Emperor Cyril, who had supposedly been stabbed by Sophia, stood up laughing as if nothing had happened. In stark contrast, Sophia lay on the ground, coughing up blood as if she were the one who had been wounded.
"Damn it, a damage transfer artifact with death as a trigger?!" Tiffany exclaid, her face paling. "I didn’t think Father would go that far!"
Naturally, the girls reacted quickly.
Eve, the closest to Sophia, imdiately applied a potion to her wound.
If she had hesitated for even a mont, things could have gone horribly wrong for Sophia. Her neck was slashed open, and her spine was nearly severed. She was fortunate that the injury hadn’t instantly stopped her heart; thus, the potion still had a chance to work on her wounds.
Arianne positioned herself between Sophia and the Emperor... or what he had beco.
The aura he exuded was entirely different now; it was almost as if he were a completely different person.
At that mont, the Emperor was moving about, stretching his arms and legs as if he were getting accustod to his new form, trying to familiarize himself with his movents.
"That fucking bitch... I almost died, literally!" he growled. "Thankfully, this pig died before I did, so the contract was fulfilled. Now, I’m even more powerful!"
"You... Who are you?"
Arianne couldn’t help but ask as she watched the man drone on, speaking to nobody in particular.
"?" Only then did his gaze land on Arianne.
A gaze that made her feel cold, chilled to the bones.
"Did you forget already?" he said, grinning from ear to ear. "Then let remind you—!"
In the next mont, his fist flew toward Arianne’s body, a punch that broke the sound barrier and distorted the space around him!
"...!"
It was too fast for Arianne to react.
The punch, even before it connected, pushed her back from where she stood. That was its sheer power!
THUD!
"I knew you’d be here..."
Suddenly, a fist erged before her through a small crack in space.
It intercepted the incoming fist, dispersing the energy behind it as if it were nothing!
Even the "emperor" hadn’t expected his attack to be blocked. His face shifted to one of shock, but only for a mont. "Bitch, you dare chase after ?!" he growled, his grin transforming into a fierce expression.
"With the soul of this pig emperor now mine, my transition to the next level is complete! I... am no longer the sa as before!"
"Really?"
Slowly, a figure erged, widening the spatial crack, and stood before the girls. "Then why are your knees shaking like a newborn foal?"
Seeing that familiar face and bored expression, everyone gasped in surprise.
"F-Fenrir!"
She, who should have been facing off against Greed, was now here!
"Did you defeat Greed already?!" Nina asked, struggling to believe her own words.
"No?" Fenrir flatly denied it. "Rather, Greed is the one before you right now."
"...What?"
All eyes turned to the Emperor, to Cyril. They noticed the sudden change in his personality, but nobody suspected that he was truly a "different person" altogether.
Through the bloodstone’s contract, Greed had managed to seize Emperor Cyril’s body and wealth, including all the treasures he had amassed from across the continent!
"Greed...!"
Arianne’s face paled at this revelation.
After all, if not for Fenrir’s tily intervention, she might have faced dire consequences once again.
"You girls should escape," Fenrir urged. "Right now, you’d die without ever knowing what hit you if you got caught up in our fight."
For the first ti, Fenrir, who was struggling to keep Greed’s fist restrained, felt her own hand trembling. Although she didn’t release her grip, it was clear that Greed had indeed gained significant power.
Furthermore, he was no longer glowing gold. He was no longer forcing himself to materialize; he was fully present in his physical body within the human realm!
His current materialization, achieved by taking over Emperor Cyril’s lifeless body, ca at no cost. In short, he could do anything he wanted without worrying about ti constraints.
The girls understood that, since they had been unable to react to Greed’s punch earlier, they could not provide any aningful assistance.
Even Eve doubted her ability to hit him with a sniping shot, feeling she would miss even at point-blank range.
Given all of this, staying would only hinder Fenrir, forcing her to protect them while fighting, ultimately doing more harm than good.
"We understand!" Eve replied on behalf of the others. "Everyone, let’s go!"
In a way, they succeeded in their plans.
Emperor Cyril was dead, and all the corrupt nobles and those in power lay sprawled across the throne room, lifeless. So soldiers were still alive, but ti was running out for them as well.
