By Zephyria 
“Were you having fun… deceiving me all this time?”
I bit my lip and rebuked him, and Ardian muttered in response to the rebuke.
“…No. It hurts.”
His eyes, which had been downcast, stared straight at me. They were empty and hollow. When I took the strength out of the hand that was grabbing his collar, Ardian smiled faintly and cupped my cheek.
“It hurts too much, Ray.”
Suddenly, what he had said before came to mind.
-If you find out about me… you’ll definitely hate me.
-I just… I hope you’ll just look at me as I am now.
And I remembered when he first appeared in front of me.
-I’m glad to see you again like this.
‘Again’. In other words, he had come to me as Gilbert from the beginning. I couldn’t understand it at all. Gilbert, who fought and hated me to death, and Ardian, who whispered that he liked me, were existences that couldn’t coexist within me.
…No.
Did Gilbert really hate me?
Everything I believed in within me is breaking down. Even if I look at the world I looked at with dull emotions again now, will I have the same thoughts as then… I had doubts.
“I like you, Ray. From a long time ago. I have always loved you in the time you remember and the time you don’t remember.”
“…….”
“The only reason for my life is you.”
I slowly raised my eyes at the whispering voice that fell down. Ardian, who was facing me, tilted his head and kissed me. The moment I felt that I didn’t want to avoid it, an unbearable sense of frustration soared.
Why you of all people.
That’s what I thought.
I punched him in the face as the lips that had gently come together separated. I hit him so hard that it made a thud, but Ardian didn’t budge, only his head turned slightly.
He quietly cupped his red cheek. Looking at him looking dejected like a wet puppy, I felt my heart weaken for no reason. I clenched my teeth.
“What the hell is the reason why ‘Gilbert’ had to like me? Convince me. And if you spout nonsense like falling in love at first sight again, I’ll kill you on the spot, so keep that in mind.”
“…Even if I tell you, you won’t understand now. You don’t have your memories.”
Memories?
‘What are you talking about.’
It doesn’t seem like he’s talking about the memories of when I was Gilbert and Mephisto. Come to think of it, Old Dragon’s words that Gilbert was the Avatar of Chaos came to mind. I still haven’t found out everything this guy is hiding.
“But I… don’t know how. I don’t know how to get you to regain your lost memories. Still, it doesn’t matter anymore. I’ve vowed that I’ll never let you go again, no matter what you are.”
It was when Ardian, who had been murmuring gloomily, lowered his eyes with a suddenly cold gaze. I felt a presence rapidly approaching behind me. Before I could properly react to the presence, a strong drowsiness came over me, as if I had been hit with sleep Magic.
“……!”
I realized it was a mistake and tried to activate Reverse Magic Circuit, but it was too late.
Not only was it difficult for my power to break the chain of Magic, but my reaction was delayed because multiple supporting Magic spells were cast simultaneously. Unable to resist the drowsiness, I staggered and felt someone catching me as I fell backward.
Glancing back, I saw gray-white eyes looking down at me.
Ironically, it was Balkan who was supporting me.
‘Damn it.’
Could it be that all the Fiends who had been so eager to take me away were connected to this guy? Many thoughts flashed through my mind. The assumptions I had hoped were wrong were proving to be true, and I felt an indescribable sense of betrayal.
Forcing my fading eyes open, I glared at Ardian. I frowned at the look on his face, which shook me.
‘Why are you…’
Making such a pained expression? That’s what I wanted to ask. But I couldn’t. I fell into a deep slumber, succumbing to the overwhelming sleepiness.
☠
Ardian and Raymond’s whereabouts became unclear.
Where on earth did they go?
I was on edge, feeling like the Fiends of Niflheim might move at any moment, and the fact that an Imperial Prince and an Academy student who was always in the spotlight had disappeared was a troubling and bothersome incident for Cloud.
‘It’s unsettling that those two disappeared at the same time.’
Cloud sank into thought, humming deeply.
But there were no suitable clues.
Ardian, who had been in the Imperial Palace, suddenly vanished, and no one had seen Raymond since he left with Dimension Traverse, so there was no way there would be any clues.
What was even stranger was that even when Cloud searched with Sense Perception Magic at its maximum range, he couldn’t find any trace of the two. This meant that the two were not currently on Valhalla Empire soil, as they were outside the range that Cloud could detect with Sense Perception.
