Chapter 352 - EASG 50

Boom, Crash! Clang!

The ground began to shake. It wasn't just a few simple explosions in the building. The ground itself, even in the underground research facility, was shaking.

Since it was a facility located underground, the vibrations could easily be felt. Dust began to fall between the bricks surrounding the outer wall of the hall, blocking my view.

Crumble.

A few grains of dirt fell down onto Arwen's pale cheeks.

"It's begun."

Arwen spoke seriously as she lowered her head, and her body began to tremble all over.

Booom! Booooom! Booooooooooooom!

Whirlik! Whirick!

"Kyaaaaah! What is that?!"

Yennekar screamed in surprise. Something broke through the ground,

It was a disgusting tentacle with flesh stuck to it. It wasn't small, but it also wasn't that big, either.

I felt sick just looking at it as it oozed out mucus. Tentacles began to rise up across the ground.

What was happening on the ground?

Needless to say, the advent of the evil god Mebula was taking place.

"Crazy bastard…"

All of a sudden, I started to swear. I came all the way to Rothstyalor Mansion to find Krepin's weakness, but I never thought that I would actually have to fight Mebula.

However, now that I was witnessing the advent of the evil god, it seemed Krepin had crossed the bridge of no return.

The most conclusive evidence of his experiments for the advent of the evil god Mebula came from Krepin himself.

There was no need for piles of paperwork. Mebula's disgusting tentacles covering the ground would be clear enough evidence.

He was a madman who tried to gather the strength of a disaster in his grasp by sacrificing numerous distinguished aristocrats and renowned scholars at Silvenia Academy.

However, no matter how crazy he was, he was still cautious. So even though Lucy, who was like an iron wall, was blocking his path… He wasn't the type of person to recklessly draw on the powers of the Evil God in such a way.

Certainly, there had to be another variable.

According to the original storyline, it wasn't time for Krepin to attempt the advent of the Evil God yet. As far as I knew, it wouldn't be until next semester that Krepin started to earnestly prepare the summoning of Mebula.

And that reason was…

"Princess Penia…?"

"…Ed!"

Suddenly, I felt a chill down my neck. Yennekar, who couldn't move because of the shaking, called my name as if she were worried.

"Ed! I think it will collapse soon! We need to go up to the ground level quickly!"

"..."

When I looked towards Arwen, she lowered her head with a smile.

"You don't have to worry about me. Hurry up and escape."

"…What did you say?"

"Father would never let me die. He's someone who can't do that."

Saying that, Arwen smiled calmly under the ceiling that began to crumble, bit by bit.

Her pale expression made her look like a ghost. Looking at her gave me chills.

Yennekar was hesitating as she looked at her. I also hesitated for a moment before clenching my teeth and running away, holding Yennekar's hand.

As we ran past the prison we had just passed through, we ended up back at the lab, filled with all sorts of research materials. Those disgusting-looking flesh tentacles were coming out from the ground there as well.

As we ran through the lab, I grabbed anything I could get my hands on, flipping through and reading it.

The study itself seemed as if it would end up being destroyed.

Krepin visited Acken Island and attempted the advent of the Evil God around the time the protagonist's generation entered winter break of their second year.

In other words, there should have still been at least half a year left.

However, looking through the research material, it seemed that he was already near the final stage.

The research of magic and flow of magic power had been completed to the extent that there wouldn't be a problem even if he were to call on the Evil God at that very moment.

All that was left for him was to gather worthy enough sacrifices.

Unfortunately, there was no better day than at the social gathering held at Rothstaylor Mansion, when high-quality offerings were all gathered in one place.

It was clear Krepin's research was much faster than in the original storyline. He completed his research nearly half a year early. Because of that, it wasn't all that strange that he would try to summon the Evil God sooner than I expected.

And if I tried to think of the cause, there were a number of events I would need to look through.

However, without much thought, my solid guess was that it was because Princess Penia didn't run for the student council president election. That was the only reason I could think of.

In the original timeline, Princess Penia became the student council president and used the school's power and her imperial powers to constantly suspect and keep Krepin in check.

However, the current student council president was Tanya Rothstaylor, who was close with House Rothstaylor.

Although Tanya also had suspicions about Krepin's actions, she wasn't willing to actively confront the head of her house.

It was completely different from Princess Penia, who aggressively kept him in check.

I didn't realize it while playing , but Penia's actions were more than just politically oppressing Krepin. She also acted as a hindrance that prevented him from focusing on his research.

Without Penia getting in his way, Krepin's research proceeded quickly. In the end, he ended up completing it far sooner than I expected. Now, there was no need for him to raid Silvenia Academy in a cumbersome way just to secure offerings. It was more than enough to use the attendees of the social gathering that just so happened to be held at the right time.

After realizing all of that, it suddenly became clear as to why he had called me to the mansion under the pretense that he was going to reinstate me to House Rothstaylor.

He intended to sacrifice me while attempting the advent of Mebula. The perfect way to dispose of me once and for all.

At that moment, people were saying that I was becoming more competent, and my reputation was growing. Thus, it was not only the perfect excuse to say that I was being reinstated to the house, but also the perfect sacrifice as well.

Slam!

I slammed opened the door of the lab as I ran straight down the brick hallway.

Yennekar followed, gasping for breath as she clenched her teeth. She looked like she was struggling quite a bit, so I picked her up and ran. I wanted to summon a spirit and have it fly us away, but the space in the hallway was too narrow to do so.

"H-Huh?! Ed?!"

Yennekar started squirming as she blushed in embarrassment. It wasn't the time to have such a reaction.

Crumble, Boom! Clang!

A tentacle protruded from the floor, stretching across the ground. Dodging the tentacles here and there, I ran up the stairs.

"E-Ed… Am I not too heavy…?! Isn't it tiring?!"

"Not heavy!"

"That's a relief!"

I only gave a quick response as I picked up the speed. Bricks fell as the ground trembled. If one of them happened to hit my head directly, it wouldn't be strange to instantly die.

After running for a while, I finally saw the door that led out of there. Without wasting any time, I sprinted out of the door.

Boom!

And the sight in front of me.

I never thought that the situation outside was normal. Still, it was much more than anything I would have thought… Both Yennekar and I caught our breath.

There were a total of five buildings that were arranged in a circle around Rothstaylor Mansion, which was further surrounded by a larger outer wall.

The exit we came from was the third floor of the most luxurious building, the central mansion. As it was a secret space that was built next to the kitchen, it should have been dark and isolated. However, surprisingly, the view in front of us was wide open.

That was because… More than half of the wall of the central mansion had been blown away.

Because of that, we could see the entirety of Rothstaylor Mansion.

From the servant's residence, the spire, the central mansion, to the annex. There wasn't a single building left unharmed.

However, now wasn't the time for me to be concerned about the state of the buildings.

Whoosh.

My hair fluttered from the wind.

On a night where the moon shined brightly, massive tentacles rose up against the dark sky. The tentacles, which rose higher than the buildings, began to destroy everyone around them without distinguishing between them.

And with the bright moon in the background, a huge piece of flesh hung in the air.

It was so massive that even the broken buildings only looked like mere toy blocks to it, and it had eyeballs attached to it.

Humans had two eyes, but does the Evil God known for hatred and anger need more than that?

Dozens, if not hundreds, of eyeballs could be seen all over. It was as if it were looking over the entire world. It was such an unpleasant sight that my skin began to crawl.

Then, dozens of layers of magic circles began to stack on top of each other, covering the entire sky. At first glance, it seemed impossible to figure out the identity of those magic circles. But I had already seen them several times.

, Act 4's final battle.

It was the same magic circles that covered the sky of Acken Island during the Krepin Subjugation.

"E-Ed…"

"Listen well, Yennekar."

I put my hands on her shoulders as I spoke, looking straight into her eyes.

"That magic circle was cast to offer sacrifices to the Evil God. It was probably cast by borrowing on the magic power of Mebula. But the Evil God Mebula would never grant a human's wish without pay."

"Th-Then…"

"So. If you are in range when the magic circle is activated… It is very likely that you will lose your life."

Yennekar's eyes trembled slightly. Although I had survived countless crises, where my life was on the line, death still seemed like a distant concept to Yennekar.

"You and I are the only ones who have seen exactly what was happening down there. At least one of us has to live."

"If you are going to tell me to run out of its range first, I'll get mad."

However, Yennekar predicted what I was going to say next, prematurely rejecting it.

"Listen, Ed. If it's for you, I can die."

She then grabbed my collar, speaking straight at me. She spoke so strongly that I wondered if she really was the easygoing Yennekar that I knew.

"It's not 'one of us' that has to survive. We both need to survive. Either way, if you die, Ed…"

After saying that, Yennekar started to grin as she muttered. She seemed to have gotten a grip of herself after seeing my expression as I wondered, 'What the heck is she thinking of?'

