Flora was stunned by the sight before her.
It wasn’t just Ludger’s sudden appearance that shocked her—his magic now was so overwhelming, so divine in scale, that it felt as though he had transcended the limits of humanity itself.
‘What is this...?’
Flora, who perceived magic more intuitively than anyone else, could tell.
Ludger was no longer bound by human constraints.
The air around him was filled with a sweet, intoxicating fragrance.
Colors so vivid they blurred her vision danced across her sight, a kaleidoscope of radiance.
That splendor brought only death to the Church priests, but Flora could not take her eyes off the beauty of °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the magic before her.
The stimulation—so strong that it numbed both sight and smell—made her mind falter in grasping reality.
Yet that bliss lasted only a few seconds.
When Flora regained her senses, she realized that within those few seconds, every Church pursuer had turned into a cold corpse.
There were no visible wounds on their bodies.
She couldn’t understand what had happened.
Mana had surged around like a storm, and then, as if struck by some invisible force, only the enemies had perished.
“Professor... what on earth...”
“Do not worry about Sheryl Wagner. She is safe. Her injuries have healed—there will be no aftereffects.”
“Th-Thank you, but... have you returned? Where were you all this time?!”
“There’s no time to explain.”
“Ah, right! The Lumos family—their movements are strange! It’s as if they’re preparing to turn against the Empire—”
“That’s exactly why I came to find you.”
Flora’s eyes widened.
“Me?”
“Yes. The time has come.”
“What... time?”
“The time for you to settle things with your family.”
“......”
At those words, Flora’s body trembled.
She couldn’t understand with her head what Ludger meant, but her heart felt it.
“M-Me? How could I possibly...”
“I know it’s a heavy burden for you. But running and avoiding it won’t change anything. Now is the time to face it.”
“But the Lumos estate is far away, and we don’t have much time. There are too many practical limitations.”
“Not anymore.”
The moment Ludger finished speaking, Flora felt her vision twist.
In an instant, the empty grounds outside Seorn vanished—replaced by the interior of a mansion.
Flora recognized it immediately.
‘This is... the place Father gathers the family for meetings.’
Was it a dream? No—it wasn’t.
In that short moment, she had been transported from Seorn straight to the Lumos main estate.
And before her—Cayden Lumos himself was staring at her.
Flora regained her composure only when Ludger placed a hand on her shoulder.
The warmth of his touch grounded her in reality.
She was standing at a crossroads in her life.
“Flora.”
Cayden spoke her name.
His voice carried no trace of affection—he called her as one would a stranger’s child.
There was even a hint of irritation.
“So you dare to raise your hand against Lumos?”
“I...”
She wanted to deny it, to say no—that wasn’t her intent.
But fear froze her tongue.
And then, for reasons she didn’t quite understand, she looked back at Ludger.
Seeing him nod silently at her gave her an inexplicable surge of courage.
“...I’m a Lumos too. So I have every right.”
“You, a bastard, have no such right.”
“Even if I’m only half, I still carry your blood. That makes me Lumos as well. Flora Lumos. That’s what the world calls me.”
“You...”
At Flora’s defiant tone, Cayden’s brow furrowed.
“I know what you’re doing, Father. You’re planning to defy the Empire. You’ve allied with the Theocracy of Bretus, scheming something behind their backs.”
“So what if I am?”
“End it now. Confess everything and face proper judgment. That’s the best offer I can give you.”
Cayden’s lips twisted into a mocking grin.
“You dare make such a proposal to me? A bastard child to the head of her house?”
“Titles and bloodlines don’t matter. What matters is that the head of this house is leading it toward ruin.”
“So the Cardinal was right after all. You’ve been tainted by the demon.”
“Or is that just what you want to believe?”
Flora glared sharply at him, her words cutting like blades.
“You, Father—the devout believer—couldn’t stand the stain you created in your perfect life, so you treated me like an embarrassment. Every time you saw me, you were reminded of your one mistake. It made you miserable.”
“What did you just say?”
