"NaNa, Momo, what are you two doing here?" Lala asked with a bright smile, genuinely delighted to see them.
"Big Sis, we were bored and wanted to check out the planet you're living on, so we came," NaNa said.
She had a pronounced little fang, giving her a mischievous, impish charm.
"You mean you couldn't stand the palace lessons and snuck out," Momo exposed her flatly.
"You did too!" NaNa shot back, flustered.
"I did not. I came because I was curious what kind of person Big Sis's fiancé is." As she spoke, Momo glanced at Shichen, a polite, inquisitive smile on her face.
Though NaNa and Momo looked identical, there was a softness between Momo's brows—a gentle, well-behaved air.
A textbook "good girl," at first glance.
"Oh, please. You complain every day about how annoying classes are," NaNa countered, mercilessly puncturing Momo's claim.
"I do not."
"Still playing the good girl, huh?"
"I am a good girl."
"Do you even believe that yourself?"
"Of course I do."
"Hilarious."
"You're so annoying."
"Takes one to know one!"
"You are!"
"…Alright, alright—NaNa, Momo, why are you two arguing again? Everyone's watching," Lala cut in, helplessly trying to break them up.
"Uh…"
Both paused, remembering they had an audience—and looked a bit embarrassed.
"Um, Lala, these are your sisters?" Kotegawa Yui asked, unable to hold it back.
"Yup! I didn't expect them to get here so fast," Lala replied, a little proud, the fondness for her sisters obvious in her tone.
"They look so alike…" Yui stared at NaNa and Momo in disbelief.
"They're twins."
"No, I mean they look like you."
"Right? Hehe~"
"Hello, I'm Momo Belia Deviluke, Big Sis's second sister," Momo said with a polite bow.
"Nice to meet you, I'm NaNa Astar Deviluke," NaNa said, hand on hip with a small smile.
Their personalities seemed instantly clear.
"So this game—was it actually you two?" Shichen asked them.
"That's right," said NaNa.
"I did it, using Big Sis's inventions," Momo added.
"I see. But why do something like this?"
"Because we wanted to see Big Sis's relationships. A game—a crisis—is the best way to show someone's character and qualities," NaNa said.
"Mhm, it was my idea," Momo nodded.
"Hey! Do you have to hammer that point so hard?" NaNa shot her a glare.
"What? It was my idea. You didn't do anything," Momo retorted.
"We're sisters—what's mine is yours."
"Not buying it."
"You—!"
"Alright, alright," Shichen cut in. "Lala said you two fight a lot; I didn't expect 'a lot' to be this often."
Two spats in as many minutes—clearly they clashed, despite being twins.
Then again, sisters fighting is often a sign of a good bond. If they were really distant, they wouldn't even bother.
"Eh? Big Sis really says that about us…"
"Well, it is true," Lala smiled.
"Since it's your doing—how about you let us out now?" Shichen said.
"Shichen-san, that won't do~" Kyoko, who'd been watching, finally spoke up.
"What do you mean?"
"No cheating~ You have to defeat me, the Demon King, first." Kyoko flashed a playful grin.
"Kyoko, how are we supposed to beat you when your HP is infinite?" Yui groaned.
"That's your problem."
"Ehh—Kyoko's that strict?"
"I am the Demon King now~ En garde!" Kyoko flicked a flame toward Yui without warning.
"Wait—! That's dangerous!" Yui dove aside, barely dodging.
"No need to be scared; it doesn't hurt here," Kyoko sang.
She gathered more flame and lobbed a cluster toward Shichen's group. Heat washed through the hall; the air itself seemed to simmer.
As Demon King, Kyoko basically only had infinite HP; her offense wasn't much. Everyone could block her attacks.
Yami calmly sheared the fire apart with her hair.
Frieren matched flame with flame; they canceled out.
Shichen simply hopped aside.
"Not bad. Then how about this?"
Kyoko conjured more—a field of fireballs swelled, carpeting the ceiling, then drifted down in a searing rain.
"We're doomed! How do we dodge that?" Yui panicked.
"Leave it to me."
Yami's golden hair flared, splitting into countless blades that streaked upward. White lines slashed faster than the eye could follow.
When she stopped, the hall seemed to hold its breath—then the fireballs shattered into a billion fragments.
"Amazing! As expected of Yami!" Yui cheered.
"Don't celebrate too soon~" Kyoko smirked from midair.
"What—"
Yui's words died.
BOOM—!
The fragments all flashed—and exploded. Shockwaves avalanched across the hall, smashing toward Shichen's group—and even toward Lala.
Shichen warped to Lala with Frieren and the others in a blink, flared a barrier, and took the blast head-on.
BOOM—!
The pulse hammered that shield—without raising so much as a ripple.
"As expected of Shichen!" Lala dove from the bed into his arms. He caught her smoothly; she was willowy but… not lacking, and the princess gown was soft as cloud.
"Brother-in-law is incredible," Momo breathed, eyes shining at the untouched barrier.
"I heard even Zastin couldn't beat him… Shame he's so playboy," NaNa muttered.
They'd watched everything from the start; his… behavior had been obvious.
"What's wrong with a guy being a little playboy?" Momo said airily. "Besides, he's amazing. He'll inherit Dad's throne someday. It's not like multiple wives are a problem."
"What are you even saying?" NaNa stared, aghast. She'd never realized her twin had that kind of terrifying mindset.
"That's a bit mature for you, NaNa," Momo patted her shoulder.
"…"
The hall fell still; smoke thinned—black scarring on the floor, nothing more. The castle was sturdier than it looked.
"Not bad at all," Kyoko said approvingly.
"Should we call it quits? You can't really hurt us, and we can't really hurt you," Shichen tried.
"Not so fast. I haven't shown my true—"
KRRAAACK—!
The floor jolted.
"Oh no!" Yui squeaked.
"What?"
"The floor is… cracking!"
Rumble—rumble—
Not only the floor—cracks spidered through the ceiling; stone rained down.
The earlier shockwaves had shaken the structure apart after all.
"W-what do we do, Shichen-nii?" Yui's voice wobbled.
"Little problem. Kyoko—over here." Shichen waved.
"Eh? I…"
"The castle's going to collapse. It's dangerous. Now," he commanded.
"O-okay…" As if unable to refuse, Kyoko alit at his side.
Shichen raised a circular barrier around everyone.
"Wait—Shichen-nii, Momoka and Mio—" Yui remembered them.
"Relax. I already warped them out."
"Oh, good."
"Alright. Let's go." He lifted the group out of the castle.
Rrrrrrr—
They had barely cleared the threshold when the castle let go, cascading into ruin in the blink of an eye.
"It's over…" Momo said suddenly, panic slipping into her voice.
"What is it?" NaNa asked, puzzled.
"The control unit…"