Cloud bit his nails unconsciously, recalling Raymond’s condition when he last saw him. Where on earth did that guy go, in such poor condition? He felt strangely anxious and worried.
‘I hope it’s not Niflheim, but…’
Just then, someone tapped Cloud on the shoulder. Only then did Cloud snap out of his thoughts, smoothing out the serious frown he had been wearing, and turned his head.
It was Sherry.
Due to the urgent situation where a battle with the Fiends could break out at any moment, all available members of the Special Mobile Unit and Black Class certificate holders had gathered at the front lines of the Empire, and Sherry was one of them.
“What are you spacing out about?”
“Ah…”
“Worrying about Student Raymond and the Prince again?”
How did she know? Cloud rolled his eyes.
It would be more accurate to say he was worried about Raymond, since he wasn’t worried about Ardian. Sherry, narrowing her eyes, shrugged as if she understood.
“You’re making it so obvious that I can’t not know.”
“…I don’t think it’s that obvious.”
“Hmm.”
Sherry reacted meaningfully. It was like she had found a target for teasing. Cloud, feeling strangely uneasy, arched an eyebrow. And because he wanted to find out what this girl was thinking, he asked.
“Why? What do you want to say?”
“No, it’s just the first time I’ve seen you care so much about someone.”
But that was unexpected.
Cloud, momentarily flustered, recalled his recent actions. He was reflecting on whether he had been like that. Sherry smiled slyly as she watched Cloud.
“Are they precious children to you?”
“…Not Ardian.”
“So Raymond is, then?”
Cloud, speechless, frowned. He felt like he had lost, but on second thought, he also felt a rebellious urge that he didn’t necessarily have to deny it.
In fact, Raymond was also a child of the Valentasia family, whom he had always respected. He wanted to protect him if possible, and he also felt a personal interest. There was no lie in that.
“…Yeah. Let’s just leave it at that.”
“I thought you’d be a little more shy, but that’s no fun.”
“What? Don’t get any weird ideas. I’m just…”
Cloud started to correct Sherry, who seemed to be thinking in a strange direction. But he only moved his lips before closing them again. Ironically, it was because he realized where his heart was heading when he tried to deny it.
‘I have feelings for that kid?’
Cloud sighed softly.
Since when had curiosity and interest started to take on such a different form?
Fortunately, or perhaps not… the depth of those feelings was still shallow. Irreversible emotions were heavy and frightening, so it was certainly fortunate to know in advance.
“You’re just what?”
Sherry tilted her head, waiting for Cloud to finish his sentence. Just as Cloud was about to answer, a sound cut into their conversation.
A sharp alarm.
It was the alarm that sounded when a critical anomaly occurred.
“……!”
Cloud and Sherry, startled, rushed out of the temporary tent to see what was happening. And the two witnessed an unbelievable sight.
“The Detection Barrier… is collapsing.”
The Barrier that surrounded the outskirts of the Empire and alerted them to the approach of Fiends was disappearing in real time. Behind Sherry’s astonished murmur, Duke Mabuir, who was there as the commanding officer, shouted.
“Who is in charge of the Barrier!”
“I-It was definitely Duke Blest!”
“Contact him immediately!”
Duke Blest was the lord of the Duchy of Earthcal, the western pillar. He was a staunch pro-Emperor figure with deep loyalty to the Imperial Family.
‘Why would he make the mistake of lifting the Detection Barrier?’
No, was it really a mistake?
Cloud felt an uneasy premonition.
And it seemed that the premonition was not going to be wrong.
“Something’s wrong! The Fiends!”A hunter who had been watching from afar with the Thousand Mile Eye magic shouted urgently.” At that shout, Cloud quickly climbed to a high place and looked into the distance with a far-sight.
“……!”
And Cloud couldn’t close his mouth.
An enormous number of Fiends, too many to count with the naked eye, were crossing into the Empire’s territory as if they had been waiting for this. Because the Detection Barrier had disappeared, they couldn’t know exactly how many Fiends were crossing over or where they were coming from.
“…They’re moving as if it’s all been planned.”
Cloud frowned and muttered, grinding his teeth.
The situation was bad from the start.