I made a mistake and found myself drowning in the swamp of despair.
Losing my father, who loved me, I felt like everything was over. But that wasn’t the case. Even if you gain or lose what’s most important, it’s never the end. Whether I liked it or not, regardless of my own will, my story—Nosfy Fuziaze’s story—would continue.
I learned this from Rustiara’s back.
Even now, I am being reached out to at the risk of my life.
I am being wished to live. Realizing this, I chose to fight.
Stepping out in front of Rustiara, I faced Fafnir.
The two guardians confronting each other weaved nearly equal amounts of magic power, hurling nearly equal amounts of magic at each other.
When Fafnir prepared blood arrows, I countered with light arrows. Blood rain was met with light rain, blood walls with light walls, and blood swords with light swords. Accustomed to fighting a “Thief of the Law of Blood” from experiences a thousand years ago, I reacted instantly to what he created. I wouldn’t allow even a single one of his signature blood dolls to appear at the entrance.
“—《Light Arrow: Brünnhildr》!!”
Weaving my utmost magic, I generated a colossal spear of light that filled the entrance of Fuziaze Castle.
“You, who have no heart…!”
My body was already heavily wounded, but he shouldn’t be at full strength either.
The light spear I threw collided with the blood cloak covering Fafnir’s body, creating a magical standoff.
“My former master, sorry, but I can’t hold back! I’ve been ordered to kill everyone by my new master!”
“Hmph—Unlike in my time, you listen obediently, don’t you!”
“That sounds bad! I always listen obediently! Always!!”
While exchanging words along with our magic power, I shifted my attention elsewhere.
Among Fafnir’s more than ten diverse magic spells, there were those I couldn’t negate with my light. They were Glen Walker and Elmiraud Siddharuku, whose bodies and souls were stained with blood, turning them into Fafnir’s puppets.
Now, Glen was fighting Rustiara, who was free because I was keeping Fafnir busy. Glen, who had undergone “Demonization,” dissolved his bright red body into a crimson pond and, while moving in Rustiara’s blind spot, threw several chained daggers.
“Rustiara-chan! That one’s poisoned!”
“Which one!? Be clearer!!”
“The poison comes from the hardest place to see!”
However, despite his sharp movements filled with killing intent, his expression and words were in support of Rustiara.
This act of giving advice to the enemy while fighting reminded me of Fafnir and Maria’s battle from a little while ago. From this, I understood that Fafnir was aiming to make Glen suffer the same fate as himself. He probably believes that if Glen overcomes this “Ordeal,” he will get one step closer to becoming a “Thief of Principles” like himself. It was his usual, one-sided, worst kind of harassment.
Meanwhile, Elmiraud was engaged with Reaper, who was controlling Maria’s body, slashing at him.
From what I could tell, unlike Glen, Elmiraud was unconscious, just swinging his sword with his “Demonized” physical abilities, which was problematic. His sword posed no immediate threat to Reaper, but this was not an enemy he could easily defeat.
Frankly, the situation on the first floor was dire.
Fafnir had me. Rustiara had Glen. Reaper had Elmiraud. All of us were being held back, leaving us no room to create an escape route.
On the other hand, Fafnir had the leeway to act elsewhere.
He occasionally directed his consciousness away from the entrance—towards the upper floors of Fuziaze Castle.
When he realized that any Blood Knights he created within the grand entrance would be eliminated by me, he began to summon Blood Knights towards the Fuziaze knights who were watching the battle from afar. As if to say, “Kill everything you see,” he was simultaneously suppressing the castle while facing me.
Fafnir was fighting the entire castle alone.
He was fighting a battle with enough composure to surely kill everyone without letting anyone escape.
As the situation progressed at the enemy’s pace, my anxiety grew.
If we continued fighting like this, humans other than the “Thief of Principles” would collapse from exhaustion of magic power and stamina. In the end, only the three of us, including myself, would remain. I would be left to fight alone against Fafnir, who had grown stronger by feeding on the blood of the castle’s inhabitants, and Ragune, who had killed my father.
