The world was white.
Heavy snow—no, a blizzard—poured down upon the Royal Capital, where the giant stood frozen, unmoving.
The world had turned into mid-winter.
Viais was being dominated by a deadly cold air, so intense that even such words felt too mild. The repeated blizzards unleashed by the second daughter of Uzunami, the new “Ruling King” with black hair, had chilled the world beyond its limits.
From the massive Ice Magic barrier enveloping the Royal Capital, White Magic Power and snow continued to fall, dyeing the town’s roofs, streets, and trees, everything, completely white. It took only a few seconds for the country, characterized by its green, to be dyed entirely white.
The blizzard struck against her face.
It was painful to keep her eyes open. If her eyelashes froze and she closed them, she might never be able to open them again. With every exhale, ice crystals sparkled, and with every inhale, her lungs ached from the cold air. Snow piled at her feet, scattering powder snow like a splash of water whenever she stepped on the street or rooftops.
This was the power of Hitaki, the second daughter of Uzunami, the “Thief of the Principles of Water.” With her extremely unorthodox skill and special magic properties, she was a “Thief of the Principles of Water” who, despite her title, used no water magic at all, instead “stopping” everything. Plants and other natural things froze from the cold—not “dying of cold” but “stopping.” As a skilled mage and a child, she understood the mechanism of that magic.
Although they never had a chance to fight a thousand years ago, it was undoubtedly a power that could rival this child, Titty, the “One who steals the logic of the wind.”
However, she had no intention of retreating even a single step. If the enemy possessed the power to “stop,” her own power was “freedom.”
“Do not underestimate this child’s power! New Ruling King! —Wind Umbrella!!”
In the center of the Royal Capital, on what appeared to be the widest street in the country, the child and the enemy faced each other. Hitaki stood on the frozen fountain installed on the street, while the child floated in front of her using her wings.
The child channeled magic head-on. She generated a high-density, round wind, like a shield, and propelled herself forward as if colliding with it. It was a magic shield bash. With the two wings on her back, she fanned the cold air, racing through the sky.
In response, Hitaki merely muttered groggily.
“—Ice Paradox Blue.”
From Hitaki’s entire body, standing on the frozen fountain, blue magic spilled out, constructing a round shield similar to the child’s “Wind Umbrella.”
The massive magic shields collided in front of the fountain, and a contest of magical power began. She was confident that she would never lose in a contest of strength like this. In fact, in a direct confrontation, she would win in just a few seconds.
However, the enemy would never resort to a straightforward power struggle. She was a dexterous “Thief of Principles” skilled in trickery. As the shields clashed, blue and green magic particles danced in the air. Immediately, Hitaki manipulated those particles and attacked the child, who was casting magic from the side, with them.
Her extended hands began to freeze from the fingertips. Her flapping wings became as heavy as stone, emitting creaking sounds.
“Kuh—”
Thinking she would fall if it continued, the child gave up on the power struggle and leaped to the side. The blue shield, having won the clash, swallowed the child’s green shield and continued to advance, freezing the Royal Capital further. Moisture in the air froze, causing icicles to form all over the town. The aftermath alone created numerous ice sculptures that seemed to reach towards the sky.
While her heart ached for the town of Aid being frozen once again, she considered the compatibility between herself and the enemy. This had been the case for a while. Hitaki used multiple magic spells simultaneously. She didn’t handle magic on a large scale but used completely different spells at the same time. It was a dexterity that other “Thieves of Principles” lacked. Even during grand moves like the current shield magic, she generated another spell as effortlessly as breathing. Even though she was superior in each individual spell, that second spell slyly exploited openings, preventing her from attacking effectively.
Feeling a sense of urgency, the child fired magic bullets from a bayonet she had created on her right arm with wind.
“Be blown away! —Magic Bullet: Wind!”
” —Absolute Winter.”
However, the magic bullet, slicing through the mid-winter world, failed to reach Hitaki’s body by a small margin. It “stopped” in mid-air, right in front of Hitaki. The bullet wasn’t disappearing like “Magic Nullification”; it was simply stopping midway. Clicks of frustration escaping her lips, the child began to construct more magic while trying to move her wings.
“—!?”
She felt a weight, and her eyes widened. Or rather, it wasn’t weight but a snag. Her wings, which she tried to move, caught on something and wouldn’t move properly. Of course, there was nothing in the air to snag on. If there was anything, it could only be the snow of this mid-winter.
