Farkonia rose and drew back the translut white curtains, revealing the view outside to the young girl.

  “This is the castle. The very a castle you saw earlier.”

  Beyond the window y a castle built from stone bricks, its age evident from the wear and tear, the marks of erosion telling tales of tless years passed.

  But the question arose—why was there a small wooden within this old castle?

  The castle itself was a relic of a medieval world, with an air of antiquity and history. In stark trast, the little bore a modern, pastoral style. It wasn’t that the cshed with the surroundings; rather, it seemed utterly ued.

  Farkonia immediately addressed the unspokeion.

  “This castle, or rather this space, was structed frments of my memories. It wasn’t what I intended, but this is what maed. So, I built a small in the courtyard of the castle.”

  The truth of her words could be glimpsed in the decor of the house. The castle exuded nothing but desotion and mencholy, while the was filled with warmth—every little or, the lighting, the furniture, all spoke of ess.

  Seeing Farkonia in her human form now, one could uand that beh her imposing and powerful draic exterior, she was simply a gentle older sister figure.

  “As for why I hurt you back then, I must apologize. I had to show you the differen our powers. Or rather, the gap between your current abilities and the ultimate power you aspire to.”

  Although the girl had ied part of the bck demon tribe’s strength, surpassing Misako in power, this was merely the beginning.

  Acc to Farkonia, Misako was at a low-tier tenth level, and the girl was only marginally stronger, h at a simir level.

  “Let me tell you about that war.”

  Farkonia slowly reted the events of the a war to the girl.

  It was known as the ‘War of the Bck Demon God and Dragons,’ a cataclysmiflict waged by the Bck Demon God, the bck demon tribes, and their allies against the entire world. Farkonia, then the Dragon King, had been recruited by the Bck Demon God.

  “Perhaps it was youthful arrogance, but for some reason, I agreed to their cause. The Bck Demon God, the Bck Demon King, and I led the bck demons, a portion of the dragons who followed me, and other creatures coerced by the Bck Demon God, into war.”

  The Bck Demon God, being a deity, possessed power far beyond that of any mortal. The Bck Demon King was the mightiest of all creatures. As for Farkonia, dragons were ily the stro of all races, and she was the most powerful among them, her strength rivaling that of the gods themselves.

  Together, they were an unstoppable foro race could stand against them, not even the gods, who desded to the mortal world in avatar form, only to be defeated.

  “But we overlooked one being—aehat transds all life, even the gods themselves. Not a god, but something beyond them. That being was known as ‘The Anomaly Witch.’”

  Farkonia would never fet the appearance of that entity, who emerged after they had vanquished the world’s st line of defense. With a mere flick of her wrist, she utterly crushed their onvincible army, as if it were nothing.

  “My dragons often speak of me as the ‘embodiment of strength and power,’ but pared to that existence, which rehe very cepts of strength and weakness meaningless, I was nothing more than a primitive creature. And as far as I know, there is more than one of them.”

  “…”

  The girl fell silent, p these tales of the past.

  In truth, the details of the war didn’t i her much. What mattered was the witch who ehe war, the very same witch Misako had mentioned as the one who bahem to this abyss.

  This meant that to break the seal aurn to the world above, she would o reach a simir level of power.

  “Ah, but you worry too much about this. After defeating us, the witch approached us with a proposition. This abyss wasn’t specifically created for us; it was merely a side effect of her initial strike, tally serving as a pce for our pehe seal will st until it deteriorates, whether through time or external interference, so it isn’t particurly strong. That said, its strength still exceeds ours.”

  “...But haven’t you been in this abyss for quite a long time? Couldn’t you have grown stronger and broken the seal yourselves?”

  In the girl’s mind, Farkonia, possessing such immense power, should be more capable of breaking the seal than herself.

  “...I o lrow stronger. My power has reached its limit, and I ot surpass it. But you, you carry the hope we see.”

  Farkonia stood up once more and bowed deeply to the girl.

  “Please, I don’t care what happens to me, but the children deserve a brighter future. They shouldn’t be trapped in this abyss forever. I want them to see the sun.”

  Though the bck demons, dragons, and other creatures here seemed to live stable lives, the fact remaihey were fio this abyss.

  Farkonia, who had once seen the world beyond, k well. Despite the cruelty and darkhat also lurked there, the world above was still beautiful, and she wished for them to witness it.

  “...I’ll try.”

  The girl didn’t fully grasp the beauty of the world. She was devoid of emotions, her sole purpose being revehe cruelty she had endured was all she remembered. Her current appearance as an ordinary girl was only because she had yet to find a clear path to her vengeance.

  However, if breaking the seal wouldn’t hinder her revenge, she could help. Besides, it was a task she o plete on her jouro vengeance.

  “Thank you… For this, I will aid you. First, let’s get you ba your feet. I’ll prepare some medie to help your body recover.”

  “No need. My body is strong enough. I use healing magic.”

  “Eh?”

  Farkonia looked puzzled, and if not for her gentle, sisterly aura, her expression might have overpped with that of Haru, the little dim-witted cat.

  “...You ’t use healing magic, you?”

  “…”

  Farkonia lowered her head, a look of shame crossing her face.

  The truth was, she only knew how to fight. Healing magic was beyond her prehension—it made her head spin just thinking about it. To pensate, she learo brew medial cos, but they were no substitute for true healing, only aiding in the body’s recovery, like a mild remedy pared to a full cure, far inferior to healing magic.

  “...Just something to restore my magic. I’ll hahe rest.”

  “Ah, that I do. Wait here!”

  Perhaps to cover her embarrassment or to quickly heal the girl, Farkonia hurried into the kit, gathering ingredients to brew the medie.