Lily and Sara arrived at the dorms.

Frantically, they looked at their surroundings in the hope of finding any traces of people in need of rescue.

However, it was strangely desolate at the dorms.

The two girls quickly checked some buildings and rooms but they did not perceive the presence of any humans around here.

"Were they really perhaps outside the academy...?" Lily muttered bitterly.

If they had known in advance that nobody was on the academy grounds, then Lily could have gone all out and summoned a majority of her creatures to launch a full-scale attack on the academy. It was only because of the slightest possibility of innocent people being there that Lily refused to launch her attack.

"Then, let’s head there now!" Sara suggested sternly, noticing that they were slowly running out of time.

It was true that they did not notice anyone else near them.

"?"

However, there was someone who managed to stay low.

"You don’t have to check there."

"You’re...!"

Lily widened her eyes slightly once she saw Hecto Togin revealing himself before them.

"..."

Sara immediately put her hand on her sword, ready to strike him down.

"I don’t have any intentions of fighting you." Hecto stated exhaustedly, waving his hand in front of him.

"Is that so?" Sara responded grimly.

Because she worked closely with Mika, she also came to the conclusion that Hecto was in cahoots with Lucio.

"Considering the circumstances and our positions, I can’t take offense at you wanting to eliminate me." Hecto said casually.

"..."

Lily was missing some information but she at least recognized Hecto as an enemy.

"And to be honest, I’m not very proud of what I’m doing either." he sighed.

"Then, why did you choose this path?" Sara asked.

Hecto smiled faintly at her.

"Because I love creating new magic tools." he stated genuinely.

"Since I was a child, I was always experimenting with things, trying to give birth to something the world hasn’t seen before. I was especially in awe with the relics and tried to match my creations to them."

He began to talk with sparkling and innocent eyes.

"And soon, I saw the first results. I created tools with unique abilities, however, it was clear that they were nothing compared to the real thing. Thus, I kept trying over and over again."

"However, I met a wall quickly. I didn’t see any improvements until I eventually met Lucio who was curious about my works."

"..."

Sara sharpened her eyes further.

"The two of us hung out together a lot. We shared our information and work. I was really impressed by his vast knowledge. He taught me things I hadn’t heard of before! And until I realized, I found myself following him. Maybe it was because he offered me everything I needed in order to create new and better tools that I did everything he asked me of..."

Hecto turned calmer.

"Get to your point." Sara interrupted him.

"S-Sara...?"

"Why did you show up in front of us? Do you want us to kill you?"

"..."

Hecto hesitated.

"The greedier a relic wielder becomes the higher the possibility that the wielder turns into a demon or monster."

"?"

"The world practically worships those relics due to their strength, however, almost none of them knows about their fatal flaws."

Hecto clenched his fists.

"That’s why... That’s why I’m trying to create tools that surpass those relics...! But I can’t do so during this situation...! So I’m begging you..."

He got on his knees with his forehead pressing the asphalt.

"Please, get me away from here...!"

Lucio realized Hecto’s goals and planned to get rid of him soon.

Knowing that, Hecto desperately searched for a way to escape.

"You dare to beg for your life despite being one of the main factors of this...? Do you even comprehend how many people had to die because of you...?"

Lily looked at the calm and yet raging Sara concernedly.

"Now you want to save people...?!"

She drew her sword.

"Get up, Hecto Togin!" she shouted at him.

"..."

As if he accepted his fate, he stood up without resistance.

"Lily, can you prepare a bird?" Sara asked apathetically.

She walked toward Hecto and raised her sword.

"No matter what you do or will do, you will never be forgiven."

"Argh...!"

She swung her sword down and cut off his right arm.

"However, as a crown princess, I’ve learned to think things through rationally."

Sara turned her back to him.

"Use your skills for the people. But if there are no results, I will come and get your head personally."

Hecto was on his knees, clenching his wound tightly.

"Thank you so much...!" he muttered in agony.

Lily summoned a big bird.

"Get him away to somewhere safe." Lily ordered the bird.

Thus, Hecto was grabbed by its feet and departed.

"Are you okay, Sara?"

Sara was still appearing grim.

Personally, she wanted to kill Hecto but she tried to look at it objectively. Even though it would be a gamble, she bet on him using his works for the people.

If what he said was true, then humans needed an alternative to relics as soon as possible.

"Yes. Let’s move on."

Their gazes were directed at the academy.

"!"

However, at that moment, a red flare was shot into the dark sky.

"Already?!"

"Tch!"

Reluctantly, the two girls turned the other way and ran.

Meanwhile, at the academy.

"A signal flare?" Lucio wondered.

Olivia used a small gun to shoot the flare into the air.

Prior to their mission, each one of them was handed a gun in order to fire off a signal. That signal should only be sent if the situation would turn for the worse.

In other words, it was the signal for everyone to retreat, no matter what the situation was.

"..."

She threw the gun to the side.

The corpse of Ophelia was put somewhere safe before Olivia faced Lucio with a cold gaze.

"I assume that it was a signal for everyone to retreat, right? Then, what are you doing?" Lucio asked.

"Don’t tell me that you’re still trying to fight me." Lucio sighed.

Olivia walked toward him.

"If even Mika Elbar could not touch me, what makes you think that you could?"

She did not listen to him.

Instead, she threw a punch which stopped right before Lucio.

"Keh!"

Lucio kicked her in the abdomen.

"Whatever... I will send you to your sister and your retainers now."

"...?"

Olivia looked up at Lucio, reacting to him mentioning Zack and Wendy.

"Years ago, you tried to investigate Hecto, right?"

But according to the reports, those two died at the hands of monsters.

"Because it’s you, I want you to pass on, knowing the whole truth."

Lucio smiled gently as he raised Olivia up by strangling her neck.

"It was me who let the horde of monsters attack them."

Olivia’s weak body suddenly tensed up.

"!"

Lucio received a heavy punch in the gut and was sent flying.

He crashed through the big window at the end of the hall.

"Impossible...! She hit me...?" Lucio muttered as he landed outside.

Inside the academy, Olivia charged herself up with lightning and destroyed her surroundings with her magic.

She launched lightning at the pillars and walls, punched and kicked the ground and let out a loud roar.

It appeared like she had lost control over herself as she moved and attacked wildly.

Her mind was blank.

Only the thought of destroying everything remained in her current mind.

Even her dearest memories with her and Ophelia faded away.

The time the two spent together as children. How they played, laughed and trained together. How much she loved her and how much pain she felt when Ophelia ran away from home.

All of those feelings and memories were currently replaced with the thought of destroying everything, neglecting the details of her surroundings.

She turned into a mindless rampaging beast but in return, she received more power.

So much power that she could even fight Lucio properly.

"I see. So that’s what happens when a Rostanta uses more than 100 percent of her blood power."

Lucio returned and observed Olivia from a distance.

"No wonder you were able to land a hit on me... Tch. What a pain..." Lucio complained, ruffling his hair.

He jumped down and approached Olivia.

"I wanted to save my trump card for later but you could prove to be a problem if I let you do as you please right now..." Lucio stated sternly.

His right hand was engulfed in flickering darkness.

"..."

He stretched that hand toward Olivia who did not stop rampaging. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Only after perceiving the presence of someone near her. Olivia jumped at him like a wild animal.

"Goodbye, Olivia Rostanta. We won’t see each other in this realm again."

Olivia threw a punch which hit his dark hand.

However, Lucio did not feel an impact.

"..."

It was quiet now.

After all, Olivia vanished from the spot immediately after touching his hand.