Chapter 73 ─ The winner is...

Zoro had become a lycanthrope, Razel activated phase 2.5 of his Raijin, which gave him an electric coat similar to a saber-toothed tiger.

Cordelia and Bellange walked away as this fight would be different from the others.

After a brief time of staring at each other, they both disappeared.

"They've already started!"

"Huh?"

After Bellange's shout, Cordelia wondered what he meant, but her answer came as a large shockwave crashed into them.

"Is that it?"

Despite both being human, the battle between Razel and Zoro was almost considered that of a pair of monsters.

The two were colliding in different sections of the cave, generating shockwaves from their punches and kicks given or parried.

In mid-air, Razel could be seen at very high speed as Razel struck with all his power at Zoro, who used his palms to repel the attacks.

The sound of them appearing or disappearing was almost similar to that of a window being cleaned or a rusty pipe.

Little by little debris from the top was falling due to the holes that opened up as Razel or Zoro finished the roof.

Razel was about to give Zoro a lightning kick, but he blocked it with his leg, that crescent-shaped electric slash went in the direction of the two hiding, managing to barely dodge it.

Razel clicked his tongue seeing how Zoro could keep up with him, so he decided to get more serious than he was.

As a flurry of punches were thrown in the air that affected none of them, Razel used that as an opportunity.

He put his hand in front of Zoro's face and a blue light flashed.

"Impact!"

A great shock of magical power slammed into Zoro's face, sending him backwards.

But he quickly got back into a fighting stance and grinned, showing his sharp teeth.

"Thanks for the new technique."

"Huh?"

Razel was speechless at the sudden statement.

Zoro stepped away from Razel, and put his hands together, leaving a ball-like shape.

As Zoro was using the power of a deadly sin, his magical power was superior to anyone else's, but that was since the mana he absorbed corrupted it within him.

A black light with green edges glowed in his hands.

Zoro approached Razel, he tried to run away, but Zoro's long fluffy tail grabbed him.

Looking at him in a mocking manner, Zoro placed his palms on Razel's torso.

"Avesta!"

A great force of air compressed into magical power invaded Razel's insides.

His shirt was shredded, and even using the Blut, a large amount of blood spat out.

Razel was knocked unconscious for a few brief moments, but then awoke...

Rather, it was his right hand that moved on its own and touched Zoro's chest.

A faint dark blue light glowed and then Razel's voice was heard despite rolling his eyes.

"Impact Bazooka."

Zoro's chest was ripped apart and a large hole near his arm was visible.

But after a short time he began to fully regenerate.

At that a voice that was Razel's, but gave a sense of being someone else heard.

"I can't believe this idiot lost again. He seems to be overconfident just because he has the Blut."

That voice was Astraea's, who took control of his body again. This happened months ago, in his fight against the dark knight.

"Never mind. Hey you, tell me who put that sphere on you? No, who told you it was a deadly sin what you had inside."

"Was his name Epstein by any chance?"

Zoro smiled after taking a fighting pose.

"I'll tell you only if you manage to kill me."

Astraea in Razel's body smiled the same way.

"Don't make it so easy. All those spirits I'll kill."

"Come on, give me a good fight after being bored inside this guy!"

And so, a bizarre fight between a vampire and a werewolf occurred.

◇◇◇

-War game zone-

"Let's eat!"

Desmond stomped hard and ran at full speed to rip Regulux's head off.

He didn't know how to react, none of them did either, Desmond was screaming like crazy as he opened and closed his fingers of his hand to grab Regulux.

"Gijiji, you smell so good, too much!"

As Desmond was about to kill Regulux─ a shot from a rifle, with explosive ammunition hit him full in the face.

"Take that, you crazy fucker."

"Looks like your partner went crazy."

"No matter how many there are, we must kill them all."

Fortunately, they were saved by the pirates who mistook Desmond for an ally gone mad.

When the cloud of smoke almost disappeared, Desmond was visible. Only his coat was damaged and a little ash on his face.

