chapter 32
The Princess stood.
Green aura wrapped around her body like living fire, flowing across her skin in waves of light.
John's eyes widened slightly.
Chris stopped breathing for a moment.
Even Bkka—who had smiled through the entire battle until now—tilted his head with genuine interest.
Bkka: "So this is it…"
A faint grin spread across his face.
Bkka: "Your real self."
The Princess didn't answer.
Her gaze remained locked onto him.
Sharp.
Focused.
Burning with something far deeper than anger.
And then—
She moved.
BOOM.
The ground shattered beneath her first step.
In an instant, she appeared before him.
CLASH!
Her blade crashed against his defense with enough force to shake the ruined hall.
Bkka blocked the strike—
But this time, his arm shifted slightly from the impact.
Just slightly.
Chris blinked.
Chris: "…Wait."
John remained silent, but his eyes narrowed immediately.
John (thinking): She's not just releasing power anymore…
A pause.
John (thinking): She's controlling it.
The Princess attacked again.
And again.
And again.
Every strike was precise.
Clean.
Unrelenting.
She wasn't fighting recklessly anymore.
She was enduring.
Advancing without hesitation.
Without retreat.
Princess (voice trembling, louder): "I won't stop… I… I have to do this…"
Bkka exhaled slowly.
Bkka: "Interesting…"
Then—
He countered.
BAM!
The Princess was launched backward, her feet carving across the shattered floor.
But she stopped herself.
She didn't fall.
John moved instantly.
John: "Princess!"
But she raised one hand sharply.
Princess: "Stay out of it."
Her voice was firm.
Not weak.
Not trembling.
Absolute.
John froze.
Chris blinked in confusion.
Chris: "…Huh?"
The Princess never looked back.
Princess: "I said… stay away."
A slow breath escaped her lips.
Princess: "I want to do this alone."
John's expression tightened immediately.
John: "Are you insane?"
He stepped forward despite himself.
John: "You're not weak."
A pause.
His voice lowered.
John: "You're the strongest person I've ever seen."
For the first time, the Princess glanced back at him.
Her eyes burned with pressure, exhaustion, fear—
And determination.
Princess: "You don't understand."
Her voice cracked slightly.
Princess: "You don't know the pressure I carry."
She turned back toward Bkka.
Princess: "I have to do this."
And then—
She rushed forward again.
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
Green light exploded across the battlefield as their attacks collided violently.
The ruined Grand Hall trembled under the force of every impact.
Bkka's smile slowly began to fade.
For the first time—
He was reacting seriously.
BAM!
His fist slammed into her side.
The Princess staggered backward—
Then immediately returned.
Another strike came.
She blocked.
Another followed.
She countered.
John watched silently from the distance.
John (thinking): She's not winning…
A pause.
John (thinking): But she's not losing either.
Chris muttered under his breath.
Chris: "This is insane…"
The battle continued.
Minutes stretched endlessly.
The Princess was bleeding now.
Her breathing had become uneven.
Her arms trembled from strain.
But she never stopped moving.
Bkka frowned slightly.
Bkka: "Still standing…"
Then—
His attacks became heavier.
Faster.
More violent.
Each strike carried enough force to destroy stone.
The Princess was pushed back again and again.
But every single time—
She came back.
And then—
Something changed.
The green aura surrounding her intensified.
It no longer looked like light.
It looked like fire.
Alive.
Burning.
Princess gasped sharply.
Pain shot through her body.
Her own power was beginning to consume her.
Princess (thinking): It's too much…
The veins along her neck burned beneath the pressure.
Her hands shook violently.
Her muscles screamed.
But her eyes—
Never wavered.
Princess (thinking): I can't stop…
She pushed forward again.
CLASH!
This time—
Bkka was forced backward.
One full step.
Chris's eyes widened completely.
Chris: "…He moved."
John straightened slightly.
John: "She's breaking through his rhythm…"
The Princess let out a sharp scream—not from fear, but from release.
She attacked again.
Faster.
Stronger.
Heavier.
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
Bkka's expression finally shifted.
Bkka: "…Tch."
For the first time since the battle began—
He was being overwhelmed.
The Princess didn't hesitate.
She gathered every remaining fragment of strength into a single movement.
Green aura condensed around her blade, compressing violently.
The air itself trembled.
Her breathing stopped.
Princess: "I won't… lose…"
And then—
She moved.
A single slash of green light tore across the ruined hall.
BOOM!
Silence.
Everything stopped.
Dust filled the air.
The remaining pillars trembled.
Bkka stood motionless.
A glowing line of green energy stretched across his body.
For the first time—
His eyes widened.
Then—
Slowly—
He collapsed.
The impact echoed through the ruined hall.
Silence swallowed everything.
Chris stared blankly.
Chris: "…No way."
A pause.
Chris: "He's… down?"
The green aura surrounding the Princess vanished instantly.
Her strength disappeared with it.
Her legs gave out beneath her.
She fell forward—
But John caught her before she hit the ground.
He held her tightly against him.
John: "You idiot…"
His voice shook slightly.
John: "Are you trying to kill yourself?"
The Princess looked up at him weakly.
Princess: "…I did it…"
John's expression softened for a brief moment.
But frustration remained in his eyes.
John: "You don't even care about your own life."
He tightened his grip slightly.
John: "Do you realize what you just did?"
The Princess tried to answer—
But exhaustion overtook her.
John exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair in disbelief.
John: "You said you care about your people… right?"
The Princess stayed silent.
Her eyes remained half-open, barely focused on him.
John continued, his voice rising slightly.
John: "Then what about you?"
A pause.
John: "Your life isn't something you can just throw away like that."
His jaw tightened.
John: "You were literally burning yourself alive out there."
For the first time, he wasn't speaking like a fighter.
Or a strategist.
Or even a soldier.
He sounded genuinely shaken.
John: "Do you even care about yourself at all?"
A bitter breath escaped him.
John: "You keep saying you have to protect everyone…"
His voice softened.
John: "But who's going to protect you if you keep destroying yourself like this?"
He looked away briefly, struggling to control his emotions.
Then his eyes returned to hers.
John: "Do you have any idea what I felt watching you out there?"
His voice cracked slightly.
John: "You're not just some warrior on a battlefield…"
A pause.
The sharpness in his expression disappeared completely.
John: "You're… you."
He hesitated before speaking again, quieter this time.
John: "And I don't care about kingdoms, politics, or wars…"
His gaze trembled slightly.
John: "None of it matters if you're not okay."
His voice dropped almost to a whisper.
John: "So don't ever scare me like that again."
For the first time—
All of John's walls were gone.
No sarcasm.
No teasing.
Only raw fear.
Raw honesty.
John: "…I can handle battles."
A weak breath escaped him.
John: "But I can't handle losing you in one."
The Princess stared at him silently.
And for a moment—
She forgot the pain.
The exhaustion.
The battlefield.
Everything.
Her heart skipped once.
Hard enough for her to feel it.
Princess (thinking): What… was that…?
A strange warmth slowly spread across her cheeks.
Soft.
Unfamiliar.
And impossible to ignore.
...CHAPTER 32ENDS...