-1341- [ Rule of Grace ]

In fact, at the beginning, Edelweiss never imagined that things would eventually turn out like this.

When she was with the boy, Edelweiss did worry about her being wanted and how it might affect him. However, relying on the various magical abilities shown by the boy, Edelweiss evaded capture time and time again, which initially reassured her but also made her slack off.

Where did she slack off?

It was forgetting to remind the boy about the potential troubles that could arise if he used his various abilities in public.

Unfortunately, both the Union and the League kept pursuing Edelweiss, and this attention extended to the boy who acted alongside her.

Even worse, even the Rebellion, with whom Edelweiss had dealings, took notice of the boy's uniqueness during this time.

Thus, the boy with multiple abilities and possibly multiple devices attracted the attention of the three major powers.

This stirred up the three major powers, and they sent people one after another to approach the boy—first through persuasion, then through coercion, and when those failed, they resorted to direct attacks.

Initially, Edelweiss was furious and ready to intervene personally to teach the intruders a lesson. However, the boy casually defeated all incoming threats with overwhelming strength.

Edelweiss was astonished and deeply impressed by this.

However, no matter how astonished or impressed Edelweiss was, when the boy displayed overwhelming power, his fate in this world was inevitably altered.

Powerful strength only attracts even stronger adversaries, and violence in the end can only be resolved by violence itself. Thus, one strong opponent after another appeared before the boy, only to be defeated by him.

Finally, in order to obtain the secrets the boy held, the three major powers went to extreme lengths—sometimes sending negotiators, sometimes assassins, sometimes scheming to frame him, and other times using everything around them to pressure him, even endangering a small nation, nearly bringing about its destruction. The boy resolved these situations with astonishing methods.

To protect that small nation, the boy even casually summoned hundreds of thousands of monsters, crushing and defeating the armies sent by the three major powers, thus gaining fame through his final battle.

This was a situation where even Edelweiss couldn't intervene.

If Edelweiss had intervened carelessly, the situation might have escalated uncontrollably.

Edelweiss could only watch helplessly as the boy faced all these trials, using his astonishing strength, intelligence, and strategies to resolve each one. In the end, he completely defeated the three major leaders, broke through the encirclement of the three major powers, and almost killed them all.

If the highest combat power of the three major powers, or even the backbone of the combat power, were annihilated by the boy in one breath, it would inevitably cause a huge distortion and destruction of the world situation, causing chaos in the world.

In order to avoid such a serious situation, in the end, Edelweiss personally spoke up and asked the boy to spare those people, so that they could survive.

As a condition, the three major powers no longer took action against the boy and withdrew their warrants, even canceling Edelweiss' warrant.

However, both the boy and Edelweiss knew very well that this was just a superficial promise.

Using powerful force to forcefully suppress can indeed work, but when the power is no longer feared, or when interests outweigh fear, people will still come after the boy.

The world is so big, with many people who are self-aware, many who are not, many who are smart, and many who think they are smart. Not to mention that foolish people will never disappear, and there are some who are forced for various reasons to act against the boy, which cannot be guaranteed not to happen.

In this situation, if it were herself, what would Edelweiss do?

Edelweiss began to consider this question.

And the answer was unexpectedly simple.

"I will disappear completely and never appear in front of the world again."

This was the best way.

Naturally, what Edelweiss could think of, the boy could think of as well.

In view of this...

"After being together for so long, we should probably say goodbye now."

After eight years, two years ago, the boy finally said this to Edelweiss.

Edelweiss was neither surprised nor unexpected, she just made one request.

"Fight me."

This was the first time Edelweiss showed hostility.

And the reason Edelweiss made this request was simple.

"If I win, wherever you go, I will go with you. You can't refuse."

This was the only reason Edelweiss proposed to fight.

If she didn't do this, Edelweiss couldn't ensure that the boy wouldn't leave without a word or wouldn't leave abruptly one day in the future.

At the same time, this was also Edelweiss's way of expressing her determination.

During these eight years together, although there were hardships and difficulties, these were the most fulfilling eight years for Edelweiss.

The boy was the one who rescued her from a destined lonely fate. Since that was the case, she would never allow him to become lonely.

In simple terms...

"If you're going to disappear, then let's disappear together."

This was what Edelweiss thought.

In summary, Edelweiss proposed a condition.

Then...

"Regardless of who wins or loses, neither of us is allowed to leave without a word."

If this condition couldn't be met, Edelweiss would not compromise.

Of course, this wasn't just a verbal agreement but a "vow."

As the world's strongest swordsman, Edelweiss's ability wasn't combat-oriented but rather a causality-interfering ability that governed contracts.

Anyone who made a vow in front of Edelweiss's inherent Device—〈Testament〉—would have the Vow's Stake driven into their heart, whether friend or foe.

Once the vow was broken, the Vow's Stake would tear apart the heart, taking the life of the one who broke the vow.

This was Edelweiss's only Noble Art—〈Rule of Grace〉.

Edelweiss made the boy swear with her in front of her Device.

The boy agreed.

However, Edelweiss did not expect that the omnipotent boy would have means to deal with even causality-interfering abilities.

One of his manipulated Beast Vassals happened to have the ability to sever causality.

Edelweiss's ability was useless against the boy. Moreover, the boy had divine protection, making him immune to any ability targeting his body.

Thus, in that battle, Edelweiss lost.

Not only did she lose in terms of strength, but she also lost in terms of strategy.

The boy left just like that.

And Edelweiss, to find him again, wandered the world alone for two whole years.

This was the past of Edelweiss and the most important person in her heart.

A past that almost no one knew, except for a very few people.