*Rumble…*
On a stormy night,
Tiltitz climbed the steep steps carved into the high mountain slope.
As she reached an altitude where mana was barely felt, she suddenly lifted her head and spotted a massive column.
It was a grand ancient shrine.
Tiltitz took off her hat and stepped inside.
*Thud.* A small sound echoed inside.
“Tiltitz! You’re here!”
“Alexia. Traveler…”
Inside were guests.
Majin Alexia and Majin Traveler.
But one person was missing.
Under normal circumstances, just seeing this person would have been bothersome, but right now, there was someone she desperately wanted to see.
“Was this Majin meeting called by you, Tiltitz?!”
“No, not me. How about you, Traveler…?”
“Not me either.”
Among the three Majins gathered here, there was no one who called the meeting.
Then it meant that someone who had not yet arrived was the one who called it.
Tiltitz sighed and decided to sit down and wait slowly.
“What did the Madman call this meeting for again?!”
“Honestly, I’m worried because I haven’t heard from him at all lately.”
For the past few days, contact with the Madman had completely ceased.
She had heard news that the marsh he was hiding in had been attacked and wiped out by the Imperial Army.
So had the Madman died there?
No, that couldn’t be.
The power flowing in her heart hadn’t increased even a little.
If the Madman had died, his power would have been evenly distributed among the living Majins.
The evidence that the number of Majins was still four told her so.
“I heard the Madman seems to have participated in the war! They say he ambushed Schlus Hainkel! Did he declare war before the attack?!”
“There’s no need to follow the human custom of declaring war.”
“Hmmm! But they say Schlus Hainkel has returned alive! Looks like the Madman’s skills have rusted!”
“What?”
Tiltitz narrowed her eyes.
Schlus Hainkel had returned alive?
That couldn’t be.
Alexia must be spouting nonsense because she didn’t know better.
The Madman clearly said he had grasped and crushed Schlus Hainkel’s heart with his own hands.
Even with the advancement of human medicine and the existence of a Saintess skilled in healing magic, there would be no way to compensate for the absence of a heart.
It might be possible to keep him barely alive, but it was impossible for Schlus Hainkel to walk out unscathed again.
“That’s nonsense.”
“According to my informants, the assault on the swamp involved several notable figures from the Empire. Do you think they’d deploy such power just to wipe out a bothersome group of fanatics?”
“What are you trying to say, Traveler?”
“Maybe they weren’t going after the fanatics at all.”
“……”
The Traveler added with a meaningful smile.
Tiltitz shook her head and clicked her tongue.
That couldn’t be.
Absolutely not.
*Boom…!*
At that moment, a thunderous sound so loud it made her ears dull erupted, lighting up everywhere.
As Tiltitz flinched in surprise, her eyes widened.
A dark figure stood at the entrance of the shrine.
From his large build, it appeared to be a young man.
But she could tell at a glance that it wasn’t the Madman.
“Schlus Hainkel?! How did you get here?!”
A man wearing a uniform with a sword at his waist, Schlus Hainkel.
That detestable human.
For a moment she was surprised, but Tiltitz immediately entered a combat stance, grinding her teeth.
“Are you planning to fight here, Tiltitz?”
“There’s no reason not to.”
“In that case, it’s obvious what the result will be.”
“……”
Schlus Hainkel seemed relaxed as if he had some confidence.
Where could that confidence be coming from?
He was nothing but a weak human who wouldn’t be able to make any resistance even if she rushed in to tear his throat out.
Suddenly turning her head, Tiltitz noticed Alexia getting off her chair.
“Alexia. Are you trying to protect that human?”
“Ah, ah! You see, I still need to be a teacher! I can’t just ignore someone trying to harm a student right before my eyes!”
“Alexia!”
Was this even a reasonable thing to say?
Prioritizing a contract with a human over loyalty to her compatriots?
Even at Tiltitz’s shouting, Alexia merely averted her gaze.
Yet Alexia’s stiff body was ready to leap out and pounce on Tiltitz at any moment.
“Traveler! Don’t you have anything to say?”
