Raimira was in her original form as the black dragon, and Sienna stood on her head. She had her eyes closed and raised Mary with both her hands.
An hour had passed since Eugene entered Giabella City alone. Since then, Sienna had been deep in concentration with her eyes closed. She had not spoken a word since then.
Though she remained still, it wasn't without effect. Positioned above Raimira, Sienna became the focal point through which all the mana in the vicinity, to be exact, from outside Giabella City, seemed to flow.
The Saint was on her knees by Sienna’s side. Kristina silently prayed, feeling Eugene's divine power, while Anise used this to determine Eugene's condition and location from within Kristina.
This was not planned, yet the three acted as if following Eugene's unspoken desires.
The Saints had been able to clearly sense Eugene’s presence before he entered Giabella City. Regardless of where he was in the world, they could communicate with him through the resonance of divine power.
But now, that was no longer possible. It was as if they were peering through a dense fog. Eugene was undoubtedly somewhere within the murky environment, but his exact location and condition remained elusive.
While it was important to locate his physical whereabouts — likely near the city walls or somewhere within the city — the state of Eugene's mind, which had been dragged into a dream, was more of immediate concern.
Despite their prayers, they felt no revelation from Eugene, nor could they sense any divine sign.
[It has not extinguished,] Anise declared.Kristina nodded while continuing to pray with her eyes closed. She wasn't looking towards Giabella City or its walls. She was gazing at a faintly flickering light.
The flames belonged to Eugene, to Levantein. Even amidst the deep fog and the depths of a dark nightmare, that flame continued to burn. Its light signified that Eugene was not dead. He was still alive.
Several times, both Kristina and Anise experienced sharp pain. A deep, throbbing ache radiated from within, a burning heat that seemed to consume them came from their very being, and the Stigmata on their hands burned with a sharp pain.
It didn’t stop with pain, either. The scars of the Stigmata split open and started to bleed.
They could endure this pain. Anise was accustomed to even greater suffering from past battles, and Kristina, though not familiar with such pain, bore it, believing it was all for Eugene’s sake.
They knew why they were experiencing this pain. It was because of Levantein. Though Eugene had not yet escaped the nightmare, even the battles within the nightmare affected Levantein. Their faith in Eugene and Levantein was keeping a grip on Eugene and keeping him from being completely swallowed by the nightmare and being dominated by Noir.
"Hmm."
After a long silence and focused meditation, Sienna finally made a sound. Her eyes cracked open, and her brows furrowed.
"It was wise not to enter," she said.
The power enveloping the entire city was that of the Demoneye of Divine Glory, enhanced by the dark power and life-force Noir had accumulated over her lifetime. No matter how prepared Sienna might have been, entering that place would have immediately drawn her into Noir's dream.
"Have you found a way?" Kristina asked, lifting her gaze to focus on Sienna as she hid her blood-soaked hands.
But there was no hiding it. The smell of blood and the sleeves and the clerical robe stained red by the bleeding Stigmata gave it away. Sienna felt a melancholic surge as she considered how diligently Anise had hidden the Stigmata three hundred years ago.
"If it is just a way, I have known one from the start,” Sienna answered.
"Really?" Kristina questioned.
"Why are you surprised? Though not as effective in dreams, in reality, I am a true Goddess of Magic. Did you think I would truly have no way out?" Sienna questioned.
No.
Kristina did not voice that answer aloud. Anise shared the same opinion but did not assert it through Kristina’s lips.
It couldn’t be helped. Sienna had returned after a year and boasted of her divine status, yet she had never shown the majestic demeanor befitting a Goddess of Magic.
Leaping great distances was magically impressive, but even Ciel could do as much with her Demoneye of Darkness.
And for all her posturing, Sienna had been unable to resist the spell contained in Noir’s invitation. She had been dragged into a dream, a fact that the Saints found somewhat skeptical.
"As expected, Lady Sienna. Please, tell us the method you possess,” asked Kristina.
"Do you know how to wake up from a dream?" Sienna questioned.
"What?" Kristina asked.
"You have to wake up,” Sienna said seriously, and Kristina mirrored her solemn expression.
Anise refrained from reacting hastily, instead waiting for Sienna's next words.
"Do you know how to wake up?" Sienna asked once more.
Both Kristina and Anise just stared silently at Sienna, slightly confused.
"You make them wake up. Shake them, splash water, or hit them,” Sienna answered her own question.
"Is that what you call a method?" Kristina questioned with an incredulous expression.
[This idiot, to think that is even an answer…!] Anise shouted in exasperation.
Kristina could no longer maintain a serious expression at such a shallow and simplistic response. Anise also lost her temper.
