Chapter 28: Roanne, Autumn

Part 1

Just as the boiling summer passed into a cool and clear autumn.

Ianna was meeting the greater nobles of Roanne under her identity as the leader of Camastros in order to begin the rebellion.

Duke Solsavier, Duke Tarwitt, and Marquis Claude. They were respectively Schneider’s teacher, Schneider’s soon-to-be father-in-law, and Schneider’s maternal grandfather, and they were all on Schneider’s side. Even Duke Winnifred, Prince Linus’ grandfather, was present.

‘She’s the leader of Camastros.’

Only Duke Solsavier knew that Camastros had changed leaders. But he was silent, and the other greater nobles scrutinized Ianna up and down. They wondered if she was a dignified middle-aged woman. It wouldn’t have been unnatural if she had been nervous to be before them, but she held her ground firmly and did not budge at all.

“I am sure that all of you have already heard from His Highness Prince Schneider.”

The nobles nodded with heavy looks on their faces.

Schneider had recently revealed to them that the Black Fox was behind Luria and Fernando and that Bahamut was behind the Black Fox. The greater nobles raged and despaired as they finally learned how things were connected.

Fernando’s forces were already a handful, but to think that they would have to deal with the Black Fox and Bahamut at the same time as well. There were four powerful nobles present, but it would still be impossible to plan for a complete victory.

Shingardra Solsavier, who represented the nobles today, began to speak.

“We have gathered together our elite soldiers and formed an alliance as His Highness commanded. We will disguise ourselves as an organization that is unhappy with the rotten nobility of Roanne, and we will secretly begin eliminating the mid-ranking and lesser nobles in Fernando’s faction.”

“You’re very quick.”

“We’ll be devoured if we’re not.”

They were being driven out to the battlefield by the hour ever since Fernando had taken the throne. They were quietly allowing themselves to be sent to battle because they would be purged immediately if Fernando found even the smallest reason to criticize them. Fernando could not be reckless in purging them, but that did not allow them to feel any better about the situation.

“Very well. Please take one packet each.”

The nobles barely managed to fend off their nausea as they flipped through the pages of the packets that Ianna had handed out. The packets listed every noble they were about to purge and spelled out the full extent of their corruption in vivid detail.

It was generally understood that all nobles engaged in some form of corruption, but the things written in the packets went far beyond the norm.

“Please listen to me carefully as you read. The order in which we purge them is important because there are so many of them and they’re all colluding closely with each other. They will group together before we know it if we don’t work from the bottom up and cut off all their ties along the way.”

Ianna began writing the list of the nobles that would be purged on the rectangular board behind the round table from the bottom up. The roots were entangled with each other, and they all twinned into one large pillar that pierced through the bottom like a large tree afflicted with mange. She wrote down Luria’s and Fernando’s name atop that tree.

“We must untangle and rip out these roots one by one.”

Ianna drew lines from the bottom up as she disclosed the order in which the nobles were to be purged. Her explanation was continuous.

“Viscount Kilton has laid high-leveled aerial traps, which were given to him by the Black Fox, in the first and fourth entrances to his manor. The traps will activate an invisible and odorless poison spell that will melt down your body as soon as you enter its range, so please be sure to protect yourself with a shield spell mid-leveled or higher when you infiltrate.”

Ianna continued to give them counsel based on her experiences from her past life.

She had fought the Black Fox and had eliminated corrupt nobles in her past life too. Her memories had been fuzzy at first, but the target list in her hands now was very similar to the list of nobles she had purged in the past, and reading the information given to her by Eiji had helped clear up her memories.

The nobles’ blood curdled as they listened carefully to Ianna’s outpour of information. Gathering and organizing all that information must have required an incredible amount of intelligence capability and funds, and they feared Camastros for having it. But their fear turned into admiration as the conference went on. They surrounded Ianna and shook her hand once the long meeting was finally over.

“This must have been difficult.”

“It must mean there’s still hope left for Roanne if your people are agreeing to help Prince Schneider.”

A heavy determination filled the conference room.

“We will complete everything before the year is over.”

The quiet bloodbath began spreading out in Roanne’s high society after the meeting.

“W-who’s —ahh!”

“Mmph!”

Some noble estates burned down to a crisp, one entire noble household was assassinated and found dead, and another noble household went missing.

Camastros, too, began working secretly behind the nobles’ alliance. A few skilled members accompanied the nobles’ alliance and cleanly erased any and all evidence that might reveal their identities.

Whenever they eliminated an important noble whose death might alert the Black Fox to the encroaching danger, the elite agents disguised themselves as the purged noble and continued to deal with the Black Fox to mask their deaths. Camastros’ funds were like a mighty castle, and it barely made a dent in even one brick even if they spent a lot of money to keep up the disguise.

Moreover, Eiji had personally devoted himself to preventing information from leaking or rumors from spreading. He was so thorough that even the Black Fox never noticed what was going on, and the great cleansing was going well.

“Bwahahaha!”

Fernando, who had never cared much about state affairs, had continued partying without noticing a thing.

“Hahaha. I’ve brought some wine that the successive heads of my house have been saving up for centuries, Your Majesty…….”

“You are remarkable, Your Majesty. The future of Roanne is bright indeed.”

This was partly because the greater nobles had concealed their rage and were encouraging Fernando’s partying and buttering him up with their glib words. They showered each and every word out of Fernando’s mouth with praise. Fernando stuck up his nose and savored it as the aloof, high-ranking nobles began humoring him.

“Get them!”

Meanwhile, Camastros was attacking the Black Fox to draw away their attention. It was thanks to this that the Black Fox began cursing at them profusely while frothing at the mouth whenever they encountered a member of Camastros.

Ianna sometimes assisted Camastros or the noble’s alliance with her presence concealed, but she spent most of her time looking for Wiffheimer. But she did not attack even when she witnessed Wiffheimer casting large-scaled spells. She simply saw through everything that he was with her clear red eyes.

A month had passed quickly as she worked.

“Bwahaha, heehee!”

“Hehehehe!”

“Ha, ha.”

A certain small building. The sounds of crazed laughter, the sounds of shattering wine bottles and other items, the sounds of feverish moaning, and the sounds of a slurred tongue cursing in a vulgar manner were mixed into a twisted pleasure.

It had been long since the sounds of laughter had faded as Theodore became a battlefield, but this place was different. Several of the Black Fox’s hideouts were still playing their roles as places where people could act upon their greed in the dark, just like before the war. The crazed bastards inside the building were laughing uncontrollable in their merriment.

Crash!

The door to the hideout was kicked open.

“The hell?!”

Those who weren’t fully drunk yet jumped up in alarm.

“Hmm.”

Ianna, who had kicked the door open, surveyed her surroundings. A dense cloud of smoke, the stench of alcohol, and the piles of vomit strewn about here and there.

And the trash.

It reeked of rot.

The only thing they deserved was death. Every last bastard here was a wicked villain who tortured innocent people and murdered them when they grew bored.

In particular, the bastards high out of their minds on the sofa were nobles who were on her hit list because they had been particularly enthusiastic about colluding with the Black Fox.

Ianna found the man she had been searching for.

“The guys who were standing guard are all dead!”

People shouted as they discovered the corpses strewn pathetically around the floor beyond the door.

“Die!”

The nobles’ guards rushed toward the unidentified assailants. Ianna gently drew a horizontal line with the sword in her hand.

Swish!

Everyone who had rushed at her collapsed in a spray of blood. Those who had recognized her mask trembled with fear. One person mumbled,

“……Camastros?”

Ianna was heartless and simply brandished her sword instead of replying.

Ianna cleaned up the entire hideout with just a few strokes of her sword before she walked up to its sole survivor.

“Heh, hehe.”

The bastard was high out of his mind. He kept moving even though the woman he had been doing was already dead.

Ianna slapped him hard across the face.

Pow!

His head turned so sharply he nearly broke his neck.

“Ack! Eek!”

The man did not pull himself together even after he had been struck by such a powerful blow. Ianna grabbed the pathetic bastard who had fallen flat on his face by the collar and stared down at him before she tuned to the door.

“Come on in.”

Rikijen, who had been waiting outside, entered the building.

“……!”

He only paused for a moment, startled by the gruesome scene in front of him, before he steadied his heart and continued walking toward Ianna as she beckoned him closer. She pointed at the man she was holding up.

“It’s him, right?”

Rikijen stared long and hard into the ruined face that Ianna had beaten. A deep hatred seeped into his visage.

“Yes. He’s much older now than he was back then, but his is a face I’ll never forget.”

Ianna hit the bastard on the back of his neck once Rikijen had given her his answer.

“Ack!”

Wels Owen, the unconscious second son of Marquis Owen, had woken up.

“W-water. Ugh, why does my face hurt so much?”

Wels groaned for a while before he realized that something was wrong and began looking around.

He was in a completely black room with no windows. There was a wooden table in front of him and a single chair facing him from the other side. It was so dark that those were the only things that were close enough for him to make out.

“The hell?”

He was hungover from his drugs, but that wasn’t important right now. Wels tried to stand up, but he lost his balance and immediately sat back down.

He looked down. His entire body —his arms, legs, torso, and neck— were tied to the chair.

“Tch.”

Wels clicked his tongue as he wondered if he had either caused mayhem while he was high or if he had engaged in some bondage play while satisfying his lust.

“Hey! I’m awake now, so untie me! And bring me some water!”

Wels shouted at the door. His subordinates should have come running at his beck and call and replied immediately as he wanted them to, but their reply never came.

“Hey! You lot!”

Wels grew irate when no one answered no matter how much he called. He struggled against the chair he was tied to like he was having a seizure, befittingly of his violent nature, as he continued shouting.

“You assholes —you think you’ll get off free just because I haven’t beaten you lately?! You should have brought me back to the manor while I was asleep!”

Creak.

The door opened, and light poured into the room not too long after Wels had begun making a fuss. He grumbled as he looked to the door, and he frowned when a strange youth with grey hair walked inside.

“Shit, hey, who the hell are you?”

Wels asked, but the youth —Rikijen— did not answer and simply stared down at him instead. Wels continued,

“Huh? I asked you who the hell you were!”

Rikijen abruptly asked,

“You don’t know me?”

“Are you crazy? Why the fuck would I be asking if I did?! Anyway, untie me. Do you think you’ll be safe even after doing something like this to me?! I’m Wels Owen —the second son of House Owen!”

The barking second son of House Owen did not remember who Rikijen was.

“I knew you’d say that. But I’m glad —I didn’t exactly want to be remembered by a scoundrel like you.”

“What? You little bastard!”

Wels spat at him, but his spit fell to the floor without reaching Rikijen.

Ianna opened the door and walked in just then. Wels whistled, unable to read the mood at all, when the red-headed beauty with a cold appearance walked up to Rikijen.

“Does he remember?”

“Nope.”

“Will you remind him?”

“Never. What reason do I have to go out of my way to tell this piece of human trash about my grudge against him? I don’t want his filthy brain to think about my family for even a second. It’s much better if he knows nothing at all.”

Wels did not care about what Rikijen had to say —he was too busy drooling while ogling at Ianna’s beautiful visage and conspicuous figure up and down. He had relieved his lust with the women from last night, but he was drooling like a dog that had been starved for several days.

“Hey, Miss. Untie me now, won’t you? I’m the second son of House Owen. Why don’t you play with me for a day? I’ll give you a taste of heaven. Yeah?”

Wels froze up in the middle of a wink when Ianna’s unaffected red eyes turned toward him.

Why was it? The woman looked like a monster who was about to tear his throat out.

His breaths caught, and his vision grew bleary. The dreadful terror, which he had never experienced before in his life, became as hundreds of bugs that began crawling all over his skin.

The bugs left behind a paralyzing sting that made him convulse. Wels was unaccustomed to terror, and tears began falling from his eyes. His pants grew moist between his legs.

“E-eek.”

“Shut up.”

Wels finally shut his flippant mouth. Rikijen walked over to him with a wooden club and quietly told him,

“I bear a grudge against you.”

“A-a grudge?”

Wels fiercely worked the gears in his dull head as he tried to figure out who Rikijen was. But he could not think of anyone in particular because he had done so many things that people could begrudge him for. He truly, truly did not recall this emotionless youth with grey hair.

“Are you curious? But I won’t tell you what my grudge is for. Just think of me as one of the many people you’ve harmed as you die.”

“D-die?”

Wels startled. He continued,

“Hey, let’s stop here and why don’t you let me go? If you let me go, I’ll give you enough gold to last you a life…….”

“I haven’t decided how I want to kill you quite yet. So I’m thinking of using every method I’ve thought of until now. I’ll kill you with the method I end up liking best.”

Rikijen ignored what Wels was saying and raised his club high once he had finished his piece.

Pow!

“Argh!”

This was the first time in his life that he was wielding a weapon and not a pen as he hit someone. Rikijen scowled —he disliked the violent sensation in his hands and the way that Wels was gasping from pain.

But that lasted for only a moment, and he quickly grit his teeth and began beating Wels all over. Ianna watched quietly as Rikijen gradually lost his composure while beating Wels.

Rikijen was not strong, and Wels was not beaten so badly he was at risk of dying.

Snap!

The wooden club broke. Rikijen’s hands tore as well.

“Pant, pant.”

It was only then that Rikijen returned to his senses, and he bit down at his lip as he stared at the blood flowing freely from his hands.

Wels, who had been beaten black and blue, mumbled,

“S-save me…”

“Wow, this piece of trash just asked me to save him.”

Rikijen snapped as he kicked the broken club aside, unable to hold back his anger, and stepped out of the room.

Ianna summoned Innis and Towe.

“Could you partially heal that bastard for me?”

[Woow. He’s so dirty.]

[I don’t see any point in keeping him alive, but if you want us to…]

He must truly be trash if even the spirits were saying this. She was sorry that she was even healing the bastard to begin with, and she felt like her divine power was wasted on him, but this was something she needed to do to completely erase Rikijen’s grudge.

Ianna knocked Wels out by striking his vital points before she left the room with the spirits in tow. Rikijen was panting as he stood with his head digging against the wall from afar.

He began muttering when Ianna walked up to him.

“It embarrasses me that I lost myself for a minute while I was beating him. I need to train harder.”

“It would be stranger if you didn’t lose yourself when your archnemesis was right there in front of you.”

“Is that how it works?”

Rikijen clenched his injured hands as he quivered. He continued,

“I don’t think beating him to death will work. I feel horrible. I guess this just isn’t suited to my tastes.”

“Would you like me to beat him to death instead?”

“No. I want to punish him myself.”

“Then you should start by healing your hands. Show me.”

Ianna snatched up Rikijen’s injured hands and asked the spirits to heal him.

“Thank you, Lord Spirits.”

[You’re a bit dreary, but you’re still a good child.]

[That man from before was just too dirty.]

Rikijen lowered his head before Ianna once the babbling spirits had left them.

“Thank you for being here with me.”

Rikijen clenched his trembling hands into fists. It wasn’t because his hands were numb. It was because he was unable to adapt to the sensation of violence, which he was feeling for the first time. He continued,

“The fact that you’re watching over me gives me strength. Though I suppose I shouldn’t be saying things like this when I was the one who was going on about how I wanted to take my revenge alone.”

“You’re right. That’s not something that someone who was so blinded by rage as he beat the bastard should say. So, what will you try next?”

“I want to try torture.”

“Torturing him will feel no different from beating him.”

“Are you sure? Unlike a simple beating, torture is intended to inflict the maximum pain possible.”

“Hmm.”

Ianna did not think that inflicting physical pain in the name of vengeance suited Rikijen. His rage wouldn’t subside unless he exacted the proper revenge.

But Rikijen was currently in the middle of figuring things out for himself. Ianna decided to keep her mouth shut and not say anything until he asked for her opinion.

“We have a lot of tools for torture, so use them however you’d like.”

They were currently inside Camastros’ torture chamber. There were several tools for torture available to him. Ianna continued,

“You have time. Didn’t you say that you had dozens of methods you wanted to try out? Test them out one by one, and take the kind of revenge that you truly want. I will support you no matter what you choose to do.”

She pat him gently on the shoulder. The tip of Rikijen’s nose turned red.

“…….”

He took off his glasses and wiped away the tears at his eyes. This was the first time he had ever let anyone see him cry. Ianna had no way of knowing this, however, and she simply continued patting him.

She escorted him back to the dorms before leaving the Institution again. It was still dark out because Wels’ kidnapping and Rikijen’s violence had not taken very long. Ianna was active at night, and she still had a lot of work to do.

Thud thud thud!

She subconsciously touched her ring.

It had been a month since Arhad had left.

It had already been a month since she had taken over Camastros, and time had passed quickly as they exchanged blows with the Black Fox.

The hot and humid summer had turned into a cool autumn. Theodore was still in a maelstrom of war even though an entire season had passed. And today, Ianna made a decision as she sought Eiji out.

“You’re the best, Little Ianna! I’m pretty sure you’re a much better worker than Ro ever was.”

Eiji sang her praises as soon as they met. He continued,

“It was the right call for Ro to go East. Our sphere of influence in the East is cleaning up nicely because he’s there.”

Arhad was currently subjugating monsters in the East while restoring the ruined land, and he was consolidating his power in Semastair and its surrounding territories.

His actions were not very conspicuous. The world had once again entered an era of newly emerging countries, almost as if it had regressed to the dawn of the Age of Magic. Several kingdoms had fallen, but that also meant that several new kingdoms had been born. This was because greedy nobles had established new kingdoms even despite the situation at hand.

Arhad had naturally jumped on the bandwagon. Besides, Schneider was drawing Bahamut’s full attention in the East, allowing Arhad’s work to progress with relative ease.

Ianna chatted with Eiji at length before she got to the main topic.

“You should leave the Black Fox, Eiji. It’s getting dangerous.”

The dangerous information that Eiji had gathered by infiltrating the Black Fox’s intelligence operations was being disclosed to the world to save Roanne.

The beads he had ever so carefully strung together were being poured out to the world. He was in the most danger right now. He had even been suspected by Margarita previously. There would be nothing they could do if Bahamut confirmed that Eiji had betrayed them and dragged him away.

Eiji scratched his cheek.

“Actually, I’ve been sensing the danger too. They know I’m not stupid, and I’m the only one they’re withholding information about the Bahamut imperial family from. The imperial family’s stopped summoning me too……. And it’s already been several months since Payne, Bruce, and I stopped meeting regularly. I don’t even meet with the other executives of the Black Fox anymore unless Payne calls for me.”

Ianna’s expression froze.

“You should leave. There’s what Wiffheimer said to Heinrich, and they’re acting suspiciously with you too.”

“Hmm…….”

Eiji pondered for a moment before he nodded readily.

“Sure. I’ll leave after we’ve killed Payne and Bruce.”

Just thinking about them made the scars marring his back and his brain, ruined by Reborn, ache. Eiji clenched his teeth together. He continued,

“But I absolutely want to watch them die. I’ll escape to the East after that.”

Eiji had been burning in rage, but then his expression turned strange.

“Does that mean I’ll be free? I won’t be affiliated with the Black Fox anymore……. I used to be tied down to them even after betraying them because of my Reborn addiction, but now I’ll really be free thanks to you using the spirits to treat me. It feels strange.”

“You won’t exactly be free per se, since you’ll still have to keep helping Arhad and me.”

“But that’s different. That’s something I want to do.”

Dorcianni, who had been smoking from beside them, intoned as she tapped her finger against her cheek.

“If Eiji betrays them, then I won’t be able to stay in Bahamut either because I was the one who recommended him to the imperial family. And they’re already suspicious of me because I killed Margarita out of nowhere too. Should I betray them as well?”

Dorcianni was still just as strange as ever as she spoke about betrayal as if nothing was wrong.

“Can you betray them so readily? Aren’t you affiliated with the Tower of Truth, which is collaborating with Bahamut?”

“The Tower of Truth isn’t a unified group. We meet up once in a while to discuss the Truth or we read in the library with a copy of every book in the world —but we all play around separately.”

Dorcianni shook off the ash from her cigar before she put it back inside her mouth. She continued,

“The Tower of Truth is a place where madmen who want to learn more about the absolute providence that governs the world —the Truth— gather. It started with a colony of flowers that blossomed in the Ice Fields.”

Ianna’s ears perked at Dorcianni’s sudden words.

“The aura of life that flowed out from the colony then blossomed forth new life. One certain ancient mage built a tower and began studying the phenomenon in want of saving the frozen land. That is how the Tower of Truth began.”

Ianna listened carefully to what Dorcianni was saying. She was certain that the field of flowers Dorcianna had mentioned was a ‘part of Phaemdra.’

“Magic and the Demon’s fragments are fascinating subjects that brush against the Truth. But I am the only mage from the Tower of Truth who owns a fragment.”

Every mage affiliated with the Tower of Truth was an incredible mage, and several of them had even borne witness to a Demon’s fragment. But the mages had declined absorbing the fragments because they knew the fragments would only lead them to ruin, and they informed the imperial family of the fragments’ locations instead.

“The Tower of Truth fully supports the imperial family not only because we can pass along the fragments to them but also because supporting the imperial family allows us to research the fragments. We’re like an organization under the Bahamut Empire’s wing. Bahamut won’t be able to cast aside the Tower of Truth just because I happened to betray them.”

“Then why did you accept the Demon’s fragment?”

“Because I wanted to experience the Truth for myself? It’s also why I became the dragon Frillianu’s Guardian. I went to see her, and then she tempted me.”

“Even though you knew that it meant you’d have to die?”

“The Truth was more enticing to me than death.”

She was truly a little strange in the head. Dorcianni continued,

“Shall I tell you something fun? Ensheila, who’s keeping the Bahamut emperor in check right now, is also affiliated with the Tower of Truth. But Bahamut probably doesn’t know that.”

That was surprising.

According to what Dorcianni was saying, the Tower of Truth was simply a gathering of mages who pursued the Truth but all had their own independent set of values. It was a gathering of strong-willed individuals, so it was only natural that they were all over the place. In other words, Dorcianni’s betrayal would simply be seen as an individual action.

“The Demon is almost complete. Bahamut will kill me sooner or later anyway if I stay there. Your lover’s goal is to complete the Demon too, so I’m sure he’ll kill me too. If I have to die either way, then I’d rather die here.”

Dorcianni pointed at Ianna with the butt of her cigar.

“And that’s because of you.”

Ianna sometimes shared Roberstein’s knowledge —knowledge about the Holy Age— with Dorcianni in exchange for her not betraying Arhad. Dorcianni always seemed to have great fun when she did.

“I’m having so much fun. I feel like I’ll be able to reach the Truth if I stick with you.”

“Why are you so obsessed with the Truth?”

“It’s like the reason why you’re so obsessed with your sword. It’s my life.”

The edges of Dorcianni’s lips curled into a smile. She continued,

“My parents were both affiliated with the Tower of Truth, and I grew up in the Tower of Truth until I first stepped out into the world in my late teens. I grew up by burying myself in magic and the Truth. I don’t care for much else. Everything else just seem like puppets being forcefully strung along by the Truth. Everything that happens in the world just seems like a giant puppet show.”

“A puppet show…….”

Did that mean that everything in the world had no choice but to be tied to the Truth? Ianna refuted what Dorcianni had said.

“We have no choice but to adhere to the Truth to live, but living beings also have ‘wills.’ Life may be adapted to the Truth, but we pioneer our lives in accordance to our will. Our lives are not something you can fully express with words like ‘forcefully,’ ‘puppets,’ or ‘puppet show.’”

“Is that so? Maybe. Even I can be fickle and twist my life around.”

Surprisingly, Dorcianni agreed. She continued,

“Mm, I’ve decided. I want to betray them.”

And so, Dorcianna had decided to betray Bahamut as well. This was something that would make Bahamut sore.

“Eiji, have we been able to pinpoint Bruce’s and Payne’s location yet?”

“No. We’ve been prodding at them so much, but they haven’t crawled out yet.”

The heads of the Black Fox did not know where the others were unless they had promised to meet up. Eiji was the only exception because he was attending the Institution. He continued,

“I looked into things myself, and it looks like Bruce, that piece of trash, is having great fun turning the refugees he kidnapped into slaves. I’ll focus on finding him first.”

“Be careful. And leave immediately if you think things are getting too dangerous.”

“Gotcha.”

“Anyway, why do you think Wiffheimer’s been dragging his heels?”

Wiffheimer had been holing himself up somewhere recently, and he hadn’t been attacking aggressively. What was he doing when he wasn’t attacking Roanne?

“There’s the fact that the entire war’s been delayed because of Crown Prince Taylon’s succession, but that old fart’s probably just researching magic.”

It was Dorcianni who replied. She continued,

“It’s easier to gather funds for research materials and conduct large-scale experiments during wartime. He must be over the moon since Bruce is probably providing him an endless supply of research materials. That’s just the kind of old fart Wiffheimer is.”

“Really now? Then we should kill him at once.”

Eiji opened his eyes wide.

“Um, by that you mean……?”

“My preparations are complete.”

Dorcianni whistled from beside her.

Calmly, Ianna continued,

“I will kill Wiffheimer on sight.”

Ianna ran through the darkness like she always did once she had parted ways with Eiji and Dorcianni.

Swish!

Her sword moved in a clean arc. Things tumbled to the ground in pieces as her sword cut down everything in its path. No obstacle could hinder her. The obstacles gave way, unable to do their job, every time her sword scattered light behind its wake.

‘Oh.’

Ianna moaned to herself from the odd pleasure.

Ianna felt buoyant, as if she was soaring through the skies, whenever she wielded her sword these days. It was to the point that she was afraid she might lose herself in the arrogant confidence that she could do anything.

She knew that she had broken past a ‘wall’ of sorts when she had surpassed her level of skill from her past life. Her skills had been skyrocketing rapidly, so much so that she could not even begin to compare it with her speed of progress from her past life, ever since.

Why was that?

It was not because of Roberstein. She could not deny that acquiring Roberstein’s knowledge and swordplay had improved her skills. But she would have begun improving rapidly since last autumn if her development was solely because of Roberstein.

Roberstein’s skills did not differ much from Ianna’s. In one sense, Ianna was actually sharper, more technical, and more incredible than Roberstein had ever been.

‘Roberstein was never desperate for the sword.’

It had been difficult for the gods to work hard because they had lived atop an indefinite axis of time. They had always been slow no matter what they did, and they had rarely ever been desperate. Roberstein, who had possessed infinite time and the power of Judgment, had been no different. Swordplay had been a mere hobby for her to stave away her boredom.

But those who lived in the Age of Magic lived in a different time when compared to the gods. Unlike the gods, they were always running. They were desperate, and they were frantic. Those whose lives were finite lived radiant and explosive lives.

Ianna’s life was no different.

‘Then, why am I improving so quickly?’

Ianna asked the question.

She found her answer easily enough.

Her positive internal changes.

Her increased understanding of self.

And the fact that she had broken past her limits.

Unlike how dreadfully she had loved the sword in her past life, she had not been able to love herself, and she had fixated obsessively over defeating Arhad without understanding her own psychology.

But what about now? She had overcome her inferiority complex, and she had learned how to love herself. She and her sword had been ever so slightly mismatched before, but now they were a perfect fit. She had truly and completely become as one with her sword.

And she had also come to understand herself better after learning about the Holy Age and acquiring Roberstein’s memories. She had ruminated over and digested the time she had lived in the Holy Age before letting it flow past her, just as she had with the time from her past life. It confused her no longer.

Finally, she had surpassed her time from her past life. She had overtaken her past self, and she had at long last won the right to race toward endless strength.

‘That’s why. That’s why I’m improving so drastically.’

Ianna was only looking up now that the shackles restraining her heart had finally fallen away.

It felt so good to rise up.

It felt splendid to be able to race across the open field without anything holding her back. It was like the wind itself was pushing her from behind.

Ianna was having so much fun. Her innate talent alarmed her anew, but she was also so delighted. She loved the sword more now than she had ever loved it in the past. Her sense of accomplishment and her bliss enraptured her. She felt like she was about to lose her mind.

“Haah…….”

Ianna pulled herself together as she gathered her breath. Her surroundings looked like a nightmare. Monster carcasses were sinking into a pool of blood —it was like they had been pierced by the claws of calamity. Ianna pressed against her brow.

‘I keep losing myself because I’m so happy. I should be careful.’

It was so easy to kill. This wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

Ianna took some time to reflect upon herself after she had returned to the dormitory. She guarded herself against the deluge of emotion as she straightened out her mind. She fiercely hammered the parts of her that had grown rough from her newfound strength, and she polished herself with exquisite detail. Thus, Ianna was forging herself into a peerless sword.

Ianna walked into her room. Priscilla was fast asleep.

Students from the Fashion Department, including Priscilla, and students from the Magical Engineering Department had been busy working together to create sturdy battle uniforms. Ianna pulled Priscilla’s covers, which had come down to her stomach, up to her shoulders.

“Mm…”

Priscilla moved her arm. A bracelet dangled from her wrist. It was the artefact that Ianna had given her out of worry so she could protect herself. It was a remodeled version of Hanidelf’s Shield artefact bracelet which Ianna had no personal use for.

“Heh, hehe. Lord Saiwè…….”

They were in the middle of war, but Priscilla was fighting her best in love too.

Ianna lied down in bed once she had finished washing up.

‘I’m ready to kill Wiffheimer now.’

It was a decision she had made after having studied him carefully over a long period of time.

Ianna had observed Wiffheimer from the shadows more stubbornly than any other during the hot and humid summer. Her likelihood for victory only increased as she observed him longer.

It was autumn now. And Ianna was certain.

She was 100% confident that she could kill Wiffheimer.

Her timing would be important.

‘I’ll finish things as the Black Wind and immediately hide myself.’

The imperial family would focus on Wiffheimer’s murderer, and they would surely chase her down to hell and back. She would make the Black Wind, who was already on their bad side, their target.

‘Wiffheimer was interested in slaves, right? I’ll have to hit the Black Fox’s slave auctions.’

Ianna was thinking over all sorts of things as she toyed with the ring on her ring finger out of habit.

“…….”

Arhad had not come to visit her at all this past month. They still contacted each other every day, of course, but Ianna wasn’t satisfied with just that. She found herself growing twisted every time she thought about him as of late.

‘You looked at me with such eyes.

‘You kissed me so passionately.

‘You used to act like you couldn’t survive without me.’

Her complaints only kept piling up even though she understood that Arhad was busy.

Why was that?

She recalled her past life. Arhad, who had defeated her so mercilessly only to irresponsibly abandon her for nearly a decade…….

He had told her multiple times that he had wanted to seek her out after wrapping up his dangerous work and taking the imperial throne, but that hadn’t been wholly for Ianna’s sake. He should not have abandoned her at that time.

The same was still true now.

‘What the hell? Do you not even miss me?’

Ianna was prideful, and she returned Arhad’s actions in kind. She only contacted him once a day, and she did not go to see him. And she planned to keep this up moving forward.

Ianna squeezed her eyes shut and tried to sleep because she disliked feeling so childish. But her heart was in too much chaos for her to fall asleep. Ultimately, Ianna had to acknowledge it.

‘I miss you.’

She would tell Arhad that she was ready to kill Wiffheimer tomorrow. If she told him her exact plans, then Arhad would come to retrieve Wiffheimer’s fragment.

Just the thought that she would be able to see Arhad again made her heart race.

Ianna pulled her covers over her face because she hated herself for being this way.

~~*~~

Part 2

“Hahaha!”

Fernando roared with laughter as he gulped down wine. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before he surveyed the party hall.

The highly alcoholic wine poured by the lovely and handsome attendants, the delicious food that was set before him without end, and the dancers dancing to the beautiful music. The nobles donned in gorgeous dresses and suits.

“Please try some of this, Your Majesty. The palace chefs are truly skilled. As expected of people who work in Your Majesty’s palace.”

“Do you remember me, Your Majesty? I once gifted you a sapphire that can only be found in the Eastern seas…….”

Nobles, men and women alike, gifted Fernando expensive presents and whispered sweet words in his ear as they tried to catch his eye.

“Yes, yes. I get it, so enjoy the party!”

Fernando gathered the nobles from his faction and hosted a wasteful party every day. He was worried about Bahamut’s plans, but his mother had told him not to worry. His mother and the Black Fox would take care of everything, just like they had always done. All Fernando needed to do was to enjoy the fact that he was now king.

He had always had his way even back when he was the crown prince, but he was running rampant with no one at the reins now that he was king.

Who could rebuke him for it? Schneider? Schneider was shedding blood on the battlefield as he fought Bahamut in the East. Muziniel and Lezè? They had sequestered themselves in their palaces to guard their lives. The high-handed nobles? Even they were currently busy trying to win Fernando over.

‘I’m the king of Roanne now!’

Fernando cackled and scanned the party hall before his gaze focused on one spot. A young lady who looked like she had only just come of age had caught his eye. But he only smacked his lips because he wasn’t feeling very inclined at the moment.

Fernando’s twisted desires had exploded when he had succeeded the throne. But that had only lasted a few months, and his desires were wilting now.

Fernando intoned as he sighed.

His head was filled with Saiwè’s woman, whom he had ran into several months ago. Priscilla —was that her name? The pit of his stomach grew hot whenever he thought about that commoner woman.

He acknowledged that his long-held preferences had changed. He was no longer interested in young wenches but in youthful women who were of age.

‘How many months has it been since that rascal said he’d break up with her?’

Saiwè was still dating Priscilla. Fernando had been holding back because his foolish younger brother had asked for his pity, but now Saiwè was refusing to break up with her.

“Mother,”

Fernando called to Luria, who had been chatting away with the nobles.

“You called, Your Majesty?”

Even Luria had to speak up to him now. Fernando’s lips curled up into a smile.

“Shouldn’t Saiwè get married soon? He should wed a pretty wife, become independent, and enjoy life as an archduke.”

“He wanted to wait until next year, so I was planning to wed him next season.”

“He may be getting married later, but shouldn’t he at least get engaged?”

Luria agreed. Saiwè had lost his head over a useless commoner girl as of late. Luria felt like she should find him a bride at once before his feelings grew deeper and he made an accident.

“Very well.”

Fernando was delighted and began scheming when Luria replied readily.

After all, he would have to help his poor younger brother break off his feelings as soon as possible. There shouldn’t be a problem even if he took Priscilla early without Saiwè’s knowing.

It wouldn’t matter even if a problem cropped up. He was the king. Everything in the kingdom belonged to him. Even that which belonged to his brother.

Fernando summoned the fat man from the Black Fox who met with his mother regularly that night.

“Move faster, you insects!”

A whip whisked through the air before it hit several people’s flesh.

Slap!

“Ahh!”

The people, who were tied together by rope and being dragged along, fell down one after another. The monitors glared fiercely as they yelled at the fallen to get back up and beat them with clubs.

Slap!

Everyone flinched when Bruce struck his whip hard against the floor.

“I’ll kill every last bastard who dares to disobey. Hey, take away that bastard over there who fell and isn’t getting back up!”

“Ah, ahh, I’m getting up. Please spare me!”

the man screamed as he scrambled back up, but the members of the Black Fox ignored him and dragged him away. A dreadful scream poured out on the people like a volley of arrows shortly thereafter.

Then, it was quiet. The terrified people quickly obeyed the Black Fox’s orders.

Bruce laughed in satisfaction.

‘It always takes an example to get people to listen.’

He stared down like a contented king at the dark looks on the slave’s faces as they walked away.

The number of slaves had increased ten-fold after the war had broken out. It was because the number of people who were easy to turn into slaves, like refugees and straggles from the army, had increased exponentially.

He was so busy that he didn’t have the time to engage in his own pleasures, but Bruce was happy to be busy. He had been careful to avoid the imperial family’s gaze because his slaves had decreased in number because of that damned group called Camastros, but now he could walk around with his head held high.

‘Her Imperial Majesty the Empress said that she regretted staying quiet for twenty years. But why? These last twenty years were so useful!’

The Black Fox had been charged with ruining those who had grown too accustomed to peace these last twenty years while the empire sharpened her blades and trained her soldiers in preparation for a great war. And Bruce was responsible for the Black Fox’s work. Especially for Luria Roanne! Could he ever truly express how much it had vexed him to whisper sweet things that he didn’t even mean to the stupid bitch?

But his efforts had borne fruit. Luria had signed a treaty that stated she would hand over Roanne’s national sovereignty to Bahamut. The Kingdom of Roanne was soon to fall right into Bahamut’s hands. He could ignore a bit of irritation for that.

‘And that’s what made it possible for us to pocket Roanne so easily.’

It had truly been entertaining to watch as Roanne, which had defied Bahamut for over a millennium, ruin herself in real time. Bruce’s pride skyrocketed as the thought about how Roanne would fall within his generation.

Bruce whistled as he carefully picked out those slaves who were in good condition. This was because Wiffheimer had specifically requested healthy slaves.

Bruce shivered as he recalled the number of slaves that Wiffheimer had requested. He could not help but wonder if the crazy archmage had come down to the South not for the war but because it was a great place to conduct good-quality magical research.

Bruce was delighted. He could send back numerous slaves without much difficulty when slaves were abundant like they were now. He could even make a good impression and buy a few favors if he handed over high-quality test subjects.

‘Haha, this is so much fun.’

Bruce had never had so much fun before in his life.

Several of the lesser- and mid-ranking nobles of Roanne, who were also the Black Fox’s customers, had been vanishing one after the other as of late, but Bruce paid them no mind. The dead had lived wickedly enough that many held grudges against them, so it wasn’t all that strange if they were killed in the name of revenge.

The unfortunate bastards at Camastros had been continuing their attacks —the attacks had actually been growing worse—, but Bruce tolerated it by thinking about how the imperial family would take their heads one day.

But what he was enjoying most these days was…….

‘Serves you right, Eiji you bastard.’

A new intelligence organization had been established, and they had received orders to monitor Eiji. It was obvious that Eiji had fallen out of Her Imperial Majesty the Empress’ favor. That, or it was because of the supposed ‘fact’ that Eiji had betrayed them.

Bruce had practically been sighing when the Witch Margarita had voiced her suspicions about Eiji, but had Eiji truly betrayed them? The bastard who was so terrified of the imperial family?’

‘If it’s true, then the bastard really is walking around with his guts hanging outside his body.’

Bruce hoped that Eiji had betrayed them. He hoped that the cocky bastard would end up begging at his feet again. Eiji had been fun to torture because he had used to be unusually servile, and Bruce had been disgruntled that he hadn’t been able to torture Eiji anymore.

Just then, Bruce spotted a slave whose hair was a similar shade of green as Eiji’s. Bruce cackled as he brandished his whip.

Slap!

“Ahhh!”

The pain-induced screaming electrified him. Bruce was a man who had risen from a mere prison guard to the boss of the Black Fox’s slave trade operations. He was the master of dehumanizing people, and he found great pleasure in inflicting pain onto others.

“Boss!”

One of Bruce’s men came running up to him just then. He continued,

“The king sent a man to the twenty-fifth hideout. He says the king wants to see you. Without Queen Dowager Luria’s knowing.”

“Ugh, what a pain!”

Bruce grumbled. He continued,

“And here I’d thought he was getting quiet lately —what does he want me for? He should just enjoy his parties…….”

It was obvious why Fernando would summon Bruce secretly without Luria’s knowing. It was because of his horrible tastes.

“Timid bastard. He wants me to come in secret because he’s still afraid of being exposed even after becoming king. Tut tut.”

It wasn’t right to call it a ‘secret,’ since Luria already knew and was simply turning a blind eye to it. Both mother and son were truly incorrigible. Though Bruce was worse than either of them, of course.

“Tell him I’ll be there later at night!”

Bruce left only after whipping and beating the slaves for quite some time. He wrapped himself in a mantle before he rode up to the royal palace on horseback.

He showed his badge to someone who looked like they were one of Luria’s people, and the guard at the castle gates saluted him before letting him inside. Bruce cackled to himself as he boldly stepped inside the castle gates.

The guards outside the entrance to the king’s palace stepped aside with practiced ease when Bruce walked up to them.

“Hey, aren’t you a pretty thing? Are you new?”

“Kyah!”

Bruce squeezed a lady-in-waiting’s behind and flirted with her as he was escorted to where Fernando was waiting. The lady-in-waiting was embarrassed, but she could not defy him.

The lady-in-waiting announced him quickly and fled the scene once they had arrived at Fernando’s room. Bruce stared lustfully at her posterior before he stepped into the room. Fernando had gotten incredibly drunk as he awaited Bruce’s arrival.

“You’re here?”

“Why yes, I am. I have arrived, Your Royal Majesty. For what business have you summoned me?”

Bruce quipped disrespectfully. He found the puppet’s arrogant behavior hilarious.

Fernando’s eyebrows raised sharply before they fell back listlessly. Even his mother could not have her way with this man from the Black Fox.

“I want you to bring me a woman from outside.”

“Of course. Please tell me what age you want and how she should look. Would you like me to bring you a young wench with pretty brown hair like usual?”

Bruce asked knowingly —this wasn’t his first time entertaining such a request.

“It’s a grown woman this time. And someone specific.”

“Oho?”

Bruce snorted, interested by the different nature of the request.

“Who is she, and where does she live? Is she a noble?”

“She’s a commoner named Priscilla who attends the Institution. She’s cute and has a babyface. She’s my brother Saiwè’s woman.”

Saiwè. Bruce’s lips twitched when he heard the name again for the first time in a long while.

A long time ago, Bruce had turned a humble bastard into a prince so he could get his hands on one of Luria’s weaknesses. But Luria had been so greedy for power that he hadn’t needed to go so far. He regretted asking a favor from the ever-busy Wiffheimer to make him a ring so he could make Saiwè a prince.

‘I should put him on the list of royals to be killed.’

They were planning to eliminate every member of the royal family save for Fernando and Luria once the imperial succession was concluded. Saiwè was Luria’s son, but he would be killed too because he was useless.

‘But to steal his own brother’s woman —Fernando really is a piece of trash.’

Bruce prefered him as a stupid piece of trash, of course. It was easier to control him this way.

“That won’t be difficult. Please wait for just a few days.”

Fernando brightened up. Bruce continued,

“But this is the last time I will make you a delivery in secret. Aren’t you the king now? The king can always be pardoned no matter what he does. Please request a woman of your liking from me openly. We’ll get rid of anyone who opposes you, so you will not need worry over that.”

He decided not to entertain any more of Fernando’s annoying requests. He also wanted to see the king of Roanne, who was praised as much as the God Laos was, be scorned and treated as trash —it would surely be hilarious.

Fernando nodded as if he had been enlightened. He was the king. He could do anything he wanted to no matter what anyone said.

“Oh, and I have a request of my own.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Please give me the lady-in-waiting who brought me here.”

“Go ahead.”

Fernando consented readily. It was at that very moment that the lady-in-waiting’s, who was from a household who had recently succeeded in winning the king’s favor, life had fallen straight to hell.

Bruce received a report containing Pricilla’s information and a sketch of her face within a day. His personal intelligence organization was more than enough to investigate an ordinary civilian.

To his surprise, Priscilla was rather famous.

“Priscilla. A sixth-year student of the Institution. Recently a trend-setting designer. High society is keeping an eye on her. She is quite cute, I see. That piece of trash sure in consistent in his preferences. Special circumstances: her roommate is Ianna Roberstein.”

Bruce’s eyes stopped as he was reading. He was familiar with the name.

“Ianna Roberstein? Isn’t this bitch Eiji’s woman? He threw a fit and told me not to lay a finger on her…….”

He had seen this name crop up here and there recently. She had been a slave at a special slave auction, she was the victor of the last swordsmanship tournament, and Schneider had been making passes at her too.

“Hmmm.”

A wicked look crossed Bruce’s face.

“I’ve been ignoring her because I’ve been busy, but should I take the opportunity to teach her a lesson? It’s not like I need to be careful around that bastard Eiji anymore either.”

He vaguely remembered that the wench had a cold personality and did not care for men. Bruce licked his lips with a moistened tongue.

‘Forcing an arrogant wench beneath me and making her act coy is my specialty.’

Bruce decided to kidnap Priscilla and Ianna together.

He liked touching women’s soft and squishy bodies, but he did tire of them sometimes. Surely, the sturdy muscles of a women trained in the martial arts would entertain him like a new delicacy.

He would hand Priscilla over to Fernando, and he would make Ianna a slave and have his fun with her. She might struggle desperately at first, but he would train her by making her beg, unable to beat back her lust. He would cloud her clear and prideful eyes.

How fun would it be to show Eiji how much the woman he cherished had fallen? Bruce smiled wickedly because even just thinking about it brought him great joy.

~~*~~

Several people walked into the Institution in the middle of the day while pretending to be ordinary refugees. Then, once night had fallen, they changed into black clothing and infiltrated the female dormitories.

They melted into the darkness. The housemistress walking down the corridor with a torch did not notice them as they slipped past her.

The man leading the group gestured to the rest. The man at the very back of the group snuck over and gently opened the firmly closed door.

They only heard the gentle sound of breathing from one of the two beds inside. Bright blonde hair scattered out from beneath the covers.

But the other bed was empty. Its owner wasn’t simply out on temporary business —she had not been sleeping in it at all that night. She had folded the covers crisply too —who knew what she was doing so late at night?

The man at the lead frowned and signaled behind him.

‘The redhead isn’t here.’

He was sure that they had seen her enter the dorms, and they had also confirmed that she had never left. So where had she gone?

He spread out his senses and scanned his surroundings just in case. He had tried just in case because the woman they were after was no ordinary woman, but he could not find her no matter how hard he tried. She might have been working in her capacity as someone who had won the Institution’s swordsmanship tournament, but she was still just a rookie. There was no way that she would be able to avoid the senses of a knight from a high-ranking Bahamut knight order.

‘What should we do?’

‘We’ll take the blonde with us for now. Erase our tracks.’

The man pulled off the covers as his men erased all evidence of their infiltration. He thrust a drugged handkerchief against the nose and mouth of the sleeping blonde woman.

