When Mina rushed to Nox’s side, she found her battling three magical beasts.

  They were Inferno Laios—troublesome creatures that wielded fire-attribute magic.

  Each was roughly the size of a lion, but their manes were made of living flame. A single roar would cause the air itself to combust with a concussive bang. And because they constantly radiated light, they cast no shadows—which meant Nox couldn’t use shadow-walking to attack them.

  “Nox! Are you okay?!”

  But Nox glanced at Mina and simply smiled.

  She kicked off the ground, spun once in midair, and lashed out with her left hand. The Shadow Wire streaked forward—its tip honed to a willow-leaf blade, sharp as a dagger.

  Nox wielded it as though it were an extension of her own body. With a casual flick of her wrist, the blade traced an arc through the air and plunged into an Inferno Laios’s heart.

  “GYAOOO!”

  One beast collapsed. These creatures were resistant to dark-attribute magic, but physical attacks could still get through.

  Nox fired her magic pistol, Shadow Reaver, with her right hand in rapid succession while manipulating the Shadow Wire with her left.

  The starfish-shaped tendrils from the Shadow Reaver’s bullets latched onto the Inferno Laios, gradually restricting their movements. The moment one showed an opening, the knife at the tip of her Shadow Wire pierced its heart.

  “Incredible… Nox. Fighting those beasts without shadow-walking…”

  Mina looked deeper into the arena and saw that Balrog was already dead. He had most likely summoned these three Inferno Laios in his final moments.

  “GYAOOO!”

  She turned toward the scream and saw the last beast fall to Nox’s blade. Only Mina and Nox remained standing.

  “Nox!”

  Mina ran to her, and Nox greeted her with a smile.

  “Mina… I’m glad you’re safe. I was about to come help, but he summoned those beasts right before he died.”

  Mina shook her head vigorously.

  “Don’t worry about that. I was fine. What matters is you beat Balrog.”

  She looked at the fallen Balrog. This red demon had been a formidable opponent. He’d withstood Mina’s Divine Judgment—even if underpowered—and then fought Nox on equal terms. He’d likely been as strong as the angel Canconel.

  “Oh… the Shadow Reaver is reacting.”

  Nox followed the gun’s pull and walked toward Balrog’s body. A white orb-like substance rose from his corpse and was absorbed into the Shadow Reaver.

  She checked the gun. A new spell had been registered.

  “I unlocked a new magic.”

  “Really?!”

  Nox nodded happily.

  “Go on—test it out!”

  “Is that okay?”

  “Of course. How about that wall over there?”

  Nox nodded.

  “Okay, here goes.”

  She rotated the chamber and loaded the new spell. Then she raised the gun, took aim at the far wall, and fired.

  BANG!

  A fireball streaked toward the wall and blasted through the earth, sending rubble and dust flying.

  “Not bad at all!”

  “Yeah… pretty powerful for a pistol.”

  “That’s great, Nox!”

  Mina beamed at her. This magic gun could absorb abilities from powerful defeated enemies. She was grinning happily when Nox suddenly smacked her on the back.

  “Mina… stay alert!”

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  “What is it?”

  Mina squinted through the dust cloud. A figure was visible inside it. She strained her eyes.

  “Is someone there?”

  A tiny imp-like demon emerged from the haze. Mina glared at it.

  “So there’s still a survivor.”

  The demon approached slowly with its palms raised. Nox leveled her gun at it, and the creature threw both hands up.

  “Please wait.”

  Mina folded her arms and glared.

  “What? If you’ve got something to say, spit it out!”

  The demon bowed and spoke.

  “You see, I serve Lord Verglies, the Frontier King. I was given orders to carry out my task only in the event of defeat.”

  “What task?”

  “I have a request for Lady Mina. Lord Verglies wishes to speak with you, and he humbly asks for a moment of your time.”

  “My time? Why would I talk to a man who tried to kill me?!”

  “That is entirely understandable. However, this conversation must take place regardless of your willingness.”

  At that moment, Nox flicked her left wrist. A Shadow Wire shot out and pierced the demon’s chest. But the creature just grinned.

  “What happened, Nox?”

  “He was pretending to talk while secretly activating a spell in the background. The chatter was just to buy time.”

  “What? Time for what?”

  “Probably to open a spatial link to Verglies, or something like that.”

  The demon’s chest split open, and something like smoke billowed upward.

  “Run, Mina!”

  Mina nodded and sprinted away with Nox. But the smoke thickened rapidly around them.

  “This is bad… something’s coming!”

  “KYAAH!”

  The black smoke engulfed Mina and Nox in an instant.

  “What IS this smoke?!”

  Nox pulled Mina behind her protectively.

  “Mina… don’t let go of me!”

  Mina gripped Nox’s hand tight. In the swirling blackness, Nox’s hand was the only thing that felt real.

  After a while, the smoke thinned and visibility returned. They found themselves in what looked like outer space.

  Whether it truly was space, Mina couldn’t say—but the sky was filled with glittering stars in every direction.

