The Inflection Point

Translated by Wook

Edited by Wook

Angie kicked the knight who grabbed Uni with all his might.

“Ugh!”

The knight’s knee was suddenly bent, and the hand holding Uni loosened.?Uni quickly shook him off without missing a moment.

As Uni jumped off, Angie grabbed her hand and started running.

“Catch them!”

The knights shouted after them, and the children escaped through the narrow bars of the wall.

While the knights blocked by the iron bars were struggling, Uni shouted while still running.

“Mr. Lynn!”

Uni hurriedly called Lynn.

“Mr. Lyyynn!”

In the meantime, there was a creaking noise from behind. Angie looked back with an ominous premonition and clenched his teeth when he saw the knights crossing the iron bars.

‘What do we do? Where should we go?’

If we go on like this, we will be caught.

The moment his heart became desperate, Angie suddenly choked.

“Cough! Ugh!”

The sudden shortness of breath caused him to collapse without realizing it.

He had been moving too hard since earlier.?His lungs, which reached their limit, were hurting like they were tearing apart.

“Hey!”

Uni was startled and grabbed Angie’s hand. Angie breathed heavily and shook her hand away. He meant to let her go alone.

But it was already too late. The knights who had been chasing them snatched Uni again.

“L-let go of me!”

Uni, whose body was lifted, struggled and resisted. Angie also grabbed at the knight, but to no avail.

Uni suddenly felt the ground ringing as she resisted with her whole body. It was the sound of horseshoes.

When Uni knew that the Eastern Knights had arrived, she raised his voice again.

“Mr. Ly—!”

The knight quickly covered Uni’s mouth. At that, Uni bit his hand that covered her mouth tightly and shouted again.

“Mr. Lynn! Over here! Your Grace!”

“This damn..!”

The anxious knight raised his hand high as if trying to hit Uni. At that moment, there was the sound of the wind cutting, and a flash of light lodged in his hand.

The knight turned around to see what had flown, and was startled to find out later that his hand had been pierced by an arrow.

“Uwaaakh!”

The knight collapsed in pain.

Uni looked in the direction the arrow was flying.

The moment she saw it, she felt relieved. Lynn, who was holding a bow, was staring terrifyingly at this side.

“Eastern..!”

The knights who were one step behind saw Lynn and hurriedly turned around.

The two knights abandoned their fallen comrade and turned around, but Lynn did not pursue them. He simply fired two arrows in a row.

Pak!?The arrows that flew out with the sound pierced through the shoulders and legs of the knights on the run.

The Eastern Knights subdued the fallen Southern Knights, while Lynn got off his horse and ran to Uni.

“Are you alright? Why are you here all by yourself?”

Lynn raised Uni and asked.?When asked kindly, Uni unknowingly choked up and bit her lips tightly.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Knights raised Angie. Angie, who was suddenly supported, looked at the Eastern Duke with a confused mood.

He was very different from the rumors. And it wasn’t just the Eastern Duke that was different from the rumors.

With the feeling of standing in front of the cliff, Angie looked at the Southern Knights who were captured by the Eastern Knights.

.

.

.

Looking back, it was a strange experience.

Being chased by his father’s people, he was relieved to meet the Eastern Duke, whom he had never spoken to before.

The Eastern Duke, famous for his martial arts, was more polite than expected.

And Marquis Ruber, who was known to have a favorable personality, was rather..

Angie secretly bit his lip and looked at his father, who stood in the distance.

However, Marquis Ruber was completely ignorant of his younger son’s gaze and was focused only on his own daughter.

The Marquis carefully observed Rena held by the Eastern Duke. Rena slumped like a corpse, and her limbs shook as the Eastern Duke moved.

‘Is she dead?’

The death of an uninvited guest named Rena Ruber. It was something the Marquis had been looking for.

But when he thought that Rena was going to die, I felt empty.

