With a blue dragon knife poised in one hand, Capella tilted her head at the man who struck a pose.

Her long black braid spilled over her white shoulder as she leaned forward, crossing her arms and accentuating her ample bosom while casting a seductive glance toward the armored man.

Her enchanting gaze, tempting the man, was a bewitching force that appealed to his primal instincts, even though he was fully aware it was a trap.

However, whether such allure would be effective depended entirely on the individual.

“I know this is an erotic act and all, but if you’re aiming to seduce me, it won’t work. I’ve got a hardcore virgin mentality… it’s too difficult to get aroused by a passing lady.”

“A self-deprecating quip mixed with a bit of restraint… whether that tactic works on me is another story, but you give off the vibe of a man who can’t get it up. Are you trying to play the fool to lower my guard? What do you plan on doing with that thick thing of yours, huh?”

“Dude, don’t throw around sexual innuendo. Honestly, it’s kind of a mood killer.”

“――――”

Capella’s provocative gaze turned to one of disbelief at the man’s response, but that surprise evaporated quickly, and she snickered with genuine amusement.

“Hahaha! What’s that? With your appearance, at your age, you make that kind of statement? Dreaming maidens only reside in your heart! You might see yourself differently, but you’re no different from the residents of a flower field. Ah, I just want to taint you!”

“I’m sorry for being excited, but don’t make me repeat myself. I’m not in the mood today. If you’re asking when I am, I’d be at a loss for words. But today especially, I’m just not feeling it.”

The way Capella flapped her legs in an innocent manner seemed completely at odds with the attitude of the man—Al.

He genuinely appeared to be unenthusiastic about his current role, unlike the other two, which made Capella’s expression turn even more curious.

“No motivation, feeling tedious, and yet you’re not backing down from this place. Your words are full of contradictions. So why are you indulging in this raucous revelry?”

“Did you really just say ‘raucous revelry’?”

“Of course! From my perspective, everything happening in this world is merely a means to pass the time. You all ultimately belong to me. My love is broad-minded and merciful, requiring nothing but love for me… Anything else, you’re free to do as you like.”

With arms spread wide, Capella flashed a smile like a poisonous flower.

Seeing that smile, Al lowered the tip of his blue dragon knife. Cracking his neck and exhaling deeply, he said,

“You’re something else. You’re a lot different from the sinful beings I know.”

“Oh, have you made actual acquaintances with those below those punks? Female meat? The tight-assed virgin? The mean-spirited, gluttonous brat? Or perhaps the delusional, self-deceiving spirit? Either way, your friends seem to be the worst! Didn’t your parents ever tell you? Choose your friends wisely!”

“… Sorry, but my friends are the type to be told that by their parents.”

“That’s a shame. But even for you, my magnificent love will envelop you! If you take off that helmet and show me your true self, embracing and loving me, you know?”

No matter how cruelly treated, Capella maintained her pursuit of affection—the ultimate embodiment of love. If we exclude how skewed and one-sided her affection was, this was literally ridiculous.

Naturally, hardly anyone responded to her love that was devoid of humanity.

Al took up his blue dragon knife again and slowly shook his head.

“I’m sorry. I appreciate the feelings, but we don’t really know each other well enough yet. Plus, if my friends get wind of any of this, it’d be embarrassing, so I’ll pass.”

“Worrying about others’ opinions? Isn’t that adorable? Is it so terrible to be seen as someone so awful? I don’t think it would be an error according to the psyche of a masochistic degenerate who enjoys being tossed around by women.”

“… Huh?”

“Arrogant and rude, with a fierce glare. A body that’s voluptuously violent. Shorter than my current self, skin exposed quite a bit. An emotional rollercoaster, talks a lot, but it’s not meaningless arrogance; rather it’s a character supported by intelligence and confidence. They delegate often, but it’s rare for them to lean on someone. It’s not easy, but I don’t dislike their position or the person.”

As she listed them off, Capella’s appearance visually morphed.

