"Shannon!"
Miranda's anguished scream echoed through the audience hall like a mass of mana with razor-sharp fangs driven into Shannon — a beast made of magic, its rear half missing. The fangs bit into Shannon, and then an explosion erupted, swallowing everything in a flash.
Smoke and dust swirled through the audience hall, and visibility only grew worse. On the ceiling, as though gravity itself had been reversed, Ceres stood facing the opposite direction from us.
Her hair hung down, but she didn't appear to be gripping the ceiling at all.
"Kyahahaha! Look, look, look! The first one's dead! If you don't hurry, they'll keep dropping one after another!"
When Ceres swung her rapier and staff, once again glowing yellow magic beasts were released. The conjured creatures lunged at us with their forelegs, and combined with their homing ability, they even managed to evade our attacks.
I glanced toward where Shannon had been.
I confirmed Miranda collapsing. Her helmet and hair hid her eyes, but I could make out her mouth, so that was enough.
I looked up at Ceres, nocked my bow, and an arrow of light materialized.
When the count exactly matched the number of magic beasts Ceres had sent out, I loosed my arrows.
"See? I told you — that won't work."
Ceres swung her rapier, and Gracia and Eliza both cast magic at the ceiling. Ceres, racing across the ceiling surface, dodged their spells with even lighter footwork than before. Perhaps to crush my arrows of light, shattered flames rained down from above.
However —
"— Shannon, you can see them, right? Guide them."
The moment I called Shannon's name, she appeared right behind Miranda. As the smoke parted, Miranda stopped pretending to sob and hurled a dagger.
The thrown dagger and my arrow of light —
"...I'm seriously freaked out right now. You knew I was standing right next to you, and you were still able to scream and cry like that? That's, like, seriously freaked out."
"Shannon, how awful, saying that to your older sister. You'd better remember that."
Seeing Miranda's smiling face, Shannon let out a squeak from the back of her throat.
Shannon, put off by Miranda's act, was being guided along.
"Warp."
The beasts collided with Ceres's magic and exploded. Seeing Ceres's wide-eyed expression, I deliberately laughed—laughed as if taunting her.
If I didn't do that—the Third Generation's Skill wouldn't succeed. The Third Generation's Skill, used to exploit a gap in one's heart, had a higher chance of success when the target's mental state was in disarray.
In other words, that was why I'd been provoking her all along.
"What's wrong? Thought you had me? You didn't actually believe that, did you?"
That was how I'd engineered things, but saying it this way would be more effective against Ceres. She was the type to fly into a rage when mocked by me.
And there was a reason I'd brought Shannon along.
"You piece of scum!!"
Shannon shouted toward Ceres, whose brow had furrowed deeply in fury.
"She switched! She's going to cast a different spell—something that could blow this whole place apart!"
What the flustered Shannon meant was that Ceres had switched Skills. She was attempting another magical attack. Moreover, one powerful enough to destroy the Audience Hall—since everyone was connected through the Connection, there was no need to explain it to the group.
A yellow light emanated from Ceres's body, and we all gathered in one spot. Moving behind Porter, he took up a defensive stance.
Clara spoke flatly.
"This Porter has already been fitted with anti-magic treatments. Additionally, a mana ore has been embedded in his chest, so—"
Hiding behind Porter as he crossed his massive arms, we all deployed our Magic Shields.
"You're getting on my nerves!!"
Ceres's words drowned out the rest of Clara's explanation. But when a large Magic Shield unfolded in front of Porter, it blocked the attack that seemed capable of blowing away everything in its path.
I'd thought it was an attack meant to obliterate the entire area, but it turned out to be a barrage of thin, concentrated mana projectiles launched in every direction.
The Audience Hall itself had anti-magic treatments, so not everything was blown away—but it was certainly left in a terrible state.
While the walls and pillars were riddled with holes, we were all unharmed.
Ludmilla stepped in front of Porter, resting her sword on her shoulder.
"That's powerful. But did you choose not to blow us away, or were you simply unable to?"
Noticing Ceres's slight reaction, Shannon shouted.
"She can't blow us away! Ceres can't blow away this castle! She reacted at the very beginning and her mana wavered—I'm sure of it!"
Now that was interesting. For some reason, Ceres apparently couldn't destroy the royal palace. I had no idea what that reason was, but still.
Then Novem spoke up.
"It's because she preserves a portion of their remains. If Maisel and Claire were blown away along with the palace, she would no longer be able to recreate them. That's what she fears."
