Witness: Edd (Thirty-four years old, guard of the Hurst Family, requested anonymity)
...Why did the Saintess attack Young Miss Veronica? That question... it's as if I were in the room at the time.
Motive? How could I know the motive? Between the nobles and the Saintess, how could people like us who get paid to watch the door understand?
If I had to guess... perhaps she realized the Hester Family was using her? Or maybe... a difference in values? The Young Miss is a bit... too obsessed with Dragons, everyone knows that.
To be honest, I wasn't inside the main house at the time. As soon as the Young Miss returned, she drove all of us on-duty guards to the outskirts of the manor. The order was "No one is to approach the main building without being summoned." I could only see the direction of the Young Miss's study window from the garden... when it suddenly lit up.
To tell the truth, I'd heard those ridiculous rumors before about the Saintess being a Dragon in disguise. But after that day, I don't believe it anymore—what Dragon could release that kind of light?!
You're asking what kind of light that was?
It wasn't warm Holy Light... at least not at first. First, the window flared up, a blinding white, like the harshest summer sun smashing directly into the room! Immediately after, it wasn't a "hum," but a "BOOM—!!" A dull roar, and the Ground of the entire manor shook with it! The window glass shattered instantly—not just cracked, but exploded directly into powder!
When we rushed in... the Young Miss was lying on the floor, unconscious. She had no external injuries, but her face was as ashen as a dead person's. Miss Colette... she was kneeling beside her, her silver hair a mess, her face covered in tear stains and black ash (probably from the explosion). Her hands were tightly gripping the Young Miss's wrists, and she kept repeating over and over, "I didn't mean it," "What do I do," "Veronica, don't die"... She was so panicked she looked like she'd run out of the set of "Dragon Clan" next door; she's definitely not someone who could plot an attack.
The scene? The room looked like it had been swept by a tornado, but strangely, the destruction was concentrated near where the Young Miss had originally been standing. A scorched trench extended from Miss Colette's side and vanished eerily right before the Young Miss's feet, as if... that light had been forcibly "eaten" by something at the last moment. There were no marks of Holy Light burning on the walls, only cracks caused by the shockwave.
You're asking if I support Miss Colette? It's too early to draw a conclusion. Both the Church and the Family are investigating. The traces at the scene do point to her, but what about the motive?
A Saintess Candidate with a limitless future, in the manor of her own supporters, attacking her only ally who knows her secret and is helping her with all her might in such a world-shaking way? It's illogical, unless... unless what?...Unless the attacker wasn't her at all, or there was a "third thing" in the room at the time.
Hey, wait... were you just leading me to associate the attack with "Dragons"?...This line of questioning... you're not from the City defense department. Who are you?
Stop! Show your credentials! Don't run—!
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Witness: Yanah (Senior maid of the Hester Manor, responsible for third-floor bedding)
Shh... talk over here.
Looking at the wear on your cuffs and the mud on your boots, you're from the Lower District, aren't you? Don't be nervous; my mother was from there too. I'm all too familiar with the way you're trying to hide it.
Want to ask about that "accident" this afternoon? Is it news unfavorable to Lady Colette? Then I might not have anything to "help" you with.
However, since we're chatting... personally, I think Lady Colette might actually be a Dragon.
Evidence? It's not that I saw a tail. It's the way she eats—
Have you ever seen a noble Young Miss who can quietly eat three portions of honeyed ham and a whole plate of scones for afternoon tea, and still look longingly toward the kitchen, muttering "I don't think I'm full yet"? That appetite is just like a... well, like a Dragon that's still growing.
The Young Miss has been obsessed with Dragon stories since she was a child. Her room is full of Dragon-shaped decorations. The way she looks at Lady Colette is sometimes terrifyingly intense, not like she's looking at a Saintess, but more like she's admiring a rare treasure, or... a fellow enthusiast she's finally found?
So, even if the Saintess really is a Dragon in disguise, I wouldn't be surprised at all. When those two get together, you can't judge them by common sense anyway.
