Greetings internets. How've you been? It's sad that I have to do this, but lets begin with something a bit serious.

I'm not really sure if this is appropriate or not, but I would like to dedicate this chapter to the recently departed Mr. John Bain A.K.A. TotalBiscuit. I was a long time fan of his content (in fact, when I first watched his stuff, he was still TotalHalibut) and was greatly saddened to hear of his death. I know he wasn't the biggest fan of (some) anime so having a chapter of a random fanfic of a rather obscure light novel might not be the best way to honor him, but it's honestly the best I'm capable of.

Anyway, if you would, a moment of silence.

Thank you very much. If you've never even heard of TB, thanks for indulging me.

If anyone who is associated with TB actually reads this and believes this is inappropriate or insulting, please PM me and I'll remove this statement ASAP.

Well, now that the heavy stuff is out of the way, please enjoy and review (or don't).


Chapter 46

"Nee-sama!"

"Are you absolutely—Uwah!?"

"Woah!"

Transported to the waiting room of Team Scarlet in mid-shout, Claire's sudden appearance startled Rinslet and Ellis, who had appeared to be in the middle of a conversation.

"Eh? You two…?I see…*sniff* *sniff*"

Quickly assessing the situation, Claire fell to her knees and began to cry softly.

"C-Claire…?" Ellis stammered, shocked to see the normally fiery girl so defeated.

"You…what happened? What did you see?" Rinslet knelt down and firmly grasped Claire's shoulders.

"*Sniff* I-It was Nee-sama and…and…*Sniff*"

"Calm down Claire, you aren't making any sense" Rinslet said

"You calm down Rinslet! She's clearly upset!" Ellis said, pulling the blonde girl off of Claire.

"N-Nee-sama…why did you…? *sniff*" Claire merely continued to cry, as if she hadn't heard Rinslet or Ellis at all.

'It's just like how she was four years ago…no, it might be even worse…' Rinslet thought grimly to herself

"C-Come on Claire, it's not so bad. Cheer up okay?" Ellis gently but awkwardly shook Claire's shoulder, clearly uncertain what she was supposed to do.

"*Sniff* *Sniff* S-Sorry, I feel a bit better now…"

After crying for a bit, Claire said that with a slight sniffle.

"Hey Claire, when you said 'Nee-sama' are you saying…you saw your sister?" Rinslet asked carefully.

"Y-Yeah…" Claire responded with a slow nod.

"W-What!? Why in the world would that woman be participating in the Blade Dance!?" Ellis yelped in astonishment.

"I have no clue, but there's no doubt about it. I saw Nee-sama with my own eyes. She was Cardinal all along!" Claire declared. Though there were still tears in her eyes, they held a firm light in them.

"Eh? But he, no she…no way, was it actually…!?" Ellis mumbled.

"So that's how it was…For the former Fire Queen pretending to be the Demon King on top of all the other weird stuff we've seen…geez, just what is up with this Blade Dance!?" Rinslet groaned.

"Weird stuff? Did something happen to you two as well!?" Claire asked

"I was eliminated almost as soon as the round started, but I noticed that the broadcast of the Blade Dance seems to have been tampered with" Rinslet declared solemnly.

"What…? I-Is that even possible?" Claire gasped.

"Even I wasn't so sure at first, but now I am. The broadcast only showed you run away from Luminaris then get defeated by Cardinal in a sneak attack, see?" Rinslet said grimly , pointing to a sheet with the broadcast of the Blade Dance projected onto it.

"W-Wha!?"

Shown on the projection was a scene of a black-masked man battling a blonde woman in a crisp uniform. Namely, Cardinal battling Luminaris. There was no sign that Cardinal was actually Rubia Elstein in what was being shown to the rest of the world. In addition...

"T-That can't be right! Those two were clearly allied!" Claire exclaimed, thinking back to how her sister and Luminaris had spoken to each other.

"So Lugia and the Alphas Theocracy are both in on it too!? What could this….A-Anyway, Ellis' defeat was also different right, Ellis?"

