"――Al-sama, let's stop yearning for the sun, shall we?"

When she uttered those words, I couldn't fathom what emotions or intentions she harbored. I had been in a position where I controlled her through fear, bound her with hatred, and used her desire for revenge as collateral. From her perspective, seeing me cornered must have been quite satisfying. However, despite that, there were many reactions from her that didn't quite add up. So, what exactly was the true intention hidden behind her contradictory attitude? I decided to stop seeking that answer. ――One thing was certain.

"――Domain Expansion, Matrix Redefinition."

Yae Tenzen's advice released a shackle within Aldebaran. It wasn't something he consciously applied, but rather an unconscious restraint, a save, a hurdle――a mental chain that served as a brake on the overwhelming power of Aldebaran's authority. With that chain removed, Aldebaran's options expanded infinitely――.

"Target, from twelve to three o'clock. ――Do it, Alter."

"Alright, Origin."

Responding without hesitation to the command, the 'Aldebaran' standing right behind him spread its wings. There was no confusion in the call to Alter. Through 'The Book of the Dead,' the update and sharing of intentions had already been completed. Being called Origin was a trivial matter, easy to understand. Without room to verbalize any opinion on that, a white light――the dragon's breath was unleashed.

"――――"

The power of the breath, fully utilizing the specs of the 'Divine Dragon's' dragon shell, was tremendous, something even the 'Sword Saint' Reinhard van Astrea could barely counteract. It was unleashed to sweep across a battlefield devoid of the 'Sword Saint'――no, an area less than a battlefield, erasing the natural, the artificial, and above all, not just flora and fauna but human lives as well. The range of a serious 'Dragon's' breath extended several kilometers, and if swallowed by the light of destruction that came without warning, no one would have time to feel pain before disappearing.

――And now, Aldebaran commanded 'Aldebaran' to do just that.

"――――"

As instructed, from twelve to three o'clock――burning away the direction fitted to the clock position, everything in its path was returned to nothingness. The number of lives lost likely numbered not in the hundreds or thousands, but tens of thousands.

"Hahaha, splendid!"

Witnessing this devastation, which could only be called a rampage that forcibly subdued everything in this world, the suspended Roy Alphard laughed gleefully. With his arms bound and suspended, Roy clapped his feet together in a mock applause. However, the only one making a noisy fuss was Roy, and none of the members present criticized Aldebaran's actions. What existed was joy, understanding, subjugation, fear――all of them, accomplices including those caught in the act. And under their gaze, Aldebaran looked up at the sky.

"――――"

Not only was the earth scorched by the dragon's breath, but its effects also reached the sky and atmosphere. The clouds were scattered, and the rain and wind that should have occurred were driven away, leaving the land marked with the dragon's traces, a scar of the dragon's wrath, so to speak.

Naturally, there is no creature that does not fear the wrath of the overwhelming presence of the 'Dragon.' Since there is no existence that can resist a 'Dragon' rampaging in fury, all life must bow its head to the tantrum of the 'Dragon,' hide its presence, and wait for the storm to pass as a rule. —Therefore, birds or insects that approach the traces of that anger so quickly are extremely unnatural.

"Missed it."

Seeing the flock of birds gathering to check the area scorched by the breath, Aldebaran muttered words that disappeared within his mouth. Most animals are straightforward and faithful to their instincts. If they act contrary to their instincts, it is evidence that some unnatural interference is at play. In other words, it is proof that the existence causing that unnatural interference is still alive. Confirming this, Aldebaran—

"—Next."

He dissolved a poison capsule in his mouth and gulped down the deadly poison. And then—

× × ×

"Target, from three o'clock to six o'clock. —Do it, Alter."

Next, at the restart point where he returned, he instructed the 'Dragon' to ravage the next area.

△▼△▼△▼△

"Target, from six o'clock to nine o'clock. —Do it, Alter."

"Target, from six o'clock to eight o'clock. Slight adjustment."

"Target, from six o'clock to seven o'clock."

"Fix target at seven o'clock. Adjust range, breath to eighty percent."

"Seventy percent."

"Sixty percent."

"Sixty-five percent."

"Sixty-five point five percent."

"—Sixty-five point five percent, confirmed."

△▼△▼△▼△

—Seven hundred fourteen.

Told by Yae that he was doing things neatly, Aldebaran reconsidered his thoughts. He became aware of his unconscious arrogance and seriously examined what was necessary to truly achieve his purpose, and came to a conclusion.

—The binding of non-killing.

