A few years ago, the kingdom lost its first princess. She vanished without a trace, leaving devastation in her wake—none more broken than the royal family. Not long after, calamities began to appear. They struck first at convents, then at anything unfortunate enough to stand in their path. The creatures were believed to be hell-born, harbingers of some greater doom.

In response, a new order of knights emerged: the Light Knights.

Rosalia had known, from the moment they were formed, what she wanted to be. At fourteen, she dedicated herself to the path; at nineteen, she stood among their ranks. She never cared that she was a woman in a man’s order—her skill didn’t just silence doubt, it earned her the title of captain. Years later, the resentment once aimed at her had turned into respect.

The Light Knights hunted calamities, tracing their origins, destroying every sinkhole from which they crawled—yet never finding the core.

Until now.

Rosalia stood before a fortress forged from dark magic, a castle that looked torn straight from the pit. Its gates inhaled the light around them. She stepped inside with cautious resolve.

A low, silken voice drifted from the shadows—rich, feminine, and venomously calm.

“Are you the captain? I’m surprised my father finally let a woman do something right.”

Rosalia’s breath caught. From the darkness emerged the missing princess—no longer a girl, but a woman nearly Rosalia’s age, perhaps older. Dark magic swirled around her like living smoke, and her gaze held a cruel, superior glint.

Rosalia’s voice trembled. “H-how…? How could you betray your own kingdom like this?”