"See you tomorrow."
Those were her final words before she vanished, her form breaking apart like fading particles in the wind.
Vanitas was left standing there, feeling shocked, confused, and sorrowful, leaving him unsure of what he was even supposed to feel.
Just monts ago, he had been walking through the past with Karina.
And now he had returned to the present, only to witness the sight of her aged and withering form. The woman who had once walked alongside him looked as though ti itself had not been kind to her.
Yet despite that, she had been smiling until the end.
It was a peaceful smile, as if she had finally accomplished everything she had set out to do.
"...I don’t understand."
What had she accomplished?
What had she gone through all this ti?
Where had she gone?
And more importantly...
Had that truly been the last ti he would ever see her?
"...."
He would never understand.
But perhaps that had been Karina’s intention all along.
In the frozen expanse, where everything remained locked in a silent deadlock, Vanitas slowly looked up. Above the vessel lood the Iron Lotus. Its massive limbs and petals remained motionless in the halted sky.
And in that mont, Vanitas understood.
The frozen ti that had seed like an accident had been the very saving point of this entire operation. If ti had continued to flow normally, he was certain he would not even be alive to realize it.
Karina had given him this mont.
Yet with Karina gone, a new question surfaced.
When would ti begin to move again?
Would it resu on its own?
Would the frozen world slowly begin to move, or would everything snap back to motion all at once?
Vanitas had no answers.
But he understood what he had to do.
He had to consu the Iron Lotus while it remained stagnant.
While the world was still frozen and the petals remained suspended above the ship.
For all he knew, ti could resu at any mont.
And if that happened, it would be the end for everyone present.
"...."
Vanitas slowly extended his hand.
According to Karina, there had always been a limitation to her power. She could freeze ti, move through it, and alter certain events. But she could not directly harm those who were suspended within it.
Those rules applied only to her.
After all, she was the Origin of Ti.
But those restrictions did not apply to him.
Vanitas Astrea was not the one who controlled the suspended world. He was simply soone who had been freed from it.
And within that frozen world, Vanitas rose.
――「Tutorial」――
◆ Objective: Prevent upcoming allegations and avoid losing your teaching profession at all costs.
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―――――――――――――――
This tutorial... this so-called Act One that had followed him since the very mont he arrived in this world.
It had been the source of countless sleepless nights, of constant anxiety.
And now...
Crackle――
It was breaking.
Cracks spread across the interface as if it could no longer sustain itself. The structure that once felt absolute began to fracture before his very eyes.
Whoosh――
The wind gathered underneath and carried him upward toward the Iron Lotus.
His figure ascended through the motionless air as he approached the monstrous bloom. The Iron Lotus lood above the sea. Its gigantic eyes resemble those of so eldritch being.
They remained wide open, frozen in place, incapable of realizing that its mont at the apex of existence was about to collapse into the very bottom of the food chain.
In the next mont, Vanitas extended his hand.
He reached inward and called upon Abyss, the spirit that had remained embedded within him all this ti. From that connection, he drew forth the sa devouring power that had once swallowed the Lily of the Valley whole.
The power Chae Eunah had left to him.
A power ant for one purpose alone. To consu the unnatural phenona that threatened the world.
First, the Lily of the Valley.
And now... the Iron Lotus.
――「Tutorial」――
◆ Objective: Prevent upcoming allegations and avoid losing your teaching profession at all costs.
[Rewards:]
◆ Understanding: 500%
―――――――――――――――
At that mont, everything collapsed.
———!
The interface fractured.
The sky distorted.
Even within the suspended world, the air molecules began to move. They responded to Vanitas’s will as if the frozen world itself had acknowledged his presence. Invisible currents gathered around him, bending and compressing as the power of Abyss awakened.
Crackle——
Darkness seeped outward, spreading slowly like ink dissolving into clear water. Dark energy crawled through the frozen air and wrapped around the Iron Lotus.
And yet still, the monstrous bloom remained motionless.
Its countless eyes stared outward into the halted sky. Yet it could not react. It could not struggle.
In this mont, it was nothing more than prey.
Vanitas extended his hand further, and the void obeyed at once.
Crackle——!
Cracks began to spread across the Iron Lotus’s surface as the devouring power gnawed at its existence. The petals trembled to resist, yet the world around them remained locked in solitude.
They could not move.
They could not escape.
The abyssal energy tightened its hold.
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———!
One petal shattered first.
It broke apart without sound. Its fragnts dissolved into black mist as the devouring power consud them. The energy flowed back toward Vanitas like a tide returning to the ocean.
———!
Then another petal followed.
———!
And another.
———!
Slowly, piece by piece, the Iron Lotus was devoured.
———!
Dark magic surged across the sky. It wrapped around the creature’s massive limbs and dragged them inward. The eldritch eyes that once glared across the frozen ocean began to dim one by one as the abyss swallowed them whole.