“—Ice Arrow!”
“Kuh! —Wind Arrow!”
As an ice arrow flew towards the child, whose body was dulled by the strange sensation, she tried to shoot it down with a wind arrow. At that moment, she felt the same snag in generating her magic.
“This is…!!”
Was it not just her body, but even her magic power that had become heavy? She couldn’t help but feel such a strange sensation. Then, she was convinced that it was true. She reflexively looked at her hands. Her body, which had never felt cold since becoming a “Thief of the Principles of Wind,” was trembling from the cold. Not just her body. Even the magic power enveloping her hands was trembling.
At the same time, she was convinced that her earlier statement about being unable to attack effectively was a mistake. It was the opposite. Without realizing it, the child had been unilaterally on the offensive all along. This prolonged combat through magic neutralization was likely Hitaki’s “attack.” The tactic of this new “Ruling King” was to prolong the battle, gradually envelop the field in cold air, and slowly steal the enemy’s body heat. Titty, the “Thief of the Principles of Wind,” who scattered enemies spectacularly, had a power that was the opposite of Hitaki, the “Thief of the Principles of Water.”
“Kuh…!”
She roused her trembling body and tried to disengage. However, all her movements felt heavy and strenuous. It was because her magic power and body heat had been stolen too much by the mid-winter world. She could feel her chances of winning dwindling with every second. While she had an overwhelming advantage in short battles, the fight had dragged on for too long. Flying through the Royal Capital, now completely Hitaki’s domain, she reconsidered the reasons why she couldn’t settle it in a short battle.
First, the desire to protect the Royal Capital, Viais, had been an impediment. No matter how different it was from the Viais she knew, it was undoubtedly the future of her former homeland. Most importantly, she had promised Rouge that she would fight without causing too much destruction. Therefore, she had held back with her grand techniques.
There was one more thing. The presence of her younger sister, who was enduring the cold with Aether-less Vibration Magic in the rear. Fighting while protecting Snow inevitably limited her fighting style.
“Snow! Are you alright!?”
The child retreated and called out to Snow, who had collapsed in the snowfield. However, all she received was a weak, trembling voice.
“I’m sorry, big sister…! I’m doing my best to defend…!”
Snow, with lips as white as snow, was currently confined within a spherical magic barrier. That sphere was a strong defensive barrier made from the child’s wind and Snow’s magic power. Even so, this was the state she was in. Even Dragon People, who should be the most resistant to cold in this world, could not adapt to this mid-winter.
“Well done! Being able to defend is remarkable!!”
After confirming Snow’s safety, the child immediately turned her attention back to her enemy, Hitaki. And she glared at the Apostle smiling to the right rear of the fountain where Hitaki stood. Moments ago, Snow and Sis had been fighting, and it had been a one-on-one battle between the child and Aikawa’s sister. But now, it was two against one. The situation was deteriorating by the moment.
Merely to be safe, Apostle Sis has left everything to Uzunami’s sister and is watching from the sidelines.
It seems she wants to see her newly prepared “Ruling King” defeat the old “Ruling King.”
“Heh… It’s useless, King from a thousand years ago! You can’t win against my Hidaki. But there’s no need to be ashamed. After all, it’s already decided that no one can beat us! That’s how the world has determined it! In the end, you were only strong in a place where we didn’t exist! The true strongest is this Hidaki, the Hidaki prepared by me, Apostle Sis!!”
Though she doesn’t fight herself, she smugly sprawls in the back.
I want to somehow outsmart that apostle.
However, my body is too heavy, and my magic power is not flowing well.
Certainly, the child has half-fulfilled her lingering desires in the underground battle and is weakened. But even so, this is too strange.
As Hitaki is also a “Thief of Principles,” it’s natural for her to be strong.
It is natural, however—
“—Iksuwind!!”
Deciding that small tricks won’t work, the child attempts to construct the magic used against Uzunami in the labyrinth a few days ago. It’s magic that transforms this body into a magic bullet and pierces the world.
She deploys a green magic circle at her feet and tries to expand it to surpass the Royal Capital. But it is stopped midway.
“—Freeze Nib-hel-heim.”
As Hitaki mutters these words, the surrounding cold air instantly amplifies.
The expansion of the magic circle is suppressed by ice-attribute magic power, and it is “stopped.”
Seeing the flawless reaction, the child frowns.
