The stronghold of the rebels.

"Daemon, is everything going as planned?"

"Aryandor."

Daemon raised his head.

He was amidst the corpses, creating new undead.

Aryandor had ordered preparations for war, and Daemon was making all the necessary preparations for this purpose.

"Is there something you need from me? Any orders?"

Daemon asked as he walked out from among the corpses.

Aryandor shook his head in response.

"I came here because I had business. And also, I found myself reminiscing about the old times."

Daemon and Aryandor did not first meet while forming the rebels.

They first met in Ephomos.

Both were orphans.

Orphans without parents, power, or anything at all—just weak and vulnerable.

Of course, back then, they didn't know much about each other.

Aryandor was just a street orphan, and Daemon survived by running errands for necromancers.

Since they lived in different environments, they only knew each other by face.

Their proper meeting was entirely coincidental.

Aryandor was being educated by Ophillius, and Daemon was captured along with the necromancers along by the Astria family.

When they had grown somewhat, they met in the marketplace.

Daemon was out on an errand, and Aryandor was wandering with Ophillius.

Upon discovering Daemon, Aryandor saved him.

More accurately, Ophillius snuck him away.

And together, they started the rebellion.

Daemon looked up at Aryandor.

"By old times, do you mean when we were in Ephomos?"

"Yes."

Aryandor and Daemon would sometimes talk about their time in Ephomos.

There was always one story that never got left out.

Aryandor would always talk about his sister.

Initially, the identity of this woman was unknown, but recently, he realized Aryandor's sister was Saint Beatrice.

He had seen the research and its results.

Daemon realized what he was trying to do upon seeing this.

And suddenly, questions began to arise.

When Aryandor first started the rebellion, Daemon thought Aryandor had two goals.

A purpose to change the world and a personal goal for himself.

Back then, he didn't know what the personal goal was, but now he had figured it out.

This revelation brought doubts about whether Aryandor would continue with the rebellion's goal.

If Aryandor's goal was not for the rebellion but for himself, what would happen?

Jefrin died, and Raven died.

One by one, those around them, who had been with them, were dying.

Certainly, sacrifices follow a cause.

If they could achieve what they wanted, such sacrifices could be endured.

But if Aryandor is only thinking of his own objectives...

Daemon quietly looked at Aryandor.

"Anyway, I came here because I have something else to tell you. I will be away for a while."

Daemon furrowed his brow in response.

"Isn't it usual for you to go? Are you planning to be away for a long time?"

"Not for long. And I'm not going anywhere far, just nearby. Just make sure no one can come near that area. In the meantime, you finish preparing for the war."

"…Understood. But may I ask."

"Hm?"

"May I ask what you will be doing?"

Daemon knew what it was about.

Yet, he asked the question.

What exactly is Aryandor going to do?

What kind of task is he going to undertake?

To this, Aryandor replied.

"Preparation. Preparing to end all of this."

"Then, I'll go."

With Ian's words, I looked at Priscilla beside me.

"Priscilla, are you ready?"

"Yes."

Seeing their response, Ian immediately manipulated his mana.

"Teleport."

At that, I looked straight at Priscilla.

"Ugh!"

Priscilla let out a grunt, Ian's figure disappeared and immediately moved to the side.

"..."

"This time, it didn't work."

I sighed.

Currently, I am training to control space.

When Aryandor used time magic last time, I failed to block it.

I hadn't trained at all back then, so it couldn't be helped.

But, next time won't be the same.

If I meet Aryandor again, I must not fail.

To ensure that, I am training with Ian.

"Maybe we should take a break."

"Should we?"

My head was throbbing after numerous attempts.

I had forgotten over time, but using Priscilla consumes mental energy.

Now I've gotten somewhat accustomed to it, so I can control it to some extent, but that doesn't mean the mental energy consumption disappears.

Ian walked over to me as I was resting.

"You've somewhat adapted, though."

It's been three days since we started this training.

It's not like there haven't been any results during this time.

I haven't been able to completely block spatial magic, but I've managed to distort the coordinates somewhat.

As we trained, the number of successful attempts increased, but I can't be satisfied with just that.

I need to be able to block it whenever I want.

The problem isn't just distorting the spatial magic; it's how much time it will take to completely block it.

Neither Ian nor I have infinite time.

