"…?"
Where am I?
The scene before was chaos itself.
A red-and-black world, drenched in malice. Ominous energy surged from every direction, swallowing everything whole.
Surrounded by flas, I moved instinctively toward the area where the fire felt weakest.
FWOOOSH—
"…!"
In that instant, a humanoid figure burst through the flas and seized .
Startled, I tried to shake it off—then froze when I saw its face.
"Le… Leblanc… noona…?"
"…Protect… the kids…"
Thud.
"Noona? Noona!"
One arm severed, her body riddled with deep sword wounds—she collapsed before my eyes and never breathed again.
What…? What is this—why now?
Before I could steady myself, a familiar voice echoed from sowhere in the distance.
"Hoaquin…! Please… save …"
"…Albelda? Albelda! Where are you?!"
I pushed through the flas toward the sound.
Far ahead, I saw Albelda lying on the ground, reaching out.
What's happening—what is this place?!
I sprinted toward her with everything I had—
FWOOM—
Suddenly, a wall of fire erupted and swallowed her whole.
"…Al… belda?"
She vanished into the flas.
Before I could even grieve—
"KYAAAH! Oppa…!"
"Anna!"
Her scream tore through the air.
This ti—this ti I won't fail—
I lunged forward, reaching for her—
FWOOM—
"…."
Once again, a massive blaze consud her before my hand could touch hers.
Anna's fragile voice faded into nothing.
I collapsed to my knees.
What… is this?
"…?"
Then I noticed soone standing far away.
When I lifted my head, the last remaining friend stood there.
"…Vi—Vicente. Co here. Hurry. No—no, I'll co to you. Just hold on, please…"
He didn't answer.
He only looked at .
And then—
He walked into the flas on his own.
I tried to run to him.
My body wouldn't move.
Don't go.
Why is everyone leaving?
Please—don't leave alone—
.....
"…Ah!"
I jolted awake.
For a split second, panic seized —was this still a dream?
I looked around.
The faint scent of blood.
The dark, cavernous castle hall.
And—
The scars on my wrists that hadn't yet healed.
Reality.
"…Haah… I finally slept peacefully for once."
Seems waking up peacefully was still asking too much.
At this point, maybe this is just my punishnt.
Just like in that dream—unable to save anyone.
A headache crept in as my mood sank, so I stood from the throne, planning to get so air on the roof.
Judging by the bright light beyond the walls, it was dayti.
Then—
From the doorway separating the castle from the outside, a silhouette slowly approached, backlit by the sun.
I tensed for a mont.
Then relaxed when I saw the confident gait and blue hair.
Maschenny stopped in front of and tossed sothing my way.
"Awake?"
"Yeah. Just now. But… what's this?"
It was a white headband.
"…Why?"
She pointed at my hair.
"Tidy it up. Or cut it. It's way too long—annoying."
…She wasn't wrong.
I hadn't cut it in decades.
Thanks to shinsu, it wasn't damaged, but hair that once only reached my waist now dragged across the floor.
Slice—
Without hesitation, I cut it with my sword.
It fell away in thick clumps, shortened back to waist length.
Maschenny flinched slightly at the decisiveness, but hey—she told to cut it.
I smoothed my bangs and tied on the white headband she gave .
A crown. A headband.
I was starting to resemble my original appearance more and more.
I glanced at my reflection—then at her.
She really had grown.
So had I.
"Maschenny… I forgot to say this yesterday, but—yeah. You've changed in the last hundred years."
"I haven't," she replied flatly. "Unlike you."
"…Haha. We're about the sa height now, too."
"Shut up. Follow ."
"…Where to? If you an a test site—sorry, I'm really not—"
"FUG."
"…."
My expression darkened.
Even after a hundred years, that word still cut deep.
I was tired of drowning in pointless bloodshed, but monsters like the ones in this castle? I still killed them on sight.
"The royal family issued a mission," she said. "Help ."
"…Wow. Second day after reuniting and you're already putting your friend to work? Cold."
"I said things completely out of character last night to keep you alive," she snapped.
"Your eyes even went from muddy gray back to white."
"…Heh. Fine, fine. Lead the way, Princess."
"Don't use that tone."
"Can't help it. It's funny."
Huh. No lightning.
I'd instinctively braced myself, but when nothing happened, I relaxed a little.
Seeing her like this—so direct, so sharp—it felt like I was finally seeing hints of the Maschenny from the original tiline.
We were still young.
But growing.
I followed her toward an Outer Tower location where FUG operatives had fled on the 89th Floor.
....
Her mission itself was simple.
Exterminate the FUG hiding on the 89th Floor.
Recover the stolen trade goods.
Honestly, I hadn't expected the royal family to care about sothing this small.
"Why send Regulars for this?" I asked.
"Because the FUG involved are Regulars."
"Huh. Must be nice, using a Princess like spare labor."
"Less talk—more helping!"
BOOM—!
Her lightning-attribute shinsu barrier flickered, nearing its limit.
A warped entry had dropped us straight into the enemy stronghold, and now we were barely holding off a barrage of artillery fire.
She'd managed so far—but nothing lasts forever.
I'd been joking around since it'd been so long since we fought together.
But yeah.