And meanwhile, the sense of unease in the battle continues to grow.
The first thing that comes to mind is the question, “Is Aikawa Hidaki, the ‘Thief of the Principles of Water,’ truly asleep?”
Small tricks are nullified, and big moves are stopped at their inception.
Her judgment and tactics are too perfect.
She thought that since the opponent was asleep, she would respond to the child’s magic with counter-magic, but that was not the case.
The gaze leaking from her thinly opened eyes seems to shine brilliantly, not missing any openings.
She feels like she’s facing not a sleeping opponent, but some intelligent strategist.
The unease doesn’t end there.
There are things only the child, hardened by a hundred battles on the battlefield, can understand.
She has a feeling that the “Thief of the Principles of Water” is fundamentally misunderstood… or rather, a feeling that something is off.
Apostle Sis said earlier, “It’s already decided that no one can beat us!” She was a foreigner like Uzunami, and the condition for summoning was ‘a child with the strongest heart in this world.'”
However, isn’t that too far from the conditions of a “Thief of Principles”?
Is Aikawa Hidaki truly a “Thief of Principles” like the child?
Meanwhile, even during her analysis, the enemy’s cold air accumulates within the Royal Capital’s barrier.
Her body and magic power tremble more violently, and the perfection of her martial arts and magic gradually declines. On the other hand, the enemy’s magic becomes more powerful, which is no laughing matter.
Seeing the child fall into a disadvantage, Apostle Sis bursts into laughter.
“Ahah, ahahaha! As expected of my Hidaki! Yes, it’s only natural! There’s no reason for the old to win against the newly prepared! As per the world’s principles, [No one can defeat Aikawa Hidaki]! The level of existence is different! Haha, now Hidaki, you can end the match! Freeze that dusty old legend into ice!!”
The child stops worrying about the damage to her surroundings.
She attempts to construct a full-power magic to destroy everything with her “Wind of Freedom,” including the world’s principles that Sis spoke of.
“Magic, Lord of Ro—”
“Stop. —Freeze Nib-hel-heim.”
However, it is thwarted by the cold air.
It’s not nullified—but the construction has become extremely sluggish.
Having no other choice, the child gathers magic power into her right fist and tries to forcibly destroy the enemy along with the Royal Capital.
“Crush, damn you—!!”
“Stop. —Freeze Nib-hel-heim.”
But the magic power gathering in her right fist is small, and her swinging arm is too sluggish.
Despite being a full-power punch intended to destroy the country, it only had the power of a high-level wind-attribute magic.
It blew away about ten houses in the surrounding town, cracked the street slightly, and merely hit the aerial barrier with the force of the punch.
At less than one-hundredth of its intended power, the child realizes the seriousness of the situation and judges that she has no choice but to continuously unleash her full wind power. But—
“Stop. Stop, stop, stop. Everything stop. —Freeze Nib-hel-heim.”
Hitaki’s emitted cold air increases by another level.
The increase in cold air shows she was holding back until now. She is undoubtedly changing her fighting style based on the child’s expressions and reactions.
“Ngh, ugh, my arms and legs…!!”
Just as the child was conserving her strength, Hitaki was also conserving hers.
Her body instantly cools from the core, and her fingertips begin to freeze.
She can feel the power draining from her fist as she tries to throw another punch.
“How do you like it, former ‘Ruling King’! This is the real ‘Ruling King’ Hidaki’s true power! Yes, if not for that mistake, Hidaki would be the strongest in the world! My Hidaki is the strongest being in human history, a perfect girl! Ahaha!”
Sis had moved during the previous full-power attack. She is laughing from atop a distant building’s roof, not behind the fountain.
Trying to retort slightly, she is shocked by the slowness of her lips and throat. The cold air that Sis is so proud of clings to the child’s entire body, making it difficult to even let out a sound. Her teeth chatter, but no voice comes out.
“—Ice Arrow.”
As if to add insult to her trembling body, ice arrows are fired from Hidaki.
The child, at the last moment, brushes them away with her bayonet.
A mere beginner-level ice-attribute spell felt terrifyingly fast and heavy.
While the world of mid-winter enhances it, the child is also weakened. And the one who succeeded in this weakening is Hitaki’s skillful choice and delivery of magic suited to the situation — a magnificent tactical progression.
—Strong.
Undoubtedly, Hitaki is strong.
