The freezing storm engulfed her whole.
There wasn't even enough time to scream.
The violent blizzard vanished as quickly as it had appeared, leaving behind an eerie silence that contrasted sharply with the chaos from only moments ago.
Where Hamiel had been standing...
Now stood an enormous block of crystal-clear ice.
She remained trapped inside, still clutching her trumpet in the exact same pose she'd been in a heartbeat earlier. If anyone ever wondered what Paimon would've looked like after getting frozen by Signora, this was probably the closest answer.
Lethe's voice echoed across the plaza.
Her composure vanished as she rushed toward her frozen companion.
As Lethe hurried to Hamiel's side, Knox slowly lowered his tachi. His expression remained completely unchanged.
"One down."
His crimson eyes shifted away from the frozen saint candidate before settling calmly on the remaining two members of the trio.
"Two more to go."
"...!"
Hearing those words, both Lethe and Moses instinctively stiffened. For a brief moment, it felt as though not only their bodies, but even their souls had frozen in place.
The battlefield fell into complete silence.
The four of them remained exactly where they were, as though they had all frozen in place. Well... technically, only three of them. Hamiel had simply taken that a little too literally.
No one made the first move. The suffocating tension hanging over the battlefield grew heavier with every passing second, as though the slightest movement would immediately ignite another clash.
Then, just as the silence reached its breaking point, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the distance. More than one person. Judging by the rhythm, several of them were running as fast as they could toward the battlefield.
Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!
Knox slowly shifted his gaze toward the approaching sound. Almost at the same time, Lethe and Moses turned in the same direction.
The sound of hurried footsteps continued to draw closer.
Moments later, several figures emerged from beyond the ruined stone pillars, rushing toward the battlefield.
As the group drew nearer, their appearances gradually became clearer.
Whether they wore the white robes of the Holy Federation or the armor of the Holy Knights, they all shared one striking similarity.
Every single one of them looked as though they had just survived a disaster.
Several robes had been torn open, exposing cuts and bloodstains beneath them. Their once-pristine armor was dented and covered in dirt, while dust clung stubbornly to almost every inch of their bodies.
Some struggled to keep their footing, others leaned against their companions for support, and nearly all of them breathed heavily after what had clearly been a desperate sprint.
The man leading the group abruptly slowed to a stop.
His exhausted eyes swept across the battlefield, from the frozen Hamiel to Lethe, before finally settling on Moses.
For the first time since arriving, surprise appeared on his weary face.
"...God's Hand?"
"So it really was you..."
Only then did Moses look at him.
"..."
"...You're from the Intelligence Division."
His tone remained as flat as ever, sounding less like recognition and more like a vague recollection.
Lethe glanced between the two men.
"You know them?"
"...You could say that."
Moses answered indifferently before shifting his attention toward the unconscious young man being supported by two Holy Knights. The longer he looked at him, the deeper his frown became.
"...Who's that?"
The leader instinctively followed Moses' gaze. His expression visibly stiffened before he slowly let out a weary breath, running a hand across his face to wipe away the dust and sweat clinging to it. For a few moments, he simply stood there in silence, as though carefully considering how much he should reveal.
When he finally spoke again, his voice was noticeably hoarse.
"...Before this operation began, our Intelligence Division uncovered classified information during one of our investigations." He paused briefly to catch his breath before continuing. "The investigation eventually led us to him."
His gaze slowly fell upon the unconscious young man.
"...He's Gideon's twin brother."
Neither Lethe nor Moses spoke immediately.
The revelation lingered in the air, leaving both of them staring at the unconscious youth whose face bore an unmistakable resemblance to Gideon's.
"...A twin?"
The leader gave a slow nod.
"At first, we believed he was nothing more than Gideon's hidden sibling. The deeper our investigation went, however, the clearer it became that Gideon had never been the one pulling the strings. He was merely the face of Dark Alliance's operations, the one everyone knew and the one who carried out every mission."
He drew another slow breath before looking back at the unconscious young man.
"The man lying before you was different. We believe he was the one working behind the scenes, planning their operations, gathering intelligence, and preparing contingencies long before Gideon ever stepped onto the stage. Most of the information Gideon possessed... most likely came from him."
For several seconds, the only sound filling the battlefield was the exhausted breathing of the Intelligence Division.
"Our orders changed the moment that conclusion was confirmed." The leader's shoulders visibly slumped as the adrenaline that had kept him standing slowly began to fade. "We immediately classified everything related to him. Only a handful of people within the Federation even knew he existed, and our mission became locating him before anyone else could, securing him safely, and making sure Dark Alliance never discovered that we had found him first."
He lowered his head for a brief moment before continuing.
"To maximize the chances of success, our unit deliberately departed alongside yours. We believed that if Dark Alliance dispatched one of their stronger operatives, their attention would naturally be drawn toward you..."
His voice trailed off.
He never finished the sentence, but he didn't have to. Everyone had already understood.
Lethe's expression gradually turned cold as she turned toward the exhausted leader.