The moment Novem said that, Ceres's expression twisted.
I gave both of them a light pat on the back.
"Well done, both of you. So she doesn't want a fight that would involve blowing the palace to smithereens. And to add to that, the fact that she met us out here might be for the same reason."
Ceres had cast a spell powerful enough to annihilate even the processed Audience Hall. She was terrified of going wild outside and accidentally destroying her parents' remains.
I looked at Ceres.
"You're surprisingly gentle toward your parents. It's unexpected—I always got the impression you couldn't care less about family."
When I voiced my doubt, Ceres's expression twisted even further.
"Shut your mouth! Someone like you—a failed, worthless thing like you who didn't even properly inherit power or memories!"
I laughed upon hearing that.
"Whatever. I just wanted Shannon to strip you bare for a while longer. It looks like Agrissa is inside the Jewel. From here on out, I'll get serious."
The moment I said that, everyone raised their weapons.
Ceres descended from the ceiling and landed on the floor. The speed would have been invisible to any ordinary person. Yes—ordinary people, that is. Nearly everyone present in this room was anything but ordinary.
"Don't get cocky with your trash talk—"
I said, egging Ceres on.
"I'm sick of hearing your words. Die for me. I'll make the most of your death."
Ceres instantly flew into a rage and charged at me. But I didn't bother defending myself and waited for her to come—Ceres's rapier pierced through my chest.
The moment it went through, my illusion vanished.
Ceres slammed straight into the wall, and I called out to her from behind.
"Not bad, huh? The Third Generation's Skills are psychic-type. All they do is show hallucinations, but... you're not all that impressive."
I looked at Ceres's expressionless face, unable to tell her that I'd barely managed to activate it in time.
On the surface I looked composed, but it was way too close for comfort. And naturally, my inner thoughts were being broadcast to everyone through my Skills.
Shannon glanced away from me.
"...Yeah, can't be helped. I'm barely holding on to my Golem as it is."
Shannon was looking out for my feelings. That quietly got to me.
I was provoking her to lure her into our trap. This was a fighting strategy based on the premise that Ceres was mentally weak. After all, she'd only ever fought from a position of strength until now.
The Third Generation had taught me that she was weak in situations like this.
"From here on, I'm getting serious. I'll crush you for real. — Full Drive."
When I activated the Fourth Generation's third-stage Skill, the movements around me began to feel sluggish. In that state, all of us moved together toward Ceres, unlike before.
Ludmilla from the front, Gracia and Eliza from both flanks.
Eva, who had jumped up to the ceiling, had her bow drawn and was aiming at Ceres.
Then, a translucent yellow arm appeared from Ceres's body.
That must have been the information Shannon's mystic eyes had captured.
"I've seen this before! I'm sure because I've seen it recently too!"
When Shannon said that, I remembered as well. It was the Skill my senior sword-training brother Alfred had used — a Skill that projected invisible hands from the body.
Miranda threw a dagger fitted with a wire.
"She certainly has quite the collection of Skills. But she can't use them all at once, right?"
The controlled dagger sliced through Ceres's invisible arms one after another. Thanks to Shannon's mystic eyes, Miranda seemed to know exactly where to strike to sever the connection.
Two acting as one — it was like seeing a glimpse of what Mireia once was. No, they may have already surpassed her.
Ceres deflected Ludmilla's slash, parried Gracia with her staff, then kicked Eliza. However, she was too slow to react to Eva's arrow, and it grazed her cheek.
Once the three were blown back, Porter swung his fist in a sideways slam. Dodging that, Novem had already unleashed her magic.
She was holding back somewhat. Novem's feelings flowed into me. Ceres was also of House Walt's bloodline, and she had been reluctant to go all out.
That was when Miranda and Aria lunged in.
Miranda caught Ceres's left arm with her wire. But she was swung around by brute force and nearly slammed into the wall.
I moved in to cover Miranda, and Aria's strike was deflected by Ceres's rapier — no, it wasn't.
A red jewel was glowing. Aria's strike had been augmented by a Mana Tool that hardened and powered up her weapon, and combined with a speed-enhanced blow, it produced absolutely devastating force.
"Take THIS!!"
"You brute!!"
Ceres was sent flying. Aria's full-power strike had shattered the blade of Ceres's rapier and sent her hurtling across the room.
Ceres got back on her feet and started moving — and even though we were also accelerating, she was remarkably fast. But.
