The flowers, unable to bear the weight of the blood that had stuck to them, were drooping at the top.
　It was even splattered on the pillars that stood around them.

　Amadeus walked over the blood and flesh, not knowing what he was thinking, but he kept his eyes firmly fixed on them, stopping to look at them and repeating to another devastation, then another, then another.

'Let's go ... the castle is next. I'll take care of Leonardo. You all take care of the rest. I'll give you Farnies and one other person to protect you. The magic in the castle is noisy, they've probably already noticed it.

　There were still signs of people in the castle, and Amadeus could sense those magic and emotions - the castle was noisy. Perhaps the evacuation had already begun.
　And the first move has been made.
　It would be insane to enter through the front door, but if they opened the front door, a multitude of powerful magic would attack them.
　This is Dahms Ardan - one of the Eightfold King. And the Golden Knight is waiting for you.
　If you are not an anomaly, you will not make that choice.

'Fernies, let's go.

　Fernies forgot about what happened next, bouncing happily on the pools of blood as they danced through the piles of bodies lying in the garden, the hands and feet of the rolling people and their missing torso.

'Ah!　Master, wait!

　Amadeus and the others left the garden with Fernies, who rushed in immediately.

You can't destroy the castle as much as possible. "Don't destroy the castle as much as possible, but make sure you kill the humans. As a surprise to Schneizel, the foolish king, I'm going to open up my castle to him...

　Upon his return from Pascantine, Schneizel would see
　After the tragedy in the gardens and the empty castle.

　And he will know. That the tragedy took place here.



o.



　There was no need to prepare his mind.
　You can find a lot of people who have been in the same boat as you.

　Immediately afterwards, a number of magic attacks Amadeus and others that fill up the view.

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that it is an ambush.　At least they should be able to sense the magic of Lana, Tom and the others. And yet.....

　Amadeus was stunned.
　These guards knew in advance that Amadeus would appear at the entrance from the magic surge.
　That's why it was an ambush.
　But it was easy and forceful - and Amadeus was dismayed by the lack of artistry, understanding the reality of this country.

　But Amadeus's tone of voice is calm. And Rana and the others following behind him had a similar expression, and from that, one could see their relief at having Amadeus by their side.

　Fernieth didn't pay any attention to those magics and so on, and looked at the style of the castle with a curious "Nonsense~" with a glint in his eye and a contradictory impression.

''Bloodline of the Charity!　You're done here!　Your deeds will be known to all nations!

　In front of the front door - at the far right and far left, a spacious staircase leads up to the second floor as if it were divided into two sides facing each other.
　The one who shouted is one of the gold knights who are hiding behind that railing and peeking at you. He is probably responsible for the current leadership of the situation.

　Across the way, a swarm of brightly colored magic looms.
　Amadeus held out his hand.

No one will believe you. You're too late to realize that, aren't you?　The world sees us as free doers of good. You know what that means - good people, right?　Who would believe that we, being good people, would be having a party like this?

　' he asked, and in the next moment all the magic they unleashed burst forth and there was nothing left to do.

'It's going to end, you guys,'

　And the magicians that were visible at the feet of those guards also shattered, sounding as if glass had been broken.

'Lana, take command. I've got this place under control.

I understand.

I'll leave you two to guard him.

　Then Amadeus calls out that other (...), as I said before.

''A good man with a righteous face (...snuffy) who has lost his mind (...snuffy).

　Just like when he had summoned Fernieth, no, it was no more than a warning.
　But the magic had already been invoked. The proof of this--.

'Oh? .... well, well, well!　I never thought I'd be welcome on this fine day!　Master!　That's a blessing you don't deserve!

"Snuffy, save them all.

I know that!　We won't bother you.

　A round white glass table with roses and thorny branches painted on it.
　There, while sitting in a chair of the same specification, he fills a small cup with a red-black liquid from a rather elegant white pot into a small cup, and as soon as he returns the pot to the table, he takes a sip of it.

　A mask with a fearless smile painted on it.
　But the upper part of the mask is missing from the left eye, which is a quarter of the mask, from which floats a face that seems to be painted black and a pair of burning red eyes.
　His black tuxedo and clean, black hair, flowing back, reminded me that he was a gentleman.
　And the slender saber that was in his line-shaped attire was visible at his waist, and only his right hand, which plucked the cup, was covered by a white glove.

　Whatever was bothering him, he touched the saber on his hip repeatedly with his bare, gloveless left hand to check it.

'Well then!　As the master wished!　I could help those poor people!

Rana, I'm leaving Fernies and Snuffy. I'll take care of the rest. I'm going to the throne, and the rest is, well, just as it should be...

