Everyone on the battlefield witnessed the scene, including Zich’s companions, the soldiers leaving the area in orderly ranks, and escapees aimlessly fleeing the area in fear. After not budging an inch at Zich's companions’ numerous attacks, the large dragon lost its balance and flew through the air.

Boom! They thought the dragon was like a gigantic mountain that would not fall under any natural disaster, but in the end, it fell and rolled on the ground. They almost couldn’t believe their eyes. Furthermore, the man behind the attack was someone every person on the battlefield knew whether they were from the Steelwalls or the allied forces. After all, his inhumane battles against Glen caught the attention of everyone around them nearly every day during the war.

There was no cheering yet. He had toppled the dragon over just once, and it was much too early to celebrate. However, it was also true that the dragon finally seemed to have been pushed back when no human attack could make it budge. Thus, everyone couldn’t help but feel hope rising in their hearts. While everyone else was feeling shocked and awed by Zich’s skills, it seemed like Zich was also surprised.

‘This power is…’ This was his mana. Zich was sure of it. The mana that had been dormant inside him awakened and flowed inside his body. But it wasn’t time for his mana to awaken yet. The mana in the innermost corner of his body was still hardened, and he had only been able to use all his mana when holding Windur that resonated with the World Tree. Zich stretched out his hand. He felt something foreign at the tip of his finger.

‘The Key that Distorts Destiny?’ He was sure of it. That finger was used to hold the key that was part of Windur.

‘Did my mana get released when this key came back into my finger?’ Then, why did this key suddenly pop back into his finger? Lyla was the one who had Windur right now, and that made Zich think.

‘It must be Lyla’s doing.’ Zich was sure of it. A smile formed on his lips—it wasn’t the kind of terrifying smile he made when mocking or tormenting his enemies. It was a very calm and soft one.

‘Of course, she isn’t the type to betray my expectations.’

* * *

While sitting on one of the crystal remains, Serpina stared at Lyla inside the glass container. Serpina didn’t know what Lyla would do at first when Lyla guided the mana of the World Tree’s clones while clutching Windur tightly. She simply thought that Lyla was uselessly resisting and all her efforts would be futile. Serpina could swear upon the name of Clowon, as well as her pride and reason for living, that there was no way to restrict the dragon from this place. But when the mana from the World Tree’s clones started resonating, her eyebrows slightly went up. Then, she sprung to her feet when a huge amount of mana flowed outside.

‘What is she doing?’ On second thought, Lyla was also Serpina herself. When Serpina backstabbed Lyla by physically breaking the crystal when Lyla was distracted with controlling the system, there was no guarantee that Lyla wouldn’t do something similar.

‘Instead of trying to restrict the dragon with the system, is she trying a different method?’ Serpina thought. Lyla was standing defenselessly right now, so Serpina could destroy the glass container with magic and hinder Lyla’s plans. Then, all of Lyla’s plans would become futile. Yet, Serpina didn’t attack Lyla. Instead, she sat back down on the broken part of the crystal, crossed her legs, and watched with her chin on her hand.

“How surprising. Are you not planning to do anything?”

Serpina suddenly heard a familiar voice behind her, and she felt a chilling sensation around her neck. She looked down and saw a pure white sword hanging around her neck. It was a sword she knew very well: Estellade, the Clowon prince’s sword. Even when its blades didn’t directly touch her, its aura seemed to prickle her skin. Serpina turned around and stared at the person.

“Is this really the method Lyla came up with to turn the situation around?” Serpina asked and said the name of the person wielding the sword at her. “Zich Brave.”

Zich Brave raised his guard against her movements and replied, “No, I’m simply meant to be on watch duty to make sure you don’t do anything unnecessary.”

“I see.” Serpina nodded. “Thank goodness. I would’ve been disappointed in her if you were supposed to be the solution.”

“There’s no way I can go help the guys above ground though.”

“Yes, that’s why I said I would’ve been disappointed if you were the solution. I thought she could’ve just tried anything out in her desperate attempt to fix the situation.”

The two were forms made by the World Tree’s mana and couldn’t go very far from the mana. Thus, even if Lyla summoned Zich Brave, he couldn’t go to help Zich.

“She wasted energy calling you.”

“How come?”

“I’m not planning to do anything more now.”

“Do you realize how unbelievable you sound right now?”

“It’s not my concern whether you believe me or not.”

Zich Brave looked at her with suspicion. Serpina smirked after seeing his expression. “If you don’t believe me, why don’t you just kill me?”

“I’d be glad to, but will you die without resisting?”

“I don’t want to.”

Brave clicked his tongue. If he could, he wanted to slice her head off and erase all possibilities of future conflicts. Yet, this was Serpina he was dealing with—the person he had fought to the death many times. It would be reasonable to say that he was the person who knew her abilities the best. When Lyla summoned him and he stood behind Serpina, he planned to try to kill her if the chance arose. However, as expected of a person with the Demon Lord title, he saw her shoulders shake slightly. He needed to give up on his original goal and be satisfied that he had managed to get so close to her. It was also a surprise she didn’t do anything as she watched him place his sword near her neck.

