The Runic Alchemist

[Titan's Battleground, Unknown Planet – Einar POV]

The commoner students all woke up and gathered behind Kishi, clearly also involved in the failed attempt to assassinate Evrin. They had barely pretended to sleep. Now, they stood behind her, their teeth bared as if they were ready to fight barehanded. They had lost all sense of logic; only hatred and unbearable heat remained in their hearts and bodies.

They were all first-rankers—and weak ones at that. Even Evrin alone would have been a difficult opponent for them, let alone Einar. With just a few spells from Evrin and a few dull-edged sword strikes from Einar, they knocked them all down.

Evrin bound them with vines. Einar hoped they would come to their senses after being punished for a while.

The next day, after over twenty hours, Evrin insisted that Einar let them go. That night, however, she did not sleep at all and kept a strict watch while Evrin rested. Evrin had offered to take the second shift, Einar could manage without sleep for a day or two, but at last, on her constant insistence she agreed to let her take over later.

But again, that night..

Once the commoners, along with Kishi, regained their senses in the lesser temperature, they gathered together and charged toward Einar and Evrin. Once more, Einar beat them down and bound them.

This time, they only let them go after a full twenty-four hours. The very second they released them at night, Kishi lunged straight at Evrin, with the others following behind. Einar caught her in time and threw her hard onto the golden platform at quite a distance.

Even though Kishi slammed forcefully against the hard golden pommel of the enormous sword, after a while.. she pulled herself up with a pained grunt, wobbling on unsteady feet. She was thin, her skin dry, her body weak.. Yet her eyes remained the same. Bloodshot, filled with an abundance of hate, drilling holes into Evrin.

She started moving forward slowly. Her body was battered and injured from all the beatings, yet she refused to stop.

"Stop it!" Evrin screamed.

But Kishi did not stop. Her slow, agonizing struggle to reach Evrin continued. Einar gritted her teeth. Why wouldn't she understand...?

And then, a memory surfaced—of herself, chasing a man with nothing but the need to see his blood spill. The unspoken question answered itself.

This was vengeance. Pure, unrestrained, self-destructive vengeance.

This was what she would have become.

Einar closed her eyes, hearing the strained footsteps of Kishi pressing on. She wasn't alone now. The other commoner students slowly joined her—some too consumed to think of anything other than their potion-induced madness, others still clinging to their deep-seated hatred for the Eldoris princess they believed had wronged them.

The group of seven moved from one side of the massive golden pommel to the other, covered in injuries, their skin burned and dried up.

Einar opened her eyes. They were ten meters away.

"May your souls know peace," she whispered, tightening her grip on her Crimson Talon.

The moment Kishi stepped into a nine-meter range, Einar executed a simple diagonal cross slash, her sword coated in crimson red aura. There was no resistance. The aura was not the only red on it now. Seconds later, Kishi's head hit the floor, followed by her headless body.

"Einar!" Evrin screamed behind her, but Einar did not stop.

She moved forward—another cross, a simple stab, a horizontal slash, a twin cross again. Six more fell. Children, they were all. One by one, their bodies collapsed onto the golden floor, staining it with pools of blood. The grunting, struggling, agonized echoes of their steps ceased.

From the side, Kamisen watched. He couldn't even get up. He had lost too much water from his body; it was uncertain how long he would survive. He said nothing. The group had long stopped listening to him, and he was in no condition to speak much either. He closed his eyes once more, uncertain whether she would come for him next or if the memory of the slaughter would haunt him for the days he had left.

Einar stopped, standing silently in the midst of the massacre. Evrin sobbed from the side. She knew it had been necessary, but her faith did not allow her to remain indifferent to the sight of children dying.. for nothing at all.

Moments later, Einar felt a strange, uncomfortable sensation in her gut as a blue, swirling waygate opened just a few meters away. A lone figure stepped through.

Damian.

He was taller now, more fit—and somehow even prettier? How was that possible? The guy was already unreasonably beautiful. The dark in his hair had deepened further, if that was even possible. The dark blue of his eyes remained the same, but his face had taken on an unnatural glow, resembling the eerie beauty of a third-ranker.

***

[Titan's Battleground, Unknown Planet – Damian's POV]

The bodies of Kamisen's group littered the ground. Einar's sword was still in her hand, dripping blood. The bodies looked strange, but Damian did not dwell on them. Instead, he checked on Einar and Evrin. They seemed to be doing fine. He could more or less guess what had happened.

Damian asked no questions. He simply walked up to Einar, took hold of her sword without a word, wiped it clean with his tattered clothes, and stored it in his spatial storage.

Einar finally looked up at him. Damian noticed she had become shorter than him. Her face was a storm of emotions. He simply smiled warmly at her.

The next second, she leapt into his arms, crying for the first time in front of anyone.. since losing her parents.

Damian patted her back, doing his best to console her.

Evrin, through her teary eyes, finally saw who had arrived. She ran toward them. Too dignified for a hug, she instead grasped his hand tightly. Her soft hands conveyed all the emotions her face could not.

"Thank you," Einar whispered. "Thank you for saving me all those years ago."

Damian had no idea what she was talking about, but he simply nodded and led both of them, along with Kamisen, back to the snow region.