Creeeeak.

The automaton carriage, which had been speeding along, screeched to a halt upon colliding with a figure.

Despite being dragged nearly fifty meters and slashed by the saw blade, Maximilien looked eerily joyful.

He even clapped in delight.

Instead of smooth skin, gears covered his entire body, visible through his torn clothes.

This situation defied all common sense.

"So that’s how it is! It's you. Yes, thinking about it, you do have potential. No qualifications, but potential!"

Maximilien appeared astonishingly composed, despite having just emerged from a fierce battle.

"Children born in the year the kingdom fell. Among them, two were cast aside. But, did one of them survive? Could it be… you, who was presumed dead?”

｢Oh my! Looks like we made a mistake in judgment. We thought he was dead. Even if he had survived, he slipped our notice because he showed no distinctive traits. But, it was just that he wasn't visible. If he was the one who gathered all of them—the Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka, the boy wielding the power of the Divine, the Beast King, and the last heir of the royal family? If he led them!｣

Maximilien's eyes gleamed with anticipation.

To him, most humans were flawed.

Humans were composed of the same elements: blood, flesh, bones, and muscles.

The Qi and mana that coursed within them.

As an alchemist, Maximilien understood this deeply.

Yet, depending on how these elements were assembled and functioned, their forms and abilities varied.

A lowly cripple begging for food and an absolute being standing alone at the peak of the world were both human, fashioned from flesh, Qi, and mana.

Even if they didn’t look like it.

Therefore, in Maximilien's eyes, most humans were just that, defective products, ruining their inherent potential.

Naturally, items crafted from superior materials demonstrated superior performance.

Their fundamental differences from the start indicated divergent capabilities.

But if the performance varied significantly depending on how they were arranged and combined, and on the precision of their structure...

Wouldn't an extraordinary person like Maximilien be able to 'correct' them, rectify these defects, and unleash their latent potential?

Thus, he sought the King of Humans.

To understand the essence of humanity and its transcendent qualities.

"Are you the King of Humans? Truly, are you the stern evaluator who descended upon this land to judge the newly emerged Military State?"

Reading his thoughts alone, Maximilien seemed to be a revolutionary challenging humanity's boundaries, striving to surpass them.

But his true goal was...

To find the King of Humans...

｢The perfect gears of thought. To be able to make it universally applicable, the King of Humans is necessary. After all, the King of Humans represents all of humanity!｣

He wants to implant gears in the King of Humans’ head.

He's really crazy.

The King of Humans is still human, and he’s not compatible with gears.

"Perfect. Perfect! Could there be a more ideal combination? Both qualifications and potential exists! If the King of Humans isn’t among them, that would be much stranger! Hahaha. My long-desired wish comes to me voluntarily. How lucky!"

Though Maximilien rambled as he pleased, I had no power to shut him up.

I turned to the only person who could silence him.

"Mr. Shei."

The Regressor, who had been standing silently listening to Maximilien's speech, responded to my call.

"Huh? What?"

“What are you doing? We have a long way to go. Are you going to listen to all this nonsense?”

The Regressor nodded, her gaze shifting between Maximilien and me.

Then she spoke, brimming with confidence.

“Aren’t you curious about what he’s saying?”

“You’re letting a dangerous person—whom you were just fighting—a free moment to preach some strange ideology because you're curious? Is information that important? More than our safety?”

“N-No. Of course not. It's just…”

｢Tch. I should let him talk more. It’s rare for the Warforger to babble on his own when he’s excited.｣

So that’s why you were just standing there after fighting to the death? For more information?

I already read his thoughts. There's nothing more to gain here. Let's get moving!

Seeing my frustration, the Regressor added half-heartedly.

“Before killing him, we should at least listen to his last words.”

“You should be listening to us! Why are you listening to the enemy more than your own allies?”

“Okay, okay.”

｢Still, we’ve heard enough. Born in the year the kingdom fell? For someone who calls himself the leader of the Human Regime, he sure believes in baseless rumors. No wonder he repeats the same mistakes in every timeline. Anyway, looks like the Military State folks have been dealt with cleanly this time.｣

At my insistence, the Regressor positioned herself between us and Maximilien.

“Are those your last words? If you have anything left to say, do it before you die. Our patience is wearing thin.”

Maximilien responded with a faint confirmation.

“Ah. I won’t kill you. There’s something I need to verify.”

“It's not that you won't kill us, Maximilien. You can't. You can't defeat me alone.”

