"You’re not worthy of being human, let alone deciding humanity’s fate."

Standing only a few meters away from Medirin, Caius’s words echoed through the room, filled with pure hatred and mockery.

At that moment, his heartbeat became like the pounding of drums, while the blood in his veins trembled, completely out of control.

A sharp pain pierced his head as he felt the full weight of Medirin’s soul, which had maintained its patience until this point.

But as the tiny shards inside his pocket vanished, another person appeared in the room.

A soul equal to that of the Pillar of Blood herself.

At that moment, Caius deactivated his ability after having activated it unconsciously earlier, allowing him to see the world around him once again.

The Pillar of Blood who had welcomed him here, and whom he had just insulted, stood before him with a deep frown on her beautiful face, her red eyes filled with surprise.

But she wasn’t looking at Caius. She was looking at the person standing beside him, who stepped forward.

With snow-white hair and crimson eyes deeper than Medirin’s, Alicia Astra Nova stood before the Pillar of Blood, a faint radiance covering her body.

The air inside the small room froze, and the overwhelming presence of the two women began pressing down on the world itself.

The furniture trembled as if it were about to fall apart, while cracks spread across the glass wall, accompanied by the sound of shattering.

All of this happened in an instant, and in the next moment, the pressure on Caius disappeared, while a smile appeared on Medirin’s face as she looked at Alicia. "Honestly, this is unexpected... my dear little niece came to visit me in the strangest way possible."

"And now tell me, little Alicia... have you been inside this boy’s pocket the whole time or what?"

’Her niece?... What the hell? ’ To Caius, who didn’t know Alicia’s full background, Medirin’s words came as a huge surprise.

But this wasn’t the time to ask about anyone’s family tree.

Alicia glanced over her shoulder, her crimson eyes falling on Caius for a brief moment... there, he saw the surprise in her eyes, along with a silent question.

’How did you end up in this situation? ’ It was obvious that she couldn’t understand how things had reached this point.

This wasn’t how things were supposed to end... Alicia’s goal in sending Caius had been to investigate Marquis Valimont.

After he told her everything Valimont had said, and that someone from the Void system would be attending the auction, the plan had remained almost the same... gather information and evidence, then contact her.

As for the crystal, it was nothing more than a single-use Relic she had given him as a final precaution. If something unexpected happened, shattering it would allow her to teleport directly to his location through the matching Relic in her possession.

’Well... this is unexpected.’ Alicia couldn’t help thinking as she suppressed the urge to sigh, returning her attention to Medirin.

The Pillar of Blood... And her aunt.

Medirin tilted her head, her gaze passing Alicia before settling on Caius. "You’ve disappointed me, Caius... when you shouted at me just now, I wasn’t actually angry. I thought we’d be able to resolve this disagreement later... but unfortunately."

The moment those words left her mouth, the mark around his neck tightened as agony swept through every inch of his body.

’I’m going to explode.’

That was the thought that crossed his mind.

But in the next moment, Alicia was beside him, placing her hand on his shoulder... only then did his body relax, and he felt a warm energy flowing through him, removing the effect.

"Oh..."

Medirin let out a quiet sound of surprise, while Caius gasped for breath as he asked the most important question to the person beside him.

"Haa... what are you going to do?"

Alicia examined him with her crimson eyes for a moment before speaking in a calm voice laced with caution.

"Just stay calm and don’t do anything."

Medirin smiled gently as she spread her arms wide. "Why don’t you come give your aunt a hug, then take him with you and leave, and we’ll pretend none of this ever happened today?"

"Isn’t that a wonderful idea?"

Alicia glanced at the cracked glass wall, seeing what lay beyond it.

’There are too many people here.’

When she saw that Alicia showed no reaction, she clicked her tongue as she lowered her arms.

"Tsk... cold as always."

She placed one hand on her waist.

"Forget the hug, but I’m serious. You can’t defeat me, little Alicia... and you have this disappointing boy with you, whom you need to protect. So just take him and leave."

For Medirin, a battle breaking out here would erase this entire place, while for Alicia, she had to focus on Caius to keep him from exploding the next moment.

So even after nearly two minutes had passed since Alicia arrived, neither of them made the first move, and the two remained locked in a stalemate.

Caius didn’t speak or urge Alicia to make any decision... although he would probably rather flee than remain in the middle of a battle that could begin here at any moment, he chose to trust her... she was the only person who truly knew what she was capable of.

After several moments of silence, Medirin’s mocking voice echoed once more. "So... has little Alicia made her decision?"

The two pairs of red eyes met, one deeper than the other, while Caius swallowed.

Amid the silence, Alicia raised her right hand upward with a speed that made time itself seem to stop, and with that motion, a thin line of crimson light formed.

Without a sound or anything else, it split the furniture, the concrete, and everything in its path before disappearing into the trench it left in the walls.

Caius frowned, only realizing it then, while Medirin raised an eyebrow.

Only at that moment did something hit the floor, and blood poured out of nowhere, splashing heavily across the white floor as it seeped into the narrow trench left behind by Alicia’s attack.

At the same time, the Envoy appeared behind Medirin, while his severed arm remained lying on the floor.

The hat hiding his face had already fallen away, revealing the large scar on his cheek and his gray hair.

He raised his left hand as he clutched his right side, where his arm had disappeared from the shoulder down, while a chill spread through his entire body.

"Weren’t you the one who wanted me to leave just now?"

Alicia’s voice was colder than ever.

The blood on the Envoy’s arm froze, stopping its flow between his fingers as Medirin spoke. "Evacuate the area."

Then she looked toward where Alicia had severed the Envoy’s arm. "Haa... it seems there’s no avoiding this."

The next moment, the smile vanished from her face, and the room began to collapse. The blood scattered across the floor rose into the air and multiplied hundreds of times in an instant, sweeping across every inch of the room as it rushed toward Alicia and Caius.

But before it could touch either of them, Alicia raised the hand wrapped in crimson light.

Then, with a single wave, everything vanished, and the world was swallowed by crimson light.