The Hegemon City Elmekia — city center.

"L-Lady Elies!? I-It's dangerous! It's dangerous, so please stay further back!"

"I'm fine, Premier. No problem."

The young Aria came running up with a terrified expression on her face.

Elies answered her calmly, but Premier was pointing at the colossal dragon advancing right alongside them.

"Wh-wh-what are you saying!? How can you possibly call running this close to that Earth Mother Dragon 'fine'!?"

"It's one street over."

"What if it decides to come THIS way on a whim!? W-We'll be crushed flat!"

Premier pleaded with tears in her eyes.

She was a talented young Aria who had graduated top of her class from a regional party training institute — and yet even she was screaming. That was how overwhelming the dragon's presence was.

The Earth Mother Dragon — a dragon species said to live for a thousand years deep underground.

As it advanced, it gouged the main road's surface and scraped the walls off the buildings on either side. It was no longer a living creature's charge — it was the passage of a full-blown tempest.

(... To summon and command a legendary dragon this easily.)

(... The Dragon Princess, as expected.)

Dragon Princess Kyelse. When Elies had first seen her riding atop the Earth Mother Dragon's head, the shock had left her momentarily speechless.

"Is this meant to draw the attention of Elmekia Dusk? Even so, this is... far beyond anything we imagined."

"The flashier they are, the better for us."

Elies looked up at the Earth Mother Dragon's massive frame and nodded toward Nebirim, her attendant Healer running alongside her.

The assault on Ancient Castle Istalsil.

The defense forces were pouring everything they had into stopping the Earth Mother Dragon. Now was their chance.

Of course the Dusk knights had likely noticed the Sacred Vessel of Canaan Pilgrimage's movements as well, but they had no choice but to prioritize containing the Earth Mother Dragon regardless.

And then —

"Lady Elies!"

Thyrus, the martial artist guarding the rear, suddenly shouted.

"A Nightmare!?"

A magical beast bore down on Elies as she spun around.

A black steed from the Underworld had leapt over the rooftops and was swooping straight at Elies, who was running at the head of the party.

"Oh. Don't do that, Nightmare. That human's a friend of mine."

The beast abruptly changed course in midair.

A beat later — a dark-skinned young girl dropped from somewhere above, spun nimbly once in the air, and landed in front of Elies.

"Hey! Sorry about that. How careless of me."

"Elise?"

"This horse isn't all that bright. The Dusk knights in Elmekia are all carrying swords and spears and stuff, right? So I just gave it the order 'go after humans with weapons.' Pretty simple."

"...I see."

The Sacred Vessel of Canaan Pilgrimage was primarily composed of spellcasters, but it did include a small number of armed subordinates. The Nightmare must have reacted to them.

"Scared you?"

"I thought I was going to get trampled. But more importantly..."

She caught her breath and crossed her arms.

"You really startled me back at the plaza, setting magical beasts loose like that. There were Elmekia intelligence agents who had slipped in among the crowd, sure, but there were also plenty of ordinary believers who had no idea what was going on. ...It was pandemonium. I know you were careful not to let anyone get hurt, but still."

"Ahaha, sorry, sorry. I'm not great at holding back."

Despite her words, the demon girl didn't look particularly apologetic.

"But hey, good timing running into you here. How'd things go on your end? With that many subordinates, you must've combed the city more thoroughly than us."

"Dead end. There wasn't a single facility like that anywhere in the city."

Elies glanced back at the thirty-plus subordinates behind her.

Starting with Nebirim — her closest attendant and Healer — she had spent the past two days deploying the Sacred Vessel of Canaan Pilgrimage's most elite personnel to investigate the city. They had found nothing suspicious whatsoever.

"Hm, hm. Then the main target really is that big castle after all."

Elise looked up at Ancient Castle Istalsil ahead of them.

Its most critical defensive strongpoint — the Triumphal Gate — had been blown to smithereens.

"We can waltz right in now. Wanna race? Come, Nightmare."

Elise called over the magical beast that had been hovering in midair.

She stroked its powerful legs, then —

"Come on, Elies. Follow me."

The dark-skinned former Demon King beckoned with a fearless grin that bordered on provocative.

"Me and Kyelse are the bad guys who attacked a human city. You're the ones chasing us. Let's see... you could say we unleashed magical beasts on the believers gathered at the plaza and caused mass chaos — that excuse should work perfectly, right?"

The Party "Knight of Reincarnation" were trespassers trying to break into Elmekia's castle.

And from Elies's perspective, her own missionary address had been disrupted by Elise's familiars and Kyelse's Earth Mother Dragon. That gave her the justification to pursue them all the way to Ancient Castle Istalsil — where the "Knight of Reincarnation" had intruded.

"...Understood. You've thought of everything, haven't you."

"It's decided then. Hey, Kyelse, get down here — we're catching up with Ren!"

Elise flashed a wink and took off running.

Her steps bounced like she was skipping, heading straight for the ruined Triumphal Gate. Kyelse leapt down from the Earth Mother Dragon and fell in alongside her.

"...You two!?"

"Over here! Those two from the 'Knight of Reincarnation' are right here!"

The Dragon Princess and the former Demon King sprinted straight for the Triumphal Gate ruins.

Moving to surround them were a female knight of Elmekia Dusk and a dozen-plus Dusk knights under her command.

"Seize them!"

"Worry about yourselves before me."

A bestial roar.

Three Cerberuses blocked the knights' path.

The defense force fell back under the glare of the legendary Roaming Beasts. In that opening, the Nightmare's miasma of slumber washed over them, and the knights collapsed one after another.

"Good boy. Keep causing trouble right here."

"Elise, hurry up."

Seen off by the magical beasts and the Earth Mother Dragon, Kyelse and Elise sprinted toward the outer keep's entrance.

"L-Lady Elies... those two... they're way too fast!"

"I'm running as hard as I can too. We just have to keep chasing them."

Gasping for breath, Elies chased after the two figures ahead.

Toward the stone door leading into the castle walls.

"Oh, it's sealed with sorcery. Well, whatever — I'll just dis—"

"Break it."

A thunderous crash.

Kyelse's flying kick shattered the sorcery-frozen door to dust. She kept running into the castle interior as if nothing had been in her way at all.

"How reassuring."

"..."

Elies said nothing to Nebirim's murmur and charged into the outer keep after them.

(... She's right — they really might be overwhelming.)

(... These two, plus Archangel Fear, and three hundred years ago, even Brave Hero Eleline was with them.)

The Sword Emperor Eleline's Party.

The strongest party in history — just four members who had quelled the End War. Beginning with Eleline, who had earned the title of Sword Emperor, the Three Princesses who had rallied under him were each the supreme fighting force representing one of the Three Worlds: Earth, Heaven, and the Underworld.

But...

At the same time, one nagging worry refused to leave her mind.

The convergence of a dragon, an angel, and a demon had been extraordinary even three hundred years ago. At that time, angels and demons were locked in perpetual conflict, and dragons had reigned as tyrants across the surface world.

And yet the representatives of those three hostile races had come together for the End War.

Didn't that, in turn, mean that even the Sword Emperor Eleline and the Three Princesses — all of them combined — hadn't been enough to face the End War alone?

(... The End War — unrecorded in any human chronicle.)

(... Just how powerful was the enemy that Brave Hero and the Three Princesses fought against?)

Dragon Princess Kyelse and the former Demon King Elise.

Watching the two of them display such effortless, almost reckless strength should have been reassuring. But more than that, the anxiety clung to the back of Elies's mind and refused to let go.

"Elies, right? What are you gonna do?"

Called by name, Elies snapped back to the present. The former Demon King — the young girl — had turned around in the corridor, hands clasped behind her head.

"We're gonna follow Ren's scent, but are you coming with? Or splitting up?"

"It'd be reassuring to go together. But if we're searching this castle, we'll have to split into two groups. There's no way we can cover it all in a short time otherwise."

"What are you looking for?"