It was something Aldebaran decided must be adhered to at the very least from the moment he resolved to eliminate Natsuki Subaru and decided to follow his creation purpose. He had already lost much, and from a world where even her sun-like presence had vanished, he decided not to let anything more be lost. However, in his obsession with that vow, Aldebaran unconsciously shackled his own authority.

To uphold the vow of taking no one's life, he imposed the same binding on the journey itself. With Aldebaran's authority—'Domain,' the events that occurred in the repeatedly occurring world would endlessly become nonexistent until a period was placed on that matrix. If, ultimately, the balance of 'non-killing' is achieved, then deaths in the process need not be avoided.

The fact that he placed this conclusion outside of his consciousness was the shackle Aldebaran had unconsciously imposed on himself. He continued to waste time removing it. —No, if not for Yae's words, perhaps he might still be unaware even now.

"I understood that my brother was using blessings to wear us down. The problem was my brother's thoroughness and infinite hand, and the fact that there was no way to prevent it..."

Al-sama, having unshackled himself, forcefully overcame the challenge with sheer power. It's not a complicated story. The pursuers, using the eyes and mobility of insects, fish, and small animals, were tracking Aldebaran and his group, setting up various obstacles. However, considering the range of the speculated blessing of the opponent, the command over the animals was neither as immediate as telepathy nor as absolute as brainwashing.

In any case, the pursuers must have been giving verbal instructions each time according to the situation. To execute this, the pursuer giving commands also needed to maintain a distance, neither too close nor too far, while continuing to track Aldebaran and his group. —It was by forcefully determining the location of the pursuing enemy with the breath of the dragon.

"Narrow down the area using clock position, and measure the distance with the depth of the breath. If we do something unexpected, they'll have no choice but to play their hand to confirm what happened. Playing their hand means proof that the brother is safe. But what if they don't play their hand?"

Playing their hand—without even the chance to move the forces allied through the blessing, it was proof of their disappearance from this world. Confirming this, Aldebaran returned to the 'Domain', narrowed down the direction of the pursuer, measured the distance, and pinpointed the enemy's location as closely as possible. Naturally, in the process, mountains, forests, and even towns were caught up as collateral damage—but all of it was undone.

Thanks to the final reconciliation through the 'Domain', the number of casualties besides Aldebaran was zero. —No, since Aldebaran's 'death' isn't counted, the casualties are zero.

"Combining with the time of selecting members for the tower, one thousand three hundred forty-seven... it was a tough one."

There's no exhaustion like being tripped up again by an opponent you thought you had eliminated once. In that sense, the pursuer—Otto Suwen, tormented Aldebaran more than the 'Sword Saint' or the 'Sword Demon'. In fact, if it was his doing that sent Emilia to Aldebaran and Wilhelm to Yae in the royal capital, the damage suffered by this group was far beyond Aldebaran's one thousand three hundred forty-seven 'deaths'. Of course, it was because Aldebaran judged it to be such a threat that he spared no effort in deploying his hand and succeeded in exposing the formidable enemy.

"Al-sama, over here, over here!"

Waving her hand, beckoning Aldebaran and his group, was Yae below. Following Yae's call, Aldebaran descended to the ground and jumped off from his back. On the mountainside, where Yae had already reached the target point, she smiled, and behind her were a green civil officer tied to a tree and a ground dragon bound hand and foot, lying on the ground. The ground dragon, having desperately resisted the steel wire restraints, had blood seeping from various parts of its pale blue dragon skin and was still twisting its body, panting heavily in exhaustion.

"As expected, the loyalty of a ground dragon is something else. Thinking back, Patrasche of the current generation was like that too."

"I briefly considered using it as an example, but I thought it might become more stubborn rather than breaking, so I decided against it. What do you think of Yae-chan's judgment?"

"I think that's the right call too. Besides, if it's an example, it doesn't mean anything if it can't be seen."

Al-sama tilted his head as he was greeted by Yae Tenzen, and inside his helmet, Aldebaran twisted his lips. In Aldebaran's view, Otto Suwen, the internal affairs officer suspended above the twisting head of a ground dragon, was completely bound from head to toe with steel threads, including his eyes and mouth, rendering him utterly helpless.

Ordinarily, a single steel thread is so thin that one must strain their eyes to confirm its presence. The fact that it was clearly visible as a restraint suggested an unimaginable number of threads were used.

"There is no light, no sound leakage. Even a whisper or a breath could potentially communicate with the outside. So, I wrapped him completely, leaving only a single air passage from his ankle. This way, he's too focused on breathing to convey any intent."