He remembered that kid slaughtering the dead with a whip just before. That splendid appearance was good for the eyes, and he wanted to brag more about it, so he couldn’t believe she died like this.

The Marquis laughed bitterly when he realized that he wanted Rena to survive.

Human beings are so simple. They change their positions and change their minds depending on the situation.

They struggle to live like that.

The Marquis smiled a little more as his situation was once again bleak.

He was heartbroken. He did everything to survive, but he was still a human being. He had a heart, he had feelings.

It was still the same now.

The Marquis felt sorry for the fallen Rena. So he decided. If she died, he would sincerely mourn her. And if she survived, he’d really cherish her this time.

The Marquis was already thinking about how to bring his daughter back in.

When Ruber’s eyes wandered for a moment.

The rift raged again, and a northern knight leapt out of the Tomb.

He went out alone, and as soon as he saw people, he shouted.

“Everyone, evacuate!”

At the knight’s cry, the people outside were clamoring, not knowing what to make of the sittation. When the people reacted slowly, the knight shouted again.

“The dead are coming!”

Immediately after the knight shouted, black and red knights poured out at once from the rift. When they came out, they were divided by color and split left and right. The knights ran in a large circle to turn the horse’s head, and soon formed a line and stood toward the rift.

“All soldiers, stand by.”

Eura, who stood in the front, gave the order.

“From now on, we will seal off Doom Palace and block the dead.”

Eura’s voice fell heavily. The knights followed him regardless of east or north.

As the knights were ready for battle, Lynn, who was taking care of Rena, was also on the horse again.

Eastern and Northern Dukes stood side by side in front of the rift, and their knights surrounded the rift.

A black shadow fluttered in the red crack. The knights outside recalled the first day they opened the entrance to the Tomb.

However, the thoughts of the knights from within were different. They already knew that the crowd coming now was incomparable to that day.

The red of the rift exploded and the dead poured out, and the Northern Duke’s slash slashed through the carcasses of the dead.

***

“Your Highness, it is time to wake up.”

A drowsy reply came back from the bed at the courteous notification.

“I happened to wake up.”

When Clavis’ voice was heard in the darkness, the servants entered the bedroom as if they had been waiting.

They opened the curtains on the windows and prepared water to wash and a change of clothes. And the court musician started playing the piano.

The bowl for washing hands was gold, and the bowl for washing the feet was silver. And there was a pearl hung on the drapery on the bed.

After washing his hands and feet, Clavis walked out through the perimeter, wearing a nightgown. Then he sat down by the window and took a cup of tea.

The soft sunlight, the gentle music, the scent of freshly brewed tea, there was nothing that was not sweet.

While enjoying the leisure of the early morning, Clavis asked his aide.

“What happened to Doom Palace?”

“It is said that the dead came out of the palace after Your Highness went to bed.”

“Oh, my. Then what happened?”

“Fortunately, no one passed through the other palaces, and the passage was closed around midnight.”

“Who dealt with it?”

“It is said that the Eastern Duke closed the passage, and the Northern Duke opened the way to the altar.”

“Well, as expected. The main characters are the two of them.”

Clavis smiled lightly and tilted the cup again.

The sight of Clavis savoring tea in the sunlight was supremely peaceful. And that appearance made even his aide fed up.

Last night, it was like pandemonium in the Imperial Palace. As a result, the area around Doom Palace was still in chaos, and countless knights were injured and some were even killed.

There was such an uproar all night, but the cardinal went to bed at the same time as usual and received a report on the results the next day.

The aide was startled by the irresponsible behavior, but soon realized what the land that Clavis used to rule as a Western Duke looked like now.

The aide swallowed a sigh, and Clavis spoke again.

“What about the Southern Representative?”

“They? said she hasn’t woken up yet.”

“Impossible..”

“Pardon?”

The aide didn’t know what it meant, so he asked back, but Clavis just smiled broadly.

He had already heard that Rena Ruber was rescued by the Eastern Duke in a coma.

