Chapter 4: Scarlet Stage

I woke up in the Dark Core Zone.

At first, I thought it was a dream. But it wasn't. The sicko maid had teleported me there while I was sleeping. What was she thinking?! I screamed my lungs out at her, but she didn't care. She'd changed me into my military uniform while I'd been chewing her out, and now I was standing on the battlefield.

"At least let me prepare myself mentally!!" I cried from the bottom of my heart.

The Metrio Battlefield. This one wasn't the usual meadow where we clashed with the chimpanzee, but the ruins of some ancient kingdom's capital. At the center of it all was an old castle, classic in design. We members of the Seventh Unit set up our base at a fountain plaza to the south of the structure.

As you might have already guessed, I had no will to fight.

But this match between Crimson Lords was no regular war—it was a "show," "entertainment." (Yeah, sure. LMAO.) I had no idea what would happen. Flöte Mascarail was dead set on killing me, though, so I was sure she'd come running at me as soon as the gong rang.

I could hear death knocking at my door. A hundred times louder than during the Crimson Council, to boot.

They'd outfitted each of us with a metal wristband when we entered the battlefield. Apparently, this was a magical instrument that kept track of who we killed and who killed us. It felt like handcuffs. And this was my prison.

"I wanna go home, Vill."

"You go home, you lose; you lose, you get fired; you get fired (literally), you die."

"…"

I wanted to scream, but I was in front of my subordinates. Still…this was so not fair. I should've skipped town the night before. Not that I had anywhere to run, though!

"Haaah…" I sighed. Caostel did not let that go unnoticed.

"Oh my, Commander, are you feeling unwell? What's the matter?"

"N-no, it's nothing. I'm just bored. No one here's got anything on me anyway!"

"Of course, Commander! I agree. And yet, the shameless woman hogging the supposed title of strongest Crimson Lord didn't dare to show her face."

"Really? She wasn't at the Crimson Council, either, right?"

"That is true," Vill answered. "I heard the Empress sent her to get rid of some terrorists. It appears she doesn't have the time to participate in the Crimson Match."

"Huh. Not that she'd be a worthy foe, anyhow!"

"Oooh!" Caostel exclaimed, impressed.

"Amazing!" "That's our commander!" My subordinates started praising me like always. The normality just made me want to sigh harder… That's when it hit me.

Wait, are these all of them? The rules say we can bring a hundred people, but there's only like thirty guys here. And all of them are beat to hell.

"Hey, Vill, what's with the rest of our dudes? They oversleeping?"

"They are not," the sicko maid replied, her face expressionless. "The rules state only up to a hundred people can participate per unit, so we had to choose who would come. I gathered the entire Seventh Unit and told them, 'Commander Gandesblood wants only the hundred strongest to participate. Come forward, you hundred.'"

"I don't remember saying that, but sure, makes sense. The most capable should be the ones to join in. So… What happened after that?"

"They all came forward."

"O-oh. Yeah, I can picture that happening…"

"Then they started killing each other."

"Why?!"

"They were trying to prove their strength in battle. And out of our 500 troops, 470 bit the dust."

"Could they be any dumber?!"

"The thirty survivors are here, though most of them are wounded."

"I guess they can!"

Why would they slit each other's throats before a battle?! And are there really only thirty dudes here?! Everyone else brought a hundred right?! We're dead meat!!

"Worry not, Lady Komari. All of them are here after overcoming that inferno, fighting among comrades. Look at their faces—they're men born anew."

"Who the hell cares!!"

It's over. I looked at all my subordinates. One of them was holding his wounded belly, crouching in pain. That's the face you're talking about? C'mon… Go rest. You don't have to go through all of this.

As far as the leaders went… Caostel, Bellius, and Mellaconcey all seemed fine, at least. Wait… Where's Yohann? Did he die? Yeah, I guess that tracks.

"Damn it. Damn it all… I'm so, so doomed…"

That's when it happened. The bell at the top of the castle gave a loud toll, signaling five minutes to the beginning of the match. I had only five minutes left to live.

I glanced up at the sky in despair.

"Commander, let's go over the rules again," Caostel said, his face like a criminal's who had just received a suspended sentence. "As you may know, the objective of this competition is obtaining control of the Ruby. We cannot win by simply slaughtering our opponents. We must storm the castle."

"Yeah, that huge one over there, right?"

"Yes, that one. According to the documentation, the Ruby is a crimson sphere the size of a soccer ball. We should be able to identify it at a glance."

"Cool."

"The other teams will probably charge to the castle right away, too. There will be just over five hundred enemies to rout on our way there."

And you realize we'd be going up against them with just thirty guys?

"Wait. I already told you we're joining hands with Sakuna…and Helldeus, right?"

"I beg your pardon, I forgot. Yes, you showed mercy to your junior… How generous! Still, this Crimson Match is a free-for-all. I believe we will have to fight Sakuna Memoir in the end."

"Aw… Y-yeah, I know."

"In any case, our main goal should be getting the Ruby, not killing. Commander, will we be employing the same strategy as always?"

"Yeah. Do that." No idea what that is.

"As you wish!" Caostel then turned to my subordinates and shouted, "Commander Gandesblood will give us some words of encouragement! Clean your ears and listen up!"

The men gazed at me in anticipation. You want me to give a speech like always, I know. I haven't thought of anything, but whatever, I'll just come up with something vaguely inspirational on the spot. Then, just as I rose from my seat to begin…

"Hold on, Lady Komari."

…the sicko maid called out from behind me. "We have a comms request from Flöte Mascarail. I suggest you deal with that first."

She handed me a Correspondence Crystal. I doubted anything good would come out of this, but still I poured some mana into it (though I couldn't use magic, I did have enough for the minuscule amount this required). Her sassy voice echoed through immediately.

"Oh hello there, Ms. Terakomari Gandesblood! How are you doing on this fine day?"

Shit. It's on speaker mode. How do I turn this off, Vill? Everyone's listening.

"I will commend you for showing up, at least! Still, your life of lies ends today. History will remember Terakomari Gandesblood for the fraud she is!"

I heard shrill clinking. My subordinates were clutching their weapons tight, ready to rumble. Oh man, those faces. They looked like they'd just come back from hell.

"Oh my, my, my! Why are you not replying? Could it be that you're shaking in your boots? Too frightened to make a peep? Ah-ha-ha-ha! You could try rubbing your head on the ground and begging me for forgiveness; maybe then I'll consider giving you a peaceful death!"

I heard a bang. My troops had destroyed the fountain with their bare hands. Oh man, those faces. They were so red, they looked like they were about to explode.

"Can you not even manage that? Oh, right! Right! Weak, puny Ms. Gandesblood's ego is too big for that! Try and get me, then! Send your barbaric subordinates to me while you sit back on your throne! My elite unit will murder them all in the blink of an eye! Ah-ha-ha-ha! Ah-ha-ha-ha!"

I hung up.

The echoes of her cackling lingered in the plaza. Fearfully, I turned to look at my troops. They were all quiet—the calm before the storm.

Then, the toll of the bell signaled the start of the match. Fireworks popped in the sky. Cries of war resounded all throughout the battlefield. The other teams seemed to be in high spirits.

