He had promised to be Lily's knight for a month, and he was currently keeping that promise. Of course, he kept the fact that Lily was a devil and that they were currently searching for devils a secret.

“...Lily's knight?”

And as Frondier expected, Elodie immediately furrowed her brow.

Frondier spoke.

“You know about the rumors too, huh?”

“Of course. They say that once you become a knight of Zodiac Lily, you immediately swear eternal loyalty...”

Saying that, Elodie scanned Frondier. She was looking for any changes from the Frondier she knew.

However, Frondier still had a peaceful atmosphere and a languid expression. His tone and personality towards her were all the same.

“... .”

“... .”

Elodie scanned Frondier like that, and before she knew it, their eyes met.

Frondier simply remained silent, knowing her intentions, but Elodie realized she had gotten too close without realizing it.

“...Ah! Ahem, ahem.”

Elodie hurriedly distanced herself again.

He didn't seem to have changed just by looking at him, but Elodie asked for confirmation.

“By any chance, did anything happen to you?”

“It did.”

“Well, I guess it's not surprising that someone of Zodiac level would do something like that... Huh?”

Frondier's answer was completely different from what Elodie had expected. Her thoughts stopped for a moment.

Elodie looked at Frondier again.

At Frondier's face, which was too calm for someone who said he had been 'affected'.

And then she asked again.

“Bu, but looking at you now, it seems like it didn't work?”

“I don't know yet.”

“What?!”

This time, it was something she couldn't just let slide, so Elodie's voice grew louder.

Frondier thought.

He wanted to hide the fact that Lily was a devil. As long as she was helping him, he didn't want to cause her trouble by revealing her identity as a devil to others. It was also quite dangerous.

However, the case of 'Charm' was different.

‘As Gregory said, I might already be under the effect of 'Charm'.’

He had overcome Belphegor's Seven Sins, but it wasn't as if it had missed or anything like other mental magic.

Belphegor said that devils distinguish humans by their soul form. If that wasn't just Belphegor's own claim, then Lily would also distinguish Frondier by his soul.

In other words, it was safe to assume that her Charm hadn't missed either.

‘Just like I overcame Belphegor's Sloth, I probably have more resistance to it than others. But that doesn't mean I can let my guard down.’

Having been affected once, he couldn't afford to be careless.

He might gradually fall for Lily without even realizing it, reaching a point of no return.

“So, Elodie.”

“Ye, yes?”

Therefore, even if he hid it from everyone else.

“If by any chance, I make the wrong choice.”

Elodie de Inies Rishae.

Let her be the only one he told.

“Stop me.”

“... .”

Elodie's mouth hung open for a moment at Frondier's words.

Then her face turned cold, and blue flames flickered in her lake-like eyes.

“...If it's something Lily did, we just need to deal with Lily, right?”

Those blue flames were directed at the Zodiac.

As if to say that if they were enemies, there was no reason to hesitate, even if it was a Zodiac.

Frondier was surprised by that look, but soon smiled.

“That's not it. As I said before, I don't know yet if it's working. I'm talking about the future.”

“The future?”

“Yes. I can't assume that Lily is the only one who can control me.”

Frondier had learned from Philly.

His habit of always trying to fight and solve things alone, and its limitations.

Now, those words applied not only when cooperation was needed but also in the opposite situation.

Frondier had become strong. Strong enough to be compared to a Zodiac.

Of course, since his pure skill in weapons and magic wasn't that high, there was always a risk of defeat, but at least within his domain, he could even threaten a Zodiac.

‘Until I met Belphegor, I barely prepared for mental attacks.’

It was only natural. They never hit him anyway.

Frondier had evaded most things like memory loss or hypnosis. One of the advantages he gained from the peculiarity of possession.

However, even that didn't work against the Seven Sins devils. Devils who could perceive souls directly could target Frondier accurately.

In the future, he might encounter enemies on par with Belphegor, or even surpassing him.

If that enemy had mental interference abilities exceeding Belphegor's.

‘Then the 'strength' I possess would become a blade aimed at humanity.’

The current Frondier could still be stopped by several people. The Zodiacs were there. Especially Osprey, it wouldn't be difficult for him.

But Frondier would continue to grow stronger. He had to, in order to keep moving forward in this world.

‘When I was playing the game, I wanted to be an overpowered character that no one could touch.’

It was natural. It was just a character.

Whether it was a mental attack or anything else, it was the character who would suffer, not the player.

However, it was different when it became reality.

When he crumbled, when he broke, when he changed, there had to be someone to stop him.

And as far as Frondier could see, there were only two people who could do that even in the future: Elodie and Aster.

He wouldn't need to say this to Aster. He would stop Frondier.

But for some reason, he felt like he had to tell Elodie.

‘If I tell Elodie in advance like this, she won't panic and will be able to control me if I make a mistake.’

That's what Frondier thought.

He believed Elodie would nod.

She would accept his resolve carried by the wind.

“...No.”

However, Elodie shook her head.

“You're telling me to attack you.”

“...Well, it would be better if you could subdue me without doing that.”

But that would probably be difficult.

“No, it's impossible.”

“...Elodie?”

“I'm sorry. I, I can't...”

When Elodie raised her head to say something to Frondier.

Swish-

Frondier's 'Sixth Sense' and Elodie's 'Mana Detection' reacted simultaneously.

“This, this feeling, could it be...”

They both looked up at the sky outside the veranda at the same time.

──The stars that filled the sky had disappeared.

The sky was completely black. No stars, no moon.

The sky wasn't the sky.

Shwiiih!!

From far away, black wings filled the sky.

Black clouds, like a swarm of bats, poured down,

obscuring the stars and moon.

─You've seen hundreds of devils at the Imperial Palace too! Did you notice any characteristics unique to 'humans' in that chaos?

‘...I see...!’

Whatever the remaining devil's purpose in the Empire was, if it could control low-ranking devils.

‘It can completely hide its appearance and attack...!’

“...Elodie.”

“15 seconds.”

Frondier called Elodie, and she immediately responded.

“Just hold on for 15 seconds.”

“You're saying not to let even one of them inside the mansion for 15 seconds?”

Don't let even one of those things pouring down like clouds inside.

What kind of absurd request was that?

“Alright.”

Frondier's Obsidian moved.