——When
"Please, Subaru. —Please, stay safe with
The devastating shadow that had struck the
The reason Emility hadn't completely fallen apart was that
Of course, being alive didn't mean they weren't in danger or facing terrifying situations. On the contrary, since Rem was lying unconscious in an unfamiliar land and needed rescuing, Subaru would absolutely, without question, throw himself into reckless peril. And yet, neither Emilia nor Beatrice could be at Subaru's side through any of it — which left Emilia in a state of absolute panic.
"I have to find them as soon as possible…!"
With that resolve, Emilia and the group setting out to conquer the Pleiades Watchtower set off.
First, they needed to figure out how to sneak into the southern Volakian Empire — the country where, at present, travel to and from the Kingdom of Lugnica was forbidden — the most likely place where Subaru had been sent.
"We'll try pushing in from the Kalragi side. Kalragi might be less on guard than Lugnica and Volakia, who've been in a staring contest this whole time."
Those were the words of Anastasia, who had promised to assist in the search for Subaru.
Anastasia and her people, including Julius and
"I'm really glad I got to become friends with Anastasia."
"Hmm, I wouldn't say 'friends' exactly. Our positions are still competitors, same as always. But—"
"But?"
"Once we've settled everything with Natsuki-kun and the royal selection, let's become friends then. Same as you, Emilia — I don't really have many friends either."
Anastasia said that in her usual easygoing manner and promised to lend her strength.
Even knowing this wasn't the time for such sentiments, Emilia couldn't help feeling that the day the promise was fulfilled — not just the search for Subaru, but the promise to become friends with her — was something to look forward to.
And then— "If Anastasia's planning to cross over from the Kalragi side, it would be most prudent for us to simply find a way to cross the border into Volakia," Roswaal declared upon reuniting with Emilia's group after returning from the Pleiades Watchtower.
Once he grasped the urgency of the situation, Roswaal respected Emilia's wish to search for Subaru immediately. However, even with his status and resources, entering the Volakian Empire apparently wasn't easy. Even trying to fly in would result in being bitten by dragon riders.
Even with Roswaal's support, breaking into the Empire was no simple matter.
Above all, the Empire was vast. Even if they managed to enter, there was no guarantee they'd stumble upon Subaru and Rem.
In this increasingly desperate situation, the breakthrough came, as expected, from the person they could rely on.
"As for how to enter the Volakian Empire — I do have an idea. Though, it's not exactly an admirable method, and there are dangers involved."
The one who hesitated before speaking up was Otto, who had returned to the mansion alongside the others upon Emilia's arrival. He had been recuperating at the Watergate City of Pristella, and had come back with Garfiel. Now he was pointing toward a hopeful path for the难题 that so troubled Emilia's group.
However, the method in question was— "—Illegal entry. From Piccatat… one of the five great cities south of Lugnica, where my family lives. I might be able to arrange passage from there."
Illegal entry meant crossing a country's border without going through official procedures — doing it in secret.
As Otto said, it was hardly an admirable method, and when one considered the consequences of being caught, it was undeniably a dangerous option.
But if there was no other way— "We have to do everything we can for Subaru's sake."
With fierce determination, Emilia communicated her resolve to everyone.
Ram and Otto had all sorts of objections, but nobody said "let's not do this." Everyone was praying for Subaru's safety.
That, more than anything, filled Emilia with pride.
"We're bringing Subaru back safe and sound, no matter what. I'll make it happen."
"Yes, truly — let's do our very best."
Squeezing gently the small hand of Beatrice, who was anxious about being separated from Subaru, Emilia received her response with a warm, firm grip of her own.
And so, after an altercation with an old acquaintance in Otto's hometown who had been targeting his life, Petra's bold-faced negotiations with the group guiding their illegal border crossing, and a bride commotion surrounding Frederica's unique physiology — the group set off across the country in search of Subaru— "That's far enough."
Having arrived at the fortress city caught in the throes of chaos, Emilia, who had brought snow to its streets, declared thus.
—— The sight that greeted her: countless buildings collapsed, and what must have once been a beautiful cityscape reduced to unrecognizable ruin.
Even now, the great shadows streaking through the sky left and right continued to use their wings to batter the lives of the people below. Watching from afar, Emilia's fury only mounted.
