Serena nodded. “That’s right, i-it’s just a temporary alliance! After all, the Blasphemers intend to welcome the resurrected Magus King as the new Demon King. If the Demon King returns, another race war will erupt!”
“As the Demon King?!” Irene gasped. “Then Fruya really is pitiful.”
Just as she had suspected.
Her life, her sorrow—it might all have been orchestrated by her family. All for the sake of birthing a new Demon King through her. She was nothing more than a vessel meant to contain the soul of the Shadow King.
Those so-called retainers of hers, along with the heretics—they had all deceived her. The only one who had truly cared for her along the way was Lilisah. But sadly… Irene’s Lilisah, the one she knew, was no longer the same…
“Also, you lot, hurry up and drink your potions to recover! Enough chatter! If you’ve got any grudges, save it for after we finish this boss fight!”
Seeing that Serena seemed about to say more, Irene immediately cut her off.
Left with no choice, Serena obediently drank her potion while receiving healing spells from Rosvisse.
She didn’t really understand why—but when she stood beside Irene, all her panic and anxiety just vanished. A strange confidence began to rise within her.
As long as Irene is here, we can win!
As long as Irene is here, I can do anything!
What Serena didn’t know… was that Rosvisse, Reigeliv, and even Helga—who had only just been pulled back from the brink of death—all felt the exact same way.
“Master, forgive me for interrupting your flirting session, but if you want me to hold that person back, I don’t have enough mana just yet…”
The mention of mana instantly made Irene’s expression stiffen.
Not this again, right?
In front of all my old companions? Please no…
“Master, don’t worry,” Lilisah said calmly. “Now that we’ve established a mana link, I can channel your mana directly without any special rituals.”
With a low shout, the crimson flames around her body blazed even more fiercely.
“To hold that person back, I’ll need to activate triple mana combustion mode. At that time, your mana will be used as my fuel as well. It’s a large amount, so please be prepared.”
Even her hair had turned the color of blazing flame. This was the first time Irene had seen this state—it was definitely stronger than when she had fought magical beasts before!
“But I can only hold her off. Defeating her… I cannot promise.”
As soon as Lilisah’s words fell, Irene immediately felt the surge of mana draining rapidly from her body. She had no choice but to chug another mana potion.
“Lilisah, go all out!”
The moment she spoke, she saw Lilisah glance her way—and in those heterochromatic eyes, there was a flash of… loathing?
What… was that?!
Lilisah actually threw a punch at her!
“Irene, she’s behind you!” Serena’s voice rang out, and Irene only then realized someone had grabbed her! She turned around—only to meet the gaze of the “Shadow King.”
This thing’s ability was transformation magic—she could fully become another person, even inheriting all of their powers! And of course, the one she had transformed into… was her sister!
That legendary human who had once come closest to becoming a god!
Naturally, she also knew all the magic of the Holy Archmage Order. A simple teleportation spell? What’s so surprising about that?
It was true—understanding it was one thing, but being powerless to stop it was another. Irene couldn’t accept it. At this distance… not even Lilisah could save her, could she?
Assuming the enemy really wanted her dead—
“Sister, are you going to keep walking down this wrong path?!”
Just as the Shadow’s hand was beginning to gather magic, she froze. Her eyes widened slightly, and she murmured, “Sister…?”
Tactically speaking, the Shadow had made the correct move: take out the core support first in a group battle. But just as she was about to strike, Irene’s words made her hesitate.
There was no helping it—the Shadow had already been a bit mentally unstable ever since losing her sister. And now, Irene looked exactly like “that sister,” even wearing her robe. Mistaking her for the real thing in that moment… wasn’t surprising at all.
But between experts, even a moment’s hesitation can mean missing your chance.
She had already lost the opportunity to kill Irene. And in return, Lilisah sent her flying again. That earlier ambush punch had shattered the Shadow’s magical shield—but this time, it didn’t.
The shield held. Still, Lilisah’s combat instincts were sharp—she used the opening to drag the Shadow away from Irene, and from the rest of the still-recovering group.
As long as the Shadow was within Lilisah’s line of sight, in her triple mana burn state, there was no way she’d let her escape!
At a glance, it looked like Lilisah was chasing and attacking—but everyone could see the truth: Lilisah was the one at a disadvantage. None of her strikes had managed to injure the Shadow, while the Shadow’s rapid-fire magic barrage had already pushed Lilisah to her limits.
Helga coughed twice and couldn’t help but sigh in admiration: “…So this is the pinnacle of mages. I still have a long way to go.”
Irene turned toward her and said softly, “I really didn’t expect that old man Galhai was actually you, Helga…”
“Hehe, bet you didn’t see that coming. I couldn’t stand watching anymore, so I broke ties with Serena and the others. I’ve been looking for a chance to apologize to you all along. I’m sorry, Irene… what I did was truly awful. C-Can you forgive me?”
Helga looked at Irene with eyes full of hope. But Irene turned her face away and changed the subject: “Let’s talk about that later.”
Their conversation naturally reached Serena’s ears as well. Her face turned pale—if even Helga hadn’t been forgiven, what chance did she have?
Serena was already full of regret. No—she’d been regretting it for a long time. But for some reason, she had never apologized, never admitted her mistake. And now, only now did she realize how far she and Irene had drifted apart.
Even though, once upon a time, they had been so close.
She shook her head, chasing away the swirling thoughts. Irene was right—this wasn’t the time for distractions! If they were going to survive an opponent like this, they had to stay fully focused.
As she was thinking, with the gleam of “Magic Flare,” Lilisah was blasted back again. The battle had only gone on for a few minutes, but even in her triple mana burn state, Lilisah now looked utterly battered.
Her entire body bore the marks of residual magical burns—and one of her arms was completely gone.
She glanced at Irene and said apologetically, “I’m sorry, Master. I overestimated myself. I couldn’t hold her off as long as I planned.”