Athena's General Reincarnated in Another World

Kinue

I'd decided to spend the day with my tutor—Professor Adrihna. She was more than a mentor to me, though I'd never say it aloud. In truth, I saw her as a mother figure.

Not that I'd ever tell her that. I didn't want to burden our relationship with something that heavy.

But if I'm being honest… I owe her everything I've accomplished so far.

Today was also the day Nathan and Chloe were supposed to take the next step in their relationship. Or at least they might, depending on what they decided. We'd talked about this before—months ago, maybe even a year now. I had already accepted that this would happen eventually.

Chloe was Nathan's first fiancée, after all.

And I came after.

It had always been understood that, publicly, she would be considered the primary wife. I'm just a commoner—and in noble society, that meant she held the more 'important' position.

That's part of why my engagement to Nathan had remained unofficial. Hidden.

In noble terms, the first wife has the most prestige, the strongest voice, and the legal rights. Especially when the husband is a superior noble.

Nathan's citizenship delays only made things messier. His engagement to Chloe hadn't been publicly declared yet because of it—and by extension, neither had mine.

If I were from the Human Kingdom, maybe I'd at least be acknowledged as the second fiancée already. But I wasn't. Until our elven citizenships were formally issued, nothing could move forward.

Even their children—Nathan and Chloe's future kids—would be affected. They would be considered direct heirs to the duchy.

Thankfully, Professor Adrihna told me that everything would be resolved in the Human Kingdom's capital. That's where Nathan would finally receive a royal pardon for his "crime" and be granted dual citizenship. Officially. Publicly.

All of it would take place in the king's palace during a rare ceremony—one that would, for the first time in years, also include the appearance of an elven king.

I only found out today.

Nathan and his family would learn about it soon—once we all met again.

The royal family didn't even know Nathan's true identity yet. All they had was the situation… not the name behind it.

We'd probably be staying in the capital for a day or two. Maybe… maybe we could have a proper date while we were there?

I sighed.

Calm down, Kinue. He's already your boyfriend.

Still, I couldn't help the nerves. I wanted to talk to Chloe.

Should I ask if… that happened? Would it be too weird to ask if it hurt?

I paced back and forth, heart thumping.

Do humans do it differently from demi-humans? Is there… that much of a difference?

My face burned crimson just thinking about it.

"That idiot!" Hugo snapped, interrupting my thoughts. He was venting—again—about the argument he had with Frederick earlier. Some kind of misunderstanding, from what I gathered.

He was loading our luggage into the carriage.

"You know I could've handled this myself, right?" Professor Adrihna said, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe if you were traveling alone. But you've got us now. It's the least I can do," Hugo grunted.

We were in one of the Academy's private staff quarters—the area where faculty lived.

"How's everything going at the tower?" Hugo asked.

"After the Inquisitors wiped out the creatures, a team's been working non-stop to bring the corpses up," she replied. "They're planning to study the bodies. Try to extract the physical mana cores."

Hugo kept stacking the trunks, barely acknowledging Frederick standing awkwardly nearby.

"I'm going to kill that brat," he muttered again.

"S-sorry, sir," Frederick stammered, adjusting the luggage—but Hugo ignored him completely, speaking as if he wasn't even there.

Professor Adrihna never liked the boy. She never said it openly, but it was obvious.

And honestly? I couldn't blame her.

Frederick was Nikolaus Wolves' nephew.

That alone was reason enough.

I'd heard rumors—some even said Professor Adrihna volunteered to personally eliminate the Wolves bloodline once the kingdom issued official authorization.

And yet, Frederick had done nothing wrong. He wasn't like them.

Still… I kept my distance.

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We all did.

Nathan and Lady Margaery were the only ones who treated him like a normal person.

The rest of us were polite. Civil. Careful.

But that stigma wouldn't vanish easily.

Not when your last name still carried the stench of Wolves.

"I want you nowhere near my daughters. Don't even look at them," Hugo snapped.

"M-My lord… I love them," Frederick stammered, his voice trembling. "I… I don't know how to deal with what I feel."

"Love?" Hugo let out a sharp, sarcastic laugh. "Kid, you're lucky I'm the one who overheard that. If it had been my wife, you'd be talking backward right now—with one eye missing."

"Lady Martha… doesn't seem that cruel…"

That made Hugo laugh louder.

"For your own good, forget about Natty and Catty," he said bluntly.

"I'll prove I'm worthy to… court your daughters," Frederick mumbled, barely audible.

The boy returned to loading the last of the bags onto the carriage, quiet and focused.

Once everything was secured, he climbed up front and took the reins. Driving carriages was one of his few hobbies—it gave him a sense of calm he rarely felt anywhere else.

After a few moments, he set off ahead of us, leading the baggage cart.

"Once Nathan receives his citizenship in the capital, the king plans to invite him—and all of you—to visit the Elven Kingdom as part of his official delegation," Professor Adrihna said.

"I'll try to help convince Margaery and Katherine," she added with a glance at Hugo.

"I'll do what I can," Hugo replied. "Honestly, I'm curious myself. Not sure when we'll have another chance to visit foreign lands just for leisure. With all this uncertainty about the portals, I'll probably spend the next few months knee-deep in combat drills with recruits."

Our carriage moved steadily down the academy path, heading toward the royal departure zone—where the processions to the capital were assembling. The location was in the center of Apsalon. Apparently, it was a long-standing noble tradition to follow the king's lead during such formal journeys, symbolizing unity and loyalty.