"Prep for magic! P-Probably fire!"
"Don't say 'probably'!"
Hearing Shannon's voice, I prepared an ice wall. The magic Ceres had unleashed slammed into it, instantly producing a burst of steam before the wall vanished entirely.
It seems like things won't go as smoothly as with Eliza. But it was enough. After all, we managed to crush Ceres's magic.
As Ludmilla closed in on Ceres, Ceres—having lost her blade—tried to block Ludmilla's attacks with her staff, leaving her slow to respond to Gracia and Eliza's aerial assault.
I remembered how she'd shown a similar weakness before, being particularly sluggish against attacks coming from directly above.
"Haven't you improved at all? Shannon!"
I called out to Shannon.
"Seems like her blind spot is directly overhead... but with those two, I'd say that's the only way they could catch her off guard."
Having been battered by the pair, Ceres forced herself away from the spot and turned to face us.
I quickly prepared an illusion, and Ceres launched an attack toward it. The sight of her bringing her staff down on nothing but empty floor was almost comical.
And then—at the spot near the wall, where Ceres stood in shock—
"Sorry to keep you waiting!!"
It was Monica who had burst through the wall with her enormous hammer. Through the hole, the Valkyries poured in one after another.
I looked over at Novem.
She still seemed hesitant. No—for Novem, who revered the bloodline of House Walt, going up against Ceres was simply too daunting.
Everyone pounced on Ceres after she'd been sent flying by the hammer. With her composure steadily slipping away, Ceres was nothing more than a ragdoll before the group.
But then, those blue eyes of hers flashed with a sharp gleam.
"Here it comes again!"
Shannon shouted, and the Valkyries deployed their binder-like wings as a shield in front of us. We ducked behind it.
And then—I charged forward.
I rushed toward the weakened Ceres, drawing my katana and swinging. As Ceres tried to block with her half-broken staff—
"This is the reverse of last time."
"Damn you!!"
Ceres had been on the defensive, and when I taunted her, she carelessly dropped her guard. That was my chance. I swung my katana. The first strike Ceres barely dodged by sheer reflex. Even in this situation, the fact that her body still responded was impressive.
But I followed through, redirecting the blade for a second strike aimed at Ceres.
"You haven't grown at all! That transparent little—"
But at the midpoint of my swing, my left hand already had a gun in it. I pulled the trigger, aiming for Ceres's head, but she forced her body aside and the bullet buried itself in her right shoulder.
And then I—
"Shannon!"
Shannon fired her gun straight up into the air. Ceres ignored it immediately and lunged at me. Her expressionless eyes, filled with nothing but killing intent, reflected my face—and—
Because Ceres was leaning forward, the ricocheting bullet pierced straight through her chest.
"You should've worn some armor. That might have stopped it."
Ceres's eyes went wide with shock. Even so, even with a hole through her chest, she drove her staff into the ground and refused to fall to her knees.
"Get back!"
I was about to move in for the kill when flames erupted around Ceres, and Novem grabbed me and pulled me back. In the raging, storm-like inferno, Ceres staggered to her feet and touched her chest.
The front of her white dress was stained red.
The gun Shannon carried had been a keepsake from Mireia that I'd asked old Ratata to convert into a Mana Tool. Its destructive power per shot was formidable.
Ceres looked down at the blood flowing from her chest.
"Kuh... kuh-hah-hah!!"
Her mouth twisted into a crescent moon, blood trickling from the corners as she laughed. Even though the flames had been conjured by magic, Eliza couldn't dispel them.
"What is this fire... No matter how you look at it, something's wrong."
Even when we hurled ice at it, the flames evaporated it in an instant. Yet the fire showed no signs of dying down. Gracia, too.
"I was proud of my flames, but... even they pale in comparison to this."
Gracia broke into a cold sweat as she faced the inferno engulfing Ceres.
Novem spoke.
"Don't get close. This fire — can't be put out easily."
I quickly swapped to my gun and began loading a round to attack, but Ceres was staring at me and laughing.
"You guys are the worst... interrupting my fun time."
Seeing Ceres looking so lively despite having her chest pierced through, I muttered.
"A monster..."
Ceres pointed at me, laughing.
"You're the idiot. The real monster here is you, you son of a bitch. I sealed away a monster just like you."
I paid no attention to Ceres's words, raised my gun, and fired. But the bullets never hit Ceres.
Novem looked at me and shook her head.
