Pababak, with the sound of my feet striking the ground, the surrounding scenery rushed by like an arrow.

Wherever I stepped, the scattered flames painted parts of the rocky mountain red.

Running while scattering flames around me—this was the method I devised to locate Beatrice, who had hidden herself out of sight.

Even if she was invisible, if I could cover a certain area with flames, I would surely find her hiding spot.

However,

“Heheh, it’s been 10 minutes.”

It took only 10 minutes for me to realize how impractical this method was.

As I glanced up at the voice indicating Beatrice’s time had run out, I saw the rocky mountain towering high above.

I hadn’t even made it beyond the foothills, let alone halfway up, as I scoured the area below in search of Beatrice, who could be hiding anywhere.

In other words, despite having already used one-third of the 30-minute limit she set, the area I still needed to search was several times greater than what I had covered.

“Ugh…”

It was clear that with the current approach, it’s impossible to thoroughly search the rocky mountain.

“We’re bound to fight anyway, so why are we playing hide and seek, damn it…!”

I complained about the nonsense of this game, but while my mouth ran, my legs wouldn’t stop moving.

No matter how successful I was in defeating Beatrice, if she didn’t reveal the location of the sacred relic, it would all be for nothing.

The Beatrice I witnessed would not divulge the location of the relic, even if I captured and tortured her.

Ultimately, I had to locate her hiding spot within the time limit.

The problem was that the remaining time was utterly insufficient compared to the area I had to cover.

In order to find Beatrice on time, I had to come up with another solution as soon as possible.

“Think… there must be some good method…”

I wracked my brain hard, but no particular solution came to mind.

If it were possible, I wouldn’t be worrying like this.

In the end, all I could do was exert more energy to widen the range of the flames I scattered.

“Where are you… where the hell are you…?”

Chewing my lips, I spread the flames as widely as possible.

But even when I spread the flames that wide, Beatrice was nowhere to be seen, not even a shadow.

I couldn’t help but feel anxious.

“15 minutes, half gone! If you don’t find me quickly, Eva, it’s your defeat!”

“I know that, damn it…!”

Beatrice’s voice mocked me periodically.

With half of the time elapsed from 15 minutes to 30 minutes, only 15 minutes remained.

As the thought of time running out began to whip my heart, my pulse quickened, and my anxiety deepened.

Yet, despite running desperately and scattering flames, I could still see that there were far more places untouched by my flames.

The nagging thought of ‘this is just impossible’ kept surfacing in my mind.

But whenever that thought tried to pull my legs to a stop,

–■■■■■■■■■■!!

I heard the roar of a colossal demonic beast reverberating from behind.

That sound indicated that Si-woo was still fighting.

It was the sound that told me he was facing the powerful monster with his life on the line.

With Si-woo risking his life in a fight,

“…there’s no way I’m giving up.”

Each time I felt a pessimistic thought creeping in, I drew strength from that sound in my legs.

Si-woo would definitely win and come this way.

So I had to trust Si-woo and focus on what I needed to do.

Thinking this, I kept searching the rocky mountain without rest.

But having a strong heart that refuses to give up does not solve everything.

“5 minutes left.”

“…”

Only 5 minutes remained.

And I was still stuck at the foothills, not even nearing halfway up.

Considering how much area was still left unchecked, hoping to find Beatrice’s hiding spot in the remaining time was practically wishing for a miracle.

After staring at the towering rocky mountain for a while, I suddenly stopped running and lowered my head dejectedly.

“I had a suspicion, but… I knew I wouldn’t find you. Huh, you might be Eva, but you’re not really Eva.”

As I stood there, seemingly resigned, Beatrice muttered, as if she believed it was impossible for me to find her.

“It’s time. In the remaining 5 minutes, do your best to struggle. After that, I’ll finish it.”

With a nonchalant tone, Beatrice declared the end for me.

Hearing those words,

“…I see.”

I murmured as I lifted my head and began to run.

I stopped scattering flames, gathering all the energy I had to dash toward a single point.

As if I had received some revelation, I felt an inexplicable pull towards a direction.

I rushed madly towards that singular point.

After running through that way for a while,

“Hah… huff…”

Breathless from my frenzied sprint, I arrived at the peak of the rocky mountain.

At the summit, situated high up was a small basin.

I stood at the center of the empty basin and spoke.

“…This is it, right?”

With conviction.

“You’re hiding here, aren’t you?”

My voice echoed through the empty air.

Though there was no response, I felt assured.

I scattered flames toward the empty center of the basin,

And I watched as my flames vanished into thin air.

Soon after, I spotted a familiar silhouette emerging, and I smiled warmly and murmured.

“…Found you, Beatrice.”

Beatrice, having revealed herself, stared at me blankly for a moment.

While her gaze seemed indifferent as usual, upon closer inspection, I could perceive a faint emotion in her eyes.

