The whole city was screaming in joy. It was overwhelming. As if the whole city was shaking under their excitement.

….

The journalists recorded every detail with fervent impatience. The next day, the whole world would know of the unique class: Reaper, and the ascension of the Empire’s most talented mage. Along with the absurd statement that no one would understand, I killed my sister 143 times. This will spur more than a few unhinged individuals who would kill their sibling in the hope of acquiring the reaper class.

…

Ilona reached to Hecate’s side first and grabbed Hecate before she could fall. A moment later, Iris appeared beside her with Diantha.

Healers rushed in to heal both Hecate and Rian.

The wound was not life-threatening, though they decided to take Hecate to the medical facility. Ilona went with them.

Iris looked over to the entrance below Laurent's waiting room. The unassuming boy. Ilona would raise the barrier the moment her mana flared.

"It is over," Iris said, observing the tattered stage. "Now, what? Will you let Laurent go unscathed?" Iris would find that rather underwhelming.

"Right now, I cannot wage war on them. They, of course, don’t know that. Only the emperor and I are aware of the agreement. I need to wait three months before I can do something to Laurent or Lambert. I’ll leave them sleepless for the next three months, seeing ghosts at the edge of their sight, afraid of when I will begin cleansing Gracia of their sin. In due time, I’ll strike down Laurent’s Hert factories."

"Laurent would expect that," Iris said.

"Jeremiah, along with Jasper and Ianthe, is already descending on the main factory unless Laurent moves her entire legion—Hert’s source has been eradicated. The anomaly will be here busy with you—that solves unaccountable variables. You should go, lest Laurent finds out, and take the boy with her."

Iris nodded. "I feel anger for what Hecate had to go through—it’s his flesh I will carve my pain into."

She was feeling numb from the hatred. Why did someone do that to Hecate? "I’ll leave Winny with you." She picked up her cat and gave it to Diantha.

"She will be safe," Diantha said, as the two knights rushed down.

"They are here to protect you?" Iris asked.

"The tournament has ended; I am the winner. They cannot speak without my permission. The fate of Inspector remains to be seen."

"I’ll go," Iris turned and walked in calmly.

The audience was still screaming, but not for long. For even the soul of their ancestor would quiver from the screams that were about to come.

…

The boy stood in the dark corridor. There was no trap; Iris knew there wouldn’t be. The boy was still underestimating her.

[Transient Exchange: Activate skill?]

System asked. Iris waited. She had some questions for the boy.

"I was waiting," Boy said. "Didn't run away? I expected you to."

"As if a little shadow can do something to me."

"A bold statement: did your memory of our previous encounter lapse? You took two days to heal." The boy spoke mechanically.

Iris chukcled, "I knew you would take credit for someone else’s doing. I cannot even begin to fathom the reprehensible life you have had, devoid of any gratification, to attempt to take a non-mage's doing. Regardless, I am not here for the worthless squabble that you’re proficient in, rather than the actual fights."

"How many hours did you practice those lines?" The boy asked, a creepy smile spreading on his face. For a short time.

"You’re delusional if you, for a moment, thought I had an instant so worthless to spare on a slithering little puppet master hidden away in some corner of the world," Iris replied as she unsheathed her sword. Fresh red blood dripped from it.

"Heh," The boy drew out a green dagger; it was far more powerful than the one Iris faced in the alley. "Oh, you realize how deadly this is... Unlike me, you’re in mortal danger, little girl."

"We’ll see," Iris replied. "But, believe it or not, I am actually curious about you."

"Hoh," Boy whistled, "I’m honored; ask away."

"I know your collusion with Laurent is for that levelling thing, but what worth is it for you—you’re already too strong to get any help from having fake level soldiers?"

"Hm, I see. Well, it's not some great secret; anyone with two brain cells could figure it out." The boy spoke, his aura slowly becoming more alive: "To conquer the labyrinth. I need an army of Level 5s."

