The Earth Sage's hand repeatedly closed on empty air. With tiny movements of my fingertips, I kept Earth's Ripple out of her grasp.

'Right, left, up.'

Then I would go left, right, down. From her perspective, of course.

Her hand grasped uselessly at the air, Earth's Ripple struck her wrist, or she missed it by a hair. She was losing one mind game after another.

Ah, this was nice. A fight where I did all the winning. Now this was a real battle of wits.

'Then I'll just grab his hand...!'

After losing repeatedly at mind games, the Earth Sage swept her arm wide and reached for my hand instead. Since every change in Earth's Ripple's movement began with my hand, she intended to seize it and wrest the weapon away.

"Ah-ah. That's cheating."

Earth's Ripple was a sword without recoil. I merely nudged her hand aside, and it bounced away at twice the speed.

There was only one way to catch Earth's Ripple: close your hand around it at precisely the right moment. Too early or too late, and your hand would simply be knocked away. Stopping it through sheer strength wasn't an option.

Which was why even the Earth Sage was struggling.

Clenching her fist until it creaked, she growled at me.

"... I have only indulged this because I do not wish to harm you, Master Hughes."

"I know."

"Holding Earth's Ripple does not make you invincible. Will you not end this before you suffer further injury?"

That was true. Right now, she had dozens of plans running through her head for turning me into ground meat.

For example, she could repeatedly slam the concrete overhead down on me, blow up my footing, or pull me toward her with another technique like Spatial Dust.

No, she really only had to commit to closing the distance, and I was done for.

I was managing to evade her now because a twitch of my fingertips sent Earth's Ripple whipping around. But if she got close and moved faster than my hand, that would be the day of my funeral.

It might have been different with a card in my hand, but I couldn't keep up with her speed while holding a steel staff.

So I had to steer this into a battle of wits with rules, somehow. I kept thrusting Earth's Ripple out to taunt her.

"Come on, I'm telling you to take it. Why can't you? Am I hiding it away? Did I say I'd die before giving it to you? Take it if you've got what it takes!"

"... Very well."

Her competitive spirit roused, the Earth Sage clenched both fists. Was she finally going to use both hands?

'My hands are a feint. I'll use energy arts to shake the ground beneath him.'

With that, she raised one foot high. She intended to shake my footing and send me flying.

If the impact made me let go of Earth's Ripple, she could take its test and wield it.

I was, after all, an ordinary human. There was nothing special about me whatsoever.

Just because I was holding Earth's Ripple now didn't mean it would remember me and deny its power to anyone else. Nothing like that would happen.

Earth's Ripple was a keepsake, a tool. I was merely an ordinary person capable of holding it.

Which meant I absolutely couldn't let go until I finished writing the test questions. Having read her intent, I pretended to dodge her hand and hooked Earth's Ripple around her leg.

'Ghk!'

Even the Un-topple-able One couldn't hold her ground when the earth itself was tripping her. Instead of delivering her stomp, the Earth Sage stepped on the swinging Earth's Ripple and leaped away.

I had effectively launched an entire person with the tip of a sword, yet the only weight I felt on Earth's Ripple was that of a landing mosquito. Oh, so this was Earth's Ripple. Feeling stronger was exciting.

"That's right. You won't fall. You'll keep moving forward, on and on. You're someone who builds. Someone who makes something out of collapsed rubble. Tending to the dead and remembering them doesn't suit you."

Having landed far away, the Earth Sage glared at me with a terrifying look in her eyes. Facing her, I murmured at my leisure.

"You tried to eliminate the bottomless pit to secure a justification, didn't you? A justification for breaking the taboo against answering a nation's summons. You gained plenty of material benefits doing construction with the Military State, but since you never actually eliminated the pit, you lacked the legitimacy to lead Mother Earth's faith, didn't you?"

Add Earth's Ripple to that, and she would have everything she could wish for.

With this keepsake—a symbol of the Grand Master and the very authority of the earth itself—the Church of Mother Earth would rally beneath her.

"Then you'd take Earth's Ripple and go demand that the Holy See answer for its sins. Spare a meal! Haven't you stuffed your fucking faces enough by now? Let's share a slice of that pie! Perfect!"

Even the attempt would mean something. It would release the believers' long-suppressed resentment and put them on equal footing with the Holy See.

The Earth Sage slowly straightened.

"... Then do you truly mean to stand in my way?"

"I'm not standing in your way! I'm telling you to grab it!"

"In that case."

Energy spread out from the Earth Sage's body in every direction. One booming step shook the ground.

Ground Shrinking. A technique that sent energy through the ground and yanked it back in an instant to propel the user forward. Charging with headlong force rather than agility, the Earth Sage drove a fist straight at me.

Now, if I blocked it with Earth's Ripple...

'If he blocks, I'll sacrifice my fist. Even if it breaks, I'll kick him instead.'

Huh?

'Two directions that Earth's Ripple cannot cover with its length. He'll have to deal with one of them using his own body.'