How could anyone do something so terrible?
Was there really no other way? Had they even tried to find one?
But even as Emilia thought this, she herself could not think of any method to stop this battle in this moment other than using her own power — and that frustration gnawed at her.
So Emilia clung to that frustration with everything she had, determined never to forget it.
And for that purpose— "Ice Age."
As those words left Emilia's lips, heat was violently stripped from the world around her.
The air cooled slowly, and from the darkening sky, faint white snow crystals began to flicker into existence. Rapidly, relentlessly, Emilia blanketed the area around the city in freezing cold.
She was careful not to go too far, adjusting the magic's power with precision.
She absolutely could not lose control and freeze this city the way her homeland, the
What Emilia needed to do was bring an unbearable ice season to this Imperial land that knew nothing of cold.
Bitingly cold winds, accumulating white snow crystals, a season of magical ice that turned one's breath white — these would descend upon the fortress city ravaged by the dragon disaster.
If she did that— "Dragon-kind are weak to cold. Especially flying dragons that have never known freezing temperatures — the harsher the cold, the more its effect will tell on their wings."
With those words, a figure lightly landed atop the half-destroyed city wall where Emilia stood, the sound of light footsteps preceding their arrival.
Glancing over, Emilia nodded.
"Petra-chan told me before we set out that flying dragons are weak to cold. She's a really hard worker — she learned all about the Empire in no time at all."
"So you relied on a servant's wisdom. No wonder I thought you'd come up with a surprisingly decent plan for a half-elf who can barely string a thought together."
"You don't have to say it like that. And what does being a half-elf have to— wait, what?"
Pouting at the other's choice of words, Emilia's violet eyes went wide.
The woman in the red dress, her long orange hair fluttering in the cold wind — though her hairstyle differed from the one in Emilia's memory, the person standing there was— "Wh— Priscilla? Why are you here? This isn't Lugnica, you know!"
"I shall return the very same sentiment to you. That said, I can guess the reason you set foot in the Empire… but I must say, you managed to cross the country."
"Oh, I can't tell you how. It's supposed to be a secret. And I'm also supposed to hide who I really am. So, please be careful. I'm…—"
Surprised by this unexpected reunion — seeing Priscilla's figure in this southern foreign land, where she should never have been — Emilia responded with astonishment mixed with a strange sense of emotion.
That said, she couldn't just keep being surprised. The method by which Emilia had entered the Empire was underhanded — it was, by definition, an illegal act. She needed to be upfront with Priscilla about that.
But— "Priscilla, look out!"
Cutting her words short, Emilia urged Priscilla to be careful.
The next instant, Priscilla clicked her tongue — "Tch" — and leaped aside. Where she had been standing, a spinning blade carved through the air with devastating force — a wing blade.
The crumbling city wall, barely holding together, was cleanly sliced by the blade's edge, which paradoxically saved it from outright collapse. Priscilla, having dodged the strike, let the hem of her dress flutter behind her as she landed — this time much closer to Emilia, right beside her.
And then— "One after another — what exactly do you think you're doing, you lot?"
Catching the returning wing blade in one hand, a girl's voice, brimming with fury, reached Emilia.
Looking down, a horned girl stood alone in the ruined streets, her eyes blazing as she glared at Emilia and Priscilla side by side.
She was clearly furious too. But then, so was Emilia.
So Emilia pointed sharply at the girl and declared— "My name is Emili— Emily! A passing spiritist!"
She nearly blurted her real name out of momentum, but managed to introduce herself with the pre-arranged alias. Priscilla narrowed her eyes at Emilia's bold declaration, and the girl who had been named narrowed her gaze with heightened wariness.
"Spiritist…?"
"Same as that dog-folk, huh…?"
"If what you're thinking of is
"Gh—"
Priscilla's correction seemed to read the girl's — Madeline's — thoughts exactly, and it stiffened her cheeks. However, there was something in that exchange that Emilia hadn't missed.
"'Spirit Eater'? What do they do to spirits?"
"Just as it sounds — they devour spirits. They absorb that power into themselves and wield it to its fullest. The art has been all but lost; in the Empire, only Arakiya remains."
