A distance over fifty meters rapidly shrunk. Forty-five, thirty-five, then twenty until only a mere ten remained. And with each step that Edmond came closer to Hellbound, it looked more and more like he was rushing to his own death.

  It’s fine. It was so obvious back then that I don’t even register in what remains of his mind. Not a threat, not worthy of attention, so I’ll be safe no matter how close I get!

  His approach was careless, loud, and only focused on speed. As expected, Hellbound’s behavior did not change in the slightest as he maintained a slow, careful pace, likely fearing a sudden attack from Areadbhair now that Tatyana was out of sight. If he was a bit too hasty trying to find her, he could be exposed to a crippling counterattack.

  If his transformations are linked to his injuries, then that counter on its own might just do him in.

  Hellbound was at his most powerful, by a wide margin of difference. Even so, he was also by far at his weakest. The next attack he received would decide it all, and Edmond could make it happen.

  Five meters. Three meters.

  It’s done—!

  But it was not.

  There was no way it could be, not when against any expectations Edmond held, his assault became a complete failure. He had not missed, Hellbound had not shown resistance to anything new, nor had he struck back all of a sudden.

  Instead, he went for a powerful leap, nearly ten meters into the air despite his size, and landed around twenty-five away with a shrill cracking noise. That fanged skull’s empty dark orbits… now settled on him, aware of his presence.

  The only thing somehow more shocking was what appeared to be an actual expression, a sort of emotion in that alien body language. One that seemed to hint at greater surprise from his sudden action than what Edmond himself felt.

  “Ooo… rah…? Hoh…”

  A horrible parody of a voice, incomprehensible in nearly every way, but Edmond found a much-needed confirmation in it.

  Hellbound was confused, and Edmond was no longer. Instead, he cursed his arrogance to ever think that such a crucial thing was no longer in play.

  … Yes, it only makes sense. This guy is an absolute survivor. No matter how torn his mind is or what happens to his body, if there’s anything that will always remain in him, it’s that.

  Had he run with too much confidence? Was it something in his gaze, or maybe his opening motions? Perhaps the direction he chose to approach from, the range he waited to reach…

  … No, it honestly did not matter. If his survival instincts remained keen even in such a state, he may as well have noticed things that Edmond would never even think of. That was just who Hellbound was at his core, and what allowed him to prevail over so much.

  He hated himself for it, but Edmond could not help but admire such a thing. Though neither that nor anything else would change what came next, as Hellbound dug his claws into the ground and stood back strong.

  “Eagh… Ooo, eagh…”

  There was no way he actually knew Edmond’s plan, but that did not matter. He simply would not allow him to get close ever again.

  An inescapable death from afar.

  “—!”

  The first crystal spike sprouted by his feet. Not nearly as massive as the one that had blocked his attempt to escape with Tatyana, but just as fast and there was no doubt about its sharpness.

  Edmond jumped aside frantically, barely dodging the attack he had already anticipated. A second and third spike went for him before he had even set foot back on the ground.

  Not only are they quick, but he’s ready to aim on prediction too!

  Unable to avoid these new spikes, Edmond quickly swung his drawn shortsword to block the nearest one. His arms trembled from the impact, but they did not hurt much as the force instead drove him back. A desperate defense turned into an effective retreat.

  More will come now!

  The appearance of a new crystal spike was certain, right between his grounded legs this time. Now finding himself able to outrun the spike, confusion entered Edmond’s thoughts.

  Did he mess up the timing? No, no way he would. Then… Is it about distance?

  Amidst the barely missing minefield of purple crystal, Edmond looked back up toward Hellbound. He had been twenty-five meters away before, but after that hurried parry, he now stood around forty meters from him.

  He can attack anywhere he wants, but size and speed suffer the more distance there is between him and the target… It’s probably something like that.

  Which meant that as long as Edmond remained a certain distance away, he should be able to deal with the incoming spikes whether by dodging or blocking. But if he dared step closer…

  … It might be the end, and it just so happens that’s what I need for anything to work out.

  A choice between success and safety… No, between a slim chance and life itself. Those were the only options Hellbound would allow him, now that he had become a target.

  “… Hah…”

  Even so, a brief, almost voiceless laugh escaped Edmond’s lips. Like white breath in the cold, curling his lips into a proud smirk.

