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*”I never thought…it’d be…like this…ghuh.”*

With his dying breath, Bifrons tried to speak, coughing up blood at the same time.
His body was impaled high in the air, victim to Crim’s Thorn Blood, which produced a multitude of spikes that emerged from the floor.

“Now then… seeing as some history lieth betwixt us, I shall grant thee the mercy of speaking thy final words ere I snuff out thy life.”

It was checkmate, all Bifrons could do was languidly stare at Crim’s Ragnarok Weapon that glimmered like the twilight, and chuckled at his own demise.

*”Heh…let me think…there’s plenty I could…reveal out of spite…but I’d rather keep quiet…than help you out.”*
“I see… Good bye then.”

**SLASH**

The dark blade sliced straight through Bifrons’ neck, bringing an end to the life of one of the devils scheming for so long, as his body faded away in particles of light.

“…Hm?”

A black octahedral crystal fell to the ground, and visible inside was a sphere of some sort. Crim picked it up out of curiosity, at which point the crystal phased and vanished inside her hand.

The rooftop of Fort Vargan fell silent, at least for a short time.

“Master, we’re here…”
“Ditzy Lord, is everything…I guess it’s fine…”

Hinagiku rushed into the scene, soon followed by Jed from the Black Wolf Pack. The rest of the group followed shortly after, all standing stunned when they saw Crim.

“W-Why are ye looking at me like I’m a ghost?”

Seeing everyone react the same way scared Crim, who just had to ask the reason why, and…

“Umm, Crim? What’s that…on your back?”
“Hm? Prez, what’s that supposed to mean…”

Kasumi was the first to timidly point that out, and Crim looked behind herself…and her eyes widened in shock as well.
A pair of bat wings that had never been there before had appeared.
To make it worse, they began to flap with just a bit of effort.
It took Crim a moment to process what had just happened, until…

“Wh-Wh-What in the world is this?!”

…She shouted with a maddened voice.

“…Don’t tell me you didn’t even notice?”
“I-I mean, I was so focused on the fight that all I could think was beating him… Ah, I guess this was it.”

Frey could hardly believe it, as Crim scrolled back on her notification history until she found something.

[All conditions have been met for the player Crim to evolve species.]
[Player Crim has acquired the Skill: Qliph1i Bacikal Level 1]

“Interesting, and I see that my species name is different too.”

Seeing that, she checked her stats list as well, noting the change.
Before it simply said Noble Red, but now it had: Type Demon Lord appended to it.
That did not seem to be of much consequence, but there was a bigger issue.

“Oh well, I’ll leave that for another day…”

The second notification made her heart skip a beat.
Everyone else was already making a lot of fuss about Crim’s evolved species notification, so she really did not want to add more fuel to the fire by revealing the rest.

Even the players from the Holy Kingdom were talking about that… but one of them, King Theodolite, remained calm, ignoring the conversation as he went to talk to Crim.

“I’m told all the instigators from the second server that composed our main forces have been incapacitated. The only place left standing is this fort.”
“So, shall we keep going then?”

Many of the Holy Kingdom soldiers still held onto their swords, so Crim asked that.

“…Let’s not. We’ve caused enough trouble so you can keep this fort.”

Theodolite sheathed his sword, and the players with him, who had been part of the coup, all followed his lead, stepping back while putting away their weapons.

“First I need to rebuild the foundation of this country before it falls apart completely. The next time we meet I’ll have a proper cohesive army, and we’ll have our rematch.”
“Very well then. I’ll be waiting for that time.”

Crim replied with a devilish smile, which King Theodolite met with a soft smile of his own as he turned around and left, his golden hair fluttering behind him.

“He’s a nicer guy than I thought.”
“…I wouldn’t be so sure.”
“Umm…? Crim?”

Freya’s lighthearted comment was met with a cold mumble from Crim, which produced a confused and slightly reproachful reaction.
It was true that he had good manners…but Crim had noticed that his eyes remained icy cold the entire time, not softening whatsoever.

*…He might be more twisted than he seems.*

The main faction controlling the Holy Kingdom had lost all credibility and authority after that battle.
But Theodolite, who thus far existed in figure only and had not made any public appearances, emerged with a squeaky clean image as the king who restored order by gathering loyal allies and driving away those abusing their influence.
He was the only person in the Holy Kingdom who benefitted from the whole affair.
Something in Crim made her instinctively wary of him.

As she tried to process her thoughts, Frey returned from securing all the vital areas of the fort, and then let out a sigh seeing everyone’s pensive faces.

“Umm, I’d love to let you keep brooding over things, but isn’t there something you’re forgetting?”
“Hm? What is it, Frey?”
“We all have exams tomorrow, don’t we?”

It was like a bolt of lightning passed through all the players remaining on the rooftop, creating a tense environment.

…In just a few short minutes it would be midnight.

It was not exactly late at night, but it was plenty of time past their bedtimes…

“””…AHHHH!!!!”””

All of the players, from both Lua Cheia and the Holy Kingdom, let out terrified screams. Except for the youngest like Hinagiku or the adults who had no exams.