An afternoon after a light rain.

One corner of Holy Land Canaan was engulfed in an unprecedented stench and ominous black smoke.

"Wh-what a very... innovative flavor... m-my..." hack!

"She collapsed!?"

Ren caught the elderly woman as she toppled over, spitting chunks of black biscuit from her mouth, and shook her shoulders hard.

"Are you okay!? Stay with me — keep your eyes open!"

"...Yes, I can see a lovely flower field. Oh, my late husband is beckoning from the other side..."

"Don't go toward the light! Kyelse, water! Water!"

He forced water down the throat of the old woman, who wore a peaceful smile.

"...Huh!? Wh-where am I?"

"Phew. That was close..."

Watching the woman come back to her senses from the corner of his eye, Ren let out a weary sigh.

"Just barely made it. Right, Kyelse?"

"Hm. Was something dangerous happening?"

The girl tilted her head, genuinely puzzled.

Kyelse — a girl defined by her radiant silver hair, deep emerald-green eyes, and delicate, ephemeral features. Her lightly pigmented, slender frame looked striking in her blue-toned traveling clothes.

With the kind of looks that could walk straight out of a fairy tale, Kyelse's true identity was the Dragon Princess who reigned over all dragonkind.

And there she stood in an apron, arms folded with satisfaction.

"Well? My cooking — so powerful it felled even the cooking instructor in a single blow."

"You're not supposed to fell people with cooking!"

Ren jabbed a finger at the black smoke billowing from the oven and raised his voice.

This was the kitchen of the Main Spirit Palace, the base of operations for Party "Sacred Vessel of Canaan Pilgrimage" — a kitchen that single-handedly fed over a hundred party members.

...Well, the real problem was...

...Was it my fault for not stopping Kyelse when she said she wanted to join the cooking class?

The class had started with over a dozen participants, but aside from the elderly instructor, Ren, and Kyelse, everyone had already evacuated the kitchen.

All because of the smoke and stench Kyelse had caused.

"You cranked the oven too high and burned it to a crisp, oven and all. And... what even is this godawful smell?"

"The scent of labra berries I mixed into the biscuits."

Kyelse produced a leather pouch of red berries from her apron pocket.

"They grow on labra trees in the Valley of the Dragon. I like the refreshing scent. I thought they'd make a nice secret ingredient for the biscuits, but it turns out that when humans eat them—"

"When they eat them?"

"The stimulation is too intense and they lose consciousness. A lesson learned for next time."

"You can't use the cooking instructor as a test subject!"

"Hmph. The refined palate of dragonkind is still too advanced for humans to appreciate."

"I have no idea where that confidence comes from, but anyway — no sneaking weird stuff into the biscuits, got it?"

He gingerly picked up one of the pitch-black biscuits from the counter.

"Still, with a smell this intense... maybe if we made Elise eat one, it'd wake her right up..."

The infiltration of The Hegemon City Elmekia. The violent clash with Elmekia Dusk.

Six days had passed since then.

The reason Ren and the others hadn't resumed their search for the Encore after escaping the Hegemon City with the Sacred Vessel of Canaan Pilgrimage was simple: Elise's condition.

"It's been almost a week and she still hasn't woken up. Is she really okay?"

"Don't worry. She's simply in a state of suspended animation from expending too much spell power. The backlash from using the Forbidden Spell to revert to her Demon King form."

"Suspended animation sounds pretty serious, though..."

"On that front, there's nothing to worry about. What matters more is that her opponent was strong enough to push Elise that far."

"...The completed Eidos, huh."

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

The encounter with the Three Sages of the Epitaph.

And the completed Eidos they claimed was the product of their research — Ren had seen it with his own eyes.

...The way Gnome and Salamander had recoiled from that completed form.

...He'd never seen them that terrified before.

The ones who'd fought such a powerful enemy were Kyelse, and then Archangel Fear and former Demon King Elise.

They'd barely won the battle, but Elise had temporarily exhausted her spell power and had been asleep for six days straight.

"Fear-senpai's been checking on her, so I'm not too worried, but..."

"Indeed. Elise woke up just a moment ago."