  After all, despite the huge danger he was in, despite the injuries that piled up on any step he took forward, despite feeling whatever energy that kept him going slipping away by the second… It all proved he was seen as a threat.

  Far from his own thoughts, or the words of an ally like Tatyana, this time it was an enemy’s actions that told him he could do something. That measures had to be taken so he would not lead to the Unmasked’s downfall, that if he did not fight back…

  … Edmond would be able to make a difference.

  Too little, too late. If you’d killed me before, this would’ve been over already…

  He approached once more, and the crystal spikes aimed for him with lethal speed and weight.

  Just as expected, and no easier to deal with for it. He dodged two, blocked one with his blade, but three of them grazed him and that was enough. Temple, flank and calf spilled warm blood, staining his clothes and even the path he ran across.

  … But now, you’re done. No matter what you try now, I’ll take it and do what I can to bring you down!

  His gray eyes went wide, clearer than ever before as the criminal’s black orbits, empty as they might be, met them head-on. Not as an annoying bug, a mere bother at most, but as an equal enemy to never leave unchecked.

  Their distance from each other was now twenty meters. Hellbound probably could have retreated again if he wished, but increasing the space between them would simply cause the situation to reset. The pressure he could exert would diminish, and Edmond would start closing the gap once more.

  Instead, while just twenty meters could be volatile, Edmond still needed to be much closer to proceed. Hellbound remained safe, and more than that, he remained powerful.

  The spikes were relentless, more deadly in every way they could be, and Edmond felt his limit approaching. The prana strengthening he had undergone would wear off soon, and while he could likely reapply it, he would be dead before he finished casting the spell.

  Approaching further likely meant facing crystals he could not counter, staying at his current range was death on a timer, and retreat would not only be difficult, but also do away with progress he may be unable to achieve on subsequent attempts, with Hellbound having a much better read on his movements.

  No option was good, but he had to choose. Fast.

  Damn it, in that case… I’ll have to advance. Even if I’m pierced worse, so long as I can still move, then I might just be able to…!

  Thinking as quickly as he could, Edmond stepped forward and was immediately overwhelmed.

  “Tsk!”

  He gnashed his teeth, purple and red invading his view.

  Edmond swung his shortsword faster than he could ever remember, while his legs appeared to tear from his own rushing pace. He tried to use the sturdiness of the crystal to his advantage, bouncing off his blocks and parries to move faster and more unpredictably, but there was only so much that could do for him.

  A deeper gash was left on his shoulder, so dangerously close to his neck, while his waist was cut on both sides. Worst of all was still the slash at his thigh, compounding onto the pain of his broken femur and making him see pure white.

  He would not make it. That much was clear now.

  But before he could regret his decision, much of the purple crystal around him had disappeared, replaced by hot silver light fast on its track toward Hellbound.

  “You come with me now!”

  The familiar voice rang painfully in his ears as he felt a sharp pressure around his torso, one that dragged him away right as he saw Hellbound rapidly jumping out of the silver light’s path.

  The surroundings briefly became a blur until he fell on his side, back turned to something solid and rough.

  “Ow!”

  It was not pleasant at all.

  “Tough it out. I don’t have time to let you down all knightly-like, so be a big boy for me here.” Tatyana reprimanded him with narrowed eyes looking to the side, beyond the lump of debris they now hid behind.

  “You can move?” Edmond instantly regretted his stupid question, but the surprise was such it had come out before he knew better.

  “Barely. Turns out you were right, the time to act was very obvious. To save your ass, that is.”

  Her look certainly had a tinge of relief to it, but that did not make it any less strict.

  “Yeah, yeah… Sorry for not thinking he would suddenly pay attention me, when until now I’ve been less than a fly over his food.”

  “So rude to imply I’m his ‘food’, first of all. Second, what were you even trying to do!? You were no match for him before, and even I can’t measure up now, so what’s the matter!?”

  “It’s not so simple.” Edmond replied, warily pressing over his worse injuries as he refilled the prana empowering him. “You’ve seen it even better than I have, these wild transformations always come after he gets some nasty injuries. His power can compensate to an extent and probably stops things from getting worse on their own, but it doesn’t heal him or anything. Which means…”

  “… The next strong hit that gets him will be it. That’s your idea?”

  Edmond nodded, feeling the spell slowly running its warmth across his body. His inefficiency was obvious, and the duration would definitely be less this time, but it was still enough to work with.