"...I get that it's a sign of caution, not just a personal grudge. In reality, if you give that guy a chance to talk, who knows what he'd do."

"I'm not acting out of personal vendetta~. Yae-chan isn't such a bad shinobi, right?"

Yae, pressing a finger to her cheek and flashing a cute smile, was in a particularly good mood. Having been tormented by Otto Suwen, who specialized in harassment, she claimed not to hold a grudge, yet there was likely quite a bit of resentment. After all, harassment and attrition against enemies are the exclusive domain of shinobi.

"Finally managing to restrain him would indeed put you in a good mood."

"Geez, Al-sama really doesn't understand a woman's heart. Of course, it feels good to subdue someone who launched such insidious, thorough, and persistent attacks with the worst personality."

"That's much more than I could say."

"But the best part is that Al-sama properly acted like a monster. Without clinging to some tiny sense of humanity, you fully embraced being a monster."

"――――"

"For that, being thrown with all his might by Bol-sama is nothing."

"You do seem to have some dissatisfaction with the plan..."

Yae corrected Aldebaran's misunderstanding and added that last comment. The change in the use of the 'Domain' and the subsequent identification of the pursuers' location—after completing that, before the enemy could discern their intent, they needed the fastest means to rush over. That was to have the flying 'Aldebaran' throw Yae to the target's location.

It was a rough method that exposed Yae's life to significant danger, but since the enemy was in a mountainous area with plenty of buffers, Yae, who could create cushions with her steel thread technique, was deemed the most suitable.

"This role can't be entrusted to the current Heinkel-sama, even if he wouldn't die from being thrown."

"Even if a hole was made in the mountain by my old man, he'd still be fine, but indeed, entrusting a crucial role to him in his current state is not wise."

A significant, nearly fatal rift had formed between Heinkel and Felt. Though a temporary measure had been taken to address the issue, it was merely a stopgap that displeased 'Aldebaran' and was far from a definitive solution. Given the unpredictable nature of the problem, Aldebaran and Yae concluded that it was best left untouched for now.

In any case――,

"――Finally, checkmate."

Otto, immobilized and unable to resist, looked up at Aldebaran, who had achieved victory in a long, drawn-out match against an opponent now resembling a silver cocoon. However, Aldebaran's opponents weren't limited to just Otto; he was engaged in a multi-front battle against adversaries on a kingdom-wide and global scale. Just because he managed to avoid losing a single piece, he couldn't carry this as a triumphant event indefinitely. Above all, he needed to ensure that his opponent would never return to the board again, eliminating them thoroughly.

"Even if my eyes, ears, tongue, and limbs were taken, I would still follow Al-sama's orders, you know~"

"—Yae."

"Oh my, Al-sama, you're so scary~"

Inflicting wounds that render someone unable to fight again, while leaving them alive, is deceitful. For Aldebaran, the restraint of non-lethality isn't something flexible enough to claim adherence as long as the opponent isn't dead, nor should it be. It's akin to declaring that world peace can be achieved by taking away the hands and feet of every person in the world. Therefore, Aldebaran wouldn't take Otto Suwen's eyes, tongue, hands, or feet. Instead, what he would take from him was—the reason to fight.

"—Roy, loosen the range of the curse mark. It's your turn."

△▼△▼△▼△

"—Roy, loosen the range of the curse mark. It's your turn."

Indeed, Otto Suwen, who was thoroughly restrained, heard the voice of the person looking down at him. —In one aspect, Aldebaran and the others misunderstood the effect of Otto's 'Divine Protection of Speech.' Words, in other words, voices, are vibrations of sound. And vibrations, even if Otto's ears were blocked, would touch Otto's body as long as they were within range. The 'Divine Protection of Speech' doesn't translate sounds entering through the ears. It senses the vibrations of intent that touch Otto's existence and picks them up. Therefore—,

"Fate is strange, isn't it, brother? In Priestella, both Rai and Rui missed out on eating you, yet here you are, served up before us."

The voice of Roy Alphard, the Sin Archbishop of 'Gluttony,' licking his lips, was something Otto could clearly perceive.

"——"

However, frustratingly from the depths of his heart, there was nothing Otto could do anymore. Even though he continued to pick up the voices around him with the 'Divine Protection of Speech,' with his mouth sealed, limbs restrained, and his ability to express his will cut off, Otto was helpless.

"What are you going to do to the young master... Please, stop, stop it...!"