We don't know when Aryandor will make his move.

Even if we manage to block Aryandor's time magic, claiming a perfect victory would be difficult.

Aryandor will surely prepare for me as well.

Even if I can perfectly control my abilities, he will prepare to ensure victory.

I have to work twice as hard as him.

To control his time magic and to surpass his other abilities as well...

"Commander."

Astina approached the training ground where Ian and I were.

"What is it?"

"A letter from the royal family."

Astina handed the letter to Ian.

Ian opened the letter and read it slowly.

As he read, his expression grew more distorted.

"Is this all?"

"They left a message saying you should come to the palace once."

I cocked my head and asked.

"What's going on?"

"It seems the trash is starting to stir."

"Trash?"

"Who else? The rotten nobles that have festered and spoiled through and through."

"Have they made a move?"

Ian's speech when he rose to the rank of Duke.

He said that regardless of the faction or position, if someone has the ability, they would be placed in a high position.

And if they lack ability, they would be demoted from their current position.

Ian was talking about those individuals.

But was there a need for such an expression?

It was expected that the nobles would rebel.

"After all, we expected this, didn't we? Just let it be…"

"The problem is, these guys are trying to join the rebels."

At this, I frowned just like Ian.

"…Rebels?"

"There have already been signs of traitors moving. It looks like others are trying to join them too."

I already knew there were domains that had joined the rebels.

The domains closer to the center were dealt with by the Royal army or the original forces, but those on the outskirts of the empire had not been sorted out.

It could be seen as a bad situation.

The individuals inside were plotting to betray.

However, discovering this now was rather fortunate.

An internal enemy is always more dangerous than an external one.

Before fighting the rebels, it's necessary to sort these guys out.

"I should start moving soon. Rudy, what will you do?"

Ian would be away dealing with these individuals.

Without him, I couldn't train in spatial magic, so I had to cultivate other abilities.

I looked at Astina, who was beside Ian.

"Are you going with him, Astina?"

To this, Astina shook her head.

"I will likely be managing the Royal army."

"So, you'll be staying?"

Astina chuckled lightly.

"Are you asking to spar?"

Astina wasn't just playing around with the Royal army.

In fact, her abilities had likely improved even more than before.

I smiled and rolled up my sleeves.

Now that I can handle spatial magic and Astina has grown, the dynamics of the fight have changed.

It had been a while since my last duel with Astina, so I was somewhat looking forward to it.

"Then..."

Contrary to my expectations, Astina extended her hand as if to tell me to stop.

"Now is not the time."

"What?"

"What are you, a brawler? Just jumping straight into a spar."

I wore a puzzled expression at Astina's words.

Ian casually picked up his things and stood up from his spot.

"Anyway, you two talk it out. I'll head off first."

"Ah... Yes. Please go ahead."

I briefly greeted Ian and then turned my attention back to Astina.

"Do you have something to do?"

"No, my work is almost done. What's left is mostly minor tasks."

"So..."

Astina looked at me with a kind smile.

"Do you think we can have a duel in such a cramped place?"

"...Where is this?"

I looked around with a confused gaze.

It was a place I had never seen before.

All I could see were trees and stones, and since we flew here with Astina's magic, it was hard to guess the location.

"It's just a mountain near the empire."

Astina, who had finished preparing, was walking towards me.

I was surprised by the sudden change in Astina's outfit.

"...Did you change here?"

Astina narrowed her eyes and looked at me.

"It's clothes I was wearing underneath. What are you thinking?"

"You were wearing that underneath?"

Astina was now dressed in a plain tee and short shorts.

Shorts...

She had been wearing a skirt until just now, which meant those were undergarments.

If you didn't know any better, you'd think they were just ordinary short pants, but knowing they were undergarments...

I suddenly felt embarrassed.

"...What are you staring at!"

"Oh, no, it's nothing."

I hastily put on an awkward expression and coughed.

"Anyway, a place like this should allow us to fight properly."

The sky was open, and there was nobody around.

Even if we used our full power, there was no risk of damaging nearby objects or hurting anyone.

"Can we go all out?"

"Would I have brought us here if I intended to take it easy?"

"If you get hurt, it's not my fault."

"Worry about yourself."

Astina and I smiled and began to manipulate our mana.