"Commander… Won't we sortie?"

Caostel's eyes were bloodshot. Everyone's were, in fact.

Yup. This ain't good. Still, I felt pressured to nod.

"Yeah. Go ahead."

Then, uproar.

""""GET FLÖTE MASCARAIL'S HEAD!!""""

They went berserk. All of them ran straight away from the castle—in the direction of Flöte's Third Unit. Yup, they forgot all about the Ruby.

I was left behind in the fountain plaza. I didn't even have the energy to get up from my chair.

"Don't you think it's a little weird they just launched a full-frontal assault and left their commander in the dust?"

***

"That cheeky gremlin hung up on me!!"

Flöte Mascarail hurled the Correspondence Crystal against the floor.

The Third Unit had set up camp in a destroyed section of the city, right on the opposite side of the castle from the Komari Unit. Each team's placement was determined by chance, so at first she'd felt sorry about being so far away from Terakomari Gandesblood's troop. Soon enough, however, she reconsidered, thinking it would be better to save the best for last. And so she had decided to give that saucy girl a call before the match instead.

And yet the girl had said nothing back. And then she'd just hung up all the sudden. Flöte was not about to tolerate such insolence.

Just then, the bell tolled to announce the start of the Crimson Match. The Imperial PR Department's fireworks flew up to the sky and burst loudly.

"Lady Flöte, what will be our first move?" A vampire standing at her side asked. He was tall, with a jittery air about him. This was Bachelard, the Third Unit's subcommander and Flöte's confidant.

"There is only one thing to do! Slaughtering that cocky little bitch…is what I would take the most pleasure in, but let's keep calm and focus on the main objective. March toward the castle!"

Flöte pointed at the magnificent edifice in the distance.

The Crimson Match was traditionally all about Crimson Lords killing each other, but Flöte found that boring, lacking in charm. The duel shouldn't be a mere test of strength, but one of intellect and strategic sense as well. To

make things more interesting, Flöte had decided that the main goal of this match would be keeping hold of the Ruby.

"I understand," Bachelard said. "But… What will we do about Terakomari Gandesblood, then?"

"I doubt she'll even care about the Ruby. The only thing on her mind's probably staying safe, nothing more."

"So you say she won't move from her camp?"

"In all likelihood. I don't think she'll sortie her troops, either. She would be in even more danger if she had no one to protect her."

"But then she would get no points and end up in last…"

"Indeed. She's cornered. She can't mobilize her unit to keep safe, but she can't win if she doesn't. And she'll be fired if she loses. Additionally… The entire match is being broadcast live. How will the public react if they see her refuse to engage? Oh, I can't wait to see the results."

"I see. So our focus will be…"

"On occupying the castle, to begin with. We'll repel any other Crimson Lords who draw near. Once we've obtained the Ruby, I will personally head to where Ms. Gandesblood is holed up and make her beg for dear life. Finally, I will gracefully kill her as the whole world watches. A perfect plan, don't you think?"

"It could not be any better. Brilliant as always, Lady Flöte."

She smiled at Bachelard's praise.

Now with her subcommander's approval, it was time to mobilize her troops. She stood up to give them the order, when…

"Lady Mascarail! We have an urgent report!"

…a scout she'd sent out came back pale in the face.

Everyone in the Third Unit turned to him in surprise.

"What is it? Did Ms. Gandesblood desert the battle?"

"No, actually… There's only about thirty people in the Seventh Unit."

"What?"

"And they're heading straight for us! They don't even have the castle in their sights! They're coming at us like hungry demons!"

"…What?"

***

I heard explosions in the distance.

I didn't know whether that was another team, or if it was my unit going crazy.

Either way, I was doomed. I had no chance of winning.

"It's over… It's all over…"

"It's fine. Bucephalus and I will protect you."

Vill pointed at the white Mizuchi. My Bucephalus. My trusty steed…er, trusty dragon. I usually didn't bring him to war, but this was a special occasion, and the more the merrier, right?

I stroked Bucephalus's jaw and he purred. Yes, good boy. I wanted to ride him all the way home… But Vill placed a hand on his white fur and said:

"Bucephalus, if you dare let Lady Komari die, I'll boil you for dinner, got it?"

"DON'T!"

How do you even come up with that! Is there not a shred of kindness in your heart?

"I'm kidding. But do take care not to let her die, okay?"

Vill then took a piece of paper from her pocket. I peered over to see what it was—a topographic map of the battlefield.

"We should reunite with the Sixth Unit first to avoid an early death."

"R-right! We gotta go meet up with Sakuna, fast!"

"Unfortunately, her unit and ours were set far apart. From here, we would have to go through Delphyne's army in the urban area to get to Lady Memoir's."

"Then let's meet up with Helldeu—"

"Hold on," Vill cut me off as she placed a hand on her right ear. After a while, she said, "Captain Mellaconcey just made a report on his recon. Helldeus's army was attacked by Odilon's on their way to the castle. You'd get dragged into the engagement and croak if you went that way."

"Then what should we do?"

"We have no choice but to meet up with the Sixth Unit. Thankfully, victory can only be achieved by obtaining the Ruby, not killing Crimson Lords. We should wait for Delphyne's army to move toward the castle and pass right behind the—"

Vill raised her head then, as if she had just noticed something. I didn't get to ask her what was wrong before she jumped up on a pillar and produced a pair of binoculars from who knows where.

"Vill! What happened?!"

"…Oh no."

"What is it?!"

"Delphyne's army is heading straight for us."

"WHAT?!"

Why?! You should be going for the Ruby, not me!!

Vill put on a straight face.

"She wants to kill you. I can sense a thirst for revenge behind her mask."

"Revenge? What did I do?"

"You don't remember? They think you killed her."

"Why?"

Those are false charges! I did nothing! It was you!

"We must take action, too."

Vill landed back on the ground. For a second, I wondered how she'd managed to keep her skirt down, but who cared about that now?

"Let's go, Lady Komari. You'll die if we stay here."

"Go where?! We have nowhere to run! How about we try and talk it out with Delphyne? We just have to tell her I didn't poison her! She'll

understand!"

"I don't think she will."

Vill hopped onto Bucephalus in an arc that seemed to defy gravity. She grabbed the reins with her left hand and reached her right out to me, ordering me to get on with a stare.

There was no point in putting it off further. Resigning myself, I grabbed her hand to get up on Bucephalus.

She rode in the front. I sat behind her.

"Lady Komari, embrace me."

"…"

"Hold me tight, is what I am saying."

"…"

"Grab on or you will fall."

As I hesitated to follow Vill's obscene demands, I heard yells from behind.

"There she is! Terakomari Gandesblood!"

"Die!" "How dare you kill Lady Delphyne!" "You're a disgrace to all Crimson Lords!" "We won't let you live any longer!" "Go to hell!"

A flame spell struck a nearby willow. The tree then burst into flames, and everything became crystal clear. This wasn't the time to worry about obscenity. My life depended on it!

I carefully put my arms around Vill's torso, and she trembled in response.

"L-Lady Komari… Not… There…"

"Stop it! Go on already, you raunchy maid!"

Bucephalus galloped, and I became one with the wind.

***

I have to win.