Did she get overly excited because of the situation? She couldn't hide her inner thoughts and only realized she said something she shouldn't have after the fact.

"Th-That's not what I meant…"

"Thanks, but I don't think we have the time to go on about that."

Mebula was floating up in the sky. The Evil God was getting ready to move at any moment. The tentacles of the Evil God had already begun to destroy the buildings and kill people.

Once the contract was complete, Krepin would be able to wield a power that ignored even the provinces of the world.

If that happened, was as good as over. The story would end with Krepin moving on to attack the Kroel Imperial Family.

At that moment, it had already been revealed to the public that he had put the life of countless distinguished guests at risk, and he had meddled with something forbidden.

He turned the entire empire into his enemy in an instant. So, if he wanted to do something more with that power, he had no choice but to eventually gather all the authority in his own hands. Once he crossed the line, he would have to go all the way to the end.

"The Evil God is already attacking people. The banquet hall, where all the guests gathered, is probably in chaos."

Yennekar already firmly said she wouldn't run away, so I couldn't convince her any further.

So, in that case, we needed to create a list of priorities to fix the situation quickly.

Just as we always had.

"We need to figure out if there have been any major casualties. And if there has, we need to figure out to what extent… Then, we will have to save as many as we can. Yennekar, since you can handle a large number of spirits, you should be able to cover a large area all at once."

"Then… What about you, Ed?"

"I'm going to catch Krepin Rothstaylor."

Hearing those words, Yennekar's eyes started to tremble again. It seemed that my expression wasn't normal.

I needed to finish things once and for all.

Going to Silvenia Academy, quarreling with House Rothstaylor over the past few years, and that cruel fate… I needed to end it all.

"Then… What do we do about that creepy Evil God up in the sky…?"

"That…"

Booom, Crash!

Before I could say anything, someone flew by, slamming into the kitchen, which was next to where we were standing.

Crumble!

Crash!

Some of the building's rubble crashed on top of them. But with a single gesture, it was all thrown away with an explosion.

Booom!

In the rising dust, the figure of the person stuck in the wall slowly came into view.

"Cough, Cough…"

That petite body. The witch hat that she held onto, in case it flew away as she sneezed.

Lucy Mayreel sat still as she leaned forward, staring at Mebula up in the sky with blank eyes. And then she started to frown.

"Lucy!"

I quickly turned, running towards her. When I bent down to check her condition, Lucy quickly grabbed my forearm with both hands, standing up.

She was so light that the series of motions ended in an instant.

"That thing is definitely not normal."

She was thrown into the building from an extremely high point in the sky, but aside from some dirt, there was not a single scratch on her body.

Maybe because her pride was hurt, she looked particularly motivated.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"The way it uses magic power is so unique that defensive magic is completely useless. It seems like gravitational magic, but it's not simply cast through a physical force… It's definitely not a normal type of magic."

Lucy was talking a lot when compared to her usual self. That just meant that the opponent was that special.

"It uses magic that can't be blocked through normal means and forms of magic power."

Lucy already knew how to handle various forms of magic power.

Even to her, it was an opponent that was unfamiliar. To that extent, the Evil God Mebula was an enemy that had surpassed the realm of human understanding.

I quietly clenched my teeth as I fell into thought. I then put my hand into my pocket as I spoke.

"Lucy. It'll be dangerous if you go any further…"

"I will win."

However, Lucy decided to finish my sentence for me.

"Rather than a battle of magic, it will be a simple battle of magic power consumption. So, it will take some time."

After saying that, she took off her witch hat as she threw it on the floor of the kitchen. She also took off the coat that didn't fit her and threw it near her hat. She rolled up the sleeves of her shirt, which was covered in dirt.

She got rid of her tired eyes as she looked up at the sky, eyes wide open. Lucy's magic power began to form around her.

Fwooooosh!

The energy of the magic power jumped up. It wasn't at a level that just filled her.

The entire area was completely filled with Lucy's magic power. The atmosphere began to tremble from the sheer amount of magic power that flew around.

That small disaster moved. She had the power to turn an entire area into nothing if she desired.

"..."

She stretched out one hand towards the sky. With her fingertips stretched out, it was as if she could grab Mebula, who was floating in the sky, with one hand.

An advanced magic circle that would take an ordinary magician an entire day to cast even once. Dozens of them began to be cast, one after another, and centered around Mebula.

Then, a circle much larger than the rest covered Mebula's stomach.

At that moment, all of Mebula's eyes turned towards Lucy. Even the Evil God who could destroy the entire world had no choice but to focus its attention on the source of it.

Finally, a massive defensive circle covered all the other magic circles that were aimed at Mebula. It was the ultimate defensive magic, Essence Wall.

It might look like the defensive circle was cast to protect Mebula, but it was the other way around. Lucy had cast it to protect the outside from the explosion.

Then, Lucy clasped her hands tightly.

A sun began to rise in the night sky.

The darkness of the night was momentarily gone. And for a brief moment, the world was greeted with bright daylight.

Fwoooooosh!

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom!

It wasn't the sound of an explosion, but rather a volcano erupting. You wouldn't be able to tell if it was magic that came from a person or a natural disaster caused by God's wrath.

Advanced explosive magic, Destruction. Fifty-eight times in a row.

Plus, the ultimate explosive magic, Moment of Genesis.

And on top of that, the ultimate defensive magic was cast to protect the area.

In order to cast even a single advanced magic, an academy senior-level professor would need to completely focus.

And yet, here there was a monster that could cast over fifty of them as if she were simply breathing.

When Lucy did her best, she was at a level that was far beyond the realm of a human being. Needless to say, she was like a monster.

"Eugh."

After a moment of anemia, Lucy staggered, falling into my arms. She held onto my arms tightly as she looked back up at the night sky.

In the rising smoke, Mebula was still there.

It had endured the ridiculous explosion as it floated calmly in the sky. Some of its countless number of eyes had been damaged, but it didn't lose any strength.

It was a perfect attack, but not a critical hit.

And Mebula realized who the most dangerous person in Rothstaylor Mansion was.

In an instant, all kinds of magic circles were cast around the mansion. At the same time, the tentacles rushed forward, aiming to twist Lucy's small neck.

With a wave of her hand, Lucy destroyed all the magic circles as she twisted apart the tentacles.

Then, patting her clothes, she ran towards the open wall as she looked up straight in the sky.

"It'll be dangerous to stay near me."

Lucy looked back at me as she spoke.

Numerous tentacles floated in the sky, and there stood the horrific Mebula. A magic circle meant for sacrifice stood there in the starry sky.

Standing with such strange scenery behind her, she said to me,

"Are you going to catch that man?"

"Yes."

"He threw that disgusting thing at me before running towards the annex. He probably intends to activate the magic circle up there in the sky."

A gust of wind ruffled her hair. Lucy wiped away the dust and dirt she was covered in as she spoke.

"He was also probably the medium that summoned that Evil God. So, if you can catch and subdue him, that eyeball over there will also be greatly weakened. Then, it'll be easier for me to finish it."

"Can you hold out 'til then?"

"Me, hold out?"

Lucy's expression didn't change.

"It's not me who has to hold out. It's that eyeball who does."

'If I fight to the very end, I will be the one to win.' She showed that sort of confidence, but unfortunately it was us in the hot seat.

The longer the fight, the more casualties. And the only people who were gathered there were distinguished guests.

And if Mebula's powers were fully realized, the damage might not end with just the Rothstaylor Estate.

"That's why you need to finish things well. I came here to help you with that, after all."

After saying that, Lucy turned around, jumping up into the sky. Meanwhile, Yennekar was watching the entire situation from a corner. She glared up at the sky as she let out a sigh.

Lucy had cast wind magic to fly towards Mebula using flying magic.

* * *

Booooom! Crash!

"Kyaaaah!"

"Call the guard! The guards!"

"Help! Keuaaghk!"

It had been a while since the banquet hall had been thrown into chaos.

As the walls collapsed and the tentacles flooded in, those who had combat abilities began to fight back… All the high-ranking nobles screamed as they were busy running away.

Meanwhile, the Evil God could be seen through the collapsed wall, as well as the massive explosion that lit up the sky. Everyone was in chaos from the urgent situation.

"What are the soldiers doing…?!"

Rothstaylor's men, who were brought over by the Brown Bear Knight Nox, were still blocking the entrance.

A nobleman, who had reached the limit of his temper, hit a soldier in the back of his head and demand for him to move. Still, they didn't even flinch.

"Are these guys crazy…?!"

"All of you, out of the way…!"

"…Miss Clarice!"

In the banquet that was in chaos, Saint Clarice stepped forward.

The head of House Bloomriver, Sinir Bloomriver, was at the center of those in combat, protecting the distinguished guest. However, there was an overwhelming number of non-combatants compared to those who could fight. It was inevitable that eventually, someone would get hurt.

