After the battle with Petelgeuse, the once-lush forest had been reduced to ruins by the aftermath.
Dust filled the air.
Trees had collapsed everywhere, crushed tightly into the earth by tremendous force.
In some places, the soil was mixed with the blood of unknown creatures, staining patches of the ground dark red.
From a distance, one could clearly see an enormous palm-shaped crater several kilometers across carved into the center of the forest.
It was the result of Petelgeuse's Authority—[Unseen Hand].
And now—Within those desolate ruins, the only two humans who had survived Petelgeuse's attack stood facing one another.
"You were the one behind it during the Royal Selection too, weren't you?"
"The one who took control of Reinhard for that brief moment."
Shiro stared solemnly at Reinhard standing five meters away and shifted into a combat stance.
Since he had no idea what the other party's actual abilities were—It was safer to prepare for a fight against Reinhard at his absolute peak.
Considering that this unknown existence could seize Reinhard's body without anyone noticing—It might even be stronger at controlling that body than Reinhard himself.
That was precisely why Shiro had deliberately conserved his strength during the battle with Petelgeuse.
'There's actually something in this world capable of casually stealing Reinhard's body?'
'Don't tell me this thing came from somewhere else like I did.'
With that thought, Shiro continued speaking to "Reinhard."
"But if you didn't reveal yourself during the Royal Selection, why come looking for me now?"
"Don't tell me it's because Felt-sama still has to participate in the Royal Selection, so you decided not to cause trouble while controlling Reinhard."
"That excuse wouldn't even fool Emilia."
Hearing that—
"Reinhard" maintained an expression as cold as a glacier.
Then he spoke in a majestic voice completely unlike Reinhard's own.
"You have crossed the boundary, outsider."
"Hah?"
Shiro frowned slightly, confusion flashing through his eyes.
The words sounded as though this thing had witnessed him doing something forbidden—And had specifically taken Reinhard's body to confront him because of it.
But since the Royal Selection, the only thing Shiro had done that could truly be considered significant was...
His gaze dropped toward Petelgeuse's corpse at his feet.
Then he tentatively asked—
"You're with the Witch Cult too?"
"That is not something you were meant to touch."
Instead of answering Shiro's question, "Reinhard" gave an unrelated reply.
"Something I wasn't meant to touch..."
Shiro murmured to himself.
Then he raised the bloodstained black book in his hand.
"You mean the Gospel?"
"Not that."
"The Witch Factor that belonged to Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti."
"Witch Factor?"
Hearing the term for the first time, Shiro frowned.
Then he immediately circulated magic through his body and inspected himself.
And suddenly—He discovered something.
Inside his body was a pitch-black mass tangled together like a sphere.
Shiro froze.
When he had noticed Petelgeuse trying to possess him earlier, he had already examined his body thoroughly with magic.
He was certain—This so-called Witch Factor had not been there at the time.
In other words—It had most likely transferred into him only after he killed Petelgeuse.
Shiro briefly considered simply cutting the thing apart.
It certainly did not look like anything good.
But if he actually did that—There was no guarantee what state the Witch Factor would take after being removed from his body.
Nor whether it would remain intact.
So before doing anything, Shiro decided to hear what the thing controlling Reinhard had to say.
"Then how do I remove this Witch Factor from my body?"
The answer from "Reinhard" was unexpectedly concise.
"Death."
"..."
'So you just wanted an excuse to kill me.'
Perhaps realizing how unreasonable that sounded, "Reinhard" immediately added—
"Unless the previous owner of a Witch Factor dies, even if it is extracted from the user, it will remain unusable."
"You don't seriously think that explaining the reason means I'll obediently stand here and let you kill me, do you...?"
Shiro's expression became strange.
He had initially assumed this was some mysterious final-boss-type existence manipulating events from behind the scenes.
But apparently—Its understanding of common sense was somewhat lacking.
Would a normal person genuinely believe that once the circumstances were explained, someone would willingly die for them?
Then again—Judging by its behavior, whether this thing could even be considered human was still uncertain.
By ordinary reasoning, after Shiro said that much, most people would have given up.
However—
"Why not?"
"Reinhard's" response once again exceeded his expectations.
"Death is insignificant."
"As long as one's essence has not been completely erased, no number of deaths should be capable of annihilating us."
"Or perhaps—"
His eyes suddenly sharpened.
One hand settled upon the Dragon Sword at his waist.
"You have also come to devour me?"
"Also?"
Shiro muttered the word.
Something about that statement immediately felt wrong.
But before he could explain anything—
Clang—!
A piercing metallic screech rang through the ruins.
Sparks burst between colliding blades.
Faster than Shiro could answer—The Dragon Sword had already swung toward him.
The moment "Reinhard" confirmed that Shiro had no intention of voluntarily dying, it attacked without the slightest hesitation.
BOOM—!
A violent blast of wind erupted outward from the two of them.
"Hey!"
"You're actually serious?!"
Shiro instantly shifted into defense.
He angled his Device against the Dragon Sword and redirected the slash away.
"If you already know I came from outside this world, then you should also know I have nothing to do with whoever devoured you before!"
"If a risk exists, eliminate it before that risk becomes genuine harm."
The other party's completely uncompromising attitude made Shiro's head ache.
He could hardly let it kill him once just to extract the Witch Factor.
Whether that method would even work was uncertain.
But one thing was guaranteed—Shiro himself would definitely die.
And besides—If this thing truly believed in eliminating risks before they became threats, then even if Shiro used his ability to perfectly extract the Witch Factor from himself—There was no guarantee it would spare him afterward.
So—
"Tch."
"You attacked first."
Shiro abandoned any remaining hope of negotiation.
"So if you really do end up getting eaten by me, you better not complain about it!"
The instant "Reinhard" pulled back the Dragon Sword—Shiro pivoted and drove a kick into him.
At the same time, he explosively accelerated forward.
The battle—Was about to begin.
…