"It concerns you too. A research facility for O-PARTS — like the anti-demon armaments. And there's someone I absolutely have to find. I'm sure they're hiding somewhere in this castle. The Istalsil Outer Keep is partially open for tourism, so I'm betting there's a hidden floor that's kept out of public view."

"Hmm."

Elise tilted her head.

After a moment of consideration, she uncrossed her arms.

"Wouldn't that be the basement under the floor we're standing on?"

"...What?"

"This castle has a huge underground facility. Isn't that it?"

"W-Wait! How do you know something like that!?"

The Holy Land Canaan had dispatched covert agents to Ancient Castle Istalsil numerous times in the past.

Yet not a single investigation team — no matter how skilled — had ever reported the existence of an underground facility.

"You can just tell by looking. I'm good at finding traps and hidden passages and stuff."

"And for what it's worth, the feel of walking is enough. About... five meters below us. A massive underground cavern stretching out in every direction."

It was Kyelse who tapped the floor with the toe of her boot.

"There's also some kind of sound coming from down there."

"...I'm speechless."

Higher beings — now she caught a glimpse of why dragons, demons, and angels were set apart from every other creature in this world.

"Thank you for telling me. Then there should be a hidden staircase leading underground somewhere. We'll search for it with the full team."

"No need."

It wasn't any of her subordinates.

The one who cut Elies off without a beat of hesitation was Kyelse, standing right there.

"We're grateful to all of you."

"You set us up with rooms in the Holy Land and took care of us the whole time."

"Yes. So this is —"

Kyelse raised her leg.

"— a thank-you from us, the Knight of Reincarnation."

A toe of destruction.

The dragon girl's foot slammed deep into the floor, shaking the entire Istalsil Outer Keep as a massive fissure tore through the ground.

What had been a corridor collapsed. Beneath the crater blown open by that overwhelming destructive force, a hidden underground floor lay exposed.

"...Incredible."

The whisper came from Premier, the young Aria, as if she were watching a dream.

"Well, we're gonna go chase after Ren."

"Do whatever you want."

The Dragon Princess Kyelse and the former Demon King Elise sprinted down the cracked corridor.

Elies watched them go.

"...I owe those two an apology. I'm ashamed to admit I had misjudged them. I had believed that dragons were savage beasts, demons were dangerous monsters, and angels were arrogant fools. I didn't take every legend I heard as a child at face value, but the impression had lingered all the same."

"I held similar impressions. But that isn't the whole picture, is it. Humans are the same way. Some are good. Some aren't."

Elies returned a wry smile to her self-deprecating attendant.

The crater at her feet.

She glared down into the underground cavern below.

"But one thing I can say for certain — whoever's down there is our polar opposite. ...All units, stay sharp. This is where it starts."

A deep breath, then a leap.

She threw herself into the bowl-shaped crater and slid straight down to the underground floor below.

"...Lady Elies, what is all this!?"

"Looks like we hit the jackpot."

A large chamber, lit by overhead lights.

What filled it were rows of translucent experimental vats — each one taller than Elies. The exact contents were unclear, but given that they were being developed on a hidden floor like this —

"What do we do?"

"What do you think? We smash them open and check what's inside."

"That would be a problem."

Dry footsteps.

From the far end of the underground floor, a slender silhouette emerged into the light.

"Surely the Sacred Vessel of Canaan Pilgrimage wouldn't want to be publicly known for acts of destruction?"

It was a swordsman, rapier in hand.

A young man with long white hair tied back in a single tail.

He looked barely twenty, if that. His refined, pale features could only be called beautiful — but what caught Elies's attention was his expression.

An empty smile.

Every trace of emotion had drained from those eyes.

He wasn't smiling because he was happy. Like a puppet in a marionette show, built to smile because smiling was its designated function — that was the kind of expression he wore.

"We have good reason for being here. But now I'm curious — what exactly is the problem with us breaking these vats?"

"I can't sleep."

"...?"

"I can't sleep if it's not quiet. That's why I was holed up down here — and you people are so noisy. And you're obviously going to smash the vats and make an even bigger racket. Then I won't be able to sleep. That's why I said it would be a problem."

The swordsman pointed at the ceiling.

"If you want to fight, go up to the Celestial Mirror Chamber on the third floor. The strongest man in the world is waiting there."

"...The strongest?"

"Rank 1 — Knight King Zelbright. If you want to challenge him, go right ahead."

"How disagreeable."

It was not Elies but Nebirim, standing beside her, who answered.

She brushed the dust from her deep purple vestments.

"Knight King Zelbright is the head of Elmekia Dusk. You would offer up your master in your own stead? The knights of Elmekia really have fallen."

"What if it's his own wish?"

The white-haired young man replied, his empty smile fixed in place.

"He craves battle more than anyone. That's why he looked so pleased, for once. After all — the Second Coming of the Brave Hero is coming to Elmekia."

"...You mean Ren?"

"Yes — he's certain of it. Knight King Zelbright. Elmekia Dusk's interference, the Three Sages of the Epitaph's enticements — none of it matters to him. The Second Coming of the Brave Hero will come. That's why he looked so pleased."

"So Zelbright's just waiting for his opponent, then."

A gust of wind blew through the underground laboratory.

A spirit with verdant feathers alighted on Elies's outstretched hand.

"You seem to have time on your hands. Care to tell me about this laboratory?"

"And if I refuse?"

"Then I destroy every last vat in here. Even without your help, we can just check the contents ourselves."

"...And here I thought it was finally going to be quiet."

The swordsman heaved a deep sigh behind his smile, then slowly raised the rapier in his hand.

"What a bother. But it seems things won't get quiet unless I remove you."

"Such over—"

Watch yourself. She swallowed the rest of the rebuke.

Elies.

Sylph — the primordial spirit of wind perched on her hand — spoke to her, voice tight with tension.

I don't like him...

"Neither do I. I despise him. That wound still aches deep in my body."

The swordsman gripping his rapier.

Behind him, a luminous monster had materialized — and Elies bit down on her lower lip.

"I've finally found you. The wound that thing gave me — it still throbs."

The monster that had attacked them in the Holy Land Canaan.

But what was this?

(... It's clinging right behind this swordsman and won't leave his side.)

(... Almost like one of my spirits.)

A swordsman she had never seen before among Elmekia Dusk's ranks. He had appeared alone to confront them in this underground facility — and he had a luminous monster at his command.

There was no way a man like this was some low-ranking knight.

"I don't think I caught your name."

"Ouga."

The young man approached at an unhurried pace, rapier in hand.

"Pleased to meet you, Saint Elies. Now, come along — Eidos."

Eidos — a word she had never heard before. Suspicion stirred, but she couldn't afford to ask.

He wouldn't let her.

If she let her guard slip for even an instant to form a question, the luminous monster would strike. She had no intention of falling for the same ambush twice — not after the Holy Land Canaan.

"You have a terrible personality."

"Hm? Do I?"

"Your name happens to match Rank 2's — the one whose identity is never publicly disclosed. If you hold such a lofty position, don't play coy. Lead with that from the start."

"But you didn't ask."

Rank 2 — Ouga — shook his head with that empty smile.

And so the battle began between the knight bearing the epithet "Wicked Swordsman" of Elmekia Dusk, and the girl revered as the holy maiden.

The Hermit's Chamber: Study of Oblivion——

Three stone steles inscribed in an ancient language.

Stared down by the "stones" that called themselves the Three Sages of the Epitaph, Ren swallowed hard. Even with his spirits close beside him, he took a step back.

'Still on guard around us, are you?'

"...Of course I am. Telling me not to be is asking the impossible."

The words that squeezed from his parched throat came out hoarse, trembling faintly.

He'd meant it as the best show of bravado he could manage.

But in this space, it felt as though every thought was laid bare——a chill ran through him.

"What the hell are you people...?"

Human?

But he'd never seen a human who looked like a stone monument.

