Well, I guess it's time for Ms. Glenn to start thinking about it.

　On top of a building that is far away from Fuzzyaz Castle, at least three kilometers away, I report the current situation to my companions.

　Perhaps because the Great Sacred City has a three-dimensional structure, there are many tall buildings that look like towers. I chose the tallest building among them, and me, Reaper and Reiner waited on the roof of it.

　However, since it was a tower managed by the government office, the battle was light on the way to this place. But there was no way we were going to be delayed by guards who weren't even at the double-digit level of quicksilver. They have all been politely knocked out.

　We are the only three people in the tower right now who are conscious.

"As predicted, Mr. Glenn is moving up from the 18th floor, just as we predicted. We've decided it's best to get as close to Nosfi as possible.

　I'll be muttering about the state of Hoosier's Castle in the distance.
　However, there's actually no need to report it out loud. The Reaper standing next to me right now is sharing the information obtained from my Dimension and Dimension Graduation, "Realize", through the "connection" of dimensional magic.

　My role is to be dedicated as a radar, and the role of a reaper is to give voice to it.

''Snow-sister. Your brother is on the 18th floor, so you have to somehow drive him to the 20th floor to stop him. Rastiara big sister on the other side is also on her way there.
"Yes, sir.

　It's a communication with a magical stone filled with vibrating magic 《Vibrations》.
　The nostalgic magic tactics used in the past during the time of the guild "Epic Seeker" have been further strengthened with the increase in level and magic power, and they are now showing their power in this party battle.

　Each and every one of the people that the Reaper is giving instructions to right now are wizards filled with enough gunpowder to bring down the castle. I can control it in a safe zone and have maximum operations. The advantage is easy to see compared to having a messenger running around frantically in the castle.

'...... Yeah, it's good. There was also a future where there was a 10% chance of Glenn-san and the others coming out of the city, but it seems to be okay now. Now that we're in the planned 'future number one', the other branches of the possible future have already been completely snapped off.

　And of all the foul techniques I use, the most foul technique I use, the Dimension Graduation Operation, "Preternatural (Realize)", is cancelled by me here.

　It's also the fact that it can't be used for a long period of time, but since the future has already been largely decided, the need for it has diminished.

　I've already captured the five positions of Glenn-san, Elle, Persiona-san, Sera-san and Noir-chan. I've already figured out the movements and status of the rest of the guards.

　There are two hundred and seventy-two guards who are capable of fighting in Hoozeyards Castle. I know that thirty-one of them will not move as they are only thinking about protecting the 'Senate'.
　Of the remaining two hundred and forty-one, only the five I gave earlier are above level 20. There are fourteen people above level 15. Among those fourteen, there are four people who are 'turning back into demons', so I need to be careful. And there were seventy-eight people above level 10. The others are one hundred and forty-four.
　The next five minutes, three hundred seconds.
　I've finished remembering the future that all of these people will be following.

I've finished remembering the future of all these people. The branch has broken off and has entered the "Future No. 1" pattern, then the strategy is also "Strategy No. 1". It's time for Brother Rainer to recharge his batteries, so I'm going to haunt him. --It's not a good idea to go to the beach.
Yeah, please.

　The Reaper casts a spell and slipperily enters my shadow.

　It's a combined dimensional and dark magic I learned during my year-long journey with Maria.
　It's said to assist the possessed target and add the reaper's power to any value of status.
　The effect is not only that, but also allows the Reaper to use magic when lurking in the shadows during a battle, or to replicate her usual black equipment.

　If you listen to the story, it seems that Maria was equipped with a black outfit that absorbs physical shock and a black scythe that can be handled at will. Just imagining it, it's quite an enviable transformation.

　Before the start of the operation, I casually told the Reaper that I wanted to transform too, but he refused because he couldn't make a better weapon than 'Rowen'.
　So this time I'll only be wearing black elbow-length gloves (long gloves).
　Using this special equipment for this time, I scratch the enemy's back for once.

　I roll up the sleeves of my clothes and check the movement of my left arm, which has turned completely black through the 'connection' with the Reaper.
　In the middle of it all, a voice calls out from behind me.

'Christ, we're ready too.'

　It was Ryner who was silently writing a magic circle by himself.
　It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

　It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get a good idea of what to expect.

