――Otto Suwen was swiftly removed from the battlefield by the hands of Roy Alphard of 『Gluttony』.

As the bearer of 『Divine Protection of Speech』, the man who mastered it more than anyone in history, his battle went exactly as declared, branding Aldebaran's group as enemies of the world and causing them great suffering. Therefore, the conclusion of his solitary battle was brought about by a merciless suppression so thorough that it left no room for counterattack.

His words were sealed, his actions were sealed, his tricks were sealed, his wit was sealed, every weapon he possessed was sealed, and finally, even the 『memory』 that defined him was taken away, leading to Otto Suwen's utter defeat.

Even Otto, when Aldebaran's group seriously and with full force aimed to seal him without giving him time to devise countermeasures, had no means to handle it. Since he couldn't predict when or where the opponent would strike, forming a trap zone using his favored protection was impossible. Thus, Otto Suwen, when attacked, had no means to respond—his last resort was merely a desperate measure prepared for such an assault.

――He had only left instructions for the Zodda Bug to take flight all at once to reveal his location when he was taken down.

△▼△▼△▼△

"Al knew about Rem even before he became acquainted with us in the empire... before his 『memory』 was consumed by 『Gluttony』. There's no mistake about it."

Imaginary Subaru voiced this opinion while they were in the midst of planning a surprise attack. With his arms crossed and sitting cross-legged in mid-air, Subaru's stern face reminded Petra of the time in the Royal Capital when Al and Rem had a connection in his memory.

That was when Subaru had committed a grave blunder at the castle and was desperately trying to make amends. Although Petra thought it was quite terrible, she wasn't disillusioned by Subaru's reckless behavior, but Subaru himself remembered it as an embarrassing moment that made him cringe. In fact, everyone present at the time likely frowned at Subaru's recklessness, and aside from Petra, the only one not disillusioned by his actions was probably Rem, who was blindly devoted even then.

Anyway, while Subaru was trapped in such a negative emotional loop, he sought a way to save Emilia from an attack by the Witch Cult and visited Priscilla's mansion. There, Subaru received an unimaginably harsh cold shoulder from Priscilla, but the crucial connection between Al and Rem was discovered when he was being chased away from the mansion. The specific reason was unclear, but――

"Al mistakenly called Ram and Rem by the wrong names and was incredibly surprised by it. Even when I asked Rem, she said it was her first time meeting Al."

"So Al-san knew about the two of them one-sidedly? Because they were rivals in the Royal Selection, he properly investigated... or something?"

"Do you think Al was in charge of such proper Royal Selection countermeasures in Priscilla's camp? It's not impossible, but that's not the point. The important thing is that Al knows Rem. In other words――"

"Just like all of us, when Al-san sees Sister Rem, his 『memory』 gets confused."

"Exactly.――If I had to name it, it's 『Flash Lemonade』."

With a snap of his fingers that couldn't be heard, Subaru winked, and Petra gave him a thumbs-up. Honestly, there was some resistance to treating Rem like a flash grenade, but Petra and the others had already confirmed for themselves that there was no countermeasure against this 'memory' backlash. The deeper the relationship and attachment, like Petra in Subaru or Ram, the greater the impact they received, but a gap is a gap, no matter how small. After that, they just needed to take advantage of that gap――,

"Let's show Al-san.――Just how angry we are."

△▼△▼△▼△

――Here, let's allow the Sin Archbishop of 『Gluttony』, Roy Alphard, to make his defense.

Using his nature as an 'evil eater' and the authority of 『Gluttony』 that caused many tragedies, Roy completely incapacitated Otto Suwen, who had tormented Aldebaran's group. His 'devouring' not only rendered Otto powerless but also consumed the entirety of Otto's twenty-two-year life, swallowing his joys, angers, and sorrows all in one gulp from the plate.