The apex predator of this sea had beco nothing more than sustenance.
If ti were still moving, this was not even be possible. It had taken a lot of Vanitas just to swallow the Lily of the Valley, but the Iron Lotus was a different being entirely. If it resisted, Vanitas was certain it would be him that would be swallowed instead.
If ti had still been moving, this would never have been possible.
It had already taken everything Vanitas had just to consu the Lily of the Valley. The Iron Lotus was an entirely different existence. If it had been allowed to resist, Vanitas was certain the outco would have been reversed.
He would have been the one swallowed instead.
But it could not resist.
All because of Karina.
Below him, the Eisenreich remained suspended in ti. The frozen waves reflected the spreading darkness above as if the ocean itself was watching the devouring spectacle unfold.
And then...
Tick——
Sothing moved.
The frozen world began to shake.
Ti was starting to return.
Vanitas narrowed his eyes.
The darkness surged at his command.
The abyss expanded like a widening maw and swallowed the remaining body of the Iron Lotus before the world could resu its motion.
Crackle——
The last remnants of the monstrous phenonon collapsed and disappeared into the devouring void.
The sky cleared.
The petals were gone.
The eyes had vanished.
"Astrea...?"
And Vanitas lowered his hand.
He remained floating in the air above the vessel as dark magic wrapped around him.
Below, those aboard the ship could only stare.
Every pair of widened eyes turned toward him, trying to process the sight before them.
And in that mont, the only thing they could see was the image of a villain. A villain who could easily be described as the most dangerous practitioner of dark magic in history.
That was the only conclusion the experts aboard the vessel could reach in that single mont.
"A-Astrea... where is Karina?"
But Iridelle Vermillion was the one who broke the silence.
Her body was still wrapped in flas that slowly faded as the battle ca to an abrupt end. She glanced around the deck, confusion on her expression as she searched the area.
"I was certain she was just standing right next to ... so..."
Her gaze eventually turned toward the sky.
Toward him.
"Where is Karina?"
"She’s gone."
"...."
"And so is the Iron Lotus."
"Astrea." Vice-Admiral Roman Neuschwan stepped forward. "Explain what the hell is going on. Why did the Iron Lotus suddenly disappear? Why are you up there? And w-where the hell is my niece?"
Despite the casualness of his tone, Vanitas could see through the facade imdiately. Through the man’s eyes, there was undoubtedly a hint of fear behind them, restrained enough to maintain the appearance of calm.
Vanitas looked down at them from above. "I’ve said it once. And I won’t repeat it again."
From where he was, the people on the deck looked like nothing more than ants.
"They’re gone."
"...."
"They’re all gone."
"But that can’t be... just a second ago—"
"Nice try."
They were clearly struggling to comprehend what had happened. But Vanitas could tell that Roman was buying ti.
Whoosh——!
Enough ti for Iridelle Vermillion to move.
The only Great Power present beside him launched forward in an instant. She leapt into the sky like a rising phoenix as flas ignited behind her, spreading outward into blazing wings.
Her attack struck instantly.
"...!"
But it accomplished nothing.
The flas collided with Vanitas’s barrier and dispersed without even reaching him. The fire that should have scorched the sky simply faded away before it could touch him.
"Fall."
Vanitas swiped his fingers.
At his command, dark magic materialized in the air, condensing into the Iron Lotus’s petals before crashing downward. They were called petals, but the na was misleading.
These were not the delicate folds of a flower.
They were colossal, eldritch appendages like living limbs, and each one was heavy enough to crush the Eisenrich whole and tear through the sea itself.
Boom——!
The impact struck Iridelle before she could react. The colossal petals slamd into her and forced her downward with overwhelming force, rescinding her fiery wings in the process.
The ocean below scread.
A massive pillar of water burst into the air as her body was driven deep under the surface. Waves rolled outward in rings that rocked the Eisenreich from side to side.
The crew struggled to steady themselves on the deck while Vanitas remained suspended in the sky, unmoving.
Dark magic continued to ripple around him as the remnants of the Iron Lotus obeyed his will. The floating petals slithered around him.
Then the ocean exploded again.
Boom——!
Iridelle shot upward from the depths in a blazing column of fire. Steam burst into the sky as seawater evaporated around her.
Her eyes burned with fury.
"How low have you fallen, Astrea?!"
Flas around her body gathered into a massive spear of condensed heat, making her seem like a living inferno.
She launched in an instant.
The blazing spear tore across the sky toward Vanitas.
But Vanitas did not move.
The abyss responded for him.
Darkness gathered in front of him and ford a swirling vortex. The spear of fla plunged directly into it and disappeared as if it had fallen into a bottomless pit.
The sky fell silent again.
Iridelle’s pupils shrank.
