Lunar Princess Ranni.
This name is known to almost everyone in the Lands Between.
Princess of the Carian Royal Family, daughter of the Full Moon Queen and the Champion, mastermind of the Night of Black Knives...
Her deeds are many, and the titles and images tied to her vary from person to person. Overall, thanks to countless events, her reputation across the Lands Between is far from favorable—at best, she is met with more scorn than praise.
Yet even those who dislike her, even those whose disgust shows plainly at the mere mention of her name, only ever condemn her on moral grounds. No one dares question her abilities.
Powerful, wise, beautiful.
Elegant, mysterious, cold.
Even her enemies—those who hated her—could not deny her brilliance, marveling most at her intellect that could command the entire game board.
Not just others—even the very victims of the Night of Black Knives admired the plot.
"Perfect timing, perfect place, perfect execution…"
"Fortissax was away, patrolling the Crumbling Farum Azula. Mother was troubled with matters of law. And I myself was in doubt. A little earlier, a little later, and the result could have been entirely different…"
"The assassination took place in the Royal Capital—the last place anyone would expect. And before the strike, chaos had already been sown within the city, scattering strength and lowering vigilance…"
"Most importantly, she enlisted the aid of nearly everyone, securing cooperation from almost every faction, and had even prepared Destined Death in advance…"
"This is a scheme even I could not have managed."
"And I have no choice but to admit, at least in matters of the mind, I fall short of her."
So spoke the head within the lantern.
B-but...
"Honestly, I never thought that far ahead."
Ainsel River Main, on the banks.
A blue, four-armed doll sprawled across Lloyd's back, her chin resting on his head. One pair of arms clung to his neck, while the other tugged at his hair over and over.
And how had things come to this?
The answer was simple.
Ranni had finally cracked.
Long before this, Lloyd's endless antics had already broken her composure more times than she could count.
Each time, bound by her dignity as the Lunar Princess, she forced herself to recover quickly, bracing her mind, fortifying her defenses, trying to hold her poise.
But this only made each collapse worse than the last.
Especially after several incidents involving her family—whether out of numbness or sheer surrender—she had grown surprisingly comfortable around Lloyd in private.
Though she usually kept her cold demeanor, when small emotions arose she no longer forced a stiff mask, and she had even grown used to physical contact.
Ranni thought that was the end of it.
After all, he'd already toyed with her family, she had grown familiar with him in private, and after so long, she had even gotten used to his absurdity. Keeping things as they were seemed... manageable.
It wasn't.
When Lloyd revealed his five fingers, she felt her mental defenses start to creak and strain.
When she then saw Three Fingers snuggling into his arms like a loyal hound, rubbing against him for affection, that creaking turned into the sound of something cracking.
And when she saw Two Fingers squat by the corpse of the Shadow, performing a practiced inspection and precise gestures, her mental defenses shattered into dust.
Seriously, what in Marika's name are you all even doing?
Watching the chaos unfold around her, Ranni fell silent. She tried to make sense of it—but couldn't.
And in the attempt, she learned things she was never meant to know.
Like how Godwyn had won his revival match. How Mohg was preparing his wedding with Miquella. How the Golden Two Fingers were emotionally conservative. Or how the middle finger of the Frenzied Flame Three Fingers was especially sensitive on the lower right side...
With that, her already broken reason was dealt another crushing blow.
She looked at Lloyd, his face full of certainty. At Three Fingers snuggled in his arms. Then at Two Fingers, who, after finishing his inspection, was now making wild but strangely comprehensible gestures.
Ranni sank back into silence.
After some time, the earlier conversation began.
And afterward, as she gave it serious thought, she realized she could not go on like this.
Worse still, she had the uneasy sense this was only the beginning. When she faced her own Two Fingers, she would suffer another round of shocks and torment.
The realization hollowed her completely.
So, after much consideration, she made a choice completely opposite to the All-Knowing's.
The All-Knowing used spells to strengthen himself, limiting his own reason to withstand Lloyd's mental strikes.
But Ranni chose differently. If she couldn't beat it, she would join it.
She abandoned resistance and cleared her mind.
She stopped trying to read hidden meanings, stopped guessing at conspiracies, and simply mimicked Lloyd—observing the world in the most direct, unfiltered way.
And then she realized...
This way of being wasn't so bad after all.
After staying in this state long enough, she even began to follow Lloyd's line of thought. Their conversations flowed smoother, as if they were finally in step.
"The Night of Black Knives..."
"True, I was the mastermind, and I initiated it. But I never thought that far ahead, nor could I command so many factions..."