The one who answered Ren's murmur was Fear, appearing at the kitchen doorway.

"Is this... the scent of labra berries? Kyelse, honestly — the fruit of this tree is so rare that it's supposed to be banned from leaving the Valley of the Dragon."

"It's fine as long as Calra doesn't find out."

"Be that as it may, these berries really do stink. Dragon senses of smell are quite troublesome."

With an exasperated smile, Fear produced a folding fan from seemingly nowhere and began fanning away the black smoke.

The Archangel of Heaven.

A girl defined by her deep blue eyes and silver-gold hair.

Beyond her beautiful features, her composed bearing and gentle smile gave her a more mature air than anyone else in the group.

"Fear-senpai, what did you mean about Elise waking up?"

"Just now. She was still saying she was sleepy, but if you go talk to her, she should be able to respond properly."

"Oh, good. But if she's still tired, maybe I should leave her alone for a while."

Relief washed through him at the news that Elise was conscious again.

And just then, right on cue—

"What is this? This insane stench... even if you left raw garbage to rot for a hundred years and dumped it in a sewer, it wouldn't smell this bad."

Parting through the black smoke came Elies, draped in her golden vestments.

A girl with striking lapis-blue hair and intelligent, deep green eyes. In Holy Land Canaan, the land of spirit worship, she was revered as the world's last Ancienter — their holy maiden.

"Hey, Elies. Done with the service?"

"I'd just finished and was about to take a break when one of my subordinates stopped me. This smoke is spilling out of the Main Spirit Palace garden and causing a stink all over the neighborhood. Kids are crying from the smell."

"...Hmm. So this fragrance really is beyond human appreciation after all."

Kyelse let out an exaggerated sigh in her apron.

"This bitterness is what makes it good..."

"I have no idea where that confidence comes from, but anyway — I'm bagging up these black biscuits."

He triple-layered the cloth bags, making sure to seal them tight so no smoke could escape.

"Sorry about all the fuss."

"It's fine now that we know what caused the smoke. Besides, I had something to give you anyway."

Elies produced a single envelope. Its design was printed in gold and black, with an air of quality that made you hesitate to handle it casually.

"Oh my, that envelope..."

"You recognize it, Fear-senpai?"

"I do. Gold and black decoration... Ren, could you flip it over?"

With Kyelse and Elies watching from either side, he turned the envelope over.

"Holy Fiora Journey Academy?"

Printed on the back was the name of the academy he'd been attending all along.

"But why do you have this, Elies?"

"It was addressed to our party. They probably found out we'd been working together in the Hegemon City from the gossip sheets. That news must've spread worldwide by now."

Elies answered, arms folded.

"As far as the public's concerned, the Sacred Vessel of Canaan Pilgrimage gets credit for exposing Elmekia Dusk's development of the Eidos — a dangerous weapon. But people across the Hegemon City saw you were involved too. Remember what I told you on the ship back? You've become something of folk heroes."

"And this envelope has something to do with that...?"

He tore open the edge and pulled out the letter.

"...Huh. There's just one line — 'Scholarship: Approval Notice.'"

"Ren, may I see? Ah, well now."

Fear was the one who spoke up, as if she'd figured it out.

"It's the honors student program. Students with outstanding performance receive a tuition waiver for the duration of their enrollment. I was offered the same in my first year."

"Oh yeah. I applied for that when I first enrolled, knowing it was a long shot, and got rejected."

"It seems you've been approved on re-evaluation."

"Re-evaluation...?"

"Exactly what Elies just said. Word of our exploits has spread far enough to reach Holy Fiora Journey Academy across the sea. In other words—"

The Archangel continued with an amused lilt in her voice.

"They've offered you an honors spot to keep you from dropping out. To put it bluntly, that's what this is. Unlike Achendia, this time people actually saw us in the Hegemon City. News of Party 'Knight of Reincarnation' made it across the continent, and your name came up in eyewitness accounts — the academy must have been quite surprised."

"They heard about me?"

"Yes. Since you only filed a leave of absence, you're still officially enrolled. A current student achieving all this is tremendous publicity for them, so they want to keep you. That's the real meaning behind this scholarship."

