I'm Fighting Kal'tsit? Seriously?

He merely floated quietly on the water's surface, waiting for the next wave to carry him away, or for him to raise the waves himself.

No matter how one put it, even if this choice ultimately destroyed him, so what?

After all, he had always made the choice he believed was most right at the time.

Gerald thus faced the Banshee Queen, the woman who might become entangled with him in the [past] for a long time to come, and smiled at her. "Thank you. I'm very grateful that you took care of me these days."

"...Wait."

Lamaline's voice rose slightly. Her usual composed elegance was broken by a fleeting hint of urgency.

A moment ago, she had been standing by the window, looking out at the morning scene. The next, she appeared beside Gerald like a gust of wind.

She moved closer, wanting to stop him, yet could only halt before touching him. A complicated emotion flashed through her eyes. "Now? I mean... can't you wait a little longer?"

"You mean?" The Pegasus's face was full of confusion as he frowned slightly. "Wait for what?"

Wait for what?

Naturally, it was—

Lamaline suddenly realized that even though she possessed the most beautiful singing voice in the entire Banshee Court, even though she had sent countless dead away with elegies, she could not even speak the simplest words to make him stay in this moment.

There were too many things: the continuation of the Banshees, the matters they had originally agreed upon, even the plans she had made in her heart. They all lodged in her throat like thorns, as though everything before this had merely been a beautiful illusion.

"Nothing."

In the end, she swallowed all those emotions.

"The doors of River Valley will always be open to you, Gerald." Lamaline calmly adjusted her expression and gently embraced the friend before her. "I will pray for you and sing for you, just as I promised. I wish you fair winds on your journey."

It was a very moving farewell. If not for the deeply buried disappointment in her eyes, which ruined every bit of pretense in an instant, she might truly have deceived everyone with that appearance.

But right now, Gerald could only do his best to reduce the area covered by the disaster.

It was difficult to imagine how Sarkaz developed. Merely pressing against him was enough to stir up improper thoughts beyond reason.

So he struggled free from her embrace and, after taking a breath, said, "Ahem. Although I'm not planning to leave River Valley, should I take what you just said as an attempt to send me away?"

Upon hearing Gerald's words, Lamaline withdrew her movements as swiftly as lightning. Her gentle eyes widened slightly, like translucent rubies.

"But what you just said—"

Her questioning words stopped halfway through.

Gerald truly had never said that he intended to leave. It had all been her own misunderstanding.

"You deliberately made me misunderstand you." Lamaline spoke softly, her tone carrying something unlike her usual manner. "You're awful, Gerald. I truly hope your breakfast pancakes are spicy today."

"I thought you'd realize your own problem first. For example, that you don't trust me enough. Am I really so likely to abandon an agreement in your eyes?"

"...I can't deny that. But what happened just now was still mainly your fault."

Lamaline did not want him to notice that, for one brief moment, this worry had swept through her heart like a storm and nearly covered it completely.

This was not rational enough. The Banshee Queen ought to remain rational at all times—but the person before her had proven through his actions that sometimes, even the Banshee Queen did not need to remain perfect.

No matter what, this fault should be pinned on him.

"Fine." Gerald strolled leisurely to one side and picked up the formal attire Lamaline had prepared for him earlier. "I'm guessing you're very unhappy right now. Maybe you could let me experience some other Incantations? My ridiculous appearance should make you feel at least a little better."

Lamaline narrowed her eyes slightly, a trace of sharpness showing in her gaze as she slowly approached Gerald. "I may lack experience in methods of communicating with the outside world, but that does not mean such crude provocation will work easily."

"Then what are your terms, honored Banshee Queen?"

The Pegasus draped the formal outfit over his arm, brought his feet together, and gave Lamaline a standard Kazimierz salute. "I will do my best to meet your needs."

It seemed to strike Lamaline's mind.

She thought of the wind blowing through the forest.

As a child, she could not understand its mysteries, yet she alone loved the fallen leaves that swirled around her body.

But in the end, she discovered that the leaves were not what she loved. What she preferred was the source that made them whirl—the uncapturable concept and phenomenon, the wind that set all things turning.

And concepts could be expressed through Incantations, though she was not particularly good at it.

The young Banshee Queen could only use Incantations to keep the wind by her side for a moment. Yet whenever the strokes of the words gradually faded, she had to add another stroke to sustain that colorless, invisible existence.

But even so, all it took was a chance to fall asleep for the existence she wanted so desperately to keep to leave her side.

Because the wind was always free and needed no restraints. Sooner or later, it would blow from River Valley to Kazdel, to Columbia, to every corner of the world, until it grew tired and weary, then silently vanished into nothingness.

That was not what she wanted.

So she had only one condition.

"Just stay a little longer."

Lamaline looked at him and spoke softly. "Before the limit arrives, even if it is only for a moment, that will already be enough for me."