  “This is bad. It looks just like that space where I met Mom.”

  A figure emerged from the sparkling light ahead.

  He had black wings. He was tall and lean, with long white hair. Narrow eyes fixed on Mina, and thin lips curved into a sharp smile.

  “So you’re the Queen’s granddaughter—Mina.”

  Mina glared at him.

  “Who are you?”

  “My name is Verglies. I’m known as the Frontier King of the Demon Realm.”

  Mina’s eyebrows shot up.

  “So YOU’RE the one causing trouble for my grandmother!”

  Verglies leaned back slightly, laughing.

  “Don’t be absurd. Truth be told, I’d prefer to resolve things peacefully—but your grandmother won’t allow it.”

  Mina folded her arms and scoffed.

  “That’s the kind of excuse a villain would make. So you’re saying you don’t actually want war?”

  “Of course not.”

  Mina studied Verglies in silence for a moment.

  “Hmm. I don’t buy it. You tried to have me killed.”

  “I thought you were just a human, so I planned to take you by force. That’s all.”

  “Take me by force? Don’t make me laugh.”

  Verglies shrugged.

  “I’m not joking. Having seen your strength, I’ve reconsidered—which is precisely why I’ve arranged this meeting.”

  He gazed at Mina steadily.

  “What do you want from me?”

  “I want Queen Lilisia to abdicate. I’d like your help persuading her.”

  Mina glared at him.

  “Absolutely not!”

  “I must insist. If it comes from you, Lilisia might actually listen.”

  Mina shook her head.

  “I’m nothing more than the Queen’s granddaughter. I’m not her successor, and I’m not even from the Demon Realm.”

  “So you refuse to cooperate?”

  Mina nodded.

  “Then I have no choice. I’ll simply have to abduct you.”

  The color drained from Mina’s face.

  “Wait—what would you even do with me?!”

  Verglies’s eyes narrowed to razor slits.

  “Hold you hostage. If I threaten your life, even Lilisia will surrender her throne.”

  “Stop it! That’s despicable!”

  Verglies extended an enormous hand toward her. Impossibly, it reached through the light and stretched toward her in physical reality.

  “Mina! Don’t let that hand grab you!”

  Nox fired her magic gun. Starfish-shaped tendrils latched onto his fingers.

  “Wait—I thought you couldn’t touch anything in this kind of space?”

  Mina was remembering the realm of light where she’d met her mother. She hadn’t been able to touch Lilia there. But this was different somehow.

  “Mina, run!”

  “Run where?!”

  She looked behind her, but an invisible wall blocked any further retreat.

  “Ha ha ha—it’s useless. There’s no way out from inside. Come, Mina!”

  “No! I’d rather die!”

  “Rather die? Ha ha ha!”

  “I refuse to be bait for surrendering my grandmother!”

  “You’re coming whether you like it or not! For the sake of peace in the Demon Realm!”

  “NOOO! Arc! Help me!”

  Mina screamed.

  At that instant, she thought she heard someone say, “It’s okay.” And Verglies’s arm froze in place.

  “Well now… it seems your friend has caught up.”

  A crack split across Verglies’s forehead.

  “Huh? What are you talking about?”

  Before Mina could make sense of it, the screen projecting Verglies began splitting in two.

  “The room is breaking apart!”

  Verglies crumbled like shattering bricks, but he gazed at Mina with a calm smile.

  “Mina! This is not the end of our connection. We will meet again.”

  “I’d be perfectly happy never seeing you again!”

  Verglies’s image vanished along with the smoke. Mina stood there, unable to fully grasp what had just happened.

  When the smoke cleared, a white-haired boy stood a short distance away.

  “Arc!”

  He smiled warmly at her.

  “Mina… you’re safe.”

  In Arc’s hand was the corpse of the small demon from before.

  “That demon was what trapped me in the smoke?”

  Arc nodded.

  “I’m glad I made it in time. I was terrified Verglies might take you.”

  Hearing those words, Mina’s face turned bright red for reasons she couldn’t explain.

  “D-don’t say stuff like that, you idiot!”

  She spun around so Arc wouldn’t see her burning face, head bowed. Her heart was pounding. She told herself to calm down—calm down.

  “What’s wrong, Mina?”

  “Nothing! Nothing at all!”

  She shuffled a few steps forward, flustered, then stopped and let out a long breath. Her heartbeat had settled enough that she could turn around and face Arc again.

  “Honestly though—what a day. I can’t believe all of this happened!”

  “What exactly happened, Mina?”

  She looked at Arc’s face and smiled.

  “Let’s get moving first. We’ve still got a long road ahead, and trust me—I have a LOT to tell you.”

  With that, she broke into a run.

  “Hey, wait—I told you this place is full of traps!”

  “Huh?”

  That was when Mina realized she was standing on another strange magic circle.

  “ARC!”

  She grabbed the hands of Arc and Nox as they rushed toward her—and all three vanished, teleported to somewhere unknown.