Peace Brigade. She owed a debt to the two late imperial beastfolk princesses. On the other hand, she had a number of acquaintances in the Capital. But neither of those factors constituted a legitimate reason. If what they were going up against was on par with the end of days, then there was no room for personal feelings in her calculations. We've naught but guesses and speculation as to the enemy's numbers or nature...but I wager that those two were integral to their plans. If there are many more with power like theirs, our chances of victory are slim to none. They struck at Vyade's residence. In short... In short, the World Tree likely hadn't been raided. The home of the Three Kings of the Forest was easy to defend and hard to attack. It didn't matter what kind of forces the enemy possessedâ€”if their goal was total subjugation, then they'd want to avoid losing troops on high-risk endeavors. In other words, the Fremd Torturchen and the man in black had chosen to prioritize the attack on the sisters' residence. But why? As Elisabeth racked her brain, Alice's voice echoed in her ears. "We wanted to talk to you! Because I think we can understand each other, see?" "I promise, you'll be able to meet with the people you care about!" Bite your tongue, fool. Elisabeth responded with a silent epithet as an image drifted to the forefront of her mind. Two people, sleeping inside a translucent crystal. It was a beautiful sightâ€”but nothing more. She could speak to them, but they wouldn't respond. She could extend her hand to them, but her fingers would never reach. Did she want to meet with them? There could be but one answer. One single answer. One that had never changed. And one that never would. But you lot made a fatal mistake. Elisabeth clicked her tongue. If their plan was to try to entice her with prospects of a reunion, slaughtering the beastfolk was a poor way to lead into it. The boy in question would never accept a reunion forged atop a mountain of corpses. At worst, he might even return to his slumber on purpose. Back during the end of days, when he was forced to choose between the world and the person he cared about most, he chose instead to balance the scales by sacrificing himself. That was just the kind of person he was. That was the kind of person her dim-witted servant was. He truly is a peerless fool... But I suppose that hardly matters right now. Elisabeth shook her head to get her thoughts back on track, then frowned in confusion. The two assailants had referred to her as "someone important for them to talk to." But while it was true that a Torture Princess was a valuable piece to have on one's side, there was no particular reason it had to be Elisabeth. Given that the man in black had created a Torture Princess of his own, the reason for his fixation on her remained a mystery. Pondering the matter likely won't get me anywhere. Elisabeth moved on to another consideration. She decided to trust her earlier hypothesis and assume that the World Tree was safe. For one, aside from Vyade and Valisisaâ€”the Wise Wolf and the Dynastâ€”none of the other members of the imperial family were particularly impressive. To put it bluntly, they didn't make for the juiciest targets. On the other hand, while the Capitalâ€”and particularly the newly established royal residenceâ€”certainly wasn't easy to attack, its defenses were nothing compared with the World Tree's. Their greatest weapons, the saints, were spread across the land protecting refugees, and on top of that, most of them were basically living cannons. They were powerful, true, but they were weak against surprise attacks, not very smart, and only able to operate for short periods at a time. Their current jobs revolved primarily around the emotional support their presence provided to the faithful. The Capital's defense was left primarily to the paladins and Royal Knights, but they had their hands full putting down the reconstruction sect. And most of the mages who fought in Ragnarok, aside from the few who were making good on their contracts, had left on a journey to establish a new workshop. Compared with the beastfolk, the humans were probably in much more danger. After all, the human race was no stranger to blind spots. They were the ones who'd unwittingly fostered those who'd tried to bring about the end of days. "Very well, then. The choice is made." The communication device slowly spun to a stop. Elisabeth popped it into the air, then threw it off into the distance. It soared out through the lattice-free window. The sound of its wings regrowing and an angry voice expressing its objections filled the air. Elisabeth ignored both, instead turning toward Lute. "I've thought it through." "I see." "'Tis unlikely the beastfolk lands have suffered any greater attacks than this. As such, I entrust you with confirming the imperial family's status and informing them that we have lost the first and second imperial princesses, in addition to a great number of valuable lives. As for me, I'm departing for the human lands. Now, the Peace Brigade is predominantly composed of Ragnarok survivors from the second squad of Vyade's private army... Your skills are true, but your numbers are lacking. Take no unnecessary risks. Should an emergency arise, call for me. And receive help from the World Tree's guard squad where you can get it. Then once our grasp on the situation is firmer, we'll rendezvous. Understood?" "Yes, ma'am." He was still probably shaken up about the imperial princesses' deaths, but the moment his captain informed him that she was splitting off, Lute nodded without hesitation. Elisabeth narrowed her eyes to check if he was sure. He responded to her gaze with a salute. "You're