"I need to contact the Knight Templars of the Telos Religious Group right away…!"

Everything was in chaos.

Even without her orders, the Knight Templars of the Telos Religious Group, who were stationed nearby, would have begun to move towards her. However, the situation wasn't great, as they didn't have direct contact with the Saint.

She didn't bring any apostle-level manpower either, though there are still quite a few talented personnel that she had. With the entire mansion in danger, every single power who could fight was precious.

However, Nox shook his head.

"Are you disobeying my orders?"

"I'm simply obeying a different order."

"What did you say…?"

Nox answered… and slowly… very slowly he took off his helmet.

Not only Clarice, but all the other high-ranking nobles next to her who were making a fuss, as well as those who were in battle, hardened their faces.

The part of his face that was covered by the helmet… It was covered in bizarre-looking flesh.

Not only that, but there was also a strange tentacle sprouting from his back. It was hard to see him as a human any longer.

"Ugh…!"

In an instant, she lost strength in her legs. However, Clarice quickly pulled herself back up, regaining her composure.

She was a girl who had already experienced thousands of deaths. She had the composure to respond quickly even in a sudden crisis. Still, that didn't mean she wasn't afraid of the bizarre scene that was right in front of her.

"S-Saint… Stand back…!"

"These soldiers… Are all strange…!"

With the sound of flesh being cracked, one of the soldiers bent forward. Then, the moment his hand was about to reach the Saint—

Fwoosh!

A flying ice spear pierced the soldier's arm. All the soldiers began to fall, one by one, from the subsequent freezing magic.

An older middle-aged magician, who was busy dealing with the tentacles, Sinir Bloomriver now stood guarding the Saint.

"Saint Clarice. Please step back."

"I am okay. I have a blessing that will protect me from any sort of attack."

Clarice calmly shook her head, but nevertheless, Sinir jumped forward shouting.

"Everyone… We need to escape from the mansion! This was a trap from House Rothstaylor!"

Hearing those words, all the distinguished guests in the banquet hall swallowed their saliva.

-x-X-x-

Booom!

Explosions lit up the sky over Rothstaylor Mansion.

The light from Lucy's explosion covered the entire area as the shadows of the massive tentacles stretched along the ground.

The residents who lived out in the massive Rothstaylor Estate… Every one of them saw the spectacle taking place in the night sky.

The same was true of Princess Penia, who was quickly heading towards the Rothstaylor Estate with a few companions.

"Oh my god…"

Princess Penia stopped the horse for a moment as she looked up at the sky.

She had run nonstop since sunset, and she had finally succeeded in reaching the Rothstaylor Estate. However, there was still a long way to go.

Despite the Rothstaylor Estate and the empire's capital Kroelon being next to each other, it was still difficult to reach it in just half a day. Especially considering how vast the land of both the empire's capital and the estate was.

She traveled as fast as she could, thinking she had to arrive before the sun rose… And then, suddenly, a flame lit up the sky.

And the direction it came from was the mansion Princess Penia was traveling to.

"That… It looks like ultimate magic."

Among elemental magics, an ultimate magic was the one at the highest rank… There were very few who could use it within the entire empire. As it was extremely difficult to handle, it was a rare power.

However, it didn't come from a magic tower in the northeast, nor Kroelon, where they had the manpower to use it… The fact that magic of that scale was happening in Rothstaylor Mansion was strange.

"Princess Penia."

Her closest aide, the escort knight Claire, spoke quietly.

"I think we need to turn around right now… this isn't normal."

"..."

"Running away to such a place without the emperor's approval is enough to cause turmoil. Letting you enter a dangerous area… that would be absconding my duties as your escort knight."

Claire had followed Princess Penia all the way there in the middle of the night out of loyalty. Even though she followed the rules, she was loyal enough to put the princess' wishes above all else.

However, going any further would definitely be crossing the line. If she allowed Princess Penia to go to such a dangerous area and get injured, there was a high possibility she would be met with punishment beyond just disciplinary action.

"I understand your position, Claire."

Nevertheless, Princess Penia didn't turn her head.

She suddenly remembered the day before leaving the academy, a man who sat in the royal residence's waiting room with a serious expression on his face.

If that man were to die there, Penia would regret it for the rest of her life.

"I need to go. Even if there's nothing I can do, I have to see it with my own eyes."

* * *

The Rothstaylor Mansion's annex, like the other buildings, was already half-destroyed.

Half of the servants who managed the annex ran away in fear. The other half had already fallen under Krepin's evil magic, under the control of Mebula.

A part of their body would turn into horrific flesh as the servants got out of the way. Krepin pushed through them all as he climbed up to the top floor of the annex.

The central mansion was filled with all sorts of the distinguished guests that made the Evil God Mebula's mouth water. Once he sacrificed all of them, the power to wield Mebula's powers for the rest of his life would fall into his hands.

And the price of it was to turn the entire world against him.

The annex of the luxurious and grand Rothstaylor Mansion was already covered with Mebula's flesh, becoming a horrific sight to see. Tentacles protruded all over as lumps of flesh wriggled around grotesquely. The annex now felt like a part of Mebula's body, as if it had been transformed into a living organism.

Going up the stairs of the first and second floor, on the third floor you would find a large hall.

The wall had already been ripped apart as the wind blew through. This was the third largest hall after the main hall and the banquet hall of the central mansion. It was called 'Rothstaylor Hall' after the house's name.

Krepin saw the big hall as he continued upwards towards the roof. There were already various magic circles and spells filling the sky.

It was as if the entire sky was in the palm of his hands. From the rooftop of the Rothstaylor annex, Krepin lifted his left hand, which had the imprint, towards the sky.

As a massive amount of magic power was cast, the magic circle in the sky began to activate.

Krepin Rothsaylor sat down on the railing, where only rubble remained.

The wind grazed his thick blonde hair.

Looking at the magic circle that was activating, Krepin lowered his head as he waited with horrific eyes.

The view from the roof looking down was like hell itself. There are many people dying all over.

However, Mebula didn't distinguish between life and death for its sacrifices anyway.

"If you decided to become a villain, never look back for even a moment. If you hesitate, that moment will be your end."

At that instant, a tingling sensation ran up his spine.

As he stood at the top of House Rothstaylor, his unshakable beliefs started to flood his mind again.

"Don't try to live up to your expectations, don't dwell on what you've lost, and don't get eaten by nothingness."

"Only when you stand proudly like that, will you be able to survive to the end and rule this world."

The voice that seemed to whisper in his ear… It ran through his mind.

* * *

Boom! Boom!

Fwoooosh!

Clarice's Sacred Magic pushed back the tentacles as Sinir began to cast magic to subdue the soldiers.

However, there seemed to be no end to the soldiers and tentacles that kept rushing into the banquet hall.

"It's over! We are all going to die!"

"Shit! If I knew this would happen, I wouldn't have come! This freaking social gathering!"

"Krepin Rothstaylor! It's that man's fault! He's sacrificing us to that monster!"

In the midst of the chaos, Sinir tried to continue cheering everyone up.

"Everyone, calm down! Once we get out of his territory, we will be safe! If we survive, we just need to report Krepin's evil deeds to the imperial family!"

"Yeah! I can't die like this!

"Those Rothstaylors… After all those years having a taste for power, they have finally done it…!"

Clarice understood the situation as she kept her reason, even as she stood in the center of the banquet hall, which was flooded with chaos.

Right now, the top priority was to lead the distinguished guests out of the mansion.

However, even if they left the mansion, that didn't mean they would be safe.

The Knight Templars were probably trying to enter the mansion to ensure Clarice's safety. However, seeing as she couldn't see them at all… they must also have been struggling.

Both the tentacles and the servants who were under control were powerful. In particular, it seemed as if the servants had turned into monsters and were no longer human.

The Brown Bear Nox, whose eyes looked hazy, roared. He ran forward with his huge body, wielding a large mace. Sinir quickly cast defensive magic to deflect it.

Meanwhile, the incompetent nobles who had no fighting capability continued to scream.

"Thinking of it, none of those Rothstaylor bastards are here in the banquet hall! Those guys… They are all doing perfectly fine…!"

A few hours ago, they were all praising the history and the majesty of House Rothstaylor.

But inside, they were full of jealousy for their mighty power and authority.

In the first place, a person who had high prestige would always have to live with the jealousy of others. Even other famous nobles held jealousy within them.

Rather, they were even more jealous, as it looked as if they were in arms reach of having that same power.

So as soon as the Rothstaylor's ugly truth was revealed, they immediately showed their hostility. The same was true for all of the other nobles who were inside the banquet hall.

"The heir Tanya Rothstaylor and Ed Rothstaylor, who was supposed to be reinstated…! Everyone who isn't here is with them! The Rothstaylor House was plotting this together from the beginning!"