"And I can't shake this feeling—that even though I began the Night of Black Knives, perhaps that very decision of mine was already part of someone else's design..."
"The weakest Empyrean, with the gentlest, most harmless appearance, and the most innocent nature... yet perhaps he is the most dangerous of all..."
This wasn't Ranni trying to excuse herself. She never saw the event as some kind of stain on her.
But, as she'd recalled before when thinking back on Starscourge—after the plan had failed, one brother devoured, the other driven mad, herself reduced to a broken doll unable to step beyond her own home—when she thought back on it all, she suddenly realized that maybe, from the very beginning, she and her two brothers had already been under the influence of that golden figure, perhaps even caught inside its calculations.
And not just them. Because Godwin and Miquella were also children of Marika, they had been even closer to that figure—more time together, more opportunities to act.
So before the Night of Black Knives, had Godwin already been influenced? And during that night, was his wavering part of its design...?
And then there was the shadow of the Needle Knight active that night, that brief flash of what seemed like hypnotic power, and all those "coincidences" that fell so neatly into place...
If she had truly plotted the whole thing, then as a rebellious witch, forget admitting it—she'd be restraining herself if she didn't have Blaidd shout it across the entire Lands Between with a giant horn.
But the problem is, at this pace, if you don't have Blaidd broadcast it today, tomorrow you might find yourself the one outplayed, with a bright red ball stuck to your own nose.
Forget about it being a stain—if she'd had Destined Death in hand at that moment, she'd have used it on herself right then.
Speaking of Blaidd...
"What's the deal with Blaidd?"
Ranni still cared about her big hound.
Before they set out, she had already prepared herself for losing him, and even grieved for a time.
But after tossing her rational mind aside, she suddenly realized maybe it wasn't as complicated as she'd thought.
They already had five fingers on their side. And even without fingers, she still had Lloyd.
Even if Blaidd went mad or died, she could just have Lloyd put together a reincarnation package for her—and maybe make some adjustments along the way, like shaving a bit off his height.
Though she had planned out those contingencies, and had even begun thinking about how best to put him down if he went insane, what held her interest more now was a different question.
Blaidd's origin.
She knew Blaidd was a creation of the Two Fingers, born with a mission, placed at her side by their will.
But beyond that—how exactly he was made, why he took that form, what kind of backdoor the Two Fingers had left behind—
Ranni knew very little.
And from the way Finger had spoken earlier, there seemed to be more to it than she realized...
The moment Ranni raised the topic, the Two Fingers—who had just managed to cool their temper—sprang up again, gesturing wildly in agitation.
And why would copying the wrong homework rile up the Golden Two Fingers so badly...?
Put simply—
It was like trying to teach a complete novice, someone who doesn't even know how to unzip a file, how to download Steam.
Step by step you walk them through it: open the webpage, enter the address, download and install, register and log in.
And along the way, you endure every roadblock imaginable: "The webpage won't load," "Why install it on C drive?", "The store won't open—is this pirated?"
After guiding them through all eighty-one tribulations, you finally finish and think it's over...
Only for them to send you a screenshot of "Steam Game Manager," proudly showing they bought a premium membership.
Even a godlike teacher would see red after that.
"This is a question only your Two Fingers can answer once you meet them."
Lloyd relayed the Golden Two Fingers' message.
"Because even it has no idea how that little bastard pulled it off."
After that reply, urged on by the seething Two Fingers, Lloyd pressed forward.
The advance itself was unremarkable.
With a heap of overpowered abilities, Lloyd's strength far outstripped what was needed.
He crushed everything in his path.
Even when beings stirred by his Law turned their gaze upon him, lending him power,
...to Lloyd, it only meant whether it took one swing or two. Even elites were no exception.
And on top of that overwhelming force, he had three allies at his side, each more formidable than the last.
The Demigod Lunar Princess.
The Golden Two Fingers, champion of the last Empyrean tournament.
And the Ashen One—once a Frenzied Flame, now a lingering ember—blessed by Lloyd himself...
...It might sound strange.
After all, while Ranni could certainly fight, when it came to Fingers, you'd hardly ever find signs of them battling across the Lands Between. What you did find were corpses—silent, fragile-seeming Fingers cut down without a sound.
But in truth, even for Ranni to strike down her own Two Fingers required a Fingerslayer Blade, and before that she had nearly been driven into a corner by them.
And that was just a young Two Fingers, newly born, still striving to fulfill its mission.
Fingers are, in truth, immensely powerful.
