Chapter 13

Roulan turned toward where the knight with the tattoos had been standing, but he was gone. All three knights moved toward the rift, even though they knew this level exceeded their abilities and limits. "Aren't they afraid of dying?"

Roulan hesitated to move forward. When she faced Drayen, she was confident he wouldn't harm her, and even if he did, it wouldn't escalate to the point of death. But this time, it was different. She had never tested her new powers on the battlefield.

She swallowed hard, and the ground beneath her turned into swirling dust. "No, I won't falter. I've tasted death once, and if I fear it now, then damn me!" 

Roulan screamed as she jumped onto level ground, but her brief moment of peace was shattered by a strike from the monster's tail, which emerged from the sand and moved in a serpentine way. Yes, she could feel her heartbeat accelerating more than usual.

They had to destroy the rift's core if they wanted to stop the continuous wave of demonic beasts; otherwise, it would be an eternal battle. The knight with the tattoos on his hand was thrown beside Roulan, his wound deep, his insides shattered. Roulan stayed by his side. He was the only one who had shown any kindness to her since they arrived.

If only her healing abilities still worked. If only she could help him. "Damn it." 

Tears gathered in her eyes. Since she was young, no one had treated her kindly. She had grown used to cruelty, and even the smallest kindness felt like pride to her.

"Wake up, sir," 

His body was growing cold. Her hands trembled. No, this wasn't fair. She didn't want to see anyone die in front of her. She truly hated the idea of someone leaving without the world even noticing their absence.

Tears fell from her eyes, landing on the man's body. Her vision blurred, and everything turned into a deep blue hue. A faint light appeared in the distance.

"Where am I?" 

Roulan whispered as she stood up, but a heavy pressure forced her back to her knees, making it hard to breathe. "W-what is this power?"

[Welcome to the Emperor's Void]

A notification from her system appeared in front of her. The pressure was still there, but with every passing moment, it increased until her body reached its limits. She started coughing up blood. She couldn't control these powers.

If she didn't hold it together, the knight would die. She could feel it within her—she had the ability to save him. "I've worked so hard to achieve my dreams, but circumstances, luck, and countless obstacles have always held me back. But this is a different world, in a different body. I won't give up."

Roulan spoke, struggling to stand despite falling several times and the growing pressure on her.

[Choose a magical class]

Another system notification appeared before her as she stood on her feet, her breaths ragged despite the overwhelming pressure in her body. She stared at the six classes displayed in front of her. What she wanted wasn't offensive power or even overwhelming destructive abilities. What she wanted to choose was a power that could save people and put an end to their suffering.

[Healer class confirmed]

Roulan collapsed after selecting the healer class from the healing magic options. The atmosphere around her began to shift to a light green, as though she were falling into a field of flowers. A massive, shaded tree opened its eyes as she stared at it, her gaze barely able to stay open.

Only the sound of birds and a soft melody echoed in her ears, like a symphony from a distant era. Slowly, she opened her eyes, finding herself once again in the battlefield. But this didn't seem like the same battlefield at all.

... 

"Who gave you permission to let her go to the battlefields?"

King Rick slammed his desk, causing all the knights to stand up after Commander Alexander stated the seriousness of the situation in the southern crater that had appeared several days ago and most of the strongest and best knights had failed to determine its level of danger or even control its monsters. The diameter of the crater alone was nearly half a mile.

 This was a mission that King Rick or the Twelve Knights should carry out, not just beginners, "Sir, I only carried out Princess Lerifa's orders," 

Princess Lerifa is King Eric's aunt, who raised him after his parents died, the king clenched his fist, 'Damn it, Roland will think that I am doing this to take revenge on her, damn it, what is all this complexity…' 

Before he could finish his stream of curses and thoughts, he felt that prick in his pulse as he stared at the sky that cleared that poisonous atmosphere that surrounded the kingdom, a green light from the direction of the demonic crater in the south made everyone in the Dostivas Kingdom stand on their feet and watch that gigantic magical aura, in all the history of magic and its ages, nothing like this had ever been seen. 

 "Damn it's the Emperor's energy," Rick muttered without thinking, he activated the teleportation skill to rush towards Rolan, but his skill didn't work. The great aura that Rolan released had disabled all other types of magic, rendering them inert. 

"Hurry up," Rick repeated his phrase in a voice close to a whisper as he ran like a madman towards the flow of energy that formed that giant tree. It resembled the legendary World Tree that he had once read about. Being able to embody such a magnificent sight required enormous inner strength. 

 With every step he took in his fast running, the picture became clear to him, his ear began to pick up that sweet music, making him feel that his whole body was in the best condition, "Roulan, are you crazy?" 

He pulled her and hugged her to his chest, shaking her several times to make her say a word, but she was staring with looks as if she was going to fall asleep soon, "Is the knight with the tattoo okay?" 

Roulan muttered, making King Rick's eyes move to where that knight was lying, his vital signs indicated that he was alive.