“The dragon left,” Serpina said nonchalantly, and Lyla glared at her.

“Nothing will change no matter how much you glare at me. All there is left for us to do is wait for the result and see whether Zich dies or not. Of course, I’m sure that all this will end with Zich’s death.” Serpina continued speaking, not caring that Lyla’s gaze grew fiercer.

“Zich might have been able to put up a good fight if he could perfectly use all his power. He might have even been a dragon slayer, a very rare accomplishment even in the Clowon Empire. But right now, he hasn’t awakened all his mana yet.”

Thus, it would be difficult for Zich to beat the dragon.

“There are others there with him!”

“Yes, they are your last hope, right?” Serpina walked across the space that had become deadly silent. There were numerous remains of the cracked crystal rolling on top of the ring, and Serpina stopped in front of a piece that reached her knees and was perfect for sitting.

“Then, let’s wait comfortably and see how the event unfolds above the surface,” Serpina said while sitting down. If Lyla wasn’t so upset, Serpina seemed like she might have ordered her to make her a cup of tea. Of course, if she actually did that, Lyla would’ve thrown a weapon at her instead of handing her a teacup.

‘Should I go right now to try to join the battle?’ Lyle wondered. However, there was a high possibility that everything would be settled by the time she reached the battlefield. If she needed to do something, she had to do it in this place. Lyla clenched her fist tightly in nervousness.

‘Hm?’ She felt Windur’s handle in her hands, and Lyla quickly went inside the glass container.

“It’s pointless.” Serpina clicked her tongue, but it seemed like she had no intention to stop Lyla and didn’t move. Inside the glass container, Lyla infused mana into the device. Among the gently flowing mana, it felt like there was a hole in the middle, which was probably caused by the dragon's absence. The mana of the World Tree’s clones was scattering uncontrollably in all directions. Although it looked like it was going to settle down again, Lyla was sure that it would never reach the state it had been when the dragon was inside the crystal. At the very least, it seemed like she wouldn’t be able to control the ruin to help Zich like Serpina said.

Yet, it wasn’t hopeless. Lyla clutched Windur. It could be a wasted effort or a false hope, but Lyla didn’t plan to give up until the end. This was what she had learned from the person she loved. Lyla began to take control of the clones’ mana even though it was difficult to control because of the gigantic amount, and she had only been able to control it more easily before because the mana had moved inside the ruin’s system. Thus, now that the system was down, Lyla was moving the mana just by herself. Mana continued to fluctuate like a wild beast without concern for Lyla’s will, but Lyla focused her attention. She supported the neutralized system, and the more she did this, Lyla’s consciousness began to seep into the system. After some push and pull, Lyla managed to retrieve part of the mana, and she slowly guided them to the glass container she was in. Then, she made Windur resonate with them.

Ziiiing! A fierce sound of mana resonance burst out from the glass container.

‘…Isn’t that?’ Serpina’s eyes widened.

* * *

It was hectic on the battlefield. The war wasn’t over yet, and although they were still surrounded by enemies, most people were still recovering from a sudden earthquake that had confounded them. Of course, there were exceptions, and the battle began to regain its original fever thanks to them. Zich and Glen were naturally one of these exceptions since they were unaffected by the sudden disaster, but Pina had lost her balance from the earthquake. Unlike Elena, Pina had no one supporting her, and she failed to endure the ground’s vibrations and shaking with a normal mage body.

Naturally, the magic that had been surrounding Glen disappeared. Glen didn’t miss this opportunity—or at least he tried not to.

“Where are you going?”

“Ugh!” As soon as Glen lifted his feet off the ground, Zich flew at him and swung his sword. At Zich’s swing, Glen rolled away woefully on the ground. It was an attack that posed little danger to Glen’s current skill level, but the sight of him evading such an attack made everyone around him think the same thought: Glen is a lost cause now. It really was hopeless for Chelsea, Pina, and Byner now. However, that was their problem that they had to deal with, and Zich continued to corner Glen.

“Eck!” Glen shrieked as Zich’s sword swerved over his head. His eyes wandered around like a lost bug and fixed on Chelsea, Pina, and Byner. “What are you all doing?! Protect me!”

None of them responded to Glen. They didn’t have the ability to fight against all of Zich’s companions and seeing Glen’s current state made them not want to do it either. On the other hand, Chelsea wanted to beat up Glen herself if it wasn’t for Zich. She had given up her position and left Karuwiman after trusting Glen’s words, but what was this sight that he was showing her?

