Part 2
While the nobles argued over future plans in the throne hall, the summoned heroes gathered in the castle's main dining hall, enjoying a welcome banquet—a long-awaited reunion after months apart in different regions.
Kazuki, usually lively and full of smiles, seemed caught in a loop: he scooped up a spoonful of soup, only to let it pour back into the bowl, again and again. His mind was clearly elsewhere.
"…Something wrong, Kazuki?" Kaede finally asked, breaking the silence.
His inseparable friend, Haruto Kagawa, answered in his stead.
"He's been like this ever since he got back from Mermur. It's like he's in a trance."
Shunta snorted, a mocking grin on his face.
"Looks more like he got his butt handed to him. What's the matter? First time a woman's ever scared you, huh?"
Kazuki didn't react. His eyes remained fixed on the empty bowl.
"One of them was some short girl with white hair, right? The one who shut you down cold?" Shunta pressed, clearly amused.
Kaede leaned toward him, her voice tense.
"And the other… was she a priestess-looking woman? White hair, small frame… accompanied by a stern-looking woman with dark hair?"
The clatter of a spoon striking the table cut through the room. Kazuki's head snapped up, his eyes locking onto Kaede's.
"How do you know that?"
She drew back, heart pounding. She couldn't shake the memory of her conversations with Hikari.
"It wasn't a dream… those women… they're with Kanzaki."
"Is Rei really still alive?"
"I need to know… I have to find him… I have to go to Mermur."
Kaede collapsed back into her chair, overwhelmed by the realization, while Kazuki clenched his fists beneath the table, unable to swallow the humiliation.
Lina's face.
Selka's face.
Two women who had shattered his pride and left him scarred forever.
"If I were you… I'd leave it at that, Kazuki."
A voice rang from the hall's entrance.
Everyone turned.
Wrapped in tattered sheets, her face gaunt and devoid of makeup, Nanami looked like a woman who had just escaped an asylum.
"That woman you hate…" Her voice trembled as she spoke. "I saw her commit atrocities beyond anything we can comprehend."
"Well, look who crawled out of her cave. How's it feel to be a coward?" Shunta sneered, his sarcasm biting.
Nanami answered with a broken grimace.
"Laugh all you want, idiot… You have no idea what we faced. Death stalks us from the shadows…"
Sanae took the chance to slip closer to Kazuki, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"Don't listen to her madness. You're the strongest of all of us. I'm sure those women just tricked you with cheap illusions."
Kazuki's eyes lit up again, fueled by the embers of his pride.
"Of course… How could I not see it before? They must've been illusions…"
"Fools…" Nanami's broken voice cracked as she shook her head. "Junya is dead. Yui is dead. We're doomed! I… I just want to go home…"
"And give up this life? These powers?" Shunta crossed his arms, scoffing in contempt. "Don't be stupid, Nanami. If you're scared, just stay in bed."
The dining hall thickened with tension. Nanami trembled, shackled by her memories. Kazuki clenched his fists, clinging to the notion that it had all been a trick. And Sanae, hiding a sly smile, quietly fanned the flames of pride that would one day consume him.
Far from all the commotion, Yamato enjoyed a rare moment of peace in Mist Valley's testing grounds, where he often experimented with his weapons.
Drones carrying targets zipped through the air, moving unpredictably as if buffeted by the slightest breeze. With both pistols in hand, he assumed his combat stance.
"Begin evasion sequence."
The drones suddenly accelerated, but Yamato answered with precise shots, taking them down one after another in quick succession.
"Effectiveness: seventy percent. Targets missed: two," Sera reported.
"A disappointing result…" Yamato muttered. "Adjust the density of the dark matter. Reduce it by twenty-five percent."
"That will decrease air friction," the AI replied.
"Run the sequence again."
The roar of his pistols shattered the forest's silence, weaving into a symphony of precision.
"Effectiveness: seventy-five percent. Targets missed: two. Improved accuracy on remaining shots."
Yamato exhaled.
"My aim is better… but it's still not enough. I have to keep refining."
It was then that a melodious voice broke the calm.
"Darling, how about we take a hot bath together?" Lina appeared with a teasing smile.
"I told you not to call me that…" Yamato replied evenly.
"I'm your wife, so I'll call you whatever I want." Her grin was pure mischief.
Selka followed soon after, composed and graceful.
"Don't think you can leave me out. Remember… I'm Yamato's wife as well."
He sighed.
"You two are hopeless…"
Selka stepped forward, resting her hands gently on his shoulders.
"Come now… a bath would do you good. You're far too tense."
"I'm going first! I want the best spot!" Lina shouted, dashing off like an excited child.
"Not a chance, shrimp!" Selka snapped, chasing after her immediately.
Yamato watched them run off, laughter echoing behind them. In another life, this might have been a dream fulfilled: loyalty, companionship—even a love he once thought impossible. And yet… he felt nothing.
If only I had met them sooner… maybe life wouldn't seem so unbearable.
Nebel's voice resounded in his mind like an inescapable echo.
"If you could… would you give it all up, just to live a quiet life with them?"
"Don't be foolish… Maybe, when this is all over, I'll consider that sort of thing. But until then… I won't stop until this rotten world falls. Mermur is only the beginning… the entire world will follow."
"I like your conviction, boy… but even so, rest is necessary. Your body and mind remain human. That will never change. And the time to spill blood will come—it is inevitable."
"You're right… Even if my power hasn't diminished, I feel more exhausted than I'd like to admit."
"Go. Take that bath. Rest, Yamato."
The young man dissolved his pistols into nothingness and began the walk back toward the den. Time and strength were still his allies—but his human body demanded, if only for a fleeting moment, respite.