“Mm…”

The slumbering Priscilla fell into an even deeper sleep, one which she would not wake from even if someone shook her hard. The man slung her petit frame over his shoulder as he and his men left the scene.

Ianna returned to her dorm at dawn.

She always made sure to be seen returning to the dormitories once her day was over so she could keep pretending to be a normal student. Then, she would whisk outside like a ghost, massacre her enemies, and return at dawn.

She hung her brown robes on the hanger and laid down in bed.

“Hmm?”

She immediately looked across to the other bed when she felt like something was off.

“Priscilla?”

Priscilla’s bed was empty.

A question mark appeared on top of Ianna’s head. Priscilla was always asleep when Ianna came back at dawn.

‘Did she start work early today?’

Ianna was tired, so she laid back in bed and fell asleep.

It was nearly noon by the time she awoke.

“…….”

She brushed back her disheveled hair as she looked to Priscilla’s bed. She had simply accepted it at dawn because she was tired, but something was making her uncomfortable now that she had woken up.

Priscilla had always met Ianna at least once a day in their dorm room to chat about what she had to do that day and what she planned on doing tomorrow ever since the war had broken out. But Priscilla had not said anything special yesterday. Which meant that she hadn’t planned on going out at dawn.

Ianna washed up and made her way over to the Fashion Department.

“Oh, Lady Ianna!”

One of the Fashion Department students recognized her and jumped up as she greeted her.

“Is Priscilla in the building right now?”

“She never came in today.”

“Are you certain of this?”

“Yes. We’ve been working together recently. I was getting worried because I was wondering why she didn’t come.”

Ianna walked over to the back of the building and pulled out a small gemstone from her subspace. The round gem rolled in her hand even though there was no wind.

The gemstone was a special product from the West, and it had played a huge role back when Eiji had been kidnapped by Margarita. Ianna had ordered them in bulk from the beastmen. She had received her friends’ consent before she had smeared some of their blood on some of the gemstones and had put them inside her subspace, and one such gemstone was Priscilla’s.

‘It would be nice if I could get her exact coordinates.’

But the spell to find someone’s coordinates was both extremely advanced and incomplete, and it was impossible to inscribe it into an artefact with currently existing magical engineering technology.

‘And that would also be an invasion of privacy.’

Ianna ran in the direction the gemstone pointed her to. It brought her outside the Institution.

Ianna was uncomfortable. Priscilla had never ventured beyond the Institution’s gates ever since the war had started. Even her dates with Saiwè had always been inside the Institution’s grounds.

Ianna accelerated.

Then, she stopped in front of a certain majestic building.

It was the royal palace.

‘Why is she inside the palace?’

But then, Ianna immediate thought of Saiwè.

‘Did Saiwè bring her here at dawn? But he has no reason to do that. Or perhaps she spent the night here…….’

Ianna flushed slightly red once she had thought things through.

‘She could have told……. Mm. Never mind. I’m being preposterous.’

In one sense, it was already strange that Priscilla always reported her schedule to Ianna even though they were only friends. It would be even weirder if she told Ianna about her secret rendezvous with her lover too.

Ianna stopped thinking and turned her back on the palace.

She returned to the Institution, ate lunch at the cafeteria, and made her way to the Swordsmanship Department. She had been all the way to the royal palace and back, but, fortunately, she had made it to her lecture on time.

A flock of students greeted her as she stood by the entrance.

“Boss!”

“Over here.”

It was September now, and the new semester had started a few weeks ago. Classes were still in session even during the chaos of war, and Ianna had been able to start her final semester without much problem.

The School of Martial Arts, including the Swordsmanship Department, conducted most of their classes by fighting monsters or even Bahamut soldiers in real battles. Thus, classes in each department had been reorganized into one large class regardless of what year the students were actually in.

“Don’t call me that.”

Ianna walked over to a group of a dozen or so students and took her seat.

“I’m calling you Boss because that’s what you are —is there a problem with that? What else would we call you?”

“You can just call me Team Leader.”

“Team Leader or Boss —what’s the difference?”

“Sir Kasan.”

“Yes, Team Leader?”

The Swordsmanship Department had organized the entire department into thirty groups of mixed years during orientation before classes had started. Each team consisted of students of varying levels of skill. This was because the department professors had lined the students up by skill level and had assigned them to teams in order.

The most skilled student of each team was named its leader. Ianna was the team leader of Team 4. Her group was special in that it was led by a third-year student.

But the upperclassmen in Team 4 had no complaints because they all acknowledged Ianna’s skill. Even Kasan, the sixth-year student who was messing around with her, had more than acknowledged her as his team leader.

“Hello.”

Ianna exchanged greetings with Travis Bendham.

Travis was a fourth-year student now because he had returned from his leave of absence, and he had been assigned to the same team as Ianna by pure chance. He had been humiliated by Ianna back during the swordsmanship competition, but he admitted his defeat and had no complaints about being in her team. Rather, he actually seemed quite happy about it.

The same was true of the others as well. In particular, Ianna’s juniors who envied her had practically been jumping for joy when they were assigned to her team.

“All of our classes are based on theory today.”

“It’s more fun to be sent out on missions.”

State affairs were a right mess because of the new king, but the national law, which had been passed down since times immemorial, was still alive and kicking. The Kingdom of Roanne had promised the Institution a sizeable reward in exchange for helping her fight against Bahamut, just as she had always done. The battle-ready students of the Swordsmanship Department had been divided into teams and granted special missions ever since the beginning of September.

They sometimes helped the Roanne army fight off the Bahamut army, and they sometimes raided monster colonies…….

Ianna’s team consisted of seven upperclassmen and eight underclassmen, but they were top class in terms of skill. They ranked number one in terms of the names they took. This was because they completed even the most dangerous missions with perfection.

Ianna’s team members looked envious as they stole glances at her. All they had to do to succeed in their missions was to follow her. Their individual skills had improved explosively due to her counsel. Every member of her team understood this.

Moreover, they also realized that the skills Ianna had displayed in the Institution were just a drop in the bucket as they carried out their missions with her. Their missions were always safe thanks to her.

‘How is she so skilled at her age?’

They were happy to be in Ianna’s team. It was only natural that they straightened out their shoulders in pride as they felt others look to them with jealousy.

‘All hail Lady Ianna!’

They no longer trusted her orders but obeyed them blindly.

“Theory is important too, so be sure to learn it properly.”

Ianna had only said this as a request to her team members, but they all concentrated in class like they had been ordered to do so by a superior officer because their respect for her and because her casual tone of voice gave her words a compelling force.

It was late in the afternoon by the time their theory classes were over.

Ianna returned to her dorm. Priscilla was still missing.

Ianna tilted her head to the side as she put on her robes and went out.

Ianna’s everyday life was a repetition of taking classes or carrying out missions during the day and working for Camastros late into the night.

Today had been no different from any other day.

If it weren’t for the quiet presences on her tail, that is.

They were tailing her so stealthily that she wouldn’t have noticed them had she not been as skilled as she was. Ianna feigned ignorance as she slowly walked toward a secluded area.

Her lips twisted as soon as she turned into the alleyway.

‘There’s more ahead. Are they together?’

Then, she felt the wind rushing toward her from directly behind. She whisked around as she unfastened the scabbard at her waist.

Pow!

“Kgh!”

Her scabbard hit the man who had been trying to strike her directly in the eye. She drew her sword as the man staggered because his vision had gone white.

Pow!

Ianna looked at the thing that the collapsed man was holding in his hand. It was clearly a piece of cloth meant for nefarious purposes.

A group of men in black garb that covered even their faces surrounded her. Ianna calmly assessed the situation.

‘They started tailing me as soon as I left the Institution. Which means that they were tailing Ianna Roberstein.’

Ianna sked,

“Will you reveal your identities?”

They rushed toward her instead of answering. Ianna halfheartedly blocked their attacks as she observed their actions.

‘They aren’t small fry —they’re skilled warriors. Judging by the way their trying to capture me without killing me —are they trying to kidnap me?’

She tried to figure out why they were targeting her.

‘Have I been too conspicuous because of my missions for the Institution?’

That was just about the only grudge anyone would hold against ‘Ianna.’ But her intuition told her that wasn’t the only thing.

She contemplated.

‘Should I kill them or not?’

She wasn’t conflicted for long.

The disguised drug-carrying assailants’ attacks grew rougher, and the light in Ianna’s eyes gradually grew colder.

“You called……huh? Who’re these guys?”

Eiji stopped just as he was about to walk into the hideout. There were several men bloodied to a pulp collapsed in front of Ianna.

“They were here to kidnap ‘Ianna Roberstein.’”

The look on Eiji’s face changed drastically as soon as he understood what she had meant. He took off the cloth on the men’s faces and studied them carefully before he sharply raised his eyebrows.

“These bastards are Northerners.”

“Are they from Bahamut?”

“They’re the only Northerners here in Roanne right now. Wait. How did Ianna Roberstein get exposed to these bastards? Did you stand out too much because of your missions for the Institution?”

“I don’t think that’s all there is to it. And if they’re from Bahamut, then they would have attacked the entire Institution if they didn’t like the missions the Institution was carrying out —they wouldn’t go out of their way just to kidnap one student.”

“That’s true.”

Heinrich, who had also been summoned, arrived as they were talking.

“Hill, can you get something out of them by using psychic magic?”

“I can try.”

Heinrich placed his hands over the men’s heads for a moment, but he brought his hands back down with an uneasy look on his face shortly thereafter. He said,

“Wiffheimer placed a psychic spell on them. I can’t touch it recklessly.”

“Tch, that means these bastards are Bahamut knights who came over to Roanne recently.”

Many of the Bahamut knights had been psychologically remodeled by Wiffheimer. Generally, the spells were meant to increase their concentration, erase their emotions, or prevent them from leaking information.

“Are there any reconnaissance-type spells on them, like the ones used on familiars?”

“No. But what did they come here for?”

“Who could say……?”

First and foremost, there was no reason why the fact that Ianna was the leader of Camastros had been exposed. They would have sent much stronger personnel after her if that was the case.

Ianna put on a pair of gloves.

“I will interrogate them. I’ll start with this bastard here.”

Eiji and Heinrich dragged the other men outside. Ianna threw off her robes and tied the man’s limbs together before she poured water over his head.

Splash!

The man woke up. He startled as soon as he saw Ianna.

“Why were you trying to kidnap me?”

“…….”

Pow!

Ianna struck him in the head with her scabbard when he gave no reply.

“Tell me.”

The violence he suffered grew crueler before he even had the chance to reply. Ianna shook off the blood on her scabbard as she glared down at him.

“Are you going to talk? I might consider sparing you if you tell me, but you will die an agonizing death if you don’t. I don’t care either way since I still have a lot more of your friends to work through. Choose.”

It was not the kind of thing that a young girl of just eighteen would say. The bloodied man spat at the floor as he glared up at her.

“You weren’t no ordinary civilian.”

He had a Northern dialect because he was a Northerner.

“I’ll count down from three. Three, two…….”

“I don’t know either. I was only told to bring over a red-headed wench named Ianna Roberstein who attends the Institution.”

It became clear that their target had been Ianna Roberstein.

“And who told you to do this?”

“…….”

“I’m going to interrogate every last one of you whom I’ve captured, so there’s little point in trying to lie. The Black Fox, Bahamut, or Wiffheimer —it must be one of these three.”

The man’s visage stiffened up. Ianna continued,

“Talk.”

The knight began mumbling like a madman instead of replying. Ianna moved swiftly as soon as she felt the mana in the room begin to react. The spell was immediately stopped by Ianna’s power over mana, and the man’s head was sent flying.

She didn’t know if it had been a suicide spell or a communication spell, but it was dangerous. Ianna told herself that she would need to be more cautious.

She cleaned up after the first man and brought over the second.

“The man before you already told me that you’re knights from Bahamut and that you were told to kidnap me. Did Bahamut want to eliminate me because I’ve been participating in the war?”

The man sneered.

“Arrogant bitch. I’d never even heard about you until we got the request. Bahamut doesn’t care about the Institution’s small fry.”

“Then why did you try to kidnap me?”

The man didn’t reply, but Ianna had learned that the request hadn’t come from Bahamut. She called for the next man.

“Your colleagues told me that the Black Fox told you to kidnap me. I suppose it’s true that I’ve done some things to make the Black Fox hold a grudge against me. Are you members of the Black Fox?”

Ianna casually asked a leading question, and the man fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

“We’re not with the Black Fox.”

“I see. But why does the Black Fox want me in the first place?”

The man smirked.

“The request came from the slave trade operations, so they probably want to make you a slave.”

“Are you guys the only ones who accepted their request?”

“There were a lot of guys who were told to kidnap you, as far as I know. I thought they were making too much of a fuss for just one wench……but seeing you now makes me realize there was a good reason for that.”

The knights readily handed over the information in exchange for keeping their lives. It meant that information about Ianna’s kidnapping wasn’t very important to them. Ianna was certain of this because they kept their mouths shut about the fact that Bahamut and the Black Fox were related even if it meant certain death.

Ianna walked out of the room once she had finished her interrogations.

“Well? How’d it go?”

“The Black Fox’s slave trade operations asked them to kidnap me for personal reasons. It must have come from someone rather high up if they were able to use Bahamut knights for the job.”

Eiji suddenly sobered.

“It’s Bruce. Bahamut knight orders and the Black Fox are considered to be at the same level in the hierarchy, so only the bosses of the Black Fox are able to order the knights around. And the only reason why Bruce would be after you, Little Ianna, is because of either Prince Schneider or me.”

“In any event, they seem to want to kidnap me, so I plan on letting myself be kidnapped.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“If you want to catch a tiger, then you have to venture inside its den.”

Eiji dropped his jaw when he realized that Ianna was serious.

“I get what you’re saying, but will you be okay?”

“It’ll be dangerous, but I should take the chance since we finally have an opportunity. And besides, they’ll only get more annoying if we don’t finish things up quickly,”

Ianna said as she put on her robes. She continued,

“I’ll go and kidnap Bruce, so you figure out the rest.”

It was only then that Eiji realized that his day of revenge had suddenly jumped closer to him.

“Hmm. I am still worried. But I’m happy to know that I’ll be getting my revenge soon.”

A dark smile alighted his mien.

“We’ll also be using this opportunity to rip their slave trade out by the roots.”

“How?”

Ianna discussed her plans with Eiji and Heinrich. Eiji looked puzzled. He continued,

“Shall we call it a large-scale raid on slave trade? We’ll begin tonight. Oh, but what should we do with the bastards you captured?”

“Kill them.”

Ianna swiftly put them to death. She had only promised to consider sparing them —she had never said she wouldn’t kill them.

Ianna contacted Arhad on her way back to the Institution and informed him about the situation.

“……So I am planning to let myself be kidnapped.”

[…….]

Arhad fell silent from the absurdity of it all.

“Please don’t worry. I’ll be the one doing the actual kidnapping, and I’ll be sure to erase my tracks. I will use this opportunity to destroy their slave trade operations.”

[How so?]

Ianna explained her plan in detail, and Arhad encouraged her by telling her it wasn’t a bad idea. He continued,

[Though I’d rather suggest against it on a personal level.]

“Why not?”

Ianna was nervous that he had found a fatal flaw in her plan that she hadn’t thought of, but the answer Arhad returned drained her tension and brought a flush to her cheeks.

[Well, first of all, it involves you being kidnapped. It might only be a pretense, but I still dislike the thought of you going through something like that. And I hate the fact that you might get hurt in the process.]

Ianna rubbed at the heat on her face. She felt like a hot skewer was prodding at her heart.

Arhad’s attitude had never changed, but Ianna’s reaction to him had changed completely now that she had acknowledged her own feelings.

[But it’s not right to turn down your plan for no reason just because I happen to dislike it. Do your best.]

“I will…….”

[I know you’ll do your work well. But be sure to contact me just in case if you ever think you need help. You know it’s all right even if things go wrong and plans go awry, right? We can always figure things out together, so don’t struggle on your own.]

Just a few words from Arhad had strengthened Ianna’s confidence and become as her pillar of support.

Why was it?

She wanted to succeed more now that she had a pillar of support than when she had used to burn all bridges and obsess over success. She even felt pleasant because it was a positive feeling.

Ianna returned to the dorms much earlier than usual.

A strange look crossed her face as she swung the door wide open.

“……?”

Priscilla wasn’t inside today either. Priscilla’s bed looked exactly the same as it had last night, as if she hadn’t returned to the dorm even once since then. Ianna figured that Priscilla must be spending another passionate night with Saiwè, but she still felt uneasy.

‘Saiwè would have contacted me, even if after the fact, since he knows that I worry about her…….’

But, wasn’t it possible that he had forgotten to let Ianna know if he was head over heels in love?

It was much earlier than when Ianna usually went to bed, but she still got under her covers nevertheless. She immediately fell into a light sleep because she had tired herself out by overthinking today.

But she could not help but wake not even an hour later because she could not get rid of the disgusting feeling crawling over her skin.

‘Did those bastards come all the way inside the room?’

Ianna calculated the distance between herself and the bastards as she wondered if it was time to suffer a kidnapping.

But it was much too early. It had only been a few hours since she had set her plan in motion. She would need to wait at least a few days first because she needed to cooperate with the greater nobles of Roanne for her plan to work.

‘I’ll kill them all and have them disappear.’

Ianna suddenly stopped as she reached out to the sword lying next to her in bed.

‘They came inside the room?’

She felt like she had been hit on the back of the head with a bat. She grabbed her sword tightly as a fierce look crossed her face.

All of the intruders had been killed save for one.

“Did you come inside this room last night?”

Her diabolical bloodlust crushed down upon the sole survivor. He gasped for breath like a fish laid out before a monster that was about to rip him to shreds as he knelt before her. Ianna continued,

“Talk.”

The man’s brain had been remodeled by Wiffheimer’s magic, but his absolute terror paralyzed his ability to think rationally. He had no choice but to speak the truth as he trembled.

“Y-yes, we did.”

Ianna immediately contacted Saiwè.

[What is it? I was forced to attend a party today, so I won’t be able to speak for long.]

Saiwè sounded bored as he asked Ianna why she had called. Ianna’s head throbbed as she pressed against her brow.

“Is Priscilla with you right now?”

[Pardon? No, she’s not.]

“Are you certain? And did you meet with her last night?”

[I did not. What is going on?]

Saiwè voice suddenly grew rough.

“Hold on a moment please.”

Ianna’s rage-filled eyes turned to the man kneeling before her. She asked him,

“The blonde woman who was sleeping in the bed next to mine. Where is she?”

“We kidnapped her…….”

Ianna killed the man once she had pulled as much information out of him as she could.

She cursed. She and Priscilla had both been targeted. The man had said that he didn’t know about where Priscilla had been taken after they had handed her over to Bruce.

“I’m sorry for always asking you guys to do something like this.”

[It’s not even hard. We’re always happy to do what you ask of us.]

Ianna explained the situation to Saiwè as the spirits cleaned up the bloodied room.

“I couldn’t find Priscilla anywhere since dawn yesterday, so I tracked her down during the day and found out that she was inside the royal palace. I let her be because I thought she was with you, but it turns out she was actually kidnapped.”

The fact that Priscilla and Saiwè were in a relationship and the fact that Priscilla had been at the palace had shaken Ianna’s judgment. The fact that she had neglected to confirm Priscilla’s whereabouts because she had wanted to be considerate even though she had found it strange had come back to bite her. She continued,

“I believe that someone close to you who was unhappy with Priscilla might have asked the Black Fox to kidnap her. Like Luria, perhaps……. Have you noticed anything strange recently?”

[…….]

Saiwè did not reply.

“I’ll make my way to the palace right now, so please wait for me.”

Ianna immediately ran out of her room.

~~*~~

Part 3

Saiwè tried to get in contact with Priscilla through their paired ring artefacts once he had disconnected from Ianna. The magical stone embedded in his ring did not light up. This meant that its pair had been destroyed.

“Hah.”

Saiwè laughed a sigh as he buried his face into his hands.

“Your Highness!”

“Please come back!”

Saiwè had escaped to the terrace to take Ianna’s call, and coquettish voices were calling him back.

He slowly lowered his hands.

His face was expressionless, as if all emotion had been wiped away. His composure had vanished, and he looked so empty that it was almost like another person’s soul had taken over his body.

“…….”

Saiwè looked into the brightly lit hall —its light was leaking out into the terrace.

His mother had started gathering together all the noble daughters in the capital to find him a prospective bride a few days ago. And today, she had dragged him to the ball she was hosting and had forbidden him from leaving until he had decided on a bride.

Swish.

Saiwè swept aside the curtain as he stepped inside the hall.

The hall was sparkling all over.

Just as she had once discussed with him, Luria had decorated the hall with a luxurious carpet from Forsant and amethyst chandeliers. There were flowers made from gold and diamonds placed around the hall. There was a large fountain of an endless flow of melted chocolate to dip warm scones and cookies into before eating.

The nobles were dressed floridly, and they whispered sweet words to the woman who was dressed more gorgeously than the rest of them. The noble ladies dolled themselves up and tried to seduce Saiwè so they could be his bride.

The world outside was a mess because of the war, but it was blindingly extravagant inside the palace.

Oh.

It was so fancy inside.

It was fancy and fancier still.

It was so fancy that it was blinding.

And that was why it disgusted him.

He had never been as disgusted by fanciness as he was today.

And yet, he was the star of this fancy show.

This fact was dreadful to him. He hated himself for letting himself be buried in this extravagance and smiling like an ignorant clown when this very same extravagance might have shattered the most beautiful jewel in the world embedded inside his heart.

Snap.

The string inside Saiwè that had endured persistently all his life had broken so fleetingly. He pushed aside the women clinging to him as he walked up to the most florid woman present.

“Mother.”

“Hmm? What is it, Saiwè?”

Luria was smiling gorgeously, but Saiwè did not smile back.

“Did you take my woman from me?”

“W-what?”

Luria tripped over her words in the heat of the moment. She continued,

“What are you talking about?”

Luria had quickly concealed her emotions, but Saiwè had already seen the bewilderment that had been on her face. He tilted his head slightly to the side.

“Either you were the one who took her, or you were involved with the one who did.”

“What are you talking about? What nonsense is this?”

“Where is Priscilla?”

“Why are you asking me about that common wench? What is wrong with you……?!”

The nobles who had been enjoying the party stopped what they were doing and began chatting noisily when Saiwè, the star of the party, began acting strange.

“Didn’t you kidnap her? I can only pray that you had her confined temporarily so you could drag me here to this party, but I doubt that is the case, Mother. Did you already ruin her? Or perhaps you’ve already had her killed?”

“What on earth are you……?”

“If it wasn’t you, then was it that dirty bastard Fernando, who enjoys torturing and raping young girls, who kidnapped her? And you’re merely keeping this a secret for him?”

“Gasp!”

Several people gasped in alarm.

Luria spoke up in astonishment.

“Saiwè! Have you lost your mind? How dare you insult the king and your mother with such nonsense?!”

Luria’s voice quivered as she shouted. But Saiwè continued emotionlessly without so much as blinking an eye.

“You’re an agent for the Black Fox, Mother.”

Luria glared at him. Saiwè continued,

“You won the king’s love by using your body in bed like the way they taught you to, you decorated yourself lavishly with their support, and you exerted your influence by abusing the weaknesses of the nobility that they prepared for you. You began summoning younger men to your bedroom at night once you were bored of the aging king. You turned Roanne into a hotbed of corruption by working together with Marquis Owen and the rest of the Black Fox’s dogs. And I’m certain that the Black Fox kidnapped my woman and handed her over to either you or Fernando.”

Bombs dropped from Saiwè’s mouth in his blind fury.

“Your Highness!”

Martin Owen, who had been watching over the situation from afar, grew deathly pale as he rushed over and grabbed Saiwè by the arm. Saiwè shook him off hard. Martin fell over backward as he was overpowered by Saiwè’s strength.

Luria was gasping for breath.

“The prince must be drunk out of his mind. You there —knights! Take Saiwè away at once and…….”

“Pray don’t call me a prince, Mother. I am a bastard, born between you and the knight who followed his princess out of your homeland.”

That left a greater impact in the hall than his words from earlier had. Saiwè felt pleased as he wreaked havoc on the extravagance. He only began smiling now that he was savoring his insane delight.

“Y-you, what…?”

Luria’s legs gave out from under her as if her soul had left her body. It made Saiwè even happier.

“You see, Mother, there are three things that I have always wanted to cast aside because they were so dreadful to me, and the fact that I couldn’t has been driving me insane.”

Saiwè had once been a noble boy with a lot of pride, self-esteem, and self-respect. But his pride and honor had been turned into revolting filth that day when he had first read the diary. He continued,

“The false surname attached to my name. The homeland I’ve had to deceive. And you, Mother, who made me live this wretched life!”

They were so disgusting that he had wanted so badly to remove them from him, but he could not because they were still his roots despite the falsehood. He had been so afraid that he had wanted to flee, but he had not been able to do even that.

It was because the only fate that awaited him after fleeing was to have stones thrown at him as the filth dripped from him, and to be captured and killed pathetically at the Black Fox’s hands.

And so, he had decided to endure. Until the day he could brush off the filth and gained the strength to soar away. He had that strength now, and while it was earlier than planned, Saiwè could no longer endure the fancy filth sullying his very being.

“I will cast aside all three today. But still……Luria Roanne, you truly make a wretch of me until the bitter end.”

Saiwè’s eyes glinted like a madman’s. He continued,

“Just what the hell did you do to Priscilla? Must I strangle you to make you tell me?”

Luria jumped back in alarm when Saiwè staggered forward a step in her direction, and a bewildered knight stepped in front of him to block his path.

Just then, a single gust of wind blew from the open terrace.

And a masked figure with black robes was standing next to Saiwè in the blink of an eye. The nobles yelped in alarm as they startled.

The figure grabbed the half-crazed Saiwè tight.

“Van.”

Saiwè felt like he could finally breathe again when he turned to look at her. She continued,

“Let’s go find her.”

Just one word from Ianna had brought him back to his senses.

“…….”

Silence echoed throughout the hall.

“You’ll find a certain diary if you search my room carefully, and, while I’m aware of your dislike for reading, I ask that you read it at least once.”

Saiwè turned his back on Luria, who was still on the floor, once he had chewed over and spat out his words. No one knew what to make of this unprecedented situation. Thus, no one stopped Saiwè and Ianna as they quickly slipped out of the ballroom.

“—Saiwè!”

a scream chased after them from afar.

Saiwè ignored her and hurriedly asked Ianna,

“Do you have a way of finding Priscilla?”

Ianna showed him the gemstone in her hand and told him how it was used. The gemstone was still pulling her in one direction as if it was telling her to hurry. Saiwè continued,

“Thank goodness that you’re Priscilla’s roommate. Let us make haste.”

It had nearly been a day since Priscilla had disappeared. Anything could have happened to her.

The gemstone continued to point them diagonally downward. The look on Saiwè’s face turned frigid.

“The cellars? The gemstone only tracks people who are still alive, yes?”

It looked like Saiwè was considering the worst-case scenario in which Priscilla was already dead and buried.

“No. It can track dead people too.”

“…….”

“I gave Priscilla a shield artefact, so she’s likely still alive so long as it’s still working properly.”

The artefact created by Maimayè and Hanidelf was a precious treasure that could generate a high-leveled shield indefinitely as long as there was mana in the area. The bracelet would be rendered useless if it was robbed of its power over mana, but most people would not be able to break through a Shield spell cast personally by the archmage Maimayè. Moreover, the bracelet had been remodeled so that it could not be removed by anyone other than its owner even by force……. Ianna continued,

“Was it Fernando who kidnapped her?”

“That appears to be the case, considering the circumstances. My Mo……no, Luria Roanne likely knew about it and turned a blind eye to the situation.”

Ianna was well-aware of Fernando’s sexual preferences. It had been more than once or twice that she had wanted to beat him to death while she had been working with Schneider in the past.

Saiwè pursed his lips together for a moment before he finally managed to open them.

“Actually, Fernando…….”

Saiwè informed Ianna about the disgraceful conversation he had shared with Fernando several months ago. He had been on edge after that and had been observing Priscilla’s surroundings carefully, but nothing had happened, and he had thought that Fernando had lost interest.

Saiwè had thought that Fernando had quickly lost interest because Priscilla was a grown woman. That was why he had carelessly lowered his caution. But letting down his guard had come back to bite him.

“I loathe to even suggest this, but it’s highly likely she’s still all right since Fernando’s hobbies include watching the suffering on people’s faces as he inflicts pain on them.”

Ianna suppressed her fury as she forced herself to remain rational.

She wasn’t supposed to kill Fernando yet, but she might murder him on the spot if anything had happened to Priscilla. No, she would murder him without fail.

Ianna stopped when the gemstone began pointing her vertically downward. Saiwè frowned heavily.

“An underground facility?”

he muttered as he recalled the layout of the royal palace’s cellars. The cellars were several floors deep, and there were several places where they went as deep as ten floors. And they were teeming with all sorts of dangerous traps. The cellars were also like a labyrinth, and it would be nigh impossible to find their way with just a direction alone.

Saiwè was wracking his brains when Ianna presented a clear solution before him.

“We’ll dig through the cellars and proceed directly downward.”

“As much as I’d love for that to be possible, the palace cellars are protected by powerful magics, and we won’t be able to dig through them using any normal means.”

“In that case, we’ll enlist the spirits for help.”

Ianna called for Towe. Towe flailed his little arms and legs as he jumped up and down.

[Ianna!]

“I’m sorry Towe, but this is urgent. Can you check if there’s a blonde woman somewhere below us and tell me how she’s doing?”

[That won’t be a problem.]

Towe melted into the ground. His head popped back up to the surface just a few seconds later. He said,

[She was holding back a single man with magic deep underground. It looked like she was in danger.]

Ianna and Saiwè were relieved to know that Priscilla was still alive, and the expressions on their face immediately grew wintry.

“Can you dig us a tunnel vertically down to where she is?”

[I’ll have to use quite a bit of power because there’s a powerful spell cast on the ground, but it won’t be a problem. I’ll unearth any obstacles in one go.]

Towe returned to the soil.

Rumble rumble rumble…….

A deafening roar sounded from deep underground, and the ground at their feet began shaking like an earthquake.

Pooow!

A fountain of dirt erupted like it had been scooped up by a ginormous shovel. The layout of the cellars were preserved as an entire piece of earth floated into the air —it almost looked like a three-tiered cake that had been cut precisely with a knife.

“Let’s go.”

Saiwè immediately threw himself into the hole no later than the words had left Ianna’s mouth. Ianna jumped in after him.

Thud!

They fell for quite some time before Saiwè used magic to land softly, and Ianna, too, managed to land without much difficulty after kicking against the walls a few times.

“W-what the?!”

The two people who had been in the cellars opened their eyes wide when they saw them.

Priscilla entered Saiwè’s and Ianna’s field of vision first.

Her bracelet’s Shield spell was working.

But something must have happened to her before the shield was deployed, as her wrists were swollen and red as they were shackled to the wall, there were scratches across her cheeks, and her clothes were in tatters and barely managing to do their job.

The shield was on the brink of shattering because Fernando had been exercising his great control of mana over it —he was still a member of Roanne’s royal family even if he was trash.

“Oh.”

Priscilla quivered as she recognized Ianna and Saiwè. A bright smile graced her visage as the tension left her body. But that lasted for only a moment before her eyes twisted and filled with tears. They flowed down her face. She continued,

“I, I knew you’d come for me……. Soob. Sob.”

“S-Saiwè.”

Fernando could not conceal his confusion at his younger brother’s sudden appearance. Saiwè quietly looked at the mess that Priscilla was before he turned around to look at Fernando.

“Please take care of Priscilla,”

Saiwè said to Ianna as if in passing before he walked over to Fernando. He stopped when he was an arm’s length away and, as if he was truly curious, asked,

“What were you thinking as you kidnapped your younger brother’s woman and made a mess of her —do you have an excuse for yourself?”

His voice held no inflection, and he sounded emotionless at first. This was why Fernando foolishly thought that Saiwè wasn’t angry.

‘Right. He’s a moron who doesn’t know how to get angry.’

Fernando had never seen Saiwè get angry before in his life. Saiwè had always grinned like a snake no matter how unfairly he was treated because of Fernando.

‘Besides, this wasn’t something important enough to get mad over, right?’

After all, Saiwè would have to break up with Priscilla soon, and he himself had said that he would break up with her sooner or later. Fernando had acted out of his greed for the woman, but in one sense he was actually doing his younger brother a favor by helping Saiwè break up with Priscilla, whom Saiwè surely didn’t have any deep feelings for, while he was dragging things out.

Fernando grew irritated now that his confusion was ebbing away.

He had been hitting Priscilla, thinking that she was already as good as his, when a very powerful shield had suddenly deployed before her and repelled him. He had not been able to lay a finger against her since.

He had shouted at and threatened her in his rage, but Priscilla hadn’t budged. He had tried striking the shield with his sword only to realize that it wasn’t effective, so he had decided to dispel the Shield spell with his command over mana instead. He had finally been just about to succeed when Saiwè had appeared out of nowhere to reduce his efforts to ash.

“What nonsense is this?!”

Fernando tried to bully his brother in his fury even though he was technically in the wrong. He continued,

“You said you’d break up with that woman soon a few months ago, so why haven’t you broken up with her yet? Apologize to me at once for lying! Besides, you should be grateful that I’m helping you get over that commoner wench for your future’s sake, so how dare you get in my way?”

Fernando saw how Saiwè was dressed as he spouted his onslaught of absurd nonsense and remembered where Saiwè was supposed to be right now.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at the party for picking out your future bride? Did you slip away? Tch, you immature bastard!”

Fernando clicked his tongue in irritation as he pushed Saiwè by the shoulder.

“I don’t know how you got here, but forget about that woman already and go back. I will not listen to anything you have to say. I’m the king. Everything I want belongs to me, so that woman will be mine if I want her even if she belongs to you!”

A dark light surged within Saiwè’s amethyst eyes. His tightly pursed lips parted.

“You piece of trash.”

“W-what?”

“King? What king? —you’re just a puppet for Luria and the Black Fox. You may have had the right to ascend the throne solely on account of your silver hair and eyes, but you’re nothing but an incompetent and dishonorable piece of trash who only knows how to play the puppet.”

Saiwè’s eyes flared with a fierce hatred, as if he was staring at a cockroach, as he looked Fernando in the eyes. Fernando was bewildered by the first sharp rebuke he had ever heard in his life and stammered. Saiwè continued,

“You were such a mama’s boy that you couldn’t even rebel against Luria directly, so you took it out instead on innocent little girls who were powerless to defy you.”

He pointed to the numerous torture devices in the room and at the bloodstains that had yet to be erased.

“You’re nothing but an irredeemable piece of trash who only knows how to release your repressed rage and lust through such shameless and underhanded means!”

Fernando flushed red as Saiwè accurately pointed out the inner emotions he had been trying to ignore. He tried to grab Saiwè by the collar, but Saiwè smacked his hand away as if it was something dirty. Saiwè continued,

“How dare you lay a hand on my woman?”

“You bastard, there’s a limit to how much I’ll forgive you just because you’re my younger…….”

Pow!

Saiwè’s fist struck Fernando’s face before the latter could even finish his sentence. Fernando had not been able to predict the attack at all and fell over haplessly backwards.

Pow! Pow! Poow!

“I’ve…always…promised myself…over and…over again…that I’d…beat you…to death…you piece of trash —should I thank you…for giving me a reason to?”

Saiwè kicked Fernando hard in the pit of his stomach. Fernando screamed as he clutched his stomach, but Saiwè ignored him as if he was blind and continued kicking.

“Kgh!”

Fernando tried to fight back, but he was dizzy from the first blow he had taken to the head and he could not move because his stomach hurt too much. Even if it hadn’t been for that, Saiwè had ample battle experience and not many people could escape his violence in the first place.

Fernando’s arms and hands broke as Saiwè continued kicking him.

“Ack! Stop!”

Saiwè climbed on top of Fernando when the latter flailed his arms and told him to stop and began punching at his face. Saiwè had been trained in archery to begin with, and his fists fell like steel now that his rage had been added to his underlying strength.

Ianna walked up to Priscilla as Saiwè was beating the living daylights out of Fernando.

Clang!

Ianna cut away the shackles in one blow, and Priscilla’s hands fell down like lumps of meat because they were numb from having been fettered for so long. Ianna held Priscilla up as she feebly collapsed, wrapped a mantle she had pulled out from her subspace around her, and helped her put on a pair of shoes.

Priscilla’s eyes were brimming with tears as she stayed in Ianna’s arms and quietly asked,

“You’re Little Ianna, right?”

“Yes.”

Ianna was wearing a mask and robes, but Priscilla instinctively realized who the person who had so warmly embraced her was. She could tell it was Ianna just by looking at her proportions.

To begin with, Priscilla had known that only Saiwè and Ianna would come to save her when she had been abducted by the king.

“I’m sorry, Priscilla. You were held captive for so long because I was complacent.”

“What? Why are you sorry, Little Ianna? Sniff, I’m so grateful for you. I know I look terrible, but it was thanks to the bracelet you gave me that I got away with only being hit a few times. Gosh, seriously, I’ve never experienced anything like this before……and it was the king who did this to me too…….”

Priscilla was mumbling frantically when she saw that Saiwè was beating Fernando. She continued,

“Oh, Lord Saiwè is…….”

She was bewildered to see Saiwè, who was normally the very picture of elegance, exercising violence like a common thug. His fists were torn and bleeding. The blood drained from Priscilla’s face, and she staggered up from Ianna’s embrace to walk toward him.

Snatch!

Priscilla hugged Saiwè tight from behind. His fists stopped as he flinched, and Priscilla began whispering to him in her melancholy.

“You’re always handsome no matter what you do, and I find you cool even now, my love, but I still hate it when you get hurt.”

The strength left Saiwè’s arms when he heard Priscilla’s absurd yet endearing words. Ianna, who had followed after Priscilla, grabbed him by the shoulder.

“You watch over Priscilla.”

She put on a pair of gloves. Ianna continued,

“I’d like to take a turn now, so please pass him over to me.”

Ianna had always wanted to beat Fernando at least once, but he had been beheaded before she had ever had the chance in her past life. She only had the opportunity to beat him to her heart’s content after being reborn.

Ianna beat Fernando to the brink of death as Saiwè and Priscilla exchanged words from afar.

“That’s enough, Little Ianna.”

Saiwè helped Priscilla walk over to Ianna. She continued,

“I want the last hit.”

Ianna tossed aside her bloodied gloves as she stepped back, and Priscilla walked up to Fernando’s hips, took a deep breath, and raised her foot.

Stomp!

Fernando’s eyes rolled up into his head.

Ianna applauded Priscilla in her heart. As expected of Priscilla. Fernando would never be able to sire children as of today.

“Now what to do with him…?”

Ianna contemplated as she looked down at Fernando, who was frothing at the mouth.

She would have beheaded him at once if she could have her way, but she still needed him alive. He needed to play his role as Bahamut’s puppet. It was highly likely that Bahamut would decide to conquer Roanne for good if she lost her puppet king.

But did that mean they would have to simply leave him be?

‘Absolutely not.’

Fernando had crossed the line.

You reap what you sow. Every action came with a corresponding price. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Be struck once and strike back hundredfold. Ianna had always lived her life like this, and her disgust didn’t wash away even after she had beaten Fernando to the brink of death.

Pow!

Ianna grew vexed at Fernando for making her agonize over this and kicked him again in her irritation before she turned back to Saiwè and Priscilla.

“What do you want to do, Saiwè?”

“I want to kill him, of course.”

Saiwè wasn’t even looking at Fernando, who had passed out on the floor. He felt like he might accidentally murder Fernando if he so much as looked at him. He continued,

“But I understand that we need him alive for our plans. Please do as you will.”

“What about you, Priscilla?”

“I’m happy that I got to turn him into a eunuch.”

Ianna stared at Fernando as she made a decision. She walked up to Saiwè and Priscilla.

“I plan on sending Fernando back.”

She explained what she had planned for Fernando. Saiwè and Priscilla both found her decision quite satisfactory.

“Very well. I feel a little better now.”

“But Saiwè, you will not be able to live in Roanne as ‘Saiwè’ any longer. Are you all right with this?”

“Of course. I’m no longer royalty, so it doesn’t matter to me,”

Saiwè replied calmly, and Priscilla looked up at him and hugged him tight. Saiwè looked down at the disheveled blonde hair in his arms.

‘Thank goodness.’

The strength left Saiwè’s body as he settled down. He wrapped himself around the tiny woman in his arms and closed his eyes.

This wasn’t the conclusion he had imagined. He hadn’t expected to raise his voice in a blind fury like that. But he felt refreshed. Priscilla felt Saiwè’s newfound sense of liberation and planted a kiss on his dirty forehead. The warmth that transferred into her lips warmed up her heart.

Ianna was relieved anew as she watched over the lovers, and she continued,

“It will be difficult for the both of you to be out in public until we drive Fernando out of power. Especially you, Priscilla. I think it would be for the best if you left, but…….”

Ianna trailed off because she felt apologetic, but Priscilla quickly replied,

“I heard from Lord Saiwè. Both of you will be leaving for a new kingdom next year, right? I’ll go too.”

Priscilla clenched her fists with a sparkle in her eyes even though she was exhausted. She continued,

“Both of my muses are leaving, so of course I have to go too!”

~~*~~

Part 4

A storm ravaged Roanne’s high society after Saiwè’s revelations.

Luria’s corruption, her collusion with the Black Fox, and Fernando’s pedophilia had all been unveiled at once.

Luria had denied everything at first. But she quickly gave up trying to explain her way out of things when concrete evidence was found in Saiwè’s chambers.

Despite his blind fury, Saiwè had not revealed the final blow —the ‘connection between Bahamut and the Black Fox.’ Even still, those nobles who were still maintaining neutrality censured both Luria and Fernando.

Luria countered by saying that the king was always pardoned and pointing out that most countries had connections to criminal organizations. She also denied her infidelity, the one issue without definite proof, to the bitter end. She asserted that Saiwè was indeed the late king’s son and that he was merely delusional.

Fernando’s faction defended her. They were all colluding with the Black Fox and was thus in the same boat as her. They would not have a future if the boat sank.

There were so many of them that Schneider’s faction could not fully drag Luria and Fernando down. But it did give them just cause to stop staying low and prepare to tear them apart.

The two factions slandered each other as they fought bitterly for days.

Fernando never showed up even despite the mess. The nobles constantly badgered Luria about the king’s every move. Luria could only fret and tell them that he was stuck inside due to his poor health.

Five days had passed since Saiwè’s revelation.

“Hey, what’s that?”

Someone spotted something strange dangling from the top of the clocktower in the largest plaza in Theodore and squinted. Others saw it too and startled.

“It’s a person!”

His face had been beaten so badly that it was difficult to identify him.

“There’s something written here.”

A large poster had been affixed to the clocktower. Large and clear letters, written in elegant penmanship, were displayed at the top of the poster.

—We now expose King Fernando’s misdeeds to the People.

“The king’s misdeeds?”

People grew interested as they read the title and continued reading below.

—King Fernando, who hangs from the plaza clocktower…….

People looked back up in alarm.

“It’s the king!”

King Fernando, who was supposed to be in the royal palace, was tied up to his teeth and dangling in midair. Someone hurried over to the palace to report this, and the rest continued reading the poster in bewilderment.

The frowns on their faces grew heavier as they read.

The poster listed the cruel things that Fernando had done, his incompetency, his collusion with the Black Fox, the criminal organization, and so on and so forth —they were all things that ignited the people’s rage, and they had been written in elaborate detail. The poster also noted that he would never be able to bear royal offspring.

The poster was signed at the bottom by Saiwè, who also confessed that he had never been the late king’s son.

The people spat.

“May heaven’s wrath fall on those bastards!”

The poster was quickly ripped down, and Fernando was collected by the knight who had come rushing over. But copies of the poster had also been put up all over the kingdom, not just on the clocktower. They ignited the people’s innate distrust and displeasure with their king.

“Arghhh!”

Fernando woke up because the best doctors in Roanne had rushed over to treat him and because he had been doused with only the best medicines.

But he was doomed to remain infertile forever.

“Fuck!”

Fernando lost himself in his fury and raged on and on about how Saiwè and Priscilla were traitors. He spat about how they had not only made a mess of state affairs by spreading nonsensical rumors but that they had also tried to murder their king.

Saiwè hadn’t been stripped of his title as prince because of Luria’s denials, but he was made a criminal with a huge bounty on his head. Wanted posters were sent out for Saiwè, Priscilla, his woman, and the black-robed figure who had left the ball with him.

But Priscilla had already been sent to Arhad before Fernando had awoken. She had even been able to settle things with the Institution so she could still graduate.

Saiwè had stayed behind as Camastros’ Van to assist with Camastros’ work. This was because he had yet to fully achieve his goal of utterly ruining Luria and Fernando. There was no reason he would ever be found out, as he acted only in the shadows and with his appearance altered.

“What did you just say? You lot, take that bastard away!”

“Get over here. What? You don’t want to? Then die!”

Fernando had grown more wicked than he had been before. The loss he felt over the fact that he had been rendered infertile fanned the flames of his madness.

The Black Fox simply goaded Fernando in his insanity as if they were having great fun. They acted more openly now —they no longer had to hide since their collusion with Luria had already been unveiled anyway.

The nobles’ fury and the people’s defiance only grew stronger. More nobles defied Fernando and refused to acknowledge him as king by the day. Fernando’s faction and Schneider’s faction sporadically fought for ground even though they were already in the middle of a war. There were even countless extremist groups that declared they would kill off the nobles and the Black Fox who were sullying the kingdom.

The nobles in Schneider’s faction wanted to kill the nobles in Fernando’s faction.

Camastros and other extremist groups formed from the general populace wanted to kill the Black Fox.