I had to change the situation somehow.
Just as I made that decision, an opportunity presented itself.
“—!?”
My entire body suddenly felt heavy. I was assailed by a sensation as if being pulled to the ground, almost reaching out to the blood pond.
I had a hunch about that magic.
“Heavy? Is this Noir’s…?”
I thought it was Star Magic 《Gravity》.
But Rustiara, who was nearby, shook her head, saying it wasn’t.
“No, Noir-chan is upstairs right now…! This magic is coming from below!”
Rustiara felt the same way—in fact, Fafnir and the others also frowned, resisting the gravity magic. The magic was indiscriminate. The blood crawling on the castle’s floor and walls was also affected, being drawn into the central atrium like a vortex.
A few seconds after this magic, which sided with neither of us, engulfed the grand entrance, a gust of wind blew.
“—《Tawzshus Wind》!!”
Like a cannonball fired from a barrel, Rainer burst out from the atrium. Immediately, he generated multiple wind spears in the air and, with them combined, attacked Fafnir from behind.
“Hah, it’s you! Where is my new master!?”
While Fafnir deflected my “Light Arrow: Brünnhildr,” he also defended against Rainer’s wind spears with his blood cloak and asked his question.
Rainer did not answer the question, merely clicking his tongue at the failed attack and, leaving Fafnir alone, moved towards the castle exit on the wind.
Then, he spoke to Reaper, who was near the gate, the exit of the castle.
“Hey, Shinigami! Didn’t we say we were going to escape for now!!”
“Rainer-oniichan! That’s why! We’re trapped and can’t get out!”
Hearing this, Rainer frowned but turned his back and tried to push open the blood-protected door—just as it was closing, a shining blade and a cry struck his back.
“Gah, you…! Damn it, I can’t ope—!?”
“Rainer-kun! Dodge! I prioritize attacking enemies who turn their backs to me!!”
While narrowly dodging the dagger thrown by Glen, Rainer glared at the enemy and confirmed his identity.
“Walker-san, that…! Annoying! So you’re being manipulated by someone else again…!”
Rainer cursed under his breath, understanding that escaping the castle wouldn’t be easy, and began to assess the current situation in the entrance hall. As he surveyed the area, his eyes met mine.
His eyes were sharp and brimming with vitality. The ceaseless thinking conveyed by his eye movements and the honesty of his will to live and fight emanated from his piercing gaze.
Rainer caught sight of me and displayed strong hostility. However, the hostility quickly subsided, and only a helpless anger filled his eyes. Finally, it softened into a look bordering on pity, and I couldn’t help but try to respond to him.
“Rainer, I…!”
“Not now! More importantly, if we waste time here, from below—!”
Perhaps she had originally planned to escape immediately upon reaching the Grand Entrance on the first floor.
Before I could even offer my excuse or confession that we didn’t have time to make new plans from scratch, she cut me off. Then, with a visibly panicked expression, she averted her gaze from me and focused on the Great Void she had come from.
The three bloodied enemies present were not a significant threat, according to her reaction.
I knew what that meant. That was precisely why my gaze was drawn to it.
At the same time, the pressure on my entire body intensified, and I felt as if I were being pulled into that direction.
The direction of gravity was gradually changing. From below to an angle, then from an angle to horizontal. What was pulling all matter, including me, now was the staircase leading to the underground entrance.
From there, Ragune Kaikuola appeared, panting.
She descended to the first floor, cloaked in a black—no, a strange hue that couldn’t be described as purely black—magic power, muttering to herself.
“—Haa, haa, haa. It’s, dark… dark, dark, dark…!”
I couldn’t hide my surprise at her completely different impression from when I last saw her.
When we parted on the 45th Floor, she had the image of a ‘cunning and strong knight.’ Now, she was the opposite. Her expression conveyed madness rather than cunning. Her overly dense magic power was not the strength of a person, but the strength of a ‘monster.’ She was hardly a knight.