'A fair question. But to answer it, you are far too ignorant.'

'Truly pitiful. You've been traveling with the Three Princesses, and they still haven't told you about the End War.'

A woman's voice, its tone dripping with pity.

'I'll tell you. About the enemy Sword Emperor Eleline fought three hundred years ago in the End War.'

'Indeed. Passing down knowledge is our very purpose, after all. But let us begin with introductions. You would not know what to call us otherwise, would you?'

New letters surfaced on the steles.

The inscriptions on each monument glowed in three colors——faint red, blue, and green.

'I am Resdin. Affiliated with District I of the Divine City Sieramiris. Field of research: angels.'

'I am Ghislem. Affiliated with District II of the Divine City Sieramiris. Field of research: demons.'

'I am Nina. Affiliated with District III of the Divine City Sieramiris. Field of research: dragons.'

Angels, demons, dragons.

All three were species set apart as higher beings in their own class.

...But what does it mean to "research" those three species?

...And the Divine City Sieramiris?

Among the five current continents or anywhere else in recorded history, he had never heard of a city by that name.

'Have you ever wondered about the name "ancient summoning arts"?'

'Indeed. Why the word "ancient" precedes "summoning arts" at all.'

The man who called himself Resdin.

The elder who called himself Ghislem.

New letters carved themselves into two of the steles, glowing as they took shape as "voices."

They seeped into the cold space around them.

"That's... because the ancient summoning arts are called ANCIENTS, right? A long time ago there were plenty of practitioners, but now even in the Holy Land, only Elies is left."

'Yes. But in the time of us three, the ancient summoning arts still existed as a matter of course. Before the End War three hundred years ago——even further back than that.'

The stele that called itself Nina.

'Cities across the world competed to research the ancient summoning arts. They cultivated talented practitioners, and with their cooperation, research only accelerated. The same way party training academies are everywhere today. The whole world was captivated by the mystery of ancient summoning arts, racing to advance their research. Because whichever city mastered them first would stand at the very top of the world. And the city that reached that pinnacle was——'

"This 'Divine City' of yours?"

'Exactly.'

Nina's voice practically sang with a well done.

'The Divine City Sieramiris. That was the name of the city where the ancient summoning arts flourished most in all of history. Using this city as their base, research into the ancient summoning arts reached its zenith. It was the moment humanity was at its most glorious. Most of what you now call ANCIENTS and O-PARTS were born in this Divine City.'

'This was long before even Sword Emperor Eleline or the Three Princesses of the End War were born. An impossibly distant age. However...'

'Despite reaching the pinnacle of prosperity, our Divine City vanished from history without a trace. Its research, its very existence——everything.'

"...You're saying all that in a pretty uncomfortable tone."

In the face of their eloquent words, what Ren felt most was his own chill.

The story was too unsettling.

The idea that the glorious city responsible for the origins of ANCIENTS and O-PARTS could vanish from history without leaving a single record——

"How did that——"

'We were attacked. By "the shining ones," who appeared from the world's end.'

A murmur from the elder, thick with anger.

The ones who picked up after him were Resdin and then Nina.

'It happened at the height of the Divine City Sieramiris's glory. Something emerged from an unknown end of the world and assaulted the Divine City. Naturally, we resisted, but... they were beings of an entirely different dimension.'

'And so the Divine City fell. With the city destroyed, the people had no choice but to flee.'

"...What kind of monster?"

'Unknown. Which is precisely why we have no way to refer to them except by describing what we saw at the time——"the shining ones."'

Sage Resdin murmured in a suppressed voice.

'But one thing is certain: the shining ones' objective was the eradication of the ancient summoning arts.'

"The eradication of the ancient summoning arts!?"

'The first targets were the ancient summoning arts research facilities. Even after the Divine City fell into ruin and was abandoned, it continued. Every time humans tried to research the ancient summoning arts, the attacks came again. As though they harbored a hatred for the ancient summoning arts themselves. You can put together what happened next, can't you? The mystery of the ancient summoning arts was forgotten by the world, just like that.'

The shining ones.

To escape the mysterious higher beings that had attacked the Divine City, humanity abandoned the ancient summoning arts.

Practitioners and researchers alike dwindled in number, until eventually even those who remembered their existence became vanishingly rare.

Hence the name ANCIENTS. That was how the term came to be.

'Ren. What you truly need to know lies beyond this.'

"...Beyond?"

'As far as we know, they have manifested in the world twice. The first time was the assault on the Divine City, as I just described. And the second——'

The words cut off.

In the dark, cold Hermit's Chamber——that space severed from the world——silence fell once more. Then new letters floated up on the steles.

'The End War.'

"...Then the enemy Eleline fought three hundred years ago was..."

'Just so. Those very "shining ones," without question. But how Sword Emperor Eleline fought them in those days, and how that battle concluded——even we do not know. The only record that contains all of it is the Encore. But you can surely imagine by now.'

'There was a second time. Do you really think there won't be a third?'

"......"

He couldn't argue with that.

The first thing that came to Ren's mind after hearing the Sages' tale was the return of the End War.

In this era——where the world thirsted for the next Brave Hero——

Dragon Princess Kyelse, Archangel Fear, and former Demon King Elise had gathered once more. That fact alone was more than enough to foreshadow the End War's return.

...Even if Eleline's Sword Emperor party won three hundred years ago.

...Eleline isn't here anymore. Not in this era.

'Scared? But it's only natural to feel afraid. The terror of the End War's return.'

Nina smiled as she said it.

'But I told you, didn't I, Ren? That we have a special gift prepared for you today.'

"...The gift wasn't what you just told me?"

About the ancient summoning arts. About the Divine City.

And above all, about the enemy Brave Hero Eleline fought three hundred years ago. He'd assumed the gift was the knowledge the Three Sages of the Epitaph would bestow.

'I said it before. We are citizens of the Divine City. In a distant age, the city that served as our research base was attacked, and then the End War let their invasion succeed again. But now, for the third time——'

'The time for revenge.'

'Now, come forth——Eidos.'

The Three Sages of the Epitaph.

From the words inscribed on the three steles, light in three colors overflowed.

Faint red, blue, and green.

The three primary colors of light——and when those three colors merged, they became the most brilliant radiance: pure white.

And after the light faded away——

"...This thing!?"

What had materialized at the center of the three steles was a monster of light bearing a glowing cruciform spear.

A humanoid giant of light.

The same enemy that had attacked him and Elies at the Holy Land Canaan, and that he'd encountered again in this outer keep's courtyard.

'No need to be on guard. It is on your side.'

'The Eidos. The trump card we Three Sages created to counter "the shining ones." To save the world. And for the Divine City Sieramiris.'

In response——

Ren's answer was to silently draw his sword.

'Oh my. What's gotten into you, drawing your sword all of a sudden?'

"...What is the meaning of this?"

He aimed his blade at the giant of light——the Eidos——and forced the words out.

Gnome clung to Ren's leg.

Even Salamander had fixed the Eidos with an unmistakable look of wariness.

"You're telling me that thing is your trump card against the return of the End War?"

'That's right. Is something the matter?'

"At the Holy Land Canaan, Elies and I... were attacked by that monster."

Elies, shielding him.

The sight of her coughing up blood and slowly crumpling to the ground. Still vivid enough to haunt his dreams.

...I never want to see something like that again.

...I swore it.

And now he was being told that very enemy was an ally. Who would believe that?

'I see. It seems we created a misunderstanding. But it was necessary.'

Resdin spoke without a trace of agitation.

'To calibrate the test subjects, having them fight the primordial spirits and measuring their abilities was an essential experiment. Originally, after the battle with the Demon General of Wave, the test subject should have gone to Sword Saint Shion.'

"To Sword Saint Shion!? Why!?"

'A genius swordsman hailed as the Sword Saint, with two guardian spirits at his side. Hardly any man more suited for testing the Eidos. But then we lost control, and the test subject ended up heading for the Holy Land Canaan instead. Whether it was drawn by the wavelength of the spirits accompanying you, or whether it was the Knight King's scheme——that, we cannot say.'

