[ has failed.]

As that notification appeared in Claud’s eyes, surprised shouts filled the air. The information that the Titan had sent to him in those final moments was too much for him to parse now, and whenever he probed the seed of memory, he could sense a faint seal that prevented him from accessing anything else. It would seem that the seal would loosen bit by bit as his strength grew, but this was not the time to contemplate on that…

Claud could feel many gazes and stares fall on him, but in the first place, he had been fighting alone, over and over. It was a sound excuse, and he would suggest anyone who disputed his account to fight those things for seven days standing.

As those shouts rang out, their opponents seized the opening that had been created by these notifications, and the other intruders pounced towards the rift. In that instant, multiple presences ballooned, and Claud watched as Emperor Grandis unleashed his full might. The nine halos orbiting around him released gigantic beams of light, extinguishing multiple silhouettes at once. The two people that were helping him also fired out pillars of mana that swallowed their targets.

The others took action too, releasing huge waves of mana and other sorts of attacks in a bid to stop their fleeing targets. A few more made it in, however, and the thunderclaps that followed seemed to shake the world once more.

Watching silently, Claud tried to get up, but the fatigue that had gripped him long ago was in full play right now. Anyone looking at him wouldn’t be able to tell that he did it on purpose, but before anyone could inspect him at a closer distance, a bright flash of light engulfed everyone.

[ has been completed. Calculating result grade.]

[Results: Grade 2]

[With masterful theatrics, you cooperated with the bringers of chaos and reintroduced new variables in the cycle. What was once a colourless pool has been filled by unpredictable hues. Humanity in the future will have new paths and more paths, but the nameless hero who opened up these futures will never be remembered.]

[The power of entropy fills your veins…]

[ has been strengthened by 8 levels].

His vision cleared a moment later, along with these notifications. Making sure to act the part, the first thing Claud did was to hold his right hand gingerly, allowing his body to stoop slightly.

The assemblage of Bearers of Destiny and the strongest in the world had been formed once more, but Claud could feel everyone’s eyes on him. To be under such scrutiny was by no means pleasant, but the only thing that Claud did was to hold his tongue and maintain his silence.

After a few minutes, First Lady Cecily finally spoke. “You. Yes, you. Do you know that you caused this mission to fail?”

Claud forced himself to straighten up. There was no acting required for this — he, unlike everyone else, had been fighting alone for the past seven days. The others had substituted out at some point in time, getting their partner to stand in or something. Claud himself had seen Thirteen and Seven alternate every day, but…

“And?” Claud asked, making sure that his voice sounded somewhat distorted. “What of it?”

“Everything,” the First Lady of the Nihal Senate replied.

“I was fighting alone for all seven days,” Claud replied. “None of you saw it fit to relieve me, especially those who had three people with you. And you turn around to blame me?”

“You could have asked.”

“Put yourself in my shoes and think about whether you want to ask,” Claud replied. “Without a partner, doing things alone…who would have the face to ask for help, when everyone clearly chose not to do so in the first place?”

First Lady Cecily looked down for a moment. The chilling ice that seemed to be one of her trademark symbols seemed to darken somewhat too, and Claud glanced at the “main culprits” behind this debacle, Emperor Grandis and Supreme Saran. Both of them had two more people in their retinue, but none of them had taken a step forward to help Claud back then.

Of course, even if they did…

“You dare blame this Supreme?” Supreme Saran snarled, noticing Claud’s eyes on him. “This little ant dares to?”

“We can fight, you know,” Claud replied. “I don’t mind turning your heir into an orphan.”

The black mace that Supreme Saran wielded smashed onto the floor, head-first, and the ruler of the Lacheln continent glared daggers at Claud. Despite his fatigue, Claud simply met that gaze head-on, imagining in his head the final moments of this tyrant if he ever dared to take up his challenge.

His confidence made the others gaze at him warily, as if they were cowed by Claud’s own faith in his ability to kill or cripple Supreme Saran, and Claud cast an inquisitive look at the man himself. Saran’s eyes narrowed visibly, but before he could say anything else, Emperor Grandis cleared his throat.

“This is my mistake,” Emperor Grandis cut in. “This seat had two people with me too, but I am indubitably the strongest person present, especially with my artefacts. And yet, I did not see it fit to send aid to this man here.”

Supreme Saran snorted. “What a good show. On what basis do you think you are the strongest person present?”

“On the basis that you didn’t help someone that need it. On my side, this seat simply overlooked it,” Emperor Grandis replied. “That is all. And I suppose we cannot fault someone who has been fighting for seven days straight. Once again, this seat is apologetic for not noticing your circumstances earlier, and I do acknowledge the implausibility of someone speaking up too.”

Claud nodded once, and then returned to the background. Risti’s father was still standing behind the Emperor, and Claud had no desire to make him go ‘Hmm’. Drawing on his vast experience of staying low-key, Claud diminished his presence slowly as Supreme Saran struck the floor with his mace once more.

As the three rulers started to exchange barbs, the others began to disperse. Now that there wasn’t an enemy to get rid of, this was a good time to relax and rejuvenate after seven days of constant fighting, so Claud found a nice little spot to sit down and relax.

The idea of sleeping was becoming quite attractive to him right now, but he needed to get the basics down first. The first was a few gulps of water, which was swiftly followed by some salted meat strips that had been roasted long ago. A few biscuits completed his meal, and Claud moved on to examine his current state.

His body was aching all over, as expected, and his arms were burning up quite badly. He could feel a faint strain on them whenever he moved, but there was nothing he could do about those aches. His sword, which had been covered by mana the whole time, was thankfully intact and showed no signs of breaking.

Letting out a small breath, Claud looked up at the sky. The red sphere, which was still giving off scary vibes, was relaxing like him, and he found himself wondering what the heck was going on.

A set of footfalls crawled into his ears, and Claud turned to look at Seven and Thirteen. Both of them were looking at him with equal parts fear and…concern, probably. He couldn’t see their faces, but he could definitely feel their emotions keenly.

“What’s up?” Claud asked, looking at the two. He had half-expected Thirteen to be going after Seven for some verbal nastiness of his, but again, it would seem that Seven had a curse or something laid on him, so…

“Banter,” Thirteen replied. “Query. Well-being.”

Claud blinked as he parsed those words, and then smiled. “I’m fine. Just sore all over, really.”

“Apologies.” Thirteen lowered her head once. “Not helping.”

“Eh, it was bound to happen anyway. And you guys probably wouldn’t be able to hold up for seven days on end,” Claud replied. “My arms, though.”

He eyed the duo, who seemed a lot more tolerant of each other — it was mostly one-sided though — and then sighed. He didn’t quite understand why the two of them had decided to run over to check on him. Was it possible that they thought of him as a friend or something?

Claud looked at them, somewhat troubled, and then decided not to think too hard about it. He had decided not to kill everyone after a while, since there was no guarantee of success. These two were on his list of people to spare too, if it ever came down to it, so it wouldn’t hurt to be a bit friendlier to them.

Probably.

Pulling out another slab of meat, Claud chewed on it thoughtfully, before finding himself pining for Lily once more. It would be nice if he had her pot, but since he didn’t know how to use it, there was no point.

He nibbled on his provisions sadly, waiting for Phase 3 to start. For now, it seemed that the crisis had been averted, but…