Ragune squinted amidst her magic power, scanning her surroundings as if searching for prey.
However, before she could find anyone, Rustiara shouted, making her presence known.
“Ragune-chan!”
Glenn’s action of reaching out to Rainer had given Rustiara some leeway. She used that time to approach Ragune, who had appeared on the first floor.
Rainer tried to stop her from behind, but naturally, the closest person, Glenn, attacked and stopped him. The exchange of combatants was clean, and Rustiara faced Ragune and began to speak.
“Are, are you… by any chance, Ojou?”
Ragune reacted to the voice, moving her narrowed eyes to search for Rustiara.
Despite my doubts, it seemed she was having trouble seeing her surroundings due to her own magic power. Her struggle with her own power reminded me of ourselves a thousand years ago.
“Yes, it’s me. Hey, Ragune-chan. First, tell me. …Why?”
As Rustiara had said beforehand, she was trying to probe Ragune’s true intentions. Considering the lack of time for both sides, she asked about the motive for the surprise attack on the 45th Floor, very briefly and directly.
“—Oujou, please remember. I’ve always told you, haven’t I? That I want to be the ‘First Place’.”
“You always said that at the Cathedral. But wasn’t that as a knight?”
“The ‘First Place’ in everything. That’s why Kanami’s Older Brother was an unavoidable obstacle. Unavoidable…”
“—I see. I understand.”
It seemed like a brief exchange, but it contained an understanding only long-time friends could share. Ragune closed her mouth apologetically, and Rustiara lowered her head as if to hide her face—her tears spilling into the blood pond.
“—! M-might you be crying…? Why!? Ojou, please don’t cry…! Who on earth…!”
Ragune began to walk from the stairwell and approached Rustiara, scanning her surroundings again as if searching for enemies.
Her appearance was bizarre.
It was clear that Rustiara had started crying because of her conversation with Ragune.
Ragune, who had just had that conversation, could not possibly not notice. Her apologetic expression earlier was due to guilt.
Everyone at the Grand Entrance who had a moment to think paused.
Fafnir and I watched Ragune, who was searching for enemies that weren’t there, with our mouths agape. Rainer and Glenn, who were a little further away, had similar expressions. They looked like they wanted to intervene but couldn’t rashly do so because they didn’t know what might happen.
Fortunately, Ragune was sensitive to the gazes of others. She quickly noticed the scrutiny from her surroundings, snapped back to reality, and stopped walking.
“…Ah, ahh. It’s me. —Aaaah, aaaah, hahahaha, ahhhhh, dammit!!”
Realizing she was the enemy who made Rustiara cry, Ragune mocked herself and irritably scratched her head. Seeing her, the nostalgia I felt for her solidified into certainty, and I asked, trembling.
“Ragune… Could it be that you are also one of the ‘Thief of Principles’…? Even without the Apostle, how…?”
I didn’t know how, but it was the only explanation.
Hearing my assessment, Rustiara raised her face and murmured.
“R-Ragune-chan…?”
Ragune continued to scratch her head alone, so violently that her nails drew blood. Then, after a few seconds, she let out a deep sigh and returned to her usual expression. She reverted to the friendly, cheerful, and carefree girl and answered.
“—Kukku, *uu*, fuu…. Ha, hahaha, don’t worry, you two. I understand most of it now.”
Her magic power remained dense, but the madness seemed to have subsided.
Ragune CALMLY analyzed her situation and explained it to us.
“Wow, so this is what it means to become a ‘Thief of Principles.’ The classic example of discarding something precious for something precious. Ah, it’s truly a shitty Rule. A rule that steals away the very meaning of one’s existence without any explanation. You even lose understanding of what you’re doing. Even if you gain strength, you only weaken from then on. It’s a truly awful story. Hahaha.”