Fear carefully tucked the tri-folded letter back into the envelope.

"They might even refund your past tuition."

"Seriously!? Two years of tuition is no joke — if I could get that back... wait. Would the paperwork mean I'd have to go back to the academy?"

"Yes. That's their goal. And it'll probably be a headache when you do. They'll grill you on every detail of your travels."

Fear pressed a finger to her lips, smiling wryly.

"What will you do?"

"...Nah. I can't afford to sail back across the ocean when we're in the middle of searching for the Encore. I'll see if I can get my family to handle the paperwork."

Ren let out a sigh and shrugged.

"Your parents?"

"My sister. She'll get the tuition refund sorted without me having to deal with all the interrogation. That's the best move."

"Sister..."

Kyelse was the first to react to that word.

"So, something like Calra?"

"I have no idea what you mean by that, but my sister doesn't transform into anything or attack people. She's a perfectly normal sister."

He folded the envelope and tucked it into his pocket.

"Unlike me, she goes to a regular school. She should have time to file the application."

"Then that's settled."

Elies, who'd been watching the whole exchange, clapped her hands impatiently.

"Now everyone's helping clean the kitchen. The ceiling and windows are covered in soot from all that smoke."

"...You heard her, Kyelse."

"...We'll help as well, but you should be doing most of the work, you know."

"Hmm?"

Everyone in the room was glaring at her, and Kyelse folded her arms with an uncomfortable expression.

"Human cooking is difficult..."

"Come on, Kyelse. I'll wipe down the windows. You take the mop and do the floors."

"The floors... The Dragon Princess herself, mopping floors..."

Feebly gripping the mop, the dragon girl drooped her shoulders in defeat.

Night had fallen over the Holy Land.

The sweltering heat of the day had given way entirely to stillness, and the wind drifting through the window carried a chill that raised goosebumps.

Feeling the cold night wind of the Arcana Continent on the back of his neck—

"Okay, so 'It's been a while' is too formal for family. Then 'Hey! Long time no see!'... that sounds like I'm forcing the energy. Ugh, let's see..."

"Hey, hey, Ren? What are you doing up so late?"

"Writing a letter. I told you earlier, remember? I'm asking my sister to handle the scholarship paperwork, so I'm writing her a—"

"I didn't hear about that. I was asleep."

"...Asleep?"

He stopped his pen mid-draft and spun around.

"Heya!"

"Elise!?"

A small, dark-skinned girl had appeared behind his chair at some point.

Former Demon King Elise. Long hair in twin tails that shifted between black and brown depending on the light, and reddish-brown eyes brimming with curiosity. She looked about ten years old at most.

Gravely wounded in the End War three hundred years ago, she'd been forced to reincarnate. But her true identity was the very Demon King who had once ruled the Underworld.

"Are you okay to be up already?"

"Sorry for the wait! Man, how embarrassing — you saw me like that."

Elise stuck her tongue out with a sheepish grin.

Then she spotted the fountain pen and paper on the desk.

"I see. So that's why you were writing a letter?"

"Yeah. I left my school on a leave of absence, so I figured I'd let them know I'm okay and ask my sister to handle the scholarship application while I'm at it... but I'm stuck on what to write."

Back at Holy Fiora Journey Academy, he'd made a point of going home every break. Writing letters felt unfamiliar and oddly embarrassing.

"You're so sweet, Ren. If it were me, I'd just tell my little brother 'I've got something to say, so get over here.'"

"Isn't that a bit harsh...? I mean, your little brother is—"

"Yep. Running the Underworld as its Demon King."

Elise leaned against the desk, nodding happily.

Ren already knew about the ruler of the vast underground world — the Underworld. Elise had told him. A demon who happened to be her younger sibling sat on the Demon King's throne.

"Honestly, my little bro is pathetically weak for someone in my family. And dumb, and timid — no wonder Achendia got fed up with him."

"...The current Demon King is weaker than the Five Great Disasters?"

"You bet. My bro only became Demon King as a replacement for me. Of course the Five Great Disasters would be frustrated. Achendia's the only one who actually rebelled, though."

