How could you…….

Ascan couldn’t continue speaking, stunned.

It was hard to accept the scene unfolding before his eyes as reality.

He had long known that Helsion wanted to restart the human weapon experiments. That was why he had repeatedly sabotaged them from behind the scenes.

Clearly, Bill had shared the same intention. He couldn’t just stand by and watch the human weapon experiments begin again.

But why…….

Ascan despaired as he looked at the young children summoning the same flames he himself wielded.

Did those children even understand that the inextinguishable flames were like fire consuming life itself?

The images of children coughing up blood and dying without ever experiencing a proper life—even after escaping the laboratory—flashed before his eyes.

Looking at the shocked Ascan, Bill spoke as if making an excuse.

“Don’t blame me. This is all your fault. I had no choice. I had to do something to regain the Emperor’s trust.”

“So you just stood by and watched more sacrifices like us pile up—all for the Emperor’s trust?”

“Yes! So what? Without you around, I had to increase our forces however I could!”

“Bill!”

For the first time, Ascan raised his voice.

He could no longer tolerate Bill’s actions. Bill was heading down a terribly wrong path.

For a moment, Bill flinched, then his eyes gleamed with even more venom as he spoke.

“This is all for our revenge.”

“Snap out of it.”

“No. This time, I’m right—not you. I will never stop.”

The plan for world destruction had originally been conceived for revenge. But escalating it by creating even more victims through human weapon experiments made no sense.

Ascan had many things he wanted to say, but Bill clearly had no intention of listening anymore.

“Enough. Today, I’ll capture you and restore the Emperor’s trust.”

“Wait…!”

Ascan urgently tried to stop him, but Bill spoke in a deeply grim tone.

“Seize him. It’s fine if he dies.”

The moment Bill gave the order, the children who had been waiting surged forward toward Ascan and Carlton all at once.

Whoosh! Swish—!

Inextinguishable flames flew in all directions, attacking Ascan.

Knowing better than anyone the power of these flames, Ascan quickly summoned all seven flames he could create.

Instantly, the seven flames he summoned surrounded him protectively.

Crackle-crackle-zap!

Ascan’s flames clashed with the children’s summoned flames, igniting even more fiercely in midair.

When equally powered flames collided, the stronger flame remained in place while the weaker one oxidized and vanished.

Though Ascan’s flames—being from the first generation of human weapon experiments—were the largest and strongest, he was outnumbered.

Ascan could summon only seven flames, while the children could control dozens—equal to their number.

The problem wasn’t just their abilities.

Thwack!

As Ascan dodged a kick from one child, a fist flew toward him from the side as if waiting for that exact moment.

It seemed the children had trained for this scenario—their movements were perfectly synchronized.

At first he hadn’t noticed, but as he fought them up close, he realized something strange.

Every single one of them had unfocused, vacant eyes.

‘Are they under the Manoko family’s hypnosis?’

From the commander’s perspective, human weapons without self-awareness were preferable—no unnecessary guilt, absolute obedience.

Having undergone similar experiments himself as a child, Ascan instantly recognized the children’s condition.

Helsion clearly wanted to create killing machines that obeyed commands only.

‘…Damn it.’

The tip of Calspelliver nearly reached a child’s throat, but Ascan pulled back at the last moment, unable to take the life.

He simply couldn’t kill them.

He felt kinship with these second-generation children subjected to the human weapon experiments.

Nearby, Carlton noticed Ascan’s hesitation and shouted.

“Commander, if you go easy on them because they’re young, we’ll be the ones who die!”

“…I know.”

Already, only Ascan and Carlton were here—outnumbered—and if time continued to pass like this, defeat at the children’s hands was inevitable.

Reluctantly, Ascan focused his attacks on their legs, incapacitating them without taking their lives.

It was at that moment—as Ascan and Carlton fought the second-generation children—

Flicker-r-r!

Suddenly, the flames summoned by Ascan began trembling and weakening.

Sensing something wrong, Carlton quickly turned to look at Ascan.

“Commander, are you alri—!”

Carlton’s words hadn’t even finished.

“Cough, cough.”

Ascan coughed up blood. He hastily covered his mouth with one hand, but couldn’t hide the crimson blood streaming down his palm.

