Chapter 263

Chapter 263. Third Son vs. Fourth Son

“What~? ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍You want to play tag with me?”

Ryan ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍darted through the sky on his Blue Wyvern.

Jamie ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍kept reaching out with a giant’s arms to catch him.

To ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍maintain the power of his magic, Jamie could not let the distance grow beyond a certain point, and the giant’s bone marrow barely reached that point.

Only ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍the marrow of the large-class giants lay within that range, so the Fourth Son narrowed his focus.

“You’re ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍scurrying away as fast as a fly~.”

Apart from three large-class giants, he invested no more resources in the other undead.

Only giants of that class could engage Wisdom’s Third Son on his wyvern right now. The Fourth Son chuckled at the inconvenience.

“That winged lizard really reminds me of a lunatic in my family, you know? It gets on my nerves. I’ll bring it down soon~.”

“…You talk too much.”

Frowning, the Third Son activated the five attribute magic circles floating behind him once more.

Fire Attribute. Water Attribute. Wind Attribute. Lightning Attribute. Earth Attribute. All five basic attributes burst forth at once.

Flames fanned outward, and Wind Blades swept past.

A huge boulder flew in an arc, while a current scattering flashes of lightning rode a wave toward his blind spot.

“It’s bright and flashy, I’ll give you that~.”

The twenty-meter giants spread their broad hands into shields.

Along with the spectacle, the five attributes multiplied the number of things Jamie had to account for to an absurd degree.

But he only had to be simpler than all those complications put together.

“You’re missing the one thing that matters: firepower.”

The attacks made the giants’ bodies shudder for an instant, but they were nowhere near enough to break them.

Nor were they quite fast enough to be impossible to block.

“My giants might be slow, but they can react to this much, you know?”

Otherwise, he could devote one giant entirely to defense and use the other two to target the Third Son.

“I’ve got somewhere to be~. If you’ve figured out the situation by now, how about getting out of my way?”

“Do not be absurd.”

Of the five magic circles behind Ryan, the red and yellow ones poured out light.

FWOOSH—!!

A boulder full of heat, with heat haze shimmering around it, fell like a comet.

The Fourth Son, sitting cross-legged atop a giant’s head, lifted the corners of his mouth.

“That’s the thing, right? You added Fire Attribute and Earth Attribute together!”

As he spoke, the giant threw a punch. The flaming boulder struck its bone-marrow fist with a tremendous noise.

It scattered the heat it held in all directions and sent burning fragments of rock down to the ground.

“It’s definitely faster and stronger than when you used them separately a moment ago~. You underestimated me, didn’t you? Holding back a move like that until now~.”

“…….”

Ryan desperately wished he had earplugs. Did this man’s mouth ever stop?

The Fourth Son’s tongue was far looser than that of the younger of Ryan’s two older sisters, and it never rested for a moment.

“Combining two attributes, ahh… I think there was a name for it. What was it? Something like double-cone ice cream….”

“…Double Elemental.”

“Ahh! That’s it!”

The Fourth Son, who had simply taken the first word and paired it with something he liked, clapped his hands where he sat.

“Haaa….”

As though reflecting Ryan’s mood, the red magic circle lit up. This time, white joined it instead of yellow.

“Try blocking this with a hand that has no flesh on it.”

SHWOOOOOSH—!!

A blast of hot wind that could dry up a puddle in an instant rushed toward Jamie.

As Ryan had said, a hand with no flesh would have trouble blocking it. The wind would stream through the gaps between the bones of its palm.

“You put some thought into that, didn’t you?”

But the Fourth Son still chuckled. He was still sitting, too.

“What you pointed out is an easy problem to solve~.”

RUMMMMMBLE—

The giant’s bone marrow blocked the hot wind.

“If there’s no flesh, I just have to add some.”

Flesh now covered the hand that had ceased to be nothing but marrow, and it blocked the blast.

With the gaps gone, Jamie had to move the hand before he could see the Third Son’s eyes widen in a flash.