"Eh? Y-Yeah it was. Rinslet says she saw me get defeated by Lily Flame, but in reality, I almost won but a third party intervened" Ellis said.

"Lily Flame…the famous merchant? Why in the world…" Claire thought aloud.

"Hey, that wasn't all of it Ellis. Tell her what you told me" Rinslet said.

"I-I'm sure I was just mistaken!" Ellis suddenly shouted.

"Ellis…?" Claire said, shocked by the knight captain's outburst.

"Would you really make that kind of mistake?" Rinslet pressed.

"I-I was exhausted and poisoned! Who knows what really happened!?" Ellis shouted defensively.

"W-What happened…?" Claire asked cautiously.

"…" Ellis shook her head desperately.

"…Rinslet?"

Seeing she wouldn't get an answer out of the blue-haired girl, Claire turned to her childhood friend and asked.

"Ellis didn't see who attacked her but…she did see their weapon. It was the Demon Slayer. And she definitely heard Ren-san's voice" Rinslet said slowly.

"…What? What!? T-This isn't a time for jokes Rinslet!" Claire shouted.

"I wish I were…" Rinslet said grimly.

"You…h-hey! Ellis! You're the one who put such an absurd thought into Rinslet's head, right! Hurry up and—"

"…"

Claire desperately whirled about to face Ellis but was only faced with a troubled silence.

"…Y-You…y-you aren't joking…?"

"I want to think it was just a product of the poison that was in Ellis' system too, but…don't you think that Ren-san has been hiding a lot from us? At this point, I can't just ignore it" Rinslet declared.

"That's…"

"Well…"

Though both Claire and Ellis both wanted to deny Rinslet's words immediately, they couldn't deny that they had been suspecting Ren was hiding something dark in the back of their minds.

"…Even if she was the one who stabbed me, and that is a big if, I-I know she wouldn't have done it for no reason! I-I don't like suspecting her without hearing things from her side!"

After some hesitation, Ellis declared that desperately with a quiver in her voice. She said it less due to her trust in Ren Ashbell but more that she simply could no longer bear to think about it anymore.

"Yeah, this could all be some sort of misunderstanding…besides, I think we need to do something about the Blade Dance broadcast and my sister first" Claire said weakly.

"You might be right…yeah, we can always ask Ren-san once she wins the Blade Dance. Right now…"

As the girls' discussion continued, the scene projected on the screen shifted to…


*Huff* *Huff*

"Ah, hurry up. That weird light is getting stronger by the second. I've got a bad feeling about it."

"Huff…Hah, j-just give me a second…"

"For one of her comrades, you're really out of shape"

"S-Shut it!"

Nearby the central citadel of Megidoa a curious pair were making their way to the central castle. One was a young woman with long black hair wearing a refined uniform while unrefinedly gasping for breath. The other was a woman with short hair wearing a military uniform who was gazing down at the gasping woman with astonishment in her eyes.

*Wuuung*

As the two girls talked, the purple light that composed the phantom city the two were walking through changed hues slightly and the details of the illusionary city became more pronounced.

"That castle especially is getting more and more ominous…Come on, hurry up princess. We got to stop this, whatever it is" Leonora said resolutely.

"I get it, I get it…geez, if you think it's that important, why don't we fly there on your dragon spirit?" Fianna muttered.

"We need to keep our presence hidden until we figure out the strength of the opposition. If they can pull off something like this, we likely need as much in our favor as possible" Leonora answered curtly.

"…"

"What's with that look?"

"No, it's just I always assumed you were the muscle head type like Captain-san and Ren-chan so I was a bit surprised…" Fianna said, looking away guiltily.

"Oi, are you picking a fight?...Or rather, Ren Ashbell is a muscle head?" Leonora asked.

"Well, it's more like she's so strong that she tends to acts carelessly" Fianna said with a shrug.

"Hm, I see, I see"

As she said that, Leonora took out a pocket-sized journal and a pencil and began writing notes down.

"…Weren't we supposed to be in a hurry?" Fianna mumbled in amazement.

