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　　I……I have to hurry! Shiro……he might lose this fight. Just one look at his face was enough to tell that he'd completely abandoned his composure, with no intention of even trying to calm himself down. He was making no effort to suppress his rage and hatred whatsoever. And because of that……he could lose. 

  　　But……I can't blame him. Minise, she's……she's really gone. As my lips quivered, I bit down on the inside of my lower lip to fight back the tears. I need to get back to the castle and let my mom and the others know what's going on. 

  　　We're staring down the barrel of the worst-case scenario, it's as simple as that. The peace we fought for……it's gone now. The most powerful person in the world is a psychotic murderer, and there's now no one left who's even half as strong as he is. 

  　　I was using a teleportation spell to make my way to the castle as fast as possible, but it only covers half a kilometer at a time……so I was heading for the nearest teleportation booth, to take me straight to the castle in a single warp. 

  　　There it is! 

  　　I teleported down to it and rushed in, startling the attendant inside, who sat up with a look of alarm, before calming down as I approached him. 

  　　"Don't scare me like that, I almost." 

  　　"No time! Send me to the castle, right now! It's an emergency!" I exclaimed urgently. 

  　　"Huh? Oh, uh, right……," He responded in bemusement, before looking for the right Spell Card and handing it over to me. 

  　　I wasted no time in using it, and as I blinked, I found myself in the castle's teleportation room. I rushed out of it and raced towards the throne room as fast as I could, pushing the doors open as I reached it and storming in, ignoring the guards. 

  　　"Cusnai? What is the matter?" Inquired my mom, as I met her gaze. 

  　　"It's……it's bad! Minise was killed……and Shiro was overcome with grief and rage, he……he might lose!" I blurted out immediately. 

  　　"Wait, what!? Oh, no……," Frowned Agatha in disbelief. 

  　　"Quickly, contact Abyss, Idyll and Liberty, now!" My mom exclaimed to one of her subordinates, who nodded and began activating several Spell Cards. 

  　　Before too long, Rai, Jhin, Esta and a representative of Liberty answered the calls, and I quickly explained the situation to them, wasting no time in doing so. 

  　　"This is really bad……is there really nothing we can do against this monster?" Grimaced Rai, after a brief, grim silence. 

  　　"If even Shiro is incapable of defeating him, not to mention that he may have eaten Shiro's heart by now, then I do not see how we could possibly defeat him," Remarked Jhin, a hint of reluctance in his eyes before a look of determination appeared in them……has he got something in mind? 

  　　"What should we do? What can we do?" Added Esta, looking distressed. 

  　　"I hate to admit it, but……there may well be nothing we can do anymore," Realized my mom, as she clenched her fists in frustration. 

  　　"So, then……we're really screwed this time?" Asked Agatha in dismay. 

  　　Yeah, that about sums it up, I'd say. 

  　　"……there is one possibility. And I have no choice but to opt for it……I apologize to you all, although I am aware that that is meaningless," Spoke up Jhin with a conflicted look on his face. 

  　　Huh? What's he talking about? 

  　　"What're you……hey, why do you have that on you?" Inquired Rai with a frown, as Jhin took out a Spell Card. 

  　　"In anticipation that this might happen……I had decided to use it in the event that Shiro Blanc perishes. We will now cut ourselves off from the rest of the world, using this barrier……Liberty will also be engulfed within it, but I am afraid that this will mean that we will essentially be abandoning Idyll and the Democratic Republic of Rustlands," He stated with a grimace. 

  　　Oh……the barrier, huh? I see……so, that's how it is. I can't blame him for opting for that……even if it means condemning the rest of us to die, it'll at least safeguard about half the population of this world. 

  　　"No way, we're not using that, I refuse to let you……!" Began Rai, before Jhin swiftly knocked him out, striking the back of his neck with the handle of his blade. 

  　　"I truly did not want to use this……but there is no other option. I have no choice. The alliance, the peace we all worked together to establish……I suppose it was nice while it lasted. But it is over now," Said Jhin with a sad smile. 