It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what to expect. I'm sure you'll be able to find a great deal more to say.
'Perfectly on schedule ....... But still--
'Yeah. I still think we have about a 50-50 chance of success.

　《Dimensional Decisive Operation (Dimension Graduation), "Realize", my senses are hypersensitive after using it, so I anticipate what Ryner wants to ask and answer his question.

''Half ....... Is it really that tough ......?

　Ryner is used to being read ahead and examines the answer.

'The battle itself can be won outright. There's no doubt about it, but I think it's going to be tough to convince Nosfy to go through with it.
I can assure you that the castle has fallen, but not so much for Nosfy's.
This 'future vision' is also magic. It's hard to read when you're dealing with a highly magical opponent. And Nosfi's mind, well--
'Yeah, the crazy ones are hard to read, aren't they?　That magic, it seems that if you're dealing with someone who works on a whim or on a spur of the moment basis, you're more likely to be able to see in 'future vision' and the effect is halved.

　I've seen many futures where I could convince NOSFI, but I can't even count the number of futures where I failed to convince him.
　But I've also seen countless futures where persuasion has failed. The mental debt that NOSFI is carrying triggers all sorts of misfortune.
　You don't have enough magic and time to see all of them.

...... Yeah.

　I admit that Nosfi is crazy.
　I'm not going to deny it, since I'm the one who dropped it to that level.
　Ryner sees the look on my face and speaks with some concern.

'...... Christ, please. If you can't convince that Nosfi guy, then you'll have to annihilate that guy with the Distancing Mute.
I'm sorry, I can't do that. When that happens, I'm going to have to--

　I say no without hesitation.
　Reiner seems to want to put me first, but my priority is Nosfi.
　Since this is Nosfi's 'unfinished business', this is the one thing I can't give up.

　Ryner sighs loudly, perhaps because he knows his Lord's stubbornness well, and nods with resignation that this is always the case.

'Huh. ....... 'Alright. I won't say anything more. As long as Christ doesn't give up and keeps choosing the best, I'm good to go. I'll do my best to avoid the worst of it too. Let's do that.
Sorry about all this, Rainer. But you don't have to fight that hard this time because we're just trying to buy some time. If you get seriously injured, they'll probably be in trouble too.
I know. I'm trying to avoid the worst of it. The only thing worse than that...

　As soon as Ryner's consultation is over, we walk into the magic circle Ryner drew, as planned. We move away from the edge of the rooftop and take a good distance from the aide.

　All the while, I continue to check for enemy movement in Hoosier's Castle.

　Just then, all the main people in the castle had just gathered on the twentieth floor.
　Rustyala and Ragne were driving Persiona-san and Sera-san from the west tower to the central tower, while Snow and the others were holding back Elle and Glenn-san as they headed up.
　Noir-chan, who had been flying around the central stairwell, has also joined the melee, keeping the twenty floors high enough to be a battlefield.

　And on the first floor of the castle, Maria has finished subduing it with fire and has moved on to the basement, while Nosfi and Fafner remain reserved on the forty-fifth floor.

'Christ, isn't it about time?'
Yeah, let's go. "Operation number one, I'll go up to the 20th floor, and you'll go a little higher.
Yes, sir.

　The operation is now in full swing.
　From now on, we will use Ryner's wind magic to leap to the castle three kilometers away from here.
　We're going to have to do the usual long-distance leap and surprise attack.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work. Riding that magic, I took a shortcut to the middle of the castle. Its trajectory - the angle and power are already calculated by dimensional magic.

　I don't intend to go to Nosfy's place in a direct line.
　It's also the fact that the castle's wards that have been re-stretched are troublesome, but this battle doesn't end with taking the royal pawn called Nosfi. There is a pattern of other pieces coming to save the king's piece. As far as my prediction of the future was concerned, there were many times when someone would interfere in the middle of persuasion.

　So the important thing this time was to drive all the opponent's pieces to the edge of the board. In particular, I want to isolate only the piece called "Fafner, the one that steals the reason for blood" at a distance.
　The crux of this strategy was to knock Fafner down to Maria. As a result, the current strategy is the best.

　I finished going over the details of the plan before jumping and told Rainer.

"--Then, let's start the operation.
'Aye. As a knight of Helvirshine, I offer you victory over my Lord.