"They eat spirits!? That's… that's terrible…"
As a spiritist who had formed contracts with numerous minor spirits herself, this was incomprehensible to Emilia.
If either
But compared to worrying over things that hadn't happened, the problem before her eyes took priority.
"You — Madeline?"
"Don't underestimate dragons, half-breed."
"Then let's talk properly, Madeline. You're the one behind the dragon attacks on this city. I want you to stop — right now."
Turning her gaze outward, Emilia looked toward the other side of the city, beyond the range of Madeline's rampage, where the swarm of flying dragons continued their assault. Their movements, ever so slightly, seemed sluggish compared to before.
Emilia's power had dropped the temperature, and it was beginning to affect the dragons' activity.
If this continued, she could plausibly bring every last dragon down to the ground. But she didn't want to do that if she could help it. The dragons — she didn't want them to die, either.
"If you care about these dragons, I want you to listen to my request."
"——"
"Madeline?"
With as much sincerity as she could muster, Emilia tried to convey her words.
Perhaps Otto or Ram or Petra could have spoken more skillfully. But when she'd seen the city being attacked by the swarm of flying dragons, Emilia had been the only one who could rush to the scene on short notice.
Having been the first to arrive, Emilia was determined to give it everything she had.
The result— "To think you'd dare make a request of dragons — your arrogance knows no bounds, human…!"
Even if it had provoked Madeline's rage— "No matter who it is, not even you could convince her to relent. Those are dragonfolk. They are not creatures so modest as to listen to the words of those who root themselves to the earth."
Madeline's furious response, and Emilia's sharp intake of breath upon hearing it. Priscilla, who had been listening in silence to their exchange, now delivered her assessment of the failed negotiation.
It sounded almost as though she was encouraging her, and Emilia's eyes went round.
"Priscilla — I always thought you were someone who only ever said mean things to me."
"It is not wrong to call a thing unfit what it is. Do not twist the words of my magnanimous self. —Now then, what shall be done?"
"Mm."
Nodding, Emilia conjured a hair clip of ice on her left hand, extended outward. Priscilla squinted one eye in suspicion as it was offered to her.
Reading Priscilla's reaction, Emilia nodded— "Let's stop her together. Don't be mean."
"Reduce my actions to mere childishness, will you, you half-elf wretch."
Hurling insults under her breath, Priscilla took the hair clip from Emilia's hand and used it to pull back her own long, flowing hair, pinning it in place. The sound of ice clicking into place signaled a return to Priscilla's familiar bearing, and Emilia turned her attention to Madeline below.
And then— "——I've had quite enough of those who know no fear when dealing with dragons."
"I actually just had a fight with a really big dragon not long ago. So—"
"——!"
"Even if you want me to be afraid, I won't be! I just can't be afraid of you!"
With her white fangs bared in intimidation, Madeline received Emilia's clear, unwavering answer.
An instant later, Madeline's eyes narrowed like a ground dragon's, and the wing blade in her hand was hurled at Emilia and Priscilla with terrifying speed and force.
Seeing it bearing down while spinning, Emilia conjured a great ice hammer in both hands.
She matched the rotation of the wing blade with an upward swing of the ice hammer from directly below, attempting to knock it away.
"Hnn—sho!!"
The tremendous recoil slammed into both arms. Emilia planted her feet and strained to swing the hammer upward. By the narrowest of margins, the single strike deflected the wing blade's trajectory, and the blade passed over Emilia and Priscilla's heads.
But the unbelievable force shattered the ice hammer to pieces, and Emilia looked down at her hands— "That was incredible strength… Stronger than me, by far, maybe…"
"Of course it was! To compare a dragon and a human on the same scale is the mistake—"
Stepping forward with her small body, Madeline gloated over the wincing Emilia. —And then, a chunk of ice larger than the city hall plummeted from the sky onto Madeline's head.
"—!?"
Choked silent by the sudden appearance of the ice block and its sheer scale and weight, Madeline was crushed beneath it.
A cold shockwave radiated outward in all directions from the point of impact, and a white gale blasted away rubble and damaged buildings, wreaking havoc.
"You — and with what mouth did you tell me to stop destroying the city?"
"Hey! But that part was already wrecked when we got here…"
"You take a broad view of things. Your servants must have a terrible time. —That said, you should finally understand now."
