A cloudless sky above.

As the sun slowly rose from the horizon, the heavens — stained blackish-brown by the curtain of night — shifted gently into a pale, white-tinged blue.

Elmekia, south side of the city district--

"The mornings really are cold on this continent. Nothing like Canaan."

Each breath turned to white mist in the air, dissipating almost instantly.

Despite the faint chill raising goosebumps on her back, Elies lowered her eyes to the black-covered scripture she held in her arms.

"...Achoo!"

"Honestly, Lady Elies, going around in such thin clothing again. You'll catch a cold if you don't dress warmly."

The sensation of fabric touching both her shoulders.

When Elies turned around, a woman in deep purple vestments stood right behind her.

Healer Nebirim.

She was the highest-ranking officer of the Sacred Vessel of Canaan Pilgrimage and always at Elies's side as her personal attendant. Though she was only in her mid-twenties and not even ten years older than Elies, her striking features and composed, mature demeanor made her someone Elies genuinely relied on.

"Please put on your vestments, my lady."

"...I know, I know."

She slipped her arms through the vestments draped over her shoulders.

It was a habit Elies had carried since childhood. She preferred wearing less when reading. It made her senses feel sharper — like the contents of a book sank in better that way.

"It's a scripture of nearly twenty-five hundred pages. You've memorized every last word, haven't you?"

"Looking at it calms me down. Even I didn't expect this many followers to show up."

The missionary work for the spirit faith. Compared to the last time Elies had visited Elmekia, the crowd was overwhelmingly larger. And that was just yesterday.

Today was the second day. Yesterday's turnout would serve as a draw, pulling in even more people.

"Nebirim, how does the square look?"

"It's already packed with followers. Yesterday, the square didn't fill until your reading began, but this morning it's already overflowing. However..."

From the back of the altar, Nebirim poked her head out of the tent set up in the square and made an uneasy face.

"It seems a considerable number of non-followers have also slipped in."

Not "gathered" in the square — "slipped in."

She chose those words deliberately, and for good reason.

"The special operations knights assigned to the castle town's defense. They've taken up positions surrounding the square. ...I see — not surveillance, but encirclement."

"I'm not taking their bait. We're here purely on a missionary visit."

Her gaze still fixed on the scripture, Elies stopped turning the pages.

...Elmekia Dusk isn't even being subtle about this.

...They know exactly why we came to Elmekia. That's what they're trying to say, isn't it?

And that was precisely why they'd set up this defensive posture.

The square was encircled. If Elies and her people showed the slightest hint of suspicious activity, the elite special operations knights would come pouring in like an avalanche.

"What do you suppose they plan to do?"

"You mean Ren and the others?"

"Yes. They said they would infiltrate Ancient Castle Istalsil, but given that we — the Sacred Vessel of Canaan Pilgrimage — are under this level of heavy surveillance, the security across all of Elmekia must be heightened as well. Which means the first obstacle standing in their way would be--"

"The Triumphal Gate."

Elies understood Nebirim's concern.

The Triumphal Gate was protected by layers upon layers of magical barriers, with a ballista corps stationed on its inner side. Its exterior was guarded by numerous special operations knights as well.

...Elmekia's special operations knights aren't just regular guards.

...Every single one of them is a candidate for Elmekia Dusk.

There was not a single weakling among the knights charged with Elmekia's defense.

The world's greatest military city. How would just four people break through that impregnable fortress? Even for the legendary Three Princesses, it shouldn't be easy.

"......"

"Lady Elies, it's time."

Nebirim urged her with a glance toward the square.

Through the tent flap she held open — dazzling sunlight and a blue sky. And beyond that, in the square, the clamor of the crowd waiting for the holy maiden to take the stage echoed without end.

"...You're right. No point worrying about it now."

She let out a small breath, tucked the scripture under her arm, and stood.

From the tent to the square.

She walked forward, bathed in the stares of both followers and Elmekia's watchmen--

A bestial roar shook the very air.

"That howl -- what was that?!"

She had never heard anything like it. It was unlike the roar of any Roaming Beast Elies had ever faced.

"What's going on?!"

Before Elies and her people could react, the ones who raised their voices and readied their weapons were the special operations knights gathered in the square and the undercover agents disguised as civilians.

"Was that Canaan's people?!"

"No, nothing suspicious observed from them. Could the other ones have--"

Elmekia's defense force was shaken.

Watching them from a distance, Elies also scanned her surroundings reflexively.

...Was that Ren and the others making their move?

...But what was that roar? What are they doing?

Before Elies's eyes--

A black shadow lunged at the special operations knights in the square. That was the moment everything changed.

Elmekia, south side of the city district--

"Looks like Ren's made it near the Triumphal Gate."

Atop the tallest landmark building in the area. From its rooftop, surveying the entire surrounding landscape, Elise let her voice ring with excitement.

"Time to start causing some trouble!"

What she pulled out was a fang as large as a short sword — wickedly sharp.

A beast's fang with a wet-feather sheen. Three hundred years ago, when Elise had ruled the Underworld as Demon Imperial Princess, she had obtained it from a legendary beast she had formed a master-servant pact with.

