Sorry, this one's a bit short due to the pacing...!
The battle at the Hidden Cathedral.
The encounter with Archbishop Gregorio.
Gazing upon an evil beyond imagination. The defeat of Gregorio.
Then Laplace's surprise assault, the Pope's stance. Yurugen's betrayal, Chrono's true identity.
Rose joining the battle, her entanglement with Ortesia, and Chrono's magic.
...It had all been too much. Even Ermes and his companions, who had been through every last bit of it, couldn't wrap their heads around just how much had changed. And at the very end of it all—
"So... how about we both agree to back off?"
Chrono's proposal.
That question—backed by overwhelming magic power, the kind that rivaled Rose's own—
"...Tch. Damn it."
Rose let out a curse.
Because she had figured it out. ...When she weighed the current disparity in forces and the overall situation, there was no path left for her but to accept his proposal.
"—How ironic, 'Sky Witch.'"
As if seeing straight through Rose's inner turmoil, Chrono continued calmly.
"Your strength, as your Bloodline Magic so clearly shows, lies in being freer than anyone else. It's a strength you earned by casting aside every—"
"fence—"
"—that bound you, and pursuing nothing but your own magic."
"Do the same this time. Unleash it fully. Had you charged in without a care for anyone around you, we would have had to brace for considerable damage ourselves. But—"
That is no longer the case.
Rose has taken on a disciple.
She has gained motivation in the form of her disciple. She has begun to prioritize her disciple and the people connected to them.
……Even if, in this situation, that amounts to nothing short of an overwhelming burden.
And so. It may be a rather cliché way of putting it, but the current Rose is……
"
someone to protect,
having found,
you've grown weaker
.
I'm not trying to claim that people are stronger alone or anything like that. But at the very least, you——you've never honed any strength other than that which comes from being alone.
……Yes. Truly, you saved me."
"……Fine by me."
She was merely stating facts, but even so, faced with words she could not accept, Rose fixed Chrono with a quiet gaze.
"I don't think there's anything more to say. It seems the other side is willing to let us pass as well…… We shall take our leave, then. Laplace."
"Sure thing."
Chrono averted his gaze from Rose and looked to Laplace beside him. Reading his intent, Laplace began preparing to retreat——
"W-wait a minute! You're pulling back here!? I won't allow it—we finally got to meet Roselia, and you people——!"
"Yeah, yeah."
——Anticipating even the resistance of Pope Ortesia, who would certainly not permit it, he immediately enveloped Ortesia within a black barrier, sealing her inside.
"I get that you're going absolutely wild over meeting the one you've been waiting for, but calm down. Even you should understand that starting things right here wouldn't benefit anyone."
"——! ————!!"
"Rest assured — even without anything happening here, that witch over there is going to come to us again anyway. She's not the type to just ignore you and run. After all... if she'd had that intention from the start, the Sky Witch would have left this country a long time ago."
To the thrashing Ortesia, Laplace continues in a dispassionate tone. She probably can't hear him, but it doesn't matter — as long as he keeps channeling the power of "Rejection" that strips away the ability to resist, she'll eventually calm down.
Keeping his eyes on her resistance, which was gradually shrinking just as he'd predicted—
"We'll have our rematch someday, so go to sleep for now.
Actually, it'd be a real pain if you used magic on me right here. After all, you're ——"
Laplace looked toward Rose and delivered his final words.
"——
Against
"the
Sky Witch
"
and her alone—
for that sole purpose—
this is the trump card we prepared.
No need to show our hand here and now. Save the big rampage for later."
——Almost too incredible to believe, the words settled in the air.
Ortesia's movements came to a complete stop, and Laplace retracted her along with the black barrier.
"............So you actually went and told me what that is."
"If I tell you that, you clever types are gonna get cautious, right? ...Since you've more or less figured out the Pope's magic, you can't exactly call this a bluff."
Even to Rose's pressing questions, he returned that reason in a flat, detached manner.
Laplace had fully regained her composure by now. She was still as talkative as ever, but her words carried weight, and there were no openings in her bearing.
"Then let's withdraw, boss. It looks like this idiot Pope let Estia Magna slip out, but her subordinates collected her right after. Let's head back and get started."
"Yeah."
As they exchanged words, the two leisurely departed the scene.
...And then.
In the silence, the one who remained—the human who had become someone who should not have stayed in this place—
"...F-Father."
"..."
Jurgen von Trakia—
lightly shifted his gaze between his daughter, who still wore an expression of disbelief and unwillingness to believe, and his old friend, whose face was like a Noh mask drained of all disappointment.
"...If you don't want"
He spoke quietly.
"to see anything worse than this—I recommend you leave the country immediately."
"Wha—"
"Think carefully about why we revealed ourselves at this particular timing. And why we judged it would be fine even after doing so."
After saying only that—
Jurgen, too, turned away. Without another word, he vanished into the darkness with the strides of finality.
After that.
Under Rose's guidance, Ermes and the others also escaped the Secret Sanctuary.
Outside the Secret Sanctuary — where the battle against the church soldiers still raged — with no reason left to press the attack, Lucius rallied the troops under his command and somehow managed to lead them out.
The Archbishop capture operation.
Targets: Archbishop Gregorio, Archbishop Varen, Archbishop Nikola — all eliminated.
The Archbishop faction was annihilated. The greatest enemy standing in the way of Ermes and the Third Princess's faction had been completely wiped out.
The battle in the Secret Sanctuary had — fulfilled its original objective perfectly.
With absolute success, the curtain fell.
Next time: a story after the battle.
It's set to be an important episode covering what each of the children decides to do next, so I'd be happy if you'd stick around!