Even though the child is limited by her role as the guardian of the Fiftieth Floor and is weakened by fulfilling her lingering desires, the opponent must be under similar restrictions.
Yet, she is being overwhelmed.
She is convinced that history would have taken a completely different turn if Apostle Sis hadn’t mistakenly turned her into a monster a thousand years ago. This girl is that strong.
“Ugh, ugh…”
The child understands why Apostle Sis calls Hitaki the true “Ruling King.”
If strength is the proof of a “Ruling King,” then it’s already obvious.
Mysterious and legendary—with the equally legendary Apostle at her back, a legendary king who allows no one to approach.
Unlike the child’s imitation, which came about as an extension of “pretend play.”
Now, standing on a pillar of ice in the center of Viais’s Royal Capital, she is the real deal.
There is no reason for a fake to defeat the real.
No matter how much confidence one has in their power, they are powerless before overwhelming strength.
She is powerless.
The child is a child… a powerless child.
She admitted as much in the labyrinth.
She embraced being just a girl, unable to bear the burden of being the “Ruling King.” Such a weak child could never defeat such a strong enemy.
Because she can’t win, the child now has her knees on the ground, her hands on the ground, on the verge of collapsing—
“—N-No!!”
At the moment she was about to collapse, she instinctively denied it and shook her head.
She had unconsciously placed both hands on the ground.
She had let her body sink into the snowy bed, on the verge of falling asleep.
She had started to give up before fighting, even though she could still fight.
From that abnormality, she realized the true power of this mid-winter world, “Freeze Nib-hel-heim.”
The cold air was stealing the temperature of the child’s heart itself.
This frozen space not only freezes visible malicious power but also mysteriously chills the fighting spirit within people’s hearts.
Immediately, the child attempts to rekindle their fading fighting spirit.
“Kuh, mmm…!!”
It doesn’t matter if they are a legendary king or anything else!
Here are two people, Titty and Hitaki, and they are both the same!
There’s no reason why a fake can’t beat the real thing!
Even if the opponent has overwhelming power, it can be overturned depending on how you fight—!!
They try to tell themselves this, to ignite their fighting spirit.
But—
“…Ah, ah, kuh…”
A coldness that seems to mock the child’s resolve washes over them.
The painful, icy cold that clung to their skin gradually fades, replaced by a sense of warmth. They realize their sense of touch has ‘stopped’.
Their body, beyond trembling, is immobile.
Now, the only place they feel cold is the core of their brain.
Their thinking ability hasn’t diminished. However, having lost heat, they find themselves contemplating only negative thoughts. Even knowing it’s the enemy’s magic, a sense of defeat deepens.
That sense of defeat chills their very soul.
They feel that if this continues, everything will freeze and ‘stop’. But the function of crisis awareness had ‘stopped’ long ago, and they have no will to resist it.
Cold.
Ah, so cold.
Just, so cold.
I just want to sleep.
It’s too much effort to think, so I want to sleep without thinking.
I want to sleep, not think about anything, in a warm place, and rest forever…
Ah, already…—
“—…It’s about time, isn’t it?”
Just as their eyelids were about to fall shut, they heard a voice.
It was the voice of their friend, Nosfy.
They turn their eyes, which were moments from closing, towards the direction of their friend’s voice.
Nosfy stood there, their invisibility dispelled near Apostle Sis. Perhaps they had been watching this battle the entire time.
Nosfy looks at the child while speaking to Apostle Sis.
“Regarding this duel between ‘Ruling Kings,’ Lord Hidaki is victorious. Without a doubt, I recognize Lord Hidaki as the one truly worthy of being called the King who rules this world.”
“Naturally. Fufu, honestly, it wasn’t even a contest.”
Apostle Sis replies instantly.
However, Nosfy looks at her immediate reply with eyes that pity her.
“…As always, Apostle, you look down on everything and see nothing but a stepping stone for yourself. Even after having died once, your personality hasn’t changed, has it?”
It was a sharp remark, uncharacteristic of Nosfy. At least, in her previous life, she would never have said such a thing to an Apostle.
“Rather than looking down, I’m simply stating the reality? Or do you think that wind-wielding girl can defeat my Hidaki? Such a miracle is impossible.”
“Yes. Rowen alone would find it difficult. However, if they combine their strength, I believe it’s not an impossible scenario.”