She confessed, in a very light tone, that she had become like Fafnir and me. But for me, who had gone through the battle of a thousand years ago, it was not a light matter. Even though I knew she was my enemy, the words naturally spilled from my mouth.
“It’s, still not too late, Ragune! Before you lose everything precious, you should discard it all…!”
“No. Of course, I have no intention of losing, discarding, or being defeated! I will steal all the Principles of this World, overcome the ‘Price,’ and make this power truly my own. —Yes. All of it, mine.”
Her denial was swift, her will firm, and there was no hesitation. It was an immediate response that was sufficient to understand that Ragune was different, even though she was also a ‘Thief of Principles.’
They had reached the same destination, but the outcome was different.
The path leading to becoming a ‘Thief of Principles’ was different.
It was a vision of my father and me—what “if” might have looked like. If we had continued walking alone without meeting the Apostle, perhaps we too would have become like the current Ragune—
Just as I had the illusion of looking into a mirror, Ragune, whom I had been staring at, suddenly vanished.
The existence of Ragune was excised from the world as if she had never been there in the first place.
Knowing it was the technique that killed my father, I scanned my surroundings with caution.
Rustiara, who was closest to Ragune, also lost sight of her and was astonished. Fafnir, who seemed to be Ragune’s companion, looked equally troubled.
“Hey, Ragune! I can’t see you either! Who are you aiming for!?”
There was no answer, but it was the only question she could ask. Fafnir’s magic was often wide-ranging and indiscriminate. There was a possibility that Ragune, who had disappeared, could be attacked by a stray spell.
Fafnir stopped attacking and searched for the location of his companions. This was the same for Rustiara and me, and for everyone on the 45th Floor. However, there was one exception. There was a person who understood Ragune’s location, which even we, the “Thieves of Principles,” could not grasp, and tried to convey information regardless of ally or enemy.
“Rustiara-chan! She’s ignoring you and heading towards the Saintess!”
Glen, who had been fighting Rainer, shouted with a look of conviction. Rustiara didn’t doubt it. Fafnir didn’t doubt it either. The two of them moved towards me simultaneously.
“Nosfy!”
“There you are!”
“You don’t need to come over there! –Zeer Wind!!”
“You too, don’t suddenly come here! You’ll startle me!”
Naturally, when they aimed for the same place, their paths crossed. The two of them met eyes and instinctively exchanged magic. Rustiara tried to blow them away with a gust of wind magic, but Fafnir endured it with a barrier of blood. And I couldn’t continue to watch their battle resume.
Suddenly, Ragune’s face filled my vision. She appeared right in front of me and put her hands around my neck. Despite being alerted by Glen’s warning, I couldn’t avoid or defend against it.
“–!”
The same arms that killed my father. The trauma was before my eyes in a double sense. It was more than enough to make my body tremble and freeze.
“U-uuu…, Ragune Kaikuola…!”
“Now, now, more importantly than something as trivial as that! Nosfy-san, you’ve properly revived, haven’t you! I’m so glad we can finally talk properly!”
Ragune said, strangling me, in the same tone as when she spoke on the 45th Floor. No matter how many tears welled up in the corners of my eyes, she continued to say cold and painful words, unconcerned.
“It’s really been quite a day… Escaping from that underground mansion, preparing at Fuziaze Castle, faithfully waiting for Kanami’s older brother, killing each other and finally acknowledging him as Papa, but Papa died all too easily… I cried and cried. So, can Nosfy-san fight me?”
She first checked my fighting spirit. But honestly, there was no way I had any. If I did, my body wouldn’t be trembling like this. As I felt like crying, I suddenly felt a sense of unease at her uncharacteristic leisure, given that her forte was surprise attacks. Now that I think about it, it was the same on the 45th Floor. It was only after taking the time that I realized it was strange that Ragune didn’t kill me without question. Was she being careless after killing her strongest enemy, my father? Or was there a reason she had to treat me specially? Before I could find the answer, Ragune asked again.