“I don’t share the same thoughts as Alexia.”
“Just as I thought!”
“What do you mean about being a teacher? That’s not my concern. I’m just going to prevent any harm to my compatriots.”
“Compatriots? What are you talking about, Traveler?”
“Don’t you feel it? The power of the Majin coming from this guy.”
“…?!”
Tiltitz’s mouth dropped open.
She hadn’t noticed at all.
What was filling this place from the start was the resonance of power.
Schlus Hainkel was clearly emitting the essence of Majin power, which could only be sensed by Majins.
She could distinctly feel the essence overflowing, one that wasn’t entirely contained in his heart.
She didn’t even need to examine it closely to understand.
This wasn’t just partial power; it was complete authority.
It was obvious whose he had stolen it from.
A Majin who had recently gone missing…
“Schlus Hainkel! What did the Madman do to you?!”
“Don’t worry. I didn’t kill him. He’s just suffering as a body that’s no different from the worthless humans he despised so much.”
“…!”
Her teeth ground together.
The Madman was defeated?
No, he had somehow returned alive after having his heart destroyed.
Everything was incomprehensible.
However, instead of kindly explaining, Schlus Hainkel merely looked at Tiltitz with a look of derision, passing by her.
Even though he was right in front of her, Tiltitz couldn’t move at all.
It wasn’t because the Traveler and Alexia were glaring at her from both sides.
It was as if her body had ceased to obey her.
*Fear? Is this fear?*
No way.
There’s no way I could be paralyzed with fear.
It must just be that I’m in bad condition after recovering from an injury not too long ago.
Tiltitz thought so, shaking her head repeatedly.
Meanwhile, Schlus Hainkel sat down in the high seat located at the end of the shrine.
The place where the one who called the Majin meeting sits.
“Alexia. You look well. It’s been hard to see your face lately.”
“Hahaha! Sorry about that! I’ve been a bit busy!”
“Traveler. You won’t have to worry about Duke Damien from the Development Area targeting your life anymore. You can rest easy.”
“Ha… I still have no intention of setting foot in the Development Area.”
“I understand. You wouldn’t want to go back to a place where the Great Majin Weapon was completed. I may have neutralized it already, but it’s your freedom to believe or not.”
So he knew about the Obelisk.
Tiltitz thought that nobody among humans knew the true purpose of that stone tower.
The Traveler couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity.
“Tiltitz. I never thought you could recover after getting beaten like that. Maybe I should hit you again.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Such a thing will never happen again.”
“Let’s drop the pleasantries and get to the reason for the meeting. Although biologically I’m a Majin now, honestly, I don’t really want to look at your faces for too long. The purpose of this gathering is to negotiate for an end to the war.”
“An end to the war?”
“Yeah. I gathered all of you busy bodies to help wrap up the war that you started, Tiltitz.”
An end to the war?
Did this human even understand what this war was about?
There was no way it could end.
It was a war that would continue until either humans or Majins were utterly destroyed.
Unlike thousands of years ago, this time both sides were ready to face extinction.
“Though I’m in a Majin body right now, I hereby propose a negotiation for the end of the war on behalf of humanity.”
“This war can’t end. We don’t even intend to.”
“That’s your view. What do the other Majins think?”
“Hmm! That’s hard for me to answer! Although it’s called a war between Majin and human, I’ve never participated and don’t plan to either!”
“Same here. Looks like I’m not qualified to join the negotiations.”
In an instant, Alexia and the Traveler pulled away.
Before they knew it, Schlus Hainkel’s empty gaze was locked onto Tiltitz.
This meant the Majin side had been narrowed down to just Tiltitz.
The Madman had already died.
“Then it’ll be one-on-one negotiations.”
“No. There will be no negotiations.”
“Shouldn’t you at least hear my conditions?”
“I’ll at least listen.”
“The conditions that the Human Alliance will propose for the end of the war are as follows: The Great Majin shall directly order the surrender of the Asylum cultists. And the Great Majin shall personally renounce their power.”
