This chapter to be edited probably.
Also, I will keep dropping my discord server link here https://discord.gg/f2mzqAyDPJ.
At the beginning of each chapter, so I would like for more people to join.
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"Sin Archbishop of Pride..."
Halibel rolled the familiar title across his tongue, his voice carrying a faint curiosity that did not quite match the tension coiling through the frozen air.
"So, you're a Sin Archbishop."
Vague did not answer immediately. He simply stood there, several meters away, unmoving, as though the distance between them was not a matter of space but of intent.
"Tell me something, Mad Prince," Halibel continued, his tone light enough to be mistaken for idle conversation if not for the sharpness hidden beneath it. "Was it the Witch Cult that helped you escape?"
Vague's golden eyes remained fixed on him, unblinking, as though the question itself carried no particular importance.
So the silence continued to remain awkward until Halibel decided to cut it.
"I see," Halibel hummed softly, a faint smile forming at the corner of his lips as though the answer had only deepened his interest rather than satisfied it. "Well, I don't really care I don't find out."
The instant those words left his mouth, something appeared behind vague.
Not a sound. Not a warning. Just presence.
A figure.
Halibel.
Or rather—
a Halibel.
The wolfman stood directly behind the Mad Prince, already in motion, his body angled with lethal precision as though the act of appearing there had already been part of the attack itself. Vague's eyes shifted at the very edge of awareness, his body reacting a fraction too late.
Halibel's kunai moved.
There was no flourish, no hesitation, only a clean, decisive arc that cut through the space between them. His strike landed perfectly across Vague's throat.
But...
there was no blood.
Vague's head tilted slightly, almost unnaturally, as his body began to fall backward into the snow. For a brief moment, it seemed as though the battle had ended in a single exchange.
Silence followed.
Halibel stood over the fallen body for a moment, his expression unreadable, though his ears twitched faintly as he listened to the world around him. Then, very quietly, he exhaled a single word.
"Well..."
And then—
Crackle.
Green sparks erupted from the wound.
A faint, unnatural light crawled across Vague's body, and from the throat that should have been incapable of speech came a low, distorted murmur that did not belong to the living.
"...Aeon."
What followed was pure violence.
A flash of light tore through the space between them as Vague's body moved with sudden clarity. Twin swords came free in a single motion, as though it had never truly been sheathed at all, and in the same instant...
SHING!
The blade carved through the Halibel clone.
But it did not stop there.
The strike continued outward, extending far beyond what a single motion should have been capable of, as though the very concept of distance had been ignored. Trees were severed in perfect lines, their trunks collapsing in silence before the sound of their destruction could even begin to form. Branches fell like broken bones, and snow erupted into the air in a violent bloom as an entire section of the forest was erased in a single, continuous arc of destruction.
The clone vanished without resistance.
But Halibel himself was already gone.
A moment later, the real Halibel emerged from the shadow of a distant tree, his body perfectly still as he observed the aftermath.
"So that's your Authority?"
Vague lowered his sword slightly, the green sparks fading from his body as though they had never existed at all.
"No."
Halibel's ears twitched. "No?"
"I cannot use my Witch Factor at present."
Halibel's expression sharpened with genuine interest. "Can't use it?"
"No."
A brief silence followed, heavier than before.
Halibel glanced toward the weapons in Vague's hands, his gaze lingering on it with quiet scrutiny.
"...That sword," Halibel murmured, his eyes narrowing slightly. "It's an enchanted sword, isn't it?"
Vague did not answer.
"You sure you shouldn't be using something like that from the beginning?"
For the first time, something subtle shifted in Vague's expression. Something akin to hesitation.
Then, slowly, he returned it to its sheath.
"Not yet."
Halibel smiled faintly, as though that answer had confirmed something he had already suspected.
Vague drew his ordinary sword instead. It was unremarkable in appearance.
Halibel lowered his stance, his body coiling like a predator preparing to strike.
The snow beneath his feet cracked.
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Halibel the Admirer.
Vague Adgard, the Mad Prince.
They were both hailed as the strongest alongside Cecilus Segmunt. Alongside Reinhard, they were beings that have reached an uncharted territory in terms of strength.
Beings who had crossed the boundary of human limitation so completely that even the concept of comparison began to lose meaning.
Each of them possessed the power to alter the fate of nations.
Each of them could, under the right circumstances, bring an entire country to its knees.
And each of them stood in a category where even Reinhard could not be measured against them in any simple way.
But if the question was reduced to something as crude as strength alone—
then Reinhard stood apart, Uncontested.
The others, however, did not fit into such simple hierarchies.
Their existence was not a ladder, but a shifting equation of variables.
Terrain.
Distance.
Weapons.
Preparation.
Even the smallest difference in circumstance could decide the outcome of a battle between monsters.
And right now...
Most variables were against Halibel.
The terrain was a frozen wasteland, stripped of cover and mercy. The snow betrayed movement, and the open space denied the one advantage Halibel relied on most: disappearance.
And worse...
this was not an assassination.
It was a direct confrontation.
The kind of battle a shinobi would avoid at all costs.