That terrifyingly pointed fang--

"O proud and indomitable beast of the Underworld. Drive your fang once more into the flesh of your master."

The former Demon King, in the body of a young girl, plunged it into the back of her own hand.

...Splash.

A single drop.

A bead of crimson welled from brown skin, trailed down the back of her hand to her fingertip, and fell as a single droplet at Elise's feet.

A dark spell circle.

A ring of light expanded rapidly, growing too large for the rooftop and spreading into the air itself.

-- Familiar Summoning.

A demonic spatial spell that produced a transference event similar to the Gate of the Underworld. It called a contracted familiar from the Underworld to its master's side.

And the familiar of Elise, former Demon King, was the most feared legendary beast of the Underworld.

"Hey there, Cerberus! Long time no see. How've you been?"

Demon Imperial Princess Eliselis... a pitiful fallen specter who has lost her power...

A massive shadow loomed over Elise.

It was a three-headed canine monster. Its body height alone dwarfed a human. Standing on its hind legs, it would reach the second floor of a house.

You... Even if two of my necks are bound in chains, do you truly intend to command me in that wretched state? Excessive pride will be your undoing.

"Same grumpy dog as always. What, you don't like the sunlight so you'll only show your shadow?"

The former Demon King looked up at the resentful-voiced beast.

Hands on her hips, relaxed as could be.

"Anyway, that aside. Lend me a hand. A proper rampage needs proper flair."

...You, who can only interfere with my shadow... you think I would obey?

"Just the shadow is fine."

What?

The legendary beast stared down at her.

Just as Cerberus had said, the silhouette before Elise was not the beast's true body — only its shadow, separated from its physical form and given three-dimensional shape.

Pointing a finger at its neck, Elise continued with a fearless smile.

"Cerberus — I'm fond of you. I told you that before, didn't I? I have no intention of binding you. I chose you as my familiar because having you around makes things more fun. I want to enjoy this spectacle to the fullest with you by my side. That's all."

...

"Same as now. I haven't seen you running wild through the Underworld in so long, I just wanted to see you again. Is that so wrong?"

...You haven't changed, Eliselis.

The crimson eyes that had blazed with agitation gradually shifted to a calm gray.

I will lend you my shadow alone. The surface world is too bright.

"Oh come on, you were just acting tough, but you're really just bad with sunlight after all."

...

"Okay, okay! I'm kidding, that was my bad! So don't leave!"

She hurried to stop the beast's shadow as it began sinking back into the spell circle.

The monster made manifest as shadow.

She gave its leg a single stroke, and then Elise pointed down at the main avenue stretching below.

"Good boy. Now then -- let's get this fun rampage started!"

The roar of a legendary beast shook all of Elmekia.

The sudden roar drew every eye in the city — residents, party members, and the special operations knights on patrol — all looking up at the rooftop of the landmark building.

"...A Roaming Beast?!"

"That's -- it can't be -- Cerberus! Why would an Underworld beast be here?!"

As screams and shouts erupted, Cerberus leapt from the landmark building down into the center of the main avenue.

While every human in the vicinity froze in terror, it roared again.

Then it kicked off the paved road and charged. The main avenue was already packed with followers of the spirit faith who had come to catch a glimpse of Elies.

The Underworld beast barreled straight into the crowd.

Screams. Most people fled into the side alleys, but a child who couldn't process what was happening was too slow to escape. Cerberus's massive form bore down on the child.

About to be caught in its charge.

The child's eyes flew wide in that instant.

But Cerberus's charge passed straight through the child's body.

"...Huh?"

The child blinked in bewilderment.

Paying the child no mind whatsoever, the Underworld beast tore down the street, accelerating even further.

"Ahaha, surprised? Don't worry, it's just a shadow."

From her perch on the landmark rooftop, legs dangling over the edge, Elise watched the chaos below with obvious delight.

It wasn't just that first child. Not a single person Cerberus touched was injured. The beast phased through humans like a phantom.

"Contain this disturbance! This beast's objective is a diversion — it's trying to draw our attention!"

"Oh? Someone with a sharp eye out there."

The words of one special operations knight made Elise perk up.

That was exactly right. The goal was massive chaos centered on the square.

The famous holy maiden of the Holy Land — the sighting of the lovely young girl had become an overnight rumor, and now not only spirit faith followers but tourists, ordinary citizens, and even parties visiting Elmekia were being drawn to the square.

And then Cerberus attacked.

"With this many people in a panic, even Elmekia's finest are going to be stuck dealing with crowd control for a while. The whole city's defense system grinds to a halt, right?"

The chaos in the square spread in an instant, swelling into full-blown panic.

But--

"All units, engage Cerberus! Underworld beast or not, it's nothing more than a puppy playing decoy!"

The beast raced from the main avenue toward the square.

Reading its movement, knights and robed Arias gathered at the square's entrance.

"Trying to take Cerberus down before it reaches the square? Well sure, killing the beast is the fastest way to end the chaos."

The beast and the special operations unit.

Watching the two forces collide head-on from high above--

"Too bad, though. You're underestimating my familiar."