The Roanne army and the mercenaries wanted to kill the Bahamut army and the monsters.

The situation was precarious, and there were so many large powers thrown into the fray that everything might collapse all at once. Roanne’s domestic affairs were dragged deeper into the labyrinth as time passed.

Bruce never gave up on Ianna even after Theodore had become a world of his liking. The people he sent after her continued growing stronger, perhaps because his repeated failures were ticking him off.

“Get her!”

Today, Ianna was ambushed while she had been training in her personal training room. The assailants were rather strong.

‘They’re on a completely different level than the small fry from before.’

Ianna had finished preparing and was simply waiting for the right time. And people of just the right skill level had come after her at just the right time. Ianna signaled to Eiji with an artefact before resisting halfheartedly and pretending to have finally gotten caught.

Slap!

Her arm was bent back as she was subdued, and a damp cloth was placed over her mouth and nose. Ianna stopped breathing and focused on the flow of her body. She had stopped breathing as soon as the cloth had made contact with her skin, but foreign substances still invaded their way inside.

Shhhhh.

She manipulated the divine power in her blood vessels and gathered the foreign substances into the tip of her finger. Then, she created a small cut on her finger and sent everything out in just one droplet of blood.

She relaxed her body as if she had passed out. The men tied her up with steel chains and tossed her inside a large sack.

“We finally got her.”

“Capturing her was easier than I thought it would be. I’m a bit annoyed that I had to suffer that pig calling me incompetent because I couldn’t capture this wench.”

“She was surprisingly weak. Did the guys who went missing get done in by her guard?”

“Probably. I guess her guard was just absent today.”

The men walked away while feeling refreshed that they had finally captured Ianna, who had slipped out from their grasp for so long.

Thump.

Ianna’s body fell out of the sack and onto the floor. The floor was wet, and a dirty stench assaulted her nose. The men bound her tightly once more with the chains attached to the wall.

“Let’s go get ourselves a drink now.”

Stomp, stomp.

The men, who had completed their mission, walked away with light footsteps. Ianna cracked open one eye and studied her surroundings once the sound of their footsteps had grown distant.

She had been locked up in a solitary room underground, but she felt the presences of many people above her when she broadened her senses. Their presences were weak, however, so they were likely other prisoners instead of guards.

Ianna tried moving her body.

Clatter.

Her arms, legs, and even her torso were wrapped tightly in steel chains. She was being treated completely differently than last time, when she had allowed herself to get caught for the slave auction.

‘These chains are an artefact that block mana control.’

Stomp, stomp.

A dull tremble rumbled across the ground. Ianna looked to where it was coming from. Then, a lone man appeared before long.

“Oh, you’re already awake?”

He walked inside the cell. He continued,

“Oho, aren’t you a pretty thing?”

This was her first time meeting Bruce, the notorious boss of the Black Fox’s slave trade operations.

“You should’ve just let yourself get kidnapped quietly the first time —why make me go through so much trouble? I don’t know if you were just that strong or if it was your personal knight who was guarding you, but do you know how confused I was when all the men I sent after you never came back?”

He was fat, just like the portraits of him that Ianna had seen. His dirty narrow eyes and his filthy twitching mouth left an impression on her.

‘Bruce. He uses a whip and is supposedly surprisingly fast, right?’

Ianna scrutinized Bruce up and down.

Bruce opened his arms, as if to tell her to look as much as she pleased, as he hummed to himself. Ianna did not decline the opportunity to study him thoroughly. She instantly grasped the physical traits of his body and even his habits. Her gaze was so piercing that Bruce could not help but feel burdened and curse at her inwardly for being a crazy bitch.

“Who are you?”

Ianna asked once she had finished observing him. She had wondered whether she should drag him away at once, but she ultimately decided to talk to him first. The information she gleaned while acting as someone being tortured instead of someone who was dominating over her target could sometimes differ. She continued,

“Why have you brought me here?”

“Oho —I thought you weren’t normal because you were staring at me so persistently, but you really are pretty impressive. How can you still be so haughty in a situation like this? You might be the daughter of a slut, but aren’t you still the young lady of a noble house? Are you trying to say that you still have your pride?”

“I asked you a question.”

Ianna only said what she wanted to. Bruce’s lips twitched as he pulled out a whip from behind his waist.

Snap!

Ianna neither evaded nor even blinked. The whip shot out at her like an arrow and brushed past her cheek.

Drip.

Blood dribbled down her cheek as the whip grazed it.

“…….”

Ianna licked the blood that flowed down from her stinging cheek with her tongue. It had truly been a long while since she had last seen her own blood and not the blood of others. Her red eyes, dyed with blood, stared quietly back at Bruce.

“Wow, you didn’t even bat an eye when my whip came flying at you, huh? Ianna Roberstein, was it? You don’t scare me even if you glare at me so sharply, you know?”

Bruce gathered his whip and pulled it taut. He continued,

“You won’t get a second chance. You don’t like pain, right? Stop being so cocky and be nice with your mouth if you don’t want to get hit, understand? I have a talent in training people.”

“…….”

“Wow, you’re still holding onto your pride, huh?”

Bruce smirked. He continued,

“That’s fine —your hell’s only just begun, so I’ll let you off easy at first. Keep your mouth shut and listen to what I have to say.”

Bruce walked up to her and grabbed her by the face.

“I’m the boss of the Black Fox’s slave operations. You’ve heard about the Black Fox, right?”

“…….”

“What? You don’t believe me? But it’s true, you pretty thing.”

He seemed satisfied as he looked into Ianna’s lovely visage. A treacherous light glowed in his eyes once he had ogled her sturdy figure up and down. He continued,

“You’re going to be my slave and tend to me in bed every night now. No, the time of day doesn’t matter —I’ll mess you up and make you moan for me all day long.”

Ianna’s eyes grew sharper at his vulgar language.

“What —does that sicken you? But what can I do? —I only want to do it more if you hate it so much.”

He took her face and whisked her head from side to side. Ianna told herself that chopping off his hands would be the first thing she did once she freed herself.

Bruce snickered and continued,

“Listen close now. You know Eiji, right? It’s because of him that you’re being humiliated right now.”

“Eiji?”

“Yeah, that cocky little shit. Did you even know what kind of bastard he was when you became friends with him?”

“What kind of bastard is he, then?”

Bruce huffed excitedly as he imaged the look of betrayal that would soon cross Ianna’s face. He was sure that she would fall into despair once she learned about Eiji’s true identity. It delighted him to know that he was about to destroy something that was Eiji’s.

“Eiji’s with the Black Fox, just like me!”

She already knew that. But Ianna kept quiet anyway because she was curious to hear what Bruce would say next. Bruce mistakenly assumed that Ianna was in shock, and spit flew out from his lips as he excitedly continued,

“And he’s the dirtiest bastard the Black Fox has to offer. Do you see now? He might seem clean now, but he’s a lowly ex-slave who’s done all kinds of dirty things just to survive. Do you see just how dirty and disgusting he is?”

He began speaking ill of Eiji. You’re the dirtiest bastard there is you piece of trash…… Ianna wanted to say, but she decided to postpone it because she knew that she’d get herself hit for no reason if she said it now.

“And? Why must I suffer like this because of Eiji?”

“Aren’t you Eiji’s woman?”

“But I’ve never been Eiji’s woman?”

“I know. You’re dating some good-looking asshole called Arhad right now. But you’re still a wench that Eiji treasures, aren’t you? He’s never cared about another woman before in his life. Hmm?”

Bruce tapped against Ianna’s cheeks. He continued,

“Eiji’s crawled beneath my feet after tasting my whip too. You should look forward to it. Oh, and where the hell did that roommate of yours go? Weren’t you friends with her? She told you where she was going, right?”

“…….”

Bruce threw her face to the side.

“You do know, don’t you? I set her up all nice so she could receive the king’s seed, and then she goes and runs away with Saiwè, that ungrateful bastard. I’m planning to give them both the most painful deaths imaginable when I catch them.”

“You’ll never lay your hands on her again,”

Ianna muttered.

Her patience had run dry. She could no longer endure Bruce’s constant crude insults against her friends.

“What? What did you say just now?”

Ianna expanded her senses instead of answering. Only she and Bruce were in the area. She couldn’t even feel any magic at work.

A frigid light began shining in her eyes.

“You were the bastard who cut off Chendelf’s hands, right?”

“Huh? Chendelf…….”

An ugly look crossed Bruce’s face. He continued,

“Oh, right. You were there for the special auction. But how did you know that I cut off his hands? Oh, did that piece of shit Eiji tell you? Hah, the nerve of him.”

The edges of his lips curled into a smile.

“He even went ahead and leaked the Black Fox’s secrets…….”

Ianna smiled thinly.

“I heard it from the dwarf himself. You’re looking for the key to Pandemonium, aren’t you? Why is Bahamut looking for it?”

“To fulfil our long-cherished wish, of course……wait, what?”

Bruce’s eyes sharpened.

“I know where the key is.”

Smaaack!

Bruce brandished his whip. Ianna simply twisted her body and avoided its trajectory.

“I’ve changed my mind. I don’t need a bed. I’ll torture you here and now.”

“Is that so? Well, I’ve heard your last words loud and clear.”

Ianna tensed her body.

“What are you talking about, you crazy……?”

Bruce forgot to finish his sentence as he saw what was happening before his very eyes.

Cruuuuuuch.

The high-leveled mana restriction chains that had been restraining Ianna broke apart and crumbled down like breadcrumbs.

Bruce was bewildered as he stepped back.

‘What the hell? Were the restraints faulty?’

Bruce was as shrewd as he was cunning. But his world spun around before he could even finish a thought.

Craaash!

“Kgh!”

Ianna threw Bruce’s massive frame down to the floor. His breaths were labored —he couldn’t think straight because of the pain— when he suddenly felt a terrible pain at his hands.

“Ahh…….”

Smash!

Then, she crammed the heel of her boot into his mouth before he could even scream. Bruce flailed as he tried to grab the foot that was crushing his face, but he could not. His hands had been chopped off and were spasming in the distance. There was blood dripping down from the sword that Ianna had pulled out from her subspace at some point.

Poow! Pow!

Ianna hit Bruce a few more times until he passed out, and then she bound him tightly with a mana restricting device.

Buzzz.

Then, she tore apart a Warp scroll and sent Bruce away.

Ahh…….

How dare you bastards…….

Ianna’s exceptional hearing caught wind of even the faintest noises. There was a ruckus coming from aboveground.

Swooosh!

She called for Kagomyne as she raced up the damp stone stairs that lead up to the next floor.

[Ianna!]

Kagomyne barked happily as he chased after her with his fiery tail bouncing behind him. He continued,

[Lovely Ianna! Adorable Ianna! Awesome Ianna!]

he clamored in a cutesy manner as he jumped up on Ianna’s shoulder.

[Huh? Hey!]

His entire being burst into flames when he saw the wound on Ianna’s cheek.

[Which bastard was it? How dare they! I’ll burn them all! Hiss!]

“I’ve already taken care of him.”

[Oh yeah? As expected of you, Ianna!]

“I’d like to get rid of all traces of him that are left here. Can you set this entire floor on fire?”

[Of course!]

Kagomyne turned around. His flames quivered. He continued,

[What is this place? There are so many dreadful Ideas here. The humans who died here must’ve been really bitter and in a lot of pain. Should I purify this place?]

“Sure.”

Kagomyne curled up into a ball as soon as the word had left Ianna’s lips and he shot backward. Ianna turned around only to be awestruck.

Crimson flames were melting down the entire space. It felt holy more than terrifying. It looked like a fiery hell, but the flames felt pure and clear.

Sweat rolled down from Ianna’s forehead.

‘Kagomyne must be protecting me.’

She would not have merely been a little hot otherwise.

[Hmph! How could I ever hurt you?!]

Kagomyne shouted smugly when he read her thoughts.

The flames extinguished all at once a little while later. Everything in the path of Kagomyne’s flames had either melted down or had been reduced to ash.

[I’m done.]

He jumped back on Ianna’s shoulder once he had finished burning everything.

“Kagomyne, I’d like you to hide inside my body and burn everything upstairs too once I’m there. Can you do that?”

[Of course I can. But you’re going to bubble a lot if I go inside your body. Is that okay?]

Bubble? Ianna didn’t quite know what that was supposed to mean, but she consented nevertheless. Kagomyne transformed into a transparent blazing heat once Ianna had given him her permission. The heat seeped inside Ianna’s skin.

She immediately learned what Kagomyne had meant by ‘bubble’.

Her temperature only warmed up a little, to the point where it was still comfortable, because Kagomyne was regulating his heat. More importantly, however, Ianna felt like energy was boiling over inside her. She felt a strange impulse that told her she needed to destroy something in order to diffuse the overflowing energy.

Ianna made her way to the next floor up. There were slaves there.

“What the?!”

The guards, who had been dutifully watching over their own floor despite the commotion upstairs, startled and reached for their weapons when a monster climbed up from Bruce’s personal floor below.

Pow!

Ianna used the overflowing energy to utterly ruin the guards and destroy the cell doors. The people inside were so alarmed that all they could do was tremble. Some even began crying as Ianna approached them because they were so afraid.

Cruuunch.

Ianna broke the restraints that robbed them of their freedom. They were simply moving about awkwardly, unsure of what was going on, when Ianna gestured to them.

“You may come out.”

It was only then that they realized that Ianna was their savior.

Every slave held captive underground was an expert in their field. There were skilled warriors and mages, dexterous craftsmen, and even eye-catching beauties. They picked up any pieces of steel that they could use as a weapon and asked,

“Are you planning to save everyone here, Lady Swordswoman?”

“Yes. Please follow me.”

Ianna raced upstairs after her short reply. She repeated her actions on the next floor up and people followed behind her. Once she was done, she thought to herself,

‘Please burn the floor below, Kagomyne.’

[Okay!]

Heat simmered up from the floor shortly after Kagomyne had replied.

“Whew, why’s it so hot?”

Ianna continued repeating her actions as she climbed up floor after floor. More people followed behind her with each successive floor. They helped her eliminate the guards.

“Die!”

The members of the Black Fox were punished fiercely. They were met with incredible hatred and rage. Ianna had stopped killing the Black Fox members at some point and gave the people a chance to assuage their indignation. Instead, she freed more people and passed around the medicine she had brought with her.

“Thank you, Lady Swordswoman.”

“Thank you so much. Truly.”

Eventually, she rendezvoused with her allies as she continued climbing upward.

The leader of her allies looked startled once they saw her.

“Are you perhaps Camastros’……?”

Ianna nodded. The people following behind her heard the word Camastros and made sure to remember it.

They all exited the base. Ianna asked her allies to lead the people back, and she called Kagomyne’s name once she was alone.

[No one inside there is alive, so I’ll just blow up the whole thing.]

Boooom!

Thus, the slave trade base that Ianna had been taken to was wiped off the map. Then, Ianna made her way to another base that was being raided and destroyed it at the speed of light.

The nobles’ alliance and Camastros had planned to raid several predetermined slave trade bases in one fell sweep today. It was a bitter assault that was only made worse by the flames. And it was no different from striking all of their enemies’ vital points in one blow.

No one was present to give the enemy orders because Ianna had kidnapped Bruce. The executives of the Black Fox were flustered as they haphazardly tried to stop the attacks. The Bahamut knights inside the bases also did their best to support them.

But they were slow to act because they still had to hide the fact that Bahamut was colluding with the Black Fox, and all they could do was struggle inefficiently and in vain because only the knight captains, the bosses of the Black Fox, and perhaps Wiffheimer could issue them orders within Roanne.

Payne had only heard of the disaster belatedly because his information routes had been blocked off, and he had been far too late to act. His enemies had already completed their mission and whisked away like the ebbing tide by the time he had realized.

Ianna contacted Arhad once everything was over.

[How did it go?]

“I succeeded, of course. We’ve destroyed almost every slave trade base in Roanne. Bruce made it easy when he decided to target me like a fool.”

[Did that dirty pig do anything to you?]

Arhad sounded extraordinarily irritable and on edge.

“Hmm…….”

Ianna wondered if she should tell him about the wound that was scabbing over on her cheek for a moment before she ultimately decided to tell him. She continued,

“The bastard insulted me quite a bit —and his insults were rather vulgar. He also grabbed my face and turned it a few times before throwing it to the side.”

[…….]

Ianna felt strangely like a tattling child. It was very new to her, and she found it quite fun once she ignored her aching cheek.

“He also whipped me once on the cheek.”

Silence resounded from the other end of her artefact. Ianna decided that she had pushed him enough, and she smirked as she continued,

“It only grazed me.”

[The bastard’s still alive, right?]

Arhad’s voice sounded terrifying.

So what if he’s still alive? But it wasn’t difficult for Ianna to answer her own question. Arhad surely planned on putting Bruce through the worst agony he could possibly imagine before sending him to the afterlife.

“I spared him because he’s Eiji’s. He’s not yours. I can take revenge for my own wound. Besides, I’ll treat it quickly enough.”

[Siiigh.]

She heard a long sigh coming from the artefact.

Then, Arhad continued berating her. Ianna smiled as she listened to the affection in his nagging.

Bruce woke up in darkness.

“Mm! Mmph!”

There was cloth over his mouth, and his arms were tied behind him. He tried to move his hands, but everything below his wrists felt empty and hurt like hell.

He was so angry that he was even beginning to tear up.

‘That damned bitch.’

He hadn’t fully grasped his situation yet, and he cursed quietly at Ianna who was surely somewhere nearby.

‘I’ll have prosthetics made with artefacts. I don’t know where this is, but I should escape first, and…….’

Bruce struggled to free himself from his restraints. But he couldn’t see, and his ability to move was severely limited because he was bound so tightly to his chair.

“What’cha doing?”

Bruce startled and looked to where the voice was coming from. Two people were leaning against the wall and staring at him like he was a pig on display at the circus. Bruce threw a fit when he recognized them.

Eiji slowly walked up to him.

“Hey there, Mr. Bruce? Oh…….”

He suddenly stopped in his tracks and touched his back as he groaned. He continued,

“The scars on my back sure are hurting a lot today.”

He gently hit his back a few times as if he was sick and tired of it all before looking Bruce directly in the eyes and began walking again. Bruce struggled harder the closer Eiji came.

“What made you think that laying a hand on Little Ianna was a good idea, Mr. Bruce? Are you crazy? Hmm?”

“Mm! Mmph!”

Bruce glared at the cloth over his mouth as if he had something to say. Eiji grew intrigued and removed it.

“You piece of……no, hey, Eiji. I’m sorry. I was wrong. But are you seriously doing this to a colleague just because of one woman? —does that even make sense to you? Stop messing around and let me go. I won’t touch either of you ever again if you let me out. Sound good?”

Bruce glared daggers at Ianna, who was still leaning against the wall with no emotion in her face, even as he pleaded with Eiji. The first thing he had to do once he was free was to tell the imperial family that the wench knew where the keys to Pandemonium were. Naturally, he would be the one to torture that information out of her. I’ll never let you off easy, he thought as he ground his teeth together. He continued,

“Hey, Eiji, now’s not the time for this. That woman knows about us and Bahamut……mmph!”

“There wasn’t a point in hearing what you had to say. Just shut up and stay quiet.”

Eiji tied the cloth back over Bruce’s mouth. You crazy bastard! Bruce screamed endlessly on the inside.

‘Did that piece of shit really betray us?!’

Bruce was clever and could infer everything. Ianna Roberstein was probably a member of a special organization that was working with Eiji. There was no other reason why a wench of barely eighteen would be able to destroy mana restraints with brute strength alone and cut his hands off in the blink of an eye.

There would be huge trouble if Eiji had truly betrayed them. It would also mean that he was extremely unlikely to leave this place alive. The blood drained from Bruce’s face.

‘Fuck you!’

But there was nothing he could do. The mana restraints were keeping him from using magic.

“Didn’t I always tell you?”

Eiji drew a silvery knife from his waist and spun it over the tip of his finger. He continued,

“I promised that I’d stab that thing between your legs you’re so proud of one day.”

“Mmph!”

Bruce glared sharply as he struggled desperately.

“You won’t be able to use it anymore, so were you able to use it to your heart’s content until now? You piece of trash?”

Eiji smiled. He continued,

“Oh, right. I also said I’d fill that fat stomach of yours with dozens of daggers. Should I leave your dick for last and start with your stomach instead?”

He was smiling, but his eyes were as frigid as the grim reaper’s.

~~*~~

Bruce had gone missing after the large raid on the Black Fox’s slave trade operations, and the slave trade had all but collapsed. They had suffered a tremendous blow, and they weren’t able to act for quite some time after that day, almost like they had been paralyzed after being struck by lightning.

This was because of how the Black Fox was structured.

Payne, the boss of the drug dealing operations and the actual boss of the Black Fox, Bruce, the boss of the slave trade operations, and Eiji, the boss of the intelligence operations, worked together in secret, and the countless members of the Black Fox worked under them.

Eiji gathered information and handed it over to Payne, Payne took that information to come up with plans, and Bruce carried out those plans. If Payne was the head, then Eiji was his sensory organs and Bruce his hands and feet.

Payne was a black fox beastman and hated humanity because he was a beastman, and he was loath to interact with humans who were not affiliated with Bahamut. He was a shady character, and he tended to hole himself up somewhere and only dish out orders.

But Payne’s senses had been distorted after the raid on slave trade, and his hands and feet were cut off.

Eiji either cut off Payne’s sources of information or fed him false information, effectively blinding him. The Black Fox had been using a new intelligence operation without Eiji’s involvement, but Eiji had a firm grip over the information control in Roanne and they could not beat him at his own game.

And now even Bruce, Payne’s hands and feet, had gone missing in action.

Roanna had actually been Bruce’s territory, not Payne’s. It was Bruce who had kept in contact with Luria and Fernando, it was also Bruce who had corrupted Martin Owen and the other nobles. He had practically been acting as all three —hands, feet, and head— inside of Roanne.

Not only had Bruce carried out all of the important missions within Roanne, he also shouldered the task of cleaning up after the Black Fox’s members when they screwed something up. Payne had allowed Bruce to do almost all the work that pertained to Roanne without worry because Bruce was good at his job. It was only natural that everything had come to a screeching halt now that Bruce was missing.

Two of the three pillars of the Black Fox had vanished, and now only its actual head remained.

Payne had stepped up to try and quickly sort out the situation, but it hadn’t only been the slave trade in Roanne that had been raided.

Almost every slave trade base in the South had been targeted. It had all been thanks to a harmony between the members of Camastros, the separate organizations some of them lead individually, and Arhad’s vast and mighty influence.

~~*~~

Part 5

“Kill him!”

Fernando was just as crazy and vicious as ever. He found fault with everyone and everything, had anyone he disliked killed on the spot, and threw more lavish parties than ever before as he tried to forget about his perilous situation. It was so bad that even the nobles in his own faction begrudged him for it.

Fernando had changed. Not only had his pride been shredded to pieces because Saiwè’s words had stabbed precisely at his insecurities but he had even become infertile, and he was growing so twisted that he was going insane.

Even Luria couldn’t control him anymore. Fernando refused to listen to her.

“Just shut up and be on your way, Mother. You can have your tea parties or whatever if you’d like, but don’t tell me what to do.”

Luria staggered as the blood drained from her face.

“Fernando, you, how could you……?”

“I’m the king. For how much longer will you pretend to be above me, Mother? There’s a limit to how much of that I’m willing to tolerate!”

Fernando’s words were oozing with defiance as he rebelled against his mother. He had changed so drastically that Luria could not help but wonder if he was under the influence of a spell.

It had been a while since the shocked Luria had practically been locked up inside her palace after that.

“It’s all Mother’s fault.”

They had put up wanted posters promising astronomical rewards, but Saiwè had yet to be caught. Fernando began hating Luria because he could not find the true target of his rage.

The rage that had been suppressed inside his heart had exploded because of the betrayal he felt as Luria continued to assert that Saiwè was her son even though Saiwè had kicked away the title of prince with his own feet.

The king was always pardoned no matter what he did. It didn’t matter how he treated his own mother.

“Enough, Fernando! Ack!”

Which was why Fernando abused Luria with both words and violence. It was almost alarming how abusing his mother gave him more pleasure than abusing young girls ever had.

He was truly an uncontrollable piece of trash.

“Bruce! Bring Bruce here!”

Fernando called for Bruce at every chance. But he never saw Bruce again after Bruce had handed Priscilla to him. Fernando grew even more furious because he thought that Bruce was ignoring him on purpose.

Bang!

Martin Owen brought his fist down hard against his desk. His butler gulped in anxiety when he saw how Martin was convulsing with rage.

In a heavily subdued voice, Martin asked,

“Have you not found that damned bastard Saiwè yet, Butler?”

He could vividly recall how Saiwè had pushed him down on his backside with just his brute strength alone. The humiliating memory aside, House Owen was being held in scorn and contempt all throughout Roanne because of what that bastard had exposed. Their once-lofty glory and power had plummeted like rocks and was rolling in the dirt.

“His whereabouts are yet unknown.”

Pow!

The butler groaned as an ashtray hit his forehead. Martin began throwing everything on his desk, unable to beat back his fury.

“I spent so much money on finding that bastard —why haven’t you found him yet?!”

Martin Owen began pulling at his hair, unable to endure his frustration as his insides seethed. He continued,

“Saiwè……I won’t let you off easy. Just where on earth did you find all that information, and how dare you expose it as you please?!”

The documents exposing Marquis Owen’s corruption had been the result of the information Rikijen had gathered in his burning desire for revenge and the information that had been extracted from Saiwè’s father’s diary. Camastros had used the completed documentation to spread word about Martin’s corruption before he even had the chance to prepare.

Martin did not know that Rikijen existed, and he cursed Saiwè bitterly as he gnashed his teeth together.

His reputation wasn’t all that important to him. He could crush the ignorant commoners who ran their mouths without really knowing what they were talking about beneath his feet whenever he so wished. Neither did it matter to him that the other greater nobles held him in contempt.

Martin’s rage was fueled by his anxiety, which was so concrete that he could no longer deny it.

‘Was Bahamut the wrong choice?’

He had thought that Roanne would fall quickly, but the kingdom was still fighting back against Bahamut just fine even after so many months had passed. Bruce had claimed that Schneider would die soon, but Schneider was still holding his ground against the terrifying emperor of Bahamut. Fernando, the puppet king, had cut off his own strings and was dancing around like a madman.

The fact that Roanne was a powerful nation that had guarded herself against Bahamut for over a millennium dawned heavily upon him. Something terrible might happen to him at this rate.

Martin bit down hard at his lip as he abruptly barked,

“Haven’t you found my second son yet?!”

Listlessly, his butler replied,

“The Young Master’s whereabouts are also yet unknown…….”

It had been some time since Martin’s second son had gone missing. He may be an idiot, but he was still Martin’s son, and Martin had never stopped asking after his second son’s whereabouts. His son had last been seen at one of the Black Fox’s hideouts. Martin had asked the Black Fox about his son, but the Black Fox hadn’t known either.

His son. The future of his house.

A powerful anxiety swept over him.

“Bring me the drugs!”

The butler immediately brought over the drugs. Martin crammed them inside his pipe and lit it on fire.

“Phewww…….”

He only calmed down a bit after he had smoked. He liked cigars too, but the drugs gave him more relief.

He could never give up on power.

But he did believe that he would need to create an escape route to ensure his survival. After all, he was destined to die if Schneider somehow ended up taking the throne.

Martin began moving his wealth over little by little to a foreign country with relatively fewer monster attacks in preparation for his escape. He never realized that Camastros was fully aware of his every action.

Then, a few days later.

Martin had finally managed to score a meeting with Payne only after requesting one several times over.

“Why did you call for me?”

Payne, the gloomy-looking man who had taken over for Bruce, was extremely arrogant.

“When on earth are you going to kill Schneider?”

“Soon. We’ll kill him without fail, so just shut up and wait.”

“How soon is soon?!”

Martin grabbed Payne by the collar. Payne immediately shook him off, threw Martin’s hand down on the table, and stabbed it with a knife.

“Ahh!”

Martin screamed and trembled as he stared at his hand. He could not believe the blood that was pouring out from his precious hand.

“Don’t mess with me, Martin Owen. I’m not nearly as generous as Bruce was,”

Payne said in a blood-curdling voice. He continued,

“Stay quiet and play your part as a puppet if you don’t want to die.”

A chilling light entered Martin’s eyes.

Payne wanted to dig Martin’s eyes out, but he refrained.

He immediately went back to his base once their meeting was over. He pulled back his chair roughly and began pouring carefully through the documents on the table.

‘Bruce……. Most recently, he was so engrossed with some wench named Ianna that he even asked the knights of Bahamut to help him capture her.’

He was looking at a pile of documents concerning Ianna.

A crème-of-the-crop elite from the Institution’s Swordsmanship Department. A remarkable swordswoman who had won Schneider’s favor. She was currently making a name for herself by carrying out the Institution’s missions. She had a lot of followers within the Institution’s ranks. Eiji was also friendly with this wench.

‘That bastard Eiji made the preemptive strike because he knew that Bruce was after Ianna Roberstein. He must’ve been determined to wipe out our slave trade operations in one clean blow.’

Bahamut had already known about Eiji’s betrayal.

‘Eiji, you damned piece of shit. How dare you side with Camastros?’

Payne wanted to smash his own head in for having trusted Eiji before. He wanted to capture Eiji at once and rip his limbs off. The only reason why he hadn’t laid a finger on Eiji yet was because Taylon had ordered him to do nothing and simply watch.

Pow!

Payne threw the documents away and slammed down on the table, unable to best his rage.

Then, a breeze of mana stirred up next to him.

“It’s been a while, Payne.”

It was a very haggard Wiffheimer who had teleported over. But Payne was so happy to see him that his face brightened up like the moon shining down upon the dark of night.

“Lord Wiffheimer, you’re here!”

Wiffheimer had been busy with his magical research as of late. Payne could not summon him recklessly because Wiffheiner never tolerated those who disturbed his research.

“Why are you so happy to see me?”

Wiffheimer studied Payne up and down. He continued,

“Tch. You were skinny to begin with, but now you look like a withered stick.”

“It’s only because I’ve had so much work to do as of late. Could you please help me, Lord Wiffheimer?”

“I’ve already finished my part in wreaking havoc on Theodore,”

Wiffheimer said apathetically. He continued,

“No one in Roanne is a match for me. Not even Heinrich, that traitor. That being said, it’d be an abuse of my authority for me to devour Roanne on my own. Roanne is the imperial family’s target.”

The mission that Taylon had given to Wiffheimer had primarily been to decrease Roanne’s military might before the imperial family took to the stage. Payne was aware of this, but he was so frustrated that he thought his heart might burst.

“For how must longer must we wait like this? Why haven’t the masters left the palace even though so many months have passed? They only tell me to wait without telling me the details as to why.”

A peculiar look crossed Wiffheimer’s face as Payne appealed to him.

“They’ve taken an interest to something that you wouldn’t be able to understand. Something so interesting that they’ve even put aside the war of conquest they’ve waged. I have great fun whenever I visit the palace and hear a bit about it.”

“…….”

“Be patient and wait while doing your job. There’s a reason why the imperial family is sequestering themselves inside the imperial castle. That’s just how important the work they’re doing is to them.”

Payne didn’t understand, but he had no choice but to swallow his doubts now that Wiffheimer had said this.

“I see. But it frustrates me that the war isn’t progressing because they’re so busy.”

“The imperial family may not have stepped forward yet, but that doesn’t mean that our current actions don’t amount to war. The war is progressing well, is it not?”

Just as Wiffheimer had pointed out, the Bahamut Empire was still waging war and exhausting the continent even though the imperial family had yet to leave the imperial castle. Payne, however, was still quite anxious.

“But it’s still not a true war that’s being waged with Bahamut’s full strength and might. My idea of a war of conquest is a one-sided war where the masters overpower everything with their overwhelming strength. To be honest, I’d thought we’d be finished conquering everything by the end of this year.”

There were many countries in the world, but it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Bahamut owned most of the landmass. The northwestern kingdoms had long since been vassals to the Bahamut Empire, and the smaller kingdoms in the South were under the Black Fox’s influence. Conquering the rest of the world would be but a simple matter once Roanne, their archnemesis, had finally fallen. And Roanne was already corrupted and dancing in the palm of their hand.

“The masters could put an end to all these vexing matters in one fell sweep if only they took to the stage!”

“Be patient.”

“Huff!”

Payne began beating at his chest in his frustration. He continued,

“Besides, it’s only in the West that the war is going well. We’re actually being pushed back in the East. All because of Schneider! I never realized it would take the previous emperor so long to kill him. Did Schneider get stronger, or did the previous emperor grow weaker?”

“Hmm…….”

Wiffheimer furrowed his brows. He continued,

“The prince shouldn’t be too strong. I can’t help but wonder if he’s taking his time on purpose because he’s finally free after being trapped in a tiny room for so long. He was always a hedonist, if I recall correctly…….”

Wiffheimer recalled the times when he had traversed the battlefields alongside Philliad. Philliad was someone who could be as violent or as mild as he needed to be to fulfil his pleasures. It was more than possible that Philliad was keeping Schneider alive if Schneider pleased him somehow.

‘And he’s created this entire mess just because he wasn’t careful with the thing between his legs. Tut tut.’

Wiffheimer silently clicked his tongue.

“Just leave that bastard Schneider to the previous emperor for now. I’ll keep an eye on the situation and take control of the situation personally after reporting to His Majesty if I feel it’s necessary.”

“Thank you. But, if you could perhaps also help with matters concerning Roanne too…….”

“You’re just fraught with problems, aren’t you? What is it this time?”

Wiffheimer asked unhappily, and Payne gulped before he began relaying all the problems that had cropped up ever since Wiffheimer had holed himself up in his laboratory.

The fact that King Fernando had become infertile and was going crazy. The fact that a list of the nobles who were colluding with the Black Fox had been revealed alongside all their numerous evil deeds. The fact that the nobles in Fernando’s faction, including Marquis Owen, was being ravaged by anxiety.

“Fernando no longer holds any value as a puppet king. I am planning to place Prince Linus on the throne when the time is right. Not only is he young, but he is also very timid because he’s been overshadowed by Fernando and Schneider all his life. He’ll make for a perfect puppet.”

“I don’t think there’s anything I can help you with, is there? What is it that you would have me do?”

“Our slave trade…….”

Payne eventually told Wiffheimer about his most recent problem —the fact that their slave trade buildings all throughout the world had suddenly been raided and that Bruce had gone missing. It was only then that Wiffheimer’s expression stiffened ever so slightly as he began stroking his beard.

“No wonder. I was actually visiting because I was wondering why my supply of test subjects suddenly cut off, but it looks like something’s happened to Bruce. How did this happen?

Then, Payne handed the documents pertaining to Ianna Roberstein over to Wiffheimer and explained the situation. Wiffheimer carefully read through the documents before he asked Payne,

“You said that Eiji, the traitor, was on good terms with this wench?”

“Yes.”

“Then there’s your answer. Ianna Roberstein is affiliated with Camastros. And she’s a very skilled member too.”

Payne flinched.

“I’ve considered that too, but how could such a young woman possibly……?”

“Don’t make assumptions based on a person’s age, Payne. Have you forgotten how terrifying our very own crown prince, no, His Imperial Majesty Emperor Taylon, was when he was younger?”

Payne shuddered.

“But His Majesty is a special case.”

“He’s not the only example. I made a name for myself when I was just as young as this wench is too. And that was before I obtained a fragment of the Demon. This wench must also be gifted with the talent to overshadow an entire era.”

Wiffheimer continued combing through Ianna’s information with great interest. Payne gauged the look on Wiffheimer’s face before earnestly saying,

“I believe that all our problems stem from ‘Camastros.’ I’m certain that Camastros isn’t any ordinary small organization. They had enough capital and influence to raid the Black Fox’s entire slave trade operation in one go.”

Payne sighed. He continued,

“I cannot face them alone. How would I when Eiji, who knows everything there is to know about us, is with them? And that woman Dorcianni has betrayed us too.”

Payne grit his teeth as he recalled how brazenly Dorcianni had come to him like nothing was wrong after she had killed Margarita.

“I can’t do anything about Eiji because our master said to leave him be……. But can’t you please do something about Camastros and Dorcianni, Lord Wiffheimer? I’ll end up collapsing from stress at this rate.”

“I do admit that Dorcianni tugs at my interest.”

Wiffheimer licked his chops as he recalled the Demon’s fragment that Dorcianni possessed. He continued,

“But I’ll have to hand over my fragment to the imperial family soon, so what’s most important to me…….”

He slammed his staff against the floor.

“…Is that I complete my ‘Heart Sharing’ spell. Nothing else matters to me right now. I am at the cusp of achieving eternal life.”

Eternal life.

Payne shuddered when he realized the weight of those words.

“Have you succeeded?”

“I am almost there. My only issue is that I’ve stopped receiving test subjects.”

Wiffheimer’s eyes were gleaming with madness. He continued,

“So stop telling me what to do and send me more test subjects. I’ll break out of my laboratory and kill Camastros, or Ianna Roberstein, or Schneider, or what have you once I’ve completed the spell.”

Then, he recalled how Shingardra and Maimayè had just barely managed to fend off his magic when he had first assaulted Theodore and sneered.

“I’ll also have the heads of the fools who call themselves archmages when they don’t even know what the foundations of magic are. All as soon as I’ve completed my Heart Sharing spell.”

Payne knew that Wiffheimer must die to the imperial family’s hands one day and that completing the Heart Sharing spell was his long-cherished wish.

And so, he nodded obediently.

“I understand.”

His voice was much cheerier now. He had nothing to fear now that Wiffheimer had promised to act. All he had to do was endure until then.

~~*~~

Meanwhile, Ianna was waiting for a special guest inside the Paella Company building.

“Ugh, when’s he gonna get here?”

“I’m gonna die waiting at this rate.”

The beastmen were restless as they looked out the window.

One of them exclaimed, “Oh!” just then. Ianna put down the tea she had been drinking and turned to the door.

Bang!

The door was swung wide open after shortly thereafter.

“I’m here! Have y’all been well, ya rascals?!”

The large and fierce man shouted as soon as he had stepped inside. He was someone Ianna needed here to eliminate Payne of the Black Fox and settle the beastmen’s grudge against him.

“Oh!”

The beastmen raised their arms and cheered. Ianna, too, stood up and walked over to him.

“Welcome.”

“It’s been too long! Have ya been well?”

He smiled broadly as he slapped Ianna across the shoulder. He was Absilot Tiger, the chief of the beastmen and the Mercenary King.

“Damn, how long’s it been?”

Twenty or so beastmen appeared behind him. They all held important positions within the beastmen ranks. They exchanged warm greetings as they reunited with the beastmen mercenaries who had already gathered.

Ianna and the beastmen crowded into the building’s secret conference room. On one end of the table was a woman in white robes and a man wearing black robes and a mask sitting side by side. The beastmen looked to them with great curiosity as they sat down.

“Who are they? They human?”

“They don’t feel bad.”

“Quiet!”

The room fell silent when Absilot shouted. He continued,

“Lil’ Ianna.”

He turned to her and, with great interest, asked,

“Ya asked if we wanted to join ya in getting rid of them black foxes, right?”

“Yes.”

It was finally time to get rid of Payne, the only remaining boss of the Black Fox and the king of Sidian. He had finally come out of his seclusion.

It had still been difficult to pinpoint his whereabouts, but Eiji had finished gathering information about his movements while bleeding profusely from the nose.

They also received word that Jinzai had located every Life factory. They had also prepared a method to dispel the defensive magic that the Bahamut imperial family had cast on them.

Ianna turned to the beastmen and said,

“I’ve heard that the beastmen bear a grudge against the black fox clan.”

“It’s true. We’ve had that grudge for a long time.”

“I’ll rip off their heads on sight.”

The beastmen bore a deep grudge against the black fox clan. They had been forced into the Girohai Desert because of the black fox clan’s betrayal in the distant past.

“We will need all of your strengths to deal with those bastards. May I take your attendance today to mean that you’re willing to cooperate?”

Someone slammed their fist on the table in excitement as soon as the words had left Ianna’s mouth.

“Damn straight! Who else’s gonna kill them if it ain’t gonna be us?”

“I’ve been itchin’ to kill the lot of them ‘cause they’ve been pissin’ me off by nibblin’ at us for so long. We just couldn’t do nothing about them ‘cause our numbers went down.”

“We’d have devoured them whole and then some already if it weren’t for them Bahamut bastards……!”

The beastmen were very assertive.

Absilot stayed silent for a moment before he finally said,

“So, what’s the plan? We came all the way out here ‘cause we got excited, but, as someone who leads an entire race, I can’t agree to anything ridiculous —so explain everything to me in detail.”

“First, there are a few people whom I must introduce to you all.”

Ianna looked over to the two people who had been sitting quietly with her. The man in black robes stood up first. There was a bird drawn on his white mask. Ianna continued,

“He’s someone whom I’m sure you already know.”

The beastmen turned to him with curiosity. They didn’t know why, but he smelled like one of them. Ianna nodded at Caesar. Caesar slowly took his mask off.

“Hey! He’s…!”

The beastmen were startled when they recognized him. Caesar was a middle-aged man with sharp golden eyes. The rough lines of his face, his tanned skin, and the black and grey streaks of his hair made him look like a hawk. Absilot stood up and walked over to him.

“It’s been a while since I saw ya last.”

Caesar looked directly back into Absilot’s piercing eyes. He was not shaken by Absilot’s wild and overwhelming presence, and he was firm and aloof as he stood his ground.

Absilot smirked as he extended his hand.

“Thanks for staying alive, Mahirus Hawk.”

Mahirus Hawk took Absilot’s hand.

Mahirus Hawk. Codename Caesar.

He was a member of the hawk clan and the former chief of the birdmen.

He was a master of martial arts, and he was so agile that he could fly swiftly through the skies without even having to use mana. He was so strong that he could crush iron just by striking it. His eyes were so sharp that he would never let a fleeing enemy escape him. Occasionally, he even spotted targets that were incredibly far away. It was almost as if he could see a thousand miles away.

Caesar had always been a quiet man even before he had lost the ability to speak. He sometimes, but not frequently, conversed with Giselle through sign language, but he was generally like an imposing boulder who simply stood there.

It had been the letter that Ianna had delivered for the birdmen that had given Ianna a chance to get to know him better. She had called him aside and had handed it to him during a Camastros meeting not too long after she had returned from the Girohai Desert.

Caesar had seemed incredibly shaken as he accepted the letter with trembling hands. There had been several pages crammed inside the hefty envelope.

Tears had begun flooding behind Caesar’s mask and moistening his robes as he silently read the letter. Then, he had quietly handed the birdmen’s letter to Ianna. Ianna had tried to refuse in her bewilderment, but Caesar had gestured to her and insisted that she read it.

The letter had been filled to the brim with news about how the few remaining birdmen were faring and their worry about how Caesar was doing. It emphasized that the birdmen’s downfall had never been Caesar’s fault, and it also noted how honestly relieved the birdmen were that the person delivering their letter was such a good person.

The birdmen also told Caesar that he could come home anytime if he was exhausted.

Caesar had expressed his gratitude to Ianna with his hands over and over. Then, he had opened his heart to Ianna, who had formed a relationship with the beastmen and had ventured into Titanus, their holy land. Not only did he always take care to greet her first when they met but he also did his best to look after her even outside of Camastros’ missions.

Ianna had learned sign language from Caesar and Giselle as she began interacting with Caesar more. They could hold in-depth conversations now, though Ianna still found it tricky to understand some of the details.

Caesar had told her that he bore a deep grudge against Bahamut and the black foxes. The black foxes had slaughtered countless of his family members because they hated the birdmen.

He had also informed her of the longstanding grudge between the beastmen and the black fox clan. The black fox clan was sneaky and underhanded. They had a powerful inferiority complex against any beastmen who were in the middle or upper ranks of the food chain.

Not only that, but the black fox clan had also put the beastmen in an awkward position during the dawn of the Age of Magic because they enjoyed eating hearts that were still beating and had killed and eaten the hearts belonging to other species back when all intelligent species had still been living together.

And if that hadn’t been enough, the black fox clan had also betrayed the beastmen. They had kissed the feet of the Bahamut imperial family and had become as their beloved pets, and they had borrowed the imperial family’s strength to massacre the beastmen. They had even tried to occupy Mt. Titanus, their sacred mountain.

The beastmen had barely managed to fend them off by using the barrier around Titanus as their shield, but their numbers had been drastically reduced and they had been forced to remain secluded in the Girohai Desert. Their rage against the black fox clan was reignited, just as they were about to forget about their resentment, every time they heard the Black Fox’s name in the West.

“Wow, yer still alive!”

“We keep tellin’ ya that what happened back then wasn’t yer fault, Chief.”

The beastmen welcomed Mahirus gladly. They remembered that Mahirus had been a kind and clever leader to them. Mahirus bowed to them before he sat back down and maintained his silence. The beastmen understood what he had wanted to say.

Next, Ianna gestured to the woman in white robes. She drew back her hood and revealed her white appearance.

“This is Saki Celtz Shizenmore, a cardinal of the Temple of Laos in the Kingdom of Jinzai. She is also one of the Ten Archmages, and she specializes in healing.”

Saki stood up and greeted the beastmen.

“May the grace of Laos be with you all. It is an honor to meet you like this. I know I may put you off because I am human, but I would ask that you see me simply as a faithful follower of God Laos. I swear that I will never do anything that will bring you harm.”

The beastmen were quite interested in her as well.

“This human feels incredibly pure.”

“She ain’t unpleasant even though she’s human.”

Ianna explained her plans once she had finished introducing them.

“We will blow up the Ghost factories in Sidian and eliminate the black fox clan who are working there. The vast majority of the black fox beastmen, save for Payne, their leader, work in the factories.”