And yet...
he had already killed Vague.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
And then again.
And again.
And again.
Each time, Halibel had found a way to end him.
A severed throat.
A shattered skull.
A blade through the chest.
A strike delivered directly into what should have been a fatal point.
And each time—
it had not mattered.
Vague returned.
Again.
Halibel had long since learned how to bypass the healing blessings of the Church's Paladins. He had learned to strike the exact convergence point of their power, the so-called dead spot where regeneration failed entirely.
It should have worked here.
It did not.
Because Vague had no such weakness.
At least, none that Halibel could perceive.
Halibel's eyes narrowed slightly.
His heart doesn't beat.
Was he alive?
Was he dead?
Or something that no longer fit either definition?
Was he even a human?
Halibel did not know.
And worse...
killing him did not seem to matter.
At first, Halibel had assumed it was some form of regeneration, some hidden reserve of power that allowed him to return again and again, that it would run out eventually. But that explanation had collapsed under its own weight long ago.
Twenty deaths.
More than twenty.
Even the Church's blessings would have failed by now.
And then Halibel noticed it.
A change so subtle it would have been meaningless to anyone else.
The first exchange had been simple. Halibel had evaded it effortlessly.
The second, Vague had adjusted.
The third, his timing had improved.
The fourth—
Halibel had barely escaped.
At first, it had seemed like coincidence.
Then it happened again.
And again.
Every exchange was becoming harder.
Every movement more precise.
Every repetition refining something that should not have been capable of refinement.
Halibel pupils narrowed.
He's learning.
No.
That was not correct.
This was something else.
His body itself was adapting.
Every death, every exchange, every repetition was carving experience directly into his existence.
Nearly two hours had passed since the duel began.
Tanaka, Lilac, Nora, Zank, Mikli and even Tristan.
There were two simple reasons.
The first was the battle itself.
If any of them moved carelessly and entered the domain of those two monsters, they would die before they even realized they had made a mistake.
That was why Halibel had ordered them not to interfere.
It wasn't out of pride, but out of necessity.
There was no opening to exploit.
No moment in which they could safely step between the two. This was a battle between entities who had entered a realm of their own.
And the second reason was the dragon.
The colossal creature remained nearby, its enormous eyes quietly observing them.
Running away had undoubtedly crossed everyone's mind.
But no one acted upon it.
One uncoordinated move and the others would become frozen meat.
So they remained frozen in place.
And amidst all of it, Tanaka couldn't stop thinking about one thing.
His eyes remained fixed on Vague.
A human...?
The question felt wrong the moment it formed.
Or a spirit?
Neither answer seemed sufficient.
Vague felt like both.
And somehow, like neither.
And then there was what he had said at the beginning.
Sin Archbishop of Pride.
The witch cult had a hand in every struggle he encountered so far.
And Vague had also claimed that he couldn't currently use his Witch Factor.
Then what, exactly, was he?
Tanaka's expression darkened.
But there was another concern weighing far more heavily on him.
Zarestia...
And Hugo.
He couldn't sense either of them.
That frightened him.
But if Tanaka couldn't sense them...
Then perhaps Vague couldn't either.
For now, that was the only reassurance he had.
The only option left was to trust Cepheus.
Tanaka clenched his fists as he observed the battle.
Please... Win.
A tug at his jacket interrupted his thoughts.
He looked down.
Lilac was standing beside him.
Her expression was pale.
Her eyes were wide with panic.
"What is it?"
She hesitated.
Then her voice came out trembling.
"I... I can't hear Shion."
Tanaka's expression changed.
"What?"
"I can't hear her at all."
Her fingers tightened around the fabric of his jacket.
It wasn't long before Tanaka encountered them but from what he understood, their connection was similar to his and Cepheus.
Tanaka lost contact with Cepheus several times, but it was mostly because the latter cut the contact on purpose. And now that, he can't sense neither Zarestia nor Hugo.
it was safe to assume that Cepheus had something to do with it.
Tanaka placed a hand on Lilac's shoulder.
"I understand what you're feeling." His voice was gentle, but firm." But we can't do anything about it right now."
Lilac stared at him.
"How can you say that?! Are we supposed to just sit here and do nothing?!"
Tanaka glanced toward Halibel.
"...we'll only make things worse."
Not until the fight ended.
And, with Halibel standing victorious.
Any other outcome...
Tanaka didn't want to imagine it.
But the battle had continued for far too long.
And now something had changed.
Halibel was being pushed back.
For the first time since the duel began, the wolfman was beginning to show wounds.
Lilac's patience finally broke.
Her worry for Shion overwhelmed whatever restraint she had left.
She stepped forward.
"Lilac!"
Tanaka reached for her.
"Wait!"
She didn't listen.
Her eyes fixed upon the Mad Prince.
The Dream Arts activated and the effect was immediate.
Vague's movements faltered and his eyes became unfocused.
"Stop!"
Lilac's ability had worked, but Tanaka still tried to stop her.
He wanted to step in and help Halibel as well, it was killing him from the inside that he wasn't anything. But he couldn't...