　After the two of them lightly beat their clenched fists together, Ryner activates his magic.

''-- 《Wind》 《Wind, Wind Speed (Skyrunner)》''

　The wind envelops my entire body.
　At the same time, Ryner's unique magic is also activated, and both Ryner's and I's legs become transparent by the dense wind.

　Furthermore, the floor of the tower's rooftop emits green light and the prepared magic circle is activated.
　Since it's the key to firing, a large number of magic stones and magic tools are used. The rings and pendants scattered on the floor float with the wind, creating a three-dimensional magic circle that glitters in the air.

　The sphere-shaped magic circle absorbs the surrounding wind.
　And when the wind, which has condensed into a series of condensations, is on the verge of exploding, Rainer and I run out at the same time.
　The acceleration is enough to crush the floor for both of us.
　And then the magic that is the signal is cast.

''-- 《Zeer-Wind》!

　A gust of wind magic accompanied by the sound of an explosion.
　It is activated in the three-dimensional magic circle behind us. Of course, the direction is from the tower to Hoozeyards Castle.

　As soon as Ryner and I stepped over the edge of the rooftop and jumped, an uncommon tailwind was generated from behind us. This causes our leap, which was originally in the realm of the inhuman, to exceed the leap.
　It's no longer a leap, but a launch. Rather than riding the wind, it's a bullet that pierces the wind. It rips through the winds of the Great Sacred City, and in an instant, our vision passes through the night sky.

　On the way, you can feel it breaking through the wards of Hoozeyards Castle. The wind that protects your body decreases and you can hear your body creaking slightly.
　The ringing in my ears doesn't stop. I can't even breathe. The speed approaching the speed of sound makes your body ache.

　But I ignore it all and sharpen my concentration to the limit.

　As planned, I ignored the wards. Rather, the few seconds before they land in the castle are unimportant.
　What's important is the moment you enter the castle for one second. That one second must be punctuated with an accuracy of less than zero-tenths of a second, and we must act without any mistakes at all.

　The first moment is especially important.
　We build up the assistance for that with magic. They also prepare for the next magic.

"--Dimension Decisive Operation (Gradient)

　The slightly nostalgic combat-specific Dimension is layered with the skill "Sensitivity" to manipulate the experience time as much as possible.

　Concentrate and measure a tenth of a second. Concentrating even more, he measured another tenth of a second. I continue to measure and measure and measure, and the world changes into slow motion, like a frame-by-frame transmission.
　When I had finished manipulating the experience time, I had finished my three-kilometre long jump.

　On the twentieth floor of Hoozeyer's Castle, the moment I land on one of its glass windows - I focus my consciousness only on the battle and kick through the glass window.

　I break into the 20th floor with the fragments. But before I can hear the sound of destruction, I use the expanded Dimension Decisive Operation (Gradient) to check the situation inside.
　The reprieve is an instant, less than a tenth of a second, but I end it quickly--.

　The twentieth floor of the central tower of Fusoya's Castle is an open space that could be described as the only place where the castle's contents could be hollowed out. The 20th floor, which resembles a donut-shaped playground, was probably prepared as a space for holding events of some sort. The floor of the large hall, which has neither a corridor nor a small room, is covered with a carpet embroidered with gold, and a large number of extravagant tables are placed on top of it.

　Those tables, which seemed to be for standing parties, were being used as battle scaffolding and shields only today, and more than half of them were already destroyed.

　Just now, on the twentieth floor, the invading bandits and the knights on guard are engaged in a melee.
　I'm going to check out the people in the melee one by one.

　Nearest to the glass window I entered is Persiona-san, who is wielding a sword in the form of a centaur. She's about to face Ragne, who is towing her with a sword of magic power.

　Nearby, Rastiara and Sera-san are tying their swords together.
　Sera-san's appearance was close to her usual wolf form, but she was not in a quadrupedal state. She was dressed in knight's clothes, standing on two legs, and holding a sword in her hand. However, his body had been transformed into a wolf about half way through. It was a type similar to Elle's 'demonization', only the arms were enlarged and covered with beastly body hair. That and each hair became thicker and unusually long, making it less human.

　A little farther back from the women, Elle and Snow were fighting. It was a magical battle between the two, who had gained the features of a lion and a dragon, at a distance.

