In the center, a stone-paved platform was encircled by a surface of many-colored glowing waves. Intricate carvings adorned the entire area, emanating an unsettling, mysterious aura.
A lone woman stood before it.
The book clutched to her chest was drawing in particles of mana from the surroundings.
Upon Ren’s arrival, she spoke aloud.
"I didn't think we would meet again."
"Yeah. Me neither."
"I suppose asking why you’re here is unnecessary."
"At least I know we aren’t on the same side."
While exchanging words, Ren continued to speak to her as he descended the stairs.
"Were you with the Demon King Cult?"
"I have no stigmata on this body. It’s only natural that you wouldn't know."
"...You’re with the Cult, but you have no stigmata?"
"It’s because of my constitution. Besides, I don't live solely for the sake of the Demon King Cult, so I have no need for that mark."
Those words piqued Ren’s curiosity, but there were other things weighing on his mind.
"...That book you're holding."
Just as in their previous encounters, she was clutching a large tome.
However, unlike before, a purple stone was embedded in its cover, and the way it absorbed the surrounding light was deeply eerie.
Without turning her face toward Ren, she stared out at the water’s surface.
"I wonder if you know."
She spoke without looking at him.
"That Micel, God of Games, is the younger sister of the Four Primordial Goddesses. That she troubled the Creator God Alice more than anyone and was shunned by the Main God Elfen."
"No, I’m not very familiar with creation myths."
"You should try reading about it if you get the chance. It's a fascinating book."
The woman laughed, finding Ren’s nonchalant answer amusing.
"I’ve finally found it. With this light, I can read a new chapter of this book."
"No. You're going to extinguish that light right now."
"Heh, and why is that?"
"Because Crushera will vanish. There's no way I can accept that."
To ensure that didn't happen...
"I will stop you."
"Will that be like, for example, back in Windea?"
"Yeah."
The woman felt a surge of certainty. This situation was being guided by something; it was no mere coincidence.
"I thought that if anyone were to come, it would be you."
The woman knew. She knew exactly who this boy was. She knew everything he had accomplished.
As Ren stepped onto the central plaza, he repeated everything Mistolfo had told him in his head. The woman finally turned her eyes toward him.
"That’s a sword imbued with a rare power."
"That’s quite a rare book you have there yourself."
The boy and the woman locked eyes. Their profiles were bathed in the radiance overflowing from the temple’s lowest depths.
"You defeated the Priest, Orphide, with that sword."
"And what you're holding is the Forbidden Book of Medil."
In that moment, their gazes finally clashed.
"—So, you were Ren Ashton."
"—Mascheria. That’s your name."
Following the recognition, they spoke once more.
"You came to stop me, didn't you? To protect the people."
"Yeah. I can't let you do as you please any longer."
"But it won't stop anymore. This light—God's Haze—is not something that should be touched by human hands. It is an object that even you cannot stop."
God's Haze. It was a term Ren was hearing for the first time.
"So it wasn't just light after all?"
"This is the world's memory. The proof of time carved by divine power since the beginning. And... it is a relic inhabited by the power of a god."
"Why did you come here seeking that?"
"I—Mascheria—just want to know. Everything about the world, and everything that lies ahead. That's why I brought this book here."
Ren looked at the massive tome she held.
"Is that... the Forbidden Book that supposedly destroyed the Medil Dukedom?"
"If so, would you like to try reading it too?"
"No way. I don't want this place to meet the same end as Medil."
Mascheria sneered and exhaled. He could see the extravagant binding of the book clearly now. Unlike before, it was completely uncovered, and its majestic, imposing presence was terrifying.
"Why is the Forbidden Book that the Duke was supposed to have read in your hands?"
"Because I found it after my mother read it. This book... the Forbidden Book of Memories... was sleeping quietly at the bottom of that Great Pit."
Ren couldn't take her explanation for its possession at face value.
"The Duchess of Medil?"
"Yes. For some reason, my mother opened this book. I still don't know why she did it... but after that, Medil was enveloped in light and vanished from this world."
Long ago, in a secret chamber hidden within the deepest part of the Dukedom's temple, the Duchess of Medil had opened a certain book and invoked an ancient technique. While emitting an intense light, the book created a powerful vortex of mana, sinking the surrounding land into the depths of the earth.
That was the truth of the lost country—a truth missing from the history books.
Ren tightened his grip on his sword, his eyes fixed on Mascheria.
"But why would you take that Forbidden Book and—!"