“I’m asking if you were able to find Nosfy-san’s ‘First Place’.”
Ragune probably thought she was making the question easier for me, who couldn’t answer, but I was only more confused. I didn’t understand what that had to do with my fighting spirit.
“G-guu…. My ‘First Place’….?”
“Yes. The ‘First Place’ you’ve been searching for. The meaning of life you’ve always sought. You must have worked hard to find the answer to that.”
I thought it was a very important question. It was important for Ragune and for me. However, for me, it was a question that was too clear.
“My ‘First Place’ has always been Father!”
“However, that Papa is no longer here. He died. What will you rely on to live in a world without Papa?”
Ragune shook her head, implying that answer was unacceptable. She was telling me to stop clinging to someone who was already gone and to show the next answer. But that was something I couldn’t accept.
“…I haven’t given up!”
Just a moment ago, I had sworn to Rustiara. I had also sworn to Dia-san and Snow-san. I had promised that I would never give up again and that I wanted to handle my father.
“What does it meant that he died!? Father will come back! He will definitely come back! I’m sure that’s why I exist! I will definitely save Father with my magic!!”
I shouted at Ragune that this was the meaning of my birth and the reason I was alive now. Ragune, in front of me, scowled. She looked very displeased with my answer. It was as if she had heard a very shallow answer when she expected a different, more wonderful one… that’s what her face looked like.
“…Are you planning to use that ‘Immortality’ on someone like that? It’s Nosfy-san’s power that Nosfy-san has achieved, and it’s best for you to use it yourself.”
Ragune knew about my power, though I didn’t know from whom. She spoke as if she knew more about it than I did, and lectured me on how to use my magic.
“Look. ‘The dead do not return to life.’ Because life is only once, one can stake their soul on it. If even one person were to return to life and break ‘the principles of humanity,’ it would be denying the very foundation of human strength. The dream that magic can bring people back to life must remain a dream… otherwise, people will only become weaker.”
Ragune was trying to teach me something very normal and very correct as a human. But I was no longer a normal person, and I was fed up with what was considered correct.
“I hate principles like that. I hate them. Everyone wishes for the people they care about to be alive. They dream of the moment when the dead return and say ‘good morning’ again. If that dream can come true by becoming weaker, I will become as weak as I need to be.”
“…With that power, I might even be able to defeat you…? No, what’s important now is that that power is the only force that can overturn the world. If you give it to someone like that, who is a pawn of the world, then no one will be able to overturn it. It is right for the one who wins, either me or Nosfy-san, to carry everyone’s strength forward! We, the survivors, will fight the world with the memories of our departed loved ones! That is the right way to be as a human!!”
Ragune shouted loudly. From the content, I could slightly guess her feelings. She probably wanted me to answer that “the greatest enemy is Ragune” or “the greatest enemy is the world.”
“Even so, I want to save Father… I will never give up… Because this is not a power to fight someone. It is a power to save what is precious, as I learned from Father…”
Yet, I still only speak of the dead who have passed, and do not try to move forward.
I am aware that I am complaining like a child.
Ragune scolds me for not growing up and not becoming independent.
“… You’ve realized it by now, right? About the countless ‘Magic Threads’ hanging from your and my bodies! What’s truly terrifying is being manipulated from behind by an existence that shows neither form nor shadow! If anyone were to be granted ‘Immortality’, I’d be a hundred times better than Kanami’s Older Brother! I can make the world tremble!”
‘Magic Thread.’ Inappropriately, I thought the word choice was close to my father’s sense of taste.
I understand what Ragune wants to say. Those ‘Magic Threads’ are not magic, yet they manipulate us as if they were. In other words, one could call it destiny. That sensation has been there for a thousand years. Earlier, when I was crying on the 45th Floor, I felt those ‘Magic Threads.’ We are being watched by freezing gazes. For a thousand years, continuously.
—I understand.
