Still were the halls, for no one was there to scream again. At last, the shadows came to a rest, yet the rage of one had not yet been quelled.
"Taylor," Caelus muttered, his voice laced with malice. "Let go."
"No, I won't," he replied, resolute. "Not until you release these rune circles."
"And why should I do that—"
"Because you'll kill them. Is that really what you're trying to do? Or hopefully... I am mistaken. Which one is it?"
For a moment, Caelus didn't answer. Behind, Shion knelt next to Alicia to help her up, but they were silent upon watching their juniors.
"So what does it matter if I do?"
"They are nobles. Regardless of what they tried to do here, you cannot kill them."
"...You would grant them the privilege to continue living? What right do these bastards have to keep breathing? These wretched rats who've reduced lives to mere commodities just because of their blood?"
"Of course not, but taking their lives isn't our right to claim. Through the Empire's law, justice will come. And I'll personally see to it that House Reinhall testifies accordingly. So… don't do something you'll regret."
His words hung in the air while Caelus stood there, his dagger still raised and his hand trembling.
Just one motion... one snap of his finger, and he could end their pitiful lives. But instead, he lowered his arm, and the rune circles dispersed with a small zip.
"Shadows," he said quietly. "Knock them out."
In perfect silence, the shadows moved. Without revealing even so much as a flutter of their cloaks, they delivered precise, devastating strikes to the neck — clean, efficient, nonlethal. The noblemen crumpled to the ground, unconscious. But to everyone else, it was like they fell out of their own accord.
"Friends of yours, Luvelaine?"
"Something like that.
They turned around at the sound of shuffling. Shion had Alicia's arm around his shoulders, helping her to walk.
"Caelus..." Shion's voice was low, almost trembling. "How are you feeling?"
"No different than I was seconds ago."
"That's not what I meant."
At first, he didn't understand. But then his eyes swept the room — the sprawled corpses, blood splashed against the walls and pooling across the floor like a horrific mural.
He had shown them a side no one was meant to see, and the calm in his voice only made it worse.
"...I'm fine. This isn't the first time I've spilled blood."
"Not the first time?" Taylor muttered, his grip tightening on the hilt of his sword. "You realize you sound like a damned killer right now, don't you?"
Caelus's eyes were downcast, but his tone was firm.
"I told you when I joined this club. The things I had to do just to stay alive... you wouldn't understand."
They'd all heard those words before — vague and empty, a wall he built whenever they pressed too close. But now, surrounded by the evidence of what he truly meant, the words carried a weight that none of them could ignore.
Taylor, Shion, and Alicia. They all saw it for the first time: the survivor carved out by five years of blood and desperation.
The fallen noble, Caelus de Luvelaine.
"Well, in any case..." Shion said lightly to break the tension, "I suppose this wraps up our assignment. And it seems like our juniors were the ones to steal the spotlight this time around."
"Heh. Nice job, you guys," Alicia smiled. "Also... Thanks, Caelus. You really saved my butt there."
"It was nothing. Don't worry about it."
"Nonsense. It was everything. But~ I gotta say, you impressed me. Rumors have been going around about a certain fallen noble who challenged the crown prince and revealed exactly how he was admitted into Rhodeia. Even as a first-year student, you're a whole Fourth-Circle mage, huh? And I got to see that first hand."
"Ah... That."
Technically, it was due to the crown prince's involvement that he was accepted without a vetting process, but he decided not to bring that up.
"Let us save the small talk for later," Shion said. "For now, we should probably figure out what to do about them."
"Them?" Alicia asked.
She followed his gaze to see that the prison cells were still full of demons, watching them not only with suspicion, but curiosity as well.
"What... do you plan to do, Senior Shion?" Taylor gulped.
"Hmm..."
Without a word, Caelus approached one of the prison cells.
Inside, a little girl sat slumped against the wall. Her short hair spilled across the grimy floor like a silken trail, dull and tangled from neglect. It was pure white with some strands of aqua. Like the others, she was dressed in tattered rags, her body emaciated from starvation and mistreatment.
With a sharp, forceful swing, he tore the lock clean off the gate, the rusted metal clanging loudly as it bounced across the floor. The cell door creaked open, and he stepped inside.
She lifted her head slowly, revealing dim, unfocused cyan eyes. In their depths shimmered a faint butterfly-shaped pattern — proof she was not human. Her gaze was clouded with exhaustion, pain, disorientation... but when it landed on him, something stirred.
Hope.