Having finished his intangible meal with a gulp, Roy savored Otto Suwen's life with precision and freshness beyond that of reading the 『Book of the Dead』, overcoming considerable hardships, and experiencing a fair share of joys and sorrows, rating it as a somewhat heavily seasoned two-star dish. By the time he was evaluating what he had consumed, it already felt like he had inherited the 『Gourmet』 spirit of his deceased brother, Lye Batenkaitos, but putting that aside, devouring 'memories' meant that it was possible to know the thoughts, philosophies, and even the plans and schemes during battles of that existence.

Therefore, normally, even if there was a sense of victory or accomplishment after defeating Otto, it should have been naturally easy to detect the ambush planned immediately afterward. However, that did not happen.――Because Otto had not shared the plan with his companions about what exactly they would do after he was taken down.

Otto Suwen simply believed. That if he could just give the signal for the moment he was taken down, his companions would not let it go to waste.

Because everything was bet on that strong bond, which was not a strategy or anything――,

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

It was truly an event that occurred in the blink of an eye.

Closing his eyes and opening them, in that instant, the presence of a blue-haired girl interrupted, and not only Aldebaran but also Yae, Roy, and even 'Aldebaran' could not react. An anomaly that shouldn't have been there appeared suddenly without any sign. That fact alone was enough to rob the seasoned soldiers of a moment, but the one for whom it became a fatal wound was Aldebaran, for whom it was more than just a moment.

"――――"

Of course, Yae, who had no acquaintance, Roy, who was outside the scope of his authority, and 'Aldebaran,' who shared 'memories' but whose soul was different, did not experience the phenomenon. The 'memories' dyed black, engraved in the brain and soul, were stimulated, and with a sensation as if forcibly wedged back in, Aldebaran's consciousness was dyed white.

Someone called it a flash grenade of 'memories.'

"――Al-sama!!"

Called by a high-pitched, desperate voice, he was caught by a hand reaching out from beyond the whitened consciousness. However, that did not rescue Aldebaran from his predicament.

"――――"

The soles of Aldebaran's feet, which should have been firmly on the ground, suddenly sliced through the air. As his body was engulfed by a fierce wind, he lost track of up, down, left, and right, and noticed he was starting to spin around.

With his uncontrollable body, he continued to gaze at the dazzling sun floating in the blue sky above him, its brilliance burning his dark eyes. Aldebaran realized once again.

――He had been somehow transferred into the sky and thrown outside the 『Domain』.

"――! Domain Expansion, Matrix Redefinition."

While resetting the forcibly severed 『Domain』, Aldebaran gritted his teeth. He had been led into his opponent's scheme and had his matrix updated. ――Now, he could no longer return to the moment before the ambush.

However, if he had delayed his decision to update, Aldebaran would have been defeated without any means to fight back. Aldebaran's authority is invincible, but only within the confines of the established 『Domain』. If he dies outside of it, he won't be given another chance to retry, just like countless other lives.

"――――"

Accepting the premise he was placed in, Aldebaran's consciousness converged on reality. Since he had been forcibly made to update the matrix, everything that happens from here on out would be both a treasure and a disaster for Aldebaran, a tailwind and a headwind, good and evil.

"The sky...!"

The sound of the wind roaring like a howl, the intense sensation of floating that pounded his entire body, and the fact that he was falling from a great height without having been launched formally indicated that the proper procedures had been skipped.

For a moment, the power of the strongest 『Witch』 flashed through Aldebaran's mind, but it was different. ――If the opponent had been that 『Witch』, the phenomena would be different. He wouldn't be thrown into the sky like this, and more importantly, Aldebaran would have been killed a hundred times in the blink of an eye.

Therefore, he eliminated that possibility from the many worst-case scenarios. As he reduced the possibilities, he simultaneously gathered information about his surroundings. The immediate anomaly near Aldebaran, who was being tossed by the wind, was――,

"――Al-sama."

It was the presence of Yae, clinging tightly to Aldebaran's single arm. Just before being thrown into the sky, she had leapt at Aldebaran, who was paralyzed by the flash grenade of 『memory』, and she too had been flung from the forest into the sky.

