Sometimes, all it takes is one person to yield for a deadlock to unravel. When no one backs down, problems knot into something unbreakable. But the moment someone does, everything begins to loosen.
After death loomed and disillusionment shattered her madness, Roselyn—the moth Apostle—finally surrendered.
Once her psychic grip was broken, Jack Harper quickly unfroze the adults and children she had enslaved. Roselyn had taken a greatsword through the gut and a missile to the chest—injuries that would've killed a dozen ordinary people. But Apostles were built differently. She clung to life long enough for Jack to summon Frankie Romano, the priest now resembling a golden beetle, who poured divine healing into her. Within half an hour, the girl was standing again.
The real problem was the thousand children she'd turned into hornet-like insectoids. If they stayed that way, it would be chaos.
Luckily, Jack's team included Elliot Gray—a psychological savant and master alchemist. Using a custom alchemy array, he amplified Jack's Force-based hypnosis. First, they severed Roselyn's psychic link. Then, they wiped the children's memories of their transformation and implanted a subconscious command: never become insectoids again. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough. Whether they'd break free of that mental cage someday was up to them.
The children, now unconscious from the reset, were laid to rest on thawed ground—Jack had melted all the snow to prevent frostbite.
The four forcibly transformed newcomers weren't mind-wiped. Their insectoid forms had actually boosted their survival odds. One had become a sleek red dragonfly, the other a crystalline butterfly—both retained their charm and didn't mind the change.
But the biggest unresolved issue remained: the Behelit.
"The twins didn't find the Behelit in the forest," Elliot Gray reported. "Even after chopping down every tree. Stranger still, the one that should've been in Guts' pouch is missing too. Seems we're outside the web of causality—neither chosen by it nor able to carry it. We're destined to miss it."
Jack frowned. "So what, we have to kill an Apostle to get one?"
"Maybe," Elliot said. "Could be the Cycle Realm's way of preventing shortcuts. If we want a Behelit, we may have to sever a causality thread ourselves."
Jack shook his head. "There are plenty of Apostles. No need to kill a little girl. Not yet, anyway."
Elliot chuckled. "Letting Roselyn live earned you some goodwill. If you'd killed her, the cops and the priest would've walked. This world's cruel, sure—but no one wants a teammate who's too cold-blooded. Mercy's risky, but it builds trust."
Jack sighed and approached Roselyn, who was sitting with the girl Ciel. "What now? Going back to your village?"
She shook her head. "There's nothing to go back to. My parents are gone. Even if they weren't, it'd just be beatings, marriage, more beatings, and passing it all on to my kids. No thanks."
"So you're not planning to build another fairy kingdom?"
"That was just a delusion. I want to travel with Ciel and find the real fairy kingdom. I asked Buck—the real fairy—and he said there used to be fairies in this valley. So I believe they're still out there."
Jack hesitated. "You're taking Ciel with you? She's not like you. She doesn't have Apostle powers."
"She doesn't want to go back," Roselyn said coldly. "Her father's a crippled veteran who let his drunk buddies into her room. She barely escaped. And when she was kidnapped, he stood by and did nothing. She's done with that life. I'll give her half my power. She'll be fine."
"You're not turning her into a bug, are you?"
"Of course not," Roselyn snapped. "Those kids were just toys—too little power, no minds. But Ciel will be like me. I've never eaten anyone, have I?"
Then she held out her hand. In her palm was a grotesque, Picasso-faced oval stone—the Behelit.
Jack blinked. "Where were you hiding that?"
Given Roselyn's moth-like form and lack of clothing, the question was... awkward. Jack quickly dismissed the thought and assumed she'd swallowed it.
Roselyn giggled. "It helped me transform, but I didn't need it afterward. The kids kept stealing it for fun. I stopped caring. Just now, I found it under a pile of them. Thought you'd want it."
Jack took the stone. The moment it touched his hand, his Cycle Realm flared to life, converting the Behelit into a card.
Elliot and Evander leaned in, eager to see the legendary item.
Behelit – Silver Tier (Minor) A spiritual artifact forged from spatial force, causality law, and demonic will.
Resonance: Emits heat, sound, or vibration near an Apostle. Sacrifice: Can be offered to a world the adventurer has visited to receive any item or ability of equal tier.
"Whoa, you can choose?" Evander exclaimed. "This is like the Divine Sphere!"
"Only once," Elliot noted. "And only from worlds we've been to. But still—huge upgrade."
Jack nodded. "If it resonates with Apostles, we can use it to track more."
Evander pointed to the last ice sculpture in the valley. "What about him? He's the protagonist."
Jack looked at Guts, encased in ice. "He goes berserk around Apostles. We'll thaw him somewhere else. He's strong—could surpass Cloud from FF7. But with his trauma, unless we kill every Apostle, he'll never join us. Better not risk it."