"...The Knight King's scheme?"

Ren frowned without realizing it at the name the Three Sages of the Epitaph had uttered.

"Your Eidos doesn't belong to you?"

'We merely provided the blueprints.'

'Three Sages of the Epitaph we may be called, but we are still mere humans. We do not possess the vast lifespans of dragons. Therefore, we used one of the techniques researched in the Divine City to inscribe our own consciousness into these steles——O-PARTS that automatically invoke the ancient summoning arts. A summoning of our voices and minds. Though what we are is, at best, an exquisitely precise reproduction.'

The elder said it in a tone that might have been self-deprecation.

'Being as we are, creating the Eidos required the hands of others. Hence our symbiosis. We provide the knowledge of various O-PARTS born in the Divine City, and Elmekia Dusk assembles them.'

"...Elies was attacked for that? Just to pit it against spirits and nothing more?"

'A necessary sacrifice.'

Flatly.

The woman sage said it in a voice devoid of all feeling.

'See for yourself. The completed form of the Eidos——the fulfillment of our life's ambition.'

"Completed form?"

'That's right. Here, the very first one. Now——transform.'

The monster of light that had stood motionless before him shattered into countless points of light.

Self-destruction?

But Ren's instinct was proven wrong the next instant.

'No! Don't!'

"Gnome? Salamander too?"

Gnome, still clinging to his leg, was trembling violently.

Even Salamander, who had been perched on his shoulder, had circled behind his back as though trying to hide.

...The spirits are terrified?

...No——they've never been this clearly terrified before.

He turned back toward the Three Sages of the Epitaph——

And found himself unable to breathe as he stared at what now stood before him.

Not a chill. Not pressure. Not hostility.

Something different from every ominous sensation imaginable. A wave of wrongness he had never felt in his life.

——A translucent, pitch-black colossus fused with the lightless space.

——A monster bearing a pair of grotesque wings was there.

Its total length was perhaps four meters.

The upper body bore an uncanny resemblance to a human woman's silhouette, but it had no legs below the waist——instead, an organ like a dragon's tail extended from where the hips would be.

Its head was covered in hard plating, with two antennae at the back. The wings on its back resembled a bird's feathers, but their color was the same transparent black as the rest of its body.

"The shining Eidos turned pitch-black... You're telling me this is the result of your research?"

It was unlike any living creature in the world.

The shape was part of it, but what truly sent a chill crawling up Ren's spine was the sinister presence this being radiated.

...I can't explain it.

...The sweat running down my cheek——I can't explain what I feel.

Yin and yang. Fire and water.

A sense of facing something fundamentally incompatible——that was the only way to describe the dread consuming his body, cold as ice.

'We bestow it upon thee. The completed form that will fulfill our life's ambition.'

'The pinnacle of all O-PARTS. Our crystallization of wisdom——the Eidos.'

'You'll save the world and become the next Brave Hero. Isn't that wonderful?'

The Sages' words traveled through the soundless space.

'What is the matter? Why do you stand there in silence?'

"...There's one thing I want to ask."

Forgetting even to wipe the cold sweat away, Ren wrung the words from his parched throat.

"Why me? You were having Elmekia Dusk manufacture the Eidos. Then it'd be normal to hand the completed Eidos over to Elmekia too. So why did you summon me here and spring all this on me out of nowhere?"

'A fair question. But to answer it requires a rather cruel truth for you.'

'The matter of who qualifies as the Brave Hero.'

The Sages continued without pause.

'We have been waiting for the birth of one worthy of bearing the Eidos. In other words, the second coming of Brave Hero Eleline. But whether by fate's whim or Eleline's own dying will, the world produced three such inheritors in this era.'

'Those three are you, Sword Saint Shion, and Knight King Zelbright.'

Fake Brave Hero Ren——the one granted a visage befitting the Brave Hero's return.

Sword Saint Shion——the one granted a caliber befitting the Brave Hero's return.

Knight King Zelbright——the one granted a might befitting the Brave Hero's return.

'And this is the answer to your question. Of those three inheritors the world has produced——Ren, you are the weakest.'

"......"

'Of course, we have observed your battles. The Demon General of Blaze, Dragon Emperor Calra, and then the Demon General of Wave, and the crowning fight against our Eidos test subject. Each was admirable. We cannot deny that you relied on numerous stratagems and no small measure of luck, but the fact that you stand here after all of that is an achievement any knight should be proud of.'

The sages who had inscribed their own consciousness into the steles and observed this world from within.

And yet——

'But it's no use. Your death-defying battles pale in comparison to the sheer power of Sword Saint Shion and Knight King Zelbright. Especially Knight King Zelbright. That man is a true hegemon. His innate, inborn strength rivals even Sword Emperor Eleline.'

"You're saying... he rivals Eleline!?"

Before he knew it, Ren's eyes were wide and his voice raised.

——Knight King Zelbright.

There wasn't a student knight alive who didn't know that name.

Yet on the other hand, tales demonstrating his strength were virtually nonexistent.

He had never conquered an uncharted frontier of humanity. There were no rumors of him toppling a great dragon or angel or demon. Because the Knight King had never once stepped foot outside Elmekia. And if he never left the city, no tales could be born for people to tell.

Simply strong.

That was all Ren knew about the Knight King.

'It is fact.'

'That is the conclusion reached after more than three hundred years of observing this world... But therein lies the problem. That very strength causes them to drown. In the swamp called pride. Sword Saint Shion and Knight King Zelbright alike. Those two refused to lend us their ears.'

'The fate of knights who place too much faith in their own power. But you're different, aren't you, Ren?'

A coaxing tone.

With a voice that was almost seductive, the sage who called herself Nina continued.

'You know you're weak. At Holy Fiora Journey Academy, you were bullied by the bigger student knights, weren't you? Overpowered in strength, outmatched in stamina. It must have been frustrating. But you never gave in. You kept working hard. All because you admired Brave Hero Eleline.'

"...You really do know everything."

'Of course.'

A soft, sweet sigh of a laugh from the woman's voice.

'And that's exactly why you'll accept the Eidos, won't you? An inheritor of the Brave Hero you may be called, but all you inherited was a face. You weren't born with the Sword Saint's caliber, and you weren't given the Knight King's might. Yes——you're weak. You need the Eidos as your strength.'

'Show them what you're made of. Every last person who ever looked down on you.'

'Even the return of the End War is nothing to fear with the Eidos at your side. You save the world. You become the next Brave Hero. Would that not also mean carrying on Brave Hero Eleline's will?'

The completed Eidos, not moving a muscle.

Its creators, the Three Sages.

And lastly——

He turned to Gnome, clutching his ankle and gazing up at him, and to Salamander, pressed tight against his back.

"...All right."

Ren gave a small nod where he stood.

And then——

'A fine answer.'

'At last, our life's ambition shall be fulfilled.'

'How wonderful, Ren. I knew you would understand——'

"I'm going a different way from you."

That was the declaration of the boy once called the Fake Brave Hero.

A severance from the Three Sages, who had been consumed by the allure of fabricated power.

'...What?'

'What did you just say?'

'Did we mishear that?'

After a beat of silence——

The three steles spoke in stunned voices. To which——

"Everything you said about me was dead-on. Holy Fiora Journey Academy... I've got more painful memories there than good ones. And being told I'm weaker than Sword Saint Shion or Knight King Zelbright isn't news to me either. ...But that's not what decides what comes next. You don't understand the place I'm trying to reach."

'How strange. Is your ideal not to follow in Brave Hero Eleline's footsteps?'

"It is. His adventures have been my dream since I was a kid. But it's not the same. Your idea of what the Brave Hero should be and mine... they'll never line up."

Three stone steles.

He stared down the O-PARTS that reproduced the consciousness of the ancient sages.