"Because, I want to know."
Mascheria’s voice lilted with excitement.
"I want to know the continuation of the story my mother started."
It was a scene from Mascheria’s childhood. Deep within the dark, cold earth. Amidst intense light and explosions, she had opened her eyes to find the sky farther away than ever before. Without being swallowed by the bursting radiance, she had awakened at the bottom of the abyss.
She had wandered endlessly through a place filled with black liquid... until eventually, she found a single point of light.
'—Ah, so it was here.'
She held those childhood memories close, following the same impulses she had felt back then.
"There's no way I could ever throw this book away. After all, it might tell me everything I've ever wanted to know."
She peeked the tip of her tongue out once—a gesture that might have been cute under different circumstances. However, Ren felt a chill at the glimpse of her obsessive thirst for knowledge. It was a repulsive trait she seemed to share with Orphide.
It wasn't that she had been broken by the late Duchess's actions. Mascheria's intellectual greed was an innate, unnatural thing that no ordinary person should possess.
"...Are you saying you can read the pages that the Duchess couldn't?"
Mascheria giggled. "Correct."
Immediately, her shadow branched out into numerous writhing lines.
"The secrets of the world. Why the Hero and the Demon King were born. Mascheria will decipher it all from this Forbidden Book."
In an instant, she manifested numerous humanoid forms, all of which lunged at Ren simultaneously. They approached with crushing pressure, but Ren didn't flinch, striking out with his Mithril Magic Sword.
In a split second, the shadows returned to particles of mana. Seeing Ren through the dissipating mist, Mascheria held out her hand.
"Until the very last page of this Forbidden Book of Memories that Elfen hates so much!"
Thundering lightning clashed with a howling gale. Intense spells erupted around Mascheria, lashing out ruthlessly through the chamber.
Ren evaded with light, fluid movements, cutting through the magic with Star-Cleaver. He noticed that Mascheria didn't look surprised in the least.
"Tch... Seriously, just how much magic does she have!?"
The relentless barrage of attacks showed no sign of stopping. While neutralizing the spells with Star-Cleaver, Ren looked at the Forbidden Book she was holding and felt a pang of doubt.
Is she not using the Forbidden Book itself? It should have enough power to destroy an entire nation.
Even as he thought, he continued to unleash Star-Cleaver. He erased the mysterious shadows, the thundering lightning—and even the whirlwinds as sharp as blades. Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the onslaught stopped.
"It seems ordinary magic has poor compatibility with a Strong Sword."
She appeared to still have a tremendous amount of strength in reserve, but she disliked wasting mana or holding back unnecessarily.
"I apologize. I underestimated you."
"—!?"
As soon as Mascheria placed her hand on the cover of the Forbidden Book, Ren desperately threw himself backward. A split second before, he had felt a crushing pressure emanating from the book—something far more terrifying than anything he had felt before.
"I am reading the book. That is why Mascheria is here."
The Forbidden Book opened.
Pressure exploded into the surroundings. Ren, who was trying to retreat to the stairs, saw something within the rapidly flipping pages: glowing threads approaching him with terrifying speed.
"I can see why the Main God hates this book. A narrow-minded god would never allow a human to possess something that could expose the secrets of the world."
"What...!?"
Shimmering in various colors, the threads rushed toward Ren’s body. He brought down the Mithril Magic Sword, invoking Star-Cleaver. Many of the glowing threads were severed, dissolving into particles of light. However, several of them slipped past his defense and touched his skin.
Ren was hit by an agonizing headache, his brows knitting as he gasped.
"Did you think it was just pain? Or did you just hope it was?"
"Well, I wonder!"
Ren forced a smile despite the searing pain and lunged forward, stepping in deep.
However, something was wrong. While the power of the Forbidden Book brought intense pain, he felt there was more to it.
Its name was the Forbidden Book of Memories. The "of Memories" part weighed on him. To be honest, he wasn't feeling the kind of world-ending power that had supposedly destroyed the Medil Dukedom. The instability of it was baffling.
The same applied to Mascheria herself as she stood in the center of the floor.
It’s like she doesn't even see me as a threat. Like she hasn't even considered the possibility of losing.
She seemed utterly devoid of the fear of death. Seeing that Ren had sensed this, Mascheria offered him a dainty smile.
(—Since she started using the Forbidden Book, Mascheria hasn't used a single spell.)
