"Sloth!!! You are truly slothful!! You fiend!!!"
Inside a deep cave, most of the light was swallowed by the jagged rock walls.
A gaunt, skeletal man in a tattered, dark robe roared, his eyes sunken deep in their sockets and bloodshot. He shoved his withered fingers into his mouth, bit down, and then began to chew, blood dripping from the corners of his lips, a morbid excitement on his face.
Opposite him stood a man with pale skin and an almost perfect face. A long, narrow scar running down his left cheek was the only "flaw" on this perfect face. His nose bridge was high, and a habitually compassionate smile was present on his lips.
"Truly hideous, Sloth."
Pride's voice was calm, with a hint of genuine pity. "Your appearance makes me wonder, do you truly deserve the seat of 'Sloth'?"
"Pride, you slothful wretch!!!"
Sloth seemed enraged, his sunken eyes almost bulging from their sockets.
"Why! Why! Why didn't you come at the agreed time!!! This is... utterly slothful!!!"
Amidst the roar, the air inside the cave suddenly solidified.
Crack!
The smile on Pride's face hadn't even vanished when his elegant tailcoat-clad body suddenly caved inward, twisted, and deformed. His limbs bent at impossible angles, his chest collapsed, and his spine emitted a cracking sound under the unbearable pressure.
The entire process was incredibly fast, as if a completely transparent "hand," large enough to cover his entire body, suddenly closed in from all directions, crushing him instantly.
Flesh and shattered bones did not splatter but were compressed into a blurry mixture by the invisible force, falling to the ground with a "thump."
Sloth panted, a manic grin spreading across his face.
However, the next instant, that pile of fleshy remains transformed like an illusion into doll limbs, interwoven with flesh and wooden material.
In the shadows on the other side of the cave, as air drifted in, another "person," identical to the "Pride" who had just been crushed, slowly emerged.
From the pale skin, the scar on his face, the smile, to the meticulously tailored tailcoat, everything was exactly the same.
"A decent welcoming ceremony, Sloth but a bit too noisy."
The newly appeared "Pride" gently brushed non-existent dust from his tailcoat.
"Unfortunately, in the past, perhaps you would have had a sliver of hope."
Sloth's maniacal laugh froze on his face. Before he could activate his authority again, Pride had already raised a hand, spread his five fingers, and clenched them towards Sloth.
Buzz!
Inside the cave, centered on Sloth, the air within several meters was instantly sucked out, forming an absolute vacuum sphere.
Sloth's roar abruptly stopped, the air in his lungs forcibly torn out, his eyeballs bulging even more due to the internal and external pressure difference, and the blood vessels under his skin began to distend.
He tried to wave his arms to summon the invisible hand, but the suffocation and the intense pain from the internal pressure imbalance broke his concentration.
Immediately after, Pride's fingers tapped lightly in the air repeatedly.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several highly compressed air bullets tore through the residual airflow, emitting sharp whistling sounds, accurately shooting towards Sloth's limb joints.
Sloth tried to dodge, but the delay caused by the vacuum affected his movements. The air bullets struck his knees and elbows, producing dull cracking sounds, and he staggered.
"Got you."
Pride's smile remained unchanged, and he raised his other hand.
Above Sloth's head, the air suddenly began to compress wildly. A layer of ultra-high-density air, so heavy that its distorted ripples were almost visible to the naked eye, instantly formed, and in a flash, it crashed down on Sloth like an invisible mountain
"Ugh!!!"
Sloth's spine let out a groan of unbearable strain.
The power of the invisible hand seemed to try to lift him, but it proved futile against the pure and terrifying crushing force.
The next second, his knees trembled violently, and then—
Bang!
His knees slammed onto the cold, hard rock floor of the cave, the impact creating a clear sound of shattering kneecaps. He was forcefully pressed to his knees by that irresistible, invisible weight from above, his head bowed, only able to see the tips of Pride's spotless black leather shoes.
Pride slowly walked up to him, bending slightly, his dark red eyes looking down at Sloth, who was kneeling on the ground, unable to move due to intense pain and pressure, the compassionate smile still on his face.
He said softly, his voice clearly audible in the oppressive cave, "Now, can we talk a little more 'diligently,' Sin Archbishop of Sloth?"
—
After Tsukasa left the study, the wooden door slowly closed, isolating the last trace of his presence.
Silence returned to the study, broken only by the occasional faint crackling of burning wood in the fireplace and the continuous, gradually intensifying patter of rain against the windowpane outside.
This silence lasted for a full ten minutes.
Crusch still sat behind the large desk, her back straight, her gaze fixed on the empty desktop before her, while Felix leaned against the edge of the desk, arms crossed, his cat ears twitching slightly.
Felix's voice was the first to break the stillness in the room. He turned his head to look at the thoughtful Crusch. "How much of what he said do you think is credible?"
After asking, he seemed to recall something, a flicker of doubt in his cat-like eyes, and added, "That's a monster that even the previous Sword Saint couldn't completely eradicate. Can he really do it alone?"
Crusch didn't answer immediately. She maintained the posture of crossing her hands in front of her, her knuckles lightly resting against her chin.
Silence lingered between them for a moment longer.
"In his words, I detected no hint of lying."
Crusch finally spoke, her voice steady and calm, with her usual analytical tone.
"Neither his gaze, his tone, nor his subtle body reactions showed any flaws. He genuinely believes he can do it."
She paused, her brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. "But precisely because of that, it seems even more inconceivable."
Over a decade of rigorous noble education and battlefield experience had built Crusch's firm understanding of the world's power levels.
In her perception, if there was an individual in this world capable of single-handedly confronting, or even eradicating, legendary calamities like the Three Great Mabeasts, then there was only one name.
Reinhard van Astrea.
Yet now, a man whose strength was a mystery, whose background was presumably from an opposing faction, but who could speak with such natural certainty about "the White Whale's corpse definitely appearing there," suddenly appeared before her, proposing a deal that was almost a fantasy.
"At that time, let's go see."
Felix tilted his head, his tone regaining a hint of its usual lightness. "Anyway we won't lose anything by doing so, will we?"
He took two steps closer, leaning towards Crusch, his voice lowered slightly. "Besides, Crusch-sama is actually tempted by this proposal, right? If he really manages to do it, what we gain will be more than just a feat that shocks the kingdom. It will be the friendship of an immeasurable powerhouse, and the enormous benefits that come with it."
Crusch's gaze turned to Felix, who was now very close. She stared at her knight and healer's cunning, heterochromatic eyes for a long moment.
Then, the usual stern lines on her face slowly softened, finally transforming into a clear and decisive smile.
"Mm."
She nodded, her voice carrying the steady resolve of a decision made. "Since that is the case, let's do it."