--- O God, O Buddha, O Lord Od Laguna. I swear I will never embrace a plush toy for the rest of my life.

△▼△▼△▼△

"------"

The moment his knee struck his chin, Roy Alphard thoughts raced like a flash of lightning. Odd, perplexing, bizarre, swirling doubts, suspicion, questions, something is wrong, a great upheaval, error, bizarre and mysterious events, irregularities, incorrectness, injustice, confusion, doubt after doubt after doubt---

"Die."

Ram, who was controlling Roy with these doubts, did not miss the initial opportunity. Her reaching white fingers gripped Roy's upturned neck with a choke hold. Stifled by the rising urge to vomit and lack of breath, pain and suffocation attacked Roy's small frame. However, Ram's terror lay in her relentless lack of mercy.

"Fula."

With a wind blade generating between the hand clutching his throat, the sharp edge caught Roy's slender neck head-on, mercilessly severing it from his torso---

"That's not happening!"

In that moment, a wind slash ran through, and blood spurted explosively from Roy's neck. However, it did not reach Roy's life, recreated with the tough skin of the "Carnivore" Belli Hinerga, which two thousand swords of soldiers could not penetrate when capturing a heinous criminal.

"------"

In that instant, an astonished Ram, witnessing this unexpected result, found herself bundled along with a restrained Roy high above the battlefield in an instant—the power of the teleporter Dorkel to shift. One day, suddenly enlightened and gaining extraordinary abilities through Od Laguna, the "Jumper" assassinated several powerful figures, becoming a disruptor of order. With no prior indication of teleportation, Roy forcefully subdued the stiffened Ram, and in that blink of an eye, assessed his prey on the battlefield---

"El-Fula!"

"You've got to be kidding me!?"

Without hesitation, as Ram blasted a wind magic into his gut, Roy involuntarily exclaimed. Teleportation was certainly unexpected for Ram. Yet, she digested both the shock of failing to decapitate Roy and the surprise of teleportation in an instant, immediately counterattacking. What bravery! What tenacity!

"You got this!"

The Wind Blade cannot pierce the tough hide of the "Carnivorous Beast." However, he wishes to commend its decisiveness and initiative. To express this commendation, he responds with a punch from the "Fist King" Neiji Lockhart.

The blow that has crushed the heads of many strong foes on the Gladiator Island, if that lands on Ram's delicate body, it would have shattered—and vanished.

"Did you lose sight of Ram? Useless eyes."

An unexpected voice, the presence of Ram, who should have disappeared, suddenly appeared behind him, and Roy reflexively swung a "Fist King" strike without looking, missing. Like magic, he sensed a presence above and was struck with a kick to the back of his head, plummeting, plummeting, plummeting to the ground—.

"Ah, how beautiful."

While falling to the ground on his back, Roy, without taking a defensive posture, was mesmerized by the sight overhead—a girl flipping the hem of her skirt, with pink hair elegantly flowing. Roy proceeded to crash unguarded into the ground, the impact on his back radiating pain throughout his body, but he didn’t mind.

—"Carnivorous Beast" x "Leaper" x "Fist King."

Even among the supreme beings devoured by "Gluttony," the brilliance of Ram's strength, skill, and spirit that handled them all impressed Roy unexpectedly. Feeling he must show his best as well, Roy kicked up to stand, bent his knees, and gathered strength to leap at Ram.

Because—

"You've got to give your all, pour everything when responding to hospitality, otherwise it can't be called love!"

"—That way of thinking, it's exactly like a story I heard somewhere before, and I really hate it."

However, before Roy could leap back into the sky, a ferocious, fierce voice assaulted him from the side. The roar was accompanied by sharp beast claws and explosive charging power. It ran gracefully across the ground on limbs that looked too slender to support its twisted horns and enormous frame—a creature known as the "Black King of the Forest," the epitome of ferocity and wickedness—

"------!!"
"Hyaah, Guiltylaw!!"