Brave thought, ‘I’m sure she would’ve struck back as soon as I tried to slice her neck though.’ Serpina knew Lyla called Brave to protect her. If they started fighting, it was evident that Serpina would direct most of her attacks toward Lyla as he would prioritize protecting her. Zich Brave was sure that Serpina would fight like this. However, Serpina seemed to have zero interest in Brave to the extent that Brave seriously contemplated if he would be able to kill her if he quickly moved his sword.

‘Does she really plan to do nothing?’ Serpina really was just looking at Lyla. Since Lyla had assigned him to stop Serpina from doing anything harmful, he should have welcomed Serpina’s attitude. However, her current behavior was incredibly suspicious.

Ziiing! While Zich Brave confronted Serpina, the mana from the World Tree’s clones swirled inside the glass container.

“Ha.” Serpina let out a snort as she realized what Lyla was trying to do. She saw mana concentrate on one of Windur’s edges and saw it disappear. “The Key that Distorts Destiny.”

Serpina looked at Brave. “You guys are planning to release all of Zich’s mana.”

“Even if his opponent is a dragon, Zich will be able to have a fair fight if he has all of his mana.” Brave easily admitted it since there was no reason to hide it.

“Is that so? Of course, even so, the dragon will have an advantage, but I guess Zich has his comrades. It’ll be fun. I really don’t know who’s going to win now.”

Brave looked deeply into Serpina’s eyes. Even though her plan had been hampered, she didn’t show any signs of dismay. Instead, she was calmly muttering to herself and analyzing the current situation. “The fragmented part of the emperor’s sword is most closely connected to Zich, since the emperor’s sword forced a part of itself into Zich’s body. With the mana from the World Tree’s clones, the emperor’s sword can force the key back into Zich’s body. In places where they need the World Tree’s power, Lyla can act as the mediator and directly send the World Tree’s power to Zich to release all of his mana. I see. With this method, Zich can continue to use all of his mana even outside this ruin.”

“…You’re really just going to analyze it like that?”

“You’re a really persistent man. What’s up with you? Do you want me to antagonize you two?”

“It’s because I can’t trust you. This whole situation happened because you betrayed Lyla in the first place.”

“What do you mean betrayed? We were in a contract relationship in the first place. While Lyla and Zich learned my knowledge, I was supposed to look for any opportunities to initiate my plan. How can you talk about betrayal when there was no trust in the first place?”

“You sure talk well. Yeah, there’s no trust between us. Then, how do you think I felt when you said you wouldn’t do anything?”

“You didn’t believe it for even a second.”

“Thank you for understanding how I feel,” Brave said with the driest and flattest tone possible. Serpina merely shrugged at his voice, which was full of sarcasm instead of gratitude.

“It doesn’t matter whether you believe me or not, but I really don’t plan to do anything else. I’m merely waiting for the results outside.”

“Why?”

“It’s because that was my last desperate effort.”

“…Go on.” The last words caught Brave’s interest.

“I’m being pushed to a corner much more than you think. Zich is a hellishly annoying bastard.” Serpina thought of Zich and shook her head. “When we were fighting each other, I didn’t think there was a more annoying bastard than you, but compared to Zich, you can be considered cute. No, since you’re the same person, I guess I don’t have to differentiate between the two of you.”

Then Serpina continued, “Anyway, waking up the dragon was a gamble for me too. Since the empire is gone now, it’ll be extremely difficult to catch the dragon and put it back in the crystal. Applying it as part of the system would basically be impossible. Of course, there were other methods I could have used instead, but I couldn’t be certain of the results for any of them either. Above all, it’s uncertain whether Lyla will fully cooperate with my plans even after Zich dies. If she refuses, I’ll disappear without being able to do anything.”

“…But you still awakened the dragon for it to attack Zich?”

“I’m sure you know it as well. Apart from being part of the Brushel System’s core and supporting the empire, there’s no reason for my existence.”

Brave said, “Regardless of the urgency of the situation, I should have never called you.”

“It’s already been done. Besides, you guys had no choice but to call me.”

“So you’re just going to quietly wait for the results to come out now that your job is over after waking up the dragon?”

“Yes.”

Her words made sense, but Brave thought Serpina had another reason besides this. He said, “But it’s still suspicious. Based on what you said, my appearance and Zich’s release of his mana will certainly interfere with your plan. However, your reaction is way too calm–even if this is your last-ditch effort with a high possibility of failure. No, shouldn’t you feel even more nervous because it’s your last try?”

Serpina sighed, but it wasn’t a sigh to mock Brave. It seemed more like a reaction from someone who was about to say something that made them uncomfortable to say out loud. “…Yeah, you and I are in the same boat anyway. No matter how bad our relationship is, I guess this is still fate. This will probably be the last time I talk to you, no matter the results.”

Serpina turned around and stared straight at Brave. The sword pointed at her neck and narrowly missed her skin. “It may be hard for you to believe, but will you still listen?”

“This whole situation feels like a joke in the first place. There’s no reason for me to say no after listening to you so far.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s also true.” Serpina nodded. “This is my last desperate effort and it’s also for me to put a final conclusion to my life.”