For reasons of their own, they simply refrain from directly taking part in the conflicts of the Lands Between. That's why they seem unskilled in battle.
But the two beside Lloyd were legends even among the Fingers.
Their strength...
The Two Fingers lifted up, scattering countless golden sparks into the air. Slowly coalescing, they shot off into the distance.
Like a rain of golden meteors, detonating on impact, stirring up a storm of light.
Meanwhile, Three Fingers rose. As the embers across its body flared, its power built higher and higher.
Then, when its strength was ready, it struck.
A massive imprint of three blazing fingers seared itself into the ground, consuming everything within.
After pressing on for some time, Lloyd reached the place known as the Lake of Rot.
Before him stretched an endless expanse of Miyazaki's favorite kind of pool.
Not just any pool, but a Scarlet Rot swamp—deadly poison coupled with a sickening crimson hue. You didn't even have to step in. Just standing on the bank and looking at it was enough to make you queasy.
But just as Lloyd stared at the foul swamp, ready to begin today's "Miyazaki story hour,"
Three Fingers rose, gathering its power before slamming down with brutal force.
The Brand fell, flames erupted.
The entire Lake of Rot was scorched dry in an instant, exposing the crimson ground beneath.
It was still disgusting, but at least standing on it no longer built up Rot.
"Good work."
After thoroughly praising and rewarding Three Fingers for his contribution, Lloyd and his group pressed onward. Before long, they reached a golden fog gate.
"Beyond this lies a powerful Dark Star, one of the culprits behind the destruction of the Eternal City..."
Though their party was already strange enough, Ranni still gave a cautious reminder for everyone to stay alert.
Then...
Looking down at Astel, who lay at Lloyd's feet, not daring to move and even looking a bit aggrieved, Ranni once again fell silent.
Fortunately, this time, with her mind emptied, the silence lasted only a moment before she accepted the situation.
And once she did, taking advantage of Lloyd's presence, she reached out and patted Astel's head.
[Acquired 'Naturalborn's Spirit Ash']
After finishing with Astel, Lloyd and the others moved forward, eventually emerging from the underground into a moonlit altar.
The moment they stepped out, assassins lurking in the shadows struck.
They were Black Knife Assassins.
But before their blades had swung halfway, the Golden Two Fingers, who had already anticipated them, rose up.
Boom—
With a burst of golden light, the assassins collapsed to the ground just like the shadows before them, rendered unconscious.
And after that flash of golden light, something else stirred at the far corner of the altar.
From the distant ruins, after a moment's hesitation, a pair of Two Fingers lifted itself up, clinging to the broken stones as it cautiously peeked out.
Then...
The instant it saw the Moonlight Two Fingers, the Golden Two Fingers suddenly blinked forward, appearing behind it.
The Moonlight Two Fingers jolted in fright, but once it regained its composure, it realized something was wrong.
Wait—why was it even afraid?
It hadn't broken any rules. It had always fulfilled its duty as a Finger faithfully.
It was its chosen Empyrean who had gone mad, insisting on a confrontation.
It had even tried contacting Mother, asking how to handle the situation, but no matter how long it called, there was no reply. It couldn't reach the Golden Two Fingers either.
Now, though it didn't understand why the other had suddenly appeared here, it was the perfect chance. It could explain everything and ask for help...
But just as Moonlight Two Fingers thought this, the Golden Two Fingers moved, tossing an unconscious shadow body in front of it.
"What is this thing?"
Lloyd translated for Ranni.
The Moonlight Two Fingers froze, unsure what Golden Two Fingers was asking.
"Isn't this a Shadow Beast? The one you taught me, Senior..."
A pause.
"What did I teach you?"
"The Shadow Beast."
"Then tell me—where is the beast?"
The Moonlight Two Fingers almost said, "Look at the ears and tail, isn't that the beast?" But as it was about to lift its finger, it suddenly realized something was wrong.
Wait... this form...
Staring at the wolf-eared girl on the ground, Moonlight Two Fingers finally understood.
This... doesn't look like a beast.
In the Lands Between, beasts are strictly defined. Just having wolf ears or horse ears doesn't make you one.
Even if the standards for Shadow Beast were loosened, it would still need to be a full-on furry.
But this? No matter how you looked at her, she was simply a human girl with wolf ears.
"...Is this one of your innovations, Senior?"
Moonlight Two Fingers asked, wiggling its digits.
Silence.
Even without movement, even from so far away, Lloyd could feel the rising heat.
And the swelling golden light.
Then—
BOOM!
...
[Upto 20 chapters ahead for now]
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