Nodding towards the child and Snow farther behind, Nosfy suggests there is still a chance. Although it was a conversation with Apostle Sis, it sounded like words of encouragement to the pathetic children, telling them “you can still do it.”
“Them…? Ah, are you referring to our Ally within that tree? You place too much faith in Aikawa Uzunami. Even if our Ally joins now, it will be meaningless. ‘Aikawa Uzunami cannot defeat Aikawa Hidaki’—it’s decided by the very principles of the world. Even so, you believe a miracle will happen?”
“It is by smashing such principles head-on that humans become human. Although ‘Thieves of Principles’ were chosen from the weak-hearted, they were originally human. They hold the potential to overcome all things. Unlike ‘degraded imitations’ like ourselves…”
Called replicas, the talkative Apostle Sis fell silent.
Perhaps there was something in Nosfy’s words that she couldn’t refute.
As the conversation lased, Nosfy bid farewell with a bow.
“…Time is short, so I must take my leave.”
“Yes, you should go back. To your place.”
Sis watches her go.
Her expression clearly shows that further conversation with Nosfy is unpleasant.
And then, Nosfy leaves a final parting message for the child.
Her expression is gentler than they had ever seen, and at the same time, pained—
“Goodbye, Rowen… my worthy rival—and my dear, kind Demon who was my friend… There’s no need to worry. It’s alright. You are no longer a ‘King,’ but a kind-hearted ‘Person’ who deserves to be rewarded…”
“No, Nos… fy…? Wai-wait…”
“—Dimensional Magic 《Connection》”
However, Nosfy, without answering, creates a shining gate nearby and passes through it.
They were sure that was Dimensional Magic for long-distance travel.
Nosfy’s figure vanishes, and the shining gate disappears.
“That rascal…”
They mutter an insult at the back of their departing friend.
When Uzunami isn’t around, Nosfy is calm. She even shows her troubled face to her friend, the child.
They feel they are starting to understand a little.
Nosfy is similar to the child.
Perhaps, the girl whose heart is weaker than that child—
“Kuh, but, this is bad… My body is… freezing…”
However, understanding her friend’s inner state now is of no use.
When they try to move their limbs, they can only muster a feeble strength, like a newborn.
It’s true that Nosfy’s encouragement warmed their heart a little.
But that warmth will likely be stolen away again within seconds.
“My eyelids are heavy… If this continues…”
Unable to bear it, they finally close their eyes.
They fall from a world of extreme cold and blinding white into a warm, dark world.
The sensation in their limbs disappears, and their body collapses onto the ground. They are enveloped in a soft sensation, as if they had jumped into a soft bed. Even though they knew it was the feeling of snow, it was an irresistible temptation.
Wrapped in warm snow, they begin to drift off to sleep.
And, as if urging them to sleep, their instincts already conjure a dream behind their eyelids.
That dream is a memory they had desperately retrieved a few days prior.
A precious treasure they were able to reclaim thanks to Uzunami.
Former Viais—a vast grassland under a warm sun, with two children running across it, and an old married couple watching them—truly warm. A family memory.
The names of those two children are Titty and Aid.
“Ah… that’s right… The child still has things… that must be conveyed to Aid… Until I meet my younger brother, I can’t… fall…”
Their consciousness fades, yet the thought of Aid remains in their mind.
Aid…
The child’s dear younger brother…
Thanks to escaping from the 66th Floor of the Labyrinth, they can recall the memories of spending time with their younger brother.
They can recall it as if it were yesterday.
So many things happened…
When they were children, Aid, a small child with white hair, desperately followed the child.
Despite being a boy, he was slow and always out of breath. Yet, he never complained, perhaps it was pride.
Matching that pride, he gradually grew.
His height slowly caught up to the child’s, and sometimes the child unfairly got angry, thinking he was insolent.
To such an unreasonable older sister, Aid always silently followed.
Whether playing in the grasslands, by the river, or in the mountains, he was always by their side. There wasn’t a single day they weren’t together.
Whether trying to catch the lord of the river, going to see a sky serpent, or venturing into the northern town, they were together.
They were always, always together.
It was fun…
The child had so much fun.
I was so glad he was there.
—But how was Aid?
I felt like he was smiling, for sure.
He was smiling a little behind the child… or so I felt.
Ah, my heart is cold.
It’s so cold, and a bad premonition won’t stop.
The child back then was selfish, truly selfish.
