High above the ruined castle, Zane and Zayne silently floated in the night sky while watching the aftermath below.

In Zayne’s grip, Priest Paul no longer had the composed fanatic expression from before. His face was pale, trembling with panic and disbelief after witnessing the defeat of the Abyssals he worshipped.

And the ones who defeated them...

Were none other than Prince Ron Volkov, Princess Lia Isolde, and their companions.

Zayne quietly looked toward the castle beneath them.

"It’s finished... for now."

Beside him, Zane calmly watched the glowing remnants of dark mana fading from the castle.

"Hm."

"But in three years..."

"Ron, Lia, and the others will meet them again."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"When the Abyssal outbreaks begin."

Zayne slowly looked toward Paul again.

A sinister smile spread across his face.

"So..."

"What do we do about this thing now, boss?"

Zane smirked faintly.

"What do you think?"

That answer alone made Paul start struggling violently.

"No... no no no..."

Panic filled his eyes completely now.

Zayne slowly raised the hand gripping Paul’s neck higher into the air while smiling.

"Good luck in the afterlife."

"Don’t worry."

"You won’t be lonely there."

"We’ll send your friends and those Abyssals to join you real soon."

Then—

Crunch.

Zayne tightened his grip.

Paul desperately clawed at Zayne’s arm while his thoughts spiraled.

No... no... wait... WAIT—

Boom.

His head exploded instantly.

Blood burst through the air before the lifeless body dropped from Zayne’s grasp like trash and crashed near the front of the ruined castle below.

Zayne casually dusted his hand off.

"So now what, boss?"

Zane kept watching the castle through the broken walls.

"Now we wait."

"And observe the emotional scene."

Zayne’s lips twitched slightly.

"...You sound way too interested in that."

Zane ignored the comment.

"You can go down there."

"I’ll watch from here for now."

Zayne shrugged before slowly descending toward the castle where Valeriana stood restraining the remaining Vassel members.

Meanwhile, Zane silently observed everything from above.

Below—

Inside the ruined castle hall—

Dex had returned to normal completely.

Or at least physically.

The Abyssal form was gone, leaving behind only the horrific injuries.

Half his body was burned black.

A hole existed near his heart.

The right side of his torso looked torn apart completely.

Only one eye remained intact.

Still—

He forced himself to look toward Ron.

"...Ron..."

Ron’s body stiffened instantly.

"...Brother..."

Dex’s breathing was shallow now.

"Bring... her... to me..."

His remaining eye slowly searched the hall.

"Bring... Maya..."

"I’m... going to die soon..."

"I don’t know... if she’s alive... or dead..."

"But..."

"I want... her face..."

"...to be the last thing I see..."

Ron’s throat tightened painfully.

"Yes... brother..."

But before Ron could move—

Lia had already arrived carrying Maya carefully on her back.

Maya was also on the brink of death.

The shadow poison arrow Drevin used on Si had been powerful enough that even the Abyssal struggled to suppress it. Now that Si had disappeared, Maya’s weakened human body was left to bear the poison alone.

Lia gently placed Maya beside Dex.

Dex slowly turned his remaining eye toward her.

"...Ma...ya..."

Maya’s trembling hand touched the unburned side of Dex’s face.

"Dex..."

Tears slowly flowed from Dex’s remaining eye.

"I’m... sorry..."

"We... lost..."

A faint weak smile appeared on his broken face.

"Even though... we became husband and wife today..."

"...looks like..."

"...we won’t be able to live as one..."

Maya couldn’t answer properly.

Only sobs escaped her lips.

Then Dex slowly looked toward Ron again.

"...Ron..."

"Even though..."

"One part of me still hated you..."

"...you’re still my little brother."

A weak smile appeared on his face.

"You can protect yourself now..."

"I fulfilled... mother’s promise..."

Ron’s tears finally fell.

"...Brother..."

"I’m sorry..."

Dex slowly looked toward Lia next.

"Lia..."

"Take care of him..."

"He’s still dumb..."

Despite everything, a tiny laugh escaped Ron through his tears.

Then Dex whispered softly,

"And Ron..."

"Thank you..."

"...for being my brother."

Silence followed.

Then Maya finally spoke weakly.

"...Lia..."

"I was jealous of you..."

"Your talent..."

"The way people loved you..."

"You always had something I didn’t..."

Her eyes slowly trembled.

"I started hating you for everything."

"For the throne..."

"For being my sister..."

"The only thing I believed I had..."

"...was my strength."

"I was afraid you would surpass me..."

"That you would become better than me..."

A bitter smile appeared on her face.