His facial expression was the same but his eyes were now turned in the direction of the pirates.

He turned his head to the side without losing that intimidation when it came.

"... You bitches, what do you think you're doing, huh?"

Desmond slowly walked towards the pirates.

"Don't think you're no big deal, you fucking hornded!"

"Die in a rain of fire!"

Several pirates began firing at Desmond, but the explosive bullets despite making contact, did not scratch him, only tearing his clothes and disheveling him.

Desmond stood in the middle of the deck.

The pirates moved away as they could not believe that someone who had been shot with almost all his ammunition was still standing.

As his coat was destroyed, his right arm which was visible, began to emanate a strange transparent aura, which twisted the atmosphere like a gas leak.

"You guys looked for me to give you my weakest attack, feel happy to be eliminated by the strongest weak blow of all!"

He clenched his fist and then as if it were the trunk of an elephant, he swung it to the side until it was far enough away, almost dislocating his arm.

"Absolute..."

The aura locked into a sphere, which began to show more distortion, you could almost hear the sound of lightning crashing.

Desmond's sinister smile worsened to the point that his intimidation was visible to all.

The arm moved to end in a single motion.

"Fist. Zekken!"

A gigantic shockwave was ejected straight at the pirates, like a tornado, the pirates and the top of the battleship were ripped off the deck and sent flying through the air.

"Hahahaha! How about my strongest weak attack, if I had used the truly strong one. This whole place─ no, this whole country would have been wiped off the map. hahahaha!"

The boys who were safe, watched in horror at the wreckage of debris and humans falling overboard.

Since there were no more obstacles, Desmond turned his attention to Regulux and the others.

After rattling the bones in his hands, he slowly made his way towards them.

"You guys are next, you all smell potential. That means you'll all withstand more than one hit, that makes me damn excited!"

Jake fell to the floor due to the shaking of his legs.

"W-W-What's wrong with that guy? And such absurdly colossal strength?"

"... His magic power is terrifying."

Oscar commented due to the fear he felt.

"I don't need a magic tool to be able to measure the level of the air magic element, just by looking at his hand, I can tell that that guy is a monster that surpasses maybe level 5─ no, he definitely surpasses level 7 magic knowledge I heard."

Desmond is so powerful that even Oscar couldn't comprehend his enemy's absurd power level, his grandfather was level 6 in magic power, and he knew that level 7 is someone who can alter the environment like the emperor.

So he calculated that Desmond must be on the same level as the emperor or the sword saints.

The boys walked away, but they couldn't go anywhere, then someone stood up to Desmond.

"Please wait."

It was Richard.

"We are allies. Elize ojou-sama had told me about you, so we belong to the same side."

Regulux hearing that only made his head hurt more.

(Huhhh? Elize knows about him. How?)

(Exactly what happened at the Rosenberg mansion for her to know him?)

But that was all the same to Desmond.

"Like I give a shit! I just came here to kill someone strong, and you guys smell with a lot of potential, I'll kill you now so you don't cause me any trouble in the future!"

Desmond ran at high speed to kill them all, but Richard sighed.

"Your way is like that of a wild animal..."

Since he was the closest, Desmond would kill him first.

Quickly, in less than a split second─ Desmond's right hand ripped Richard's head off.

"... This is why you have to be taught manners."

──Or so it was supposed until Richard ducked almost at the same time Desmond's hand came to rip his head off.

In that split second he ducked, part of his helmet was ripped off.

Gray hair was visible due to the large hole in the helmet.

He placed his right hand on Desmond's abdomen.

"... Hey, didn't you die?"

A faint white light shone.

"What the──?"

Before Desmond could answer, Richard ended it.

"Get some sleep, Impact."

The light shone brighter and Desmond was pushed by a mysterious force towards the gunwale of the deck.

"Shiiiiiiiiiiit─!"

The railing broke and Desmond fell into the cliff.

"Is this───!"