Aid, taken around by such a foolish older sister, might not have actually been happy…
I might have only felt like we were laughing together…
He might not have actually wanted to be the child’s younger brother…
That’s why he might have become like that…
He might have become ‘Chancellor’ instead of ‘Younger Brother’…
‘Chancellor’ Aid…
He obtained power that didn’t suit him, achieved dreams that didn’t suit him, wore clothes that didn’t suit him, put on glasses that didn’t suit him, and did things that didn’t suit him…
As if he were condemning the child…
“Ah, aah, aaaaah… —”
I might not be able to hold on any longer.
My heart is frozen, and for no reason, I am so anxious, so anxious, and so lonely.
I long for human warmth, but no matter how much I reach out, no one is there.
Alone, in a dark dream.
Aid, the younger brother, is not here.
Uzunami is not here, and Nosfy is not here.
No one is here, yet I feel the overwhelming Magic Power of the ‘Ruling King’.
Only the legendary King that the child lied about is in front of me.
Even though I abandoned him, he sticks with me until the end as an enemy.
What remains in the end is not a friend or family—but the ‘Ruling King’.
The fact itself is about to break my heart.
No…
My heart is breaking…
Someone, please save the child…
Kanamin… Nosfy…
Bess-chan… Old Man Volz… everyone in the North…
Ah, Grandpa… Grandma…
“Aid… —”
Aid… my younger brother’s name.
The meaning of that name is simple.
I borrowed it from a name in the story of the ‘Ruling King’ from a thousand years ago. No, to be precise, he took on the name of a forest friend who had borrowed it. Well, either way.
Ah, it doesn’t matter either way.
Because, no matter which it is, the meaning of that name is one.
One meaning.
—I want him to be by the child’s side.
That was the wish with which I gave him the name.
That’s why the child calls her younger brother ‘Aid’.
Come to think of it, I feel like I haven’t seen Aid’s face in a long time.
Since coming to the surface, although I’ve spoken with Aid, we haven’t faced each other.
We were always far apart, something was blocking the way.
Is that why I feel it more strongly?
I want to see him, just for a moment.
I want to see Aid one last time.
Because the child hasn’t seen him for over a thousand years.
I haven’t been able to see my precious, precious family.
I’ve been rolling down through hell, crying out countless times, and I’ve come this far.
Now that I’ve returned, just for once at the end…
Just once at the end is fine.
I want to see him…
In the cold darkness, alone—the child wishes, “I want to see him.”
The world is already monochrome darkness.
My consciousness fades, and I can no longer think of anything.
All I feel is the coldness of my heart.
It’s cold.
Cold, cold, cold—
I feel like I’ll freeze to death.
But, I want to see him…
I want to see Aid…
Aid… I want to see him… I want to see him.
I want to see him, I want to see him, I want to see him, I want to see him…
…I want to see him.
Aid… ———————
—Just as I was about to fall into the abyss.
“Titty-nee-samaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!”
That voice echoed.
At the same time, warm Magic Power coursed through my body.
No, not just warm, but hot Magic Power.
By that heat, my consciousness, which had been drifting away, was pulled back.
My frozen thoughts began to move.
“Eh, what…?”
Did I hear something just now…?
A voice that is very important, just now—
When I didn’t notice, my eyelids, which had felt so heavy, became lighter.
Thanks to that, I was somehow able to see the white Royal Capital outside in my vision.
“…………!”
In front of my widened eyes was the back of a man I didn’t remember.
His clothes were in tatters.
His limbs, visible from his sleeves, were covered in bruises and scrapes.
His large back showed he had overcome a fierce battle.
From his neck, branches and leaves grew, indicating he was a tree person. Furthermore, the white long hair hanging over those branches and leaves made me realize that this back was the one I had been searching for.
Aid—?
Realizing that it was Aid, my younger brother, standing before the child, I almost lost my senses.
For a moment, I thought it was a hallucination, but the Magic Power before me, fitting for a ‘Thief of Principles’, was unmistakable.
Aid is here.
He escaped from that castle and is standing before the child with nothing but himself.
This means—
Can the child have hope?
After a thousand years, is my younger brother, who was trapped by the position of ‘Chancellor’ of the country, finally back—can my siblings finally reunite—can I be happy to see each other’s faces—can I hope for this?
Looking at the back that had grown larger than the child’s, the child hesitated.
I was a little scared.
Scared to confirm.
Scared to call out.