I'll take care of it.

　With that, Amadeus left the front doorway. His figure disappeared to the back of the passage.

　Those guards peeking out from the second floor do not seem to chase after Amadeus' back.
　--I can't touch it. He was completely terrified.

　Then Snuffy pulls a saber from the scabbard at his waist. Then he pointed the tip of his sword at the guards in front of him.
　It's a light and polite gesture, as if he were a gentleman.

'Well then, gentlemen!　Let's wipe out the humans!　As the Master wills!

　As soon as Snuffy's figure appeared for a moment, Lana, the three dwarf brothers and Fernies also began to move.
　And from in front of the entrance, a sweep of the castle began.

　-- at the same time as the head of the guard from earlier, peeking half of his body from the stair railing, flew in the air.



o



　In front of a certain great door. Amadeus arrived there and quietly opened the door.

　When the doors opened simultaneously on both sides, moonlight leaked out from within.
　When my eyes began to adjust, I saw one person in the throne room, and that person's figure was visible.

　It was the Golden Knight Captain - Leonardo Fares.

''You're alone?''

　No, Amadeus would have known. There was no point in this muttering.

'What does the bloodline of the Jishi have to do with it?　Are you here to do some charity work?

　The look in Leonardo's eyes, and the way he looks at you, radiates killing intent.
　Leonardo already knows.

''........I wonder?''

　Amadeus' reply was unfriendly and wordy.
　There were no words that had been spoken earlier.
　I don't know why, but Amadeus seemed to be looking at Leonardo's figure in the same way he had been looking at the pillar in the garden, where blood and other things were caked on it.

　Then he sees Christophe's friend - Karius - lying bleeding beside Leonardo.
　But to Amadeus, it would be no one but Christophe's friend, or anyone else.

'After all, that's what you were, too. Your loyalty to this country was nothing but a burden to you, wasn't it?

....

Isn't it?

　Amadeus pursued to read Leonardo's mind.

'You have never sworn allegiance to Schneizel. 'From the beginning, eh?'

My heart has always belonged to Lord Schneizel, of the land of plenty, ever since I was born.

'Is that all you've ever done since you were born?　Well I mean, that's the way it was supposed to be, right?　A thought that was given to you as a matter of course. So there was no question there, of course?　So now you've reached your limit. It's a false idea. There is no emotion in that of yours. You just obeyed what was given to you and consequently misinterpreted it as loyalty. You have no love for this country.

....

But that's not my problem.

　Even before Amadeus muttered those words, Leonardo clenched his sword in his right hand and slowly approached Amadeus, one step at a time.
　There is no resolve there. He's just going with the flow.

'There is no point in even carrying your feet. There is no path behind you. You have no will. That's why you end up serving a country that's just made up of these lies.

..........

Huh, are you breaking up?

　Leonardo doesn't seem to have any more to say.
　But his eyes grew even more murderous.
　And gradually, his feet quickened.

　The tip of the sword pointed at Leonardo is getting closer as his feet advance.
　It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with the person you are looking for.

　And when just the right amount of time has been established.

'Farewell, Leonardo Fares. Thank you for being my pawn for once. I mean this.....

　Amadeus muttered.
　----.

　The confrontation was stupefying.
　The war ended with the shadow of a beheaded head reflected on the wall of the hall.

　Leonardo, the last Golden Knight Captain, was dead.

This death Schneizel will never know.

　He told this with his back to the headless Leonardo, who collapsed from his knees, and the night light coming through the window illuminated half of Amadeus.

　It could be a misreading.
　-- the left hand of a clenched human (,) faintly visible through the sleeve of a white robe.
　It seems to be shaking a little, a little bit.

　But when the angle of the light that was shining through the window changed, Amadeus was no longer visible, without even knowing what the trembling was.

　And Amadeus left the throne room without saying a word, without even looking at the corpse.



â



Master!　This castle is indeed a shambles!

　A little while passed, and in front of Amadeus, who returned to the front door, was the figure of his compatriots after they had already finished clearing out the castle.

　And the one who spoke to Amadeus as soon as he found him was the being called by Amadeus' abyssal magic - Snuffy.
　With its gentlemanly tone and good posture, Snuffy turns his body towards Amadeus.
　Rana and the others bowed lightly to Amadeus as they followed.

'Master!　I killed you all!　Kill them all!

I appreciate it. You just saved me a lot of trouble.

　Amadeus bids them off with a humble tone of voice.

'That's a very generous offer!　But this is a gentleman's way of life. And if you ever need anything else, please do!　Give me a break!　Be human, or be human!　Let's kill him at any time.