"But there was no point fearing the inevitable."

"You were better than me then..."

"And you’re better than me now..."

Tears continued falling from Lia’s eyes.

"...Sister..."

Maya weakly smiled at her.

"And it looks like..."

"I won’t be able to make you my knight..."

Lia immediately hugged her tightly.

"No... no sister... don’t..."

Maya slowly looked toward Ron.

"...Ron..."

"Take care of her..."

Then she looked back toward Lia again.

"...Lia..."

"I love you."

Finally—

Dex and Maya looked toward each other one last time.

In that final gaze, both shared the same silent wish.

If they could—

They wanted to leave all royal politics behind.

To live quietly somewhere far away.

As husband and wife.

Then—

Their breathing stopped.

Silence filled the ruined hall.

Ron and Lia both collapsed onto their knees while tears streamed endlessly from their eyes.

Then instinctively—

They hugged each other tightly.

Everyone around them remained silent.

Even Maera, Selene, Drevin, Valeriana, and Zayne quietly watched without interrupting.

Then suddenly—

Something strange happened.

Dex and Maya’s bodies slowly began breaking apart into glowing particles of light.

Ron and Lia’s eyes widened.

The particles rose slowly into the air like tiny stars before scattering throughout the night sky.

And eventually—

Both bodies disappeared completely.

High above the castle, Zane quietly watched the glowing particles drifting through the sky.

"It was a little cheesy for my taste..."

"But it was a good end."

His calm eyes reflected the floating lights.

Then after a moment—

He quietly spoke again.

"...It’s not over yet."

--

Deep beneath the ruined castle...

Inside the basement hidden below layers of stone and magic—

A gigantic ancient door stood silently in the darkness.

Its surface was covered in elegant carvings and glowing symbols from an older era.

Beside the entrance, two royal soldiers lay dead with knives lodged cleanly through their throats.

Blood slowly spread across the floor beneath them.

And standing before the massive chamber—

Was Hans.

His once neat appearance had become miserable after losing against Valeriana. Cuts covered his body, one sleeve was soaked in blood, and even his famous fox-like smile had become strained.

Still—

His eyes remained cold.

When the Abyssals lost and that mysterious man carrying Paul disappeared from the sky covered in blood, Hans understood immediately.

Paul was dead.

The plan had failed.

Which meant—

It was time for Plan B.

Hans slowly looked toward the center of the chamber.

There—

A gigantic floating stone radiated enormous magical energy while suspended above an ancient formation.

The Main Floater Stone.

The very thing keeping the floating city stable in the sky.

Hans slowly took out one of his knives.

Then muddy corrupted mana slowly wrapped around the blade.

His eyes became ruthless.

"If Abyssals failed..."

"Then everyone dies together."

Boom.

He lunged toward the Floater Stone.

Above—

Inside the ruined castle hall—

Maera, Selene, and Drevin slowly approached Ron and Lia.

The siblings still sat silently on the broken floor while tears continued falling from their eyes.

Without saying anything, Maera and Selene both knelt and hugged Lia tightly.

Meanwhile, Drevin quietly placed a hand on Ron’s shoulder.

No words were needed.

Nearby, Valeriana’s knights had finally arrived inside the castle.

Valeriana immediately glared at them angrily.

"What took you all so long?!"

The knights quickly bowed nervously.

"Captain, there was a massive magic formation outside surrounding the castle. It prevented us from entering."

Valeriana clicked her tongue in irritation.

Meanwhile, Zayne stood nearby silently while pretending to look normal.

Valeriana immediately turned toward him next.

"And what about you?"

"What took you so long?"

A sweatdrop appeared on Zayne’s face.

He was just about to make up an explanation when suddenly—

His expression changed.

"...Wait."

He slowly looked downward toward the ground beneath the castle.

"There’s someone down there."

Then his eyes narrowed slightly.

"And this mana..."

At that exact moment—

BOOOOM.

The entire castle trembled violently.

Cracks spread through the walls while debris fell from above.

Everyone’s expressions changed instantly.

Valeriana’s eyes widened.

She immediately turned toward Ron.

"Prince Ron!"

"I know you’re grieving, but we need to know what’s below us!"

Ron froze for one second.

Then suddenly—

His expression changed completely.

"...The Main Floater Stone."

His voice trembled slightly.

"...No."

"Someone is trying to destroy it."

Valeriana’s expression darkened immediately.

"Prince, if it gets destroyed..."

"...what happens?"

Ron’s face paled.

"The Floater Stone contains an enormous amount of compressed energy."

"If it gets destroyed..."

His voice became heavy.

"...the entire city will explode."