The Five Great Disasters of the Underworld were legendary demons — the counterpart to Heaven's Seven Luminaries.

All five had vied with Elise for the Demon King's throne, but they'd accepted a subordinate role because they'd fought her and acknowledged her strength. Their loyalty hadn't been sworn to the current Demon King — her younger brother.

"But if you go to the Underworld, Ren, the Five Great Disasters are gonna flip out. Achendia and Mia would be thrilled — they'd finally get their rematches."

"...I really don't want that, but I have to go whether I like it or not. The current Demon King holds the last Seal, right?"

"Yep. The Demon King's Seal. You've got the Goddess's Seal and Kyelse has the Dragon Seal, so once we collect the last one, we should be able to reach the Isle of the End."

"Following the message the Sword Emperor left behind, I — along with the Dragon Emperor and the current Demon King — sealed away the Isle of the End."

That was the history Goddess Resflaze of Heaven had told them.

It was none other than Sword Emperor Eleline who had asked for the island — the battlefield of the End War — to be sealed. The only way to break through the barrier surrounding it was to obtain Seals from the Goddess, the Dragon Emperor, and the Demon King.

"The most promising lead on the Encore's location is the Isle of the End, so... I hope we find it."

A competition among heroes that had lasted over a century.

The title of Brave Hero — only the second in all of history — would be bestowed upon whoever found the Encore. Every party had its own reasons for seeking humanity's greatest treasure, but Ren's group, "Knight of Reincarnation," had a different motive entirely. For Kyelse, Fear, and Elise, the Encore was the final keepsake of the companion they'd traveled with three hundred years ago — Eleline himself.

They weren't searching for treasure. They wanted to find his final writings so they could give him a proper send-off.

That was why they wanted to find it before anyone else.

"And me too..."

"You too?"

"Yeah. Eleline's my ancestor, so it feels weird to say I owe him — but I do. I want to thank him."

It was because Eleline had formed a party with the Three Princesses that Ren was here now, invited by them to travel the world.

"Finding his final journal would be my way of paying Eleline back."

He set his pen down on the desk and took a deep breath.

"...Alright, that's enough letter-writing for tonight!"

"You finished?"

"Nah, I'll finish it tomorrow. I can't come up with anything decent. Man, I'm beat. I haven't sat at a desk this long since I left the academy."

He stood up from his chair.

"Plus, I need to start packing tomorrow. Getting ready for the Underworld."

"Yeah! I can't wait to be your guide! I'm gonna make sure you get the full Underworld experience!"

Elise bounced up and down, her voice bright with excitement.

"...Just so we're clear, nowhere scary."

"Of course not. The Underworld's just like a big backyard. There are starving beasts everywhere and poisonous swamps and you'll get hopelessly lost because it's so huge, but it's basically a backyard."

"That's not a backyard!"

A dangerous underground world teeming with powerful beasts and belligerent demons. The Underworld was one of the last unexplored frontiers — humanity still hadn't mapped even a fraction of it.

"I'm counting on you for directions."

"Leave it to me! Though first we need to get to the Gate that leads to the Underworld. Ren, can I borrow your map?"

Elise rummaged through his things and pulled out the map.

She spread it across the desk and began drawing lines with the fountain pen.

"We go this way, along here."

"So northwest from Canaan... Hm, but there's a danger zone marked past here."

The area labeled Vanessa Wetlands. The red warning mark on the map indicated the entrance to a Wilds — a region where the environment was so brutal that even party expeditions were restricted.

And the walking route Elise had drawn cut straight through it.

"This is the closest Gate to Canaan."

"Sounds like there's gonna be trouble before we even reach the Underworld..."

Staring down at the map alongside Elise, Ren swallowed hard.

"I'm terribly sorry for the wait in this heat. You've been waiting for Lady Elies all this time."

At the entrance of the Main Spirit Palace.

Under the blazing sun, a woman in deep purple vestments bowed her head.

Nebirim, a Healer. Among the ranks of elite female practitioners who formed the Sacred Vessel of Canaan Pilgrimage, she was the officer entrusted with serving at Elies's side.