She tilted her head as if intrigued and asked,

“…How did you find me? I thought I was perfectly concealed.”

To Beatrice’s curious question, I replied.

“…I didn’t find you through any special trick. It just figured it out after thinking.”

It was something so obvious.

“Beatrice, you could’ve killed me before if you wanted. Yet you deliberately invited me here to play hide and seek. You even made it clear that you were around.”

It was baffling how I’d realized such an obvious fact just now.

“Yet, after that, you suddenly used abilities that render it hard for anyone to find you. Would someone like that want me to come up with a fruitless result?”

There’s no way.

“No, you wanted me to find you from the very start.”

In the end, from the beginning, Beatrice wanted me to find her.

For someone who could completely hide herself if she wished, that would be more entertaining.

“And if you’re hiding in this rocky mountain, then it’s obvious.”

The most noticeable place in the rocky mountain when looked at directly.

“Here, at the summit. It’s the spot that stands out the most and has the highest chance of being discovered. Right, Beatrice?”

In response to my question, Beatrice murmured as if she were slightly shaken.

“You wanted me to find you…? I…I didn’t want that before…”

“Didn’t you get disappointed thinking I wouldn’t find you? Or were you unconsciously hoping for that?”

Her mumbling, as if she had never done such a thing, was amusing, and I couldn’t help but comment.

Then Beatrice paused for a moment, seemingly in a daze before muttering,

“Heheh, maybe that was it…”

Beatrice, exhibiting a peculiar reaction, mumbled and then quickly looked at me and said,

“…Well, you successfully found me. But you know, just finding isn’t everything.”

With that, Beatrice began to unleash the hidden intensity once more.

It seemed that to obtain what she desired, I would have to defeat her.

I burst into flames, exclaiming,

“Even if you don’t say it… I know—!!”

With a loud bang, the flames shot forth and exploded where Beatrice stood.

The flames were fiercer than usual.

It was only natural.

After all, Beatrice was the one who unleashed the demonic beasts in the gym, putting my friends in danger and severing my arm.

That wasn’t the only thing.

She was also the one who brought topped cocoons filled with demonic beasts into the city, resulting in the loss of countless lives.

She posed a threat not just for the sacred relic but for everyone’s lives, fundamentally.

She was an enemy so vivid in my memory that I felt it was more than just a memory, especially considering my experiences with Evangeline.

Anyway, this meant that for me, she was an opponent I could never forgive.

But regardless of how fiercely I launched my flames filled with rage,

“Heheh, it won’t work, Eva.”

Even with my full-powered attacks.

“Your attacks don’t affect me.”

My flames couldn’t even scratch Beatrice’s body.

What could only be described as an overwhelming gap in strength and ability.

It was as if she were the invincible demon lord.

I wondered how I appeared in Beatrice’s eyes.

Would I look like a tiny ant trying to attack her?

Perhaps even less than that.

At least an ant could sting and make a human feel a slight pain.

I continued to unleash flames towards Beatrice, fighting desperately.

However, the enormous pillar of flames that soared high enough to engulf the entire basin was meaningless against her.

“Finding me deserves some praise, but…”

I could hear her voice among the blaze.

“However hard you struggle, that’s all you can do.”

When I cast a tired glance,

I saw Beatrice walking out from the pillar of fire with an unbothered expression.

“You can’t defeat me. That’s to be expected. It’s inevitable. That’s just how the world is.”

She looked at me with a subtle expression before slowly approaching, extending her hand as she spoke.

“So, let’s end this.”

As she said that, her hand, which erased everything it touched, slowly came toward me.

Yet even in such a terrifying situation,

“…You’re smiling?”

I found myself smiling.

Was she thinking I had lost my mind? Beatrice stared at me with a puzzled expression.

But my smile wasn’t out of fear.

“Look, Beatrice. You seem so concerned about me that you haven’t noticed.”

I spoke to make her realize the reason she still didn’t understand.

“Don’t you get it?”

Pointing subtly at my ears.

“It’s been quiet since a little while ago.”

It seemed Beatrice couldn’t grasp what I was implying, tilting her head in confusion.

Gradually, her expression hardened.

It was as if she had finally realized.

“…Bea.”

The sound that had been ringing just moments ago—the roaring of the demonic beasts had ceased from some point onward.

Apparently, my eager flames were not in vain.

With flames so massive, they would’ve been visible from a distance.

–■■■■■■■■■■!!

From below the mountain, a fireball with wings soared upward.

As I locked eyes with the figure atop it, I addressed Beatrice.

“And in the first place…”

At that moment, from the fireball, a meteor doused in black light fell.

It descended right above Beatrice.

As the sword wielded by a boy clashed against the shield of a girl who denied everything,

I spoke to the startled Beatrice with wide eyes,

“Your opponent isn’t me.”

After all, the hero’s adversary was always the demon lord.

With a rustle,

The hero’s sword struck the invincible demon lord.