Elise murmured with a smirk.

A knight's sword came crashing down on the black beast's skull.

The instant after, the beast's body split apart where the blade had struck. One became two, two became four. Four became eight.

Every time a knight's sword made contact, instead of being cut down, the beast multiplied.

"...That's impossible!?"

The defense unit cried out in shock.

"Hehe. Can't blame humans for freaking out the first time they see that."

Cerberus howled in the middle of the square.

Elies on the altar seemed to have figured something out, but the followers — and the special operations knights who had been surrounding the square — were clearly at a loss before the beast's shadow.

Then--

Something sliced through the air, hurtling toward her.

"--!"

Elise sprang from where she sat in an instant, landing at the back of the rooftop.

A faint sting on her cheek.

"An arrow...?"

Her cheek was slightly reddened where the arrowhead had grazed her. Weak as her constant barrier was, it had been pierced — and her skin had been cut.

"Anti-demon O-PARTS. I see. If you can't take down Cerberus, take down me — the summoner — and the familiar disappears too. You've done your homework."

"You're a member of the party 'Knight of Reincarnation,' correct?"

On the landmark rooftop.

One by one, more special operations knights appeared — on nearby rooftops, closing in from every direction.

"You are under arrest for disrupting the peace of Elmekia. Surrender yourself."

"Disrupting the peace? What terrible acting. You were waiting for this, weren't you? Us making a move gives you your self-defense justification. Now you can finally arrest us out in the open, in front of clueless civilians. Am I wrong?"

"Who knows."

The one who answered was the sole knight clad in black combat gear — tall, standing apart from the rest.

-- Elmekia Dusk.

This man was likely the commanding officer in charge of the entire square. Compared to the other special operations knights, even Elise could tell the difference in his presence.

"Restrain her. She may look like a child, but her true nature is a demon. Use lethal force."

"Big words."

She put distance between herself and the attacking knight, retreating backward.

With that momentum, Elise threw herself from the rooftop.

She spun her body mid-air like an acrobat, landed on a window frame of a nearby house, then triangle-jumped off it, launching herself higher toward the rooftop of the building across the street.

"Your turn now, my cute little pets!"

She pulled pieces of amber from inside her clothing and hurled them — some to the ground, some onto rooftops.

Gemstones of condensed resin from the Underworld's Millennium Tree.

The ones she had given Ren as catalysts for ancient summoning arts had contained strands of her hair, channeling her power as Demon King through them.

But what was sealed inside the amber Elise threw this time--

"Come, Nightmares!"

The golden gemstones shattered, and black horses wreathed in gray miasma materialized.

They were roughly the same size as warhorses from the human world, but crow-like wings sprouted from their backs, and their eyes glowed gold as they surveyed the ground below.

Nightmares.

Ferocious Roaming Beasts that roamed the wastelands of the Underworld. Despite being beasts, they exuded miasma similar to that of demons — capable of corroding and destroying steel swords on contact.

And these black horses possessed one more special power.

"Know the legend of the Nightmare?"

A knight and a Nightmare clashed.

The knight's sword cut empty air, and the Nightmare's charge was dodged by a hair's breadth.

But the one who collapsed was the armored swordsman.

"Sleep-inducing miasma...!"

A beast that wore the same miasma as a demon. This miasma forced anyone who breathed it in into a deep, involuntary sleep.

"Go on, put the ground troops to sleep!"

The four Nightmares born from four pieces of amber rampaged through the main avenue without restraint.

Their targets: the sword-bearing special operations knights.

"They won't wake up for three days and three nights. Sweet dreams, hopefully."

"I see. Quite the convenient familiars you have."

Knights fell one after another.

Yet even watching this unfold, the black-clad swordsman's expression didn't waver.

"Aria corps! Burn these beasts to ash!"

Flames erupted upward.

At the sight of the crimson blaze born from the spell circles, the Underworld's black horses froze as if in fear.

"...You know the Nightmare's weakness?!"

"We've completed reconnaissance of roughly forty percent of the Underworld's total territory, as it happens. That included the swamps where Nightmares dwell. Make of that what you will."

Driven back by the flames, two Nightmares were sealed back into their amber prisons.

The remaining two were already surrounded by Arias.

"Checkmate. Give it up — your piece is already captured."

On a rooftop--

Elise and the black-clad swordsman faced each other. Around them, a host of special operations knights and Arias. Below on the main avenue and on neighboring rooftops, more units stood at the ready.

"You're committing an awful lot of your defense force just to catch little old me, aren't you?"

"Capturing you settles everything. We use you as a hostage to take the second. Then the same approach for the third and fourth."

"I see, I see. I do like that kind of nasty thinking. Traps and mind games are always welcome. But my absolute favorite thing--"

Surrounded on all sides, the brown-skinned demon in the guise of a young girl flashed a sweet smile.

"--is out-scheming someone with nasty ideas by being even nastier."

"...What do you mean?"

"The Cerberus I summoned. Why do you think I sent it toward the square?"

"Obviously. To terrorize the people gathered there and incite chaos. Ideally, to spread panic across all of Elmekia."