Hearing the pained plea of Furufu, right beneath where he was suspended, was heart-wrenching. For now, it seemed Aldebaran and the others had no intention of causing further harm to Furufu, let alone taking his life. If so, Otto wished for Furufu to quietly endure the storm of this situation. That was his greatest wish at the moment. And then—,

"—"

With a voice that couldn't be heard, he earnestly worried about his comrades who weren't there. He had heard that Emilia, Ram, Petra, Meili, Rem, Crusch, Roswaal, and those from Felt's camp were cooperating. Surely, a clever plan would be found. If possible, Otto wanted to personally deal a blow to the enemy on behalf of Garfiel. And to rescue the captured Subaru and Beatrice—.

"It's sad, isn't it, brother? It's painful, isn't it, brother? But! I'll embrace and love all those mixed cries of joy and sorrow! After all, this world is nothing but binge drinking! Binge eating!"

Slowly, the tainted appetite of 'Gluttony' approaches him. Otto Suwen accepts it helplessly, with no choice but to be consumed.

Therefore, Otto Suwen continues to pray. Continues to wish. Continues to think.

That his final plan will succeed――.

"――Well then, let's dig in!"

△▼△▼△▼△

"Thank you for the meal!"

The power of 'Gluttony' activates, and the suspended Otto Suwen is devoured. There are no flashy effects or magical displays accompanying this act. It simply proceeds quietly, like a meal placed on a plate being rudely consumed by the eater. ――It was just an ordinary meal.

"I just saw it, but it really feels like cheating. In an instant, the resistance I felt from the thread disappeared."

Yae murmurs, not hiding the disgust in her voice, as she touches the ring that releases the steel thread. Her words indicate that Otto Suwen, who was bound by the thread, had lost his resistance to escape. This signifies that Roy Alphard's 'Voracity' has taken effect.

"On top of that, we still remember that guy. ――As promised, he seems to have restrained himself to only consuming 'memories'."

"Ahaha, what’s that, not enough gratitude and admiration! Just so you know, separating 'name' and 'memory' to nibble on them is quite a task, you know? It's like trying to pick out the filling of a sandwich without opening the bread."

"I don't care. If you can't do it, you'll just die. Separate them properly."

In front of the motionless Otto Suwen, wrapped in steel thread, Roy talks about the hardships of his power, and Aldebaran snorts. No matter how much Roy claims this is a high-level task, Aldebaran has no intention of listening. ――If Roy fails, the effect of the oath mark engraved on him by Aldebaran will burn his soul to death. Of course, Aldebaran, who can't afford Roy's death now, intends to make him redo it every time he fails, searching for a way Roy can succeed.

"Al-sama~, isn't that Sin Archbishop getting a bit cocky? If you can bind his actions with the effect of the oath mark, couldn't you have just made him obey more simply without the hassle of persuading him?"

"Engraving an oath mark isn't as casual as you think. In the first place, the oath mark carries risks for the one engraving it too. It's a trump card to make someone who truly won't listen obey, and you only get one chance in a lifetime."

Yae whispers conspiratorially, and Aldebaran responds while pressing her forehead. As the name suggests, the act of engraving an oath mark, a type of sorcery, has existed since before magic and sorcery diverged, and in its essence, it's closer to the origin of magic. If you talk about the image of the word 'oath mark', the person who taught Aldebaran how to engrave and use it would lecture you for half a day.

"To use such a precious opportunity for us...! It's fine, it's fine, it's okay, it's good, it's alright, it's nice, it's okay because I can believe it, binge drinking! Gluttony! That's already love, isn't it..."

"What! Are you saying you prefer a crooked-toothed Sin Archbishop over the adorable and alluring devoted maid Yae-chan? Al-sama, you philanderer!"

"You shouldn't be coordinating so well with the Sin Archbishop yourself..."

Al-sama was exasperated by the relentless banter between Roy and the unyielding Yae. Yae likely had no intention of getting along with Roy, but she was cunning enough to use anything to sway Al-sama's heart. On the other hand, Roy's attitude might mistakenly suggest that he was a reasonable Sin Archbishop.

However, one must not be mistaken. To Al-sama, both Yae and Roy were equally subjects to be used for his purposes, and potentially threats that could stab him in the back.

And that is—

"Roy, don't get too cocky. Hurry up and tell me what the brother you just devoured was plotting. That's why I let you eat him."

Keeping Roy firmly within his attack range, Al-sama coldly advised. Though Roy had been freed from his restraints and had his broken limbs healed by Al-sama's magic, it didn't mean he was trusted or allowed to act freely. It just wasn't practical to carry Roy around tied up while finalizing the plan from here on out.