“Indeed, handling you who wields the power of two Divine is rather challenging. What are those Shrine of the Divine folks even thinking? Allowing a mere boy to wield the power of two Divines, the so-called secret society has reached such a state. Tsk tsk.”

Even in a dire situation, Maximilien remained calm. It wasn’t the composure of someone with a hidden trump card or expecting reinforcements.

He simply didn't fear death.

Tick-tock.

The gears in his head turned.

He separated reason from emotion, intertwining them only when necessary.

Just as a machine doesn’t fear breaking down, Maximilien didn't fear his own end.

…Well, it wasn’t like Maximilien didn’t have anything up his sleeve.

But it was already too late to stop it.

The first to sense something amiss was Tyr’s darkness.

The shadow lurking within the automaton carriage, preserving its strength, shuddered violently.

It recoiled, darkening further as if it had a rash.

[This is…]

Sensing something, Tyr straightened up.

Simultaneously, the Regressor, intuitively sensing the shift, gripped her sword tighter.

Crackle.

Sparks flared in front of them.

In the empty air, square patches of light flashed like a fleeting mosaic before vanishing.

Where the light faded, there was nothing.

Only the afterimage left on our retina slowly coalesced into a form.

But something was definitely there.

Something perceivable yet unidentifiable.

The Regressor muttered softly.

“This presence…!”

A weight pressed upon my entire being.

An overwhelming presence that felt as if a superior being was watching us, making humans feel insignificant.

Under that lofty gaze, humans felt utterly inconsequential.

Meanwhile, Maximilien, with gears implanted in his head, remained unaffected.

Because his logic operated mechanically.

“But it seems you all possess sufficient qualifications. No need to worry about any of you dying. Instead, I’m the one who should be concerned about survival . So, I’ll have to cheat.”

A halo of light materialized.

It took on the form of a person.

With two arms, two legs, and a face atop its neck, a blank white figure slowly ascended.

But its similarity to a human was only superficial.

I attempted to read the thoughts of this sudden apparition.

I couldn’t read its thoughts.

No. In the first place, is that thing even human?

『Controlled observation complete. Manifestation rate 14%. Caution advised. The current location is not conducive for controlled observation.』

Its entire body glowed.

A blinding white light covered its whole body.

A white helmet covered its face entirely, and a simple black line resembling a mouth, appeared almost like an afterthought to mimic human appearance.

Unable to read its thoughts, I didn’t understand what it was.

I could only recognize what it was based on the thoughts of the Regressor and Maximilien.

“...Eimeder!”

Historia looked shocked.

“What? The Envoy? That…thing?”

I asked in disbelief.

“Aren’t you both a Star General? How could you not know?”

“I don’t know. The Envoy has never made an official appearance. But even if they had….”

｢That appearance, it's clearly not human, no matter how you look at it. Its presence is so faint!｣

Amid the confusion, the bizarre figure exuded a strange presence.

A white blade materialized in its hand, appearing as if it had always been there rather than drawn from elsewhere.

『Emergency protocol. Initiated.』

The halo of light shattered like glass. The white figure surged towards us in a blur, leaving an afterimage in its wake.

Humans reacted slowly.

When faced with an opponent that had surpassed human limits, predicting attacks, sensing murderous intent, or even detecting their presence became challenging.

Even mind-reading didn’t work; I realized it was attacking only after it left an afterimage.

“Dodge!”

The Regressor reacted with the Heavenly Counter Domain, but the blade of light wasn’t aimed at her.

The white figure targeted the automaton carriage with precise intent.

But another presence lurked here.

[Impudent! You dare to bring an angel in my presence!]

As Tyr bellowed, darkness surged.

Originally, Tyr was supposed to stay hidden in the luggage compartment.

Constant exposure to sunlight would deplete her darkness, so it was a plan to conserve her strength, at least until nightfall.

But in her rage, Tyr ignored the plan and unleashed her darkness.

A localized night descended around the automaton carriage.

The blade of light sliced through the darkness.

Light seeped in like ink, revealing glimpses amidst the shadows.

Even in the pitch-black darkness, the angel’s head emerged.

But the darkness billowed forth like waves, swiftly filling the gaps.

From within, a pitch-black parasol struck the angel.

The white figure seemed to have a physical form.

Hit directly by the parasol, it was flung away.

Tyr turned the automaton carriage upside down and leaped out.

She glared at the angel with a wrathful expression.

[This pest, you dare…!]