Her ample form remained, but her height shrunk and her outfit shifted to a dress that boldly exposed her shoulders and back. Her eyes transformed from droopy to sharp, and an aura of confidence radiated from her.

What appeared was a beautiful woman with long golden hair down.

While this person wasn’t anyone from the city, she exuded a similarity to someone close to Al.

“――――”

“Oh, not blonde? In Lugunica, there should be the most of this. Then, hmm, what about red… no, orange instead.”

Watching Al’s reactions, Capella’s hair changed shades one after another. After trying black, brown, green, and blue, the moment she hit red, it simmered and shifted to orange.

With just that, the impression radiated a sense of familiarity with the woman.

“That’s creepy… Where on earth did you see her before?”

“I haven’t seen, spoken, or paid attention to her in any way, you know? But I merely speculated your preferred face and body from your reaction. I’m a devoted woman! Of course, it’s only natural to give my all to be liked by the person I want affection from.”

“There’s no reaction at all! Do I look like I care about your face and body?!”

“Voice, mannerisms, tone of speech. The angle of your head, gaze, and attitude. Your personality and traits in conversation—all of it matters.”

“――――”

“Not a single one of your actions goes unnoticed. Giving all my heart and soul to be adored is my way of devotion! Since I’m putting so much into this—look at me! Just look at me. Don’t gaze at anything else! My face, body, voice, demeanor, actions—all of these should be exactly your type!”

As she continued speaking, Capella—now resembling Priscilla—raised her voice. Her assertions were delightfully straight to the point but were a cruelly sharp representation of her one-sided affection.

Al ceased shaking his head or responding verbally, only exuding a silent fighting spirit toward Capella. At his non-verbal response, Capella’s face reflected disappointment and hatred.

“This spoiled rotten piece of scum… What is it that you don’t like about me?”

“Don’t get it twisted. I don’t like you or dislike you—it’s all whatever! Sorry, lie. I really just think you’re so annoying that I can’t stand it.”

“――?! This fickle, rotten scum—!!”

With a stomp, Capella’s right arm morphed into the head of a giant wolf. The beast let out a fierce growl as its head dashed toward the stationary Al. The array of razor-like fangs was about to crush Al’s upper body—just before, Al slithered between the jaws with an acrobatic leap, evading the attack.

“Don’t think you can escape like that!”

“I wasn’t thinking that! Left! Then back!”

Overhead, a massive paw came crashing down. Each of the wolf’s five fingers was the size of a human torso, and being grabbed felt like being ensnared by a giant serpent.

However, Al effortlessly dodged this attack, stepping backwards. Moreover, he cleverly blocked the wolf’s teeth, which attempted to bite down on his waist with his blue dragon knife held behind his back.

“Whoa! Don’t!”

Al couldn’t stop the beast’s momentum, and his body slid forward while his blue dragon knife remained planted. Midway, an earth wall he chanted erupted from the floor, thrusting upward at the wolf that was now part of Capella’s arm.

The wolf’s jaw was forcefully propelled upwards as it let out a howl of pain, and Capella’s physical stance was disrupted due to the massive weight of her right arm. Seizing the opening, Al leaped towards Capella, dodging the fierce assault from her left arm.

“Dona! Over here, Dona!”

“――?!”

The ‘Dona’ Al repeatedly called upon was a basic earth element magic spell.

Both in power and durability, it fell in line with the fundamentals of that most basic of spells. Yet, in the life-or-death combat, Al utilized this spell as his best strategy.

Creating obstacles, obscuring visibility, establishing footing—just like at this very moment.

“Here, let’s go!”

The earthen walls that emerged blocked the advancing path of both Capella’s right and left arms. Additionally, a wall grew right in front of Capella, blanketing her view entirely.

Once he had prepared with those, Al launched himself into the air—aided by the upward force and velocity of the walls coming from the ground.

With a warrior’s cry, as Capella looked up, the blue dragon knife cleaved through her delicate neck.

The face resembling Priscilla flew through the air, while copious blood spewed from the wound. The mysterious effect of Capella’s blood brought no small amount of trouble to Crusch.