Sakuna Memoir was burning with determination. Not assertive determination to obtain glory at all costs. No, it was half-hearted, pessimistic determination, burning from the fire Odilon Metal's threat had lit under her.

"Lady Sakuna, here's the report! The Heaven Unit and the Metal Unit are battling west of the castle. The Mascarail Unit and the Gandesblood Unit are also clashing north of the castle!"

"Ms. Terakomari is…?"

"No! Commander Gandesblood seems to be intent on facing the Delphyne Unit by herself, southeast of the castle! The troops fighting the Mascarail Unit are only her thirty subordinates!"

Sakuna gasped.

She would never dare do something as bold as separating from her troop to face off against two enemies at the same time. Terakomari Gandesblood really was no ordinary Crimson Lord.

What do I do now?

Sakuna's Sixth Unit was the only one unoccupied.

She wanted to go help Komari because they were allied… But she knew Inverse Moon wouldn't have it. Besides, she didn't believe she would be of much help to her.

After some hesitation, she decided to call the man. He picked up the Crystal right away. Sakuna asked for instructions, her voice trembling.

"Excuse me, what should I do?"

"Pipe down!"

His screaming made her wince. The man's voice was like a storm.

"I don't have the time for this! Think it through yourself! That sly bastard! What are you doing in there! This ain't the time to die! Stand up! Stand and chop his head off!"

He seemed busy. Sakuna hung up.

Her subordinates heard all that, and were confused with mouths agape.

"Excuse me… Who were you talking to? Helldeus Heaven? Or was that Odilon Metal? Aren't we supposed to be allied with Terakomari Gandesblood?"

"Yeah… But that's none of your business."

Sakuna's right eye shone scarlet, and all expression left her subordinates' faces immediately. They stood straight like wooden dolls and apologized in unison.

It was a bizarre sight. Everyone watching on the screens at Faure let out sounds of confusion in response.

Sakuna paid it no heed. The only thing on her mind was protecting her family.

Actually, there was one other thing…

She wanted to help Komari as much as she could manage.

"The one attacking Ms. Terakomari…"

…was Delphyne. But if she was facing her alone, she must've had some sort of plan, which meant Sakuna heading there would only get in her way.

So she decided to go for Flöte Mascarail.

She wasn't sure she'd be able to kill her. But she had to try.

Sakuna took a deep breath and ordered her blind soldiers:

"Your target is Flöte Mascarail. Capture her and bring her to me."

***

"Your target is Flöte Mascarail. Capture her and bring her to me."

At the Imperial Hall, in the Mulnite Imperial Palace.

A crystal ball was on the table in the center of the room, displaying the Dark Core Zone battle in real time on its surface.

The Mulnite Empress, Karen Helvetius, grinned as she bit into her madeleine.

"I knew it. There is a traitor in the Mulnite Imperial Army. Did you see, Armand? Sakuna Memoir just used Core Implosion."

"Yes, I saw that! We must capture her immediately!" Chancellor Armand Gandesblood yelled.

The Empress was having him watch the Crimson Match with her.

"Heh," the Empress snorted. "How, exactly? They're in the middle of combat."

"We simply have to suspend it. We can't let Sakuna Memoir do as she pleases anymore. She might hurt my Komari."

"No, not yet. We have to keep on watching for a while longer. We won't get ahold of the head honcho like this yet."

"Huh? What do you mean, Your Majesty?"

"Sakuna Memoir is but a pawn."

He didn't get it. Armand's head throbbed with a severe stress headache. He had been worked to death over the past few days. He'd started looking into the terrorist as soon as he revived, and then his beloved daughter got into a fight with Flöte Mascarail, which developed into a Crimson Council that had culminated in the present Crimson Match.

Sick with worry for his daughter's well-being and overwhelmed with finding the terrorist, Armand had been too mortified to sleep these past few days. But now one of these two problems had been solved—they'd just uncovered the terrorist's identity.

"That Core Implosion has some sort of mind-control effect. The Sixth Unit is being brainwashed. I doubt there's anyone else with a similar power—which means Sakuna Memoir is the one behind the serial murders!"

"Indeed."

Armand was befuddled at how easily the Empress accepted his assertion.

"Then why won't you act?!"

"We can't, not yet. And it's not my place to insert myself into this matter, anyway. Komari's there, after all."

"Do you… Plan on having her do something again?"

"I won't have her do anything. It's fate doing all the work."

Enough of the pedantries, you hag! Armand held back his words, for he knew he'd be beaten to a pulp if he articulated them.

"…Why did you appoint Sakuna Memoir as a Crimson Lord in the first place? I dug into her background, but she doesn't have any achievements to merit the title. She just so happened to kill her predecessor in an accident."

"I had six reasons."

"That many?"

"First: It was the first memorable mutiny in a while. Second: Helldeus endorsed her. Third: She's real pretty. Fourth: She seemed like she'd be good friends with Komari."

"What?"

"They have similar pastimes and personalities. They even have a similar history, so why wouldn't they get along? But sadly, Sakuna respects Komari so much, they ended up not quite having the equal standing one would expect between friends."

"B-but…"

"She needs peers her age. The same problem's there with Villhaze, too—the servant–master dynamic is too strong between them. I don't think there was a better candidate than Sakuna."

He couldn't argue with that. The Empress was right, and it was for Komari's sake. Still, he forced out an objection.

"Komari won't be friends with a terrorist."

"Oh, no, she will. And it's precisely because Sakuna is a terrorist. You see, my fifth reason is that the girl is a member of Inverse Moon. And for my sixth and last reason: Because she has Core Implosion."

"What?!"

He opened his eyes wide. The Empress explained it all nonchalantly.

"I conducted an investigation of my own. I knew she was from that terrorist organization and that she supposedly had Core Implosion. Then, the story about the Sixth Unit getting obsessed with her spread all throughout the

palace. Regardless, it turned out Sakuna was behind the serial murders, just like you said. She also seemed to be snooping around for intel since before that."

"Then why did you…?!"

"We'd obtain intel on Inverse Moon if we could get her on our side. Think about that."

"I don't think we could win over a member of Inverse Moon."

"No. You see, Sakuna's not working for them of her own volition. We have an opening."

"Still, why appoint her as Crimson Lord?"

"I told you, it was for Komari's sake. Were you even paying attention?" The Empress crossed her arms and stared at the ceiling. "We just have to get rid of a single obstacle to get Sakuna on our side. There's no way an introverted girl like her would kill someone voluntarily… As I already said, there's someone manipulating her behind the scenes. We need to find out who this is."

His jaw was on the floor. The Empress acting without consulting anyone was Mulnite tradition at this point, but he really would appreciate it if she at least kept her chancellor in the loop.

"I don't follow. Where could this 'someone' manipulating her be?"

"Right there on the battlefield."

"Then… We have to let her be until the mastermind shows themselves?"

"Yes… Who do you think it might be?"

"The most suspicious would be Helldeus Heaven, wouldn't it? He runs the orphanage Sakuna Memoir stayed at, and he recommended her for Crimson Lord."

"Makes sense… Oh!" The Empress drew her face closer to the crystal ball, her eyes gleaming. "Look, Armand! Delphyne's attacking Komari!"

"What?!"