　And in the central atrium, Noir-chan is flying with her bat wings and deploying gravity-based magic throughout the entire 20th floor.

　In contrast, Dia and Yotaki are taking up positions in front of the stairs leading to the twenty-first floor, preparing to unleash their attacking magic.

　Finally, Glenn is the last one. He's in a position where he can reach everyone at any time, and he's calmly looking at the whole thing from a bird's eye view.

　There are no other enemies.
　Whether they avoided collateral damage or simply didn't want to intervene around Elle or Noir-chan, the general guards and knights are just blocking the escape on the nineteenth and twenty-first floors to avoid a crowded battle.

　--I'm not going to be the only one who has been in a position to do that.

　As planned, everyone is in a good position.
　I'm not going to be the only one who's been in this situation.

　With the momentum of the wind, I take the first step past the falling glass shards.
　I step on the floor of the twentieth floor.
　The entire floor was cracked by the landing of a human who came from three kilometers away.

　But the floor did not penetrate.
　I kick that sturdy floor hard with my wind-clad feet - ahead of the direction of travel of the plunge, to jump into the battle between Mr. Perciona and Ragne, who was closest to it.

　This step alone takes less than 0.2 seconds from breaking the glass window.
　On top of that, it's a fast approach without killing the momentum of the rush. There was no way that Persiona-san, who was wary of her Lagne opponent, could take defensive action.

　By the time I heard the sound of the broken glass window, my right hand had already grabbed her right wrist (・・・・・).

　I finished grabbing Ms. Perciona in her centaur form, who seemed to weigh more than a hundred kilograms, but the momentum of my plunge had not yet stopped and the inertia was still riding. The propulsion that crushed the three kilometer distance in an instant was not diminished by just one or two people. As a result, Perciona's four legs, which let out a small scream, floated and took me and myself to the back of the 20th floor.

　Having succeeded in grabbing the first person, I quickly shift my attention to the next.
　My next target is Sera, who is fighting Rastiara. I've calculated at the first step that if I keep the momentum of this raid going, I can break into the fight.

　Like Ms. Perciona, I try to take her wrist from the fast approach.
　However, Sera-san's reaction was faster than Persiona-san's, and she had a generous amount of time to take defensive action. Sera-san notices the approach of the enemy that has invaded from the outside and successfully dodges my left hand that tries to take her wrist.
　I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what I'm talking about. I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what to do with it. I grab it tightly. Then, like Persiona, Sera's body is pulled, and both of her legs are lifted into the air.

　Thus, I succeed in grabbing two people, Perciona-san in my right hand and Sera-san in my left.
　Even in this state, the momentum still hasn't stopped. I've slowed down some, but there's enough force on it to push me through the opposite side of the castle.

　While using that power, I twist my body in the air and swing the two women in my arms--both of whom are throwing projectiles.

　The target of my throw is the most troublesome Noir-chan flying in the center of the 20th floor.
　She uses the unusual magic of the star attribute and manipulates the gravity of the entire field, and I have to crush her before anyone else - so I slam all the power of this raid into her.

　My extrinsic muscle power allows both Persiona-san and Sera-san to be thrown precisely at Noir-chan, who is flying in.
　Noir-chan, who doesn't have a sword and was concentrating on magic, can't avoid the two of them. Above all, the speed of the throwing was too fast. The two of them, who weighed nearly a hundred kilos in 'demonization', brilliantly hit Noir-chan, who weighed no more than forty kilos in the air.

　Since the speed was a riding throw, the power was quite impressive. After watching the three of them overlap in the air, I immediately take out the Aleiss family's treasured sword Lowen from my "possessions" and thrust it into the floor and lightly apply the brake.

　In parallel with that brake, I build a new magic.
　While decelerating, I finally take the second step from the intrusion. Here, roughly 0.5 seconds from entry.

　I kick the floor hard again and change directions with the unchanted "Defortion" as well.
　Next we head to Elle, who is engaged in a magical battle with Snow.
　He holds his sword in his right hand and prepares the "Distance Mute" in his left hand to spear her with his right hand. Even though I've braked a bit with my sword now, it's still a vigorous enough surprise attack.