Of course, there was an admonition against touching the blood that was spraying everywhere—

“Fool me once, deceitful bastard!”

Without hesitation, Al stepped into the pool of blood, thrusting his blue dragon knife into Capella’s back.

The blade penetrated without remorse, breaking through the center of her chest, achieving further fatal wounds to the foe he had already slain. Yet, this act didn’t end there.

“Now! El-Dona!!”

Kicking the impaled body, Al chanted energetically—the spell invoking a level above Dona, the formidable El magic, set off from the blue dragon knife inside Capella’s body.

Naturally, Capella’s flesh could no longer contain the swelling power from within her, causing it to erupt.

With a comically silly ‘bang,’ Capella’s body exploded. Arms and legs tore apart, and the pinkish entrails and vivid red splatters filled the underground space. The chilled air caressed the meat chunks as steam wafted up, serving as a sufficient endpoint to turn away from.

“… How’s that! Hah, hah, after that much—”

Breathing heavily, Al shouted at Capella, now reduced to meat chunks.

There shouldn’t have been any living being capable of responding to his victory claim after being obliterated to this extent.

“Aw man, that’s just cold! You really didn’t have to go this far.”

“Damn it.”

Al’s irritable tongue-click matched the mocking voice that sprouted forth.

That voice emanated not from the scattered meat but rather from the direction of the severed head that had been tossed away—essentially from where Capella’s head lay on the ground. There, Capella’s head lay face down, relishing the reaction of Al.

“Lopped off the head and crushed the heart, but I’m still not dead—now that feels like cheating…”

“I’m the one who’s just fine after having my head lopped off and heart crushed. Still, it’s rare for me to face such non-stop brutality. I was just flaunting what should have been your type of face, wasn’t I? Did I misjudge you? Are you the type that expresses affection through violence?”

Al, who would laugh at such remarks if they came from anyone else, could only frown because they came from a significant enemy.

“You can’t say that after trying to take over my body.”

“I’m not trying to take over; that’s a misunderstanding. Where’s the evidence of that?”

“The proof lies in your clunky Kararagi dialect, along with your attempt to camouflage as a lady. Sorry, but you were clearly laid bare due to your inability to grasp human nuances characteristic of witches.”

“Enough already! This conversation isn’t progressing one bit!”

Frustrated by Al’s constant retorts to every word from Ekidna, Felis exploded.

Al certainly seemed to know some insider information, yet at this moment, the priority was knowing about Anastasia. The vessel currently bore Ekidna’s intention.

“First off, is Lady Anastasia safe? I really, really don’t want her to have been squished away like a piece of vapor!”

“I’m fine! Anastasia needs to stay whole in both mind and body! It’s the reason I used that restricted technique.”

“Restricted technique…?”

“It’s about Anastasia’s state. Her gate is somewhat complex. She can’t freely manipulate it. I can handle it, but it’s taxing. That’s how things stand!”

As Ekidna touched her slight chest, Anastasia’s expression clouded.

Al still held a stance of dissatisfaction while keeping his knife at the ready. Yet Felis proceeded to step between Al’s threatening blade and Ekidna, continuing,

“Why did you speak to us in Lady Anastasia’s form?”

“It’d be unnatural to not check on the safety of our allies, right? I disguised myself as Anastasia to avoid showcasing our weaknesses to you. As just revealed, Anastasia’s body is unstable. I wanted to keep the fact of our merging under wraps… But you saw through it, didn’t you?”

“Julius? Does he know about this power… He likely had no idea you existed. What are you going to do about that?”

“That’s a matter for Anastasia, Julius, and the Iron Fangs. I’m not obliged to answer your questions, especially with speculation.”

This was quite compelling reasoning. The discomfort Felis felt when she saw Anastasia amid the debris also made sense when viewed through the lens of her divergent rapport with Ekidna.

Given that they had been saved by her magic and the fact they guarded Anastasia’s body amid the collapse, Felis’s suspicions had largely cleared.

“But does it seem like you’re still unwilling to lower your weapon?”

