Lucien Zevalis dies by impalement.

Thanks to Jamie’s timely activation of the ’Call’ Conception, the wooden stake pierced through his skull and immediately ended his life.

... That’s what should have happened.

But Lucien Zevalis, in a final act of desperation, decided to change the present by returning to the past. He used Past Jumping to travel through time in a last-ditch effort to alter his fate and survive the destruction.

Unfortunately, due to his incredibly limited Interference Power, he could only travel seconds into the past.

This was enough, however!

He was able to completely avoid Jamie and travel to a completely different position.

This time... he was safe.

Only then does it return to the present.

"Huh? He was right here..." Jamie mutters, staring at the location where Lucien Zevalis’ corpse ought to have been.

Instead, Lucien has now appeared a few meters away—perfectly safe.

Of course, his right hand is still mangled, and his head is in disarray... but he is still alive!

Not just that, but he is once again surrounded by all the Magivores he had previously dispersed.

There are a little over a hundred of them now.

Still, with them circling him, there’s no way the enemy would attack so carelessly.

He is safe.

For now, at least.

"Haa... haaa..."

His body shudders at this moment.

’I’ve used up the last of my Interference Power. I can’t escape any longer....’ Lucien sighs deeply, realizing that this is the precise outcome that these people wanted to see.

After all, now the most unexpected variable has vanished.

He has no way to leave.

’It’s gotten much worse, but I can still manage the Existential Deficiency. Unfortunately, as long as this issue persists, I cannot recover my Interference Power.’

That means he is stuck here.

He won’t be able to recover unless he somehow eliminates enough enemies and finds a resting place to recover from his Existential Deficiency.

But... how did things reach this point?

Lucien was previously confused by his opponents and their ability to read his moves, but after getting a little breathing room, he finally understands.

"Misdirection, huh? You got me good..." He smiles bitterly while admitting the truth. "I was so sure that the Disciple Seeker of the Dark Guild wasn’t nearby, but it turns out I was wrong. He was in your Flying Bug Construct all along, wasn’t he?"

Alistair chuckles upon hearing this, but he doesn’t affirm or deny this statement.

"I see..."

Lucien begins to get a better grasp of the situation.

"When did you do this? Was he there all along? But how did you rendezvous with him from Sarvosia? From my understanding, after rescuing that frontier village, you rushed here without wasting any time, so when did you... Ah, so that was when it happened..."

How could he have missed it?

At some point, Alistair had been in the Flying Bug Construct alone.

Everyone else had left the vessel to fight the Cadre 5 Magivores, but he remained. The excuse he gave was that he had to search for Lucien throughout the city and its outskirts while also providing aerial backup. But this wasn’t actually the case at all, was it?

No, the Flying Bug Construct was in automatic mode.

This was the perfect moment for it to have been in this state, since the Cadre 5 Magivores back then weren’t actively being controlled by Lucien.

Instead, they were in a frenzy and weren’t performing any complex actions.

"You used that opportunity to Trace to Gabriel. You informed him of the situation and somehow got him to cooperate with you. Then, you returned. But... hmm... no, the timing makes no sense. It would have taken him much longer to arrive if that were the case. Unless... haha! I see it now! You bastard... You actually made him monitor your past and future rather than mine. That way, he would be close by when you required his assistance. How did you recover your Interference Power so quickly? Hmm... I see, so the Sect actually gave you that Potion. I should have known. Your Interference Power recovered quickly because of that. You were able to bring Gabriel to the vessel during this time, which meant you didn’t need to pilot it on your own. No, that can’t be right. Your expertise is required to properly use the vessel, but if that Seeker uses it, they’ll only be able to do a slightly better job than the automatic function. But... Isn’t that the same use Javier had? That meant... you... didn’t need... to... send Javier to... the ship...?!"

Alistair’s smile broadens at this moment.

At the same time, Lucien’s expression turns ugly.

He quickly realizes the truth.

’I’ve been played!’

Since Gabriel had been brought to the vessel, he could use his Conception to catch glimpses into Lucien’s future. That’s actually why the team was able to predict his plan with such perfect accuracy, even almost killing him.

In fact, they would have succeeded.

After all, Gabriel had perfectly analyzed the future and provided the optimal outcome.

It’s only because Lucien changed the past that the future changed, which is something Gabriel would not have been able to see until Lucien changed the past.

Now that Lucien knows how they were able to outmaneuver him, he also understands the reason he is in his current position. It’s all because of the additional, completely unexpected variable of the Dark Guild’s Seeker.

The tables were turned because of that man.

But— 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

’This isn’t the full picture!’ Lucien’s mind focuses on the problem. ’I’m missing something—or rather, someone!’

Gabriel is an experienced Disciple Seeker.

He would be able to do a decent job piloting the Flying Bug Construct before and even after using Prophecy to inform them of Lucien’s future plan. Then, Alistair would be able to use his Auxiliary-type Communication Armament to pass this message across to everyone, coordinating the team with flawless efficiency.

This accounts for everyone except a single individual.

The weakest and most negligible variable...

... Rank 1...

... Witness Harbinger...

... Javier Aditi!

"Where the hell is Javier Aditi?!"

Not long after Lucien Zevalis screams this does he find the answer to his question.

It isn’t in front of him.