　However, it was over 0.5 seconds from the raid.
　Elle had plenty of time to see me with plenty of time to spare.
　Elle's eyes were shining as she looked at me as I suddenly appeared. Our eyes met, checking each other's expressions, and I was sure of Elle's delight.

　And that emotion, unworthy of a fight, causes Elle to choose to intercept me.
　If he'd had another half-second to think, no doubt Elle would have calmly chosen to avoid it. However, he was in a state of excitement after the close battle with Snow. My surprise attack on top of that made it impossible for him to make the right choice.

　Happily, Elle swings her sword with both hands and clashes with my sword.

　Unlike the two women before me, Elle had time to stand her ground. With her 'demonized' physical strength, she was able to catch this vigorous blow from me.

　With a high-pitched sound, the impact of the first round propagated throughout the entire 20th floor.

　It was a splendid first round, but the sword fight following the second round does not take place.
　The difference between Elle's two hands and mine is that I have one hand. I thrust the Distance Mute that I had prepared in my left hand into Elle's chest, which was stiffened by the current round, and clenched the soul in it.

　I will not pull out the magic stone. I'm going to aim for the stunned. No matter how strong Elle is in magic, she couldn't withstand a direct hit from the 《Distance Mute》 - she laughed, turned her eyes white, and lost consciousness.

　He immediately pulled out his arm and disarmed the 《Distance Mute》.

　Exactly here, a second passed.
　Then, all the glass that was kicked through when entering falls to the ground, and a loud noise resounds. Noir-chan, who was hit by Persiona-san and Sera-san, can't hold her flight and hits the wall of the twentieth floor, and then collectively falls to the floor.

　I then take the third and fourth step on the twenty-fifth floor and try to attack the last one.
　But when I get to this point, the momentum of the wind that I had gained during the invasion is gone. You can't take them by surprise with unseen speed. The battle for 0.1 seconds was already over.

　Naturally, the remaining Glenn-san understands the situation and leaps to escape from me, moving to the central atrium where Noir-chan was flying just now.
　Then, he further undergoes a metamorphosis that seems to be the 'demonization' of the insect family and begins to stay in the air with his thin wings spread out on his back.

　As if to chase it, I run and jump after it.
　The most important thing in this strategy is to keep taking the initiative. And it must be a blitzkrieg battle that doesn't even allow the idea of escape to cross your mind. The reason why they put so much emphasis on a quick resolution is because they know in advance that if even one of them escapes, they will be in trouble later.

　Simultaneous annihilation in one place to avoid it. I'm determined not to let him escape, but Glen-san says a few words to me in a cold sweat.

''d*mn!　I knew it was coming: ......!
'Since you're worried, I'll let you all be neutralized first!　--Snow, please!

　While answering, I called out to Snow, who could join the aerial battle.
　Snow had already started to move. With its dragon wings flapping, it had finished moving to Glenn-san's backside and was aiming to pincer me.

''Brother, that's it!
That was a lot of sacrifice, but if I could only find your position...!

　Mr. Glenn takes out a dagger from his pocket.
　Five knives with strings that have never seen any other user. At the same time, he throws them at me.

　I pay off the daggers flying straight at me with my sword.
　However, the dagger with the string is like a fish swimming in the sea, and even if it is flicked off once, it attacks me with the tip of the sword back towards me.
　I thought it was magic, but I reconsidered when I saw the movement of the string tied to the dagger. Two of the five strands were connected by a string, but the other three stretched out to Glenn-san's hand. Using the intricate tangle of those strings, he manipulated the dagger as if he were moving a doll.

　However, that doesn't mean he is free to do so.
　I've been using the momentum of my sword to make contact with the strings, and I've barely managed to get two of the five daggers to face me.

　I won't be bitten by the dagger. Even if I can't use my sword, as long as I have the Defaults and the Distance Mute, straightforward long-range weapons won't work against me.

　However, my awareness was focused on the dagger for a moment.
　Out of habit, I followed and analyzed the movements of the five strings connected to that dagger with Dimension Decisive Arithmetic (Gradiate). Even though there was no threat, I saw too much of Glenn-san's high technology - and a slight stiffness was created.

''As for the rest!　Master Fafner will do it--!

　Mr. Glenn looked up.
　He was caught and could tell without looking up. I can see it without the 《Dimension》 or the 『Sensitivity』.
　That too strong presence makes me sure that the 'Blood Stealer' Fafner will come from above.

