Chapter 173: - Advent

༺ Advent ༻

“...........”

A profound silence crept into the Judgment Room.

“Uh, what happened...?”

Amidst the silence, Ferloche approached the scale with a look of disbelief.

“W-Why is it balanced...? It can’t be...”

With trembling eyes, she eventually stopped muttering and looked at Frey, who was gently smiling behind her.

“It can’t be possible, right?”

“.......”

“I-It’s impossible. It’s impossible. There must be some kind of mistake...”

Ferloche’s tone shifted subtly, as if she suspected an error.

Result of the Judgment

Judgement: The Main Heroines’ guilt was completely equalized by Frey’s love and compassion.

Result: Innocence

Simultaneously, the massive texts, emphasizing the judgment’s outcome in the air, aligned itself perfectly with the already balanced scales.

“Ah.........”

Ferloche glanced back and forth between the suspended words and the balanced scales.

– Thud

She sank helplessly on her knees.

“Y-Young Master...”

“Frey...”

The same reaction overcame the other four girls standing behind her.

“So... what will happen next?”

However, Frey posed this question with such nonchalance, almost as if he had already anticipated the outcome.

“I, I... I mean... Ugh...”

Clearly, Ferloche had yet to regain her composure.

The guilt she had nurtured over countless hours now surged forth all at once. As thoughts of the resulting judgment overwhelmed her, she struggled to rationalize it all.

“Why in the world...?”

It was because, at the same time, some questions remained unanswered.

“Why did you forgive me, Frey?”

Ferloche turned her gaze behind towards Frey, her eyes still tremulous.

“E-even after you have seen everything? My original sins and those of the girls besides me? And all the mistakes I made while attempting Retries...”

However, just before Ferloche could finish speaking...

– Slide...

“......!”

Frey gently embraced Ferloche.

“Thank you.”

Finding herself enfolded in Frey’s arms, he soon began patting her on the back; Ferloche fell into a daze.

“.......Ugh.”

Her body shook as she buried her face into his chest.

“Let’s get rid of that useless guilt and start afresh, Ferloche.”

Frey spoke as he looked down at her.

“If you fear being swept away by the endless flow of time, just confide in me, and I’ll comfort you.”

“Uh, ugh...”

“Don’t worry. As you wish, I’ll bring a real happy ending to everyone, including myself. Of course, before your soul and spirit ever get shattered.”

He whispered while continuing to pat her back.

“Something like that won’t happen again, I promise.”

As he finished speaking, Frey gently stroked Ferloche’s back, who had buried her face in his chest while shedding tears.

“So, what comes next?”

After a moment, he subtly threw a question.

“So, um...”

Ferloche, who had only just managed to regain her senses, began to speak.

“S-Since the judgment ended with ‘Innocence’... now, all that remains is to return to reality....”

“...Is that so?”

Frey showed a complicated expression in her response.

“After being in the ordeal for so long, it might feel a bit strange. However, I suppose such a level of consequence isn’t too bad.”

After mumbling that, Frey continued.

“Well then... let’s go back...”

As he quietly moved to help her stand and walk away, Ferloche halted him with a grasp.

“J-Just a moment.”

“T-There’s something I need to tell you.”

In an urgent voice, she began to speak.

“You probably have seen that on the screen... We all need to gain enlightenment for us to face the 2nd-year DLC story. “

“The 2nd-year DLC story...”

As Frey heard those words and his expression turned serious. Ferloche swallowed hard before continuing.

“That’s when the true beginning starts. There will be new stories and crises, and the situation can become much harder than it is now.”

“Hmm...”

“But we will definitely manage to find that ‘hope.’ So, please... don’t worry too much.”

As Frey nodded, Ferloche wiped away her tears and continued.

“Also, I... I’m going to take a long break from now on.”

“Break?”

Despite the girls still wearing dazed expressions, Frey just turned around and smirked at them, as if to ask them why they were taking so long to come.

“Always remember that the future is more important than the past. So, what’s done is... huh?”

Frey spoke to the girls while slowly advancing towards the exit...

[The Third Ordeal has been cleared!] [The reward for clearing...]

“.....”

When a system window appeared in front of him, his expression turned icy.

– Whoosh!

– Grumble...

The floating system window shuddered and slightly retreated as he clenched his fist.

“...Judging by your actions, it seems you’ve also witnessed this ordeal.”

Frey muttered in a cold tone as he stared at the system window.

“But what’s the point of it? You can’t directly interfere with us now, can you?”

– Groan...

“You can only use this system as a mere puppet to play pranks.”

As Frey spoke, he lightly tapped the system window with his finger, causing the half-translucent screen to shudder once more.

“I know you’re currently constrained, but... keep this in mind.”

Approaching right in front of the system window, Frey exhaled a chill air that sent shivers through the surroundings, whispering softly.

“...I’ll come to find you in no time.”

Then, he closed the system window and turned to exit the room, holding Ferloche in his arms.

Warning!

[Only one person can leave at a time!]

[The Third Ordeal was initially designed for only single-player uses, so the System asks for your understanding.]

“...Tch.”

As the system window appeared before him once again, he muttered annoyedly.

“You’re still bothersome until the end.”

Frey gently put Ferloche on the ground.

“...Then, see you in a bit.”

He smiled reassuringly at the girls behind him and headed for the exit.

.

.

.

.

.

“.........”

After Frey left through the exit, silence once again settled over the Judgement Room.

“... Uh, all of you.”

It was none other than Irina who eventually broke the long silence.

“Um... that...”

She gazed at the girls beside her with a gloomy expression.

“Do you think... We have the right to love him?”

Upon hearing her question, the expressions of the girls changed.

Frey’s desperate last plea to them before he chose extinction was to ‘love him.’

After Frey had looked at them with his affectionate gaze, the scales had finally tipped.

Yet, the guilt still lingered.

Amidst the blend where such complex information and emotions mixed, silence once again descended upon the scene.

“........”

In the silence that followed, the girls found themselves examining each other intently.

“Yawn...”

Ferloche, who had been unconscious in Frey’s arms just moments ago, now stretched and yawned as she rose from her seat.

“Ah, hello everyone!”

With all eyes on her, Ferloche greeted them with a bright smile.

“But, where is this?”

And in that very moment...

– Rumbling...!

“.......!”

The Judgement Room darkened and began to shake violently.

“Arrrghh!”

“W-What...?”

The bewildered girls scanned their surroundings anxiously.

“.....!”

Ferloche’s once cheerful expression involuntarily hardened.

“Hello, everyone...?”

“Y-You...!”

A familiar figure stepped out from the black smoke that seeped through the cracks of the crumbling Judgement Room.

“Tch, as expected, I can’t directly interfere after all...”

The dark figure raised her hand as if trying to manipulate something. But shortly after, she just frowned and muttered.

“Well...”

Soon, she began to glare at the main heroines with a cold expression.

“...Well, I’m here for a mere chat, so it doesn’t really matter anyway.”

Eclipse, the Demon God, had descended upon the Judgement Room.

You can rate/review this serieshere.