"Why are you getting angry?" Sienna asked.
"It’s incomprehensible that you, Lady Sienna, would even ask such a question!" Kristina argued.
To wake up from a dream, one must wake up from their sleep. To wake up from sleep, one must be awakened. Was there anyone in the world who was oblivious to this glaringly obvious fact?
Trying to keep her calm, Kristina pointed out, "We cannot enter the city. It’s impossible for us to shake Sir Eugene awake. So, what then…?"
"There’s no need to wake Eugene directly,” said Sienna with a smirk. She raised Mary. "We'll wake the entire city."
"You don’t mean to… drop a meteor, do you?" Kristina asked aghast.
Sienna did not answer but gave a smile instead. The petals of Mary trembled. Sienna became a hub for mana, influenced by the magic emanating from Mary.
Whoosh!
The visible flow of mana transformed into hundreds, thousands of petals. Suddenly, Raimira’s surroundings were filled with petals.
"Here."
Sienna extended her hand to Kristina while standing amid the drifting petals.
Kristina did not know why Sienna was doing so, but she did not ask. There was no trace of playfulness in Sienna’s eyes. Kristina swallowed nervously and cautiously reached out her hand. Her hand, cracked with Stigmata and soaked in blood, moved towards Sienna’s.
"It’s okay,” Sienna assured.
Kristina and Anise hesitated. Naturally, reaching out a blood-soaked hand to another was disconcerting. However, Sienna, unbothered, firmly grasped Kristina’s hand. The blood from the Stigmata touched Sienna's hand first. The mana that Sienna commanded enveloped the Saints.
And it became magic. They felt a massive tremor. The Saints jumped up, startled.
Giabella City looked completely different from a moment ago. The entirety of the massive city was entwined in complex vines.
“What is that…?” Kristina asked.
“It’s magic,” Sienna replied.
The Sage, Vishur Laviola, had said that human magic was inferior. It was no different now than in the Age of Myth. Humans could not find answers in mana. They confined the profound and infinite potential of magic and mana into trivial designs called spells.
A year ago, Sienna was unable to bypass these limitations. She had attempted to surpass her limits, but it had been difficult and elusive.
But now, it was different. Sienna Merdein had transcended humans and their magic. Thus, she no longer needed spells. Her magic had reached the realm of miracles. Sienna did not wish for miracles to descend. Rather, her very desires became miracles.
Even so….
“It’s impossible to destroy that dream,” Sienna admitted.
Noir Giabella’s dream could not be shattered even by divine magic.
But it could be shaken .
Even if dozens of Archwizards combined their forces to unleash a calamitous spell, the dream would not waver, but Sienna’s magic could shake it.
“There it is,” Sienna whispered.
Mindlessly shaking the dream would hardly wake Eugene from his deep, ongoing nightmare. Sienna could scarcely feel Eugene’s presence in that city.
But now, it was different. Just as the Saints saw the magic that only Sienna could see, now, Sienna also perceived the light that only the Saints could see. The connection formed by their clasped hands allowed Sienna to see the light of Eugene and Levantein.
She saw the chains formed by the Demoneye of Divine Glory and the incomprehensible, unobservable illusion it formed. But within it, she found Eugene’s spirit.
She broadened her view to locate Eugene’s body. He had been dragged straight into a dream after passing the city gate, so she thought he might be lying just inside it, in front of the gate, but he wasn’t. Eugene was wandering the city like a sleepwalker.
However, he wasn’t wandering aimlessly. The entire city was guiding him. It had been just over an hour since Eugene had entered the city, and he was already nearing its center.
Sienna bit her lip hard and gripped Mary tightly. The swirling petals turned the color of blood, reflecting Sienna’s killing intent.
In the heart of Giabella City, where day and night once held no distinction, the casino that used to burst with tourists now lay steeped in silence. The brilliant lights had all been extinguished, leaving the building beneath a dim glow. Two of the famed Giabella-Faces, which used to enchant tourists with dreams, sat decoratively placed.
Higher up, in a pitch-black sky devoid of clouds, a single Giabella-Face was flying. Sienna looked up at it while biting her lip.
She saw a woman reclining on a lavish chair. It was Noir Giabella; her eyes closed as if she were asleep. However, Sienna felt the intensity of a gaze piercing even through those closed eyelids. She steadied her trembling breath.
At that moment, Noir's long eyelashes fluttered. Her eyelids slowly lifted, revealing amethyst eyes. They were as beautiful as the gemstone, but Sienna felt no sense of beauty from them. Instead, she sensed a chilling eeriness and revulsion from those eyes.