Since he couldn't fly, nor could he grab hold of the ship, the demon king fell towards his imminent defeat.

"I'm going to kill you when I come up, you fucking biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitch!"

A great sound of the impact of a falling body was heard.

The boys watched overboard as the demon king was defeated without using violence.

Cid wanted to ask Richard who he was, while covering part of his helmet with a cloth, he replied.

"I'm just a wandering knight who came to help the Rosenbergs."

The second super battleship was destroyed.

◇◇◇

-Combat zone between Emily and Bayman.

"That's all you can do!"

Bayman was shooting magic arrows towards Emily, who was running at high speed to cut it down.

Due to his agility and dexterity, he managed to dodge the attacks Emily was trying to hit him with.

In the middle of a mid-air acrobatics, Bayman shot ten arrows.

The arrows hit Emily's shield, and despite being pushed several meters, she did not give up.

She pressed the ground hard and at full speed she marched off to repeat the same attack.

Bayman was more irritated than angry with her.

"Why don't you understand?"

"You'll never be able to scratch me. I've spent years learning how to use this. And a mere female knight like you won't be able to defeat me."

Emily didn't respond to his superiority insults, only repelled his attacks.

Bayman grew angrier until he lost his calm.

He stopped, and pointed his bow to the sky.

"Witness my best technique!"

"Rain of Arrows!"

He shot a single arrow into the sky, then it darkened... and then, above Emily, a torrent of arrows fell upon her.

She did not use her shield, she raised her sword and recited the invocation of her attack.

"Thirteen seconds..."

"My heart burns like the flames of a phoenix─ ahh."

But she was interrupted by the rain of arrows falling and mercilessly striking her body.

"Adversity will be defeated by me─ ahh!"

The arrows did not cease their damage, the armor each time shattered and her body only generated more bruises.

"Even... if my body is shattered... my soul will not fall─"

A large arrow landed on Emily's head, despite the fact that arrows cannot kill or severely injure someone if their user wished. This arrow was so dense in magical power that it hurt her badly.

A large amount of blood was pouring out of her head.

The rain continued, but Emily fell to the ground.

Bayman deflected the rain with another arrow so that it would not continue to hurt Emily.

A large pool of blood surrounded her.

"Do you see? This is my power, this is the power of the Bow King."

"You can never beat me, I am best suited to be the next saint─"

"Thirteen seconds... completed."

Bayman was stopped from speaking by Emily's voice, his eyes showed astonishment as he watched her try to stand up in that pool of blood.

"The archaic chant... completed is..."

"It's time to show your true power... my holy sword."

With all her might, Emily put her two hands together and her sword began to glow.

The golden glow gradually grew until it lit up that area like a small beacon.

The white light surrounded Emily, but gathered around her sword.

"Apo─"

Bayman was really angry, so much so, that he let out inappropriate words from him.

"Why don't you understand!"

He pointed his bow in Emily's direction, a great light shone. It was growing in intensity.

"I saved this attack since I planned to use it against those three idiots! But you'll be the first to taste the ultimate attack of the Bow King!"

"So long Crossbell, you will die now!"

The arrow glowed so brightly, it could be compared to the light coming from Emily's sword.

"Dead-End Shot!"

The large arrow shot by Bayman was heading towards Emily, who, at that moment, said a few last words...

"You don't understand, Bayman-dono. As long as my resolve is strong, my body may be torn. I will never lose as long as my heart is high in my loyalty, I will not lose to you or anyone else."

To him.

"That's bullshiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!"

"──llonia."

With those final words, the huge concentration of magic power in the form of a pillar descended to strike Bayman.

"I cannot lose... I am the pride of the Baymans... I am the Bow King... I cannot lose─!"

The huge pillar of light hit him, but it didn't stop there.

It was so large due to the magic element gathered, it headed for the stands where the witnesses were standing.

"That's too bad, her power was too much of what she could control."

Christina said as she "saw" the pillar of light heading towards her.

After standing up, she unsheathed her sword and then took a big leap.

