“Najum… you, what are you…!”

At the gardens of the royal palace.

Lexia and Laila glared at Najum as screams and shouts echoed from the royal palace.

“Hahaha! Now, the best part of the show is about to begin!”

As soon as Najum opened his arms, a huge shadow descended from the night sky, sending up a cloud of dust and smoke.

When the smoke cleared, a chimera stood before Lexia and the others.

“Wha…!”

“Vuvu, vu…!”

“Hahaha, there you are! My obedient servant!”

While the chimera was ferociously bare its fangs, Najum, holding a flute in his hand, was proud of his victory.

“There is nothing you can do against these ferocious claws and fangs that can destroy anything and everything! You cheeky little girl, you will become a piece of meat!”

“…..!”

As Lexia pulled out a dagger for self-defense, Laila chanted a spell next to her.

As the princess of the Regal Kingdom, Laila is well versed in magic, but even before she could finish her chanting, the chimera pounced on her.

“Gugyaaaaaaaaahhh!”

“Kyaa…!”

“Laila-sama!”

Lexia pushed Laila down and got down.

A sharp claw seemed to snatch above their heads, and then with a loud sound! The roof of the detached palace behind them was blown off.

“Vuvu, grrrrrrrrrr…!”

“N-no way, with a single swing of its claws…! What kind of power is that…?”

“Hahaha! Good, good! The more the prey struggles in vain, the more rewarding the hunt will be!”

In response to Najum’s insanity, the chimera stoops low. Tongues of flame peeked out from between sharp fangs, and Lexia and the others caught it with their glistening, wet eyes.

“Le-Lexia-sama…!”

“It’s okay; it’s okay…!”

Lexia shielded Laila, who was struggling behind her back.

Her throat dried up with fear, and her legs cowered. Still, Lexia stared at the chimera, biting her lip. She leaned her head back and faced the mighty monster head-on.

“If it’s Yuuya-sama…──”

The image of a dark-haired, dark-eyed boy flashed in Lexia’s mind. He is the strongest of the warriors, the boy who once saved her life and continues to fight for the sake of many others.

“Yuuya-sama would never run away…! I will definitely protect you!”

She shouted, protecting Laila behind her back.

She decided to get as close as possible to the person she loved. At the same time as she made this decision, her heart burned passionately in her chest.

“I’ll be fine; I won’t lose at a place like this. I will definitely meet Yuuya-sama again and have him praise me…!”

The heat that was born at the bottom of her body traveled to her fingertips.

The moment the heat reaches her arms, the bracelet given to her by Gloria shines.

The brightness of the bracelets swells strongly and dazzlingly in response to Lexia’s thoughts.

“What’s this…!”

“Ggyaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The chimera screamed, and red lotus hell fire was released from its mouth.

Lexia stared the flames straight in the face.

“I won’t be beaten here! How can I be burned to death by you!”

Lexia instinctively held up her hand toward the burning flames that melted even steel.

The brilliance of the bracelet reached its peak, and a dazzling lightning flash dwelled in the palm of her slender hand.

“Eat this! [Lightning Storm]!”

As soon as the interesting and noble voice split the night sky, a silvery white thunderbolt gushed out from Lexia’s hand, engulfing the flames like a raging dragon and devouring the chimera as well.

“Ggyahhhhhhhh!”

A tremendous torrent of light obliterated the mighty monster, leaving no trace of it.

“W-wha…!”

“Kyaa!”

The bracelet shattered as the magic exploded, and Lexia let out a low scream.

And after the light disappeared. Not even a trace of the chimera remained where it had been.

“W-wha… M-my chimera…”

Najum was at a loss for words when he saw that the monster that once destroyed even a kingdom had vanished without leaving a shadow.

Laila was also appalled as if she had seen something unbelievable.

“W…what is that magic just now, and that power!? Even in the Regal Kingdom, there aren’t many magicians who can use that kind of magic…! And I’ve never heard of Lexia-sama being able to use offensive magic…!”

“Hah, hah…!”

Lexia lost all her magic at once and was breathing hard, but when she realized that her magic had destroyed the chimera, her face lit up with a bright smile.

“I was able to use attack magic just now…! That’s amazing! Did you see that, Laila-sama? I did it!”