"What I can't accept most of all is the Eidos. You called it a means to save the world, but to me, it's nothing more than a product of your obsession——the desire to complete research that was left unfinished in the Divine City. ...When I saw Elies wounded at the Holy Land Canaan, how do you think I felt?"

It was the first time. The moment he had cursed his own lack of strength more than any other.

Never again. He never wanted to feel this regret again.

He had sworn it.

'As I explained earlier, the matter of Holy Maiden Elies was a necessary sacrifice for the completion of the Eidos——'

"The fact that you can say 'necessary sacrifice' with a straight face is exactly why I can't stay with you people!"

An eruption of emotion.

The roar in his chest became voice, and it carried to the farthest reaches of the Hermit's Chamber.

'Calm down, Ren. We are the ones who understand you. You know that, don't you? More than Kyelse, more than Fear, more than Elise——we have watched you. More than anyone in this world, we have watched over you.'

"Yeah, sure, you know all about me. But that's only because you've been desperately studying me to exploit my weaknesses, isn't it?"

'————'

"That's exactly why you investigated me inside and out but never spared a glance at what's around me. Can't you see what's happening with my spirits!? Ever since the Eidos appeared, Gnome and Salamander have been terrified like this!"

The two spirits at his side.

Their anxious gazes said everything.

"If your Eidos were truly a force to save the world, there's no way the spirits would be this afraid. Which means there's more to your story. Something you're still hiding."

'What do you mean by that?'

"There's still something else, isn't there? Something you're keeping from me on purpose——or maybe even a secret about this world that even you don't know!"

The prosperity of the Divine City Sieramiris and the ancient summoning arts.

The existence of "the shining ones" who drove them into decline.

And that those same beings had been the enemy in the End War——that much was probably true.

But.

"That's not all of it. You're still hiding something crucial. Otherwise the spirits' fear doesn't add up. The End War is the same way. If your explanation covered everything, Kyelse would have just told me from the start."

Kyelse had said she couldn't explain the End War.

Walk there on your own two feet and see it with your own eyes. What you feel there will be the truth of three hundred years ago, she had said. If the Sages' account were the full story of the End War, Kyelse would never have chosen her words so carefully.

The web of cause and consequence surrounding this world had to be far, far more complicated.

And the "truth" written in the Encore must reach into even deeper mysteries.

"I'm going to trust my spirits and my friends. I'll find the Encore myself, and I'll learn everything about the End War with my own eyes. That's where the secrets you were afraid to tell are sleeping too, right?"

'————'

The steles fell silent.

A scene of sages who had lost the words they should speak, unable to find the answer they should give.

"...I'm leaving. Fear-senpai is probably worried about me."

He turned on his heel in the directionless space.

But——

'Fool. Has humanity, across this vast gulf of ages, devolved into creatures this shallow?'

'Sword Saint Shion, Knight King Zelbright, and you. If even the chosen ones of this era amount to nothing more, then there is no reason for us to cling to anyone any longer!'

"——!"

He spun around as though struck.

But what had triggered Ren was not the Sages' outburst——it was the ominous presence surging from the Eidos at their center.

'——Anti-Eidos. Rejection-Eidos. Negation-Eidos.'

The completed Eidos.

It split into three bodies in midair——and vanished from the space in a single ripple.

"The Eidos!? Where did you send them!?"

'The only way to make one such as thee understand is to show thee their power firsthand. Once thou hast witnessed the legendary Three Princesses crawling on the ground, thou shalt change thy mind whether thou likest it or not.'

"...You sent them to Kyelse and the others!"

Researchers consumed by obsession——vengeance and the hunger to see their work complete.

They had deliberately dispatched the Eidos toward Kyelse and the others.

"You bastards. Stop the Eidos right now!"

'The Eidos will no longer stop.'

'Indeed. The authority to "activate" them belongs to us, the Three Sages of the Epitaph. But the authority to "deactivate" them belongs to their manufacturer——Elmekia Dusk.'

'The only one who can stop them is the one at the very top of the party. I'm sure you can figure the rest out.'

Rank One——Knight King Zelbright.

The one born with a might befitting the Brave Hero's return.

'If you feel like accepting the Eidos, we'll put in a word with the Knight King for you.'

'Third floor of Istalsil Outer Keep. The Celestial Mirror Chamber.'

'Best hurry. Or would you rather see what becomes of the Three Princesses?'

The Sages' inscriptions faded from the steles.

At the same time, the Hermit's Chamber began to collapse.

Left behind, Ren too was swallowed by the shockwave of the disintegrating space——

When he came to, he was standing once more in the first-floor atrium garden of Istalsil Outer Keep.

"Fear-senpai!"

The Archangel who had been beside him was gone.

So was the Eidos test subject that had been lying in wait for them. The lush green garden was exactly as before——only Fear and the Eidos were nowhere to be seen.

...If there'd been a fight, this place would be wrecked.

...But it's exactly the same as when I walked in.

Had the battle moved elsewhere?

Or was there some other reason Fear wasn't here? He didn't know. But——

"Third floor of Istalsil Outer Keep... the Celestial Mirror Chamber..."

Ren repeated the words the Three Sages of the Epitaph had spoken, as though reminding himself.

The completed Eidos.

Anti-Eidos, Rejection-Eidos, Negation-Eidos——the Three Sages of the Epitaph had boasted that with those completed forms, even the return of the End War could be stopped.

...And then there was that indescribable, eerie aura.

...Enough to terrify the spirits that badly.

His heart pounded, squeezing his chest.

Kyelse, Fear, Elise. He understood their strength more than well enough——but even so, the unease wouldn't go away.

Not dragon, not angel, not demon.

The Eidos were aberrant monsters that should never have existed in this world.

"Only one person can stop them..."

The pinnacle of the party that had manufactured the monsters. Knight King Zelbright alone had the power to halt the three Eidos.

——Each side wagering on what it sought.

What Elmekia Dusk wanted: the Goddess's Seal and the Dragon Seal.

What the Knight of Reincarnation wanted: the Eidos shut down.

A decisive battle, each party staking what the other desired.

"Fine. Bring it on."

Pressing a hand to his aching, pounding chest, Ren clenched his teeth until they could have cracked.

"I'll stop them. I will never bow to the likes of you!"

He kicked off the ground of the courtyard and broke into a run.

His destination: the third floor.

Toward the man who held the power to stop the Eidos.

Toward the place where Knight King Zelbright waited, Ren ran.

Istalsil Outer Keep — underground.

Arcane Domain: Spirit Play Box——

A pitch-black space blanketed in shards of black crystal.

The walls on all four sides were inscribed with relics — hymns composed of luminous divine script — and looking up at the ceiling gave the impression of gazing at a vast curtain of night sky, stars glittering within it.

A scene of tranquility.

Simply being here filled the heart with an inexplicable calm.

But this landscape, too, was an artificial primal vista created by the Three Sages of the Epitaph — something the Three Princesses who had come here had already seen through.

"A perfectly sealed space. There's no air circulation, so I can't pick up Ren's scent."

"Same with my divine protection. The Marking I placed on Ren still can't track him. Elise, how is your spirit sense?"

"...Hmm. There's an incredible amount of noise interfering. It'll take a while before it stabilizes."

The former Demon King Elise folded her arms, her expression half resignation, half exasperation.

"Honestly. This is what happens because Fear had to go find some hidden room."

"I couldn't help it — it caught my attention. A light monster fled mid-battle, and I chased it here."

Archangel Fear shrugged.

Pure-white wings had already manifested on her back.

"Though I never expected to run into something like this."

The golden-haired Archangel glared down at the monster before her.

No — calling it a monster might not even be appropriate. It was no low-level creature that could be summed up by such a simple word.

A complete spiritual wave-form entity, just like a spirit.

Anti-Eidos, Rejection-Eidos, Negation-Eidos——

Things that should not exist in this world.

Three aberrant spirits stood there, beating wings of translucent jet-black.