our captain, Madam Elisabeth, entrusted to Lady Vyade Ula Forstlast by mankind. But you're also this world's proud sword. If a crisis on par with the end of days is upon us, then it is your duty to defend humanity, too... Back then, if not for our three races' squabbling, there would likely have been far fewer victims. We should have been able to do something before Sir Kaito was forced to make the decision for us." His final words were tinged with pain and regret. Elisabeth thought back. At the World's End, right after Kaito descended into slumber, Lute had grieved the most of anyone. "I promised myself I wouldn't forget," he'd repeated over and over. No one had known what he'd meant by that, but it was clear that he never wanted to regret shirking his duty ever again. Choosing not to ask him about the specifics, Elisabeth nodded. "If you've no objections, I'll be off. I leave the rest to you." "Then I wish you luck. And may the blessings of the Three Kings of the Forest be with you." The rest of the beastfolk followed Lute's example. They probably all had their doubts, but no one voiced them. Elisabeth frowned. She still couldn't get used to dealing with her men's deep loyalty and simple honesty. She'd never been fit to lead in the first place, and to be frank, she shared their misgivings. To overlook a tragedy's beginning is to be blind as to how it will unfold. The end of days, the great calamity that had befallen the three races, had been the end result of a long series of smaller tragedies. And the silver vines filling up the audience chamber were undoubtedly there because of the seeds of evil that had been sown long hence. They needed to pull them up by the roots before it came time for harvest and the flowers within bloomed. Lest this time, we truly perish. The situation was unclear in every respect, yet a part of Elisabeth knew that if they did not address the matter appropriately, there would be no coming back from the fallout. Once, a stupid, simple love had saved the world. If someone had come to destroy it, then they were undoubtedly driven by the opposite emotion. And between their earnest voices and their tearless eyes, one thing about the Fremd Torturchen and the man in black was clear. The two of them possessed that quality. For those who've sustained such bitter woundsâ€” Elisabeth cut herself off midthought. Spinning theories based on emotion could come later. It was time for action. Elisabeth drew a jewel out from within an eddy of darkness and flower petals. It was a magical device she'd created by taking a gem already rich in mana, carving spells, and pouring blood into it. She tossed it into the air. It spun as it fell, then let out a loud kshhhh. The moment it did, there was a torrent of black and red, and a teleportation circle manifested at Elisabeth's feet. A cylindrical wall of blood rose up around her, filling her vision with crimson. Eventually, the wall cracked. Elisabeth closed her eyes. Then as the crimson shattered, she opened them. She was standing in a wide passageway. Although it wouldn't be obvious to someone with only a shallow knowledge of magic, the passageway was actually constructed out of a combination of several rare minerals. The blood and the melted jewel spun in a circle at her feet. Suddenly, she heard a chorus of loud voices. Normally it was silent in this area, but now there was quite a commotion. People were shouting in every direction and passing by to and fro. Paladins rushed past her. A female official tripped, dropping the documents she was holding all over the floor. Perhaps they'd already been informed that the Torture Princess was coming, or perhaps they had bigger fish to fry, but nobody paid her a second glance. It was an unexpected reception, and an unusual spectacle altogether. Elisabeth crossed her arms. "Hmm, 'tis rather lively indeed... For all their fluster, though, 'twould seem the worst has failed to pass. I suppose I should take that as a blessing, but I would still prefer it were not so damned noisy in here!" She looked around in annoyance but soon realized her protests were in vain. For one, a large part of the clamor was due to how resonant the walls' material was. The place hadn't exactly been built with noise abatement in mind. After all, the building Elisabeth had teleported to was underground. She was standing in the human king's new residence, the ill-omened cradle that had once housed the First Demon. The royal family's ancestral graveyard. The king was living in a tomb. And the tomb the Church had used to hide the First Demon, no less. It might have passed muster as a sick joke if it weren't in quite such poor taste. However, there was a good reason for why the Church had chosen the graveyard. As Kaito Sena had once pointed out, the Capital had suffered severe damage. Repairing and replacing buildings was expensive. But while their labor and material shortages went without saying, dealing with all the corpses had been their biggest struggle of all. After deeming it impossible to store the colossal number of unidentified bodies long-term, they'd cremated them. Despite that, an epidemic had still started near the section of the capital that was submerged underwater, then spread from there. Thanks to the warning Kaito Sena and Hina had left them, their prompt sterilization and their efforts to maintain good hygiene had allowed them to nip the disease in the bud. But some people still took it as a sign that restoring the Capital would be too difficult and began petitioning to relocate it in its entirety. However, there was one fatal flaw in that plan that made it impossible to carry out. The frank truth was that it was a matter of cost. Being broke was an