“Help me?”
Tina’s eyes flickered between light and dark.
The gloom seemed to be slowly lifting, yet the bone-piercing cold showed no sign of weakening; it remained as dangerous as ever.
Even so, she was being held by Elsa—soft, warm, as if even the ice could not freeze her.
“Y-Yes… I’m sorry… it must have been really painful for you…”
Tina began to cry.
Two streams of clear tears rolled from her empty eyes, only to instantly freeze into deep-blue ice.
A body and power this corrupted—surely she wouldn’t be mocked for it.
“It’s all right.”
Elsa reached out and gently wiped the corners of Tina’s eyes, brushing away the excess tears, then smiled.
“Actually, I already knew. Tina, you’re different from the others.”
“Uuu…”
“Idiot Tina… you chased after my Big Sister all by yourself, came alone to the Demon King’s Castle, and even turned into this… but you’re beautiful, like a holy angel.”
Tina nodded hesitantly, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.
Suddenly feeling she had been shortchanged somehow, she spoke in a half-joking, half-resentful tone:
“L-Lady Elsa… aren’t you the same?”
“Eh?”
“You saw your Big Sister and chose to fall too.”
“Mm.”
Elsa fell into thought, because she truly had no idea how to refute that.
Big Sister told her to take care of Tina, so she would do it properly—just like Big Sister had once taken care of her.
Her emotions had been unstable lately; she would often stare blankly at the sky, as if hesitating.
Big Sister hadn’t completely resolved Tina’s doubts.
Because Big Sister herself liked to be stubborn and simply hadn’t realized it yet.
So, let me help Big Sister out.
Let Tina fully accept the 【Shadow】.
As expected of the disciple Big Sister raised—even the way she was stubborn was identical.
That was why Elsa hadn’t gotten angry at being accused like that.
She only thought Tina was adorable… and pitiable.
To calm Tina’s emotions, she decided to bring their relationship even closer.
To give Tina a companion she could truly trust.
Back in the Knight Order, they rarely had chances to meet.
But now, she could pour all her attention onto Tina, and Tina could do the same to her~
Tina accepting the darkness and becoming this beautiful… that was the outcome Big Sister truly needed.
“Yes, I chose to fall. I made that choice long ago.”
Elsa smiled gently.
She released one arm and placed her hand on Tina’s icy cheek, slowly tracing the pattern on her forehead.
“Since you’ve already accepted Lord Evil God’s power, shall we try it together?”
“M-mmm~!”
“Let’s fall together and become humanity’s enemy.”
As she transmitted the dark power, Elsa saw the power of the 【Arbiter】—a colossal divine bow of frozen tide condensing in the sky.
She really was a little jealous…
After all, it was Big Sister’s power~
Yet some things surprised her.
From the moment she began pouring shadow into Tina… Miss Tina’s eyes had looked strange.
She was being held close, that warm little hand wandering along her waist.
She didn’t remember Miss Tina ever being this bold?
…
Shadows churned within the clouds.
The star-filled sky seemed swallowed by the abyss.
The “divine bow” summoned by the Arbiter slowly drifted toward the castle.
“Look! What is that?!”
On the castle’s watchtower, two sentries stared north toward the Black Stone Mountains.
It was entirely deep blue, burning with flickering azure flames.
Sharp crystalline edges gleamed beneath the night sky like a flying warship—or a colossal beast slowly closing in.
The cyan-blue bowstring drew back slowly, gathering a strange power woven from silver-white and shadow, instantly illuminating half the heavens.
The air turned frigid.
On a small table atop the tower, a cup of tea meant to keep them alert froze solid in an instant, as though a deadly chill had arrived early.
“Quick, inform Her Majesty the Holy Queen!”
“It’s a demonic attack—we’re in danger!”
The soldiers scrambled down from the tower in panic.
They had to warn everyone about the gigantic bow in the sky.
Was there truly such a terrifying existence among the demons?!
Perhaps only the Saintess and the Holy Queen could resolve this crisis.
At the same moment, Holy Queen Simona’s eyes narrowed sharply.
She wore no armor—just a refreshing dress adorned with a few cross-shaped plates for protection and as symbols of holiness.
Black stockings beneath the skirt added a touch of mature allure to the beautiful woman.
Golden sacred light coiled around her, radiating an aura and majesty akin to a golden-haired Valkyrie.
She stood atop the castle wall, staring in a daze at the enormous bow.
“The Arbiter?”
Simona uttered a voice of disbelief.
Of course she remembered this weapon—created by Lady Gabriella.
Four years ago, during the 【Four Saints】 project, this weapon should have long since fused completely with the Ice Saint, Miss Tina.
Yet now, the originally pure silver-white Arbiter was encased in ice crystals radiating an eerie aura, entwined with traces of shadow.
“Miss Ice Saint… why?”
Simona closed her eyes.
According to the plan Philina had provided, Tina was supposed to cooperate secretly from within, achieving deterrence through coordination.
Philina had vanished.
Now it seemed even the Ice Saint had fallen and pledged herself to the demons, launching an attack on humanity.
This must never be known.
It suddenly reminded her of the time she herself had been manipulated, nearly turned into a demon, almost aiming her once-holy flames at her own comrades.
Because of that demon named Liya.
Simona opened her eyes and let out a heavy sigh.
“Elsa, Gabriella… are you the same?”
Now was the time to settle things with the past.
She knew how to redeem these lost girls. She knew how to purify Gabriella.
The Arbiter’s power appeared far greater than before.
This was probably Tina, under demonic control, unleashing a single devastating strike.
After all, it was the legacy of the Silver-White Sword Empress, now reinforced by demonic power—not something easily countered.
“Wait for me.”
Golden light began coiling around the Holy Queen.
She rose into the air.
A golden longsword flew from her room and settled firmly in her grip.
Upon the Arbiter’s string, a sharp blade of interwoven silver-white and darkness appeared, as though an entire iceberg had been nocked.
The icy arrow left the string, blooming into beautiful silver-white fireworks in the sky, turning the entire night into day.
Simona did not know who that meteor-like force was aimed at, but the destruction it would cause was not to be underestimated.
The colossal arrow streaked across the heavens, leaving a gorgeous, fantastical trail accompanied by countless smaller arrows raining down like a tempest.
“Come.”
Yet just as Holy Queen Simona prepared to act,
a silver-white figure appeared in the night sky, like a second moon.
Clad in a black dress, she was the goddess of the night itself, wielding a silver-white holy sword.
With a casual swing, a silver-white slash tore through the heavens.
Simona recognized the girl instantly and cried out in shock:
“Gabriella?”