December 2, 6:03 a.m.—dawn thinned like gauze. Medith twitched a finger and felt heat in her bones; yesterday hadn’t been a dream. At some point, Lahiss had woken and was moon-eyed, drinking her in.

“Awake?” Lahiss’s voice curled like warm honey. Last night’s wild feast hadn’t filled the recent hollowness in her; her hand wandered again, a silk fish sliding over Medith’s skin.

Medith caught that eel-slick jade hand sneaking from behind. “Enough, alright?”

Lahiss nestled her cheek to Medith’s shoulder; three thousand strands of midnight hair spilled like a waterfall. It tickled Medith’s neck like feathergrass, yet she dared not move, afraid of another ambush.

“Darling, what’s with your hair? That’s a sign of life force burning out fast. You…” The Queen stroked Medith’s stark silver-white hair, eyes full of warm tide.

Shame first, then words. Medith turned her back. “I don’t really know. But I probably have, well, a human’s lifespan now… Right, I heard you had a way to increase mana. Specifically…?”

Lahiss’s smile tilted like a crescent blade. “I wondered why you were so ‘forward.’ So that’s it… It’s fine. The days are long; we’ve got time.

Mana increase? Didn’t you already increase it? Last night.” Her smile held a teasing hook, hard to read.

Medith froze, then traced last night’s steps. Oh. No wonder for centuries no one could ‘win the Queen’s favor’ to boost their magic—so that’s what it meant.

“What’s there to fear? If we stand straight, no shadow can twist our outline. I’m not scared. Are you?

Oh, I get it—you’re worried the Commander’s iron aura will crack, right?

Impossible. Commander’s the fiercest. Rawr~” Lahiss tried to wriggle, but Medith’s hands pinned her fast.

Helpless, Lahiss draped herself over her, willow waist writhing at Medith’s back like a breeze through reeds.

“Alright! Keep this up and they’ll take the book down. I’m out.” Medith tossed the line like a pebble on water, dressed in a blur, and fled.

She left Queen Laxis standing alone, beautifully flustered, like petals scattered by a stray gust.

…

Sais and the others were already in the Council Hall. They wore their unit uniforms, a neat line along one wall like a blade’s edge. The moment she saw Medith, Sais’s face clouded like a storm front. “Our dear Commander is back? So—you finished gathering nectar?”

“W-what… nectar?” Medith’s words tripped like loose stones.

“Drop it. You think I can’t tell that telltale layer on you?” Sais clutched her cloak tight, resentment burning like coal under ash.

“Uh?” Medith blinked, genuinely lost. Milia breathed a whisper on the wind. “Medith! You don’t know that Elvenfolk (beep-beep-beep) leaves a special scent?

Rich. Alluring. Honey-sweet. The higher the mana, the stronger the scent.”

Medith startled. She sniffed herself; a strange fragrance shimmered up, thick as spilt mead. Around them, nobles and councilors wore identical no-I-didn’t-smell-a-thing faces.

She shuffled into the line of women, her expression a kaleidoscope.

Sais said nothing after that. She bit her lip, eyes brimming like a rain-heavy sky, staring at the floorboards. Medith could only pretend not to see.

Just then, the Queen adjusted her robes and glided to the dais, slim as a young pine, then sat with solemn grace.

“Your subjects bow before Your Majesty.” They moved through the ritual like waves in a set tide.

The Queen’s reply rang like bronze, yet she felt like spring sunlight. Her emerald eyes flicked like electric serpents, sending little lightning at Medith again and again.

After a beat, she reined it in, icy and poised, Scepter in hand. The divine tome had long since been entrusted to Medith and locked in her room; without it, the Queen looked a touch unaccustomed, like a dancer missing her fan.

“Commander Medith’s mission has forged an undying friendship between our people and Eunomia. What you all faced was far beyond our imagining.

Therefore, Captain of the Royal Guard, Sais: I hear your Dark Blade was damaged in this war. We’ll grant you fitted battle armor and a new weapon. That’s mere compensation.

Your rank is already high; I truly can’t think of any further title to grant. So I’ll grant you one wish. If it’s within my power, it’s yours.

Phiby, your experience and strength in this war brook no doubt. You’re promoted beyond the rules to a place in the Royal Guard. Whether you accept is your choice.”

Phiby glanced around. Smiles and nods bloomed like lanterns. She answered, joy bright on her face.

Iling and Milia were elevated to Holy Elves, the highest station beneath the elders. With their ability, it fit like a seal in wax.

When it came to Medith, she suddenly didn’t know what to want. She waved the Queen off for now. Knowing Medith’s nature, the Queen didn’t press. She asked about the weapons. Medith presented nine killing weapons like a row of silent moons.

Her own had been destroyed in the war—broken by her own Magic Breaker Circle. Now, fresh steel lay in her hands, cool as dew.

After that, Medith found an open plain and tested her power.

…

BOOOOM—whooom— The far ground bulged, and a towering mushroom cloud rose like a stone-white tree. It scooped up debris and gravel for a full kilometer, a sight that squeezed the breath from the chest.

“So this is… Medith’s Magic Breaker Circle?” Haidra stared at the cloud, shaken once more, like thunder rolling over a lake.

…

“Got the results?” Haidra was more fired up than Medith, sparks in dry grass.

Confusion first, then calm. Medith looked tangled in riddles. “My Lawbreaking Ability is strange. You said I had to smear blood and shout, right?

I can trigger it with a thought.

And after the break, nothing seems to change. If anything…

My mana’s gone, vanished like mist. What’s left is that old, familiar feel of raw strength.”

She clenched her fists; excitement flared like a torch. At last, the shackle fell away. She’d gone back to what she knew best—fighting with her body, bone and breath.

“How is that possible… Then after you break, what about stamina?” Haidra pressed on. The women watched in silence; this was beyond their field.

Medith retraced the burn lines. “Mm… The first Magic Breaker took about half my stamina. The second couldn’t raise that mushroom cloud anymore—only ‘Annihilation’ within fifty meters.

And after the break, my sword and my fists—even the arc of a slash—can manifest, and they carry the same weight as the Magic Breaker Circle.”

“What?! That… Wait, what do you mean by ‘Annihilation’?” Haidra had never seen a Magic Breaker like this.

Medith sighed, weariness pooling like dusk. “Tomorrow. See it with your own eyes. I hope you don’t choke on it.”