The angel, struck by Tyr’s parasol, floated up like a fish swimming in the water.

It moved in a distinctly inhuman manner.

Rising as if swimming through the air, the angel scattered white light and spoke.

『Director Maximilien. Return immediately. You cannot face them alone.』

“Haha. Finally, you show up, Envoy! Did you see it? It seems I’ve found it!”

『Your opinion was not solicited. Regardless of your personal goals, now is the time to unite forces. Return immediately. Otherwise, we cannot stop them.』

“Alright, alright! I understand. I’ll follow your lead!”

[Where do you think you are going?]

At that moment, darkness surged, attempting to engulf them.

The angel swung its sword, dispersing the darkness, but it closed in relentlessly.

As if stalling for someone’s arrival.

[A toy of the Sanctum. I never expected to see it here… What an amusing turn of events. Or are you provoking me?]

Tyr approached with measured steps.

Vampires had no life of their own.

They controlled their own blood and, being already dead, had a faint sense of life.

Provoking beings that could not be injured nor truly lived was quite challenging.

Even a threatening punch or attack for humans merely amounted to a slight impudence to them.

But there was one exception.

Anything related to the Sanctum.

After the progenitor Tyrkanzyaka lost her father, herself, and her kin to the Sanctum, they incurred the vampires' primal hatred.

All vampires harbored an intense hatred for the Sanctum.

And Tyr stood at the pinnacle of that hatred.

The angel looked at the approaching Tyr and spoke calmly.

『I will distract the Progenitor. Director Maximilien, I repeat, return immediately.』

“Haha! Disposable resources are indeed useful!”

Maximilien chuckled heartily and retreated.

The gears on his feet spun rapidly, propelling him swiftly along the road.

He made a swift escape.

Despite the enemy fleeing, the Regressor hesitated to pursue.

Before us stood the being called the Envoy, who had been labeled an angel by Tyr.

[Do you think I will let you leave so easily?!]

The darkness surged.

Tyr herself wasn’t particularly fast, but her essence lay in her overwhelming spatial dominion.

Within the darkness, which was virtually an extension of her body, she wielded absolute control.

I reminded her.

“Tyr! Don’t waste too much power!”

Because it was daytime.

The darkness rapidly depleted itself in its struggle against the light, dissipating at the slightest gap.

Spreading darkness in daylight was like trying to protect air bubbles underwater.

The angel took advantage of this.

Its sword fragmented into dozens of branches.

Each strike wasn’t powerful, but fast and sharp enough to continuously cut through the darkness.

The slicing blows peeled away the darkness, exposing it layer by layer.

With each gap, sunlight above pierced through the wounds.

A battle unfolded between darkness and light.

Amidst this clash, the Regressor moved.

Confirming Maximilien was far enough, she intervened swiftly.

“That’s enough! Eimeder!”

For a moment, the Regressor's eyes shimmered with seven colors.

Without fully opening the Eyes of Fate, she perceived the light with seven-colored eyes.

Simultaneously, she raised Chun-aeng and focused beyond the angel.

Skyblade Art, Seven Colored Eyes Linked Technique: Prism.

Chun-aeng extended like a bolt of lightning, slashing diagonally at the angel.

Sensing the attack, the angel parried with its white sword, but as Chun-aeng and the light clashed, the white glow fragmented into seven colors.

The rainbow created by dispersing the white light traced Chun-aeng's path, leaving a long rainbow trail following it.

Although no emotion was revealed, the angel seemed a little surprised.

『So, this is… the power of the Divine… Of the sky….』

The angel couldn’t finish its sentence.

The Regressor pressed forward, severing its neck with that same power.

A brilliant flash left a lingering afterimage.

The Regressor, piercing through the angel’s body, shouted fiercely.

“Tyrkanzyaka! Finish it!”

Glass may scatter light, but it cannot truly erase it.

The angel, momentarily blurred, flickered as it tried to reform.

In that instant, darkness enveloped it.

Surging shadows ensnared the angel.

Tyr, consumed by rage, swung her fist without a word.

The darkness quickly took shape and solidified.

The solidified darkness crushed the white light.

『Observation, limit… danger.』

[It is over.]

Tyr clenched her fist.

Darkness engulfed the light.

Tyr’s strongest power wasn’t her physical strength.

Though emphasized due to her recent surge in strength, her power was closer to a curse or domination.

Once ensnared, the angel's fate was sealed.

Shrouded in the arcane, the body of light murmured calmly as it faced the encroaching darkness.