’Dark Spirit Magic Research Manual.’
It seemed Bleta had written it himself.
It contained detailed instructions not only on how to contract with dark spirits but also on techniques for strengthening them by overlaying a necromancer’s jet-black magic.
Not knowing when or how it might come in handy, Simon decided to keep it for now.
Afterward, Simon and Lethe cleared the area around the ruins and waited for Richard and Anna to arrive.
A considerable amount of time passed. It rained at one point, and they stayed up all night wrapped in blankets. Simon looked down at the hourglass around his neck, his heart heavy with worry.
There wasn’t much time left. The tips of his fingers and toes had turned transparent, fading like a watercolor painting. It was the exact symptom Bleta had shown before he disappeared.
Would those two really be able to make it here safely? Would he get to see their faces one last time before his time ran out? Filled with such worries, he stayed awake staring at the distant horizon until exhaustion finally claimed him.
"Simon."
He was awakened by Lethe calling his name. When he opened his eyes, she was pointing forward.
"They are approaching," she reported crisply.
Simon jumped to his feet.
With the dim dawn fading and the rising morning light at their backs, a battered and bruised Richard and Anna were making their way down the hill.
The two were supporting each other, struggling through every step. Seeing them, Simon felt an unexpected ache in his chest.
The massive army of the Dark Alliance, and later the Holy Federation’s forces that had stormed in after the Sealed Book—it was no exaggeration to say that practically the entire continent had been trying to kill them.
But they had survived. The wounded Legion Commander and the Saintess had overcome all the malice and relentless assaults of the world to reach this place. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how grueling and fierce their battle must have been.
"Well, well," Richard muttered.
Walking with Anna’s support, he spotted Simon and offered a faint smile.
"It’d be a pain if this turned out to be a plot twist where you were the enemy all along. Are you after our heads too, Watcher?"
Simon shook his head with a warm smile.
"Of course not. We’ll always be on your side."
"Professor Anna!" Lethe called out, hopping in place and waving her hand.
Seeing her, tears welled up in Anna’s eyes.
"Lena...! And your companion. I’m so glad you’re safe."
The four of them were finally reunited.
To be precise, it wasn’t just the two of them. Behind Richard and Anna, an undead steed groaned as it pulled a cart carrying the Sealed Book that Richard had stolen.
Upon arriving at the ruins, Richard recalled the steed into his subspace and looked down at the Sealed Book.
"Every military force on the continent is rapidly converging on this location," he said, roughly wiping away the dark blood trickling down his chin.
"The Legion’s losses currently exceed 80%. Pier is holding out as best as he can with the remaining troops, but it won’t last long. Once the Legion’s defenses are breached, they’ll storm right to where we are."
"Richard," Anna murmured, looking up at him with sad eyes.
Richard lightly shook his head.
"I’m fine, Anna. You must be exhausted too."
When facing the Holy Federation’s army, Anna had fought using her authority as a Saintess. The Federation soldiers had been deeply shocked by the fact that the Saintess of Miracles was siding with a necromancer and attacking them.
"She’s a fallen Saintess!"
"Witch!"
All sorts of unspeakable, horrific insults had been hurled at her, but Anna had clutched the wound over her heart and fought on.
The power known as ’divinity’ was said to be usable only with the Goddess’s permission.
Yet, when Anna unleashed her divinity to save Richard, it shone brighter and clearer than ever before. Even she found the irony bitter.
"Getting back to the point, if we move with the Sealed Book, our position will inevitably be exposed. We have to destroy it right here, right now."
While Anna set up a barrier around the ruins, Richard took the Sealed Book from the cart and placed it on the ground.
Then, he opened his subspace.
"It’s been a while since I brought this out."
A rush of cold wind swept through the area. The object that scattered a terrifying aura the moment it emerged from the subspace was a black dagger. As Richard imbued it with jet-black magic, an eye embedded in the dagger’s blade snapped open.
"An artifact that destroys artifacts, the ’Wave-Breaking Dagger.’ There’s nothing this can’t break."
Gripping it with both hands, he took a deep breath.
"Is everyone ready?"
The other three nodded, their faces tense.
Just then, Lethe subtly poked Simon in the ribs and mouthed to him.
’Are you not going to step in?’
Simon shook his head.
Historically, the Sealed Book was destroyed by Richard and Anna alone. There was no need to create unnecessary variables at the very last moment.
Lethe seemed to understand, as she didn’t press the matter further.
"Here goes!" Richard shouted.
He raised the dagger above his head and slammed it down onto the Sealed Book with all his might.
A deafening crash rang out. Right before the blade touched the Sealed Book, a mysterious protective barrier enveloped it. The dagger struck the surface of the barrier with a harsh metallic screech.