"Zero points."

"What?!"

The black-clad knight raised an eyebrow.

"If chaos was the goal, leaving Cerberus on the main avenue would've worked just as well. It's about the location. If an Underworld beast suddenly shows up in a crowded square, of course normal people are going to run. That square was the biggest open space around here — big enough for spirit faith missionary work, even. That's exactly why I chose it."

"What are you getting at...?"

"My goal was to clear every last person out of that square. Man, that was fun. Let's play again sometime."

She'd had her fill. With a satisfied grin, Elise turned to look behind her.

Toward the square where the altar had been set up.

"All yours, Kyelse. I've had plenty of fun, so let's switch it up."

"--That's the situation. Come forth, Earth Mother Dragon."

A rumbling born from deep underground shook all of Elmekia.

The square, now emptied of people.

The altar erected to welcome the holy maiden of the Holy Land, the tent used as a waiting room, even the very ground itself — all of it was overturned and destroyed by a higher being of immense mass.

Splitting the bedrock of the square apart, what emerged was a colossal dragon that dwarfed even Elmekia's landmark building.

The Earth Mother Dragon.

A dragon characterized by a pair of vestigial wings and a serpentine, streamlined silhouette.

Its ecology remained largely unknown. It dwelled only in the deepest reaches of the scorching great desert, with so few recorded sightings that it was considered a phantom species of dragon.

"Impossible! They summoned that Earth Mother Dragon... into a human city?!"

For the first time, the black-clad knight let genuine shock slip through.

His subordinate knights and Arias were frozen solid, unable to move a muscle as they stared up at the colossal dragon--

"Thanks for coming. It's been a while."

Kyelse called out to the Earth Mother Dragon and leapt onto its head.

It is good to see you well, my princess. I had heard you had returned from your Seal, but it has been three hundred years since we last met.

"You look well yourself. I'm glad. Now, I have a favor to ask right away."

While stroking the Earth Mother Dragon's head--

With her other hand, Kyelse pointed down at the main avenue below.

The avenue was now deserted. Thanks to Elise's Cerberus, every human on the main avenue had fled far away.

"Go straight down this road. But be careful not to damage the human structures on either side."

Understood.

The Earth Mother Dragon advanced, its footsteps sending tremors through all of Elmekia.

Confronted by a dragon whose sheer size dwarfed every other species — the special operations knights who had massed at the square stood frozen in awe.

"Wait up. I'm riding too!"

One person leapt fearlessly onto the dragon — the brown-skinned young girl.

...Demon Imperial Princess Eliselis?

"It's Elise now. More importantly, watch your back. Those humans behind us are taking aim with their spells."

The colossal dragon's tail was suddenly engulfed in crimson flames.

A compound spell. Multiple Arias and Spirits weaving their spells together in a high-level combined technique. Every member of the defense force gathered here must have fired simultaneously.

...

"Did that hurt?"

Human spells are rather ticklish.

The Earth Mother Dragon answered without a care. True to its word, the tail that should have been wreathed in flame showed not a single scorch mark — not even a scratch on its scales.

My princess, what of those humans?

"Ignore them. Our objective here is to hold their attention. Keep moving down the road at this pace."

"Ooh, what a view!" Elise exclaimed from atop the Earth Mother Dragon's head, gazing down at Elmekia's cityscape.

"Drawing the special operations knights into the city district to thin out the Triumphal Gate's defenses -- the plan's going smoothly. Didn't expect you to summon an Earth Mother Dragon, though."

"You said the more attention we drew, the better."

The Earth Mother Dragon dwelled in the great desert far to the west of Elmekia.

Even the special operations knights had never encountered this phantom dragon before. With a body this absurdly massive, it was going to turn every head in the city whether anyone liked it or not.

"What's the plan from here?"

"Hmm. We didn't really hash out the details. More and more reinforcements are piling in to try and stop this thing, so I figure we just keep stalling. Once Ren and the others break through the Triumphal Gate, we follow after them."

"Works for me."

Kyelse stood atop the Earth Mother Dragon's head. Unbothered by the swaying footing--

The girl who commanded all dragonkind spread her arms wide, hair streaming in the updraft, and gazed up at the blue sky with a look of pure contentment.

"Yeah. The surface really is great. No seasickness and it'd be perfect."

A tremor shook all of Elmekia.

And from the distance, the roar of a beast echoed across the city.

"It seems Kyelse and Elise are doing a fine job drawing the enemy's attention."

"That rumbling and the beast's cry...?"

"The dragon Kyelse summoned, most likely. She is the Dragon Princess, after all -- if she raises her voice, kin from all across the world will rally to her. And that beast's roar just now was probably one of Elise's familiars. The proof is right there -- look."

Hiding in the shadow of a house --

Fear, standing right beside him, pointed toward the sunlit main road.

"The Triumphal Gate --"

"...It's closing!?"

The massive metal doors leading to Ancient Castle Istalsil, so enormous one had to crane their neck to see the top. Those doors were swinging shut as if they had a will of their own.