Whether this was a blessing or a curse, Aldebaran mentally sorted what could and couldn't be done with Yae being with him, and chose the first thing he should do. That was――,

"I'll adjust our posture! Al-sama, don't let go of me――"

"Obu."

Almost simultaneously, as Yae attempted to address their fall and Aldebaran opened a capsule in his mouth and ingested it. Yae's crimson eyes widened, and her startled expression turned towards him. But it was too late; he had already swallowed a lethal dose.

"I'll explain later."

As blood bubbles spilled from the corner of his mouth, staining the inside of his helmet with the taste of iron rust, Aldebaran's consciousness was tossed about by the wind――,

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　×　　×　　×

"――!"

As expected, reality greeted him with the continuous roar of the wind. When he reopened his closed eyelids, the unchanged, hateful brilliance of the sun was there. After glaring at it intensely, Aldebaran took stock of his surroundings, realizing he was hundreds of meters up in the air.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Teleportation, instant movement, teleport. Regardless of how you describe it, the effect is the same. As a form of shadow magic that acts on space, it requires numerous conditions to be met, making it a super magic. If you meticulously construct the spell and carve it into your own field, a limited warp connecting door to door within that space is possible. Alternatively, even without prior preparation, if you can visualize the coordinates of the destination and are willing to expend the gate, you might be able to issue a one-time, one-way ticket.

× × ×

In short, the phenomenon that sent Aldebaran and the others flying into the sky is at a level impossible to achieve with magic, indicating the involvement of some other extraordinary technique. There's no record of any divine protection that can physically interfere with others to this extent. Of course, there are those like Reinhard who can master seemingly trivial divine protections in abnormal ways, turning them into formidable combat tools, but—

"This is different. But if it's an Authority..."

As far as Aldebaran knows, the existing Authorities are 『Wrath』 and 『Gluttony』 held by the Sin Archbishops, and 『Sloth』 and 『Greed』 held by Natsuki Subaru. If we exclude Aldebaran's Authority, which should be considered an exception due to its missing, extra, or stolen nature, the remaining possibilities are 『Pride』, and then 『Vainglory』 and 『Melancholy』. Since the last two should be beyond anyone's control, the only remaining possibility is 『Pride』.

× × ×

"Is 『Pride』 here? Has it emerged? Joined? —No, that doesn't matter."

Whether someone Aldebaran knows has been chosen by 『Pride』 or someone unknown has joined as 『Pride』, the concern is the possibility that the Authority holder has turned against them. Excluding only Natsuki Subaru and Reinhard, if anyone with unknown abilities threatens Aldebaran, it would undoubtedly be the Authority holders—those who are allowed to bend the rules of the world and trample upon it at will, the destroyers of concepts.

× × ×

"Alright, calm down."

The time for being led by the enemy's intentions and flustered is over. Feeling as if asked by the roaring voice, Aldebaran responds. He has managed to organize the current situation within himself to that extent. Of course, the situation of being thrown into the sky, the regret of having dragged Yae along, and the sensation of consciousness being pushed aside by the restoring 'memory' remain unchanged in reality.

However, as long as he doesn't die, it's cheap. That's Aldebaran's life. If he can use that throwaway life to let his head, body, and heart take a breath, it's a bargain.

"—Al-sama."

Yae clings to Aldebaran's single arm, and as he watches her tied hair fluttering like a happy dog's tail, Aldebaran's thoughts move to the next phase. He must reach the ground alive with Yae. To do that—

"I'll adjust our posture! Al-sama, don't leave my side—"

"No, that's my line."

As Yae, full of determination, tries to act on her own judgment in the air, Aldebaran forcibly pulls her to his chest to stop her. Having used his right arm for that, he quickly generates a rock prosthetic arm he's grown accustomed to making, raises it above his head—and in an instant, a powerful impact strikes the prosthetic from above, accelerating their fall.

It was a terrifyingly vicious blow from a massive iron lump, resonating heavily even through the crafted arm. Amidst the tremendous sound of the wind, there was a threat at the end of the chain that danced like a writhing snake.

