The queen, whose name is now forgotten even by history, held only one thing dear: her will to destroy the world. No, could it even be called will? It was closer to hatred.

*

Black vines surged from the ground, targeting Hans and his companions. But if they were prepared, they could respond to some extent. Especially Cluna’s magic shone brightly.

She secretly cast a spell on her comrades and Revel, allowing them to sense the movements underground. Thanks to this, the comrades reacted a beat early and dodged the following deadly attack.

Hans clicked his tongue. There wasn’t as much of an opening as he had hoped. The queen used half of the vines as her shield. The remaining half of the vines were used to attack the comrades.

Even if they managed to fend off the vines somehow, they could still be mortally wounded by the vines that were acting as a shield. The exact penalty of time reversal was still unknown. Whatever it was, it must exist.

But they couldn’t avoid using it out of fear for the unknown penalty. Even now, they were getting picked off one by one by the vines. No matter how early they knew and responded, the vines were faster than imagined.

Hack?!

As if it had read their movements, Cluna, who had been dodging well until now, was pierced in her abdomen. Hans quickly reached out, and soon Cluna’s body, previously pierced, returned.

“What the heck?!”

“Focus on the queen now!”

“I-I’m sorry!”

Experiencing the mysterious power they had seen before left Cluna surprised, but she aimed to concentrate on the fight again. Far away, Clara barely steadied herself and pulled back her bowstring.

“Eat this!!”

However, the arrow that flew with great momentum only managed to tear a single vine from the queen. At that moment, the queen smiled. Just when Clara tilted her head in confusion, something happened.

“Huh…?”

Clara absentmindedly touched the liquid flowing from her abdomen with her hand. It was sticky blood. Her own blood. It was only then that Clara realized the vine had pierced her belly.

But that wasn’t the end. Suddenly, rising vines began to tear Clara’s body to shreds in an instant. It was a cruel spectacle, but Hans did not turn away.

Once again, time reversal activated. It sent Clara back before she felt any pain. Simultaneously, as Clara returned to life, she quickly got out of that spot, realizing what had just happened.

As expected, the vines that had risen in the spot where Clara had been only tore through empty air. The queen furrowed her brows. She thought she had caught her, but how was she continuing to evade every perfect attack?

“I was going to catch her by sacrificing one. Did that fail?”

One?

Hans caught the queen’s careless remark and desperately racked his brain. Why did she specifically say one? Come to think of it, she had mentioned using the Blood Demons by turning them into vines, right?

“I see, now I understand a bit.”

“What does that mean?”

“Those vines are akin to lives.”

“I see…!!!”

Perhaps because most of them had extensive combat experience, everyone grasped the principle from Hans’s words. Since the vines were created using the lives of the blood demons, each had powers similar to them.

But, even for the queen, it was nearly impossible to recover powers close to the blood demons in the current situation. As proof, the vine Clara had hit with the arrow earlier was still nowhere to be seen.

In other words, if they tore down all the vines, it meant they could create an opening to attack the queen. However, the queen’s attacks were no joke. Each one was a blow close to that of a blood demon.

Not only Clara but even Cluna had been agile in dodging, but eventually got hit. To get rid of those vines, they needed a powerful strike. But delivering that strike would ultimately lead to death for them.

Otherwise, the queen’s influence would strengthen even further. Was there truly someone here who could sacrifice their life for the sake of the world? Unfortunately, no such noble person was present.

“I’ll smash your head!!!”

However, there were already plenty of people willing to sacrifice their lives for Hans. Ruby surged forward like a raging tide, swinging her hammer at the queen. Naturally, the hammer was blocked by the shield.

But the tremendous impact caused one of the vines to disappear. The cost of attacking the queen was immense. Vines shot up from all around and pierced Ruby. Yet Ruby smiled and shouted.

“This isn’t over yet!!”

The flames that flowed from Ruby’s hammer quickly engulfed the queen and the vines. However, even the god’s flames, infused with the faith of a dwarf, only managed to scorch one vine.

The vines raged.

