Jayden held the unconscious Milleia tightly in his arms, looking at me with a conflicted expression. "Edward! I-I will return with reinforcements! I promise! Hold on until I come back!" With a firm grip on the Lifestone, he activated it.

In a blinding flash of light, he, Carla, Milleia, Miranda, Kleah and Elona vanished from that place leaving me alone there.

My face turned deathly pale and my expression turned desperate at this sight.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Leon's laughter echoed through the air as he released his grip on me, leaving me sprawled on the ground. "Hahaha! Did you see that, Nyr? I never knew this side of that bastard!"

I remained silent, unable to find my voice with my parched throat.

[Edward! Don't give up now! If he gets hold of you, it's all over!]

"He is noisy." Leon cut off Jarvis and pointed his palm toward me. "Ultron."

[[Yes?]

[Impossible...]

"...What?"

"Get rid of him."

[[As you wish.]]

[E-E-Ed-w-arddddddddd-]

"Jarvis?! What are you doin-!"

-Bam!

"Shut up."

"Ugh..ah..ah...Jarvi-"

[Edward..everything I have done so far was for Nihil. I was under his orders and still I am.]

"H-Hey! J-Jarvis?!" I ignored the searing pain in my mind and yelled.

[But I genuinely tell you now that I am glad I have been with you all this time. I know you will become stronger and get back from this, Nyrel-]

Suddenly it stopped.

[[Done, Leon.]]

"Good," Leon replied with an ecstatic smile.

"J-Jarvis?" I muttered blankly.

I felt like something was pulled out of my body literally and void replaced it.

"Your system is dead, Nyr. He was pretty useless anyway."

"F-Fucker!" I tried to stand up but he punched me again.

"You know, Nyr, I've gained some pretty interesting abilities from killing a few Gods in the future." He said. "And one of them is control over Banshees."

My body flinched, and my eyes widened in horror as I heard his whisper. "Cleenah gave me some trouble, but killing her was absolutely satisfying," he sneered in a low, mocking tone.

"You..." I managed to utter weakly.

"Despite your strong attacks, you've been keeping your mana reserves dangerously low, Nyr. Why?"

"No! Please don't do this!" I crawled on the ground, but he stepped on my back, preventing me from moving any further.

"You were suppressing the emergence of your 'Banshees,' right? Were you afraid?" he asked, and I felt a searing pain coursing through my body, as if my very soul was being torn apart.

A greenish light emanated from within me as Leon slowly pulled someone out.

"Mary!" I screamed in horror, but Mary remained unconscious.

"It's quite impressive that you managed to acquire such a powerful girl, Nyr, but..."

-Spurt!

"...!"

Mary's eyes widened as a burning purple sword impaled her chest.

"Mary! Please don't do this! I beg you!" I pleaded desperately.

Leon's smile widened at my desperate pleas. "If I 'kill' her again as a Banshee, she'll be gone forever, Nyr. Didn't Cleenah warn you? Oh yes, even she couldn't have anticipated that you'd encounter someone capable of killing Banshees so soon!"

-Spurt!

He twisted the sword inside Mary and let her go.

"Mary!" I caught her and tried to cover her wound as thick blood poured out. "Mary!"

"...Nyr...?" Mary's dark eyes seemed unfocused as she called out to me. "It hurts a little..." She grasped my arm weakly.

"Mary, it'll be okay..." I fumbled with vials, attempting to administer futile treatments.

My body trembled, and I struggled to control my trembling hands.

"Mary, please hold on! Please..." My breath became ragged as I desperately tried to transfer my mana to her.

"Nyr..." Tears streamed down Mary's face as she clutched my arm. "I'm glad I met you... It's been the happiest year of my lives..." She sobbed, her words choked with pain. "I wanted to be with you until the end... but I guess it's not meant to be..."

I held onto Mary's hand tightly, shaking my head. "I won't accept that! I promised you, Mary... I'll bring you back to life-"

"I'm sorry, Edward... I had hoped... we could be together again..."

"Mary...?"I think you should take a look at

A serene expression crossed Mary's face, and a faint smile appeared. I couldn't recognize Mary with that strange expression she never showed me before. "Oh... experiencing love is truly a wonderful feeling..."

Her body glowed with a green light and began to fade from my embrace. The radiant light enveloped my entire being, restoring half of my mana and stamina.

