Everything turned into chaos the moment that woman stepped forward. Even the air trembled around her. I had never witnessed such strength in my life, not even close. I could not understand how someone like that had been kept in a simple underground prison. There was only one explanation. Either the holy capital had no idea what kind of monster they were holding… or my ice was far more unusual than I ever imagined, strong enough to weaken seals that should never break.

It did not matter now. I had a chance. I had to flee while fate still allowed it. Wasting this precious moment would be the last mistake I ever made.

Even though a part of me burned with the urge to turn back and deal with Silver, I pushed the thought away. There would be time for that someday, when I was stronger, when I could crush her without crawling for survival. For now, escape was the only thing that mattered.

"Thank you, this…" I tried to speak, but she raised a hand right in front of my face, cutting me off. Um… alright then.

"That is me who must thank you. Now go. I cannot protect you against all of them, not in the condition I am in. But I have enough strength to flee once you are gone." Her voice lowered into a whisper meant only for me. Her emerald eyes glowed in the sunlight pouring through the shattered ceiling, while the shouts and screams of panic echoed across the capital. Debris rumbled down from above, yet nothing touched us. It felt like the world itself refused to harm anyone standing near her.

We looked at each other for a heartbeat longer than we should have. Then I forced my wings open and shot into the sky with everything I had left.

Several figures launched after me, their armor glinting with holy light. I drew breath to cast my ice, ready to freeze them mid-air, but before I could even lift my hand, the emerald glow rushed across my vision.

In the next blink, the pursuers were gone.

They had actually vanished as if into thin air.

I gasped, nearly losing altitude. Did she kill them that easily? Or erase them entirely? That kind of power… it was terrifying. Who was she?

My mind spun through every character in the book I had read before reincarnating, all the final bosses, hidden elders, and mythical figures with overwhelming strength. Yet not a single one matched someone who carried emerald light like that. Not one.

The blue sky welcomed me, wide and open, but the peace it offered lasted only a heartbeat. The air trembled under the deafening roar of explosions, each blast echoing like ballistic rockets striking their targets. Shockwaves rippled across the capital, making the clouds shudder as gold and emerald light collided below me.

Those lights intertwined in violent bursts, clashing so fiercely that even the sunlight seemed to dim. For a moment, the entire city—proud, towering, the so-called strongest bastion of the Holy Empire—fell silent. It was as if the whole world stopped breathing, waiting to see which force would devour the other.

The pressure rolling off that fight made my wings falter for a split second. Even from high above, I felt it sink into my bones, rattling everything inside me.

I gave the battlefield one last glance and sped off. Luck was finally on my side for once; nobody chased after me in that moment. The soft wind brushed against my skin, reminding me what freedom felt like. I never wanted to come back here, not after witnessing the kind of power that ruled these holy lands.

And I knew exactly who that man was.

Alexander the Bright. The empire's greatest mage, the pride of every holy nation, the man even demons spoke of with dread. I remembered him from the book as a saintlike figure, someone whose magic focused entirely on healing and those massive annihilation spells that wiped out entire demon settlements. But never, not once, had I heard of him using golden binding threads on another human.

Seeing him hold someone captive with something so sinister made my stomach twist. Maybe the stories had lied. Or maybe the empire had polished his image so clean that the filth underneath went unnoticed.

Either way, he was not as noble as the book described him.

Suddenly, the air behind me vibrated in a strange way. Something was off. My instincts screamed, and I dodged to the side just in time. A thin streak of light shot past me, sharp and fast like an arrow.

Who the fuck is shooting at me?

I turned my head slightly, and there, at the very bottom of the massive city square, stood a woman whose beauty could make the sky jealous.

Hera...

She held a longbow drawn to her cheek, her expression calm in a way that made my stomach tighten. The next arrow flew before I could even blink. I threw up ice to block it and shifted aside, just a fraction. Good thing I did. The arrow tore straight through the ice, splitting it apart as if it were paper.

My eyes narrowed. She would not understand the gesture, but I flipped her off anyway.

For some bizarre reason, she smiled. A soft, amused curl of her lips. As if this was entertaining.

Shove that damn expression up your ass. Next time I meet you on a battlefield, I will make sure to kill you and anyone who ever stood in my way. Only then will I finally be free in this world that seems determined to hunt me down. You and Lyssandra… you are the keys to breaking my curse.

I had no time for her. With another hard flap of my wings, I shot toward the mountains. The guards were still stationed ahead on the towers, but luck remained on my side. Most of them had abandoned their posts to rush into the city, drawn by the chaos exploding behind me.

If I could just get past the outer wall, freedom was finally within reach.

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