The black wave spread in all directions.
Ambella Burke, who had been fighting the priestess Sophia, clicked her tongue as she saw the wolves closing in from nearby.
It had seemed like the cryptid horde that had stopped moving was finally out of commission, but the way they bared their fangs toward her said otherwise.
“When they were allies, I couldn’t have felt more secure. But now that they’re enemies, they couldn’t be more terrifying.”
Ambella swung her sword, cutting down dozens of wolves in a single stroke.
Sophia likewise shot countless spears of light, erasing the wolves in flashes.
Because of the sudden intrusion of the cryptids, the two came to a silent agreement.
If they kept fighting each other here, both would die—so they’d deal with the monsters first.
But soon after, Sophia turned her head to one side, then, with wings of light unfurled, flew off into the distance.
“Hey, you bastard! You’re just gonna leave me?!”
Left behind, Ambella shouted with one eye wide open, but her voice never reached the one already far away.
“Damn it.”
She gave her sword a hard flick, clearing a massive open space around herself.
Everything caught within it—wolves or otherwise—was shredded to pieces.
“Looks like there’s no way I’m getting out of this.”
The cryptids had already surrounded her.
Ambella knew those things wouldn’t end even if she killed them endlessly.
If it went on like this, she’d be the one to die in a never-ending battle of attrition.
She removed the mask from her face, pulled out a cigar, and bit down on it.
Then she realized too late that she had no means to light it, and let out a sigh.
“Haa. I was hoping I could at least have one last smoke on my way out.”
The wolves that had been watching her warily suddenly moved all at once, as if signaling each other.
Damn it.
Ambella spat out the cigar she’d been holding in her mouth and tightened her grip on her sword with both hands.
“Come on then! Let’s see what you’ve got!”
She knew she would lose. But knowing that didn’t make her the kind of fool who’d give up the fight.
She vowed to struggle until the end—
and at that moment, fire erupted within the pack of wolves, followed by a chain of massive explosions.
“What is this... a mana cannon?”
Blue meteors poured down from the sky, sweeping away the wolves.
Ambella’s eyes lifted upward.
Beyond the storm clouds, a massive battleship appeared.
“We’ve come to rescue you!”
On the deck stood the Monarch Mercenary Corps and the Dream School mages.
They anchored the ship right above Ambella’s head and dropped a huge anchor.
Clang! Thud!
Ambella frowned at the anchor that crashed down beside her.
“I told them if I didn’t make it, to just leave me behind... and yet they actually came to save me.”
Even as she grumbled, her face couldn’t hide the smile spreading across it.
The flames of the mana cannons swept through the cryptids.
As Ambella climbed onto the anchor, the crew of the Golden Monarch began to haul the chain up.
Seeing the anchor rise, the cryptids, desperate not to lose their prey, charged through the sea of fire toward Ambella.
But their fangs never reached the anchor.
Ambella looked down at the inferno below and clicked her tongue.
“Damn. If I’d known I’d have this much fire, I wouldn’t have tossed my last cigar.”
Once safely aboard the Golden Monarch, Ambella expressed her gratitude to those who had saved her.
“Thanks. You saved my life. More importantly, where’s your captain? That bold little girl.”
“The commander is currently fighting the enemy.”
From the deputy’s firm tone, Ambella realized Caroline wasn’t fighting just anyone.
“Is that so?”
She stepped naturally toward the center of the deck, speaking down to the mercenaries as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“What are you all standing around for?”
“Ma’am? What do you intend to—”
“What do you mean, what?!”
Ambella snapped back as if the question were ridiculous.
“You’re going to rescue your commander, obviously.”
No one reacted with shock or objection to her words.
If anything, a faint gleam of relief appeared in their eyes—as though they’d been waiting for someone to say it.
It seemed Caroline’s order not to interfere had weighed heavily on them.
“You lot. Don’t worry. If that headstrong little miss starts scolding you, I’ll tell her it was my idea.”
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. I owe my life anyway. I’ll repay it with this.”
Ambella instinctively reached for a cigar again, only to realize she’d smoked them all.
Just then, the deputy mercenary approached her and held out a cigarette.
“Would you like one?”
So he caught on just from her gesture, huh.
At his perceptive offer, Ambella smirked and shook her head.