Contrary to its name, it was a spiked iron ball designed to put people into eternal slumber—

"Prepare yourself!"

Beyond the iron ball that was launched, a blue-haired girl descended as if carrying the sun on her back. The one who significantly diminished Aldebaran's advantage and raised the smoke signal of war—Rem roared.

Slowly protruding from her forehead was a single horn. It was the mark of the Oni tribe, proof of a decisive race created to eradicate the traces of the 『Witch』 from this world. But more than that, to Aldebaran, who remembered her existence, it held another meaning.

That was—

"From the start, the story's been off since Rem-chan is alive!!"

△▼△▼△▼△

Leaping into the air as she had prepared, with the hem of her maid outfit fluttering, Rem tightly gripped the handle of the morning star in her hand, glaring down at Al and his group.

—Up to this point, the surprise attack plan had functioned perfectly according to plan. By exposing Rem's figure before Al, they robbed him of his judgment, and when he was paralyzed, they snatched him with 『Compression』. This successfully separated Al from his allies and brought him to a place where his immediate movements were restricted—a decision quickly agreed upon to take him into the sky.

Regarding the crucial timing of the attack, Otto, who had been persistently tracking Al's group with guerrilla attacks, had prepared a signal for when he was taken down, which proved useful. That signal was synonymous with the moment when Al's group defeated the formidable Otto, causing even a slight relaxation of tension.

"I have been treated very well by Priscilla-san. As someone who cares about Priscilla-san, I cannot overlook Al-san's outrageous actions any longer."

These were the words Rem expressed when there was opposition to her going to face Al directly. It was merely a mindset that served as the foundation of her resolve, but it was undoubtedly Rem's true feelings and the unwavering core motivation for challenging this battle.

Of course, right beside that core was the existence of Subaru, who had been captured by Al. In fact, this might be the true core. No, after all, Priscilla-san is also a core, so there are two cores. I will apologize to Beatrice-sama later.

In any case, with such determination, Rem's participation in the direct confrontation unit against Al was decided. Strategically, there was also the fact that no special vision of Rem being particularly useful in other battlefields was seen, but beyond the initial shaking of 'memory,' there was enough possibility that Rem had a special effect on Al.

That possibility was precisely—

"From the start, the story's been off since Rem-chan is alive!!"

At the moment she struck down with the iron ball from above, Al, who blocked the fierce blow with his rock-made prosthetic arm, shouted this while capturing Rem's presence in his sight. Amidst the roaring sound of the wind, the words reached her directly, and Rem was convinced that the unknown connection between her and Al, which Petra had told her about, had taken effect.

"I can't think of any connection between the inadequate Rem and Al-san, but..."

I confirmed with Ram, but her connection with Al was limited to a brief conversation in the Royal Capital before the royal selection began in earnest. It seems they didn't have any meaningful discussions that would leave a lasting impression, and even what they talked about was vague.

Most likely, the connection between us sisters and Al is one-sided, only from his side. However—

"Such words are hurtful! When Arakiya attacked us in Guaral, it was Al and—"

At that point, Rem hesitated but swallowed her reluctance,

"—Priscilla who helped us, wasn't it?"

Deliberately mentioning Priscilla's name, Rem attempted to provoke Al. She felt self-loathing for displaying the worst kind of cunning she could think of. However, she steeled herself, believing it was necessary to stop Al's reckless actions, and fixed her gaze sternly.

"——"

In response to Rem's provocation, Al chose silence over raising his voice. Inside the pitch-black iron helmet, Al's expression was hidden by the faceplate, and even his eyes were unreadable. Rem couldn't tell how much her words had hurt him.

"I'm going!"

However, without waiting for Al's reaction, Rem resumed her attack, giving him no time to rest. Rem had already set her priorities. Compared to her sister Ram, who was brilliant and genius, surpassing all in this world, Rem was clumsy, ordinary, and inferior. If Rem desired something beyond the ordinary, she had to pursue the best means to achieve it. For the sake of high-priority matters, she was adept at overlooking those of lower priority.

