<h4>Volume 9, Epilogue</h4>
“Haa, haa...”
—Kamito and the others had fought with Vraukar, and at that moment.
Fianna felt a strange sense of uneasiness, and went towards the heart of the abandoned city Megidoa.
Her perception at times like this was often right. She, who held unparalleled talent as a princess maiden, would never neglect her intuition.
(It’ll be good if this was just needless anxiety...)
She was running on a path covered by countless trees and shrubs in the darkness of the night, and at that moment.
“Kyaa!”
Suddenly, something small came flying in front of her.
The instant she stopped her footsteps, she ended up tripping and falling over. Unfortunately, she did not happen to have the reflexes like her female teammates.
“Ouch... W-What...?”
While she rubbed her twisted foot, she looked up and—
“Meow...”
“...Scarlet!?”
What was there was ire’s hell cat spirit.
She noticed that it somewhat seemed smaller than usual.
...It might have been exhausting its power.
“...Why are you here? Could it be that ire is near here?”
Fianna asked in rapid session.
However, Scarlet turned around, and instantly disappeared into the rows of ruins.
“W-Wait...!”
Fianna stood up in a fluster.
Her twisted foot hurt, but now wasn’t the time for that.
Finally, she might have discovered the whereabouts of her teammates.
Chasing after Scarlet’s swinging tail, she ran on the pathway, and finally exited at an opened-up area, whererge amount of rubble had umted.
“This is...!?”
Fianna widely opened her dim-colored eyes.
The sight expanded before her eyes, that was—
The ground had been gouged out in a big way into the shape of a bowl. There were mes zing everywhere.
The historic ruins in the surroundings melted into something likeva, and no longer contain their original shape.
...Just how extra-high of heat did it basked in to end up like this?
“What happened here?”
She muttered in a daze, at that time.
“...Hn...”
She heard a gasping-like groaning from somewhere.
“...!?”
Fianna looked around in a fluster.
Then, she saw Scarlet’s tail swaying at the other side of a crumpled wall.
She hurriedly went around to the other side of the wall.
“...ire!?”
She discovered ire lying dead tired at the wall.
“ire, hey, get yourself together!”
“...Hn...Uu...”
It seemed like her consciousness was hazy and it also seemed like she didn’t noticed Fianna.
Seemingly worried, the hell cat spirit was going in circles around her.
Upon taking a spirit crystal from her uniform pocket, Fianna pressed it onto ire''s chest.
The sacred light, possessing healing powers, faintly shone.
"ire, it''s me....Can you speak?"
"...Hn... Fia...nna...?"
Within the empty ruby eyes of hers, a small me of consciousness lit.
"What on earth happened?"
"...Quickly, the demon sword... to... Kamito..."
"...Demon sword?"
Fianna frowned dubiously.
Then, ire ced her shaky hand behind her back, and took out one sword.
"...! Don''t tell me, this is..."
It was a familiar demon sword of darkness....Even its appearance was subtly different, but there wasn''t a doubt, it was Ren Ashbell''s elemental waffe, the Vorpal Sword.
"ire, why do you have...?"
Fianna asked back, and at that moment.
"I should have had already warned you not to appear in front of me again, Fianna Ray Ordesia."
"...!"
In an instant, her heart was grabbed by that voice.
"..."
She calmly gulped.
While feeling cold sweat spouting out from her whole body, Fianna turned around.
There was a crimson me violently zing.
She appeared from within that me.
She had morous long ck hair and a deep-crimson-red mask that was like scraped out of a burning me.
She wore a military uniform of the Theocracy, and her body was d in sparks fluttering down.
Leader of Team Inferno. Strongest de Dancer—Ren Ashbell.
...No. Fianna already knew her true identity.
(Rubia-sama...)
She had been secretly maneuvering in the shadows so far, so why did she show herself at this timing?
—Her motive was obvious.
(...The Darkness Queen.)
Fianna stood up to protect ire who had fallen.
"...I will not hand over ire."
She knew it was a futile resistance.
Nevertheless, she couldn''t leave ire, who was vaguely conscious, behind and escape.
"—Don''t interfere. You''ll understand it one day."
"Rubia-sama, I don''t understand what beliefs you have. However, if you''re going to hurt my friends—I''ll... stop you!"
Agilely drawing a magic formation in the air, she summoned Georgios.
Instantly unsheathing its sword, the knight spirit rushed at her.
"It''s futile. Your resolution will never reach me."
—The mes throbbed. There was a me that was clearly different from the surrounding mes, a freezing blue me.
The moment that me touched its armor, the whole body of the knight spirit copsed instantly.
"...!"
The overwhelming difference in power was disyed.
Ren Ashbell was d in the freezing me, and her ck hair was violently fluttering.
"—Your time is up. I shall wee the Darkness Queen into my hands."
Then, she—
Removed the deep-crimson mask that concealed her face.
*Crack* The masknded on the ground and broke.
"...!"
Fianna was petrified at that spot and couldn''t move.
She had extremely beautiful eyes of ruby that harbored zing mes.
The morous ck hair that was a trait of Ren Ashbell gently red up.
As if the mes were painting over the darkness—
That was the color of her hair during the time she was once called the Fire Queen.
Elstein red.
At that time—
"...U...g..."
"...!"
There was a groaning voice from behind.
"ire, no—!"
"...Nee...sama?"
Within her hazy consciousness, ire muttered, seemingly puzzled.
Both pairs of me-harboring ruby eyes met, and then—
"Now, let''s end everything."
Rubia Elstein opened her mouth.
"—It''s time for the awakening of the Demon King."