"She's special. Special flames... well, they're meant for self-destruction. She actually wanted to blow up the whole surrounding area, but someone got in the way."
Someone got in the way. The moment I heard that, I knew exactly who it was.
"Agrissa!"
A voice came from seemingly nowhere. Ceres destroyed the handle of her own rapier and pulled out a yellow Jewel.
"Ceres, it looks like the time has come!"
A cheerful voice. A woman laughing merrily. A bewitching voice. Ceres, looking reluctant.
"I know. A promise is a promise."
I reached out my hand. But if I said something, she'd only become more stubborn. Thinking that, I looked at Novem standing beside me.
"Lady Ceres, you mustn't be deceived by Agrissa. What Agrissa is after is your body—"
"I know. So what?"
Ceres replied to Novem in a flat tone.
"I knew everything and followed this one's instructions. And in return, this one gave me the power. If I could beat that scum I hated so much to a pulp, then my life couldn't matter less. I hate them, you know. They make me sick. Looking at scum like you."
Ceres's hatred was genuine. Regardless of Agrissa, Ceres loathed me from the bottom of her heart.
"I hate everything. Humans are all equally worthless. Everyone except my parents is nothing but garbage I have no use for. There were so many of them, I thought it'd be fun to crush them with Agrissa for a good laugh. For that, my own life was a cheap price."
Perhaps thinking it was the end, Ceres unleashed all the resentment she'd held inside.
"I haven't played nearly enough! I wanted to see more of them writhing in torture! I wanted to kill the people they cherished right in front of them, crush the ones who hated me, and have my fun! I haven't even tried all the interesting ways to kill someone yet! ...But fine. A promise is a promise."
"A promise? You were being deceived—"
The moment I said that, Ceres burst into laughter. Watching her laugh amid the flames while spitting blood from her mouth, she looked like a demon cackling in hell.
"The price for all that fun was my body! But that's not all. By doing so, I surpassed you. I stole, sealed, and tormented you. It was the best time of my life. There are things I didn't get to, but I don't have a single shred of regret. Besides, why should I look bitter in front of you lot? I feel absolutely wonderful!"
Ceres began to dance.
She didn't look like someone about to die. No—was she even human anymore?
"You're all misunderstanding things. I did indeed speak with Ceres. The same way I spoke with my descendants who kept me sealed across so many generations. But I do love my own descendants, you know. I had no intention of forcing her."
Agrissa's words echoed through the audience hall. I gave the order for everyone to retreat.
"I offered Ceres the conditions I desired. That if she lost, her body would be forfeit to me since it would die anyway. And so, my dear little Ceres—"
"That kind of condition wasn't even a price to me. If anything, I wondered whether that was all. That maybe she was trying to deceive me."
"Back then, it took quite the effort to clear up the misunderstanding. To think she called her own life 'that much.' Even I was taken aback. That's exactly why I found you so endearing, Ceres. The time I spent with you was enjoyable."
"Yes, it was enjoyable for me too. My only regret is that I didn't get to play more. But perhaps this is just right. If I'd grown too satisfied, I'd have gotten bored. Ending things while I still thought it was fun—maybe that's the best way."
"As I thought, you really are adorable, Ceres."
Their laughter echoed.
I never thought she could still be alive with a pierced heart. As I stood there thinking I had failed, Agrissa burst out laughing.
"My dear Lyle, you look like you're blaming yourself. But there's no need for that. Even if... Ceres becomes chunks of flesh, or ash, or vanishes entirely, the contract has been executed. What you should have done was destroy me. Of course, half-measures won't destroy this Jewel."
Ceres danced as she spoke.
"From now on, Agrissa will be resurrected and turn this world into hell. It's a shame you won't get to see it, but that's hardly a problem. After all, she'll do far more interesting things than I ever could!"
Ceres's twisted smile looked genuinely delighted.
"What is she...?"
Aria had her spear raised but took a step back in terror. Eva nocked an arrow, but her hands were trembling. The others were the same.
Nobody could keep up with the situation. No, it was even worse than they had feared. Ceres felt absolutely no resistance to having her body taken over.
Ceres laughed.
"Everything you all struggled so hard to do only served to summon someone greater than me. How utterly pathetic. Oh well. I'll admit defeat. You'll be crossing over to my side soon enough anyway, so let's play again then. I'll be waiting in hell."
With a smile on her face, Ceres swallowed the Jewel whole.