-Clink

The sound of a silver ring hitting the ground reverberated in the air. It was the same ring I had once offered to Mary.

"..."

"I've been telling you, Nyr," Leon said, his gaze shifting down to me. I stared at my empty hands, the warmth from holding Mary still lingering. "You're not the protagonist or anyone special here. In real life, anything can happen. And now..."

Another searing pain coursed through my back, causing me to grimace.

"Papa!"

"Annabelle!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I watched her lose consciousness. "N-No!" I pounded the ground in frustration, desperate to stand up, but my efforts were in vain.

Suddenly, a brilliant green light enveloped my body, causing Leon to jump back with a serious expression. He released his grip on Annabelle, and she fell into my arms before disappearing before even I could hug her, drained from her own dimension.

Why?

Why?!

As the green light subsided, a divine figure with green hair stood before me.

It was Cleenah.

"Have you finally recovered, Cleenah? But a little too late," Leon mocked.

Cleenah ignored him and knelt in front of me, pulling me into her embrace. Her divine scent and soft body provided solace for my trembling form, but I couldn't find solace for the loss of Mary.

"Amael..." Cleenah gently patted my hair and whispered something in my ear.historical

I tilted my head, looking at her with anticipation.

Cleenah smiled warmly and nodded. "It's possible. Maybe you can see her again."

Tears welled up in my eyes once more, hearing Cleenah's words. But as her body grew colder, panic gripped me. "C-Cleenah? Your body?"

"I-I forced myself a little, but Mary helped me, so I'll be fine," Cleenah reassured me.

"C-Cleenah... I'm sorry..."

"It's alright, Amael," Cleenah continued to hold me tightly.

"Are you done?" Leon's voice carried annoyance. "While I'm at it, I'll kill you again, Cleenah."

"I don't like you one bit," Cleenah retorted icily.

"And I love you, Cleenah," Leon declared, extending his hand. "How about joining me—"

-Spurt!

Blood spurted out, and Leon's right arm was severed.

-BOOOOOM!

The ground shook, and a brilliant divine light engulfed the entire hall.

When the light faded, another divine beauty stood before me and Cleenah.

I immediately recognized the figure in the white gown, with clear marble white skin and a mask.

"You can finally join us," Cleenah breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh? Laima! You're here too!" Leon smiled widely.

[[Leon, you should leave right now.]]

"Don't be scared, Ultron. I've already killed her once. It won't be hard to do it again," Leon sneered.

Laima paid no attention to any of us as she reached out her hand.

-BOOOM!

Trinity Nihil, which had been lying on the ground, flew into Laima's hand in an instant.

Leon unsheathed his black sword, and they both vanished.

The hall quaked under the onslaught of deadly shockwaves as they clashed, destroying everything in their path. Without Cleenah's protection, I would have surely perished.

They continued to clash at godlike speeds, their movements too fast for me to comprehend.

When they finally drew back and landed on the ground, Leon was missing his other arm, while Laima had a serious injury on her stomach but it soon vanished in whitish sparkle.

Laima's mask began to crack, revealing her breathtaking face. With her long white eyelashes and cold, white eyes, she was as beautiful as Cleenah.

"Ah... haha..." Leon let out a tired breath, followed by a laugh. "I've reached my limit, it seems. What a shame. I wanted to kill at least one of you." He shifted his gaze between Cleenah and Laima before finally settling on me. "This is nothing. I will show you true despair, Nyr," he declared, vanishing in a white light.

"He manipulates Fate, just like me," Laima spoke as she approached us. "He probably killed me in the future and somehow gained the ability to manipulate his own Fate, allowing him to come back here."

"He killed us..." Cleenah murmured in shock.

"We didn't become his Legacy, so he must have found another way to track us down. Next time, he will be the one to be killed. He is threatening all of us regardless of our affiliations. He sacrificed a lot to come back here and will not come back soon." Laima stated firmly before impaling Trinity Nihil in front of me abruptly ignoring my state.

"Nevia..." Cleenah muttered, casting a disapproving glance at her.

Ignoring Cleenah's disapproval, Laima looked at me. "You're not smart by manipulating those stronger than you. True intelligence lies in manipulating those weaker than you. Your weakness is truly unsightly—not your lack of strength, but your feeble mentality. Relying on others to save yourself is the epitome of weakness and stupidity," she said and vanished.