However, I’m sorry, Ragune, but my priority is my father, first and foremost. As Nosfy Fuziaze, I cannot change that.
“I understand. But, even if that is the case… Father will surely fix it… As long as Father is here, he surely will…!”
“You—!!”
For the first time, Ragune became furious.
Her overwhelming magic power surged with her anger, intensifying its nature like a rebound. Ragune’s body twisted like a great whirlpool in the ocean, trying to suck everything in—but the power quickly subsided.
The heat that ignited on Ragune’s face and the suction caused by her magic’s nature vanished in an instant. As she had declared earlier, Ragune was now able to control her new magic power while maintaining a calm state of mind. Then, with her emotions settled, Ragune revealed a blank expression reflecting deep disappointment.
“… I understand. However, if you have no intention of yielding or fighting, I will absolutely not hand over Father’s corpse. From now on, I intend to extract Kanami Aikawa’s Magic Stone, ‘Affinity’ with it, and grow even stronger. Of course, to continuously remain the ‘Best’ and strongest, I will not let my heart be worn down by idiotic rules. Until everyone is gone and I am alone in the world, I will absolutely not lose… Therefore—”
Ragune declared her will and tightly clenched her fists.
“I will take that ‘Immortality’ for myself.”
“Gah, aaagh!! Ra, Ragune…!!”
My throat was squeezed so hard it felt like my neck bones would break, and my breathing stopped.
“Does it hurt!? I’ll make it hurt even more! Hahaha, I have no intention of choosing my methods anymore! Even if you don’t have the intention, I can do anything! This castle is filled with so many things like potions, magic tools, and torture devices!!”
“—Light Arrow!!”
Before my throat was crushed, I activated my magic. I unleashed a full-power attack magic at point-blank range against Ragune, my enemy and trauma. At the same time, I pressed the sole of my right foot against her abdomen and pushed her back with force. The impact from my physical strength and magic power caused Ragune to release her clenched fists, and she retreated significantly. However, she showed no signs of damage. Both the light arrow and the kick were blocked by a crystal that seemed to belong to ‘The One Who Steals Earthly Principles.’
As Ragune was flung back towards the stairs of the Great Void, I too expressed my will.
“I absolutely refuse…! No matter what I go through, I will absolutely not do that! I likely cannot defeat you! However, my feelings for Father will not be crushed! I will not deviate from this path of ‘Magic’!!”
Strangely, neither my voice nor my body was trembling anymore. I admitted I couldn’t win, accepted the scary things, understood my mistakes as a person, and yet, I was able to decide to resist Ragune.
“… It looks like Nosfy-san has finally found her ‘courage.’ It’s too late, though.”
Ragune replied with a hint of exasperation. Then, she pulled ‘Hermina’s Heart’ from her waist and held it in her right hand. Her left hand lightly touched ‘Aris Family’s Treasure Sword Rowen,’ covering it with a crystalline gauntlet and hiding it behind her waist. She wasn’t using twin swords just because she had two famous swords; she assumed her own stance. On the other hand, I couldn’t assume a battle stance. Honestly, even though I could express my will, my heart still felt defeated. Most importantly, if she repeated her stealth attack with ‘Hermina’s Heart’ in hand, I wouldn’t know how to defend myself. My mind was filled only with the thought that I shouldn’t fight head-on—then, reinforcements descended from the upper part of the atrium.
“—Impulse Break!!”
For a moment, I thought it was Ragune’s attack, but the sight before my eyes quickly denied it. Snow-san, descending at high speed on ‘Dragon’s Wind,’ was delivering a full-power flying kick to Ragune. She had likely been observing from the second or third floor, waiting for the right moment. Therefore, she attacked when I moved away from Ragune and approached the atrium. She spread her blue wings, enlarged her limbs, and covered her skin with dragon scales. As far as I knew, this was ‘Dragonization,’ the highest level of ‘Demonization.’ I knew its ridiculous power firsthand from the battle a thousand years ago. Furthermore, her soles were imbued with a non-elemental magic. Ragune was able to react to this ferocious attack, which I was certain would shatter anything it grazed. She blocked Snow-san’s soles with the crystal gauntlet on her left hand. However, she couldn’t defend against the ‘Dragon’s Wind’ that followed. As the wind forced Ragune to her knees, Snow-san added to her assault with killing intent.
