"――When you're talking to me, look at me properly!!"

The moment Aldebaran was struck by the powerful kick, an alert blared in his mind. The cause of the alert was both the kick itself and the various factors surrounding it.

Firstly, the sheer force of the kick was overwhelming, causing significant damage, and the fact that the leg that kicked him was so long it made him think, "Is this entire thing a leg!?" was astonishing. The ice boots on the kicking foot pierced through and shattered the stone breastplate, and ice began to form on his chest, which was creaking under the pressure—a critical situation he couldn't ignore.

However, the main reason for the blaring alert was undoubtedly the undeniable truth she pointed out, leaving him with no room for excuses.

――Look at me properly, she said. And before that, she mentioned how he seemed lonely when talking to her.

"――"

Honestly, Aldebaran was surprised that she had sensed the complex emotions he harbored. He hadn't deluded himself into thinking he was hiding them well, but he had assumed she was oblivious to such subtleties. However, upon reflection, it made sense—she was simply not good at dealing with malice towards others, but she was quite sensitive to malice directed at her.――Given that she was born into this world as a half-elf with silver hair, it was only natural.

"The tuition fee was steep...!"

Aldebaran groaned painfully, and just below where the ice began to spread, an ice figure resembling his detestable opponent clung to his belly. The ice man, which had been hindering his movements, had its head grabbed by Aldebaran's magically created stone left arm, and he mercilessly tore it off. A scream from the creator could be heard, and the body of the headless ice man shattered and scattered into ice fragments. It wasn't just the appearance that was similar; even its fragility was identical.

"Here, catch!"

"Kyaa! Oh, how mean!"

Unlike the shattered body, the remaining head tried to bite, so he tossed the ice man's head back to her—Emilia, who intended to pursue him. Like a game of dodgeball, Emilia caught the head in front of her body, while Aldebaran glanced at his own belly. The freezing spread from the kicked area, and if it continued, his entire body would be encased in ice――,

"If that happens, it's the end, right, Mister? You know what to do, don't you?"

Roy Alphard, a spectator bound upside down on an earthen pillar, watched the exchange between Aldebaran and Emilia with an irritatingly smug grin, hinting at how to deal with the ice. He didn't need advice from an Archbishop of Sin. Without being told, Aldebaran gritted his teeth and gouged his freezing abs with the tip of his sword. Enduring the excruciating pain and bleeding, he forcibly sealed the near-seppuku wound with a stone lid, avoiding the bad end of being frozen solid. His vision turned red with pain, and the sound of Roy's genuinely amused laughter, "Ahaha! That's it!" grated on his ears.

"――That's such a painful way to endure."

"Hey, it's not fair to give me two choices and then say that. If you don't like the pain, just let yourself be frozen. You should know that's how the young lady's attacks work."

"――. Yes, I think so too. But, Al, don't misunderstand."

"Misunderstand?"

"You can't endure everything with your whole body the same way you did with your stomach, can you?"

The declaration was an expression of intent to deliver a blow to the entire body, akin to a strike to the gut. Supporting this, the sternness faded from Emilia's beautiful face, which had been contorted with pain, and the area around the prison tower, where a cold wind began to blow, started to haze with white. The swirling white powder snow enveloped the battlefield, and Aldebaran sensed Emilia's seriousness in the chilling of his hands.

"I'd like to say that even your angry face is cute, but honestly, it's terrifying. And..."

In front of Aldebaran, who was making light remarks, the sound of creaking air was heard, and the body of the ice man, held in Emilia's arms, began to regenerate. As if to say "a new body" instead of "a new face," the ice man fully revived in a matter of seconds, squatting on the spot to demonstrate its vitality. Its provocatively meaningless activity faithfully recreated the original and was truly annoying.

"...It's disgustingly well-made, down to the smallest details."

"It's the same compliment as Ram's. Everyone at the mansion says it's very similar."

"Really? But the person himself must have made a displeased face."

"How do you know?"

"I know. It's the face I least want to see."

In response to the simple question, Emilia widened her eyes and furrowed her brows in anger. She might have thought she was being mocked, but it was Aldebaran's candid opinion. First of all, if you're going to make someone out of ice, you should choose a more reliable and strong-looking model—like Garfiel, for example, rather than Natsuki Subaru. Thanks to that, Aldebaran felt no resistance in destroying that ice man.

