Lainess Zahard spoke as she forcibly suppressed her anger.
"Fine. Whatever. I ca here to propose a wager."
"We never said we'd accept," Maschenny replied coolly.
"Oh, but you won't have a choice. Not after you hear what we're offering."
Lainess Zahard brushed her red hair back and looked straight at .
The way one corner of her lips curled upward, the sharp crimson eyes drawing a mocking arc—she was clearly looking down on .
After a brief, heavy silence, she finally spoke.
"We have the body of Arie Anna."
"…What?"
For a mont, I doubted my own hearing.
No—even now, I doubted it.
Seeing my expression, Lainess Zahard let out a slimy, derisive laugh.
"They said this would make you understand. So then, I—"
Before she could finish—
I shattered the floor beneath my feet and lunged forward.
In an instant, my hand clamped tightly around Lainess Zahard's throat and slamd her into the nearby wall.
Bang—!
Bricks exploded outward as cracks spider-webbed across the wall.
Lainess Zahard was embedded into the crater, desperately gripping my wrist as if trying to pry herself free.
The entire sequence happened in less than a second after she finished speaking.
Maschenny stared at in shock.
"Hoaquin—wait!"
I recognized that she was shouting sothing, but I couldn't hear it.
"Maschenny. Stay back."
I tightened my grip around the princess's throat.
"Kh—! What the hell is this—!"
"You said your na was Lainess Blitz Zahard, right?"
She had said sothing she never should have said.
Dared to say it.
"Where is my sister."
I drove her harder into the wall, increasing the pressure.
The harder I pressed, the tighter she clung to my wrist, and the wall began to groan ominously.
"…Kgh—we'd never tell you that—"
"WHERE IS SHE!"
Crash—!
I smashed her into the wall again. This ti, the structure finally gave way and collapsed.
She still had to stay alive.
I hauled her up and hurled her into the opposite wall.
Lainess Zahard slamd into it without even managing to resist, then shakily forced herself upright.
She can still stand.
Maybe I should cut sothing off.
I crushed scattered brick fragnts beneath my feet and walked toward her, step by step.
The pressure of my Shinsu, erupting in response to my emotions, cracked the ground with every step and strangled the air around her, making it hard for even a princess to breathe.
"What? A wager? With my sister as the prize?"
Crunch—
As I drew closer, Lainess Zahard's face turned deathly pale.
"W-wait—"
Crack—
"What? Disposal? You dare talk about my sister like that?"
I slowly drew Baekya from its sheath.
The sharp tallic ring as the blade erged made her tremble even more.
I stopped directly in front of her.
"You don't say sothing like that unless you see my sister's body as nothing more than a disposable tool."
I had finally found the remains of the sister I loved more than anything.
And yet, before relief could even surface, all I felt was rage.
How could they even think of using the cold corpse of a child for a ga?
Or was it who still hadn't adapted to this cursed Tower's twisted sense of morality?
Lainess Blitz Zahard had collapsed to the ground, looking up at with trembling eyes.
I brought Baekya up to the side of her neck.
"Where is my sister."
The blade pressed deeper.
Blood began to trickle down her neck.
And finally—
"Kuh… hahah… hahahahaha!"
She burst into insane laughter.
A bad feeling struck instantly.
Without hesitation, I swung Baekya.
Just before the blade could sever her neck, Lainess—her lips twisted unnaturally upward—spoke.
....
Maschenny stepped closer to .
"…Hoaquin, are you okay? Why did you kill her? What about Anna?"
"…No. Sothing felt wrong."
I had never intended to kill Lainess Zahard.
Until I recovered Anna, she was supposed to stay alive—no matter what.
But that strange premonition…
Beep—beep—beep—
"…?"
A Pocket's ringtone rang out suddenly.
I turned toward the sound—it was coming from Lainess Zahard's Pocket.
Realizing with crushing clarity that we had been played, I answered the call with a sinking heart.
A playful woman's voice ca through the Pocket.
— Haha, you've got a pretty rough side, don't you?
Maschenny's expression turned ice-cold the mont she heard it.
"Lo Po Bia Leta Zahard. So you were the last one."
— Oh? Maschenny? Long ti no hear~ Did you like the gift I prepared? It was a puppet controlled by one of our Rankers. It even had a self-destruct function—but your tough little boyfriend tore its head off before I could use it.
The provocation was obvious—deliberately trying to bait us into violating Zahard Princess regulations.
Both Maschenny's and my gazes dropped into freezing cold depths.
I suppressed the urge to slice the Pocket into pieces and spoke.