"Finally understand?"
Watching where the ice block had fallen, Priscilla crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. Emilia directed a question at that profile, but the answer came simultaneously from both Priscilla's lips and the scene before them.
The ice block that should have crushed Madeline — embedded in the earth, it trembled faintly. A sound like the world itself cracking began to echo from the block.
And at the point of impact, where the ice should have struck the ground, a girl's arm rose up from within— "—How troublesome the dragonfolk truly are."
The instant after Priscilla's words, a deafening roar split the air as the massive ice block was cleaved clean in two.
The shock of destruction rippled through every fragment, and the shattered ice dissolved from the edges into a fine mist of mana. And there, amid the spectacle of ice shards scattering like snow, a roar erupted — and the dragonfolk, incarnation of a dragon, lunged at the two.
—— The freezing wind raged, the impulse to destroy ran rampant across the battlefield, and two beautiful women danced through it all.
Were there someone watching this battle from afar, the sheer grandeur of it would surely make them doubt their eyes.
Was this reality, or was it something out of a dream?
With a force that cracked the ground beneath her feet, the diminutive dragonfolk pirouetted and hurled a 'Death' she had spun.
The arc traced by the blade swept away everything in its path — a destructive flying edge that, despite its savage threat, beautifully bisected the world as it tore through the air.
Had this been a painting, an ordinary eye might have seen not destruction but a kind of pruning that trimmed the world into beauty.
Such was the rage of Madeline Eschart — a refined, instinctive violence.
And yet— "Priscilla! Take this!"
Creating ice platforms in midair, dodging the incoming wing blade while her silver hair danced — that celestial beauty waved her hand earthward, and the ruined streetscape froze solid.
From the rising, crystallizing earth, a beautifully ornamented ice sword emerged.
The stunning heroine dashed forward and pulled the blade from the ground— "If it were anyone else, their fingers would have fallen off. —But the ornamentation isn't bad. I'll use it."
A pale-blue slash of absolute zero cut across Madeline's body at a diagonal.
But however immense the strength hidden in that small frame, Madeline merely stumbled back lightly, and it was the ice sword that shattered from the impact.
Madeline then reached out toward Priscilla as she closed the distance— "You won't—!"
To deny her that opportunity, Emilia descended from directly above, her ice-armored feet slamming down on Madeline's shoulders.
Her downward-striking legs, still spinning, were clad in ice greaves. The merciless blow crushed both of Madeline's shoulders and forced the sturdy dragonfolk to take an involuntary step back.
In that instant— "Please!"
"Don't order me around."
As Emilia landed and placed both hands on the ground, Priscilla seized the twin ice blades she summoned, vaulted over the crouching Emilia, and charged at Madeline.
Right hand and left — the twin ice blades in Priscilla's grip bore down on Madeline from different angles. Madeline caught them reflexively with her extended claws, and a shrill ringing sound filled the air.
"Don't get cocky—!"
As Madeline batted aside the twin blades and prepared to counterattack, an ice spearhead shot past Priscilla's head and pierced the air before Madeline's face. She tilted back in surprise, and where Priscilla had been, Emilia now surged forward, thrusting an ice spear at blinding speed.
"Switch."
When Madeline deflected that spear, it was Priscilla who followed with her ice sword dance.
Flipping the hem of her red dress, she wielded the twin blades of blue-gleaming ice with fluid grace. Dancing through the white, frozen world, Priscilla's sword strikes battered Madeline's entire body, pressing her down.
"Why — why, why, why, why!?"
Struggling to keep up with Priscilla's twin blades, Madeline screamed at being driven entirely onto the defensive.
But Priscilla's assault didn't relent. And for Madeline, even worse — the moment Priscilla paused her sword dance— "Hiyah! Take that! And this!"
Without a moment's respite, Emilia burst forth, conjuring one ice weapon after another, displaying extraordinary adaptability and slamming each one down with all her might.
——Priscilla with technique, Emilia with force — together they completely shut down Madeline's offense and defense.
Wing blade, slashed, smashed, swung, and thrown.
The innate physical ability of a dragonfolk was incomparably beyond that of fragile humans. Even among demi-humans — sturdier than humans by some degree — they were like dry twigs before a dragonfolk.
