"..."
Silverna, who had been waiting outside, slowly looked at Isaac as he stepped out.
'I wanted to greet him with a smile.'
Just moments ago, they had been training together, eating, and joking around.
Even though they had only been apart for ten minutes, his expression now carried a heavy complexity, as if something had changed.
'What should I say in times like this?'
If her deputy, Anna, were here, what would she have said?
Would the romance novels Anna reads have any guidance for moments like this?
Silverna ignored her frustration and waved her hand.
The only thing she could do was act as if nothing had changed and treat him as usual.
"You're back?"
"Yeah."
"Let's go get something good to eat. I found a nice restaurant nearby."
Acting as if nothing had happened.
Pretending everything was fine.
Silverna smiled faintly and made the suggestion.
But Isaac shook his head.
"I don't think we have that kind of time."
"Hm?"
As if on cue, a rough, almost beast-like cry echoed in the distance. At first, it was hard to tell where it was coming from, but it sounded both human and animal-like.
"Zaaaak!"
When the cry rang out again, they realized it was coming from underground.
A kind of roar—
And it was rising from the depths of the sewer grates.
"Wait a minute… Don't tell me—"
Silverna hurriedly unfastened the spear slung across her back, and at the same time, Isaac reached for the sword he had left behind.
Boom!
The sewer lid shot into the sky, and from beneath it, something grotesque burst forth—a chaotic mass of flesh.
If one had to describe it, it was flesh—
A twisted, monstrous amalgamation of flesh, wrapped in a crimson aura.
Thud!
The moment five fingers planted themselves on the ground from within that grotesque mass, they realized—
It was an arm.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The ground around the sewer began to fracture, and then, with a violent explosion of water and debris—
"Iiiiiiiiiiiisaaaaaaaaac!"
A distorted, monstrous figure emerged—Alois, his severed right arm grotesquely transformed into something massive.
"What the hell—?!"
"I didn't expect it to go this far."
Betrayal was one thing, but they hadn't expected Alois to transform like this.
This wasn't just the creation of a minion—this was something beyond.
The sorcery of the Transcendents had turned Alois into a beast no longer human.
"Iiiiiiiisaaaaaaac!"
His blood-red eyes were locked onto one target—his sworn enemy.
"Kyaaaaah!"
"W-what is that?!"
"It's a beast! C-call the guards!"
And Alois was not alone.
From the massive hole he had created underground, similar monstrous beings were beginning to pour out.
Judging by the armor and helmets fused into their grotesque forms, they were most likely the prison guards who had been stationed underground.
Unlike Alois, they scattered like dandelion seeds, spreading throughout the city.
Silverna's eyes widened, and she instinctively tried to rush forward—
But then—
Tap.
Isaac patted her back and nodded.
"Go."
"…Don't lose."
Believing in him, Silverna followed behind the spreading beasts. Alois, too, paid no attention to Silverna.
"I didn't think it would come to this."
Rather than drawing his weapon, he simply placed his hand on the hilt.
The Crimson Aura he unleashed surged wildly in all directions like writhing tentacles. It didn't seem to be moving entirely according to his will, yet Alois grinned, drooling as he laughed mockingly.
"I'll break your lower body and crush you with my teeth! Where is my sister? You worthless piece of trash. I'll lick, bite, violate, and devour her flawless skin—!"
"I should cut out your tongue first."
It seemed the words in his head were spilling out uncontrollably, a side effect of the transformation.
Alois continued to spew disgusting language, but suddenly, he swung his massive right arm, trying to crush Isaac in one blow.
Whoosh!
A heavy, sharp sound of wind splitting.
At the same time, as if a bucket of blood had been spilled, the ground was dyed crimson.
Alois' proud right arm had been severed with ease and fell to the ground.
Standing before Isaac was Liana, who had somehow retrieved her greatsword.
She must have noticed the commotion outside while attending a meeting with the princess at the church.
"Ah! Aaaah! Sister!"
"…Alois?"
Liana furrowed her brows.
Her eyes were still red from crying just moments ago.
Yet, despite that, her sword did not waver.
She had already regained her composure, but seeing her broken younger brother left her with an expression of disbelief.
"Is that really… you?"
"Aah! Sister! You recognize me! Of course, we are bound by blood! Ahh, Sister! My beloved sister! I want to lick your pure, white skin! To taste your lips! To bite your tongue—!"
"...."
Liana narrowed her eyes sharply.
Isaac, standing beside her, provided an explanation.