Even Bill, who had been watching the fight from a short distance away, stepped forward in alarm.

Until now, when children subjected to the human weapon experiments coughed up blood, it meant only one thing.

Death. Their weakened bodies could no longer withstand the power of the inextinguishable flames.

Shhhheeeek—

Seizing Ascan’s moment of weakness, the children swiftly maneuvered their flames.

He swung Calspelliver without pause, deflecting the children’s flames.

An ordinary sword wouldn’t have held up—but his was the legendary blade Calspelliver, so it was possible.

Whooooom!

Calspelliver let out a cry as if alive, its sharp blade entirely engulfed in crimson flames.

It was the activated ability of Calspelliver, modified by Tanashia Brellof.

“Commander—you just coughed up blood, didn’t you?!”

Before Carlton could fuss further, Ascan casually wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand and replied.

“I’m fine.”

Bill stared blankly at him—then suddenly burst into mad laughter.

“Hahaha! I thought you were different, but you’re not. Seeing your limits appear like this, even if you escape this place, you won’t live long.”

Ascan didn’t answer. He lacked the leisure to respond to Bill, and his mind was too crowded with tangled thoughts.

‘…Is this a side effect of the medication?’

It didn’t seem his limits had appeared without reason.

Apparently, the side effects of the medicine he’d been taking to recover his lost memories from ten years ago were only now manifesting.

He’d been warned countless times by doctors about side effects and precautions, but until now, he’d shown no symptoms. Summoning all seven flames and pushing his ability to its maximum must have triggered it.

“Huuuh.”

He tried his best to stay calm, but this unexpected variable couldn’t be denied.

The situation was already disadvantageous. Even if they subdued the second-generation children and escaped the mansion, countless enemies would chase Ascan.

If he couldn’t perform his abilities properly at a time like this, his life couldn’t be guaranteed.

In that moment, as hope of escape dwindled, the face of Tanashia Brellof—the last person he’d seen—floated into his mind.

He’d promised her he’d return soon.

He had to keep that promise.

“Carlton.”

At Ascan’s quiet call, Carlton turned his head to look.

Carlton, too, was exhausted from continuously fighting the children.

“Huh, huh—yes, Commander.”

Bill was far away, and the children were hypnotized—so if the two spoke quietly, no one could overhear.

“I’ll cover you. Escape the mansion first and call for help.”

“Who to?”

Instead of answering, Ascan removed the red ruby ring from his finger and tossed it to Carlton.

It was the very same ring he’d shown Adel Trading House when fleeing Calua Empire, prompting them to prepare a ship.

Carlton remembered the ruby ring from back then and looked shocked.

Knowing he didn’t have much time left to hold out alone, Ascan hurriedly explained.

“I prepared instructions in advance for emergencies. Take it and go to Adel Trading House.”

“What about you, Commander?”

“It’s dangerous, but there’s a method worth trying. Staying here means certain death for both of us—go while I can still hold them off.”

Carlton didn’t want to leave Ascan alone, but there was no other option.

He wished he could stay, but lacked the ability to do so—and thus couldn’t even offer to remain.

Reluctantly, Carlton nodded.

“Understood. Hold on just a little longer until I return.”

“Alright.”

Perhaps noticing their whispering, Bill asked suspiciously,

“What are you two whispering about?”

But it was already too late.

Ascan summoned the inextinguishable flames with all his remaining strength. Normally, he could summon seven—but now, only three remained.

In his current state, even maintaining three flames would be difficult—but it was enough to get Carlton out.

“Go!”

With a short shout, Ascan shielded Carlton with his flames.

Prepared in advance, Carlton immediately leapt out the window upon hearing the signal.

Belatedly realizing what was happening, Bill shouted toward the hypnotized second-generation children.

“Stop him!”

At Bill’s command, the children rushed toward Carlton—but all were blocked by Ascan’s flames and Calspelliver.

Crash-bang!

Ultimately, Carlton threw himself out the window and escaped.

Some children tried to chase after him, but Bill, calmly assessing the situation, stopped them.

“Halt. Focus on the remaining target. The one who fled is irrelevant now.”

Carlton wasn’t the priority. To regain Helsion’s trust, Bill had to either capture or kill Ascan.

