The throne room was in chaos.
Even Valentino, who rarely showed emotion, widened his eyes in shock and could not hide his agitation.
"Margiela… wasn't he the Marshal who went missing?"
Endi's voice trembled.
"No way… is this for real?"
Esta turned to Jessica and Moene, frowning.
"I don't know… I only caught a glimpse of him before I joined the Royal Guard, and I've never seen him in the form of a bird until now…"
Jessica answered nervously, Moene silently nodding beside her.
"Margiela? What the hell are you doing? Where have you been all this time?"
Moschino shouted.
But Margiela remained silent.
"Hey! Answer us, damn it!"
As Moschino, enraged, tried to leap at him—
"Stop it!"
Ponaparto quickly restrained him, holding him back.
"Let go of me! Don't get in my way!"
Moschino struggled, but Ponaparto desperately held him down.
"Calm yourself, Moschino! Don't approach recklessly!"
Then, suddenly, Margiela spoke.
"You haven't changed… any of you."
His voice was low, yet it echoed deeply through the throne room.
Moschino froze on the spot.
"Margiela… what the hell are you doing?"
"Fufufu… could it be that you're a Yudra too?"
Ponaparto and Valentino threw their questions, but Margiela gave no reply.
Instead, Abel answered in a cheerful tone.
"Nope! He's a Nakatam native, just like you!"
A heavy silence fell.
"So he's betrayed us…? The man once hailed as the strongest in Nakatam Kingdom…"
Esta muttered.
"He now serves Remsophia Ivanka, head of the Remsophia House! For a mere human to serve the Remsophia family—this is an achievement unheard of in history!"
Abel sneered mockingly.
"Ivanka…? Did you say Ivanka…?"
Ponaparto gasped.
"Ivanka? Who the hell is that?"
Endi asked, a strange unrest stirring deep inside him.
"No memory, Endi? I thought hearing that name would drive you insane like before."
Cain spoke coldly.
"Remsophia Ivanka is the current head of the Remsophia House and the supreme authority of the Yudra Empire."
Cain declared clearly, his words sending yet another shockwave through the chamber.
"Fufufu… Yudra, Remsophia… so such things truly exist, huh."
Valentino still seemed half in doubt.
"Well, the Remsophia House that has ruled the Yudra for five hundred years has only Ivanka left now. Because of a certain someone…"
Abel glanced at Cain.
Cain shot back with a sharp glare.
Endi felt an uncanny tension between them.
"Margiela… why would a man like you side with the Yudra?"
Moschino asked, regaining his composure.
"Moschino. I only wanted stimulation."
Margiela's voice was flat.
His massive wings beat slowly.
"I thought serving the Willart family and winning wars would bring glory and fill my heart. Yet even as victory drew near, even when I became the commander of the most powerful army in the world, all that remained in me was emptiness."
Endi shivered at the chilling words.
"That was when I learned of the Yudra, called the puppeteers of the world. I was intrigued by the true rulers, and just as I sought to approach them… they came to me. Eye-opening, really… to think even I was being watched by the abyss."
Madness and sorrow seeped through Margiela's calm voice.
"In that moment, I wished to see with my own eyes what fate awaited the world when Ivanka's ambition was fulfilled. So I chose to ride the will of the gods."
Margiela looked down on Moschino as he spoke.
"You're a hard man to grasp."
Cain sneered.
"Fufufu… still the eccentric, huh."
Valentino muttered.
For even Valentino to call him eccentric, Margiela must truly be extraordinary, Endi thought.
Moschino clenched his fists.
"I'd forgotten… you've always been impossible to read. But now tell me—Ivanka's ambition, the one who killed King Regalo, and the whereabouts of Prince Rose. Answer me, or even you will not be spared."
Margiela said nothing.
"If you want answers so badly, find them yourself. If you call yourself a man, don't depend on others."
Cain's provocative words made Moschino's eyes flash sharply.
The air grew heavy, a fight about to erupt—
"How tense… though I told you I've no intention of fighting today. Still, to realize Ivanka's ambition, your power is indispensable… Lamia."
Abel's voice rang out playfully.
"Eh? Me…?"
And in that instant—
Lamia vanished from Endi's sight.
"Lamia!? Damn it, where is she!?"
Endi frantically searched.
"Fufufu… she's right there."
At Valentino's quiet words, all eyes turned.
On Margiela's back stood Lamia, Cain, and Abel.
Lamia was bound by Cain, trembling with fear.
"Lamia!!"
Endi cried out.
Fury and helplessness tore at him—for though he had sensed this coming, he had failed to prevent it.
Jessica and Moene wished desperately to rescue Lamia, but the overwhelming power before them held them frozen.
Ponaparto, Moschino, and Esta moved as one—
But Cain's right hand erupted in roaring flames.
The fire engulfed the throne room's walls, sealing all paths.
"What is this fire!?"
Esta shouted.
No one could cross the sea of flames.
Moschino realized the truth.
—It was Cain who had burned the Old Doal stronghold.
Despair hung over them. Lamia would be taken.
Endi felt as if he stood at the edge of the abyss.
Looking down at him, Cain spoke.
"Come to the land of the Yudra, Endi. In your birthplace, you'll remember—your memories, and your destined role. I won't run or hide anymore. I'll be waiting."
Cain's voice echoed quietly, his eyes resolute.
Abel looked at him with contempt.
Endi, once in despair, found calm returning with Cain's words.
So be it.
Though he hadn't regained his memories, nor understood Cain's meaning, a strange resolve welled up.
"Let me go, Cain! Why are you doing this!? Endi… everyone! Help me!"
Lamia cried, on the verge of tears.
"LAMIA!!"
Endi's voice shook the throne room.
"I will save you. So don't cry!"
His strong eyes blazed as he looked up at her.
Seeing this, Lamia's cries ceased, her struggling stopped.
"Yes… I won't cry. I'll believe in you, Endi, and wait."
Holding back her tears, Lamia spoke firmly, her fear vanishing.
And then—
With his white wings, Margiela bore Cain, Abel, and Lamia into the distant sky.