....


　Sharpening. Alfred continues to sharpen his sword.

　A room where the moonlight shines through. The room was so tranquil and serene that it was hard to believe that someone was living in it approximately.

　A simple chair and table, and a bed are the only things in the room. And only a bed.

　A country where demons live. Among them, the Holy Twelve Apostles are given the privilege of living in the castle. To a demon, strength is everything. The strong ones are righteous, and the weak ones are oppressed and only scatter their lives. Many demons strive to reach the status of the Holy Twelve Apostles, even to the point of scattering their own lives.

　But even then, only a handful of them can reach it.

　Alfred is now one of the oldest among them.

　In the Human-Magic War, he outperformed them on the front lines and continued to fight as the world's strongest swordsman.

　But his heart will never be satisfied. The things he sought were never there. No, it wasn't. He had lost it. Alfred continues to search for what he lost in the Man-Monitorial War.


"....


　Polishing, sharpening, and handling the magic sword carefully so that its performance is never compromised. This move is the one that has been repeated tens of thousands of times. Their lives have already lasted for more than a hundred years. Some demons' lives are as long as 300 years.

　I look at it.

　I raise the Demon Sword Sixteen Nights. Illuminated by the moonlight, it will shine with a certain brilliance. Satisfied with his state, he sits upright as usual and goes into meditation.

　Meikyomei no Shisui.

　That state is the end of the end that the swordsman seeks.

　The peak of all, that peak.

　In order to reach that state, Alfred tried to let go of all his passions, but he couldn't help but let his evil thoughts come out.

　That's because I'm reminded of the previous battle.

　Bertina Light.

　The name of the swordsman he cut and discarded. I will never forget that name, that sword technique, that secret sword. All of it is my own flesh and blood, and I will only cultivate it in my body so that I can manifest it unconsciously.


''Cattleya I am........''


　He blurted out. Alfred's concern was not about Belle. It was because he had seen that moment. That long-lost face.

　He would never see her again.

　Or so he thought. Because that person had died 150 years ago.

　I've been chasing her for a long time. I've been chasing after her for a long time. I've been living in a realm that can never be reached, and I've been desperately trying to reach that realm. And yet, I'm still not even close to her feet... Alfred believed that no matter how long he lived, he would never reach that realm.

　That's why he wouldn't take away the demon sword that had been passed down to a human.

　The Demon Sword Oborozuki Yoru.

　The one who had been killing its wielder for generations was none other than Alfred.

　For some reason, Oboro Tsukuyoru and 16 Nights were destined to be drawn together.

　In this way, he had slaughtered dozens of Oborozukiyo's wielders. Each time he took away their swordsmanship and secret swords and turned them all into flesh and blood. He waited for the wielder of the Oboro Moonlight Night as sustenance that would even help him grow.


　But he had finally arrived, and after a hundred and fifty years of waiting, he had arrived.

　It was Sherry.

　Sherry was the creator of Oboro Tsukiyo and even the Sixteenth Night, and he bore a striking resemblance to the founder of the swordsmanship and secret swords. No, it was no longer at the level of a close resemblance. To Alfred, it was a living copy.

　Sherry was the very life copy of Cattleya, the founder of the Cuten Sobing [Shiten Sobing] style.

　Seeing that, it was no longer possible for him to restrain his heart from rising.


''I'm sure... we will meet again. Isn't that right, Cattleya?


　Questioning its name.

　Thus Shelley's cause and effect will surely converge.


　◇


Hmmm... so you killed Bertina Wright.
Yes, sir. Mr. Alfred has done it.
Ha. He looks like he's been obsessed with it forever.
He's got a lot going on in his case, sir.
Well, that's fine. I'll just use the piece I have to use. Even the thought of it can be used.
On your left, sir.
Well I guess it's time for us to get moving.
Would you like to come in person?
'Aureel's work has made it easier for me to move around in many ways. It's been a while since I've had to teach you anything. It's time for you to learn about the horrors of a demon's peak.
I'll be looking forward to it.


　Sitting on a throne is a single demon. His physique can only be described as huge, standing over two meters tall, with not a single lean muscle covering his body. Its hair is trimmed blonde, with bright red horns sprouting from both sides.

　The pinnacle of the Holy Twelve Apostles.

　The first rank in the hierarchy was about to start moving like this.


''Huh?　Is it just the two of you now?
Hmm?　Claudia. What can I do for you?
No. I just thought I'd give you an update on my research.
Well. I'm going into battle now. Papers, please.
Oh, that's unusual. Are you going to answer it?
It's been a while. Besides, you need to show the majesty of a demon's pinnacle.
Yeah. Well, okay. I'm doing my own thing.
I'm counting on you, Claudia.
Yeah.


　With that, Claudia leaves the throne.

　With a click of her shoes, she proceeds. Right now, in the basement of this castle, she was carrying out her research. The one she was currently working on was regarding the Twilight Syndrome, or Twilight Syndrome.

　Claudia was surprised to hear Alfred's testimony.

　She had heard that Belle overcame the Twilight Syndrome in her last days and transformed into something inhuman.

　Based on her research with Silas, she had concluded that the Twilight Syndrome was just a disease, and although the transformation of the demon race occurred, it was nothing more than that. He had concluded that.


　However, that story didn't end there.

　One could reach beyond that.

　It wasn't a saint like Liane, or a half-human, half-demon like Julia and the others, but a completely new individual.


'Claudia, how are you doing?'
Silas...
That was a surprise to me about Bell.
Yes I didn't expect Belle to get ahead of people...
Maybe that story isn't so bad after all.
The fairy tale?
Yes.
Well that may be true.


　The fairy tale is as follows.

　It is said that originally the source of all living things was human beings, and from there they became saints, sub-humans, demons, and even demons. Human beings are the origin of all possibilities, and it may be that there can be transformations that the world does not yet know about.

　That is exactly what the phenomenon of twilight is encouraging us to do.

　But the questions that come to mind come down to one thing.

　What is dusk, after all...what is it?

　No one knows that. A mysterious phenomenon that occurred at the same time as the end of the Human Demon War. Many humans believe that the demon race is responsible for it, but among the demon race, it's hard to know who or what caused the twilight to occur.

　The world is ruled by twilight.

　How on earth did it come to be this way...even the demons have no way of knowing that question.


''But Belle is dead? That's quite a blow to the humans.''
''Well, but now that Yulia-kun and the others are here, aren't they still a force to be reckoned with?''
Huh ... are you worried about it?
No way. I don't care what happens to the humans now. That's the thing, if they were destroyed tomorrow, my emotions wouldn't change. But it's just...
"Just?
I wish you'd gotten rid of Bell's body.
It's no use. 'I suppose that's the best we can do under the circumstances. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most of it. No matter how much Auriel, it will be difficult to fight while sheltering a wounded Alfred.
Well....


　Belle is dead.

　Claudia didn't think anything else when she received that report.

　Oh, he's dead? That's the extent of it.

　She had been reasonably close to Belle when she was in the Boundary City. But it was a lie. In her heart, she didn't feel anything, anything at all.

　And yet, what was this something that lingered in her mind?

　Claudia had certainly felt it. It's not sadness, woe, or frustration, but something unspeakable.


'Well, I'll do it again today.'
'Oh. Now, if you'll excuse me.


　She tried to forget that something and spent her day in research.