Iris tilted her head, confused. "You don't need an army to conquer the labyrinth." Doing so would be the worst idea one could come up with. The number of deaths would be unsurmountable. Not to mention, this was the worst way someone could conquer the labyrinth.

"Of course, I shall not expect you to comprehend even something so simple. Allow me to elaborate." Boy laughs, "You see, the army of Labyrinth’s rulers is far too big; you can never reach them, let alone win. To kill the rulers, I need an army of Level 5 who would raze their army into the ground."

"I expected no less from a fool. You don’t need to kill the army—as long as you challenge the rulers to a duel to death, they will accept it." Not once did they refuse her.

"Hahahaha!" The boy laughed sarcastically. "Are you an idiot?" The boy's smile vanished; his jaw clenched. "If I challenged them and lost? Do you even know how scary a ruler becomes if you try to run away after challenging them?" The boy's voice shook, his fist clenched on the dagger. "No! If you challenge them to a duel to the death, you will have to fight to the death. My partner challenged, lost, and attempted to escape. Then…" boy gulped, "Then… I saw the scariest sight before my eyes. It was as if that ruler were as strong as every monster in the labyrinth combined. When it swung its blade, the whole floor shook. It shook an entire realm with a single swing of its blade. You have no idea what you’re saying."

Iris felt pity for the boy: "How deplorable your partner must be to run away after challenging someone to a duel; stop speaking like he was a pitiful one. If he was weak, he shouldn’t have tried to challenge a ruler."

"Who would stand and die, Idiot?!" The boy snapped, and her aura flared.

"Did you conquer the first floor of Labyrinth?" Iris asked.

There were eight floors in Labyrinth. Laydell was the final and strongest ruler of the first floor of the sixth of the eight greater labyrinths. Her mother was ruler of the seventh floor. The boy belonged to a different labyrinth. She was the only human in Sixth, and if Mayumi’s words were true, then there were only two humans who ever fell into Sixth of the Greater Labyrinth. The other being is the princess of the Sakuragi Empire, Mayumi Sakuragi, who is dead and whose blade was in her hand.

"I did; of course, I fucking did; of the sixteen people, I alone survived. Second, has twelve ruler-class monsters, so I decided on a different approach."

"The ruler of your floor must be very weak if you survived," Iris said. She could not believe someone similar to Laydell would lose to this thing.

"You’re far too arrogant," Boy pointed his dagger. So it begins.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Of course, I am the Lightning Lord," Iris replied. Her voice had never lost its patience. Her aura flared. The next moment, the room shifted, and they were caged in a yellow barrier.

[Skill Initiated]

The transient exchange would give her one-tenth of what she sacrificed. So, to fight the boy in close combat, she gave up her ability to cast spells, her three classes, and her darkness element for a duration of ten minutes. In return, she acquired equal physical strength for a duration of one minute.

Iris channelled mana into her sword. The duration of one minute was to let out the anger; she needed one second to end this battle.

The boy dashed forward, his dagger glowing. He realized Iris was coming at him with her sword. He smirked, fool! Smirk vanished when he saw the lightning storm, and the speed it created was beyond this puppet's capacity.

Inside the Barrier, Iris did not need to fear two things: her lightning speed destroying everything and the destruction her element would cause just from being unleashed.

The boy tried to defend himself, but it did not work. Light came at him before he could conjure the barrier. The sword pierced his chest and continued onward. The barrier quivered when the sword struck its side. The lightning storm stopped a moment later. Iris stood gripping the sword, which nailed the boy to the barrier. Her hand, even with all the enhancements, buzzed in pain.

"A…ah…ahh," the boy barely moaned. His body was tattered. Iris’s lightning had torn it, but not enough to make him unrecognizable.

"You can't leave the vessel, can you?" Iris asked. She twisted her sword, making the boy scream.

"W…why?" The boy asked weakly. Dagger slipped off his hand, and hit the ground.

"Because this blade pins you to this vessel. I can only imagine what kind of saddening and horrifying ritual you must have performed to make the dagger. Are you ready to feel the same pain as I carve my anger into your flesh and soul?"