"Hyuma!"

With the chant, mana interfered with the world, and magic manifested as an impossible phenomenon. Unlike Emilia's Hyuma, which manipulates heat to solidify moisture in the air to create ice, Rem's specialty was producing water with magic from the void and outputting it as ice from the start. Neither type of Hyuma is superior, but Emilia's type, which uses existing moisture in the air, requires less mana and can be reused after serving its purpose. On the other hand, Rem's type, which creates new water, requires more mana and often returns to mana after use.

At first glance, Emilia's Hyuma might seem overwhelmingly superior. However, Rem's Hyuma has its powerful advantages. It can create ice in the desired shape and location, unaffected by the amount of moisture or water quality in the air—

"—Haaaah!!"

Kicking off the ice foothold created in the air, Rem fiercely attacked Al and the others. By creating a fixed-coordinate Hyuma, an instant foothold that wouldn't break even under Rem's full weight was formed. The power of the morning star released after gaining even a momentary foothold was incomparable to one swung with a twist of the body.

The iron ball, spinning thunderously as it charged at Al, showed no mercy. If it hit directly, it would easily shatter a human body. Responding to Subaru's daily care and affection, which polished it with love, it approached Al from Rem's hand, with joy, closer, and closer—

"I won't let you."

The iron ball of affection was caught head-on by countless threads at the moment of impact. Upon closer inspection, it was the shinobi with crimson eyes, nestled in Aldebaran's arms, who turned her body and glared at Rem. She was the formidable thread user who accompanied Aldebaran. The shinobi, embraced from behind by Aldebaran, spread the threads released from her outstretched hands into a mesh, softly cushioning the iron ball like a pillow.

Her skill was impressive, but that wasn't what caught Rem's attention the most. The plan was to completely isolate Aldebaran from his allies with this surprise attack that launched him into the air. The fact that she intervened was unexpected. No, calling it unexpected was incorrect. Rem knew why she was able to do it.

Despite everyone being enveloped in a mental blank due to Rem's sudden appearance, she left enough room to reach into that blank and actually took action. What drove her to do so—

"—It's love!"

"No, it isn't!!"
"That's not it!!"

In response to Rem's confident shout, Aldebaran and the shinobi yelled back almost simultaneously. In that moment, Rem forcefully pulled back the morning star that was about to be taken from her, retrieving the iron ball from the shinobi who disliked being off-balance. She created multiple new footholds for her next attack, kicking off them to rapidly descend and catch up with the two.

However—

"It's scary that you can catch up, but when you're long, you're short, aren't you?"

The shinobi, who had once tensed up, regained her composure and smiled sweetly as she launched threads. The threads headed towards the ice footholds Rem had created in midair. Aldebaran and the others, who were in a situation where they could only be tossed about in free fall, seemed to be trying to use the footholds Rem created to regain their posture. From what could be heard, the shinobi's skill surpassed even Rem's. If the inconvenience imposed on the opponent was compensated for, the power gap that should have been somewhat closed would quickly reverse.

"Yes, I understand. I'm always short."

Therefore, Rem wouldn't allow the opponent to compensate for that inconvenience.

"—!"

Upon hearing Rem's response—no, the sensation once grasped disappeared like mist, and the shinobi's expression lost its composure again. The ice foothold she tried to use vanished as if it were a dream or illusion. Of course, it was neither a dream nor an illusion. It was mana. Rem simply reverted it to mana at will. This is the significant difference between the Emilia type, which freezes once and leaves it frozen, and the Rem type, which freezes only when desired and is easy to clean up, even though both are humans.

"To put it simply, Rem is more aggressive."

Before Rem's eyes, the shinobi lost her balance as the destination for her intended power vanished. Aldebaran, who was holding the shinobi, also nearly lost his balance, but even so, he reinforced his cracked prosthetic arm with additional armor and continued to catch Rem's iron ball two or three times in succession. And then—

"—Take this!!"