As Roy cheered, a claw strike was swung down at him. He countered it instinctively with the power of "Yukiguri" Tisro. His extraordinary body, known for single-handedly stopping an avalanche, caught the falling beast's mighty arms head-on, taking the right foreleg and then the left foreleg, locking them together.

As he put all his strength into twisting off Guiltyrau’s legs—a pair of light pink eyes met his gaze from beneath the beast, holding a staff.

"Really, at the peak of—"

"Fula."

Before he could even finish, he was struck in the forehead by a bullet of wind and sent flying by Guiltylaw’s tail attack. Knocked back and skidding across the ground on his toes, Roy lifted his face.

Behind Lam, who was holding a staff, was the young girl Meili clinging to Guiltylaw’s back. She pointed her slender finger at Roy—or rather, behind him—and shouted.

"Do it, Dark Demon Dogs!!"
“—!!”

In response to Meili's high-pitched voice, countless red spots leapt towards Roy fiercely.

They were blood-red eyes of black dogs with bared fangs, a pack of ferocious beasts, Ulgarms, imbued with a curse and magical power too great for their bodies.

The pack of demon dogs mercilessly sunk their fangs into the body of "Gluttony" and tore it apart. Ironically, the end of Roy Alphard, who had proudly borne the name "Voracious," was to become the prey of brutal beasts—

"Aaah Aaah Aaah Aaaah—"

The sudden song emanating from Roy's throat caused the movements of the beasts to stiffen.

In the now immobile pack of vicious dogs, Roy gently stroked the head of the one biting his neck—shortly after, the blood gushing from the wound became a blade, slicing, skewering, and eliciting cries of agony from the inescapable beasts.

"Well now,"

Standing up slowly, Roy revealed his entire body.

The bite marks of the demon dogs engraved all over Roy's body, with the blood flowing from them turning into glistening blades, suspending the black dog pack, their bodies becoming like fruit hanging on branches, now corpses.

The joint performance of the "Tragic Love Poet" Nota, who traveled reciting anti-national songs, and the sorcerer "Blood Tear Demon" Advan, who could only manipulate his own blood, was a dream collaboration. Furthermore, using the mana remaining in the carcass of a dead magical beast, they accomplished the magical feat of "Rainbow Illusion Duke" Matokrima Joradon, who plotted to overthrow the Holy Kingdom. Rainbow-colored butterflies, born from the corpses, emerged and began fluttering around Roy. The number of butterflies matches the number of corpses, fluttering and fluttering—

"Tada!"

—"Snow Eater" × "Tragic Love Poet" × "Blood Tear Demon" × "Rainbow Illusion Duke."

Roy, surrounded by countless rainbow-colored butterflies, adorned the grand stage with heartfelt praise to Ram and the others, who had graciously provided an exceedingly sweet reception. However, both Ram and Meili stiffened their gazes and attitudes, showing open hostility.

"Wow, wow, that was amazing! Your coordination was perfect just now! It gave me chills. Since when did you become such good friends? I guess the journey across the sea of sand, which we didn’t know about, brought you closer? Ram and Meili, you have a wicked side."

"Stop talking to us so calmly in that bloody, painful state. Speaking with a madman like you makes Ram's little bird heart worry and almost break."

"A little bird heart! Oh, I admire how you can say that about yourself. I can't wait to see what kind of groundwork will burst into flames next."

Roy clapped his hands and gradually retracted the blood blades into his body. As the corpses of the magical beasts fell to the ground, Roy coagulated the blood from his bites, quickly stopped the bleeding, and exhaled ecstatically. Although his earnest intentions didn't seem to get through, his desire to praise them was genuine. One-sided feelings are tough, but he wanted to cherish the fact that Ram and the others had done better than he had hoped.

"That aside, though."

Setting aside his affection for Ram and the others, Roy speculated that the mysterious phenomenon during the attack, a matter of mere seconds, was closely related to the vanished "Divine Dragon." It truly, truly surprised him because that huge "Divine Dragon" was nowhere to be seen on the battlefield in no time at all.

"Probably, the same trick was used to make Helmet Uncle and Shinobi Sister disappear and to make Ram and the others appear... I think it was Clind’s doing, and it seems like a divine authority."