"The Elmekia Dusk guarding the ancient castle must have detected the disturbance in the city streets. Closing the Triumphal Gate cuts off any route for intruders to enter the castle. But that's as good as admitting they're desperate -- because --"

The Archangel watched the doors seal shut.

"Almost all of the agents stationed outside the Triumphal Gate have pulled back, leaving only a skeleton crew behind, to go apprehend Kyelse and Elise."

"That big unit that headed south earlier, right?"

Most of the agents had been dispatched to capture Kyelse and Elise as they rampaged through the city.

"It's time. Let's go."

The instant she said it, the golden-haired girl beside him vanished.

"A concealment spell?"

"Yes. I'm still right in front of you. I've cast the same spell on you too, Ren. It's an angelic barrier spell, so there's virtually no chance Elmekia Dusk will detect it."

"On me too?"

He stared hard at his own body, but nothing looked any different. If anything, there was just the faintest shimmer of light particles clinging to the surface of his clothes.

"We'll run to the Triumphal Gate. Follow the sound of my footsteps."

"Got it."

A powerful sound of feet striking the ground.

Taking that as his cue, Ren burst out from the shadow of the house.

He ran straight north along the central avenue that stretched from Elmekia's north end to its southern edge. He crossed paths with the agents rushing toward the south side of the city, then left them in his dust.

-- The Triumphal Gate.

The one and only entrance to Ancient Castle Istalsil.

Waiting on either side were close to ten agents, along with a female swordswoman in black armor commanding them.

"Fear-senpai, I can leave opening this gate to you, right?"

"Indeed. As I mentioned before, both these doors and the stone fortress itself have been reinforced with layer upon layer of powerful spellcraft. Which means --"

"You'll dispel the barrier?"

"Let's just punch through and smash it."

"...Huh?"

Fear's footsteps accelerated.

The next instant, a whirlwind rivaling a typhoon swept over the Triumphal Gate.

It was the shockwave from the Archangel swinging her fist with everything she had. Ren only realized this after hearing Fear's voice ring out from the gate.

"Scatter."

A thunderous boom, then a violent tremor.

The double metal doors, over ten meters tall, shattered in two straight down the center -- crossbar and all -- exploding into countless metal fragments that went sailing all the way to the walls of Ancient Castle Istalsil.

And the Archangel's fist didn't stop there.

The impact that had obliterated the Triumphal Gate conducted into the fortress itself. The stone walls, which should have been fortified with defensive spellcraft, began collapsing one after another in a chain reaction.

"...What kind of natural disaster was that?"

"Now there's nothing blocking our path. Let's run to the ancient castle."

"W-Wait, Fear-senpai!?"

Keeping his voice suppressed to the barest whisper, Ren called out to the girl running ahead of him.

"Even if they can't see us, pulling something this flashy is going to give away that we're here!"

They entered the grounds of Ancient Castle Istalsil.

But behind them, the unit that had been guarding the Triumphal Gate was already converging. The Elmekia Dusk inside the ancient castle had to know by now that the Party "Knight of Reincarnation" had breached the gate.

"You make a fair point... Don't worry. I'm perfectly calm. I'm certainly not thinking anything like 'those insolent fools who dared invade Heaven deserve a beating.' Not at all."

"You're clearly not calm!?"

"I am calm."

A soft sigh laced with a hint of a smile reached him.

"Kyelse and Elise will be coming through this gate later too, you know. If we're thinking of them, it's better to have the doors destroyed. Besides, this way the Sacred Vessel of Canaan Pilgrimage can get inside the castle more easily too, right?"

With the Triumphal Gate gone, they could now force their way into the castle grounds.

The knights around them had also been split between a unit searching for Ren's group and a unit pursuing Kyelse's group.

"What the Sacred Vessel of Canaan Pilgrimage wanted most was a legitimate pretext to storm the ancient castle. How do you enter without being accused of trespassing? The easiest justification is to pretend they're chasing after us. We're the perfect villains right now."

The Party "Knight of Reincarnation" -- who had thrown the city into chaos, destroyed the Triumphal Gate, and assaulted the ancient castle. To apprehend them, the Sacred Vessel of Canaan Pilgrimage would reinforce Elmekia Dusk.

That way, they could infiltrate the castle while maintaining a veneer of righteousness. After that, they just had to pretend to be chasing Ren's group while actually investigating the light monster.

"See? Destroying the Triumphal Gate was the right call -- for Elies to get through too."

"I'm convinced. Fear-senpai, you really are calm..."

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to punch something a little bit."

"Which is it!?"

They dashed across a garden blanketed in turf.

Looming before them stood a massive gray fortress -- Istalsil Outer Keep.

"This is the right way?"

"Yes. Our objective is Elmekia Dusk's research facilities. We have no business with the main castle where the royal family of Elmekia resides."

Ancient Castle Istalsil was composed of a main castle and an outer keep.

In contrast to the pentagonal main castle, the doughnut-shaped structure built around it was Istalsil Outer Keep -- and the base of operations for Elmekia Dusk.

They reached a stone door leading into the outer walls.

"Ren, we're going up."

The sensation of his hand being gripped.

