As Liebe and Licht came out of the room:
Licht said, "Everyone, the situation has changed. There won't be a battle anymore."
Isurugi said, "Oh good, we won't have to fight."
Fate said, "It certainly is more effective."
Elizabeth said, "Yeah, it would be. Not to mention everyone in Black Rose is super strong, and we weren't exactly at their level yet."
Gaia said, "But they are all so nice to us."
Elizabeth said, "Yeah, fighting every knighthood is one thing, but facing all of them? That's a different story entirely."
Mavia said, "Well, we have bad news."
Licht said, "Yeah, it won't be a battle. It's a war. Yeah well, Liebe might have gone a bit carried away and ended up declaring war against the coalition in the worst possible way—by burning their flag inside the castle itself."
Elizabeth said, "Sorry, what was that?"
Mavia said, "Liebe declared war in the worst possible way."
Liebe said, "Our priorities may have changed, but the end goal is all the same. Till now we were fighting only if necessary and using non-lethal avoiding. But now we will face them head-on. We will face each and every one of them head-on and win."
Jewel smiled.
Alex said, "Well, when did Lilith's little man get so big?"
Heaven said, "Around 3 years ago due to puberty."
Alex said, "I didn't mean it literally."
Warner said, "Yes, we will fight. We will fight, and we will win. I won't let him down again."
As Jewel put his arm on Warner's shoulder, he said, "Nervous, kid?"
Warner said, "Oh no."
Jewel said, "Take it from an old dude, relax a bit."
Liebe said, "We are against the nation itself. We will need every resource we have."
Pride said, "I will help as much as possible. But please assign me a role where I can help the XENIZ escape."
Liebe said, "We have the Mask of Ifrit Model Chameleon and the Mask of Ifrit Mythical Model Loki, so we can cause 2 false disguises."
Horn said, "Use me. My power can make a third."
Licht said, "Horn, how are you here? Shouldn't you be acting as a prisoner in Liebe's place?"
Horn said, "I have my ways. And there is a false Liebe out there as well. So if anyone checks the record or checks solitary confinement, Liebe is in prison."
Liebe said, "We will win this war tonight."
Meanwhile, in the castle, as Lilith thought, Where did I go wrong? When did I fail? Malcor came in.
Malcor said, "Having second thoughts now, are we?"
Lilith said, "No."
As Malcor looked around the room, Malcor said, "Someone else was here too. Who was it?"
Lilith said, "Liebe."
Malcor said, "What? We put him in just today."
Lilith said, "I know. Whoever we put in was a decoy. He took Markus hostage."
Malcor said, "How can it possibly be? We had a DNA test, checked fingerprints and retina. It was him. Transformation magic can't change those."
Lilith said, "I don't know how he did it, but he was here. I couldn't do anything. He had Markus hostage."
Malcor said, "I see. So the burned flag must be—"
Lilith said, "Yes."
Malcor said, "It seems Liebe really has fallen. But I doubt anyone would believe you. I mean, someone we just arrested is here? And not to mention all your subordinates—they are far too naive, always believing Liebe will be right. Of course, I must admit I also believed in the young man. But it appears recently he really has lost it after what happened in Baledia. Taking children hostage. And when Liebe was in Baledia, I heard Team Dread Saber vanished, as well as various high-ranking members of the Baladian military. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, now would you?"
Lilith said, "No, I don't."
Malcor said, "Gelda and everyone are far too naive to believe in Liebe. Such grand ideals can't be attained by a child. You were right when you said 'no mercy.' Stay true to yourself. You are the only one who can see what he has become. As I told you, he was capable. And now he has made it to the very heart of our defences just to declare war. Imagine what he can do when he is actually out for blood."
Gelda said, "Oh my, am I intruding on your little manipulation session?"
Malcor said, "What are you saying?"
Gelda said, "Leave. You have no business here."
Malcor said, "Alright then." As he left.
Gelda said, "What is that smell? Have you been smoking again?"
Lilith said, "Maybe a pack or two."
Gelda said, "And you believe in redemption, am I right?"
Lilith said, "I have been a bit too stressed lately, so I relapsed."
Gelda said, "You stressed? All you did all day was cry, arrest Liebe, smoke, say how great Markus is, and fail at apologizing to Liebe."
Lilith said, "Why do you expect me to apologize after what he has been doing?"
Gelda said, "Simply because of what he said. He did say, 'If you knew the truth, you would be thanking him in tears.' And those words were more than enough for me to know the truth."
Lilith said, "Why? Why do you all believe so much in him? Why?"
Gelda said, "Because we were there to witness it. You were. We all witnessed how he rose to the man we all revere as our captain. While you locked yourself away. So you don't know why we believe in him."
Meanwhile, in the drains:
Liebe said, "The plan starts at night."
Elizabeth said, "When?"
Liebe said, "You will know when. Phase one starts, then phase two will be initiated. And Lichee, are you done storing mana?"
Lichee said, "Yes."
Liebe said, "Good. Because tonight you will be allowed to let loose on the capital. You can destroy all you want."
Later that night at the command center:
Gelda said, "Any unusual activity?"
Someone said, "No, ma'am."
Malcor said, "Is this our plan? Wait for them to attack even though we aren't sure if they will come or not?"
Gelda said, "He will come, alright. He is a man. I doubt he will say no to such a gracious opening."
Asten said, "We are only looking for the devils. Liebe Faust has been taken into custody. It can't be him. There are guards constantly checking in on him."
As someone said, "Ma'am, there is trouble! An enormous amount of Abyssal monsters are attacking the walls from the outside!"
Gelda said, "What?"
Someone said, "Ma'am, devils located in district 6, 3, and 5 near tunnels 1, 7, and 6."
As someone else said, "Trouble, ma'am! A giant 20m tall monster is rampaging inside the capital, district 1 near the exit tunnels 2 and 3."
Asten said, "How did a 20m tall monster come out of nowhere? Is it illusion magic?"
Someone said, "No, sir, it's real. Illusion magic can't destroy buildings."
Gelda said, "Attacking tunnel 1, 2, 3, 6, 7... so 4 and 5 are left."
Gelda said, "Close the gates. Try to hold back the monster. Deploy our forces in those locations. And Grandmaster, you should deploy. Lilith, take care of the monster. And deploy all 8 teams. Tell Eldrie, Lia, Frew, Tracy, Lara, Stal to deploy."
Gelda smiled and said, "An all-out assault to smash us on all fronts. Not a bad plan, Liebe. You really are serious."
Someone said, "Ma'am, another giant monster sighted at district 4 and 5 exit tunnels 4 and 5. Are they splitting their forces to make a last attempt to escape?"
Gelda said, "No. Liebe isn't stupid. He knows better than that. This is going to be a very long night."
As Lia and her team were ready to deploy, she thought, Why, Liebe? Why are you doing this? Lana died for you. You are supposed to be the one who inherited her will. Why are you dragging her name through the mud? If what they are saying is true, I'm sorry, Gramps. I couldn't stop Liebe from taking the wrong path.
As Vexus watched the destruction from above, he thought, Hey, Liebe. Why are you dragging Gramps's name through the mud?
As the final battle to decide the fate of the nation had truly begun.