Aldebaran, Yae, and the 'Divine Dragon' have disappeared. Additionally, the increased number of enemies and Ram's sporadic appearances align perfectly with Clind's special skills and image from 'Memory.' However, based on Roy's own knowledge, which doesn't rely on 'Memory,' the ability to make it possible is neither an individual's supernatural power nor a blessing of different characteristics, but possibly an authority. In that case, it would mean that Clind is the corresponding person for the only unoccupied seat, 'Pride.'

"Well, it doesn't really matter now about those who disappeared."

Not only the 'Divine Dragon,' but Clind and Roswaal's figures are also absent from the battlefield. Clind's true strength is unknown, but if he possesses authority, he would at least be a part of the fighting force. As a team, Roswaal and Clind engaged in large-scale battles with the 'Divine Dragon,' presumably changing the battlefield so as not to cause damage to the surrounding area. Those might be the background circumstances. In any case, if they have vanished from the battlefield, there won't be another chance to perform that vanishing and reappearing trick. Therefore, for now, enjoying the hospitality of the ladies in front of him takes priority over the heartless ones who disappeared.

"Isn't it wonderful, being human is wonderful."

The method for preventing the 'Eclipse,' the preparation of the nameless beast, and indeed all elements that constitute this battlefield, are the culmination of schemes set up to trap and kill Roy and the others. The preparations to face them, in other words, the groundwork and the spirit of hospitality. To extend hospitality, one must give their all—after all, that is what it means to give one's heart.

"In that case, we must respond with an appropriate dress code, otherwise it would be rude to the love-filled consideration."

"What... are you planning to do?"

Ram, sensitive to changes in Roy, the one being welcomed, furrowed her well-formed brows. To the beautiful maid who revealed her wariness, Roy shook his head, saying, "No, no."

Total war—yes, this is a battle deserving of that name, truly the final reckoning. The Royal Selection's mixed army, which Natsuki Subaru might have named 'The Aldebusters' if he were present, was fully prepared for any hospitality, and everyone was focused on demonstrating their true worth by drawing on their wisdom and inner strength, resolved to exert every ounce of their strength until the very end. This was true not only for Ram and her companions, but for every bit of the forces that had been committed without reservation, a peak moment where Roy Alphard felt like giving everyone a perfect score and a gold star. The sole blemish marring this star was not found on the enemy’s side. —It was on theirs.

"———"

Out of the corner of his eye, there was the image of a red-haired man—Heinkel—left behind on the same battlefield as Roy, crouching pathetically while blood dripped from his nose.

Though it's impudent to speak from a 'Gluttony' perspective, Roy's evaluation of Heinkel isn't entirely negative. A life involving unresolvable inner turmoil and self-imposed shackles seemed to promise a unique, murky astringency that could only come from such a life, sparking Roy’s interest in it as a rare delicacy. However, this curiosity was predicated on the main dish not being overshadowed by its smell or appearance, and currently, Heinkel was not even meeting the mark from a 'Gluttony' point of view.

"No matter how lavish the banquet, it’s ruined if there's a dish with garbage on it."

Even for someone labeled 'the Gourmet', having an element that could spoil the unified resolve of everyone clashing their lives together on a battlefield was unbearable. So—

"Uncle, c’mon, don't sulk forever, hop to it!"

"N-no, you, Sin Archbishop..."

Roy raised his voice suddenly, causing Heinkel, with his bloody face, to look up. As their eyes met and Roy noticed the unnatural flicker of the man's blue eyes, he found it amusing. The look was almost pleading. Even if Heinkel felt any kind of camaraderie or reliance on Roy, placing those hopes on a Sin Archbishop was beyond desperate. Such abject lack of dignity could be considered priceless in its own way, but right now, it was simply a nuisance.

"—Shall I just free you from your burdens, Uncle?"

Roy wouldn't save him. Nor would he abandon him. With a sneering smile, Roy presented Heinkel with a third option.