“What do you think people would say if they knew? That the devout Cayden Lumos turned out no different from the other corrupt nobles. You knew that, so you pretended to care for me just enough to keep up appearances.”
Flora knew.
Cayden Lumos never truly loved her.
And yet, she had still longed for his affection.
Her mother was gone; her father was the only family she had left.
How foolish.
Only now did she finally realize—
That sharing blood did not make them a true family.
That all this time, she had only been running away from that truth.
“Lumos never forgets a grudge, right? Then let me return those words to you. I haven’t forgotten either. The indifference, the cold neglect, the humiliation from siblings who shared only the name.”
“......”
“Just remembering isn’t what makes one a Lumos.”
Her voice, once trembling, grew calm and steady.
It was strange. She thought confronting him would make her angry, emotional—but instead, her mind was crystal clear.
As if she had finally found her true self.
Ah.
So this was it.
This was who she truly was.
“Duke Cayden Lumos, head of House Lumos—and traitor to the Empire. This is the last mercy I can give you. Surrender, and atone for your sins.”
“It seems you’ve forgotten where you are and who I am. This is Lumos. And I am Cayden Lumos. I am this house.”
Cayden glared at her, his anger seeping through his calm mask.
“I am Lumos.”
“No. You’re not Lumos. You’re just a coward—an insecure man consumed by his faith.”
“Heh. Do you really think your words will change anything? You think anyone in this house will listen to a bastard like you?”
“Maybe not now. But I’ll make them listen.”
Flora threw her words like daggers, then turned toward Ludger.
“Right, Professor?”
“Yes.”
When Ludger nodded, Flora smiled faintly.
Knowing someone was by her side—nothing could have been more reassuring.
“An outsider dares to judge my family?!”
Cayden shouted furiously.
For someone usually composed, raising his voice meant his emotions were already fraying.
“So that’s your plan. You’ll ally with Princess Aileen and use her power to replace me as head of Lumos. The family’s prestige will wane, but its bloodline will survive, and then you’ll seize it for yourself.”
Cayden had seen through their intention.
Since he was preparing for rebellion, the Lumos house would inevitably be branded traitorous and purged.
The justification would lie with the imperial family.
Clever Princess Aileen must have foreseen this outcome as well.
“But if the Imperial family falls first, that changes everything.”
“That won’t happen,” Ludger said, his voice firm with certainty.
“Because I won’t allow it.”
“You?” Cayden’s voice rang with conviction. “Right now, I—no, our entire family—is under the watchful protection of Lord Lumenis.”
He released the divine power surging inside him, letting it flow outward.
The holy energy was so pure and overwhelming that it could scarcely be distinguished from magic itself.
The moment Ludger saw that sacred light, he understood.
“I see. So the curse placed upon Rinne was your doing... Lumenis.”
He didn’t even need to wonder where that power originated—he already knew.
Having unlocked the third seal, Celestial Aperture, Ludger’s mind was flooded with divine voices and waves of knowledge that transcended past, present, and future, rising and bursting like bubbles.
Amid that vast tide of awareness, he realized the truth.
“So you branded those who had the potential to escape your cage.”
Spatial-type mana.
Its potential was limitless.
Lumenis wanted the birds to live within the cage.
He did not want them escaping his grasp, and so he suppressed them.
But human potential always exceeded divine expectation.
Among mortals, there appeared those born with extraordinary magic—beings who bent the rules of the world.
Such was the case with time magic... and with space magic.
Lumenis feared the latter most.
Inside the cage, even if one sped up time or halted it, everything still happened within the confines of the cage.
But space magic was different.
It held the possibility of breaching the boundaries of the world itself.
That was what Lumenis feared most.
So he left behind a “blessing”—a curse in disguise—to those who possessed such power.
To make sure they would die before spreading their wings.
“In the end, it was you all along.”
Sensing the faint irritation in Ludger’s tone, Cayden scowled.
“How dare you speak Lord Lumenis’s name so lightly, blasphemer. Do you mock the name of God?”