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Witness: Amina (???, a mysterious creature)
Hey, hey, how did you get in here!
Accidentally stepped on the edge of the world and fell down?...That's quite a series of misfortunes.
An author who is bound to become a huge hit in the future? Hmm, you've got a good eye... Since you're so sweet-talked, I'll reluctantly tell you.
Anything you want to ask?
What... you're actually asking about this (you really are dedicated). Of course I saw it, but are you sure you want to hear it?
I'm actually quite having a headache. Normally, wouldn't light definitely suppress darkness? But in this world, it happens to be the other way around.
Official games often associate "Psychic powers" with "light," like [Flash] or [Photon Geyser]... so I used that line of thinking at first.
Psychic attacks can't hit the Dark type, so a certain Silver Dragon's attack shouldn't have any effect according to the rules... There are indeed precedents in the anime for breaking through type resistance—but I don't want to set it that way.
Question: Between Psychic and Dark, which is stronger?
Any normal person would think Dark is stronger—because the essence of Dark is "shadows" and "deception," a blind spot of the mind. Ordinary Mental Energy would naturally be negated by it.
For "Psychic" to defeat "Dark," there are only two possibilities: either it's a first-generation Psychic type, or... it's an existence that possesses [Miracle Eye] (*a fourth-generation move that puts the target into an identified state).
Therefore, when the hand at the narrative level pulled the foreshadowing, Cecilia launched her ultimate strike.
"[Pu·ri·fy—ing Lighhhhhhhhht]!!!!"
In an instant, a burst of light erupted from the girl's palm.
That light wasn't blinding; it was even... gentle?
Beelzebub felt as if it were being illuminated by a warm light bulb; its skin didn't even feel a hint of burning pain.
It almost laughed out loud.
This is it?
This is the so-called ultimate Secret Art?
However, in the next second, a sudden change occurred!
The "tear of light" on Cecilia's chest and the "Light Covenant (z-crystal)" pendant on Beelzebub's chest, which she had accidentally touched, produced an unprecedentedly violent resonance at this moment!
Two sources of light power, identical in origin but completely different in nature, were forcibly twisted together by Cecilia's disorganized way of releasing the skill, in an utterly unreasonable manner!
Alarm bells rang in Beelzebub's mind; the nature of that energy changed instantly!
It was no longer gentle light power, but a pure, overbearing mental storm capable of distorting reality!
"Ultimate Magic...?!"
This was the last thought that flashed through its mind.
The next second.
A torrent composed purely of mental power, which could not be described in words, erupted from Cecilia. Its form was distorted and unstable, as if it were about to tear space itself apart.
—Shattered Psyche!
This attack completely ignored the demon's type resistance*, ignored the physical barrier of Veronica's body, and directly blasted the soul where Beelzebub resided!
"BOOM—!!!!"
There was no fire, no loud sound of an explosion, only a dull thud so heavy it made the entire manor tremble.
Beelzebub didn't even have time to let out a scream.
Its split soul, composed of ultimate malice and abyssal power, evaporated instantly under this mental shock that could also be called "ultimate"! It couldn't even leave behind a single parting threat!
"Damn Saintess... you actually... sneak attacked...!"
The final thought dissipated into nothingness.
The shadow of the Legendary demon Beelzebub was once again destroyed.
Black smoke billowed from Veronica's orifices, twisting into a painful human face in the air before completely turning into nothingness.
Losing the support of the demonic power, Veronica's body went limp, and she fell straight backward, fainting.
"Huh?"
Cecilia was still in that ridiculous pose, staring blankly at everything before her.
She looked at her hands, which were still glowing slightly, then at Veronica, who was lying unconscious on the Ground, and finally at the large scorched hole blasted into the wall by the aftershock of that power.
The Dragon brain crashed.
"V... Veronica?!"
She finally reacted, letting out a scream and scrambling over to her.
"Aaaaah, Veronica