The pillar was so close, she just pushed it to the side.

And then she returned to her seat using the light force she used.

In the distance she watched as Emily fell unconscious after defeating Bayman.

"It's certainly an attack with potential. Not bad girl."

◇◇◇

-Inside of Super Battleship #3-

"Hey, what the fuck was that? Tell me, what the fucking shit was that!"

Carmichael couldn't see what happened.

The entire fleet of the Anti-Rosenberg faction was destroyed, only the battleship he was on and the flagship that hadn't moved in a while remained.

The ships of the Rosenberg fleet were ordered not to move, so only the Rosenblat was heading towards them.

They were the last defensive wall to prevent the flagship from being sunk.

After clicking, he said to the captain.

"I will go inside the prow to apply high-level defensive spells."

"The enemy's flagship looks like it wants to envelop us. We'll use this opportunity and kill them in the process!"

"Yes!"

Quickly running inside the ship to reach their destination, Carmichael thought as he activated the spells.

(Elize-chan, I'm sorry, but you'll have to die here. No matter how much I long to take your flower. My future as a marquis is more important. There are many pretty girls like you in the empire. I'll look for another one similar to you.)

◇◇◇

-Inside the Rosenblat-

"We're already close to the battleship, now what?"

Celia was asking a bit worriedly to Eli. Which she answered by pointing to a button on the dashboard.

"According to the manual, with this button we will achieve our victory."

Eli walked over to the board and pressed the red button in the center.

*Press*

Only seconds passed and the ship began to shake.

Everyone panicked thinking the worst but what happened left them speechless.

The red horn started to grow bigger, now it gave the impression to stop two parts due to the bifurcation in the middle.

As if it were the opposite hands of the clock, it began to rotate little by little, after a few seconds the speed increased more and more.

The ship trembled as the magical power gathered in the red horn.

Eli explained to them the significance of this phenomenon.

"According to the duke's manual, this is the power of the Panzerhorn, the drill that pierces everything that lies in front of it."

They all made an "Ohh" of amazement.

But Lily was still uneasy.

"Will it really work?"

Eli didn't know how to answer her, it had been created by the Duke. She had no confidence in him.

"Let's trust the power of this ship, let's go!"

The ship followed at full speed, the horn spun so fast, it gathered the magical power of the environment and used it to create a storm that nullified all defensive magical spells.

"Go, Rosenblat!"

They all shouted the moment the horn─ Panzerhorn blasted the ship.

But──

"No effect!"

Despite the horn touching the prow, a defensive spell appeared. That defensive spell created one after another and pushed the Rosenblat back.

The captain was saying to Eli in an altered tone.

"Elize ojou-sama, we can't go any further!"

"Why not?"

"The horn is at maximum power, but that's not enough to get through the enemy's defense."

Eli was cursing the current situation, but a call came in at that moment.

"Someone wants to communicate with us... it's from inside the battleship!"

The captain agreed after Eli's affirmation.

A magic circle appeared and there... Carmichael's face appeared.

"Uncle?!"

"Hello, Elize-chan."

Eli couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"I'm sorry to say this under the circumstances, but I'm responsible for why your ships were delayed in coming. I am also responsible for the forgery of palace documents that gave evidence of Rosenberg Household as the main attacker on the second prince's properties. All by the work of Minister Olgren."

"What did you say!"

At first he wasn't smiling himself, no, in fact, he was holding back laughter.

"That's why I came with a proposal. There is a way for you guys to come to no harm after losing."

"Even if our ships have been destroyed, it doesn't mean we lost, the flagship is still afloat."

"My proposal is simple... Elize-chan, be mine."

"...!"

The girls were aghast at that proposal.

"... If I become yours, will they leave us alone?"

"Eli-chan!?"

"That's right, Elize-chan, it's the only way you'll survive. No one can defeat the palace, the second prince will win. He is the one best suited to rule when he becomes the new emperor."