Vanitas slowly lowered his hand.
"You can’t win."
His voice carried across the ocean without effort.
"So do a favor and let through."
For a mont, Iridelle said nothing.
Then the flas around her flared.
"Like hell I will! I bet you killed Karina, too!"
Her body burst into flas as she surged forward again. The ocean beneath them roared as heat spread across the surface. A massive halo of fla expanded behind her as she charged toward him with the force of a falling teor.
"You people never learn."
The petals moved.
"Because you never listen to in the first place."
Whooom——!
One of the massive appendages lashed across the sky. Iridelle narrowly avoided the first strike, but the force of it alone split the clouds and churned the ocean below.
Another followed.
And another.
The appendages surged forward from every direction, writhing through the air. Their movents were slow but unstoppable. Each swing carried enough weight to crush a fortress.
Iridelle darted between them in bursts of fla.
She moved like a streak of fire across the sky as explosions of heat erupted wherever she passed. Blazing arcs cut through the darkness as she launched wave after wave of attacks toward Vanitas.
But none of them reached him.
Every blast of fla was swallowed by the abyss before it could touch his barrier.
Vanitas raised his hand again.
The appendages answered instantly, converging from every direction.
Iridelle’s eyes widened as the monstrous limbs closed in around her like the jaws of a colossal beast.
Boom——!
The ocean erupted as the appendages slamd together and drove her downward. Her body was hurled straight toward the Eisenreich with crushing force.
The supposedly unsinkable vessel shook as she tore straight through the deck. Wood and steel shattered as a massive hole ripped through the ship’s structure. The Eisenreich groaned as seawater surged inside and the vessel began to tilt at an alarming angle.
"Vanitas Astrea!"
The Bundesritter navyn moved at once.
Spells flashed across the deck as mages and officers unleashed everything they had. Vice-Admiral Roman Neuschwan led them from the front as volleys of magic shot toward the sky.
None of them reached him.
Every spell dissolved before it could approach Vanitas, swallowed by the abyss itself.
Vanitas looked down at them with cold eyes.
"I was here to help you."
His voice echoed across the ocean.
"I was here to stop the Iron Lotus before it ever reached the shores."
"...."
"But you people could only think about conspiring against ."
———!
Vanitas moved.
Dark magic streaked through the air as he vanished from his position.
The next instant, he appeared directly in front of Roman.
A massive Iron Lotus appendage coiled around the Vice-Admiral’s throat and lifted him off the deck. The eldritch limb tightened slowly, cutting off the air from his lungs as Roman clawed uselessly at it.
"Roman Neuschwan."
Vanitas’s voice was quiet.
"I’m not very fond of you or your family."
"...."
"You should have seen the way your bastard of a brother hurt her."
The appendage tightened.
Roman’s face turned purple as the air left his lungs. The Vice-Admiral who commanded fleets and soldiers could do nothing now.
Against absolute power, he was nothing more than prey.
"You should have seen her tears."
"...."
"Her cries."
"...."
"Her pleas."
"...."
"And all you could think to do was use her against ?"
By all ans, Karina should not have the clearance to join this operation. She was nothing more than a Major, after all.
———!
"I don’t care if you helped her stand again when she had nowhere else to go."
"...."
"The fact that you’re a Neuschwan is enough."
———!
"Goodbye, Roman Neuschwan."
"Ukh...!"
"Your assistance won’t be needed anyway."
Just like that, Roman Neuschwan hung limp within the crushing grip.
Vanitas released him without a second glance.
The corpse fell from the air and splashed into the ocean below, discarded like nothing more than a bag of trash.
"If all of you manage to survive, I applaud you," he said. "You’re more than welco to join the grand finale."
More or less, Vanitas had achieved what he ca here to accomplish. From the very beginning, his objective had been to consu the Iron Lotus by any ans necessary.
Karina had only paved the way.
And with the power of Abyss within him, combined with the remnants of the Lily of the Valley and the newly devoured Iron Lotus, Vanitas was certain of one thing.
He now possessed enough strength to stand against Fyodor.
"Cough...!"
But of course, such power ca at a steep price.
Vanitas brought a hand to his mouth as his body trembled. The dark energy that threatened to take hold of him did not belong to a human vessel. Every mont he held it inside himself felt as if his body was slowly tearing apart.
"...Give more ti."
Drifting through the endless ocean alone, Vanitas lifted his gaze toward the sky, blood streaking from his eyelids.
And for the first ti in a long while, he prayed. To any deity that might still be listening.
That he had enough ti before his failing body finally gave out.
"...."
The sky above him remained vast and dark.
The Iron Lotus had long smothered the heavens, leaving nothing but an endless stretch of shadow where no life should have existed.
And yet, within that silent expanse, sothing moved.
"....?"
A single bird.
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