A man was speeding through the sky, his wings flapping rapidly like those of a giant dragon, creating a massive wind pressure.
This person, who looked about eighteen or nineteen, was flying, covered in blood, toward the borders of the empire.
"Huff... Huff... Huff..."
The breathless man maintained an incredibly fast pace as he flew forward.
The countless black runes that circled his neck which resembled a decorative neck ring had almost turned entirely transparent, leaving only vague dark traces visible, which was clearly not a good sign.
This was the manifestation of the Rune Bond being depleted, and there were pursuers on his trail.
"Third Wing Pillar·Dimension Demon·Wing Spread!"
Just as the man began to slow down due to the lack of runes, a female voice echoed from the distant sky...
He had only a moment to turn his head, but lacked the strength to dodge the shards flying toward him from the transparent wings behind the opponent.
Like countless pieces of shattered glass, the fragments of the broken wings sliced his body and transformed into transparent chains that connected space itself to his body, binding him in a spread-eagle position in the sky.
"Ha... Ha..."
"Huff... Huff..."
Their heavy panting synchronized as they recovered their strength.
Both the man and the woman hovering opposite him had necks encircled with densely-packed runes, indicating they shared the same profession: one created by Yila, exclusive to the empire —
[Governor]
But at this moment, the man's runes had almost all turned transparent, whereas the woman still had half of her neck's runes in black...
"Huff... Let me go, Heidlin."
As he was recovering his strength, the man said this, while the woman who had bound him appeared very tense.
She earnestly prepared for battle, as if she were the one at a disadvantage.
"That's impossible, Lord Yila..."
The woman called Heidlin said this, as a fellow Governor, she had no choice but to take this seriously against the bound Yila before her.
"It's the Empress's decree, Lord Yila should return to the empire..."
Heidlin said, for she had received orders to bring Yila back.
"Think a bit, how could her handwriting possibly be that ugly?!"
Yila Elkaras said this, full of emotion, "If she could write such ugly characters, her father would climb out of the ground to scold her."
"..."
To this, Heidlin was silent for a moment, but still tried to persuade him: "Teacher, even if you went back, no one can do anything to you... Just go back and explain clearly."
She was once his student, but she prioritized the Empress's decree over her own judgment... something rare in the empire.
Actually, Yila had always kept to himself that he was not a native-born inhabitant of this world but a transmigrator from [Blue Star].
In this world full of [Magic], [Magic Power], [Demon Crystal], and [Monster], Yila had become an honorable mage, and for some reason, had become a remarkable Great Mage.
Then for some other remarkable reason, he had become the first [Governor] in this world, or rather...
At that time, his position was both a Governor and the current Empress's teacher, thus the [Profession] became known as Governor.
Subsequent events included altering the tide of war against the magic race, popularizing the [Governor] profession, and while he didn't attempt to explode civilian life and basic tech trees, Yila used wisdom from his previous life to achieve a great deal in this world.
It's quite typical for Yila's ideas to infuriate nobles, because coming from a wonderful era, some of his thoughts inevitably conflicted with those of the nobles.
However, his own Yila Faction* was also one of the largest noble factions, and it was believed that some tacit understanding had been reached with the Noble Faction's Duke Caligula...
But things proved otherwise.
"Probably not Caligula... that bastard is my enemy, but precisely for that reason, he wouldn't do something that might infuriate me, it must have been some foolish nobles under his command."
Bound by null chains, Yila sighed softly, muttering helplessly as his understanding of something seemed unclear... tearing down paper faces doesn't bring good to either side.
"It would be great if Yose was alive, Isabella is still too naïve..."
Yila lamented thusly.
"Lord Yila, even if you are Her Majesty's teacher, saying such things isn't right..."
Heidlin said, sensing something, adding: "You once said, we Governors utilize monster power at a cost, which could lead to emotional instability and result in mutation, so staying calm is important."
The implication was clear, that Yila needed to stay calm.
"Do you know how long I work every day?"
Yila asked...
Heidlin knew, about twenty hours or so.
But Yila gave her no chance to respond, immediately asking again:
"If I obediently return to the empire, me, Her Majesty, and the non-radical nobility... will find it very difficult."
This Heidlin could not fully understand, she couldn't comprehend compromise and exchange of interests... hence couldn't grasp the complex relationship between the Yila Faction and the Noble Faction.
"See, all these students chasing me, most just pretend to exhaust me then stop the pursuit, only you clumsily chased me all the way here, right?"
Yila said helplessly.
...
Anyway, no matter what, you won't die...
Thinking this way, Heidlin remained silent, and after a long time, she spoke up, "But that's not a reason for Lord Yila to run away, no matter what, rebellion is wrong."
"Whether you believe it or not, quite the opposite..."
Bowing his head, Yila whispered gently, while at this point, Heidlin sensed something ominous.
Heidlin detected a strange smell from Yila's voice—an indescribable scent of sulfur.
"The empire betrayed me."
So calmly said Yila, lifting his head, his pupils resembling those of a [Dragon], meeting Heidlin's gaze, and at some point the runes on his neck had shed the black and transparent hues.
They transformed into a blood-red of utmost intensity.
"First Wing Pillar·Crimson Dragon·Wing Shatter!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
As the serene voice resounded, the monster mana (Magic Power) lodged in the Governor's spine took effect, consuming a portion of the world's spells on the rune bond on the neck to form a link, communicating with the World Tree, tricking it in a manner to acquire vast amounts of magic.
If the command were [Wing Spread], this magic would gently unfold the Governor's wings.
But if the command were [Wing Shatter], then this entire magic would be used all at once to drive an extreme killing move, until the wings are completely shattered and unusable.
"Lord Yila! Your body's also not...?"
Heidlin shouted, but her words remained unfinished, as the entire border garrison of the empire, in the next instant, witnessed an ultimate crimson covering the entire sky.
As if hundreds of [Suns] had simultaneously appeared above the empire's borders.