"I know you'd like to set off as soon as possible."

"N-no, it's fine! We're the ones who said we wanted to leave at noon today."

He hurried to respond to her courteous apology.

Elise had regained consciousness two nights ago. They'd given her all of yesterday to rest and recover, while Ren finished his letter to his sister. Now it was finally time to depart from Canaan, and they were waiting to say goodbye to Elies.

"Still, she is running late... She went to the chapel before dawn this morning. Her prayers should have been finished by noon."

Nebirim shaded her eyes against the overhead sun, squinting.

"Please wait here. I'll go check on her."

"She's coming. I can smell Elies getting closer."

"Huh?"

"I can sense her presence. The way she walks — I can tell it's her from the footsteps alone."

"I can feel her spell-power waves too."

Kyelse, Fear, and Elise each said this in their own way, then turned in unison toward the building's door as if on cue.

"I'm so sorry — I kept you waiting."

Elies burst through the door, out of breath, a few dozen seconds later.

"...Incredible. I wonder how far away they could sense her."

"Sense?"

"Oh, nothing. Never mind."

He waved off Elies's puzzled look with a wry smile.

"More importantly, what happened? You came running — did something come up?"

"Not really. The service ended on schedule. It's just that when I got back, I found a message from Shion waiting. A Telepathy came in to one of our practitioners, and I got held up listening to the report."

"Shion... You mean Sword Saint Shion?"

That encounter at Istalsil Outer Keep was impossible to forget.

When Ren had been rushing to reach Zelbright, Shion had stepped forward to take on Heretic Knight Casadine in his place.

"The Telepathy was handled by his Enchanter, Karei, but apparently it wasn't just sent to Canaan — it went out to cities all over the world simultaneously."

"That's rather flashy for someone like the Sword Saint."

That was Nebirim, Elies's aide.

She lightly combed her fingers through her bangs, slightly weighted down with sweat.

"He's not the type to draw attention to himself. Which means whatever the message contains must be extraordinarily important. And urgent."

"It's an alert," Elies said in a low, measured voice.

"Have you heard of the Silent Agency?"

"The Silent Agency...?"

He exchanged a glance with Fear beside him.

"In simple terms, it refers to 'an anomaly that destroys hidden sites around the world.' It's a rumor that's circulated among certain ruin researchers and parties for a very long time."

Nebirim picked up where Elies had left off.

"The first report dates back over a century. A party exploring a hidden site inhabited by ferocious Roaming Beasts discovered ruins deep within. But when they entered, they found the murals, steles, and what appeared to be an Obelisk — a piece of O-PARTS — already smashed beyond recognition. That's where it started."

"At first, everyone assumed it was just natural weathering," Elies continued. "But then similar cases of destruction kept turning up one after another in places all over the world — too many to explain away as coincidence. Some of the people who found them were senior members of our own Sacred Vessel of Canaan Pilgrimage. The scale and persistence make it impossible for a single person. But it doesn't feel like any kind of natural phenomenon either. There's a sense of intent behind it."

"Intent...?"

"Deliberate destruction."

The girl who led the Holy Land spoke in a low, tight voice.

"As far as we know, the targets are ruins, murals, steles, treasures, O-PARTS, and Gates — the Gates connecting to both Heaven and the Underworld — all buried deep in hidden sites."

"The Gates too!? Why would anyone do that?"

Fear was the first to cry out.

As the Archangel, this clearly hit close to home. Her voice carried an unusual edge of genuine alarm.

"That's... extremely difficult to believe. The Gates of Heaven are vital doorways connecting Heaven to Earth. They're hidden by angelic concealment wards, guarded by Cupid sentries, and above all else, protected by the blessing of the Seven Luminaries..."

"And yet Shion saw fit to issue a worldwide alert."

Elies continued, her voice restrained.

"Until now, the destruction had been limited to hidden sites. But this time, it happened right on the doorstep of the Hegemon City — a major city. That means the Silent Agency may be escalating. Canaan included, there are cities all over the world that still preserve ancient ruins. Shion's warning is that the Silent Agency's rampage might extend into those cities. But on the flip side—"

"A chance to catch the Silent Agency?"

