This heavy snowfall turned every corner into a world carved from diamond. The rooftops of the village were piled high with thick, crystalline snow. Branches were draped in bright, fluffy silver strands. The dirt road once covered in soil had been painted over into a soft white carpet. Even the eaves had begun to form hard icicles. Since it was night, dark clouds blocked the moonlight, casting this silver landscape into dim shadow. At a glance, the entire place felt steeped in oppression.
Fortunately, the temperature inside the ruins was moderate. Everyone was wrapped in blankets and huddled close together, so it did not feel overly cold. Some had even begun to light fires.
"..."
At this moment, the Shogun sat on the steps, staring blankly at the scene outside. Snowflakes danced within the reflection of her violet eyes.
Pandora sat beside her in silence, offering quiet company. In her transparent state, no one noticed her presence.
"Why aren't those guys here yet..."
Garfiel walked over impatiently and dropped down beside her, snapping a tree branch he had picked up from somewhere, breaking it apart with sharp cracks.
The "guys" he mentioned were obviously the Great Rabbits. Though he wore an impatient expression, she could sense the tension in his breathing. Beneath the surface, he was nervous.
"Wouldn't it be better if they didn't come?"
She did not look at him, speaking plainly.
Even so, she could feel that those rabbits would definitely come.
"Heh, you've got a point. Hey... why do you know about this stuff, woman?"
He asked with suspicion.
"...Is that strange?"
She replied casually.
"Of course it is!"
He answered as if it were only natural.
"So anyone who knows something you don't gets labeled suspicious by you?"
She looked at the gloomy sky and asked calmly.
"Ugh... I don't wanna argue with you right now, woman!"
Clearly irritated after being mocked, he scowled.
"Regardless, whether I'm suspicious or not no longer matters. Your lives are what matter. Do you want the people of the Sanctuary to die so casually?"
She asked.
"Of course not!"
He answered without hesitation.
"Then do your duty and stop making baseless accusations. Otherwise, you'll be the only one who regrets it."
With that, she ignored his expression, stood up, and walked out of the ruins, exposing herself to the heavy snowfall.
"Tch... What a smug bastard!"
Garfiel rolled his eyes at her back but did not pursue the matter further.
Rustle... rustle...
In the next second, a faint scraping sound arose from somewhere, like something digging through soil. It was distinct enough that Garfiel inside the ruins heard it clearly.
"Huh? What was that? Hey, woman, was that you?"
He asked irritably.
Rustle... rustle... ×N
The sound rapidly spread in all directions. The rustling gradually turned into sharp, skin-crawling shrieks, like the squeaking of countless insects.
(They've arrived.)
Pandora frowned slightly and warned her.
Mm...
"Get back inside! Activate the ruins' defenses!"
She shouted over her shoulder at Garfiel.
"Damn it!!"
His face paled. He rushed to the side wall and pressed his bare hand against a raised section.
Hum—
The mechanism activated. A faint silver-white glow, like a projection, appeared before the ruins' entrance. It must have been the defensive barrier.
Squeak! ×N
With the moon obscured by dark clouds, the outside was pitch-black. Nothing could be seen clearly. Only the piercing cries echoed. The shrieks intensified until the people inside the ruins clutched their ears in pain. Though they were rabbits, their cries were as shrill as rats.
After Pandora passed through the ruins in her transparent form, the Shogun immediately activated her Elemental Sight. What entered her vision was a dense swarm of rabbits, packed like ants, surrounding her in a tightening circle as they charged forward, as if preparing for a feast.
She leapt high into the air and stood upon invisible steps in the sky. Since the Great Rabbits could not fly, they immediately abandoned her and locked their attention onto the people inside the ruins, rushing toward them instead.
"There's something delicious over here."
She murmured, taking Pandora's magic stone from her pocket and suspending it in the air with her own power.
Pandora.
(Understood!)
Inside the ruins, Pandora clasped her hands together as if in prayer, fingers interlocked before her chest. Her eyes closed briefly. When they opened again, they shone with a sapphire-blue brilliance. Her entire body radiated a sky-colored glow.
Hum—
The magic stone resonated, emitting the same blue light. In an instant, it released a pure, high-density wave of magical energy across the entire area. The azure brilliance illuminated the dark sky hidden beneath the clouds, turning the night into something like day and revealing every detail on the ground. It also drew the Great Rabbits' attention.
In perfect unison, they turned toward the source of magic in the sky. Their small rabbit mouths split open into abyssal maws, saliva-coated fangs bared.
"Roar!" ×N
No longer shrill squeaks, but savage, beastlike howls.
"Come and eat, beasts."
Standing high above, the Shogun looked down at the drooling creatures and mocked them coldly.
Whoosh—!!!!