"———"

Heinkel's eyes widened in response, absorbing the proposal completely. Roy didn't fully understand how important the thing referred to as "a burden" was to Heinkel. But surely, it was more important than his own life or death. Heinkel, with those eyes, could see that Roy had the means to seize it. Roy's intention wasn't a threat; it was a viable option. Therefore—

"That's the spirit."

Witnessing the change in the expression of the man gritting his teeth, Roy's heart welled with genuine joy. Responding to Roy's heightened emotions, iridescent butterflies began to dance as if courting. As the iridescent scales started to sparkle in the sky, Roy stuck out his tongue lazily and laughed. Now, in the truest sense, the total war could begin.

"Wanting to be satisfied yet not wanting to be satisfied. Life sure is full of surprising flavors."

△▼△▼△▼△

—Oh God, oh Buddha, oh Od Lagna. I vow never to use needle and thread in my lifetime.

△▼△▼△▼△

"Guh..."

Struck by an impact that crushed his back and chest, Heinkel fell helplessly. Carol and Grimm — a couple who had long served the Astrea family, their granddaughters, twins trained in the 'Ryuho' technique — ignored their young age to deliver a deadly blow.

"Ugh, oof, bleugh."

Since the end of the war with the Vollachia Empire, he had hardly eaten satisfactorily. Heinkel squeezed stomach acid from his empty stomach and collapsed pathetically to his knees on the ground.

"......"

Looking down coldly at Heinkel were Flam and Grassis, causing a self-deprecating smile to twist his lips. Even so, Heinkel was the current head of the Astrea family. Yet, here were the Remendis family's daughters, who were supposed to swear loyalty to him, looking upon him with such disrespectful eyes.

"Our loyalty is pledged to the Young Master."
"The Master stabbed the former head—"

Heinkel was left speechless by the sharpness of the twins' retort, unable even to voice a word of resentment.

Both responses were so undeniably sound that the reasons for the twins' hatred and hostility towards Heinkel were more than convincing. The former always tormented Heinkel, while the latter was the burden that newly plagued him, weighing down on him like a heavy stone.

Yet still—

“I can’t die…”

The words ground out through clenched teeth could be interpreted in two ways. Either he couldn’t afford to die even after all he had endured, or despite all he had endured, he would not die. Yet Heinkel himself didn’t know which meaning he intended to convey.

“Ugh!”

The twins showed no mercy to the already shaken Heinkel. They hesitated not at all. The limbs of the girls, infused with the 'Flow Technique,' were fortified to a strength akin to steel, and their relentless strikes were like an iron downpour. Flame and Grassis attacked with perfect coordination from all directions — up, down, left, right, front, and back — leaving Heinkel with no choice but to guard his vital parts with his sword and endure the relentless assault.

—The ‘Flow Technique,’ come to think of it, was something Heinkel never truly mastered. It was a combat skill that many first-rate swordsmen and warriors employed unconsciously, but, even after being taught methodically, Heinkel never managed to fully hone it for actual combat. Were Flame and Grassis only twelve years old? Despite having spent more than twice their age in training, Heinkel's ‘Flow Technique’ fell far short of theirs. Had he been able to resign himself to calling it a lack of talent, perhaps one of Heinkel’s hundred agonies would have been lessened.

“Damn it…”

The sword stroke he swung for deterrence was swiftly evaded by the twins with just a glance of understanding. They deftly discerned that the strike lacked intent and targeted all his vital points — from his elbow to his side and neck. His bones creaked, and blood dripped from his mouth, producing nothing but bile. No sooner had he instinctively lowered his head than the twins, seizing the moment, somersaulted and kicked his muzzle straight upwards.

“Gah—!”

Heinkel arched his back and fell directly backward, hitting his head hard. His vision flickered, and while he could hear a distant ringing in his ears, he forcibly pulled his consciousness back from the brink of blanking out, hastily got up, and assumed a stance with his sword, glaring ahead.

Before him, the twins had landed side by side after somersaulting, carefully dusting off their hems before raising their faces. In the intersecting gazes, Heinkel saw the faint color of confusion in their eyes.