“Y-yes.”

She and Laila clasped hands in joy for a moment, and then she pointed a finger proudly at Najum.

“Now, your ambition is over! Now, be quiet and get yourself in jail!”

Najum stood there, stunned until he fell on his face and burst into low laughter.

“K, kukuku… gu, gi… gugi, gigi…”

“W-what?”

Lexia backed away as if she saw an eerie appearance, like a tin doll that had run out of oil.

Najum slowly looked up.

“Gi, gigigi… Do you think that my ultimate weapon is only the chimera?”

“Eh…?”

“Don’t get carried away just because you beat a monster, little girl… Gigi, gugigigi…”

His body begins to transform with a distorted laugh.

“Wha…”

“Gi, gi… I never thought that a bunch of insignificant insects would make fun of me like this… If it comes to this, I have no choice but to do it… Regret your own stupidity…!”

An eerie haze rose up from under Najum’s feet. As the jet-black haze crept up, his skin turned black, and his eyes turned blood red.

Laila gasped at the sight of the hideous figure, which looked as if it were a condensed nighttime darkness.

“T-that figure is…!”

“Gugigi, gi… I am a being that transcends human beings… I have merged with the Evil Beast and have become the Half Evil…!”

“What did you say?”

“So this is what Iris-sama and Tito were talking about, the presence of the Evil Beast…!”

Besides the pale Laila, Lexia looked dazedly at him.

“Gigi, gi… By taking in the Evil Beast, I have gained the ability to control the power of evil while still alive… The chimera is just a backup plan, and with this power, it will be easy to take over the world…!”

It is neither a person nor an evil beast.

Staring at the hideous figure that twisted the reason for life, Lexia exclaimed sharply.

“Do you really… Do you really think such heretical methods can be tolerated?”

But Najum, now a horrified being, instead of responding, held up his hand to a corner of the garden.

“Behold, this mighty power…!”

The black light focused on Najum’s palm and shot out as a small ball.

The moment the ball landed on the ground, it exploded with a thunderous sound and instantly hit the garden. The garden was instantly blown away and completely gouged out.

“…..!”

“Ha… Fuha, hahaha! Wonderful! The power from the depths of my body is overflowing. Is this the power of the evil beast──the power of evil…? Haha, hahaha!”

Najum laughed loudly and pointed his hand at the exclaiming Lexia and the others.

“! I won’t let you do what you want! [Lightning Sto──]”

Lexia held out her hand to release the magic again but collapsed on the spot.

“Lexia-sama!”

“Hah… hah… I’ve lost my magic power…!”

Her eyes blurred, and her strength drained from her entire body. She had used up all of her magic power by releasing the powerful magic she had just used.

“Gugigi, what? Is it over already?” 

“Ugh, kuh…!”

Laila casts a spell to protect Lexia, who can’t even stand up.

“[Fireball]!”

But the ball of flame shot out at Najum was easily repelled with a swing of his arm.

“! No way…!”

“Gugi, gigigi… I have more power than I could ever imagine…! No one in this world can stand against me…! The world is under my control…!”

Lexia stared at Najum with a triumphant smile, breathing hard.

“T-that’s not your power…! You, who have used so many things as a stepping stone for selfishness, are not qualified to stand above others!”

“Gugigi, you are still talking nonsense… and yet your face is distorted with despair and fear!”

Najum held up his hand to Lexia and the others and shot out a number of black spheres, deliberately grazing them. The spheres landed on the wall behind them, causing an explosion and piercing a huge hole in the palace.

“Kyaaa…!”

Najum’s eyes narrowed as he watched the two being tossed about helplessly by the blast.

“Gigi, gigigigigi, nice one, huh? Now, bow down before my mighty power, you insignificant fools!”

Najum held his hand up in the air. A black haze gathered far above Lexia and the others’ heads, creating countless black balls.

“…..! If that thing rains down on us, we will…!”

Laila’s eyes, looking up at the sky, were tinged with despair.

There was no escape, no way to defeat the “half-evil” Najum.

“Gigi, gigigi. This is the end; you will disappear without a trace──!”

The next moment, countless black balls were about to rain down on the frozen Lexia and the Laila.