For instance, when wanting to rely on Roy's powers as 'Gluttony' like now, it would be too poor a move to keep him as a card that couldn't be used immediately. The vigilance towards Roy must never be relaxed, and what was necessary was to prepare a strategy to keep Roy in line.

Fortunately, the curse mark was satisfactorily fulfilling its role.

"I hope we hear something useful~"

As she spoke, the cautious Yae wiggled her slender fingers, hinting at the presence of invisible steel threads to keep Roy in check. It was none other than Yae who had been most opposed to utilizing Roy's powers, and while she welcomed Al-sama's declaration to remove the shackles on her advice, she strongly insisted that if they were to be removed, the constraint of 'non-lethality' should also be lifted.

In fact, as she said, if Al-sama decided to lift the constraint of 'non-lethality' and freely control the life and death of any opponent, the objective itself could be achieved effortlessly. It would be enough to scatter Al-sama's breath in all directions and keep enemies at bay.

However, Al-sama rejected that and instead advocated adding the acceptance of 'death' in the process and the use of Roy Alphard's powers as a new option.

In truth, it was the release of a forbidden move, actively using the powers of a Sin Archbishop. It was different from exercising the powers in Al-sama's missing position. It was using the powers that had been passed down through generations, causing numerous tragedies and sacrifices, for one's own benefit simply because they were useful.

This was likely an evil act that only one other person besides Al-sama had committed since the Witch Factors were born into this world.

In short, it was an action that crossed a significant line. Without results to match, there would be no meaning in defying the sun—

"So, tell me. I've gone out of my way to ruin someone's life. If there's nothing..."

"Ah, wait, wait. Please don't rush me. You seem to misunderstand, but we can't instantly understand everything about the person we've devoured. It's like how you can't suddenly recall something you knew from the start unless it's necessary. It's the same with..."

"I won't say the same thing twice."

"……Alright, alright, I get it. I see, I see. This guy here is more experienced in life than we thought, and it kind of surprised us a bit—"

Roy, who was about to start a long-winded excuse, focused on recalling the 'memory' he had just consumed from Otto Suwen. Roy's argument could be said to be a combination of the tumultuous days of Otto, who was blessed with the 'Divine Protection of Speech', and the extraordinary amount of voices he must have heard. However, Roy's sarcastic words suddenly stopped, and Aldebaran found it suspicious. It was unmistakably a sign that he had unearthed some 'memory' that caught his attention—

"What is it, what's wrong?"

"Haha, it seems we were more thorough than I thought. —There's a foolproof plan for if we get taken down."

"——"

Foolproof—a safety device to prevent foolish mistakes. The moment Roy mentioned it, a tremendous chill ran up Aldebaran's spine.

It wasn't a countermeasure for when an attack was imminent, but a plan for after being taken down. If Otto Suwen had prepared that, then now was precisely the time.

"Yae! Quickly—"

With the thought of either escaping the scene or resetting the situation through self-sacrifice, Aldebaran acted without narrowing down his options. In a way, this both succeeded and led to failure. It was—

"—Pleased to meet you, Aldebaran-sama."

A delicate girl's voice struck Aldebaran's ears like a surprise attack. It was literally an anomaly that appeared in the blink of an eye, and the way it appeared without any preamble didn't even give his instincts time to sound the alarm. He should not have seen the blue-haired girl who had changed her appearance and attire from her time in the Vollachian Empire. —He realized this the moment he visually confirmed her twirling maid skirt. Instantly, the name, existence, and nature of the maid girl rapidly threatened his mind.

"——"

Once consumed by the authority of 'Gluttony', her 'name' and 'memory' were devoured, and she was erased from the register of all life names in Od Lagna. The girl, who was spat out due to the malice of 'Voracity' and left without causing actual harm, exploded in Aldebaran's mind. Struck by the shock of being forcibly reminded of her existence, Aldebaran, who was supposed to bear the fate of not stopping his thoughts, was left behind by his own thinking—

"—Al-sama!!"

In an instant, Yae's slender arm reached out to Aldebaran, who had raised his voice. As he caught sight of her white fingers at the edge of his vision, Aldebaran couldn't move. Unable to move, in the second his thoughts were stolen, the situation shifted.

—In a flash, Aldebaran's body was severed from the space he had been in moments before and was thrown into the air, fiercely buffeted by the wind.

"——"

The dazzling brightness of the sun, which had ceased to burn, seared Aldebaran's black eyes as he soared through the sky. —It was the unexpected beginning of a critical moment for Aldebaran and his group.

—The battle for the Mogoredo Great Vent, which would determine the fate of the world, had begun.