"The words in his head are just spilling out uncontrollably. I'd say his tongue has been punctured."
"So you're saying that he's not saying these things because his mind is corrupted?"
"...."
"He's always had these thoughts?"
"Probably?"
Isaac shrugged, and Liana's expression darkened rapidly.
Her grip on her greatsword tightened.
"Ahh! Sister! Even your angry face is so beautiful! I want to see you cry! I want to see you beg me—!"
"...."
"That bastard got to see it all alone?! Aaaaagh! Damn it! I can't stand it!"
Liana's face turned ashen. She seemed to be struggling to believe that this was truly her brother.
"Sister's first night! Ah! The day you shed your virgin blood! Do you know how much I suffered?! I hurt myself over and over again! I wanted to storm into your bedroom with a greatsword—!"
Crack!
Liana's Crimson Aura pierced through Alois. Her expression made it clear that she had no intention of listening any longer.
"Helmut will make sure you never harm Isaac again."
There was determination in Liana's voice, but her eyes trembled slightly.
"Mother should have just killed him. Instead of keeping him as a bargaining chip, she should have erased him completely—hic?!"
"Ahh! This! This is—my sister's taste!"
Absorbing Liana's Crimson Aura, Alois' own energy grew even larger and more monstrous.
Not only that, but his severed arm had begun regenerating.
"Looks like Crimson Aura won't work on him."
Isaac stepped forward and remarked, and Liana nodded in agreement.
"Sisteeeer! Don't stand next to that man!"
"Just shut up, Alois."
***
As the sounds of human screams and violent destruction filled the air, Rizel, a Transcendent and the mastermind behind the Evergard terror attack, smirked.
From the rooftop of a towering building, she gazed down at the horrific deaths and chaos unfolding below.
"Ah, so sweet."
She tilted back a stolen bottle of wine, gulping it down with a bright smile. The red liquid trickled down her lips, resembling human blood, intoxicating her even more.
"They must have taken their lives under this sky for granted, never once considering it a blessing."
Waving the bottle like a conductor leading an orchestra, Rizel reveled in the moment.
"Fools. They treated peace as something trivial, assumed the sky above them would always remain the same. And now, their end—"
"Uh, sorry about that?"
Rizel slowly turned her gaze.
Standing at the rooftop entrance was a girl with twin braids.
Sharen Helmut.
With a massive sword slung over her shoulder, she shrugged apologetically, cutting Rizel off.
"You seemed really into your monologue, so I thought I'd wait, but…"
"But it just kept going, so I figured I'd jump in. Don't be embarrassed, though—talking to yourself isn't a bad thing."
"It just makes you seem, I don't know… kinda lonely?"
Clang!
As Sharen took her stance, crimson aura surged from her greatsword.
"How did you get here?"
Rizel asked, her curiosity piqued.
Sharen grinned, as if she had been waiting for that question.
"Issac told me to keep an eye on Alois. So I was on guard duty when I sensed you."
"Helmut…"
Of course, a Helmut.
Their senses were keen enough to rival those of the Transcendents.
Rizel slightly turned her head.
The number of rampaging beasts in the city seemed lower than expected.
"Loengrin is holding them off. That fool should at least be able to block the underground prison."
"The response is faster than I expected."
"Right? I was surprised, too. Issac apparently warned Lohengrin in advance, told him to stay sharp just for today."
"Him again… Issac?"
The North, the Sword Festival, Blackson.
And now, even Evergard.
That man always seemed to be a step ahead of them.
Individually, he wasn't an overwhelming force, yet he constantly disrupted their plans at every turn.
'We can't just leave him be.'
With a long sigh, Rizel extended her tail.
Her claws emerged from both hands.
Sharen smirked confidently, gripping her greatsword.
"You should take better care of your nails. Think you can win with those?"
"..."
As expected of a Helmut.
Sharen was undoubtedly an exceptional swordswoman for her age, while Rizel, on the other hand, wasn't exactly a combat specialist.
The odds of winning in a direct fight weren't in her favor.
"Did you know?"
Rizel decided to take a different approach.
"Hah! Trying to talk your way out of this? Sorry, but we can chat after I knock you down—"
"This is all… just a diversion."
"…What?"
Sharen hesitated for a brief moment.
Seizing the opportunity, Rizel propelled herself forward, pushing off the ground with her tail like a spring.
She lunged at Sharen, closing the distance in an instant.
Boom!
But her attack was easily blocked by Sharen's greatsword.
Leaning in close, Rizel grinned and whispered.
"Our real target—"
"—is your father."