-2131- Hate me?

"Crack—Crack—"

That was the sound of rubble mixed with dust falling from the ceiling, hitting the ground and rolling across it.

Within the sanctuary, the rampaging wind slashes had at some point subsided, allowing a moment of calm to settle.

However, the scene inside the sanctuary had completely changed.

Pillars had collapsed onto the floor—either shattered or broken in half.

Debris and rubble filled every corner, turning the area into a complete ruin.

The ground was covered in slash marks and craters.

The walls were riddled with gashes.

And the ceiling had split in countless places, revealing glimpses of the outside world through the cracks, allowing those inside the sanctuary to see out clearly.

The precious research facility known as the Sanctuary of Fools had now become a wreck, utterly devastated.

"It… it stopped?"

From behind a cracked wall of ice, Irori, Yaya, and Komurasaki cautiously poked their heads out, their faces still showing lingering fear.

"Whoosh!"

Magnus, led by the girls of his squad, appeared next, emerging from spatial ripples. Staring at the entire scene, he was struck speechless.

"Cough, cough, cough…!"

Through a fit of coughing, Raishin pushed aside a piece of rubble pressing down on him. Covered in dust, he coughed as he struggled up—but bore no serious injuries. A faint glow shimmered over his body.

It was the glow of Magic Defence.

It seemed that in the nick of time, Raishin had activated Magic Defence to cover himself, blocking the aftermath and preserving his life.

As for Rozen—he was naturally unharmed.

Floating in mid-air inside the sanctuary, a cloak-like black feathered haori fluttered without wind, shielding him from falling rubble. As it swayed, Rozen, holding the holy sword, appeared from within.

Kinu had protected Rozen, keeping him completely untouched.

Everyone inside the sanctuary had survived the recent wind slash unscathed.

Only the sanctuary itself was not so lucky.

Magnus gazed upon the scene, his expression heavy.

Raishin's face also shifted as if remembering his mission.

Rozen looked around, observing the sanctuary that had been reduced to rubble. One thought crossed his mind.

"Looks like that old fox of a headmaster won't be able to stay calm this time."

For the headmaster, who went to great lengths to obtain Machine Doll and built such a facility underground at the academy to research them, this destruction was a nightmare. Even the most rational person would have an emotional response.

The world powers would likely feel the same. Knowing that the Sanctuary of Fools had ended up like this, they would surely be far from pleased.

After all, what they wanted was the Machine Doll and the secrets held here—not its destruction.

Thankfully, the sanctuary was just barely still standing. It hadn't completely collapsed.

Rozen slowly descended from mid-air, landing on solid ground.

"Rozen-sama!"

"Rozen!"

"Are you okay?"

Irori, Yaya, and Komurasaki rushed to Rozen's side, surrounding him.

"I'm fine."

Rozen shook his head, signaling that he was completely unharmed.

Magnus and his team were also safe, having evacuated just in time via Spacial Transfer, avoiding any damage.

Raishin, on the other hand, though shielded by Magic Defence, looked rather battered and miserable.

He stood up shakily, still holding the Kanze Masamune in his hand.

The battle had come to a temporary halt.

The three Akabane brothers stood unharmed, forming a triangle, warily facing each other.

Whether this meant the fighting was truly over, however, was still uncertain.

Because—

"Akabane Tenzen…"

Raishin swept the rubble from his body, first glancing at Rozen and visibly relaxing upon seeing him unharmed. Then, turning toward Magnus, his eyes burned with deep hatred.

"Your vitality is certainly tenacious. In that sense, I suppose you really are a descendant of the Akabane clan."

Magnus said coldly, still wearing his ever-detached expression—as if the two before him weren't his brothers, nor even acquaintances, but complete strangers. His indifference was infuriating.

"What? You two still want to fight?"

Rozen didn't allow them to continue their reckless actions, speaking out calmly.

"If you want to continue fighting, I'll entertain you. But next time, I won't hold back to just this extent."

Rozen's words brought both Raishin and Magnus to a standstill.

Magnus looked at the crumbling sanctuary and fell silent.

Since he worked with the headmaster, this facility was naturally part of his research. He clearly wouldn't want it destroyed any further.

Raishin's face twisted with inner conflict. He also didn't want to cause more chaos here. He still had a mission: to uncover the secrets of the Machine Doll and take back anything of value. If the place was reduced to ashes, his efforts would be wasted.

Yet, Raishin couldn't bear to let this go.

His enemy was right before his eyes. He had the chance to kill him—how could he back down?

If Magnus were alone, that would be one thing. Raishin might have ignored the mission, faced punishment from the military, and attacked anyway, just to get his revenge. But Rozen's presence restrained him.

If Raishin acted again, Rozen would definitely intervene.

And there was no way Raishin could defeat Rozen and still manage to kill Magnus.

"Why…" Raishin murmured bitterly to Rozen, "Why are you always stopping me?"

"I already gave my reasons." Rozen was silent for a moment, then said expressionlessly, "I don't want to say it again. If you want to hate me, then go ahead."

Raishin clenched his fists tightly, his face full of helplessness.

He never imagined that the one person he still considered family would be the one standing in his way, preventing him from getting revenge.

But Raishin couldn't bring himself to hate Rozen.

He knew Rozen well—he was someone who acted on emotion even more than Raishin did, at least in the past.

Since Rozen claimed there was something fishy about the Akabane incident, and went so far as to stop Raishin himself, then he must have his reasons.

Raishin didn't want to let this opportunity go, but he still trusted Rozen deeply.

So, he believed Rozen's choice was probably the best one.

Unfortunately, while the mind accepted it, the heart couldn't.

That was Raishin's struggle right now.

He stood frozen in hesitation.

Magnus remained cold and silent, no longer making a move. Rozen narrowed his eyes and kept a watchful gaze on him.

And then—Rozen's expression changed suddenly. He spun around sharply, staring deep into the sanctuary.

Almost at the same time, something changed.

"Thud… thud… thud… thud…"

Faint, heavy footsteps echoed out, reaching everyone's ears.