"If it's a soldier, you should model it after the most reliable guy."

"—? That's why I used Subaru as a model, right?"

"...I see. I shouldn't have asked."

Sticking out his tongue inside his helmet, Aldebaran felt like he had just bitten into a bitter bug. The damage from being kicked aside, the mental damage of having this face-to-face conversation with Emilia was even more taxing for Aldebaran. The maintenance of Aldebaran's power, his 『Domain』, required mental stability. Yet, Emilia was a meta-character who could easily shake Aldebaran's heart.

"Damn it."

Honestly, encountering Emilia here was unexpected. After returning from Vollachia, Aldebaran had manipulated the members going to the Pleiades Watchtower to suit his convenience. Naturally, he was aware that Emilia and the others had headed to the royal capital, but Aldebaran intended to quickly retrieve Roy and leave the capital safely, avoiding any turmoil. —That was until he was tripped up by a Zodda bug.

"...The beginning of the trouble was Felt, wasn't it?"

To intercept Reinhard in the worst environment of the Augria Sand Dunes, Aldebaran deliberately had Flam in the tower use her blessing to inform her sister of his betrayal. As a result, Reinhard appeared in the dunes, leading to an ambush by Felt and her group—but Felt did not keep that information to themselves.

In an emergency where their comrades left at the Pleiades Watchtower were harmed, and the 『Divine Dragon』, who was supposed to protect the kingdom, had sided with the enemy, they managed to demonstrate calm judgment. At first, Aldebaran thought it was the advice of Valga Cromwell, but he shook his head at that. Felt was recognized as an enemy by Priscilla. Her royal vessel should be genuinely praised.

In any case, Felt made the best choice in a pressing situation, and Emilia, who received information from her, did not let it go to waste. The result is the worst-case scenario now, where their escape from the prison tower is thwarted, and Emilia stands in opposition.

"――――"

Directly in front, Emilia has ice gloves on both hands, standing next to the infuriating ice man striking a Gear 2 pose, both casting wary glances at Aldebaran. In those violet eyes, Aldebaran can feel the determination that she won't lose no matter what he does, but even without such caution, there isn't much Aldebaran can do.

Imitating her Ice Brand Arts, he counters with something he calls Earth Brand Arts using a stone sword, but the precision of the created weapons is like comparing night and day. There's no contest in durability, and Aldebaran can't create reliable soldiers from clods of earth. Moreover, the thought of harming, let alone injuring, Emilia makes his heart ache. ――This is already a fatal flaw inherently present in his existence. On top of that, Emilia's techniques, specialized in capturing alive, are a terrible match for Aldebaran's abilities.

Therefore, with Natsuki Subaru and Reinhard, the greatest obstacles to the plan, eliminated, Emilia is Aldebaran's arch-nemesis――the worst 'enemy' except for one more.

"Anyway――"

No matter how he organizes the situation, he can't find a single good piece of information, making him want to cry, but there's never been an instance where complaining broke through a deadlock. If he can't create a decisive blow against an opponent who inadvertently counters him, he'll have to rely on external help for that decisive blow. ――Just as he was about to play his trump card.

――It was then that he saw the 'Dragon' piercing through the clouds, descending into the noble district.

"No way."

Seeing it cross his field of vision, Aldebaran couldn't help but mutter. Now, the blue-white line of light that drew vertically beyond the misty white sky was 'Aldebaran,' his intended trump card. If it headed toward the noble district――where Yae and the others were on standby――with that momentum, its purpose was almost certainly to rescue them. In other words, an entity Yae couldn't handle had been sent to the Barielle Mansion. Since 'Aldebaran' intervened immediately, Yae's survival was fifty-fifty. ――This simultaneously means that Aldebaran can't rely on 'Aldebaran's' help in his predicament.

"No way……"

With the same words, Aldebaran acutely feels the worsening situation. He could use his abilities to reset and call 'Aldebaran' here ahead of Yae and the others. But if he did that, Yae, without reinforcements, would be defeated by the unidentified enemy. Neither Yae nor Felt is indispensable to Aldebaran's objective. They're not, but――,

"Damn it!"

Forgoing the chance to swallow the poison in his mouth, Aldebaran curses. Against Emilia, who dominates the entire field with snow, the plan A was to quickly blow away the cold wave with 'Aldebaran's' dragon aura and leave the battlefield. Since that option is no longer available, he must promptly execute Plan B. And to execute that Plan B, he must quickly come up with Plan B. Meanwhile――,

"Did you see that, young lady! If this keeps up, my partner will wreak havoc in the royal capital――"

"I've been told that's not my responsibility!"