How long had it been since she'd felt that? Caelus wondered.
"Hey," he whispered, gentler than he thought himself capable of. "It's okay now. You're safe."
He offered his hand. At first, she didn't move. Then, trembling, she pushed herself upright, only to collapse forward and strike the stone floor. Still, she crawled, inch by inch, dragging her frail body toward him.
Taylor's hand drifted to his sword, knuckles pale on the hilt, until Shion caught his wrist, his sharp eyes warning him into stillness.
At last, the child reached Caelus. She clasped his hand in her own small fingers, clutching it as though afraid it might vanish. Then she pressed her cheek to his skin. The warmth startled her, and soon tears welled, spilling in choked sobs that echoed against the chamber walls.
An enemy of humankind... was crying like any other frightened child.
"What's your name?" Caelus asked softly.
Her lips trembled.
"...L-Lulu..."
"Lulu. That's a beautiful name. You don't need to be afraid anymore, okay?"
"Mm... Mhm..."
He drew in a long breath, then turned to Shion, meeting the senior's steady gaze.
"Senior Shion—"
"Don't beat around the bush, Caelus," he said, his voice sharp, his eyes unyielding. "Tell me plainly. What is it you intend to do here?"
The question cut deep. His tone carried judgment, but also something sterner — a demand for clarity. Yet, Caelus hesitated. He wanted to know Shion's answer, yet dreaded it. Because if it wasn't the same as his own... then what?
"...I'm setting them free," Caelus declared.
Taylor shot up, his nerves greatly shaken.
"What? Do you even understand what you just said, Caelus de Luvelaine?"
"Now, more than ever."
"You... Explain yourself right this—"
Shion lifted his hand, signaling Taylor to silence himself.
"You were so quick to pin the blame on those nobles, yet you seek to spare these demons?"
"Hah... Demons. Look here, Senior Shion. What do you see? A demon crying? Or a little girl crying?"
"...I see a little girl crying."
"Indeed."
"But that doesn't change what she is. How do you expect me to explain this to— let's say... His Imperial Highness? Your declaration is an act of treason. Don't you understand that?"
"Of course I do. I suppose it's a good thing that House Luvelaine no longer answers to the empire."
"Be careful with such words."
"I'm being as careful as I can, Senior Shion... but there's only so much I can take when my house is the subject of scorn and disgrace..."
Caelus's tone rose in anger.
"We were the ones who fought off the Archdemon. We were the ones who granted you peace. We were the ones who died in your place, so don't expect me to adhere to your laws when you couldn't care less about the subjects who followed them, even to their dying breaths!"
His thunderous voice boomed across the underground tunnels before fading away, but the impression he left did not disappear with it.
"Do you stand by those words?" Shion asked. "On your honor, not as a subject of the empire, but you as a man, as a survivor, as Caelus de Luvelaine, son of Karlon... Can you truly take responsibility for this?"
"It's not a matter of if I can or can't," he answered adamantly. "I will."
Shion held that resolve like a test, and he met that resolve with a cold gaze. Caelus was serious. That much, he could tell, yet it only spawned more questions.
Why does he show so much sympathy for demons? Why does he look upon them, the enemy of humanity, with such compassion and affection? He could not understand, but at the very least, he saw something in him that he couldn't ignore.
"You have five minutes," Shion said finally, turning away. "As a knight of the Vectis Empire, I cannot assist you... but I will not stand in your way. Do what you must."
"S-Senior Shion!" Taylor blurted. "You can't be serious! This... this is beyond a club. These are demons!"
"Look at her, Taylor. The little girl who clings to Caelus. That is what you're being asked to send away. Could you, right now, be the one to cut her throat? To hand her over to death with a calm conscience?"
Taylor's breath hitched. He had trained to see demons as enemies, as the reason for every hardship. He had believed that conviction to his core. But here, the certainty splintered. He couldn't say, with honesty, that he would do it.
All he could do was watch as Caelus freed the demons one by one, ushering them into a portal. They didn't fight him. They didn't scream or lash out. Instead... they were thankful, and some even looked back to wave at the others with grateful smiles.
He didn't know what to think anymore.
Shion set a firm hand on Taylor's shoulder.
"In life, we are forced to make decisions that contradict our beliefs," Shion uttered. "Today... I was met with such a decision thanks to him. Caelus. Even now, I'm unsure if this was the right choice... but it was certainly the right thing to do. Perhaps one day, I'll live to regret. But that day is not today. "