THE VILLAIN'S POV

Chapter 378: The Final Round (1)

Northern Region of the Empire – Ashina ..

After shocking everyone with the mention of the blue-eyed Engineer who had predicted the empire’s future years ago, Millicent stepped out of the cabin with the others, positioning themselves in the middle of the frozen plain that separated the Northern Nightmare Lands from the imperial Ashina Territory.

Millicent was intensely focused, preparing her stellar magic to strike the enemy by surprise.

”The moment I enter her domain, the enemy will sense my presence and move instantly. So instead of us charging in and starting an unnecessary battle, it would be better to open a gate that brings the elite students here.”

Once the stellar magic was activated, Beatrice wouldn’t sit idle—she would intervene immediately, likely triggering a battle that could cost most of the students their lives.

Instead, creating a portal to bring them back to the empire was the more logical approach and one Sir Alon agreed to.

”Do it.”

Millicent nodded.

To save as many elite students as possible, they had to act quickly and precisely.

Meanwhile, her husband, the Sword Saint Vendrick, was not present. He had departed with a church delegation to try and rescue the remaining imperial warriors lost somewhere near the Shizclar Bay on the Ultras border.

Standing in the heart of the frozen field, a massive magic circle flared to life beneath Millicent as her body glowed with a celestial blue hue—ready to unleash her spell.

Seeing this, Ada quickly set up Frey Starlight’s location to help Millicent pinpoint where exactly to cast the spell.

Though the red mark revealed Frey’s position, it covered a vast area—dozens of kilometers wide—which meant Millicent needed to confirm whether the rest of the elite class was near him.

With deep focus and closed eyes, Millicent prepared to break through Beatrice’s domain, while Sir Alon stood at the ready, waiting for the moment he might be forced to strike.

Then, after a few tense minutes ..

A grim expression spread across Millicent’s face. She furrowed her brows and slowly dispersed the magic, leaving everyone bewildered—they had all expected to witness the stellar spell in action.

As her SS+ aura faded, Millicent opened her eyes.

”We have a problem.”

”What is it?” Ada Starlight asked anxiously, faster than anyone else .. she had been holding onto hope for her brother’s rescue.

”Did something happen to Frey?!”

Millicent shook her head, dismissing Ada’s fears as she stepped closer.

”The issue isn’t whether he’s safe or not .. it’s something else entirely. We assumed the elite class was still together, which would’ve made bringing them back easier. But reality has shattered that assumption.”

With a heavy sigh, the Crimson Witch explained:

”Frey Starlight is alone. There’s no trace of the other elite students anywhere near him.”

Everyone stared at her in disbelief. A possibility none of them had considered suddenly stopped their thoughts.

They were sure they had the elite class’s location—but that had been a false assumption.

”We have Frey Starlight’s location .. not the students’.”

Sir Alon cursed under his breath, while Ada covered her mouth, shocked by how far off their plan had gone.

”That leaves us with very few options.”

Millicent turned her eyes to Sir Alon, placing the responsibility in his hands.

”We have two choices: either we head now to where Frey Starlight is and try to locate the others after saving him—or we wait until they regroup, then teleport them all back at once.”

The first option seemed more reasonable .. but Millicent added critical context.

”Keep in mind that the moment we enter the Ultras continent, the enemy will know we’re there. That witch’s domain covers the entire continent—she could likely kill every elite student at any moment she wishes. But she hasn’t.”

”Do you understand what that means, Sir Alon?”

Sir Alon’s expression darkened, realizing her implication.

”She’s waiting for something.”

It didn’t make sense that the elite students had survived this long with a witch like her looming nearby.

But Frey Starlight being alive meant the others might be too.

Which meant... a larger game was being orchestrated in the shadows.

To go now, risking the lives of all the students to save Frey Starligh .. Or to wait, betting everything on a young man they barely knew, hoping he’d find the others.

”Oliver Khan.”

Sir Alon called to Oliver, weighing the decision as carefully as he could.

”What kind of person is Frey Starlight?”

He had chosen to ask the Valerion family’s Grand Warden rather than anyone from the Starlight family, knowing they would likely be biased. Oliver understood that—and answered with complete honesty.

”Frey is the last Victoriad champion, and the wielder of two SS class Ignited Weapons. I’ve fought against him and alongside him. I can vouch for his strength. Despite his young age, he can go toe-to-toe with SS class fighters if he goes all out.”

Oliver paused for a second, then spoke firmly.

”He’s most definitely a fighter worth trusting.”

Sir Alon was clearly taken aback by Oliver Khan’s words .. his evaluation of the young man named Frey Starlight was unusually high.

”Two legendary swords? Is that even possible?” Millicent asked, struggling to process the information.

”It’s the truth,” Oliver replied, and both Carmen and Ada confirmed his claim with a nod.

”You all speak so highly of him... it makes me wonder what kind of person he really is,” Alon murmured, closing his eyes in deep thought.

The choice was already clear to him, yet he questioned whether it was truly the right thing to do: to walk into the enemy’s trap himself, or to bet everything on a boy who had only just turned eighteen.

Before the eyes fixed on him in silent anticipation, Sir Alon made his decision.

”We wait.”

The hunt... would continue.

...

...

...

Ultras Territory – Capital City: Caeled

Gavid Lindman and Mergo stood side by side, gazing upon the capital city of Caeled .. one of the few places still clinging to life within a continent ravaged by death on all fronts.

Though Gavid’s body was riddled with wounds, his expression bore no pain. He was calm. Serene, even.

”Tell me, Mergo... do you think we actually stood a chance against her if we fought?” he asked, his voice tinged with a hint of doubt.

Mergo replied with his usual carefree smile. ”Honestly? We would’ve lost .. miserably.”

The blunt response made Gavid laugh involuntarily.

”Even though both you and I are SS+ rank... we still couldn’t defeat a Rank-17 demon. That’s honestly depressing.”

...

The situation was indeed dire. Mergo was regarded as the strongest lord, a confirmed SS+ fighter. Gavid, who had long hidden his power, had recently reached the same rank—placing the two on equal footing.

”If she could have taken both of us down... then why the hell did she surrender so easily?” Gavid wondered aloud.

What was going on in that witch’s mind?

As the question hung in the air, Mergo recalled the agreement they had made.

”On the condition that we don’t interfere with her little ’game,’ she promised to serve the Ultras fully .. and prevent any other upper demons from descending to this world. Honestly, it sounds too good to be true.”

Neither Gavid nor Mergo could fully comprehend the enigmatic demon known as Beatrice.

The Rank-19 upper demon Astaroth, for all his terrifying power, was direct. Predictable. That made dealing with him relatively simple.

Beatrice, on the other hand, was a different beast—cunning, manipulative, and powerful enough to dominate an entire continent. She stood above Astaroth, both in intelligence and might.

Despite the victory Gavid had achieved by making the first move, the road ahead remained uncertain and treacherous.

”We’ve no choice but to keep moving forward,” Mergo said, patting Gavid on the shoulder before turning to walk away.

”Where are you going?” Gavid asked.

Instead of replying with words, Mergo took out four keys—silver bangles that gleamed with eerie light.

”Astaroth’s death cost us a major source of power... We need something to replace it—something equal or greater.”

With a twist of space, Mergo vanished, his parting words echoing across the war-torn ruins.

”It’s time for the Human Devil to return.”

The Ultras were also beginning to make their move, pouring everything they had into the battlefield. The future of Earth was now more uncertain than ever—caught between an empire fighting to remain sovereign, Ultras seeking domination, and demons who had already poisoned the world from above.

Mercy... was never part of the equation.