  “There was an actual chance if I’d gotten close enough, but even in that state his instincts have not worsened at all. You know the rest. So… did that shot just now take up one of your stocks?”

  “Sure did.” Tatyana’s voice conveyed just about the same disappointment he felt. “It was a complete sneak attack too, and he still dodged it. Even if you managed to make it past all that crystal, I’m pretty sure he’ll get away before you can do anything, so—”

  “Okay, okay! I get it! It’s impossible, he won’t ever be hit. Next time he transforms, those wings will let him fly too. It’s just a matter of time before we’re killed; whatever! You don’t have to tell me all that!”

  Edmond turned away, just barely containing his voice to not be found out as he tried to look past the debris, toward Hellbound who may very well be about to find them. He could only catch a mere glimpse, however, before he was dragged back by his collar to meet Tatyana’s eyes, both of them visible from so close-up despite the Dullahan mask.

  “I wasn’t finished, twerp. Now, if you’ll allow me to; do you have another plan? I lost one stock, I have up to two more, and we can both move. So tell me: How are we going to hit him?”

  Sharp eyes of the clearest turquoise color, which alongside her voice somehow showed the same confidence in him that she had only showed in herself.

  In a different situation, Edmond would have been left speechless. A pathetic, grinning mess. But now, he stopped at the grin alone.

  “… Yeah. There’s something else we can do. It’s risky, but…”

  Much to his disappointment, Tatyana’s eyes went wide in disbelief as soon as he told her his plan.

  “… Then you’ll be scorched to cinder!”

  “I know, I know! It’s because of that that I need you to…”

  One last plan to decide it all. Hellbound, or them.

  In less than ten seconds, only one side would prevail.

  Javier’s patience was wearing thin, though that was using very generous terms. It was instinct that drove him mad, and also instinct that kept him from acting on that madness.

  The enemies were nowhere to be seen, but they were alive for sure. One of them had long since proven her ability to hurt him, and the other… was still a mystery to him. He might as well have been a pebble, a non-issue that could barely even be considered an annoyance. But when he approached, Javier moved back before a sliver of thought crossed his fractured mind.

  Why had that been the case? What was it that made that pebble somehow different? How did it cause such a reaction in him? Questions were numerous, and even if his mind were to be whole again, they would likely still lack any answers. But despite lacking detail and clarity, there were truths he simply knew to be undeniable.

  That pebble… No, that enemy held the ability to threaten him in some way. The instincts that had recovered another minuscule shard of his consciousness were not mistaken, and neither was his retreat.

  He would die. She would die. Both had to be killed, and nothing else mattered.

  His search came to an end not from his own action, but theirs. Before Javier took another step, he felt intense light and heat coming from his left. He turned with quickness unbecoming of his size and witnessed the massive, layered wall of flame that was suddenly erected.

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  Fiery waves pushed against each other, distorting air and ground alike with sheer heat that banished all surrounding darkness. A display that could be called beautiful as well as fearsome.

  But to Javier, such an inferno was nothing but a pleasant breeze, and the enemy knew that already. There was no way a warrior of her caliber expected her flames to suddenly hurt him again, which meant only one thing.

  A diversion. The most intense smokescreen one could ask for.

  He stood firm on the ground, allowing the searing storm to reach past him unimpeded. Without the slightest discomfort, Javier dedicated all his attention to finding the enemy within that bright conflagration.

  And find them he did. Amidst the fire that should have reduced anything aside from Javier himself to ash, he a particularly dark silhouette could be barely distinguished. It approached fast, soon revealing arms, legs, a head… Traits that made it increasingly more familiar.

  The Dullahan armor the girl had worn, only that now there was no longsword or lance in its grip, but rather a considerably shorter blade. The shortsword wielded by the ineffectual boy.

  Though maybe it was no longer proper to belittle him like that, as the strategy he had employed was more than respectable. Making full use of such a dangerous cover through the Dullahan’s protection, weaker from accumulated damage but far from gone. A sound plan, but still far from enough to reach Javier as he now was.

  The armored silhouette continued to approach, reaching past the eighteen-meter limit from around a minute ago until only fifteen meters separated them. Javier could have easily avoided him by just rushing away, but committing to a movement when he had no sight of the other enemy was unwise, exposing him to a predictive shot. Besides, while this was as close to him as the boy had ever gotten, it was also a range at which Javier was more powerful than he had ever seen.