Because that might shift the mad prince's attention towards their group, and god forbid if he were to use magic.
He might be able to sense Zarestia or Hugo.
Seeing an opening, Halibel moved on the offensive again.
He didn't hesitate.
The instant Vague's balance shifted, Halibel disappeared.
A blur crossed the snow.
Then another.
Then another.
His Kunai struck.
Vague twisted away.
Halibel's palm slammed into his side.
The impact detonated through the battlefield.
Vague's body was thrown backward.
His feet tore through the snow as he struggled to regain his balance.
Halibel followed.
A second strike.
A third.
Each one aimed at a lethal point.
Yet...
Vague began resisting.
His movements were sluggish, but they weren't completely controlled.
His eyes slowly regained focus.
And then he raised his sword.
CLANG!
Halibel's claws struck the blade.
The impact shook the surrounding snow.
Vague's feet dug into the ground.
His body trembled.
But he held.
Then his eyes sharpened.
His sword moved.
Halibel's expression changed.
He twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the blade.
But the follow-up came immediately.
Vague's free hand struck him.
The blow slammed into Halibel's chest and sent him skidding backward across the snow.
For several meters, he didn't stop.
Then the Mad Prince's golden eyes shifted.
They locked onto Tristan.
Tristan froze.
Vague raised his hand.
His palm opened.
Then...
closed.
"Plunder."
Lilac suddenly gasped.
Her eyes widened.
It felt as though her Dream Arts had collided with an invisible wall.
Her connection to her power vanished.
At almost the exact same moment, Tristan felt something inside himself disappear.
His expression went blank.
His hand instinctively moved toward his chest.
"...He took it."
Tanaka's eyes widened.
"What?"
Tristan's voice trembled.
"My Divine Protection..."
Silence.
Tanaka stared at Vague.
Then everything clicked into place.
His strange abilities, his adaptability, his regeneration, his battle prowess.
Divine protections.
Excluding his already natural strength, that would explain his trump cards.
"So it's true..."
Tanaka's voice was barely audible.
"He can steal Divine Protections."
Halibel had begun this battle with the advantage.
He had been faster.
More skilled.
More unpredictable.
He had killed Vague again and again.
But the longer the fight continued, the more the balance shifted.
The Mad Prince kept returning.
And every time he returned, he became stronger.
Tanaka felt a chill unrelated to the snow.
He could die and return by death.
But death did not make him stronger.
Vague was different.
This can't continue.
Tanaka's jaw tightened.
He couldn't just stand here anymore.
This wasn't a duel between equals anymore.
It had become something else.
If Halibel continued fighting alone...
He was going to lose.
Vague Adgard had reached a level where defeating him through a single combatant was becoming impossible.
Tanaka knew what he had to do.
Even if Halibel had ordered them not to interfere.
Even if doing so meant breaking the terms of the duel.
He had to act.
He took one step forward.
The pressure surrounding the battlefield was suffocating.
His lungs felt as though an invisible hand had wrapped around them.
His legs trembled.
Still, he moved.
One attack.
That was all.
If he gathered every last drop of mana remaining inside him and poured it into a single strike...
Perhaps he could create an opening.
Perhaps he could give Halibel the chance he needed.
"Do not interfere!"
Tanaka froze.
Halibel's voice cut through the battlefield.
The wolfman was hunched slightly, one hand pressed against the wound in his chest.
Blood stained his fur.
His breathing was heavier than before.
Yet his eyes remained sharp.
He looked directly at Tanaka for a split second.
"Remember your priorities."
When Halibel said that, those words seemed to be aimed at the entire group but in reality, they were aimed towards one person.
'I can't risk Zarestia and Hugo's life.'
Those are the words Tanaka said when he was requested to lend a hand.
Tanaka's fists tightened.
Halibel straightened.
Despite the wound.
Despite the exhaustion.
Despite the monster standing across from him.
Halibel still looked as though he intended to win.
Even wounded, even exhausted, there was no surrender in his eyes.
He simply stood there, one hand resting near the wound in his chest, his breathing slightly heavier than before.
Then his gaze shifted toward Vague.
"I hope you intend to keep your word."
Vague looked at him.
"About not harming them."
"I will." His answer came without hesitation. "As I promised, I will spare all of their lives, provided none of them is a filthy spirit."
Halibel's eyes narrowed slightly. He inspected the group multiple times, Zarestia didn't seem to be anywhere around them.
And given the fact that Vague mentioned that he no longer sensed her presence, he could only trust that Tanaka took care of it.
"Can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Why did you ask for a duel?"
Vague remained silent.
Halibel continued.
"You had everyone here at your mercy. You could have simply ordered me to surrender and had me executed."
A faint pause.
"I probably would've accepted it."
That was the truth.
Halibel had accepted the duel because Vague had placed the lives of everyone in the estate on the line.
Vague's golden eyes remained fixed upon him.
Then, quietly, he spoke.
"I think, I do think. I constantly think."
Halibel tilted his head.
Vague's gaze lowered for a moment, as though he were searching for the right words.
"My goal..." His fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword. "For the sake of my goal..."