They tore Ruby’s limbs apart, driving a vine into her intestines and lifting her skyward. But Hans was already moving. Time was rewinding again. The torn limbs returned.

The pierced intestines reverted to their original form. Once again restored to her original state, Ruby quickly escaped her spot. As a result, the damage was focused only on the queen. Hans nodded.

“If it goes like this, we can win somehow.”

“Are you okay for a moment?”

“What’s going on?”

At that moment, as the queen, furious, created an opening, Revel, who had been nearby, spoke to Hans with a serious expression. Hans felt a sense of unease upon seeing his demeanor, but didn’t show it.

“I have a request.”

“What kind of request?”

“That’s….”

And Hans’s expectations were right. Revel made a request that would be difficult for Hans to grant. Naturally, Hans tried to refuse, but Revel was insistent, and eventually, Hans had no choice but to agree.

“But are you really okay?”

“Yes, it’s already been decided.”

Revel nodded. That was a life he had already thrown away once. There was nothing left to regret. Most importantly, he had already prepared for those left behind.

Now what remained was to correct the wrongs as a loyal subject.

That was the duty left for Revel.

*

The queen was furious. Time and time again, she had ripped apart the rebel’s blood and scattered it to the ground. Yet somehow, her foes did not die and continued to attack. Why? She had certainly killed them, hadn’t she?

It felt as if someone was keeping their eyes closed over and over again. Although she was looking ahead, she couldn’t truly see. At that moment, a few remaining vines were obliterated by an arrow.

But the queen did not panic. After all, that individual was with her. The one that no one could dare oppose. Ultimately, those fools would realize the truth and die in despair.

[Are you just going to watch quietly?]

“No, no, I won’t…!!”

[Then go and kill them right now.]

“I shall gladly obey!”

Screaming, the queen stood up. She could no longer sit idly and watch those rebels. Soon, the queen devoured all the remaining vines with her mouth.

It felt as if she was simply doing what that individual commanded. Having devoured all the vines, the queen felt a surge of power coursing through her body. It seemed she could destroy all those rebels.

“Huh?”

However, that was a great delusion. With no vines left to protect her, the queen could no longer restrain the Royal Knights or defend herself.

Exposed to the Royal Knights’ attacks, the queen’s entire body burst apart in an instant. Not accustomed to combat, the queen could only be beaten without mercy. Why? Why was this happening?

Despite the onslaught, the queen did not think that the individual had abandoned her. Because that individual had been the only one to give her a chance when everyone else had turned their backs.

“This is impossible. It can’t be! How dare you…!!!”

“What happened here? Your Majesty.”

“…?!”

“Let’s end this now. This meaningless fight.”

Piercing the heart of the rampaging queen was none other than Revel. But it didn’t end with just that. Revel embraced her with a smile. From the start, Revel had one goal.

To liberate his lord from pain. It was just that he had not recognized it. Revel vaguely understood she was being manipulated. How else would one have obtained such power?

“It’s not over. It’s not finished yet. If it’s the power given by that individual, then I……!!”

“Your Majesty, don’t you already know? If that individual truly wanted to help you, we would have been corpses rolling on the floor by now.”

“….”

“Don’t worry too much. I will serve you on your way to the afterlife. Along with the loyal subjects who went ahead first.”

Had her understanding finally dawned on her? Or had something that had covered her eyes been lifted? The queen slumped silently in Revel’s arms. Revel, holding her close, smiled back at the others.

“I wish you all good luck. Please do not lose anything precious.”

As soon as those words ended, the bodies of the queen and Revel began to burn with a black flame. It was a surprisingly anticlimactic end for the source of all chaos. Truly, was this the end?

“Is everything really over?”

“Did we win?”

They all collectively spoke to solidify their certainty of victory. They sought someone’s confirmation. But he remained silent. The first person to feel the strangeness.

It was none other than Helia. She hurriedly looked around. But the people she was supposed to see were missing. Many of those who truly loved her, including Helia, missed Hans’s presence.

“…What the hell is this?”

At Hans’s words, the being that had summoned him smiled softly.

The girl introduced herself to Hans as Time.