In the far north, a land blanketed in frost, a small gray cat lay asleep—quietly gathering mana as it slept.
Then, two figures slowly approached.
A man and a woman.
The man was tall and handsome, black hair drifting in the wind, a faint smile on his lips. Hands in his pockets, he looked utterly relaxed.
The woman was fair-skinned and beautiful, her figure graceful. Long silver hair fell down her back, and her delicate face—along with slightly pointed ears—marked her as part elf.
She wore a white dress trimmed with purple ruffles. Her long, slender legs were wrapped in white stockings and purple-patterned boots.
These two were naturally Hayashi Maki and the silver-haired half-elf, Emilia.
After Priestella had been fully subdued—and then completely controlled through commercial means—the Axis faith successfully planted deep roots there as well.
After spending some time enjoying the city, Hayashi Maki finally brought Emilia here to find the great spirit Puck, who had deliberately left earlier.
As for the remaining Archbishop of Gluttony, they never showed up in Priestella—instead, they hid. But Hayashi Maki wasn't worried. Once Puck was settled, they would head to the far east, to the Sage's Watchtower. The last Gluttony would inevitably appear there.
Back to the point: it was finally time to face Puck.
Sensing their approach, the gray cat slowly opened its deep blue eyes.
"Emilia… and Hayashi Maki. So you've come, in the end."
"Of course," Hayashi Maki said with a light smile. "Emilia's here to bring her family back. And our wedding still needs you as a witness."
"Wedding?"
Puck stared at Emilia's gentle face and froze for a beat.
The silver-haired half-elf before him still had that soft warmth—yet now she carried a new maturity, a subtle charm that hadn't been there before. Puck's emotions tangled into something complicated.
A sapling he'd tended for so long… had finally been claimed by someone else.
That was the heartbreak of a "dad" watching his child grow up—who could truly understand it?
Puck let out a quiet sigh. "Emilia… you've grown up. It seems Hayashi Maki has taken good care of you."
"My leaving was a good thing for you. You don't need me anymore. So why come looking for me?"
"No!" Emilia stepped forward at once, shaking her head hard. "That's not true at all! To me, you're like a father. You're family—I can't replace you!"
"Puck, you're not just going to witness our wedding. You're going to see the forest—everyone—return. We promised we'd work toward that together. I'm not leaving you here alone!"
Her voice sharpened with resolve.
"Puck, I'm going to make a contract with you again. I'm bringing you back."
"Oh?" Puck's eyes curved with warmth. "Bold words."
In an instant, mana surged.
A flash of white—and the cute gray cat vanished.
In its place appeared an enormous beast with bared fangs, crimson eyes, and a presence as cold as a blade.
The Beast of the End.
"Emilia," Puck said calmly, "come. If you can defeat me, I'll go back with you. But fighting me carries real danger. Are you afraid?"
Emilia nodded, solemn—then glanced at Hayashi Maki and spoke like she'd made peace with something deep inside.
"I'm ready. Let's do this, Puck!"
She shot forward.
A frost shield formed in front of her, and her other hand fired a barrage of ice arrows—so many they wove into a net that seemed to wrap around Puck's massive body.
Puck moved like a phantom, slipping past every attack.
Then he exhaled a breath of freezing power—not at Emilia, but toward Hayashi Maki, who was standing off to the side, observing.
"Seriously, Puck," Hayashi Maki said, sounding more amused than alarmed. "Friendly fire?"
He didn't move.
But Emilia spun back immediately, raising her ice shield to block the attack for him.
Puck chuckled. "Emilia, you're still too naïve. I knew you'd turn back to protect him. But you can't win like that."
"This is a fight. A life-or-death struggle. You have to be willing to do whatever it takes."
Emilia's expression softened—almost tender.
"Puck, I know that."
"But if I know someone I love is in danger and I don't protect them… then I'm not Emilia."
"And besides…" she smiled. "This round is mine."
She raised her hand—pale fingers opening like a blossom.
Purple mana erupted.
It surged outward and wrapped around Puck.
"Seal."
Puck's eyes widened.
His vast mana—so enormous it could swallow the horizon—was suddenly bound in place. He tried to break free.
He couldn't move.
For a moment, he could only stare at Emilia, speechless—half proud, half stunned, and somehow… a little wronged.
When did she become this strong? When did she learn a technique that could suppress mana itself?
He didn't know.
This wasn't something Puck had taught her.
It was power Hayashi Maki had helped awaken—or rather, it was the result of the "mana seed" within Emilia blooming.
If something was truly what she wanted—something that protected the people she loved—then the power inside her responded. Her wish would shape itself into a technique.
A different kind of "wish-fulfillment."
When Hayashi Maki first saw it, even he had been stunned.
But when you remembered Emilia's connection to the Witch of Envy… it started to make a frightening kind of sense.
The Witch of Envy had once reached into time and space—past and future—at the cost of her sanity.
And now, with Hayashi Maki's interference changing Emilia's fate, pieces of "future power" seemed to be bending back toward her—becoming something stable, something that didn't devour her mind.
If that was true…
Then this "wish-born" power was even more terrifying than Pandora's deception.
Deception could be exposed.
But Emilia's power didn't carry that kind of backlash.
"Puck," Emilia said, beaming now, "I won. So… come home."
Puck sighed—and the huge beast dissolved back into the small gray cat.
"Honestly… you're impossible. But if you beat me, then I keep my word."
The "battle," from start to finish, lasted only a few minutes.
Mostly because Emilia had become genuinely powerful.
Hayashi Maki had also been quietly guiding her training—giving her extra lessons, pushing her fundamentals, helping her refine her control.
And Puck… hadn't truly tried to hurt her.
He never would.
So the ending was what it should've been: everyone got what they wanted.
Puck and Emilia formed a new contract.
Their mission here was a complete success.
Next: the Sage's Watchtower.
They would reclaim the Corridor of Memories, deal with the remaining Gluttony, and handle whatever was waiting there—
including the first Sword Saint, Reid.
And despite the title "Sword Saint," Reid's reputation wasn't exactly noble. From what Hayashi Maki knew, the man was infamous for being crude and shameless—hardly the model hero.
This world really was strange.
Too often, the ones holding the greatest power were the ones most mentally unstable.
No wonder the world kept edging toward collapse.