"W-Wait, goddesses!"
Tiffany raised her hand, her face pale.
"My mother... My family... we still haven’t saved them!"
Right.
Saving Sophia and Tiffany’s family was also part of the plan. Rico had been working behind the scenes in the castle. Under the guise of "lanting Sophia’s death," he visited Sophia’s mother to explain the situation.
Then, pretending to be sent by Tiffany, he also visited her mother and siblings, delivering the sa ssage: to avoid going to the throne room for a day.
"They must be at the annex now!" Rico chid in from behind. "Please follow ; I’ll lead the way!"
"No."
Before he could proceed, Arianne intervened.
"You all are too slow for that. It’d be dangerous to take you. Princess Ria, Princess Eve, please take these three away. Leave saving them to us."
"Arianne..."
Eve understood the underlying ssage of sending Ria and herself first.
They were, after all, the ones that Axel treasured most. If sothing happened to them, Arianne trembled at the thought.
"Hey, what about ?" Nina asked, glaring at Arianne. "I want to retreat first too."
Arianne smiled. "Then go to Sophia’s mother’s place and bring her with you before you leave. Not that hard, right?"
Eve, Ria, and the others gathered together, using a Return Scroll to escape quickly. They didn’t look willing, especially Tiffany, but they understood they couldn’t keep pushing their selfish desires to save their families.
"Done chatting?"
Only then did Fenrir look back.
"Then hurry up and move."
Looking closer, Greed’s fist was nearly out of her grasp. Just a bit more, and her hold over him would fade. Arianne and Nina didn’t have enough ti!
Nodding to each other, they ran.
With their stats, their running speed was impressive. In just seconds, they reached the annex where the queens stayed.
However, on this typical day, everyone had gathered in the throne room. Only the families that Rico had warned—Sophia’s and Tiffany’s—were present.
"Over there!"
With their heightened senses, they quickly detected the presence of the ntioned family mbers. However, their rooms were quite far apart, making it impossible to assist them simultaneously.
"Nina, you take that one; I’ll go this way!"
Without hesitation, Arianne took on the responsibility and headed toward the farther room.
BOOM!
At that mont, an explosion erupted from the throne room behind them.
They didn’t need to see it to know what was happening. Fenrir had begun fighting Greed once again!
Within monts, the entire palace area was devastated, engulfed in a massive cloud of dust and smoke. Two figures darted through the chaos—one moving rapidly, while the other treated the air as if it were solid ground.
’Their fight has started!’ Arianne gasped, quickening her pace.
Given the chaotic situation, she couldn’t be sure they would remain safe. Half-praying, she arrived at the door of her destination and, after confirming no one was right behind her, kicked it open.
The door flew across the room, embedding itself into the opposite wall.
"Are you..."
Instead of surprise, the woman inside calmly regarded the intruder.
She had auburn hair and a face strikingly similar to Sophia’s, as if they were two peas in a pod. Her figure would turn any man’s head if she passed by, but unlike Sophia’s "gaudy" beauty, hers was more refined, gentle... more aristocratic.
"You must be Sophia’s mother," Arianne declared. "I don’t have much ti, so I need your cooperation. Please don’t move."
"I knew it. You must be Sophia’s..." Her eyes flashed with emotion for a mont before returning to her calm and composed deanor. "Alright. Please, Miss Knight."
Arianne had already moved before she gave her consent.
Pulling her off the bedside, Arianne seized her by the waist and tore a return scroll.
In an instant, their vision flashed white, and the scenery around them shifted.
They found themselves in the wilderness, surrounded by emptiness in three directions, with an unfamiliar fortress wall looming in front of them.
"This is..."
"Our temporary base," Arianne replied, though her frown remained. "We need to move out of here quickly. With Fenrir and Greed fighting so fiercely, this place can’t be considered safe at all."
They were already a hundred kiloters away from the capital.
Yet, even in this remote location, Arianne felt the hair on her nape stand on end.
She sensed the danger in the air, as if they were still at the capital.
In short, even though they were at a considerable distance from the castle, they remained within the battlefield of two monsters.
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