Elodie was also quite skilled as a mage, but as a destruction mage who had grown up with the purpose of eliminating enemies, she was still inexperienced in control. There was a reason she wore those bracers.

"Then what about that devil? The power of the Seven Deadly Sins is for anyone..."

As Osprey was saying that, Frondier held out his hand.

"... What is that, in your hand?"

"Please give it to me, now."

"..."

"You were the only one who could hide it, so you took care of it."

Osprey closed his mouth at Frondier's words. His face is filled with worry at Frondier's serious gaze.

"......Are you really okay?"

"Even if something goes wrong,"

Frondier glanced at Aten, who he was still holding.

"......Aten will save me."

"What?"

Aten, who doesn't understand what he's talking about. Osprey sighs deeply.

"I don't know what's going to happen."

Osprey raised one hand and spun it in the air.

And then, a small object that hadn't been there a moment ago was placed on his palm.

Aten, who had been watching from behind, recognized it and was surprised.

"Dragon Heart...!"

A crystal with a thin ring shaped like a triangle.

An enormous concentration of mana that hadn't been felt until a moment ago was entirely contained in it.

And of course, Belphegor also noticed it.

'How on earth did he gather so much mana...?'

The question was brief, and he immediately knew. Osprey had hidden it using spatial magic.

Osprey, who had himself been outside the world, hiding an object would be a simple task.

'A Dragon Heart, the one in the palace must have been shattered. There has never been another dragon appearance on this continent since then!'

Belphegor closely examined the Dragon Heart placed on Osprey's palm.

"...No."

His intuition tells him.

"That's not a Dragon Heart."

As Belphegor speculated, the object in Osprey's hand is not a Dragon Heart.

This is a collaboration between Frondier and Mei.

It's Frondier's original creation, made to cure Emperor Bartello's weakness. It's correct to simply call it the 'Frondier Heart' since it's a magic crystal of Frondier, but Frondier himself refused because it sounded too cheesy.

Frondier accepted the mana crystal from Osprey.

'...The second one.'

In theory, this mana crystal can be created continuously. The mana within the human body naturally recovers over time, and once it's recovered, Mei can create this crystal again with Frondier.

Therefore, considering efficiency and effectiveness, there was no reason for Frondier not to attempt it.

However, one problem occurred in an unexpected place.

—The crystal doesn't maintain itself.

—The mana crystal you created is based on the design of the 'Dragon Heart', isn't it? Perhaps human mana doesn't quite fit that design. So, it maintains its form for a while, but as time passes, it disperses and disappears.

Frondier's original mana crystal cannot be maintained semi-permanently like the Dragon Heart.

According to Osprey's advice, that period could not exceed a fortnight at most. Knowing that they couldn't increase the quantity, Frondier gave up on creating mana crystals. Except for this one thing, created in preparation for this war.

—Are you thinking of swallowing that?

—Swallowing a dragon heart as it is, is a very dangerous act. It would be no different from your own dragon heart. It might even be more dangerous.

The reason Frondier was able to amplify mana with a dragon heart until now was because what he created was a 'fake'.

Since he didn't eat a real dragon heart, the dragon heart only gave the 'effect' of mana amplification, and it gnawed at Frondier's blood and flesh to create that effect. That's why he has been using 'Fabric of Penelope' to replace it.

However, the 'real' one does not trigger Fabric of Penelope. There's no need for a dummy to take mana instead.

Frondier thought it would be okay to just eat his own mana crystal, but according to Osprey, that was a very naive and dangerous thought.

If the Dragon Heart ruins the body of the person who consumes it due to its original violent nature, the original Mana Crystal of Frondier would be 'too' compatible with Frondier's body.

There's no doubt that the Mana will increase, and the synergy of that nature would be difficult to measure.

However, whether a human body can withstand it is a completely different issue.

"Aten, step back."

Frondier said.

There was no hesitation in him.

He didn't know what would happen. Such talk was even tiresome by now.

He had walked the path of not knowing what would happen, and he had always continued to make that choice.

He is still standing here now.

"…Promise me just one thing."

Aten still held onto Frondier's body and spoke.

"When you leave somewhere, when you part with me, when you fight someone or something and get hurt."

Aten's face, buried in Frondier's back, couldn't be seen, but her voice trembled pitifully.

"Please come back to me."

"…Aten."

"Don't forget."

Strength entered the hands that held him.

"I will always follow you."

"......"

"But sometimes, I feel like I might lose you."

Frondier felt Aten's body trembling.

"......Because I'm weak."

"Aten."

"I may not be able to be your will like others."

"Aten."

"Just come back, I will."

Swoosh

Frondier gently released Aten's arm.

Aten, who was blankly staring at Frondier, he smiled as he touched her white hair.

"Save me."

"......"

"Because I entrusted my life to you."

At those words, Aten momentarily clenched her trembling lips and simply nodded without a word.

As she slowly stepped back, Frondier took a deep breath and held the mana crystal.

Feeling Aten's worried gaze, Frondier laughed inwardly.

'It reminds me of the old days.'

When he fought with Renzo to protect Aten.

Even then, Frondier swallowed the dragon heart in front of Aten.

He walked that path without knowing what result it would bring.

In the end, that choice had driven Frondier to the brink of death.

But looking back now.

'Yes, Aten. From then until now, it's been like that between you and me.'

Just as Frondier saved Aten from Renzo's hand.

Just as Aten had saved Frondier.

Not as a princess.

Not as a noble from a prestigious family.

Aten Terst, and Frondier de Roach.

"......I'm going."

Believing that he would be saved,

Frondier swallowed the mana crystal.