"Plenty of cities will think so. The cautious ones have probably already hired top-tier parties as security. Our own party may end up assigning people to guard the ruins around Canaan for a while... That's the situation."

The holy maiden pulled back her hood and looked up at the sky, having spoken at a rapid clip.

"The Silent Agency destroyed the Gate in Elmekia. And it happened while we were fighting Elmekia Dusk. Don't you think the timing is a little too convenient?"

"Definitely unsettling..."

A mysterious anomaly that destroyed ruins across the world. It might have been terrifyingly close to them all along.

"If we keep traveling, we might run into it..."

"Yes. After all, we're dealing with something that indiscriminately destroys Gates and ruins wherever it goes. There's no telling what might happen if you encounter it. Please be careful on the road."

"I'm not worried about you all, but Ren — if you learn anything new about the spirits' fear, let me know. I'll come running."

Nebirim, and then Elies.

Seen off by the Healer and Ancienter who represented the Sacred Vessel of Canaan Pilgrimage—

"Yeah, thanks — both of you. I'll keep in mind that there's something sketchy called the Silent Agency out there, and that we might cross paths with it."

Ren bowed deeply.

"We really owe you. Not just me — Kyelse, Fear, and Elise too."

"Indeed. You have our thanks. Mostly on Elise's behalf."

"She was sleeping in a human bed the whole time and looked more comfortable than I've ever seen a demon look. Quite the sight."

"...H-hey! So what! I was tired!"

Kyelse and Fear wore teasing grins. Between them, Elise turned away in embarrassment.

"Well then — take care."

"You too. I'm sure we'll cross paths again somewhere. ...The world is vast and fate is seldom kind, but sometimes the bonds between people can overcome even that."

The Ancienter girl softened her expression with a quiet smile. At some point, two spirits had appeared at her side, drawn to her as always.

'Sylph remembers Ren's name!'

'Until we meet again, somewhere.'

Sylph, the primordial spirit of wind, darted playfully above Elies's head. Undine, the primordial spirit of water, settled beside her with a serene smile.

"May the spirits' blessings be with you on your journey."

The holy maiden pressed her palms together and smiled.

With that prayer at their backs, Ren left Holy Land Canaan behind.

Northwest of Holy Land Canaan—

The moment they cleared the city walls, a road of ochre dust stretched before them, sand whipping into the air.

"...Ugh. We have to walk through this?"

"Only for a little while. The Arcana Continent is notorious for its extreme temperature swings between regions."

Fear delivered this in a cool, unruffled voice.

The fact that she hadn't broken a single bead of sweat despite the shimmering heat haze probably came down to the fundamental difference between a human body and an angel's.

"By the way, Ren — there's something I want to discuss while we have the chance."

Kyelse, walking alongside him, tugged at his elbow.

"What is it?"

"What Elies was saying earlier. This thing humans are calling the Silent Agency. The human name threw me off and it took a moment to work out, but..."

She kept walking at an unhurried pace.

Eyes fixed straight ahead, the Dragon Princess spoke with a steady, resolute voice.

"If it truly exists, there is one entity I can think of that matches what the Silent Agency is."

"...You already figured out what it is!?"

The anomaly attributed to the Silent Agency.

After Elies's explanation, it should have felt like grasping at clouds — impossible to pin down. Was it some natural phenomenon? Roaming Beasts? Or was some organization behind it?

"Well, honestly, we were half-skeptical too while we were listening. Human ruins crumble for all sorts of reasons."

Elise walked with both hands clasped behind her head.

"Tectonic shifts can flatten ruins in a heartbeat. Even without anything happening, stone erodes after a couple centuries. Sometimes a Roaming Beast or demon just passes by and smashes things up for fun."

"...But you're saying this is different."

"You're getting sharper, Ren. Yep — none of the things I just listed."

Elise looked back.

The angel girl walking at the rear of their group of four wore an uncharacteristically dark expression.

"Right, Fear?"

"Yes. Damage to ruins would be one thing, but destroying a Gate is not something a Roaming Beast could accomplish on a whim."