"I must become stronger."
His eyes returned to Halibel.
"Stronger than you... Stronger than the empire's first general... Stronger than the Kingdom's sword saint."
A brief silence followed.
"I hope they do not stand in my way."
His eyes became colder.
"But if they do..."
The sword in his hand shifted slightly.
"...then I will do what I must."
Halibel stared at him for several seconds.
Then he gave a small nod.
"I see."
Halibel slowly exhaled.
"Then..."
His eyes sharpened.
"I think it's time we put an end to this."
Halibel's hand slowly moved toward his waist.
His fingers wrapped around the hilt of his katana.
For the first time since the duel began, he was going to draw it.
Nora's eyes widened.
She immediately realized what he intended.
"No!"
Her voice rang across, "Halibel-Sama! Don't use it!"
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Halibel was rarely seen without his kiseru.
The pipe was more than a habit.
He needed it.
Every day, he inhaled the special herbs packed within it, allowing their effects to temporarily replenish what his body could no longer naturally sustain.
Because Halibel had once wielded a power that was never meant for him.
A power that, in truth, was never meant for anyone.
The consequences had remained with him ever since.
"So..."
Vague's golden eyes settled upon the weapon in Halibel's hand.
"You possess an enchanted sword as well."
The katana was unlike the ordinary blade Halibel had carried until now.
Dark mist coiled around its length, obscuring the steel beneath it. The surrounding air seemed to warp around the weapon.
The Yin Sword.
One of the ten great enchanted swords in the world.
Weapons that could transcend ordinary understanding when placed in the hands of someone capable of wielding them.
Yet none of them came without a price.
The Dragon Sword Reid would not even leave its sheath unless its wielder was deemed worthy of the opponent before it.
The Yang Sword demanded a wielder possessing both the necessary royal lineage and the qualifications to claim the Vollachian throne, while consuming an immense amount of mana each time it was used.
The Fiend Sword demanded blood.
The Dream Sword devoured dreams and wishes, gradually taking a toll upon the soul of its wielder.
The Life Sword was even more merciless, exacting a terrible price from the very life of the person who wielded it.
And the Yin Sword was no exception.
Its counterpart, the Yang Sword, demanded tremendous mana and the blood of royalty.
The Yin Sword demanded life force.
It consumed the wielder's Od.
And once that Od was exhausted, the wielder would not simply die.
They would become something hollow. A shadow of themselves.
A person stripped of the very foundation that made them who they were.
Long ago, he had wielded the Yin Sword.
He had reached the bottom of his Od.
And unlike others who might survive after paying that price, his body had been too powerful.
His vessel was simply too strong to continue functioning without the energy that sustained it.
It should have killed him.
In fact, it nearly did.
That was when the kiseru had entered his life.
The special herbs within it could temporarily restore his depleted Od. Enough to keep him alive, enough to keep himself.
And so, year after year, he maintained the ritual.
And he understood something.
If he ever wielded the Yin Sword again...
it would kill him.
Halibel knew that.
Nora knew that.
And yet the katana was now completely drawn.
Across from him, Vague's gaze shifted.
"So you've decided to use it."
Halibel didn't answer.
Instead, his eyes moved toward the weapons Vague had just drawn.
Two swords.
Twin blades.
The moment they appeared, brilliant light erupted from their hilts, forming blades made entirely of radiance.
Halibel's expression became slightly more serious.
"You can't use those for long, can you?"
Vague's eyes remained calm.
The fact was that, he used those twin swords at the beginning of the battle. They had an immense destructive power but he quickly sheathed them regardless.
Which means they also have a draw back.
Vague's two blades shone brighter.
"Six seconds."
Halibel's eyes narrowed.
Vague continued speaking in that same detached tone.
"In my experience, anger lasts approximately six seconds."
His twin swords were now fully manifested.
Two brilliant blades of light.
"Only six seconds."
He slowly raised them.
"If you can endure those six seconds, one can overcome the explosion of that primitive emotion."
Halibel inhaled.
Slowly.
Deeply.
His fingers tightened around the hilt of the Yin Sword.
His stance lowered.
The surrounding snow began to shift beneath his feet.
Vague looked directly at him.
"In other words..."
His twin blades crossed slightly.
"If I want my opponent to experience the maximum of my anger..." His golden eyes sharpened. "...then I have six seconds to settle everything."
Silence.
The two monsters stared at each other.
Then....
Halibel disappeared.
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There was no warning.
The world simply seemed to split apart.
Halibel's Yin Sword carved through space itself.
A black rift opened before him, and his body vanished inside.
Vague's eyes immediately shifted.
He moved.
The blade of light swept through the place where his neck had been a moment earlier.
Halibel emerged from the rift behind him.
But Vague had already turned.
His heel slammed into Halibel's chest.
BOOM!
The impact sent the wolfman flying.
He crashed through the snow, his body skidding across the frozen ground.
Vague immediately pursued.
He leapt.
His entire body seemed to become a streak of light.
The twin blades rose above his head.
Then descended.
A vertical slash capable of cleaving through anything in its path.
