Anathasia listened intently for a mont, confirming it was Jenkins's flute music, then seized the opportunity to embrace Princess Sophia.
"Even if I can't defeat that thing, I won't lose. You can rest assured of that."
Though she could be eccentric at tis, the ancient silver dragon lord was, on the whole, incredibly reliable. Princess Sophia, more than anyone, knew her lover would never joke at a ti like this.
"Well then, everyone, I'll be off."
The silver dragon carried no weapon and needed no luggage; she herself was the ultimate weapon.
"The Doomsday Docunt... it seems we're out of ti. If you want to get it to Jenkins, you'll have to find another way. There's more than one way to enter a Mysterious Realm illicitly. Perhaps the Orthodox Church has a good thod."
She said this to Hathaway and Dolores, but before they could reply, Chocolate spoke again. The black-and-white kitten, perched atop Hathaway's head, showed no intention of moving.
"Take this."
The voice was as soft and sweet as ever. In so dark corner of her mind, the silver-haired young woman harbored the malicious suspicion that the cat was intentionally affecting a younger tone.
As Chocolate spoke, a small tuft of fur detached from its tail and floated toward Anathasia. The dragon caught it, looking puzzled.
"What's this? You intend to use your power ahead of schedule?" the silver dragon asked, surprised.
"No, I can feel my own power."
Chocolate's voice was gentle—a lazy yet vibrant sound that perfectly matched the cat's appearance. Of course, if the ladies in the room could see her in human form, they would find the voice an even more perfect match for her looks.
"I was active in both the material world and the astral plane in the past. I must have left so remnants of my power behind, which that machine acquired. Take my fur. No matter what, an imitation will never be able to defeat you. You can't lose."
"Then there's no chance of failure," Princess Sophia said, finally at ease, a smile gracing her lips.
"Then there's no chance of failure."
Anathasia clutched the tuft of cat fur in her palm, kissed Princess Sophia on the forehead, and then leaped into the air, transforming into a streak of silver light that vanished into a black spatial rift that had abruptly torn open.
The three ladies who witnessed the scene all sighed. Once the black rift had sealed itself, Dolores turned to Princess Sophia.
"I need to return to my father's side for the next round of negotiations. Would you like to co with ?"
Princess Sophia had nothing pressing to do, so she decided to join her. Now that the truth—that the "God of Lies was among them"—had been exposed, the identity of Miss Fabry as a Believer of Lies ironically attracted very little scrutiny. The Church had yet to make the imaginative leap to equate the God of Lies with his own followers, so Miss Fabry could still move about the church grounds without issue.
Dolores also invited Hathaway to join them, but Hathaway explained she had other matters to attend to. She needed to wait for the Church to find the ninth stone slate and then figure out how to deliver it to Jenkins.
She left with Dolores, but they parted ways at a turn in the corridor. A short while later, Hathaway returned to the room where she had seen Jenkins's spirit. Miss Bernreuter and Miss Has were still there.
"Did you get everything taken care of?"
"Mostly. Now I just have to wait a little longer."
Hathaway sank into a chair, feeling a wave of exhaustion. Briny was with Jessica, handling the docunts Jenkins should have been dealing with, so she couldn't keep Hathaway company. More than ever, she wished she had a reliable family mber by her side.
"ow~"
From atop her head, Chocolate made its presence known at just the right mont. Hathaway smiled and reached up to stroke the kitten, but her hand was gently pushed away by a small paw.
"That little fairy ca looking for you earlier. When she saw you weren't here, she left for now."
"Little fairy? Vinette~ Oh, right. I forgot to tell Jenkins his friend ca to help him."
Hathaway pressed a hand to her head.
"Goodness, what a ss. I suppose I'll go see that Mr. Pisco."
She stood up again, but before she could leave, there was a knock on the door. A nun from the church inford Hathaway that a friend was looking for her outside.
At the church entrance, she found Magic Miss, just as she'd expected. The woman stood on the dark street, now covered in ash, and against this strange backdrop, she looked unusually excited.
"Weren't you with Silver Flute Miss and those three gentlen?"
Hathaway teased, "What happened? Did they abandon you?"
"Of course not, Hathaway. When you find out what I'm doing, you'll thank . But for now, I need your help. I'm attempting sothing important, but I've discovered I'm missing a crucial item. Don't worry, it's just an ordinary object, so I need your assistance."
The two were old friends and spoke without ceremony.