"Ugh!" Richard grunted.
A tremendous shockwave erupted. The fierce gale pushed the other three onlookers backward, their shoes leaving long skid marks in the dirt.
"Urgh!"
Forced to his knees, Richard poured all his strength into his grip, pressing down on the dagger with everything he had. But the blade simply couldn’t pierce the barrier.
That was when Simon saw it.
The color of the barrier had momentarily turned white.
With a sharp clang, the dagger ultimately failed to pierce the Sealed Book’s barrier and violently rebounded, sending Richard tumbling to the ground.
"Richard! Are you okay?" Simon called out.
Sprawled in the dirt, Richard weakly waved his wrist, painful groans escaping his lips.
"I’ll try this time," Anna said, stepping forward.
She opened her divine subspace and pulled out a massive silver cross that looked to be twice her height.
The holy relic, the ’Covenant of Judgment.’
She hoisted the weapon, which dwarfed her own body, with both hands and trudged toward the Sealed Book.
The relic must have been incredibly heavy, as cracks formed in the ground with every heavy step she took.
"Here I go!"
Anna infused divinity into the ’Covenant of Judgment.’
The cross transformed into blinding light, illuminating the area as if it were ablaze. Using the strength of her entire body, she hoisted the cross high and slammed it down onto the Sealed Book.
A thunderous boom shook the ruins as another shockwave swept through.
Once again, the unidentified barrier unfurled around the book.
"Ugh!"
Hugging the cross, Anna furrowed her brow. She groaned, pressing down on the Sealed Book with all her might, but this time, the barrier turned pitch-black.
With a deafening roar, her cross was violently repelled.
Anna lost her grip and fell backward, but Richard, who had gotten back on his feet, safely caught her from behind.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Thank you, Richard," she breathed.
The two of them were panting, their faces visibly exhausted. Richard wiped the sweat from his forehead and spoke in frustration.
"This is driving me crazy. What’s the problem?"
Simon fell into deep thought.
When attacked with jet-black magic, the Sealed Book’s barrier turned white.
When attacked with divinity, the barrier turned black.
Which meant...
"At the same time," Simon realized aloud.
Richard looked over.
"What?"
"How about the two of you combine your strength and attack it at the same time?"
Hearing that, Richard grinned.
"I was just thinking the exact same thing."
He looked at Anna, and she met his gaze. Nodding in agreement, the two slowly stood up and readjusted their grips on the dagger and the cross.
"This is our last shot," Richard said, exhaling with a grave expression. "The Legion’s defensive line will be breached soon. If we can’t destroy the Sealed Book now, all the forces on the continent will track its magic right to us. That will be the end of us."
"We can do this, Richard," Anna said, smiling through her heavy pants.
Richard managed a strained smile in return.
"It’s an honor to fight by your side to the very end."
"I feel the same."
Pressing their foreheads together lightly one last time, the two corrected their stances and hoisted the dagger and cross with all their might.
Then, moving in unison, they struck down upon the Sealed Book.
A deafening crash, incomparable to the previous impacts, erupted through the ruins.
Richard’s dagger struck from the right, Anna’s cross from the left.
Two of the continent’s powerhouses exerted every ounce of their strength against the Sealed Book.
’Any changes?’
Simon narrowed his eyes, observing the Sealed Book closely. The barrier enveloping it was fluctuating wildly, flashing from white to black and back again, as if thrown into chaos. Meanwhile, with a series of sharp cracks and snaps, fractures began to spiderweb across the shield.
"It’s working!" Richard shouted.
The two poured even more power into their weapons, detonating their jet-black magic and divinity.
The weapons ground against the barrier with an agonizing screech.
However, it seemed their combined strength still wasn’t enough. At first, they had rapidly cracked the Sealed Book’s barrier, but their progress gradually slowed to a crawl.
Now, the dagger and the cross were beginning to be pushed back.
’Damn it!’
Simon broke out in a cold sweat. The two were far more exhausted than he had anticipated.
’Historically, they destroyed the Sealed Book with just their own strength. But...!’
In that instant, a thought flashed through his mind.
This ’Incident of Betrayal’ had been moved up by several days compared to the original timeline.
It was because Bleta, the culprit behind this incident, had rushed the situation out of fear that he would disappear.
If this was Bleta’s doing, it was highly likely he had orchestrated a scenario with far more enemy forces than in the original history.
After all, her chances of winning would be highest if she engaged them only after their strength had been completely drained.
’If that’s the case, I’ll correct the past!’
Without hesitation, Simon leaped forward, placing his hands directly over Richard’s on the hilt of the dagger.
"Haaaaaah!"
Letting out an explosive roar, Simon began pouring out every last drop of his remaining jet-black magic.
"Watcher! You...!" Richard gasped.