Elliot shrugged. "I've got a big spatial bag. He's frozen—no need to breathe. Let's pack him up."
They did just that.
As Roselyn flew off with Ciel under the moonlight, voices echoed from the forest.
"Who's coming?" Jack asked.
Evander slapped his forehead. "Ah, the Holy Iron Chain Knights. I forgot about them. They've been chasing Guts since the Eclipse, mistaking him for Griffith—the 'Black Hawk.' But they're mostly noble brats playing soldier. No real combat experience. Only the vice-captain and the captain's aide might be Iron-tier."
"In the original story," Elliot added, "Guts was wounded and still slaughtered half of them before escaping. Their leader, Farnese, is a devout knight with serious masochistic and romantic issues. If you're into knight girls, she's easy to win over."
Evander smirked. "I'm loyal to lolis. Just thought our captain might be interested."
Elliot nodded. "Flora's a knight-type too—though more of a mature one. Farnese is the opposite: saintly on the outside, tsundere inside."
Evander mused, "A full knight-girl harem would be glorious. Think Sakura Wars—armored maidens charging into battle for you."
Elliot agreed. "Uniform design is key. Each knight must be distinct—loli, milf, maid, warrior. No confusion. Formation matters too. I should write a thesis…"
"Enough!" Jack shouted, kicking both of them.
From the woods, a group of knights in ornate armor emerged.
"Figures," Jack muttered. "Gold-plated ceremonial gear with hollowed metal. Ten times the cost, one-tenth the function."
The rest of the team gathered. Flora, Lilith, and Caelum joined Jack, watching the knights approach.
Three figures stepped forward. The leader was a beautiful blonde woman in pristine armor—Farnese. Behind her stood a bear-like man in full steel plate, wielding a massive spiked mace. The third was a slim young man with narrow eyes—Serpico, the true fighter of the group.
Farnese pointed at Jack. "You're the Black Hawk, aren't you? Death follows wherever you go. In the name of the Holy See, I place you under arrest. Surrender your weapons."
Jack blinked. He was still wearing black armor and cloak, with black hair and a three-meter sword. No wonder they mistook him for Guts.
Then the bear knight stepped forward. "This time, your crimes are undeniable. You've kidnapped children and performed vile rituals."
Jack turned. The field was littered with unconscious, naked children. Alchemy circles glowed on the ground. He stood in the center, cloaked in black, sword in hand.
"…Let's go," Jack muttered, grabbing Elliot and Evander. The rest followed, easily outpacing the knights.
Farnese shouted orders. "Squads One and Two, pursue! Three and Four, circle around! The rest—tend to the children and locate their families!"
The chase was grueling for the knights, but for Jack's team, it was barely a warm-up. Once they cleared the valley, Elliot conjured two rugged off-road vehicles with alchemy. Within minutes, they vanished into the night.
Far from the scene, Jack released the frozen Guts from his spatial seal. Buck, the real fairy, watched with tearful eyes as the block of ice was set down. Jack didn't wait for Guts to wake—he had other priorities.
Now that they had their first Behelit, tracking more Apostles became a mission. The card's resonance gave them a directional edge, though its range was uncertain and identifying targets remained tricky. Still, with Elliot's cunning and Jack's death-steed sweeping the skies, their search was relentless.
Over the next ten days, they crossed hundreds of kilometers, scanning villages, towns, and cities. Fourteen Apostle signals were detected, but only five were successfully located and defeated. It reminded Jack of the Claymore warriors hunting Yoma—except they had no close-range detection, only vague resonance. Apostles who lived openly were easy to find; those who blended into society were like shadows in fog. Even Elliot's deduction skills couldn't crack every case.
Both Elliot and Evander kept lamenting their decision to let Guts go. As someone branded by the Apostles, Guts could sense them directly—like a walking radar. But his pride and rage made him impossible to control. Cooperation was unlikely. He needed to kill Apostles himself to vent his hatred. Letting him fight would mean losing the Behelits. Asking him to stand aside was like dangling a steak in front of a starving tiger and telling it not to eat.
Still, once an Apostle was found, the outcome was never in doubt. Aside from the five "God Hand" leaders, most Apostles weren't even Gold-tier. Jack and Flora made short work of them. Five more Behelits were secured.
With each success, their methods improved. Soon, they found three more Apostles, bringing the total to eight—enough for every team member to clear the stage. Flora didn't count; she wasn't an adventurer.
Just as they were preparing to celebrate, something unexpected happened.
Jack Harper, who for years had only dreamed of his icy prison, had a different dream that night.
A white hawk flew into his mind.
He saw the end of the world—and a savior descending in the form of a white eagle.
And he wasn't alone.
That night, nearly every soul on the continent dreamed the same dream.