Halibel's sword moved.
Space split again.
A rift opened directly before him.
He stepped inside.
Vague's blade descended into the ground.
CRASH!
The ground exploded.
The impact was so violent that the earth itself seemed to buckle.
A shockwave tore through the estate.
Snow erupted into the air.
Trees bent.
Stone cracked.
Everyone nearby was thrown from their feet.
Even the colossal dragon above them lost its balance, its enormous body shifting as the earth trembled beneath it.
For one brief moment, the entire battlefield was chaos.
Vague slowly raised his head.
His eyes searched the battlefield.
Halibel was nowhere to be seen.
Then...
A presence above.
Vague looked up.
Halibel emerged from the sky, with vertical dark strike.
Vague raised his blade.
And then...
Stab.
Everything stopped.
Halibel's eyes widened.
Vague's sword had pierced straight through his chest.
The blade protruded from his back.
For a moment, neither moved.
Halibel stared downward.
His eyes slowly lost their light.
His body went limp.
Vague remained motionless.
Then...
Halibel's hand moved. His fingers tightened around the Yin Sword.
Vague's eyes widened.
The blade moved.
His other sword immediately came up to block it.
CLANG!
Or, it should have.
The Yin Sword passed through the blade of light as though it weren't there.
Vague's expression changed for the first time.
The dark blade continued.
Across his right shoulder.
Down his side.
All the way toward his waist.
The slash tore through him.
A portion of Vague's body was severed—
and disappeared into the void opened by the Yin Sword.
For the first time since the battle began...
blood appeared.
It stained the snow.
Both men collapsed. Halibel fell first and Vague followed.
For several seconds, there was nothing.
Nora moved first.
"Halibel-sama!"
She ran.
Tanaka instinctively reached out.
"Nora, wait!"
The dragon.
That was what he feared.
But the colossal creature didn't move.
Nora was already too far away.
She threw herself onto Halibel's collapsed body.
Snow covered his fur.
Blood stained the white ground beneath him.
"Halibel-Sama!"
She grabbed him.
Shook him.
But nothing.
"Please..." Her voice broke. "Please wake up."
Nothing.
"Halibel-Sama!"
Her tears fell freely now, disappearing into his fur.
The man who saved, the man who took her in as his disciple, the man who sacrificed himself so they could all live.
Tanaka stopped several steps away.
He stared.
His chest felt unbearably heavy.
He had watched the entire fight.
He had known Halibel was reaching his limit.
He had known that someone needed to help.
And yet, he had done nothing.
He died for us.
Tanaka's hands trembled.
And I just stood there.
The guilt was suffocating.
He couldn't even bring himself to look at Nora.
Then...
Green light appeared.
Tiny sparks at first.
Then dozens.
They crawled across Vague's fallen body.
Tristan's eyes widened.
"No..."
The green light spread.
It covered the missing portion of Vague's body.
Everything that had been cut away by the Yin Sword slowly reformed beneath the unnatural green glow.
Vague's fingers twitched.
Then he stood.
Slowly.
As though nothing had happened.
Tristan's voice was barely a whisper.
"How...?"
Vague looked down at himself.
Then toward the Yin Sword lying beside Halibel.
He walked over.
Kicked the weapon away.
The enchanted sword skidded across the snow.
"Such a dangerous tool..."
Nora looked up.
Her face was still wet with tears.
Her expression changed.
She reached into her clothing.
A kunai appeared in her hand.
"Hey kid!"
Tristan grabbed her.
"Let me go!"
She struggled.
"Let me go!"
Her voice was filled with rage and grief.
Her body suddenly went limp.
Tristan caught her.
"?"
Lilac lowered her hand, she used her dream arts.
Vague's golden eyes shifted toward her.
He stared.
Then began walking.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Lilac didn't retreat.
Vague stopped before her. "Where is the other one?"
Lilac's expression tightened.
"I can't sense her." His voice remained strangely calm. "Did she finally die?"
Lilac's heart stopped.
He was talking about Shion.
Vague reached out.
His hand closed around Lilac's throat. He lifted her effortlessly her feet left the ground.
"I don't sense her anymore." His fingers tightened. "Under normal circumstances, I would kill you regardless."
Lilac struggled for breath.
Then, Vague released her.
She collapsed onto the ground, coughing.
His gaze continued moving.
One person after another.
Until it stopped.
Mikli.
Zank.
His eyes narrowed.
"You two. You were Temple Knights."
A pause.
"Formerly, I suppose."
Vague's gaze shifted slightly.
"I can sense your spirits." Mikli's face went pale. "Hand them over."
Neither moved. They couldn't.
This wasn't a simple request
Their spirits weren't possessions.
They were companions, their family.
And Vague was asking them to surrender them to be killed.
Mikli's hands trembled.
Zank instinctively stepped in front of her.
Vague's expression hardened.
His twin swords appeared again.
The blades of light illuminated the snow.
"Six seconds."
Mikli's face went white.
"No..."
Before she could finish, the two spirits emerged from their pouches.
A blue spirit.
And a red one.