With a grinding screech, the dagger that had been pushed back slowly began to descend once more.
"Professor Anna!" Lethe called out, moving in sync.
She stepped behind Anna, pressing close, and placed her hands firmly over Anna’s.
"Lena?"
"Push! One, two—!"
A heavy rumble shook the air. With Simon and Lethe joining the effort, the dagger and cross began to dig into the barrier once more. Cracks rapidly spread across the shield enveloping the Sealed Book.
"What are you?" Richard asked, his pupils trembling even as he pushed down on the dagger. "How are you using the power of the Legion, just like me...!"
Simon just smiled. Before he knew it, his body was turning blurry.
It was proof that his time was running out.
"Lena!" Anna cried out.
Lethe, who was channeling the power of a Saintess, was also slowly fading away. The sand in the hourglasses around their necks had almost completely run out. Nephthys’s golden aura rippled from the glass.
Richard spoke in a panic.
"Hey, you! Shouldn’t you stop? Your body is..."
"Richard!" Simon cut him off, panting heavily. "Don’t look back! Focus on the Sealed Book! And listen closely!"
"You punk...! Who do you think you’re ordering around...!"
"No matter who curses you in the future! No matter how much history tears you down! I, at least, will be on your side forever!"
Richard’s eyes widened in shock.
"So just keep looking forward and keep moving!" Simon urged.
"Hey, wait a minute. What are you suddenly talking about? You sound like someone who’s about to disappear!"
"One day!" Simon shouted, squeezing his eyes shut. "I’ll make sure people reevaluate everything you’ve done! I swear it!"
With a violent screech, Anna’s cross dug deep into the left side of the Sealed Book’s barrier.
"Professor Anna. At first, I couldn’t understand your actions. No, I suppose anyone else would have felt the same."
Leaning against Anna with her hands overlapping hers, Lethe spoke in a soft whisper.
"But I understand now. You’ve worked so hard as the Saintess of Miracles. Please, be happy from now on. Only think about your own happiness."
"Lena?"
"Don’t live the life that others dictate and judge. Live the life that truly makes you happy. You deserve that."
"Lena, what’s wrong? You’re making me anxious! We’re going to stay together from now on..."
Lethe smiled, tears welling in her eyes.
"We’re parting ways for now, but we’ll meet again someday."
With a resounding crack, the Sealed Book’s defensive barrier finally shattered.
The instant the barrier broke, Richard and Anna’s concentration peaked. Their weapons forced their way through the gap in the shattered shield.
With a sickening crunch, they destroyed the Sealed Book. A massive blue light immediately surged from the pages of the ruined tome.
A powerful shockwave blasted outward as the book shattered into pieces. Unable to withstand the force, Richard and Anna lost their grip on their weapons and collapsed.
Silence fell over the ruins.
Blue droplets of light from the shattered Sealed Book drifted down like fireflies.
Having squeezed out every last drop of their strength, the two lay sprawled on their backs, panting heavily.
Only the sound of their ragged breathing echoed in the quiet air. Still lying on the ground, Richard raised his palm.
"Good job. Watch..."
Richard’s eyes widened as he went for a high-five.
Simon’s body was gone.
"Lena?"
Anna hurriedly looked behind her.
Lethe had vanished without a trace.
All that remained was a faintly glowing golden aura drifting amidst the falling blue fireflies.
In the quiet ruins, only the two of them—now denied by the entire continent—were left behind.
Richard touched his forehead.
"Was I possessed by a ghost or something?"
He couldn’t quite remember the face of the guy he had just been talking to, the one he had called Watcher.
The boy’s voice was already growing blurry in his mind.
However...
"I’ll make sure people reevaluate everything you’ve done! I swear it!"
A small smile curled the corners of Richard’s lips.
That voice was fading from his memory too, but for some reason, he felt a profound sense of warmth. Regardless of his fractured memories, the emotion of that moment lingered like a comforting afterglow, unforgettable.
"It’s all over," Richard murmured.
Leaning against each other, he and Anna blankly watched the glowing fireflies drift down from the sky.
A sudden sense of loneliness over someone’s absence washed over them, but that too gently faded away.
"Anna."
"Yes, Richard."
"I just thought of something. It’s a bit weird to say in a situation like this, but..." Richard scratched his cheek, letting out an embarrassed laugh. "I want a son."
Hearing that, Anna smiled brightly. She adjusted her posture and clasped her hands together.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Praying." Resting her face against Richard’s chest, Anna spoke in a soft, tender voice. "For a stork to hurry up and bring us our son."
Richard let out a soft, genuine chuckle.
"It seems we both have a long way to go."
Their journey was only just beginning.
Leaning against each other, the two of them watched the brightening sky together.

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