I had the White Rose stolen by Gothmol, whom I thought I had defeated.
What has he done? This is bad. The White Rose is going to be destroyed. I have to finish him here and now. But as I took a step forward, Gothmol’s feet began to glow a dim purple. It cracked the roof and was coming towards us.
“Let’s retreat for now!”
Veronica grabbed me by the collar and yanked me back with all her might. We then leaped off the roof. The spot where I had been standing was shattered to pieces.
“Ugh, ow ow…”
I landed in the room below, more like dropped into it. Fragments rained down.
“Let’s go back to the ground.”
“Huh? Why? We have to defeat Gothmol.”
“Don’t be stupid. We’re looking for Auroa. It’s meaningless if he doesn’t come. Besides, only Nephilim can do something about this magic stone.”
She had a point. The last time I saw him, he wasn’t exactly in good condition. Auroa probably knows about this, so he’ll likely go after him first. I hope he somehow survived.
And so, we all returned the way we came. I need to find the other members soon.
Just before we reached the stairs after going through the room’s door, an explosion occurred behind us. The deafening roar vibrated my eardrums, involuntarily stopping my feet. The door was blown away, and black smoke billowed out. High-ranking Mage Delania appeared from the smoke. I thought Cecilia had killed her.
“Wh-why?”
Cecilia herself looked shocked. Delania swung her staff, even though half her clothes were soaked in a dark red. A large fireball came flying towards us.
“Tsk, run! We don’t have time to deal with her.”
At Veronica’s words, everyone started running at once. Delania pursued us with a blank expression. Elana countered the attack from behind with a fireball. The clashing flames twisted as if to devour each other, disappearing in a new explosion.
We saw the place where the stairs ended. Sharin, held by Piyo, floated through the air. Veronica scooped up both Cecilia and me and then leaped out. Before I could ask if she could carry two people, she had already thrown herself into the air.
“Here!”
“Wai–!”
I briefly wondered what would happen, but when I opened my eyes again, the stairs were right in front of me.
“Oof, ack!”
I crashed face-first onto the stairs, tumbled a few times, and finally stopped. What was she thinking? If I had hit my face wrong, I could have broken my front teeth. Looking back, she had landed softly with Cecilia in her arms. They treated me so harshly.
Wait, where was Elana? She was still on the other side of the broken stairs.
“Hurry and jump over!”
Even if Elana couldn’t fly, she could spread her wings and leap. But she remained motionless, facing Delania, who was coming from behind.
Delania, with a pale face, struck the stairs with her staff. The stairs cracked, and purple flames erupted. It was the same technique Gothmol had used earlier. If this continued, we would all fall.
“Elana, run!”
She must have heard my voice. Yet, she leaped towards the enemy. Delania held her staff horizontally to defend.
It looked like flaming claws were swung down at the enemy’s face, but both of their figures vanished into the crumbling stairs. The surface slid away, raising dust, and then the foundation below broke apart. All I could do was watch from the opposite bank.
“Veronica, Elana’s going to fall! Help her! Hey, where are you going?”
Veronica ran down without looking back. Elana and Delania, entangled, fell to the floor below along with the rubble.
I nearly stumbled but caught up with everyone. Beyond the stairs, a large dust cloud spread like a cloud over the area. I covered my mouth and broke into it.
As fragments scattered, Elana’s shadow appeared. She flapped her wings, shaking off the dirt from her body.
“Elana, are you okay?”
“Gulp, yeah, well. Come on, let’s go now.”
Delania, who had fallen with them, was buried under the rubble. Her face was completely hidden, so I couldn’t see it.
Leaving her body behind and stepping outside, we found ourselves in a different world. The gushing chocolate fountain had turned into sludge, and the orange juice river and candy plants had all withered. The sky, painted with crayons, was covered in thick purple clouds.
“Now then, where did Lord Nephilim fall? Piyo, search for everyone.”
“Okay, wait.”
As Piyo crouched to take flight, someone screamed and ran towards us. Those distinctive pink hair belonged to an escort. They came running towards us, shouting for help.
“Just in time! Did you see Lord Nephilim?”
“Lord Nephilim! He… collapsed, it’s no good anymore, this is the end of the world!”
“Um…”
The panicked escort screamed again and ran off somewhere.