The next instant, with a whoosh of wings beating, Ren's body floated gently into the air.

"Going through the front entrance would be unwise."

They smashed through a ventilation window and entered the castle.

First floor of the outer keep.

The corridor was bathed in a clear, pristine atmosphere, sunlight streaming in.

The walls were pale-blue marble. The carpet lining the floor was a subdued ivory. The chandeliers hanging from the ceiling weren't overly large either, maintaining a beautiful harmony as one element of the interior design.

-- If they were ordinary tourists, they wouldn't have felt anything off.

-- They would have simply admired the beautiful interior and left it at that.

But.

The trap hidden within the fortress called Ancient Castle Istalsil sprang the very next moment.

"Senpai, you're visible!?"

"My concealment spell has been stripped away."

A crackling noise like the buzzing of an insect's wings.

The space before his eyes warped like a heat haze, and the golden-haired girl's form slowly materialized.

Fear hadn't dispelled her own magic.

Something built into this castle had forcibly neutralized the angel's concealment spell.

"...So they can cancel my concealment."

Fear murmured, her voice pressed low.

"I knew there was something different about Elmekia. An ANCIENT that can neutralize angelic spellcraft this easily -- even I've never encountered one before."

She touched the marble wall, and the strongest Archangel in Heaven turned back with a grave expression.

"There's definitely something inside this castle."

"...Something besides Elmekia Dusk?"

"Yes. I'd had a vague premonition ever since the incident in Heaven, but coming here, I'm certain. They haven't just discovered an ANCIENT that neutralizes angelic barriers -- they've refined it into something even more powerful. This is already beyond anything that can be explained by Elmekia simply being the world's largest military city."

Someone had supplied Elmekia with powerful ANCIENTS and O-PARTS. And that someone was lurking somewhere inside this ancient castle.

"Could it be related to the light monster that attacked me and Elies?"

"That worries me too. If they've developed anti-angel technology to this degree, then as a fellow angel, I absolutely need to get to the bottom of this. But the nasty miscalculation is the concealment spell being rendered useless. Walking through the castle like this, it's only a matter of time before we're spotted."

"No..."

He raised his hand horizontally, blocking Fear's path as she walked beside him.

"I think we've already been found."

Multiple footsteps from down the corridor.

The presence was closing in fast, heading straight for them without hesitation. And this corridor had nowhere to hide.

Their only options were to retreat back down the corridor or fight. One or the other.

"Fear-senpai --"

"We'll hold here. It's wiser to thin their numbers while we can."

The golden-haired Archangel raised one hand.

In the empty air, a crystal of light materialized and rapidly condensed, manifesting as a longbow that gleamed like a jewel. It settled into the Archangel's palm.

"Well now, it's been a while, so I'm a bit nervous."

Fear nocked an arrow with a fluid motion.

She drew the bow back until it warped under the strain, then took aim down the corridor.

"You there!"

"This way -- corner them in that corridor!"

Armed agents.

The moment they spotted Ren, they shouted and raised their hands to signal their comrades behind them --

"My apologies."

The Archangel smiled gently.

"I don't have time to deal with you."

The arrow flew.

Released from the fully drawn bow, the golden arrow traced an arc of light through the air before splitting apart. Hundreds of flashes slammed the knights into the walls.

Then came the second wave -- the Arias and Enchanters who had rushed in at the first shout were pierced clean through their deployed defensive spells and blown into the far wall.

"Senpai. You can use a bow, huh..."

"The force is no more than a gentle breeze, really. Still, it comes in handy when you need to handle a crowd."

Casting a backward glance at the dozens of unconscious defenders, the Archangel shrugged.

"Let's go. I'll take the front, Ren covers the rear."

Ren took off running after Fear.

They were already deep in restricted territory, well past where civilians were permitted. With no idea what lay where, all they could do was push forward, one step at a time.

"Senpai, behind us! More incoming!"

"So they were trying to pincer us after all."

The girl nocked an arrow as she ran.

She whipped around and fired a golden arrow at the footsteps bearing down on them from around the nearest corner. Countless flashes streaked through the air.

The arrows, empowered by the Archangel, struck down every figure that appeared in the corridor without missing a single one.

"I see."

Fear held the longbow, a self-deprecating smile crossing her lips.

"The anti-angel armor -- it's been upgraded since the version I saw in Heaven."

"Archangel Fear. I'd heard you were a peerless brawler, but to think you were also an expert with the bow -- how unexpected."

Elmekia Dusk.

Despite taking Fear's arrows head-on, not a single one of them had fallen. None showed any sign of injury.

The black armor they wore had deflected every last one of the angel's arrows.

"The Goddess's Seal and the Dragon Seal. We will be taking them here."

"...Straight to the point, aren't you?"

Ren stepped up beside Fear and glared at the four knights.

From the spear-wielding man who appeared to be their squad leader to the twin-sword-wielding girl who looked younger than Ren himself. Their weapons and ages varied, but all four radiated an aura on a completely different level from the agents before.

...The agents are supposed to be candidate officers for Elmekia Dusk.

...And these guys are still on a whole other level, just from the pressure alone.