The likely reason for the sisters' puzzlement was that Heinkel was still standing. In just a matter of seconds, Heinkel was already battered. His clothes were covered in mud, and his unkempt beard was smeared messily with dripping nosebleed.

However, Heinkel did not fall. His consciousness remained unbroken, and his eyes stayed open. From the impact, it was unbelievable to Flam and the others.

But alas, having the endurance to astonish the twins was no point of pride. The sword's tip, aimed at the two, trembled, and Heinkel's bluff was clear to anyone. The outcome was already as good as decided—or rather, it wasn't even a fight to begin with. It was not a battle, so there was no decision to be made regarding victory or defeat. It wasn't in the stage of competing for them.

Even so, he couldn't fall. He had to endure. If he fell here, there would be no understanding why he had come this far, or why he had stabbed his father, Wilhelm van Astrea.

By continuing to endure, hope remained hanging by a thread. Surely, a ray of light would appear. Whether Aldebaran or the Divine Dragon, or Yae. At worst, even an Archbishop of Sin would do. Someone would break open the battlefield and bring hope to Heinkel—that was when it happened.

"Hey, old man, stop sulking and get a move on!"

Suddenly, a voice sliced through the battlefield, causing Heinkel to lift his face in surprise.

Only then did he realize, for the first time with awareness, that nowhere on the battlefield was the massive body of the Divine Dragon. On the battleground where both Aldebaran and Yae had disappeared, along with the Divine Dragon, the only ones remaining here were Heinkel and—

"Wh-what, the Archbishop of Sin...?"

On the other side, the only one facing the enemy was Roy Alphard. While repeatedly feeling disappointment over his lack of awareness of his surroundings and wondering when it had come to this, Heinkel tried to discern Roy’s intention for calling him over. Trying to cooperate with a Great Sin Archbishop was, to be honest, something he himself found questionable. However, he had heard that Natsuki Subaru, Emilia’s knight in the Vollachia Empire, supposedly had 'Gluttony' under his control. By thinking of it like that, he managed to forcibly swallow his intense resistance.

After all, they had gone to the trouble of escaping from the Prison Tower. The Great Sin Archbishop surely did not wish for death either. Even if he was a despicable opponent, if their goals were the same, there might be room to join hands—

“—Shall I free you from your burden, old man?”

However, the words that followed directly betrayed Heinkel’s expectations.

“——”

It was neither an offer of assistance nor a plea for help. It was a terribly inappropriate and selfish outburst. What on earth is he thinking? Does he understand the current situation? There was no Aldebaran to force open a path with his incomprehensible power, no 'Divine Dragon,' the strongest creature, nor anyone like Yae, a master of tricks and harassment. With only the weak, fragile, powerless Heinkel and the foul-natured criminal Roy here, what is the point of creating a chasm between them? —No, it was not that a chasm was created. The chasm was already there. An unfillable gap, a cliff that cannot be bridged, an absolute hole of isolation existed, and now he clearly understood that. What now that he understands? What becomes of what he said? Now that he understood the meaning of his words, what will Heinkel do? —Free Heinkel from his burden? From this burden that has already become grafted to Heinkel’s soul?

—That will not be allowed, nor will it be forgiven.

“That’s the spirit.”

Roy’s voice, sounding genuinely amused, did not reach Heinkel’s ears. Standing up with a ghostly, swaying movement, Flam and Grassis, facing him, slightly stiffened their cheeks, exchanged silent glances, and nodded to each other. Then—

“Dear master, steel yourself.”
“We’ll pour in everything we’ve got.”

Sensing that half-hearted repeated attacks seem counterproductive, he feels the twins' focus sharpening around him. As expected, a powerful strike is about to come. The moment he realizes this, Flame and Grassis kick off the ground, rushing straight at Heinkel. No, not straight.

"Rya!"

Synchronizing their voices and movements, the twins gouge the earth with a kick and launch it forward. The gouged earth rushes in, covering his field of vision. Heinkel cleaves it in two with his sword. As it was not a person or a life, Heinkel had no hesitation in cutting mere objects. However, beyond the cleaved earth in the clear view, Flame and the others were not visible. Instead, the twins closed in on Heinkel from both sides and mercilessly thrust their most accelerated attack under his arms.

