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Ruby caught up with Aria, who had been panting heavily and grabbed her.

"No!! There\'s no time!!"

Aria pushed away her hand and staggered forward, but due to running for too long, her legs gave out, and she collapsed on the ground.

"I-It hurts... "

"..."

Watching Aria, whose knees were scraped and bleeding, Ruby bit her lip and reminisced about the past.

"My little sister. She’s really cute."

"...I’m not interested."

"Really? She used to follow me around all the time when we were kids. It was so cute."

"Yawnn– Geuhh!"

That\'s definitely what Frey said after she got punched by him while yawning.

"And she’s clumsy too. She used to run towards me from afar and trip over rocks."

"So what?"

"So what, you ask? I bandaged her wounds with my hands. If it got infected, it would\'ve been a big problem."

"No, seriously, what\'s with... Geuh. Y-Yeah, your sister is really cute."

Ruby closed her eyes and reminisced.

She sighed and approached Aria.

- Rustle...

And then, Ruby carefully covered Aria’s knees with her hands.

- Shaaa...

Soon, Ruby’s hand glowed, healing Aria’s scraped knees.

"...Let\'s go."

"Uh, ugh."

Aria stared blankly as smoke and the smell of burning flesh emanated from Ruby’s glowing hand.

Before long, her eyes widened as Ruby lifted her up.

"...Hehe, thank you."

"..."

"I missed my brother. It\'s been a while since we had dinner together at the mansion, and went for walks..."

Soon, Aria started murmuring with a bright smile on her face.

"...Haa."

Ruby\'s expression was getting stiffer and stiffer.

At the same time, her trembling pupils were gradually calming down.

"In the end... was there only one way?"

"Huh?"

"...It’s nothing."

Ruby shook her head vigorously at Aria\'s frighteningly innocent voice.

She swallowed hard and moved forward.

Before they knew it, they arrived at the front of Starlight Mansion.

"Huh."

However, Aria\'s eyes began to turn round as she saw the mansion.

"..."

It was the same for Ruby, who was at the forefront of the Hero Party.

- Blaze.....

The Starlight Mansion was burning fiercely.

A thousand years of history…

The heart of the Starlight Territory.

It was collapsing in flames.

"Ah, Ahh..."

"W-Wait a minute."

Looking at the dismal sight, Aria quickly escaped from Ruby\'s embrace and started running towards the mansion.

"The mansion... no... no..."

As she rushed towards the mansion, Aria, who was muttering in denial, stopped abruptly and stared at the ground with a blank expression.

"Huh..."

Her eyes focused on a familiar object lying on the ground, burning in a purple and silver demonic energy.

"Why is this here? It\'s strange...?"

Aria, with an expression of disbelief, knelt on the ground and crawled towards it.

"Ruby... S-She said Brother still has it? This can’t be right? It\'s so strange?"

And then she started mumbling incoherently.

- Blaze....

"This... this is strange...."

In front of the pitifully muttering Aria, the handkerchief she had gifted Frey about a year ago was burning beyond recognition.

Only a portion of the silver cat drawn in the middle remained.

"Did he... drop it? Yeah, he must have dropped it. I have to quickly put out the fi–"

"You\'ve finally arrived."

As Aria was about to extinguish the flames with magic, a voice interrupted her.

"Huh..."

"You being here means you’ve chosen death."

Frey, who appeared through the flames in front of her, trampled the handkerchief with his foot.

Contrasting to the burning mansion, his voice was chillingly cold.

"... B-Brother."

Staring blankly at him, Aria quickly grabbed his pant leg and clung to him.

"I-I\'m sorry. It was my fault.”

“...?”

“I\'ll apologize for everything I\'ve done wrong, for being disrespectful and rude to you... Can\'t we just talk for a moment, please?"

Her eyes were colored with faint hope.

"Since our mansion is nearby, let\'s go in for a moment…"

But her expression began to waver.

It was because, from behind Frey, she could see the burning mansion.

“I am banished from this family and cannot enter the ‘mansion.’”

"Ah…"

"Even I find it quite troublesome to undo the barrier. It\'s a compound spell on top of the incantations with quintuple-layered magic and sorcery... There are too many annoying ancient magics."

"I-It was a mistake..."

Blood drained from Aria’s face at those words.

Suddenly, the day when she first made a mistake came to her mind.

The day when she accidentally broke the vase her mother cherished and hid it secretly, only to be caught.

"I... I\'m sorry... Huuuh..."