“Ararararahh—! Ragune! How dare you!!”
The moment she was blocked, Snow-san flapped her wings to add downward momentum. Naturally, she also activated ‘Dragon’s Wind’ and ‘Dragon’s Roar.’ All the blood in Fuziaze Castle’s first floor surged like waves towards the edges. Cracks appeared on the exposed, sturdy floor, and a gale erupted like an explosion, assaulting everyone, friend and foe alike.
“This is…!!”
Finally, Ragune knelt, and simultaneously, the floor beneath her completely shattered and caved in. I wondered if I should support Snow-san, but even for me, watching this, the waves of blood and ‘Dragon’s Wind’ made it difficult to stand. On top of an already chaotic battle, this explosion occurred. With Snow-san’s intrusion, the first floor was completely engulfed in confusion. As I hesitated about my next move, a voice called out.
“Holy Maiden! Young Lady! Over here!!”
It was the voice of the female knight I fully trusted, Perciona Queiger. Perched on Cera, who had completely transformed into a ‘Wolf,’ Perciona, Noir, Dia-san, and Lord Hidaki were rushing down from the second floor, pushing through the gale.
“Pierce! —Flame Arrow!!”
Dia-san seemed to have finished gathering her magic power on Noir’s back, scattering particles of light and manifesting the characteristic light wings of an Apostle. Then, using the greatest amount of magic power in this place, that spell was unleashed.
The target was the castle’s entrance, the great gate protected by blood.
Its name was “Flame Arrow,” but it was no longer fire. A white light that consumed everything became a waterfall, striking to the side. The blood that had covered it in an instant evaporated, and the gate melted into a hole.
An escape route had been secured.
Ragune must have seen that with a side glance.
With a plain tone, she activated what seemed to be her trump card.
“—To the Principles of the Stars! Reverse this strength into weakness!!”
At the same moment she spoke, the shock of Snow’s “Impulse,” “Dragon’s Wind,” and “Dragon’s Roar” that had filled the first floor vanished.
It didn’t disappear gradually, but became zero in an instant.
Furthermore, Snow herself showed an anomaly.
The wings and scales that symbolized a dragon disappeared, and she returned to being a proper human.
Snow, above Ragune in the main hall, looked at her own hands in surprise at this phenomenon.
“Forced deactivation… no?! What, it’s healed!? Everything!?”
On the other hand, Ragune showed no signs of wavering. She quickly intensified the magic power in her body and began to control the power that had been running wild until just before. However, it was like snapping the reins on a rampaging beast and speaking to it.
“Star magic, draw it in! The Principles of the Stars shall target her, who has been stripped bare! Next, turn her very life into death!!”
Ragune extended her left hand, which had been defending, upwards, and tried to pull Snow, who was in the sky, towards her.
That hand was ominous, clad in something more terrifying than magic power.
It felt like death if caught, a foreboding malice.
“—Snow!!”
Her older brother, Glen, shouted and interrupted.
He had escaped Rainer’s struggle amidst the gale, thrown his tethered dagger, and skillfully entangled it around Snow in the air, pulling her away from Ragune’s magic grasp.
Ragune, having her decisive blow, her trump card, foiled, complained to her companions.
“Why the interference… Fafnir!”
“No, that’s pretty amazing! Glen! Even though he’s using up so much magic power, he’s been escaping control multiple times since earlier!”
Fafnir had also changed its position slightly due to the gale. And it was happier than anyone that Glen, who was controlling it, had saved Snow.
“Then why are you still using it!?”
“Kuh— That’s true!”