  He could easily deal with him, while remaining aware and ready for whenever she appeared, by attacking.

  Spikes of purple crystal burst from the ground nigh-instantly, piercing the Dullahan and whatever was inside it without issue from three simultaneous directions.

  One down, Javier thought for a moment. But right before he started looking for the next enemy, something moved when it should not have. The shortsword in the Dullahan’s grip.

  Not as if thrown in one last, desperate attempt to reach him, but rather rising without being followed by so much as the armor’s hand. A different hand gripped tightly onto it, one belonging to a different silhouette that quickly became more apparent, as if the Dullahan’s shadow had detached itself from it.

  The boy. Not wearing the armor anymore if that had ever been the case, he stepped onto it as a new foothold while a pair of insectile wings fluttered wildly by his back, keeping as much of the flames as they could at bay.

  But the fire was intense, there was no way they could deal with it all, and several parts of his body were clearly licked by the fiery storm. More clearly than that though, was the lack of concern he showed for such a thing.

  His eyes were wide and focused, ready to take the opening that Javier shuddered to have given.

  “… Then you’ll be scorched to cinder!”

  “I know, I know! It’s because of that that I just need you to…”

  … lend me that sylph of yours, so it can blow the flames away while I sneak up behind Dullahan!

  Edmond leapt as powerfully as he could, given an extra boost to his air momentum by the fluttering elemental at his back.

  It was a tremendously fast movement, easily allowing him to soar above and past the newly appearing crystal spikes to turn the gap into less than ten meters. Still, it was not something that Hellbound could not avoid. Any moment now, the Unmasked would flex his four massive legs, and dash aside to render this effort fruitless…

  … Except he did not. Hellbound remained stationary, even as he saw the purple crystal miss Edmond. Just as planned.

  If you run away, Tatyana may just snipe you while you’re unable to dodge. You’ll have to kill me if you want to stay safe!

  Edmond’s burns were still few and tame enough that he could ignore them, gripping his shortsword with both hands while quickly gathering prana around it. Now a mere five meters away, there was only one target in his mind as he ‘flew’ toward Hellbound’s head.

  A head that as soon as the ground spikes stopped appearing, began to sprout three large, extra horns even faster, covering over half of the remaining distance between them.

  Even when backed into a corner like this, no matter how little time we give him to react or how torn his mind is, he can still respond accordingly!

  Yet again, Edmond could not help but admire the enemy before him. Anticipating seven out of ten setbacks and reacting to the three that he could not predict, his defense had no gaps. Edmond had no idea how he might compare to better-known criminals, but in terms of mindset, Hellbound was perfect as a combatant.

  And as much as Edmond’s respect for him grew, his hatred swelled by twice that amount. If only a few things in his life had gone differently, he may have become a prodigious knight, a successful international agent, or even a superhero he would marvel at. Now, the qualities that could make him such were about to take Edmond’s life instead.

  He knew from the start that he could not match Hellbound directly, warranting a layered plan to succeed at every step in order to win. But an unexpected element had been suddenly thrown in, rendering the plan itself faulty from the start.

  The result should have been obvious, one that Edmond knew was possible from the very beginning. Still, it was that very concept, to know that he would either succeed or die within three meters…

  If you can react to three unexpected threats…

  … that made such a result so easy to defy.

  … then I can deal with at least one!

  Edmond’s body turned and twisted, driving strong momentum into his waist and shoulders as he swung the unassuming shortsword toward the closest horn, allowing the remaining two to slip past him.

  The prana-charged blade slid on the crystal with a shrill noise, briefly causing sparks to appear as new gashes appeared on his cheek and knee. They were shallow, and Edmond found his feet landing on Hellbound’s massive skull right after.

  You’re done!

  As the shortsword clashed and broke against the purple crystal, the barely contained prana finally exploded. More than Edmond had ever found fit to use, with such density he would never be able to shoot it fast enough, let alone preserve its integrity if shot as a projectile. But from such a close range, none of that mattered anymore.

  Orange light blasted forth, washing over the crystal body alongside the weakening storm of flame. And within one single second, the powerful spell disappeared into particles as the bright blaze died down.

  Leaving nothing but a thirty-centimeter-long, ten-centimeter-deep crack in Hellbound’s skull.

  The wound he received was of no consequence, but Javier remained just as panicked as before.