Eli was trembling, Carmichael could see her tears falling from her face which was looking at the ground, at that moment...

"I... I..."

Eli laughed in her face.

"You thought I was going to accept, you idiot~!"

Carmichael couldn't understand Eli's behavior, but it wasn't just her, the other girls made fun of him.

"Old men are the worst, they think they can touch young girls just because they have power or money."

"You are the worst."

"You're a horrendous person, you deserve what will happen to you!"

"That's not how you tease Lily-chan, you should say something like. idiot, you're an idiot, beehhhhhhh!"

Eli stuck her tongue out to taunt him.

Carmichael started to get annoyed and decided to put a stop to it.

"You big-titted little bitch! Don't you understand what will happen now?"

"Victory is ours! You are mere losers!"

Eli grabbed her hair and like a spoiled girl, she got all cocky and lifted her big breasts under her arm.

"Sorry to say this, but pretty girls like us always win."

She got smugger and now positioned both her arms lifting them higher.

"What you say we already knew, but I didn't think it was true. Our spy said that even if we lost the battle we would win the war."

"Spy? Don't lie you little brat!"

Evelyn had a folder with documents in her hands, Eli grabbed the first page and began to read what was written.

Carmichael's face broke out in a cold sweat.

"... You, how do you know that?"

"I told you, didn't I? We have a spy who gave us all that information. Oh, I forgot, we had this won from the beginning. Since you guys let him in."

"What do you mean?"

Eli flashed a smile worthy of a villainess.

◇◇◇

-Anti-Rosenberg faction's Flagship-

"K-Kill him!"

Grin screamed in fear after clutching his bloody head.

The sailors inside were attacking an enemy.

They were firing low-caliber magic bullets.

"It's useless!"

"The bullets hit him, but he doesn't die!"

"Die! Just die already!"

Many bodies were strewn on the floor, the cabin was almost completely destroyed.

The door was blocked from the inside to prevent reinforcements from arriving.

"How did this happen?"

Grin was wiping away the blood as he remembered what happened.

Several minutes ago, a man came into the cockpit. Grin thought it was Carmichael since he announced himself as the Rosenbergs' traitor.

But as he opened the door, a man he had never seen before stood in front of him. It was── Ludger.

"Who is he?"

Ludger quickly knocked the man behind him and used a sailor as a shield while he locked the door with the safety catch.

He pulled out a handgun, a new type of weapon being developed in Estoria.

He started shooting at them, first at Grin, the shot missed on purpose.

Some time passed and now we were in the current situation.

Grin received a call.

He answered as finally the communication equipment worked.

"Somebody come─!"

"Griiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin! We're in trouble!"

"Huh?"

"I don't know how, but they know! The Rosenbergs have evidence that Olgren-sama was responsible for everything that happened and that both, you and I are his helpers!"

"Wait..."

"Grin, we're dead! If this information gets out, the palace will execute us without being able to defend ourselves!"

"We must kill the Rosenbergs quickly!"

Ludger hearing that, smiled victoriously.

He lit a cigarette and then took a leap.

A sailor saw him and shot him.

Ludger had two magical abilities he was born with, they were useless abilities according to the game.

That's right, Ludger was a character in the game, he was an assassin of the Rosenberg Household, which was recruited by the villainess Elize.

But for some reason he never became one.

"Full Counter!"

When the magic bullet that turned into a fireball, but when he touched it with his left hand, the fireball was repelled straight back at the summoner with triple his strength.

That was one of his abilities, to return the magic attack with triple the strength it was launched.

Then comes the other one.

"Perfect Shot!"

As he shouted that, the bullet inside his gun glowed, as he had taken off his eye patch, he used that eye to visualize the target, the heart of a sailor more than ten feet away which was hidden by a door.

The bullet was fired and pierced the sailor's heart.

With these skills, Ludger was a perfect assassin.

But he had a secret.

Many years ago, he met Eli's grandfather, it is thanks to him that he did not become a cold-blooded killer.