“Mock it? Of course I do.”
Ludger let out a quiet, derisive laugh, as if unable to stomach Cayden’s words.
“How could I not mock gods who demand worship from mere mortals?”
“You wretch!”
Even the usually composed Cayden couldn’t bear hearing his faith insulted.
He unleashed the holy power granted by Lumenis, hurling it toward Ludger—
But—
Paaaat!
The white light he cast disintegrated effortlessly before Ludger, scattering like grains of sand.
Cayden’s eyes widened in disbelief at the sight of his divine power collapsing so easily.
“Do you still not understand? The power you wield is nothing more than a trick for insects.”
At the faint twitch of Ludger’s finger, Cayden—who had been sitting arrogantly on his chair—was forced to his knees as if crushed by an unseen weight.
He tried desperately to resist, his face flushing red, but his body refused to move.
“W-What of the others... the family...?”
Cayden’s words faltered as he met Ludger’s gaze.
He saw it—the truth.
The entire Lumos household had already been subdued by Ludger.
With a power that transcended distance, existing in multiple spaces at once, such a feat was hardly impossible for him.
Cayden’s resistance was meaningless.
“If you remove me, what do you think will become of Lumos’s future?”
Cayden glared at Flora as he spoke.
He genuinely believed that for the family’s sake, he must remain its head.
Flora felt nothing but disappointment at his words.
Once, he had seemed immense to her—someone she could never dare defy.
But now he looked pitiful.
Had she grown stronger, or had he always been this small, and she had simply been too afraid to see it?
Flora looked down at Cayden, who knelt before her, with pity rather than hatred.
To Cayden, that gaze from the daughter he had never acknowledged hurt more than eyes filled with hatred ever could.
“My honest feeling,” Flora said coldly, “is that I want to erase the name Lumos itself.”
“You would abandon one of the Empire’s oldest noble houses?”
“You were the one who tried to abandon the Empire first. Yet you’re still clinging to your ducal title?”
“......”
“Do not worry. The Lumos you led with your pitiful faith will become greater under me.”
“Even if I step down, you have no legitimacy to inherit the title.”
“Why not?”
Flora smiled faintly at his obstinate denial.
“The other two—my brother and sister—joined your rebellion, didn’t they?”
“You...!”
Realizing what she meant, Cayden’s eyes widened.
“Don’t worry,” Flora said softly. “My siblings will stay in the family. They’ll simply learn some humility. And Lumos will flourish—more than it ever did under your rule. That much I can promise.”
Cayden could only bow his head, speechless.
Flora looked at him with quiet satisfaction, then turned to Ludger.
“Thank you. It’s all thanks to you, Professor.”
“I only did what needed to be done.”
“Will you be leaving now?”
“Yes. There’s still work to be finished.”
Flora glanced toward the artifact projection Cayden had been using.
Ludger stood here before her—but also there, beyond the screen.
She couldn’t begin to comprehend how that was possible, but she said the only thing she could.
“I wish you success.”
“Thank you.”
“And...”
Flora hesitated, then shook her head.
“...I’ll tell you next time.”
Ludger nodded, a faint smile touching his lips—then vanished like a mirage.
Flora stared blankly at the artifact screen where his image had been.
* * *
Refocusing his mind on the crater once more, Ludger looked at the surrounding subjugation forces, unable to suppress a sigh of irritation.
“So... by opening the gate, I’ve allowed you to wield power in this realm as well.”
A moment ago, they had cowered before his might.
Now, bathed in white divine light, they were brimming with murderous intent.
Mages, mercenaries, hunters, priests, paladins, knights—
All of them.
“Fine. We’ve come this far. A dull fight would be boring.”
Through the black hole yawning in the sky, the presences of countless gods could be felt—one by one, they began to manifest around Ludger.
An arm of silver.
A golden vajra.
A sword of flame.
A massive staff.
A radiant spear.
All manner of divine armaments floated around him.
“Let’s begin the battle of myth.”