It isn’t beside him.

Not behind him either.

Heck... It isn’t even above him.

The answer—Javier Aditi’s whereabouts—can be found beneath Lucien Zevalis.

Far beneath him!

"Oh no!" Lucien’s eyes bulge in instant suspicion. "The ritual! He couldn’t have—!"

"That’s right..."

Alistair interrupts with a deep and confident tone, one that radiates finality.

"It is as you imagined. While we were busy distracting you, the most insignificant character ended up invading your most prized treasure."

"Impossible! You’re bluffing!"

"Am I?" Alistair smiles. "It’s the truth, though."

"If he truly invaded the dome, he has no way of stopping the ritual. In fact, the arrangements I kept in place, and the complex profundities of—"

"No use telling me all of that. I don’t know how the ritual operates. The secrets you stole from the Ouroboros Sect... even I am unaware of it." Alistair admits while throwing his arms into the air in a rather nonchalant manner.

"Then there’s no way someone like him would know!" Lucien spits in a mix of delight as well as confusion. "You’ve doomed him!"

"Have I, now? Just because I don’t know doesn’t mean Javier doesn’t..."

"W-what? How could that be—?"

"Knowledge Infusion Potion." Alistair’s voice is flat as he retorts calmly. "The Ouroboros Sect handed me the information in the form of a Grade 5 Potion. As you know, the information passed is temporary, so once the Potion’s effects run out, all memories related to it will vanish."

"I know about that! But the conditions necessary are—!"

"Membership of the Sect, right? Well, I gave Javier temporary membership of the Sect. I also left the Potion in the Flying Bug Construct and gave Javier the instruction to consume it. That’s how he knows how to stop the ritual."

"N-no...."

"I was fortunate, to be honest. If I had been too impatient and taken the Potion early, I wouldn’t have been able to pass on the knowledge to Javier or anyone else. Because of this restriction, I decided to wait until the opportune time before I—or a member of Division C-07 could take this Potion and stop the ritual."

"... T-that is... a bluff..."

At this point, Lucien’s heart is starting to waver.

If he takes his attention away from these people and focuses on the ritual, there’s a good chance they’ll be able to strike him down.

Even though he has his Magivores in place, he is up against Leviathans here.

Especially an Adept Leaper like himself!

He can’t be too careless!

’But if they’re telling the truth and the Ritual is in danger, then it will be me who will be the eventual loser. This is a difficult situation, because either way I am in grave danger!’

Now Lucien understands why they made sure he had diminished his Interference Power.

He can’t escape this situation!

"There’s one problem with your assertion..." The cornered Leaper tries to hide his anxiety with a rubbery smile, but the tremors in his voice give it away immediately.

"Oh? What’s that?"

"If Javier had come in close proximity with the defensive dome or had intruded on the barrier... I would have been alerted." He smiles. "Yet none of that has happened, so—"

"No, they’ve both happened."

"What?" Lucien is stupefied once again. "What do you mean by that?"

"Why don’t you figure that out? What precisely could I mean?"

The sharp glow in Alistair Wormwood’s eyes is unmistakable before Lucien Zevalis. The confidence present in his countenance cannot be faked.

There has to be something he missed!

That’s when it strikes him.

’When I used Shadow Transformation back then... Javier must have used Frontflow to move towards the barrier. I couldn’t have detected anything in that situation, so I wouldn’t have been aware if he flew past me or even got into proximity with the barrier. The barrier must have sent a signal, but I couldn’t have known. Then, the second time I used Shadow Transformation, he would have the chance to invade the barrier. I wouldn’t have noticed during both of those times because of my incorporeal state!’

"Arrghhh!!!!" Lucien screams in instant realization.

It’s not a bluff!

They’re not lying at all!

It’s all true!

Javier Aditi has actually invaded the ritualistic dome.

"No! I have to stop him!" Even as Lucien shifts his focus from the group and stares at the blood-red dome beneath him, no one makes a move to stop him.

They don’t intercept him.

They simply watch his last act of desperation with amusement evident in their eyes.

Then... Alistair shakes his head while chuckling.

"It’s too late."

"H-huh?"

"Although I planned things perfectly. There was still a window of uncertainty that I had to make up for. Those few seconds marked the most crucial moments, but thanks to this brief conversation we just had... we’ve passed the critical threshold." He smiles at his former mentor.

"You were... just buying time?!"

"Just as you were probing to see if I was bluffing or not. Thankfully, I know you well enough to understand how cautious you can be. Even after I told you the truth, you were hesitant to accept it. Thus, all the needed time was bought."

"No!"

"We have your cautiousness to thank for that."

"No way!"

Lucien gasps, his teeth quickly clenching in sheer indignation.

He can’t believe it!

His cautious nature, one that has served him through over forty-five years as a Leviathan... was so skillfully used against him like this.

"JAVIER ADITI!!!" Lucien Zevalis instantly charges at the crimson dome.

His ferocious roar consumed everything around him.

He has to hurry!

If he doesn’t hurry, the Ritual will be ruined.

Once that happens, his entire plan of plunging this Kingdom into total chaos will be ruined.

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!"

He closes in on the dome, only an inch away from its surface.

That’s when it happens.

A brilliant, resplendent blast that dyes the world in a deluge of crimson.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!