"I see. So it was these things. Eidos, if I remember right."

Elise loaded her words with a ferocity she rarely showed.

"I just remembered what Eleline said three hundred years ago. 'I saw the most pitiful existence in the world.' I'd heard they were incomplete back then, but to think there were people who spent three hundred years perfecting them..."

Beside her, Fear wore an expression of grief.

And then.

"A countermeasure against that thing from the End War, is it? Fight monsters with monsters. Why can't humans see that this is just a chain of destruction?"

Kyelse quietly closed her eyes before the three Eidos.

...How hideous.

...These monsters — and the weakness of the human hearts that gave birth to them.

The End War.

This, too, was one of that war's lingering embers. The battle from three hundred years ago still wasn't over.

"These things — we can't leave them to Ren."

That murmur was Kyelse's unmistakable true feelings.

"I agree completely. This is our responsibility. If we had cut out every root of the problem during that battle three hundred years ago, perhaps these wretched monsters would never have been born."

"Ren is Ren. We are us. We each have enemies we need to fight. Now, and always. And... that's what it means to become the Brave Hero. Ren."

The Three Princesses faced the Eidos.

They knew.

The vast, far-off distance separating Sword Emperor Eleline, who had quelled the End War, and the boy who chased after him.

No matter how high he looked, his back was still nowhere in sight.

So——

"You don't need to worry about us. Ren, all you have to do is keep moving forward."

Calling out the name of the boy somewhere in this castle, Kyelse turned to face the Eidos.

Behind her stood Fear, and Elise.

Dragon Princess Kyelse against the Negation-Eidos.

Archangel Fear against the Rejection-Eidos.

Former Demon King Elise against the Anti-Eidos.

"Starting over here."

"Then I shall begin as well. Don't let your guard down."

"Same to you."

The three girls broke into a sprint at the same time.

The Eidos——

To halt the power of the worst Higher Beings ever created by the ancient divine city.

Istalsil Outer Keep — second floor.

He had been sprinting through the vast corridor, its ivory carpet stretching endlessly, until his lungs burned.

...Every second counted.

There was only one way to stop the Eidos that the Three Sages of the Epitaph had activated. Reach the man who ruled this city as its sovereign and trigger his "shutdown" authority.

"Damn it. Where are the stairs to the third floor...!?"

"Hang in there!"

Gnome's voice, clinging to his back.

Above his head, Salamander floated along, barely clearing the ceiling. He had been running through the castle under the watch of two spirits for close to ten minutes now.

Ten minutes of all-out sprinting. And still no stairs to the third floor in sight.

...And what's going on?

...There's not a single member of Elmekia Dusk on this floor.

Not one of the defense force's knights, and not a single member of Elmekia Dusk's main force — their commanding officers. He hadn't encountered anyone.

Their pursuit had stopped dead the moment he reached the second floor.

——The calm before the storm.

In the eerily silent corridor, the echo of Ren's footsteps multiplied into layers upon layers.

He moved to wipe the sweat from his brow, and then——

"So that's how it is..."

He caught himself mid-stride and skidded to a halt.

Caltrops.

Strewn across the entire width of the corridor as if to block his path — dull-colored metal fragments. Each one was only a few centimeters across, but vicious spikes jutted from their centers.

Step on one, and it would punch through the sole of his boot and gouge into the flesh of his foot.

A placed trap capable of stopping even a charging warhorse.

"......"

Slowly, eyes fixed on the ground, he picked his way through the gaps between the caltrops.

...This trap isn't meant to stop me.

...It's just a calling card. A warning about who's waiting up ahead.

He knew.

In Elmekia Dusk, where the world's most exceptional swordsmen gathered and jostled for supremacy, he knew of the top-ranked swordsman famous for his mastery of caltrops and every manner of hidden weapon.

——A ballroom set into the middle of the corridor.

And standing at its center, glaring straight at him, was a middle-aged knight bearing a bastard sword.

"You're late."

The man let out a low laugh.

Close-cropped copper-red hair. Cold gray eyes. The skin exposed by his combat garb had been baked under scorching suns through years of training until it was nearly as dark as his black armor.

Rank 3, Heretic Knight Casadine.

"The Three Sages of the Epitaph — they must have been quite obsessed with you."

"...I knew it. Elmekia Dusk knew about them all along."

"You must have heard as well. Elmekia's O-PARTS were provided by the Three Sages. We realized their research, and based on those results, they deepened their own investigations further. Conquer every hidden realm in this world, defeat every party, subjugate Heaven and the Underworld alike. And beyond that——"

"Encore."

"Exactly. The pinnacle of glory. And it is already as good as in our hands."

The Heretic Knight dragged his bared bastard sword forward, closing the distance one step at a time.

"Setting aside those insufferable proverbs of theirs, the Three Sages' research is useful. ...They're madmen. Ancient lunatics possessed by the pursuit of knowledge. But thanks to them, we've narrowed the location of the Encore to Apocalypse Island. And we know the island is sealed by the Dragon Emperor, the Goddess, and the Demon King. Knowledge we could never have obtained without them."

"So that's how you knew about the Seals, too..."

The three Seals that locked away Apocalypse Island. Those should have been secrets known only to the Higher Beings who placed them — but for the Three Sages, who had been observing the world's progression since before the End War, knowing about the Seals wouldn't be surprising at all.

...The Three Sages were watching me, too.

...That's how Elmekia Dusk knew I had a Seal.

"Correct. Your Goddess's Seal. And the Dragon Seal should be in the possession of your companion, Dragon Princess Kyelse. Let us start with the Goddess's Seal — hand it over."

"Like hell I will. This Seal was entrusted to me."

It was nothing less than proof of the irreplaceable trust he had received from the Goddess of Heaven.

He would give it to no one.

"And if you're here, that means... he's beyond this point. Elmekia Dusk's Rank 1!"

He raised his sword toward the black-clad knight.

"I'm going to stop the Eidos. Those things should never have been activated."

"Unfortunately, this is our party's stronghold. I cannot overlook an intruder. — And in any case, it's the height of recklessness. You, challenging Zelbright!"

The top-ranked swordsman formed a defiant smile and raised his blade to a high guard.

Both surged toward their preferred striking distance——

"Thank goodness — I made it in time."

A metallic crash rang out, high and clear.

At the same instant, the Heretic Knight was flung backward as if struck by an invisible force.

"I believe this makes our second meeting, Rank 3 Casadine."

A young man's voice echoed through the ballroom.

The space Casadine had vacated shimmered, and from it appeared a golden-haired young man.

Hair that flowed like silk thread. Striking purple eyes. A face both sharp and gentle, wearing an elusive, androgynous smile — a swordsman impossible to pin down.

"You — Sword Saint Shion!"

The Heretic Knight's eyes blazed like a predator's.

Even under the killing intent radiating from the Elmekia Dusk officer, the golden-haired swordsman called Sword Saint remained utterly at ease.

"What a peculiar sight. The Sword Saint and the Second Coming of the Brave Hero, both before me at once."

"Well, I really didn't want to come to Elmekia if I could help it. But there are too many things in this castle that can't be left alone, wouldn't you say?"

Sword Saint Shion — the golden-haired swordsman called by that name — let out a breezy sigh.

And before him——

"...U-Um..."

Ren couldn't find the words.

To speak casually to the young genius swordsman would have been too presumptuous, given how legendary he was.

Yet the atmosphere the man carried was too gentle and mild for Ren to feel intimidated.

"Hey. Nice to meet you."

The swordsman before him turned back with a bright gaze.

A first meeting.

But there was no room for doubt.

"The Sword Saint..."

"See, Shion? Because you showed up late, we barely made it."

It wasn't the man himself who answered Ren's murmur, but the girl standing beside him — an Enchanter.

Enchanter Karei.

"I've been running nonstop. I'm drenched in sweat."

"I said I'm sorry. I got to talking with Lady Resflaze, and she just kept going and going. If I'd left her alone, she might've kept talking for another three years."