　With that, Snuffy's figure twisted through the entire space and disappeared to mix in the air.

'Master?　Is Fanny ready to go too?

Thank you. Thanks again.

　Then Fernies smiles at me.
　When the shoji door appeared behind him, he "toddled" through it with the same small steps he had taken when he appeared, and as soon as it closed, the door disappeared.

　Then Amadeus left the castle through the doorway.

　Amadeus watches the night sky.
　Behind him, Rana and the three dwarfs came out, followed by Amadeus.

　Then Amadeus suddenly muttered softly.

''........I see. So he's dead.''

　At that vague muttering, Lana and Tom, Sam and Dean looked at each other.

'What's wrong?　"Dead..."

　Rana asks on behalf of Tom and the others.

'Hmm? ... oh. Brahms?　Apparently he's dead.

Brahms?　As I recall, you were an adventurer with the Spirit King of Thunder, right?

''Ah, an announcement was made in my head. It seems that the Healing (Heal) didn't work... hmm?　Speaking of which, I wonder what happened to the Spirit King?　Is he dead? ...Well, that's fine, then.

　Amadeus speaks as he turns his side eye to Lana.
　But when he gently closes his eyes, as if he didn't want to, the red light that had been leaking from the two holes in the mask is momentarily interrupted.
　And then I look at the star in the sky at the end of my eyes, which I don't even know what it is, again.

''Let's ... go.''

　Amadeus muttered absently, not seeming satisfied or happy about the break.

　After that, the four of them left Dames Aldan with Amadeus.
　Leaving behind the empty Fengwang's castle.



â



　The site of the Kingdom of Utopia - a marshy area.

　It would be right after dark at the hour.
　There was Brahms and a blonde elf - Fiora, the spirit king of thunder, Boruto.

'Brahms?'

　Bort calls her name apologetically with a look of sadness and looks into her face.
　She must have understood. There was a resignation in the air.

　In response to the question, Brahms smiles loosely, sweat pouring from his forehead.

'Funny, isn't it?

　The healing spell has been ineffective.
　The healing spell that Masamune had given to Brahms when he left must have been directed at him and shown to be effective.
　Did it just look that way?
　But Brahms was definitely weakening, as if his life were slowly coming to an end.
　His face was pale and his lips were discolored.

'Master Borut I renounce my contract and go to Fiora.

Mr. Brahms!

　Fiora calls out her name in disagreement, with tears in her eyes at the words.

'It can't be helped. I can at least understand the end of my own life. I think I've gotten a little carried away. I'm sorry, Mr. Boruto, since I signed a contract with you as a young man, I've been advised many times to be careful, but I'm sorry. But I'm sorry to say that I haven't been able to overcome my laxity.

No?　That's ... something I could have covered. If only I'd been able to ... pay more attention to my surroundings.

'That's how little talent I had. Even the title of adventurer was only possible because of Master Borut. A guardian who can't even communicate his will without voicing it, or any other guardian who can't even communicate his will without voicing it, would have been doomed to this from the beginning. I can see that now. I was spoiled.

'But I'm not very good at lightning magic.

''It has nothing to do with spirit magic. It's all about understanding and harmony with spirits....

　Then, understanding Brahms's will, Bort carries the blood dripping from his fingertips to Brahms's mouth.
　And after a moment of dazzling light, the contract was broken.

''The 《Signs》 have already come. ...

I'm sorry Brahms.

Mr. Brahms....

　Boruto takes Brahms' hand at the end.
　And Fiora did the same, taking one of his hands.

'Both Nito and Amadeus, the reason for those two vibrations is that we ... we ... we ...'

　"I want you to take care of the rest," said Boult, with big tears in his eyes, as he grasped Brahms' hand tightly.
　Then, in an attempt to reassure the dying Brahms, he says interruptedly.

'The Inquisition........I may have missed something........'

　With those last words, Brahms' hand fell to the ground. And there was no more movement.

　Boruto then made a spirit contract with Fiora.
　And his first magic after becoming a spirit mage - Fiora's magic - burned away Brahms' corpse.

'There is no such thing as overlapping vibrations. There must be a reason for it.

So you'll be in Latosfilia?

　Borut nodded at Fiora's question.

"We'll respect his last words. And there is no way he would say 'meet the king' for no reason at all. It was his own way of saying that there was something about him that stuck in his mind.

Okay, I understand. Now I'm going to Latosfilia.

　The two men watch the fire rise into the sky, and together they make a pledge to it.

　--They make an oath to "kill Amadeus".