Standing face to face with them, he felt it all over again.

"Where are you getting your intelligence? The Goddess's Seal, the Dragon Seal -- that's not information you can just stumble onto. Same goes for the anti-angel armor. What's behind you people?"

"I find this bewildering. We have nothing to say to intruders who have forced their way into Elmekia's castle."

The spear-wielder in black stepped forward.

"You are criminals who plunged Elmekia into chaos. And we are Elmekia's defense force, here to subdue you. That is all."

"Then we'll simply investigate by force. You will let us through."

It was Fear who answered, her voice ringing clear.

She attached an orange sphere to the tip of a new arrow and drew the bow once more.

"What are you playing at? Against this armor, an angel's power is --"

"Ren, get back."

The orange sphere jammed onto the arrowhead.

The moment Ren recognized it as that fruit he'd seen in Heaven, he had already thrown himself backward before Fear even finished speaking.

-- A beautiful thrum of the bowstring.

Fear's arrow struck the ground at the black-clad knights' feet. It burst into particles of light and dissipated.

"Is that supposed to be a threat?"

"No, that hit exactly where I wanted."

With a slender finger, the girl pointed to the spot her arrow had just struck.

A crushed orange fruit.

The juice spilling from it vaporized in an instant, blending into the air.

"The anti-angel armor may block angelic spellcraft, but it can't block the juice of a fruit from Heaven, can it?"

"...What?"

Before the Archangel's waving hand, the formidable elites crumpled one after another.

Each one sank to their knees, faces twisted in agony.

"...Wh... This fruit... is...?"

"Impressive that you're still conscious, but I'll answer your question with your own words. I have nothing to say to intruders who forced their way into Heaven."

The Archangel turned away.

She confirmed that the Elmekia Dusk members weren't pursuing, then --

"Still, Ren, I'm impressed you read my intentions."

"Well, I've known you for three straight years since the academy."

Ren nodded as he ran alongside Fear.

"Plus, I know you like your drinks."

The Jewel Trees of Heaven.

If Fear hadn't taught him about the fruit of those trees, Ren might have ended up on the floor alongside the Elmekia Dusk members.

'Ren, can you tell the difference? Give it a smell.'

'Hmm? Oh wait -- this orange fruit smells kind of like alcohol.'

'The yellow-green one is the unripe fruit. When a Jewel Tree's fruit ripens, it turns orange and accumulates a component similar to alcohol in its flesh.'

The ripe orange fruit contained a potent intoxicating compound.

Fear had happily eaten them, but that was only because she was an angel. For a human, just getting the juice on their skin was enough to bring on something like alcohol poisoning -- dizziness and all.

"You stuck a Jewel Tree fruit on the arrowhead and ruptured it, right? Also, senpai? ...I distinctly remember you trying to get me to eat one of those orange fruits."

"I knew you'd just say 'I'm underage' and turn me down anyway."

A mischievous grin from the angelic girl.

"That said, what I just did was a last resort."

"That was?"

"My concealment spell was stripped by whatever mechanism is built into this castle, and even the spellcraft I channeled into my arrows was neutralized. Which means there could be some unexpected countermeasure in close combat too. I wanted to take them down with arrows from a distance."

"...Right. Sorry, senpai."

Watching the angel's profile as she ran alongside him, Ren bit his lip.

Of course Fear was being cautious about the unknown anti-angel armor. In that case, he should have been the one on the front line.

"I'll take point next time."

"Oh? I didn't mean it like that at all."

The girl's expression was gentle when she answered.

"But I'm happy. That you'd say something like that, Ren. ...Yeah, it's nice. Very boyish of you."

"...More importantly, the fact that Elmekia Dusk showed up means --"

"Yes. We're definitely getting closer to the heart of things."

They ran through the ivory corridor.

Following the doughnut-shaped circuit that encircled the main castle, they came upon --

"A courtyard?"

"What an interesting place we've stumbled on."

A garden of fresh green burst into view without warning.

Despite being an enclosed space surrounded on all sides by walls, the ground beneath their feet was soil. The artificial lights pouring down from the ceiling were nearly indistinguishable from real sunlight.

"An artificial garden appearing this abruptly -- is this another trap, I wonder?"

Fear advanced, longbow in hand.

And above her --

"Senpai, get back!"

Something was there -- a massive, humanoid something, glittering brilliantly.

The light monster descended calmly.

In its hand, a gleaming cross-spear forged from concentrated light.

Its featureless head had no contours except where its eyes should have been -- two hollow voids, steeped in pitch-black darkness.

...It's the same.

...Exactly the same as that time.

The unknown monster that had attacked the cathedral in the Holy Land Canaan was standing before them once again.

But where had it come from?

"That was a quicker appearance than I expected. Or perhaps it simply has no intention of hiding."

Fear materialized a new arrow in her hand.

Mixed into her voice was quiet sorrow.

"The emptiness radiating from its entire being... what a pitiful monster."

"Fear-senpai."

"Yes. So this is the monster that attacked the cathedral. In any case, this means we've achieved the first stage of our objective."

They hadn't been wrong.