Her hand sparked, and lightning spasmed Boy's body. He screamed.

The barrier stopped mana from escaping, not the sound.

The zealous crowd noted the screams. Murmurs grew in the crowd.

Another scream, more high-pitched and delirious.

Another.

Some shut their ears with their hands. It worked. But most did not; they tried to search for the sound. The ones sitting above the barrier noted the sound.

"ARGHHHH!!!!" The horrifying scream sowed hesitation in their approach. What kind of monster was it? The crowd thought. They waited for someone to move. None did. Their eyes went to Diantha Lancaster, who stood on the rubble, looking at the place where the screams were coming from. Imperial Knights behind her asked if they should check, but she waved her hands, stopping them.

"ARGHHH!!!"

"ARGHHH!!!"

After a minute of horrifying screams, it vanished. Iris walked out. She held the blade in her hand, covered in blood.

The crowd unanimously never thought of this moment again.

Iris sat on a broken piece of stage beside Diantha. For the next ten minutes, she was the weakest human in Gracia. The skill was worthless if she had needed this long to cool down.

"He screams loud," Diantha commented.

"I felt pity for the unlucky puppet otherwise the runes I would have carved in his flesh—he would not have been able to stop begging for death for weeks," Iris replied, forgetting that she was inside the stage and her words would be heard by everyone in the city.

The city smartly did not gasp, but a new fear settled in their being. The childlike Iris did not appear cute and naive anymore, but she was scary as hell.

"I see…" Diantha smiled fondly. "Who was the puppet?"

"Unrecognizable,"

"I’ll have a healer look into it."

"Right, what will happen to Inspector?"

"Imperial Knights will escort him to the Royal Capital, and I’ll oversee the Gracia in the meantime."

"I see… He will be executed, right?"

"Most likely."

"He is lucky." Iris whispered. He, too, was the reason for Hecate’s suffering.

….

Fuck! Fuck!

"FUCK!!" Inspector screamed. That fucking incompetent lost! Why? How?! Why did that girl gain so much strength? He had no fucking clue! What the fuck?!

That Bastard emperor would have his head fed to dogs.

The Imperial Knight was on his way to capture him. He must do something! What! He looked around. Where were his incompetent wives? He could have them distract the knights and make an escape to the Er Sea.

"Jasnah!" He screamed. No reply. Where did that bitch go? No, he had no time to wonder about her.

He cannot escape. He would be more at peace in death than he would have in the ER Sea.

Die? No, he cannot. The throne still awaited the day he triumphantly sat on it. He looked down at the stage, and the bitch spoke about his fate peacefully. He would not allow peace, at least, to her.

If his death was inevitable, then then! Then, he will take the whole Gracia with him. He looked at the jar that whore left.

It was Perfect Hert, but much more, it was enhanced; it was Inert Viel. One would force him to level 5. If he used his soul to summon after chowing down on every Hert. The summoned demon would send this place to hell, along with Lancaster.

The original plan was to make his knights eat the inert viel and use a bunch of them to summon demons and kill Hecate and Iris. But Iris was disqualified, so he did not go with it. Roundtable Rivals were against Demons as Summoning.

He should have!

…. …

The spell that transmitted their conversation to the audience was disabled on Diantha’s order. She held Winny in her hand, staring at Iris. Her eyes glowed ever more brightly than when they first met.

"What will you do now?" Diantha asked.

"I don’t know... Lady Ilona asked to stay put until the map from Rena arrived."

"I see… I will return to Lancaster’s estate tomorrow; if you’re going to stay here, then come and see my city."She smiled, and Iris gulped and turned to the side. Her heart thumped in her chest. That glowing eye had some kind of magic, she was sure—mind control or something else? She was unsure.

"I’ll think about it," Iris said weakly, committed to looking away. Getting closer to Diantha would only serve to make her more miserable. She had a lifetime of fun with them in the past week. She desired no emotional ride like that again. It would be better if they left. Lady Ilona could send her map here. She would stay in an inn here.