However, an order came from their master, Ragune, and Fafnir reluctantly began to gather blood at Glen’s feet and swallow it. Seeing Glen pulled into the abyss that didn’t exist, Snow, who had landed, tried to rush towards him.
“G-Glen Older Brother!!”
“Snow, you and El are fine! Go with everyone else—”
He refused, and turned his gaze to the exit that had opened on the first floor. Dia and the others were waiting there. Furthermore, near them, the mind-controlled Elmiraud could be seen being swallowed by blood, just like Glen. It seemed that Rainer and Reaper, supported by Dia and the others who had joined them, had been defeated, and Fafnir had temporarily pushed them back.
Dia shouted while waving, in the midst of a situation that had changed in mere moments.
“Hey, Snow! Didn’t you say you’d regain your composure!?”
Snow frowned and, with a single word to her brother, began to run.
“…I’ll come back again!!”
Glen accepted it with a smile and disappeared completely into the pool of blood.
Then, my hands, which had been watching the unfolding events, were pulled tightly.
“Nosfy!!”
Rustiara grabbed my hand and urged me to escape together.
I followed, almost falling. However, as expected, Fafnir unleashed magic, determined not to let either of us escape.
“—《Blood Bane》!!”
Fafnir’s cloak of blood turned into strands. They branched out and began to wriggle through the air like monster tentacles. Smooth like snakes, fast like birds.
However, at this moment, there was a girl present who displayed unparalleled strength in magic battles at this range.
“—《Flame Arrow Scatter Blossom》!”
The magic arrows fired by Dia, who was in front of the exit, shot through all the blood tendrils, vaporizing them.
Fafnir clicked its tongue and, with no other choice, began to move to catch us with its own feet.
But Fafnir, realizing it was alone in pursuing, stopped and looked back.
“—!? Hey, Ragune! Why are you so calm!?”
There stood Ragune, walking with extreme slowness.
Her eyes, which had been like the abyss until just before, had completely reversed, dyed with a faint disappointment like thin white dew. She seemed to have lost all motivation. And towards Fafnir, who was desperately trying to catch them, she answered with a hint of apology.
“No, well, they were all lives worth less than I thought… Since I’ll kill them all eventually, there’s no need to chase them desperately right now… Rather, it’s better to prioritize the castle that will be our base. We haven’t swallowed up to the top floor yet, have we?”
“The castle!? Well, that’s basic warfare! But you said to kill everyone you saw!”
Pulled by Rustiara, I continued to watch the exchange between the two behind me.
“Ah, I think I said that… I certainly did. But there are things I need to confirm first…”
“Huh!? After saying all that—”
Fafnir stopped its angry shout midway.
Like me, it sensed Ragune’s condition.
“The young lady and Nosfy, Rainer and Maria, senpai and chief… everyone was shining… They were very valuable lives…”
Ragune continued, watching us escape, muttering to herself.
However, her eyes did not meet mine as I looked back. Her gaze was like one staring into the void in the extremely dark night.
Seeing her, Fafnir muttered softly, “…Newly made is newly made.”
“And besides… they’ll all come back eventually. As long as Kanami’s older brother is here, holding onto “Immortality” so dearly… to be killed by us…”
Precisely because we were both “Thieves of Principles,” Fafnir and I could understand Ragune’s current state a little.
Although Ragune seemed to have been less affected by becoming a “Thief of Principles,” that was not the case at all. Especially after my earlier exchange and her full attack on Snow, her priorities had drastically shifted. She was only suppressing the “Price” with her willpower, making her seem better off than the others, but in reality—
“—Hey, Nosfy.”
With Ragune’s calling out as the last thing, we succeeded in escaping Fuziaze Castle.
As we crossed the bridge in front of the castle and descended the hill, my face, continuously pulled by Rustiara’s hand, was contorted.
Release date: November 25th… 7 days left…
I wanted to move the main story significantly to match the release, but… it’s going into an interval.