  The reason for his survival was obvious. Regarding his most recent transformation, while relatively little had gone to improve his defense, that was only when it came to the girl and her Crown. He had still received two attacks from the boy before being nearly killed by her, and managed to acquire resistance to his spells henceforth.

  The strength difference between them was clear, and such an attack would not even come close to taking him out if he was in good condition, even without the chance to adapt to it. But as injured as he was now, that power had probably saved Javier’s life.

  The victor had been decided by their unique abilities, not their skill. This time, as brief as it may have been, the boy had proven himself a terrifying enemy and even surpassed Javier as a survivor.

  He noticed the exhausted body falling from his head, the wings on his back having perished from the heat and exertion. There was nothing the boy could now do to prevent his fall, and eventual death from the crystal spikes.

  But Javier refused such an ending.

  He may have been an enemy, but he was also a survivor worthy of respect, who despite his weakness had momentarily outdone him and filled his very soul with dread. He deserved death by Javier’s own hand, and he would deliver…

  … would have delivered. He wanted to, but his body did not move as he wished. His hand, his arm; both of them refused to budge, kept in place by… a strange, gray material.

  It was rubbery, barely elastic, sticky and yet so solid, scattered in splash-like blankets from his claws by the ground till halfway up his forelimbs. When had such a thing been set up? When the spell’s blast momentarily blinded him? He could not hope to claw the boy to death like this.

  … He could not move. And before the two of them, over fifty meters away and yet so visible even before he turned his head, a singularly brilliant source of light shone.

  The girl, with her mighty lance held high as deep turquoise eyes focused with the intensity of a hunter’s.

  He had to avoid that. If there was anything Javier could not afford to be hit by, it was the Crown. This was the moment he had remained still for, so he could be ready to respond in whichever way was necessary.

  But now he was stuck still. Were he to have ten seconds more, or even as few as three, he could have probably broken free of the unknown substance, or at least peeled it off the rock-hard ground regardless of its adhesive properties.

  Without such time though, the gray gunk would pin him down without fail.

  For a single moment, that ugly, unassuming thing was stronger than him.

  Edmond fell fast, devoid of strength.

  He knew from the start that all his attacks were probably useless against Hellbound; brute force was quite lacking in his arsenal. But he only needed the Unmasked to believe it was not to distract him from his gamble, one that sacrificed every single containment marble currently in his possession.

  Before throwing them, and even before jumping, he knew the natural conclusion of his plan. In the best-case scenario, succeeding on every step and somehow managing a miraculous twist during his fall, Edmond would still have his spine broken by the crystal spikes on the ground. There was a minuscule chance he might survive, but at the cost of his ability to move normally, if at all.

  He refused to think beyond that. He was a coward, and such a future still scared him.

  But as he glanced at both sides during his descent; toward the desperately trapped Hellbound, and then a Tatyana surging with overwhelming power, he realized.

  For victory here, that’s such a cheap price.

  Tatyana dashed forward, blowing away the ground and debris around her as she became a silver meteor. Even as Hellbound continued his attempts to escape, desperation now obvious in his every move, he was able to send another wave of purple spikes into her path.

  She dodged the vast majority of them, easily reading through his frantic intentions. Their size, speed and even number increased the more she approached, so a few managed to eventually reach her.

  But the two purple spikes shattered immediately as they blocked Tatyana’s front, spreading shards of crystal, as well as metal around her. Continuing her advance without hesitation, she dropped Blutgang’s hilt and what remained of its blade, the eidolon finally reaching its limit after assisting her one last time.

  She would reach Hellbound for sure. For the one second that remained, he could not stop or even delay her. And yet, as she jumped and passed by the falling Edmond, she still slowed down through what could be nothing but her own will.

  Her eyes, which had focused on nothing but the target up to now, suddenly toward Edmond’s own. As if it had been her plan all along, a condition she would not dare hit Hellbound before meeting.

  You’ve got to be kidding me…

  With more time at his disposal, Edmond might have laughed. Of course Tatyana had to go ahead and do away with his ‘best-case scenario’, bringing forth a new one all on her own.

  Before a single extra thought crossed his mind, Edmond reached out for Areadbhair’s handle and gripped it as tightly as he could, his hand partly overlapping with Tatyana’s own.

  He felt his body being forcefully dragged back up, then forward through the air to meet Hellbound’s crystal skull once more, which had grown a fourth, final, largest horn likely from Tatyana’s minuscule delay.