â?



　At the Dragon's Heart Headquarters - the Black Dragon's Hall, a mourning ceremony for the brave Alford was being held in the Great Hall.

　It was nothing special.
　It's no different than a basic funeral in this world.

　The coffin in which Alford's corpse was laid in the place where the Black Dragon Carpent's throne would normally be placed.

　The Black Dragon Carpent, Sebastian the Butler, Zeke, Eliza, Ichijo, and Vaham.
　As they each lined up in front of the coffin, there was only silence.

　Carpent was sad and angry, and perhaps he had other things on his mind.
　He has a complicated look on his face.

　Sebastian had the normal expression of a butler, but he was equally sad.
　Vaham wiped the tears away with his sleeve, his eyes firmly fixed on his late friend's face.
　And Ichijo is gulping back tears as he thinks of Alford, who was sometimes his mentor and sometimes a good brother to him.

　On the other hand, life has yet to return to Eliza's eyes.
　Eliza's heart was broken, even if it was only temporarily, from the shock of losing Alford.

　Then Zeke turns his eyes to Alford with a look of anger.
　What floats behind Alford's body, with a faint smile on his face, is the figure of Amadeus.
　Zeke stared at the figure of Amadeus that only he could see himself.

''I will avenge you........''

　It's a word that goes against the spirit of the organization.
　If you go for revenge, the shadow of war will flicker at the end of it - although Carpent knew that, for once, he did not blame Zeke.

　No one spoke anything except for Zeke's muttered words, and for a while there was only silence in the hall.



　And a few days had passed since Amadeus' attack.
　This was Fengkoku Dams Aldan - Fengkou's castle, in front of the main gate.
　There was Schneizel and the Golden Knights who had returned from Pasquantin after the incident with Amadeus.

''What is this........''

　As soon as Schneizel saw it, she had a confused expression on her face.
　I'm not sure I understand the situation at all, I'm just confused.

　--It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on a new one.

"Child killer"?　What the hell are you talking about?

　But Schneizel, who has been away from Dahms-Ardan for a few days, has no idea what Christoph's death means.
　And he doesn't know the meaning of those words.

　

''Master Schneizel........what is this.......''

　The gold knight, who had gone to Pasquantin with him, did not understand it either.

''I don't know ... but let's enter the castle first. I'm anxious to see what's inside. And.....

　Schneizel held his mouth and nose with his sleeve.

So is the smell.

　His expression was distorted by the strange smell in the air.

　I don't know what's going on.
　However, Schneizel sensed that the atmosphere of the country was somewhat more stagnant than usual.

　And as the group climbed the grand staircase, they held their noses and mouths at that strange smell that they must have noticed since they reached the main gate.
　After climbing the stairs and looking off the front door, their feet naturally turned to the garden.
　There, what Schneizel and the others saw was the figure of a citizen who had been killed in a grand manner.

''...........''

　There are no more words to spill. Only bewilderment and agitation.

　Some of these bodies have already begun to decompose and are visible indiscriminately here and there in the garden.
　The bodies, sometimes stacked in a pile, showed traces of caked and hardened blood, and the smell of decay wafted through the air.
　I don't know how to recognize them in this world, but there was a swarm of small insects hovering over them.

"Master Schneizel!

　The gold knight's person who had entered the castle earlier to check on the situation has returned.
　Without replying, Schneizel turns only his body to the knight with a puzzled expression.

''In the throne room, we found the body of Leonardo-sama. And.........''

　The knight slurred his words.

'I have found the body in a coffin and in a decomposed state. Perhaps ... it was ... Mr. Christophe, I'm sure.

　Schneizel is surprised to see her eyes widen at the words.
　But there is no power in them, and her eyes waver.

　Then Schneizel is alone, as if in a daze.

Where are you going, Herr Schneizel?

　Without telling the knight in charge of the escort, he simply replied, "I'm fine on my own," and left the gardens.

　Then Schneizel entered the castle.
　The place she ended up in was the throne room - in front of the coffin in which her son, Christophe, was placed.
　There, just as the knight had said, was his son, decaying and changing.

　Without voicing anything, Schneizel gently put his hand on Kristoff's cheek, and he collapsed straight off his knees, and without a tear in his eyes, he was struck with a pain that cut out his heart.

''Chris.........''

　He just wanted to feel his son by his side, and he did so many times.
　Gradually, the strong will of a king disappeared from his eyes, and his expression seemed to grow old as if he had lost his mind.
　He felt less dignified than before.

''Christophe..........''

　After that, he remained staring at the floor and did not get up until the knight visited the hall to check on the king.