“Hehe! What do you think? Isn’t it incredible? Isn’t it crazy?”

Something he had only imagined had worked in a real fight. The corners of his mouth climbed toward the heavens and refused to come down, though the flesh soon vanished.

It consumed a tremendous amount of mana, being the power of the Path of the Animal among the Six Paths.

‘Good thing I dug a little further into the Path of the Animal instead of stopping at Pig Curse~. It might only be an improvised use, but I managed to gain an insight of my own, didn’t I?’

Still smiling, the Fourth Son looked at the Third Son, whose expression had soured in contrast.

‘How should I deal with him? Illusion is out of the question while I’m pouring my concentration into the Black Ship. And if I use the Path of the Animal a few more times like this, I won’t be able to keep using the giants, either~.’

Behind the mask of his smile, the little giant kept thinking.

In this string of awkward circumstances, his opponent was also struggling to do as he pleased.

But the gap between them was growing where it could not be seen.

“Getting scared? You’re casting fewer and fewer of those spells you were flinging around.”

“…You bastard.”

With his double ice cream or whatever it was repeatedly blocked, the Third Son had grown somewhat cautious.

An enemy who had drawn back was more likely than not to draw back further instead of pressing forward.

Once fighting spirit bent and fear set in, restoring either to its former state was never easy.

That was why the Fourth Son could bluff, too.

“Oh dear, this won’t do.”

For the first time since facing the Third Son, the Fourth Son stood up on the giant’s head.

“If we want to have more fun, we’ll have to clash in person. Don’t you think?”

“What nonsense.”

His words were cold, but the Third Son raised his guard to the utmost. It was exactly what the Fourth Son wanted.

A large-class giant was inefficient against a single person. But Jamie did not want to show that he was running short of mana.

Smiling, the Fourth Son raised the giant’s marrow once more.

“Here I come?”

“…Come. I will kill you.”

The Fourth Son leaped from the giant’s head with a grin.

TATATATAT—!

He landed on its shoulder, ran along its bones, and sprang onto its arm. The giant’s arm moved toward the Third Son in time with him.

That automatically made a path to Ryan, though the wyvern needed only to move away to ruin it.

“How laughable.”

Ryan flew his wyvern away from the giant’s arm and extended his own arm instead.

Behind him, the magic circles shone. This time white and blue lit up, followed by indigo.

“I will not stop at two attributes.”

The elder of his two sisters had reached the 7th Circle, and the other had risen to the 6th. Ryan was still at the 5th Circle, but he had certainly made progress.

Triple Elemental. Magic blending three attributes took aim at the Fourth Son.

The target was still running at a brisk pace. With his short stature and legs, he was crossing the giant’s arm.

“Look at you running wild like a reckless child. All you are doing is giving me time to prepare.”

Ryan frowned as he finished the spell.

By blending Wind and Water Attributes, he had made a mist-laden wind.

He filled it with electric current, leaving him with something like a tiny storm in his hand.

“Begone.”

He hurled the storm.

The sphere of dark cloud spun in a spiral, growing larger the farther it traveled from his hand.

The dark cloud held lightning and was ready to scatter electric currents with a fierce wind at any moment.

“Dodging will not help you.”

SQUEEZE.

The Third Son clenched his fist.

KRAKOOOOM—!!

The sphere exploded with a thunderous report. Its compressed energy spread in a sphere, just as it had been before the explosion.

“Urgh!”

Its range was more than enough to engulf the Fourth Son as he ran along the arm.

Magic blending three attributes was indeed extraordinary. It was far beyond what one would expect from the 5th Circle, and it had left Ryan short of breath.

The Third Son looked down at his enemy as he fell from the arm.

“…You’re smiling?”

The man was still smiling. With that same grin, he shouted.

“Don’t you think you’ve gotten rather close to the ground?”

THUD—!!

Something slammed into the wyvern. Ryan turned around by reflex and saw something hideous.

It was a fleshy monster with a pig’s head.