—Emilia's long leg, flying diagonally from below, mercilessly slammed her ice-booted toe into Aldebaran's unguarded back.

△▼△▼△▼△

—The division of Aldebaran's group.

This was an indispensable prerequisite for opposing a group that rivaled or, in terms of instantaneous force, surpassed the Witch Cult. The surprise attack to meet this condition went about ninety percent according to plan. The ten percent deviation—how the shinobi, who chose to accompany them, would act was an uncertain factor that marred the plan, but excessive worry would be counterproductive.

Each individual must fulfill their responsibilities to the utmost. Without that trust and resolve, the plan to stop Aldebaran's gang cannot succeed.

"――Well, everyone has such an irresistible look in their eyes that they're trembling."

As he spoke, 『Gluttony』 Sin Archbishop, Roy Alphard, swung his loosely hanging arms and looked around with a sadistic smile. Surrounding him were figures that appeared one after another, replacing Aldebaran and his group who had just been sent away—warriors gathered to defeat Aldebaran's gang. Each of them had eyes that did not flinch in the face of a Sin Archbishop, causing Roy to lick his lips involuntarily.

"Nice, isn't it? It's good, isn't it? But, you know, with so many of you gathered, the force to do something about us might just get wiped out, don't you think?"

"――Ha. Why don't you show a bit more fear and hesitation? Unless you want to die the same way as your brothers did in the Sand Tower."

"And, are magical beasts within your strike zone too? If not... I think I'm your natural enemy."

Among the warriors, a figure hugging their own elbow and another stroking their braid responded. Despite the unmistakable hostility, Roy didn't hide his smile, trembling with anticipation of a feast.

"Y-you've got to be kidding... Can't you see the 『Divine Dragon』!? The Royal Capital was ravaged... There's no chance of winning!"

In stark contrast to the excited Roy, Heinkel spoke with a trembling voice and a pale face. As he stood right at the feet of the 『Divine Dragon』, relying on its majesty, he shouted desperately with a hateful expression against the enemies glaring at them. His appearance was exactly like a 'human borrowing the authority of a dragon,' but in truth, Heinkel's claim was not wrong. To stand against the absolute power of the 『Divine Dragon』 without a plan would only lead to merciless destruction and an end.

"However, that's only if there is no plan."

"――Tch, the giant old man."

"The giant old man knows the 『Demi-Human War』. I will not show mercy twice to those who direct hostility. ――I will take Felt back."

Facing Heinkel, who was at a loss for words and whose eyes were darting, a giant figure stroked his bald head and declared. Heinkel's cheeks stiffened at the giant's declaration, but there was another figure that stirred. None other than the 『Dragon』 itself, which was being targeted.

'To be honest, I'm surprised to be on the receiving end like this. I'm really feeling the weight of what it means to turn the world against you.'

The 『Dragon』, with its majestic presence, placed a hand on its head in an oddly human-like gesture. While exuding an overwhelming presence that would make many in the Kingdom of the Dragon King bow just by seeing or being near it, its demeanor seemed entirely different. At least, to those who knew the real 『Divine Dragon』, the sense of incongruity was clear.

"Unlike the esteemed members of the kingdom, I don't panic thinking that the image of the 『Divine Dragon』 is tarnished or that its brand value is diminished. ――But, I wonder about the gentleman next to me. Doesn't he have a lot on his mind?"

"No, Master, there's no need for concern, it's needless anxiety. It's ridiculous for me to say anything about a past I've already shed. Weakness."

In front of the dragon shell that did not match the stature of his heart, 『Aldebaran』 narrowed his golden eyes while looking down at those who were not intimidated. Among those who stood in their way, he focused his attention on a small figure slowly stepping forward. Naturally, Roy and Heinkel also directed their attention to that figure.

He didn't know why she ended up in such a position, but strangely, he understood without needing words. —That she was the representative of the will of this place.

Drawing all that attention, she—Petra Leyte pointed her finger to the sky and declared.

"—It's an all-out war. It's okay to lose completely and utterly," she said.