Armand peered into the crystal in a panic.

Villhaze and Komari were riding atop the Crimson Mizuchi, fleeing from Delphyne's army. Armand nearly fainted, but the Empress just grinned; she wasn't the slightest bit worried. He could not for the life of him understand what was so amusing about this.

***

Everyone in the Delphyne Unit was wearing creepy masks. An army of weirdos, and they were running like hungry predators toward us. A storm of arrows grazed my clothes before plunging into the ground. I could only shiver in fear as I clung to Vill for dear life.

"Vill… It's over… We're done for…"

"We're not. But it's true we won't be able to make our way through that army. Let's run to the opposite side and get dragged into the Helldeus and Odilon's battle. We'll lose Delphyne's forces there and go all the way to

Flöte. The Seventh Unit's there, so surely Lady Memoir must be heading there, too."

Vill pulled the reins all of a sudden and changed course. The next moment, a huge explosion erupted right where Bucephalus had been standing. This has to be a nightmare. Someone wake me up.

"I can't anymore. I wanna go home. Let's just go to the castle for the Ruby! Then, we break it. That way no one can win, and the match will be over."

"Perhaps. But I believe we'd have to defeat other commanders on our way to the Ruby."

"Then let's run! Outside the battlefield!"

"Are you asking to get blown up?"

"DAMN IIIIIT!!"

I wailed. I didn't have the composure to keep up appearances. I'd forgotten all about the broadcast.

"I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna! Get me out of this job already! Why do I have to go through all this?! It's not fair! I want to retire! Let's run away and retire together, Vill!"

"That's a fascinating proposition, but… Stop squirming around! Hey! Wait! Where are you touching me?!"

"How are you expecting me to stay still?!"

Just then, a mana reaction so huge even I could feel it loosed from behind us. I turned around reflexively and saw a vampire running at monstruous speed.

Face adorned with a foreign-looking mask. Uniform decorated with the full moon crest, symbolizing first rank.

Crimson Lord Delphyne.

She had to be stupid fast to catch up to Bucephalus on foot.

"Sh-she's coming, Vill!"

"I know… But we can't go any faster."

We were nearing an urban area, and not a regular one, according to the map—the place was labeled a "labyrinthine city" on the map because of its streets. They'd constructed the area as complexly as possible for defensive

purposes. That wasn't exactly the best place for a mount to run at full speed.

"Let's get off here. We'll slip into the maze and flee," Vill suggested.

"No way!" I shouted.

"I won't let you!" Someone called out from behind us.

Delphyne's voice was much higher than I'd expected, but I had no time to lose to be shocked. I felt mana swelling up again, and then a giant wall appeared before Bucephalus. It was Mud Wall, a molding spell.

My steed screeched to a halt. The inertia threw me off his back like a ball, and Vill caught me right before I crashed into the barrier. She then landed softly.

I looked around. The wall covered all 180 degrees forward. We were cornered.

"We're in trouble."

A drop of sweat rolled down Vill's neck. She never looked anxious, which meant we truly were in deep shit.

Hesitantly, I glanced over to Delphyne. Her army of a hundred was approaching from behind her, and they were dead set on preventing us from moving forward. The woman herself was standing right before us, staring right straight at me (I think? She was wearing a mask, it was hard to tell).

"Gandesblood… Did you kill me?"

Seriously, her voice was way too high. But there was no time to dwell on that!

"I-it wasn't me! It was…" I stumbled. "It wasn't me! I think it was just intoxication or something! Maybe you ate a moldy potato!"

"I did not."

"Don't lie!"

"Right back at you."

"I'm not lying!" (That was a lie.)

"You reek of falsehood. And it's not just one or two fibs. Your entire life is a lie. I can see why Flöte hates you so much. Your history would make the century's greatest burglar flush. It's all lies. Lies. Lies, lies, lies, lies, lies, lies, lies, lies, lies, lies, lies."

I thought she was supposed to be the taciturn type? She took a knife from her pocket and pointed it at me. I braced myself for an attack like Flöte's dark beam, but much to my surprise, she stabbed her own left arm without hesitation.

"Let us begin paving the road to hell."

I have enough forced labor as is!

Heedless of my wishes, Delphyne activated an incantation.

"Special-Grade Coagulation Spell: Ultimate Deathstream."

The blood spurting from her arm rose up to the sky to form a rippling river of red above her head. The thick smell of blood filled the air, and I immediately felt sick in the stomach. I seriously could not believe how vampires drank this crap by choice.

"Lady Komari, we have to run."

"Huh? Wai—"

Vill grabbed me by the arm and bolted. Next, the river above Delphyne shot something at high speed, and it stabbed the wall right behind me. A blood-clot knife.

I was speechless. That thing could've killed me instantly.

Delphyne did not hold back. After seeing her attack just barely miss, she unleashed a storm of daggers.

"Brace yourself!" Vill exclaimed.

"How exactly?! What do you what me to—AAAAAHH!!"

Vill pulled me along, and we narrowly escaped the speeding knives. They gouged the spot where I'd been a moment earlier and burst before morphing back into blood and returning above Delphyne's head. How eco-friendly. She didn't waste a single drop. Good for her.

"Ow!"

I felt a searing pain. Aghast, I looked down at my right hand. A dagger had grazed my wrist. I was bleeding.

Tears flowed out my eyes.

"It hurts… Vill!"

"That sick masked prick… How dare you blemish Lady Komari's soft, smooth skin!"

Vill took off and threw a kunai, but a blood knife repelled it to the ground before it could reach Delphyne. She then countered with a rush of more knives, coming in from every direction. We had nowhere to run.

"Get down, Lady Komari!"

Vill stood before me, a kunai in each hand. Stop it, you'll die! I tried yelling, but before I opened my mouth, the storm of daggers flew at her. She nimbly parried them all at first, but there were too many—soon, her maid clothing was torn apart, then her skin below it. As I was about to scream in desperation, a knife finally plunged into her side.

Vill fell to her knees, extreme pain on her face.

She was bleeding.

No! Vill's gonna die because of me!

"Lady Komari… Run."

"I can't leave you behind! C'mon, I'll help you get u—"

"Don't worry. I won't kill you. I'll only capture you." Delphyne slowly approached, a vortex of blood loudly spinning above her head.

I wished she could have used a more graceful spell, at least.

The masked girl came right up to us.

"I hate both of you, but killing you is up to Flöte. The humiliation she went through is much greater than my hatred."

"Then…" I gritted my teeth, then scowled as hard as I could as I yelled, "My wrath is a hundred times greater than any of that! How dare you wound Vill like that?! Only throwing crap at us from afar! You dirty bastard!"

"Lady Komari, I understand your ire, but I don't think provoking her is the best course of action…"

I could feel the pain in Vill's voice. She was totally right, but my fury remained. Delphyne's the one attacking us without mercy, why would we have to hold back? I'm not getting out this alive anyway, so I better put up a

fight until the end!

Contrary to my boost of courage, Delphyne sighed.

"I won't fall for any provocation. But I am offended at being called 'dirty.' My is blood boiling like it's about to explode. I'll show you a world of pain, you cocky little bitch. Just enough not to kill you."

You totally fell for my provocation!

