The main building of the Great Temple of Sercanos.
Grrrrrum—
The moment Mel stepped into the central corridor, the two enormous pillars blocking the way ahead began to move.
"Well then."
Mel smirked as he looked down at the limp Astie in his arms.
"Let’s head below."
A gigantic staircase leading to the underground laboratory revealed itself.
The underground depths of the Great Temple of Sercanos.
A hidden space lay concealed there, tangled and intricate like an anthill.
Every sacrifice meant for Luciano was kept there.
Astie included.
"Your Excellency."
When he reached the very bottom of the staircase, one of the Dark Spirit operatives guarding the labyrinth approached him.
"Everything you ordered has been prepared."
The masked operative’s gaze briefly brushed over Tie.
Mel nodded in satisfaction.
Then continued deeper down the passage.
With each step he took, the child’s limp arm swayed weakly.
Astie was still unconscious.
‘Silencium has completely consumed her.’
When the effects of Silencium began to manifest, the test subjects almost always lost consciousness like Astie had.
Of course, they usually woke up around two hours later, but by that point it no longer mattered.
‘Can you even call it “consciousness” when they no longer know who they are or where they are?’
With a sick smile, Mel passed one corner after another.
He moved through the complicated labyrinth with complete confidence, as though he knew every inch of it by heart.
At times, whenever they passed certain sections, footsteps could be heard overhead.
"It’s the Dark Spirit."
The operative walking beside him spoke.
"You ordered preparations overnight for the elimination of Agavert."
"Yes. I did."
Mel answered as though it were nothing of importance.
Before long, he finally stopped in front of the last door.
"Once they’ve all been dealt with, prepare a report for His Holiness."
At this moment, Luciano was already inside the Forest of Roxe.
Standing before the decisive battle.
To absorb every last drop of essence from the dying World Tree.
"I wonder just how pleased His Holiness will be."
Mel laid Astie down upon a massive flat stone slab.
The corners of his lips trembled with excitement.
Carefully, he brushed the child’s hair back.
A pale forehead covered in cold sweat.
Slow breathing.
And magic overflowing through her body, enough to fuel another three days of uninterrupted experiments.
Mel turned toward the devices installed along the wall.
The moment he pulled down the lever attached to it, light spread across the dark chamber.
Patterns emerged along the walls, while smoke began rising from the cracks.
And just as Mel stared at the sight in delight—
"......Ugh."
A faint groan brushed against his ear.
Mel froze.
But almost immediately, he slowly turned around.
"......"
His pupils widened.
The Dark Spirit operative who should have been standing guard behind him had vanished without a trace.
Only a faint ringing echoed through the silence.
"......Who’s there."
Muttering under his breath, Mel quickly swept his gaze across the laboratory.
But no one was inside.
No outsider should have been able to enter this place to begin with.
The labyrinth was perfect and impossibly complicated.
Only he and a handful of selected Dark Spirit operatives knew its structure.
The next moment—
Rustle—
Another strange sound slid through the air.
Mel flinched and whipped his head around.
Then his eyes shook violently.
"What the—?!"
Astie, whom he had just placed on the altar, had disappeared.
Mel hurriedly stumbled back from the slab.
Then snatched up the unattended sword leaning against the wall.
A terrible feeling rose inside his chest.
Something was definitely wrong.
"S-show yourself immediately!"
Who could possibly have followed him here?
And why?
To interfere with the experiment?
Or—
To destroy Luciano’s grand plan?
"......How dare you."
Coming back to his senses, Mel gritted his teeth.
The moment his eyes snapped open, the hem of his robe whipped upward and a dim pattern appeared across the back of his hand.
A brand that looked as though it had been burned into flesh.
A sacred brand.
Luciano’s blessing pulsed like a living thing as it crawled higher along Mel’s arm.
"If you refuse to reveal yourself, then I’ll show you the power granted by Him!"
He raised his arm and slashed through the air.
Space trembled as though it were being torn apart.
Blue sacred light rapidly spread across the floor.
Kwajik! Kwajik! Kwajik!
A sacred circle woven from divine language and symbols.
A spectacle only Mel could create.
An absolute resonance field no one should have been able to break through.
"Come out at once!"
At his shout, the sacred circles sprawling through the chamber like webs ignited all at once.
Baaaam—!
Projectiles woven from light surged upward like exploding artillery fire.
And pierced through every possible hiding place.
But—
Pshhhhk—
The next instant, a snow white beam flashed directly before his eyes.