They floated before their contracted partners, and they did so willingly.
Mikli's eyes widened.
"Wait!"
She reached out.
"Don't—!"
The twin swords flashed.
The spirits were consumed.
Their forms dissolved into brilliant light and were drawn into the blades.
Mikli froze.
Her eyes began to fill with tears, Zank immediately caught her.
She clutched his clothing.
The Mad Prince didn't even look back.
His gaze continued moving, evaluating every single individual.
Until finally, it stopped on the servants.
He began walking toward them.
Vague passed through the crowd.
Then stopped.
His hand reached out.
He grabbed one man by the collar.
Kazuki Tanaka.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Tristan's hand went to his sword.
Tanaka saw it.
Their eyes met.
Tanaka gave the smallest shake of his head.
Don't.
Tristan froze.
There was no point.
Halibel was dead.
The strongest person among them had failed. If Tristan attacked now, he would only die.
But Tanaka couldn't hide his own fear.
His mind raced.
Why me?
Out of everyone here...
why him?
Why had the Mad Prince specifically chosen him?
Then one possibility entered his mind.
Zarestia.
Hugo.
He found out.
Vague stared at him.
His expression changed.
"You..." His eyes traveled over Tanaka from head to toe.
"What are you...?"
Tanaka's heart pounded.
"Huh?"
Vague continued staring.
As though Tanaka were something he had never encountered before.
Something that didn't fit into the world he understood.
Tiriena finally spoke.
For the first time in more than two hours.
"He's my servant!"
Her voice was tense.
"As you can see, he's a dark-haired man. Spirits dislike him, so I took pity on him and hired him."
Vague didn't respond.
He wasn't listening.
His eyes remained fixed upon Tanaka.
Then, quietly, "Excuse me..."
Tanaka's eyes widened.
Stab.
The cursed sword pierced his body.
Tanaka's breath caught.
Pain exploded through his chest.
His vision immediately began to blur.
Vague looked at the wound with detached curiosity.
"Oh."
His voice was almost apologetic.
"You are bleeding... It's seems that you are human, my apologies."
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Tristan's voice thundered.
Vague glanced at him.
"I made certain that I did not damage his Gate."
He looked back at Tanaka.
"I don't care about your relationship with him, or who he is."
Tanaka could barely hear him anymore.
The world was becoming distant.
His knees weakened and he fell to the ground.
His vision darkened at the edges.
The last thing he saw was the Mad Prince's emotionless face.
__
___
____
"Let me out!"
Zarestia's voice rang across the grassy hill, sharp with desperation.
She stood with her fists clenched at her sides, her eyes fixed on Cepheus. The tension that had weighed upon her moments earlier had vanished, replaced by a stronger emotion.
She had watched everything.
She had watched Halibel fall and the mad prince stabbing Tanaka.
She had been forced to watch it all from afar, unable to move, unable to reach him, unable to do anything.
Cepheus remained unmoved.
"If I let you out now, you're going to get yourself killed."
Zarestia's eyes narrowed.
"I don't care."
"And him as well."
Her expression faltered.
Cepheus sighed.
"You aren't thinking clearly."
"I said let me out!"
Zarestia's fingers trembled.
Cepheus continued before she could interrupt.
"Besides, he's not going to die."
"...What?"
His gaze shifted toward the distant figures below.
"Those two, however..."
He raised one finger.
The orange-haired boy.
Then another.
The girl beside him.
"They will."
Zarestia's expression stiffened.
Cepheus's gaze returned to her.
"You are a Great Spirit. You'll last longer than them. But eventually, even you will begin to weaken."
Cepheus's voice became quieter.
"Those two will inevitably die... Unless something is done..."
*********************************************************************************************************
"Ha... Haah..."
Tanaka jolted awake.
His lungs desperately dragged in air as though he had just surfaced from the bottom of a lake.
For several seconds, he couldn't understand where he was.
Then instinct took over.
His hand immediately went to his stomach.
The place where the sword had pierced him.
"Augh!"
Pain exploded through his body.
Tanaka doubled over, his fingers pressing against the bandages wrapped tightly around his abdomen.
"Tanaka-Sama!"
The familiar voice immediately drew his attention.
He turned his head.
A blond man with a neatly trimmed mustache stood beside him, concern written plainly across his face.
"Misère... San?"
Tanaka tried to sit upright.
"What is this...? Where are w—"
The movement sent another wave of pain through his body.
"Augh!"
"Please, Tanaka-Sama. Don't move."
Misère immediately reached out to support him.
Tanaka gritted his teeth and looked down.
His stomach had been wrapped in layers of bandages. The treatment was crude but effective enough to keep the wound from opening.
"My apologies, Tanaka-Sama. We wished to properly treat your injuries, but Vague Adgard did not permit us to use anything that might restore your mana."
"You don't have to apologize."
Tanaka forced himself to sit upright.
"I can heal myself."
He placed a hand against his wound.
A moment passed but nothing happened.
Tanaka frowned.
"...Huh?"
He tried again.
Still nothing.
His expression slowly changed.
"Why isn't it working?"