"...The worst."

The girl threw her arms up in exaggerated despair.

The sudden appearance of "Melody of the Spirits" in Istalsil Outer Keep. Staring the pair down, the man called Heretic Knight narrowed his eyes.

"Enchanter Karei — you used your concealment arts to hide Shion and guide him here. But how did you maintain concealment in this castle? Even angelic concealment arts should have been dispelled immediately."

"You think the greatest Enchanter of the modern era would fall behind some dusty old O-PARTS?"

The girl curled her lip into a smirk.

"Learn from the old, discover the new — isn't that how it goes? You people rely too much on the wisdom of the past. Face who you've been, discover who you can become. Never stop pushing forward. That's what makes life interesting."

"I see. Ancient versus cutting-edge... this time the advantage was yours."

The third-ranked member of Elmekia Dusk returned a combative grin.

Facing that man——

"Thanks, Karei. Now go below as planned. Link up with Elies and support her team. Well then — I'm not exactly eager, but let's do this. Rank 3, Casadine."

"I'm honored. To think I'd have the chance to cross swords with the Sword Saint."

Twin blades emanating a mystical glow.

The Sword Saint gripped his spirit-imbued armaments, and the Heretic Knight let out a low laugh at the sight.

"Now, Ren."

The Sword Saint spoke with his back still turned.

"The Eidos and the Three Sages of the Epitaph are something we can't ignore either. If you intend to stop them, I'll hold this position. But from here on, willpower alone won't be enough. You'll need a strong resolve of your own."

"...Resolve?"

"Yes. The readiness to lose everything you are."

His tone was gentle, yet carried a weight of severity.

"The Knight King waiting ahead is your polar opposite. If you fight him, everything you've built until now may be denied. Even so — will you keep going?"

A caution, a warning, or perhaps an admonition.

Before the words of the great Sword Saint——

"...Thank you. But I can't afford the time to hesitate."

He didn't waver.

His boots struck the ballroom floor as he pushed off.

Seen off by the Sword Saint standing at the ready, Ren dashed beyond the ballroom.

——Third floor, the Celestial Mirror Chamber.

Toward the battlefield where the Knight King waited.

The boy called Fake Brave Hero charged up the stairs without once looking back.

Watching that retreating figure——

"Huh. Worried for nothing."

Sword Saint Shion let out a small, wry smile.

Twin blades blessed with the power of spirits. He gripped one in a standard hold, the other in reverse.

"Rank 3 Casadine — what do you think the next Brave Hero should be like?"

"...What?"

"The qualifications for a Brave Hero. The conditions worthy of the title. If such conditions existed, what would they be?"

"Only the one who finds the Encore."

"An answer befitting you. But I've been thinking something a little different."

The murmur of a seer.

"I want to find out. That's why I came here."

The words spoken by the genius who had been granted the vessel of the Brave Hero — heard by no one——

Seeped into the swirling atmosphere of the world and quietly faded away.

A closed room.

It permitted no escape of air, no leakage of sound, no release of information to the outside.

The jet-black walls on all four sides were inscribed with relics — hymns composed of luminous divine script — their appearance evoking a natural starry sky.

Istalsil Outer Keep — Arcane Domain: Spirit Play Box——

"Huh. So this is the playpen for those three. Well — playpen and kennel, maybe."

Elise narrowed her eyes as if scrutinizing her target and glared at the monster before her.

The Anti-Eidos — its body a translucent red-violet.

It floated in the air just above Elise's eye level, but since its head lacked anything resembling "eyes," there was no telling where it was looking.

"But you're an idiot, you know. If you're gonna leak that much hostility, it's obvious you're glaring at me even without eyes."

She crouched down and traced her fingertip along the shadow at her feet.

...Splash.

A ripple was born from Elise's shadow. In an instant, it swelled into the massive form of a demonic beast.

A shadow of Cerberus. One of the countless copies that had multiplied after being summoned in the Elmekia plaza.

"Sic 'em."

At its master's command, the beast let out a howl. It kicked off the floor at a speed that shook the stagnant air and closed in on the Eidos.

"So what'll you do? This shadow's invincible, you know."

...Harmless, therefore invincible.

...It splits and nullifies in response to any impact or spell, remember?

One of the reasons Demon Imperial Princess Eliselis had wanted Cerberus as her familiar in the first place — its shadows possessed unparalleled reconnaissance ability.

A spell-type attack? Or a physical one?

She would send Cerberus's harmless shadow in to provoke the enemy into retaliating. Then Elise would gauge the enemy's abilities and strength from its counterattack.

...All right, what kind of attack are you going to use on Cerberus's shadow?

...Until you've shown every trick you have, this shadow will hound you forever.

Her absolute trust in her familiar.

The instant Elise stepped forward to watch its charge——

"————"

The Anti-Eidos spread its jet-black wings wide.

"Ies......orb......mihhya......lement■■......■■■■......■■......■■■......"

Void Kotodama.

The incomprehensible language chanted from the Eidos's mouth transformed into "something in the shape of words." It corroded the space itself as it bore down on Elise and Cerberus.

And then——

"Get back, Cerberus!"

In that instant, an indescribable dread washed over Elise's entire body.

"Cerbe——"

There was nothing.

No scream, no resistance, no sound, no light — Cerberus's shadow simply ceased to exist right before her eyes.

All that remained was Elise, alone.

"——What is this curse!?"

An unknown wavelength that even the Demon King's spirit sense couldn't decipher.

The moment she saw the supposedly invincible shadow of Cerberus vanish, Elise didn't hesitate — she kicked off the floor and launched herself into the air.

Simultaneously, she layered every defensive spell she could think of, stacking them deep.

The Kotodama came for her. Swelling as it devoured the space around it, it pursued the airborne Elise and coiled around her right leg.

There was no pain.

Only a ferocious chill and a wrongness that crawled from her foot up her spine.

——A small hole, punched clean through her thigh.

The instant one of the Eidos's Kotodama "characters" had touched her thigh, it erased the flesh as cleanly as a rubber eraser removing pencil marks.

"Ha — not bad!"

Her deployed defensive spells had been torn through like nothing, leaving a coin-sized hole punched clean through her thigh.

But she had been prepared for this. Given the sheer wrongness of that wavelength, it was no surprise that demonic defensive spells couldn't hold against it.

...If anything, getting off with just this is cheap.

...Now I know — you can't block that curse, can't intercept it. Dodging is the only option.

She landed, favoring her right leg.

She couldn't afford even the time it would take for the Forbidden Spell.

Among the spells she could cast instantly in this form, she would hit it with the strongest.

"Night Jewels!"

Seven black gemstones sheathed in lightning-like radiance.

The spell crystals born above Elise's head spiraled upward into the air.

In that instant——

"Arma■■"

Around the wing-beating Eidos, thousands of red-violet light blades materialized.

Their edges swiveled toward the airborne Elise——

"Shatter to pieces!"

"Loar■■"

Meteors of light collided head-on with black projectiles.

The Eidos's Kotodama called down a rain of countless light blades. Shooting them down one after another in midair were the seven black gemstones Elise had created.

Massive crystal-shaped jewels shattered into countless fragments, each shard colliding with an Eidos light blade and annihilating it in mutual destruction. They melted together in midair and vanished.

A crystalline resonance.

Hundreds, thousands of spell crystals shattering and fading — the sound cascaded and echoed endlessly.

"The jewels — they lost!?"

It was Elise who spun away.

Even after every last jewel fragment had been destroyed, more than half the Eidos's light blades still hung in the air.

And despite that——

"Arma■■"

Around the floating monster, the same number of red-violet light blades materialized again.

Blades filled the space above. There was no telling how many now hung in the air. At the sight, Elise found herself laughing despite it all.

"Uh — this might be kinda bad."

One of her most confident spells had been beaten back by the Eidos's light blades. A head-on clash — and she'd been overpowered completely.