Even the Oni clan, that unfortunate race sometimes mentioned in the same breath as the dragonfolk, were no different.
The Oni and the dragonfolk were sometimes spoken of together as the strongest races, but that was utter nonsense.
The Oni were, in the end, merely an exceptional bloodline among demi-humans. The dragonfolk were fundamentally something else.
Dragonfolk were not demi-humans. They were wholly different from any race connected to humanity.
Dragonfolk were not human. —And yet, why was it that things never seemed to go their way?
"What even are you people… what are you!? What!?"
Attacks fueled by rage swung wide, one after another, until even the fury she spewed was finally spent.
And when the dragon's rage had burned out, what remained was the wretched lamentation of a dragon laid bare. She swung the wing blade in a lateral sweep — Emilia ducked, Priscilla leaped clear.
Then, splitting into high and low, the two answered Madeline's lamentation simultaneously.
What are you? —To that question— "I'm Emily!"
"I am Priscilla."
The great ice axe raised overhead and the twin blades flashing with cold light each struck Madeline dead-on.
Her horns were sharply struck by the ice blades, and the full force of the ice axe slammed into her torso. Unable to even break her fall, Madeline was sent hurtling backward.
In the midst of battle, her body bounced twice, three times across the thin layer of snow on the ground, and launched into a mountain of rubble, sending up a plume of white dust with a thunderous crash.
—— The wing blade, slipping from Madeline's grasp, slammed into the city wall behind her. That wall, which had continued to shield the fortress city from the southern threat, had finally completed its duty.
As the wall collapsed with a tremendous roar, Emilia slowly rose to her feet and fixed an unwavering gaze upon the pile of rubble beneath which Madeline lay.
"…Did we beat her?"
"The impact was sufficient. Pity there was no real resistance to speak of, though."
"Resistance…?"
Priscilla stepped forward, and Emilia watched as the twin blades in her hand crumbled to dust. She tilted her head, and her gaze drifted somewhat toward Priscilla's lips — but she wasn't eating anything.
Priscilla returned Emilia's gaze with her crimson eyes— "I was merely saying that, for a dragonfolk holding the rank of one of the 'Nine Divine Generals,' she was rather underwhelming."
"That — the Nine Divine Generals thing — but what exactly are dragonfolk? They're demi-humans, right?"
"A race thought to have gone extinct in ancient times. It was said they possessed the ability to commune with dragons, which no longer appear in this world — but it seems that was merely superstition."
"Dragons… You mean she could talk to
Tentatively, Emilia ventured this, and Priscilla raised an eyebrow slightly. Then she touched a finger to her lips.
"To think such words would come from your mouth. Have I misjudged you somewhat?"
" —Huh? Oh, do you think I'm joking? I'm totally not joking. I actually met Volcanica not long ago, and it had been alone for so long that it'd gone a bit senile…"
At Priscilla's skeptical reaction, Emilia hurried to argue her point. But she quickly remembered what should take priority— "If we've beaten her, we need to get Madeline to call off the flying dragons!"
"In this cold, the sluggish flying dragons will all be brought down soon enough."
"People could still get hurt while that's happening! Subaru and Rem could be in danger too…"
"—Hmm."
Emilia darted past Priscilla, heading toward the rubble where Madeline was buried. Priscilla, watching that retreating back, furrowed her elegant brows.
Still, that reaction didn't reach Emilia, who was already striding over the debris with long legs, fashioning an ice spade to begin digging out Madeline.
Watching her back from a distance, Priscilla let out a small sigh.
An unexpected move — and the result it produced. That, she could acknowledge as a positive. But the catastrophic damage wrought by Madeline and the flying dragons — that could not be undone.
At worst, they might need to consider relocating their base to the Magic City of
"In any case, we ought to clip their wings first."
Cutting short her thoughts about what lay ahead, Priscilla gazed up at the overcast sky.
How much vast mana Emilia possessed — even within a limited area, the ability to exert power equivalent to a shift in climate meant she could, depending on how she chose to wield it, take her pick of outcomes.
Of course, what was valued in Volakia was not necessarily treasured in Lugnica. If Emilia simply decided to live in Volakia, she need not waste time on pointless things.
