The Final Plan

Their meeting in the ruins of an ancient building was tense. Aurellia, with a serious face, laid an old map on the cracked stone table.

"We have to split up," she said, breaking the silence.

"What?!" Ragna snapped, standing up immediately. "Are you crazy, 'Lia? Going alone in this chaos?"

Irea frowned, while Cielle just stared at Aurellia with her questioning blue eyes.

Ayato crossed his arms. "Why, Aurel? Give us your reasoning."

Aurellia took a deep breath. "This isn't just a regular war strategy. To weaken Sanctuary, we must reduce the dark energy flooding this world." She looked at each of them one by one. "And the reason you were all distorted by your black orbs... is because the overflowing dark energy from Sanctuary flowed directly back to your original bodies sealed there."

Ayato furrowed his brow.

Original bodies... so it's true, they are...

The room fell silent. Even Ragna was quiet.

"What do you mean, 'original bodies'?" Irea asked slowly.

"Sanctuary is a prison," Aurellia explained, her voice flat yet heavy. "The place where our original bodies—the five Demon Kings—are sealed. The Black Orbs you've been holding are just minor leaks of our true power. When Sanctuary opened, that energy overflowed massively and flooded us directly, causing us to lose control."

Irea was stunned. "So... our previous plan to feed the monsters with the black orbs..."

"...was a boomerang," Aurellia finished. "Those monsters run rampant because of our true power, not just the orbs. And to erode that energy, we must defeat as many of those monsters as possible."

Ayato nodded slowly, understanding the logic behind it. "So, by reducing the number of contaminated monsters, we also weaken Sanctuary."

"Exactly," Aurellia affirmed.

"In that case," Ayato spoke again, firmly. "Allow me to go to Sanctuary. I will save Lys."

This time, everyone protested.

"Alone? That's suicide!" Ragna objected.

"I agree with the monkey," Irea added. "Sanctuary is now the most dangerous nest of darkness."

Aurellia looked at Ayato for a long time, then, in an undeniable voice, she said, "Let him go."

Everyone was shocked.

"He's the only one who can approach Sanctuary without being instantly absorbed by the darkness. His unique resonance gives him protection. We'll entrust this to him."

Hearing Aurellia's firm words, the others slowly relented. Ragna sighed, Irea exhaled deeply, Cielle gave a small nod.

Before parting, Aurellia approached and kissed Ayato's forehead. "A charm," she whispered. "I hope, with this, you can make any decision consciously."

"..." Ayato blushed, both embarrassed and puzzled by Aurel's statement.

Seeing this, Ragna immediately flared up. "Hey, don't let only 'Lia give charms!" He stepped forward and slapped Ayato's back quite hard. "Come back safely, kid!"

Irea sighed, then approached and also kissed Ayato's cheek. "Don't be reckless."

Lastly, Cielle. She didn't say anything, just took Ayato's hand and held it tightly, her eyes conveying everything.

The plan began. The final battle was drawing nearer.

...

Meanwhile, deep within Sanctuary, King Veyric stood before the ruins of a giant machine—the monument to his most painful failure. The twisted metal and severed cables brought him back twenty years.

His mother, Queen Elara, lay weak on the bed. Her body, once stalwart as a queen, was now a shadow. Years of bearing the kingdom's burden had deteriorated her health. The young Veyric, eyes full of determination, vowed to heal her.

He became a student of the Magic Tower—under the stern guidance of Lys. He endured every torturous magic training session, spent sleepless nights studying ancient runes, all for one goal: to create a device that could heal his mother.

"Look, Mother!" Veyric exclaimed joyfully one day, showing a healing crystal he had created. "I will make you healthy again!"

Elara smiled weakly, stroking her son's head. "Son... don't be too hard on yourself. Our time together... is more precious than any medicine."

But Veyric didn't listen. He became more obsessed. His workshop was filled with prototypes: heart pulse amplifiers, life energy generators, even soul-linking machines. Every time he visited his mother, he only talked about his research progress. Time for chess, storytelling, simply sitting together—all were replaced by magical schematics and diagrams.

Until one twilight, he brought his final machine—a device that could "trap" a soul within a body. "This will heal you!" he said with shining eyes.

Elara looked at him sadly. "Son... sometimes a mother's heart knows better than logic. This machine... doesn't feel right."

But Veyric insisted. "You don't understand anything about magic! Trust me!"

He connected his mother to the machine. Cables pierced the body of the increasingly weak Queen Elara. Then, the machine activated—too intensely. The crystal at its core pulsed unstably, sucking energy not just from the illness, but from Elara's remaining life force.