A tremendous amount of mana flowed from the masked woman.

"Lady Komari… Get out of here, now!" Vill's face was pale.

I didn't move. Delphyne kept on pouring an immense amount of mana into the river of blood, and the ground below us started creaking. The red pond felt right out of hell, bent on absorbing the entire world.

Then she moved a finger.

"Die."

Immediately, a globe of blood—it was seriously so huge it felt like a star falling from the sky—hurtled straight for us.

So this is how it ends.

Just as I had given up on life, I felt someone approaching like the wind from behind. Vill's face lit up as she saw salvation arrive, and yelled:

"Bucephalus!"

"Huh…? Gegh!" I croaked as I got grabbed by the collar.

Vill threw me up in the air. Before I knew it, I was already on top of Bucephalus. The Crimson Mizuchi didn't care for my confusion and galloped away.

"You sensed your master was in danger and came to help… What a good boy."

"W-we're saved!"

I was moved to tears. I couldn't ask for a better mount. I patted his butt in gratitude, and he cried in a (bizarrely) excited manner and sped up. Way up. Hold on. Are we breaking the sound barrier?!

"L-look out! We'll crash against the wall!"

"Hold on tight, Lady Komari!"

"I won't let you escape, Gandesblood!"

The crimson globe was gaining ground. Wall in front, Delphyne at the back. Was this it? Just as I was starting to despair again, Bucephalus jumped abruptly. I clung to Vill for dear life as we were momentarily freed from the shackles of gravity. Are we… Are we really jumping over the wall?!

We weren't.

Bucephalus crashed face-first into it.

We hadn't even come close to the top.

The impact nearly made me puke, but then something incredible happened—Bucephalus broke right through the mud wall. What? You can do that?! I was still dumbfounded when he gracefully landed, wagged his tail as if to mock Delphyne, and then he took off again.

The orb of blood crashed into the wall moments later. The barrier crumbled with a boom, and the sudden downpour of its remains kicked up a dust storm. Something told me most of Delphyne's Unit succumbed in the aftermath.

"…A-are you okay, Bucephalus?"

"He's fine. A Crimson Mizuchi's scales can repel even steel swords…Eep!"

I didn't have the time to laugh at Vill's unusually girly shriek. Bucephalus jumped again, all the way up to the chimney of a house, then jumped from rooftop to rooftop toward the castle.

No point in entering the labyrinth now, huh?

"G-good boy, Bucephalus!"

"Indeed! Boiling him would be a waste now!"

"You're not doing that! Ever!"

Just then, a red blade whizzed right past my face.

I turned around, deep in despair.

It was the masked psycho again. She was running across rooftops just like Bucephalus. I went pale in the face and shrieked.

"WHAT is she?!"

"Beast against beast, I see. Lady Komari, look ahead!"

The urban area was about to end, and beyond that was a wide-open space. That must've been part of the city in the past, too, but the war had turned it into a grassy field. Past it was the west gate to the castle, where two armies were clashing.

"That's Helldeus Heaven and Odilon Metal. We need to get through them and storm into the castle."

"How, exactly?! We're giga-dead if we so much as take one step into that supernatural battle of the geeze—GLUGH!"

Bucephalus landed to the ground. Tears flew from my eyes as I felt a sharp pain in my mouth.

"Owww! I bid ma dongue! I'll ged an ulder!"

"I'll lick it to heal you later, so just bear with it for now! Let's go, Bucephalus! It's the home stretch!"

My steed neighed shrilly and galloped. Everything looked blurry from his sheer speed. Delphyne yelled "Wait!" "Die!" "You dirty liar!" as she followed us, sending out blood knives that grazed my hair. Please, I just wanna go home.

"Ohh!! Isn't that Lady Gandesblood?!"

Helldeus noticed our arrival. He beamed at me as he used his bare hands to turn an enemy soldier's face into an exploding tomato. Everyone in the Second Unit (all of them dressed in similar religious-y attire) hollered at the sight of me. Yeah… I'm bringing a new enemy to them, of course they'd be mad!

"Gandesblood?! Men, go get her!!" Odilon yelled as he used his bare hands to turn an enemy soldier's face into a bursting pomegranate.

"Kill her!" "Fifty points to Metal!" "Seize victory!"

The Fifth Unit came charging at us with bloodshot eyes. We were surrounded.

"It's over, Vill… Let's surrender…"

"Don't fear, Lady Komari! Leave it all to me!"

Vill took a sphere out of her pocket. It was purple and small. She held it tight and then tossed it at Metal's goons. Immediately, the sphere blew up, and a disgusting smoke spread around. Purple covered my entire field of vision.

"A smoke bomb?!" "Cheap trick!" "You won't get us with tha… Cough! Cough!" Someone started choking, and soon enough I could hear hacking all around. It didn't take much longer for these to turn into death rattles.

It was then that I realized Vill had used her specialty—poison magic.

"Wh-what are you doing?! We'll die, too!"

"No, this gas kills only men."

"How's that possible?!"

It didn't work on mounts, either, so Bucephalus kept on running as quick as always, stomping on…things…on his way through the curtain of smoke.

Absentmindedly, I turned around, and saw the gas was already clearing up. There were at least fifty corpses there. And not all of them were from Odilon's unit—some were wearing religious garb.

You overdid it, idiot!

"You killed our allies!!"

"It was a necessary sacrifice. Anyhow, focus on our objective: Find the Ruby and destroy it. That should put an end to the Crimson Match!"

"But…"

"Stop right there, Gandesblood!" "You're not getting away with this!" "I'm gonna kill you! I'll kill you right now!" "Heavens, bring down divine punishment unto Gandesblood!"

I felt a torrent of hostile glares on my back. They all belonged to the survivors. Even Helldeus's men were my enemies now (and I had no idea where Helldeus himself was). Beyond them was the masked psycho, who'd

morphed into a pure mass of blood. Now I was doomed. For sure. 

"Lady Komari! We can't use a mount beyond this point. We'll have to walk."

"What? Whoa!"

Suddenly, Vill held me in bridal carry and jumped off Bucephalus. Immediately, the enemy's magic crashed down and exploded near the castle gate. Vill didn't care, though, and kept on sprinting toward it like the wind. She entered the structure and kept on running without rest, all while carrying me in her arms.

Then it hit me. Vill was panting. Her face was twisted in agony. It should've been obvious—Delphyne had gouged her side not long ago.

"Vill! You have to rest already! I'll go on by myself!"

"No. I have a duty to stay by your side until the end."

The vampires bustled in through the broken entrance. Vill went up the stairs, still holding me in her arms. Blood was dripping from her side onto the floor, leaving a trail behind.

"Take this! Special-Grade Coagulation Spell: Infinite Dripping!"

Delphyne's blood spurted out of her arm and transformed into a whip that lashed at us. Vill perceived the danger and leaped to evade the attacks, but she was just a moment too late. The whip wrapped around her right arm, and she fell midway through her next step. I was tossed aside and just barely managed to stand up. I ran to Vill. The red lash was squeezing her thin leg tight, with enough power to almost snap it right off.

"Kill her!" "Now's our chance!" The enemy soldiers shouted.

I grabbed a rock laying near me and used it to hit Delphyne's whip, but it was no use. It didn't even scratch the thing.