That can’t be. That’s a monster that I made. There’s no way it’d end like this.

“You will not disappoint me like this.”

Clavis muttered lightly and put down the teacup. Then he took off his nightgown.

Smooth silk flowed down, revealing a white, skinny body. No matter how much they looked at his dazzling naked body that they couldn’t get used to, the servants approached with sincerity, avoiding their gaze.

People hated Clavis. No one admired him for being irresponsible and extravagant, preoccupied with pleasure rather than duty.

At the same time, people liked Clavis. The way he smiles kindly and ignores the suffering of others is like a devil, so beautiful that it is not of this world.

Clavis was hated and loved at the same time.

Then he commanded with a dazzling appearance as usual.

“Call the dukes. Her Majesty will also be curious about what happened yesterday.”

***

At that time, the Southern Duke was looking at Rena, who was lying on the bed, with a gloomy face.

“How is she?”

“There is no trauma, breathing and body temperature are normal. There doesn’t seem to be any major problems.”

“Then why isn’t she getting up?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t find the cause right now.”

The doctor who was examining Rena’s condition gave a puzzled answer.

The Southern Duke let out a long breath from his lungs.

Rena Ruber, who was rescued from the Tomb yesterday, was peacefully sleeping, her eyes closed.

The Southern Duke sank once again, then he said to Uni, who was sitting close to the bed.

“I’ll send someone to attend, so you too, get some rest.”

“I want to be by her side.”

But the little maid stubbornly shook her head. In addition, she choked as she said that. She seemed to cry secretly when no one was there.

The Southern Duke clicked his tongue as he saw the emaciated figure, then his secretary came over and whispered softly.

“Your Grace, Her Majesty the Emperor has summoned the dukes.”

At that message, the Southern Duke only thought “what’s coming has come”.

The Doom Palace collapsed overnight, and the dead ran rampant at night in the middle of the Imperial Palace.

The emperor would certainly reprimand this, and the South, who had been tasked to guard, was not free from responsibility.

The Southern Duke swallowed bitterly and nodded his head.

“Alright, I’ll be there soon.”

“And.. a guest has come to visit the sick.”

“A guest?”

Instead of saying who had come, the secretary cautiously turned to the door.

The Southern Duke’s face, who had turned his head following him, hardened.

A man in black was standing in the doorway. It was the Eastern Duke Lignan Aetherner, who always raised his head arrogantly.

The face of the Southern Duke, who recognized his enemy, was distorted. However, that reluctance faded when he saw the bandage wrapped around the Eastern Duke’s neck and the splint on his arm.

‘Why is that damned seed here..’

The Southern Duke tried to pretend he was displeased, but in fact he already knew. It was this so-called ‘damned seed’ who rescued Rena from the Tomb.

The Southern Duke did not want to owe him or thank him, so instead of issuing a congratulatory order, he walked away with a stern face.

When the Southern Duke and his men pretended they didn’t see Lynn, Lynnn went straight to Rena.

“She hasn’t woken up yet?”

At Lynn’s question, Uni nodded her head gloomily. Then she saw Lynn’s pale face and got up from her seat.

“Talk to the lady.”

When Uni left her seat, Lynn became alone with Rena.

Lynn sat down next to the bed and looked at Rena, who still had her eyes closed.

That alone was hard. Feeling like he was about to collapse, he realized more. That he really liked Rena. That’s why he was afraid that Rena wouldn’t be able to wake up.

Lynn stroked Rena’s cheek with the back of his hand and looked at her.

“Rena.”

Instead of answering, only the texture of her soft cheeks remained. It was even more painful, and he groaned in a hoarse voice.

“Wake up..”

***

Rena slowly opened her eyes as she felt someone calling her.

But there was no one there.

In front of Rena’s eyes, there were only soaring flames, scattered ashes, and the poor women tied up in the middle.

At that hellish sight, Rena muttered to herself.

“I’m doomed.”