"You say something?"

"Nope, not at all"

Fianna decided to use that moment to rest while she still could.

"Speaking of which, have you been able to get in contact with any of your teammates?" Leonora asked without looking up from her writing.

"No, I sent out some messenger spirits but I haven't received any replies. Communicating with spirits is rather difficult in this city though, especially after this happened…" Fianna said, gesturing towards the mysterious glowing structures of light

"I see. I haven't been able to get in contact with my teammates either. I was hoping we'd have more people before we stormed that castle, but we may have to prepare for the worst-case scenario" Leonora said bitterly.

"Worst-case…J-Just so you know, my direct combat abilities are almost zero!" Fianna exclaimed.

"I know, I did plenty of research on Team Scarlet. You specialize in ritual Kagura dances, right? If you can provide support with those then—"

"—W-Well…actually those are a lot less effective when the flow of spirit energy is so messed up like this"

"…"

"Um…"

"Are you actively trying to make me reconsider this alliance?" Leonora said with a sigh.

"No way! Please don't leave me here alone Leonora-sama!" Fianna shouted in a panic.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't leave someone alone in a dangerous situation like this" Leonora said.

"R-Really…?"

"Yeah, I'd properly destroy your magic stone and send you back to the Grand Shrine" Leonora replied with a reliable smile.

"Please don't do that either!" Fianna squealed.

"Shh! I was just joking!" Leonora said, looking around carefully in case someone was attracted by the noise.

"Ugh…You're pretty similar to Ren-chan aren't you?" Fianna said, teary-eyed.

"E-Eh!? You thinks so? W-Why, thank you" Leonora looked away with a faint blush on her face.

"That wasn't a compliment…No, that was also a pretty 'Ren' thing to say I suppose" Fianna said with a sigh.

"I-I already said I was joking. There's no need to flatter me like this" Leonora replied.

"Seriously? You might be more of a fan of Ren-chan than—"

"—We're almost there Lily! Geez, why are you being so slow? We have a schedule to maintain, remember"

Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded through the empty city.

"Hah…Hah…E-Expecting me to keep up with your pace is insane! You trying to kill me!?"

"Seems like you've gone soft these past few years"

"Unlike some people, I don't have the power of an Elemental Lord contained in me!"

"That voice is…"

"…Yeah, no doubt about it"

Though one of the voices was entirely unfamiliar to them, the other was very much known to them.

"Heeeey! Ren-chan!" Shouting that, Fianna ran toward the voice.

"Be stealthier, would you…Ah, whatever. If that girl is here, it doesn't really matter if we catch the enemies' attention or not"

With a defeated sigh, Leonora quickly followed after Fianna.

Tracking down the source of the voice, the two elementalists soon found themselves face to face with Ren Ashbell and a vaguely familiar Elfim girl.

"Ren-chan! Over here!" Fianna shouted.

"Oh? Leonora and Fianna, what a strange pairing" Ren said calmly once she laid eyes on the two.

"Yes, I've decided to ally myself with you folks until all this is resolved" Leonora said as she gestured toward the phantasmal structures all around them.

"Is that so? Well, it certainly makes things a bit more convenient for us that the last two have arrived" Ren said with a cold smile.

"By the way who is this?" Fianna asked looking at the Elfim girl.

"Hello, I'm Lily Flame from Team Inferno. Like you two, I've teamed up with sen—ah, Ashbell-san to resolve this situation" Lily said with a slight bow.

"Oi" Ren said, giving Lily a glare.

"So, you had the same idea…or rather, I'm not sure I believe Team Inferno isn't the one behind all of this" Leonora said with a suspicious gaze.

"Oh, so scary~ Could it be that you're trying to deflect suspicion and it's Dracunia behind this?" Lily said with faux astonishment.

"Lily, we don't have time for these games. There's no need to bother with any of that at this point" Ren said that in an exceedingly cold voice which seemed to freeze the air around her. With a practiced flick of her wrist, she summoned forth her shining silver blade.

"R-Ren-chan?"