Whether it was being controlled by someone or acting on its own will remained unclear, but the monster had indeed been nesting in Elmekia.

"At this point, I'd love to have Elmekia Dusk make another appearance. There are questions I need answers to."

'What good would it do to interrogate them?'

'Elmekia Dusk will tell you nothing. They lack the knowledge to tell.'

'Storing knowledge is our role, after all.'

The voices came then.

A wave that didn't vibrate the eardrums. Without stirring the air, a Kotodama that permeated the space the way water seeps into the earth.

"Fear-senpai, those voices just now..."

"Voices?"

Fear kept the monster in her peripheral vision.

"What do you mean, voices? I didn't hear anything like that."

"...What? I definitely just heard --"

The unexpected answer pulled Ren's focus toward Fear.

In that split second.

'----'

A cross-spear, hurled.

The light monster's spear plunged into the ground at Ren's feet, and from deep within the earth, a stone stele carved with eerie, unknown characters rose to the surface.

"No! Ren, reach for my hand!"

At the edge of his vision, Fear stretched out her hand.

Reflexively, Ren tried to reach back --

The boy vanished, as though swallowed by the stele.

"...Ren?"

No answer.

She felt the sound of her own hoarse voice dissolve into the air and disappear.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Fear fixed the monster with eyes blazing with fury.

The stele that had swallowed Ren had crumbled to pieces, destroying itself.

All the while, the luminous being remained silent. It uttered not a single word, and with those hollow eyes, it was impossible to tell where -- or if -- it was looking at all.

...My spiritual sense can't locate him. But the Marking I cast on impulse is still active.

...He's alive.

And from the Marking's feedback, he was definitely nearby. She didn't yet know what kind of spell had transported him, but there had to be a way to rescue him.

"You won't answer? Or is it that you simply lack the ability to?"

She exhaled one deep breath.

Brushing the hair from her eyes with one hand, the Archangel of Heaven --

"Then prepare yourself."

She cast the bow aside and clenched her fists.

Tight. Tighter.

The hardest fists in the world -- rivaling even the fangs of a Heavenly Silver Dragon -- clenched with nothing but raw emotion.

"I won't forgive you until you give Ren back."

An empty void.

A world where the flow of air had ceased, as still as the depths of a stagnant sea.

Silence -- a silence so absolute it was itself unsettling, an eternity of soundlessness.

Darkness -- an endless dark, as though the very concept of light had been eradicated from the world.

And freezing cold.

He could feel his body heat and life force draining away by the second.

"Fear-senpai? Senpai!?"

His strained voice rippled outward.

...What happened back there?

...That eerie stele burst out of the ground right in front of me.

By the time he'd regained consciousness, he was standing alone in this place.

'Fire, lit?'

A small, lotus-red glow flickered to life in the lightless world.

It came from the spirit perched on Ren's shoulder.

"Salamander! Oh right -- I forgot you were with me! And --"

'...Here.'

The Gnome too, poking insistently at his toes to announce its presence.

In this strange space with no idea where he was -- separated from Fear on top of everything -- these spirits were his only lifeline.

"But I'm guessing even you two don't know what this place is, right?"

The two spirits shook their heads in unison.

Just as Ren was about to respond to their expected answer with a rueful smile --

'Answering that is our role.'

A mature woman's voice.

"...Who's there?"

'There is no need for alarm. We are your allies.'

'It is we who summoned thee, young man. To bestow upon thee our knowledge and our power.'

Next came an intelligent man's voice.

And last, an old man's voice.

...Three separate voices.

...But there's no one here.

He sensed no presence whatsoever, yet the voices rang out from right beside him.

'Oh, we're here, all right. Right in front of you.'

The woman's voice, teasing in tone.

Right in front of him --

Illuminated by the Salamander's flame, three massive stone monuments stood revealed.

And the voices were coming from them.

'This is a place that exists on no map. Neither hidden realm nor Sacred Domain.'

'A space purged of all noise and distraction. Not bad at all, would you not say?'

'It's the perfect place for deep thought. Elmekia calls it the "Hermit's Chamber."'

Three black stone monuments carved with an unknown script.

Each time the characters on their surfaces blazed with light, voices resonated from within.

...They're not actually speaking.

...The inscriptions -- they're generating sound in place of voices?

The black steles themselves were magical instruments serving as spell catalysts.

From the countless characters etched into their surfaces, a faint light pulsed, summoning sound waves corresponding to each inscription.

From some place beyond Ren's imagination. Into this dark, sealed space.

Transcending the very concept of distance.

It was like --

'Ancient summoning arts? Yes, we'll tell you about that too.'

As if reading his thoughts, the woman spoke, her voice bright with delight.

And then.

'Welcome, Ren E. Maxwell. You who bear the visage of the Brave Hero of days past.'

'We are the Three Sages of the Epitaph. We bid thee welcome.'

'Sorry, no tea or sweets -- but make yourself comfortable. I've got a wonderful gift for you today. Hope you'll like it.'

The Three Sages of the Epitaph.

The seers who could perceive the whole of the world spoke thus to the boy called the Fake Brave Hero.