Lamia washed her face after training Leonard. "Not bad… For now, you're allowed to join the festival, but when you return, we'll resume your training."
She headed toward the exit while Leonard remained on the ground, exhausted, eyes fixed on the calm sky. No matter the insults thrown at her, his sister always stayed confident. That attitude had always been a symbol for Leonard—not a heroic one, but one he respected in his own way. Seeing her not viewed as a true noble was disappointing. He stood up, prepared to leave, crossing paths with his mother. As usual, their conversation was nothing special. She was a noble like any other, giving her son just enough love so he wouldn't hate her. And his father, once again, gave him hardly any attention.
Outside, the servants bowed as always. Nothing changed. This life was sometimes hard… suffocating… He needed to breathe, and this outing did him good. But even outside, people recognized him as a Grandcester. At this festival, he was just a mascot for his family—and it was truly suffocating.
"Haha, there you are, Leonard! You won't believe this—listen! Ben is on a date right now!"
It was loud, but not unpleasant.
"Oria, shut up! Why do you have to yell it from the rooftops?!"
An annoying noise, but not horrible—it was even relaxing. Seeing the two idiots arguing in front of him, he let out a soft laugh without exaggerating.
Ben and Oria had just arrived with a young woman who looked like a noble.
"Hey, commoners, don't make a scene in the middle of the festival. But I'm impressed with Ben, the hothead… I respect men who don't hesitate to ask a lady out. You've gone up even more in my esteem—and out of respect for your courage…"
He grabbed Oria like a wild cat.
"I'll take her away during your date."
Cassidy looked at him with a sincere smile while Ben thanked him. Leonard walked away with Oria.
"Leo, let me go… Whatever, I'll spend the festival with my favorite stubborn noble… I need to clear my head after paying off some acquaintances, and apparently there's… Wait, why did you stop?"
Leonard froze, surprised to see the spirits of the departed attacking innocent people. The scene was even more shocking because memories didn't act like this—and normally, they couldn't touch the living.
"The heroes are elsewhere, and the Luthaine family soldiers are struggling because their own departed are attacking them."
Oria looked at the scene seriously and prepared her boots.
"This isn't normal, but we have to stop these departed! Leo, are you with me?"
Leonard looked around, not used to this kind of scene… Buildings were being destroyed, and some of the departed were war heroes. Oria shook him, snapping him out of it. Quickly, he summoned his weapon—a floating cube that shifted color from black to green. They began attacking the departed. The weaker ones were destroyed easily, but the departed soldiers had superior resistance.
"This isn't normal. It feels like I'm hitting flesh! And yet they disappear right after being destroyed!"
Oria shouted that after kicking a departed soldier in the face. They kept eliminating them while the same thing was happening on the other side of the city.
Seraphine and Elias watched the soldiers fighting the departed.
"A large-scale attack… Clearly, my break is over. Heh, Elias, we must protect our country and make a name for ourselves!"
Elias fully agreed, ready to act, but Ameria stepped in front of them.
"We see this scene, and we know that for our goddess, we must act and not remain observers… Just to protect what is dear to us, we act cruelly… Aaaahaaa, so that's it! To be truly human!"
She fell to her knees and began praying in front of the two Primerra students.
"Sun-Earth-Sea-Space, everything is connected by a red thread, but in the end, only one truth remains…"
A red sun appeared above the capital.
"Everything will end in the flames of the sun and be devoured by it… Welcome and farewell."
Unable to defend themselves, Elias and Seraphine were paralyzed in front of She Who Devours the Sun… a woman who left only ashes. Under the powerful flames, they had no chance. It was GAME OVER—or at least it seemed that way until Seraphine's father, the royal guard captain, arrived and blocked the attack with impressive resistance.
"Well, Sera? Already trembling? My daughter can't be afraid already, hahaha… Don't worry. We've noticed the Devourers' movements for a long time, but we didn't expect an attack on this scale. The heroes of Daven are the greatest legends on this planet, and we won't let humanity's traitors prove otherwise… Get ready, sunshine, because standing before you is the royal guard captain, the hero with dust fists—Felice Luthaine!"
Ameria advanced calmly with a cruel smile.
"The great Felice? Blocking my flames isn't easy, and yet you succeeded… Thanks to what? Dust…? I think… that Ah? Aah-choo!"
The next instant, she took an uppercut right as her sneeze made her lower her head. Her feet lifted off the ground, and she bled from the nose—just as Felice had planned. He had discreetly slipped dust into her nose… Ameria hit the ground, surprised by the man's strength.
"Know that my power is my pride, sunshine. Yes, my dust blocked your sun because it's the dust of the great Felice Luthaine."
With a smile, she stood up. Elias and Seraphine were impressed and terrified by the level of this fight.
Meanwhile, in front of the royal palace, Leslie fought fiercely against Devo while Thomas watched with a patient smile.
"Princess, I don't want you! Where is the king! I want a real opponent!"
Leslie was pushed back by Devo's strength… He wasn't joking, and Leslie understood that. But she refused to lose face—not today, not now. She wanted to surpass herself for her family and prove worthy of her name, like her grandfather.
"You have no right to an audience with my father… Let this princess help you, hehe."
End of chapter