Emilia boldly charges at Aldebaran, who wishes to buy more time to think.

『Aldebaran』—feeling the approach of the 『Divine Dragon』 beyond the wall, Emilia's courage to ignore it and trust her allies is beyond measure. This is proof of her trust in the one who devised the plan, but it's not something that can be done just because one is told to do so. And since this is the best move against Aldebaran, it's quite overwhelming.

"Heya! Tei! Finally! Soya!"

Remembering her initial strategy, Emilia abandons dialogue and launches a relentless barrage of attacks. Her fists, clad in icy gloves, strike out countless times, shattering the hastily made rock shield head-on. Amidst the scattering fragments, Aldebaran catches the tip of an ice spear with a rock prosthetic hand, discards it as it becomes frozen, and leaps backward—only to be met by an ice man circling around and delivering a powerful strike.

"Guh, ah—!"

Taking a blow from this imitation of a Bajiquan secret technique, Aldebaran is sent flying forward. Awaiting him is Emilia, who has transformed the ice spear into an ice hammer and is swinging it down with all her might. Her slender, supple arms draw back, unleashing a full swing of unbelievable power. The air is struck dead by the forceful, cold blow, and Aldebaran, realizing he can't dodge, forms earth armor to cover his body seamlessly—taking the full brunt of the tremendous impact.

"――ッ"

Without even a groan or scream, Aldebaran is sent flying through the air. Though the earth armor prevents the ice from penetrating, its defensive effect is merely a comfort, like placing a handkerchief between oneself and a weapon. His vision spins wildly, and without knowing his position, he is finally caught by a hard impact and falls to the ground.

"Whoa, that looks painful. You're in a real pinch, aren't you, old man?"

Hearing the amused voice of a spectator from above, with his hands on the accumulating snow, Aldebaran realizes he has crashed into the earthen pillar where Roy is crucified. He was sent flying over ten meters, and his entire body aches as if his bones are creaking. He doesn't even have the energy to retort.

"Damn it..."

Spending any more time is not desirable for Aldebaran. Emilia's fighting style, which relentlessly lowers the surrounding temperature, means that the longer it drags on, the more the debuffs pile up like snow. Moreover, enemy reinforcements might arrive while he dithers. The more the enemy numbers increase, the exponentially harder it becomes to overcome, as he painfully learned in the battle with Felt and the others. And there's no guarantee that an 『Arch-Nemesis』 isn't among them.

"You can't see it well because of the snow, but it looks like things are getting serious in the city too. How about raising your voice and crying for help, old man?"

"Shut up. You just stay quiet like that—"

Roy, hanging upside down, taunts Aldebaran, fraying his already strained nerves. Anger wells up, tempting him to waste a life just to punch that smirking face—and beyond that irritation, Aldebaran glimpses the light of 『Plan B』.

"If that guy is me..."

From afar, feeling the disturbance in the white haze, Aldebaran senses that a fierce battle is unfolding. There aren't many candidates who could engage in a deathmatch against 『Aldebaran』 to Aldebaran's knowledge, but he has no choice but to trust in the 『Dragon』's victory. And he believes not only in the 『Dragon』's victory but also that the 『Aldebaran』 who realized he couldn't assist Aldebaran has laid the groundwork for an unknown 『Plan B』. To realize that unconfirmed 『Plan B』—,

"Roy! If you don't want to die, lend me a hand!"

"--! Al!!"

Emilia's eyes widened as she raised her voice at Aldebaran. The disbelief in her voice was evident, and despite Aldebaran having brought Roy out of the prison tower—or rather, ever since he had trapped Natsuki Subaru, he thought his reputation couldn't sink any lower, yet he was surprised to find it could.

"But if necessary, I'll even borrow the power of the Sin Archbishop. In the Empire, Natsuki Subaru did the same thing, didn't he? What's wrong with that?"

"You know that's not the point!"

"Yeah, I know. I'm saying it knowing that. You can hate me if you want."

He was used to being disliked by Emilia. --That's a lie. In truth, he wasn't even in a position to be noticed, let alone disliked.

"You--!"