“Gaaaaahhhhhh!”

A white flash of light rushed in from the sky above and scattered the spheres.

“What?”

Najum jumped back as quickly as he could. A small figure landed in front of him, gouging out the ground.

Lexia’s voice burst out at the sight of the girl with white cat ears.

“Tito! You’re safe──”

“Wait, Lexia!”

Luna landed next to Lexia, who was rushing toward her.

“Luna! If you two came here, then the chimera must have been taken care of!”

“Yeah, we took out as many as we could! There’s only one more left──”

“But I killed that one!”

“What did you say? What in the world was that… No, let’s talk about it later, now──”

“Grrrrrrr…”

Lexia followed Luna’s gaze and gulped when she saw Tito growling like a beast.

“Perhaps she’s out of control?”

“Probably, she was trying to protect the inhabitants from the chimera and went out of control. I brought her here to bring her back to her senses, but…──what the hell is that black creature…?”

Lexia suddenly realized and explained.

“It’s the prime minister! Prime Minister Najum was fused with the evil beast! The presence that Iris-sama and Tito felt was the prime minister Najum who had become ‘half evil’!”

“What?”

“The prime minister who has obtained the power of the ‘evil beast’ is incredibly strong!”

“My magic didn’t work either; it can’t stand up to him…”

Najum snorted in boredom when he saw Tito suddenly appear.

“Fuh, it doesn’t matter how many more insects there are; it’s all the same. I’m going to turn you all into dust──”

He held up his hand to release his evil power again.

But as soon as Tito saw the figure fused with the “evil beast,” her body was tinged with light.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…!”

Her white fur glowed pure white, and a wave of light was released.

“Gaaaahhhh!”

“W-wha…!”

With Tito at the center, a circle of divine light spreads out like a large, shining flower.

Najum, bathed in the waves, distorted his face and began to suffer.

“Guh, what… what is this light? G-gahhh, it’s so painful; what the hell is this power?”

The black mist separates from Najum as if it is being pulled away from him.

What? What is happening?”

“What in the world is that…?”

“Ugh, gah…! Stop it, stop it…. stop it!”

Najum’s face contorted in anguish as he screamed.

Eventually, the black haze completely dissipated and coiled on the ground.

The black ooze gathered together to form a jet-black beast.

“Gugi… Giiiiiii…”

“! The evil beast is…!”

“Did that light just separate the evil beast?”

“Oh, ah… ah…!”

Najum returned to his human form and fainted with white eyes.

“Gugi, gugigigi…”

The black beast separated from Najum and stared at Lexia and the others with bright red eyes.

“…..!”

“Gugigigi!”

Luna released a bundle of strings at the evil beast that was about to leap at Lexia.

“[Spiral]!”

“Gugigiiiiiiiiiiiii!”

The evil beast was knocked away and rolled on the ground.

Tito quickly reared up her arm toward the evil beast as it tried to raise itself up.

“Gaaaaaaaaaahhh!”

“Gigyaaaaaaaaah!”

The many flashes of light from the claws danced wildly like a storm, cutting through the evil beast.

The evil beast tried to resist, but Tito overpowered it with speed and power that exceeded its resistance.

“A-amazing, one-sidedly… the evil beast!”

“So this is the power of the disciple of the ‘Claw Saint’…!”

“Gigi, gya…!”

The evil beast fell down and stopped moving.

“Is this the end of it…?”

As Luna muttered, Tito looked up at the moon shining brightly in the night sky and roared.

“Gaaaaaaaaa…!”

“! The rampage is not over yet! Lexia, take care of Tito!”

“Okay!”

Lexia stood up, scolding her knees, which were about to collapse.

“Tito!”

“G-grrrrrrrrr…! Gaaaahhhh!”

Tito turned around. She was about to jump on her with her fangs bare, but Lexia didn’t hesitate, ran up to her, and hugged her.

“──Ga, ah…!”

She puts her arms around Tito, who opens her eyes and puts all her strength into her arms.

“It’s alright; it’s alright now! So please, go back to your normal Tito…!”

With a strangled cry, a transparent wave is released from Lexia’s body.

“Gghh, guh…!”

The power that had been dominating Tito gradually drained away, and the rampage subsided.