The Black Fox hadn’t been able to spread far into the West outside of Sidian. Instead, they had stayed within Sidian and extracted human hearts inside the Life factories on Payne’s orders.

“I would like you all to take care of the black fox beastmen in Sidian while Lord Absilot and I deal with Payne.”

Someone asked Ianna a question once she had finished explaining.

“How do we break through the imperial family’s spells they cast on the Life factories?”

“Saki will take care of that.”

Saki nodded.

“The pope of Jinzai will be personally stepping forward. Her Holiness is able to dispel the imperial family’s magic with the holy staff.”

The staff that Saki was referring to was Phaemdra’s branch. It could obviously break through the Bahamut imperial family’s magic, especially if they weren’t even casting the spells personally, because it was a powerful relic endowed with both Laos’ and Roberstein’s divine powers. Saki continued,

“We will be striking together with the royal army of the Kingdom of Jinzai, which is currently at war with Sidian, and the priests from the temple.”

The beastmen were convinced when they heard what Saki had to say.

“But won’t the Bahamut imperial family be alerted over if we break their spells? Those bastards are monsters. It’ll be hard for us to deal with them…….”

“The Bahamut imperial family is currently stuck inside the imperial palace for other reasons. That is why we must strike now.”

They made a decision after the beastmen had asked all sorts of questions.

Ianna asked them,

“Will you work with us?”

“Of courseeee!”

The conference was over, and Ianna was now meeting with Absilot one-on-one.

“Lord Absilot. I have a request that I’m absolutely hoping you’ll accept.”

There was no hint of jest in her voice. Absilot grinned.

“What is it? Yer makin’ me nervous by bein’ so serious. Tell me.”

Ianna immediately cut to the chase.

“I would like to enter ‘Mt. Titanus’ sometime.”

Absilot narrowed his eyes when her request took him by surprise.

“Any why’s that?”

“There’s a special leaf that happens to be there, yes?”

The sly look on Absilot’s face immediately froze stiff.

“There is. Right at the summit of the mountain.”

Absilot crossed his arms as he stiffly continued,

“It’s the wellspring that lets us live in the wastelands of the Girohai Fiery Desert. A single borin’ leaf right at the top of Mt. Titanus. That’s the real ‘Titanus.’”

He sounded incredibly reluctant as he explained this.

“How’d ya even know about Titanus? Only a real few are in the know even among the beastmen. And why’re ya askin’?”

Calmly, Ianna answered,

“Because I have need of it.”

“I trust that ya know how I’ll react to that as the chief of the beastmen?”

“Please hear me out first.”

Ianna believed that Absilot was a trustworthy man.

And that was why she told him a part of her secret.

She told him about her previous incarnation, her heart, and the seal.

“The leaf at Titanus, the flower in the Tower of Truth, the branch in the Temple of Jinzai, and the vines in the Temple of Roanne. I will gather these four pieces and undo the seal on Roberstein’s heart. Then, I will destroy the Demon’s heart that lies in Pandemonium.”

She emphasized,

“Destroying the Demon’s heart, which is disrupting the world’s equilibrium, is the only way to stabilize the unstable world that might collapse at any moment. This is the reason why Lord Terranodin made you his Guardian, and it’s what the dragons have been awaiting for nearly an eternity. You won’t need to be tied down to the western deserts any longer once the Demon’s heart has been destroyed. I ask for your cooperation.”

Absilot had dropped his jaw in disbelief at first, but he was stroking his chin now, convinced after hearing Ianna’s full story.

“Your past incarnation was the strongest god of the Holy Age. No wonder Lord Terra gives ya special treatment, Lil’ Ianna. But what’ll happen to Titanus once ya gather all the pieces and undo the seal?”

“To be honest, I don’t really know —but I will do my best to only break the seal and return the leaf to its original place. It should be all right since the power of life that the leaf gives off belongs to God Laos, and it doesn’t have anything to do with Roberstein’s heart.”

“It’s awfully irresponsible of ya if that’s all ya have to say about it.”

Absilot stared back at Ianna as he awaited her next words. Naturally, Ianna wasn’t done yet. She looked Absilot directly in the eyes and replied honestly without a trace of uneasiness in her tone.

“If something should happen……then please come to the East.”

“Hmm?”

“A new kingdom will be established in the East soon. Its founding is already underway. If the beastmen should happen to lose their base, then please bring everyone to where I am. I will prepare a foundation so that you will be able to live in the rest of the continent again, and not just the four corners.”

Ianna briefly explained the situation to Absilot. Absilot quietly listened to everything she had to say without interrupting her even once, and, as soon as she was finished, he abruptly said,

“How interestin’. If things really go the way ya say they will, then it’ll be a great opportunity for us beastmen to expand into the continent again.”

That was all Absilot said before falling into thought.

He knew very well that the Girohai Fiery Desert’s heat kept the beastmen from thriving. The beastmen would have died out one by one until the entire race had gone extinct had it not been for the miraculous oasis called Titanus. Even now, the subspecies who were weak to the heat could only survive in the small world that Titanus and its immediate surroundings encompassed.

But Absilot was a ‘tiger.’ His ancestors had shed blood and tears to adapt to the Girohai Desert, and that was why he, their descendant, had also adapted to the deserts, but his natural habitat was the forests and mountains. He wanted to leave the deserts and live in the green mountains if only he could.

Absilot slowly recalled the dream that he had long since forgotten.

“It was always my dream for us beastmen to be able to live boldly in the continent with our heads held high.”

He had strongly aspired to live in the heart of the continent in his youth. He had hated humanity back then, and he had wanted to wipe out humanity and live in a world more suitable for the beastmen.

But his hatred for humanity had quelled after meeting Lanka and Mursi, he had resigned to a reality he could not change, and he had adapted to the flow of history. The current system had been in place for so long that its current was fixed and he was too trivial to go against it.

“This ain’t something I can decide so easily.”

But Absilot was no longer a young man burning passionately with ambition. He was a leader who was responsible for a large group of people and charged with making level-headed decisions for their sake. He continued,

“I know that ya ain’t one to spout nonsense, but not everything goes the way a leader wants it to when yer leadin’ a large organization. There’s sure to be a lot of problems that ya never even thought about that crop up.”

“That much is only obvious.”

Slowly, Absilot shook his head.

“I’m grateful for yer offer, but I don’t know how stable this new kingdom of yers is gonna be and, though things might be okay while yer still alive, there’s no tellin’ what might happen in the future to come.”

“That is why the beastmen must win back their own lives.”

“Hmm?”

Absilot looked like he hadn’t been able to understand what she had meant as he tilted his head to the side.

“I only said that I will prepare a foundation so that the beastmen may live in the rest of the continent again —I never said that I would take responsibility for their lives.”

“What’s the difference? Aren’t ya just tryin’ to hide yer irresponsibility by bein’ clever with yer words?”

Calmly, Ianna replied,

“I am not shirking my responsibilities. I am simply pointing out that stability built solely on me as its foundation is destined to crumble like a castle of sand.”

“…….”

“While I will certainly roll up my sleeves and help the beastmen settle in during the beginning stages of our new kingdom, I cannot do that forever. I will create a foundation by making harmonious cohabitation a form of justice in our new kingdom and enacting rigid laws so that the beastmen may live there without being persecuted, but it is the beastmen who must use that foundation to assert their own lives.”

One could not make another responsible for their life in their stead. One must be responsible for their own life. Ianna continued,

“You spoke of a future to come, but do you believe that Queen Roanne ever imagined that this was what would become of Roanne one day? Likewise, I have no way of knowing what may come in the future. My only job is to create a sturdy foundation so that the next generation, and the generation after that, may live in our kingdom with peace of mind. Taking care of the future is a job for those who will actually be living it. Perhaps they’ll flourish resplendently, or perhaps they’ll utterly ruin themselves —but that is entirely on them.”

“……!”

Absilot opened his eyes wide and laughed himself senseless.

“Ahaha. I have to ask for yer understanding. All things yield to age. Even I started perferrin’ stability to a challenge as I got older. But yer right, Lil’ Ianna. Everyone’s gotta find their own happiness. I’m sorry if I sounded like I was sayin’ that people should prioritize survival and put merely existin’ before actually livin’.”

Ianna shook her head when Absilot apologized.

“I was the one who brought up Titanus, and the beastmen, who can already live there well enough, would have no need to return to the continent unless Titanus were to disappear. It is I who must apologize for concerning you.”

“Not at all. I’ve always wished there’d come a day when we could leave the desert, so it ain’t just ‘cause of you or Titanus.”

“Is that so?”

Ianna wracked her brains for a moment before she gingerly continued,

“Even if it weren’t for Titanus, I believe that now, when Bahamut had wreaked havoc upon humanity by opening the monster Gates, is the perfect chance for the beastmen to make their return to the rest of the world if that is what you wanted. You don’t need to go out of your way to come to my kingdom in the East.”

“Hmmm.”

“You can only melt in naturally if you jump inside the pot while things are still in chaos. If you wish for a future where mankind and beastmen walk hand in hand, then isn’t now the time to act?”

Absilot nodded as he was swayed by Ianna’s words.

“I agree a whole lot with what yer sayin’, Lil’ Ianna. But this ain’t something I can decide on my own. All the beastmen have to agree —with both leavin’ the desert and givin’ ya Titanus, Lass.”

“But of course. Please take the time to consider everything carefully.”

Absilot looked much milder than earlier as he looked back at Ianna.

“Guess I’ll have to visit the East in person sometime. Why do I get the feelin’ that I’ll see something marvelous when I get there?”

“My master is working hard to get everything in order, so I am certain that it will be.”

Ianna smiled a little as she spoke.

She was so preoccupied now that she had taken over Camastros that she did not have the time to analyze how Arhad’s powers were working in the East. She had heard about how things were developing in the East, but she had not had the chance to see things for herself. But Arhad was capable and working without rest, so she was certain that everything would be amazing. She was eager to see how things would have developed by the time she finally went to him.

“…….”

The edges of her lips sagged down just a little. Feelings of frustration naturally began throwing her heart in turmoil as she thought about Arhad.

It had been two months since she had last seen him. She was being made to keenly realize what it truly meant to ‘yearn’ for someone.

She had missed him back when she had travelled West, but she had not yearned for him. The difference was likely because she liked Arhad a lot more now than she had back then.

‘I miss him.’

Arhad’s arms, face, and lips lingers in her mind. She wanted him to hold her tight, she wanted him to look at her directly face-to-face, and she wanted him to kiss her impatiently.

‘Unbelievable. Was I always this lecherous?’

Ianna turned grave from time to time as she realized that her embarrassing desires were growing as she grew to like Arhad more. She had ignored her desires at first, because they wounded her pride, but she could only be honest and deride herself now that she had grown accustomed to wanting these things.

‘But he really hasn’t visited me even once.’

Arhad always spoke about how much he missed her through their artefacts, but had yet to actually come visit her. Ianna was growing fretful, and she was also growing irritable over the fact that she was growing fretful.

Ianna shook her head to pull herself back to her senses.

“I was just wonderin’…”

Absilot said deliberately as he prodded at Ianna. He continued,

“What’cha plannin’ to do if we decide to keep livin’ in the desert and refuse to hand over Titanus to ya? Ya gonna take it from us by force?”

But Ianna had already thought about that.

Would the relics be destroyed if the seal was broken? There should be no problem so long as the relics maintained their shapes and their connection to Laos’ heart.

In the best-case scenario, she would be able to undo the seal and return the relics to where they belonged.

‘Otherwise, I’ll have to meet with Laos.’

Only Laos could truly answer this question.

Ianna wanted to speak with Laos even if it wasn’t about the seal. Roberstein’s memories of Laos were missing, as if they had been cut out in their entirety, and this piqued Ianna’s curiosity.

What kind of god was he? She truly wanted to meet him and converse with him.

He was certainly still alive, so where was he now?

Ianna and Absilot existed the room together once they were finished with their discussion. Three small figures ran up to Ianna as soon as she stepped outside.

“Miss!”

“Miss!”

“Meow!”

Finn, Elly, and Nissi hugged her tight.

“Why are you guys here? —it’s dangerous.”

“We heard that the chief of the beastmen was coming over, so we came to see him!”

Elly was aware that the mercenaries were beastmen and that Finn was half elf. There had been no choice but to tell her. Elly was too close to Finn, and Finn hated keeping secrets from her.

Elly had been curious when she was told, but she had not found anything strange. This was likely because she was too young to have developed any prejudice.

“Hello, Chief!”

Elly placed her hands on her tummy as she bowed to Absilot.

“…….”

Why was it? Absilot didn’t respond. Normally, he would have picked Finn up and stirred up a fuss without a second thought, but now he was pursing his lips while looking between Elly and Nissi in turns.

“Hmmm.”

Absilot scratched his chin. He continued,

“Strange…”

Absilot walked over to Elly and Nissi. He picked Nissi up by the scruff of her neck, sniffed her, and tilted his head to the side.

“Meowwww!”

Nissi drew her claws and scratched at Absilot’s arm for the insult, but his skin was like armor and her claws did not leave behind a single wound. Absilot was still holding up the struggling cat as he then tilted his head and began circling around Elly, observing her.

Ianna grabbed him by the arm and stopped him.

“What are you doing? Is there something wrong with these two children?”

“Oh, not something wrong per se, just strange…….”

He narrowed his eyes and said to Elly,

“Kid. Are ya an illegitimate child of the royal family of Roanne?”

He had dropped a bomb out of nowhere. Not only was Ianna surprised, but even the beastmen who had been watching over Absilot’s strange antics winced and wondered what on earth he was talking about.

Elly blinked.

“No?”

“Oh yeah? Was I just mistaken then?”

“Meowww!”

“Aight, I get it.”

Absilot let go of Nissi. The cat immediately hid behind Elly once she had been freed from his shield-like hand and hissed.

“A moment, please.”

Ianna dragged Absilot back inside the room. Then, she continued,

“Why did you ask Elly if she was an illegitimate child of the royal family?”

“It’s hard to explain,”

Absilot replied as he crossed his arms. He continued,

“I started getting’ this special feelin’ whenever I see another Guardian, a spartoi, the Bahamut imperial family, or the royal family of Roanne ever since I became a dragon’s Guardian. And it’s strange that I’m gettin’ a similar feelin’ from that kid and her cat.”

“Like what you feel from the royal family of Roanne?”

“Yeah. The spartoi and the Guardians are one thing, but I’ve no idea why the imperial or royal families feel special too.”

Ianna knew why the imperial and royal families would fall under the same category as did the spartoi and the Guardians. The ‘Demon’ had been the first dragon in existence, and the imperial family probably felt special to Absilot because they carried pieces of the Demon’s soul. And the royal family of Roanne likely felt special because they were both the spartois and the Guardians of the dragon ‘Laos.’

But she couldn’t understand why he felt something similar to what he felt from the royal family from Elly and Nissi.

“Those children feel like the royal family of Roanne to you? Are you certain you aren’t mistaken?”

“I ain’t. There’s no way I would ever mistake that feelin’.”

Ianna watched for a moment as Absilot scratched his head in his bafflement before she turned around and walked out the door. Elly was patting down Nissi, who’s fur was puffed out because she had been so startled by Absilot.

“Would you mind talking with me for a minute, Elly?”

“Okay!”

Ianna informed the puzzled beastmen, Saki, Mahirus, and Absilot, who had followed her out of the room, that the meeting was adjourned.

Finn stayed behind because he wanted to spend time with Absilot, whom he hadn’t seen in a while, and Ianna and Elly exited the building after saying their goodbyes.

Once they had arrived at Elly’s room in Heinrich’s magic tower, Ianna sat down in front of Elly so they could see each other eye to eye.

“Elly.”

“Yes?”

“Have you ever met ‘God Laos’ before?”

Ianna asked straightforwardly.

“No.”

But Elly returned a negative response.

“Then have you ever been blessed by one of the relics?”

“No, never.”

“Do you have any connection to God Laos at all?”

“Probably not?”

Elly tilted her head to the side.

Ianna stared openly into Elly’s eyes. Elly’s innocent eyes never wavered. Ianna sighed as she lowered her gaze.

“You must believe that god exists, right, Miss? But why are you asking me about God Laos?”

“It’s something really important to me, and I wondered if you might have something to do with it too. But I can’t tell you why.”

“I don’t really know.”

Ianna thought that it was possible that the blood of the royal family might run through Elly’s veins. It was entirely possible that a bastard child of the royal family, who wasn’t listed on the royal genealogy, was Elly’s ancestor.

Then, Ianna turned her eyes to Nissi. Nissi had been trying to squeeze her way in between Elly and Ianna and had been crying up a storm, but she had stopped dead in her tracks as soon as Ianna had brought up ‘Laos.’ Nissi flinched when she felt Ianna’s eyes on her.

Nissi was a truly odd cat. She had frozen up as if she had seen a ghost back when Ianna had first met her, and then she had tailed Ianna like a stalker. Almost as if she had always known who Ianna was.

Now that Ianna thought about it, Nissi had startled when she had heard about the ‘relic’ while they were inside the royal palace and had accidentally hit Ianna’s arm with her tail. Ianna had thought that Nissi’s fur simply happened to be white, but now she realized that the cat’s pure white figure was suspicious too.

‘Elly might not know anything, but it’s obvious that this one has something to do with Laos.’

Elly was human and could very well be a descendant of the royal family, but that same explanation couldn’t work for Nissi, an animal. Ianna placed her hands under Nissi’s front legs and picked her up.

“You’re good at nodding and shaking your head, Nissi, so answer me.”

Meow……, Nissi mewled helplessly.

“Have you ever met God Laos before?”

Nissi did not move —it was almost as if she had been paralyzed. She did not respond to any of Ianna’s many questions for her. Ianna struggled with the cat for quite some time before, just in case, she asked,

“You don’t actually happen to be Laos yourself, right?”

Nissi was flinching left and right, but she kept her silence. Ianna ultimately gave up and pressed her eyes closed.

‘Is she supposed to be the cat version of Terranodin or something?’

Ianna also wondered if Laos might have taken measures to ensure that no information about him could be leaked. Or, the damned cat really might actually be Laos.

Nissi ran away as soon as Ianna put her down and hid between Elly’s legs as she observed Ianna carefully. Ianna turned to Elly, who was still puzzled, and changed her line of questions.

“Elly, how did you meet Nissi?”

“I picked her up on the streets when she was lost. She has quite the temper, but I’m raising her because I know she was in a bad situation.”

“You don’t know where she’s from?”

“Her mommy cat’s tummy?”

Ianna reached out to Nissi. She couldn’t help but wonder if Nissi was being timid because she was sorry that she couldn’t answer. Nissi hesitantly walked over and began licking Ianna’s hand.

“I don’t know what kind of being you really are, but is it possible for you to arrange a meeting with Laos for me?”

Once again, Nissi did not respond.

Elly pushed the cat from behind.

“Hey, Miss Ianna says she wants to know. Tell her already. Do you have anything to do with Lord Laos?”

Nissi glared back at Elly.

“Meowwwwww!”

She sounded quite furious.

“Ack!”

Nissi bit Elly hard on the hand and jumped up to her bed. She looked depressed as she curled up into herself. Ianna stared blankly back at her for a moment before getting up with a sigh. She decided to keep an eye on Nissi for the time being. She could not overlook the fact that someone related to Laos was lingering nearby.

‘Or maybe Nissi’s like a familiar, and Laos is watching over me through her eyes?’

How nice would it be if that was true? That way, he would know that she wanted to meet him.

Ianna also thought that she would have to keep a close eye on Elly as well.

‘Elly can’t be any ordinary child, seeing that she’s raising a pet who has something to do with Laos.’

She would have never met Elly or Nissi had she never stepped foot inside the orphanage. But then, did that mean that their relationship had only been forged by simple chance? Or was it perhaps, as she suspected, that someone had willed their meeting to happen? Ianna did not know.

Part 6

Ianna made her way to the hideout where Saiwè and Rikijen were staying after she had escorted Elly and Nissi back to their room. Documents were lined up atop the table that Rikijen and Saiwè had been working on.

Ianna stared quietly into the emotionless expression on Rikijen’s face.

“You didn’t go to Wels Owen today either, did you?”

“No.”

Rikijen had stopped visiting the second son of House Owen at some point. Lately, he had been holing himself up in the hideout and was only playing his role as Ianna’s advisor. Ianna sat down next to him.

“That bastard’s gone half-crazy, and all he ever does as of late is scream his head off.”

“I’m not surprised. He was overdosed with drugs, after all.”

Even pleasure could become agony if you crossed the line.

Rikijen’s latest method of extracting revenge against Wels was to overdose him with his favorite drugs and force him to suffer dreadful pain. Wels Owen was currently experiencing the most excruciating pain of his life via the drugs that he had always enjoyed. Rikijen continued,

“I am planning on leaving him like that until everything’s been wrapped up in Roanne. I would be grateful if you only concerned yourself with his continued imprisonment, Lady Ianna.”

“Let’s make things clear, Rikijen.”

Ianna looked directly into Rikijen’s turbid eyes. She continued,

“What are you planning to do with him? No, let me ask you this first. Has your rage subsided, even if only a little, while you’ve been getting your revenge?”

Crinkle.

Rikijen ruthlessly crumbled the document he had been holding in his hands.

“No. My rage only seems to grow worse as I take my revenge, much less subside.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Ianna had been watching Rikijen’s revenge from close by. Rikijen’s rage had only grown worse as he tortured Wels.

“It’s because my family will never come back, and the agony they suffered at those bastards’ hands will never be undone, even if I killed them over and over again.”

That was what Rikijen had said when Ianna had reached out to him and had offered to take revenge together. This was also likely the reason why his rage would not subside.

“What do you think about simply killing him now? It might help you organize your feelings if you kill him and remove him from your sight for good.”

“No. I can’t kill him.”

“If you can’t kill him, then would you like me to kill him for you?”

“It’s not that I’m physically incapable of killing him. It’s because I don’t think I’ll be able to achieve my ideal ‘best revenge’ if I kill him right now. The same holds true even if it’s you who kills him.”

“I find it difficult to understand what you’re trying to say. Explain it to me.”

“Like I’ve told you before, I’m certain that the bastard will fall to hell no matter what kind of revenge I enact against him and that my family will find salvation because you’re aiding me in this. It would still happen even if I killed him right now. But I’ve come to realize that doing so wouldn’t be the best revenge I can achieve.”

What was this best revenge that Rikijen spoke of? Ianna grew curious and listened closely to everything he had to say. Calmly, Rikijen continued,

“When I first started enacting a violent revenge against Wels Owen, I was merely letting out my built-up rage through violence. But I started hating myself of being that way by the tenth revenge.”

Rikijen had realized something as he beat, stabbed, and strangled Wels Owen. Torturing the bastard was entertaining, but it was also uncomfortable. The guilt that slowly crawled over him made him wake up in the middle of the night screaming.

“By the fifteenth revenge, I began doubting things.”

Was killing the bastard violently truly the best revenge?

“And I realized it by the twentieth revenge.”

No.

Death was but an instant, but his discomfort would last a long time. Killing the bastard violently would make Rikijen no better than him. Rikijen still had so many days ahead of him. He did not want to become someone like Wels Owen.

“And then, by the twenty-fifth revenge, I had a thought.”

What if Lady Ianna and Lord Arhad hadn’t helped me? What if I wasn’t exceptionally smart? Wels Owen is the second son of the well-to-do House Owen, so he would’ve lived his days just fine without ever being punished no matter what atrocities he committed, right? If someone he harmed complained against them, then the victims would’ve been killed off and none would be the wiser, right? Just like my family……!

A dark atmosphere formed around Rikijen.

“I grew angry all over again once I imagined this. Most normal people can’t even dream about exacting revenge on Wels Owen. And this isn’t only limited to Wels Owen —it’s generally difficult for victims to get revenge on their assailants. After all, the assailants are usually stronger than their victims. The victims would have never been victimized to begin with, had they been the stronger of the two.”

And yet, the powerful assailants had the louder voice.

When victims exacted revenge from their assailants —and eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth—, the world censured them for being no better than their assailants. The world only ever spouted nonsense about forgiveness and peace under the theory that vengeance begets vengeance. But that wouldn’t change the fact that the victims had been harmed and that the assailants never received just punishment for their actions.

So, what were the victims supposed to do about the injustice?

“The answer, is to have powerful ‘laws.’”

The law was the sole means by which victims could achieve a just and fair revenge without lowering themselves to their assailants’ level. But House Owen was a powerful house that existed above the law.

Rikijen hated that, and he ground his teeth.

“I want them to face judgment, one that is appropriate for the crime they committed, based off the laws they have been skirting all this time —and that is how I want them to end. I’ve thought about it, and I believe that it’s better to make them fall to ruin and execute them publicly in a lawful manner rather than to strangle them to death with my own hands. That’s why I gave up on the violence after the thirtieth revenge. All I’ve been doing since is overdosing the bastard on the drugs he loves so much.”

Rikijen had concluded that his revenge would only be fully complete once he had judged House Owen in a just manner with the laws of the Kingdom of Roanne that they had been fooling around with as if it was their own front yard.

“Not bad.”

It was a method that truly suited Rikijen well.

Ianna was inwardly pleased.

Rikijen slammed down against the table.

“Marquis Owen is a piece of trash with neither shame nor honor. How do I go about planning for his downfall?”

Beneath his hands were documents that recorded the flow of Marquis Owen’s assets. Marquis Owen was slipping his fortune outside the kingdom in case he was exiled. He had stockpiled a considerable amount of funds in foreign countries.

“The flow of his capital stopped.”

Saiwè, who had been sitting with them, smiled as he looked down at the documents.

“Shall we plunder him now?”

“Of course. We’ll rob him of everything he has.”

A bleak smile alighted Rikijen’s face.

One day, after Marquis Owen had thought that he had slipped enough money out of the kingdom and had let his guard down, Camastros raided every manor belonging to House Owen outside the kingdom and robbed the marquis of his entire wealth. House Owen’s downfall was only a matter of time now that it no longer had either a stable foundation or its assets.

Not only that, but everything that the anxious Marquis Owen had done to ensure his survival had been rendered moot thanks to Rikijen, who kept a close eye on House Owen’s every action.

Ultimately, Marquis Owen was trapped inside Roanne on the Black Fox’s boat and could not jump ship.

~~*~~

The beastmen who had visited Roanne had immediately held a conference to decide their race’s fate as soon as they had returned to Titanus.

“Let’s leave!”

Unanimously, they decided to leave the desert.

Beastmen were relatively free to act in human society, when compared to the dwarves or the elves, so long as they maintained their human forms, and they occasionally ventured out to get a taste of human society’s riches. They wanted to live in the rest of the continent if they could, provided that their safety could be guaranteed.

Beastmen were half-beast half-man, and they both acted upon instinct like beasts and acted rationally like men.

They had merely regarded the rest of the continent as a mirage when it belonged solely to humanity, and they had never even dreamed about leaving Titanus. But Bahamut had reset the playing field. Currently, the continent had returned to what it had been millennia ago when all kinds of races were jumbled together. Monster habitats had mixed into places where humans dwelt, so there was no reason why the beastmen couldn’t join the fray too.

Besides, it seemed like Bahamut meant to conquer the entire continent, and they would only find themselves in danger sooner or later if they simply stayed in the desert and twiddled their thumbs. Bahamut’s blades could be pointed at the beastmen at any moment, especially since they were searching for Titanus, one of the keys to Pandemonium.

“Let’s leave!”

And so, the beastmen decided they would persevere even if they failed and were pushed back into the desert for the centuries and millennia to come.

It was then that the beastmen joined the great war in their hopes to finally leave the fiery desert. They mounted their counterattack by targeting the black foxes riding Bahamut’s back whom they had thought would torment them forever.

~~*~~

Unlike the Girohai Desert, where the power of fire was strong, normal deserts were frozen by cold winds once night fell. Only sand existed in those lands of death, and they continued to spread their territory like a contagious disease.

Beneath the deserts was a system of factories like ant tunnels. They were Payne’s, the greatest chief that the black fox had ever known, greatest achievements —the Life factories.

Life.

It was a drug that promised eternal youth and eternal life that had been manufactured by extracting divine power from others. Some of the Life produced in the factories were given to people in power to ruin them, and the rest was sent to Bahamut to turn her knights and mages into soldiers of death.

Some died, others lived, and others yet grew stronger —and the deserts took in the aura of death and continued to spread.

The deserts were as cold as ever tonight as well.

“Hehehe.”

“Delicious.”

As always, the black fox clan was hard at work manufacturing Life inside the underground factories. The manufacturing process was as cruel as ever, and the black fox clan was savoring the cruelty as they relished while eating the delicious hearts.

They revered their chief, Payne, for devising a way for them to be able to eat so many fresh hearts, and they sang Bahamut’s praises for giving them the power to make it happen.

The black fox clan had enjoyed lives of safety and leisure ever since they had become as the Bahamut imperial family’s pets. They had been nervous when one of the factories had been destroyed about a year ago, but most of them had let down their guards and returned to their everyday lives because nothing much had happened ever since.

But today was different.

“Eeeek!”

The foxes’ ears perked up when a scream fell upon them like a cataract.

Rumble rumble…….

The earth trembled and shook their insides. The black fox beastmen grew nervous and looked up at the ceiling. Cracks were beginning to form there.

Crash!

The ceiling caved in when the impact grew stronger. Beast and men alike were mixed into the falling debris. The dumbfounded black fox beastmen spread open their thin lips and bared their pointed fangs.

Those who had fallen down through the ceiling landed lightly and picked themselves up.

Tigers, leopards, rhinoceroses, reindeer —they were beastmen of all kinds of creatures in half-human half-best form. There were also priests garbed in white among them.

“Damn, these crazy bastards.”

They let out a deep sigh after surveying their surroundings.

The black foxes faltered and stepped back once they had seen the beastmen. An instinctive terror overcame their beings and made them nauseated.

“Y-you’re —how are y-y-you guys here?”

“Who cares, ya bloody foxes? We finally fuckin’ found ya.”

The tranquil desert night had been shattered to pieces.

It wasn’t only the desert —all of Sidian was in an uproar.

“Get them!”

“In the name of God Laos!”

Outside, the Kingdoms of Jinzai and Toraca had joined their armies together and had invaded Sidian.

Toraca, the westernmost nation, was on good terms with the beastmen, and she knew that Sidian was nothing more than Bahamut’s tool. Bahamut’s blade was currently mutilating the countries to her north, so Toraca had vowed to cooperate with Jinzai and at the very least get rid of the Black Fox before Bahamut’s blade turned to her. And the promised day had come.

“Are they all high on drugs or something?!”

“People are already dying all over the place because of the monsters!”

Sidian’s criminal organizations had cooperated with her royal army to counter the invasion, but the sudden raid in the dead of night had proved fatal. It was difficult for them to stop the invaders when powerful beastmen were included in their number.

Criminals didn’t have much camaraderie to begin with, and they eventually abandoned the royal army and fled for their lives as the tides continued to turn against them.

The beastmen who had infiltrated Sidian’s deserts in advance raided the factories all at once. Saki had made gathering information about the factories her life’s mission, and her information was accurate.

Buzzzz…….

“Oh God Laos. Please grant power to your faithful follower.”

Miriam Elderia, the pope of the Great Temple of Jinzai.

She stood on par with Jinzai’s king, and she moved together with the other priests as she wielded the ‘staff’ with everything she had. It was as tall as a man and was adorned with all sorts of decorations, but it had originally been a simple ‘branch.’

Poow!

The defensive spells protecting the factories scattered every time the staff flashed with light. Once the magic disappeared, the beastmen exploded the bombs that Camastros had provided them. They were powerful mana bombs created personally by Shion Sabelix, the master bombmaker.

Boooom!

Boom!

Not only did the bombs destroy the magic circles and the mana stones maintaining them but they also ruptured the solid earth.

Then, once the factories below had revealed themselves, the beastmen would jump down to deal with the black fox clan while the Jinzai priests rescued the people who had been kidnapped. Once every victim had been rescued, the beastmen would stop battling, escape the factory, and through more bombs behind them before the black foxes could act, massacring the lot of them.

Boom!

Booooom!

The bombs, filled with Shion’s wrath, blew up not only the factories but also the desert itself. The underground paths connecting the factories collapsed before the bombs’ might, alienating the factories from each other, and the factories were destroyed one after another.

“Caesar.”

Caesar and Giselle, who had come to assist him, were at the scene of battle. Giselle continued,

“The day has finally come for you to be freed of your grudges.”

Giselle was supporting the beastmen with her spirits. She was powerful. She had called forth numerous powerful spirits —so many, in fact, that even beastmen who specialized in spiritual arts were left surprised— to attack their enemies.

“I shall christen this day your day from now on.”

Caesar stared back at Giselle, who did not appear to be having any trouble at all. She continued,

“You’ve despised the black fox beastmen for so long. You can finally be freed from the terrible emotions that had been eating away at you —what else would I call this day?”

In sign language, Caesar replied,

‘You will soon be freed from your grudges as well.’

Giselle smiled from behind her mask.

“Indeed.”

Thud.

Caesar took off his mask without a moment’s hesitation. He was not Caesar today, but Mahirus Hawk. Giselle, who had known about his true identity for quite some time now, waved at him in greeting.

“Let us work hard, Mahirus. Our wait is almost over.”

Mahirus nodded back before he hunched over.

Craaack.

His body contorted as he transformed. His bare feet transformed into the claws of a bird of prey, his body was covered in smooth feathers, and a beak extended out from his face.

Long feathers grew out from his elongated arms and became as giant wings. Mahirus, who had transformed into a giant hawk birdman, peered behind him before he took to the skies. Then, the beastmen and birdmen who had been waiting for him joined him from behind. They were all his subordinates.

After putting down his mantle as the chief of the birdmen, Mahirus had roamed about the continent —especially Bahamut— to rescue birdmen and beastmen from slavery, and those whom he had saved trusted and followed him wholly. Their hatred for Bahamut, the Black Fox, and most of humanity ran deeper than any other, and they had become powerful soldiers who were willing to lay down their lives to kill their enemies after undergoing Mahirus’ harsh training. The beastmen from Titanus were strong too, but, actual skill aside, Mahirus’ direct subordinates harbored a level of malice beyond imagination.

“Ahh!”

They ripped apart the soldiers of the Sidian royal army —in other words, the human soldiers dispatched from Bahamut— where they stood as the soldiers tried to stop them from destroying the factories.

“You insects.”

Even rats would bite the cat once they were cornered. The foxes’ eyes glistened sharply. They continued,

“Do you really we’ll just stand here and take this quietly?”

Generally speaking, predator-type and larger beastmen specialized in martial arts or wielding large weapons, whereas the comparatively weaker and shrewder smaller beastmen had exceptional skill in magic and stealth.

The black fox clan had learned magic from the Bahamut imperial family and had also ingested divine power, so their skills in magic were far better than average. And so, they tried to overcome the instinctive terror they felt from the predator beastmen and counterattacked with magic.

“Eek!”

But the beastmen who had invaded the factories were the crème of the crop.

There was no way that the black foxes could best them.

The black foxes in charge of the factories trembled as they tried to contact Payne while the other black foxes exchanged blows with the beastmen. However, their artefacts were rendered useless by a barrier that prevented them from contacting the outside.

“Just what on earth did we ever do wrong?!”

the black foxes howled desperately. It only made the beastmen angrier.

“Listen to these traitors runnin’ their damn mouths!”

“Traitors? What would you know? —you were at the top ever since you were born! The only thing we tried to do was to go against the restraints we were born with and climb up the food chain —why was that so wrong? Do we have to stay in the middle of the food chain all our lives just because we were born that way?”

A ferocious look crossed the beastmen’s faces as they rounded up the black foxes and forced them to kneel.

“Who said anything about the fact that y’all were tryin’ to climb up the food chain? The reason y’all are trash is ‘cause ya tried to do it by betrayin’ yer brethren and becomin’ the humans’ pets instead of doin’ it with yer own strength, ya wretched bastard.”

“We were only using our heads.”

“Was betrayin’ the rest of us the only thing yer heads were good for? And cut the bullshit —there are smarter and stronger beastmen out there who were born from a weaker species. Y’all just decided to take the easy and underhanded route instead of the difficult proper one!”

“They’re just the select few with special talents. Most beastmen from weaker species can’t stand up against beastmen from stronger ones. Our ability to reason gets paralyzed by instinctual fear. How would you know how miserable that is?”

“Hah. Oh yeah? Is that why ya kneeled at the humans’ feet and wagged yer tails in servitude? Do ya seriously think there ain’t no flaws in that logic of yers?”

“We had no choice but to live the way we were born, so it was far better to serve powerful masters and rule over other, stronger bastards instead of being stuck awkwardly in the middle all the time. Who cares if that made us foxes wearing a tiger’s pelt?!”

The black foxes’ eyes shook. They continued,

“The difficult proper route? Don’t be ridiculous. Who gets to decide what’s proper and what’s not? And why do we even need to be proper to begin with in a world where you can’t climb up without trampling over those who are weaker than you? No. Aren’t we the ones who did things properly? We’re the ones who adapted to this world best!”

“Wow, would ya listen to this one talk. So, yer sayin’ that yer the ones in the right now?”

raged the rhinoceros beastman who was leading the beastmen from the front of their group as he huffed. He continued,

“I can’t stand to listen to this!”

Just then, another beastmen pushed the rhinoceros beastman out of the way and stepped forward. There were white ears sticking out from his head. He continued,

“I’m a white rabbit beastman. I’m below ya lot on the food chain, and I ain’t got any special talents either. But, do ya know why I ain’t stupid enough to betray my own like you did? Do ya really think I spend every day of my life bein’ terrified of predator-type beastmen? I don’t! Actually, we get along real well, ya know that?”

The white rabbit beastman glared back at the black foxes who were glowering at him and smacked the rhinoceros beastmen on the shoulder. He continued,

“You said that yer terrified of these guys, yeah? But I’ve forgotten what that instinctive fear feels like even though I’m below ya on the food chain. The last time I felt it, if I ever felt it to begin with, was back when I was just a babe. Wanna know why? It’s ‘cause I know these guys see me as an equal, and ‘cause I know that I stand on equal terms with them. I trust them not to hurt me. Because we’re friends!”

“…….”

“I get it now that I’ve heard what ya had to say. The reason why yer afraid is ‘cause ya only see the world in terms of eatin’ and bein’ eaten. You only see things vertically instead of horizontally, so of course yer afraid and feel inferior —and that’s why ya betrayed us!”

“Stupid rabbit,”

spat the black foxes in contempt. They continued,

“Do you really think that all beastmen lived in harmony as one race from the very beginning? They didn’t. Everyone was separated by species at the dawn of the Age of Magic, and everyone was killing each other. And beastmen from stronger species treated weaker species like inferior creatures they could kill whenever they wanted to.”

“…….”

“The beastmen were only forced to start living together because they all shared a common enemy in the humans and the monsters. The pieces were forced to stick together even if they didn’t fit. We black foxes simply decided to escape from that as soon as we could. Hey, Rabbit. Want me to tell you what’ll happen once the beastmen’s worries are all gone? Those bastards you trust so much will turn around and devour you from behind.”

“Yer the real fools here.”

The white rabbit beastman was sneering. He continued,

“I know our history too, yeah? But I was born into this community and the bonds between the beastmen, and I trust that our community’ll last forever even despite that. It’s ‘cause we’re all doin’ our part to maintain it —not that I think it’ll shatter even if we don’t. We won’t stab our brethren in the back like you did.”

“In which case, you’ll find yourself with a knife in your back first.”

“Ugh, it’s impossible to talk to these bastards!”

“Hey. Outa the way.”

The rhinoceros beastman gently pushed the enraged white rabbit beastman aside and stepped forward. He continued,

“I understand why ya betrayed us. I really do. It’s ‘cause we have different values. Our path was just different from yers.”

“It took you fools this long to figure that out? And more importantly, you’re the ones who are wrong!”

“Shut up.”

Calmly, the rhinoceros beastman continued,

“I get that ya think it’s unfair for us to criticize ya ‘cause ya think that yer betrayal was only the ‘natural’ thing to do. But ya know, it’s also only ‘natural’ that we got upset after we were betrayed.”

“……Hmph!”

“Now, listen up ‘cause this is the important part. We hate ya ‘cause ya betrayed us, so it’s only ‘natural’ that we’re gonna kill ya for that. You believe in the law of the jungle, so it’s only ‘natural’ for ya to accept that too, ‘cause we’re strong and yer weak. Ya get why it’s ridiculous for ya to beg us to spare yer lives, yeah?”

His tone was composed, but the contents of his words were quite bloody.

“…….”

A shadow fell over the black foxes’ faces. They had no way to logically refute what the rhinoceros beastman had said.

The beastmen began emitting a dense bloodlust.

“Ya get it, right? So just shut up and die.”

Clang!

Ahh!

Massacres were being carried out all throughout the desert. The Black Fox’s drug operations were being cleaned up tonight, just as its slave trade had been.

The chaotic night was filled with screams and fresh blood.

The terrified people had cheered once they had learned, unable to swallow their curiosity, that Camastros and an unidentified organization was ripping the Black Fox out from its roots.

Even normal people had picked up their clubs to join them. Including those with deep-seated grudges against the Black Fox and even those who had never been harmed by the Black Fox directedly but detested the Black Fox nevertheless.

“You evil bastards. Did you have your fun? Did you think the world belonged to you?”

Bahamut and the monsters had created an unstable world.

On top of that, Saiwè’s posters had ignited a bone-deep distrust of the king, Ferdinand, in the people, and the people blazed in their fury against the nobles who had colluded with the Black Fox to cover up Ferdinand’s crimes and had turned a blind eye to the whole ordeal.

They could not hold themselves back when a sudden crack had appeared in the Black Fox’s once-impenetrable foundation and threatened to bring the entire organization down. Madness took hold in their hearts as their rationality was paralyzed and their terror evaporated.

And it wasn’t only the people of Roanne. The other organization only operated within Roanne’s borders, but Camastros’ reach extended all throughout the South.

Ianna had borrowed power from both Arhad’s connections and other organizations owned by individual members of Camastros. She had also joined hands with other underworld organizations even beyond that. She had gathered all of their strength together and was removing the Black Fox from power in one fell swoop.

And so, the night was truly chaotic.

Shaaaaa…….

Ianna activated an artefact as she stepped out from a Black Fox drug operation building that she had set ablaze. Ianna was overseeing the Southern countries, including Roanne, while Absilot was overseeing Sidian, and they were keeping in touch and giving each other updates through their artefacts.

“How are things on your end, Lord Absilot?”

[It’s goin’ smoothly. It’s easy to raid the factories ‘cause the info about their locations is so accurate. To think that we’d be able to get rid of those black foxes this easily…….]

Ianna surveyed the burning building as she replied,

“I have bad news. Payne, the head of the Black Fox, isn’t in Roanne —he’s in Sidian.”

She had burned down ten large buildings. And the building she had just set ablaze was the last of the buildings Eiji had leaked to her. He had told that Payne took turns between staying in Sidian and the buildings that Ianna had destroyed.

Ianna had found traces of Teleport having been used in this last building. Its caster had been in such a hurry that he had neglected to erase the traces of mana left behind, and Ianna had been able to ask Dorcianni to retrace its coordinates.

Payne had teleported to somewhere in Sidian.

[Oh yeah? That’s good news, ain’t it?]

Absilot chuckled quietly. He continued,

[Don’t worry. We weren’t reckless enough to come all the way here just ‘cause we trusted the Kingdom of Jinzai’s priests and you, Lil’ Ianna. We’ve been honin’ our blades for the day we finally got to get rid of those foxy bastards, and we have a way of tracking down the black foxes too. We haven’t been able to use it until now, but today’s a different story. We’ll be sure to wipe them off the face of the earth, so just give us the coordinates.]

“Very well. I’ll head over to where you are soon.”

Everything in Roanne had just about been cleaned up, and Ianna was comfortable with leaving the Roanne nobility to tie up any loose ends.

She decided to make her way to Sidian and capture Payne. She gave Absilot the coordinates and asked Dorcianni to prepare a Teleport.

~~*~~

Part 7

‘Shit!’

The blood drained from Payne’s face as he found himself cornered.

“Damn. Talk about nostalgic. The bastard who calls himself the leader of the black foxes is right here before my very own eyes!”

Just as Ianna had promised him, Absilot found Payne in the basement of a certain building once Ianna had given him the coordinates.

The beastmen had been dreaming of the day they finally got their revenge against the black foxes and Bahamut, and they had been preparing means to stand against them in secret. Tracking down the black foxes with divine power was one of them. It was an ability they had created so that they would not miss a single black fox when the day for revenge finally came.

Payne shuddered as he looked at Absilot and the beastmen behind him.

“How the hell did you bastards find this place……?”

Payne had left for Sidian as soon as he had heard news about the disaster. Things were a mess in Roanne too, but his home base was Sidian, not Roanne. It was only natural that he had chosen Sidian over Roanne because his brethren were here in Sidian.

But the ceiling had suddenly caved in while he was busily barking orders in the underground hideout, and terrifying beastmen whom he could never hope to best had jumped down before him.

He knew who the giant of a man standing at the head of the group was.

“Absilot Tiger…….”

He had technically retired, but he was still a figure of ultimate strength who protected the entire West with his name alone. He stood close to the peak of the food chain not only among the beastmen’s ranks but also in the entire world. It was because of Absilot that the Black Fox had given up on taking over the West.

“What do we do, my King?”

“What do we do?”

Absilot looked Payne and the terrified black foxes behind him up and down as he slowly asked,

“Any last words, chief of the black foxes?”

Payne barely managed to retain his ability to reason as he squeezed out,

“I know that you hold a grudge against us. But you’ve been living quietly in the desert all this time, so what made you crawl out all of a sudden?”

“Now is the best time for us to step out into the rest of the continent. We’re plannin’ to kill off the lot of ya before we go.”

