Damn It!
"Damn it!" Jealousy ground his teeth as he sprinted across the palace roof, the hem of his maid uniform whipping violently in the wind. As expected of the Ellemental Royal Palace—its response to the intrusion was flawless. The moment his presence was detected, Majoan magic circles spread throughout the surrounding area. They relentlessly scanned for Jealousy, pinpointing his exact location.
Is there no way out? Was it some application of spatial magic? It felt as though he had been trapped inside a dark mage's Inner World. His very existence had been isolated from the real world. This was no longer the original palace but a replicated dimension—like the inside of a mirror or the flip side of a coin. The space itself had been severed to ensure that any detected intruder could not harm the actual palace. It was a massive prison. No matter how many times he turned his head, there was not a single gap through which he could escape.
"There he is!"
The Royal Mage Corps chased after him, determined to capture the intruder. Floating above the empty palace grounds, they hurled spells without hesitation at Jealousy as he dashed across the rooftops.
"……"
Should I just kill them all? Those bastards. Dodging their attacks with nimble footwork, Jealousy's eyes narrowed dangerously. No. No, I can't. He quickly regained his composure. Killing them here would truly be the end. If casualties started piling up, Majoan himself might intervene. As long as only the magic circles he had set up were involved, there was still a sliver of hope for escape. But if Majoan joined the fray, that hope would vanish completely—unless his master, who should be in the underworld by now, came to rescue him personally.
"……"
He organized his thoughts. There were two main ways to get out of here. The first was to deliver a shock strong enough to shatter this space, much like destroying an Inner World. Impossible. Jealousy shook his head firmly. Break Majoan's magic with brute force? He was no master. There was no way something that absurd would work!
Then the only option left is the second one. Disrupt the search so thoroughly that the circles could no longer pinpoint his location. This space persisted because the magic circles could clearly identify his existence through their scans. Therefore, he had to move so quickly that the circles could no longer track him. It's possible. Others might not manage it—even if another of the Seven Deadly Sins were here, it would be impossible. But he could. He prided himself on being unmatched in infiltration and assassination throughout the underworld.
Rumble. Suddenly, the earth rose up in a massive form. Armoring itself with the palace as though it were plating, the colossal figure blotted out the moonlit night sky. The ground sloped sharply downward, sending Jealousy's body sliding toward the lower section.
"……"
Jealousy's gaze lifted skyward. Beside the enormous golem that dominated the heavens stood a woman, staring down at him with an emotionless expression. Topaz Graymerd. A name from his memories—one of the 7-star mages who, alongside Lucian Philodain, symbolized the Ellemental Royal Mage Corps. Watching the magic she had manifested, a crooked smile formed on Jealousy's lips.
Looks like we can't just brush this one off like before.
Sometimes sheer size alone became overwhelming violence. The golem's mere presence pressed down on the surroundings. Beneath it, silver mana condensed into a single point at Jealousy's feet like an ant facing a giant. The air currents shifted, and a gentle wind began to swirl around him.
Moonlit Night Killing Art — Moonlight
For a brief moment, his legs shimmered like a heat haze before a silent beam of light lightly tapped the giant's chest, which radiated an overwhelming presence.
Shraaak! KABOOM!
The golem split into five pieces and collapsed toward the ground. The destructive result was far greater than the quiet cause that had triggered it. Passing by Topaz, who stared wide-eyed at the falling giant, Jealousy grinned.
"Not a bad trick."
It was a compliment. Though its power and technique were incomparable, the sheer size alone reminded him of his master's summons. Normally, moving a body that large would require an absurd amount of mana, bordering on the height of inefficiency. Yet she had compensated for that weakness with her specialty—alchemy. Even so, with that much mana she could have unleashed far more impressive spells, making the construct seem better suited for festival parades than actual combat. Still, no one could deny the achievement she had accomplished.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
As if I'd let you escape, intruder! Topaz's face twisted in fury at Jealousy's mocking tone, delivered through the face of a maid.
Rumble. The golem rapidly regenerated. Earth and stone clung to the mana core engraved with an ego, reforming the construct. That core was the golem's heart—the central hub extending its mana neural network through the massive body. True to her skill, even the summon's level fell short of a master's. It was careless to expose such an obvious weakness so openly.
Be grateful I'm trying to leave as peacefully as possible. If Jealousy had truly intended to destroy it, Topaz's several months' worth of salary would have vanished without a trace.
"……"
Jealousy calmly watched as the golem revived and reached for him with crude hands. Though Topaz's display was terrifying, he felt no real concern. After all, an insurmountable gap existed between 7-star and 8-star mages.
Crack. The giant's hand split in two from the point where Jealousy stood. The massive body collapsed once more. With his maid uniform fluttering wildly, Jealousy floated into the air and extended a hand toward Topaz.