"Veyric... stop..." Elara hissed, but Veyric was too busy fiddling with the control panel.

The explosion came suddenly.

As the crimson smoke billowed, Veyric saw his mother's sorrowful smile for the last time before her body was destroyed along with the machine. Her final words still echoed: "I... have always been proud of you, Son..."

...

Madness seized him. Amid the rubble of his laboratory, among the still-sparking cables and the smell of burnt flesh, Veyric found it—his mother's prayer book, still intact. Its leather cover was singed at the edges, but its pages were still legible.

At first, he read it to comfort himself, searching for his mother's last traces. But every word seemed to speak directly to him:

"The pure sky needs no touch of human hands..."
"Trust in the guiding stars..."
"Science is but the arrogance of mortal men..."

He began to see patterns everywhere. Every time he tried to use the remnants of his knowledge, something would fail. But when he prayed following the book, he felt calm. Slowly, his beliefs shifted. The book was no longer just a prayer book—it became absolute truth.

He burned all his research notes. Destroyed every magic tool he had ever made. He erased every technological advancement of the kingdom, one by one. "Scientific arrogance" had killed his mother—so he would cleanse the world of the same stain.

In his deepening despair, Sanctuary's energy found him—a fragile, hate-filled soul perfect for exploitation. In his vision, he seemed to fly high among the stars, and a voice whispered:

"Cleanse the world... restore its purity..."
"As your mother desired..."
"Where the sky and stars shall become one..."

Veyric opened his eyes. His tears had dried. All that remained was fanatical conviction.

"Mother," he whispered, gazing at Sanctuary's dark sky. "I will create the world you wanted. A world without the arrogance of technology... where only prayer and the pure sky reign."

He had transformed from a magic genius into a fanatical Sky Prayer adherent, ready to destroy civilization to "purify" the world.

...

Ayato, after passing through deadly obstacles and traps on his journey to Sanctuary, finally arrived at its main gate made of an unknown material, covered in ancient glyphs.

As he approached, a familiar figure blocked his path.

Lys.

But this was not the Lys he knew. Her eyes were empty like glass, dense dark magic gathering in her hands like pulsating black gloves.

"Lys, it's me! Vin!" Ayato shouted, trying to pierce the shroud of darkness enveloping her consciousness.

No response. Only a barrage of sharp, Darkness-formed spears shooting from all directions. Ayato reacted quickly, raising a two-meter-thick Ice wall that immediately cracked under the impact.

"I don't want to fight you, Lys!"

But Lys raised her hands again. This time, high-velocity Wind swept through, shattering his ice wall into fragments. Before Ayato could find his footing, the ground beneath him turned into soft Earth, sucking his feet in like a swamp. From within the earth, dark roots sprouted, trying to entangle him.

She's using all elements perfectly, Ayato thought as he freed himself with a controlled Fire explosion that burned the roots. But the fire was immediately extinguished by Water pouring down like rain from above.

Lys gave him no time to breathe. With a swirling motion, she created a distorted Dimensional space around Ayato. The floor felt slanted, gravity fluctuated. Ayato was thrown against a wall but managed to land by creating an Ice foothold in the air.

"In that case..." Ayato murmured, gathering his concentration. He created two Ice clones that attacked from the sides, while his real body swooped down from above with a sword of Fire in hand.

For the first time, Lys smiled faintly—an eerie, empty smile. She didn't evade. Instead, she merged Light and Darkness in her palms, creating a wildly spinning gray energy sphere. As Ayato's fire sword touched it...

BRAAAK!

The shockwave threw Ayato against a wall. Blood trickled from his nose. He rose with difficulty, realizing one thing: Lys was not holding back. She was using all elements with deadly precision, switching seamlessly, as if all magic was an extension of her own body.

Frustrated to see Ayato still standing, Lys finally gathered dark energy on a massive scale. The entire surrounding area plunged into pitch darkness, the air vibrating violently, sucking away the remnants of light and life. Ayato, familiar with this magic—similar to what Fenrir had used—immediately formed a multi-layered Ice sphere and took shelter inside, reinforcing it with a spinning Fire core to stabilize the structure.

But the power Lys released was beyond his estimation.

A tremendous blast destroyed everything. His ice sphere cracked, then shattered to pieces. His consciousness was thrown far away, into the darkness.

When Ayato opened his eyes, he was no longer in Sanctuary.

He was on an unfamiliar tropical beach, under a night illuminated by coconut-like fruits glowing on the trees. Waves lapped gently. A beautiful woman in casual clothes sat on a rattan chair, reading a book by the light of the moon and stars.

The woman closed her book and smiled at him.

"You've finally come. I've grown tired of waiting."