“W-What?! Is that what you call negotiating?! I will never accept an end to the war!”
Tiltitz shouted in fury, involuntarily rising from her seat.
The moment she did, she noticed Alexia and the Traveler rushing at her, and Tiltitz had no choice but to grind her teeth and sit back down.
To end the war, I’d have to give up being a Majin?
That was practically asking for death.
There was no value in agreeing to such terms.
“Well then, it seems there’s no choice. We’ll just have to continue until one of us dies.”
“Everyone, please come to your senses! Do you think Schlus Hainkel still has his identity as a Majin? After he kills me, do you think he will smile and get along with you? Not a chance! That man will try to exterminate all Majins! He’ll want to become the sole Majin and gain omnipotent power!”
Tiltitz shouted in frustration.
It was clear that Schlus Hainkel’s goal was the annihilation of the Majin race.
Even if the only war counterpart was Tiltitz, would he just kill her and stop all violence?
Tiltitz was well aware that wouldn’t happen.
For Schlus Hainkel, Alexia and the Traveler were also potential threats he could turn against at any moment.
Though he was letting them be for now, it was obvious he’d eliminate them whenever he got the opportunity.
However, Alexia and the Traveler were standing still, arms crossed, without any response.
“The negotiations have failed. I will conclude the Majin meeting here. But I must say one thing.”
“Can’t you just shut up and leave?”
“Do you know why the Magician died, Tiltitz?”
“How dare you speak ill of my compatriot’s name…!”
“You thought he was murdered, right? You surely thought that a Majin had killed him. But you’re wrong. The Magician chose to die.”
“That’s nonsense.”
“Distributing his power to humans and nurturing a force like Asylum was the Magician’s doing. By deciding to die in the end, he pulled the trigger on the war. Tiltitz, you naively predicted I’d intervene…”
“……”
It was a nonsensical assumption.
Of course, the circumstantial evidence added up.
The Magician had consumed so much power that he had only three years left to live.
And the Magician’s death served as the catalyst for Tiltitz’s decision to attack humans.
However, that was just a plausible story; it couldn’t possibly be the truth.
There was no way the Magician could have been playing her like a puppet.
“Such a shame. If you had accepted my conditions, I would have tried to spare your life even if you lost your powers. But now it seems I’ll have to kill you.”
“……”
*Thud, thud.*
The heavy footsteps of Schlus Hainkel passed by Tiltitz.
At the sound, her body cringed and trembled minutely.
*Nothing will change. I was always planning to fight until the end. No regrets…*
The path to peace had completely vanished.
Perhaps all of this was my mistake.
But that didn’t matter.
Nothing would change.
Just like before, she would simply decide to fight until the end.
That was certainly how it should be, but the lost opportunities kept flickering in her mind.
There was no way to bring back those missed chances.
Even if there were, her pride as a Majin wouldn’t allow it.
“Schlus Hainkel…”
“What is it?”
“About the negotiations… could you reconsider…?”
It wasn’t the time to be prideful.
When she came to her senses, Tiltitz had already caught up to Schlus and was clinging to his sleeve.
Without any hostile intentions, merely hoping he would stop walking.
“Reconsider?”
“If you could review the terms again… I don’t think it would be unacceptable…”
“There will be no downward revision of the terms. Only upward adjustments. This time, I’ll make it so your life is your trade. If you give up all your physical and mental freedom, I’ll let you live.”
“F-Freedom?!”
To take away her freedom?
That was nothing less than a proposal for torture.
To say he’d have his way with the body of a girl who had lost her power?
Humans were a breed that thrived on torture.
There was no way she could withstand that in a mere human body.
“If you promise not to break my mind—“
“Is that a reverse demand? You still don’t grasp your situation. This is the end. I will never propose a peace agreement again.”
“Ah…”
Schlus Hainkel shook him off violently and turned his back.
His footsteps never paused as he exited the shrine.
Tiltitz simply sat there, blankly staring at the back of a man who was once human.
“It’s over…”
Lowering her pride meant nothing.
There was now truly no way out.
It would just be a battle until one of them died.