"You're quite the nuisance, so why don't you take a little nap?"
Under the gentle moonlight, intangible spheres suddenly rose from the rubble of the collapsing golem and instantly surrounded Topaz. The moment she blinked, the impact struck.
Bababababang!
At the same time, the approaching spheres all detonated at once.
"Damn it! Why the hell did that bastard show up again all of a sudden?"
Jealousy's previously relaxed expression twisted. As he had thought earlier, an absolute gap existed between 7-star and 8-star. An 8-star had perfected their own field of study. It was also the preparatory stage for transcending humanity and becoming an absolute being—shedding the human shell and beginning to accomplish things no ordinary human could. In other words, an 8-star transcendent had begun to manipulate concepts beyond mere physical phenomena. Like Wrath's indestructible body, for example. And the attack Jealousy had just launched had clearly contained a fragment of his own concept.
"Spirit magic, huh."
Yet before it could reach Topaz, it was completely destroyed. The implication was clear—the opponent had also attacked using concepts, just like him.
"Step back, Lady Graymerd."
A man appeared, pushing Topaz aside as he opened the night sky. He was someone impossible not to recognize. His fame surpassed even Topaz Graymerd's. Alongside King Raymond and Majoan, he was one of the most representative figures of the Ellemental Royal Palace.
Chrombell Legacy. Commander of the Royal Mage Corps. An 8-star transcendent who represented the Ellemental Kingdom. At his appearance, Jealousy's expression soured horribly—he hadn't even thought to fix his flipped skirt.
＊ ＊ ＊
True safety meant that a person remained completely unaware of any danger approaching them. The royal palace was one of the safest places in the Ellemental Kingdom. Proof of this lay in the fact that none of the party guests had noticed Jealousy's intrusion at all. While a battle between transcendents raged on the other side of the mirror, the peaceful party continued uninterrupted on this side.
"Now then, what exactly happened?"
In the royal garden, somewhat removed from the lively party, Marily had moved Arina to a quieter corridor and now gazed calmly into her eyes.
"Mm."
Arina, her eyes still red and swollen, hesitated and lowered her head.
"I'm sorry."
"An apology isn't what I wanted. I want an explanation."
With a soft sigh, Marily glanced behind her. At her signal, Lucian nodded and retreated to a distance where their conversation wouldn't be overheard. Once Lucian had stepped back, Marily's gaze shifted to Jeon Raydel, who had followed them without any sense of tact.
What are you doing? You need to move back too.
The silent pressure in her eyes made it clear what she was saying, even without words.
"……"
Under that gaze, Jeon reluctantly frowned and backed away. Only after he had moved far enough that even mana-enhanced hearing wouldn't catch their conversation did he stop glaring at Lucian and turn his attention back to Arina, who had lowered her head.
"Arina."
Marily quietly called her name.
"Is this something you can't tell anyone about?"
"……"
"If so, you don't have to force yourself to explain."
At Marily's words, Arina lifted her head. What she saw was Marily's face, smiling gently.
"I have no intention of forcing open your wounds. I only asked because I was worried something had happened to you."
"……"
"If it's hard to talk about, I won't press you. But know this one thing—I consider you a friend. So if you're ever in trouble, I want to be there for you."
Marily carefully took Arina's hands in her own. Moved by her sincerity, Arina pressed her lips together tightly to hold back the tears threatening to fall again.
"……It wasn't that there was a problem."
A moment later, her voice—thick with tears—finally slipped out.
"I was just surprised. I never expected her to be here."
She hadn't expected that woman to be here. Was it because of the woman Arina had seen just before turning deathly pale? Who exactly was that woman, for Arina to react this way?
"If I'd known, I wouldn't have begged you to come to the party. I'm sorry, Marily."
"I already told you earlier that it's fine."
Marily gently stroked the back of Arina's hand, calming her. Then, looking at her face, she asked, "So who was that woman?"
Since Arina's maternal family was the Grant Company, was she from some noble house with bad blood against them? Honestly, Marily had never seen the woman before. If even she—who remembered everything she laid eyes on—couldn't recall her, it meant this was the woman's first time attending a palace party. She was likely the wife of a noble family that had recently risen to the capital. If the woman had originally been from the provinces, it wouldn't be strange for her to have some connection to Arina.
"……"
At Marily's question, Arina could only open and close her mouth without answering. Then she pressed her lips shut and swallowed hard. Marily held her trembling hands tightly and waited patiently without rushing her.
"My mother."
After a brief silence, the answer finally came. Marily's eyes widened in shock at the completely unexpected identity. Then, as Arina continued, Marily's brows furrowed.
"My real mother. The one who abandoned me when I was little."
The face of the girl who had spoken those words looked so calm that it was hard to believe she had just voiced something she had never been able to say before. It was almost as if her soul had left her body—her expression was so devoid of emotion.