"Hey, you…"

Fianna stared in incomprehension as Leonora took a step back with an astonished expression on her face.

"We're in a hurry. And I'm getting tired of lying all the time. Draw your sword, Leonora Lancaster!" Ren ordered.

'No, this tone…he's put away the façade of 'Ren' already. This is Kamito speaking, isn't it?' Fianna realized. Though the immense weight of Kamito's every word startled Fianna, she couldn't help but smile at the thought of seeing more of Kamito's true character.

"A-Are you joking? You're the one behind all of this!? Is that what you're telling me, Ren Ashbell!?" In contrast, Leonora let out an outraged shout.

For Leonora Lancaster, 'Ren Ashbell' had always been a shining pillar of strength and virtue. An honorable blade dancer who stood at the pinnacle of martial arts. However, the person before her now was distorting everything she had come to know about The Strongest Blade Dancer. Still, Leonora wanted to believe in the girl she had idolized for so long. However…

"Yes, it is. Now stop wasting my time" Kamito replied.

...Rather than deny them, she had confirmed Leonora's accusations with a chilling tone that Leonora couldn't imagine coming from the girl she had been on a date with just the day before. The valiant dragon knight no longer had any choice but to acknowledge that Ren Ashbell was not the girl she thought she was.

"Ugh! I wanted to duel you, but to think it would be in a situation like this…!" Leonora groaned.

"H-Hey, is this really okay!? You're letting way too much info spill senpai!" Lily whispered to Kamito in a panic.

"Fianna probably already has a vague idea of what's happening. And Leonora's instincts are too good to fool. Lying to them became unrealistic the moment they saw the two of us together" Kamito muttered back.

That was only half of it. Though they wouldn't have been able to fool Fianna and Leonora for long, they most likely could have at least lowered their guard enough to launch a sneak attack. However, no matter how he tried to hide it, Kamito was affected by the guilt of deceiving the girls of Team Scarlet.

'So you're relieving that guilt by allowing at least someone know the truth, even if it could make the lies you're feeling guilty about meaningless …Haaah, that kind of backward thinking is awfully human for you' Restia thought to herself.

"…Fine. Ren Ashbell, for daring to desecrate the sacred Blade Dance, I shall defeat you here! I'll have you answer my questions of what your intentions are!" Leonora summoned her jet-black waffe, the Dragon Slayer, as she gave Kamito a pained stare. Brandishing the sword before her, she took up an offensive stance.

"Sorry, but I can't afford to expend any of my strength here. You'll have to wait until everything is over if you want a proper fight" Kamito said coldly as he raised his arm and pointed the Demon Slayer straight at Leonora's chest.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Leonora asked, her blazing red eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Simply put, I'm ending everything in an instant"

With those words, Kamito disappeared from Leonora's sight.

"!?"

Sight, sound, even scent, Kamito had completely vanished from Leonora's senses. To her, it was as if he had simply stopped existing, erased from the world.

"Khh, behind!?"

With no indicators of where Kamito's attack would come from, Leonora could only heed her instinct. She kicked off with her right leg then pivoted around the moment her left foot touched the ground.

"No holding back! O demon dragon Nidhogg, unleash—"

Wasting no time, Leonora raised her sword defensively in front of her as she jumped back and—

*Shhkkck*

*Shatter*

"—Eh?"

—Found herself impaled from behind by a gleaming silver blade. Completely taken aback, she didn't even notice that her Magic Stone had been destroyed.

"You…You got behind me and then circled around me again the moment I turned around!?" Leonora gasped in astonishment.

"Don't be ridiculous. I haven't moved at all" Kamito replied calmly.

"Wha—!?"

"I've just been standing here with my sword held up. You're the one who impaled yourself on it" Kamito continued.

Indeed, Kamito hadn't moved a single step. Though Leonora had attributed Kamito's sudden disappearance with high speed movement, in truth he had merely concealed his presence to the point that it seemed he had vanished. As a result, when Leonora tried to evade a non-existent attack, she ended up leaping straight onto Kamito's upheld blade.