“To the rest of the continent? And what then? Do you plan on living together with the humans? Do you really think that’s possible? Unlike you, we’ve been living in the continent for centuries, and even we still have to live in the shadows because we can’t mingle with humanity!”

Payne sneered at Absilot. He continued,

“This world obeys the law of the jungle. But I’m sure you already know that, don’t you? You plan to step out and try to live in harmony with the humans, but they’ll only use you, slaughter you, and drive you back out to the desert again. Hehehe.”

Absilot surveyed his surroundings and clicked his tongue. There were divine power extraction machines installed all over the place.

“We can live with the humans just fine so long as we don’t rip out their hearts and eat him like you do. Just like how we beastmen are livin’ together just fine even if we’re all based off different animals.”

Absilot nodded toward the other beastmen behind him. They were all based off of different animals. But Payne wasn’t convinced.

“Are you condemning us for eating human hearts right now?”

Payne grinned. He continued,

“This world is filled to the brim with greed. We betrayed you because we were greedy to climb up in the world, and we eat human hearts because we’re greedy for scrumptious feasts, just like how the humans enslaved us because they’re greedy to show off or like how you eat weaker creatures because you’re greedy to satiate your hunger. No one has the right to condemn us for what we do.”

“…….”

“Indeed. It’s possible for beastmen to live in harmony because you have things that you share in common. But do you truly believe that humans and beastmen can live together too? That won’t happen! That’ll never happen! You fools might try to mingle with humanity because you want to live in harmony with them, but the shrewd humans will just reject you and ostracize you all over again!”

“Talkin’s gettin’ us nowhere. I don’t see the point in goin’ out of my way to persuade ya.”

Payne began cackling insanely in disgust as he watched Absilot unsheathe his claws.

“That’s what I want to say. It’s absolutely hilarious to watch you willingly invite your own extermination. But sure. Try your best, you morons —I’ll be watching you from hell!”

But just as Payne was shouting as if he was leaving behind his will.

“Indeed. They truly are foolish.”

A captivating voice flowed down from the collapsed ceiling. Absilot’s face froze stiff, whereas Payne’s brightened into a smile.

“Master!”

The voice’s owner was sitting atop the broken earth as she peered into the basement with the white light of the moon behind her. She almost looked like a black swan as she smiled darkly with her crimson nails wrapped around her cheek.

“Hello, insects.”

It was Isabella Bahamut.

Fighting spirit gushed out from Absilot’s entire being like a heat haze.

“Stand back.”

His quiet voice warned the others not to get involved in this fight.

The beastmen were tense as they stepped back. It had been a truly long time since the last time they had seen Absilot genuinely prepare himself for battle. He had only ever fought at half strength ever since he had stopped living as a mercenary and had begun holing himself up in the desert. The fact that Absilot of all people was so nervous about this fight only meant that the black woman sitting above was simply that powerful an enemy.

Isabella scanned over the frozen mood below and clicked her tongue.

“Ugh. I rushed over here even though I was told to stay put because I thought he’d be here, but you’re just a bunch of animals, aren’t you?”

She jumped down and landed in the basement.

A capricious smoke oozed out from her figure as she straightened herself back up. It was so enchantingly terrifying that everyone present forgot how to breathe.

Her black eyes, glistening like jewels, were fixed solely on Absilot.

“I chased down the strongest aura I could feel in the desert only to find an animal who gives of a very peculiar feeling.”

“Nice meetin’ ya, Bahamut princess.”

Isabella’s eyes became colored by intrigue.

“How did you know who I am? I don’t remember you. And there’s no reason why I wouldn’t remember someone as strong as you are……. Oh, and you’re wrong. I’ll be the empress soon.”

It should have been extremely unlikely for the Bahamut imperial family to show up because they were in the middle of their succession, but the one-in-a-million had come to pass.

‘Did they complete the succession?’

Isabella scanned the area with a hand on her waist —she was not nervous at all even though she was standing directly in front of Absilot. All she could see were beastmen.

“Why have you beastmen come crawling out of the desert all of a sudden? Did you want to make a foothold in the continent while everything was in chaos?”

“Ain’t that obvious? We’d be fools to miss an opportunity like this.”

“Hmmm.”

Just as Isabella was looking around, Absilot shot his fist out like lightning toward Payne and the other black foxes who were shivering in delight.

Booom!

But Isabella flicked her finger and put up a barrier just before the fortification that had shot out from Absilot’s fist could sweep over the black foxes. Absilot quietly clicked his tongue.

‘I should’ve killed them while I had the chance.’

He had thought he might as well hear the black foxes’ last words now that their ill-fated relationship was finally about to be over, but he had only ended up allowing the bastards to prolong their lives instead.

Payne knelt and lowered himself flat before Isabella’s feet.

“Master! That man is Absilot Tiger, the chief of the beastmen.”

“Goodness, Absilot Tiger. I’ve heard of him. And?”

Payne vented to her when Isabella took interest.

“As I reported to you, the beastmen, including Absilot Tiger, have joined hands with the Kingdom of Jinzai, the Kingdom of Toraca, and Camastros to invade us. The Life factories had been destroyed and half our lands had been taken from us by the time I realized what was going on. The black foxes here are likely my only brethren who are still alive.”

Payne was crying tears of anger as he crawled toward Isabella’s feet. Isabella scrunched her nose ever so slightly as she turned toward Absilot.

“Did you destroy the spells on the factories?”

“I did,”

Absilot said in order to conceal the existence of the Temple of Jinzai’s relic. He wasn’t technically lying, however, as he was fully capable of breaking through those spells if he tried.

Shhhh.

Orange fur grew out from his humanoid frame and the structure of his body crunched as he transformed into a beast.

“I am a beastman older than yer parents and from the same generation as yer grandparents. I am capable of crushing yer lineage’s spells with divine arts whenever I please.”

Absilot, who had transformed into his beast form where he could take full advantage of his innate strength, glared at Isabella as he bared his sharp fangs. He continued,

“So, what will ya do? Will ya fight? You may have inherited the Bahamut blood, but I am confident that I will not lose to a newborn babe who has only just stepped foot inside this new era.”

The fighting spirit that Absilot was giving off shrouded the entire basement and made it difficult to breathe. Isabella’s hair and the hem of her dress fluttered as his fighting spirit brushed past her. She looked back at Absilot as she assessed the situation.

‘I see. I am curious, since he’s most definitely the strongest bastard I’ve faced so far. But what to do?’

Her heart flared with her thirst for battle. Her instincts begged her to kill whenever she met anyone who was her equal, or even her better, in strength.

‘I came here because I thought I’d find him even though my Lord Brother told me to keep quiet and only watch for the time being…… And this bastard’s pretty interesting too. What should I do, Lord Brother? Will it throw off our plans if I fight this bastard here?’

“M-Master. I’m so sorry. I’ve committed a sin that I cannot wash away even in death by allowing this situation to unfold the way it did.”

Payne, who had been complaining to her, came back to his senses and begged for her pardon with a quiver in his voice. Isabella made her decision after a moment of contemplation and nonchalantly replied,

“It’s fine. We no longer need the factories because we have more than enough Life for now. And we can always just build them again if we need more. More importantly, we’re about to give you lots of food soon, so there won’t be a need for you to stay hiding underground like this for much longer.”

Isabella flicked her finger.

A magic circle appeared beneath Payne and the other black foxes.

“Haah!”

The magic circle shook when Absilot’s divine power burst out, and Isabella’s spell was cancelled. Isabella voiced her admiration —she had never seen her spells shatter like that before.

Absilot growled,

“What’s the point in sendin’ them away? I won’t let them leave.”

“Well, whatever.”

Swoooosh…….

The area immediately surrounding Isabella was dyed black. Mana as black as pitch flared out from Isabella’s entire being and wavered. It gave off a tremendously ominous and chaotic feeling.

“Payne, you and your clan will follow me and focus on supporting me with magic.”

Her lips curled up into a smile. She continued,

“They must pay the price for harming what was ours.”

“Do ya think I’ll just sit here and watch?”

Isabella laughed as she watched Absilot earnestly prepare to do battle.

Boooom.

The mana in the atmosphere poured in from the open ceiling and wrapped itself around Isabella. The basement became so overwhelmed by dense mana that it was difficult to breathe.

Buzzzz.

A dense and solid arrangement —a stark contrast to the light Teleport spell from earlier— formed beneath Isabella’s feet.

Absilot sensed the danger and tried to disrupt the spell once more, but the mana under Isabella’s domination did not scatter and his efforts rebounded. Isabella may be young, but she was still of Bahamut blood.

Which meant that his only option was to get in the first strike.

Absilot poured strength into his legs. Then, he lunged just before the spell was complete —when mages were the most vulnerable.

Craaash!

The black foxes worked together to create a powerful barrier to fend off Absilot’s attack, and just as Absilot shredded through it like a piece of paper and was about to rip out Isabella’s throat.

Swoosh!

The other beastmen, who had been ready to defend themselves, were left dumbstruck. Isabella, the black foxes, and Abisilot had all vanished right before their very eyes.

“Arrrgh!”

“Ack!”

Absilot, who had also been forcefully teleported, could barely make heads or tails of anything.

Crash!

Isabella had drawn the dagger at her waist and blocked his claws just as she finished teleporting.

Pooow!

Isabella was sent flying haplessly back, unable to best Absilot in a contest of brute strength, but the vicious offensive magic she had already completed exploded everywhere.

Boom boom boooom!

“Ahhh!”

They were in yet another factory where other beastmen and Jinzai priests had been resting after completing their raid. Several of them perished without ever knowing why because of this completely unpredictable attack.

Blue lightning danced before Absilot’s eyes.

“You……!”

Shaaaaa!

A bloodthirsty aura seeped out from his very being. His scarlet divine power scattered even the mana around it as it whirled around him and devoured the area whole.

The black foxes landed and tottered over behind Isabella, terrified of the natural disaster that had manifest before them. Isabella paid them no heed as she prepared to teleport yet again.

Bang!

Absilot kicked off against the earth and appeared before Isabella in the blink of an eye, ready to plant his fiery fist in her face. There was so much power behind his blow that Isabella would not only die instantly but her body would also explode if it landed.

Poow!

Isabella crossed her twin daggers together to block Absilot’s punch. The daggers shattered, and Absilot’s fist collided into her arms.

Craaash!

Isabella grimaced as she was sent flying backward. Both of her arms had broken even though she had wrapped them protectively in mana, and they now dangled at her sides. Still, the thrill of doing battle against someone strong was electrifying. Isabella found even the pain enjoyable, and she licked her chops as she watched the tiger rush toward her yet again.

“I acknowledge that you are strong enough to be comparable to me,”

Isabella said as her arms wrapped around Absilot’s fist like snakes. She continued,

“But there’s a vast gulf between an attacker with nothing to protect and a defender who has much to defend. Try blocking this, will you?”

Isabella teleported them to yet another factory while keeping her hold on Absilot’s arm.

“W-what the…?!”

“Chief?”

The beastmen who had been resting on the ground looked up with their eyes widened in surprise as Isabella, Absilot, and the black foxes appeared out of thin air.

Poow!

Isabella threw Absilot down against the earth while he was distracted by the beastmen below them.

Absilot immediately kicked off and chased after Isabella again, but she fled from him as if she was taunting him and pulled a whip sword out from her subspace. Her whip sword, which oozed with a black aura as it sliced through the skies, seemed to dance as it sundered the space around her.

Shaaaaa!

Everything the whip sword touched was reduced to ashes. The beastmen and priests tried to work together and block the attacks, but Isabella was so strong that one would need to be at least as powerful as Absilot was to stop her, and their casualties only increased exponentially.

“Ahahahaha!”

Isabella cackled as she scattered spells everywhere. It was something she could only do because she was surrounded entirely by enemies. She was reenacting the legends that stated that every battlefield the Bahamut imperial family stepped foot onto was reduced to ashes.

“Teeheeheehee!”

“Serves you right, bastards!”

The timid black foxes also added their own powerful spells into the mix with great fun.

Buzzz…….

Isabella avoided Absilot’s reach as she prepared to cast Teleport once more.

Absilot ground his teeth together.

He could have at least rushed the devilish woman with his life on the line if they had been alone. No, it would have been so much better if only she had focused her attention solely on her battle against a powerful contender like the Bahamut imperial family had always done, but Isabella didn’t do that.

He was unable to counterattack properly because he was too busy protecting the others from Isabella’s attacks. This place was teeming with beastmen who had set their ages-old grudges aside to lay the foundations for the day they could finally leave the desert.

“Everyone retreat! And spread the news!”

And so, his only choice was to give the order to retreat. The beastmen and priests realized the gravity of the situation and quickly began fleeing in the direction opposite of Isabella in a hurry.

“Which do you think is faster? Me, or your retreat?!”

Isabella teleported yet again. She left Absilot behind this time. But then, a bolt of lightning touched down just as Absilot was about to use his ability to track the black foxes to figure out where they were.

Isabella teleported randomly and continued her attacks for quite some time.

“Ahahaha!”

This was the first massacre she had carried out in a truly long while, and she was having great fun as she spread out her senses all across the desert.

‘Now that I think about it, there was one more unpleasant aura that I felt aside from Absilot Tiger…….’

It was a peculiarly unpleasant aura. Should she say that it made her itchy, as if tiny bugs were crawling all over her body? She had decided to make Absilot her first target only because the other aura wasn’t very strong.

‘Shall I head over there this time?’

Isabella teleported as soon as she had made her decision.

But just as Isabella had arrived at her intended destination. A powerful explosion burst toward her pale and slender neck.

Booooom!

She startled and blocked the oncoming attack with a dagger, but her dagger shattered upon the explosive impact and the steel that had broken her dagger grazed against her throat.

“……!”

Isabella only barely managed to avoid the humiliation of losing her head. She grabbed at the wound on her throat, which gushed with blood, as she flung herself backward and somersaulted in the air before she landed.

“What in the……?!”

A rage that was close to bewilderment colored her visage for a moment but quickly gave way to ecstasy. This was because her excellent dynamic vision had recognized the familiar silhouette that was rushing toward her.

“Oh my…”

The bastard of her dreams was before her very eyes.

Isabella felt terribly parched as a feral smile graced her lips.

“You. You were working with these bastards?”

She was not returned a reply.

Darkness seeped into the blazing fires of her eyes.

~~*~~

Dorcianni’s lightning was a very convenient way to move around. Her lightning, which cut through the skies at it raced across them, was almost as fast as Teleport. They were travelling on a wolf forged from Dorcianni’s lightning after having teleported to Sidian.

Crackle!

Dorcianni suddenly swerved their lightning bolt to the side.

“It’s the imperial family. I felt a powerful resonance in my heart just now.”

Blue sparks erupted inside Ianna’s heart.

‘So they’re here.’

The imperial family’s appearance was not entirely outside of her predictions. It was simply one of the worst-case scenarios she had hoped to avoid.

Regardless, the number one enemy she was wary about had appeared.

Her worst enemy ever since she had been born again. The thorn in Arhad’s side.

The one and only enemy who had ever made Ianna flee in this life.

Bahamut.

Strangely enough, however, she was not nervous.

Her rationality grew cold, like she had drenched it in icy waters, and the fever blazing from her heart condensed to its very limit and refined her. Ianna felt so composed that it was almost abnormal.

“Which member of the imperial family is it?”

“I don’t know. But it’s not Taylon. It feels more like a shareholder than an owner, so it must be either Isabella, Shailince, or Philliad.”

Ianna tried to contact Absilot. But he didn’t respond. Ianna wasn’t sure whether he wasn’t responding because he had already run into the imperial family or because some other situation kept him otherwise unreachable, so she decided to go to where Payne had teleported to and begin investigating from there.

Ianna immediately contacted Arhad.

“The imperial family has appeared.”

[The imperial family,]

Arhad repeated with a sigh. He continued,

[Do you know who?]

“No. But it’s not Taylon, according to Dorcianni. I will try to face them, like we discussed before,”

Ianna replied calmly. Then, Arhad responded,

[I’m coming too.]

“You?”

[I need to confirm what’s going on with the imperial family with my own eyes. We’ll need to adjust our plans if they’re on the move because the succession is complete. Besides, we need to start decreasing their numbers whenever the opportunity arises.]

Ianna was more worried than she was happy at the thought that she would finally see Arhad again.

“Will you truly be all right?”

[I’ll only be observing while keeping an eye on the situation. I can control the distance from where a resonance is triggered, so don’t worry about me. You said you wanted to fight the imperial family, right, Ianna? Go right ahead. But find a good time to escape if ‘Taylon Bahamut’ happens to show up. I’ll prepare an escape route for you in advance.]

“Why must I flee?”

[He’ll be dangerous if they’ve completed the succession. He was stronger than the other members of the imperial family to begin with, so there’s no telling how much stronger he’ll be if he possesses sole ownership of their fragments too. And if I’m being honest, I have no idea what he’s up to right now either.]

“Understood.”

[I’ll be following you quietly from behind. Let’s meet once things are wrapped up.]

“Very well.”

He ended their call.

A corner of Ianna’s heart tickled at the thought that she would be seeing Arhad again soon. But her cold rationality forcibly suppressed that feeling because now wasn’t the time to be intoxicated by such happy thoughts.

The fact that Arhad would be watching over her from behind reminded her of the incident with Keigus Dimitri. His presence had only been reassuring back then, and the fact that they stood as equal partners now told Ianna just how much she had matured. This thought poured over her refined fighting spirit like boiling oil.

Crackle!

Ianna had made it to her first destination, where Payne had teleported, with Dorcianni’s help, but all she had found there were the corpses of dead black foxes.

Shhh.

Ianna extended her senses. She caught multiple readings of powerful living beings in her net, but she ignored them. Both Absilot and Isabella were monsters of a completely different level —if the presences of normally strong individuals were like candles, then Absilot and Isabella were like suns.

Her senses caught two extremely powerful presences locked against each other just then.

But one of them immediately whisked away as soon as she had perceived it.

And the remaining presence felt like Absilot’s.

“Take us to where I direct you, Dorcianni.”

“Sure.”

The wolf of lightning they were riding on brought them over to where Absilot was.

Crackle!

“Lord Absilot.”

“Lil’ Ianna!”

Absilot was agitated, and his powerful aura was blazing around him like a heat haze. The pressure he was emitting was so powerful that it made Ianna’s skin tingle. Truly, he was one of the strongest people in the world.

Calmly, Ianna asked,

“Which member of the imperial family was it?”

“Isabella Bahamut.”

So it’s her.

Ianna recalled the characteristics of the enemy she was soon to face.

Roughly a year ago. Ianna could still vividly see in her mind how her enemy had observed her, as if she was licking Ianna with her eyes, as Ianna just barely managed to stand her ground against her.

“That person with ya wouldn’t happen to be a dragon’s Guardian, would she?”

At the end of Absilot’s sidelong glance was Dorcianni, who was looking back at him with great interest. Ianna ordered her,

“You should go back.”

“I won’t say no to that.”

Crackle crackle.

Lightning burst forth from Dorcianni’s figure. She continued,

“Absilot Tiger, Guardian to the Dragon Terranodin. We should talk at length next time.”

Booom!

Then, Dorcianni transformed into a single bolt of lightning and soared into the sky. Absilot and Ianna began running faster than a sandstorm as soon as the lightning bolt had cut across the skies and vanished from view.

Absilot explained the situation to Ianna as they tracked Isabella down, and Isabella was running completely rampant when they finally found her.

“It’s okay for warriors to die in battle ‘cause that’s an honorable death. But it’s disgraceful to be slaughtered without bein’ able to lift a finger.”

Absilot was spitting out curse after curse in his rage, the likes of which he hadn’t uttered since his mercenary days, as he activated a communication artefact. Then, he continued,

“Hey. What are ya guys up to right now?”

[You ordered a retreat, Chief, so we’ve gathered to where all the priests are and are preparin’ to teleport just like we planned. As for those of us who couldn’t make it……well, I think most of us who’re still alive are here.]

They changed direction and headed over to where the beastmen were and found the many varied subraces of beastmen —like what Ianna had seen at Titanus— talking noisily amongst themselves. There were also more than a few Jinzai priests in white garb thrown into the mix.

“They’re here!”

The beastmen and the priests welcomed Ianna and Absilot.

“Lady Ann. Lord Absilot.”

Caesar and Giselle were also among their number.

At the heart of the group were two women sparkling with white. Ianna and Absilot walked up to them. The women, too, turned around to greet them. They were Miriam and Saki. Ianna exchanged looks with Saki first before turning to face Miriam properly.

“It’s nice to meet you, Your Holiness Pope Miriam Elderia. I am Ianna, the person in responsible for this operation.”

“Oh,”

Miriam exclaimed quietly —she had not been able to look away from Ianna ever since she had first laid eyes on her. She continued,

“I am Miriam Elderia, a faithful follower of the God Laos. I am so truly happy to finally meet you, Sister Ianna.”

Miriam held out the staff in her hands horizontally and bowed her head. Ianna’s gazed was focused on the staff.

First, the roots.

Second, the vines.

And third, the branch.

As always, Roberstein’s ego grew stronger and made it possible for Ianna to dive into more of Roberstein’s memories and emotions. The staff was undoubtedly a branch of Phaemdra, the world tree in which Roberstein’s heart had been sealed. Ianna was eager to reach out and touch it, but she did her best to ignore the impulse because doing so might affect her condition.

“There isn’t much time, so let us stop at the introductions for today. Will you be able to complete the Teleport spell before Isabella Bahamut gets here?”

Miriam’s visage grew just a shade paler.

“We are doing our best, but…….”

It looked like she was having trouble —though the spell truly was large in scale.

“I will deal with Isabella Bahamut myself. Please continue preparing the spell in the meanwhile. Lord Absilot, please block any aftershocks that might result from our battle.”

“Will ya be alright alone? The Bahamut imperial family are monsters in every sense of the word.”

Ianna readjusted her mask as Absilot voiced his worries, and she replied,

“I intend to try dealing with her on my own. But please step in and assist me if you think I am being pushed back.”

‘And Arhad will also be there if push comes to shove…….’

Even if Ianna couldn’t deal with Isabella alone, she was 100% certain that she could kill Isabella if Arhad and even Absilot helped.

Miriam, Saki, the beastmen, and the priests busily began preparing the Teleport spell again. Then, Ianna felt a disturbance shortly thereafter.

‘She coming.’

Ianna glared at the place where the mana was simmering and took deep breaths.

Hwoo—…….

With each successive breath, Ianna’s divine power gathered around her sword and condensed tightly. It was transparent, quiet, and barely had a presence at all, and yet it was also the strongest aura in the area.

This was something that Ianna had been polishing for quite some time now.

A powerful blow, polished to its very limits, closed in on Isabella as soon as she arrived, completely unaware as to what was waiting for her.

Booooom!

Ianna clicked her tongue when she confirmed the results of her attack.

Truly, Isabella was a member of the Bahamut imperial family. Ianna’s attack and sliced through all obstacles and should have sent Isabella’s head flying, but Isabella had still managed to block about half of it.

Ianna locked eyes with the openly bewildered Isabella. Then, she cut through the space between them —droplets of blood were still flying about— and rushed toward her foe.

“You. You were working with these bastards?”

Isabella exclaimed ecstatically —her earlier bewilderment was nowhere to be found.

Shhhh.

The mana around Isabella’s wound wriggled and flowed between her fingers. It then transformed into flesh and bone, closing the wound, and her half-severed neck became whole once more.

Isabella finished restoring her throat in but an instant and parried Ianna’s attack with her whip sword.

Craaash!

A chaotic and powerful shockwave erupted between the small point where blade clashed against blade. It pushed out like a surging wave and upended the earth below.

“Ack!”

“Ahhhh!”

Those who had been too close screamed as the shockwave hit them. Naturally, several were wounded and sent flying fly away, rolling as they landed. Absilot had tried to block the shockwave, but it was impossible for him alone to keep it from affecting everyone.

“……!”

Meanwhile, Isabella’s expression was twisting.

Creak. Creak.

Cracks began to form from the point where their blades met. And once again, it was Isabella’s sword that was breaking apart.

Clang!

Her sword shattered, and its pieces went flying everywhere. They gouged deep trails in Isabella’s face as they flew past her.

But even the large wounds on her cheeks healed in no time at all. Isabella quickly pulled out yet another sword from her subspace to beat back the successive blow that followed.

Crash!

The shockwave travelled up toward the heavens and exploded like a bomb.

Chagrined, Isabella muttered,

“You little rat. You’ve grown stronger while you busied yourself rescuing insects under the name ‘Black Wind’ —a stupid name, by the way. I’ll need something stronger to fetter you with.”

Isabella lost her mind in her possessive desire for Ianna, and she began taking their battle seriously. A mystifying aura erupted from her being. It wasn’t mana but divine power dyed in the dark indigo color of her soul.

Shaaa!

The mana spurred her divine power and dyed the world black. The world became covered in darkness, and neither the stars, the moon, nor the clouds could be seen, as an even denser darkness overlapped the night.

“I refuse to let you go this time!”

Black winds toyed with Isabella’s black hair and dress. Her black desires dyed her even blacker as she became one with the darkness around her.

Craaash!

Ianna and Isabella clashed violently within the darkness.

Their fierce and furious attacks continued endlessly. Isabella’s sword and spells showered upon Ianna haphazardly, as if she intended to turn Ianna into a pincushion.

Ianna was like a fish caught in a net. Brutal harpoons were homing in around her like a tempest as they tried to skewer her.

Ianna kept her cool as she focused on Isabella’s attacks.

One clash.

Two.

Three.

Four…….

They clashed in the darkness several dozens of times within a blink of the eye. Isabella grew wilder with each clash, whereas Ianna grew only calmer.

And, as she continued to clash against Isabella, Ianna grew certain.

She would not lose to the woman before her —neither in terms of swordplay nor in terms of power.

Ianna crammed her dense crimson fortification into her sword no sooner than she had ascertained this. Then, she brandished it against Isabella’s oncoming blade.

Craaaaaash!

Light erupted with an earth-shattering roar, and the darkness crumbled apart. The powerful shockwave that shot out everywhere and the brilliant light became as a storm that pushed away the darkness like it was nothing more than a cloud of sand.

“……!”

The look on Isabella’s face became crazed as she not only lost her sword yet again while she stood on her own blackened stage but even lost the domain she had created. She was assault by a queer mix of delight, indignation, ecstasy, and astonishment.

“You…….”

Both Ianna’s and Isabella’s swords were groaning against each other as they crumbled apart. But Ianna was faster in drawing Rise than Isabella was in pulling out a new sword.

And Ianna seized the opening Isabella had created as she pulled out a new sword.

Snap!

She grasped Rise tightly by the hilt.

‘Now!’

Ianna’s remarkable concentration zeroed in one a single point. It was aimed at Isabella’s heart.

Realizing that she was the slower of the two, Isabella quickly created layers upon layers of barriers in front of herself to close her opening, but she could not beat back the ferocious power that had been concentrated solely on one point.

Pow!

Poow!

Pooow!

The blood drained from Isabella’s face as her barriers broke apart and she was faced with imminent death in the place where she had least expected it.

But the path of Ianna’s sword was hindered by another.

Boooooom!

A violent storm of mana raged from behind Isabella. A muddy Gate appeared like an exploding bomb.

Swoosh!

A single arm, donned in leather armor, shot out from the mana that was whirling like the eye of a storm and pulled Isabella hard by the arm.

“Kgh!”

Ianna’s sword, its path broken, plunged into the right side of Isabella’s chest. Isabella shrieked from the pain. But that was it. Isabella kept her life as she was dragged into the whirlpool.

‘No!’

Part 8

She refused to let the fish caught in her net slip through her fingers —whomever was on the other side of the Gate be damned. Ianna reached out with her left hand and pulled Isabella by the arm as she drew Rise back out. Isabella stopped being dragged inside the Gate.

“Kgh.”

Isabella groaned and vomited blood as her wound widened. Ianna readjusted her grip on Rise to kill Isabella for good as she pulled, but whoever was pulling from the other side of the vortex was too strong and it took all her strength just to keep her hold.

[All you bastards present —listen close.]

Just then, a quiet voice echoed out from the vortex and warped a little from the whirlpool of mana as it resounded. It continued,

[Hand over Isabella and the black foxes.]

Ianna gripped Isabella even tighter. The fact that the Gate had opened at such an opportune time could only mean that whoever opened it had been stealthily watching over the situation.

‘We were tracked?’

Ianna broke out in a cold sweat.

[Or you may continue, if you wish to turn your immediate surroundings into a hellscape.]

Ianna’s nerves stood at edge as she listened to the easygoing voice.

That voice most likely belongs…

To Taylon Bahamut…….

The owner of the voice pulled at Isabella a little harder. Ianna was beginning to reel, unable to win this contest of brute strength. The voice chuckled as if he was having great fun.

[Would you rather follow her over here instead? I don’t mind either way.]

Ianna glared at the Gate where the voice was coming from. A blackish aura was raging from the Gate, and it truly felt like the gate to hell.

On the other side of the Gate was most likely a land of riddles, an unknown territory —the very heart of Bahamut’s headquarters.

A bead of sweat rolled down Ianna’s forehead.

The Gate was emitting a very sober, dark, and shady aura. It was like invisible blackish hands were reaching out and latching onto her flesh. She felt something similar from Isabella too, but what she felt from Isabella could not even begin to compare to this.

This was…

It was so primal, so alluring…

It was something that belonged to the Demon of the Holy Age, who had lost his mind in death.

It was the closest…….

Isabella continued to vomit blood as she spoke at the Gate.

“Lord Brother. We, we must capture this bastard. Please come over here! If you see him for yourself, then surely you’ll…….”

[I am certain that I told you it was not time for us to act quite yet, Isabella.]

The voice didn’t sound angry, and yet it managed to convey such an intense pressure. Even Isabella couldn’t help but flinch as she fell silent.

Ianna was lost in thought.

‘Can I beat him?’

She could not know for certain. The Gate also distorted the voice’s owner’s presence, much like how it distorted it voice itself, and made it feel ambiguous. But even the hazy presence Ianna was feeling was enough to make every alarm sound in her head. Surely, it would only get worse if she met him in person.

What would happen if she challenged him and lost?

She would not be the end of it. The beastmen, the Great Temple’s relic, and even Arhad. It would be nice if she and Arhad could defeat Taylon together, but if something went wrong…….

Ianna tightened her grip on her enemy yet again.

‘But I can kill Isabella.’

But no.

It was highly likely that she would not have been able to kill Isabella either. It was obvious that Taylon Bahamut had been watching over Isabella as she fought and had opened up a Gate only because she was in danger.

Ianna thought her head might explode from contemplation. But the scales of choice were tipping to one side. Ianna glared at the Gate.

“And? Will you step back if I give you this woman and the black foxes?”

“Ahaha. I finally get to hear your precious voice.”

Isabella returned Ianna an answer that had nothing to do with her question. Ianna shot a glance at her. She had given up on taking Ianna back with her because Taylon had dissuaded her, but she had been scrutinizing Ianna’s face hard in an attempt to see past her mask.

Ianna was wearing her rings for Camastros, so her voice was altered and her eyes and hair were dyed a different color. Her mask wasn’t the one she wore for Camastros, but it had been similarly specially made and would not come off easily. And yet, Ianna could not help that a chill ran down her spine as Isabella’s gaze slithered over her entire being like a snake.

Blood dribbled from Isabella’s lips.

“Shit, why isn’t my wound healing?”

It was slow, but the open wound on the right side of Isabella’s chest was indeed healing. She was stitching her body back together where the wound had opened up and was oozing blood.

Not only could she move around like she wasn’t hurt at all if she stitched her body back together but the wound would also heal completely with time, and she would no longer have to maintain it with mana.

Ianna learned that she would have to aim for either the head or the heart when dealing with the imperial family or her attacks would have no effect.

[Very well. I shall step back,]

Taylon replied quietly.

“Meaning?”

[I will let the lot of you go.]

She would be the one letting Isabella go, but Taylon spoke as if he was the one extending his mercy. Ianna scowled, like she had just eaten a bug, behind her mask as she expressed her distrust.

“Why should I trust you?”

[Is there a reason I should lie? I don’t mind either way. But you will be the one responsible for the outcome of your choice.]

“Look here, Crown Prince.”

Absilot interjected just then.

“Or, should I call ya Emperor now? Why don’t ya step out from back there?”

Absilot continued sarcastically. Ianna awaited Taylon’s reply because she was curious too. A low chuckle streamed from the Gate.

[You’re a little distorted from the Gate, but yours is a familiar voice indeed.]

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

[Absilot Tiger. You used to play with me when I was younger.]

Absilot narrowed his eyes in disgust as Taylon revealed that he remembered his childhood from twenty years ago despite being human. Taylon continued,

[Are you asking me why I’m not jumping out immediately to slaughter you? Everything will become mine on the day I decide to step forward, so why should rush things and rob myself of my fun?]

His was the composure of an absolute figure who had stood atop all the rest ever since the day he was born. The bastard reminded Ianna of how Arhad used to be in her past life.

[Isabella was acting independently today —the imperial family will not be making a move for the time being. Only our armies and commanding officers will be participating in the war. To be honest, my mother declared the war of her own accord, and it sours my mood a little that her decision stemmed from her impatience.]

Ianna was listening attentively to what Taylon had to say, but she could not determine what his intentions were. Her wariness and anxiety only grew because she could not know why he was refusing to step forward. It almost felt like he was waiting in the darkness for his enemies to lower their guards so he could devour them all in one fell swoop.

“Yer just as sly and arrogant as ya were as a kid, ain’t ya?”

Absilot spat.

Just then, a small bird created from the wind flew next to Ianna. The bird whispered to her,

[Let her go.]

Ianna flinched and looked around her surroundings.

‘Is someone using the spirits?’

She spotted Caesar and Giselle nearby. They were crossing their arms to signal ‘no,’ so it must surely have been them.

‘Was it Arhad?’

Only Arhad had the right to order her around. Ianna grabbed Isabella’s arm tightly one last time before she finally let go.

“Shit. Please wait a moment, Lord Brother.”

Isabella stopped Taylon as he dragged her inside the Gate. She grabbed her swollen wrist as she looked to Ianna with a strange expression on her face, like a mixture of displeasure and mystery. She continued,

“I can tell now that I’ve had a good look at you while you were standing still. You’re a woman.”

“…….”

“I don’t care about your gender. Actually, I think I might like you even more now that I know that you’re a beautiful woman.”

Her lips twitched when Ianna didn’t answer. She continued,

“Is your voice that precious to you, you wench? I will never suffer such indignity again. I will return the humiliation you made me suffer today once I’ve finally caught you.”

Then, Isabella leapt into the Gate without bothering to wait for Ianna to reply.

“Heeheehee!”

A bloodbath had erupted between the black foxes and the beastmen while Ianna and Isabella had been in battle. Taylon had appeared just as the beastmen were about to emerge victorious, and they were forced to let the black foxes go free.

“Move!”

The black foxes glowered as they made their way to the Gate.

“Ya bastards just got lucky today.”

“If they’re this lucky, it just means that it was fate that we couldn’t end everything today……. Shit!”

The beastmen were snarling bitterly at the black foxes, but the black foxes were in high spirits, as if they hadn’t been quivering just moments earlier, as they cut through the beastmen. The absolute elation the surviving black foxes experienced left a deep impression on them.

Taylon Bahamut chuckled quietly as everything he had demanded was delivered to him.

[You’ve done quite a number to that which belongs to me.]

“Fuck off!”

Absilot shouted what Ianna herself had wanted to say.

[Well, no matter. I’ll take my leave now that I have what I wanted. Do continuing struggling and crawling your way over to me until the bitter end —I have high expectations of you. I’ll be sorely disappointed if you manage to destroy yourselves before we even lift a finger.]

“Composed, ain’t ya. You do know that the Black Fox fell to ruin today, yeah?”

[Oh, I’m willing to overlook that matter. After all, you haven’t managed to kill the Black Fox’s boss quite yet. What will you do? Will you come over to take Payne’s head?]

Taylon asked contemptuously. Absilot muttered something about how the damned bastard hadn’t changed one bit as his veins popped out from his temple.

[And the woman whom Isabella’s been obsessing over. Yes, you.]

Then, Taylon began addressing Ianna. He continued,

[I saw that your fortification was crimson —are you the leader of Camastros? As well as the Black Wind who became famous after the monster Gates were opened?]

Ianna did not reply. She had already handed him too much information. She did not want to give him a single additional lead. Taylon simple continued, as he had not particularly expected her to answer either.

[Your existence intrigues me. You’ve managed to throw me into chaos.]

Ianna’s head began to hurt. What did he mean by that? Was it because she was throwing a wrench into his plans? Ianna wanted to ask him what the hell he was talking about, but she forced herself to swallow her words.

[It is unfortunate that Gates distort the senses. I look forward to the day I can finally meet you in person.]

Taylon closed the Gate without bothering to wait for Ianna’s reply. The black vortex that had been spewing such a colossal presence vanished as if it had simply been an illusion.

“Phew!”

Absilot grabbed his forehead as he sighed loudly. Several emotions had been mixed into his sigh, like relief and irritation. The beastmen and the priests, who had completed their Teleport spell and had been anxiously awaiting orders, slumped down to the ground in relief.

Ianna continued glaring at the spot where the Gate had been because she did not trust Taylon to keep his word and obediently draw back. She was wary of her surroundings for a while, because she was afraid that Taylon might strike as soon as their guard was down, but her fears did not come to pass.

It was only after her worries had been dispelled that Ianna pressed at the deep creases in her brow and turned to Absilot.

“Lord Absilot.”

“Oh! Hey! Lil’ Ia —I mean, Ann! You were real awesome just now!”

Absilot beamed as he gave Ianna a thumb’s-up. His fierce features were filled with awe. Ianna quickly posed a question before Absilot could begin a tirade of her praises.

“Can you tell me what kind of person Taylon Bahamut is?”

Ianna’s wariness was boiling over now that Taylon Bahamut, whom she had only vaguely considered her final enemy, had actually approached her. So first, she had to figure out what kind of bastard he was.

“Hmmm……. I only knew him when he was real young. But he wasn’t normal back then either.”

Absilot stroked his chin as if even the mere thought of Taylon disgusted him.

“He was weaker than me, and he used to nibble at me whenever he saw me before goin’ back to his folks, but he was still a crazy bastard.”

Absilot continued earnestly.

“How so?”

“He had himself quite the personality disorder. He liked makin’ dramatic, last-minute entrances.”

Essentially, Absilot’s recollection of Taylon boiled down to the following:

Taylon liked to wait patiently while his opponent climbed their way higher and higher and swoop in to clip their wings just as they were about to reach their goal. He enjoyed letting them hope only to thrust them into the deepest despair during the eleventh hour.

For example, say someone was building the tallest card tower in the world. Taylon would keep quiet and simply watch them build. He would only knock the tower over just as the tower was about to be completed, just as the builder was about to place the final card.

Taylon was the kind of bastard who found his catharsis in such a manner. He did not mind persevering or even taking a slight loss if it meant he could savor his twisted enjoyment of the tragedy.

As a more realistic example, Taylon was the kind of man who would simply wait and watch quietly even if he knew what his enemies were planning. He would pretend to be caught in his enemies’ snares and wait until the very last moment before catching his enemies off guard, ruining their plans, and crushing their spirits.

His actions were both extremely foolish and extremely risky, in one sense. But Taylon was skilled enough that he could get away with it. After all, he was someone who wielded absolute power.

“I can’t even begin to tell ya how dirty it felt whenever that crazy bastard took to the battlefield. If pure evil exists in the world, then it’s almost definitely him. Seein’ him again today made me realize that he never grew out of that twisted personality of his,”

Absilot cursed Taylon bitterly. He continued,

“That’s prob’ly also why he only showed up just before ya killed Isabella Bahamut and why he took away Payne, our biggest target, and tried to taunt us into goin’ over to kill him. Ugh!”

Ianna felt horrible.

‘Is that also why the imperial family’s being so quiet? That bastard isn’t aiming for something big……is he? Or perhaps he’s simply arrogant?’

She could not help but be amazed anew that Arhad had once eliminated Taylon and had usurped the imperial throne. It meant that Arhad was a cut above Taylon. Was that the difference between the real Demon and someone who was merely borrowing his powers?

But why?

While Ianna wasn’t sure if this had also been the case in her past life, according to Roberstein’s memories, it was Taylon who felt more similar to the ancient Demon. She had a good guess as to why.

“I will take my leave for now, Lord Absilot.”

“Sure thing. I’ll be cleanin’ up, so take yer time.”

Ianna turned away from Absilot. Gazes showered upon her like a storm of arrows as soon as she did. Everyone was looking at her. And the number of eyes glued to her only increased with every step she took.

She made her way to Caesar and Giselle first.

“Were you in contact with Ro?”

“Yes. We rendezvoused with him before we came here. That was when I used the spirits to convey a message to you.”

The sparkling light in Giselle’s eyes suggested she was looking at something marvelous. Ianna felt burdened and simply replied that she understood before quickly leaving the scene.

She contacted Arhad once she had gained quite some distance.

“Arhad. Where are you right now?”

[…….]

He didn’t reply. Ianna began to grow nervous.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Did something happen?”

She extended her senses and tried to locate his presence. But he had concealed himself so well that even Ianna could not perceive him.

Ultimately, Ianna used one of the functions of the ring that Arhad had given her for the first time. It was a function that pulled the two rings together once it was activated. In other words, it was something that would allow them to find each other even if they were far apart.

There was also a function that allowed them to track each other’s coordinates, but only Arhad ever used it because Ianna did not know how to teleport. It could be seen as an invasion of privacy, perhaps, but Ianna was rather tolerant of the shady restraint Arhad had put on her. She did not mind it when he restrained her. After all, when he was restraining her, she, too, earned the right to restrain him in turn.

But, what if Arhad had taken off his ring before going into hiding?

The very thought that she might not be able to find him made Ianna’s breath catch.

Comically enough, this only made her more adamant about growing stronger than Arhad. After all, she could find him no matter where he was hiding, even if he had taken off his ring, if she was stronger than him.

‘I feel like I’m growing weirder as time passes.’

Ianna slapped her cheeks to rid herself of her oddly twisted thoughts and rushed over to where her ring was guiding her.

She found Arhad quickly enough. He was sitting down and leaning against a large rock with a hand over his face.

“Arhad!”

It had been so long since she had seen him last. Ianna was so glad to see him again.

Arhad lowered his hand when she called his name. Ianna was about to practically fly toward him before she suddenly stopped herself. There was a chilling look on his face.

“Ianna.”

Her heart was thumping. It had been so long since they had last seen each other —why was he making that face, and why did his voice sound so flat? Ianna walked over to him hesitantly and knelt down before him. She carefully studied his complexion.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“Yes. But it’s my mood that’s unwell, not my health.”

“What’s wrong with your mood?”

Ianna asked nervously, but Arhad’s mien only grew colder.

“I’m angry.”

Ianna forgot how to breathe. She immediately recalled everything she had done today in chronological order. Was he angry that she had let Payne slip through her fingers, failed to kill Isabella, or accidentally handed Taylon valuable information? Was he disappointed?

Her head, which had been crammed full of thoughts just moments ago, suddenly went blank. She clasped her hands together —she had no idea what she was supposed to say—, but Arhad failed to notice as he closed his eyes and pressed irritably against his brow.

“I’m frustrated because I can’t go and slaughter the entire imperial family right here and now.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s not that I think being prudent is necessarily a bad thing. But I’m angry at myself for not being able to boldly make my stand against them —I feel like a rat hiding from savage beasts. I want to grow stronger.”

Ianna felt the tension leave her body. She thought that Arhad would fall into serious contemplation when he finally lowered his hand again, but instead, he muttered,

“My wounded pride is one thing, but, after seeing how composed Taylon was, I can’t help but wonder if we were too hasty. We’ll have to act even faster now, since there’s no telling what kinds of traps he’s scheming up from behind the scenes. And more important, we should probably assume that he knows who I am by now. If I don’t eliminate them soon…….”

Ianna’s heart grew heavy as Arhad fretted uncharacteristically.

Arhad was the man who had once exercised the utmost caution as he defeated Taylon and won the imperial throne in his past life. He would have easily been emperor by now and then some, just like he had been in the past, had Ianna not changed the present —no, had Ianna not existed at all.

But Arhad had decided not to be the Bahamut emperor because of her, and he had instead decided to build a new world from the ground up in an empty land.

Arhad absolutely was not weak. In Ianna’s eyes, Arhad was always and had always been the strongest person in the world. And yet, such a strong and powerful man was now fretting and showing his weaknesses because of her.

“Oh.”

Arhad snapped back to his senses when he saw Ianna kneeling quietly in front of him with her lips pursed. He continued,

“I’m sorry. For acting like this when it’s been so long since we last saw each other.”

He looked Ianna in the eyes. His large and warm hand covered over hers. Then, he smiled a little as he not only regained his composure but even his spirits as he toyed with Ianna’s hand.

“You did extremely well, Ianna. I was watching you fight, and you were amazing. You were so awesome that all I could do was stare blankly like I was daft. You really are the best.”

Arhad’s voice was so overflowing with sincerity that he was practically worshiping her, but Ianna could not help but quietly ask,

“I didn’t do anything wrong?”

Her question baffled Arhad.

“What kind of nonsense is that? You did everything well. You defeated Isabella, and you even obtained information that Taylon doesn’t plan on stepping forward for the time being. The fact that your identity was exposed was unavoidable because Taylon showed up.”

Arhad made sure that their eyes were level as he continued,

“Let’s get stronger, Ianna. I don’t know what the bastard’s scheming, but let’s grow so strong that we can break our way through his schemes.”

“…….”

“I felt it clearly today. You’re a truly exceptional swordswoman, and you’ll only keep growing stronger from now on. I feel that I’ll really lose to you one day.”