It was already night, and I gazed out the window, watching the city pass by.

Maybe it was coincidence… but all I could see were couples.

Hand in hand. Laughing. Leaning into each other under the streetlights.

Soon, that'll be me.

I exhaled softly, caught in a strange tangle of emotions. A fragile thread of happiness mixed with quiet nerves.

I hadn't kissed Nathan many times. We hadn't gone out alone all that often. But knowing that someday, I'd have moments like that—just the two of us—made me feel giddy.

When our relationship becomes official, we'll walk through these same streets hand in hand, no longer in secret… I thought, only to realize—

It might be a long time before I ever see this city again.

"Just our luck," Hugo muttered from the seat across. "I figured the streets would be clear with all the royal carriages moving out—but nope. Crowd's packed."

He leaned forward, squinting. "Looks like one of the princesses is waving to the people…"

I turned my gaze forward, and there they were—Alice and Melina, leaning out of their ornate carriage, smiling and waving. The crowd cheered and clapped, joyous and excited.

"The elven majesties must be with them too," Adrihna noted. "I'll signal one of the elven guards to open a path for us."

But then—

Her smile faded.

And so did the sound.

One moment, the street was filled with joyful noise—laughter, cheers, clapping—

Then silence.

Total, synchronized silence.

Like the entire crowd had rehearsed it.

Even the horses stopped moving.

The air... thickened.

Heavy, pressing, unnatural.

Time itself seemed to stretch, like reality was bracing for something.

Then a single scream pierced the silence.

A girl.

Clutching her head with both hands.

And then—
the ringing began.

A high-pitched, shrill tone that stabbed straight into the ears.

People all around winced, hands covering their heads, their expressions twisted in confusion and pain.

And then—
I felt it.

A crawling sensation.

Goosebumps along my arms. Down my spine.

It was like something invisible had passed right through me.

Something ancient. Vile.

A presence that didn't belong here. A malice so thick, it felt like oil in my lungs.

Hatred.

Not the kind that burns in anger.

The kind that festers. That spreads. That never ends.

Every step taken in that silence felt like a scream.

The air was so still, so tight, that even the softest movement exploded like thunder in my ears.

Then came the screams.

Not all at once.

They started small—scattered, hushed, as if people were trying to scream through water. But instinct moved faster than thought, and people began to run before they could even breathe.

One by one. Then by the dozens. Then hundreds.

A wave of fear crashed over the city.

And we were in its path.

"Brrrkk!"

The sharp crack of shattering glass cut through the rising panic. It wasn't just windows—it sounded like the world itself was breaking, like a frozen lake splintering beneath invisible weight.

It started slow.

Then faster. Louder. Deeper.

And then—

CRACK.

A sound like the sky itself had split in two.

All of us looked up.

Even I, frozen in the carriage window, couldn't help but stare.

Above our heads, a black fissure tore through the fabric of reality—right in the middle of the sky.
A jagged scar in the heavens.

And from within that crack spilled a glowing, iridescent light, like oil catching fire. Beautiful. Terrifying.

Then the real nightmare began.

Things—creatures—poured through.

They didn't walk. They ran.

They burst through the streets like hunger incarnate, trailing corruption, exuding malice.

The people understood immediately.

They didn't need to be told.

A portal.

"That's a portal!" Professor Adrihna shouted, just as the fracture in the sky reached us.

The world in front of me shattered.

The fabric of space cracked right before my eyes—splitting open across the front of our carriage.

"Kinue!" the professor screamed.

Time slowed.

Everything moved like it was underwater.

I saw the rift open wide, saw it swallow the air, the light, us.

Then—

BOOM.

The explosion ripped through the carriage.

I was thrown like a ragdoll, slammed with wood, steel, and force.

Pain flared across my back as I spun through the air and crashed into another carriage.

I hit the ground hard, wind knocked from my lungs.

"Professor!" I screamed, barely able to breathe.

My clothes were soaked—warm and sticky.

Blood.

I touched my side, chest, arms.

None of it was mine.

My gaze shot forward—through the smoke, through the debris—and I saw her.

Professor Adrihna.

Collapsed in a pile of wreckage.

Motionless.

A pool of blood spreading beneath her.

Panic crashed over me like a wave. I couldn't think—I just ran.

All around me, the world was falling apart.

Weird sounds filled the air—wet, rattling, twisted.

And then the flaming arrows came.

They fell from the sky like comets, lighting rooftops and stone paths ablaze.

Hooves.

I heard them before I saw them.

Dozens. Hundreds.

Charging down the main road.

When I turned to look—my stomach dropped.

An army.

But not one I recognized.

They looked human, at first. Until you saw the rot.

Their skin sagged and cracked, half-eaten faces twisted in eternal snarls. Their armor was rusted, some still pierced with the weapons that had killed them.

And beside them—

Orcs.

Dead orcs.

Their heads split open, bone exposed, some missing limbs or parts of their jaws—but still charging forward, weapons raised.

The city was overrun.

From windows. Rooftops. Alleyways.

They poured in.

An army of the dead.

A guttural trumpet sounded—deep, broken, unnatural. The kind of sound that shook the spine.

I looked up.

Atop a crumbling building, three knights sat on monstrous steeds. Black armor gleaming with blood-red runes. No words. No movement—just judgment.

Each one raised their sword skyward.

And then pointed—straight at us.

That was all it took.

The dead surged.

And the slaughter began.