  To think the Unmasked could still make use of such a small difference in time… But that was all he could manage.

  Tatyana’s arm rushed forward and so did Edmond’s, thrusting the lance of brilliant silver at the same time as prana from both of them swirled together, entering the Crown without restraint.

  Lance and horn clashed head on, and the latter shattered away under the onslaught of rippling silver and orange light. In an instant, Hellbound’s giant body was engulfed by the peerless radiance.

  Far from finished, the shining prana continued to travel forward, blindingly fast and destructive as it gouged apart the earth and pierced a massive hole in the crater’s wall.

  An instant like an eon. After it, only the wind blowing dared defy the resulting silence and calm.

  Until being joined by the fall of two knight cadets.

  “Ow!”

  “Shit!”

  Edmond and Tatyana hit the ground roughly, steadily losing their grip on Areadbhair right after. Not through any fault of their own, but rather because of its gradual vanishing as Tatyana likely lost the strength to maintain its form.

  As they currently were, however, it was only a matter of time before they let go. Sprawled with their backs to the floor, they panted from an exhaustion so intense that it numbed otherwise unbearable pain.

  If Hellbound could stand back up from that attack… it would no longer be a battle, but merely a formality. Victory was decided already, for them if he had gone down, and for him if that was not the case.

  But somehow, Edmond was quite confident they had done it. Or was it merely the relaxation from knowing that everything, truly all they could manage, had been done?

  Whatever… Doesn’t matter as much as…

  “Can you… please get off?”

  If there was anything that still bothered him, more out of awkwardness than physical discomfort, was Tatyana’s head which now rested on his upper arm.

  “Fuck no… I told you… Human pillow over ground pillow any day… I hard lucked out falling here, so just leave me be for a bit longer…”

  “…”

  He did not have it in him to argue back, and honestly, he somewhat enjoyed it despite some minor worries about circulation.

  “That was an insane stunt.”

  “… I am aware.”

  “Like, the fact you even thought of something like that is very concerning.”

  “Sorry, I guess...”

  “… You do have a cool side in the end, is what I’m going for.”

  There we go.

  “That’s not what it sounds like. Why not just say it, eh~?”

  Edmond quickly realized he had overrated how numb he was, as soon as he felt Tatyana’s painful pinch on his thigh.

  “Ow… Doing that when I can barely move is so messed up...”

  “Right back at you. Think a pinch alone is enough for me to get even?”

  He laughed. She laughed. It mattered so little that such little movement still intensified their discomfort for a moment.

  “So, what about your familiars? I want to think you can just summon them again, but since they went down in the battle itself…”

  “You’re on the right track.” Tatyana explained. “It’s different if I myself make them dissipate, but two of them were just destroyed by the crystals, and the third was forced to its limits as it burned away.”

  “… Sorry about that.”

  “Don’t be.” He felt her barely shrug at his arm. “Even now, I can’t think of anything else we could’ve gone for. We wouldn’t have survived without sacrifices, and somehow neither of us went down.”

  Edmond did not know how to respond. If forced to answer, he was definitely glad that Tatyana and himself had made it, but eidolons and elementals still had a primitive ego even if they did not fully qualify as ‘beings’. There was no way he could be fully comfortable with their sacrifice.

  Despite logically knowing that it had been absolutely necessary, Edmond found himself looking at the sky wistfully. He finally realized how dark it had gotten, which somehow made the various colors in the air stand out more.

  Colors from the concentrated prana in the crater… and something else. Something very important.

  “… There’s still something left to do.”

  They were on time. The rift still needed a few more minutes to form.

  “Yeah.” Tatyana replied near-instantly. “I can take care of that now, so you go check on Hellbound.”

  “…? You don’t think he…?”

  He asked, feeling her head gradually lifting from his arm as she sat back up.

  “We’d be dead if he could still get back up, but we should still confirm if he’s dead or just down for the count.”

  Edmond gulped, trying his best to force back the discomfort welling up. Starting to stand back up, he spoke.

  “I don’t have any more marbles.”

  “That’s alright.” Tatyana waited a few more seconds, just sitting. “I can still restrain him in some other ways if he’s out cold, but I want to know if I have to. I’m not exactly itching to cast any more spells, you know?” Finally, she rose to her feet, her gaze fully focused on the swirling mass of countless colors.