Arhad grabbed her tightly by the hand he was holding. He continued,

“But I’m going to keep growing stronger too, and I won’t be so easily defeated. That way, Bahamut will never be able to best us when we’re working together. So, let’s work hard together.”

Ianna stared quietly back at Arhad. She hadn’t said anything yet, but Arhad felt pressured by the silence and began explaining himself.

“I’m sorry to worry you with my fretting. But Ianna, I’ve always been like this, remember? I always get impatient when I think about whether the bastards might take you away from me. To be honest, I came here today not because I wanted to observe Bahamut but because I was anxious. I know it’s a bad habit of mine that I need to fix, but still…….”

Arhad paused, unable to continue speaking. Ianna had kissed him like a sneak attack. He was pushed back as Ianna wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself into him. His head and back slammed against the rock.

Ianna was leaning into him, having completely lost her cool, and she poured her emotions out to him without reserve. Their kiss was more feverish than any kiss they had shared thus far. And Ianna’s cheeks were burning just as brightly as her feelings were.

Arhad was the strongest person in the world.

It was almost comical —the fact that someone so strong was showing so much weakness because of her was truly, truly…….

She liked him so much she could not withstand it.

She truly liked him for acknowledging her strength, for saying that they should grow stronger together, for saying that they should work hard together.

Why was it that Taylon Bahamut reminded her more of Roygen, the ancient Demon, than Arhad, who was the Demon’s actual reincarnation?

Roygen had been obsessed about being the best, had thirsted for life even when he had so much that he was practically intoxicated from it and did not need any more, and had driven himself insane in his cruel desire to murder. He had stopped respecting Roberstein’s wishes altogether once he had crossed the line.

But Arhad loved her. To the point that he would willingly throw his life away to keep her from suffering even the smallest of injuries, to the point that he had abandoned the greatest throne in the world —Bahamut’s— to create a new country just for her. He loved her so much that it exceeded his every other desire. He suppressed the Demon’s destructive emotions out of his love for her, and he was doing his best to break free of those emotions because of his love for her.

Ianna realized that Arhad both resembled and did not resemble the Demon more so than any other. And it was all because of his love for her. He had devoured the Demon’s emotions, and he respected her because he loved her.

So it was only natural that he resembled the Demon less than the Bahamut imperial family, who chased after the Demon. Ianna realized this. She realized this, and it made her so jubilant.

Of course, Arhad would change back into the being who resembled the Demon most if Ianna rejected him. After all, he was the one who collared her with chains and begged her to stay with him whenever she happened to look away.

But Ianna even liked that side of him too now. So no longer wished to escape his chains, even if he restrained her in his obsession for her, so she could not have cared less either way. It was sometimes warm, sometimes burning, and sometimes obstinate —Ianna quite liked his love.

Squeeze.

Arhad hugged Ianna so tight as she clung to him that he could have crushed her. He squeezed her waist so she could not flee from him, and he wrapped himself around her head and neck. Her crimson hair was crushed between his hand and arm, and some of it jutted out from between his fingers.

A sticky affection that was so hot it was practically burning surged against Ianna. A lava-hot fever melted her entire being and even melted her brain, rendering her unable to think properly.

This was their first kiss in a long while, and it felt different. There was no reason why their dry lips should feel like they were caked in honey. Slowly, Ianna opened her eyes. Her eyes met Arhad’s, which were slightly lax as he gazed over her like he was about to devour her whole.

She liked the way that he clung to her with a greater love when she clung to him because she liked him so much. She liked the way he went crazier when she lost her grip on her rationality.

Had time stopped? Or was it simply that she liked this so much that she couldn’t even perceive time anymore as it raced passed them? Ianna was so deeply engrossed that she lost track of time, and her breathing had grown shallow by the time she pulled her lips away so she could catch her breath.

“……It was all just an excuse,”

Arhad said as he kissed her roughly on the cheek before pulling her completely into his embrace and burying his face against the crook of her neck. He continued,

“It’s true that I was anxious, but I missed you more than my anxiety. Work was only an excuse. I missed you. I truly missed you.”

All of Ianna’s complaints escaped her as his confession tickled her neck.

“That’s not what you told me when I contacted you.”

“I knew that I wouldn’t be able to stand it if I actually admitted it out loud. And I also wanted to hear you say it first.”

Arhad raised his head and looked at Ianna tenaciously. He continued,

“Or am I the only one who was lonely?”

His eyes seemed like they were pleading, and they were dribbling with expectation.

“Not at all.”

Ianna did not turn a blind eye to his hopes. She readjusted her posture and made herself comfortable in his arms as she whispered,

“I actually missed you too…… And I was being stubborn because I also wanted to hear you say it first. I suppose there’s just nothing I can do about my competitive spirit.”

Her pride had whisked away like sand in the wind as soon as she had seen him again, and only her desire to stay by his side had grown larger.

The invisible and paper-thin wall between them vexed her. She wanted to throw it away and shed their false relationship like an old skin and make it real —they both knew it, but they were both waiting for the other to act first. She wanted to be able to exchange these blinding emotions with him freely.

Oh, should I just tell him?

No. I can still bear it.

Ianna had been fully capable of withstanding her greed when Arhad had departed. After all, her competitive spirit, her pure desire not to give him an easy victory, had been stronger then. But now, her desire to win and her greed were perfectly balanced. She felt like even the slightest of impacts could tip the scales the other way now.

“Whew.”

Arhad felt his body and soul melting as the warmth of Ianna’s body and emotions were conveyed to him. He chuckled quietly in good cheer. But he also anxiously mumbled,

“That damned competitive spirit of yours.”

Ianna knew what he had meant, but she feigned ignorance anyway.

They hadn’t seen each other in so long, and they simply embraced each other in silence. Ianna stayed in Arhad’s arms and made no move to slip away, and neither did Arhad let her go. Rather, he kept squeezing her tighter as though he was loath to ever let go. They lost track of time as they drowned in the warm peace.

How much time had passed? They were beginning to hear something from afar. Ianna raised her head and looked to the distance as she pushed slightly against Arhad. Arhad slowly and wistfully released her.

“Right. We should wrap things up. The beastmen. I know we’ve discussed this already, but to drag the beastmen into the world of men —you like to move things on such a large scale that I have trouble keeping up sometimes.”

Arhad chuckled, like there was no helping it, when Ianna smiled bashfully. He continued,

“But I have no choice but to follow you since you’re my guidepost. I promised that I would support you on anything, so I plan to give it my everything.”

Ianna’s face flushed red.

Ianna liked Arhad for saying that. She liked how he always chased after her. She truly liked how he always had her back no matter the situation and no matter what she did. She liked him so much it was driving her insane.

Her heart was overflowing so much it was practically oozing. She only just managed to put her heart back in place as she asked,

“What will you do now? Will you be accompanying me back?”

“Hmmm……. It’s still too early for me to reveal myself just yet. But I suppose I should still meet them even if I’m under disguise. Let’s go.”

Ianna reached out to him, and Arhad took her hand as she helped him up.

They discussed their next steps as they made their way back to where the beastmen and priests were.

First, they discussed the matter of Ianna’s identity.

The crimson fortification used by the leader of Camastros. Rise, the sword used by the Black Wind. Her sex and height……. Quite a bit of information had been leaked to Bahamut.

Arhad had said it was all right, but Ianna rebuked herself nevertheless. She had used her divine power because she had been afraid of the off chance that she wasn’t able to conclude her battle with mana alone. Who could have guessed that Taylon had been watching and that he would get in her way at the very last moment? She had truly been caught off guard.

“He was probably using a spell used on familiars. I’m fairly certain he was watching over you through Isabella’s eyes.”

“Will they be able to figure out my identity?”

“Most likely. It probably won’t take them very long to realize that the leader of Camastros, the Black Wind, and Ianna Roberstein are all one and the same. Their biggest clue will be the fact that you’re a woman. Swordswomen are rare to begin with, and there are only a handful of skilled ones. ‘Theodore’ was the main stage of Camastros’ activities, and Ianna Roberstein, the ‘crimson’ swordswoman, is rather famous there. Not only that, but you’re close friends with Eiji, whom they’ve likely pegged as a traitor by now, and Bruce went missing after ordering Bahamut’s knights to kidnap you…….”

Ianna grew a little depressed. Arhad continued,

“And even aside from all that, there are a lot of people who know that you’re affiliated with Camastros now.”

Originally, only Saki, Absilot, and a few members of Camastros had known that she was affiliated with the organization. But practically all the beastmen knew it now.

Ianna had moved directly so she could provide them with the chance to take revenge against the Black Fox with their own hands. And she had had no choice but to step forward as ‘Ianna,’ who curried their favor, because the beastmen were generally distrustful of humanity.

The beastmen would have been able to figure out that she was the mysterious figure in black robes working with them even if she hadn’t revealed herself to them. After all, the beastmen could sense something special from her.

“I suppose another way to learn my identity would be to abduct one of the beastmen active on the continent and use magic to make them confess.”

“Indeed. Not many people can use such spells, since it’s one of the highest-leveled psychic spells out there, but the Bahamut imperial family is another story entirely. They’re more than capable of prying out information about you.”

“Then I suppose I should assume that my cover’s completely blown. What should I do now? Will I need to disappear from Roanne?”

“No. You can see your work in Roanne to the end, just like we planned. It’s November now, and we don’t have much more we need to do in Roanne anyway.”

They had failed to kill Payne, but they had still ended the Black Fox. All they had left to do in Roanne was to get rid of Wiffheimer and crown Schneider as king.

“You’re right, there isn’t much left to do. I can kill Wiffheimer the second he shows up before me. And Prince Schneider can claim the throne as soon as he returns.”

Ianna put more strength into her words as she continued,

“I don’t know what Wiffheimer’s been up to, but he’ll have no choice but to step up to the frontlines now. After all, the Black Fox has fallen.”

The Black Fox had not only been Bahamut’s foothold into Roanne but also their supply lines. Now that the Black Fox had fallen, the Bahamut army could no longer receive reinforcements inside Roanne, and it would be much more difficult for them to procure war munitions. Even Fernando’s faction was falling apart in real time because of Camastros’ and the noble’s alliance’s raids.

If Bahamut still wanted to maintain her influence over Roanne despite the circumstances, then Wiffheimer would have no choice but to stay in Roanne.

Wiffheimer was more than capable of reconnecting their broken supply lines with his magic. His magical abilities surpassed even those of Isabella’s, a member of the Bahamut imperial family, and he could also control monsters, which meant that he was extremely capable of tormenting Roanne viciously. He wasn’t called the mage of ‘destruction’ just for show.

He could even control Fernando, who had gone insane, if he so wished. He could threaten Fernando and the nobles into declaring a ‘surrender.’ In that case, Roanne would be divided into Fernando’s faction, which had submitted to Bahamut, and Schneider’s faction, which would protect Roanne to the bitter end, and that would instigate a civil war that would not end until one party had been wiped out.

If Wiffheimer took to the frontlines in earnest, then he could easily demonstrate the strength of a hundred —no, perhaps even more.

And Ianna was planning to murder Wiffheimer ‘as soon as he showed up’ on the frontlines.

“Who could say?”

But Arhad was skeptical. This was because of Ianna, who was known to be living in Theodore. He continued,

“Would Taylon really order Wiffheimer to stay in Theodore, where the ‘leader of Camastros’ who overpowered even Isabella is staying? Wiffheimer’s not only a valuable military asset but also an owner of a Demon’s fragment, so even he probably wouldn’t let himself lose Wiffheimer for such a ridiculous reason.”

“That makes sense. But this also puts us in a bit of a predicament.”

The Demon’s fragment that Wiffheimer possessed was quite large. Fragments could only be transferred within the same bloodline, so he would need to die before he could transfer his fragment over to the imperial family.

Arhad and Ianna wanted to kill Wiffheimer to decrease the Bahamut imperial family’s power and to steal Wiffheimer’s fragment. But, what if Wiffheimer whisked away back to Bahamut? It would be like having to chase down an agitated chicken.

More importantly, the two of them had been planning to make it so that the people of Roanne could protect their own kingdom. They wanted for Roanne to be a powerful kingdom with strong solidarity among her people so she had the strength to stand against Bahamut even after Camastros had left. And Wiffheimer had given the people of Roanne one last chance to band together as one.

Roanne, perhaps, would be happy to get rid of Wiffheimer and the Bahamut army without having to lift a finger if they withdrew, but that would go against Arhad’s and Ianna’s plans. The situation would deflate, and things would conclude slovenly.

“…….”

Arhad was pondering over something with a grave look on his face when he abruptly stopped in his tracks. Ianna halted too. Arhad stroked his chin and contemplated for a while longer before he decisively said,

“All right, Ianna. Let’s decide right here and now.”

“On what?”

“On whether you’ll completely disclose your identity and skills.”

Ianna was startled by Arhad’s sudden proposal.

“What do you mean?”

Calmly, Arhad replied,

“We can assume that the enemy already knows who you are. There’s no reason for you to stay in hiding.”

“That’s……certainly true.”

“But the imperial family declared that they wouldn’t be stepping forward for the time being. In that case, no one else in the world is capable of standing against you, and you can soar to your heart’s content. The world will be in your hands. Eventually, Wiffheimer will take interest in you and grow obsessed. His desire to do research is abnormal, after all.”

Ianna recalled how Wiffheimer had stared down at her with greasy eyes while standing atop the Basilisk last year. He had certainly shown an extreme interest in her, though he had been overshadowed by Isabella at the time. Arhad continued,

“To be honest, it would make things easier for everybody if you drew the public’s attention, myself included. And so, I’m wondering if it might be better to let you blow away the Bahamut army and the monsters and what have you, and simply let you soar.”

“Oh…….”

“You were found out anyway, so why not make the whole world learn just how strong you truly are? Your creed will soon be as justice in the kingdom we’re about to erect, and your strength will soon be our kingdom’s strength.”

Ianna’s heart was racing.

But just then, Arhad confessed something she hadn’t been expecting.

“That’s actually the real reason why I spread the rumors of the Black Wind. The world sees the Black Wind as a good figure of absolute strength, and disclosing the fact that you’re the Black Wind once we’ve established out kingdom and you’re sitting in its most important office will transfer that image directly over to our kingdom. The only reason I didn’t tell you earlier is because I was afraid you might dislike the idea for being too shrewd.”

To think that he had been scheming this all along. Ianna was astounded anew as she wondered just how many steps ahead this man always planned for. Arhad continued,

“I was a little sly too, to be honest. I had great fun imagining how the bastards who treated you so poorly back in Roanne would react.”

“Pft.”

Ianna could not help but laugh out loud even though they were about to make a monumental decision.

‘What a wicked man.’

But Ianna still liked Arhad anyway.

Her heart gained a measure of peace, and she asked,

“Can we trust Taylon that the imperial family won’t step forward for the time being?”

“Taylon Bahamut might not say much, but he isn’t one to lie. He was almost certainly being sincere. The problem is what he meant by ‘for the time being’ and what the ‘end’ he’s waiting for is.”

Arhad sighed and looked directly back at Ianna. He continued,

“In any event, these are my thoughts. What do you think?”

What Arhad was saying was reasonable. All Ianna needed to do was be skilled. She had gained a lot of confidence after fighting Isabella again. She had simply been a little hesitant at first when Arhad had suggested she let loose and soared as she pleased because she had grown so accustomed to hiding her skills.

“I’ll try that,”

Ianna decided. Arhad nodded back vigorously, as though he had known she would say this all along.

“Great. And, even if things go wrong and Bahamut captures you…….”

He scowled —even the mere thought was distasteful to him. Arhad continued,

“It’ll be all right. The bastards won’t ever kill you. Just focus on staying alive. I’ll come to save you even if it means shattering my heart.”

Arhad was bluffing uncharacteristically for some reason. Ianna shook her head no.

“That won’t ever happen, so please don’t worry. If they ever do manage to capture me, I will smash through their cage and break myself out.”

Arhad laughed as he said something about how it was very like Ianna to do just that.

Part 9

They had arrived at the place where the beastmen and priests were waiting as they discussed. The beastmen and priests had been holding a meeting together. Ianna surveyed her surroundings with subdued eyes. They had finished gathering the dead in one place while Ianna and Arhad had been discussing things at length.

Ianna followed behind Arhad as they made their way to Absilot.

“Did something happen?”

“Oh. Yer he……and this is?”

Absilot looked somewhat uncomfortable as he stared back at Arhad, who was wrapped in black robes. Ianna replied in Arhad’s stead.

“He is my partner. He is preparing the foundations for our new country in the East.”

She left things vague because, though Ianna was acting as the leader of Camastros, she had to hide the fact that there was actually another leader and because Arhad’s identity still had to be kept a secret. Arhad smirked from behind his mask because he quite liked being called Ianna’s partner.

“Hmph!”

But Absilot had immediately gleaned that Arhad was Camastros’ original leader. He didn’t let it show, but there was still displeasure in his eyes as he looked Arhad up and down.

“Just lookin’ at ya makes me feel terrible……well, I guess all’s fine and well as long as the Lass says yer her partner. We were just talkin’ about what we should do about our dead.”

“Is there a problem?”

Absilot groaned.

“I don’t know how I feel about bringin’ them straight back to Titanus ‘cause Isabella, that crazy bitch, killed them so cruelly —and so many of them too. We were plannin’ to cremate them, but we didn’t wanna do it here and was in the middle of findin’ somewhere purer instead.”

He then gestured solemnly to Miriam, whom the priests were helping tidy up. He continued,

“The priests wanna cremate all the dead together at the Great Temple, where God Laos will be watchin’ over them……but I dunno how I feel about bringin’ them that deep inside a human kingdom. And a lot of them were hurt badly by humans before too.”

Just then, the bird-shaped wind spirit that had been resting by Giselle suddenly flew over and sat on Ianna’s shoulder. It asked Ianna for some divine power by pecking her gently on the cheek, so Ianna complied.

Once it had eaten some of Ianna’s divine power, the bird transformed into another bird of a similar size —Shweia’s crow-tit form that Ianna was familiar with. The beastmen were startled by the absolute aura that Shweia was emitting and stepped back. Giselle looked especially alarmed.

[I know a good place. You won’t find anywhere that’s purer,]

the spirit king said primly as he preened his feathers.

“Where are you referring to?”

Ianna asked as she stroked his head. Shweia began fluttering as his mood lifted.

[The land where you poured out the purified Life before!]

“Oh.”

Ianna recalled the place that Shweia had spoken about. And she recalled how it had looked as she departed. It was possible that the land had changed, since it had already been a year, but it had been breathtakingly beautiful when she had seen it last.

“Where is this pace? And what’s this about pourin’ out purified Life?”

Ianna groaned to herself as Absilot expressed his interest. She had a premonition that things were about to get cumbersome, but she understood that there was no better place to send off the dead.

“Please give me a map.”

Absilot brought her a map. Shweia poked his beak at a certain point on the map once Ianna had laid it out flat on the ground. Saki saw where Shweia had pointed to, and she sounded troubled as she said,

“That’s a very remote area. And it’s very far from here. It will take some time to prepare a large-scale Teleport.”

But Shweia grew excited when he heard and said,

[In that case, I’ll—]

“I can modify the coordinates you have on the Teleport spell you’ve already prepared. Will that be all right?”

Arhad said in his altered voice as he interjected.

[Don’t cut me off!]

Shweia grew annoyed and was about to begin fuming, but he calmed down when Ianna stroked his round little head.

It might make things easier for now if Shweia carried everyone there like how he had once helped Ianna travel, but that would surely come with its own troubles.

Shweia read Ianna’s thoughts and fell silent as he folded his wings. He quickly began fluttering cheerfully again as Ianna’s stroking bettered his mood.

Meanwhile, Miriam, Saki, and the others who had prepared the Teleport spell tilted their heads to the side in confusion, baffled by what Arhad had said.

“The central axis of the entire teleportation changes if you alter the coordinates. We’ll have to draw an entirely new circle because the spell is so difficult to modify.”

Cliiing.

In the lieu of a reply, Arhad pulled a sword out from his subspace and slowly began amending the magic circle that had been drawn in the sand.

“Ack!”

A few people thought that he was about to ruin the magic circle they had finally managed to complete and tried to stop him. But they had no choice but to sit back and watch because Ianna, Absilot, and Saki discouraged them.

Arhad erased about half of the intricate elements comprising the magic circle before he began drawing new lines into it. He scribbled something half-heartedly for a bit before he put away his sword and said,

“I’m done.”

He had finished modifying the spell so easily. The priests and beastmen began grumbling as they looked down at the extremely simplified new magic circle.

“You’ve ruined it.”

“The commonly used magic circle for Teleport has a lot of pointless redundancy. This one will still work.”

“That is sophistry. I cannot accept your explanation. We may get stuck in a dimensional rift and die if we use this magic circle.”

“Listen carefully.”

The sour distrust faded from people’s faces as Arhad grew annoyed but elucidated the principles behind his Teleport magic circle nevertheless. Then, they were shocked and the blood drained from their faces as Arhad continues spitting out a continuous stream of high-leveled magical knowledge.

Silence dominated the desert by the time Arhad had finished his explanation. Then, Ianna and Shweia hammered the final nail in the coffin of their emotions as they were suddenly assaulted by this unexpected innovation and had fallen into a panic.

“This man here is an extremely skilled mage.”

[It’s true. I’m pretty sure that no one could possibly know more about magic than this human here.]

Since he’s the creator of magic after all. Right?

People began whispering amongst themselves now that Ianna, who had chased away the Bahamut imperial family with her skills alone and Shweia, the spirit king with an overwhelming presence, had said their piece.

“Who is he? Is he one of the archmages?”

They continued for quite some time, but they ultimately agreed to put their faith in Arhad’s magic.

They collected the corpses and placed them on top of the magic circle. The gigantic magic circle still had room to spare even after everyone was inside it.

It wasn’t Arhad but others who managed the mana used for the spell. Regulating the flow of magic was of utmost importance when casting a spell with a magic circle. Arhad provided them with detailed guidance, and the people followed his instructions as they allowed the mana to flow.

Buzzzzzzzz!

The Teleport magic circle began glowing. Space suddenly distorted around them. The spell folded space and transported them to a completely new location.

Their field of vision changed in the blink of an eye.

Shaaaa.

The rain, dyed in the light of dawn, was drizzling gently upon them.

“Oh…….”

And everyone was rendered speechless by what they saw before them.

“Oh. How can a place like this possibly exist?”

Lush green fields and beautiful flowers. Healthy trees with ripened fruits. Clean water gushing out from beneath the ground and fertile soil. This place was paradise compared to the wasteland of death they had been in just earlier.

‘The hell?’

Ianna was also alarmed. It had only been a large patch of flowers last year, but it had somehow grown into a vast grassy field.

Flutter.

Shweia smiled in good cheer as he flew across the grasses. His wings created drafts of clean and cool wind, which gently prodded the plant life below.

Shaaaa…….

The flowers, which had been drinking from the rain, danced as if in welcome, and the green grasses waved as if in greeting.

The refreshing scenery, clean winds, and transparent rain touched the souls of everyone present. Their souls, once drenched by the stench of battle and death, was washed by the pure white, and their foggy minds were cleared.

The sensation spread like a wave and left a lasting impression. Everyone forgot how to speak as they lingered on the scenery spreading out before them.

“Is this truly Sidian?”

Saki, who had returned to her senses, asked in disbelief as she studied the edge of the field. She realized that this truly was Sidian once she had found the boundary between the field and the desert, and she placed a hand over her mouth as she continued,

“What on earth happened here? This is a miracle.”

Giselle, who had placed her hand on the ground to feel the flow of life, mumbled,

“The life growing here is making life blossom again in this dead land.”

More people returned from their intoxicated stupor, and the number of eyes staring at Ianna increased exponentially. This was because many of them had heard what Shweia had said earlier.

[The land where you poured out the purified Life before!]

A cloud of burden weighed heavily in Ianna’s heart.

“What did you do?”

asked Arhad, who had also been quietly appreciating the view. Ianna groaned and, as if she was making an excuse, explained,

“It was the spirits, not me. I told you before. Kagomyne purified the Life, I poured it out on the land, and the other spirits developed the nature…….”

Ianna had simply been obeying the laws of providence. All she had done was to return the lifeforce of the dead back to nature because she hadn’t wanted to keep it trapped inside the small glass bottles, and now that lifeforce was blossoming like flowers as it revived the dead land. Paradoxically, the grave where the dead had been put to rest had become a wellspring of life.

“So in other words, this was your doing.”

Ianna, who was overwhelmed by the situation, tried to deny it, but Arhad had already made his clear conclusion. Though it was technically the spirits who had done the work, it was still Ianna who had summoned them in the first place —thus, it was correct to say that this was ultimately her doing.

The people’s gazes on Ianna grew denser as they quietly listened in on her conversation with Arhad.

“This isn’t the time to be standing around,”

Miriam said as she slammed her staff against the earth. She continued,

“We must hurry and send our wounded brothers and sisters to God Laos’ side so they may rest in peace.”

The beastmen and priests snapped back to their full senses at Miriam’s words, and they began laying down the dead one by one in comfortable positions and carefully closed their eyes.

They calmed and placated their sorrows with their belief in the afterlife. Death was not an eternal farewell —the dead would return to Laos’ side in accordance to providence, and they, too, would meet them there one day. This was only a temporary parting, and they would meet again and greet each other with open arms when the time came.

It was raining, so the beastmen summoned spirits of fire to cremate the dead. The pure and clean flames purified their corrupted auras and guided them peacefully to the afterlife. The priests prayed so that they may return safely to God Laos’ side.

Ianna watched the scene before her with subdued eyes.

Life was truly but a moment. It was just a moment, and it could end so unexpectedly. Even the dead probably hadn’t ever imagined that they would die so fleetingly.

“Don’t pity them,”

Absilot muttered from beside her. He continued,

“These guys just happened to go to God Laos’ side a bit quicker than the rest of us, that’s all. They won’t be punished ‘cause they didn’t do no evil, so they’ll be able to eat and live well wherever they are. And if they still have any lingerin’ regrets about life, then they’ll reincarnate themselves just like you did, Lass. I’m sure they’ll be able to live a much better life than this one.”

Absilot’s words left a deep impression on her.

Whoooosh.

There were so many corpses that it took a long time to cremate them all. They had to collect the ashes to send back to their families afterward as well, which also consumed a lot of time.

Shaaaaa.

The rain had begun falling harder too, to make matters worse, and the spirits of fire were growing weaker. Gingerly, Absilot asked,

“Would it be possible for ya to make the rain stop?”

“Certainly.”

“Oho.”

Ianna looked to Arhad, who had looking quietly out at the field. He felt her gaze on him and said,

“Do whatever it is that you want to do.”

He wasn’t quipping —he was being sincere. He was being composed only because he knew that she had a limitless supply of divine power.

Ianna gestured to a little fire spirit who was stealing glances her way. It grew excited, and it rushed toward her at once and wrapped itself stickily around her fingers.

Shaaaa!

Ever other fire spirit in the area immediately billowed up.

“Whoa!”

The little spirits, who had all been separated from each other because they had been summoned by different people, combined into one. The beastmen startled and turned toward where they felt the origin of the sprits’ presence was coming from. And there, they saw Kagomyne wrapped around Ianna’s neck like a scarp.

Kagomyne barked and shouted,

[I love you!]

“Eek!”

The beastmen were startled as ‘Kagomyne,’ the spirit king who, alongside the dragon, was worshiped as a god in the Girohai Desert also appeared in addition to ‘Shweia,’ whom they could only assume was the spirit king of wind.

They recalled how much goodwill the fire spirits had showered upon Ianna during the afterparty at Passio. Had that been not because she was simply a kind and goodhearted human but because the spirit king, the true form of all spirits of fire, loved her so?!

But Ianna didn’t stop there, and she summoned Innis and Towe too.

[We love you too!]

The beastmen’s expressions turned grave and they began mumbling amongst themselves when not only four beings whom they presumed were the four ‘spirit kings’ were summoned at once but they also openly expressed their love for Ianna.

“Was that human woman actually some kinda god all along?”

Shweia, who had been breezing about the field, flew over.

[You guys!]

Kagomyne jumped down from Ianna’s shoulders and grabbed Shweia. Their shapes began blending into each other. The flames grew larger as the fire and wind joined forces.

Towe melted into the earth, embraced those who were lying on the ground, and made their hardened bodies more malleable. Innis swam into the sky. Then, the clouds in the sky rolled away one after another, and rays of light began filtering down to the earth.

Swoooosh…….

The dead were being embraced by the fragments of the sun that had scattered to the ground. Everyone was dumbfounded by this sacred and surreal scene, and Ianna took the chance to bring Arhad with her to speak to Miriam.

“Your Holiness.”

“Oh……yes?”

Miriam replied in her bewilderment. There was a peculiar light in her eyes that suggested that she saw Ianna not as human but rather as some kind of transcendent being.

“Could you please grant me an opportunity to touch the holy relic?”

Miriam’s eyes sparkled.

“I heard from Saki. Please touch it to your heart’s content.”

She then held up the staff in both hands and offered it to Ianna. The priests standing nearby grew curious as to what was going on and fixed their eyes on her.

Ianna was a little nervous as she reached out to the staff.

And then, she grasped the staff, Phaemdra’s branch, tightly in her hands.

Whooosh!

Just like what had happened with the vines, she hallucinated the branch fusing together with her hands and becoming as part of her own body.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Her heart was pounding. Her breathing grew ragged. She furrowed her brows in pain as she felt as if her organs were being pulled out and forcefully merged together.

Rumble rumble……

Ianna felt strange, as if she was being sucked inside the branch. Her vision was shaking so much that it was making her stomach churn.

Then, her entire world suddenly twisted.

“……!”

This silent world was different from the world that Ianna had been seeing just mere moments ago. Everyone’s bodies, though they still looked similar to their original forms, were now extremely colorful. And the half-translucent bodies were overlapping into each other.

The astral plane.

The plane of psychological perception.

Ianna’s knowledge of the Holy Age informed her that her spirit eye had been opened and that she was temporarily able to see the astral plane. The astral plane showed her not the physical but the psychological, and she could see the shapes of people’s minds. People’s thoughts and feelings were readily visible in the astral plane.

Ianna looked to where there was a dense cluster of flames. She could see indistinct shapes disappearing one after another. She was witnessing the deaths of the souls that lingered regretfully on their bodies.

Then, Ianna opened her eyes wide as she turned to the spirits. She could not find the adorable forms she was so familiar with anywhere.

There was a whale large enough to cover the entire sky scattering water droplets everywhere as it swam through the heavens. A majestic golem the size of a tall mountain was lying hunched in the soil beneath her feet.

A great bird of prey, stirring up a twister like it was the eye of a hurricane, was hugging tightly to a gigantic fox that was boiling hot like melting volcanic magma.

She was seeing the spirit kings’ magnificent true forms.

‘What about Arhad?’

Slowly, Ianna turned her head.

And her eyes locked with colossal golden ones.

He had transformed into a beautiful black dragon with golden eyes —the very same form she had once seen before. He had his head resting against the ground with his body curled around with her in the center as he stared at her like she was the most precious treasure in the world.

The fact that his soul looked like this proved just how much he cherished her. Ianna thought her heart might burst as she unexpectedly found the chance to personally confirm his feelings with her own two eyes.

But she almost pitied him in one corner of her heart too. Arhad had once told her that his soul could freely transform between his human form and his dragon form. But it typically reverted back to his dragon form when he lost his ability to reason or when he was using the full extent of his might.

So, why was his soul in his dragon form right now? Was it because she was doing something that concerned the Holy Age? Or perhaps her own vision was overlapping with Roberstein’s?

‘Enough.’

Ianna forced herself to erase this line of thought as she faced forward again.

Shaaa…….

It had been both sealed and fractured, and yet Roberstein’s heart still managed to tug at Ianna’s soul.

She felt dizzy. Was this why she had fainted last time?

Ianna exercised a steel grip over her mind. Roberstein’s heart was trying to steal away her soul, but she refused it and stood firm. It was like a fierce game of tug-of-war.

Ultimately, their hearts connected before a victor could be decided. Another crack ran down the seal as the taut rope was suddenly cut apart.

Swoosh!

Crimson divine power erupted from the area of the branch that Ianna was holding and swallowed its surroundings.

“Ack!”

Miriam startled and only just managed to keep herself from dropping the staff. Ianna’s vision returned to the physical plane as Miriam screamed.

Arhad, who had been keeping a careful watch from behind, held her steady when Ianna staggered.

“Urp!”

Ianna suddenly found it difficult to breathe, and she ripped off her stuffy mask and threw it aside as she gasped for air. Once again, her divine power was overflowing beyond her capacity to carry it and was stirring up a raging storm inside her. But it was at least more bearable than what had happened last year, and Ianna withstood the pain as by gritting her teeth.

Her head hurt so much she thought it might split open. Just like what had happened when she had touched the vines, all sorts of memories were flashing chaotically in her mind, and it was difficult for her to sort them in chronological order. But she didn’t see anything that was especially important.

“Are you all right?”

Arhad asked worriedly as he held her tight. His warmth gave her confidence, and she decided to make this certain right here and now. She just barely managed to gather her breath before she said,

“I saw your soul.”

“My soul? What are you talking about?”

Arhad asked in surprise.

“My spirit eye opened temporarily, and I saw the astral plane.”

“Ah, I see. It must’ve been a mysterious experience.”

“Your soul was a black dragon with golden eyes,”

Ianna whispered quietly. She continued,

“Why did it take that form?”

Arhad pondered for a moment before he quickly came to a conclusion and smirked.

“I was tense and preparing myself to use my full power to drag you back if something went wrong. All of my nerves were standing at edge, so that’s probably why.”

Ianna’s slightly frozen heart melted endlessly at his dry but dreadfully saccharine words. She clenched her hands into tight fists.

Her match with Roberstein this time around had ended in a draw, but that wouldn’t do. She wanted to grow stronger. She wanted to grow much stronger than she was now. She wanted to grow stronger so she could finally surpass Roberstein.

I want to set this man free. I want to hurry up and destroy the Demon’s heart so he can finally live his own life.

‘Is that all?’

a sticky voice whispered from the core of her heart. Then, her ever-honest heart replied,

‘No.’

Ianna wanted to rip the Demon out from Arhad. And once he was finally free, she wanted to invite Arhad inside her garden and hand to him the flower that she had painstakingly raised with her utmost sincerity and that had finally begun to blossom.

And then, immediately after, she wanted to lock him inside her garden. She wanted to take the leash that Arhad himself had handed her and imprison him inside her heart for all eternity.

Ianna had wanted to defeat Arhad for a very long time. She wanted to defeat everything, finally defeat this man, and stand at the very top. She wanted to become the strongest person in the world. And a muddy emotion had adhered to her goal before she ever realized it.

She wanted to grow stronger than Arhad.

So that he could never free himself from her, not that he would ever even try…….

“Ianna.”

Ianna had been entertaining her extremely twisted thoughts for quite some time and only returned to earth when Arhad called her name. Ianna slapped herself on the cheeks. Her sudden action startled Arhad, and she looked up at him as she mumbled,

“What should I do?”

“About what?”

“I feel like I’m going crazier and crazier.”

She knew why. It was because her feelings for him were growing deeper by the day. She didn’t mind going crazy. But she was worried that she might disregard her own life completely and obsess only over Arhad at this rate.

“…….”

Arhad gently pulled Ianna out of his arms. He swept back her messy hair that had been moistened by sweat.

“I don’t mind even if you go crazy. Do whatever it is that you want to do.”

Ianna laughed a sigh. Did Arhad even know what he had said just now?

She regained her composure.

I want to put myself first because I love my life. But on the other hand, I also want to pour out everything I am for my communion with you. And so, Ianna found a compromise between her two desires and found a simple conclusion.

‘I can just do both.’

She would do her very best in life, and she would let herself go insanely crazy when she went crazy. All she had to do was maintain a balance between the two extremes.

‘And so, I’ll grow stronger.’

Ianna set her fighting spirit ablaze. Not only would her life be complete if she became the strongest person in the world, she could also allow herself to obsess over Arhad like crazy.

“Here. Take this.”

Arhad picked up Ianna’s mask from the ground and handed it to her, completely unaware of the strange direction her thoughts were veering to.

Ianna broke free from her reverie as she accepted the mask, and she began growing embarrassed by the stares that were pointing to her from every direction. She was so accustomed to hiding her identity that the situation made her uncomfortable. She was visibly troubled when Arhad whispered to her,

“It’s all right. You can reveal yourself to your heart’s content from now on. I could’ve stopped you from taking off your mask earlier, but I purposefully chose not to.”

Strangely enough, Ianna found a measure of peace when Arhad said this to her.

And so, everyone present was able to clearly see the face of the person who had created miracles today. Ianna looked young —she had only just fully matured—, and her appearance garnered their awe as they began regarding her as a transcendent being.

“Did you receive some of God Laos’ power just now?”

Miriam asked with a quiver in her voice.

“It was something similar.”

That was all Ianna could say because it would take too long to explain —if it was even possible for her to fully explain everything in the first place.

“Who on earth are you? Are you a special member of the mythical races? An apostle of God Laos? Or perhaps, are you God Laos himself?”

Everyone grew curious to know how Ianna would answer.

“I am human. I simply happen to be a little special.”

Her answer was firm and required no further explanation. Miriam slowly nodded back.

“If that is what you claim, dearest Sister.”

Then, Miriam tapped the staff against the green grass. She continued,

“Your power is absolute. You have the power to turn a wasteland into a lush grassy field, but you also have to power to destroy the world much like the Bahamut Empire. May I please ask what you intend on doing with your power, dearest Sister?”

Miriam’s expression was sober. She fully understood that the fate of the world hung on Ianna’s decision.

“My goals are not grandiose. I merely wish to prepare a small place where those affiliated with me can focus on living their lives. I will use my power to defend that place.”

Ianna had molded the ideas she had been contemplating since the beginning of the year into a simple and articulate statement. The simple words she had offered to Miriam was her goal for the long life she had ahead of her. She would strive to do her best for all those who loved both her and Arhad.

Her sincere words blew past like a refreshing wind. And the wind tapped at the hearts of everyone present.

“I see. I am relieved to hear that.”

Miriam smiled gently as she bowed her head. She continued,

“I pray that your wishes will come true.”

Part 10

Ianna brought Arhad and the spirits over to somewhere secluded once the cremations were over and the beastmen and priests were cleaning up.

[Hmph!]

“…….”

Ianna had tried to get them to reconcile time and time again, but Arhad’s relationship with the spirits hadn’t gotten any better. Arhad ignored them, and the spirits made it clear that they wanted nothing to do with him or showed that they hated him outright. Innis, who had already been humiliated by Arhad once, was the worst of the lot.

[He might be a little different from before, but I still hate him! Don’t you know just how crazy this bastard is, Ianna? You know, back when he made me explode. He has such disgusting feelings about you.]

“Shut your mouth unless you want to explode again.”

[W-what did you just say?! Just try it! Hmph!]

Ianna sighed.

Giselle approached them just then.

“Lord Ro, Lady Ann.”

“Oh, Lady Giselle. Thank you for your hard work today.”

Gisella originally had nothing to do with today’s plans, but she had come all the way out here and exerted her best efforts for Caesar’s sake. Giselle shook her head.

“You went through significantly more trouble than I, Lady Ann.”

The spirits drew closer to Giselle. Shweia fluttered over and landed on Giselle’s finger as she held it out for him.

[Hi! —it’s been so long since I saw you in this form!]

“It has indeed, Lord Shweia. I’m truly glad to see you, as I never thought I’d be able to see you again.”

Had Giselle met Shweia before? She then greeted Towe, Innis, and Kagomyne in turns. The spirits were unusually friendly with her.

[It looks like time’s up. We’ll be heading back now!]

The spirits vanished, and a calm mood settled between the three of them. Earnestly, Giselle said to Arhad,

“Lord Ro, may I be permitted to disclose my identity to Lady Ann?”

“As long as Ianna doesn’t mind.”

Giselle sketched Ianna a bow as soon as Arhad had given his permission.

“Please permit me this, Lady Ann.”

Giselle’s sudden new attitude left Ianna mystified. She could not fathom why Giselle would suddenly want to disclose her identity.

Then, Ianna grew curious. The owner of a renowned company, a prince of Roanne, and the chief of the birdmen. Many of the members of Camastros were very interesting people. They were all respectful of each other’s privacy, but Ianna had no reason to refuse if Giselle wanted to disclose herself first.

“As you wish.”

Giselle slipped off the rings on her slender fingers and took off her mask with a star drawn on it as soon as Ianna had given her permission. She also flipped back the deep hood of her robes.

“Oh…”

Ianna could not help but exclaim in her astonishment.

Giselle was an elf so truly, truly beautiful that she was even phantasmal. What this what it looked like when sunlight was made flesh? Her hair was a gentle gold, like scattering sunlight, and her skin was as pale as fog. Her eyes were profound and mysterious, like opals, and the lines of her features were gorgeous. Time had left traces etched into her face, but even those traces were beautiful.

She was tall and slender, like an ancient tree with sunlight dangling off from her like leaves. She bowed again, like a tree gently sloping down her branches.

“Please allow me to introduce myself to you formally, Lady Ann.”

Her lovely eyes fell upon Ianna. She continued,

“I am Lumiere, the queen of the elves.”

Ianna recoiled. The queen of the elves?

She had been introduced to a big shot out of nowhere.

But Ianna regained her composure quickly enough —her senses were becoming paralyzed after having met so many special beings, like the dragons.

Giselle —Lumiere— smiled.

“You don’t seem very surprised.”

“It’s because so many mysterious things have happened to me as of late. But I am still plenty surprised to learn that the elven queen was so close to me. It’s nice to meet you. How should I address you?”

“I don’t mind either way, but I think you’ll find it easier to address me as Giselle, Lady Ann, since I have no reason to use the name Lumiere at the moment.”

“Very well. You may call me Ianna as well when we’re not on a mission for Camastros. But, why did you suddenly decide to disclose yourself to me, Giselle?”

“There is something I needed to ask of you, Lady Ianna. I am hoping dearly that you will agree.”

“I will help you as long as it’s within my abilities to assist. Please ask away.”

A sober expression alighted Giselle’s visage.

“How much do you know about the Demon’s fragments, Lady Ianna? I assumed that you know much about them, since you’re so close to Lord Ro.”

“I know pretty much everything there is to know about them.”

“Ah, that will make explaining so much easier.”

Giselle took a deep breath before she began her story. She said,

“There is a large fragment of the Demon deep within the Great Forest of Shaob. It is currently sealed away, and we elves have been monitoring it for generations.”

Ianna snuck a glance at Arhad. But he remained calm, which told her that he had already known about it. Ianna was surprised. Why hadn’t he collected it yet?

“It is because God Laos entrusted that fragment to us elves that it is in our possession.”

Ianna was taken aback. Laos?

“It is a very large fragment that is significantly more negative and eviler than the rest. Eons ago, God Laos once said that equilibrium would be broken at once if that fragment was ever released upon the world. That is why he assigned us the duty of watching over the seal. We were also charged with resurrecting Phaemdra, the withered divine tree. We elves were granted lots of divine power from the moment of our birth and a very long lifespan in exchange for carrying out these duties. And that is how our race began.”

Giselle had told Ianna many important things despite how brief her explanation had been. And, Phaemdra’s resurrection. Ianna had known that Phaemdra was in the Great Forest, but she couldn’t help but wonder if the elves had actually brought it back to life.

“God Laos had personally sealed the fragment away, and, until recently, we were able to maintain the seal with only a little of our own power. But then, the seal suddenly shattered around twenty years ago.”

The elves had only just barely managed to preserve the seal by working together. But then, about a decade ago, Taylon Bahamut had invaded the Great Forest of Shaob with his army. He had set fire to the Forest, slaughtered any elves who defied him, and had poured out his curses everywhere. And he had also demanded that they hand over the Demon’s fragment.

“We were able to fend him off by working together with Lady Millanikonè, the Forest Dragon, and her spartoi. The demonic man acknowledged that he wasn’t fully prepared yet and he laughed, saying that he would come again one day, as he turned back.”

But the Forest had been so ravaged that it was difficult to restore it even after much time had passed. Even the spirits had been cut off from the cursed Forest. And so many elves had perished that it was growing difficult to keep maintaining the seal.

Giselle had realized that the situation was grave. The Bahamut Empire had known that a large fragment of the Demon was sealed inside the Great Forest since times immemorial. After all, it was information they could readily obtain just by torturing one high elf. But their knowing and the invasion had been two entirely different problems. The fact that Taylon had invaded meant that he was confident that he could fight off a dragon.

“I ventured out into the world in order to get a better understanding of the situation, and I began tracking down the flow of evil auras. That was how I ran into Lord Ro, who had been working in the Semastair lands in the eastern Kingdom of Woodruff at the time. Lord Ro was a descendant of both elves and men, and he also possessed many fragments of the Demon.”

She had naturally understood that he was a descendant of the Bahamut bloodline. But he was also different from Taylon. He was terrifying, but he also hadn’t seemed like he would harm her. And she had glimpsed that this ‘Lord Ro’ was the one and only greater demon who could possibly conquer the demon that was Bahamut.

“I immediately began negotiating with him. I promised him that I would hand him the fragment hidden in the East and that the elves would support him in his fight against Bahamut, and in exchange, I asked him not to lay a hand against the Forest for the rest of eternity. It was the best way for us elves to survive the great flow of time, and Lord Ro accepted. I left the Forest and have been acting as a member of Camastros ever since.”

Her story had been rather short, but it had also carried a lot of history with it.

“So, what you wanted to ask of me was……?”

“Please help us restore the Forest. And please meet with Phaemdra, the divine tree.”

To meet with Phaemdra! Ianna was overjoyed to agree. But, why was the elven queen going out of her way just to ask this of her?

“I understand why you would want assistance in restoring the Forest. By why is it that you want me to meet with Phaemdra?”