"…Where is Anna."
— Before that, what's your answer to our proposal?
Before I could respond, Maschenny cut in.
"Hoaquin, it could be a lie. They might just be trying to draw us in. The Arie family couldn't find her—how could they?"
Her reasoning made sense.
But the mont the Pocket's video function activated, all doubt vanished.
On the screen was Anna.
Lying sowhere, asleep.
"…Anna."
— Hahahaha. The Arie family couldn't find her? Looks to like they didn't even try to find a corpse once she was dead. Otherwise, how do you think we found her so quickly with just a few Rankers?
"..."
I couldn't say a word.
They didn't even try?
I wanted to deny it—but after witnessing the Ten Great Families for over a century, I couldn't.
Even so… she was direct family.
They didn't care at all, just because she was dead?
— Alright, last chance. Our ga—three of us versus the two of you. Are you in?
I turned to look at Maschenny.
Her eyes t mine.
For Maschenny's sake, the correct choice would have been not to participate.
This wasn't so childish power struggle anymore—it was a wager where lives were the stakes.
If sothing went wrong, she could be put in real danger.
And nothing was more horrifying than Maschenny being endangered because of my selfishness.
But then—
"Fine. I'll play along, Leta."
The one who accepted the proposal wasn't .
It was Maschenny.
I stared at her in shock.
"…Maschenny?"
She looked back at , the corner of her lips slightly lifted.
"Why? We need to bring your little sister back. And if things get dangerous—"
She stepped closer.
"Then you'll protect ."
I stood there blankly for a mont before letting out a dry laugh.
"…Haha. Yeah."
I will.
No matter what.
— Tch. What a touching scene. Alright then—shall we move to a proper stage for our little ga?
This is the 96th Floor.
Co up four more floors.
We've prepared the ga stage there.
The call ended.
The Pocket was imdiately reduced to thousands of pieces by my blade.
"Then, Maschenny," I said quietly, "we'll need to clear the tests right away."
"Yeah."
I walked toward the 92nd Floor's ascension test area with the sa relaxed expression as always.
But inside—
Anyone who dared to toy with my sister's body…
I would never forgive them.
Not a single one.
I'll carve them all apart—
Kiiing—
"…Ugh!"
A sudden pain struck near my heart.
What now?
"Hoaquin?"
"…I'm fine. It faded."
I took a breath.
"Anyway, Maschenny. We're using everything we have, right?"
"We have to. Looks like they've prepared thoroughly too."
If they're throwing everything they can at us—
Then so will we.
....
96th Floor
"Ah—so tired."
Lo Po Bia Leta Zahard sprawled lazily across a sofa.
Across from her, Yeon Yuhwa Zahard, sipping a cocktail, smiled in satisfaction.
"Good work. Is everything ready now?"
"Yeah. Our aquarium is fully prepared. All that's left is to wait."
She stretched.
"If we can bring in more firepower, we will. Perfection is everything, right?"
Yuhwa nodded lightly.
"Agreed. To end this tedious faction war, we have to take the queen directly."
"You're right. Especially Maschenny—that bitch needs to be crushed thoroughly. Once she's gone, the other princesses will fall in line naturally."
The First Generation Zahard Princesses had all killed one another in the past.
Now, only their generation remained.
With so few Ranker Princesses left, and with Yuhwa and Maschenny being the top candidates to receive one of the Thirteen Months, eliminating Maschenny first would place all Second Generation Princesses under Yuhwa's control.
Yuhwa turned her gaze toward the window.
A massive formation of interconnected floating ships filled the sky.
That was the "aquarium."
Once Maschenny Zahard entered it—
She would never escape on her own.
Leta, spinning a toy idly while lying down, suddenly sat up.
"But honestly, isn't it fascinating?"
"Dragging Maschenny in with nothing more than the corpse of a Ten Great Family's direct descendant."
"Not exactly," Yuhwa replied calmly.
"We lured in the man who travels with her. Maschenny is just extra."
The real target had always been—
Yuhwa poured another cocktail and handed it to Leta.
"So? What did you think of him?"
Leta downed the drink in one gulp, pretended to ponder, then laughed.
"He's insanely strong. Sharp instincts too."
"If he hadn't seen Lainess first, he would've realized imdiately that she was a fake puppet."
She stroked the head of the beast beside her.
"But judging by his obsession…"
"There's a weakness in his mind."
Her tongue slowly traced her lips.
"He looks fun to break."
The two won clinked their glasses together.
Their plan was proceeding perfectly.
Neither of them realized—
They had just grabbed the dragon's reverse scale.
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