"Aria. It\'s okay to make mistakes. But hiding things isn\'t okay."

"Yes..."

"Members of the Starlight family must adhere to strict etiquette. Neither you nor your brother is exempt. For example, if someone is banished from the family once..."

The voice of her mother, strict yet gentle, warning that if someone was banished from the Starlight family, they could never set foot in the mansion again, flashed in her mind.

At that time, she was really scared, but as she grew older, she dismissed it as a story her mother made up to scare her...

At that time, Frey pretended to bump into their mother, then secretly held her hand and winked.

"I\'m sorry... Brother....."

Only now she realized the significance of what she had done by banishing her brother.

Her sickly pallor turned even more pale as she clung tightly to Frey’s leg.

“I beg you with everything I have… so please… Brothe–”

"Well, that\'s why I got rid of the \'mansion\' itself. But now, it seems there\'s trouble with the barrier in the basement."

His eyes gleamed as he looked down on Aria, who was clinging to his feet.

"So... do you happen to know how to enter the basement? Do you have any idea?"

"B-brother..."

"Do you know?"

"P-please, please come back to how you were......"

"Sigh..."

As her tears fell under his feet, Frey looked alarmed and moved his foot away.

"How many days would it take to break through this magically?"

"...A week."

As he turned to Serena, who stood emotionless behind him, his expression twisted.

“Is that the extent of your capability?”

"I apologize."

"Well, it doesn\'t matter anyway."

"Huh?"

Then, his eyes glowed silver as he lifted Aria.

"We won\'t need to get the Hero\'s Armament if we just kill this one."

"B-Brother. I\'m sorry. I was wrong."

"Goodbye."

"I’m sorry!! Brother!! Brotherrrr!!!"

As spoke with a sly smile, Aria desperately begged. But, as he was about to twist her neck–

- Clang...!

A ruby demonic energy shot forward, blocking Frey\'s arm.

"Hmm…?"

Frey tilted his head with intrigue in his eyes as he saw Ruby staggering towards him.

"Interesting."

"I’m sorry, Frey."

Looking at Frey, Ruby closed her eyes and opened her mouth.

“I’m going to be serious now.”

When she finished speaking, she opened her fist fully rather than her usual index finger.

After all this time, Ruby finally got serious.

"Ruby...?"

"Look for an opportunity and enter the basement with the Hero Party."

"But..."

"With your current self, you\'re qualified to wield the Hero Armament."

"But my brother still–"

"Hurry!!"

With that shout, Ruby threw Aria towards the Hero Party behind her.

She rushed towards Frey, her eyes glowing ruby red.

"Let\'s see your true abilities."

As Frey stubbornly stared at Ruby, he whispered to the heroines standing behind him.

"We\'ll handle this. Young… Master."

"..."

Moments later, a deafening roar echoed from all directions.

.

.

.

.

.

- Shaaa...

Kania’s immense dark mana engulfed Ruby.

"Ugh."

Thanks to it, the surroundings were shrouded in darkness, but Ruby began to force her way through without blinking an eye.

Her ruby-colored eyes illuminated the darkness, leaving long streaks of light.

She\'s still immature. Or maybe she\'s too kind for dark mana.

To Ruby, it felt like her attack was far too lenient.

As the strongest in the world, she could withstand it, but Kania’s dark mana contained something undeniable for anyone.

Is her awakening still incomplete?

However, she was clearly still in an immature state.

It seemed like her awakening wasn\'t complete yet.

Anyway, it was good news for Ruby.

- Clang...!

As Ruby swung her finger as usual, the space itself was pushed back, pushing away the dark mana.

It was Ruby\'s unique, terrifying solution to counter dark magic.

""Haaaaa!!""

However, as soon as the darkness dissipated, Clana and Irina sprang out from her sides.

- Thud...!

But, Ruby was unfazed by this and calmly stretched out her hands to the sides while looking straight ahead.

"As expected of the former Demon King... You\'re strong..."

Despite Clana’s despondent expression, her attack and the aura she emitted were quite threatening to Ruby.

Perhaps, if she was hit directly, it would deal significant damage.

However, Clana seemed to have just awakened.

It was fortunate for Ruby that she didn\'t know how to properly handle her overflowing power and aura yet.

"...If only the awakening had finished."

Even the presence of Irina, who was playing with magic and had an incomplete awakening, was overwhelming.

- Crack... Crack...

The barrier created by Ruby was cracking.

