NOVPUBThe severed threads of flame scattered through the air.
Esmeralda, now in spirit form, couldn’t look away.
Those threads had bound her soul for so long.
A terrible curse she believed she could only escape through death.
But now—they had been cut. 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Tears slid down Esmeralda’s cheek.
Even though a spirit should have no tear ducts...
What she shed was unmistakably a tear.
The tears of the soul, manifesting every sorrow and every burden she had carried.
A miraculous sight seen perhaps once in a hundred years.
[No! This can’t be!]
Quasimodo clawed desperately at the ground with both hands.
With nothing left to hold on to, he was helplessly dragged by the chains.
The flames engulfing Krolro Febius’s body surged higher.
The fire flowing through the white chains mingled with Quasimodo, blazing fiercely.
KRRRAAAAAAAAGH!!!
Quasimodo and Krolro Febius’s souls screamed in unison.
[No, not like this! I can’t end here!]
“Quasimodo. First Order of the Black Dawn Society. Cryptid born of fire.”
Ludger stood before him.
Quasimodo’s molten eyes locked on him.
[Ludger Cherish! You! This is all because of you!]
“Be reduced to ash, along with all the sins you’ve committed.”
Quasimodo’s body began to crumble.
Countless chunks of fire that made up his form dissolved and scattered into the air.
“Th-that is...”
“It’s their souls.”
Ludger answered Joanna, who couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing.
“The souls of the people of Roteng, who were bound to Quasimodo, forever burning in flames of hatred.”
And now, finally free, those souls were ascending peacefully.
Quasimodo reached out, but it was meaningless resistance.
[My power! My... power is—!]
The booming voice he once had grew quieter and weaker.
His enormous form, once like a giant, had shrunk to the size of a child.
Unlike the other souls that escaped the chains to find peace, Quasimodo could not free himself.
[I... I was going to burn the world to the ground...]
And with that final mutter, Quasimodo disappeared—along with Krolro Febius’s soul.
Flash!
The liberated souls shone brilliantly white.
The crimson flames that once swirled from Quasimodo scattered like delicate white petals.
As Joanna watched in a daze, two lights floated toward her.
“...Mom? Dad?”
Was it just a fleeting sensation?
Joanna instinctively reached out, but the spirits rode the wind skyward and vanished like fireworks against the night.
Tears ran down Joanna’s cheeks as she stared at the sky.
Pierre, too, stood speechless at the sight.
“So vivid... so beautiful.”
Though he was blind, Pierre ‘saw’ the moment clearly with his own eyes.
A fleeting miracle, permitted only in this one instant.
Pierre stared, unwilling to miss a single detail.
He would not forget.
He could not forget this beauty.
Just as the warmth of that day etched itself deep into one’s soul.
[It’s over.]
Esmeralda collapsed to her knees in her spirit form.
It was all over.
The nightmare she thought would never end... had ended.
[But still—]
What had been lost would never return.
The pain of a vanished past still lingered like an open wound.
[I’m sorry.]
Esmeralda apologized to the departing souls.
Because of her, they had all died. They had all suffered.
[I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.]
Even pouring out her heart this way couldn’t truly convey her remorse.
But it was all she could do now.
Over and over, again and again.
[Because I was weak. Because I was foolish. Because of me, everyone died.]
The miracle of earlier had exhausted itself—no more tears came.
[If only... if only I had just obeyed from the beginning...]
Her body began to darken and fade.
Quasimodo had vanished, but the long years bound to him had left lasting damage on her soul.
And for a spirit mage, harm to the soul was more grave than anything else.
Esmeralda’s fading, blackening form was proof of that.
At this rate, she would become a Forgotten Spirit—a soul that loses even the memories of its life.
But Esmeralda did not weep.
Perhaps, deep down, she believed this °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° was the fate she deserved for being so foolish.
Ludger silently watched.
With his mana depleted, he had no way to help her.
Even if he had mana, there was no known way to restore a corrupted soul.
The only way to save a truly fallen soul... was for that soul to find its own salvation.
But that wasn’t possible.
No words he said now could soothe the wounds carved deep into her spirit.
Is she a soul that cannot even pass on in peace...?
It was a bitter thought—but there was nothing more he could do for her.
Just then, one soul showed an unusual movement.
While the others floated upward to peace, one light moved against the flow, drifting toward Esmeralda.
She, too, stared blankly at the soul now right before her.
The shining white soul transformed—into the shape of a woman.
Esmeralda’s eyes widened.
[Sister...]
The nun who had led the humble chapel in Roteng.
The woman who raised her. A mother not by blood, but by love.
Now stood before her.