He reached a conclusion after calm, calculated thought. If the Forbidden Book and Mascheria’s own magic were combined, it would be an unfathomable threat. The fact that she wasn't doing so wasn't out of mercy or arrogance. Most likely, the Forbidden Book required so much power that she was forced to focus entirely on it.
He shouldn't try to steal it with the Thief's Magic Sword against such an unknown threat.
"Even if I've figured that much out, it doesn't change how strong she is...!"
Mascheria looked at Ren, who was wearing a bitter, self-mocking expression.
"Will you continue, or will you listen to what Mascheria has to say?"
She prepared to release another wave of power from the tome while staring firmly at him.
Ren wanted to close the distance, but the space between them was filled with shimmering layers of mana. Each one carried the weight of a different attribute, harboring powerful energy that could not be touched carelessly.
"Ren Ashton, you cannot defeat Mascheria."
"...No! The battle has only—!"
"It has only just begun, but the outcome is already clear. The conclusion will not be overturned."
She spoke as if pronouncing a final verdict.
"So choose. Will you continue until the end, or will you listen to Mascheria?"
"The answer to that should be obvious!"
Even in this dire situation, Ren’s stance didn't waver. He refused to look away from the Forbidden Book’s power. He cleaved through the energy waves again, dodging with fluid movements—
He fought through the periodic, crushing headaches brought by the light, and powerfully swung the Mithril Magic Sword.
In that moment, Mascheria’s demeanor shifted completely.
As the Mithril Magic Sword swung down, a Two-colored Wave was generated by the Authority Sword. Seeing that, the hand Mascheria had been holding up dropped as if all strength had left it.
"..."
She was speechless, lost in a daze.
"...No way."
Then, she immediately held out her other hand—the one that wasn't on the book—toward Ren. She was focused entirely on that Two-colored Wave.
"Could it be an Alice Factor... if so, he is—"
Ren was too focused on the fight to notice the change in her, but she spoke as if to herself.
"Tch...! I won't let you use the Forbidden Book's power anymore!"
"I see... I understand now. So that is why you were drawn here—Ren Ashton!"
The Authority Sword’s pressure assailed Mascheria ruthlessly, but a many-colored wind erupted from the Forbidden Book to protect her.
"The final clue Mascheria was looking for... the Bloodline of the Divine Child!"
The shockwave forced Ren back, and her voice didn't reach him. He stood several steps up the stairs, looking down at Mascheria. She remained wide-eyed with shock, her lips moving as she looked up at him.
Light from the temple’s lowest depths shimmered all around them.
"—I’ll have to confirm it for myself."
"Confirm it?" Ren barely had time to wonder before the Forbidden Book erupted with a brilliance unlike anything before, rushing toward him with incredible speed.
It didn't stop there. A curse power far stronger than anything Orphide had used manifested, creating numerous magic circles in the air.
Though surrounded, Ren did not falter. The magic sword user cut through everything, advancing step by step.
Toward him, as he fought on with gallantry and refused to yield...
"It's a pity, really," Mascheria said in a cold, flat voice.
Suddenly, the mana particles dancing in the air exploded with a crimson radiance. In the moment Ren braced for the impact, his abdomen was pierced by a single beam of light fired from the Forbidden Book.
By the time he realized what had happened—
Ren had been blown backward, tumbling up the stairs.
"You can't dodge that one, can you?"
"Tch... ga, hah...!?"
The impact knocked the breath out of him, leaving him gasping.
This massive opening was exactly what Mascheria had been waiting for. Even as Ren struggled to regain his footing through the pain, the Forbidden Book pulsed with light.
Mascheria pointed a hand at him, and a dazzling light surged from the book, transforming into a wave with a will of its own. Ren tried to block it with his sword, but one of the light-trails touched his neck.
Mascheria closed her eyes in satisfaction. She placed her hand over the open page, and within seconds...
"Aha..."
A smile spread across her face.
"Ahaha! Aaaa-hahahahaha!"
Her laughter echoed through the chamber. Ren, looking down from the stairs, spat out the blood and grit in his mouth and stood up. He ignored the wound in his abdomen entirely.
After laughing her fill, the Princess of the Lost Country flipped through the pages of the Forbidden Book with delight.
"Hey."
The next instant, a spatial distortion appeared in front of Mascheria—and a crimson greatsword was fired out.
Is that... wait, why?
The crimson greatsword approached at a speed faster than the eye could follow. Despite his bewilderment, Ren readied the Mithril Magic Sword and caught the blade, parrying it to the side.
"Won't you tell me where you fought the Sword Demon?"