Ti to help.
"Cover your eyes."
I summoned a single shinsu blade and ignited it, forcing it to emit a blinding white light.
The flash flooded the battlefield—
And just like that, the fortress cannons went silent.
"…What did you do?"
"Sothing like an EMP."
For the first ti in a long while,
I was moving forward again.
I headed out to deal with the enemies stationed in the eastern and southern forts.
She took the northern and western ones.
"You… filthy Ten Families trash—!"
Slash—
…Boring.
With a single swing of a sword infused with shinsu, I could have collapsed this shoddy fortress entirely—but if I did that, Maschenny would complain that it ended without any fun. So I bothered engaging them one by one.
Maybe I'd spilled too much blood over the years.
I felt nothing.
Even a hundred years ago, killing people in the Tower had been a natural consequence of its law of the strong devouring the weak. I'd never hesitated back then either.
Still, at least sothing stirred inside at the ti.
Now?
Nothing at all.
The emptiness gnawed at , and the realization left a bad taste in my mouth.
…Hah. Maybe I shouldn't co along for jobs like this anymore.
No—never mind. This was Maschenny's request, after all.
After cutting down everyone, I sat atop the ruined fortress and waited.
Before long, Maschenny finished on her end and ca over.
"How was it over there?" I asked.
She frowned, clearly dissatisfied.
"h… not great. Not enough blood. Didn't really live up to expectations."
"…Wasn't the goal to recover the cargo?"
"Oh. Right. That."
…She really hasn't changed in that regard.
A true battle junkie who enjoys blood-soaked chaos.
"We don't need to handle that ourselves," she continued.
"Just tell the underlings to search for it."
"Alright. Then… we're heading back to the castle now, right?"
She shook her head and stared at .
Why are you looking at like that? That's uncomfortable.
"When was the last ti you ate?"
"…Three years ago?"
"..."
Strangely enough, my body could endure without food.
She let out a quiet sigh and grabbed my arm, dragging along.
"We're eating dinner first. Then we're shopping."
"Ow—hey, shopping for what?"
"You do realize the only thing in your castle is a battered throne, right?"
"Do we really need to buy things ourselves? Couldn't we just have the ser— I an, attendants handle it?"
She stopped mid-step, spun around, and glared at .
"Go outside for once! Stop rotting in so creepy hole!"
"...…"
In the end, I was forcibly hauled into an Inner Tower restaurant for a al, then dragged through a massive shopping district to pick up daily necessities.
—No wonder you can't sleep properly if you nap sitting on a stone chair, idiot.
Cruel. Truly cruel.
After saying that, Maschenny headed back to the castle ahead of .
…She wasn't wrong, though. Leaving the place in that state when I had a guest would've been rude.
And honestly, I knew what she was trying to do.
Bringing along on a mission I could've easily handled alone.
Dragging all over the Inner Tower.
She was trying—desperately—to pull back outside.
Still… what floor did Hwarang and Luf say they were on again?
I should've asked.
If we all gathered again… would I start climbing the Tower once more?
"Ah—sir. Are you going with this one? An excellent choice."
"Hm? Oh, this bed is good?"
"…Ah."
....
Lately, I'd been sighing a lot.
It was all Hoaquin's fault.
I was annoyed at him for locking himself away in that gloomy place, so I dragged him all over the place.
I could've moved him to a mansion or hotel in the Inner Tower—but sothing about the Inner Tower clearly unsettled him.
Probably trauma from what happened a hundred years ago.
"…Ha…"
Even so.
Cutting his own wrists?
I'd known him for a long ti—he was strong, yet fragile.
Worst of all, he didn't value his own life at all.
When an old nesis once ca to save him, he'd dodged the question—but now, I could clearly imagine how that had happened.
I wanted him to stay.
To remain with , until a massive wave finally swept over this boring Tower.
Besides… he was fun to be around. That counted for sothing.
Seriously, where is he now?
As I was thinking that, I sensed a presence nearby.
Did he finally co back?
"...…"
I moved to head out—and froze.
The presence had already entered the castle.
It wasn't Hoaquin.
A black dress shirt. Dark trousers.
An ordinary-looking middle-aged man.
But the shinsu flow around him was unmistakable.
Maschenny couldn't move.
"Hm? What's this."
Sizzle—
The man flicked his cigarette to the floor and crushed it under his shoe.
"I heard there was an Arie Regular killing FUG Rankers," he said casually, strolling toward her.
The pressure of his presence bore down on her like a weight.
"So I dropped by on my way ho."
His eyes glowed red.
"I didn't hear anything about the Khun Family being involved."
"…And yet—"
His gaze sharpened.
"A Zahard Princess, no less…"
....
"…Huh? I only bought a bed. Maschenny won't complain… probably."
Hoaquin had reached the castle gates.
"…?"
At that mont, he felt it.
A trace of shinsu.
Not Maschenny's.
And absolutely not sothing ordinary.
If he had to compare—aside from his father, this presence might be the strongest he'd ever felt.
A chill ran down his spine.
No—this wasn't just unease.
It was overwhelming dread.
Boom!
He kicked off the ground, wings spreading wide, and shot into the castle.
"Maschenny!"
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