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The space, cloaked in crimson light, is a maelstrom of fierce lightning raging wildly.

Perhaps it’s an effect of this energy. The sky, lit up like a fiery sunset, churns with thick clouds twisting like coiled serpents in a frenzied storm. Fortunately, this place is calm, like the eye of a typhoon, though it’s uncertain how long that safety will last.

As we silently observed this scene, like the onset of some catastrophic phenomenon, impatience eventually overcame us.

“When is this going to end?”
“When is this ending?”
“Why isn’t this over yet?”
“When will this finally end?”
“Lovely lady, when might this come to an end?”
“When is this going to wrap up, huh?”

I, followed by Eren, Luke, Lieselotte, Viola, and Cestlavie each took turns voicing the same question.

Under the barrage of our questioning stares, Coppelia tilted her head, saying, “Oh?”

An ominous feeling filled me instantly—like glimpsing a lurking devil just beyond the fogged glass window.

“It may be a failure after all. The spell is completely out of control, and at this rate, the entire continent might just vanish.”

It wasn’t just a glimpse; the devil had shattered the window and burst right in.

“Originally, the plan was to contain the designated area, then steadily compress and contract the space. Like… wringing the neck of a chicken.”

Coppelia even mimed wringing a rag as she explained.

“Why… are all your descriptions so gruesome?” I asked, cold sweat trickling down.

In response, Coppelia tilted her head nearly horizontally, as if trying to clarify.

“Then… like squeezing someone’s neck, tightly.”

She made an unsettlingly realistic choking gesture with her hands, her fingers twitching.

“That only made it sound worse! And hold on, have you actually strangled someone before?”

At my outburst, Coppelia looked back at me with an expression like a child suddenly reminded they hadn’t done last summer’s homework. She tilted her head completely horizontally.

As she noticed everyone subtly inching away from her, Coppelia cleared her throat and said, “Uh… that was a joke. Just a joke. HAHAHA… It’s a classic bit where I’m from, but it seems you all didn’t quite enjoy it.”

She spread her hands, shrugged, and sighed as if to say, oh well.

Naturally, no one here actually believed her.

“Oh, by the way… once you decide to kill someone, you’d be surprised at how calm you can stay when you finally go through with it.”

( ( ( ( (This maid is terrifying) ) ) ) )

Maybe it would’ve been better for humanity if she’d just disappeared under that red light.

Now that I think about it, I feel like a complete fool for briefly feeling sentimental about our reunion.

“As for the cause of the malfunction…” Coppelia continued, tilting her head back to a normal position and sounding somewhat more serious.

“It’s likely a combination of factors. For one, there was the disturbance in gravity and magnetic fields caused by Lady Clara’s Moonfall.”
“Ugh…”

I’d anticipated this, but hearing it called out so directly made me feel a bit guilty.

“And then, there was the surprisingly intense last burst of energy from that idiot Igor. I guess you could call it his fight-or-flight response? I didn’t expect he’d be able to match the Dragon Gem’s power surge, a crystallization of dragon magic. But I suppose anyone stubborn enough to cling to life and become the No-Life King has some unusual grit.”

With a casual tone, Coppelia continued her explanation, as if to say, “This was unexpected. Not my fault. The cause lies elsewhere. It was not an accident but an unforeseen event.”

( ( ( ( (Did she use a cheap Dragon Gem, maybe…?) ) ) ) )

It was hard not to look at her with a bit of skepticism.

“Well, if I had to pinpoint another cause, it’d be that my master was too easily satisfied and erased his memory at the last moment. Entrusting control to me at that crucial moment—well, that’s where the luck ran out.”
“ “ “ “ “ “So it was you who caused this!!” ” ” ” ” ”

The group’s collective outrage, brimming with murderous intent, focused squarely on Coppelia.

“Now, now, there’s no use lamenting what’s already happened. Let’s have a productive discussion here.”

Coppelia held both palms down, gesturing for calm as if we were the ones getting unreasonably worked up. Her attitude only increased the group’s irritation; in the art of provoking others, this useless maid was unmatched.

“Productive discussion? Can you even control a spell that’s already been triggered?”

Cestlavie, who knows magic as well as I do, raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“True, magic that’s been cast is like gunpowder—you can’t rein it in once it’s ignited. However, thanks to Igor’s power clashing with the Dimension-Shattering Bomb, the spell has temporarily paused. The balance will soon break, but if we steer the direction in which it unravels, we should be able to control the outcome. Don’t worry! The calculations show it’ll work out just fine. You only need to trust me.”

“…………”

An awkward silence fell over the group.

“Well, even if we fail, we’ll just try again. Redemption, restoration of honor—after all, failure is the mother of success!”

Coppelia rolled up her sleeves with an exaggerated air of enthusiasm.

We could see her determination, but she was already speaking as if failure were an option (and misusing proverbs, at that). It hardly inspired confidence.

♦♢♦♢

We gathered in a circle on the ground to hold a strategy meeting.

“The method is quite simple. To disrupt the balance of magic that’s currently in a stalemate, we just need to apply a bit of external force to interfere. A single, brilliant solution.”

Coppelia drew a double circle on the ground with a random stick, labeling the inner circle as ‘Idiot Igor,’ and then used arrows to show the force pushing outward from within. She also drew arrows pointing inward from the outer circle, labeling them as ‘Dimension-Shattering Bomb’s collapsing force.’

“In an ideal scenario, we’d weaken the power of Igor, who’s holed up inside, using Lady Clara’s purification. Simultaneously, we’d add some magic to the collapsing force on the outer layer and crush it all at once. A perfect, last-minute turnaround.”

Coppelia declared this with confidence, puffing out her chest. But I tend to be naturally skeptical of things like ‘brilliant solutions,’ ‘one-shot turnarounds,’ or the too-good-to-be-true promises of ‘dieting by just eating,’ ‘dieting by just sleeping,’ or ‘dieting by just breathing.’ It all reeks of something shady—like only the convenient parts are presented. I mean, if you just eat, sleep, and breathe, of course you’d gain weight! I’d love to shout from the rooftops that it’s absolutely a lie!

But discussing such nonsense wasn’t going to help us here, so I pointed out my main concern.

“You talk about interfering, but I barely have any magic left, and you no longer have the Ultimate Arcane Armament installed in this body, right?”

Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, my Moonfall spell was interrupted, so I have a sliver of power left. But even so, breaking through that chaotic ‘field’ to strike Igoronak with the Purification spell is absolutely impossible.

“Then… does that mean I’ll be the one to handle the magic part?”

Cestlavie asked, scratching his unkempt hair with an annoyed look. It’s true; among us, he’s the only one capable of combat magic (though Luke, Lieselotte, and Viola can all manage household magic, as is typical for nobles).

Coppelia shot him a quick glance, her eyes flashing briefly.

“Total magic capacity: 3,230. Attributes: Thunder, Earth, Will (basic). Nutritional status: poor. Charm: E rank. Years Being Single = Age… I see. Pathetic.”
“…”
“ “ “Whoa, whoa, hold on!” ” ”

Luke, Lieselotte, and Viola immediately held Cestlavie back as he lunged at Coppelia.

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