...That was the strongest I could fire from my fastest stock of spells.

...Losing in both speed and power — that wasn't in my plans.

On top of that, she still couldn't get a read on the enemy's full capabilities. That was another variable she hadn't planned for.

It weighed on her like nothing else.

"But——"

"————"

"That emotionless void of yours really ticks me off. Nothing reflected in there — pure emptiness, through and through."

The Eidos spread its wings once more.

Looking up at its provocative stance, Elise murmured through gritted teeth.

"Fine. This time I'll blow you away for real."

The crimson light blades rained down again.

Against the barrage filling her entire field of vision, Elise charged straight in. No Night Jewels interception. No defensive spells.

Just herself, plunging into the blinding rain of light.

She ducked under the first blade, twisted past the second and third, then deflected the fourth coming from behind with the palm of her hand.

A hiss.

Her spell-focused palm split open, and blood sprayed.

But she didn't stop.

Light blades grazed her cheek, sliced her shoulder, carved a deep gouge from her flank — and still the girl in the body of a child, the former Demon King, didn't slow her pace for even an instant.

Hundreds of light blades swept past her vision from front to side.

And she reached the Eidos's feet.

"Gotcha."

"Loar■■"

Point-blank range — no escape.

Merciless light poured down from every direction around Elise, and——

"Night Fragment — 'World of Darkness'"

A black wind erupted.

The howling miasma blasted away every incoming light blade.

Cold, chaotic, jet-black miasma. It swirled before the red-violet Eidos, contracting rapidly.

"A moment too slow to finish me off."

What emerged from within the miasma was a bewitching, dark-skinned demon of devastating beauty.

Demon Imperial Princess Eliselis.

The clothes Elise had been wearing transformed into sinister hues. Her tied-up hair came undone, swept constantly by the vast black miasma billowing around her.

——The Forbidden Spell of the Demon King's rebirth.

She hadn't been dodging those light blades recklessly. She had forgone even defensive spells — what Elise had been building this entire time was this Forbidden Spell.

"Now then, wretched beast — are you prepared?"

From the Larval Form of Elise to the Demon King's true form from before her reincarnation.

The enormous drain on her spell power meant the Forbidden Spell could only be maintained for an extremely short time — but the spells cast as the Demon Imperial Princess existed on an entirely different plane of power from those of the Larval Form.

"Spear."

"Arma■■"

A word of power.

Black miasma converged on the beautiful demon's raised right hand, forming a single massive lance.

"Aim——"

"Loar■■"

The thousands of crimson light blades the Eidos unleashed disintegrated into mere particles of light the instant before they could touch the spell crystal in Eliselis's grasp.

"Well now — more fragile than I thought."

Release of power.

The princess of the Underworld flashed a mischievous grin reminiscent of Elise.

"Pierce."

"Wait, Elise!"

The Archangel's warning rang out.

But it was too late.

Eliselis's black lance had already been hurled at the Anti-Eidos, and————

It was impaling Eliselis herself.

"Spell reflection...? No — that's not it. Interference with the spell phenomenon itself!?"

Blood spilling from her lips, Eliselis looked down at the black lance piercing her own chest.

——Interference with spell phenomena.

An ability that could intervene in even the Demon Imperial Princess's power, distorting causality to reflect it back.

She hadn't sensed a thing until the reflected spell struck her.

This was the Anti-Eidos's innate ability, built into its very body. Just as a mirror reflects light, the structure of this Anti-Eidos was designed to reflect spells.

Understanding that——

"...Ha... I see."

With a ghastly smile, the demon girl wrenched the black lance from her own chest.

"Well done — daring to interfere with my spells!"

She twirled the lance once and flicked the blood from its tip.

No blood sprayed from the wound where the lance had been — but beads of pain-sweat glistened on the Demon King's brow.

Even so, the princess of the Underworld was smiling.

"My apologies, Fear. Your warning was wasted on me."

"Honestly. And here I went to the trouble of testing it with my own body first."

The golden-haired Archangel stood where Eliselis had turned.

Glaring at the spirit with the translucent golden body — the Rejection-Eidos — Fear gently wiped her lip.

"Is that your injury?"

"Yes. I cut my lip. On my own fist."

Physical reflection.

Because she had grasped that property a split second before Eliselis — by testing it on herself — she had been able to sound the alarm against spells.

...The red-violet one reflects spells.

...The golden one reflects physical attacks.

"Kyelse, how are things on your end?"

"I tested it, but this one doesn't reflect anything."

Kyelse nodded, uninjured.

Her opponent was the cerulean-bodied Negation-Eidos.

"But it regenerates infinitely."

The Eidos facing Kyelse was equally unscathed.

At a glance, it seemed no real combat had occurred — but that was wrong. Kyelse had actually engaged before either Eliselis or Fear.

Punches and spells.

She had crushed its wings, burned away its tail, and completely obliterated both arms — and yet.

"To be precise, it's not actually regenerating, either. It seems to be a type of phenomenon interference that 'undoes' the attack it received, erasing the event itself."

"So even poisons or curses would be erased?"

"I'd think so. ...It's a pain to keep saying it, so I'll just call it regeneration — but its head regrows in under a second after you crush it. Quite the absurd regeneration rate. And this one is craftier than your two. The moment it takes damage, it goes fully evasive and refuses to attack until it's restored."

"Can you chase it?"

"I tried. That's why my outfit is ruined."

Kyelse heaved a sigh.

The rear half of her skirt had been eaten away, fibers and all, devoured by something.

——Void Kotodama.

Rush in carelessly to press the attack and that incomprehensible assault would be waiting. Yet any damage would be undone within seconds.

"I nearly took a hit from that too. That Kotodama is bad news. It feels similar to what we faced during the End War. The wavelength reeks of danger."

Less than a minute of combat. But it had been more than enough to understand just how nightmarish the Eidos truly were.

——A Kotodama that defied both defense and interception, leaving evasion as the only option.

——Dodge it and close the distance, only to be overwhelmed by thousands of light blades.

"And even if you take the light blades and force your way in, what's waiting is your own spell reflected back at you with causality warped on top."

She gripped her black lance and looked back again.

"So — what do we do? Swap opponents?"

"It makes sense. Switching opponents is certainly one option."

Fear ran her fingers through her disheveled hair.

"I target the spell-reflecting one, and you target the physical-reflecting one. That alone won't be enough to beat them, but the strategy itself is worth trying. But..."

"But?"

"......"

Silence was the Archangel's answer to Kyelse's question.

And then.

"No — forget it. Kyelse, Elise, forget what I just said."

A soft laugh.

The girl who had once been feared as the Tyrant Angel by her own kind — dreaded for her warlike nature and unrivaled power — now wore a dangerous smile that hadn't crossed her lips in three hundred years.

"I've decided. I'm taking this one after all."

She pointed at the golden Rejection-Eidos — the one that reflected physical phenomena — and declared it.

"Making me punch my own cheek... what humiliation... I will never forgive this. Its special properties? I couldn't care less. I will beat this thing down with my own fists!"

"Knew you'd say that. Ha — we think alike."

Eliselis nodded to the fist-clenching Fear with a defiant grin.

Her own opponent: the red-violet Anti-Eidos.

The one that reflected spell phenomena.

"Petty tricks don't suit me after all. Kyelse, keep handling your one. I'll take this one."

"Suit yourself. I don't care which one I'm fighting."

The dragon girl nodded back with easy composure.

"More importantly — what about Ren? Have you found him?"

"I've pinpointed his location with spirit sense. Third floor of the castle. I sent a Cerberus shadow that way, so we should have a status update shortly."

The Three Princesses exchanged answers with cool composure.

The absolute confidence of the girls who had once quelled the End War, backed by their overwhelming power.

But — if there was one miscalculation, it was a misreading.

The true strength of the man the Fake Brave Hero was about to face.

The heretical hegemon.

The Three Princesses did not yet know of the man who had dismissed even the Eidos as impurities.