"Yeah… This time we need to inform the imperial family and destroy the entire house!"

They all had the same thought of flipping the entire power structure through the incident.

Clarice seemed uncomfortable seeing them act like that, but soon even she started to have other thoughts.

Ed and Tanya. Neither of them really were there.

Tanya said she was going out to check the situation of the servants, and Ed had disappeared without a reason after dancing with Clarice.

Clarice didn't think that the two of them would have been involved in such an absurd plan. However, as the situation became dangerous, perhaps the two of them had prioritized their own safety first.

Then, right as she was going to propose to take as many people out of the mansion as possible…

Booooooooooom!

A new magic power was sent flying through the sky.

They could see Mebula's massive appearance through the collapsed wall.

Mebula was exchanging magic power back and forth against a small person off in the distance. There was only one magician that Clarice knew who had ridiculous enough strength to fight against Mebula.

Lucy Mayreel was fighting against Mebula. While that was great news, that didn't solve the situation taking place in the banquet hall.

Rather, the situation had worsened.

"Kyaaaaaaaaah!"

Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaghk!

Flap, flap!

A piercing scream echoed through the banquet hall.

A strange creature fell from the sky. A demon that was about half the size of a normal person. It flapped its wings, which looked like a bat's, as it held a long iron sword in one hand.

"Wh-What is that…?!"

"G-Gremlin…! That crazy thing even started summoning monsters!"

The moment a nobleman screamed out as he was about to run away, that little devil's blade pierced his heart.

"E-Eugh…"

He had a bewildered expression on his face, as if he didn't know what had just happened to him. After a brief moment, blood began to drip from his lips.

"Eugh. Keuk…"

The first casualty.

After his death, an uncontrollable chaos began to spread throughout the banquet hall.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Run away! We have to run away!"

Sinir Bloomriver clenched her teeth as she suddenly gathered more power. But Clarice, and the others who had minimal combat abilities, lost their composure.

People ran away screaming in unison, but most ended up being killed by the controlled soldiers or the tentacles.

Those who managed to keep their sanity trembled as they stayed close to those who could fight, but the others who had run away ended up losing their lives.

Of course, Sinir—and even those who had relatively weaker skills in magic—weren't all that weak.

Not only could they protect themselves, but they could also protect those around them… However, it wasn't possible to protect the entire hall and all the distinguished guests.

Of course, the strength of each individual was important, but the difference in numbers was also important. Especially in a situation where they were getting pressured from every direction.

To minimize casualties and escape from this mansion… they needed overwhelming numbers.

They needed a strong group, rather than strong individuals. A group of soldiers would be able to take position around the guests, protecting their safety. However, there was no way to mobilize such a group at that moment.

Sinir clenched her teeth as she gathered more magic power in her hand. She was already sure that it would be difficult to save more than half the people there.

It would already be an issue if they were regular civilians, but these were all distinguished guests of the empire.

He had crossed the line way too far. Krepin had no intention of going back at all.

It seemed as if he had made up his mind. Then, as Sinir came to that conclusion and cursed his name—

Boooom!

The other side of the wall was torn down as the 'corps' came in.

It wasn't a human army. It was an army with all sorts of spirits that were called forward with magic power. They began to fire magic at the gremlins and tentacles.

It looked to be over a hundred of them. The combined number of low-ranking spirits and fluid spirits was comparable to the army of gremlins that covered the sky.

"Th-This is…!"

A giant lizard's pupil could be seen through the broken wall. Sinir trembled with goosebumps even though the lizard wasn't an enemy.

A girl slid down the lizard's forehead as she landed on the floor.

And the person who could recognize her… Was Saint Clarice.

"Yennekar?!"

"Clarice… Saint…!"

Keeeeeeeeeek!

Kaaaaak!

In the sky above the mansion, an army of spirits and an army of gremlins clashed. Spirits in the form of various different animals fought in close combat. Sinir couldn't believe the sight she was seeing with her own two eyes.

She had heard of her from her two daughters, Trayciana and Patriciana Bloomriver.

A third year at Silvenia Academy. By herself, she was an entire army.

If she were in the same grade as her, Trayciana would never have been able to take the top seat of the magic department… She talked about her with fear.

"Where is Ed?"

As Sinir was dumbfounded, Clarice quickly asked Yennekar the main point.

"He went to catch Krepin Rothstaylor…! At the Annex! I need to finish things here quickly and go help him…!"

It was no longer a banquet hall. Blood was splattered all over the remains of the crumbled walls.

A tentacle quickly rushed towards Yennekar's neck, but the blade of a mid-ranking dark spirit that protruded from her shadow cut the tentacle apart.

If Yennekar were to go all-out, it would be impossible to touch her, as she was being protected by hundreds of spirits. Those who were seeing it for the first time could only open their mouths in awe.

That type of large-scale battle was her stage.

Even if she didn't have the confidence to fight one-on-one in a narrow space, Yennekar could fully demonstrate her abilities if she had the space to summon everything.

"We need to have all the guests evacuate and then we need to go towards the annex!"

"Got it!"

Clarice and Yennekar didn't say much. That was because it was an urgent situation.

"Before that… I need to stop by Ed's room and get something!"

"In this situation… What are you getting?!"

Yennekar gathered her magic power in an instant as she cast a massive spiritual skill. Dozens of gremlins burned to death as even more spirits appeared in the sky. It was quite a sight.

"Wand! Ed's wand is in his room!"

* * *

The Rothstaylor Estate, which was next to the empire's capital Kroelon, monopolized the majority of the peaceful and warm precious land.

Looking at a map alone, it was an important location for distribution.

It was a place that was always full of street vendors, but that night, it was more crowded than usual.

Rothstaylor Mansion's social gathering was considered the be the most luxurious and extensive event of the year.

Including those attending, there were many important people in the empire that passed through.

And the guests who decided to attend after the third day were also currently on their journey there.

On the western side of the territory, a carriage was coming from the commercial city of Oldek.

From the northeast side of the territory, Commander Magnus, who oversaw the northern corps, was coming.

And even from the east side of the territory, the third princess of the empire, Penia, was coming by riding a horse.

It wouldn't be surprising to say all the hearts of the empire were gathered here at Rothstaylor Mansion.

However, hell has already descended at Rothstaylor Mansion. Because of Ed's party, Mebula's advent took place earlier than expected.

In the sky above the mansion, the evil god of the Mythic age, Mebula, could be seen with its hundreds of horrific eyes. In front of it was a genius magician, who could even be considered to have received a blessing from God, who fought against that calamity one on one.

In the central mansion, gremlins, tentacles, and soldiers fought against the spirit corps.

Tanya Rothstaylor, who had gone to check on the servants near the spire, was overwhelmed by the sudden disaster as she locked the door and looked outside.

Princess Selah, who had run out of the banquet, was escorted by her butler Dest as she ran through the central hallway.

Sinir Bloomriver, the head of the witch's house, was helping the nobles escape alongside the corps.

Saint Clarice ran towards Ed's room with Yennekar.

A night in the Rothstyalor estate where everyone was busy.

Getting attacked by magic from the soldiers who were controlled by Mebula, the tentacles, and the blades of the gremlins… A man ran through the mansion's garden.

He held onto a dagger tightly. The spiritual skill engraved on it cast an explosion. A massive bat spit flames as it flew in the air around him. A lioness made of water bit the necks of the soldiers.

A shockwave was cast from the magically engineered equipment he took out of his pocket, subduing the surrounding enemies. He took out a magic power arrow as he pierced one's neck, killing it in an instant.

Flame Pillars and Wind Blades defeated the tentacles. The enemies he cut the necks of with his magic power instantly turned to ash, disappearing.

As he destroyed everything around him, he continued to save his magic power until the very end.

He had a gut feeling. Soon, there was going to be a decisive battle to end it all.

The tailcoat he wore became filthy as blood and flesh splattered on it. Nevertheless, his expression never changed as he reached the entrance to the annex.

Inside the annex, there were all sorts of monsters. It didn't look like it was going to be easy to climb to the roof.

It was time to put an end to tales of House Rothstaylor that he had been entangled with.

He walked forward. Finally, it was time to cut Krepin's throat.

-x-X-x-

The former head of the family, Brahms Rothstaylor, was poisoned while seizing the position of second-in-command after the imperial family.

His brother, Baine Rothstaylor, was slain by a non-human after being abandoned in a battle that was bound to be lost. And his lover, Marie Rothstaylor, was assassinated by a rival family.

Aside from them, many others had died while fighting for the control of power. Thus, the throne of the head of the house, where Krepin sat, was stained with blood.

Nevertheless, he never resented or felt anger towards anyone, nor did he lose his sense of reason… He sat quietly on his throne as he watched the world.