"Go!"

It was, without exaggeration, a full-power blow that buried the twins' fists up to the wrist in Heinkel. Heinkel's ribs shattered, delivering a direct blow to the organs underneath. As blood surged up with tremendous force, he spewed it profusely from his mouth, nearly losing consciousness. But he didn't pass out. He withstood it. Not only did he withstand, but he also gritted his teeth, twisted his body, and forcibly seized the arms of the sisters that were thrust into him.

"Ah."
"This is bad."

Grimacing in pain from having their wrists squeezed tightly, Flame and Grassis tried to hit with their free hand and foot that were not grabbed by Heinkel, repeatedly pounding him like a storm on steel. Yet, Heinkel did not let go of the arms he had seized.

It wasn't something he sought to obtain, yet what could be said to set Heinkel apart from others was this extraordinary toughness, and probably this was the best way to utilize it. Despite being heavily battered, he clung to his opponents. An unsophisticated, crude counterattack befitting Heinkel Astrea, who defied the ideal image of a swordsman.

"Ahhh!!"

Heinkel, with a face stained by nosebleeds and swollen from beatings, raised both arms and slammed the twins he had grabbed forcefully towards the ground. In this moment, he forgot that his opponents were children, that they were beings serving his family, and that they were the granddaughters of Carol and Grim, whom he had known since his birth. No, rather than forgetting, he shut his eyes and, with a desperate gamble, aimed to slam the two headfirst into the ground—

△▼△▼△▼△

—God, Buddha, Od Laguna. I swear I'll never sing in my life.

△▼△▼△▼△

The iridescent butterfly that hatches using a corpse as a cocoon and the last embers of life as fuel—this magical technique devised by the "Phantom Rainbow Marquis" does not create new life. The butterfly merely takes such a form, while its essence is the embodiment of death, contrasting the creation of life.

“It was brother's trump card, right? The iridescent magic.”

The sweetly painful sensation recalled in the memory consumed unveils the iridescent light wrapping the sword—in principle, the ultimate technique unleashed by the "Supreme" knight and the iridescent butterfly are essentially the same. The only difference is that the "Phantom Rainbow Marquis" activates it in exchange for what is left of life's dregs.

“But its potency is left unchanged, you know.”

The butterfly of death that blows away everything it touches, at Roy's smiling cue, about twenty butterflies simultaneously swarm towards Ram and Meili. In response to the threat's approach, Ram and Meili immediately acted in unison.

“Sister Ram!”

“You're calling me wrong.”

“Got it, ma'am!”

Exchanging appropriately serious banter, Meili, straddling Guiltilaw, moved forward. Then, she patted the back of the jet-black beast, forcing it to brutally snap the nearby trees with its mighty arms. As the trees fell with a crunching sound, Ram dashed in to take their place, crouched down, and held her staff straight—

“El Fula.”

The swirling wind fiercely flung the snapped trees into the butterfly swarm. The butterflies, scattering scales of death, were directly hit, triggering a radiant explosion.

“Ughhh!”

Roy, unable to contain his shiver of excitement, stomped his feet at the optimal solution. The rainbow-colored butterfly, possessing the power to unravel and destroy the composition of anything, was akin to a touch-and-end fire magic stone. Its immense destructive power came with the price of being a one-use disposable item—the safest tactic was to blast it away using an obstacle. Even so, his immediate handling of it took Roy by surprise.

"Noooo!!"

If the butterfly were to be extinct through this means, even the "Fantastical Duke of Rainbows" would weep in obscurity. The butterflies launched directly ahead vanished in a rainbow explosion, but five surviving ones from each side bypassed the brilliant blast and circled widely, targeting Ram and her team. In addition, this time not only the butterflies, but Roy too leaped over using the powers of the "Leaper," aiming to club Guiltylaw to death first with the strong arm of the "Snow Eater."