But regardless of her abilities, given Emilia's personality, she could never live in Volakia— —— Just then, Priscilla's eyes, which had been tracing thoughts across the sky, flickered almost imperceptibly.
The jewel-like crimson eyes wavered because, gazing upward, she had caught a faint discord in the vast sky above.
And the moment Priscilla understood the source of that discord— "Found you, Madeline! I'm getting you out now. But please, listen to what we have to—"
"—Ah."
"Huh?"
Finding the girl buried in the rubble, Emilia used her ice spade to shift the debris. There lay the dragonfolk girl, her clothes soiled with dust and snow, flat on her back.
Her lips moved, and a hoarse voice leaked out. Emilia leaned in close.
She expected to hear words conceding defeat — an agreement to call off the dragons.
But Emilia's expectation was in vain. What Madeline's lips wove was no declaration of surrender.
What she whispered was a single word — a name.
"—Mesoleia."
——The next instant, the 'Dragon's' roar from beyond the clouds rained destruction upon the earth below.
—— The instant white light erupted from the sky, Emilia and Priscilla moved simultaneously.
Without sound, without signal, an ice tower was conjured from the earth, and at its pinnacle rose two beautiful figures — one of silver, one of crimson — dancing into position.
Atop the tower that had shot up over ten meters in an instant, Emilia raised both hands skyward and formed a colossal ice canopy over the area where the white light was expected to land.
She built a canopy within a canopy — a slightly smaller one inside the first, a still smaller one inside that, repeating the process until six layers of ice canopies covered the sky.
And while Emilia assembled her icy defenses, Priscilla extended her slender fingers into the void and drew forth the 'Sun Sword' — its sheath nothing less than space itself.
A blade of vivid radiance, its hilt adorned with dazzling jewels in profusion — yet the light overflowing from within was incomparably weaker than at its full might.
Even so, Priscilla raised the sword overhead and braced herself.
The next instant, the descending white light struck the outermost canopy. In less than a second, the first canopy was pierced, then the second, then the third, the light driving ever closer to the ground.
But it would be wrong to say the canopies had been pierced for nothing.
The instant the light was received, its angle shifted ever so slightly.
From the first to the second to the third, the changes were minuscule; the fourth and fifth made them somewhat more apparent; and by the sixth canopy's destruction, the angle of descent had undeniably changed.
The beam of white light fell — no longer straight, but deflected — toward the ice tower and the two figures standing upon it.
To meet it, a crimson flash was unleashed — beautifully, brilliantly, as a single defiant slash— —— The sound vanished entirely, and a silence she had never experienced in her life registered in her body for what felt like ten seconds.
It was probably less than a single second in reality — but when it detonated, the shockwave that had spread from the southern side of the city engulfed the entire fortress city without exception, turning it upside down.
The ground peeled back, buildings were ripped from their foundations, unshielded humans were flung into the air like dead leaves, and the flock of dragons wheeling overhead was battered by the gale.
Without mercy, without distinction, everything was swallowed by the shockwave that struck every soul in the city.
Naturally, the wounded were carried in. Flop, who had been rushing about tending to the injured in the largest mansion of the city — now an improvised hospital — was caught in the shock and slammed back-first against a wall.
"Guh."
Several seconds — or perhaps ten-odd, or possibly minutes.
The violent blow to his back had sent every internal organ into revolt. There was surprisingly little pain — perhaps it would come later, or perhaps it was of the kind too agonizing to feel. The possibility could not be ruled out.
If that truly were the case, then he hoped to live out an unremarkable daily life from here on, watch over his sister Medium's safe and happy future, savor the satisfaction of having carried out his revenge against the world perfectly, and never realize — until the moment he died of old age — that his injuries had been fatal.
If it came to that, there would be no way to tell whether he'd died from his wounds or from aging.
"Alrighty, alrighty — probably, maybe, not too serious…"
Piling caution upon caution, Flop carefully assessed his condition before rising to his feet.
His limbs responded, all his fingers were accounted for. Ears and nose appeared intact, eyes didn't seem crushed — fortune was holding, at least. But he couldn't let his guard down, nor was it wise to be too pessimistic.
Shaking his head, he stood and wiped his blurred vision, looking around.