"Damn it, what should I do?!"

"Don't worry. I have a plan. You run away."

"Don't be stupid! Save your need for self-sacrifice! C'mon, let's go—"

"You're not going anywhere."

I felt a dense bloodlust.

I spun around. Delphyne hurled a large sword of blood my way. Clumsy me had no way to dodge that huge red bolt.

Yup, I'm dead, I thought once again, when…

"Advanced-Level Magic Stone: Supernova."

Vill produced a shining stone from her pocket and threw it.

The rock clashed with the blade and triggered a huge explosion, erasing Delphyne's incantation. Her coagulated blood turned back to liquid in the blink of an eye.

"Th-this can't be…"

The liquid had lost magic influence, but not its inertia, so it kept hurtling toward me.

I couldn't even get to my feet.

Frozen in place, I stared up as the copious amounts of fluid rained down on me.

My whole world was painted red.

*** (Let's go back a bit) ***

Meanwhile, Flöte Mascarail was smoldering at the Seventh Unit's surprise attack, vigorously brandishing her sword.

She could not believe it. Terakomari Gandesblood's barbaric subordinates were ignoring the rules of the Crimson Match and going after her instead of looking for the Ruby. And to top it all off, there were only thirty of them. Had they lost their minds? Was she really being sold so short?

She had to kill them right away, but…

"For crying out loud! Begone already!"

…they were tough. Way too tough.

Flöte slashed off one of the barbarian's—Caostel Conto's—arm. But he didn't flinch for a second. Instead, he immediately regained his balance and unleashed an underhanded, chantless Void spell.

"Teleportation."

"—?!"

She sensed a glare behind her, then swept sideways without looking. However, her blow didn't land, and she lost her balance from slicing at nothing a moment later. She felt a glare behind her again.

"Guh!"

A backfist strong enough to break steel pierced her midsection. Intense pain followed. That could have killed Flöte on the spot had she not defended herself with magic at the last moment.

Flöte leaped away, recovered her posture, and scowled at the stripped-tree man.

"That's a cheap trick. Perfect reflection of its user."

"Isn't it? I only use the best of Void spells. I've been polishing my technique in order to take revenge. And I won't lose this time… How about you use your own dark magic, too? Now that is what I'd call a perfect reflection of its user."

Flöte had no intention of falling for his provocation. She glanced around cautiously. The Seventh Unit's men roared back into the fray again and again; it was like the Third Unit was clashing with zombies. As much as she hated to admit it, Bachelard and the rest of her troops were having a hard time against Komari's forces, too. Holding back out of pure ego wasn't an option here.

"Very well. I wasn't planning on using this against you, but this is not the time to stay my hand."

"Very wise. It appears our allies have arrived, too."

"What…?"

She didn't get what he meant by that. The next instant, however, she felt a torrent of mana radiating from many individual sources behind her. Next, a rain of shining arrows—the mid-level spell: Light Arrow.

"Reinforcements? No way—" Flöte repelled the downpour of shots with her rapier, but many of her subordinates were caught off guard and could do nothing in the face of the surprise attack. They fell one after the other, their hearts pierced.

The incantation ended, and Flöte glared at the source of the mana with boiling hatred.

From the hill ahead appeared an army of vampires, away from the castle. Leading it was a timid-looking girl holding a huge staff—Sakuna Memoir.

"I-I'm sorry! But we are in the middle of the Crimson Match! So I have to attack you… And I'll do it again!"

The Sixth Unit started chanting. Flöte clicked her tongue. There was no rule stipulating Crimson Lords couldn't help each other—she'd screwed up. The alliance between both weaklings, Terakomari Gandesblood and Sakuna Memoir, had her fuming.

"Heh… Heh-heh… Fine. I'll annihilate the Sixth Unit as well, while we're at it."

"Oh, but it's us who will be doing the annihilation. It's high time you pay for what you did a few days ago." Caostel Conto curled up the corners of his mouth.

Flöte aimed her sword at him. At his heart. It would take one strike to end his life. She started forging dark mana, when…

""—?!""

…chills went down her spine.

And not only hers. Caostel, too, the vampires in the Sixth Unit, and the insane berserkers in the Seventh—all of them froze up and widened their eyes.

"What…is this…?"

That aura. That horrific mana. A violent deluge of absolute magical energy that instilled fear in the hearts of any and all living beings. Flöte felt her entire body tremble as she turned to behold the source—she turned toward the castle.

"The commander… Our commander's finally getting serious!" the stripped-tree man yelled in deep emotion.

Next thing Flöte knew, everyone in the Seventh Unit was cheering like crazy. "Commander!" "Commander!"

It was obvious who they meant by that.

But…that couldn't be.

Flöte stood helpless, forgetting to even hold her sword tight.

***

Delphyne was at a loss for words.

She'd known what would happen when the maid threw that Magic Stone with her last breath. She'd known that item was of too high quality to find in stores, and that it could easily dispel her magic.

What she didn't understand, was Terakomari Gandesblood.

Right after Delphyne had showered her in blood, a tremendous amount of mana had somehow whipped up around the girl as she stood back up.

Komari was expressionless. She regarded Delphyne with eerie scarlet eyes.

"You… What did you do?"

Her voice was trembling. That amount of mana was beyond imagination. Delphyne instantly realized Komari was too strong for her to handle.

Terakomari looked down at the maid at her feet, who was now powerless, naturally—Delphyne's knife had hit her vitals.

"Did you do this?"

There was no emotion in her voice.

All the other vampires had caught up to them, but they were paralyzed, unable to move in the face of that abnormal mana.

"Did. You. Do. This?"

Komari's voice was lower now. It took a while for Delphyne to realize the question was aimed at her. By this she probably meant the maid's wound. She replied without thinking.

"Yes… And what of it?"

"Okay."

Terakomari carried the maid in her arms, then started levitating in the air. This flying spell was nothing out of the ordinary. Still, the vampires around her stood with their mouths agape as they saw the girl covered in blood

slowly ascend to the stained glass in the ceiling.

Then she raised her right hand.

A magic circle materialized, but not a regular one. The amount and quality of mana accumulating within seemed not of this world. The air rumbled, the walls and floor started cracking, and the vampires started foaming at the mouth and fainting, unable to endure the pressure.

That was no advanced-level magic. Not even special-grade magic.

It was Effulgent Magic. An ancient, thought-lost level of spellcraft—the highest possible.

"Wai—"

Delphyne called out, but it was no use.

The mana exploded.

A red flash shot out from the magic circle and burned not only the entire castle, but also the city all across the battlefield, down to the tiniest grain of sand.

***

"HA-HA-HA-HA! Did you see that?! That's Dawn of Hell, an Effulgent light spell! I was not expecting to see that in my lifetime!"

The Empress was clapping.

Armand Gandesblood, on the other hand, was all doom and gloom. His daughter had used Core Implosion again.

"Look, the crystal broke. The mana residue in the castle must be so incredible that it even blocked my farsight incantation!"

"What now?! Komari's gonna…"

"Don't worry," the Empress reassured him with full confidence. "She won't start slaughtering indiscriminately. She's not a shut-in anymore."

"But she slaughtered people the last time."