“No. I’ll pass. Maybe it’s time I finally quit.”
* * *
Boom!
Surna clicked his tongue as he watched the fortress of Galaharad rise into the sky.
“Didn’t think it’d look this flashy.”
“It’s rising through divine power—of course it should be this magnificent.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
Among those present, Casey was probably the only one who didn’t fully grasp just how extraordinary divine power was.
Surna, as an Apostle, had served the gods and witnessed their power since the distant past. Ludger had seen Noxanna’s power firsthand in Dreamland, and during the battle with Patricio, ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) he had even borrowed divine power himself.
With power like that, making a fortress this huge tear itself from the ground and float in the sky wasn’t unthinkable.
And more importantly, the divine power sealed within the Relic wasn’t from a single god.
Multiple gods who had joined forces to create this world had combined their strength to make it—
meaning that even now, this rising fortress was merely a fraction of the Relic’s total power.
Yes.
This was only the beginning.
“What are you planning to do with this fortress?”
Casey couldn’t hold back her question.
Whatever Ludger was about to attempt—no matter how generously she tried to view it—the scale was utterly beyond reason.
So enormous that she could almost believe he was about to destroy the world.
‘Even if he looks cold on the outside, he’s too soft inside to be some world-ending devil.’
Casey didn’t believe Ludger was a demon lord who would destroy everything.
If anything, she thought Salesin fit that title far better.
A man who brainwashed people at will, manipulated them to serve his desires, and plunged the entire continent into war—
All for nothing but his own ambition and power.
That kind of evil was pure.
Which only made Casey more curious about what Ludger truly intended.
If he was trying to oppose Salesin, then this flying fortress was far from ordinary.
But her thoughts didn’t have time to go further.
Kwoooom!
A massive shockwave rocked the entire fortress of Galaharad.
This wasn’t the tremor of a structure ascending into the sky.
It was the impact of something external striking it.
A blow strong enough to shake a fortress of this size—
“Who could possibly...”
Casey couldn’t finish her sentence.
Her face went rigid, expression frozen cold. That alone revealed exactly who the attacker was.
A chill wind swept in from afar.
An all-too-familiar cold.
“My sister.”
Casey could feel it instinctively.
Water and ice were only a hair’s breadth apart.
Being so attuned to water, she could tell the thing that had pierced the fortress was a massive iceberg.
“My sister’s here.”
Marias Selmore.
Brainwashed by the Church, she had finally arrived at the fortress.
Casey almost turned to ask Ludger what they should do—but stopped herself.
It was her role to face Marias.
Only she could stop her sister now.
Because Marias was both the person she resented and the family she loved.
“...I’ll go.”
“Casey! I’ll come with you!”
Casey stopped Betty, who was about to follow.
“Betty. This fight is too dangerous, even for you.”
“But I’m your assistant!”
“Yes, you are. Which is why I need you to stay here—and help everyone else.”
Her calm voice carried not a trace of her usual playfulness.
Betty must have sensed it too, for she bit down hard on her lip.
“...Fine. But you’d better come back safely, okay?”
“Of course.”
Casey gave Ludger one last glance—a silent farewell in place of words.
That’s it, then.
Ludger only gave her a small nod in return.
No words of encouragement. No empty promise to fight alongside her.
And yet, somehow, that simple gesture alone made her fear disappear.
“Alright then. Let’s go.”
* * *
“Tch. What a bother.”
Marias, having already subdued Bellaruna and Vierno Dentis, kept moving.
No one dared to stand in the way of the cold air radiating from her.
Even the plants Sedina had painstakingly cultivated were frozen into beautiful, crystal-like sculptures wherever Marias passed.
As she advanced, her eyes turned toward the fortress of Galaharad floating in the sky.
“Higher than I expected.”
She shook her head as if mildly troubled.
But despite her words, ice began gathering around her, forming something massive.
The gathered ice soon shaped itself into a colossal spear.
Marias stepped lightly onto its surface.
“Well then, time to go see my adorable little sister.”
With a flick of her finger, the spear shot forward.
In truth, in terms of size, it was less a spear and more like a mountain peak torn from the northern range itself.
An iceberg, enormous enough to defy the laws of physics, launched through the air and struck the fortress of Galaharad.
“What the—!”
“Everyone, get back!”