　And the crazy sea of information that comes from the Dimension.
　Colors that prove him to be him.
　Red, red-red-red. Red, red-red-red-red--red.
　Red all over, approaching from above the atrium.

　It's not just red raining down from the sky.
　Blood is falling from the sky in a waterfall. No, a flood of blood is about to pass through the hollow of the castle. To be more precise, a wall of blood is attacking me on sight.

　At a light estimate, it's over ten thousand tons of blood.
　Moreover, all of it is filled with magical power - that blood is alive. It wriggles like a living thing, has the will to fight, and is breathing to catch me.

　I, who was jumping in the air, did not dodge it (・・・・・).

　Everything in my vision turns red.
　A waterfall of blood engulfs everything in the atrium, bathing my entire body in blood. Struck by the stream of blood, I can't move. A moment later, I hear a voice from my ear--

Be careful, my friend. It says in the scriptures. Chapter 7, verse 7: 'When all things are going without delay, you should find that all things are not going without delay'!"!

　A blonde young man in a single white coat was mingling in the waterfall of blood.
　And before I knew it, he had grabbed my left wrist with his right hand, as if to mimic my earlier surprise attack. In addition to being caught in the blood, I was also caught by the Knight Fafner who was in the blood. He's probably trying to drop me down to the basement through the stairwell with a waterfall of blood.

　But I'm not going to go along with that.

'I'm not letting my guard down, Fafner. We're all here, as promised.

　I answer Fafner and repeat my promise from yesterday.
　I turn my face upward without any resistance. I hear my knight's cry - proving which one was caught - my knight's cry.

''-- Wind magic [Tauschus Wind] oo!　All magic to the wind!

　This one is also a knight with fluttering golden hair, the same Helvilleshain.
　From further above the falling Fafner, Rainer Helvilshain, who had invaded the upper floor with his earlier firing, falls.

　The wind increased his falling speed and accompanied by his greatest magic.
　The magic of the stake, "Tauschus Wind" - that ten huge wind stakes, Reiner arranged them in his own way, changing their shape to a claw.

　Just like Fafner's blood, its claws move as if they have a will.
　Then it catches up with Fafner, who is falling at his normal falling speed, and the stake of wind bites into the waterfall of blood and tries to grab onto the Fafner inside.

'Multiple wind arms--!　You little bastard, you're acting like a mad king!

　Fafner was taken by surprise at the moment of the successful attack, and he couldn't hide his agitation.
　Ryner threw a greeting at him.

''Good day to you, ancestor!　There's a helluva woman waiting for you downstairs, so stick with me!
'Tsk!　Jeez, if I'm going to hell, I'm going to hell and Kanami too--

　Fafner ignored Ryner's attack and tried to focus only on me.
　While his body was grabbed by the wind claws, he tightened his grip on my left arm, letting the bright red magic pass through his nearly transparent right hand.
　He was trying to fuse the two arms together with some kind of fresh blood magic - but I wouldn't let him do that either.

'Reaper, please!'

　Immediately I let the reaper who was doing my left arm know that it's time to go.
　At the same time, a slimy black girl emerges from the left sleeve of my jacket. Fafner's face contorts in astonishment.

　The arm with the black elbow-length glove (long glove) he grabbed was the Reaper's arm. For the entire fight up to this point, the left arm had been moved by the Reaper. For this moment--.

"Hee hee, it's me. Hey, Fafner, let's get revenge!

　Reaper grabbed Fafner, who grabbed his arm with his extra hand, and smiled at him as he stuck his whole body together in a sticky way and never left.

'The last time you were a Reaper girl!　You're haunting us.　But still!

　Fafner gives up on physical capture and tries to manipulate the blood to capture me. I still try to move in the waterfall of blood, still believing that I am the one with the advantage.
　However, it is interrupted by the two men, Reaper and Ryner.

''--[The Abyssal Dimension's True Night (Di Reverend Night)]!
There's more than one.

　The Reaper in contact crawls through the darkness, inhibiting Fafner's magic. Furthermore, Ryner's gust of magic explodes in a waterfall of blood.

　The direction of that gust of wind is two directions. I'm the only one who goes directly to the side so that I can get out of the blood waterfall, and the other three are blown away by the wind - all together right below. As we part, I throw out a voice.