It was clear Carlton had fled with some hidden intent—but if Ascan was captured before Carlton returned, it wouldn’t matter.

At Bill’s sensible judgment, Ascan frowned slightly and smiled.

“Bill, I never wanted to confirm your abilities like this.”

“Thanks to you, brother. Shall we finally end this tiresome fight?”

The moment Bill finished speaking, all attacks concentrated on Ascan.

With Carlton gone, there was no one left to help—Ascan had to bear everything alone.

He swung Calspelliver ceaselessly. Without his sword in this situation, he surely would have been captured long ago.

“Cough.”

As Ascan coughed, more blood stained his lips.

Hitting physical limits was serious enough—but something else was now the bigger problem.

Simultaneously with the medication’s side effects, the medicine’s intended effect—previously unfelt—was now manifesting.

─I’m planning to start a project: live happily and enjoy life for a long, long time. If you want, I’ll include you too.

─Our family owns many villas—want to take time off and visit one? Do you know how to swim? Ah, if not, I’ll teach you.

─I want you to be happy.

─From now on, remember what you like and what you dislike.

Memories with Tanashia Brellof from ten years ago began surfacing one by one.

His head felt like it would burst from the sudden flood of memories. His heart, reacting to them, pounded wildly.

Ssssshhheeeek!

Eventually, a flame Ascan couldn’t dodge struck his shoulder.

Sensing he couldn’t avoid it, he tried to steel his body—but even that failed to respond.

His clothes burned away under the inextinguishable flame, revealing the blutanium armor underneath.

Had it not been the armor Tanashia Brellof gave him, he would have suffered severe burns.

“Hah… hah…”

Uncharacteristically, Ascan breathed heavily.

Being attacked by the second-generation children was dangerous enough—but his inability to fully unleash his powers was the greater issue.

Bill looked at Ascan with a disappointed expression and said,

“I didn’t expect capturing you would be this easy.”

Wiping sweat from his face, Ascan quietly retorted,

“Oh? Then I should live up to your expectations.”

He hadn’t chosen this mansion as the rendezvous point solely because of memories with Bill.

Just as there had been a secret passage leading to the artificial pond when he’d shown Tanashia Brellof the treasure vault, the mansion was equipped with various hidden mechanisms.

Though dangerous even for Ascan, he knew he couldn’t hold out much longer like this.

Bill hadn’t noticed, but Ascan was subtly moving—pretending to dodge attacks—toward the desk inside the study.

Because beneath the desk was a device capable of collapsing the entire mansion.

Originally designed to stop intruders or erase evidence within the mansion, he never imagined he’d use it against Bill.

Bill found it suspicious that Ascan, in such a disadvantaged position, showed no sign of discouragement.

“Brother, what are you doi—!”

Bill realized too late—Ascan had already reached the desk. He had resolved to do this since sending Carlton away first, so he didn’t hesitate.

Crack!

Ascan kicked a strangely jointed section of the floor, activating the device. Then, he slightly curled the corner of his mouth and said,

“Too late.”

Boom-boom-boom-boom!

The sound of the mansion collapsing echoed from all directions. Simultaneously, the floor cracked like parched earth, and the ceiling and walls began shaking.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

No matter how skilled the second-generation children were, they were helpless inside a collapsing building.

Bill and the children tried to leap out the windows, but the floor beneath their feet vanished instantly, sending them plummeting downward.

Ascan’s situation was no different.

Though his actions had been carefully calculated, they were far from entirely safe.

Thud!

The remains of the massive building crashed down upon Ascan. By cruel chance, his head struck hard—crimson blood flowed from the back of his skull.

As Ascan slowly lost consciousness, the image of young Tanashia Brellof appeared in his mind.

─I’ll teach you lots of good things from now on. I told you I’d show you what enjoying life really means.

It was the first night he’d looked up at the starry sky together with Tanashia Brellof.

And she smiled—more beautifully than the night sky itself—and said,

─From now on, let’s have fun together.

As if waiting for this moment, fragments of the past invaded Ascan’s thoughts—when suddenly, Tanashia Brellof’s voice, like a scream, rang out from somewhere.

“Ascaaaan!”

But he couldn’t open his eyes—or answer.

Soon after, his vision faded entirely to black.