This was her power when she hadn’t broken through the wall blocking her… If that girl realized her true identity, it would be quite dangerous for her.

- Booomm...!

Thinking such thoughts, Ruby shot away the barrier, sending the two girls flying, and quickly braced herself this time.

- Slash...!

"Those who target Master will be cut down."

At the same time, Isolet unleashed a flurry of sword attacks towards Ruby.

"...Freeze."

"Mm."

Ruby, who had dodged Isolet’s attack by twisting her body before, tried to move again, but this time, Lulu’s Words of Power came down on her.

"Haaah!!"

- Crackle...! Crackle...!!!

She tried to move despite the Words of Power that restrained her, but the force was stronger than she anticipated.

Ruby, who frowned for a moment, quickly stretched out her right hand to block Isolet’s sword.

Is she already awakened as a Sword Saint?

It was clear that Isolet had reached a level where no one could withstand her sword.

- Shwish...

Blood was dripping from Ruby\'s hand, where the blade of Isolet’s sword began to dig deeper and deeper.

"...Stay right there."

Trying to create some distance due to the situation, Ruby frowned at Lulu\'s command that echoed from behind her.

Bitch.

Now wasn\'t the time to dwell on personal matters. Thinking about the past now would undoubtedly hinder the battle.

"Gah!?"

"Kyaaa..."

Completely abandoning her right hand and grabbing Isolet\'s sword, she threw Isolet into the ground and looked at Lulu.

"Ugh..."

Resisting Lulu\'s command with all her strength, Ruby managed to break free from her frozen state just before the next attack struck.

This is bad.

One had just completed her awakening, and the other, of course, had her awakening blocked, yet they both managed to inflict such injuries.

- Bzzzzz...

“Thank you for your hard work!”

Slightly sweating in this state, Ruby began to face Serena and Ferloche.

What\'s going on?

This was her assessment of them.

...Are they joking?

Neither of them seemed to be sincerely fighting.

It seemed like they both had their own agenda.

- Bzzzz...!

It was probably for the best.

Right now, Ruby has one goal.

"You\'re finally fighting for real."

"Frey."

After ‘defeating’ Serena and Ferloche adequately, she reached Frey, emitting ruby-colored energy from her entire body.

"Then I\'ll gladly oblige."

As he approached her, Frey began to glow silver all over his body.

"Frey, don\'t you remember anything?"

"...?"

Looking at him, Ruby asked with a poignant expression.

"Our memories. The things we did together. You don\'t remember any of that?"

"Why are you suddenly talking nonsense?"

"...I guess this is how you felt when you were looking at me all this time. As expected, you were a really great guy.”

At Frey\'s expression of complete indifference, Ruby, who understood what he must have felt during his countless regressions, opened her mouth with tears gleaming on the edge of her eyes.

"Frey, I… I’m going to keep my promise to you.”

"I don\'t know what you\'re talking about."

"Isn\'t that so, Frey?"

Just before Ruby\'s fist collided with Frey\'s sword, she whispered with a single tear running down her cheek.

"I love you forever."

- Booomm!!!

A massive flash engulfed the Starlight Duchy.

A pillar of light, mixed with starlight and ruby hues, shot up into the sky.

- Bzzzzzz...

It was said that the beautiful pillar of light was so massive and dazzling that it could be seen by all the citizens of the Empire.

.

.

.

.

.

"Haah, haah..."

Sometime later, at the Starlight Duchy,

"Hmm..."

Frey coldly looked at Ruby, who was catching her breath with one knee on the ground.

"You still have some strength left."

"Frey..."

"I, too, cannot kill you without the Hero’s Armament. This complicates things."

With a smile, he continued,

“But I don’t think I’ll lose.”

As he spoke, Frey released a beam of demonic energy, causing a wound to appear on Ruby\'s side.

"Your power is now finite, but mine is infinite. That\'s the crucial difference."

"..."

"So, why don\'t you give up now?"

"Frey, why are you doing this?"

Ruby asked Frey with a despondent gaze at his arrogance. In response, he brightly smiled.

"Because It’s fun, isn’t it?"

"..."

"I thought someone like you, the former Demon King, would understand."

Hearing his words, Ruby felt as if her heart was breaking.

He\'s just like me…

He was the same as her from before.

Was that how she acted when she strutted around as the Demon King?

Did Frey also feel the same excruciating pain whenever he watched her?

"Frey, what should we do?"

"Hmm."

As Ruby quietly shed tears while pondering, she noticed Serena cautiously approaching from Frey\'s side.