Though they were far apart, Sienna distinctly felt Noir’s gaze. She saw Noir’s red lips twitch and curve upwards. The distance between them was meaningless. Being seen meant being caught in the grip of the Demoneye of Fantasy.
Quiver!
The petals surrounding Sienna thrashed violently. The outer petals darkened suddenly, turning to ash and scattering.
Having been humiliated through the invitation, Sienna had prepared magic to withstand the Demoneye of Fantasy and from being forced to sleep. She had readied herself for the worst. Thus, she was able to defend herself.
‘It’s less potent than expected,’ Sienna concluded.
Though much stronger than the power contained in the invitation, she could manage with her defensive magic. It wasn't hard to speculate why Noir’s power was reduced. Even that monstrous whore was likely expending much of her energy to maintain the dream that held Eugene.
This created an opportunity for Sienna to strike. Sienna prepared her next magic, calling upon the Saints' prayers to summon Eugene.
Eugene wasn't merely wandering lost in a dream. He would be doing his best to shatter it from within. Thus, Sienna needed to shake the dream, the city, from the outside and continue to press Noir Giabella.
‘Press? ’ Sienna thought mockingly.
She glanced at her arm. It was covered in goosebumps, and she felt a chill down her spine. The hand that had touched Anise and Kristina’s blood had long since gone cold. Sienna glared at Noir while slowly regulating her breaths.
Sienna was the one feeling pressed by Noir.
Noir did not rise from her chair. She wasn’t coming after Sienna using the Giabella-Face either. She remained above the city’s center, the casino. Her gaze was filled with malice and murderous intent, and her lips twisted into a smirk of annoyance and anger. The petals, formed from the manipulation of mana, continued to smolder in response to the Demoneye of Fantasy.
“Anise, Kristina.” Sienna shook off the pressure, whispering quietly, “Pray that your god may awaken.”
Despite their linked senses, Sienna was not Eugene’s Saint. No matter how fervently she prayed or called, her voice would never reach him.
But the prayers of the Saints could reach Eugene. Even if too soft and faint at first, if they kept shaking the dream, the Saints’ voices would reach him more clearly.
“Stop napping and just wake up already.”
***
Eugene stood motionless while surveying his surroundings. This wasteland remained vividly in his memory as one of the most intense experiences in Agaroth's recollections. Time and again, Eugene had conjured up images of this wasteland and had even vicariously experienced it several times.
Yet, no matter how often he revisited this place, his emotions never changed. But unlike the faint impressions and experiences of the past, this dream felt no different from reality.
He saw the faces of the corpses. All were faces that existed in Agaroth's memories. If he delved deeper, he could even recall their names.
Eugene saw the terror and despair that remained etched on the faces of the dead. The deaths had occurred so abruptly that they seemed devoid of pain, but this fact scratched at Eugene’s heart all the more.
Agaroth's Divine Army had perished at the hands of the Demon King of Destruction.
Agaroth was the one who had commanded the Divine Army to die in such a manner. The circumstances had been such that he was left with no other choice. Eugene might have devised another strategy, but Agaroth had been a man who would issue such orders.
"In this dream, Hamel, you and I will share the same feelings,” Noir spoke, her form and voice altered. She was no longer the Queen of Night Demons, Noir Giabella. Now, she took on the form and voice of the God of War's Saint, the Twilight Witch, Aria.
"I cannot feel joy,” she said.
Noir Giabella's hair was as dark as night.
Aria's hair was as red as sunset.
"Even if I died in your arms at the end, that death was not what Aria desired,” she continued.
Noir Giabella's eyes resembled amethysts.
Aria's eyes were like rubies.
"This place is a nightmare for both of us,” she said.
Aria took a step closer.
"But I," Aria began, "even in this nightmare, if I am with you, I could love."
Eugene saw Aria’s neck. It was the neck that Agaroth had broken. Now unbroken, it was adorned with a necklace. It was a necklace strung with a ring engraved with the words Noir Giabella. The ring engraved with the name Hamel Dynas was currently on the ring finger of Aria's left hand.
Eugene recalled the conversation they had shared with Noir while fitting those rings. At that time, Noir had said that when she would eventually kill Hamel by her own hand, she would place the ring bearing her name on the finger of a dying Hamel as he died embraced in despair.
"I….” Eugene finally spoke softly.
After the war in Hauria, Noir had realized Aria’s memories. He had shared a conversation with her.
But nothing had changed. They each wished for the other's death.
But now, the words Noir spoke and her actions to this point….
"I cannot,” Eugene said quietly. "Never."
Openbookworm & DantheMan's Thoughts