He had risen to the position of second-in-command after the imperial family, punished hooligans who tried to take advantage of his house, and destroyed rival families that fought against him.

Gradually he had become less afraid of killing others. Shortly after, taking advantage of others became the norm for him. He hid his true self as he walked around the estate as a benevolent duke, but the path he walked was always stained with the iron stench of blood.

From the moment he was born to the present day, he had become a villain to survive, and he never tried to justify his actions or be understood by others.

The words his forefather, Brahms Rothstaylor, had whispered to him when he inherited the seat of head of the house still remained in his heart.

There were only two types that could survive for a long time in the world of schemes and secrecy.

Either a hero or a villain.

If you could not be a hero, then be a fully-fledged villain.

Don't rationalize and don't feel guilty. Simply live a life reigning as a pure villain.

On the roof of the annex in the Rothstaylor Mansion, a heavy load weighed on Krepin's shoulders as he stood by the railing, looking down at the estate.

Nothing was light.

Once the sacrificial magic circle was complete, more than half of the gathered guests would die. With that, Mebula would feed on the souls of the nobles and grant Krepin the power to wield its strength for the rest of his life.

"..."

He had many excuses he could make.

There were many ways he could justify himself becoming a villain, and multiple reasons to explain how he became who he was.

For example, the trust and faith that was put into Krepin.

The faith of Arwen and his closest vassals, who trusted him until the very end, even after being dragged through the dirt. They had complete trust that Krepin was making the right choice… An unbelievable sense of trust, without any reasoning.

One could say that the weight of trust made it difficult for him to go back on his choices, only pushing him further and further into the darkness.

—Just like the situation with Act 1's boss, Yennekar Palerover, who was currently running towards Ed's room.

Or it could have been remorse for what he lost.

His mentor, Brahms, who had died in the process of trying to obtain power. Or his lover, Marie, who had died in the battle for power. If those he lost remained in his heart, whispering into his ears to not compromise and become a fully-fledged villain… That would be reasonable.

—Just like Act 2's boss, Glast, who ended up dying after falling into remorse over the daughter he lost.

And if it was not that, it may have just been emptiness.

Climbing to the top, killing countless others, he reached a great level of power and authority. However, in the end, all that was left was a large mansion and estate.

All of his family members had died or fallen apart. Even Arwen, who had followed him to the end, was now a half-monster created by his own hands.

In the end, all that was left in his life was authority and power. So, if he borrowed the powers of an Evil God, he would only continue going further down that path… And that wasn't all that bad.

—That… Was just like the circumstances of Act 3's boss, Lucy, who had lived as a powerful individual her entire life yet had lost her will to live after losing Glockt.

Whichever reason he chose, it wasn't all that bad.

Even though Krepin believed those words, he never ended up making any compromises or moving in any particular direction.

The half-broken railing was like a King's throne.

Sitting firmly on it, he lowered his head, waiting for the right time.

Born as a villain and dying as one even in his very last breath.

He was considered pure evil, someone that didn't change even when facing his end.

That was the type of attitude he needed to survive through his life.

As long as he was a fully-fledged villain, nothing could ever shake him.

Act 4's final boss.

The head of house, Krepin Rothstaylor, watched over the world with heavy eyes.

* * *

The dagger cut through the tentacles.

A spiritual skill was cast as flames burst out. The tentacles were completely cut in two. The moment Ed grabbed his sword, leaping back, Mugg burned the entire hallway with his flames.

As he was hoping that the servants who were under control had been swept away by the attack that cleared the way, suddenly gremlins broke through the window.

Kyaaaaaghk!

The monsters made horrendous sounds as they ran towards Ed, holding their knives, but the wind suddenly flew by as it smashed the gremlins against the wall.

A girl with white hair suddenly manifested behind him in an instant, waving her hand in the air. The gremlins, who were crushed by the pressure of the wind, were then burned by Mugg's flames.

And like that, Ed ran across the hallway of the first floor.

* * *

Yennekar and Clarice were also running down the hallway. The two of them ran across the hallway of the central mansion as they arrived at Ed's room. They quickly smashed open the locked door as they went inside.

They planned on quickly grabbing Ed's wand and leaving, but the room was bigger than they thought. Because of that fact, they were confused about where to start looking first.

Ed's wand was rather big, so only after searching under the bed and in the closet were they about to eventually find it under the large desk.

Yennekar quickly grabbed the wand and handed it to Clarice.

Yennekar needed to stay in the central mansion to escort the distinguished guests to safety. It would take too much time for her to go directly to Ed after helping all the guests leave.

Plus, Saint Clarice had the Holy Blessing that could protect her body from any sort of attack. As she was always safe, she was the perfect person to deliver the wand.

Clarice nodded her head as she turned around, holding the wand tightly. At that moment, Yennekar called out to Clarice.

Clarice turned her head, puzzled to see Yennekar looking at a bunch of letters spread out on Ed's desk.

Since there were so many, she couldn't read through them all. However, there was a feather that had fallen out from between the letters that caught Yennekar's eyes.

She picked up the feather, grabbing it by the tip and flipping it around… She then handed it over to Clarice.

Seeing Clarice look puzzled, Yennekar told her to give it to him as well.

On the first floor of the central corridor, Selah was running out of the mansion with Dest.

The garden in the front of the central mansion was already full of corpses of all sorts of monsters. It was the trail Ed left behind as he ran desperately towards the annex.

Princess Selah frowned as she looked around. Rothstaylor mansion, which was now destroyed, was still teeming with monsters.

Dest tried to dissuade Princess Selah, telling her that it would be dangerous to go any further. Selah pondered for a moment before shaking her head, continuing to walk through the garden.

On the other side, Sinir Bloomriver was leading a group of distinguished guests to safety as she breathed out a sigh of relief.

Thanks to the spirit corps that Yennekar brought along, she was able to protect the lives of the nobles who remained. Plus, thanks to Yennekar making a hole through the corridor in the central mansion, a route was secured to escape from the mansion.

Sinir hurried out into the corridor, leading out a group of guests. Carefully and calmly, she slowed her breathing as she made her way across the corridor to the exit.

Still, outside the window there was a group of spirits fighting against a group of gremlins. The guests swallowed their dry saliva as they tried to hold back the urge to run away.

Everyone was running towards their own destinations, and as they ran towards their goals, time continued to steadily pass.

Perhaps the one who was in the most difficult situation among them all was… Tanya Rothstaylor.

Slam! Slam!

"..."

The servants that were being controlled kicked on the door of the food pantry. Tanya hugged her shoulders as she trembled.

In the storage room located in the spire at the center of the mansion, Tanya was blocking the door shut with furniture.

Craaaaaack!

Thud!

The wooden door was pierced by a gremlin's dagger and a creepy eyeball appeared through the hole.

"E-Eughk…"

Tanya quickly reinforced the door as she ran further into the storage room.

* * *

Boom! Clang!

Breaking through was easy.

Using both Mugg and Lacia, I was able to save the majority of my consumables and magically engineered equipment.

It was also necessary to save my magic power, so Merilda was only partially manifested and utilized.

Thanks to them and my beginner elemental magic, we could make a clear path running up to the second floor of the annex.

The second floor of the annex was filled with more horrific monsters. Even the slippery tentacles now had strange-looking flesh attached to them as they attacked with a greater force. The red-skinned gremlins threw their daggers with berserk magic applied to them.

Kyaaaah! Kyaaaaahk!

The servants gave unusual screeches, no longer appearing human. It looked as if their limbs were attached to those lumps of flesh.

It was a sight that made me feel nauseous just looking at it. However, I clenched my teeth as I cast magic to subdue them all.

[Young Master Ed! Now that we've cleared a path up the stairs, let's head straight up! This worthless Mugg of yours will cover your rear!]

"If we don't clean up the hallways as well, I might get attacked from behind!"

[Then, instead… wouldn't it be better to break the entrance to the roof after we head up top?]

"…Yeah, that makes sense!"

Agreeing with Mugg, I quickly ran up the stairs.

[Ooooh! My words were of some assistance! I have become a dignified mid-ranking spirit and I can now even be of strategic assistance… I am quite proud of myself…!]

In reality, if I just thought things over calmly then I would have also come up with the same plan without much difficulty. However, I didn't bother to point that fact out and ruin Mugg's fun when he was acting all excited like that.

[Young Master Ed. A horde of gremlins will be coming from above.]

Lacia calmly reported the situation upstairs to me. I gathered magic power as I cast Wind Blade.

Crack! Fwooosh!

As I watched a group of gremlins be swept away, I realized that the firepower of my beginner magic had risen quite a bit.

No matter how much experience one had fighting against gremlins, it still wasn't an easy task to sweep them all away with a single attack.

Stepping on the corpses of the defeated gremlins, I climbed the stairs higher and higher. My body was already covered with the blood of my enemies.