Laila gasped at the sight.

“That was… that power…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, Tito. We are almost there…”

But before Tito could fully return.

“Ggahhhhhh!”

“Wha? That evil beast is still alive? ──It’s dangerous!”

Before Luna could move, the evil beast, which seemed to have died, jumped on Lexia and Tito.

“Gahaaaaaaahhh!”

“Kyaaaa!”

Tito shook off Lexia and intercepted the evil beast, and Luna supported Lexia as she staggered.

“Lexia, are you okay?”

“Yeah, but I haven’t quelled the rampage yet, and then…!”

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Gugyaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Tito and the evil beast collide violently.

The two were in a frenzy, and Laila gulped as she watched the raging Tito.

“More violent than before… It’s as if she’s a berserker…”

“Is the rampage accelerating with each fight against the ‘evil beast’…!? At this rate, she’ll never be able to come back.”

Tito’s eyes are dominated by power and tinged with madness.

Lexia screamed in a hoarse voice.

“Remember yourself, Tito! You are the disciple of Gloria-sama, my─our─precious companion!”

“…──!”

At that moment, amidst the onrushing torrent of power, a faint flicker of reason flashed inside Tito.

“(Precious, companion….──).”

She remembered the gentle voice and the warmth of the arms that embraced her.

“(I had to suppress my power… no, no, no… I have to use it myself, to become a great ‘Holy’ and protect the people I love…!).”

The words taught by Lexia and Luna, who accepted her as a friend, and by Iris, the “Sword Saint,” come back to her burnt-out mind.

“(Don’t be frightened. Accept your power to protect those you love…! I want to continue to fight with Lexia-san and Luna-san… I want to stay with them… So…!)”

At the bottom of her boiling consciousness, she clenches her teeth and resists the rampant power.

“…..!”

A moment later, the light of reason returned to Tito’s eyes.

At the same time, she cleaves the body of the evil beast in two with a large cleave of her claws, which are imbued with light.

Slash, slash, slash!

“Gugi, gi, gigi…”

The evil beast died this time, cut open by a dazzling flash of light.

“Oh… I, for the first time, was able to come back… on my own?”

Tito stared at her hands in disbelief, then slowly turned around.

After confirming that Lexia and the others were safe, her consciousness was cut off as if threads of tension had been severed.

“I’m glad you’re safe…”

When Tito collapsed unconscious, Lexia and Luna held her up.

“…You did a great job, Tito.”

Luna muttered.

Lexia also smiled and patted Tito’s head as her eyes were closed.

“Aaagh… uggghh…”

A wrinkled moan made them turn around to see that Najum had just regained consciousness.

While lying on the ground, Najum crawled with a vacant gaze and seemed to realize that the power of the evil beast had vanished from within him.

“Wha… No way… Did you just neutralize the power of my fusion with the evil beast? That power that pulled the evil beast away from me… you don’t mean the ‘Holy’…?”

The eyes filled with awe and astonishment look at Lexia, who stands in the lead.

“Why… Why are you going so far to thwart my ambitions… Why do you have the Holy with you…? Who the hell are you, little girl?”

His eyes distorted with humiliation, he looks up at Lexia.

Lexia resolutely brushes away her dirty blonde hair and meets her gaze head-on.

“I am Lexia von Arcelia. I am the first princess of the Kingdom of Arcelia. And these girls are my precious, prized companions!”

“W-wha…! T-the princess of the Kingdom of Arcelia…?”

Najum looked up at the girl with jade green eyes in shock.

He had underestimated her as a mere maid─a small, insignificant girl. Why would the princess of a certain country be here? Why did she stand before him, of all people, with her warriors in tow?

“Your ambitions have been crushed. Never again will you have such ambitions.”

Her blonde hair, stained with mud but still shining brightly, fluttered in the night breeze, and her eyes, clear as jewels, twinkled with stars.

Her slender body was filled with genuine nobility and dignity.

Behind Lexia, Luna and Laila, holding the sleeping Tito, glare at Najum.

“Ah, ah, ah…..”

The poor man who was drowned in greed could only be abducted in front of the brave girls who stood up against powerful monsters and the evil beast in order to protect the city, protect the country, and protect many people.