"I know you want to stay away from me, and I will not force you against your comfort. But is the isolating life you want worth living?" Diantha asked, warm and kindly—like always.

Of course, it was not. She had no plan to live it.

Perhaps her silence gave Diantha the answer. She did not say anything anymore.

"Something is odd." Iris said. Something ominous was coming. Malice, lust, hatred, and everything she could think of—it was slowly taking shape physically.

KWANG!

Iris looked at the terrace, where the inspector should be sitting. Her chest tightened. She had never felt this extraordinary malice.

"I suggest you announce everyone to run out; something bad is going on in there…" Iris said, pointing at the malice.

Diantha nodded, took off her glove, and tapped the red gemstone ring. "Everyone, please patiently leave their seats, form a line, and get out of the Coliseum. There are some complications; I’ll explain later."

They were humans, too slow, and too fragile to leave the stadium in time.

Iris could only watch their futile attempt. She gave up on her spellcasting—her mana was useless.

She was tense, but she still knew Ilona was here. No tragedy would happen.

"Something ominous is buzzing from the inspector's area."

"What do you mean?"

"I do not know."

She did not know what being was capable of exuding this malice.

"I’ll have knights take a look."

"You’re sending them to their death."

Diantha paused. Extremely tense. The surety in Iris’s voice was unsettling.

Doom!

The Colesium burst, and rubble flew in the air. So did humans, yet no one was injured. Their bodies were intact, wrapped in golden light.

A shadow rose from the building, humongous. It was big enough to sweep its hand and reach the boundary wall of Sangfroid.

It was not humanoid but a glob, melting. Its form slowly started to spread outward.

Then a magic circle glowed. Its circumference was the whole of Sangfroid; thousands of spearheads struck its form. The black goo stopped spreading as the spearhead turned into chains to stop it.

"HUOAHH!!" It roared and pulled on chains to no effect.

Iris looked up, Ilona stepped there, and Hecate was in her hand, still asleep. The wounds were healed. She handed it to Diantha after Winny was back on her head.

"What is that?" Iris asked. Her basic knowledge from the system did not cover this.

"A Variant of World Eater, smaller but would do the same to Gracia."

Diantha was quiet, lost in her own thoughts. Most likely in the fear of, if not for Ilona, how many would’ve died.

"It seems the world is forgetting about Roundtable’s agreements. Demon summoning is forbidden, though Inspector’s soul is already in hell to pay the price."

"A demon," Iris muttered; it was the first time she had seen one.

"A dead demon," Ilona corrected.

She summoned a plain old staff as if it were a twisted branch, with a golden orb in its head.

"Have you ever seen sage-tier magic?"

"No…" Her basic information did not go past Tier 10.

"Then, observe."

The golden orb glowed, and Ilona tapped the base on the floor.

Iris felt her sense becoming numb; the amount of mana Ilona released in a single second was more than she had. It had no nature. Iris did not understand how.

She looked up to where the magic circle was forming.

Nine circles side by side, creating a circle. Then, a larger circle formed, circling the nine. It was in the sky. Too high, Iris thought, as if it were right below the dead moon.

Mana condensed into nine circles as their spin gained velocity. Until they began to glow as if would blast at any moment.

"Celestial Lance," Ilona said, extremely calm. Iris and everyone in Gracia and neighbouring states felt light-headed when the Circle shot a golden lance down at Demon.

Iris was glad that she was sitting, as Diantha and everyone who was standing were brought down as they became heavier than their feet could support.

A barrier rose around the demon.

Golden Lance met the demon, and the night turned into a day. The pillar of light shot into the sky as the barrier stopped the lance from puncturing through Gracia.

The barrier protected the Gracia from the aftereffects that would have sent this land into the sea below.

Everyone watched with their mouths hung open. The brilliance brought tears from their eyes as if staring into the sun.

"So the farce concludes," Ilona muttered. Staff had vanished.

Now, Iris could imagine how someone shattered a realm. She would witness the aftermath of that battle with her own eyes soon.