Ugh, I hated this. Why did she keep trying to play mind games with her body? What was a delicate mind reader like me supposed to do?

If this wasn't barbaric, what was? As I grumbled inwardly...

"Hah!"

Long silver hair and a dress fluttered into view before me. After casting me a brief, reproachful glance, Tyr raised both arms and met the Earth Sage's fists.

Something told me I should close my eyes, so I did. An excellent decision.

BOOM.

An enormous shock wave spread out, making even the dead bodies heave.

When I opened my eyes again, the earthen-colored energy that had filled the Earth Sage's body was spreading in a circle, mingled with Tyr's bright red droplets of blood. The earthen energy sank into the ground, while the blood returned to Tyr as though time were running backward.

The two women glared at each other at close range, their fists still pressed together. The Earth Sage spoke first.

"... Progenitor. Did you not say you would not attack?"

Tyr replied.

"Provided you showed no hostility first."

"I have shown you no hostility."

"Hostility toward him is hostility toward me."

Tyr spoke as though this were self-evident. The Earth Sage glanced at me before replying.

"... You have fallen for a bad man."

"... I cannot deny it. I agree."

With those words came another exchange of punches. Tyr did not dodge. With blood flooding both eyes, she tracked the Earth Sage's fist and struck straight back.

Pure strength collided with pure strength, followed by another shock wave. Tyr was pushed back a little, but soon steadied herself and pressed in against the Earth Sage. Her movements left her vital points completely unguarded.

'I have the advantage in combat itself. Perhaps the Progenitor is unused to close quarters; she wields her strength clumsily. And yet... I'm at a disadvantage.'

The Earth Sage glanced once at Tyr's arm, once at her body, and once at the ground beneath them, then revised her plan.

'The losses are too great. These are no trades at all. My opponent suffers no damage. And besides...'

A mountain of corpses below, a concrete earth above. Until now, this terrain had favored the Earth Sage.

But that was only when her opponent was the Regressor. Against Tyr, the mountain of corpses below was nothing short of a battlefield made for a vampire.

Tyr's blood manipulation could currently control only blood near her own body, but the Earth Sage didn't know that.

And even if she had known, the terrain would still favor Tyr.

'It would be quicker to throw her off.'

The Earth Sage feinted a punch, then ducked low and charged. Pankration. Caught off guard, Tyr instantly kicked despite her awkward posture. Her kick shot up at a bizarre angle, seemingly unconstrained by human anatomy or stance, and was nearly as powerful as her punches.

But though its power differed a little, it still fell within the Earth Sage's calculations.

The Earth Sage's skin split, drawing blood. At the same time, she seized Tyr's supporting foot along with the mass of corpses beneath it.

Then she hurled the whole lot upward.

"Aah!"

There was no way to hold on when the very ground beneath you was thrown away.

Tyr sailed toward the ceiling with a rush of air, looking for all the world as though she were falling upside down toward Tantalus. A heavy thud rang out.

Having sent Tyr flying, the Earth Sage strode toward me, who had been standing behind her.

"Where do you think you're going! Stop!"

Just then, a wave of crimson blood battered her entire body from behind. Having been thrown with the corpses, Tyr turned the situation around by firing their blood at the Earth Sage's unguarded back.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

Red fists rained like cannon fire onto her shoulders, back, and legs. Energy fired through blood manipulation. The mountain of corpses erupted again and again, leaving a crater.

The Earth Sage groaned under the brutal blows. Her earring trembled, then shattered with a crack.

'... I cannot face Earth's Ripple with my back exposed! I need more time!'

Briefly recovering her strength through Funeral in Advance, the Earth Sage clicked her tongue and spun around. She thrust both hands into the empty air and spread them apart, as if wrenching open a door. An ominous creaking sounded from her fingertips, and at that very moment...

Tantalus opened.

With a great cracking sound, Tantalus split apart, opened its jaws, and swallowed Tyr. Realizing what the Earth Sage intended, Tyr hurriedly swept both hands through the air, but the earth arts were faster. In an instant, she vanished deep inside Tantalus.

A low rumble sounded. Though she was no longer visible, she was tearing through the concrete inside to get out. But even Tyr had never swum through the earth before, so it looked as though it would take her a little time.

Having temporarily neutralized Tyr, the Earth Sage looked at me, panting. There was nothing between us now.

"There is no one left to protect you."

Oh, right. That was true, so I nodded.

"You're right. It's finally time for the last test."

"Aaaah!"

And just then, far below, the Regressor burst out of the concrete rubble with a shout. She was still recovering from exhaustion and wasn't in perfect condition, but her eyes burned bright.

"Hold on just a little longer!"

With her enemies continuing to multiply, the Earth Sage grew impatient. She approached me swiftly as she spoke.

"I have no time to take your test. Hand it over."

'If he dies now, so be it.'

The Earth Sage charged, prepared to kill me if necessary. At that moment, Ralion, whom Tyr had left as a last line of defense, blocked her path.