  　　"I cannot say that I am not disappointed, but I do understand……if I were in the same position, I would likely have opted to do the same thing," Replied my mother with a wistful sigh. 

  　　"So, that's it, huh?" Added Agatha, as she slumped in her seat, covering her eyes with her arm. 

  　　"We will all be at the mercy of the Spectre from now on, won't we?" Chimed in the Idyll representative. 

  　　"I do not want to abandon all of you……but to protect the people I lead, I have no choice but to accept this," Remarked Esta, clenching her fists in frustration. 

  　　"Farewell……I suppose that would be a poor choice of word in the current situation. But there is nothing else I can think to say……," Muttered Jhin with a downcast expression, before the feeds from both Abyss and Liberty abruptly cut off, as he activated the barrier. 

  　　Almost right on cue, a commotion suddenly rang out from the guards outside, before the doors burst in, and their bloodied corpses came flying in and splattered the floor in blood, before a smirking figure walked in. He's here…… 

  　　"Wow, talk about a dick move from Abyss! Well, there go my next targets, all the strongest remaining feasts are now inaccessible to me. I mean, I'll try to break through that barrier, of course, but it sure sounded like he had no doubt in its effectiveness," He grinned as he strolled in. 

  　　"You are not welcome here……leave or die," Stated my mom firmly. 

  　　"Oh, that's fucking cute, you really think I'll just say 'sorry, my bad', and then leave? Yeah, I don't think so, lady," He laughed in response. 

  　　This rotten bastard…… 

  　　"Just what the hell are you after, anyway?" Frowned Agatha. 

  　　"Hm? Oh, I just want to have fun. Hey, I know! How about we work together to bring down that barrier? Simply assemble all your best spell creators and have them work towards that task!" He suggested with a grin. 

  　　"I think not. No matter what, we will not cooperate with you, even if that costs us our lives," Responded my mom without hesitation. 

  　　"Yup, what she said. Sure, I don't exactly want to die, but I know what comes after death, so I'm not afraid of you," Added Agatha defiantly. 

  　　"Oh, is that so? Fine, in that case, I'll just kill everyone here and take over this nation for myself!" He chuckled, as he took his trident into his hands.

  　　Well, I guess I'm about to die. No point complaining about it, the least I can do now……is to not go down without a fight! 

  　　I swiftly downed my most powerful boosting serum and shot towards him as I drew out my twin spears, firing out a lightning bolt from my mouth as I closed in on him, which he turned intangible to evade. 

  　　As he slashed at my head, I quickly raised my left spear defensively, but the blade shattered as his trident struck it, slicing off the top of my left ear as I narrowly ducked and avoided losing the top of my head. 

  　　I then gritted my teeth as I tightened the grip around my remaining spear and slashed at his throat, before abruptly halting as he grabbed my wrist and stopped my slash before it could reach him. Damn it, I almost had him……nah, who am I kidding, I don't stand a chance of defeating him. 

  　　"Let go of me, you fucking piece of shit!" I snapped, as I channeled lightning into my spear and burst it out sharply from the tip of the blade, which struck his neck and elicited a gasp of pain from him, his grip around my wrist weakening. 

  　　I broke free of his grasp and drove my spear towards his face as fast as I could, the blade rapidly closing in on him. But right before it could reach, he whipped his trident across and shattered the blade, before striking my wrist and causing me to drop the broken handle. 

  　　He then grabbed my throat and lifted me up with a smirk, letting out a slight chuckle as he met my gaze…… 

  　　"You're a feisty one, aren't you? Hm……you know, what? I think I'll make you my slave," He remarked, as he suddenly pressed his lips onto mine. 

  　　What the……h-huh? What's……what's happening? It feels like……my consciousness is……wait, where am I? Who's he? I don't know, but I……I have to do as he says……right? 

  　　"There we go. Alright, then……kill every single person in this room, besides me, of course," He commanded with a grin. 

  　　What? But……I don't want to do that. No……if he says I have to, then I have to. I……I have to kill all of them…… 

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  　　Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

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