Upon hearing my explanation, Invidia and Rena both turned pale. Rena slowly began to cry, while Invidia remained composed.
I pulled Rena into my arms and started crying too — out of fear and sadness. I gently patted her back to give her a bit of comfort.
"Zeref, I won't let you do this."
Invidia was the first to break the silence. She wore a serious expression that fully conveyed her conviction. But unfortunately, her conviction meant nothing to me right now.
I stared straight into her eyes as if trying to intimidate her, but she only stared back without blinking.
This lasted for a while before I finally smiled.
"Sister, do you remember what I told you two years ago during our first chess match?"
My sudden question caught her off guard. Instead of explaining, I stood up and gently released Rena, who had calmed down by now, then walked toward Ancestor Lukas.
"Ancestor, I want to take the trial for both of them."
"Brother!"
Ignoring my sister's shout, I looked at the ancestor.
"Are you sure? I don't want to see a talent like yours wasted."
"I'm sure. And… may I ask one favor?"
"What is it?"
"If I fail and die, could you send my two sisters away from here? Since I am the only one taking the trial, I should be the only one affected by its failure."
There was a moment of silence before Luke responded.
"I can do that. But during the trial, you must protect them both. If they die under your protection, it will be your fault."
After saying that, his body began to fade into an illusion and disappeared.
"You have five minutes to prepare."
With those words, he vanished completely. I turned toward my two sisters — one looking at me with worry, the other with sadness.
"Invidia, I told you I would protect you and always stay by your side… and that's exactly what I'll do."
While I was about to undergo the trial in the Chaos World, unrest was brewing inside the Helios Palace.
A Few Minutes Earlier ~~~~~~
Inside the room I had left earlier, the people there were still arguing.
"Grandmother Lidya, is there no other way?"
"If there was, I would have said it already."
As they argued, they suddenly stopped and exchanged glances when Lidya abruptly disappeared from the room and the King rushed out.
Seeing this, everyone followed the King. They kept moving until they reached a massive door covered in intricate patterns, where they found Lidya speaking with Theresia, who stood beside the now-opened Gate of the Chaos World.
As they got closer, they could see that Lidya's face was extremely tense.
"What's going on, Theresia? Why did you open the Chaos World?"
The King was the first to ask. As the others surrounded them, Theresia hesitated at first but eventually answered honestly.
"I opened the gate so Zeref could take Invidia and Rena inside."
"What!!"
Upon hearing this, Shopia rushed toward Theresia and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"What have you done, Theresia??"
The usually graceful Shopia completely broke character. She couldn't believe Zeref would do something like this. Feeling the pressure on her shoulders, Theresia winced.
"Shopia, stop, you're hurting her."
The King quickly stepped in and intervened, pulling Theresia away from Shopia.
"Calm down, Shopia. Theresia wouldn't act without a reason. Let's ask her why she did it."
Pulled back by the King, Shopia let go and stepped aside. She knew what her priority was now.
"Theresia, why did you do this?"
The King asked her.
"I owe Zeref a debt. That's why, when he asked me to help him enter the Chaos World, I agreed."
Theresia answered without shame, not hiding the fact that she had been forced into submission. Her answer confused everyone present.
Especially the King — he knew his daughter was not the type of person who would act without considering the consequences.
Unfortunately, he had no idea that his beloved daughter had been blackmailed into doing it.
"Everyone, stop arguing. What we need to do now is head to the system monitoring chamber and see what's happening."
At that moment, Lidya — who had been silent — spoke up.
"If Zeref is doing this, then he must have a reason. Since he's already entered, all we can do now is wait and see how it turns out."
Saying that, she began walking toward the monitoring chamber, followed by the others. As Theresia followed them, she suddenly felt a chilling aura.
Theresia turned and looked toward her mother, the Queen. As she met her gaze, she felt anger and killing intent emanating from her. Theresia shook her head.
'No… impossible. I must be hallucinating. Maybe I'm just exhausted.' (Theresia thought)
Lost in her thoughts, the Queen walked closer to her.
"Theresia, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing, Mother."
"Don't feel guilty about any of this. No one here is blaming you."
The Queen spoke gently, and hearing her mother's tone, Theresia smiled.
'How could I ever think that about my mother… I really must be exhausted.'
If only Theresia knew what her mother was truly thinking — and saw how her hand hovered close to her neck, ready to kill her swiftly.
Meanwhile, in the Chaos World, the time given had ended, and the trial was about to begin. I stood and drew my bow.
The bow perfectly matched my body size. It was entirely black with intricate designs along its length, and its string was a deep purple.
This bow was of gold-tier quality, crafted from Pocu wood, which had a hardness comparable to adamantine steel. It was a gift from my master.
Thinking of my master sent a slight chill down my spine. Recently, I had discovered my master's unique personality — an overprotective yandere teacher.
There had been signs before, but I refused to believe them until one day, after finishing my archery training, I was tasked with fighting monsters to improve my skills.
During the training, I suffered a few scratches, so after finishing, I started heading home. But halfway there, I realized I had forgotten something and had to return to my master's shop to retrieve it.
When I arrived, I didn't see my master, so I headed into the forest training ground to check if she was there. On my way, I used a magical device I had purchased from the system shop.
Name: Disparaître
Description: A magical device created by the Shadow Race. When used, it renders the user invisible.
Cost: 150,000
This magical device is excellent for stealth. Once activated, the user becomes ghost-like and can even pass through walls and similar obstacles.