You are the Best, Kyrie Buchanan

***

When Kyrie came out of the deep basement to the first floor of the palace under the guidance of the young man, her white breath broke in front of Kyrie’s lips. The world was all white.

“Snow..”

All the sounds outside seemed to be eaten by the snow. The only noise in the white world was the weak footsteps of the two.

The young man stopped at the pavilion, which connected Sel’s Central Palace with Princess Julia’s palace. He looked at Kyrie with glistening eyes and turned his head to the snowfield in the front of the palace.

Nathaniel was there.

He was moving forward, wielding a white sword. Whenever he moved the sword, dozens of soldiers were decapitated. There were already hundreds of dead bodies on the floor like flowers.

“Stop him! We must stop him even if we die!”

“Protect Her Majesty, the Emperor!”

“But..! This is crazy! You can’t even get there!”

“It’s Her Majesty’s command!”

“Ahhhhhh!”

Screams, death throes, yellings, deaths. It was a pandemonium.

In the meantime, Nathaniel walked with a soft, drowsy look. The sword-wielding gesture was as elegant as the conductor of a symphony. The horrors of all sides seemed to be unable to grasp the heel of the elegance, and indeed that’s what happened. The world was quiet and pure where he stood.

“You, you..! You wicked, dirty demon!”

The Emperor shouted at an angle that Kyrie could not see. The voice trembled with anger.

“How, how can you make the descendants of your comrades like this..! Are you even a human being?! The embargo will not be the same as you!”

Nathaniel did not answer and went on killing the soldiers. At the end, the Emperor roared again.

“I’ll let you know your wickedness! You assassinate the Royal Family! Killing knights! You’ve done something cruel! If you truly are a knight of the title of the Legend, you should repent of your sins!”

Nathaniel did not answer.

“If you truly are the ‘Legend’, you shouldn’t be like this!? What kind of empire do you think this is?? It’s an empire that subdued ‘The End’ and barely made it!”

Gradually, the distance between the Central Palace and Nathaniel became closer. The more it became, the more urgent the Emperor’s cry.

“The heavens will know your sins! You won’t be able to sleep peacefully even if you die!”

Nathaniel simply ignored it as if he couldn’t hear it. When the distance between the two was finally too narrow, the Emperor shouted desperately, unlike a while ago.

“W, wait! Talk from there! Don’t come near me!”

Still, Nathaniel did not stop. Kyrie finally saw the Emperor’s distorted face when she turned at the building across the pavilion.

“Oh, my God, the Magic Corps!”

Following her cry, the magic of the wizards filled the sky.? Perhaps it was the time draw for this, a huge trick filled the snowy skies.

“Attack!”

The Emperor’s golden magic was added to it, and as the Emperor’s arm moved, a waterfall of thunder and lightning burst onto Nathaniel.

Craaaash!

A loud sound that was different from the sound of the knights’ organs so far rushed to tear the ears.? Kyrie took one more step into the Central Garden of Sel where snow was scattered.

(Q/C: the organ refers to the knights’ vocal cords as they were screaming.)

‘No way..?’

At that moment, Nathaniel walked out of the white fog. The black robe was unsoiled. People’s faces turned white with fear.

“That’s ridiculous... that’s ridiculous!”

“Your Majesty! You must avoid him!”

“Patriotic Lord! Where is the Patriotic Lord?!”

“There’s no more power to stop him, Your Majesty!”

“This..!”

Soldiers escaped from the line and ran away. They were frightened by only one man.

Kyrie stumbled over the devastation in front of her, stepping onto the snow barefoot without knowing what she wanted. Then, someone barely managed to hold onto her arm when she almost fell down after missing a step.

〔Are you trying to stop him?〕

It was Leschaux. He looked down at Kyrie with his mysterious reddish-purple eyes. Kyrie did not respond at all. He glanced at her, took off his shoes and put them in front of Kyrie.

〔I apologize in advance. I’m sorry.〕

Leschaux went straight into the building.

‘What are you sorry about? Why didn’t he....stop Nathaniel....?’

She couldn’t understand. What Kyrie felt now was just sadness. Not even herself could tell why she was sad. Kyrie walked past the shoes that Leschaux had taken off.

Nathaniel was now close to humans awaiting death, holding up weapons and doing nothing in terror.

“Please..! Please! Legendary Lord! What do you want?! What do you want me to do?!”

The Emperor cried out in fear and nervousness.

“If it’s Kyrie Buchanan! I know my daughter kidnapped her! She’ll be right back!”

At that word, Nathaniel stopped walking for the first time. The Emperor reacted harshly to the thread she had barely obtained.

“Yes! My daughter Julia, tried to do something to Kyrie Buchanan! But it’s Julia’s fault, and it has nothing to do with this empire.”

The Emperor gave up her dignity and appealed earnestly to the point that she was desperate.

“Kyrie Buchanan, I’ll find her right now! As the Emperor, I guarantee you! So please stop! Julia hasn’t already been killed, Legend! Legendary Lord! Let the soldiers go and I’ll find her right away...!”

Nathaniel’s face, without any expression, was frighteningly empty.