He couldn't feel it, the mana flowing in his body.
It was eerily similar to the first days after he had arrived in this world, before Beatrice had accidentally forced his gate open and nearly killed him in the process.
Misère lowered his gaze.
"We are in the northernmost tower."
Tanaka looked at him.
"The northernmost tower?"
"Mana cannot circulate here. Neither can it enter from outside."
Misère glanced toward the surrounding walls.
"This is the same place where the Mad Prince was once sealed."
His voice grew grim.
"And now, it serves as a prison for those who have defied him."
Tanaka's stomach sank.
Just when he thought things couldn't become any worse. He slowly turned his head and finally examined his surroundings.
The tower was enormous.
Its interior was almost unnaturally spacious, with smooth walls stretching high above them. A strange, translucent barrier ran along the edges of the structure, separating the prisoners from the edges.
And there were many of them.
People scattered throughout the enormous chamber.
Some sat against the walls.
Others simply stared into nothingness.
None looked as though they possessed the will to escape.
Then Tanaka saw someone familiar.
A small red-haired girl sat with her knees pulled against her chest.
Nora.
Her face was empty.
Her eyes stared downward without focus.
Tanaka's gaze moved again.
And froze.
"Zarestia!"
He immediately pushed himself to his feet.
"Tanaka-Sama!"
Misère tried to stop him, but Tanaka was already moving.
He hurried across the floor and dropped beside her.
Zarestia lay on her back, completely motionless.
Her eyes were closed.
"Zarestia."
Nothing.
"Hey."
Tanaka placed his hand against her shoulder.
"Zarestia, wake up."
He shook her gently.
Nothing.
Then...
"Master!"
Tanaka froze.
A faint blue light emanated from the gemstone embedded within Zarestia's bracelet.
His expression immediately softened.
"Hugo..."
The blue crystal pulsed once.
"Master, I'm here."
Tanaka let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"Thank God..."
He lowered his voice.
"What happened?"
His gaze returned to Zarestia.
"Why is she unconscious?"
Before Hugo could answer...
"You are awake."
The voice came from behind him, it was cold.
Tanaka turned.
Lilac was walking toward him.
Her expression was twisted by exhaustion, grief, and anger.
Before Tanaka could react, she seized him by the collar and pulled him upward.
"What are you—"
"If we had helped Halibel from the beginning..."
Her voice trembled.
"...maybe none of this would've happened."
"Miss Lilac!" Misère immediately stepped forward. "Stop! Tanaka-Sama is injured!"
Lilac ignored him.
"Stop it!"
Hugo's voice rang from the crystal.
"Master listened to Halibel-San! He did everything because he didn't want anyone else to get hurt!"
Lilac's grip tightened.
"And look where that got us!"
Her voice cracked.
"We're trapped here! Halibel is dead!"
Tanaka's expression darkened.
"And now Zarestia and Shion are going to die if we don't escape!"
Tanaka's eyes widened.
"What?"
Lilac finally released his collar.
"What did you just say?"
Hugo answered in a much quieter voice.
"That white-haired man said that spirits cannot survive here without mana."
The blue crystal flickered.
"Shion-San and I... we won't be able to remain conscious forever."
Tanaka's face went pale.
"But..."
"Zarestia Nee-Sama is different."
Hugo's voice was almost apologetic.
"Because she's a Great Spirit, we can borrow a small amount of her Od."
Tanaka's knees weakened.
He dropped down.
His voice barely escaped his throat.
"Why would she..."
Mikli stepped between Tanaka and Lilac.
"We didn't do anything either."
She looked toward Lilac.
"It's not his fault."
Lilac's fists trembled.
"We should have at least tried..."
Her voice became quieter.
"That crazy king..."
She looked around the tower.
"What is he going to..."
Tanaka looked down at Zarestia's sleeping face. The sight almost threw him into despair.
Then Hugo spoke again.
"Master."
Tanaka looked toward the crystal.
"Zarestia Nee-Sama asked me to tell you something. 'Don't worry about me. I will be fine. I will hold on until we get out of here.'"
Tanaka's eyes widened.
"She said that?"
"Yes."
For several seconds, Tanaka couldn't speak.
He was processing what Hugo was doing, he was reassuring him...
"Master."
"What?"
"We will be fine, so don't worry."
Hugo's voice became gentle.
"I will go to sleep as well. That way, Shion-San and I won't put too much strain on Nee-Sama."
He was trying to make things easier for him.
Even now.
"I see."
He reached toward the crystal.
"Thank you, Hugo."
The blue light flickered. And then, It faded.
Tanaka remained there for another moment.
Then he slowly stood.
He tried magic again.
Nothing.
His mana simply refused to move.
Tanaka clenched his fist.
This time, he properly examined the barrier surrounding the tower.
Inside the tower, he was surrounded by a layer that covered the edges of the tower.
At one section of it stood an enormous door.
White light poured from its seams.
Tanaka stared at it.
His gaze then shifted.
Nora hadn't moved.
The other prisoners hadn't either.
Then Tanaka noticed something.
Someone was missing.
"Where's Tristan?"