She wanted to catch the intangible wind.

Where Do You Think Banshee Children Come From?

"Time waits for no one, Lamaline."

Gerald directly answered the deeply meaningful words in her request. He still made his promise. "Then let's enjoy ourselves properly, until the very second before that limit arrives."

The wind blowing in through the window gently brushed through the room, and the exquisite quilt on the bed quietly rose with it. Its corners fluttered through the air, the soft fabric lifting and falling like dancing wings as it followed the Pegasus's thoughts and circled Lamaline.

The fabric spiraled around her, forming a flowing barrier that gently blocked the Banshee Queen's sight.

For a brief instant, light and shadow were cut apart by the dancing cloth. Accompanied by the rhythm of the wind, the world in Lamaline's eyes seemed lightly covered by the texture of feathers. She raised a hand, intending to brush aside that soft barrier, but paused slightly at the very moment she was about to push it away.

The next second, the fabric abruptly withdrew from before her eyes. The circling wind dispersed into the air, and the earlier commotion returned to silence.

Lamaline's vision finally became clear again, and her gaze fell upon Gerald standing before her.

He had already changed into that black formal outfit.

The hem of his pitch-black coat hung to his ankles. The deep-colored fabric swayed slightly in the lingering breeze, outlining a wild yet neat silhouette. Higher up, the collar stood tall, while the gold patterns on the shoulders were understated and exquisite, delicately echoing the silver threads along the cuffs and adding a flowing gleam to the outfit.

Gerald's silver-white long hair was especially striking against the black backdrop, like moonlight spilled across the night sky.

"I was thinking."

Then he ruined it as soon as he opened his mouth.

"If I added two feathered ear tufts to my head, would outsiders see me as a Banshee too?" Gerald touched the Infinity Knot on his chest, looking slightly troubled.

"I will not lie. You do indeed have a very alluring face, Gerald." Lamaline's gaze froze after a single glance, and she did not look away for a long while. "Even though the battlefield has shaped you into something far more formidable, if we are only judging your face... yes."

Fine. That evaluation did not seem particularly easy to accept, even if it did sound like praise.

He subconsciously touched his face, which for some reason had become much more moisturized these past few days, and somewhat wanted to blame the Banshee Queen for it.

"Forget it, that works too." Gerald finally decided to stop dwelling on the matter. He moved his fingers lightly, returning the objects in the room to their original positions. "By the way, if I really were a Banshee and defeated you, could I drag you down from your position as ruler of the Royal Court?"

"That is a somewhat complicated question, but I think you will understand when you see this."

Lamaline walked to the room's exit and used the Bone Pen to carve unfamiliar Incantations onto the door. The place where no door had existed quietly changed. Like the secret walls in Diagon Alley, the stone bricks shifted and moved, opening a passage wide enough for them to pass through.

River Valley was vast enough, and the place where the Banshee Queen lived still retained relatively traditional principles.

Looking out from the room, the space instantly opened up. The dome overhead towered high, shaped like a whirlpool within River Valley.

Looking outward, the magnificent scenery of River Valley filled their view. Unlike the Wordcraft Tower, the Banshee Queen's Courtyard was embedded within the stone structures along both sides of River Valley. Under the power of Incantations, it had been shaped into a marvel resembling a hanging garden. Usually, this Courtyard was hidden beneath the cover of light. Only those invited could glimpse its true appearance and offer their reverence devoutly.

Huge curtains hung along the walls surrounding the Courtyard, their silk fibers drifting lightly in the wind. Thorns covered the stone pillars supporting the palace. The outer walls were not fully sealed; in some areas, enormous arched windows replaced the walls, allowing the outside wind to pass through and bring with it the scent of nature.

At its center stood a massive bed. Its frame was made from ivory-colored metal, carved with intricate patterns, while tiny blue gemstones were set along its edges like ripples spreading across a river.

Gerald also walked to the room's entrance, looked over the scene outside, and nodded approvingly. "I'd choose the same thing."

"You mean?" Lamaline looked at the Pegasus beside her in confusion. His expression had not changed in the slightest because of the sight before them.

"Secret rooms. I have them at home too, though they definitely can't compare to your Courtyard."

Gerald pointed behind him at the room. "Considering that the Courtyard would be the primary target during an invasion, I would only fill an open place like this with traps and Originium-enhancing artifacts. Its strategic purpose would far outweigh its practical purpose."

"And even if it came down to a desperate last stand, this place could serve as a perfect fortress to cover everyone else's retreat. There should be a mechanism at that window too. I can sense the presence of an Incantation, more difficult to deal with than any I've encountered before... Is its function teleportation?"

Lamaline revealed a gentle smile. Speaking with intelligent people always felt exceptionally easy and pleasant. "That is precisely why the authority of a Royal Court ruler is usually passed down willingly by the previous generation rather than replaced through other means."

