'Crunch'

Haa....

I opened my eyes, breathing heavily. The corridor of the underground containment zone was filled with the loud blaring of emergency sirens and the cold flashing of red emergency lights. A familiar magic sword was gripped in my hand, and the corpse of a gun-wielding gatekeeper I had just cut down lay at my feet.

It was a regression I had lost count of. Where exactly did things go so wrong? A while ago, when the Imperial Family controlled the media and blocked all visitations, claiming "Her Highness the Princess is gravely ill and cannot be seen," a corner of my heart grew anxious. Since we were childhood friends who had been close since we were young, I had only hoped for her recovery with a worried heart... then suddenly, an emergency Imperial decree was issued stating that the Princess had been kidnapped by witch forces and was trapped in the emergency containment zone.

As a magic officer of the Korean Empire's Imperial Guard, I rushed to save her without a second thought as soon as I heard the news. My only thought was to save my precious childhood friend safely, no matter what it took. However, the sight I encountered when I broke through the thick security control room door was utter madness.

There were no witches there. Instead, there were the corpses of horribly torn magical beasts and guards, and in the middle of the blood-soaked control room stood my childhood friend, Princess Lee Sia.

What... is that really the Princess I knew?

The face and voice were definitely the Princess I knew. But the expression of emotion, the look in her eyes, even her eerily twisted movements were nothing like the pure and gentle person I remembered.

And yet, the moment she discovered me, the way her clear rose-red eyes sparkled and she looked as happy as a child... that was the exact same face that used to smile at me when we were young.

The Princess simply crushed me while smiling innocently. My screams were buried and vanished beneath her breathless gasps... and whenever I opened my eyes, I was back in this marble corridor where the emergency sirens always blared.

What on earth happened to the Princess...? Why did she become like that!

I even tried to strike the Princess with my magic sword. But the blade couldn't even leave a scratch, and instead, I was torn to pieces by the Princess who lost her reason and went wild, crying that I "tried to kill her." I even tried to abandon the containment zone and flee outside the castle to the modern city. But a few days later, the Princess followed me into the city, turning every building and citizen she saw into bloody pulp as she tracked me down and hugged me to death.

Why did the Princess, who was said to be ill, turn into such a strange monster? What did they mean by her being kidnapped? Without knowing anything, I have become trapped in this blood-stained eternal loop.