It pierced straight through Mel’s sacred circle.
Crack—
The sacred formation began to shatter apart.
"M-my sacred field......!"
Mel’s eyes flew wide open.
But that was only the beginning.
A second beam followed the first.
Then a third.
A fourth.
Baaaam! Baaaam! Baaaam!
A chain of explosions engulfed the entire chamber.
Staring at the rising smoke, Mel fell speechless.
He was seeing it with his own eyes, yet could not believe it.
"How... how can this......"
Real lightning crashed down from the ceiling of the enclosed chamber.
Kwagwagwag—!
After another bolt struck, Mel finally dropped the sword.
Right in front of the frozen Mel—
something slowly stirred.
And a thin crack appeared in the air.
Within the silver smoke rising from the Rift—
someone stepped out.
"Y-you......!"
Mel’s eyes bulged.
Astie stood before him.
"How is this even possible?!"
Mel staggered backward.
Then hurried toward the corner of the laboratory.
There, he yanked on a cord installed into the wall and shouted,
"Dark Spirit! D-Dark Spirit!"
Even though it had lasted only a moment, he understood everything.
Astie.
The King of the Dead.
She was strong.
So overwhelmingly strong that Mel could never defeat her through his own power alone.
"I need reinforcements! Immediately! Send reinforcements immed—!"
"No one is coming."
A child’s voice interrupted him.
The King of the Dead stared at him with darkened eyes.
"Everyone outside is busy fighting."
"......Fighting?"
Mel frowned in disbelief.
Only then did the noise finally reach his ears.
The uproar echoing from the level above them.
"......Retreat!"
"The escape route......!"
Cries calling for retreat.
Shouts about the escape route being blocked.
Mel inhaled sharply.
"You...... weren’t alone."
Astie had not been alone.
While he remained completely unaware—
the members of Agavert had already infiltrated the underground labyrinth.
At this very moment, they were apparently engaged in a brutal battle against the Dark Spirit operatives.
And the side that had gained the upper hand—
"Ha... hahaha......"
An empty laugh escaped his mouth.
His trembling gaze fixed itself upon Tie.
"Silencium...... has already been neutralized?"
"......"
"Impossible. You definitely reacted to the drug. I saw with my own eyes how the poison gradually consumed you over the last few days!"
The blood vessels around his eyes bulged.
Only one step remained.
Just one final step, and Astie would have become the perfect test subject.
Then Luciano would have gained several more months of stability by devouring her power.
And after that, everything would have been over.
Mel pressed his lips tightly together.
Then twisted them into a crooked smile.
"I see...... So you were never poisoned from the beginning."
Blue light flared inside his eyes.
"In the end, our suspicions were correct. That power of yours."
Pshhhhk— Pshhhhk—
Even now, something violent raged around Astie.
A force completely unlike the magic he had felt from her before.
Different waves.
Different form.
Something unbelievably stable and pure.
"You possessed sacred power. You. Sacred power."
The sacred brand on Mel’s hand blazed even brighter.
Astie frowned.
The child sensed danger and stepped forward.
At that exact moment, one of the patterns etched into the laboratory wall trembled faintly.
At the same time, Mel’s body began turning pale from the feet upward.
"You will regret this."
Tie’s eyes widened.
"For refusing to willingly become His sacrifice today."
One final cloud of smoke rose around Mel.
Baaaam—!
The next instant, the ceiling collapsed.
Several shadows leapt down through the falling debris.
"Tie!"
Tesetan, who led the way, ran over and tightly pulled Astie into his arms.
"Little one!"
"Squad Leader!"
The other squad members, having returned after wiping out the Dark Spirit operatives, landed beside Astie as well.
Bale grabbed Tie by the shoulders.
"Are you alright?! That filthy bastard didn’t do anything to you, did he?! Huh?!"
Tie pitifully lowered her brows.
"Tie is okay. But......!"
The child nearly burst into tears as she shuffled in place.
"He ran away right when Tie was about to catch him with her pompom hands!"
Basto turned around with a grim expression.
And indeed — Mel was already gone from the laboratory.
At that moment—
"It’s fine. A trail remains."
The laboratory door opened, and Lucarion stepped inside.
Behind him were Pupu, Marbas, and Elloa.
"Kkamani! Elloa!"
Tie ran over and tightly hugged Elloa.
Meanwhile, after examining the lingering energy at the place where Mel had vanished, Lucarion spoke.
"The Forest of Roxe."
Then quietly added while looking toward the squad members,
"......He went to Luciano."