When he eliminated the last of the sailors, only he and Grin were left.

Grin tried to run away, but he had nowhere to run, Ludger approached him and blew cigar smoke in his face.

"This is what you get for messing with the Rosenberg Household, you were chased by the hellhound for messing with that family."

Grin reacted to that name.

"Hellhound... that's you! But why are you helping that family? I'll give you money to protect me from now on─"

He stomped on his mouth so that he wouldn't keep talking.

"Shut your mouth, a worm like you doesn't know that there is something more important than money, and that is to return kindness."

Ludger got through to Eli to give his report.

◇◇◇

"Jou-chan, everything is ready. The flagship went down."

"I understand. Thank you for your help."

"I don't deserve the flattery, I'm just doing my duty."

Eli closed the call for Carmichael to hear everything.

"It can't be... that, something like that..."

He couldn't seem to process what happened.

"It's over, Count Carmichael. Surrender now that your flagship has been captured."

But he didn't surrender.

"Don't fuck with me bitches, I'll will make you all get killed!"

"I'm going to rape those big tits of yours like you have no idea!"

"... How disgusting you are."

With those cold words, Eli told the captain to continue at maximum power.

But the Panzerhorn was going at full power.

"You see! You can't win, I'll win and you guys won't, hahahaha."

Lily was in the background praying, she wanted them to win since Rosenberg Household is her family.

"Please give us your help, goddess Alexia."

At that moment, she began to shine.

That shining caused in the academy dungeon, the fairies felt her power and flew at great speed.

The fairies traveled miles in seconds.

"... Help the saint."

"... We must help her."

"... The saint is the only one who can hear the goddess Alexia."

After reaching the ship, they placed their hands on the ship to send their power.

The magical power caused the red horn to turn golden and spin at such a speed that it could be considered capable of shattering the very sky if it wished.

Since at that moment, the defensive spells were destroyed in seconds.

"Wait a moment Elize-chan!"

"I'm your uncle, remember how many times we played together and the gifts I gave you as a child!"

"Huh~, can't I hear you~?"

"You little bitch─"

The drill had destroyed the last defensive layer and was now tearing apart everything in its path.

Communication was cut off as Carmichael ran for his life.

"This was not supposed to happen, this was not how this day was supposed to happen, this is a lie!"

The drill was destroying everything in its path, be it things or people.

When he reached the hatch to go up, he couldn't because it had been closed on the outside.

The whole front part was being pulverized, sunlight was coming in through the sides, tears and snot were expelled by Carmichael while doing a generic pose of young people killed in horror movies.

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!"

That was the last thing he screamed before saying goodbye to this world.

◇◇◇

Inside the cabin of the Rosenblat, Eli muttered.

"In the end I can only rely on the servants who stayed with us, my concubine friends and Razel..."

◇◇◇

The sword saints observed everything.

"It was a good war game."

"It started with an obvious disadvantage and ended in a crushing victory of those who had everything against them."

"Life is very curious."

They each mumbled their thoughts, stood up in unison and declared the winner, due to which the judge himself was dumbfounded.

"The winner is... Rosenberg Household!!!"

On that day, the imperial palace was defeated. Something no one thought would ever happen.

◇◇◇

-Battlefield of Razel and Zoro.

"This can't be!"

For thirty minutes ago, "Razel" and Zoro have begun a non-stop duel of consecutive blows.

"Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora!"

"Kora! Kora! Kora! Kora! Kora! Kora! Kora! Kora! Kora!"

The two's punches flew at a great speed, almost as if it wasn't humans they were fighting.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!"

Blood stains were falling all around, the wind was blowing as if a gale was generating in that place.

Bellange and Cordelia were clutching a pillar.

"W-what an incredible fight!"

"I can't believe whoever is doing this is that same promised good-for-nothing."

Razel's body was covered in blood... but not his own, it was Zoro's.

"Why won't you fall!"

"How is it that you hold out longer than me!!!"