"The Hero Party has been in the basement for too long. Perhaps it\'s time for a retreat?"

"Retreat?"

"We\'ve dragged this out for too long. If we keep this up, we might face a counterattack from those who obtain the Hero’s Armament. It might be better to prepare for a different powerful item instead..."

"If you say so."

Nodding at Serena\'s suggestion, Frey turned away from Ruby with an arrogant smile.

"Well then, until next time."

"..."

"But, you really have no intention of becoming my subordinate? I will give you quite favorable conditions..."

"Ugh..."

Ruby blocked her ears and moved away as she didn’t want to hear Frey say the same words she often uttered to him

- Step, step...

"Haah, haah..."

The entire duchy was in ruins, and the entire empire witnessed the aftermath of the terrifying battle.

Through such a devastating conflict, Ruby had already come to one conclusion in her mind.

- Creakk...

"Wh-who..."

With a determined expression, Ruby entered the basement, stepping cautiously through the tense children who were ready to attack.

"Are... are there really no traces of slaves?"

"I told you, Professor Vener. There were none. Not a year ago, not ten years ago, not even a hundred years ago."

"Then... the revelations from the servants?"

"They probably lied for money..."

"That..."

With a sickly pallor, Vener gradually realized the truth amidst the children analyzing the basement.

- Groooan...

For some reason, Eurelia emitted dark mana quietly from a corner with dead eyes.

"..."

Ruby passed by Aishi who had the same look in her eyes.

"Aria."

Approaching Aria, who was trembling in the middle of the basement, Ruby stood beside her.

"R-Ruby."

In her arms was the Hero’s Armament, glowing silver.

It should have been worn by her brother. But now, only she could wield it.

"W-Why did this appear when I entered the center? I-I\'m not qualified..."

"Aria, listen to me."

"Are you suggesting that I should fight my brother with this? I-I can\'t. My brother only corrupted momentarily. Even though I failed earlier, next time, I\'ll definitely... definitely...!"

"Frey... has already died."

Aria, who had turned pale and trembled while holding the Armament, heard Ruby\'s words and glared at her.

"S-Shut up."

"..."

"D-Don\'t speak nonsense. My brother is still..."

"To be precise, his personality and mind have disappeared."

But Ruby, who had already made up her mind, continued speaking with her eyes closed tightly.

"The moment he decided to fall to corruption and bear all the burdens, Frey was already dead."

"N-No..."

"That\'s not Frey. He\'s someone completely different."

"Noooooooooo!!!"

As Ruby admitted the truth that she never wanted to admit, Aria threw the Armament to the ground and started screaming at her.

"The Frey we knew, who loved us and the world, is... gone now..."

"No!!! That\'s not true!!! Brother!!!"

"That\'s why... we have to... end this with our own hands."

"Brother..."

As Aria stopped screaming and stared blankly at her, Ruby continued.

"I\'m the only one who can oppose him, and..."

"I-I don’t want to! I-I can\'t! I can\'t do it!"

"You\'re the only one who can kill him. That\'s why we... together... have to kill Frey..."

"I can\'t, I can\'t, I can\'t..."

As those words ended, the two girls collapsed into each other\'s arms, sobbing.

"That\'s what Frey wanted... his last request to me before dying..."

"Waaaaah..."

"Crying won\'t change anything... We have to kill Frey, the two of us..."

Aria\'s desperate cries echoed in the pristine basement.

"Sob… Hiks…"

"W-What\'s this? What the hell is this?"

“I-I didn’t want this to happen. We…”

As they heard the crying, one by one, the Hero Party began to panic.

"..."

Then, the sub-heroines slowly collapsed on the floor, and Vener finally understood the situation, and slowly slumped to the ground.

"Brotherrrrrrrr...."

Aria\'s cries echoed in the basement cellar for a long time thereafter.

.

.

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.

Meanwhile.

"...Hmm."

Frey, leaving the ruined duchy with the heroines, frowned as he looked at something held in his hand.

- Bzzzzz...

It was a piece of the handkerchief with a silver cat drawn on it, almost completely burned away.

"Why does it feel so nauseating when I fight that ruby-haired bitch? I haven\'t even eaten anything....."

Eventually, Frey muttered with a puzzled expression as he let the piece flutter in the wind.

"That strange bitch, what did she feed me back then?"

"Young Master, is there something wrong?"

"...No, it\'s nothing."

Resuming his cold expression, he replied and quietly walked away.