--"Fantastical Duke of Rainbows" x "Leaper" x "Snow Eater."

The aurora's dazzling light blocked Ram and her team's front, the surviving rainbow butterflies from the sides, and Roy taking the rear position, deploying an inescapable triple assault mercilessly on Ram and her team— at that moment, a baby's cry cut through the sound for Roy, piercing his ear drums.

"--"

Momentarily robbed of thought by a baby's shriek, which seemed so out of place on the battlefield, Roy beheld before him a beast with a blasphemous form worthy of being called a god's failed creation. It wielded two burning spears made of bone, sweeping away the rainbow butterflies forming the siege. With a second aurora explosion sprouting and the blast wind causing his hair to flutter, Roy saw before him the bizarre entity, the famine horse king, which should have only existed in the underground sand ocean.

"Bringing it along was such a hassle."

With a large horned head, a body resembling the upper half of a human equipped with a huge mouth, resting on an oversized horse's body beneath the neck, it was far too distorted and grotesque to be called one with a centaur. Guiltylaw, which Meili had been riding just moments before, had been swapped with the famine horse king.

"--"

That truth sent Roy's thoughts into disarray. The great council of "memory" was searching for answers. The topics raised included the truth of the events occurring before him, coping with the imminent danger, the appropriate reaction to the shocking facts, all mingled with urgency. Just before selecting the topic of highest priority--,

"—What are you, with that foolish pig-like face?"

The owner of the voice that appeared directly behind, his gigantic fist, struck straight into Roy's diminutive frame.

"—!"

After being hit in the back, Roy's body was sent flying over the heads of Hunger Horse King and Meili. Roy, who slid across the ground faster than the exploding aurora, stabbed one hand into the earth to stop, twisted his body as he landed, and used acrobatic movements to regain his stance, forcing his enemy to give up the pursuit.

In Roy's field of vision, there was Meili atop the Hunger Horse King, the giant figure of a pigman in a black suit that appeared next to her, and Ram who was now in a clearly different position than before. —The appearance of a new enemy and the inexplicable exchange tactics in an instant, were the revival of possibilities that should have been dismissed.

"No, that wasn’t it."

Due to having 'memories,' he was trapped in unnecessary preconceptions. He assumed that this instant exchange was the result of an Authority, specifically Clind’s power. Therefore, he thought there was no need to be cautious of it in the battleground after Clind had vanished with the 'Divine Dragon.' But—

"—If you're a father, you shouldn't lay a hand on kids!!"

What was heard there was a thick voice burning with anger, followed by the sound of a fierce blow—the edge of the vision revealed Heinkel, who had seized twin girls with both arms, being punched in the face. The one who delivered that powerful blow was the large man familiar from Roy's 'memory'—Gaston, who certainly shouldn't have been present when the battle began.

"——"

Heinkel, who was hit in the face, toppled over, and the twins narrowly escaped trouble. Whether Roy's encouragement paid off or not, Heinkel was approaching closely, but his counterattack was immediately thwarted. Yet, Roy could not laugh at Heinkel. He was thwarted by the same opponent in the same manner. And that opponent was not Clind.

"What? Really? Is that even possible?"

Roy couldn't think of any other possibilities and doubted himself over the surprisingly unexpected truth. The emotion in that voice was pure surprise, with no intention to deny or disparage the fact. Yet, assuming it was true, it was incredibly unforeseen. Even when fully utilizing the 'memories' of knowing her, the only conclusion he could reach was "no way."

It wasn't Clind. It intervened at perfect timing in the battle between Roy and the rams, and in the fight where Heinkel was being beaten by twins. It was overlooking this all-out battle and constantly rearranging the situation using authority. It was—

"—Petra-chan, since when did you become a Sin Archbishop?"

"That's a really bad reputation. If you're going to call me something with a bad reputation, then call me this."

Saying that, Petra Leyte, who hosted the Witch Factor and controlled the battlefield with authority as a game-maker, put her hand on her chest and stuck out her tongue with a "bleh". Then she declared—

"—'Witch of Melancholy,' Petra Leyte."