"This is... truly a development I never saw coming."
How did you find this place?
Beyond the darkness.
The magus looked at his disciple, Lili, who had come searching for him, and asked.
That alone made her appearance here a rather unexpected turn of events even for him.
It wasn't as if he had left any trail that pointed to this place.
"At first, I thought maybe you were riding inside the golem and controlling it from within. You did mention once in passing that something like that was one of your romantic ideals."
"I did say that once. And then?"
"But after thinking about it again, I decided that wasn't it."
"Hmm, why's that~?"
"I don't really understand what your romantic ideals are, An. But there is one thing I do know."
You're not the kind of person who would entrust your whole body to a shell that could crumble apart from something that trivial.
At her answer, the magus gave a small exclamation, as if genuinely surprised.
She was right.
Keter Malkuth was certainly an impressive golem by the standards of this world.
But durability of that level could be destroyed by a first-rate adventurer without much trouble.
The only problem was that it regenerated faster than it could be broken.
In any case, there were plenty of strong people in this city who could smash that giant body to pieces.
There was no way the magus would leave his own safety entirely in such a place.
She had noticed that long ago.
Indeed, a child of talent and potential he had taken notice of.
"So I thought about where you might be instead. Then I suddenly felt like I needed to check the entire battlefield."
"Oho~?"
Lili thought back.
The contents of the prophecy Cassandra had told her before she came here.
Even she, for all her cleverness, could not fully understand exactly what each word referred to.
That was simply because she lacked enough information.
But that also meant...
Within the information she did have, she could make all the guesses she wanted.
"Guide the young orphan and the blood of spirits beneath the fallen sun."
The part of the prophecy Cassandra had told her.
Here, the young orphan was Lili herself.
Bell was also an orphan among the group, of course.
But if she had to choose the younger of the two, then naturally it would be Lili.
Even though in reality it was the other way around.
At least on the surface, Lili was certain that was the right way to see it.
And the blood of spirits was Welf, who had been beside her.
The story of the first Crozzo, who saved a spirit and gained the power to forge magic swords, was fairly famous.
Thanks to that, this part was easy to decipher.
The problem was what came next.
Being guided beneath the fallen sun.
"That is the place behind the stage curtain. There, the young orphan shall undergo a trial."
As she considered the rest of the prophecy, Lili thought.
Maybe... no, surely her master, the source of all this chaos, was hiding there.
If she assumed the current situation was some kind of staged play, then the one lurking behind the curtain would naturally be the person who had planned everything.
So where exactly was the fallen sun the prophecy referred to?
Even Lili couldn't say for certain.
But she did have a rough idea.
So she climbed up one of the taller piles of collapsed rubble.
From there, she looked out over the battlefield as best she could and checked.
And sure enough.
"The first floor of the inner wall where Apollo Familia had been stationed. The outermost area there was still standing, not collapsed at all, and in relatively decent shape."
Even in the middle of all this chaos.
The current battlefield was a complete maelstrom, with a giant over twenty meters tall rampaging and smashing everything in sight.
And yet there was a place that still hadn't collapsed and was holding out?
At that point, well.
It was practically the same as begging, "Please, notice me already."
It was just that no one had the luxury to notice it amid all the confusion.
"You told me before, An. The darkest place is always right under the lamp, so it's safest to check there first."
"Excellent correct!"
"What does that mean?"
"In the language of some country across the sea, in a jungle beyond the ocean, it means 'That's right!'"
"Where on earth is that? You really do know all sorts of strange things."
"Hoh-hoh-hoh, the breadth of this master's knowledge is far beyond your imagination."
The magus even clapped in delight at Lili's explanation.
At his reaction, Lili let out a sigh.
Honestly, he was such a child.
"You actually seem pretty fine, unlike what I was worried about on the way here. Have you calmed down a bit now?"
"Well, more or less."
"Then... are you planning to stop here?"
"Of course not. Naver."
Unlike what she had hoped, her master's answer was firm.
At that, Lili sighed again.