"Like I said, I wasn't planning on expending any of my strength here" Kamito said.

"Ugh…y-you predicted my moves that far ahead…it's my…defeat"

With a last, hate-filled groan, Leonora fell unconscious. A moment later, her body was transported back to the Grand Shrine.

"…And now, there's only one left"

As Kamito turned to face the princess, his features morphed into their original, more masculine form and his long hair shrank back into its normal length.

"Kamito-kun…"

"How do you want to do this, Fianna?" Kamito asked.

"…My loyalty is yours. Do whatever you wish"

After a pause, Fianna said that as she offered Kamito an exaggerated bow with a strange glint in her eye.

"…So, you're the crazy one right now. I suppose that saves us some trouble" Kamito said with a sigh.

"Don't be like that Kamito-kun. It's not like I have a split personality or something. It's just my 'true' self can wake up when I'm around you" Fianna said with a pout.

"No, I'm pretty sure that classifies as having split personalities. Though I will admit either way you're a pain to deal with" Kamito shot back.

"Fu fu, don't you know that girls like to trouble the people they love?" Fianna giggled.

"How interesting, it's just like you reported. Her entire demeanor changed. Say, 'this' Fianna Ray Ordesia, how would you feel about joining our little Organization?" Lily asked

"Organization?" Fianna asked.

"Yeah, it's an organization that more or less exists to serve the Demon King Kamito Kazehaya. If you help us we could probably—"

"—I'm in"

"What a quick reply. You didn't even bother to listen to benefits. I like it! Okay, from now on you're one of us. Looking forward to working with you, princess" Lily said.

"Yes, likewise Lily-san" Fianna replied.

"Hey, don't spontaneously decide this kind of thing on your own" Kamito sighed.

"There's no reason why we shouldn't recruit her right? She's bound to you already, so it's not like she can betray you. Besides, there's a certain job that she could really help with right now, since you've been way too careless, riiight?" Lily said.

"Job? What kind of job? I can do jobs" Fianna said enthusiastically.

"…Ugh, fine, you have a point. Hey Fianna, hold on to this. It'll serve as proof of your membership for now, so don't lose it" Saying that, Kamito took out a dagger from his pocket and handed it to Fianna.

"A-Ah, yes! I'll guard it with my life!" Fianna nodded wildly.

"As for your job, well…"

*Smash*

"Eh…?"

Fianna gaped in amazement as Kamito crushed her Magic Stone right before her eyes.

"I want you to divert suspicion for me. Please keep in mind the following…"


"Ghah!?"

Leonora awoke with a start, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. She was on an extraordinarily fluffy mattress which would be out of place in a royal bedchamber. All around her were also artifacts and artwork which were probably worth more than the treasury of some small nations.

"Ah, Lux-sama! Leonora-sama has woken up!"

"Already? As expected of the best of Dracunia I suppose"

"Huh?"

Turning her head to the sound of voices, Leonora found herself facing the Holy Queen, who was flanked by several women wearing uniforms of the Divine Ritual Institute.

"You…What is going on? Why am I not in my team's waiting room?" Leonora asked in confusion.

"Sorry to trouble you when you've just woken up, but we needed to discuss what is going on with the Blade Dance as soon as possible" Lux said.

"The Blade Dance—ah, that's right! Please, you must investigate Ren Ashbell! I'm sure you've already realized, but she—"

Once again remembering her defeat at Ren's hands, Leonora leaped out of bed toward the Holy Queen.

*Clank*

"—Eh…?"

…Or at least she tried to. Before she could even get one step away from the bed, she was pulled back by chains binding her arms and legs to the ground.

"Please tell us, Leonora Lancaster, just what is it that you intended to gain by interfering with the Blade Dance?" Lux asked with a cold glare on her face.

"What…did you say…?" Leonora could only gape in bewilderment at the Holy Queen's words.

"Please don't play dumb with us. After receiving a complaint from Rinslet Laurenfrost-sama, the Divine Ritual Institute conducted an investigation and found evidence that Dracunia has tampered with the Blade Dance broadcast" One of the accompanying princess maidens said without hesitation.

