The meeting room was still the same.
Amber light, the faint sweet scent of old book pages and flowers, and a steaming white porcelain teacup.
Noelle rested her chin on one hand as she leaned on the table, her eyes reflecting Esper, who had just sat down across from her.
“Good work, Esper. You did great.”
“...Yeah.”
Esper looked down at her hands.
They were intact—the hands of an eighteen-year-old.
There were no burns, no carbonization. Her knuckles were clean, and her skin was as pale as always.
Yet, that burning sensation still lingered in her memory.
“...Is that what dying feels like?”
“Ha, don't dwell on that sort of thing. Let's talk business.”
Noelle tapped the table and raised her hand.
“So, there are three things I need to tell you.”
She held up three fingers.
“First, the situation in reality.”
She bent one finger down.
At least she didn't snap it this time... Esper thought for some reason.
“After I was forcibly disconnected, I checked our situation from an off-screen perspective. The conclusion is that time in the outside world has been stopped for the two of us during this period.”
“Then how did you look up the information?”
“Well, I have a library inside my head. I just look things up whenever I need to—it's very convenient. If you're interested, I can try installing one for you too. It's just that there's so much information flow that it makes your head hurt occasionally.”
She tapped her temple.
She wasn't speaking metaphorically.
“Anyway, your physical body outside is perfectly safe. Not a single hair is missing. That's the first point.”
She bent her second finger.
“Second, what 『Pride』 is.”
Noelle's tone grew slightly more serious.
“It is the head of the Seven Deadly Sins, one of the strongest Authorities of the Abyss. Its ability is related to command and connection. The wielder of this Authority can temporarily borrow the power of the Black Tide to create death marchers. At the same time, they emit a powerful Abyss forcefield that contaminates their surroundings. Our communication failure earlier was likely due to this. As her consciousness anchor drew closer, the Black Tide's interference grew stronger, causing our signal to weaken.”
“...So those puppets were created by Ela?”
“Yeah. But there's a problem. Normally, the death marchers summoned should be covered in the aura of the Black Tide. Yet, those puppets didn't have any of it. Why is that?”
Noelle clapped her hands.
“The answer is 『Light』. Eladia, your Saintess, possesses the Authority of 『Light』, which is akin to 『Creation』 and 『Fire』. Yet, because she also carries 『Pride』, she is simultaneously akin to the Abyss, which embodies 『Destruction』 and 『Darkness』. Under the conflict between the two, the aura of the Black Tide was neutralized by the holy light. To put it in a more understandable way, she's stuffed. The Black Tide can swallow holy light, but if there's too much of it, the Black Tide won't be able to process it all. As a result, its aura is instead masked by the holy light. That is what happened to Eladia. As for that Holy Sword, it is undoubtedly a product summoned by Eladia through 『Pride』. Its nature is no different from the one Zhong had.”
“Then why did she take the Holy Sword?”
“Well, I don't know either.”
Noelle shrugged and bent her last finger.
“Third, how well you completed your mission.”
She snapped her fingers.
“I think it went very well. At the very least, the emotional anchor has definitely been implanted. Her original anchor was the Flame Demon, but after he died, the signal suddenly returned. This means you have replaced the Flame Demon as her new anchor.”
“...Yeah.”
“You don't look very happy?”
Esper didn't answer right away.
She leaned back against her chair, her gaze falling on the steam rising from the teacup.
“...Ela must be really sad.”
To have someone you cherish so deeply die right in front of you, and even because of you.
Just thinking about it—if she replaced Ela with herself, and herself with Fina—made Esper's skin crawl.
“Sigh, you did it for her own good. Look on the bright side.”
Noelle stood up, the hem of her robe dragging on the floor as her fluffy slippers made soft, squishing sounds against the floorboards.
“Anyway, everything went smoothly. It's time to return to reality. Let's go.”
She walked toward the door of the meeting room, placed her hand on the doorknob, and looked back at Esper.
“Ready?”
“...Let's go.”
The door opened.
White light poured in, swallowing everything.
...
The scorched wasteland.
At the end of the ruins on the Northern Main Road, the air was thick with the scent of burnt vegetation and lingering magical aftermath.
Esper opened her eyes.
She was standing in place. The Holy Sword in her hand was still in a clashing stance, its blade retaining a faint shimmer from their resonance.
Opposite her, less than three paces away.
Eladia stood there.
Her deep blue, ankle-length hair swayed gently in the wind, and her slender, graceful body was wrapped in a white linen robe.
Her eyes were closed.
Tears slipped from the corners of her closed eyes, sliding down her pale cheeks to her chin, dripping onto the scorched earth.
One drop, then another.
She was crying.
“Ela...”
Esper lowered her sword and reached out toward her.
Noelle didn't say a word, silently deploying the Anti-Holy Light Shield and Mana Barrier.
Two steps away.
One step away.
Her fingertips were about to touch her cheek.
“...Wait!”
Noelle's voice exploded in Esper's mind.
Then, Eladia smiled.
It wasn't the kind of smile the Ela in Esper's memory would ever make, but the smile of someone else entirely.
A sweet, mocking smile—the satisfied grin of someone watching the curtain fall on a splendid play.
Eladia opened her eyes.
They were golden.
Two miniature suns were embedded in her pale face, bright and scorching, her pupils constricted into slits.
Those were not Eladia's eyes.
“My, you did quite well~”
The voice coming from Eladia's mouth was light and airy, every word dripping with amusement.
“Going through so much trouble, running all the way in here and even dying in front of her. How touching.”
Esper's hand froze in mid-air.
“Who are you?”
The golden eyes curved.
“What a boring question. Don't you already have the answer in your heart, Lonia Catori?”
Her sky-clear, long hair floated upward. A faint halo of light enveloped Eladia's face, casting a terrifying, divine aura over her once-serene features, which were now filled with delight and mockery.
“【My name is 『The Maiden Who Plucks the Blazing Sun』, the only 『God』 remaining in this world after the Creator.】”
She raised the Holy Sword, pointed it at Esper, and placed one hand over her chest as she introduced herself:
“Which is to say... Beatrice~”
“I can't let Esper steal what belongs to Beya so easily. Come play a game with Beya. Once Beya has had enough fun, she'll let Esper off.”
『Authority: Pride』
The Eternally Young One declared:
“『Authority Manifestation: Genesis』”
Rate on N.U.
