"Captain, is that the Light Magic?"

"... Yes."

"But she’s not from the Holy Order, is she...? And her power is almost on par with saints and holy maidens..."

"I heard that among the peculiar students who enrolled this year, there is a freshman who directly wields angelic power."

"Wow. Seriously, wow."

The light gradually trembled around Edna, forming seven pillars. Eventually, golden chains wrapped around Haewonryang's body, and the pillars of light pierced through him.

"Kuh...!"

Then, dark magic began to burst out in all directions. The dark magic that tainted his essence was all escaping outward.

The completely tainted dark magic returned to its purified state, transforming into blue mana, and his grotesquely deformed body returned to its human form.

The purification process didn't take long. In a short moment, Haewonryang returned to his human form.

"Kuk...!"

Due to forcefully using magic one level higher than her own, Edna, who had sustained injuries, vomited blood and slumped to the ground, but there was no time for them to pay attention to her.

It was because Kaen immediately occupied Haewonryang's body.

"... Let's check."

As Haewonryang gradually opened his eyes, Grace aimed her staff at his forehead.

"Who are you?"

"... Haewonryang."

"How do you feel right now?"

"... Not bad."

"Is there anyone you want to kill?"

"... None."

"What do you hate?"

Cir...

"... Losing."

At first listen, it might seem like a weird interrogation, but it was Grace’s specialty. Extracting concise answers from the subconscious target. She couldn't uncover deeply buried important information, but at least she could grasp his current state.

"Then, what do you like?"

"Tell me."

"Hmm, you really don't want to say this, huh? Well, can't be helped~"

"What's the result?"

"He's completely normal. He underwent black demonization. It's hard to believe, but he's just an ordinary human. He has almost no negative emotions. No, it's more like he never had those emotions to begin with... It felt like emotions were forcibly injected into him. The host seems to be quite powerful, huh?"

"I see."

Kaen nodded indifferently, but in reality, he was extremely surprised.

No... It wasn't just a surprise.

The current events had shaken his values to the core.

He had always believed that once a being was consumed by darkness, they could never return to their original state, so he had killed them all without exception.

It was unimaginable and unbelievable that a mere seventeen-year-old girl could completely restore emotions. He couldn't believe it, and he didn't want to believe it.

However, the reality before his eyes forced him to acknowledge the truth.

"Leader, what should we do?"

"... We're going back."

"Okay~"

Seeing that Kaen was in a bad mood, Grace didn't play any pranks. She also acted cautiously, considering the situation.

However, she couldn't help but burst into laughter because the situation was too amusing.

‘Our leader seems quite flustered~’

What should they do now? They had believed in their faith like saints and had acted their whole lives based on it, but it was being invalidated by a mere seventeen boys and girls.

"Get rid of the traces."

After saying that, Kaen turned around as if there was nothing more to see.

"Well then, little friends~ See you next time!"

That way, the Commander and Deputy Commander of the 13th Shadowblade Division completely disappeared, and Baek Yu-Seol sat down in that spot, gripping his trembling legs.

‘Wow... I thought I was going to die... Just his gaze alone could kill a person.’

He met Kaen face to face, even dared to confront him, and yet he survived.

But for some reason, he felt uneasy that he had come into contact with the most dangerous individuals. It didn't leave a good taste in his mouth.

… Was there nothing left but to die?

He lay down, thinking calmly. He didn't want to move a single step right now.

————-

… After all the incidents had come to an end.

Florin, who successfully concluded the Heavenly Spirit Tree's Ascension Day, returned to her castle and immediately headed straight to the Sky Flower Palace without a moment's rest.

Of course, no one could recognize her because she had completely changed her appearance.

"There isn't much time left. I've already exposed myself to the world for almost an hour. If I'm not careful, there might be victims affected by my curse, so I need to quickly handle the situation."

"That was undoubtedly dark magic. It was such a secretive dark magic that even veteran magic warriors wouldn't notice. However, for some reason, that dark magic completely disappeared midway. There was a possibility that someone had eradicated it, but I didn't want to leave such a risk factor."

Finally, Florin arrived at the vacant lot where the dark magic had been detected and closed her eyes while extending her palm.

"Wind, bring me the memories."

Then, the scent of memories wafted around her nose and quickly flowed into her mind.

"This is..."

She couldn't see anything.

Memories of wind filled with black and white. Someone had intentionally erased memories using magic.

Memories that had already been erased couldn't be resurrected even with high-level magic. However, Florin was the greatest master of them all. She wouldn't succumb to such petty magic.

"Whisper a little more details to me."

The ground, the wind, the flowers and leaves, the trees and rocks... Everything whispered to Florin about the situation at this scene.

Even though the ones who erased memories were thorough to the point of struggling to leave any trace, she could still see fragments of the situation.

"... Someone was using purification magic on a person presumed to be a dark mage, and meanwhile, two mages and one mage were in a confrontation."

Their faces weren't clearly visible.

However, it seemed like they were wearing Stela Academy uniforms...

"Ugh...!"

Due to forcibly squeezing out the memories of nature, a throbbing headache struck her. However, at that moment, a familiar scent brushed past Florin’s nose.

"This, this is...!"

It was a scent that she couldn't forget, no matter how much she tried. It was the fragrance of her long-time friend... Celestia.

The scent wafted heavily.

"How...?"

Celestia had fallen into eternal sleep in her own garden. She could never engage in any external activities, so how could Celestia’s scent be sensed in these memories?

… No, there was another possibility.

’If the culprit stole Celestia’s heart... If that person, the detestable one who stole the heart of my dearest friend, came here…’

Undoubtedly, if that person had come, the scent of Celestia would be so strong. Florin tightened her gaze, channeling her anger, in order to delve deeper into the memories.

However, as time passed, the memories grew fainter, and the power of nature diminished.

Even worse, a splitting headache struck as if the lid of her mind had been forcefully opened. Florin could no longer read the memories.

"Haah, ha..."

She sat down on the floor, breathing heavily, and bit her lips until they bled.

"Definitely... I will find the culprit who condemned my friend to eternal suffering. I will return everything... the same way..."

Florin’s anger grew deeper and deeper.