"What in the world are you talking about!? It was clearly…n-no…i-it can't be!?"

"Quite stalling criminal, we know it was you. Now tell us the reason why you did it" Another princess maiden snapped.

"You all…the Divine Ritual Institute was in on it too!? Even the Queens!?" Leonora roared.

To the world, the Queens were an absolute, inviolable existence, even more so than Ren Ashbell. That the women who wielded perhaps the most political power in the entire world were accompli to the same conspiracy as Ren Ashbell filled Leonora's heart with fear, but more than that, with blazing rage.

"Unforgivable…not only are you making a mockery of the sacred Blade Dance, but you plan to blame it on Dracunia!? When will it end? You and Ashbell, just how much have you deceived me, deceived us all!? UNFORGIVABLE!" Leonora shouted, practically frothing with rage.

"So that's how it's going to be, huh? Very well, then we'll go with 'she confessed and then attacked me, so we had to incapacitate her' or something like that" Lux said to her attendants, ignoring the fuming Leonora.

"As expected then. It shall be done Lux-sama" One of the women replied.

"DAAAAMMN YOOOOUUUU!"

*Snap!*

With strength unthinkable of a normal human, Leonora broke free from her chains as she let out a thunderous bellow.

"Wha—!?"

"HAAAAAH!"

Lux's attendants yelped in surprise at the sight of Leonora bearing down on them as she shouted a battle cry. However…

"Well now. At this rate, 'you staying conscious is a threat to me' now isn't it?"

…Lux merely stood calmly before Leonora's charge and uttered those words.

*Crash!*

In an instant, all strength left Leonora's limbs and her eyelids drooped heavily over her eyes. Unable to keep her balance, she tripped over herself and fell to the ground with a loud crash.

"Ugh…you…w-what did you…" Leonora mumbled blearily, desperately trying to remain awake.

"My Peacemaker will ensure you have a nice, long rest. You deserve it for fighting so hard until now" Lux said gently as she bent down and soothingly stroked Leonora's hair "Don't worry, when everything is over, you'll see this was all for the best"

"Uuu…zzz…"

However, at that point, Leonora had already fallen into a peaceful sleep.

"Well then. Please report to the Laurenfrost girl that we've identified and apprehended the culprit responsible for interfering with the broadcast of the Blade Dance" Lux ordered.

"Of course"

Giving a salute, one of the Holy Queen's attendants left the room.

A girl with blonde hair and emerald eyes…


"That's way too much info Kamito—!"

"—Ah, it's Fianna!"

"She arrived while still conscious, somethings already different!"

"I'm glad you're okay!"

"Eh? Eh?"

Having just been teleported back to the Grand Shrine while in mid-conversation, Fianna could only look around in confusion as Claire, Rinslet, and Ellis all rushed around her the moment she arrived.

"Sorry to do this the moment you arrived, but could you tell us how you were eliminated?" Rinslet asked calmly.

"Eh? W-Well that's…couldn't you tell from the broadcast?" Fianna asked slowly.

"Long story short, we think the broadcast might be compromised. We want to confirm it" Claire declared.

'Ehhh!? They figured it out!? W-What should I do Kamito-kun!?' Fianna thought to herself, falling into an internal panic.

After Kamito had destroyed Fianna's Magic Stone, he had begun to fill her in on some of the specifics of the Organization and its plans. However, halfway through, Fianna had been forcibly transported back to the Grand Shrine.

'Really, why didn't you wait until after your explanation! Do you want to make me squirm on purpose!?'

While thinking that to herself, Fianna began to imagine Kamito saying 'yes' and then playfully sticking his tongue out.

'Cute! That's so cute! That's not fair!'

"U-Um…Fianna?"

"Could it be what happened is too terrible to say aloud?"

Not privy to Fianna's internal thoughts, the others looked at Fianna in concern.

"N-No, well that's…"

"Could it be…Ren-sama did it?" Claire asked slowly.