What had been a solemn, magnificent interior was now a scene of hellish carnage, reeking of blood and filled with groans. The latest shock had only deepened the carnage.
Wounds he'd already treated might have flared up again, or others might have worsened. He needed to ease their pain and lend a hand once more.
"The butler and Utakata — hope they're safe…"
After encountering Madeline, Flop had left her to Priscilla and joined up with Rem and the others in the mansion, lending a hand with the injured as best he could.
Schult, with flames still burning in both eyes, had been helping while worried about Priscilla — and had only just managed to steady his nerves.
And now a single shockwave had undone all of it.
"What on earth…"
As Flop scanned his surroundings, a strained voice rose from nearby.
Looking up, it was Rem, peering out from the depths of the hall. She too had been knocked dizzy by the shock, her focus moments ago having been on treating the seriously wounded who required healing magic.
Leaning on her staff, Rem frowned as she tried to discern from the window what had happened.
Had the flying dragons attacked in a swarm again? Had one of the "Nine Divine Generals" gone on a rampage at full power? Or was something even more terrifying unfolding? Flop braced himself— At that moment— "Oh no—"
Eyes wide, expression hardening, Rem rushed toward the mansion's front door. Whatever she had seen outside, she bolted out without hesitation, and Flop cried "Ma'am!" after her retreating back.
Clutching his aching ribs and knee, Flop chased after Rem as she fled outside. He found her in the mansion's front garden, crouching beside a figure crumpled on the ground.
Blown here by the earlier shockwave — yet another casualty.
As Flop drew closer, watching Rem examine the person's condition, he took in what he hadn't been able to see from inside the mansion, and his eyes widened at the severity of the earlier blast.
"This is…"
Flakes of white snow drifted down from Gwalur. In the southern sky, thick clouds layered upon one another, and the sun's rays pierced through them like spears.
The spectacle was so fantastical it bordered on dreamlike. Flop exhaled a white breath and shuddered.
A sudden, dramatic drop in temperature, accompanied by this otherworldly, almost mythical panorama — even in a dream, such a scene would be hard to conjure.
Which meant, paradoxically, that this was no dream. Flop shook his head.
"Flop, please — I need help. We have to get this person inside…"
"Yeah, I know. Under a sky this unfathomable, we can only do what we can do. We do our absolute best—"
He turned, about to help Rem, but froze mid-motion.
His blue eyes went wide, his words cut short.
The reason was plain: behind Rem — the very person she had asked for help — there was a figure.
The figure Rem had spotted after the shockwave, the person she wanted to bring inside for treatment, was small. Small, delicate, and bearing two black horns on their head.
And whether their consciousness was hazy, the girl slowly rising behind Rem was raising her arm — the one bristling with sharp claws — in an aimless, slashing motion.
—— Once again, Flop felt the sound vanish and the flow of time distort.
Rem, facing him, was unaware of the threat closing in behind her. The threat itself — the girl — didn't seem driven by any intent to harm Rem; it looked more like a survival instinct.
She must have been through something truly terrible. He sympathized — but sympathy wouldn't change the situation, and that was what made it so difficult.
—— Kuna and Holly, who served as the mansion's guards, were probably still recovering from the earlier shockwave. They were nowhere in sight, and he couldn't count on their help.
Schult, with his burning eyes; Utakata, suppressing her fighting spirit to help with first aid; Heinkel, unconscious and unresponsive — none of them could be relied on either.
If he closed his eyes, he could see his sister's face, beaming with a smile wide enough to burst.
The little sister who had sworn to grow strong so she'd never have to see her brother hurt, and who had truly become strong — he was so proud of her. And the benefactor who had given them the push to go out into the world, his sworn brother — all kinds of faces flickered past.
——Take care of your own life, Flop. Self-sacrifice is the act of a big fool.
His benefactor had once laughed and told Flop that, back when he was living recklessly.
In this very moment, the words Flop wanted to say — recalling that time — were exactly the same.
"I don't mind being called a big fool."
Because the people he loved would all clap their hands and laugh when he said it.
"Flop, sa—"
Stepping forward, he placed a hand on her slender shoulder and shoved Rem aside.
And in the path of the sweeping claws, a single big fool threw himself in— ——Blood scattered, and Flop Okoeru collapsed onto the cold ground.