Chapter 11 Part 2
A grand spell was holding back the giant.
Behind it, numerous figures could be seen. Elia, riding on Aksion’s back, identified them.
“Rien? And…”
She saw mages and Jacob, and even the Silver Knights. However, the forces were too numerous to be just the Silver Knights.
Among them were people dressed in casual attire, not as knights.
There were nobles, ordinary merchants, mercenaries, and mages.
They all wore brooches in the shape of a black wolf and a bird on one side of their chests.
‘Valunize.’
Elia recognized the reinforcements.
‘Why is Valunize here?’
Valunize was renowned as an information guild, but in truth, each member possessed formidable strength, hiding their power.
For such people to appear suddenly…
To reach this place, they must have fought off monsters from another direction and created a new path.
‘They managed to eliminate all those monsters and come here.’
These were no ordinary people.
Elia, still atop Aksion, asked Rien.
“Why are the Valunize here?”
“No matter their appearance, Valunize always follow their leader.”
Rien answered without hesitation, his usual nonchalant and playful demeanor replaced with seriousness.
Elia recalled her memories of Rien.
‘He introduced himself as a mercenary, but something seemed off.’
He seemed close to Aksion, as if they had known each other for a long time, a level of familiarity that couldn’t come from mere business transactions.
‘Aksion was the leader of Valunize.’
This explained why Valunize hadn’t moved during the impending doom in the original story.
The description mentioned that Aksion and the black dog pushed the male protagonist to the brink. But in reality, they were one and the same.
Elia gripped the black fur tightly. The black dog turned its head to look at her, blinking gently as if to show it had no intention of deceiving her.
‘First, we must drive away the monsters.’
Elia glared at the monsters. Verifying the truth would come later.
She glanced at Jacob. The commander of the knights raised his voice.
“Drive out the monsters!”
Thunderous cheers followed.
Some wielded swords, others used magic. Among the Valunize guild members, there were even summoners.
They had all hidden their identities and claws across the empire.
The giant and the monsters were helplessly swept away by Valunize.
Meanwhile, Aksion was fighting the largest giant.
‘There must be a weakness.’
Powerful monsters always had a weakness.
Moreover, if the giant was made up of smaller monsters, there must be a core.
Elia’s violet eyes glowed in the darkness. Only she could see the giant’s shoulder shimmering through her sight.
“Aksion, aim for the shoulder!”
At Elia’s shout, the black dog crouched, ready to leap. It climbed up the giant’s arm and bit into the monster’s shoulder.
Kyaaah!
The giant screamed and thrashed. Blue light shone through the black dog’s teeth. The holy power became a lethal weapon, destroying the giant’s core.
Thud. The massive body of the monster collapsed to the ground.
The night sky, once completely black, now showed a hint of blue. Dawn was breaking.
The smaller giant fighting Valunize had also exhausted its strength. Now, there were more people than monsters around.
Under the emerging light, the black dog stood, with the princess of the empire on its back.
Those watching from the walls all thought the same.
‘A divine beast protecting Amarantha.’
A forgotten myth was coming to life.
Elia dismounted from the black dog’s back. The land where the monsters had disappeared looked vast and immense.
Aksion lowered his body before her. He reverted to his human form.
He knelt on one knee before Elia.
“I offer you my leash.”
A magic mark appeared on the back of his hand. It was an ancient contract of obedience.
Aksion presented the seal mentioned by the saint to Elia.
“But…”
Caught off guard by the unexpected vow, Elia hesitated.
Once she accepted the seal created by Aksion’s magic, he would be unable to refuse any of her orders.
“Please accept it.”
His face was more serious than ever.
Aksion’s demeanor seemed almost pleading.
Behind him, all the Valunize guild members knelt on one knee before Elia.
The leader’s obedience meant the guild’s obedience.
‘If I accept this…’
Not only Aksion but the entire Valunize would be hers.
With power came responsibility. Could she handle it all?
‘But I have to do it.’
To prevent the impending disaster, she needed their help.
Elia looked down at Aksion and the Valunize members and made her decision.
She resolved to protect Aksion and everyone in the upcoming catastrophe.
“I accept your vow.”
Elia willingly accepted the leash.
The darkness that had seemed never-ending gave way to dawn. A new morning had arrived.
* * *
The monsters attacking the capital were all swept away.
And it was by the successor of Mahart, who had been labeled as a monster.
With the revelation that Aksion was the leader of Valunize, all attention turned to him.
The Grand Temple’s court.
Even the emperor was watching. Elia spoke before the pope and the saint.
“This proves that my husband is not a monster.”
The evidence was so clear that no one could accuse Aksion.
Princess Elia also avoided calamity. She was the master of everything.
Watching this, the emperor sighed and asked.
“What do you plan to do next?”
“As the princess of the empire and his wife, I will support Aksion, the divine beast.”
In a time when monsters were attacking the empire, the protector of the empire was more important than anything else.
A vanished legend had revived.
It was the moment Aksion was established as the protector of the empire.
* * *
That night, after the situation was resolved.
The two returned to Mahart’s second house.
Even during the carriage ride, there was much to say. But they didn’t know where to start.
‘Aksion’s true identity exceeded my judgment.’
She couldn’t have imagined it. That he was the leader of the empire’s greatest guild.
At first, she felt angry. How could he have kept such a significant secret until now?
But Aksion ultimately devoted all his power to Elia.
Recalling his eyes, which seemed to have waited for this moment, she couldn’t raise her voice in anger.
They were alone in the room. Elia took a deep breath.
‘The question I most want to ask.’
With her thoughts sorted, only one question remained.
“Is it okay for you to swear obedience to me?”
The vow of obedience was not a simple contract.
If the master commanded, the contractor had to give up their life and every drop of blood.
Aksion handed over such a dangerous leash to Elia.
At her question, Aksion smiled faintly. Just as she was about to get angry at his calm demeanor, he revealed his hidden feelings.
“You are the only person I would kneel to, Elia.”
At first, it was out of curiosity, he confessed.
But approaching out of curiosity, it was Aksion who ended up falling for her.
“So I have no regrets. Rather, I am grateful.”
A beast that had lived without a leash all its life had submitted to its master.
With infinite trust and obsessive love in his eyes, Elia couldn’t help but accept him.
“If it weren’t for you, Aksion, I would never have trusted anyone again.”
Betrayal by her family had been fatal. She had wanted never to trust anyone again.
But Aksion had pierced through her defenses and filled the cracks.
“I want to be your first and last person.”
“Me too.”
In that moment, their true feelings were revealed.
Slowly, they closed their eyes and their lips met.
Their breaths intertwined, as if their souls were merging into one.
In the warm bed, embraced by his warmth, Elia closed her eyes with her arms around his neck.
* * *
The next morning.
An early visitor arrived at the second house.
Duke Tartan. He had returned from the temple.
He carried something long wrapped in cloth. As Elia looked at him in disbelief, Tartan nodded.
“I have retrieved the Sun Sword.”
Unwrapping the cloth, the true form of the Sun Sword was revealed.