'Another time. This time, Nosfi takes precedence over you.
d*mn it, I can't help it!　I'll see you next time!　Next time!　Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh--

　As I escaped from the waterfall of blood, Fafner was tangled up with Ryner and Reaper, but answered their farewells in a dutiful manner - and fell away.

　After seeing it off, I was caught to the fence at the edge of the stairwell.
　One drop from the 20th floor, and it's the 19th floor fence. Mr. Glenn, who looks down at me from above, is about to give chase.

''Oh, you're pretty quick to give up, Mr. Fafner!　Already, if it comes to this, I'm going to--!
No. Your brother has me.

　But that was stopped by Snow in between.

'Mr. Snow: ......!　d*mn, just one on one with Mr. Snow is a bad idea: ......!　Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, we have to make it a mass battle somehow: ......!

　Mr. Glenn looks around, but despairs that he has no allies.
　If the Walker siblings fight, relationship-wise, Snow will always win. With that assurance, I climb over the fence and quickly climb the nearby stairs.

　The guards who were watching the battle on the 20th floor were around, but they didn't seem to touch me, probably because they felt the shock and magic of the earlier battle in their bodies.

　Their inner feelings are easy to gauge.
　They must have thought their bosses who were 'turning into witches' were monsters. Because of their physical strength and magical power, they trusted that they would never be able to defeat a human. That's why they left all the fighting to them and kept the 20th floor sealed off.
　They are in awe of me, who put together those monster-like bosses and neutralized them in a few seconds or so, even more than they are in awe of the monsters.

　I shake off that familiar gaze and return to the 20th floor.
　Then I immediately shout the conclusion of my plan.

'Lagne, Dear!　Capture the four of them and keep watch--!
'Oui!　I'll keep an eye out!
Kanami, I know!

　Ragne and Dia had already finished their work.
　They had stunned the injured Persiona-san and Sera-san in the chase, and had also restrained the four of them, including the stunned Elle and Noir-chan, with the magic locks they had brought in.

　Now Ragne is looking around for the captivity ropes as she scurries around looking for them.
　Dia was waiting for me in front of the stairs with Yotaki.

　Admiring their swift movements, I head to the stairs leading to the twenty-first floor.

'Kanami, I'll take care of this place!　When Kanami and Rustyala get up there, they'll break the stairs--and freeze this entire floor!　As long as I'm around, I'm not going to let that Fafner guy head for it!
Dear, please!　The rest of you can come with me.
I'll take care of it!　I'm going to bring you back, Nosfi, in a flash!

　On the way up the stairs, I meet up with Rustyala, who was waiting for me. And, as planned, the two of us in charge of Nosfies run up the stairs in one go.

　The goal is Nosfi waiting upstairs.

　The divide strategy worked.
　We continued to play only the best moves in the shortest possible time with our future prediction and got the best results. This gave me and Rustyala enough time to have a discussion with Nosphy.

'All that's left is Nosphy: ......!

　I muttered to myself as I went up the castle one floor at a time, ignoring the knights on guard who were not buying time.

　I pulled off Nosfi's guards and left him alone.
　But I still can't be relieved.
　My and Rustyala's faces are tightening because it's on schedule.

　The fact that the whole operation went as planned still means that it's still - 50-50. The odds of being able to save Nosfi from now on remain the same as flipping a coin.

　If the table comes out, Nosfi will be saved.
　I've already finished explaining that most likely stream of success to Rustyala.
　And if the back side comes out, Nosfi will not be saved.
　I've already explained the most likely course of events to Lastiara.

　Now, the two of us have in our minds the scene of failure.
　But even if we fail to convince him, Nosfi is not our enemy. It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them.

　--But I also know that I'll have to make heavy sacrifices to keep that vow.

　The weight of one of the possible futures doesn't make me and Rustiala loosen our mouths in the slightest.

　Honestly, the surprise battle up to this point has been a battle with no room for failure. Even if a mistake was made, there was enough room for us to revise our plans on the spot.

　But from this point forward, we'll be risking our lives - 'talking' with our lives at stake.
　We both understand the true meaning of this.

　As me and Rustyala run up the castle stairs, we hold hands tightly - without words - just once, just for a few seconds, so that whichever way the coin goes, there will be no regrets.