First harassed by Azi, then by Nabi, and now the Earth Sage. He had every right to complain about this punishing lineup of opponents, yet Ralion charged without fear.

While Ralion briefly held the Earth Sage up, I drew Earth's Ripple far back instead of fleeing.

"No. You're not the one taking the test."

There was no test for the Earth Sage to take. She would simply press onward through her own strength.

The one who needed to take the test now was...

I turned my head and glanced at the Grand Master's corpse, kneeling with the cross driven through her. Whether real or imagined, something glittering fell from the kneeling body.

"Now, it's time to take the test you put off, Grand Master."

I couldn't read a corpse's thoughts. Whether that was a tear or a trick of the light, I didn't know.

But Earth's Ripple would have to answer.

The Earth Sage smashed through Ralion's torso. Our eyes met through the scattering blood. Just before I threw Earth's Ripple, her eyes flew wide.

'Surely he isn't going to throw it? Now?'

Correct.

'Where?'

Somewhere between the Earth Sage and the Regressor.

'Why, all of a sudden?'

Why, because of that postponed test.

I grinned and hurled Earth's Ripple far away.

The pitch-black rod, as much staff as sword, spun through the air. Who could have guessed that little rod held the weight of a towering mountain? Even such an extraordinary object traced much the same arc as an ordinary staff when it flew.

'Nice pass... except that's cutting it way too close! Throw it properly!'

Seeing it, the Regressor ran toward its landing point, and the Earth Sage immediately kicked off the ground as well.

'Even if she catches it, she must take the test! She won't be able to use it at once! But I wield the earth arts. Even without taking the test, I can...!'

No, how many times did I have to say it?

That wasn't your test paper.

-Did you truly have to do this...?

The cross trembled. The voice ringing from its tip seemed to be addressing me.

I answered without even turning my head.

"Yes. Choose. It's easy this time, isn't it? All you have to do is choose who will wield your power."

-Ah... So even in death, I could not escape after all.

"It's not that you couldn't escape. You left this behind. If you hadn't wanted to leave a trace, you wouldn't have left a keepsake."

-You are cruel. Truly cruel...

Earth's Ripple trembled in flight. Beneath it, the Regressor and the Earth Sage were rushing forward. Running downhill, the Earth Sage was ever so slightly closer.

If it did not move, the Earth Sage would claim it. She would embark on an endless struggle to revive Mother Earth's faith. And in the end, she would revive it, though she herself might die in the process.

The Regressor, on the other hand...

-Did you truly say that girl has seen the future? That she means to confront the King of Sin?

"You're free to believe it or not. Like the future you heard about from the prophet, it isn't guaranteed. It can change in any number of ways."

In the end, the choice she had postponed had come around once more.

Would she leave it to a prophet dreaming of something better, and bury it?

Or would she press forward, even if it meant drenching her whole body in crimson blood?

-Ah. You are truly cruel.

In the past, the Grand Master had made a choice that was no choice at all. While she hesitated, the prophet murdered her, robbing her even of the opportunity, and she fell into the bottomless pit.

-Even so... even if this should prove a mistake in days to come.

In the end, she had failed to bury the Overlord's soldiers. She had only been driven further and further into a corner.

Had she possessed the resolve to bury the Overlord's hundred thousand soldiers of her own will, the world's history would have changed.

But if she had been such a person, the deaths of three hundred thousand would not have broken her heart.

-I... grieve at death. I fear corpses. I loathe predestined destruction with all my heart. I prefer a single small flower blooming on a grave to a glorious palace built upon blood-soaked soil.

With a slight jerk, Earth's Ripple shifted its course in midair.

Both the Earth Sage's and the Regressor's eyes widened. This small but unmistakable expression of intent was purely Earth's Ripple's will. Nothing else could explain that impossible movement.

-Not for their sake... but for my own weak self.

And the one Earth's Ripple ultimately chose...

Was the Regressor.

-I shall bury death. Within Mother Earth's embrace.

With that final expression of her will, the cross piercing the Grand Master's abdomen began to crumble from its base.

The Holy See's treasure, which had held time fixed, was disappearing. As though unraveling every strand of the time it had kept tightly wound, the cross-shaped stake's sharp edge rapidly rusted and faded before time.

Feeling the traces of her recede, I murmured.

"Farewell, Chorine. The first earth artist and the last burier. And one human who could not bring herself to become a god. Your will, along with your sin, has reached back into the past. Because of the choice you've made now, the you of that time has let go of her regrets and reclaimed her sin."

The regret left unresolved, the choice left unmade back then, had found their resolution today. Now she would be able to sleep in peace.

"You could not become death to a hundred thousand soldiers, but you were a good burier who comforted the souls of three hundred thousand prisoners. May you rest peacefully in Mother Earth's embrace."

-Thank you...

And so the Grand Master's consciousness, slowly setting, sank beyond the horizon.

An unfinished story reached across time to find its end.