, even though it contained nothing but strange knowledge about enchantments and runic symbols. When she could, their mother taught Reize how to read. She told them stories of great heroes and noble knights who saved princesses and helpless people.

But those were stories of the past. Those people no longer existed.

Then the day came when she, too, was summoned alongside her mother. They gave her a shiny stone, forced her through what they called an "Ascension," and she became an enchanter. She had always been good at memorization, and the trial had only required her to repeat what she had read in that book. It was easy.

But when she returned, the man was furious. Her mother paid the price for it. And so they were thrown back into that same room.

Yet, with the help of that book, Reize mastered the entire process of enchantment. She experimented, practicing on whatever scraps of material she could get her hands on. Sometimes, she enchanted rocks or small objects that flew in through the window. Yomi loved it—her laughter made every moment worthwhile.

Years passed. And one day, Reize created something that could finally give them freedom. She showed it to her mother, who, with unshakable determination, promised they would use it to escape. Reize had discovered a way to strengthen iron—but if slightly altered, that same enchantment could weaken it instead.

And so, they broke the iron bars. And they ran.

But of course, it was never that easy.

The men dressed as soldiers caught them. They were dragged back. And their mother was punished once again. Reize blamed herself. How could she have been so foolish? She never attempted something like that again.

Then, one day, everything changed. The man's home—whatever it was—was overrun by people dressed in black. They slaughtered everyone.

They called it "rescue." But it wasn't freedom.

Instead, they were thrown into yet another prison, this one far larger, filled with hundreds of people, trapped in a barren wasteland surrounded by towering stone walls.

There, Reize was chosen. Along with other children with pathfinder potential, she was trained, molded, and shaped into something useful. She worked harder than anyone else, proving herself again and again, hoping—desperately hoping—that if she was good enough, if she became valuable enough, they would treat her and her family better.

Instead, they used her. Giving her missions after missions to complete.

Then she was given that mission. A simple task, they said. If she completed it, she could buy back the freedom of her mother and Yomi.

She had to enter the Highsword Academy. Learn everything she could about runic enchantments. And when the time came, she would help the black-cloaked organization execute their plan.

For years, she followed their orders.

But in her third year, her mission changed.

They gave her a name. A boy she had to get close to. And when the opportunity arose—she had to kill him.

Damian.

But Damian was unlike anyone she had ever met. A person who could do anything. Someone who was not swayed by wealth, power, or pride. A boy who lived only for the joy of creation. A boy who, for the first time in her life, shared her one simple passion.

And yet, she had to kill him.

For her family.

But instead of making him fall in love with her… she fell for him.

She couldn't do it. She couldn't bring herself to harm him. Not the boy who had created something never before seen in the world—just because she had told him it was her dream to do so.

When her orders changed once more, telling her only to steal the production method of Liquid Mana, she felt relief. She knew the formula. She had already memorized it. But she asked for more time. She stalled. Even betraying his trust felt like crime worse than anything she had done in her life.

Before she could act, before she could betray him in the way they demanded, they entered into the dungeon.

She had always known there were third ranker Highswords within the black-cloaked organization. But she hadn't expected so many of them. And now, gathered all together, they were ordering her to stop Damian at all costs—to keep him from using his Waygate spell and retrieving Land Breaker.

And just like every mission related to him before, she failed in this too.

She felt worse than she ever had before. She had betrayed him in silence. They had been watching her every move, but even so.. She should have told him. She should have warned him. She could have trusted him..

And when the moment came—when she had the power to stop the Waygate spell—she didn't.

Damian was a great man. He was trying to save the world, just like the heroes in those stories. And she, even with the weight of her family's fate on her shoulders, could not betray him or tell him the truth. Failings from both sides.

She had always believed he was strong. But even with Liquid Mana, how could he fight over ten Third Rankers alone? At least that's what she told herself. But she hadn't even given him the chance. 

She had failed at everything in her life.

She was not a good daughter. Not a good sister. Not a good assassin. Not a good spy. And certainly not a good lover.

She was worthless.

But she was not ungrateful.

Even if Lumi and Elias did not trust her, she would not let Damian's little brother die. She had seen it in his eyes—he loved Elias just as much as she loved Yomi.

She only hoped Yomi could escape that hellish place without her.

Still, she was not done yet.

One man was dead. Another remained.

Even as blood poured from her stomach and back, even as unbearable pain wracked her body, Reize pulled herself free from the sword impaling her. With a roar so loud it rang in her own ears, she wrenched herself forward.

She fell.

But the laser cube had fully charged once again with her mana.

Without hesitation, she blasted it straight at the face of the Highsword Knight. He realized it a second too late. His face twisted in terror.

She smiled.

And then, she blasted his head wide open.

She hit the iron floor.

Cold. Weak.

As her consciousness faded, her final thought was a wish—

To see him one last time. And tell him how much she truly loved him.

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