When we faced each other, I was scared that Aid was still the ‘Chancellor’, still called the ‘Ruling King’.
If our sibling relationship is denied now, my heart, weakened by the cold, will break—
“—Nee-sama. I’m glad, this time I made it in time.”
Aid was the first to speak.
And then, calling me ‘Nee-sama’, he turned around.
I saw an adult face, the same as the ‘Chancellor’ Aid from my memory.
However, his expression was completely different.
“I’m sorry. For a very long time—yes, for a really long time, I’ve kept you waiting… But now I am back by ‘Nee-sama’s’ side… Your ‘Younger Brother’ will never leave you alone again.”
My younger brother clearly uttered words of apology.
He stood before me, as if protecting me from the ‘Ruling King’, and told me he was my younger brother.
“A-Aid…!!”
This was the moment the child had been waiting for.
I had been waiting for it for so long.
I had been waiting for an astonishing thousand hundred years.
Inside the Labyrinth, in that false Viais, I repeated hellish atonement, my heart breaking, despairing for a life that wouldn’t end, crying at the bottom of the abyss—even so, the child waited for this younger brother.
“Yes. I am your younger brother, ‘Aid’.”
“Ah, aaah, Aid! You’ve finally come to your senses—”
“No, that is not so. It is not so, Nee-sama.”
The child stood up with joy and immediately tried to leap towards him.
However, Aid stopped her with a shake of his head.
And then, avoiding meeting the child’s eyes, he turned forward.
N-no… surely he’s not… not yet sane.
Anxiety flashed through my mind.
The warmth that had finally ignited in my heart seemed to cool and fade.
Amidst it, Aid continued to apologize.
“I’m sorry, I was sane all along… In fact, I was using everything calculated to make you the ‘Ruling King’ and to exploit you. Even knowing you were suffering, my ego made me continue to look away… I am a coward with no excuse…”
Aid said he had been sane not just for the past thousand years, but since the day he was born until today.
The blood dripping from his clenched fists showed that he was ashamed of this fact. Now Aid was looking forward because he couldn’t face the child.
“Yes, I am a cunning and foolish coward! But—!!”
However, Aid’s spirit did not break, he shouted.
In this freezing land that chilled the very soul, he roared as if to intensify the flame within his heart.
“I will never act cowardly again!! I will never call you the ‘Ruling King’! I will not place such a heavy burden of expectation on you! And of course, I will not rely on the position of ‘Chancellor’! …Yes, I will never again commit the shameful act of using you to live! So—! So please—!!”
Without hesitation, he shed the tattered upper garment he wore, baring his entire being as a tree person.
“May I still be allowed to be Titty-older sister’s younger brother!? Even though I am this pathetic, this pitiable, this unreliable! Even so, I will become stronger from now on! I will absolutely, absolutely become stronger! Please—!!”
Next, Aid crushed the glasses he was wearing and threw them onto the white ground.
With that shout, Aid’s passion and emotions reached the child’s heart.
Now, he could understand the feelings of his younger brother, who had seemed so distant.
“—Please, let me be by your side once more, as your ‘brother’ Aid!!!”
The younger brother wished to remain a brother.
Hearing that wish, the child remembered the past.
Ah, it was so nostalgic, tears welled up.
The memory of their first meeting flashed through his mind.
He recalled the moment they became siblings.
Now, Aid looked just as he did back then.
Wearing only a tattered cloth around his waist, he walked with difficulty, in tatters.
Lacking confidence in his own existence, he wandered, seeking a name.
But there was one difference from that day.
It was that now, the children, unlike a thousand years ago, had grown a little more mature.
Therefore, the child’s answer would also change slightly—
“T-There’s no need to ask! You are the child’s brother! Forever and ever! Since long ago, Aid has been the child’s brotherrrrrrr—!!!!”
The child and Aid were no longer small.
Having lived for too long, their stature had grown, and they had become adults.
Therefore, things changed.
The meaning of their sibling pact was now changing—!
“I am grateful for your magnanimous heart! Titty-older sister! Leave the rest to me!!”
One thousand and one hundred years ago, the child stood before Aid.
The older sister, the child, vowed to guide and protect her younger brother, Aid.
She pulled Aid’s hand, running ahead, intending to clear away all approaching hardships.
However, after a thousand and one hundred years, their positions had reversed.
Now, Aid stood in front, and the child was being protected from behind—!