“The divine tree is the mother of all flora. And it also suffered greatly from the aftereffects of Taylon’s invasion. I want you to heal the divine tree, Lady Ianna. And, I am also searching for God Laos. There are answers I must seek from him —about what we should do in the future, and whether our decision was correct.”

Laos. Ianna grew nervous. The elven queen continued,

“Even the divine tree said that it did not know of Laos’ whereabouts. But perhaps you might be able to find him.”

Lumiere’s deep eyes peered into Ianna.

“The aura you give off makes me homesick. I’ve felt it ever since the first day I met you, but I ignored it because I didn’t know why you made me feel this way. I am certain that you must have something to do with God Laos.”

“…….”

“So, won’t you please hold a conversation with the divine tree? The divine tree has been alive since the beginning of the world, and I am certain that it will be willing to tell you things that it hasn’t spoken of even to us. And if it grants you clues to God Laos’ whereabouts, I hope that you’ll divulge them to me as well.”

She had to go. She absolutely must go.

Ianna clenched her hands into tight fists as she turned to Arhad.

“May I go?”

“Let’s make some time next year and go together.”

Ianna readily accepted Giselle’s request as soon as Arhad had granted his permission. Giselle smiled brightly.

“Thank you.”

“Oh, Giselle. Do you know an elf named Vistomanta by any chance?”

Ianna wondered if this was the same request that Vistomanta, the elf whom she had met previously, had tried to ask of her.

“But of course. He’s a close aide of mine. May I ask how you know him?”

Giselle grinned as Ianna recounted what had happened. Giselle replied,

“I see. Vistomanta once told me that he had met a very mysterious human, and that he had invited that human into the Forest. That human must have been you, Lady Ianna. The watering pot was something I had once gifted to Lord Ro through the high elf elders.”

Giselle explained that a high elf elder was in charge of managing her communication with Arhad, and she told Ianna to ask the elder if she ever wanted something made from elven craft. She continued,

“I will be returning to the East ahead of you now that I’ve helped Mahirus get his revenge and my duties in Roanne are completed. I will be waiting eagerly for your visit to the Forest next year.”

“Understood. Oh, and may I bring a half-elf to the Forest with me when I visit?”

“A half-elf?”

Giselle permitted it readily once Ianna had told her about Finn.

“Of course. We elves do not reject innocent children.”

Giselle left shortly thereafter. She apparently found it difficult to withstand the desert heat. Once they were alone, Ianna asked Arhad,

“Were the watering pot and the purification scrolls both things you obtained through your connection with the elven queen?”

“Yes. I’m on bad terms with the elder who acts as our intermediary, though. He hates me because he thinks I work his queen to the bone. I get the urge to kill him every time we meet because he gets on my nerves, but I’ve been holding back for Giselle’s sake.”

“Pft. Anyway, wouldn’t it be better if you retrieved the fragment in the East as quickly as possible? What will you do if Taylon beats you to it?”

Arhad hesitated for a moment, but he slowly replied,

“The elves will oppose it fiercely……and I was hoping to collect that one last if possible. They say there are only bad things in that fragment. But I suppose I’ll have to collect it when we visit the East, since I don’t think I’ll be able to push it back any longer.”

Ianna nodded, convinced by his answer.

The beastmen and priests looked like they were almost done with their work.

“They say that most of the royal army suddenly disappeared after Payne left. The nobles’ alliance was able to advance quickly and made it all the way to Sidian’s capital. We will go and rendezvous with them.”

Miriam asked to be excused once she had relayed news of their victory. Just before the priests left, Ianna snuck up to Saki and whispered,

“I am planning to visit the Great Forest sometime next year. I will contact you before I go.”

“Finally! Please call me whenever. I will go to you at once.”

Saki was very pleased.

The priests had left, and the beastmen still remained. Mahirus had agreed to return to the West so he could unburden himself with his brethren.

Absilot, Ianna, and Arhad met up again.

“All of us beastmen have decided after today. We wanna go to your new country, Lil’ Ianna. There’s still a huge gap between us and the humans, so we’re just gonna end up fightin’ again if we’re reckless about comin’ back to the continent. But we think that we’ll be able to live together with the humans if it’s in yer land, Lil’ Ianna, and with the people of yer choosin’. Will ya take us?”

“Of course.”

The beastmen standing behind Absilot smiled. Their varied and diverse eyes were all shining with trust.

“And there’s also something I wanna tell ya as the representative of the beastmen.”

“What would that be?”

“There’s a lot I’ve heard about in my stint as a dragon’s Guardian. This world is like a balance that weighs things. The Balance is always swingin’ back and forth as it tries to maintain equilibrium. But it’ll never come to a perfect standstill as long as time continues to flow.”

What was Absilot trying to say? Ianna found herself listening especially carefully because he was talking about the Balance. Absilot continued,

“Do ya happen to know how monsters are born?”

“Aren’t they born from the Demon’s malice?”

“The Demon’s malice. There’s that too. But the Demon can only make them ‘transform’ —it doesn’t actually have anything to do with how monsters are born.”

“Then…?”

It was Arhad, not Ianna, who asked. He was also listening attentively, perhaps because he was also interested in the topic.

“Accordin’ to Lord Terra, there’s apparently a place somewhere in the world where the souls of the dead gather and new souls are born.”

Ianna grew curious and rummaged through Roberstein’s memories, but she could find no recollection of any such place. Her eyes sparkled at the prospect of learning something new. But the rest of Absilot’s explanation perplexed her.

“He said that the souls of the dead were purified there as their ‘Ideas’ are poured out from them, and that most of these Ideas were either a longin’ for life or the dead’s hatred of someone. He also said that most of these souls belonged to animals that were tortured cruelly or eaten to death.”

“To……animals?”

“Yeah. And when those Ideas find a soul with the right wavelength, they’ll seep into them, and those souls will be born from their mothers’ as ‘monsters.’ That’s why monsters crave life and why they despise superior species like humans. Strong Ideas are transformed directly into power. And that’s why monsters are strong enough to kill humans from the day they’re born.”

There were differences in people because everyone was born differently, but these differences could not persist eternally. Just like how the Ideas of a pitiful dead animal could one day fuel the power to kill people.

“I don’t wanna start talkin’ like some old fart, but I can’t help that this takes a bit to explain. Anyhow, what I wanted to say is that the food chain ain’t some kinda neverendin’ ‘ straight and rigid line’ —it’s more of a ‘flexible circle.’ The strong ain’t strong forever, and the weak ain’t weak forever either. The strong and the weak ain’t fixed in one spot, and they can always swap places —just like how the Balance always keeps swingin’ back and forth without bein’ able to keep a perfect equilibrium. Just like how a tiger can be done in by a fox.”

Absilot looked Ianna directly in the eyes once he was finally finished. He continued,

“The strong need to understand this. No one can be strong forever. And the weak need to understand this too. No one’s gonna stay weak forever either. Bein’ aware of the fact that anyone can become stronger or weaker at any time gives rise to respect. And that’s what I think bein’ in harmony means.”

Absilot sighed after another long stretch of explanation.

“……It don’t get any more raw than this. Basically, I’m sayin’ that ya shouldn’t treat others badly ‘cause ya never know when they might grow stronger than ya. But it’s naïve to think that everyone in the world is good and are naturally able to get along with each other. Providence dictates otherwise, and selfishness causes people to go astray.”

All living creatures lived under a providence that dictated that they needed to eat something weaker than they in order to avoid starving to death. And even if starvation was out of the picture, there was always an innate selfishness that tempted them to exploit the weak in order to grow affluent.

“And that’s why I think that it’s imperative that we have a flexible system that makes it easy for the strong and the weak to swap places and that it’s always as harmonious as possible if we’re gonna build a country where all sorts of different beings can come a live together. I think this is the best way to make it happen. Though I’m too stupid to figure out the how.”

“It sounds rather difficult. But I concur, for the most part. Especially with the part about needing a flexible system. And I will do my best to keep what you said in mind.”

“Thanks for listenin’ so carefully to this old fart.”

Absilot grinned as he extended his hand. He continued,

“I can’t stay away from the Desert for long ‘cause of my contract with the dragon. But the other beastmen will slowly begin migrating over to the East to help ya with establishing yer kingdom. I’ll be waitin’, so come on over to take Titanus with ya once yer ready.”

Ianna took his hand.

“I will. Thank you for trusting me.”

“It’s only natural that I trust ya, so there’s no need for thanks, yeah? The only thing I wanna hear from ya is yer promise about the future.”

Ianna smiled as she heard his cross reply.

“Let us work together to build a wonderful country.”

~~*~~

Ianna and Arhad slowly returned to Roanne once they had bid their farewells. They teleported close to Roanne and slowed down to walk the rest of the way back.

They never ran out of things to talk about because they hadn’t seen each other in so long. They called each other through their artefacts every day, but talking through their artefacts with only their voices and talking face-to-face encapsulated a different mood, encouraged different topics, and generally felt different overall.

Ianna liked listening to Arhad’s voice, but she liked being able to see him even more.

She could vaguely sense what he was feeling and how much he liked her when she only heard his voice. But his emotions were completely exposed to her when they were face-to-face. Ianna was delighted. She felt like she liked him all the more because she hadn’t been able to see him for so long.

It was also nice to simply look out at the scenery and walk together in silence during the breaks in between their conversation. The view was very normal, and yet it left a lasting impression in her heart. The sun high up in the sky, the leaves rustling in the wind, the small animals scuttling away in fright —she liked all of it. She even liked the tranquil atmosphere created by the silence.

And she naturally came to realize something.

That the reason why she liked everything so much right now was because Arhad was by her side.

Meals were more delicious, wine made her more wonderfully drunk, dancing was more enjoyable, she could focus more on conversation, and she slept more comfortably when he was with her.

She felt like she had been yearning and yearning for something precious that she had lost and finally found again. Should she say that being without it temporarily had made her cherish it even more?

Ianna readily acknowledged her feelings and organized them internally because she had already decided to be honest about her emotions. And, while she was a little embarrassed……why was it? She was in a very good cheer.

Ianna extended her hand.

Her fingertips brushed against another’s. Her hand wasn’t exactly small, but she burrowed it inside the hand even larger than her own and gently rubbed the hollow between his thumb and index finger. Their palms stuck together, and their fingers wrapped around the edges of each other’s hands and over to the back.

Arhad hesitantly looked down at his newly-warmed hand before slowly bringing his gaze up to look at the other hand’s owner.

“…….”

Ianna was staring quietly back up at him. She probably wasn’t aware of it, but she was wearing quite the endearing expression on her face.

Arhad stared back at her for a while, enchanted, before he opened his mouth as if he was suddenly about to say something on impulse. Ianna’s gaze was drawn to the movement of his lips.

But his lips quickly drew closer to hers, and he forced himself to swallow back his words as the tips of their tongues touched.

It was a very quick kiss.

Instead, Ianna spread out her fingers one by one as she kept her hold on Arhad’s hand. Arhad’s fingers burrowed deeply in between them, and their fingers twinned together as he tightened his grasp.

If hand-holding had its own measure of depth, then all Ianna had done was merely ‘shallow waters’ whereas Arhad’s actions had been a ‘deep trench.’ Arhad always gave her so much more, even when it came to the most trivial of things.

She could not tell whether the waves crashing into her heart were her gratitude for his devotion, her ardent emotions, or her burning desires.

Just then, Arhad pressed his lips deeply against the back of her hand. His eyes were locked on hers, as if he meant to seduce her. Ianna’s breaths grew ragged, as if they were caught up in the rapid torrents of his deep feelings for her, so deep he could not express them in words, and swept away.

“……Let’s go.”

Arhad began walking a little ahead of Ianna and tugged gently at her hand. Ianna’s paused footsteps began moving again.

Their battle, which had consisted of barely any words, had already managed to make her so tense.

They finally returned to Theodore in the afternoon. Some of the small fry had survived because they had fled, but they were basically stragglers and hid themselves quietly as they quivered in fear.

After the surprise raid, the Bahamut knights who had been quartered in the Black Fox’s territory abandoned the battlefield in the confusion of the moment to protect their hideouts. Many people had realized that the ‘Black Fox’ and ‘Bahamut’ were related to each other as a result.

“No way.”

“That has to be wrong.”

The people denied it. They did not want to believe that Bahamut had spread her influence all throughout the world via the Black Fox, and they did not want to acknowledge that Bahamut was supporting Fernando, their reigning king, from the shadows.

“They were probably just working together, that’s all…….”

“Bahamut, the Black Fox —they’re both evil bastards.”

However, the people’s morale was boosted despite their anxieties. The Black Fox, which had been a thorn in their side for as long as they could remember, had suffered a heavy blow and was beginning to fall silent. Even the terrifying Wiffheimer hadn’t shown himself for some time now. And the number of monster sightings had decreased drastically because the nobles in Schneider’s faction had been working hard to stabilize Theodore. It was no wonder the people were in good cheer.

Those people who had been living in hiding inside their homes or at the Institution were walking out on the streets with smiles on their faces for the first time in a truly long while.

Ianna surveyed the bustling streets.

“It’s been a while since things have been this lively.”

There were still a lot of corpses being collected after the large-scale battle against the Black Fox, but the people had grown accustomed to seeing them by now and simply walked past the corpses in their cheer. They chatted happily about how they would pray at the temples during these times of war and were excited about the festival that was to take place during the Thanksgiving of Laos.

“I’m sure they’ve been wanting a reason to laugh.”

Ianna and Arhad made their way to one of their bases. There, they met with Eiji.

“Gosh, it’s really been a long while. Have you lost weight? Did you get sick or something because you weren’t able to see Little Ianna?”

Eiji continued to poke fun at Arhad for quite some time before he placed a stack of documents that required review on the latter’s desk and proceeded to give his report like usual. He said,

“I’ve wrapped up everything here, Little Ianna. What’s the news on Payne?”

Ianna explained how the emperor had taken Payne and Isabella back with him. Eiji grew a little gloomy.

“Payne will probably reorganize the Black Fox. The Black Fox may have lost a lot of members and bases, but they’ll still be able to recover from this because their distribution network’s still intact. Ugh, my head.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to bring you Payne’s head.”

“Idiot. Why are you apologizing? My head hurts because things are starting to get more complicated —but this actually works out better for me. I’ll take charge on our battle against Payne now that things have come to this. Let me kill him with my own hands.”

Eiji winked at Ianna before he returned to his prior seriousness. He continued,

“I have no idea what the imperial family’s thinking. Why aren’t they moving if they’re done with the succession? I’d have started dealing with Little Ianna, who’s the biggest thorn in their side right now, if it were me……. Are they just that confident?”

“Regardless of the bastard’s schemes, it doesn’t change the fact that the situation is favorable for us. But we should still be wary, since we shouldn’t take him completely at his word. You should head over to the East for now, Eiji.”

“Should I? When are you planning to go back, Ro?”

Arhad responded,

“I finished up everything urgent in the East before I came here, so I’m planning to stay in Theodore until things here have settled down.”

Ianna kept a straight face as her ears perked.

“Ah, got it. I’ll just go on my lonesome then. And I’ll make myself scarce now so the two of you can enjoy your time together.”

Eiji had been snickering as he left the base, but Arhad and Ianna were too busy pouring over the documents that needed their attention to actually enjoy themselves.

Arhad looked between the mountain of documents piled up on the desk and at Ianna’s visage, which was beginning to show signs of fatigue, as he said,

“I’ll take care of the documents that need to be dealt with today. You should go back and sleep if you’re tired. Shall I escort you?”

He tried to send her away, but Ianna wanted to stay with him. She sighed as she rubbed her eyes.

“No. I’ll stay here and just close my eyes for a bit.”

She often dozed off on the sofa in Arhad’s room if he was there. She could lay down all her worries and sleep comfortably if she knew that Arhad was with her. And Arhad accepted it like it was only natural.

“There’s no sofa here.”

“That’s all right. I can just lean against the desk and take a nap.”

Then, Ianna immediately leaned over the desk and closed her eyes.

But it was strange. She was definitely tired, so why couldn’t she fall asleep? Eventually, Ianna opened her eyes and used her arms as a pillow as she looked up at Arhad. And she watched him work.

Arhad was concentrating on the documents. He looked quite dashing as he focused on his work. Ianna grew gloomy as she continued staring at him.

I really was rather emotionally dead in my past life.

I used to be someone who knew nothing of such nice emotions.

Her heart ached.

The Ianna of the past seemed so lonely to her now…….

And she was so sorry that she had always rejected the Arhad of the past when he was only trying to give her these emotions…….

But that was as far as she allowed her thoughts to go.

Her chilly gloom had been cooling down her body, but the feverish feelings lurking inside her heart warmed her up again. Her heart began pounding as her emotions became more dynamic. The fire heated the cold water into a boil. Bubbles simmered across the water’s surface and began steaming. And Ianna’s face grew ever so slightly flushed.

Her eyes met with Arhad’s just as she blushed.

Ianna closed her eyes and pretended she was asleep. Even though she knew that she had already been caught awake.

~~*~~

Taylon was sitting on the imperial throne. He slowly flipped through pages of a thick packet of documents and carefully browsed through their contents as he suddenly mumbled,

“Ianna Roberstein, was it?”

“Yes. She is almost certainly affiliated with Camastros. And she is a remarkable swordswoman.”

Payne, the author of the report Taylon was perusing, quietly ground his teeth together. He continued,

“I believe that she is the ‘leader’ of Camastros, and not just any ordinary member.”

“Can’t we please go and capture her, Lord Brother?”

Isabella, who had been reading the report with Taylon as she sat on the throne’s armrest, pleaded. There was a hefty dose of medicine caked over her throat. She normally treated any wounds she suffered immediately with mana, but that did not work on this particular injury.

“No.”

Taylon refused Isabella’s request as he burrowed his face against the back of his hand. He continued,

“It’s strange. I have no ‘memories’ of this woman……. And yet she’s the master of Camastros?”

“Your Majesty!”

Wiffheimer teleported into the room just then. His breathing was ragged from his insuppressible ecstasy. He continued,

“You summoned me at just the right time. I’ve finally completed it.”

He handed Taylon a packet.

The packet contained the essence of heart sharing magic —the magic that Wiffheimer had research all his life. Taylon looked intrigued as he flipped through the packet.

“Good work. You completed it just in time.”

“Yes. I redoubled my efforts after the incident with the dragon, and I was able to complete the spell more quickly than I’d anticipated because I was able to conduct many experiments in Roanne.”

Wiffheimer took a deep breath and, only now having realized that something was odd, asked,

“But why have you summoned me?”

Payne, who had been kneeling, straightened himself out and explained everything that had happened. Wiffheimer groaned. Then, he said,

“All while I was keeping myself cooped up…….”

“And that is why I would ask you for your thoughts.”

Wiffheimer contemplated for a moment before he asked Taylon,

“Will you simply leave the previous emperor be? It appears that he’s having too much fun toying with Schneider to kill him.”

“He’s dragging things out because he knows that he’ll be confined inside the palace again once he returns —it’s not because he’s having fun. Just leave him be. This play will prove to be all the more entertaining if there are more actors on the stage. What are you planning to do now?”

“Hmm. I have finished doing nearly everything I had wanted to do with this body. I don’t mind even if you take my fragment of the Demon right here and now.”

“I fear that I may be neglecting the life you have devoted in your service to Bahamut if I take your fragment immediately. Why not deal personally with Heinrich, your greatest rival, first before ending your current body’s life? Were you not envious of him once?”

“He is no longer a match for me.”

Taylon laughed when he heard Wiffheimer’s bold reply.

“I am certain that Heinrich has been hiding the true extent of his skills. Why do you think we brought the bastard over to Bahamut in the first place? It was because he was equally as talented as you. And I’m sure he’s much more than your average sly old fox, considering that he must have been leeching off that thieving bitch’s child this entire time.”

Wiffheimer made a face.

“Do you truly believe so? To be honest, I still find it difficult to believe. Was Heinrich truly her accomplice? To think that an old man who only cares about his beloved grandson like him would truly do something so brash —I’m still rather shocked.”

“There are many things about the current situation that differ from my ‘memories,’ but most of the important events still line up. How else would I have gathered almost every fragment left roaming the world in just under a year?”

“That’s true, but……. Well, I suppose it is fine. I will also ravage Theodore while I’m dealing with Heinrich. In any event, what would you like me to do if that wench, Ianna Roberstein, shows up? I am not confident that I could best her if even Her Imperial Majesty Empress Isabella could not.”

Wiffheimer was making too light of Heinrich. And so, Taylon smirked.

“Send me a signal if you see her. I’ll watch over the situation through a familiar and open a Gate for you if things get dangerous. But more importantly, shall I tell you something interesting? There’s still something I haven’t told you yet because I thought you might not believe me.”

“What is it?”

Wiffheimer expressed his curiosity, and Taylon slowly replied,

“Both your current body and your new body were ‘murdered’ by ‘Heinrich’ in the time that was erased.”

“……!”

Wiffheimer’s visage froze over like ice. He said,

“What do you……?”

“I meant exactly what I said. Your current body was killed by Heinrich, and your new body was killed while you were trying to avenge yourself against him. That is how your life ended. You were completely defeated by Heinrich.”

“Haha. Hahaha.”

Wiffheimer guffawed as if he had heard something genuinely interesting. But his laughter gradually subsided, and the expression on his face grew warped. Then, he spat out,

“……That was rather shocking to hear. I lost to him?”

Taylon’s words had wounded his pride rather badly.

Listlessly, Taylon replied,

“I have no reason to lie to you. So this time, be sure you don’t lose and bring back Heinrich’s fragment. Perhaps it would be best if you dealt with his precious bloodline first. Oh, but do be sure to come back to the palace and die here if you think you’re about to die.”

Wiffheimer clenched the staff he was holding tightly as he realized that Taylon expected him to lose. Bluish veins popped out from his wrinkled hands.

“That will not happen.”

His bloodlust simmered around his eyes like a ghostly flame. He continued,

“I will kill the bastard, and I will bring a devastated Roanne before Your Majesty’s feet.”

~~*~~

Part 11

“Phew!”

Schneider returned to his barracks with an exhausted sigh. An attendant who had been waiting inside rushed toward him with a wet towel and some medicine for his wounds. The attendant helped Schneider out of his armor and cut him out of his blood-soaked clothes, which were sticking to his injuries, with practiced hands.

“You may leave.”

“Sire.”

Schneider threw his fatigued body across his bed once the attendant had obeyed him without another word and disappeared. He laid there with his face buried against his pillow, as still as a dead man, for quite some time before he finally turned around to lie on his back.

‘I’m going to die.’

He had used to look like a sly and cunning young prince, but his appearance had changed quite a bit now. His facial features had matured quickly —they now carried a heavy dignity that belied his youthfulness— after being dyed in bloodlust from the ever-repeating battles that constantly pushed him to his very limits.

His once-slender frame had gained a lot of muscle. Wounds that could not be healed with his natural recuperation powers had littered his flesh one after another as scars. Those scars were proof of his efforts.

‘I think I only need a little more.’

Schneider had started to see the light at the end of the tunnel as of late. He was still only surviving because of Philliad’s mercy, but he was getting less and less wounded by the day. This meant that he was maturing at a blinding pace.

But he had also started feeling strange at some point. And the feeling only grew worse as he matured.

There were many things that were odd about Philliad, the previous emperor of Bahamut.

“Struggle for all you are worth, so that I may enjoy my freedom for a while yet. But it will put me in trouble if you only struggle normally, so I do hope you’ll grow quickly. I will end my battles with you in a draw until the day you do.”

That was what Philliad had said at the time, and Schneider had found it unpleasant because he thought that the former emperor had been goading him. But it was just so odd. Philliad was extremely cruel, but he was also unusually merciful.

He was teaching Schneider the ways of battle like a strict teacher under the guise of being his enemy. Schneider had gained a lot from Philliad. Which was why……Schneider could not help but feel as though Philliad was focusing more on his ‘growth’ than on Philliad’s own ‘freedom.’ The very fact that Schneider felt like Philliad was his ‘teacher’ despite how badly he was beaten every day was strange in and of itself.

‘I must be delusional. Why would he do something like that?’

Schneider did his best to rid himself of the peculiar mood and closed his eyes. His body tickled. Most of his wounds had disappeared by the time he searched himself a while later.

He looked to the relic resting in the corner of his barracks with practiced eyes. The warm aura flowing out from it was healing him. It was truly remarkable. Schneider praised himself for having the insight to bring the relic here with him.

Another artefact flashed from another corner of the room just then. Schneider jumped up, forgetting even his exhaustion, and brought the artefact over to him.

[Have you been well, Your Highness?]

“Duke Solsavier.”

Schneider had focused his attention only on the war after he had sent his letter to Ianna promising that he would return within half a year without fail. He did not have the leisure to think about other things while he battled against Philliad. And he was eternally grateful for everyone who was aiding him currently.

But he still received periodic reports. Schneider resolved himself as he listened to Shingardra’s detailed report and said,

“I’ll do my best to return as quickly as possible.”

Things were looking favorable for Roanne. And the fact that the Bahamut imperial family would not be making an immediate move lessened his worries somewhat.

Then, Schneider began training. He could only return to Roanne after he had overcome his first obstacle —Philliad.

~~*~~

It was the beginning of November, and the situation was as follows:

First, the Black Fox had been annihilated.

Eiji had betrayed Bahamut, Bruce was dead, and Payne had fled. The three bosses who kept things running had disappeared, and the Black Fox’s countless executives had been purged. The organization had collapsed when even the small fry had taken fright and fled.

The surviving executives were temporarily managing to maintain the Black Fox under Bahamut’s orders, but that was all. The Black Fox, which had exercised an iron grip over not only the underworld but entire nations, had fallen in but an instant. They were finding it difficult just to keep other enemy underground organizations from devouring their remains like starving ghosts.

Second, the Bahamut army had withdrawn from Roanne.

The Bahamut knights had vanished from Theodore after the Black Fox had fallen. Whether or not they had returned home to Bahamut was unknown.

Third, the middle- and lesser-ranking nobles belonging to Fernando’s faction had also fallen.

This had been accomplished by the nobles’ alliance forged by the nobles in Schneider’s faction. Any nobles who were quick on the uptake had realized what was happening by now and were frightened.

Some of them had sought out the greater nobles and pledged to support Schneider instead, and they agreed to accept appropriate punishment in exchange for their lives. Schneider’s people accepted those who were not as corrupted as the others and the few who had had no choice but to do what they had done into their fold.

There were also some nobles in Fernando’s faction who refused to budge even despite the situation. House Owen was representative of this group. House Owen might be walking the path of ruin, but the military and financial might they possessed could not be ignored. The greater nobles were keeping a careful eye on House Owen, and they decided to push off the day that House Owen was to fall until the day the Schneider took the throne.

Fourth, Fernando had gone insane, and Luria was isolating herself.

Fernando had lost his mind and had become an uncontrollable bomb after the incident with Saiwè. During the few instances where his absolute lunacy seemed to settle down, he was throwing a fit in his extreme anxiety about his impending ruin.

Luria neither left her palace nor hosted any of her beloved parties. Only her ladies-in-waiting quietly frequented her palace.

And finally, the monster colonies had been cleaned up.

Most of the monster colonies that had settled into Theodore had been dealt with. They weren’t completely gone, but the monsters were now too wary of people to step outside their colonies. And even those monsters still surviving would soon vanish from Theodore because monster subjugations were still taking place.

Ianna finished organizing the situation and sighed.

‘It’s really coming to an end.’

It had seemed like this would never end, but she was beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

But she mustn’t let her guard down. It should be fine to declare that Bahamut had withdrawn from Roanne for now, but there was no telling how Wiffheimer would make his move.

She looked out the window. The view was drab, because so many places had been reduced to rubble, but the people had yet to lose hope as they busily walked around.

Arhad had told her to parade her skills as she pleased, but she hadn’t had much reason to step forward. She did not need to use her full strength to deal with monsters.

‘Wait…… Will it be like that for most things going forward?’

The only enemy who could stand against her true strength was Bahamut.

Today was the Thanksgiving of Laos, the harvest festival.

It was also the day of the last of the six parties she had promised Sarachè she would attend.

The Great Temple of Laos, which hosted the harvest festival, had declared that it would carry out the festival on the Thanksgiving of Laos as per normal, and Fernando had also declared that a party would also be held in the palace to celebrate.

Not many nobles would voluntarily attend the party because barely any nobles supported Fernando anymore and he was now a king only in name.

The nobles were forced to attend anyway because Fernando had gone insane and had threatened not only to destroy the royal seal but to also sentence any noble who didn’t attend the party to death alongside their entire families. But they had agreed to attend not because they were afraid but because they wanted to treasure Roanne’s thousand-year history —and also because there was no telling what kind of nuisances Fernando would cause if he was left to his own devices. The greater nobles were grinding their teeth in frustration and vowed to take the royal seal from Fernando at the first opportunity.

Ianna, who had been thinking about all sorts of things as she stared out the window, jumped down from the windowsill. Arhad was watching her from below.

It was impossible for Priscilla to help Ianna get ready for a party while she was in the East, so Ianna was wearing a dress that Priscilla had made for her long ago.

It was one of Priscilla’s more experimental clothes, and it was combat-ready. It kept its form, like a petticoat, and only emphasized the lines of her waist with a weak corset —the black dress had been made specifically to be easy to move in and was rather simple in design.

The fabric was sturdy and only clung to her just enough that it didn’t hinder her movement, and the dress even came with a belt so Ianna could equip a sword. Its black color meant that it wouldn’t show even if Ianna got blood on it. All in all, this was one of Ianna’s favorite dresses.

Arhad was staring openly back at her, so Ianna asked him,

“How do I look?”

“You’re lovely —incredibly lovely. And you look cool.”

He returned her a sincere reply, as she had expected him to. Ianna felt smug. Arhad continued,

“Who did your makeup? Your roommate isn’t here.”

“I did it myself.”

Ianna had done her makeup herself. She had originally been quite clumsy with makeup, but Priscilla had taught her so many things while doing her makeup and had even forced her to try it herself from time to time, so now Ianna was good enough to merit praise.

She still couldn’t have cared any less about wanting to look prettier, but she had started wanting Arhad to like her even more and grow even crazier for her at some point.

“I……want to look my best for you, but it’s not like I can ask someone to do my makeup for me every time I see you,”

Ianna confessed as she snuck a glance at Arhad’s eyes, though she still couldn’t bring herself to admit that she had wanted to look pretty.

She felt proud as she saw the light in Arhad’s eyes grow darker. She had only said it because she wanted Arhad to like her more, but she could never have guessed how fatal her seduction was.

“I’ll be off to my last party now.”

Her last party.

Ianna felt deeply moved as she heard the words resound. The fact that she would bid her farewells to Roanne’s high society after today felt peculiar to her. It meant that the day that she would depart from Roanne for good was soon to come.

“Sure. But come here for a quick second first.”

Ianna walked up to him, puzzled, when he suddenly pulled her in for a kiss. It wasn’t a deep kiss, but she could feel his uncontrolled affection for her as he pressed firmly against her. She grew slightly embarrassed as her lipstick smeared off a little on his lips.

“Um…….”

She tried to wipe it off with her sleeve, but she couldn’t because Arhad had grabbed her wrist and pulled even harder. He had kissed her gently at first in consideration for her makeup, but seeing the way her cheeks flushed red made all the restraints in his mind fly away, and he ultimately ended up kissing her again with more vigor. Ianna didn’t refuse him, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as she accepted his kisses.

“Little Ianna! It’s been too long!”

Ianna met Angelina at the party. Angelina had been rather busy as of late. She was both a skilled mage and a princess already, and now she was also running around all over the place to help restore her kingdom.

She had asserted her will to attend the Institution, had helped watch over the children in the orphanage, and had held back her sorrow to help save the people on the day her father had passed away —and these experiences had left a huge impact on her.

From what Ianna had heard, the number of the kingdom’s citizens who absolutely adored Angelina had been rising exponentially.

Angelina cozied up right next to Ianna and began chattering away.

“The Theodore Academy and the Valgenta Institution are supposed to host their first combined end-of-year party this year, right? I’ve heard that the graduation ceremonies will be taking place at the party too.”

Ianna had heard this as well.

The monsters and the war had made a right mess of things, but the Theodore Academy had not closed. The war was not a contagious disease, and nobles had a duty to safeguard the kingdom’s future.

The Academy students had spared no expense in supporting their peers at the Institution.

Battle-oriented students from the Institution were being overwhelmingly sponsored by the nobles as they quickly honed their battle senses, and the non-battle-oriented students were helping the nobles restore the kingdom.

The relationship between the two schools had deepened. The student exchange program, which still continued, also contributed greatly to their relationship. The awkwardly started exchange program had become as robust as a burst dam when the war had broken out, and now the two organizations maintained a system of intimate partnership.

Even the joint party, which had been viewed in a rather negative light at first, was now considered something positive.

“It’ll be your last event at school, so you simply must attend, Little Ianna.”

“Who can say? It’ll depend on the situation.”

Ianna did not mind participating to bring everything to a nice conclusion, but she did not make any promises.

“Presenting His Royal Majesty the King!”

Fernando had made his entrance just then.

The nobles grew disgruntled when they saw just how excited Fernando looked. What was so funny to him after he had turned the kingdom into such a mess?

And then, Fernando dropped a bomb once he had climbed atop the platform.

“Roanne has surrendered to Bahamut as of yesterday.”

The document that he was holding high was stamped with the king’s seal.

The nobles were dumbstruck as they failed to comprehend what he had said at first. What on earth was the document that the bastard was holding? Fernando gleefully told them what it was, but what he had said went so far beyond common sense that silence stretched endlessly as the nobles failed to accept it.

Ianna, who was still in her right mind, immediately thought about Wiffheimer. Had Wiffheimer used Fernando to force Roanne to surrender? —she had expected as much, but she hadn’t expected that Fernando would be acting so boldly after making such a huge blunder. Ianna stared at Fernando in contempt as she marveled at how truly insane he was.

Marquis Claude snapped back to his senses, and his face grew scarlet as he made his way up to Fernando.

“What sort of nonsense is this?!”

Fernando felt smug as he looked down at Marquis Claude, who had always belittled him, as the latter’s mustache quivered in fuming rage. Even the way the noisy nobles were rendered speechless in their astonishment delighted him. Fernando waved his sheet of paper around in a taunting manner.

“I meant exactly what I said. I wrote two copies of our intent two surrender a long while back, and Bahamut accepted one of those copies just yesterday. It’s already been done.”

“Void it at once!”

“Void it? This document was stamped with the royal seal that contains Roanne’s thousand-year history! The royal seal symbolizes both the king and the kingdom’s will —but there’s no way that you wouldn’t know that, isn’t that right, my dear Marquis? How can you possible deny that the contents of this document have already taken effect?”

“You…… You……!”

Marquis Claude clutched the back of his neck. He was stupefied that Fernando had cited Roanne’s thousand-year history to justify his insane actions. The other nobles realized that he had been rendered utterly speechless by the absurdity of it all yet again. But he quickly realized that now wasn’t the time to be standing around and sharply narrowed his eyes.

“I have known that Your Majesty was unhinged and indisposed, but to think that you would go ahead and do something like this…”

Several other nobles with their veins popping out in their necks began shouting as Marquis Claude reeled.

“You cannot simply ignore the nobility and decide things like this on your own. We will not allow it!”

“Hilarious. You won’t allow it? —then what will you do? And who said anything about me deciding things on my own? I have the nobility’s majority vote behind me!”

“What?”

Then, Fernando pulled yet another document out from his pockets.

“Some of these people are attending the party today, and there are also a few nobles who aren’t in attendance but are in full support of the surrender. See for yourself!”

Fernando shouted as he threw the document before the nobles. Shingardra Solsavier picked it up, and his face crumbled as he read it.

The document most certain listed a majority of Roanne’s noble houses, and they were even stamped with each house’s seal. Some of them included members from Fernando’s faction whom the nobles’ alliance had eliminated. In other words, this list of names had been created sometime before the beginning of the purge.

But there were also names on the list that had been signed recently, judging by how vibrant the ink was. And some of those names crushed Shingardra in betrayal.

The nobles in Fernando’s faction strutted over to Fernando as if they had known this would happen all along.

“What is the meaning of this?!”

Shingardra glowered at the nobles protesting behind him as he began calling the names on the list one by one. The nobles who were called grew pallid as they jumped out to confirm that their names and seals were indeed on the document. They were shocked and denied it vehemently.

“This is fraud!”

“I never signed this!”

“I-I actually think I might remember what happened……,”

someone said with as they quivered from head to toe, prompting everyone to stare at them. They continued,

“I suddenly fell unconscious last night. But right before that……I think I saw someone who looked just like the imperial Bahamut mage. I thought it was just a dream because I woke up in bed.”

Shingardra regained heart. According to the noble’s testimony, it was likely that the nobles on the list had been subject to brainwashing magic or something similar.

Fernando surveyed the hall, which had fallen silent once more, and snickered.

He had lost his mind, but he still understood what the future had in store for him. He was a crazed king who could not sire any heirs, his reputation was in the mud because all of his dark and shady secrets had come to light, and even the powers supporting him had collapsed because the Black Fox had fallen.

Schneider would drag him down from the throne and have him publicly executed in the plaza. He would die at the hands of his outstanding younger half-brother whom he had always felt inferior to.

Then, Wiffheimer had paid him a visit a few days ago. Wiffheimer had requested him to hand over the document of surrender he had drafted a while back and the list of those nobles who supported the surrender. This would mean that Roanne would become a vassal state to Bahamut, but Fernando would still be allowed to sit on the throne as king —it was no different from what the Black Fox had once promised him. Fernando had been ecstatic as he recalled how powerful Wiffheimer was, and he had done as the mage had asked with glee.

Then, last night, Wiffheimer had sent word that the surrender had been acknowledged.

“This must be voided!”

Fury and indignation began to erupt inside the hall.

“This will never be tolerated.”

“You dirty piece of trash. Do you truly believe you have the right to simply sign away our national sovereignty?”

Fernando cackled as if he found everything hilarious.

“It doesn’t matter whether the nobility agrees with me or not. I’m the king! Nobles stand atop the commoners, and the king stands atop the nobility —I am Roanne. My will is the people’s will!”

Fernando’s lips twitched as the outraged nobles cried out and called him out on his nonsense. He continued,

“Nonsense? You are the bastards spouting nonsense. You were the ones who gave me my authority. You remained silent even through you were disgruntled about my ascending the royal throne, and I became king through legitimate means. You tacitly agreed to give me absolute power.”

“Bullshit! You have no right to call yourself king, Fernando. I will have your head today even if it means my execution!”

One certain noble rushed Fernando with the flames of rage burning in his eyes. But only members of the royal family could use magic inside the royal palace, and weapons had been banned inside the party venue. Fernando readily sent the nobleman flying as he rushed in with only his fists.

“You damned bastards.”

“We will never accept the surrender!”

Fistfights broke out everywhere. The party hall immediately fell to chaos. It was so chaotic that it was difficult to tell whether the fights were being fought by people or by dogs.

[Hahahaha! How ridiculous. You pretend to be so noble, but you fight like mere beasts when you get down to it —what a sight to behold.]

A snickering voice resounded through the hall. Everyone who had been fighting stopped in their tracks. It was a familiar voice.

“Wiffheimer Potestas!”

“The surrender is void!”

[Void? I have the declaration of surrender signed personally by your very own king right here in my hands.]

The nobles began frothing as Wiffheimer derided them. They even forgot their fear of the infamous archmage as they began shouting about killing him too.

“Show yourself!”

[But I can’t just do that, now can I? There is a very terrifying woman in your midst. I’d like nothing more than to take your heads, but I’ll decline from joining this party because I’d rather not lose my own head in the process.]

The nobles were momentarily seized with confusion.

What on earth was Wiffheimer talking about? They could not even fathom who this woman who was keeping Wiffheimer at bay was. Surely, Wiffheimer was simply mocking them.

A cold light glistened in Ianna’s eyes as she watched over the situation from afar. Bahamut had uncovered her identity.

[Well, I suppose I could give you a chance if you so insist. Now, beasts of Roanne —choose. Will you surrender obediently, or will you battle me instead? I will turn Roanne into hell on earth if you do not surrender today. You will pay for your foolishness dearly if you put your faith in the palace’s or the Institution’s barrier. I will shatter those very barriers if you don’t surrender.]

Wiffheimer cackled.

The nobles grew dizzy. They dreaded the awful future where Roanne, their kingdom that they had only just managed to restore, would become ravaged even more. And yet…….

“We will never surrender!”

[I expected as much. Very well —we shall fight. I will destroy everything in Roanne and crush your pride, self-esteem, and sense of superiority……I will destroy your everything. And, know this. I have here the declaration of surrender stamped with the royal seal of Roanne and all of its thousand years of history, meaning that justice is on my side. From hence forth, you people are traitors.]

“Kgh…….”

[Now, all you nobles in favor of surrendering. Kill those who oppose you and show me your resolve. I will reward you with resplendent wealth and honor for every kill. Ahahahaha!]

Swoosh!

Wiffheimer’s mana, which had been hovering over the palace as he made his declaration, withdrew.

Boooom!

Then, Wiffheimer’s mana began swirling all around Theodore. It was so dense that people found it difficult to breathe, as if they had been dragged into an abyss.

Pooooow!

The barrier, which had protected the palace ever since the kingdom’s founding, shattered. Any mages present felt the magic-disrupting barrier disappear and immediately tried to move the mana around them. But they were quickly taken aback.

“The mana won’t move……!”

The mana, which was normally obedient, was stubbornly refusing to budge. It was impossible for others to control the mana under Wiffheimer’s domination.

“Aaack!”

“Ahh!”

But only the nobles in Schneider’s faction were unable to control the mana. The nobles who had taken Bahamut’s side were able to handle the mana just fine as they began attacking. They had even begun brandishing the weapons they had carried inside the hall.

The nobles in Schneider’s faction were at a loss. Shingardra was especially pale. Not only was the mana showering down upon Theodore like meteors all comprised of the highest-level spells but he could also feel the familiar presence of Gates opening everywhere.

They could hear the dreadful screaming coming from afar.

“Surrender! Not that we’d spare you even if you did!”

Fernando laughed like a madman as he brandished his sword. He was wearing a shield ring given to him by Wiffheimer. Numerous nobles jumped him, but they were all flung back without so much as being able to touch him.

“Haha —do you really think you can break Wiffheimer’s Shield?!”

He was invincible here.

That was what he thought.

But he was mistaken.

Poow!

“Huh?”

Fernando said dumbly as the shield which he had only just declared wouldn’t break shattered no sooner than the words had left his mouth.

Poooow!

A fist was planted squarely in his face.

“Ack!”

He clutched at his face as he fell down with a thump.

Pow! Pow! Pow!

The violence assaulting him grew stronger. He tried to resist, but all he could do was let himself be beaten in vain.

“Ahhh!”

The violence felt somewhat familiar to him as he screamed.

“W-what……?”

The nobles were standing awkwardly as they watched a lone woman continue kicking Fernando mercilessly.

She had always been rather famous, and her reputation had been soaring all over the place as of late. The nobles no longer ignored her or scorned her, but they were still reluctant to associate with her nevertheless. She had refused Schneider’s appeasement for years, and she was notorious for being arrogant and ignoring every party invitation ever sent to her.

She was shroud in secrets and mystery, save for what information about her could be gleaned from the Institution.

Ianna Roberstein.

She had so easily broken Wiffheimer’s Shield that the other nobles could hardly put a dent on. It was only then that they realized……who the ‘woman’ Wiffheimer had been referring to was.

Ianna dragged Fernando up by the collar. His face was reduced to a bloody pulp.

“Y-you’re that l-lowly wench,”

Fernando rattled as his teeth fell out from his mouth. He knew about Ianna Roberstein. She was the wench Schneider was so obsessed over. But he also knew about her in another sense too. He continued,

“You… You were there with Saiwè back then…….”

“I was. I kept myself from reducing you to a lump of meat for kidnapping my roommate back then, but now I can’t help but wonder if I should have at least broken both your hands and ripped out your tongue.”

Ianna began to think as she continued to hold Fernando up by the collar. Wiffheimer had ignored everyone here and left even though he had known who she was.

‘Did he underestimate me?’

But that shouldn’t be the case —he would not have called her a terrifying woman and refused to show up personally if it had.

‘He must be focusing on destroying Theodore without caring what happens to these bastards. He left them here to trip me up.’

The cream of the crop of Fernando’s faction had not attended today’s party. They had practically surrendered Ferando —that is, they had taken the lion’s share of the profits for themselves and cast him aside.

She needed to deal with this quickly and make her way outside.

Pow! Pow! Pow!

Ianna beat Fernando up so fiercely that she terrified the onlookers and knocked him out before throwing his unconscious figure to the angry greater nobles.

Then, she passed through the nobles like a ray of light as they stood there blankly. Her black dress swept through the party venue like a black wind.

“Aaaargh!”

“Ahh!”

A few short screams resounded as she cleaned up quickly. Then, she tidied her disheveled hair as she walked up to the greater nobles, who were still standing around in a blank daze.

“What will you do? Originally, the plan was to ‘executed Fernando in public’ after Prince Schneider was crowned king. Will you kill him here and now, or will you lock him up like what the prince wanted?”

I’ve also let Duke Solsavier know that, if Fernando attempts to do the absolutely unthinkable, he is permitted to half-kill Fernando and lock him up —I will take care of the aftermath. I don’t mind if you take on this role instead.

This was something that was known only to the executives of Camastros and the greater nobles.

“Are you perhaps affiliated with Camastros, my lady?”

“Yes,”

Ianna confirmed when Shingardra cautiously posed the question.

“Ah, I-I see. How truly surprising. You must be an executive, seeing that you know about His Highness’ orders. That’s remarka…….”

“No. I am the leader of Camastros.”

“What?!”

Ianna’s words created quite the stir.