As I walked up the stairs of the mansion, I avoided the horrific looking swollen piles of flesh that were all over the place. Finally, I came to a wide-open hall.

The stairs ended there. The third floor of the annex consisted of a singular large hall.

So, to get to the roof, I needed to run all the way across it and up the final stairway.

That hall was the largest area in the annex. It was named 'Rothstaylor Hall' after the house's name… But now, nearly all of the exterior had been blown away.

It was cool as the air passed through. The starry sky was also clearly visible.

In the distance, I could see Lucy, who was striking and trading blows with Mebula, as well as the impressive view of the spirit corps facing off against the gremlins in the night sky.

Then, the moment I was about to cross Rothstaylor Hall…

Kekeuk, Keukeukeukeuk.

In the center of the hall appeared a strange body that was twisted all over. More than half of its body had been covered in horrific flesh, and it seemed that it had lost all sense of reason.

Looking at its face, I could only frown. I didn't have all that great of a relationship with him, but we were still acquaintances.

One of the two knights who had come to Acken Island to kill me on orders from Krepin Rothstaylor.

The Eagle Knight, Kadek, glared at me with pure white eyes.

At that moment, huge tentacles burst out from every corner of the hall, breaking the floor.

* * *

"It suits you, Tanya."

"What is this feather, sister Arwen?"

"It's the feather of a wild bird of the Pelvelo region."

It was now a hazy memory.

Tanya, who was sitting on the terrace being held in Arwen's arms… She smiled innocently as she touched the feather accessory that Arwen had placed beautifully on her hair.

"It's really pretty…"

"Sometimes I like to decorate my hair with it like this, or even hang it on my collar. Men also sometimes put them in the front pocket of their suits."

"You also put it on your blouse. It suits you too, sister."

"Yeah."

Arwen gently wiped Tanya's face as she suddenly had a sad expression.

"The wild birds of the Pelvelo region are rather colorful. A feather from one bird is rarely the same color as a feather from another bird. That's why it's said that there is a custom of wearing and sharing feathers of the same color among family members."

"Wow… Really…?"

"I also gave one to Ed and Father… Though, I'm not sure… if they will also wear them."

Hearing Ed's name, Tanya's expression darkened.

It had been a week since Ed and Arwen parted ways on the terrace.

Afterwards, Ed seemed to be greatly troubled as he locked himself up in his room alone, not talking to anyone.

Tanya, who was young and ignorant, had become afraid of Ed. That was why she stuck to Arwen.

"I wish that you and brother would make up quickly…"

"Tanya. Perhaps Ed and I will never be able to reconcile again for the rest of our lives."

When Tanya heard that, she started to cry.

Arwen had a feeling. From the moment she accepted Krepin's plan, she had already passed the point of no return with Ed.

Having lived her whole life as Krepin's successor, Arwen had a deeper understanding of Krepin Rothstaylor than anyone else. She completely sympathized with him.

Perhaps Krepin Rothstaylor would end up using Arwen until she was no longer worth anything. He was a man who would use any means necessary to get what he wanted.

Even if Krepin considered Arwen nothing more than a means to an end, she was still prepared to accept him, as his daughter and a member of the family. Arwen was such a person.

Krepin's life was full of blood.

He had a life in which he had built up himself as a villain. All for the sake of standing on the throne by himself.

Without anyone understanding him, he would live alone as a villain until the day he died.

Thus, the only people who could ever acknowledge such a horrific man were members of his family.

As she was one of the only people who could understand his blood-stained path, she was willing to go to the very end of the darkness for him.

However, she couldn't force that decision on her younger siblings.

Ed, who lived by his own thoughts, was Arwen's beloved younger brother. She couldn't ever force him to make such a sacrifice.

Krepin was a dedicated, stubborn, and cruel man.

If Arwen died or was no longer worth using… That monster would eventually reach his hands out to Ed and Tanya.

So, no matter what happened, she needed to clench her teeth and bear with it.

In order to protect her younger siblings, who would walk a different path and follow their own choices, Arwen herself must never die first.

"Tanya… Listen to me well."

Arwen hugged Tanya tightly as she spoke.

"Father may always seem detached, but on the contrary, he is a lonely and pitiful person. Probably, no one else in the world will ever understand him."

"Sister…"

"Both Ed and you… are my younger siblings, who I also love dearly. And since I'm greedy… I want to take care of all of you…"

Tanya could definitely feel Arwen's arms becoming tighter and tighter around her.

Crash!

Tanya suddenly returned to her senses as she lifted her head.

She had lost her mind as she leaned against the shelf in the storage room.

Slam! Slam!

The gremlins were slamming against the door. Tanya went deeper into the storage as she opened up a window.

She was quite high up, as she was in the middle of the spire. There was no guarantee that she would be safe if she jumped from so high up, and there was also no guarantee that she would be safe from the monsters if she managed to land in the garden with wind magic.

Tanya, who was looking out the window at the wind blowing in the sky, swallowed her saliva. She suddenly turned her gaze towards the annex.

The exterior walls had collapsed, completely revealing the inside of Rothstaylor Hall.

She was familiar with the man who stood there. Tanya swallowed her dry saliva as she climbed up on the windowsill, gathering her magic power.

Her legs began to tremble.

* * *

Ack, Kaak! Kaaaaaak!

Crash, Sheeeeek!

Something in the shape of a human was revealed in between the tentacles that rose up. The girl, who had come from underground, protected by the tentacles… She looked familiar.

She had an arm that shouldn't have been there. The same went for her leg.

However, compared to her slender limbs on the opposite side, those ones were quite strange. Rather than skin, it looked more like patched pieces of flesh. That was also part of Mebula's power.

Her fluttering blond hair was similar to Tanya and Ed's. I'd already seen her once in the basement.

The girl who had shown up, surrounded by tentacles, held a sword in one hand. It was the greatsword 'Dawn's Blade' that had been pierced through her body just before.

And behind her waist, she had another sword that was about half the size. It was one of the swords used by the Primordial Swordsman, Luden. 'Condemnation.'

The girl jumped out from the tentacles as she landed in the center of Rothstaylor Hall. And… the Eagle Knight Kadek was completely sliced horizontally.

Slice!

Kadek's head rolled on the floor a few times before it disappeared into ash. So did his body.

It all happened in an instant.

"Mebula's power comes with the cost of mental suffering. It was better that he dies sooner than later."

In the center of Rothstaylor Hall, the slender girl that stood under the moonlight put her sword down on the floor.

She then got on her knees towards Kadek, who had disappeared into ash, quietly putting her hands together to pray under the moonlight.

"Kadek, you have dedicated yourself as a vassal of House Rothstaylor for a long time. This is the only thing I can do for you. Though, I will probably be punished severely in the afterlife."

"Sister Arwen."

"I've already put it all down, Ed. I went the opposite way of you. Even if he commits every sin in this world, I've decided to acknowledge our lonely father until the very end. Even if the road he takes leads to darkness."

As she knelt next to her sword praying, she looked rather holy. Even though one of her arms and legs looked horrific.

"That's the conclusion I have come to while living as Rothstaylor's successor, watching over Father, and being with you. Father probably doesn't care about me. I will probably be abandoned after being nothing more than a worthwhile sacrifice."

"..."

"Nevertheless, I decided to acknowledge Father until the very end. Otherwise… Father will only die in loneliness in the end."

Arwen stood up again.

"So, I can't let you pass me. For Father and for you."

Magic power wrapped around her body and gave her strength. With all sorts of defensive magic wrapped around her… she slowly lifted her upper body.

In one hand, she held the greatsword 'Dawn's Blade', and on the other hand, she pulled out Luden's holy sword 'Condemnation.'

These were the two swords that symbolized the time when she lived as the heir of the esteemed Rothstaylor House.

"Go back."

"..."

"This is the end of House Rothstaylor. Go and live your life now. I will stay here and come to my end with it."

In , she was a person whose existence wasn't even revealed in the original storyline.

Neither as a main boss, nor hidden boss. She was nowhere to be seen.

However, after I became Ed Rothstaylor, a character in this shitty world, it felt as if I were facing my fate.

A girl standing in my way.

The forgotten heir, Arwen Rothstaylor.

In the center of the hall, she stood under the moonlight with her eyes bright and wide open.

-x-X-x-

Clang! Thunk!

The sword fell onto the floor.

In Rothstaylor Hall on the third floor of the annex of the Rothstaylor Mansion, Ed stood upright among the expensive decorations that filled the hall. His physique wasn't sturdy, and his behavior was still immature.

It hadn't been long since the baptism ceremony passed, so it was when he was still young. As a member of House Rothstaylor, the effort he showed through his determination and will was commendable.

Rothstaylor Hall, which was used as a venue for events and gatherings, was also a training center for nobles during a time of peace. It was a place where numerous famous and historic duels had taken place.