The priests and holy knights of the Theocracy, who had been following the rising fortress, hastily scattered to avoid being caught in its path.
The colossal iceberg, meeting no resistance, pierced through the fortress at an angle.
In an instant, Marias stepped inside, descending from the frozen mass.
Each time her foot touched the air, ice steps formed beneath her and vanished as she walked.
Landing inside the fortress, Marias paused, considering which direction to go, then changed her mind.
Just as the other side had sensed her presence—
She, too, could feel theirs.
“Oh my.”
A satisfied smile curved her lips.
Then, with the scent of fresh water filling the air, a massive wave surged forth, and one person arrived at the scene.
“To think we’d meet in a place like this, Casey.”
“Sister.”
Casey gazed at Marias with a complicated look—
More precisely, at the pure white halo floating above her head.
“At least you can still talk coherently. I thought being brainwashed would make you act like a complete puppet.”
“Brainwashed? Of course I know.”
Marias spoke as if it were nothing, admitting she was perfectly aware of her condition.
“What? You know?”
“It seems that for someone of my caliber—one of the Mages of Color—complete domination of the mind is impossible, even under brainwashing.”
“Then why...?”
“The influence of control is weaker, not absent. I’m conscious—but I still can’t disobey the command.”
In other words, Marias was a puppet—fully aware of it.
Casey clenched her fist tight.
No matter how poor their relationship had been, she was still her sister.
Knowing that her sister was being controlled by Salesin filled Casey with boundless rage.
“Even if I tell you to stop here, you won’t, will you?”
“More precisely, I can’t.”
Marias’s voice was calm and gentle as ever—
almost filled with a kind of proud fondness toward the sister standing in her way.
But sentiment aside, her next action was simple.
“Casey. As your elder sister, I’ll give you a warning—you’d better fight with everything you’ve got.”
Crackle, crack—
Frost bloomed around Marias, freezing everything within reach.
“I don’t want to have to kill my sister with my own hands.”
“Well, I didn’t come here planning to die, either.”
Around Casey, massive waves surged upward, rushing to swallow Marias whole.
“Good. I’m glad you’ve steeled yourself.”
Marias smiled, satisfied at Casey’s defiance, and instantly froze the wave solid.
The frozen water hung motionless in midair, as if time itself had stopped.
Marias raised a finger toward the ice.
Crack-crack-crack—
The frozen wave began to change. The entire mass of ice reshaped itself into a gigantic figure—
a towering giant wielding a halberd made of solid frost.
It roared and charged toward Casey.
Water soldiers formed around Casey, rising to meet the giant head-on.
But the moment they touched its body, they froze solid in an instant.
The water soldiers turned into ice, and it didn’t take long for them to redirect their hostility toward Casey herself.
Casey trapped the advancing ice soldiers within a prison of water, crushing them under immense pressure.
Under enough pressure, the hexagonal molecular structure of ice reverted back into water.
Using that principle, Casey melted the frozen soldiers, transmuting them back into water to expand her arsenal.
But within the spreading chill, the freezing overtook the melting even faster.
‘This is tougher than I thought!’
Casey blocked an incoming ice spear with a barrier of water.
The point embedded in her barrier froze it solid—and then turned it into jagged spikes aimed right back at her.
Watching her own power be overwritten by her opponent’s in real time was... unpleasant, to say the least.
Still, she didn’t feel like she was doomed to lose.
Maybe it was thanks to Ludger’s advice—
a faint tickling in her mind made her feel like she was on the verge of understanding something.
But she wasn’t there yet. Casey needed time.
Marias, under brainwashing, wasn’t about to grant her that mercy.
Icicles formed on the ceiling and came crashing down toward Casey.
Momentarily distracted, Casey tried to move—only to find her ankle frozen in place.
‘Damn it!’
Lost in thought, she’d let her guard down. She shouldn’t have—but it was already too late.
And in that moment of imminent danger, what she saw was—
A burst of crimson flame devouring the icicles.
“What?!”
Casey turned around.
Behind her stood a being made entirely of fire, protecting her.
The Fire Spirit—Pascha.
Ludger had secretly sent it with her when she left.
“Seriously... how embarrassing.”
Even as Casey muttered that under her breath, a grin spread across her face.
Since she had help now—
she might as well make full use of it.