She really had wanted this to be resolved peacefully if possible.
"Yeah, I figured it'd be something like this."
Otherwise, he wouldn't be a magus.
To be honest, she had barely expected any kind of peaceful resolution in the first place.
Besides, the prophecy had already said she would undergo a trial.
Lili decided to simply give up obediently and steel herself for the hardships ahead.
What a damn master.
"Yes, yes. I had a feeling that would be the case. Haaah, why is Lili's bad feeling always so accurate? It's annoying as hell."
"Lili, remember that feeling well. That sixth sense of yours might save you from danger someday."
"Shut up. You're such a meanie, An. I hate you so much."
"Guhk!"
At her petulant response, the magus clutched his chest as if he had suffered a massive emotional blow.
Ignoring that absurdly exaggerated reaction, Lili asked him the question that had been bothering her all the way here.
"How far do your plans go, An?"
"Hmm, and what exactly do you mean by that?"
"To other people, you seem very emotional and impulsive."
Lili agreed with that, to some extent.
But.
Lili looked at the magus with conviction and said,
You are by no means a foolish person.
That was the disciple's firm trust in her master.
"That doesn't mean you're reckless. You're the kind of person who plans and acts under thorough calculation and a clear sense of purpose."
"My, my. To think you'd polish your master's face so brightly. Are you wanting something lately, Lili? Should I go buy it for you right away?"
"I don't need anything, An."
As she said that, Lili quietly raised one arm.
Attached snugly to that arm was a small green crossbow the magus had once made and given her as a gift.
The bolt was, naturally, already loaded.
"What Lili wants right now is only one thing."
To land a proper shot right in the face of her impossible master!
At that unyielding determination in her eyes, the magus nodded.
Yes. This was indeed his disciple.
Liliruca Arde.
"I see. You came here prepared in your own way, too."
"Yes. Of course."
"Then it can't be helped. If that's how you're going to be, then as your master, I should properly answer that resolve with the seriousness it deserves."
The magus faced his disciple and said,
"There are three major purposes behind what I did... no, five."
First, thorough revenge on Apollo Familia for screwing him over.
Second, a show of force to demonstrate his power to others so that something like this would never happen again.
Third, while he was at it, to confirm Hestia Familia's current combat strength and growth potential.
Fourth, to inspect the current state of "that thing" Hestia had once requested in the past.
And finally, the fifth.
"Just for fun."
"... Honestly, that's your real reason, isn't it?"
"As expected of Lili. You know me far too well."
Though hidden by the shadows and not easy to see clearly.
The magus somehow knew.
His disciple was looking at him with the dead, rotten eyes of a fish, as if she were staring at trash.
And in his own opinion, that was probably exactly right.
"But what do you mean, inspect 'that thing'? What exactly is the fourth reason you're talking about?"
"Ah, that is... oh?"
Just as the magus was about to answer Lili's question,
he smiled as if he had seen something amusing.
In fact, right on cue, the thing he had been waiting and hoping for was happening outside.
The magus met Lili's eyes again.
"Perfect timing. See it for yourself."
He flicked his hand once, and a mirror appeared out of the darkness, shining brightly as it floated into the air.
And in the scene reflected beyond that mirror...
"Bell!"
Her savior.
Her hero.
The white-haired boy she had feelings for.
- [GRAAAAAAAAH!]
Was howling.
Roaring.
Like a beast.
No.
Like a "monster" in the Dungeon.
"Bell, why...?"
The boy who had always been the purest and most innocent of them all was now howling fiercely and rampaging.
There was no trace anywhere of his usual gentle self. It was a horrific sight.
He was a beast.
Literally a monster.
"W-what... is that?"
Overcome by an inexplicable wave of unease and fear, Lili asked her master in a trembling voice what that thing was.
She begged the magus for an answer: was that really Bell Cranel, and why was he acting like that?
And the magus, unlike her anxiety and worry,
"[Horoization]."
answered her far too cheerfully.
As if something like that was truly nothing at all.