In that space, where various famous warriors had dueled, the young Arwen and Ed held practice duels against each other.

By holding their swords against each other, exchanging blows, and working up a sweat, she was able to shake off the weight of being the heir.

However, the level of skill between them was quite different.

"As expected of my sister."

According to her memory, Ed had looked at the fallen sword with a hesitant smile.

Arwen swung her sword in the air once, cleaning it off.

She then went over to talk to Ed. His skills had improved a lot. All he needed to do was fix his stance a bit more.

"I don't know. I don't think I have any talent for swordsmanship. However, magic doesn't feel great either, so I'm rather torn… I'm struggling to decide."

Arwen encouraged him to cheer up as she cleaned her sword.

He still had a lot of time left.

And he was born with a blessed status of being a descendant of House Rothstaylor.

He had fruitful nourishment available to him, so if he could just make the effort to utilize it, he would definitely see results.

After Arwen said all of that with a kind expression, Ed picked up his sword and cleaned it, laughing.

"Thank you for saying that."

Arwen and Ed looked at each other with a smile on their faces.

As if blessed by God, the Rothstaylor Estate was peaceful and surrounded by a beautiful atmosphere.

The warm sunlight came through the annex, reaching Rothstaylor Hall.

In the middle of the warm sunlight stood Ed, swinging his sword while deep in thought.

Arwen quietly closed her eyes for a while as she enjoyed the peaceful warmth of early spring.

Almost all the outer walls of Rothstaylor Hall had been blown away. It was hard to even call it a 'hall' at that point. It was more like a terrace.

Strange pieces of flesh wriggled around, covering the rubble of the building. The sky was filled with Merilda's and Lucy's magic.

The sound of fighting between the gremlins and spirits filled the mansion's grounds. Occasionally, the screams of people being struck by the gremlin's blades were heard.

Ed Rothstaylor was standing in front of Arwen, who had woken up.

He wore a tailcoat covered in blood as he held his dagger. There was a spirit in the shape of a bat and a lioness standing next to him. He had an enormous amount of mana compared to before. His eyes were cold, and his body had become muscular.

The energy flowing from his body was enough for Arwen to realize it.

Ed had no intention of turning around.

He was determined to pass through. So, Arwen took a fighting stance.

Jump!

Ed kicked off from the floor, leaping forward. He jumped in a straight line towards Arwen, narrowing the distance.

Arwen uses two greatswords in close combat. However, perhaps because she didn't think he would narrow the distance, she could only react by quickly raising 'Condemnation' in her left hand.

However, just before they clashed… Ed threw his foot onto the floor, coming to a sudden stop and landing in a place where her sword didn't reach.

Then, he casually took out a magic marble from his pocket as he rolled it on the floor. Arwen quickly reacted, trying to widen the distance, but the marble wasn't a means of attack.

Hwaak!

Magic Engineering?!

Claw Fingers.

It was a magically engineered device that could temporarily pull nearby objects towards it.

Although there was a limit to its output, it was a useful tool to disturb an opponent in a close combat setting because of its fast activation speed.

Magic power came from the marble as Arwen's 'Condemnation', which she held in her hand, was pulled away in an instant.

As Arwen's posture crumbled, even her body was starting to get pulled closer towards Ed.

However, narrowing the distance was something that benefited Arwen as well. She then began to quickly cast support magic around her body.

'Dawn's Blade' was a large sword in size, but had weight lightening magic applied to it. Arwen held onto it tightly as she swung the sword towards Ed, using the momentum of being dragged by Claw Fingers.

Booom!

She was at a level where she could freely adjust the weight lightening magic on the greatsword that she wielded. Arwen's ability to use her magic power had also risen to a considerable level.

She had canceled the weight lightening magic on the sword as the weight fell down, slamming into the floor. Dust rose up as it blocked her view.

But Arwen, who wielded the sword, already knew. Ed had already run out of her range. She realized it the moment she swung the sword—he had leapt backwards.

So, why did he even narrow the distance in the first place? As soon as she thought of that, through the dust she noticed a dagger that had been stuck into the floor.

It was a ceremonial dagger that was used in Rothstaylor Mansion. It was the same exact one Ed had been using since the first day he was expelled from Ophelis Hall… And on it, there was a neatly engraved spiritual skill.

That…

Boom!

Before she could even figure out what spiritual skill it was, a large explosion occurred.

She quickly cast the defensive magic that was engraved on 'Dawn's Blade', so she was able to protect her body…

Booom!

But then, the mid-rank fire magic Point Explosion exploded in Arwen's stomach.

Arwen was directly hit as she dropped her sword onto the floor, barely supporting herself. A trail of blood flowed out of her.

When the smoke cleared, Ed was standing silently just beyond it, covered in blood.

"You've… gotten quite skilled…"

Arwen stood up again using the greatsword to support the weight of her body.

It was suicide for a magician to close the distance against a warrior as soon as a battle began. However, Ed had casually narrowed the distance to confuse his opponent. After pulling her into his range, he widened the distance between them all over again.

He looked like an expert who was controlling the battle at his own pace, thoroughly messing with the sense of distance of a regular warrior.

With just that one move, Arwen had recognized that Ed had grown to a level that was impossible to compare to his old self.

The Ed she faced in a swordsmanship duel back at Rothstaylor Hall was no longer there.

Paak!

Arwen jumped off from the floor.

She instantly cast weight lightening magic as she removed the weight of the greatsword. Arwen then kicked the handle of 'Condemnation', sending it flying into the air.

Then, holding 'Dawn's Blade' in both hands, she went in to slice Ed horizontally, removing the weight lightening magic.

She was a female warrior who could freely handle the weight of her greatswords. Watching her fight was like watching a dancer who played with the weight of her swords.

Booom!

Ed managed to jump back and dodge it as Arwen was dragged to the side by the weight of the sword that she had swung horizontally. She then kicked off the floor, turning back.

Arwen narrowed the distance once more, slicing downwards. Ed tried to cast beginner defense magic to block it, but 'Dawn's Blade's' penetration magic—which was engraved on it—had an advantage over all types of defense magic.

Clang!

Crash!

In an instant, Ed's defense magic broke as the blade struck him. He managed to avoid the brunt of the attack, but the tip of the blade still brushed past his shoulder blade as his blood splattered.

Ed let out a shallow moan as he frowned. However, the important fact was that this wound wasn't fatal.

Boom!

Ed then pushed down on the sword that struck the ground, stopping on it with his foot. Arwen's pupils widened in an instant.

Arwen didn't have the strength to handle her greatsword freely with his foot on it like that.

Arwen's swordsmanship ultimately focused on using weight lightening magic to hold the greatsword, swing it, and utilize the inertia of the weight when she canceled her magic halfway through her attack. Therefore, each of her attacks had the full weight of the sword.

Rather than building up physical strength herself, her actions came from her developed sense of grasping the center of an already generated force and twisting it.

It allowed her to use a much greater destructive force compared to the strength she had. However, there was an issue with that method.

It was difficult to wield the greatsword if she didn't cast weight lightening magic.

However, the lighter the greatsword becomes with magic, the more easily it is affected by outside forces.

In other words, if the greatsword was being pushed down by external pressure, it wouldn't be possible to lift it even with weight lightening magic. That meant Arwen wouldn't have the strength to use her swords.

In just two attacks…?

It was a fatal weakness, but it wasn't easy to spot.

That was because the sword always looked extremely heavy and sharp. Humans were affected by visual information more than you would think.

So, seeing such a heavy and bulky sword, normally you wouldn't even think about somehow blocking it… It was impossible to think of going up against the weight of the sword itself. Normally, it would take a long time to figure out how to fight against it, but by then your neck would have been cut.

However, after exchanging only two attacks, Ed had quickly figured out how to fight against her.

Because Ed had his foot on 'Dawn's Blade', Arwen couldn't use her sword.

That's incredibly quick thinking, but…!

However, that didn't mean that Arwen wasn't prepared for that type of situation. She let go of the handle of her greatsword as she turned her body around and grabbed something from her side.

The hem of her frayed skirt unfolded like a flower blooming. Arwen then caught her other sword, 'Condemnation', in her hand.

It was easy to hold down one of her swords by putting weight on it, but it would be difficult to subdue both of them at the same time. That was why Arwen used two swords.

Just in case something like that happened, she had kicked one of her swords into the air earlier. She then moved quickly, catching the sword as if she were doing acrobatics.

Without stopping the inertia of her moving body, she used the weight of 'Condemnation' to horizontally slice him. As Ed stepped back to dodge the attack, she leapt forward once more… kicking the now free 'Dawn's Blade' with her foot.

The moment she kicked 'Dawn's Blade' into the air by removing its weight, she had already sent her next attack flying towards Ed. A clean and clear sword strike aimed towards his shoulder.