"She cut down whom she had to. No problem. I think… Komari acts according to her normal desires when using Core Implosion. She was mad at Delphyne for hurting Villhaze, so she killed her. That was all that happened."

"The fallout was too great just for that."

"Yeah, I guess Delphyne will be traumatized by that. I'll have to check up on her later."

"…What will Komari do now?"

The Empress showed a slight grin.

"Who knows. She already accomplished her objective of killing Delphyne, so it remains to be seen. Go check on her if you're so worried."

"I wouldn't be anxious in the first place if it were as simple as that."

"Oh, you would, knowing you. Hey, someone bring me a new crystal," she told her court ladies.

Armand could only grip his fist tightly and pray.

***

It felt like the end of the world. An earthquake of cataclysmic proportions had shaken the entire battlefield.

A scarlet light covered everything, forcing everyone's eyes shut—they could only stay in place, curled up, waiting for the disaster to pass. The skies cracked, the earth rumbled, and cries rang out as people felt the impact of the shockwaves.

After a period of thundering and booming, silence finally returned.

Flöte Mascarail opened her eyes in fear.

The castle had been turned to rubble. The outer wall had been completely erased from existence, leaving the inside wide open. And not only that—the city and fields surrounding the castle were now an extensive wasteland. Chills ran down her spine. Who could possibly have done all this? With what sort of magic?

"L-Lady Flöte!" Bachelard screamed, the blood drained from his face.

Fortunately, he was unharmed, but her relief lasted only for a second, as she, too, went pale in the face once she heard his report.

"We've just confirmed that the Delphyne's Fourth Unit, Heaven's Second Unit, and Metal's Fifth Unit have all been wiped out! Even Memoir's SixthUnit… Look."

Bachelard pointed at a field of corpses, chopped up and scattered everywhere. They had been within the radius of the blast. Although the crucial Sakuna Memoir herself appeared to be missing.

In any case…

"What about Ms. Gandesblood? What happened to Terakomari Gandesblood?!"

"Ma'am, she's… According to our recon, she is the one who caused the explosion. We don't know where she is at the moment."

What? What did you say?

She tried asking to someone who would understand.

"Caostel Conto! What is the meaning of this?!"

But the stripped-tree man gave no answer.

He had already expired, his groin crushed by the rubble.

Useless to the very end!

"Lady Flöte, what should we do now?"

"Ugh…"

This was no longer the time to be continuing the Crimson Match.

What could she possibly…?

"Wait… Is that…?"

Then she saw her. Standing at the center of the castle atop the debris. Terakomari Gandesblood.

Flöte couldn't just stand around. Gritting her teeth, she ran toward the girl.

It couldn't be possible that she had unleashed that magic herself. There must have been a trick to it all. Perhaps it could've been a regular explosion, since she hadn't sensed mana within it.

At any rate, she had to go talk to that chick.

***

Sakuna Memoir was alive.

As soon as the scarlet light assaulted the Sixth Unit, her subcommander, whose name she didn't know, had given his life to protect her. Fortunately, Sakuna fell between walls, and managed to make it out with only a few scratches. Her subcommander and the rest of her unit, however, had all turned to ashes in the blink of an eye.

Poor guys, she thought.

The Sixth Unit's soldiers had been against her at the beginning, understandably so. She'd attained the title of Crimson Lord through sheer luck and nepotism, so why would they receive her with open arms? Fearing mutiny would take place sooner rather than later, it was with immense regret that she decided to take preventative measures.

Sakuna killed everyone in the Sixth Unit and rewrote their memories.

She changed them from rebels against her, to obedient soldiers who believed she was always in the right.

And this was the ultimate outcome. They had thrown away their lives for her—against their true will.

"…But they were happy until the end."

She had to believe that so as not to lose her mind.

Sakuna had set their minds on protecting her. There was nothing to worry about at this point. They were already different people.

What she did need to worry about was Terakomari Gandesblood. That flash must have been her doing. Quite frankly, she wasn't expecting her to be on this level. This monstruous. How was she even supposed to kill her?

"…"

Well. There was one way. The elixir Odilon had given her. She needed only drink that to obtain divine power. But she would have to give up her life in exchange.

Sakuna took the bottle from her pocket with trembling hands. Its nasty color made her sick just looking at it.

Would she? Would she really drink it?

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Flöte Mascarail running desperately toward the castle. This was no time to hesitate.

"I have to stop her… Ms. Terakomari's in danger…"

In danger? Her? What am I thinking?

Sakuna shook her head. She wasn't thinking straight.

First of all, it was stupid of her to worry over those two. What was better for her than allowing them to destroy each other? It was in her best interest to just wait for the moment to land the coup de grâce.

And yet… Why was she concerned with Komari's well-being?

Sakuna didn't understand her feelings. Thanks to her power, she'd always been good at telling how other people felt, but her own emotions always seemed vague, uncertain.

Should she help Terakomari? Or kill her?

Though she didn't have an answer yet, she still decided to head for the castle.

Suddenly, her Correspondence Crystal reacted.

"…Yes, it's Sakuna here."

"It's time. Go kill Terakomari Gandesblood."

Sakuna gulped. She'd been expecting this order.

"Run as wild as you want. Farsight magic's blocked, thankfully. It must be the strange mana that filled the entire battlefield after the explosion. Go! Teach her to fear Inverse Moon! And remember, your family will survive only if you manage to end her life."

He hung up.

She gritted her teeth.

In the end, Sakuna Memoir was but a tool for Inverse Moon.

***

I was standing on a mound of debris once I came to.

"…Huh?"

There was a gap in my memories. What had I been doing up until now?

I think I was… In the Crimson Match, yeah. Delphyne attacked me, and Vill and I were on the run, and then… Shoot, I couldn't remember.

I glanced down at myself. My whole body was red, as though I'd bathed in blood. And it actually was blood! What in the world?! Did someone kill me? No, that couldn't be… I wasn't hurting.

Then, I saw a maid dress out of the corner of my eye. A girl was lying on the rubble. The sight dragged me back to reality.

"Vill!"

I ran over to Villhaze in a panic.

Then it came back to me. She had sacrificed herself to protect me. From what little I recalled, Delphyne had gouged her side with a blood knife.

I felt my hairs standing on end as I checked her body. The wound was deep, but it was no longer bleeding. Her breathing… Was normal. She was alive. I sighed in relief. Dark Core be damned, I didn't want to go through a loss like this.

I took a teleportation Magic Stone out from my pocket. I'd brought it with me for the worst-case scenario, but it wasn't me who should be escaping now.

I poured mana into it, and Vill's body disappeared from my side. I sent her to the infirmary in the Imperial Capital. She would be safer there than here on the battlefield, at least.

Then I started wondering about my own situation. Was I actually still on the battlefield?

I looked around in suspicion. The place was shockingly barren. In the distance, I could see traces of what the Metrio Battlefield was supposed to look like, but everything within about a hundred meters in my vicinity was empty.

"Am I…dreaming?"

Then, I heard the shattering of glass.

I'd stepped on some shards. I backed away in a panic. There was red glass all over the ground, and a half-sphere lay nearby. I deduced that thing had broken, the missing half reduced to the shards all around it.