The next moment, countless rabbits surged upward from the ground like a spiraling vortex. Unable to fly, they stacked atop one another, climbing higher and higher in a grotesque tower.
(Shogun, do you see it?)
Mm... That one is the leader.
At the center of the vortex of rabbit bodies appeared one with glowing red eyes, larger than the rest. Two horns protruded from its head, and its face was far more grotesque than its kin. The surrounding rabbits seemed to carry it upward like an emperor ascending a throne.
Once it revealed itself, things became simple—
Hum—
She raised her hand and drove four vajra stakes into the four corners around them. A sealed, square barrier formed along the perimeter, cutting off the Great Rabbits from the ruins and trapping them within like fish in a barrel.
Crackle...
From her chest, she drew Musou Isshin. With a graceful spin of the blade in her hand, she let its edge radiate power that made space itself tremble. A star-speckled violet light shimmered in the void. Gripping the hilt in reverse, she plunged the blade straight into the center of the barrier.
Crackle...
In that instant, the starlike violet light flooded into the barrier, engulfing the antlike swarm of rabbits. As currents of electricity surged, black smoke rose within from scorching heat.
When the brilliance reached its critical point—
Boom!!
A pale violet mushroom cloud blossomed in the night. The shockwave bent every surrounding tree and scattered the clouds, revealing the moon once more. Moonlight poured down upon the now cratered clearing. The once-dense swarm of rabbits had vanished without a trace. Perhaps they had all been reduced to charred husks. Severed limbs and organs littered the ground in a gruesome mess.
When she returned to the ruins, she instinctively glanced at Pandora. Pandora smiled at her, a silent acknowledgment that the plan had succeeded.
Crack!
Not long after, Emilia finally emerged from the trial chamber, wiping the thin layer of sweat from her forehead. Her gaze met the Shogun's.
"..." ×2
They looked at each other in silence for a moment.
"..."
Emilia gave her a gentle nod of affirmation.
Seeing this, she glanced at Pandora beside her...
(We succeeded, Shogun.)
Pandora said with a smile.
Mm... We succeeded.
This was everyone's combined effort...
Only now did she truly understand the meaning behind the words Kokomi once spoke.
It truly had not been easy.
...
Just like that... Emilia passed the Sanctuary's trial as promised. Garfiel honored his word and released the villagers. At last, everyone was able to return to the Mathers domain.
Only afterward did she learn that Garfiel once held thoughts similar to Ei's in the past—eternity. He feared that once the Sanctuary was liberated, change would follow, and that was something he did not want to see. So he had hidden himself within it all this time, clinging to stagnation until now. The one who seemed like a radical was, in truth, a conservative. Fortunately, he had come to his senses and was willing to step out and reunite with Frederica. It was something worth celebrating.
As for Roswaal... no one knew what Echidna had told him. After waking, he was obedient to a degree that hardly resembled him. Regarding the wager she had proposed, he complied without hesitation and wholeheartedly supported Emilia's candidacy for the throne. He no longer sought guidance from the Gospel, though occasionally he would still stare at its cover and mutter things about "Teacher..."
As for Echidna, she entered the Sanctuary once more to attend the final Witch's Tea Party and bid her farewell. Though clearly reluctant, Echidna awkwardly allowed her to leave.
[Forget it. All feasts must end someday, Shogun. Perhaps we shall meet again in the future. But that belongs to another time. For now, shall we have one last sip of Dona Tea, my dear~?]
In the end, she still poured that rather unpleasant Dona Tea into her mouth. It was a gesture of courtesy. After all, Echidna had helped her quite a bit.
On a certain day afterward... they were invited to attend a ball hosted by the Karsten family. She did not know how to dance, so she leaned against the castle balcony, letting the wind brush against her as she took in the long-missed atmosphere of the royal capital.
Though she held a wine glass, it contained not alcohol but orange juice—sweet and delicious. She had already had several glasses.
"Shogun... so you're here."
Hearing the voice, she turned and saw Emilia in an evening gown.
"You're not dancing?"
She asked.
"No... I don't quite have the energy for it. Hehe..."
Emilia laughed awkwardly and walked to her side, gazing out at the nighttime scenery of the capital just as she did.
After that, Emilia began speaking about what had happened during the trial...
"Honestly, if you and Echidna had already coordinated everything, you could've told me from the start. You made me panic for nothing when I went in."
Emilia nudged her lightly with her shoulder, pouting.
"If I had told you beforehand, your mindset would have changed. That would not have been appropriate."
She refuted calmly.
"Mm... I suppose that's true."
Emilia considered it and found no counterargument.
"You worked hard..."
She turned toward the girl beside her and spoke gently.
"It's nothing... If you all hadn't been there with me, I might still be unable to pass the trial. Thank you, Shogun."