In response to Aldebaran's answer, Emilia, both saddened and angry, conjured ice spikes in the air. Emilia, who could fight like a magician beyond just using ice in hand-to-hand combat, directed the floating ice spikes at Aldebaran and Roy, showering them down like a carpet bombing. It was an expression of her intent to stop Aldebaran and his group's misdeeds, but Aldebaran used magic to peel the ground like a carpet and caught the attack in a tatami-flipping maneuver.

"Even if you say cooperate..."

The impact that pierced through shook the earth, and this hastily constructed earth shelter wouldn't last long. While Aldebaran was focused on maintaining it, Roy, who was in the same predicament but paid no attention to it, twisted his lips in dissatisfaction,

"As you can see, our hands and feet are tied, and we're forbidden to eat. What do you expect us to do? Or... are you giving us permission to eat that lady?"

"No. I won't let you eat or rampage."

"Then there's nothing we can do--"

"There is. --Spit it out."

In a low voice, Aldebaran declared, meeting the eyes of Roy, who was upside down behind the earthen tower he protected, offering 'Gluttony' a third option besides eating and rampaging. At that proposal, Roy's eyes widened, and then he immediately grinned,

"Uncle, just how much do you know about us? You aren't really our biological father, are you?"

"If I raised brats like you, I'd be too ashamed to face society."

Bound by a curse mark, forced to listen. Aldebaran had no intention of building a friendly relationship, but Roy licked his lips and welcomed it. Roy Alphard, who had claimed the name of 'Gluttony,' specifically 'Voracity,' was a big eater who would devour anything, no matter how bizarre. Whatever evaluation he had of Aldebaran, there was no time to question it—it would likely be a worthless answer anyway.

"Stop it!"

In an instant, the earth shelter was shattered by a massive ice boomerang—one that closely resembled the flying blade used by Madelyn Eschart of the Empire. It was thrown and broke through, and through the gap in the ice, Emilia charged in. Aldebaran blocked her path with a larger rock prosthetic hand, covering it like a baseball glove, softly yet securely obstructing her way. But--,

"A decoy!"

The ice man placed his hands on the rock glove and performed a handspring to leap over the obstruction. Emilia used herself as a decoy, allowing the ice man to go ahead. Normally, one would expect the roles of decoy to be reversed between herself and the artificial creation, but they fell for it perfectly. The ice man vaulted over Aldebaran's head, approaching the earthen pillar. From both sides, Aldebaran's rock projectiles attempted to pincer and shatter the ice man, but—

"It's harder than before!"

Apparently, the ice man's new body had increased its ice density, bouncing back the projectiles with its sturdiness. Undeterred by the interference, the ice man reached out towards the crucified Roy, intent on disrupting whatever was happening—when suddenly, its head and body were severed.

"What!?"

Emilia shouted as she witnessed the ice man's head fly off, sliced through the rock glove by an ice sword. She couldn't comprehend what had destroyed the newly reinforced ice man. It was the steel thread extending from the ring on Aldebaran's right hand's ring finger. The silver thread gleamed through the ice mist, penetrating the ice man's defenses and decapitating it. It was a skill Aldebaran had mastered during the battle with Felt and the others, a technique using a single finger's worth of steel thread. A skill that proved lifesaving, demonstrated immediately after—

"—If anything, this seems the most entertaining."

A voice filled with dark delight sounded, and Aldebaran—or rather, the world—screamed.

△▼△▼△▼△

In that instant, what assaulted Aldebaran was a soul-wrenching nausea.

"Ugh."

He thought he understood the principle. He imagined what might happen. But when it actually occurred, understanding and imagination were of no use. It was an attack on 'memory,' something intangible, neither physical nor mental.

"Ugh."

There's a phenomenon called déjà vu, where something seen for the first time feels familiar. What Aldebaran—or rather, everyone affected—experienced was a 'rumination' so vivid it couldn't be ignored, amplified tens of thousands of times beyond déjà vu. As proof—

"—Ah."

A hoarse breath escaped, and the ice javelin fell from Emilia's hand. Poised to throw, it dropped powerlessly, reverting to mana before hitting the ground. Her wide-open violet eyes shook with intense agitation, and unconsciously, she fell to her knees. Watching this, Aldebaran gritted his teeth and leaped back.

"Ugh."