…Hmm? Wait… Is this…

"…the Ruby?"

Just as I realized the shocking truth, I heard footsteps coming up behind me.

Crap. It felt like something was clenching my heart. I was sure to die out here if it was an enemy. Please be a friend, please be a friend… I prayed to the heavens as if I were Helldeus.

"Ms. Gandesblood. Lovely weather today, hmm?"

The wood ear mushroom–haired woman was glaring at me.

Shoot. It's over. I'm done for.

The "Great Crimson Lord," the Black Flash, Flöte Mascarail entered the stage, her face in a twisted smile as though she had just found her nemesis, eager for revenge.

"The blast was marvelous, I will admit. What did you do, exactly? Correct me if I'm wrong, but that wasn't magic, was it? Was it a bomb? Such cheap, dirty trickery. You're a disgrace to all Crimson Lords."

What's she going on about?

"…Flöte, what happened to everyone else? Are you here alone?"

"What…? Yes. I'm here alone. You slaughtered everyone else…Including Lord Heaven, Lord Metal, and Ms. Memoir…and Delphyne!"

"I—I don't get it! That doesn't make any sense!"

"Stop fooling around! No, I did not forbid you from attacking by means other than magic! But you've taken things to an extreme! You're ruining the Crimson Ma—"

Flöte then glanced at my feet. She noticed the scarlet shards on the ground. Her face turned redder and redder.

"That's… That's the Ruby! Did you wreck it?! Was this your plan, forcing the Crimson Match to an end?!"

"No, well, yeah, I did plan on doing that, but I didn't do it!"

"Enough!!"

Her mana popped in a black flash. A dark haze drifted around her. She was furious.

"Why do you always make light of everything?! I put my all into preparing the stage for this Crimson Match and you… You threw it all to

waste just because you wanted to save yourself! Have you not the slightest shred of dignity as one of the seven most powerful officers in the Empire?!"

"I'm telling you, it wasn't me! It was already broken when I came to!"

"It's no use arguing with you!"

The air trembled. She drew her sword, and a massive pool of darkness started forming at its tip. Literally a black hole. The dust in the vicinity started getting pulled in by its gravity. I tried to plant myself in place, but it was futile. I couldn't keep standing. It was hopeless. I was getting sucked into the darkness.

"You are a cancer cell to the Empire. I won't let you get away with it any longer. This is as far as you go. This is overkill for a fraud such as you, but I hope you enjoy it."

"Why?! I don't wanna get killed!"

"Then fight! Like the warrior you supposedly are! Special-Grade Dark Spell: Darkness Armageddon!"

"Hng!"

I shut my eyes and scrunched up like a turtle.

All hope was lost. The only fate for me was death. I was so deep in the trenches of despair that I couldn't think of my famous last words (second edition). Instead, I simply gritted my teeth as I curled into myself and trembled, the way you do the day after you take exercising back up.

Oh, what a short life I had… As I was already giving up…

"Huh?"

…I noticed Flöte wasn't going through with her attack.

Was it all a prank? No chance, right?

I looked up in suspicion and saw something I couldn't have seen in my wildest dreams.

A fist was coming out of Flöte's belly. Vivid scarlet blood was spurting out from the opening, dripping onto the rubble. Her dark mana was dissipating.

Flöte glanced down at the red, creepy arm sticking out her midsection with utter confusion.

"What… In… The…?"

Then, the arm snapped back.

Flöte's body fell helplessly to the ground, like a marionette abandoned by its puppeteer. However, she was still breathing. With the last ounce of her strength, she turned to look up and confirm her killer's identity. But at that same moment, a giant rock crushed her face.

"Gwegh!"

Elementary-Level Stone Spell: Falling Rocks.

I heard her bones getting smashed. She struggled for a while below the rock, but her movements grew slower as time elapsed, until she finally stopped.

"...…Wha?"

I was at a loss for words.

The Great Crimson Lord had been killed so easily, and in such a brutal way I could have never come up with myself. But that wasn't the only thing to be shocked about.

I immediately recognized the person standing beside Flöte's corpse.

She had white hair, white skin, and a face like an abandoned puppy's… This was no dream nor illusion.

"Ms. Terakomari! I'm glad you're unharmed…"

It was Sakuna Memoir.

Her right arm was dyed red in Flöte's blood, but despite her disturbing appearance, she wore the same innocent smile on her face as always. She ran up to me.

Then, I noticed—her right eye was also dyed red. Just as Vill's was when she'd used Core Implosion.

"I'm so, so glad… We're finally reunited."

She really looked relieved, but still, I felt something was off, so I took half a step back.

"I-I'm glad to see you're okay, too… But anyway, um… Were you always that strong?" I asked, glancing at her blood-soaked arm.

"I'm not, not at all. Ms. Flöte just had her guard down, that's why I could defeat her. It was just luck."

"Still, aren't you a mage? And yet you pierced her torso with your bare hand… I didn't know you could do that."

"Anyone can do that. Any normal vampire."

"O-oh, yeah."

"So all the other Crimson Lords are dead."

Now things were getting really freaky. There was something weird about her tone of voice.

Sakuna slowly walked toward me, then past me, glanced down to where Vill's body had been behind me, and then took a deep breath.

"Do you remember?" She asked, still facing away from me. "That question I asked you when we went stargazing."

"Ah… Yeah, something about terrorists and hostages, right?"

"Yes. And then you said, 'I would take down the terrorist.' I was in awe…And I was even more impressed when I saw this castle. You didn't say that in vain, or just to show off. You really are capable of it…"

"Sorry, Sakuna, but I have no idea what you mean…"

"Still, I can't do it. I can't defeat Inverse Moon on my own. No matter how hard I try, even if I work until I vomit blood, even if I stay obedient to the organization, even if I beg for forgiveness, they'll just use different means and different weapons to keep on murdering the ones I love. I can't do anything. I don't have the power. I don't have the courage. I don't want to get killed myself. So there's only one choice I can make…"

Sakuna's rant caught me off guard. Not only because of the power of her words, either—dense mana was radiating out from her. I didn't have the slightest inkling of what was going on.

"Hey, Sakuna…"

"Past, present, and forevermore, I've only had a single choice. I have to keep on exerting myself as another cog in the Inverse Moon machine, making sure they don't see me as defective and get rid of me, just to barely scrape by. I have to keep on putting in that effort, that's all."

"Sakuna! What are you talking about?!"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Terakomari. I was the terrorist all along."

She turned around.

Her hair fluttered in the summer wind.

Her red right eye was back to blue.

"Sakuna… Are you crying? Are you hurting somewhere?"

"Not in my body," she replied, laughing as tears poured from her eyes.

"…You're so kind. You still worry about me, even now… Were you even paying attention? I'm a terrorist. I work for Inverse Moon."

"Stop joking around! If you're so upset that you're crying, then let's go home! I wanna go back, too!"

"I couldn't do that, even if I wanted to. I'd like to reveal the truth to you. It would be far too tragic, for the both of us, to kill you without letting you know first…"

Sakuna slowly raised her blood-drenched right arm.

She placed her thin, white index finger on my forehead.

"Mental Spell: Mind Refrain."

Then, my consciousness disappeared into the void.