Fear had reacted with shock when she heard the Gate of Heaven had been destroyed. Ren could barely recall ever seeing her startled — the last time had been when he'd summoned the spirits.

Meaning this news had shaken her just as deeply.

"It's someone you know too, Ren."

"Someone I know?"

"Yep. Think about it. Destroying the Gates of Heaven and the Underworld — basically picking fights with both angels and demons without a care. There aren't a lot of things with that kind of nerve."

A beat of silence.

"They're probably searching for the Encore too. Wandering the world, destroying ruins along the way... Ring any bells?"

A faint tension threaded through her voice.

Before he realized it, Elise had stopped walking and was gazing up at him with those large eyes.

"The enemy from the End War three hundred years ago. The ones we fought."

"...That's it."

Past and present clicked together.

The ancient nemesis that the Three Sages of the Epitaph had been pursuing for so long had finally shown itself to the world.

"We were attacked. By 'the shining ones,' who came from the end of the world."

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

The fall of the Divine City Sieramiris, and the reason the ancient summoning arts had been lost to the world.

And the very catastrophe that had triggered the End War.

"But yeah... if they're the Silent Agency, then it makes sense that something's been roaming the world since ancient times. And the theory about them being after the Encore fits too."

The catastrophe Eleline had fought. If the Silent Agency was a remnant of that force, then naturally they'd be wary of whatever their old nemesis had left behind.

...They'd have to be concerned.

...There's no way they could just ignore the Encore, not knowing what's written in it.

That was why they were scouring the world's hidden sites in search of the Encore — and destroying ruins and Gates along the way. The theory explained everything.

"This is still unconfirmed. For now, just keep it in the back of your mind."

"...Got it."

Fear's words cut right through to what he'd been thinking, and Ren exhaled slowly.

He'd been walking under a scorching sun.

And yet the sweat trailing down his cheek carried an uncanny chill.

"To be honest, we'd like to know the Silent Agency's true identity ourselves. Because those beings were supposed to have vanished completely from the world after the End War. Isn't that right, Kyelse?"

"It is."

Kyelse, who had been walking in silence, gave a slight tilt of her head.

"We drove them out. They should have been gone. But..."

"If remnants were hiding in the shadows, operating as the Silent Agency, then we may not be the only ones hunting the Encore. That's what it would mean."

"Although their goal wouldn't be finding the Encore — it'd be destroying it."

Dragon Princess Kyelse, Archangel Fear, former Demon King Elise. Ren clenched his fist as he absorbed the weight of what the girls who'd survived the End War were telling him.

...He couldn't let the Silent Agency get their hands on Eleline's Encore.

...That was what this came down to.

"One more reason to find the Encore."

"Sure is. But hey — nothing's confirmed yet. It doesn't change our plans for the Underworld. First we need to get the Seal from my little bro. It's been ages since I've been home — I wonder how everyone's doing."

Elise skipped merrily down the road.

"...Though I'm not going easy on my little bro. If being the current Demon King has gone to his head, I'll drag him down to the underground torture chamber and make him cry until he begs."

"That's terrifying! Are you two on bad terms?"

"Nope, we get along great. Don't they say the closer you are, the more you want to bully each other?"

"Nobody says that!"

"Ehehe, I can't wait."

The little demon girl skipped on ahead.

He watched her back grow smaller in the distance.

"The shining ones, huh..."

Ren said it aloud, as if to convince himself.

He could accept the possibility that the Silent Agency was the remnant of the End War's catastrophe. But the real question was: what was that catastrophe, exactly? Three hundred years had passed since the End War — they couldn't be human. And it was hard to imagine they were dragons, angels, or demons, either.

...What the hell are they?

...What was Brave Hero Eleline fighting against?

"Walk there on your own two feet. See it with your own two eyes. Whatever you feel in that moment — that's the truth of what happened three hundred years ago."

That was what Kyelse had told him.

The truth of the End War was something he had to find for himself.

"I wonder when that'll be..."

"When what will be?"

"Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself."

He offered Kyelse a light reply as she watched him with those emerald-green eyes, and Ren walked on through the scorching wasteland.