After winning the fight, Astrea collapsed.
Anew said, "Astrea, are you okay?"
Astrea replied, "I'm fine."
Anew asked, "Why were you so enraged?"
Astrea answered, "There are some things I don't want to say… or rather, it's hard to say."
Anew said, "Tell me after we get back to HQ."
Astrea nodded. "That's a promise. And it looks like the glacier is actually helping extinguish the flames."
Anew remarked, "It's actually getting cold now."
Astrea replied, "Better cold than burning to death."
Meanwhile, in the castle, Lucifer said, "Dark Magic — Dark Castling," and instantly appeared before Astrea.
"Heya, kids," Lucifer greeted. "Looks like you two took down the enemy head without me."
Astrea said, "Captain? Why are you here?"
Anew asked, "Sir, did you create this glacier?"
Lucifer shook his head. "Nah, seems like too much work. I let Elizabeth take care of it. But I thought I might as well check on you."
Anew said, "Umm… sir, even after all this, how is it that your blonde hair survived?"
Lucifer smirked. "It's simply the fact that I value it more than my own life."
Astrea said, "Wow, sir… that's dedication."
Lucifer replied, "That's the kind of dedication you should bear in mind while moving forward."
From the front lines, a knight screamed, "Lucifer Al Faust! You bastard! You're the one who caused this! You're the one standing in the way of our revolution!"
Lucifer said coldly, "Shut up. Don't cover your massacre of innocents with the word 'revolution.'"
Astrea yelled, "Don't call our captain that! He's the kindest and greatest captain we could have asked for!"
Lucifer stepped forward. "Delton Helder, 4th Class Knight of Fire from Avalon's 5th Division. Despite having a promising future, you became obsessed with rank and the belief that the weak should just vanish. Since the nation is working to remove inequalities between commoners and nobility, idiots like you rose up under the banner of 'revolution.' And now that your philosophy is dead, you have nothing left."
Delton snarled, "An inhuman killing machine like you, who acts like a human, has no right to sit in judgment or dictate the lives of us human beings."
Lucifer's gaze hardened. "Hey, fossil. I'm not sitting in judgment — I'm sitting in execution. And I can promise this is the end of the line for you."
Delton roared, "You bastard! Lucifer Flame Magic—!"
Lucifer cut him off. "You are no longer needed. Decay… and turn to dust."
Just as Delton tried to attack, Astrea moved to intercept, but Delton's body began to wither as parts of him crumbled to ash. Even as he rushed forward, his legs decayed, causing him to collapse.
"You bastard… you son of a—!" Delton's words were cut short as he fell before Lucifer's feet.
"You deserve to die," Lucifer said, kicking him in the face before Delton turned completely to dust.
Anew said, "Sir… he just died."
Astrea asked, "How did that happen?"
Lucifer replied, "I'm a man who values truth above all. And the truth is — he deserved to die. Now, you two keep patrolling. I still have to watch over the front lines."
"Dark Magic — Dark Castling." In an instant, he teleported back to the castle.
Lucifer asked, "Hedin, what's the status?"
Hedin replied, "Almost all enemy units have been subjugated, but what then?"
Lucifer said, "Let's just kill them. It'll be easier — easier to kill than catch. Besides, our judicial system isn't going to let them live anyway."
Licht stepped in. "I must disagree. We could pretend they're forgiven, keep them under strict surveillance, and implant remote detonation devices. If they cross the line, they're done."
Lucifer chuckled. "An anti-disobedience collar… interesting. Something meant to be a tool of torture turned into a leash. Excellent idea — but I'm against it. Sooner or later, a flaw will emerge, and they'll exploit it."
Hedin said, "For now, we'll take the remaining members into custody and see what happens."
Lucifer replied, "Alright, then."
Licht nodded. "Sure, I don't mind."
It was decided — and soon all the enemies were subdued. All surviving knights assembled in front of the royal castle. Elizabeth helped the citizens return to the capital from the Shadow Realm.
Asten addressed the crowd:
"The past 24 hours have marked a black day in our history. A day that was supposed to be a battle festival ended in an attack on our capital. A total of fifteen people lost their lives. It's thanks to the acts of the Captain of Existforger, Lucifer Al Faust, and his vice-captain that casualties were kept to a minimum and the battle was won. We were ambushed by those we once believed to be our own, and over sixty knights lost their lives. Today is a national day of mourning — yet it's also a day to remember the contributions of those who fought and survived."
King Hera Eldoria VII then stepped forward.
"Today, I feel disgraced. All through the night, people fought with everything they had, while I — the king — was forced to hide. As a ruler, it is my duty to protect… yet I failed. Today, we mourn and pray for those who lost their lives and for those who survived. There will also be a promotion ceremony."