After standing for a long time, he began to move again. The Emperor’s speech seemed to have touched the darkest part of him. When his arm finally drew a beautiful circle like the moon, everyone at the place felt it. That was how he was going to end everything. Kyrie knew it too.

‘No....’

In the moment of silence where even a drop of water could even be heard, she whispered in a tearful voice.

“Nathaniel...”

At that moment, Nathaniel stopped.

It was a small voice that seemed to be absorbed by a single snowflake and disappear. But Nathaniel turned his head and looked exactly at Kyrie.

As Kyrie took a step, the snow piled up between the two melted to make a path. A warm breeze that melted her frozen body blew from the back and pushed Kyrie’s back. As if she was escorted by the wind.

Kyrie stumbled through the blood-soaked snow. On a snowfield full of dead bodies, Nathaniel waited for her. It was a beautiful and mysterious appearance.

“Nathaniel...”

The eyes of the two met. Nathaniel’s first smile came to his mouth. It was the same static and calm smile as usual.

“....Nathaniel.”

As if to say, he tilted his head. But Kyrie couldn’t say anything.

‘Did he stop? I’m the one who told him to do what he wanted. I was the one who thought I could solve everything.’

She breathed out heavily, covering her face.

‘It’s all my fault.....’

Kyrie’s mind began to fall apart. Her body collapsed faster than that. When Kyrie stumbled from exhaustion, Nathaniel came up quickly and grabbed her by the waist.

[Kyrie.]

She grabbed onto the hem of Nathaniel’s clothes with her trembling hands, and Nathaniel then released his sword and hugged Kyrie with both hands.

[Are you hurt?] (T/N: MF)

He put Kyrie on the inside of his left arm and tried to look at Kyrie’s face shaking near his shoulder. It was a gentle and soft touch.

[Kyrie.]

Kyrie was breathing in a leaning position as if she were resting on Nathaniel’s arms and shoulders.

“....Nathaniel.”

[Yes.]

“Nathaniel.”

[Yes.]

“.....”

There was nothing she could say. Kyrie moved her dry lips, but nothing came out at the end. Instead of Kyrie who was speechless, Nathaniel opened his mouth, stroking her back.

[The environment here seems to be harmful to you.]

Kyrie twisted her body at the fearful remark that its meaning could be easily guessed.

“No! No, it’s not.... it’s not!”

Nathaniel put Kyrie on the floor carefully as if he were handling a young bird. However, his firm arm did not fall off, surrounding her waist. Trembling, Kyrie looked at Nathaniel.

“It is not. It’s not harmful. It’s not. I can do better....!”

[You’ve done enough.]

Nathaniel smiled.

[It’s the fault of the humans for failing to accept the generosity.]

“No, no!”

[Now let’s ask them for their sins.]

“Nathaniel!”

He opened his empty hand. White light like ice crystals gathered, and a pure white sword appeared. Nathaniel whispered.

[That’s right.]

“You can’t!”

Kyrie reached out her arm and jumped into Nathaniel’s arms. She held him in her arms and pushed his chest, but Nathaniel didn’t budge as if he had been rooted to the ground.

‘What should I do? What should I do to stop him?’

The white black has already begun to produce a terrifying vibration sound. Nathaniel pushed Kyrie slightly back and stepped out as graceful as the wind that brushed the lotus.

(Q/C: White black refers to the sword. It was also mentioned before in Volume 1.)

Kyrie saw the faces of the soldiers standing in front of the Central Palace without escaping. Everyone was looking at her in fear. The Emperor also said to Kyrie with her eyes, unable to do anything to the shadow of death that gripped her ankle.

Save me.

Kyrie had to choose.

The body of a soldier who died nearby was caught in Kyrie’s sight as she shook her head in a rush of nervousness. When the sword in his hand shone unusually white, Kyrie realized what she had to do.

She didn’t have time to think. She almost followed her instincts and jumped into it. She ran out so quickly that she fell to the floor, but Kyrie safely held the soldier’s sword in her hand.

She grabbed the blade, closed her eyes, and rubbed her hands.

“Ugh!”

She didn’t even have to force herself to make it up. A scream broke out. Her palms were cut and burning. She looked at Nathaniel in that state.

Nathaniel was looking at Kyrie with all his actions stopped. With a surprised face.

Fortunately, the white black stopped vibrating. Kyrie almost forced a tearful smile.

“....We agreed to play chess.”

If her safety was the most important thing to him, he wouldn’t be able to look elsewhere if she destroyed herself in front of his eyes. Kyrie once again drew the inside of her forearm with a trembling hand.

“Chess, I let you off the hook....”

And once again, she drew the other forearm.

“Well, not the rook, the queen is the best to use, but I haven’t seen it yet...?”

Are you going to let me go?

Kyrie asked with her eyes. A tear trickled down her cheek.

At that moment, a terrible ominous and ferocious energy unfolded from Nathaniel. Located between the deep sea-blue irises, the black pupil was distorted as arbitrarily as that of a goat or a cat.

He slowly threw away the sword in his right hand and covered his face with his left hand. Inside the finger, extreme excitement, thirst, pleasure, and madness were intertwined, creating a chilling smile.

Nathaniel whispered.

[You are the best. Kyrie Buchanan.]