‘H-How could I have believed a guy like that…!’ More than the resentment she felt toward Glen, Chelsea became furious at herself and how foolish and blind she had been. While Chelsea got riled up in anger at herself, Pina stood there in a daze. Even though Glen had been acting strangely recently, he still had been a reliable companion who she thought would help her regain her school’s former glory. But that dream was all in ruins now. Judging by the information she gathered so far and the current situation, she could now roughly guess Glen’s true nature. She thought that Glen was her hope in reviving her school, but he was merely a liar and swindler. His true nature was beyond pathetic. Whether it was anger or despair, both Chelsea and Pina had completely lost their will to continue fighting.

Yet, Byner was different. His two goals were Zich’s death and the Steelwall’s ruin, and between these goals, he wanted Zich’s death more. Not to mention, the enemy he detested the most was right in front of him. Now that all his plans had fallen through, the only thing he had left was spite.

“Hyaaaaaaat!” He let out a cry and rushed towards Zich. Hans raised Estellade to try to block him, but soon put his sword down because Zich shot him a glance to tell him to leave Byner alone. Hans clicked his tongue inside his mind and looked at Byner’s back.

‘What a poor guy.’ Hans knew better than anyone that whoever fought with Zich would meet a terrible ending and he could predict Byner’s future. Hans had felt a sense of camaraderie for Byner. When Zich suddenly changed, they were beaten up by Zich together, and when they tried to frame Zich, they both suffered utter defeat. Thus, Hans had tried to persuade Byner to abandon his hatred and enjoy a comfortable future, or at least give up on trying to fight Zich, which was basically the same as a suicide attempt.

However, judging by Byner’s behavior, Hans realized his wish was a hopeless dream. Hans looked at Byner with pity and turned around. Regardless of what Hans thought, Byner’s heart was full of vengeance.

“Hyaaaat!” Byner struck down his sword at Zich, but Zich all too easily pushed back Byner’s sword.

“Ugh!” Byner didn’t give up. He completely gave up on defense and rushed towards Zich again. However, considering the large difference in their skills and Byner’s decision to give up on defense, it did not take long for Zich to pierce his sword into Byner’s stomach.

“Ack!” A painful moan escaped Byner’s mouth. However, there was no despair in his eyes. Instead, he even smiled while blood flowed out of his mouth as if he had been waiting for this moment all along.

Grab! Byner grabbed Zich’s sword, which had penetrated his abdomen. Even though blood dripped down his cut hand, Byner didn’t even blink an eye.

“Now!” Byner shouted while vomiting out blood and looked at Glen. “While I’m holding onto this bastard’s sword, quickly come and…!”

No matter how inferior he was to Zich in terms of skill and power, Byner was confident that he could stop Zich’s sword for a short moment, and that was all he needed. In that short timeframe, Byner was confident that Glen could cut off Zich’s neck. It didn’t matter if Zich dropped his sword and withdrew. Given the difference between Zich and Glen’s skills, Glen could easily overwhelm Zich, who was now without a weapon. Byner thought that since he made the situation so favorable for them, even the cowardly Glen might change his mind and fight.

Surprisingly, Zich didn’t show much of a reaction. He didn’t try to pull out his sword from Byner’s stomach or pull out another sword. All he did was just stare at Byner. Byner had no idea why Zich was just standing still without saying a word. It might be because Zich was so startled by his unexpected behavior. Regardless of the truth, it wasn’t a bad situation for him. Byner hoped for Glen to quickly cut off Zich’s neck. However, even as time passed, Zich’s neck was still attached to his body, and no attack was aimed at Zich. Byner looked at the place where Glen was again, but there was no one there anymore.

‘Why…’ He quickly looked around in a hurry and saw Glen running away—extremely pathetically. However, Glen wasn’t able to successfully escape. A giant earth wall appeared and blocked his path and a shining sword slashed at him. Glen avoided Hans and Snoc’s attacks while frantically attempting to escape again.

“Tsk, tsk! Did you seriously think that trash would defeat me if you just stopped me for a few seconds? I’m not sure if you’re naïve, stupid, or senseless. That guy only cares about himself. Would a guy like that be moved by your sacrifice and give up on running away and try to kill me instead?” Zich’s cold words also pierced Byner’s heart, and he continued, “Well, if you’re blinded by a single purpose, you get a tendency to interpret your surrounding situations in a favorable light. I can understand your sentiments, but it’s also true that you’re foolish, Halton Byner. Extremely foolish.”

Push!

“Acck!”

As Zich turned his sword around, Byner’s wound grew bigger. “How was your sweet mo…well, come to think of it, you didn’t have any such moments. You merely hoped and made plans by yourself and fell into a delusion. It’s time for you to go, Halton Byner.”

With these last words, Zich pulled out his sword. While blood spurted out like a fountain, Byner fell to the ground. Before his eyes completely closed, the last image he saw was Zich turning his back toward him with disinterest and moving toward Glen.