Central Government Castle — Vanguard Residence.
Inside the chamber, four chairs surround a long table, though only two of them are occupied.
Many papers are scattered across the table. On one of the occupied chairs, Johan sits with his face lowered, staring at the latest report held within his grasp.
Johan forms a faint smile as he reads the paper filled with handwritten notes across its surface.
"Hmhmm." A quiet chuckle escapes him.
On the opposite chair, Light rests his face upon a clenched fist.
His brows rise as he stares at Johan in confusion.
"I can see remarkable optimism on your face regarding this second wave. What exactly are you reading in that latest report?" he asks.
Johan shakes his head, closing both eyes with a faint smile.
He opens his eyes again and returns Light's gaze.
"Do you know how many emissaries I sent within the second wave to my chosen individual?" Johan asks in return.
"Hmm?" Light murmurs, his curiosity deepening.
"Only one. One against all, you know. Through psychology," he says halfway.
He places several papers onto the table, folds his arms, and tilts his head slightly.
"It is the only method capable of overcoming their blessings… or their advantages," Johan explains.
He lifts his face toward the ceiling, both eyes closing once more.
"And yes. It proves effective… to the point where lives have already been lost."
"Ehemn?!" Light murmurs in slight shock.
Johan lowers his head, reopening both eyes as he returns Light's stare.
"That is correct. This individual battle has already claimed one life… at the hands of the person they considered a sibling without blood relation."
Light forms a faint smile.
"I did not expect that," he says, lowering his face slightly while staring sharply at him. "To such an extent."
"Humans truly are unique, aren't they?" he adds.
"Hufttt." Johan exhales deeply.
"And yes. Fortunately for me, each of their locations remains relatively close and still upon the same continent," Johan says.
"With that, the performance will proceed far faster than anticipated," he continues.
"Stop struggling like this."
CLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNGGNNNHHH!
Albrecht advances with many aggressive steps, while Albert is forced backward even faster than before to avoid being cornered.
"Stop trying to prevent the death of your own son!"
CLAAAAAAAAAAAAANGHN!
The clash halts momentarily as Albert struggles with all his strength to stop the pressure.
"Stop this for my sake!"
However—
CLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNGGNNNHHH!
Albert is forced back again and again, even faster than before.
"I beg you—"
CLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNGGNNNHHH!
Albrecht continues pressing relentlessly—
BLUARK!
Blood bursts from his mouth. His wounds continue reopening, his breathing grows extremely heavy, yet he still forces himself forward.
"Stop—"
SCHKAAAAAAAAHMN!
Albert smashes violently against Albrecht's sword, knocking it free from his grasp. The blade is hurled high into the air, spinning far away from them, and the sudden impact also sends Albrecht flying—
GDBRAAAAAAK!
—His body crashes brutally onto the ground and collapses.
"Huft." Albert exhales deeply and heavily.
SLHAAHMN!
He points his sword toward Albrecht's fallen body.
"—For Mother!"
His mouth and both eyes remain wide open, while no breath any longer rises or falls from his chest.
The atmosphere instantly falls silent and oppressive. The battle within the library courtyard, along with the faint liveliness that previously fills the courtyard and the small city, disappears entirely without a trace or sound.
Albert continues staring deeply at his father's face.
"Rest peacefully there, Father," he says.
Behind his resentment toward the actions his father takes that shape his life, there always remains an unbearable longing—a longing for the figure he never imagines he would ever see again, even as nothing more than an intact body.
He lifts his face, staring toward the blue sky that once appears empty and colorless to him.
That longing remains restrained by the existence of someone else in this world whom he still must meet—
his mother.
A faint smile slowly forms across his face.
"Wait for me, Mother," he says. The sky that once seems hollow and colorless gradually regains meaning and color.
DUK—DAK—DUK!
Footsteps echo dozens of meters behind him.
BRAK!
Then they stop.
Albert lowers his face and closes both eyes. There is no need for him to turn around and look directly anymore—
now, he can perceive through his senses.
"EHEMPH?!"
Albert is suddenly stunned.
The presence he senses is not unfamiliar—a figure he suspects he recognizes, a figure he longs for—yet it remains nothing more than suspicion perceived through his senses alone.
His face tightens, teeth grinding harshly, both fists clenching tighter and tighter as doubt continuously overwhelms him regarding the identity of the person standing motionless behind him.
His face slowly turns backward, his gaze sharp and filled with curiosity, along with a faint trace of longing.
"EKEKH?!" He is struck with shock once again, his face freezing as his body becomes completely stiff—
A figure he knows, someone bound to him by an extremely close brotherly relationship despite sharing no blood—a figure who has already died in war.
—A suspicion that has now become reality.
"JOHAN?!?!"
—Standing silently before him.