In the days that followed, Emilia kept the momentum going and successfully cleared the remaining two trials in one push.
The Sanctuary was freed.
Hayashi Maki led everyone to the core area and looked at the white-haired witch's corpse inside the crystal coffin.
"Echidna—this body can't be used anymore?"
Hearing that, Echidna's mouth twitched.
"It's already a corpse. And I turned it into the Sanctuary's core. It's just an empty shell—long since lost the ability to carry a soul."
"So what exactly are you planning to use it for?"
Hayashi Maki's lips curled slightly. "This body has been eroded by mana for four hundred years—it's excellent material. If you don't mind, I'll take it for alchemy."
"I should be able to make a pretty good puppet."
Echidna wanted to refuse, but with the contract binding her, she had no choice but to concede. She sighed and reluctantly agreed to him desecrating her corpse.
With the owner's consent, Hayashi Maki immediately smiled and put away the crystal coffin.
By now, Echidna's dreamspace had been solidified into her personal ability, and the other witches' souls still existed in that special soul realm.
So the Sanctuary's core—made from that corpse—no longer needed to exist.
After lifting the Sanctuary's barrier, Hayashi Maki brought Beatrice to the energy core area—
Where Ryuzu Meyer's original body was.
The Sanctuary actually had two "cores." One was the final core spell-aggregate formed from Echidna's witch body.
The other was the crystalized Ryuzu—the original energy core that had once resisted the enemy.
Even though the enemy had long since retreated, Ryuzu Meyer had continued carrying out her duty, constantly channeling mana to maintain the barrier.
And she was still continuously producing mindless Ryuzu artificial spirit clones.
"Aqua, I'm counting on you. Save that poor child."
Hayashi Maki handed the job of healing Ryuzu Meyer to the goddess Aqua.
Aqua, of course, didn't refuse.
"Leave it to me! Healing is what I'm best at!"
Or rather, resurrection was her real specialty.
As long as the soul still existed, bringing someone back wasn't hard.
Under Aqua's holy powers, Ryuzu Meyer slowly opened her eyes.
"Is that Beatrice? And Echidna-sama!"
Awake now, Ryuzu Meyer smiled gently at them. "Was Ryuzu… helpful?"
"Of course you were, you idiot! It's been four hundred years!"
Beatrice, eyes brimming with tears, threw herself into Ryuzu and hugged her tight.
Ryuzu Meyer was one of the few friends Beatrice had. Hundreds of years ago, watching her friend walk toward death with her own eyes had been agonizing.
And now, Hayashi Maki's arrival had changed everything.
While Aqua was using her skills, even Echidna stared in amazement, as if she were seeing something impossible.
"Incredible. Reassembling a shattered soul and restoring the body so quickly… this really is power only a god could have."
"How interesting. What kind of place is the divine realm?"
Echidna rubbed her chin, eyes unfocused as she stared at Aqua, excitement returning to her expression for the first time in a long while.
"The divine realm is super boring," Aqua said. "Goddesses all have their own jobs—saving the world and defeating the Demon King's army and stuff."
"There's basically no entertainment, so this goddess is super popular, hmph!"
As she spoke, Aqua puffed out her chest proudly.
It was Hayashi Maki's first time hearing her talk about the divine realm.
It kind of overlapped with an anime setting he'd seen before—
Like that "Cautious Hero" world.
"So that's why your 'party tricks' skill is maxed out?" Hayashi Maki asked curiously.
"Mm-hm… yep! Exactly!"
"This goddess is amazing, so you need to treat me with more respect! More sincerity!"
Aqua made her demands with her chin lifted.
Hayashi Maki waved it off casually. "Got it. Tonight you can be on top."
"Huh?!"
Aqua froze for a second, realized what he meant, and shot him an embarrassed, furious glare.
"You awful man! You don't respect a goddess at all!"
"How could I not? Don't tell me you forgot how I've been 'supporting' you. Aqua, hand on your heart—who's been paying for all your food, drinks, and fun these days?"
"Ugh… th-that… Hey, don't be so stingy! Isn't your money my money? As the archbishop of the Axis Church, serving the goddess is only natural!"
Aqua said it in a sweet, ingratiating tone, then hugged his arm—pressing it straight into two soft mounds.
Hayashi Maki rolled his eyes. This goddess really could bend when she needed to—she'd toss her dignity aside for food and entertainment without hesitation.
"Tonight you're on top. No negotiating."
He pinched Aqua's cheek, smugly walked off, and left her staring after him, cheeks puffed.
"What's the big deal?! Fine—on top it is! Watch this goddess 'conquer' you!"
…
A few days later, the mixed-blood demi-humans in the Sanctuary all relocated to Roswaal's territory.
After being thoroughly beaten into submission, Roswaal also took a hit of Hayashi Maki's "Absolute Domination" skill, becoming a complete work slave.
So the territory could be handed to him without worrying he'd stab them in the back.
After settling the demi-humans, Garfiel officially joined Emilia's side.
After hearing from Hayashi Maki that his mother might still be alive, Garfiel decided to follow them—see the world, and search for her.
Now that Emilia had recovered her memories, she needed to properly control the power inside her.
The frozen landscape of the Elior Forest had been the result of her power going berserk.
So now, without Puck suppressing her, her mana kept steadily increasing.
Because of that, Roswaal's mansion and its surroundings were already covered in ice.
Ram shivered under a blanket, huddled by the fire with Rem.
Aqua sat pressed up against Beatrice too, not wanting to move an inch.
Emilia looked at everyone apologetically.
"Um… I'm really sorry. Because of me, everyone has to freeze together…"
Hayashi Maki waved it off with a smile. "It's fine, Lia. Just keep working on your control."
"And if you keep all that mana bottled up, you'll feel awful too, right? This frost will fade after a while."
As he spoke, he pulled Emilia over to sit with Echidna by the fire.
Echidna looked at Emilia with open disgust—but didn't refuse her getting close.
Wasn't that… tsundere behavior?