"...So."
Her eyes locked onto him.
"You used us as bait?"
The question lingered heavily in the air, pressing down on every member of the Intelligence Division. Several Holy Knights instinctively lowered their heads, while others simply avoided Lethe's gaze altogether. Even the leader remained silent, his exhausted expression betraying neither denial nor justification.
"..."
The atmosphere turned suffocating.
"Heh..."
A dry laugh suddenly broke the silence, drawing everyone's attention toward its source.
One of the younger Holy Knights slowly raised his head. His armor was cracked in several places, dried blood stained the sleeve of his robe, and his breathing was still uneven from the battle.
His shoulders trembled.
Whether from exhaustion...
Or anger...
Even he no longer knew.
"So what if you were?!" he suddenly shouted, his voice echoing throughout the plaza. "Do you have any idea what happened to us out there?! We barely made it back! Half of us could hardly even stand after that fight, and every step we took carrying him here felt like we were gambling with our lives!"
His breathing became heavier as the memories he had desperately tried to suppress resurfaced all at once.
"...Hehe~♪"
His pupils contracted.
"Wow~♪ That almost worked."
The image of a pink-haired woman smiling as arrows rained down on them flashed through his mind.
"Oops~ Another miss."
His jaw clenched so hard that his teeth audibly ground together.
"She kept saying things like that while beating us into the ground!" His voice cracked with frustration. "No matter what we tried, she'd just laugh, dodge another attack, then send another one of us flying like we were children swinging wooden swords! We couldn't even make her take us seriously!"
His fists shook uncontrollably.
"We dragged ourselves all the way here after crawling out of that hell..." His bloodshot eyes met Lethe's without the slightest intention of looking away. "...and the first thing you do is question whether our decision was right?!"
"Hah?!" Lethe immediately shot back, her voice echoing across the plaza. "And whose fault is that supposed to be?!"
Golden mana rippled around her as she took a step forward, her blue eyes blazing with anger.
"You were the ones who planned this operation!"
"You were the ones who decided to keep us completely in the dark!"
"And now you're standing there blaming us because your mission turned into a disaster?!"
Her expression grew colder with every word.
"Don't make me laugh!"
The Intelligence Division instinctively stiffened.
Instead of backing down, Lethe pointed directly at the battered squad.
"You got beaten until you looked like this." Her voice cut through the silence like a blade. "Was that because of us?"
She didn't even wait for an answer.
"No."
"If a single opponent was enough to leave all of you in this state..." Her gaze slowly swept across every wounded Holy Knight before returning to the young knight who had spoken earlier. "...perhaps none of you were ever qualified for this mission in the first place."
"...!"
The words struck harder than any blade.
Several Holy Knights visibly clenched their fists.
One of them could no longer hold himself back.
"What..."
His body trembled violently.
"...What did you just say?!"
He took a furious step forward, his eyes burning with rage.
"You think this is funny?!"
"We fought until our bodies gave out just to complete this mission! We watched our comrades get thrown around like rag dolls, and you're calling us incompetent?!"
His voice grew louder with every word.
"You weren't even there! You didn't see what we were up against!"
Another Holy Knight quickly grabbed his shoulder.
"Enough!"
But the young knight violently shrugged him off.
"No! She wants to talk about incompetence?! Fine!" He jabbed a finger toward Lethe. "Go fight that monster yourself! Let's see how long you last before she starts treating you like another toy!"
Golden mana burst outward.
BOOM!
A powerful wave of holy energy swept across the plaza as Lethe's aura erupted without restraint.
"Watch your mouth."
Her voice had become frighteningly cold.
The surrounding air grew heavy, forcing several already exhausted Holy Knights to instinctively take half a step back.
For the briefest moment...
It seemed as though another battle was about to erupt.
Only one person remained completely unmoved.
Moses stood silently with his arms crossed over his chest, watching the confrontation unfold with the same indifferent expression as always.
Whether he agreed with Lethe...
Or believed the Intelligence Division had made the correct decision...
No one could tell.
He simply remained silent, showing no intention of interfering.
His silence was enough to bring the battlefield to a standstill.
The Holy Knights glared at Lethe.
She met every one of their stares without the slightest intention of backing down.
The captain silently gripped the hilt of his sword, while the already frozen Hamiel continued standing exactly where she was, faithfully fulfilling her role as the world's most dedicated ice sculpture.
No one spoke.
The suffocating atmosphere grew heavier with every passing second until a slow series of applause shattered the silence.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Every pair of eyes turned toward the source.
Standing only a short distance away was a young man with snow-white hair and crimson eyes, casually applauding as though he had just finished watching an exceptionally entertaining stage performance.
The man was none other than Knox.
"..."
The exhausted captain narrowed his eyes as he took a longer look at the young man. His gaze paused on the snow-white hair and crimson eyes before a flicker of recognition crossed his face.
"...You're..."
He hesitated for a brief moment.
"The White Devil, Knox Aznable!"