It had been an hour since the world began to fall apart.

  An hour since the dimensional gates opened.

  Since monsters began flooding into Selini like a tide of ruin.

  And for over half that time, Cryssa Stelluna had been fighting, not as a noble, not as a mascot, but as a knight.

  Together with Glacia, Iori, and hundreds of mercenaries, she had held the line at Stelluna’s estate.

  But the gates, four of them, each linked to an Epic-rank dimension, did not stop.

  Neither did the monsters.

  Wave after wave came crashing down upon them, an endless tide of ogres, trolls, golems, and worse.

  For a trio facing their first real battle, their performance had been nothing short of extraordinary.

  But they were still girls who had only trained their bodies for a few weeks.

  And eventually, inevitably…

  Their stamina ran dry.

  Then, it happened.

  Their bodies gave out.

  “Kyaaah!!”

  Cryssa was the first to fall.

  An ogre’s club slammed into her ribs with bone-crunching force, hurling her across the courtyard like a ragdoll.

  She rolled across the blood-slick earth until she slammed into the steel fence at the perimeter with a sharp, metallic clang.

  “Master! Kyaaa—!”

  “Mast—Ugh!”

  Glacia and Iori turned at her cry, and that second of distraction was all it took.

  Ogres descended on them from both sides, striking them down with brutal, unrelenting force.

  Their bodies hit the ground hard, rolling in the dirt and smoke, limbs trembling from fatigue.

  They tried to rise.

  But they couldn’t.

  “Lady Cryssa!”

  “Lady! Answer us!”

  Cries rang out on the battlefield. Somewhere in the courtyard, mercenaries fought desperately to hold the line, but even the A-rank captains were overwhelmed, locked in vicious duels with B-rank monsters that refused to fall.

  “Cover Lady Cryssa! Don’t let them reach her!”

  “Damn it—! Wake up! Lady Cryssa, please!”

  From the rooftops, archers and mages redirected their fire, raining arrows and spells on the ogres closing in on the fallen trio.

  But the enemy numbers kept growing, too many and too fast.

  Then, through the static of her communication crystal, a voice broke through.

  Soft, clipped, elegant.

  “Stellar’s command is secured. How is Selini?”

  Lyra.

  Her sister.

  Cryssa’s eyelids fluttered. Her body felt hurt. Her breath was shallow, each one scraping painfully through her chest. Her limbs wouldn’t move.

  She heard her sister’s voice again, sharper now.

  “Cryssa? Answer me, Cryssa!”

  “What happened there, Cryssa?! Respond!”

  The desperation in Lyra’s voice cut through the haze like a blade. She never sounded like that.

  Cryssa’s lips parted.

  Air.

  Stolen story; please report.

  She just needed some air.

  And then…

  Her own voice.

  Barely above a whisper.

  “H… Help… four… pur…ple…”

  The communicator sparked to static.

  Then—

  BAAAAANGGGGGG!

  A deafening explosion tore through the battlefield, shaking the ground like a thunderclap from the gods. Screams rang out. Dust and ice filled the air.

  And in her final moment of clarity…

  Cryssa saw it.

  A shard of shimmering ice, glinting like crystal in the chaos.

  Then everything went dark.

  ……

  Stellar Town. The courtyard of Stelluna’s estate.

  Lyra’s mind went blank.

  Her legs nearly gave out beneath her, and her hands trembled uncontrollably.

  It wasn’t just what she heard.

  It was how she heard it.

  Cryssa’s voice, faint and broken. Like a plea and a gasp for help.

  Then… an explosion that tore through the communication channel so violently, it was as if the entire world had gone mute.

  She stood still in place, her breath shallow, her body shaking.

  No. She couldn’t believe it. Not yet.

  Not until she saw it with her own eyes.

  Slowly, Lyra turned.

  Three young women met her gaze, Cryssa’s personal slaves.

  One in silver knight’s armor, two in mage robes laced with blue threads, gripped their sword and staff, eyes brimming with tears.

  Fear filled their eyes.

  Not for themselves, but for Cryssa.

  They looked like girls.

  But in that moment, they looked ready to die for Cryssa.

  Then Lyra’s eyes dropped… to the slave collars still locked tight around their throats.

  Which meant…

  Cryssa was still alive.

  Relief hit her in a wave so sudden it made her knees buckle for a breath.

  She exhaled hard, forced composure into her voice, and barked the first command that came to her heart.

  “Chika! Yuki! Nia!”

  The three straightened immediately.

  “Go to the teleportation portal and assist Cryssa! I’ll bring reinforcements!”

  They didn’t ask questions. They didn’t hesitate.

  “Understood!”

  They replied in unison.

  Then they ran, faster than Lyra had seen them move before, and vanished down the path toward the portal tower.

  Lyra turned to the last person by her side.

  Roxy Stelluna.

  The little girl stood in silence, clutching the edge of her dress. Her eyes were wide, full of the things she couldn’t say aloud.

  Lyra crouched and gently touched her shoulders.

  “Go inside, sweetheart. Stay with the maid, okay?”

  Roxy looked up. Her lips trembled.

  “Will Mama save Aunty?”

  Lyra nodded, jaw clenched.

  “I will.”

  That was enough. Roxy turned and ran inside without another word.

  The moment she disappeared behind the door, Lyra shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

  As she sprinted through the streets of Stellar, she opened the communication channel, her voice already rising before the signal clicked on.

  “To all squad captains! Listen carefully!”

  Her voice rang out sharp and commanding.

  “Organize your squads and move to Stelluna’s estate in Selini immediately! There’s a surge of B-rank monsters swarming that sector!”

  Static filled the line for a second, then a voice answered.

  “Wait, what about the battlefront here?”

  “I’ll handle that!”

  Lyra snapped.

  “I’ll rally the low-rank mercs. Just move!”

  Another voice replied, nervous but clear.

  “O-Okay!”

  She cut the channel and kept running.

  “Cryssa… please…”

  Her chest ached with every breath.

  “Wait for me.”

  Lyra ran.

  Past alleys. Past houses. Past stunned civilians.

  She didn’t stop, not for anyone, not even herself.

  Her lungs screamed. Her legs threatened to fold.

  But she didn’t care.

  She kept running, running, and running.

  until—

  BAM!

  She reached the door of the Mercenary Guild and slammed it open with both hands.

  The room fell quiet in an instant. Tankards stopped mid-air. Beers spilled across the floor.

  Then someone gasped.

  “Lady Lyra?!”

  Lyra stood in the doorway and panting.

  Then she reached into her magic bag and pulled out a pouch.

  A massive one.

  THUD!

  It hit the floor with a metallic sound. The unmistakable jingle of gold filled the room.

  “YOU ALL WANT THIS, RIGHT?!”

  Everyone stared at her.

  She clenched her fists at her sides and bellowed:

  “THEN STOP DRINKING AND GET TO WORK, YOU BASTARDS!!”

  The room was dead silent.

  Just for a few seconds.

  Then came the sound of boots hitting floors. Benches scraping back. Steel drawn. Voices rising.

  They didn’t hesitate.

  Because that pouch was heavy with gold.

  And because Lady Lyra Stelluna wasn’t asking.

  She was commanding.

  The Stelluna family never hoarded wealth.

  They spent it like blood in a war.

  And tonight…

  Count Lyra Stelluna spent every coin like it was a blade.

  And so…

  An army of mercenaries was forged from gold.