Misère immediately answered.
"He should be coming out soon."
As if summoned by his words—
The white door opened.
A figure stumbled through.
"Tristan!"
The knight collapsed onto his knees.
He began coughing violently, struggling to breathe.
Tanaka rushed toward him.
"Are you alright?"
Tristan slowly lifted his head.
His eyes widened.
"Ta... naka-Sama?"
Then his expression changed.
Fear.
"Tanaka-Sama!"
He grabbed Tanaka's sleeve.
"You can't."
"What?"
"You mustn't enter that place."
Tanaka frowned.
"What happened?"
Misère answered before Tristan could.
"We asked the prisoners about escaping." He pointed toward the glowing door. "They told us that the only path out of this tower is through there."
Tanaka looked at the door.
"But?"
"You cannot simply climb over the barrier."
Misère shook his head.
"Magic doesn't work here. Divine Protections are suppressed. Even races with enhanced physical abilities become no different from ordinary humans."
Tanaka's eyes narrowed.
"And what's on the other side?"
This time, someone else answered.
"It's the Gaddogi Maze."
Tanaka turned.
Zank sat against the wall, his expression grim.
"It takes you into the past."
"...The past?"
Tristan nodded.
"When I entered that door..." His gaze became distant. "...I began my life again."
Tanaka stared at him. "What do you mean?"
"I was born again."
Tristan's voice trembled slightly.
"I lived through everything. My family. My childhood. Joining the Knights. The Demi-Human War."
His hands clenched.
"Even my death."
Tanaka's expression changed.
"I joined the Crusch Karsten campaign to hunt the White Whale..."
Zank's eyes became hollow.
"And we were massacred."
"What?"
Tanaka shook his head.
"That's impossible. We killed the White Whale. Almost everyone survived, I mean you are here alive."
Tristan slowly looked at him.
"Tanaka-Sama wasn't there."
"...What?"
"Neither was Subaru-Dono."
Tanaka froze.
"In the maze, you never joined the expedition." Tristan continued. "You weren't there during the Royal Selection either."
That made no sense.
If this truly was an alternate reality...
Then perhaps it explained why he was absent.
But Subaru?
Subaru was supposed to exist in every possibility.
At least, that was what Tanaka was led to believe.
"How many people have entered?"
Zank counted on his fingers.
"First, the girl."
He pointed toward Nora.
"Then me."
He pointed toward himself.
"Tristan went after me."
His expression darkened.
"I'm not certain about the young lady." His eyes shifted toward Zarestia. "But when Sir Tristan and I died, we failed to clear the maze."
His description sounded oddly familiar.
"Based on what you are saying, it seems like a trial or visions. Maybe some delusions of an alternative reality."
"No! They weren't memories... I was there... From the moment I was born, I remember every sensation."
"I see..."
Probably after discussing it more, they could come up with a better hypothesis.
"Regardless, I have to go in."
But there was no time to figure it out.
"Tanaka-Sama!"
Tristan tried to stop him but...
"I can't wait."
His voice was firm.
"Every second I spend standing here is another second Zarestia is losing."
Misère tried to stop him.
"You are still injured, please wait a..."
"I can't wait! Every moment I waste doing nothing, I risk losing everything."
At this point, if dying was the worst thing that could happen, then he shouldn't hesitate.
Him hesitating is what might have led them to this situation, he was afraid to rely on return by death because of what happened before and he ended up like this.
Tanaka stepped forward without stopping.
One step.
Then another.
And finally...
He crossed the threshold.
White light swallowed him.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In front of him sprawled an unfamiliar and vast terrain, with a massive mansion or a castle that stood in front of him.
He found himself in a spacious garden adorned with meticulously cared-for trees and lush grass.
Despite finding himself in an unknown location, he didn't display any signs of panic. Perhaps he desensitized or It would be more appropriate to say that he was half asleep.
Tanaka then took a deep breath and slowly approached the massive door of the mansion before him.
*********************************************************************************************************
Notes:
With this, Arc 7 is officially finished and we start Arc 8.
I think I rushed this chapter a bit, several times I thought I should finish the chapter at a certain point but I always said fuck it and I'm closing the arc in one chapter. It's rushed and I might have messed up some details, but the core idea should be there.
But I will highlights things just in case:
- No one could have interfered in the fight for four reasons: Three known (The dragon + Halibel telling them not to + they are not built for this). An unknown reason is that the Mad prince is stronger when fighting multiple enemies so it's better this way.
- Lilac blaming Tanaka is valid, kinda. She was dead worried about her other half and Tanaka constantly prevented anyone from interfering in the fight. Tanaka did that because he was afraid he might trigger the dragon and because Halibel told him so, he also didn't want to use magic because the mad prince might sense a correlation between his mana and Zarestia.
- The mad prince thinks that Shion or whoever is not currently using the physical body is a spirit, so that's why he was going to kill Lilac.
- That tower where they imprisoned, Cepheus told Zarestia that Shion and Hugo would die if they were thrown in the tower, and the only way to survive is to let them feed on her Od. And when she does that, it would also accelerate her death as well.