The hall burned with destruction—walls split, pillars fractured, soldiers groaning among debris. The King and I stood locked in a standoff, my chest heaving, his aura still ablaze.
We were both ready for the next strike.
Then—A voice cut through everything.
"ENOUGH!"
The command wasn't shouted.It was simply spoken.And yet the very foundation of the palace trembled.
Sephie Michaela stepped forward, golden aura flowing like a tidal wave. It smothered fire, crushed shadows, and bent even my symbiote core into silence.
[Warning: System Override → External Authority Detected][Subroutine → Forced Restraint]
My body locked, not by choice—but by sheer presence.Even Gid froze, fist half-clenched, a rare flicker of unease in his eyes.
"Sephie—" he started, voice almost defensive.
She didn't let him finish."You would endanger your daughter. Risk her life, her happiness, just to prove a point?"
Her gaze snapped to me, unflinching. For the first time, I felt truly seen—not as a monster, not as a parasite, but as something far more dangerous: a choice in Lala's life.
"You," she said firmly, "will not escalate further."
Her tone wasn't a request. It was law.
I forced a smirk, even though my insides still trembled under her weight. "I wasn't the one who started this."
Gid growled low, but her glare silenced him.
"You are both at fault," she declared. "And you will both stop here. If you continue this madness, I swear it will not be the King nor the parasite who decides the outcome—it will be me."
The fire in the room snuffed out. The tension broke, replaced by silence thick as iron.
Even the system whispered:
[System Log Updated → New Authority Acknowledged: Sephie Michaela][Recommendation: Avoid Hostility → Threat Level Incalculable]
I exhaled slowly, retreating back into calm. The King straightened his shoulders, but for once, he didn't press forward.
Sephie turned to Lala, her voice softening."My dear… you are not a prize to be fought over. You are my daughter. And your happiness is not theirs to dictate."
Lala's eyes welled with tears, caught between relief and fear. She whispered: "Mother…"
And just like that, the battlefield dissolved into uneasy quiet.
But inside me, one truth burned brighter than ever:The Queen hadn't ended the war.
She had only delayed it.