The nausea was intense, but not enough to buckle his knees. The effects of 'rumination' varied by individual. Naturally, personal attachment differs for everyone. The way Aldebaran and Emilia invested in those 'memories' was different. Annoyingly, Roy's choice was precise. He accurately selected memories that had a significant impact on Emilia but not as much on Aldebaran. Therefore—

"Ugh."

Enduring the nausea, Aldebaran raised his hand to the sky. The ice mist still veiled the sky, preventing a clear view of the royal capital's sky. However, Aldebaran believed that 'Aldebaran' had laid the groundwork for 『Plan B』.

—It was the fruit of battle experience gained from the fight with Reinhard in the Augria Sand Dunes. In that battle, Aldebaran and 'Aldebaran,' both possessing the same human ego, shared the magic of the same sigil—Aldebaran borrowed 'Aldebaran's' mana to cast magic. This time, it was the reverse.

『Aldebaran』 had prepared a Plan B in the clouds—a technique waiting to be activated. Aldebaran traced the magic pattern and infused it with mana, taking on the role of flipping the switch. Because they shared the same consciousness, they arrived at the same idea, and the previously nonexistent Plan B was activated—,

"—Ugh."

Immediately after the activation, the full scope of the Plan B prepared by 『Aldebaran』 became clear, and Aldebaran let out a groan of a different quality, yet continuous with Roy's 『Ruminating』.

Plan B, its full scope was—,

"No...!"

Sensing the intense surge of mana, Emilia's lips trembled as she remained on her knees. Unable to stand, yet raising her face, her violet eyes caught sight of it—a massive rock mass, about a hundred meters in scale, floating in the sky above the royal capital. It was as if an entire small mountain had been uprooted and made to float. Aldebaran had never encountered it, but when seeing the rumored White Whale up close, one might feel the same overwhelming sensation of something immense in the sky.

In any case, the aim of 『Aldebaran』 in floating the rock mass in the sky was clear—,

"Ugh."

The next moment, a sound like the sky cracking echoed, and it became apparent to anyone who noticed the anomaly in the sky that it was caused by countless cracks running through the rock mass. The rock mass, as large as a small mountain, split into ten or twenty rock fragments, and then—,

"No...!!"

Foreseeing the outcome, Emilia scolded her trembling knees and stood up. She must have realized that even if shattered, if rock masses over ten meters in size and weight fell, it would cause significant damage to the city and result in numerous casualties. And to prevent that, only someone capable of stopping it could go to stop it.

"Even with this, I'm doing it intending not to cause any deaths. So, you know."

"—Al!"

"I'm counting on you not to let a single one of those fall on the city."

Imposing a one-sided and selfish wish, Aldebaran ignored Emilia's voice, strained with emotion, and rushed towards the earth pillar to secure Roy. As a last-ditch effort, the ice man, reduced to just a head, rolled in to interfere, but Aldebaran mercilessly crushed it and tore the impaled Sin Archbishop from the pillar.

"You're a bad man, aren't you, Mister?"

Without responding to Roy's unnecessary words, Aldebaran hoisted the small body onto his shoulder and ran. Without looking back at Emilia, who had been attacking until just before, he sprinted away.

"Al! No! Don't run away... Al!!"

He could hear Emilia's heartrending plea, but no attack came to stop his feet. Naturally. Her power was now being used with all her might to help people. If she could recklessly target Aldebaran here, she would live more easily. That kind of personality would have been a salvation for both Emilia and Aldebaran. However, Emilia couldn't become selfish, using magic to save people, and thus Aldebaran would escape.

"Don't go! Return Subaru and Beatrice—!"

As if in response to the surge of her emotions, the sound of the sky freezing echoed loudly. Aldebaran raised the ground beneath his feet, using it as a foothold to climb over the wall surrounding the prison tower, leaving Emilia's white battlefield behind, and continued to run, run, run without stopping.

"That lady is crying."

The despicable Sin Archbishop pointed out what could have been ignored if not mentioned. As his heart was torn by the sound of tears, Aldebaran continued to run without stopping. Now, he only wished for the accomplices to gather at the rendezvous point, and he kept running.

The boulders falling towards the royal capital were held back by the towers of ice being created one after another, preventing damage to the city. Neither the person responsible for causing this nor the one who stopped it felt any joy. Only—

"—Ah, that was a feast!"

Only 『Voracity』, savoring the mix of emotions with a lick of the lips, was laughing.