He used Wind Blade to block the sword strike that was aimed towards him, sending the sword flying. Arwen utilized the inertia of the sword that had been sent flying as she spun around. Now empty handed, she caught 'Dawn's Blade', which she had just kicked into the air, and continued using the momentum of her spin to land her next attack.

"Ack!"

Ed had succeeded in deflecting 'Dawn's Blade's' attack by casting Wind Blade again, but the recoil caused him to fall down.

Thud! Crash!

"I see that as soon as you found out defensive magic was useless, you started using elemental magic to defend."

Seeing Ed fall down, Arwen wiped the blade of her greatsword.

"You have great reflexes, but you can't stop the physical power itself."

Ed took a deep breath as he stood up. His eyes were still intense.

Arwen swallowed her saliva seeing those eyes.

Ed Rothstaylor's battles had always been based on 'previous information.'

No matter who he fought, if it was a character in , he would be able to clearly figure out how he should fight against them.

However, Arwen Rothstaylor was a character completely outside of the storyline.

He had no prior information on her and everything with her was a first for him.

So, he kept his eyes wide open as he memorized all the new information about her in his mind.

From her small gestures, magic, habits… he digested all that information in an instant, trying to figure things out.

In the first attack, he had caught Arwen off guard by freely controlling the distance between them. In the second attack, he found a way to take advantage of the weakness of weight lightening magic. And in the third attack, he learned of the defense-ignoring attribute that was engraved on 'Dawn's Blade' as he tried to defend against it.

It was beyond the level of just quickly adapting to the fight. With each new attack, it was as if he was becoming an entirely different person.

As Arwen looked at him… she had a newfound feeling.

Covered in blood, he barely managed to stand up as he stared at her with his eyes wide open.

She realized that her opponent was a master of improvisation.

If the bout were to become a long-term battle, she would definitely lose.

When all of Arwen's attacks were revealed, he would be able to quickly come up with a perfect countermeasure.

"Ed."

Arwen called his name softly as he responded.

"At this point, is there even something more to say?"

"Even though it came to this point, can't you stop now?"

"Sigh…"

Ed slowly straightened his body as he grabbed the dagger once more, gathering magic power.

He didn't want to summon a high-ranking spirit. That was because there was still a battle remaining after the one he was already in.

High-ranking spirits consumed an unbelievable amount of magic power just by summoning them. He was now at a level where he could handle one, but it was still no different than using his final move.

Nevertheless, Arwen was much more difficult to face than he thought.

The greatsword has a strong destructive power, but was heavy and slow.

And yet, she broke through such a natural principle, and struck with the power of a greatsword and the speed of a dagger… he realized just how powerful she was.

If it was necessary, perhaps it was a situation where he needed to bring out a high-ranking spirit.

"Maybe we… Will not understand each other until we die."

Looking at Ed, who no longer respected her, she lowered her head.

"Then there's no choice but for me to raise my sword."

What does family mean? Ultimately, Ed was just finishing off Krepin in order to survive.

Whether you are a wife who couldn't separate from her family even after being beaten by a drunken husband.

Whether you are a filial son who did his duty despite living under parents who treated their children like worms.

Or whether you are a parent who devoted your life to supporting someone that wasn't even your own child.

Ed had always lived several steps away from her.

He had already walked too far from her to be bound by his blood ties.

Ever since the day they parted on the terrace, all of Ed's respect for House Rothstaylor had burned to the ground.

Now, all that was left was a magician who was covered in blood on his way to defeat Krepin.

There was nothing good from dragging things on any longer. It was time for the last attack.

Arwen was sure of that fact as she raised her sword. Ed had already jumped forward as he rushed towards her.

Time moved slowly.

Ed rushing forward, narrowing the distance, was engraved in Arwen's eyes.

The scene reflected in Ed's eyes was the same.

There was no hesitation left in Arwen as she lifted her sword for her final attack.

A bat flew behind Ed's back as he slowly narrowed the distance. Before Arwen could reach him, it spewed out fire.

Slowly, flames were sent straight towards Arwen.

Arwen lowered her stance, avoiding the fire. She then cast weight lightening magic on 'Dawn's Blade'.

However, at that moment, the lioness Lacia snatched her sword, throwing it aside.

Manifesting spirits. The thing he wanted to save until the very end.

His last move. One that he had saved until the end to catch her off guard.

Arwen's main weakness was the moment her sword became light from her magic.

Since the sword had become so light that it could easily be thrown aside from a weak application of physical force, it was possible for Lacia to send the sword aside with a single kick.

However, there was still another one remaining.

'Condemnation', which was used by the Primordial Swordsman, Luden. The sword which was bestowed upon her by the imperial family as the heir of the respected House Rothstaylor, began to shine.

Arwen's hand, which was getting ready to strike him with her sword, was brought straight towards Ed's body. If she stabbed at a short distance, it would be much faster than Ed's attack.

However, Ed knew.

Arwen Rothstaylor… She couldn't 'stab'.

Due to her fighting style, which relied on the weight of the sword to draw destructive power, she couldn't stab. That was because she would need to withstand the weight of the sword on her own.

However, techniques that utilized large slashing movements, drawn by the sword's weight, were completely futile in a close distance like this.

However, Arwen wasn't unaware of this fact. Therefore, she cast the final magic that was engraved on 'Condemnation'.

'Acceleration' magic. The power that instantly sped up one's body movements. It wasn't something Ed had calculated. It was the ability that Arwen had hidden until the very end.

A speed fast enough to defy the laws of physics. The moment she was about to strike Ed's chest, Arwen was taken aback by Ed's response.

Ed only tightly shut his eyes.

Had he given up on everything? That couldn't be it.

At that moment, a strong wind enveloped Ed's body.

It was the final attack against each other, but… In a fight against means, Ed had slightly more means up his sleeve.

Storm's Blessing, which completely nullified all attacks that were outside his recognition.

The wind quickly rose as it deflected Arwen's sword. It lifted her body in the air, leaving her incapacitated.

The moment Ed grabbed his dagger and tried to take advantage of that chance, Arwen optimally responded in an instant.

She clenched her teeth to the point they would break and clenched the hand that held the handle of the greatsword.

Using the weight of the greatsword, whose weight lightening magic had been canceled, she pulled down on the handle and somehow managed to block Ed's attack. As a result, both of their final attacks left each other in shock as they now stood on even footing.

Now it was the time to finish things. It felt as if they both said that to each other.

As both of them got into their postures, jumping into the air, the moment they were about to trade final blows—

In a one-on-one fight.

A variable that was completely unexpected suddenly hit the two of them.

Craaaaash!

Fwoooosh!

The wind blew by once more.

There was a girl who had somehow cast an unstable wind magic as she landed between them.

Her blonde hair that fluttered against the night sky was similar to Arwen's. Her sharp eyes resemble Ed's.

The girl who had jumped from the central spire into the broken ceiling of Rothstaylor Hall was a variable that neither Ed nor Arwen could have ever imagined.

As if in slow motion, they saw Tanya's expression.

It seemed as if she was crying, angry, and also surprised.

There was a lot of information that was rushing through her head.

Rothstaylor Estate suddenly being thrown into chaos. The destroyed annex of the mansion. Arwen was still alive, but now in a strange form. Ed was covered in blood as he climbed up through the annex. And the battle taking place between the two.

It was an urgent situation, one where she didn't know anything and didn't know what to think. Her hand, which appeared between the two of them exchanging their final attacks, had a slight amount of magic power left in it.

Only once more, weakly but surely, she could cast wind magic.

Arwen and Ed. If either of them were hit with it, their defensive magic would be destroyed.

Between the two, in Tanya's eyes… She turned towards Arwen, who always looked towards her lovingly.

She looked at her older sister, who she couldn't help but love.

I remembered the night we hugged on the terrace.

Ed, who told Tanya to come with him as he stood in the dark, had let Tanya go.

She didn't know the reason, but he scared her. So, she stayed in Arwen's arms, crying.

That was when the two of them separated. And like that, Tanya had followed Arwen's path.

And with that, Ed had left the terrace, headed to Acken Island, and survived in solitude. Tanya didn't want to stand next to him.

The day Ed left the mansion, she hid behind the curtains of the window, watching him from afar. She watched as his lonely back walked away.

Just what sort of thorny path had he walked on since that day? Now, Tanya Rothstaylor knew it all.

Booooom!

She didn't know what the situation was or what would happen after.

In the last hundredth of a second before the two exchanged final blows, Tanya cast wind magic straight at Arwen's hand.

Fwoooosh!

Clang!

The last sword, 'Condemnation', which was in Arwen's hand… Had been thrown aside and fallen to the floor.

The moment Arwen tried to quickly widen the distance…

Slice!

Ed had closed the distance and pierced Arwen's shoulder with his dagger.