"I understand." Gerald looked at the Thorns upon the surrounding stone pillars and narrowed his eyes slightly. "That really is troublesome."

If everyone who challenged the throne had to face the Banshee Queen at her peak, strengthened by the terrain itself, the outcome needed no further explanation.

It was like how, during the final defense of Kazdel, Theresa and the Lich had turned the city into a massive sorcerous altar. With the enhancement of a special battlefield, simple assessments of combat strength became meaningless.

Even a Feline general would not choose to set foot in the Banshee Courtyard. She would only call in battleships to aim their turrets at the outer stone walls and bombard them.

The difference between attack and defense, alliances and counteralliances—sometimes it was difficult to judge who was superior based on battle results alone. Just like Duke Wellington, the "Empire's Death Knell" who had bombarded Lingones into destruction, the role of strategy was always overlooked and forgotten in debates.

Most of those who died in the Courtyard were mindless fools. Anyone with a clear head would prioritize choosing a battlefield where they held the advantage.

This was why, unless a race stood on the brink of extermination, the Banshee Courtyard had always remained only a legend passed from mouth to mouth—except for the one who had become the Demon King while bearing Banshee blood.

Sarkaz corpses had piled into mountains in her Courtyard.

He slowly walked out of the room, with Lamaline close behind him. As they moved, the stone wall behind them silently fused back together. The entire space was wrapped in some kind of Incantation and disappeared within it.

"However, considering certain special circumstances." Lamaline suddenly spoke. "There are precedents in history of people other than Banshees earning a place in the Royal Courts... Though bloodline would still serve as a standard of measurement, there is never any shortage of methods in the Royal Courts."

"For example?" Gerald paused, curiosity in his eyes.

He followed the Banshee Queen's gaze toward the great bed in the center. When he turned back, his eyes collided directly with hers.

The doubt in his heart was instantly resolved.

So he stepped forward a few paces and drew his sword from its sheath.

"...Gerald?" A puzzled expression appeared on Lamaline's face.

"You were the one who tempted me first, Lamaline." Gerald gripped his familiar sword and closed his eyes, quietly sensing the presence emanating from the other side of the bed.

—An entirely unfamiliar Incantation, yet the most distinct existence in the entire space, a manifestation overflowing with vitality.

His earlier experience in the dream told him that abnormal vitality was worse than death. Like Carrion Eaters capable of being born from death, or Bloodfiends who devoured their enemies' flesh and blood, their ways of fighting on the battlefield were things Gerald had never seen before. They were very interesting.

Without question, this was the greatest challenge within the entire Courtyard.

Combined with what Lamaline had said earlier, as well as the Courtyard's purpose as a defensive measure, the answer was self-evident.

"Aren't you curious how I broke your Incantation?" He turned around and opened his eyes again. "This is a good opportunity. Breaking something means identifying weaknesses and filling gaps. And I happen to want to witness the Banshee Queen at full strength too... Lamaline? Why are you making that expression?"

The Banshee Queen herself did not know what expression she was wearing.

Nor did she care.

"Fine."

Lamaline merely spoke softly.

"Consider it practice for what comes later... don't you agree?"

Next Time You Play Cards, Remember to Destroy the Opponent's Field First

"First, understand the form of the Incantation? Got it."

Just as Lamaline had shown Gerald complete trust, he still maintained his usual sharpness and intuition, quickly noticing the blunt aggression hidden in her words. Yet he still followed her instructions without hesitation.

Either way, he had nothing to lose.

Ever since personally fighting Lamaline last time, he had spent eight out of the final ten days in prison thinking about how to counter Banshee Incantations.

From his own perspective, the best solution to Incantations was the same as what he had initially thought: avoiding them as much as possible.

The second option was to Sever them.

Though he had only caught a brief glimpse, he had still found a way to break sorcery within the sea of consciousness. More precisely, it was a forceful deconstruction derived from Originium Arts.

Interestingly, the rudimentary idea for this technique had been mentioned by one of his childhood companions during casual conversation. He had never imagined that he would truly be able to use it under those circumstances.

As stated before, Incantations relied upon concepts. An Incantation meant to silence sealed his vocal organs, while an Incantation of Blindness deprived him of his sight. At its core, this was an alteration on the level of the soul.

But the problem was that Sarkaz sorcery was ultimately just another construct of the material world. The title "sorcery" was more of a prejudiced label used to distinguish the two. A deeper examination revealed that their sorcery was directly tied to bloodlines, which was one reason the Royal Courts were so obsessed with the purity of blood.

Therefore, as long as he tried to empty his mind completely in an instant and return to that primal sea of spirit, allowing the invisible thread connected to the world to release naturally—just as he had done when he encountered the Confusion Incantation in the forest—

Then all that remained would be purity against purity—a simple collision of power. He would force the two powers rooted in Originium toward each other, make them crash together in a violent impact, until they completely collapsed into nothingness.