The gown left Emilia's shoulders bare. The cool night breeze brushed against her skin, making her shiver slightly. She lifted a hand to rub her shoulder and lowered her gaze to the chilled drink reflecting her image. A faint, relieved smile curved her lips.
"...You've changed."
"Huh?"
Emilia blinked in confusion.
"You've become more mature."
She said.
"Me? Pfft... How could that be? It's just your imagination~ Honestly, Shogun, don't tease me~"
Like a kitten, Emilia leaned against her shoulder again and again, making her upper body sway gently.
Very well... Since Emilia refused to admit it, she would not press the matter. But she was certain the girl had changed—just as she had said. More mature. More open. Perhaps Echidna had told her something at that time.
She wanted to ask, yet as she looked at the silver-haired girl beside her, she hesitated.
"I... found out who my family is."
"...?"
Unexpectedly, Emilia brought it up herself. Whether she had sensed her hesitation or simply wished to speak, she did not know. Either way, she felt a quiet sense of relief.
She did not offer empty congratulations. She knew Emilia's family was already gone.
Subconsciously, she glanced at Pandora, who sat on a distant windowsill railing, staring into the night. A trace of complexity flashed through her eyes.
"Echidna let me see the memories I had forgotten... the ones someone sealed away. My mother, Geuse... everyone... they all..."
"If you do not wish to speak, do not force yourself."
She gently stroked Emilia's arm.
"It's alright. It's all in the past... I'm fine. I want to tell you. I want to confide in you. Is that okay, Shogun?"
Emilia slowly wrapped her arms around hers. Determination shone in her violet eyes.
"Of course... I'm listening."
Her expression softened as she replied gently.
"Mm..."
What Emilia recounted was much the same as what Pandora had once told her during their first meeting. To eradicate the remnants of the moderate faction within the Witch Cult and to break a certain seal within the forest, Pandora had once intruded upon the village where Emilia had grown up, together with the Archbishop of Greed. Emilia's mother was killed, and Geuse, whose mind shattered from despair, was brainwashed into becoming the present-day Archbishop of Sloth.
"Do you hate her?"
She asked.
The moment the words left her mouth, she felt foolish. How could one not hate the one who murdered their family?
"Yes. I do."
Emilia answered plainly.
"But... what good does hatred do? They're gone. They've been gone for a long time."
She gave a bitter smile.
"...So I will become queen. I don't want this kind of thing to happen to anyone else again!"
Emilia straightened, her voice resolute.
It had to be said... Though she had matured, her ideals were still somewhat naive. But... that was not necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps that sincerity was precisely Emilia's greatest charm.
Hardship had not crushed her. Instead, it had strengthened her confidence and drive. That was a good thing.
"Shogun..."
"...Mm?"
She turned toward her.
Under the moonlight, Emilia's violet eyes shimmered with a different kind of brilliance.
"What is it?"
She asked.
"You're... leaving soon, aren't you?"
As if sensing it, Emilia lowered her gaze, her voice tinged with melancholy.
"...Mm."
After a brief silence, she nodded.
"I thought so..."
There was acceptance in Emilia's tone.
"There are matters in my homeland that require my attention. If left unattended, they may bring trouble."
She explained.
"I understand... I knew from the beginning you wouldn't stay here forever. One day, you would leave. Still... now that the time has really come, I feel a little..."
Emilia paused, taking a steadying breath.
"Will you come back someday?"
She asked.
"...I will."
She nodded.
"Mm... That's good."
Whoosh...
Emilia stepped forward and embraced her, savoring what might be their final hug.
"Goodbye, Shogun."
"Mm... Until we meet again."
They separated. Emilia glanced toward the brightly lit hall inside, her eyes flickering.
"I... I'm going to get another drink. I'll head in first."
She forced a small smile and waved before turning her back and leaving the balcony.
"That child... is remarkable."
Pandora, still seated on the railing, spoke softly.
"...Mm."
Tap... tap...
She walked over and leaned against the railing beside Pandora, gazing out at the night.
[Shall I return alone?]
Ei suggested.
"No need. We'll go together. It's Pandora's first time going to Inazuma. As her future homeland, it's only right to show her around."
[Pandora... are you willing to come? To Inazuma?]
Ei asked the silver-haired girl beside her.
"Mm~ Wherever the Shogun and Mother are is Pandora's home. It's fine... I adapt easily. If anything, I only worry that my presence might cause trouble for the two of you."
"You needn't worry about that... There will be no trouble. Besides, Tenshukaku has only the two of us living there. It's rather quiet. One more person will make it livelier."
She said.
"As long as I'm not a burden, that's enough. I'm fine living anywhere."
Pandora replied obediently.
[Very well... From now on, you're an Inazuman. Consider yourself our new member.]
Ei said.
"Mm. Please take care of me."