Knuckles, skin, bones and even his own muscles were destroyed.

It was because of his regeneration that it didn't really matter the damage, but at the speed at which he was being hit, he was getting slower and slower.

"This can't be, I can't go around losing!"

"The desire of my brothers and sisters as my own ambition is to bring the light to us! I can't lose to a lowly─!"

"Stop chattering. You're boring me."

"Razel" yawned due to his boredom of hearing Zoro, he became much more serious than he was and placed his hands on Zoro's chest at high speed.

A faint bluish black light glowed.

"Impact... Double Bazooka!"

At that moment, it was all over for Zoro.

"Damn iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!"

He shouted as he was pushed by a great force which shattered his entire front.

The black stone on his chest was destroyed as well.

Zoro, the leader of the dark shadows, had been defeated.

The darkness of the empire had been defeated as well.

He fell several meters away from Razel.

His breathing was heavy, he could feel the heat leaving his body.

When he opened his eyes, he noticed "Razel" sitting next to him, he placed his right hand in the center and the black mist from Zoro's body was absorbed.

◇◇◇

Inside Razel, there is a white room.

In that room was a beautiful woman with pale skin and long blood red hair, her red eyes saw a black mist moving wildly.

"So you are envy, huh?"

"***!"

The mist spoke to her in an incomprehensible language, but she─ Astraea just laughed.

"Who cares what you say, my mission is to destroy Epstein and its plans. Your part of that bastard so don't hate me when you brought this on yourself."

She would have her mouth and proceeded to eat the deadly sin of envy.

Both envy and sloth, have been erased from this world.

◇◇◇

"Hah... hah..."

Zoro's breathing was getting slower and slower.

"Hey..."

"Huh?"

"I have to ask you... a favor."

"I'm not interested, just die already."

"At least just listen to it and then think about it... you'll be interested..."

"You don't understand that I don't─"

"Involve whoever planted this on me..."

"You would have said that earlier you idiot."

"On the outskirts of the capital, there is a subway laboratory hidden under a tree... that's where there are others like us, where we were created... please save them..."

Hearing how there were others just like Zoro, Astraea had a flashback of herself in a cage watching other children being tortured.

She sighed before replying.

"Damn, I guess I'm weak to children being tortured. Fine, I'll save the brats, now tell me about who planted the dark crystal on you."

"... How do you know... it's called a dark crystal?"

"It's not the first time I've seen it."

Zoro's breathing was so slow that his lungs could no longer inhale or exhale oxygen.

"His name is Linhard... he is the one responsible for many aberrations done in the past in the name of the empire. The imperial family knew about it and allowed it..."

"It seems that... they were trying to create a super warrior... but which the current emperor got somewhere."

"You're talking about that twilight saint."

"I saw it once... just that one time was enough to tell me that... it wasn't human, that thing doesn't breathe nor do I feel a heartbeat in it... I don't know what it is..."

"Razel" put his hand to his chin.

(I don't feel that guy has anything to do with Epstein, but I have no way of how to find out... yet.)

"The dark stone...t he day he brought it... it came with someone else...

"Razel" reacted and grabbed Zoro.

"What was its appearance like? The color of its skin eyes and hair?"

"I don't know... It was in the dark looking at us, as if we were rats it could get anywhere..."

"Please... save those who are about to fall... in the dark..."

"The light is... very warm and beautiful..."

"Razel" looked up at the sky from the hole that formed in their fight, it was already dusk after fighting for so many hours.

"Yes, it is very pretty."

"No... doubt."

Zoro's eyes closed forever after taking his last breath.

Cordelia and Bellange approached, but "Razel" stood up and said.

"I have something to do, I'll be back later."

"Bellange, do me a favor and take her home and put some sheets on these guys."

"What will you do?" Bellange asked.

Walking toward a new exit that formed, "Razel" said. "I'll just go get something I forgot I'll be back shortly."

And so, that fateful day ended with a crushing victory against the imperial palace and against the darkness of the empire.