"Alright, what do you need?"
Hathaway asked, but the cat on her head narrowed its eyes at Magic Miss. Sothing was off about her. She had suddenly grown much stronger in the short ti since they'd last seen her.
"Just as I thought. At a ti like the end of an epoch, on the stage where destinies converge and clash, all sorts of strange people are bound to appear."
"Huh? Isn't that Jenkins's cat... It can talk now?"
Magic Miss exclaid in surprise, but Chocolate couldn't be bothered to respond.
"Please, whatever you do, don't tell Jenkins about Chocolate. Just pretend you were hallucinating just now. You absolutely must not say a word."
Hathaway stressed this repeatedly. After getting Magic Miss's promise, she asked again:
"So, what is it you need?"
"A steam train."
Magic Miss said with utmost sincerity, adding, "This isn't a joke."
"The kind of 'steam train' I'm thinking of?"
The red-haired woman spread her arms wide to illustrate. "Or just a model?"
"No, the real thing. But a locomotive and one car will be enough."
Magic Miss emphasized. Hathaway blinked, confirming the other woman wasn't joking.
"What do you need a steam train for?"
"For research, of course. I've had a major breakthrough."
Magic Miss said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Hathaway nodded hesitantly. "I can use Jenkins's na to have the Church arrange one for you. After all, with the current situation, most of the trains have stopped running anyway. But how am I supposed to get the train to you? It's not like I can carry it over in one hand."
"Mr. Hood and the others are at Silver Flute Miss's house, along with my fellow church mbers. You know the address, right? It's right next to Jenkins's house—your house. Just have the Church figure out a way to get the train onto St. George Avenue. It would be best if the locomotive's door is facing either Jenkins's house or Silver Flute Miss's."
With that, she turned to leave. "And it needs to be as soon as possible. Ti waits for no one."
"Wait, what exactly are you all doing?"
"Sothing big. I found what Jenkins was looking for last ti, and suddenly I had a new idea. It worked out better than I could have imagined, so sothing very important is about to beco a reality."
(Finney is praying...)
The sound of the dragon-calling flute echoed through the fifth floor of the castle. With a flash of silver light, the silver dragon appeared in her draconic form on the fifth floor.
Her imnse body instantly shattered the castle's ceiling upon her arrival.
It felt like an earthquake. The dragon imdiately unleashed a torrent of silver breath at the bright yellow moon above, while the cat-like shadow within that eerie moon began to stir. The moon gathered the power of shadow, and black light shot up from the ground to connect with it, as if countless paths to the moon had materialized out of thin air.
Amidst the violent tremors and falling debris from the floors above, Jenkins and the elf maiden charged forward, trying to capture the old butler.
After awakening the moon, the old butler knew the situation was dire. He abandoned the sword and tried to leap through the hall window to the outside of the castle. For Jenkins and the elf, the darkness outside the castle was an absolute forbidden zone, a part of the Mysterious Realm they should never set foot in. But for a "native" of the realm like the old butler, it was the perfect hiding place.
"You think you can get away?"
The old butler hadn't taken the sword when he fled, so Jenkins bent down, snatched it up, and hurled it forward. The blade pierced the butler's left tal torso, passed through his chest, and pinned him to the wall. Though it was only a puncture wound, the sword itself seed to possess an extraordinary ability to harm the old butler. He didn't even struggle. It looked as if he was about to expire.
"We need to leave, now! This place is about to collapse!"
Miss Silf shouted to Jenkins, and they both ran for the window. As they passed the pinned butler, Jenkins grabbed both the sword and the butler, then leaped out of the fifth-floor window with the elf.
Behind them, the dragon's breath collided with the pillar of black light erupting from the moon. The unstable spiritual fluctuations exploded outwards like a shockwave, sweeping away everything above the castle's fifth floor.
The two side towers were slightly taller, so their tops were sheared clean off and ca crashing down. The massive stone structures slamd into the ground, and while they didn't kick up any dust, they caused the already dim light of the bonfires on the dirt path to flicker and weaken.
But that didn't matter. The silver dragon's entire body was glowing, and the yellow moon shone with a brilliance a moon should never possess. The two seed poised for a massive explosion. This scene—a dragon locked in combat with a full moon—was sothing that had never occurred, not even in the distant Age of Myth.
So, while the Mysterious Realm had beco far more dangerous, at least there was no shortage of light.
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