Esmeralda lowered her head.
She couldn’t face her.
Even now, the screams of those who had cursed her in her dreams were vivid in her mind.
And the dream always ended with the image of her mother—the nun.
Anyone else, she could bear.
But not her.
She didn’t want to hear those words from her.
Didn’t want to hear that it was all her fault.
[I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.]
Esmeralda kept her head bowed, repeating the words over and over.
The nun gazed at her quietly, then slowly reached out a hand.
When her fingers touched Esmeralda’s shoulder, the girl flinched and looked up—
—and without a word, the nun embraced her.
[Ah.]
Esmeralda’s eyes flew wide, then crumpled in sorrow as she broke into sobs.
[You went through so much, didn’t you?]
[I... I...]
[I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there for you.]
Her mother gently patted Esmeralda’s back and whispered, It’s okay.
Her soul...
The blackened hue of Esmeralda’s spirit began to change.
Like the scattering white petals around her.
The soul that had cast off everything at last regained its original purity.
Ludger watched in silence.
At this very moment—
A soul that had been falling into darkness had been saved.
Esmeralda and the nun slowly floated upward.
And joined the other souls now at peace.
[Ah.]
Just before departing, Esmeralda—her mother’s hand in hers—turned to look at Ludger.
He, too, looked back at her until the very end.
[Please take care of Selina.]
She smiled.
A pure, gentle smile that didn’t suit her old title as the fire-crazed witch.
And then—
A brilliant flash burst forth.
The ascending souls vanished like a mirage.
The scene just witnessed felt like a dream.
“Where does a soul, long lost in its wandering, go in the end?”
Ludger murmured, staring up at the empty sky.
“So very far... but surely, the end of my journey too...”
At that moment, Joanna collapsed to the ground, and Pierre gasped, finally releasing the breath he’d been holding.
“I-it’s over.”
“No. It’s not over yet.”
Ludger turned his gaze to them and said clearly,
“Joanna Lovett—no, the last survivor of Roteng.”
“...”
Joanna swallowed dryly.
She had finally realized who Ludger really was.
Ludger raised a hand and pointed outside the burning warehouse.
“Leave.”
“...What did you just say?”
“I said leave. Leave Seorn and never return. The Second Order of the Black Dawn Society—Joanna Lovett—died here today.”
Joanna stared at him, unable to believe what she was hearing.
Ludger ignored her and addressed Pierre.
“Take her with you. You can still cast basic illusion magic, right?”
“Yes. That much, I can do.”
“Then go. And don’t tell anyone what happened here.”
“...Why?”
“Because it’s over.”
Quasimodo. The tormented souls of Roteng. The two people trapped in their pasts.
It was all over now.
“Your story ends here.”
So murmuring, Ludger bent down and lifted the unconscious Selina into his arms.
Quasimodo may have vanished, but the remnants of his fire still burned—the warehouse was collapsing in flames.
Anyone remaining would be buried under its rubble.
“Thank you!”
Joanna shouted after Ludger’s retreating back.
Ludger gave no reply.
“Let’s go.”
“But... where to?”
“Where else? Home.”
At Pierre’s words, Joanna nodded.
Pierre activated his painting magic.
In the next moment, the two of them dissolved into the air, as if melting away.
* * *
“Put the fire out, quickly!”
“The flames are too strong! It’s not dying down!”
A large crowd had gathered outside the burning warehouse.
Servants with water buckets and several faculty members were dousing the fire, trying to suppress it.
Watching the scene, Casey realized that the flames had weakened compared to earlier.
‘What is this? The fire that looked like it would burst outward a moment ago... it’s weakened?’
It wasn’t just her imagination.
And at that moment, someone shouted.
“Look over there! Someone’s coming out!”
Everyone turned toward the warehouse’s front entrance.
Two figures emerged, walking through the flames.
Ludger stepped out, carrying an unconscious Selina in his arms.
“P-Professor Ludger?”
“Selina too!”
He walked toward them with the blazing inferno behind his back, each step precarious and unsteady.
Ludger was clearly covered in injuries.
And yet, there was something overwhelming about the sight that left the onlookers breathless.
The first to collect herself was Casey Selmore.
“What are you all standing around for?! Help the wounded! The rest of you, keep putting the fire out!”
Snapping out of it, the servants hurried to Ludger.
“A-Are you alright?!”
“P-Please, this way!”
With their support, Ludger headed toward the medical tents.
Once she confirmed Ludger had escaped safely, Casey released the water barrier she’d erected earlier and poured all of it over the warehouse.
“The rest of you, follow me!”
She wanted to ask Ludger immediately what had happened inside, but now wasn’t the time.