"Eh!?" Fianna yelped in surprise.

"Apparently that happened to Ellis so if it was, then—"

"—T-That was only what I thought at first. I-I'm sure it was just the poison or maybe an illusion…" Ellis protested weakly, clearly not believing her own words.

'What did you do Kamito-kun!? How am I supposed to salvage a situation like this!?' Fianna almost screamed aloud.

"Umm…"

"Oh sorry. Please, tell us what happened" Rinslet said.

"Actually, well I got my Magic Stone destroyed without seeing what happened. Tee Hee~" Fianna said with a wink.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"I-I'm serious! I thought I was walking with Leonora-san and then suddenly—"

"—Wait, hold on. Did you say you were walking with her? She wasn't trying to eliminate you? You're certain of this?" Claire interrupted.

"What do you mean? Could it be that isn't what you saw in the broadcast?"

'Aaaaah! I messed up already!?'

Fianna asked with a shaky smile as she tried to keep her cool internally.

"Yeah. From what we saw, you were knocked unconscious and eliminated by Lenora Lancaster, then Ren-sama appeared and defeated her" Ellis explained.

"That certainly is different. So different that I couldn't possibly guess that" Fianna said irritably while internally complaining to whoever was in charge of the broadcast.

"Ugh, with so many inconsistencies, it seems undeniable that someone really is messing with the broadcast" Claire groaned.

"But why? Who would gain from deceiving the world like this?" Ellis wondered aloud.

'So none of them saw that phantasmal city then? Okay, I'll keep that in mind' Fianna mentally noted.

"W-Well, now that you mention it, I think that Cardinal fiend was setting up some sort of ritual…maybe~" Fianna said, trying to sound offhand.

"Oh right! Cardinal was actually Nee-sama! If you think you saw her doing something, please, spare no detail!" Claire squealed, grabbing onto Fianna's arms with an iron grip.

"Eh, the Demon King was actually Rubia-senpai? What an unforeseen surprise!" Fianna exclaimed, trying to muster up as much shock as she was capable of.

'Rubia-senpai, you messed up tooooo!? I expect this kind of thing from Kamito-kun, but you toooo!?'

"Fianna, please! What did you see!?" Claire begged.

"U-Uh, well, I'm not sure but I think she was gathering up spirit energy? Maybe to activate a weapon or something?" Fianna mumbled the first thing that came to mind.

"A weapon…maybe she's trying to resurrect an ancient military spirit hidden in Megidoa and hiding her activities by sabotaging the broadcast?" Rinslet thought aloud.

"What do you think Fianna? Do you think that's possible?" Ellis asked.

"Uhm…w-well…w-who knows~?"

'AAAAH! I can't take much more of this! Someone save me!'

*Knock* *Knock*

As if responding to Fianna's wish, someone knocked on the door of the room.

"Yes! I mean, w-who is it?" Fianna called out.

"Yes, I have a report from Lux-sama about the 'issue' that Laurenfrost-sama reported" The person said.

'This voice…where have I…?' Rinslet thought to herself as she answered "Please enter and give us this report then"

"Very well"

Saying that, the person opened the door and—

"—Ju…dea…?"

Seeing Rinslet's flabbergasted expression, Fianna realized her night was about to get much more chaotic.


"I'm home…I wonder if I should say that?"

Looking up at the building from the ground, Kamito could feel the intimidating presence of the enormous, spectral castle that stood out from the ruins of the abandoned city. Without a doubt, it was the form of the castle of the Darkness Elemental Lord in ages past.

"Leyline activity seems stable. With all the unnecessary people removed, we can proceed as planned" Lily said.

"Excellent. Let's go then" Kamito said.

Soon the two reached the entrance of the castle. Before them were a pair of enormous mithril doors which would dwarf even giants. All along the doors were arcane runes glowing with ominous light.

"They were open already…I guess we were late after all" Lily said after they passed through the towering doors and began to ascend the seemingly infinite spiral staircase in the center of the castle.

"Everyone else was just ahead of schedule. Besides, I wouldn't have been late if I didn't go out of my way to help you out" Kamito said.