“…Tch.”

When Felis inquired about this, Al clicked his tongue and reluctantly sheath his blue dragon knife. Watching this unfold, Felis once again examined Al’s battered body.

He had burn marks and abrasions that made him appear rather injured.

“Come on! Show me so I can heal you. Wow, this injury’s deep! What is this cut? How on earth did you avoid dying from it?”

“With my skill set, getting a slightly debilitating wound is about the limit. If I hadn’t lost a bet, I could’ve fared much better… But it’s whatever.”

“――?”

Felis’s palm moved to heal all of Al’s wounds in one stroke.

The pale, blue light of healing magic proved to be remarkable as it quickly healed the multitude of injuries on Al’s body. Confirming this, Al expressed his gratitude with a simple word,

“Thanks. Although I survived, you girls made it out too. That leaves me to think the Lust thing is also alive. Just being buried under rubble won’t assure safety.”

“About that—”

Al’s warning was interrupted when Ekidna raised her hand. In her uplifted hand was the communication mirror, which she lightly tapped with the opposite hand,

“Actually, up until the moment the building began to collapse, the communication mirror was utterly silent.”

“I heard that. Lust… Or rather, the Witch Cult? It seems the Witch Cult knows how to muddle with magical devices. To obstruct contact…”

“That much is likely true. However, if that was the work of the Archbishop of Sin, we might have just escaped a dire predicament.”

“…That feels a bit convoluted.”

“Forgive me, it’s a habit. In short, the functions of the communication mirror have been restored.”

At those words, both Al and Felis were shocked in unison.

Al was startled by the potential for contacting others holding the communication mirrors. Felis was plagued by the notion that whatever had been obstructing communication had now been eliminated.

“What do you mean? Did “Lust” call it quits… does that mean it died?”

It was far too implausible to believe that the regenerating beast would die beneath the rubble. Just as Al had mentioned, all three of them present were survivors.

It was nearly impossible to entertain thoughts of a creature with an anomalous survival aspect meeting its end like that. The only alternative would be—

“It suffered damages that it couldn’t continue its interference with. Or perhaps by halting, it lured us into a false sense of security, hiding and watchfully waiting for its chance…”

“That feels out of character for that malicious creature.”

“That’s true—It feels that way to me too. Rather than hiding, it would act more boldly… For instance, don’t you think it could be masquerading as one of the three people here? The real one may have already perished and smoothly swapped places within us. Sounds like fate’s play to me.”

Felis found herself trembling at Ekidna’s speculation.

Memories of that beast’s imitation of Crusch flooded back. They had seen it turn into her before their very eyes and thus firmly believed in its duplicity. Of course, if it chose to impersonate Crusch, Felis felt confident she would discern the ruse, yet she harbored no such assurance with regards to these two.

The notion terrified her. However,

“Stop it with the overcomplicated talk, you wicked being. If there’s no reaction, then it’s quick work. It probably crawled away, fed up and ready to go. That’s just how that sort operates.”

“You can’t just assume that with no basis…”

“Before everything crumbled, I saw that creature sporting a completely detached look. That’s my reason.”

Al had been the last to reckon with Capella.

Had it been any shard of another being, such words would indeed seem absurdly dismissive. When speaking of an Archbishop of Sin, however, conventional wisdom went out the window. Naturally, one shouldn’t let their guard down.

“What matters now, more than anything, is the fact we can use the communication mirror to reach the princess, right? First things first—Connect us.”

The teams that left the City Hall were Wilhelm and Garfiel’s crew alongside Priscilla and Liliana’s team. Originally, Al was reluctantly part of Priscilla’s group but had found his way here as per his master’s orders. Yet he was acutely aware of the impulse to verify her safety.

“I know. There’s no need to rush—huh?”

As Al pressed Ekidna, her brows knitted together with intrigue.

Alerted by her reaction, Felis also turned to see what was afoot, and within Ekidna’s grip, the communication mirror began to glow faintly. — A call was coming from another mirror.

Then, what began to materialize in the shimmering surface of the glass was—