Even if the fire had weakened, there was no telling when it might flare up again—this was the moment to extinguish it fully.
With Casey taking the lead in directing the firefighting efforts, people followed her into the warehouse.
Moments later, the roaring flames began to fade.
“Are—Are you alright?! Your arm, it’s...”
“I’m fine.”
“F-Fine?!”
“A bit of rest is enough. Is there any recovery potion? Or someone who can treat me?”
Ludger revealed his half-burned right arm.
“This needs treatment quickly.”
“I-I’ll go bring someone right away!”
Watching the servant rush off, Ludger let out a long breath of relief.
It’s finally over.
Only now did he feel the strength leave his body.
At that moment, Selina stirred on the stretcher.
“Professor Ludger?”
“You’re awake?”
“Yes...”
Selina nodded dazedly.
Sitting up, she wore a pained expression.
“I had a dream.”
“A dream?”
“Yes. A very sad, agonizing dream.”
“I see.”
Ludger offered a neutral response as he stared at the now-dying flames of the warehouse.
Selina asked quietly.
“Why... did you save me?”
“......”
“I... I did something terrible. Even if it wasn’t really me... it was still me.”
“So you knew. Since when?”
So she’d realized Esmeralda’s presence.
Selina nodded without denying it.
“I met her. When I lost consciousness, in that endless darkness of the unconscious... she was waiting there.”
“What did she say?”
“She said she was sorry. That she’d caused me so much pain. And then she said... to stay strong.”
“......”
“She’s gone now, isn’t she? What was she like in the end? Was she... happy?”
“Yes. She left smiling.”
“That’s... good.”
Selina bit her lip, as if holding back something she wanted to say.
Then, mustering her courage, she asked Ludger,
“Professor Ludger... may I ask something?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you save me?”
She felt it faintly—
The things that the other ‘her’ had done in that nightmare.
She had committed a sin she could never atone for.
She had hurt others.
Even if it was done by another self, it was still her mistake.
And yet Ludger had saved her.
“Someone like me...”
“We made a promise, didn’t we?”
“...A promise?”
“That next year, we’d enjoy the festival together.”
Selina’s eyes widened in surprise.
She stared at Ludger, stunned by his unexpected answer.
Ludger turned his head to meet her gaze.
At that very moment—
BOOM!
A grand firework exploded in the sky, marking the finale of the display.
Larger, louder, more splendid than any that came before.
The final flourish of Seorn’s Festival of Magic.
“That’s why.”
“...Ah.”
The brilliant lights bathed the two of them.
Selina couldn’t respond to Ludger’s faint smile.
Her face twisted as if she were about to cry.
And indeed, tears trailed down her cheeks.
But soon, instead of crying—
She lifted the corners of her lips and smiled at Ludger.
A fragile, pitiful smile—
But because of that, it was the most beautiful smile of all.
“Yes!”
* * *
Soon the medical team arrived and carried Selina away on a stretcher.
Others fussed over Ludger too, insisting he rest, but he refused to leave until the scene was secured.
The unshakable force of his presence made it impossible to argue.
The flames were now fully suppressed, and a few students who’d heard about the fire came to sneak a peek.
In the end, the festival had finished without further incident.
Everything had come to a close.
Ludger, sitting alone a short distance away, received a telepathic transmission.
[Brother. You’ve done well. I’ll be leaving now with Seridan.]
“Yeah. You did well too, Hans.”
[We had the rats clean up any remaining evidence in a rush, just in case... but who knows.]
“That’s enough.”
As the communication ended, Ludger finally felt it—
It’s truly over now.
Tonight, I’ll sleep soundly for once.
But just then—
“Hmmm. I came to watch the festival and it seems I missed something very interesting.”
A voice spoke behind him.
A chill shot down Ludger’s spine.
His entire body bristled.
Everyone else was still focused on the aftermath of the fire. No one should be casually speaking to him now.
And yet this voice approached without anyone noticing.
And worse—it had gotten this close without being sensed.
The voice remained relaxed and amused.
“The fiery monster, completely vanishing amidst the final fireworks... hmm. That wasn’t part of the plan at all.”
Sweat ran cold down Ludger’s forehead.
He knew this voice.
—If you work with us, we’ll help you do whatever you want. So? Will you take our hand?
He’d heard it during the memory storm with Esmeralda—brief fragments of her past.
This voice.
This pressure.
There was only one person it could be.
Zero Order!
Founder of the Black Dawn Society.
Zero Order was now standing directly behind him.
“So. Would you mind explaining what exactly happened here, John Doe?”
Zero Order’s gaze pierced into Ludger’s back.