‘When did it…?!’

The Third Son glanced down and met the gaze of one of the large-class giants. It stood as though it had already thrown something, and what it had thrown was obvious.

The pig-headed monster the Skeleton Giant had hurled clung stubbornly to the wyvern’s tail.

Neither shaking itself nor flying faster dislodged the monster, which threw the wyvern off balance.

“Ghh!”

Ryan gritted his teeth and hurled a fireball.

BOOM—!

He had to be extremely careful: a larger spell might harm his wyvern, too.

But the flesh of the pig-headed monster was not so flimsy that every blow would break it apart.

The fireball burst a patch of belly fat, but the damage was only about the size of a fist.

Worse, the fat beside it filled the gap left by the burst fat until its belly looked just as it had before. The writhing regeneration was infuriating to watch.

But there was no time even to be angry now.

“Here comes another!”

WHOOOSH—!

A human far smaller than Pig Curse left the giant’s hand.

The giant’s aim sent him flying through the sky like a stone from a catapult.

Even under pressure that felt as though it would break his body, the Fourth Son kept his eyes and mind clear and fixed on his target.

“Let’s take this somewhere else!”

“You…!”

Jamie caught Ryan around the waist and drove into him as though embracing him.

He did more than push: he had flown up from below and easily knocked Ryan from the wyvern he was riding.

Of course, Jamie fell with him.

“Fun, isn’t it? Hahahaha!”

“Get off me!”

“No, no! Let’s play some more!”

Wisdom’s Third Son and Millesdusk’s Fourth Son grappled in midair for a while.

But that would last only a few seconds. Once their feet touched the ground below, they would be busy in an instant.

The second round would be on the ground.

***

Pia watched the battle from an airship serving as a control room.

The battlefield of Wisdom’s First Daughter and Millesdusk’s First Son. The battlefield of the Fire Dragon and the Wind Dragon. The battlefield of the Millesdusk daughters and the Master of the Tower of the Sky. The battlefield of Wisdom’s Third Son and Millesdusk’s Fourth Son.

The same must have been true of the Bloodshot eyes visible beyond the battlefields, too many to list.

“…Fifth Son. Is this really all you have?”

Pia was still suspicious. All of Millesdusk’s forces were here, yet she could not let go of her doubts.

Even though she could see the Fifth Son himself plainly, she could not believe it.

“What are you after? Did you really come here just for a contest of strength?”

She muttered into the air, but no answer came.

Though she had done it dozens of times, she looked down over the battle once more.

From this control room, she could see all the blood relatives except those dragons, whose battlefield had disappeared from sight a short while ago.

The blood relatives traded the advantage back and forth; none held the upper hand for long.

Each side launched powerful attacks and answered the other’s, keeping the fights evenly matched.

The eighty Mana Cannons of the Tower of the Sky gathered at the battlefield operated without pause, keeping the blood relatives’ undead in check.

Neither side looked close to winning the tug-of-war, and the stalemate continued.

“…Why is it continuing? Why are you doing nothing?”

This question was different from the one she had asked a moment ago.

“Do you not know that if the sides remain evenly matched, the battle will gradually turn in our favor because our main camp is closer?”

No. There was no way he did not know. And yet the Fifth Son added nothing to the balanced battle.

As though he had no objection to it, as though he even welcomed it, he never lifted a hand.

“Could it be…?”

Pia bit her lip and shook her head. A possibility had just occurred to her, one she herself rejected as absurd.

Even as she shook her head, her feet carried her toward her wyvern.

“M-my lady. Where are you going?”

“I will visit Sky Island for a moment.”

WHOOSH—!!

The wyvern carrying Pia climbed toward Sky Island.

It was a simple matter of checking, and she could have sent someone else, but her instincts kept sounding the alarm that she had to go herself.

“Please. Please let it not be true.”

The one thing she did not want to face was the possibility that Millesdusk’s Fifth Son had slipped through the surveillance net and reached Sky Island.

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