  “… Got it.” Edmond breathed in deep, then followed suit.

  Priorities. He was evil and caused so much harm. There was no other way…

  He told himself again and again in his mind. Doubts remained for sure, but he could do as requested. Barely seeing the silver prana glow again out the corner of his eye, he walked over to the hole in the crater’s wall.

  Now mostly devoid of any prana enhancements, Edmond became more conscious of each and every step he took. Of course, at least when it came to his broken femur, some localized strengthening was necessary and made things slightly more bearable, but his pace was undeniably laborious and painful.

  He expected it from the start, but it was still very annoying to need a rest, no matter how brief, after only a few steps. He resumed his walk as soon as possible, now close enough to truly recognize the size of the recently formed tunnel.

  That was all Edmond could distinguish, as way before he even stepped into the entrance, something very strange fell and… stood in his way.

  Not nearly as massive as Hellbound’s recent form, but still heavy enough for Edmond to feel ripples on the ground. Not much dust arose from the impact, allowing him to make out its three and a half meters in height and mostly humanoid structure. Describing it was easy enough, but finding a term that fully fit it? Not so much.

  It was entirely made of some kind of metal, mostly in plates, but also in mesh at several key areas. Its color was primarily black, with its many parts sectioned like a well-built armor. However, the blue light filling its ‘eyes’ and sparse linings on its limbs, coupled with the strangely uniform connections of its many pieces, brought something much more robot-like to mind.

  It was also noticeably damaged, with cracks running across its otherwise lustrous surface, half-melted plates on its right arm and pieces broken off its protruding shoulders and knees.

  There was still so much to observe about the strange figure, but the sudden increase in the brightness of its eyes took over all of Edmond’s attention.

  “Back off. You’re done here.”

  The voice echoed loudly, with a very mechanical tint to it. Rather than something purely artificial, however, it was like a person speaking into a microphone. There was clearly a human voice at its core.

  … One that Edmond felt he might have heard before, even if just once.

  “Hey, there’s no need to be so aggressive. You really think he’s looking for another fight?”

  So much had been his surprise at seeing the mysterious ‘mech’, that he only noticed the person sitting on one of its broken shoulders once they spoke.

  A person as hurt as the machine was damaged… and with a much more recognizable voice.

  What… Just what are they doing here!?

  Edmond stepped back and turned to Tatyana, just in time to see a brilliant silver spell being released from her hand.

  A condensed flash, shifting into a longer and sharper form as it traveled like lightning in reverse toward the forming rift, before coming to an absolute stop.

  It had not hit its target or even come particularly close to it, but was simply stuck in a shell of uniquely dense prana. Standing out for its single, distinct crimson color and the presence of another figure within it, standing by the crater’s edge.

  At first, Tatyana’s spell struggled and rampaged in the red grasp, but quickly settled down as it grew weaker, smaller… then finally fizzled away. All within a single second.

  Tatyana’s expression showed maybe the rawest confusion a person could muster.

  “Just who’s—”

  “It’s better if you don’t try again. Otherwise, we’ll have to strike back.”

  She could not finish the first of probably many questions before another voice interrupted her. An echo very different from that of the machine, but with a similarly familiar essence to it, traveling between her and Edmond as wind blew in its wake.

  Upon turning, they saw perhaps the most abnormal arrival yet. A humanoid figure of normal size, clad in armor to an even greater extent than Tatyana was in her Dullahan. A bluish armor radiating power very similar to Hellbound’s own and possessing a truly beautiful luster, resembling minerals but in a way closer to marble than to the purple crystals.

  And yet, all that paled in comparison to the shock coming from beyond, caused by an amply spread pair of cyan-colored wings, layering many ‘feathers’ of half-solid, half-luminous prana. Prana which, despite their many obvious differences, only resembled one other.

  That of Tatyana’s Areadbhair.

  How could it…? No, wait, if it’s…

  Four people. Only one he had seen the face of, but among them there were three voices he had definitely heard before.

  And if those three were who he thought… Then the fourth person’s identity was an obvious answer.

  One he knew already, but it may as well have been in some alien language. Something he could never hope to pronounce, even as that fourth figure descended from the crater’s edge… and approached until he could no longer escape from the truth.

  “Wild night, isn’t it? I’ve never seen you looking worse, Mondi.”

  Hilda.

  Hildegard Tirpitz, alongside her team, had saved the rift from assured dismantling.