"Should the Demon King really be so petty about something like that?" Lily complained.

"You're lecturing someone about being petty?" Kamito said with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, I'm only petty when I can make a bit of coin from it" Lily said.

"Not sure if that's any better" Kamito said with a snort.

"It is, it is…By the way, how's your condition?" Lily asked.

"Better than ever. With the temporary resurrection of Megidoa I can access more of the Darkness Elemental Lord's power than ever" Kamito said.

"That's good. But then again, that also means that she…" Lily mumbled.

"Well, that is pretty much exactly what was planned. Don't worry. Do you think I could lose?" Kamito said with a smirk.

"Fair enough" Lily replied with a similar smile.

While exchanging banter, the two arrived at the ornate door of the fourth floor's main hall.

"Well, we're here" Kamito said simply.

"So it seems…say, senpai?" Lily said.

"Hm?"

"Well, how should I say this…Good luck. And thanks for everything" Lily said quietly.

"…You to Lily. Thanks for everything" Kamito lightly ruffled Lily's hair, then solemnly opened the door.

Inside was a vast room that would put the royal ballroom of Ordesia to shame. Arched pillars held up the ceiling and a massive magic circle glowed in the center. Crimson pillars of fire billowed out of the four cardinal directions on the circle, illuminating the whole space.

The firelight revealed a crowd of people from all over the world. Some wore simplistic garments of the Elfim forest people. Some wore eastern-style dress. Some wore imposing armor. Some wore ornate ceremonial clothes while still others wore drab, ominous cloaks. However, the one who stood out the most was without a doubt…

"So you've finally arrived. Shall we begin?"

So spoke the beautiful young woman with eyes and hair of blazing flame standing in the center of the magic circle. No, the arena.

"What, no grandiose ceremony? You're fond of that sort of thing aren't you?" Kamito asked as he stepped into the circle.

"We already did the formalities without you" Rubia said.

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah. We even had cake"

"…You're joking. Rubia Elstein told a joke. Ha ha, I guess the world really is going to end tonight" Kamito said with a dry chuckle.

"If things go as planned that is" Rubia said, her lips curling upward.

The two chatted in a manner befitting the old friends they were. However, as the two conversed everyone in the room stiffened, pressured by the immense killing intent that was starting to leak from the two.

"Well, if there's nothing extravagate you had planned, shall we begin?"

Kamito asked this calmly as he manifested his two blades, one gleaming with shining silver light and the other wreathed in crackling ebon electricity, into his hands and took up a masterful stance.

"Impatient, are we? But I can hardly hold it back either. Very well, let us begin the ritual to unseal the final piece of the Darkness Elemental Lord…"

As Rubia spoke dark scarlet flames and freezing blue flames whirled about her in a blazing storm, an unquenchable inferno of crimson and cobalt.

"…Let us finally return the power of the so-called Sacred Queen to its rightful owner!"

As if prompted by some unheard signal, the two began a deadly dance of flame, shadow, and steel.


The Sacred Queen is actually a piece of Ren Ashdoll!? Just what is going on!? Find out in the next episode of Ashbell, coming soon (TM).

Gotta say, this was one of the hardest chapters for me to write. Like it wasn't that long and the content itself was relatively straightforward, I just had a really hard time getting it into text I guess.

Well anyway, thanks for coming back for another chapter of this fic. Or if you're new, I'm not sure why you thought starting at chapter 46 was a good idea but welcome. We're approaching the four year anniversary, so really, thank you for your continuous support! I wanted to make this chapter longer and release it for the anniversary, but unfortunately, I'll be pretty busy next week, so this will have to do as our 4th anniversary celebration.

Four years...I haven't really changed all that much or really got anything done in that time. But if my content has brought enjoyment to any of y'all, I can proudly say that I haven't been totally wasting my time

...Actually, now that I've read that aloud, that's pretty sad so I think I'll stop there.

*Ahem* W-Well anyway, I do hope you've enjoyed this chapter and see you next time!