Happy.
As an older sister, she was overwhelmed with happiness.
Reaching this future a millennium later, Aid was now surpassing the child.
That tiny Aid had changed so much.
Although still thin and unhealthy-looking, he was taller than the child.
More importantly, he no longer tried to hide the characteristic green leaves of a tree person on his back. His magic, which had once allowed him to foster growth in others, had transformed into magic that fostered his own growth by believing in himself.
The heat from that magic repelled the enemy’s cold magic.
In this mid-winter world of extreme cold, Aid advanced step by step, shouting.
It was not a voice directed at the enemy, nor at an ally—it was a vow, as if cast upon the world itself.
“—Listen! I am the younger brother of my beloved Titty-older sister, Aid! I am ‘Aid’! The weak-hearted me is no more!!”
What Aid cast upon the world was the name given by the child, ‘Aid’.
Aid showed that he was Aid, and shielding the child with his large back, he advanced step by step.
“Titty-older sister! Please, this time, let me be the one you expect things from! Leave it to this Aid! Rely on this Aid’s back!!”
With each of Aid’s shouts, the cold the child felt dissipated, and their trembling stopped.
Instead, the warmth of their homeland, felt since childhood, overflowed from within their chest.
“I finally understood my ‘Lingering Desire’ as the ‘Guardian Aid’! It was not being able to be by my older sister’s side forever! It was not being able to ward off anything that pained my older sister! It was not being able to fulfill the ‘promise’ I made with Grandpa and Grandma! Ah, that was my ‘Lingering Desire’—!!!!”
That Aid, facing the ‘Ruling King’, was directing hostility, pointing his finger, and shouting for the child—It was enough to make one’s heart burn!
“Older sister! Everything that pains you now—I will defeat it! Not as the ‘Thief of the Laws of Wood’ or the ‘Chancellor of Viaisia Country’—but simply as Titty-older sister’s ‘younger brother’! I, Aid, will defeat the ‘Ruling King’ who pains Titty-older sister!! I will defeat him!!”
These were the words she had longed to hear for eleven hundred years.
Alone, at the bottom of the abyss, crying, she had constantly yearned for these words.
“—Ah, I finally understand! The meaning of my existence as a guardian! Even the reason for my birth! I know it now—!!”
The younger brother declares.
Now that the conditions are met, Aid shouts to the world.
A declaration of a true guardian—!!
“Here, in Viaisia a thousand years later, this is Floor 40! The battlefield for overcoming my own inner weakness!! Finally, a challenger has reached that Floor 40!! It is ‘Myself’! The one to undergo the ‘Ordeal’ I prepared is not Lord Uzun or Titty-older sister! It is ‘Myself’! Ah, I knew it from the beginning! This ‘Ordeal’ is something I cannot entrust to anyone else! I myself was the challenger who would overcome this ‘Ordeal’!!”
He declared himself a guardian and simultaneously an explorer of the labyrinth.
And without entrusting it to anyone, he threw down the gauntlet to the world, vowing to overcome it himself.
“I will defeat the ‘Ruling King’! I will overcome him! I will prove ‘Myself’! It’s something only I can do! Of course—!!”
Facing the strongest enemy of his life before him, Aid stepped forward without any hesitation.
“Only I can cancel out the ‘Ruling King’ that I myself created—!!”
To protect his only older sister, the child. For that sole reason—
Aid confronts the ‘Ruling King’, the embodiment of his own ideal—!
“Ah, ahh, ahhh…! Aid…!”
Watching his back, the child’s vision blurred with tears.
The overflowing tears could not be stopped.
But quickly realizing she could not just cry, she shook off her tears.
She would never repeat the same mistake again. She must not.
If she just continued to gaze blankly at her reliable younger brother’s back, she would be an unfit older sister.
The children are ‘siblings’.
As siblings, they must walk together.
The child learned this importance over a thousand and one hundred years.
She learned it at the cost of her life, by breaking her heart, and by involving the people of the North— she learned it.
If she did not act now, it would be a betrayal to everyone who had seen her off. She would be failing those who had raised her until today—!!
She would absolutely not let Aid fight alone.
She would not entrust everything to her precious younger brother alone.
The children are two people.
No longer one, but two!
From now on, until death—!
No, even after death—!
The siblings, Titty and Aid, are two people—!
Because they are two—!
Let’s fight together! Aid—!!