Every noble present was aware of what kind of organization Camastros was. After all, the organization had been fighting a full-blown war against the Black Fox over these past few years and had ultimately succeeded in annihilating them, and they were also aiding Roanne in the war against Bahamut with their dazzling skill.

At first, the people had thought that Camastros was simply an organization under Schneider’s sponsorship and under his command, but they had recently learned that Camastros and the prince were actually collaborators on equal footing. But, to think that the leader of such an amazing organization was none other than Ianna Roberstein? It was unbelievable.

Still, despite the great disconcertion the nobles were experiencing, they also accepted the truth in one corner of their hearts even if they never realized it.

Her amazing skill, the composed air about her, her dignity. Ianna, who had always been inflexible and aloof in high society, had no reason to lie.

And yet, despite all that, the nobles still found it difficult to swallow the truth. They had slandered her and belittled her just because she had common blood running through her veins. They had never been able to comprehend why Ianna hadn’t immediately accepted Schneider’s efforts to appease her —something they regarded as the highest honor— and had rejected him at every turn instead, and they had been displeased with her because of it.

But now, Ianna had suddenly been promoted to an incredible being whom even Wiffheimer hid himself from, and their hearts were trembling in confusion. They didn’t want to believe it.

“Linus!”

A shrill scream cut across the hall just then. The gazes that had been focused on Ianna turned instead to the screamer —Queen Dowager Muziniel Roanne.

“Lady Mother!”

Angelina, who had been staring at Ianna from afar like she had been enchanted, startled and ran to Muziniel. Muziniel’s face was soaked with tears as she sank to the ground. She began shrieking again as soon as Angelina came to help her up.

“Angelina, Linus, your brother —he suddenly disappeared. I know I was holding his hand, but he was gone when I came to. I can’t find him anywhere.”

The nobles snapped back to their senses upon hearing what Muziniel had said and began searching for Linus. But he was nowhere to be found. Ianna contemplated the situation carefully before she came to a conclusion.

“He was likely taken by someone in Fernando’s faction. After all, he’s the only other person in the world with a right to the throne apart from the reigning king and Prince Schneider.”

The smarter nobles immediately understood what had happened.

Fernando was officially done for after today, and Linus would be the only prince with a legitimate claim to the throne if Schneider died.

It would not be easy to break a tradition that had lasted for over a millennium. Bahamut planned to install Linus as a puppet-cum-hostage king.

They wanted Fernando’s faction and Schneider’s faction to weaken each other here. It was only natural that Schneider’s faction would emerge victorious, because Ianna was assisting them, but the faction would fall apart if Schneider died. It was quite an excellent scheme.

“Ahh…….”

Muziniel clutched at her forehead.

Kwoooh!

Kyaah!

The sounds of monsters roaring and people screaming, which had begun drifting in at some point, grew louder with every minute. Muziniel beat her chest —she could not stubbornly insist that everyone focused on finding Linus in the middle of this mess. Angelina hugged her mother because she did not know what else she could do.

“What will you do?”

Ianna asked Solsavier again. He returned to his senses and held tightly to the unconscious Fernando as he answered,

“I will lock Fernando up. The other nobles will follow my lead.”

“Understood. In that case, I will head outside for now. I need to stop Wiffheimer.”

“Could you please find His Royal Highness Prince Linus too?”

“I can try looking into the matter, but I will make no promises. Neither will I guarantee his safety. There is much I need to do, so finding Prince Linus will have to be your problem.”

She pitied the young prince for having to suffer at Wiffheimer’s hands, but what else could she do? —such was the fate of royalty.

“I can accept the fact that you’re the leader of Camastros, my lady. But you are also a noble of Roanne. Please spare some effort into finding Prince Linus.”

“No.”

Duke Winifred had begged her for his grandson’s safety with a shadow cast over his face, but Ianna’s reply had been as cold as the edge of a blade. She continued,

“I have never enjoyed any privilege as a noble of Roanne, and thus, I have no reason to perform any duties as one. Finding the prince is your job.”

“But…….”

He tried to find grounds to refute, but he could not. Not only had Ianna never forged any bonds with the nobility but she had barely attended any parties either. She had never exercised her privilege as a noble within the Institution, and she was living just fine alongside the commoners. And she was well-recognized for earning her seat as the top student of the Swordsmanship Department not because of her station but purely on the merits of her skill.

“And allow me to make something explicitly clear while I’m at it.”

She wasn’t quite done yet. Ianna continued,

“I will leave Roanne behind as soon as I’ve finished helping Prince Schneider ascend the throne. This is something the prince has promised me personally, so I hope that none of you will pester me about this any further.”

While she was still being courteous, Ianna was placing herself at the same level as Prince Schneider as she refused to affiliate herself with Roanne’s nobility. The nobles could not dare point fingers at her.

The thought that someone as skilled as Ianna had declared that she would leave Roanne in the midst of this difficult situation made them sink into a selfish sense of anxiety and regret that they would have never felt had Ianna not disclosed her identity. The nobles grew ashamed when they realized this. Was this not the typical behavior of people who acted strong before the weak and weak before the strong?

“…….”

Shingardra tried to cast a spell without another word but immediately frowned.

“Where will you go once you head outside, my lady?”

“Wiffheimer mentioned the barriers at both the royal palace and the Institution. I plan to make my way to the Institution.”

“Could we not accompany you there? Wiffheimer has broken the barrier around the palace and made it impossible to control the mana here, and we will not be able to defend ourselves effectively if the monsters attack. I can’t help but wonder if it might be better to mobilize the army and fight back at the Institution, which is a refuge. I promise you that we will not get in your way.”

“No. You say that you won’t get in my way, but the fact remains that you are baggage —and having so much baggage with me will cause me to waste time. Nor should you leave the royal palace empty either. I will handle the monsters and the Gates out my way out, and I’ll dispel the mana-disruption too. Wiffheimer didn’t seem very interested in the palace, so I’m sure you’ll be able to defend this place once you can fight. And so, Princess Angelina.”

“Y-yes?”

Angelina startled when Ianna suddenly called her name. Ianna opened her subspace and pulled out a jewel, which she then tossed to Angelina.

“This is an artefact that can get you in direct contact with me.”

Ianna was wearing another ring, apart from the one that connected her directly to Arhad, on her right thumb. It was a mass-communication artefact that Arhad had created for her because there were many people whom she needed to keep in contact with. The ring was connected to several different jewels. Ianna continued,

“You should have one already, Duke Solsavier.”

“……Indeed.”

Shingardra had no choice but to accept that Ianna was truly the leader of Camastros once he saw that the jewel already in his possession was an exact copy of the jewel that Ianna had given Angelina.

“One of you may contact me should anything happen.”

Ianna was no longer a mere noble lady as she said this. Shingardra felt the danger wafting off from her. It was bewildering, and yet it also felt so natural that Shingardra could not help but simply nod. Ianna continued,

“Well then.”

Thud thud thud.

Once she had finished her piece, Ianna ran toward a wall and jumped down from the window. She did not hesitate even though this was the third story.

Crash! Craash! Craaash!

Thunderous roars sounded shortly after her departure.

For better or worse, those nobles who were curious about how powerful she truly was quickly ran to the window, unable to best their curiosity.

It had been but an instant.

The Gates were being destroyed like exploding bombs. The hordes of monsters racing toward the palace collapsed before Ianna like grasses bending to a strong gale.

The knights who had been stopping the monsters were one thing, but even the nobles watching over the ordeal were stupefied by the marvelous scene.

Even the few nobles who still refused to believe her had no choice but to acknowledge her now. Some of them began trembling as they recalled the horrible things they had said to her in the past.

“Save me!”

“Ahh!”

After leaving the palace, Ianna found that Wiffheimer had turned Theodore back into hell, just as he had promised. The monsters pouring out from the Gates that had opened up all over the place were slaughtering the people who had been enjoying the festival just hours earlier.

There were more monsters here than people —it was almost as if every monster in the world had been gathered here. The monsters’ eyes were unfocused, perhaps because they were under Wiffheimer’s control, and all they did was slaughter without pause.

And it wasn’t only the royal palace where mana had been disrupted. The mana was disrupted all throughout Theodore. The people were defending themselves against the monsters with their physical skills alone. But they were dying all over the place because they could not best high-leveled monsters that used mana in this state.

The monsters weren’t the only problem. The destructive spell that Wiffheimer had cast was swirling ominously in the sky. The spell hadn’t even been activated yet, but bolts of lightning already heralded the horrors that were to come. They showered down from the heavens and destroyed more of the capital.

Ianna ran.

Swiiiish!

Every monster left in her wake collapsed dead. It was almost as if they had been cut down by the frozen winds of death…….

“Ahhhhh! Huh?”

“W-what just……?”

The terrified people trembled as they couldn’t fathom why the monsters before them had suddenly collapsed.

A vein popped out on Ianna’s temple.

What on earth should she do about the damned bastard?

Ianna was beating back the magic that fell from the heavens, but she soon stopped in her tracks because she decided that this wouldn’t do. Then, she pulled Rise out from her subspace.

Buzzzz…….

Ianna closed her eyes and focused on Rise before she suddenly brandished her sword vigorously.

Slaaaash!

A colossal crescent burst out from Rise and rent through the space before it as it soared to the heavens.

Craaaaaash!

Her fortification destroyed the spell completely when it reached its destination. The spell shattered and fell down to the earth with a thunderous roar —it almost sounded as if the world itself was crumbling. The people screamed and covered their ears.

Ianna felt something vibrating on her right thumb just then.

~~*~~

Part 12

“Soob.”

“M-Mister…….”

“Don’t worry, guys. Just stay behind me, okay?”

Herrace had gathered the orphanage children together and had been enjoying the festival with them. The children had been happy for the peace that had finally found them again, and Herrace had been happy too.

But that peace had shattered in but an instant.

“How much will Heinrich suffer if he watches you die right before his very eyes? Now, come with me.”

It was because Wiffheimer had come in search of Herrace. Wiffheimer had cast offensive spells at the children as soon as he had arrived, and Herrace was bruised and battered because he had been blocking the great archmage’s attacks all by himself. The children were crying behind his bloodied figure.

“You may be frail, but you’re still a fragment beneficiary —is that how it is?”

Wiffheimer mocked Herrace as he raised his hand. Herrace’s eyes glistened with a flash of light.

Craash!

“Kgh!”

Wiffheimer pursed his lips as his magic was blocked yet again.

“It almost brings a tear to my eyes. But you will die at this rate. Very well. I will agree to leave the children be, so why don’t you be obedient and come with me?”

“No.”

Herrace held his sword upright as he endured the pain. His normally gentle brown eyes were frigid and venomous. He continued,

“You’ll leave the children be? But that doesn’t mean that you’ll spare them. You’re planning on abandoning them here with the monsters. You’ll call the monsters here and order them to kill them!”

There were drooling monsters standing around Herrace and the children. They would surely rush in as soon as Wiffheimer gave the command.

“How very astute of you,”

Wiffheimer sneered. He continued,

“In that case, I’ll drag you with me half-dead. I don’t have time, you see.”

Wiffheimer’s robes fluttered. It meant that he was about to cast seriously now. Ice Spear —dozens of frozen spears appeared in the air and shot themselves toward Herrace and the children.

Herrace sharpened his senses to their very limits.

Clang!

His will summoned the Demon’s power and shattered the ice spears. Shards of ice flung everywhere. Wiffheimer opened his eyes wide in surprise.

Pooow!

Herrace used the opportunity to attack some of the monsters nearby. He created an opening.

“Run away, all of you. Elly!”

Elly was also with the children. Herrace continued,

“You can protect the others, right? It’s not that far to the Institution, so run! Hurry!”

“…….”

Elly hesitated for a moment before she took the other children and fled.

Wiffheimer allowed them to go. There were already monsters roaming everywhere. It was unlikely that the children would survive. Herrace knew this too, but he still had to stay and keep Wiffheimer here. He had to stall for time before running to the Institution, where Heinrich was.

He absolutely could not allow himself to be captured here.

After all, Wiffheimer was planning to kill him before his grandfather’s very eyes.

“How curious. To think that a shareholder could break a spell cast by an owner.”

Restraining magic burst out from Wiffheimer’s outstretched hand. But Herrace continued to beat his magic back, though only with great difficulty.

His body was displaying a power that transcended his original skill. His genius talent, which had always been suppressed by his illness, was finally shining through.

The vast amount of divine power sleeping inside his heart, and now his powerful will.

Herrace had drawn out the divine power inside his heart and was using it inadvertently now that mana was being disrupted. And his divine power’s light was blinding. Herrace defended against Wiffheimer’s attacks with every last drop of strength he could muster.

“……!”

Meanwhile, Wiffheimer was growing vexed.

The reason why he hadn’t been able to capture Herrace earlier was because he had been busy obtaining the nobles’ signatures. Moreover, Herrace had been spending most days lingering around ‘Ianna Roberstein’ in the name of training, and he spent his nights sleeping inside Heinrich’s magic tower.

Which was why Wiffheimer had decided to simply capture him today —but to think that things would become so vexing.

Craaaaash!

The spell that Wiffheimer had proudly cast over the skies shattered just then. Wiffheimer’s senses stood on edge. It was that woman’s doing.

Herrace took the chance to escape between the monsters’ ranks while Wiffheimer was distracted.

“You!”

He had been taking his chances and refraining from killing Herrace because he wanted Heinrich to watch his grandson die, but Wiffheimer gave up and cast a powerful spell meant to kill Herrace outright. Herrace turned around, grit his teeth, and blocked the spell.

Craaaash!

Herrace had successfully blocked the spell, but his flesh had been shredded. He collapsed, unable to pick himself back up, and winced.

“You! Trying blocking this!”

Wiffheimer lost all reason and made to attack one last time. But he was eventually forced to cancel the spell and teleport away instead.

“Ugh…… Hgh…….”

Herrace trembled as he tried to force himself back up. Someone wearing black supported him up when he staggered and nearly fell over again.

“You did well to endure.”

Herrace cried tears of relief when he heard her voice.

“Little Ianna……? How did you……?”

“I gave Elly and artefact she could use to contact me with if she was in danger, and she told me that you were in trouble.”

Ianna glared frigidly at the place where Wiffheimer had vanished like a heat haze. He had fled like a rat as soon as he had noticed she was approaching.

‘Things will get drawn out if he intends to flee from me forever.’

“Ugh……. The children…….”

Herrace’s body was in such a mess that he could barely keep himself steady, but he worried for the children even still. Ianna carried Herrace on her back as she replied,

“Don’t worry. They made it to the Institution safe and sound. Though the Institution’s about to become a mess too.”

Ianna wanted to summon the spirits and heal Herrace at once, but she knew that she mustn’t. She had to go somewhere with no prying eyes first.

She had learned that she should really use the spirits’ powers only when she absolutely had to back when she had overdone herself before the mythical races and the priests and had nearly been deified as a result.

She may be unusually strong, but that was still something that people could realistically accept. But the spirits’ powers were miracles in and of themselves. Ianna did not want for the people to cling to miracles in the world that she envisioned. Relying on miracles meant that the people would take luck, or even the sacrifice of others, as something for granted…….

Ianna pondered as she ran with Herrace on her back.

‘Heinrich is the only reason why Wiffheimer would go after Herrace. Did Bahamut figure out that Heinrich betrayed them?’

Even Eiji had been ostracized, so it was foolish to assume that Heinrich’s betrayal hadn’t been uncovered. She didn’t know how Bahamut had figured it out, but she had to act on the assumption that Heinrich had been exposed.

If that was the case, then Arhad’s identity might have been disclosed as well.

Ianna tightened her grip.

Arhad likely hadn’t been found out yet, considering that the imperial family wasn’t after him like a pack of madmen, but they would have to be extremely cautious because there was no way to know what the imperial family was thinking.

Heinrich was busily giving out orders from the magic tower. Refugees had flocked to the Institution in droves. Even the Institution’s vast grounds couldn’t contain everyone, and everything was in chaos.

He had somehow managed to settle down the situation, and he had been resting in his room because his head was throbbing.

[Heinrich!]

Wiffheimer’s indignant voice suddenly pierced Heinrich’s ears. It was a communication spell. Heinrich was not alarmed as he calmly responded,

“What do you……?”

[Shut up, you traitor!]

Heinrich’s beard quivered. Wiffheimer continued,

[How dare you fool us with that dumb look on your face? We already know you’ve betrayed us, so cease your quivering.]

Heinrich realized that his fears had come true. He wasn’t sure how Bahamut had found out, but his heart skipped a beat as he wondered whether they had learned about Arhad too. Wiffheimer continued,

[Why don’t we see who’s really the better between us now that your mask is off? And remember this well. The Bahamut Empire and I will chase your grandson to the very ends of hell if you try to flee. You better fight properly, unless you want to watch your grandson die!]

But Wiffheimer never said another word about Heinrich’s betrayal, and he cut off contact before Heinrich even had a chance to reply. Heinrich immediately shot out from his seat.

‘Herrace!’

The blood had drained from his face.

[Listen close, you foolish insects.]

Wiffheimer’s voice boom over the Institution just then. He continued,

[Have you come to the Institution because you were afraid? But, what will you do now? The dean, Heinrich, is a mage who has pledged his loyalty to Bahamut. His research contributed greatly to advancing Bahamut’s magical might, and talented students of his recommendation are working under Bahamut’s banner. Is that not so? Is there any more need for you to hide your secrets, Heinrich?]

Unlike earlier, when Wiffheimer had been yelling at him, Wiffheimer was now addressing Heinrich like a friendly colleague. Heinrich grew dizzy. Wiffheimer was trying to pin him down as a traitor to Roanne too.

“Lord Heinrich is……?”

Wiffheimer’s thunderous words shocked the people greatly, just as he had wanted. They had fled to the Institution and had only just managed to soothe their bewilderment, but now Heinrich was a traitor? They felt like they had been stabbed in the back.

[Now, be a dear and take down the Institution’s barrier!]

Pooow!

The Institution’s barrier shattered at Wiffheimer’s command before Heinrich even had the chance to do anything. The barrier’s destruction resulted in a powerful gust of wind that stormed the Institution.

“Kyaah!”

“Uwaaah!”

The Institution fell into turmoil. The monsters that had been pounding on the barrier from outside roared and rushed in as soon as the barrier disappeared.

“Defend!”

The Institution students, who had been standing on guard, blocked the monsters’ advance despite the chaos around them.

“Ahh!”

But the first round ended with the students’ complete defeat. Wiffheimer was restricting the mana so that only he and the monsters could control it.

“I can’t move the mana!”

“Move —I said move, damnit!”

Man could not face monsters without the help of mana. Meanwhile, Heinrich was studying the barrier’s core inside the dean’s office. The mana flowing around the core was seceding away.

‘It’s not broken.’

The barrier would be restored as long as the core was supplied with mana again. Heinrich breathed out a sigh of relief.

The Institution’s barrier had been created by Valgenta, the ancient archmage. Most mages today could not even hope to match Valgenta’s magical genius.

Valgenta had layered all sorts of defensive spells on the barrier’s core. Heinrich had not said a word about the defensive spells when he had shown the core to Wiffheimer a while back, and he was glad that he hadn’t.

But upon a closer look, the defensive spells on the core were broken. It meant that Wiffheimer was an outstanding mage of comparable talent to Valgenta.

Buzzzz.

Arhad contacted Heinrich just then. Heinrich answered his call, relayed what Wiffheimer had said, and, in a quivering voice, asked,

“What should I do? I don’t know what happened to Herrace…….”

It was highly likely that Wiffheimer had done something to Herrace, considering that the archmage had mentioned him. Heinrich was afraid that Wiffheimer might have kidnapped his grandson.

But Arhad responded with good news.

[Ianna stopped Wiffheimer from kidnapping Herrace. He’s injured, but she’s bringing him to the Institution as we speak. Wiffheimer was only trying to intimidate you.]

“Sigh.”

Heinrich was relieved. He continued,

“In that case, what should I do now? Wiffheimer sounded like he was ready to go all-out.”

[I couldn’t tell whether our enemies have learned about me yet based on what Wiffheimer said, so you may reveal everything to him except for my existence. You will be persecuted as a traitor if we ignore the situation.]

“Understood. But what next? It sounded like he wanted to battle me.”

[Are you confident that you can best him with magic?]

“I can’t guarantee that I’ll win, but I will not lose.”

There was certainty dyed into Heinrich’s reply.

It was true that his desire to do magical research had been transferred to his research of Herrace’s illness, but he had gained much in the process.

He had deepened his understanding of the Demon’s fragments as he researched the curse of mana. Taking his focus away from magic had allowed him to understand the principles of magic that had evaded him when he had been blinded by greed.

His magical skills had progressed rapidly as he began using magic to help others, as he had become the Institution’s dean and had inherited everything that generations of great mages had left behind. The results he had handed over to Bahamut had only been a small portion of his research.

Heinrich had thoroughly hidden away the true extent of his skills ever since he had first sided with Bahamut. He had simply laughed it off when Wiffheimer and the other mages scoffed at him and pitied him. He had pretended like his skills were lagging behind. But he trusted that his true skills would not be defeated by the likes of Wiffheimer.

“I’m a little anxious because he has the advantage as the attacker and I’m at the disadvantage as the defender, but I will not fall behind him if the others help me.”

Arhad listened to what Heinrich had to say and replied,

[We will eliminate Wiffheimer this time around. This will be your one and only opportunity to do battle against your greatest rival. Why not give it a go?]

~~*~~

Theodore was in ruins, but the Institution, which Wiffheimer was attacking in earnest, was truly the most hellish corner of the city. The mana remained as unyielding as stone no matter how hard the people tried to get it to move.

“How is this possible……?”

Mages sank down to the ground in their overwhelming sense of powerlessness, and warriors had given up on controlling mana entirely and were stopping the monsters with their physical bodies and skills alone. But there was a limit to that. And, just as they were about to be overtaken by despair.

Someone shouted,

“Mana’s moving again!”

And with that shout, mana truly did resume its flow. It was only then that equilibrium was reestablished between monsters and man, and their experiences of having played this tug-of-war with the monsters was finally shining through again.

“Push them back!”

The mages cast their spells with renewed vigor —they felt like they had found their missing limbs again—, and the warriors fortified their weapons as they pushed back the monsters.

[Hello everyone. This is Heinrich speaking.]

Heinrich’s composed voice echoed around the Institution just then. He had maintained his silence even as people had cursed him to death and called him a traitor, as people had mobbed the magic tower and threw stones at him. The people lent him an ear even as they glowered because they were curious about what he would finally say for himself. He continued,

[Wiffheimer has painted me as a traitor, but the truth is that I am a member of Camastros and a spy who had infiltrated Bahamut. I have been acting as a double-agent for quite some time now in an effort to bring down the impregnable fortress that is the empire. It was not I, but Wiffheimer, who broke the barrier, and he did so because Bahamut found out about my betrayal of them.]

“He’s a member of Camastros?”

“A spy? The dean?”

The broken barrier begun restoring itself as the people were amazed.

[I will now begin to defend you with my full might. Please aid me in defeating Wiffheimer and his monsters.]

Then, Heinrich took a deep breath and shouted,

[Wiffheimer! You said you wanted to fight me? Very well —you shall have your fight. Show yourself!]

[You’re finally showing your true colors! But I intend to stay hidden as I fight —what will you do about it?]

Wiffheimer cackled as he created dozens of fiery tornados all over the Institution grounds. The tornados, hot enough to melt steel, ravaged the Institution mercilessly.

Boom boom boom!

Heinrich immediately concentrated more mana into the barrier to block the attack, prompting Wiffheimer to laugh twistedly as he said,

[Fine, fine. We can have our contest of magic. But don’t call me a coward. Aren’t you planning to sic your warriors on me as soon as I show myself? I’m sure the wench who calls herself the leader of Camastros will be the first one to come after my head.]

“…….”

[Search for me yourself if you want to find me. Roanne will walk the path of destruction if you don’t!]

Wiffheimer ended his mass communication spell after his taunt.

And then, the battle began in earnest. Wiffheimer, his disciples, who had accompanied him to wreak havoc in every last corner of Roanne, and the monsters under their control were Roanne’s enemies.

The boisterous uproar was so noisy that everyone’s ears hurt. Screams, explosions, roars, sharp crashes, curses……. The battle had fully broken out in the frontlines, and life and death clashed against each other without pause.

“Ahhhh!”

Someone who had just been about to die was unable to hide their joy when they saw who had saved them.

“L-Little Ianna!”

Ianna, who had taken Herrace somewhere safe and had even finished treating him, was wearing the face of a savage beast.

But not every enemy was from the outside.

“Martin Owen, you piece of trash!”

Marquis Claude, who had been handing the situation in the capital before he had been contacted by his own lands, erupted in his rage. He had learned that House Owen’s army had attacked his lands.

And it was Martin Owen himself who had told him the news.

“You traitorous bastard!”

[Don’t be too upset. We simply fell to Bahamut’s schemes and ended up becoming their puppets. It was already too late by the time we noticed. It was already too late, so we had no choice but to side with Bahamut if we wanted to keep our lives!]

“Enough with your bullshit. You willingly because Bahamut’s dog because of your greed!”

[What’s so dirty about wanting more? But in any event, we have nothing else to lose at this point. We were driven to a corner and our escape routes were cut off —you’re sorely mistaken if you think we’ll simply allow ourselves to keep getting pushed back. And we’re hyenas, not rats, so we’ll rip you apart in turn. It’s only painfully obvious that you’ll keep yelping at us unless we deal with you first before we install His Royal Highness Prince Linus as king.]

“You bastard!”

[Just surrender if you’re so scared.]

That was all Martin Owen said before he ended the call.

A civil war had begun.

The nobles gathered in the royal palace were somber as they imagined their bleak future. This war would be more difficult than any other war they had ever fought before. They had at least been unified in the past, but now they were even fracturing from the inside too.

But those back in the Institution had crushed the darkness underfoot and shined a new light upon them.

“Layer your Shields over to the right!”

Everyone able to fight fought under their respective commanding officer’s orders. But even still, they could not help but obey when a certain powerful voice thundered across the battlefield every now and again. They had no choice but to obey, even if only out of terror, as they recalled the carnage she had brought about before their very eyes.

Craash!

“Ugh!”

Shield spells flew in from everywhere and became as a powerful barrier as they overlapped. But the spells had exploded when the monsters charged at them even still. The mages who had cast the spells suffered from the blow, and several warriors were swept away by the resulting mana gale.

Everyone in the area would have died instantly had it not been for the Shield spells.

Pow!

Ianna carefully monitored the balance of power even as she continued felling monster after monster on the frontlines. The professors and team leaders were commanding their forces well, but they would still find themselves in danger from time to time.

Just then, she instantaneously noticed that some monsters weren’t moving by instinct like monsters normally did —in other words, Wiffheimer had commanded them to do something to exploit a weakness— as she sensed the flow of battle.

“To the left —cast freezing spells on the flamebears!”

Ianna ordered for defensive measures whenever she sensed that the commanders had missed the flow of battle, and those who listened to her orders avoided danger. If she determined that they were still in danger even after her orders, then she would stop attacking and rush over to help them defend.

Her depth of perception was so expansive it was difficult to believe she was truly human. When people thought she was in one place, she was somewhere else, and when they thought she was somewhere else, she had already come back.

The rear guard was occasionally captivated by the way she flitting about so dizzyingly even as they focused on the battle. Their losses had been reduced drastically ever since Ianna had stepped foot onto the battlefield.

‘I’d heard that she overpowered Her Imperial Majesty Empress Isabella, but she’s truly incredible. I can’t fight Heinrich properly because of that wench!’

Wiffheimer, who was watching over the battle from somewhere unknown, gripped his staff tightly as he raged.

[You truly are something else, you wench!]

He maintained his superiority even as displeasure colored his husky voice.

Ianna’s lips twisted. It looked like the damned bastard still hadn’t fully grasped the situation yet.

She gripped the hilt of her sword tightly.

Shaaaaa!

A crimson aura poured into her blade like flames.

“Grrrr.”

“Growl…….”

Crimson fortification burst out from her sword like streams of lava exploding out from a volcano as they assaulted the monsters before her. The monsters hesitated, like they couldn’t decide between rushing toward her, captivated by the crimson, or fleeing from her in terror despite their brainwashing.

“You’re hiding away like a damned rat.”

Her fortification compressed and compressed until it had become something truly atrocious. The mana under the demons’ domination immediately drew into Ianna’s fortification, unable to withstand its greed for life. She continued,

“So, you’re in no position to be saying that!”

The flash of light pouring out from her sword swallowed the monsters whole.

It was blinding.

~~*~~

Immediately after the first battle had concluded, Ianna rendezvoused with Arhad to go over the situation and plan Wiffheimer’s capture.

“I’ll leave it to you.”

[We’ll do our best!]

First, Ianna asked the spirits to locate Wiffheimer and Linus. The spirits’ powers were miraculous, and they could do what even the powerful abilities of magic could not. Like conducting a secret investigation, for example.

It was impossible for the spirits to track down something that already existed. But they could merge into anything anywhere and conduct a thorough and secretive investigation.

Ianna had told the spirits what Wiffheimer and Linus looked like and had asked them to center their search around Theodore and gradually increase their radius.

The spirits had told her that they would consume more divine power the farther away they were from her and that it would be difficult for them to conduct their search with precision because the Demon’s power was weighing down on everything. They had also warned her that they might miss Wiffheimer entirely if he was using the Demon’s power to disrupt the flow of nature.

But the spirits had begun searching anyway because Ianna had replied and said that it was still better than nothing. The earth, the sky —everything was a part of the spirits, and she figured that nothing in the world could possibly elude them if they investigated in earnest.

Ianna and Arhad left the searching to the spirits and focused on what they could do at the moment.

Battle.

“Wiffheimer’s crafty, so he won’t show himself if he can help it. He wasn’t Keigus Dimitri’s teacher just for show. But he still has his pride.”

“His pride?”

“The bastard declared that he would destroy Roanne. He intends to see that task through to the bitter end. If the war starts looking like it’ll end in our victory, he’ll show up eventually with his greatest weapons in tow lest his pride is crushed underfoot.”

“What are his greatest weapons?”

“The strongest of high-level monsters. You’ve seen a Basilisk before in the Lotso Mountains, right? He probably has a dozen or so of those. He’ll have no choice but to show up because it’s impossible to control them from afar.”

Powerful monsters like the Basilisk had surpassed the realm of ordinary monsters and were practically mythical beings, and they were very intelligent and extremely strong. Even Ianna recalled having troubling dealing with them in her memories of the past. They were the strongest enemies she had ever encountered in the past, save only for Arhad.

“How did he manage to tame them?”

“It’s more accurate to say that he forced them under his control. He’s coercing them under his fragment’s domination despite their resistance. The monster’s will take a look at the situation and return to their original habitats if Wiffheimer’s hold over them is undone. We’ll have to use that opening to attack Wiffheimer.”

Ianna listened quietly to Arhad’s explanation before she asked,

“Is there a possibility that he’ll swallow his pride and withdraw?”

“From what I know of his personality —no. He’s arrogant and prideful, and he’d rather die than take back something he’s already said. He’s absolutely loath to admit that anyone other than the Bahamut imperial family could possibly be his better.”

‘He was like that in the past too.’

Arhad began contemplating to himself.

‘He’s probably invading alone like this because he’s excessively over-confident or because he trusts Taylon to bail him out. Or…….’

A certain memory swept through his mind.

‘Surely not. Did he already complete the Heart Sharing spell?’

It would make sense for Wiffheimer to attack so boldly if he had.

‘But it’s too soon.’

But Eiji’s and Heinrich’s betrayal being found out, among other things, had also happened too soon, as if everything was being swept away by a rushing torrent.

At the end of the torrent was the whirlpool that was Taylon. But Taylon was simply watching over the situation and keeping his silence. Was he truly simply waiting for his enemies to grow stronger? Was he being overconfident and thinking that he could swallow them whole no matter how powerful the torrent grew?

As far as Arhad knew —while Taylon was arrogant, he was also not the type of person to blindly wait for his enemies to grow stronger. He only waited if he had determined that his enemies could never hurt him no matter how far up they crawled or if he had some other motive in mind.

Nothing would be better if the bastard was simply underestimating them. But……what if he was after something else? Arhad hadn’t told Ianna yet, but this was his greatest worry these days.

Ianna stared openly as Arhad lost himself in thought. She slowly moved her hand across the table until she placed it over Arhad’s. The reliable hand holding his and Ianna’s firm gaze brought Arhad back to his senses.

He smirked as his eyes met Ianna’s.

His worries truly did seem to fall flat whenever he was looking at Ianna. What need was there for him to worry when Ianna was on the brink of growing stronger than any other?

She was maturing at the blinding pace.

She was maturing so quickly that he was beginning to think it was beyond his capacity to catch up…….

But Arhad didn’t hate feeling like he was lagging behind her. After all, they had both worked incredibly hard and without any regrets before they had come to this result.

He tapped the smooth skin of Ianna’s forehead.

“You just need to keep fighting. You’re confidant about that, right?”

Ianna nodded back heroically.

“Please leave it to me,”

she said as she caught and slowly brought down the hand above her head. And she sealed her promise with a kiss in his large palm.

“…….”

The soft sensation on his palm made Arhad move his hand and caress Ianna’s cheek. Ianna lowered her eyes as she buried her cheek into his palm. She rubbed against him like a cat as she savored the feeling of being held in his hand.

Ianna liked the touch, strength, warmth, and affection that his hand conveyed……she liked all of it. How nice would it be if it was all hers? Ianna’s eyes were filled with affection as she shot a glance at Arhad.

Arhad squeezed a little. Ianna hadn’t done it intentionally, but the seductiveness of her behavior nearly made Arhad raise the white flag of surrender several times over. But his perseverance, which had endured for dozens, hundreds, thousands of years, barely —just barely— managed to stave off defeat as he eagerly anticipated his ultimate victory.

And so.

Ianna’s perseverance was finally beginning to bottom out. Her anticipation made it difficult for her to breathe as it reached its limits even as she grew ever-impatient.

~~*~~

Two weeks passed.

Wiffheimer and his monsters’ invasion, the kidnapping of Prince Linus, and the civil war started by the nobles in Fernando’s faction.

Fernando and several of his minions had been quickly imprisoned, but the powerful nobles in his faction who hadn’t attended the party on the Thanksgiving of Laos had started a large-scale civil war.

Those nobles who had been staying in their lands had come up to the capital to prepare for battle because Fernando had barked nonsense about destroying the royal seal. But the rebelling nobles had taken the opportunity to sweep through their unguarded lands like a flood.

Theodore, the royal capital, was in a gruesome situation where the civil war was being fought outside its walls and an invasion was taking place inside. But a light had begun flickering even inside the crisis and was growing larger.

And at the center of that light was Angelina, Heinrich, and Ianna.

“Bring the wounded over here!”

Angelina, who had once been known as the most delicate flower in the world, was now playing a pivotal role as the only member of the royal family present. Unlike most royalty, she led both nobles and commoners equally. She supervised the nobility so they could not do anything foolish, and she watched over the commoners with care and attention. When the battles were over, she rolled up her sleeves to help treat them.

“Over here! Come quickly!”

“Y-yes!”

The people hastily followed her lead.

She was a woman, and a beautiful one at that. Societal stereotypes had suppressed her ability to be outwardly strong, but Angelina’s strength had begun budding without ever her own notice.

Heinrich was demonstrating the full might of his magical knowledge with some help from other mages, and the Institution’s forces, now with the support of powerful magic, was eliminating the monsters with Ianna at their core.

Wiffheimer cast stronger spells and sent forth stronger monsters as time passed, as if to indicate his growing rage, but he was stopped at every turn as the Institution’s forces also matured.

Incredible battles broke out by the day.

And Theodore was being devastated as a result. But the fierce battles drew out the people’s spite and helped their battle abilities grow at a blinding pace.

Ianna not only overcame the danger but also used this as an opportunity. She would leave the Institution, and also Roanne, once this incident with Wiffheimer was over. As a farewell present of sorts, she had decided to use this as an opportunity to teach the students here so they could continue to protect Roanne even in her absence. It was hilarious that it was none other than Wiffheimer who had presented her with this opportunity.

Ianna taught the Institution students whenever she judged that the battle was at a lull. Ironically, those she taught felt like they were being grabbed by the collar and dragged into greater heights. But no one complained because they had recently learned about the true extent of Ianna’s skills.

When she wasn’t teaching, Ianna was roaming outside the Institution with other teams to subjugate the monsters. She could have simply gone and slaughtered them all on her own, but that would have been little more than simple manual labor to her. It was much more beneficial to use this as an opportunity to give the others more battle experience.

The way that Ianna continued to work without rest left a deep impression on the people.

“Team 3, to the left, first formation!”

“Yes Ma’am!”

Team 3 ran over to the left as Ianna had instructed and surrounded the speeding monsters in a practiced formation. The mages at the rear supported them.

“There’s a person over here.”

They also rescued any people who had sequestered themselves at home and were unable to leave.

“T-thank you……sniff.”

But just as the students were rescuing people on Ianna’s orders.

Kwooh!

Wandering monsters had spotted them and were rushing over.

Ianna’s sword flashed before the students could even tense up. ‘Flash!’ —and the monsters’ heads went flying. The students looked to Ianna with wonder and awe.

Rumors about Ianna had rippled all throughout the Institution the very day that Ianna had revealed herself. She was the leader of Camastros, commanded a crimson fortification, and was the very person who had forced Wiffheimer into hiding…….

The Institution students had already known that Ianna was amazing, but learning that she was even more amazing than they had ever imagined had made them cross beyond astonishment and fear and into sheer awe. Especially when they actually saw her in battle instead of hearing only the rumors.

And now, two weeks later, Ianna was superhuman in their eyes.

Ianna killed every monster within a certain boundary. One light swish of her sword had caused the monsters to meet their deaths and crumble to the ground.

‘I knew that she was incredible, but…….’

‘Isn’t this too much? Is she even human?’

The students wagged their tongues in fright. But they were also trilled to know that they were currently standing together with someone strong enough to go down in history.

‘She’s awesome.’

‘But she’s leaving next year?’

News that Ianna would be leaving Roanne had already spread throughout the Institution. The students were immensely wistful. Ianna had left deep impressions on many people in different ways.

“We’ve rescued everyone, Miss.”

A Swordsmanship Department student said to Ianna as she was surveying her surroundings. Ianna smiled a little and replied,

“That was quicker than I expected. Good work.”

Her junior quivered in pride.

Why was it?

Ianna had only given him simple praise, but the Swordsmanship Department student had been fond of her to begin with and had also been recently re-enchanted by her charm, so he could not help but feel extraordinarily proud. And it wasn’t only him.

Time passed as it always did.

The monsters were growing stronger and fiercer. And Wiffheimer’s spells were growing scarier and more dangerous. The hyena-like nobles, who claimed to have betrayed the kingdom only because they were cornered, were not dealt with swiftly and truly bit at everything around them with their lives on the line.

But Roanne’s forces were also growing proportionately stronger and more experienced too.

Actually, the scales had been tipping in favor of the monsters and the nobles who had sided with Bahamut. Equilibrium would have been broken immediately if a third party hadn’t leveled the playing field.

And that third party was none other than Camastros —and Ianna in particular.

Ianna was maintaining equilibrium, as though she was making a mockery of the imbalance, and using it to provide her allies with an opportunity to grow. She could have felled her enemies much faster had she mercilessly wielded her sword alone, but she did not do that.

It was the Ianna of the past who had rushed in without paying attention to her surroundings and forced people to run after her in a hurry. The Ianna of the present, while she still maintained her distance so that people wouldn’t rely on her blindly, watched over people as they stood on their own two feet and protected them if they were in danger.

It took a long time, but the people adjusted to war and matured rapidly, just as Ianna had wanted.

And, simultaneously, the people were captivated.

The captivation was contagious. The number of people who liked Ianna increased as she accompanied and rescued more people. The people grew desperately wistful as the day of her departure inched closer.

Ianna was the lamp who cast her gentle light in the pitch darkness of her surroundings.

She didn’t lead them by the hand, but she opened their eyes if they were blinded by the darkness so they wouldn’t fall off the edge of the cliff. And she continuously helped them adjust to the darkness so they could see the path before them.

Now, they could proceed slowly through the pitch darkness even without the lamp because their eyes had adjusted. But it was only natural for people to prefer for the lamp, which they had grown so accustomed to, to still be there with them.

Ianna was charming even if they didn’t strictly need her.

She was bizarrely strong despite her youth, and she was level-minded enough to maintain a perfect equilibrium between her allied and enemy forces even in this extreme situation —in a sense, she almost seemed alien. But she was also humane in how she smiled gently or expressed her anger from time to time, or in how she helped others as her own person.

Those who only knew Ianna through the rumors continued to spread more rumors as they watched her from afar. They accepted her for exactly who she was.

And so, they were captivated.

Naturally, there were still a few people who were still disgusted by the very thought of her, but only a very few. This held true of the nobles as well. Was it because she had declared that she was leaving without any hint of greed for authority, or was it because she was so powerful that they couldn’t even bring themselves to be jealous or envious of her? The nobles could not find a reason to disfavor her.

Rather, the nobility was overflowing with people who thought that they needed to do everything in their power to tie her down. They remembered how they had once treated her, but they floundered in their desire to tie her down to Roanne and their shameless greed to get to know her better.

But they were unable to find the means. She wouldn’t even talk to them kindly unless their conversation had something to do with the war, and she was so strong that they could not tie her down by force.

It was only now that the nobles realized just how truly amazing Schneider’s discernment was. He had obsessed so much over Ianna, whom the nobility had scorned for only being of half-noble blood, that they hadn’t been able to understand him at the time. They had been disgruntled and had wondered if Schneider had simply gone crazy over a woman, but now Ianna was the kingdom’s hero. It had only been natural for Schneider to treat her so well.

It was truly a blessing that Ianna was at least not leaving Roanne for Bahamut, and that, no matter where she went, she would not find herself at odds against Schneider.

And, as for the Swordsmanship Department.

Those who had watched her from up close for so long.

Her cold rationality, her warm disposition, her fiery passion.

Her radiant talent, her fierce efforts, her bottomless perseverance.

The students of the Swordsmanship Department had witnessed all of that, and they were already completely under Ianna’s influence. They even revered her now that she had begun displaying her true skills in earnest.

‘How is she so strong? Is she some kind of monster?’

‘I wouldn’t mind even if she is. I still like her!’

‘Will she keep teaching me if I become her subordinate?’

‘I want to follow her.’

‘Anywhere she chooses to go will be awesome in my eyes.’

Maybe I really……the hazy ideas in their heads were slowly solidifying into will.

Eventually, change came.

‘Ahh……!’

Wiffheimer was about to lose his mind as he clutched the back of his neck.

He had realized that Ianna was maintaining an equilibrium between their forces on purpose. Which was why he had initially attempted to maximize their losses by sending in a lot of powerful monsters at once.

Crunch.

But Ianna had cut them all down. She had simply been giving him a chance to act. Wiffheimer’s pride was crushed to pieces as the monsters he had taken great pains to brainwash were bisected with one slash from Ianna’s sword.

He sent in wave after wave of monsters. The spells he cast were reaching the very limits of extreme. But Ianna was still alive and well, and he hadn’t even been able to touch his true target —that damned Heinrich.

And so, Wiffheimer had realized.

That Ianna Roberstein was truly dangerous.

Truly, truly, truly! She was dangerous beyond compare!

[She’s better than I gave her credit for.]

Taylon, who had simply been waiting and watching no matter what Wiffheimer did, had contacted him first.

“That wench is truly dangerous, Your Majesty. We must nip her while she’s still in the bud!”

Wiffheimer’s beard quivered as he continued,

“This wench will ruin the future you envision if we leave her be, Your Majesty. Please either capture her and gift her to Her Imperial Majesty Empress Isabella or give her to me as a test subject! She’s so powerful despite not owning a fragment —I must experiment on her and see who she really is!”

[I’m aware that she’s dangerous,]

Taylon replied monotonously.

“Then why aren’t you doing anything about her? Both her and the thief! You already know where he is!”

Wiffheimer said as he did his best to keep down his boiling insides.

[The future I envision won’t fall apart. Rather, it’s for the future that I’m leaving them both be.]

“…….”

[I don’t know why ‘Ianna Roberstein’ has taken the stage when she’s not in the memories, but I’ll need her for the future too. Probably.]

Wiffheimer could not understand what Taylon was saying. The emperor had still been arrogant back when he had been roaming the world in search of more fragments. But he had grown terribly strange after he had returned to the imperial palace upon hearing news that war had broken out. He had recited the ‘broken and fragmented memories of the thief’ that he had obtained in Pandemonium like he was having great fun, but he would tell neither Wiffheimer nor the rest of the imperial family about his true intentions. Wiffheimer had no idea what it was that Taylon wanted.

And so, he asked,

“What is this future that you envision, Your Majesty?”

[I will not tell you.]

“And why not?”

[It is prudent to be cautious when there is danger. One slip, and I might be stabbed in the back and subject to failure. But there’s nothing to worry about for now —things are still going according to plan. I need only keep an eye on their movements.]

That was all Taylon had to say about the matter.

[In any event, have you lost?]

he asked Wiffheimer in turn. He continued,

[Just come back and keep researching magic if you’ve lost. That, or hand over your fragment to me.]

Wiffheimer’s heart grew bitter.

His heart was a lump of pride. And his pride was being ripped to shreds. The flames of madness began blazing in Wiffheimer’s eyes.

“No. The victor hasn’t been decided yet! The injustice of it all would kill me if I end things like this. Win or lose, I will see this through to the bitter end. I will prepare thoroughly, and I will pour out my everything before long!”

[Is that so? Then fight. I will be watching.]

Taylon chuckled in his amusement as the ghastly flames in Wiffheimer’s eyes surged.

—“Roanne, Autumn” End