"Careful, Novia! Nero—she's turning into a dragon!"
Mellusine, who had been resting inside the spear, still waiting for Novia to summon her, felt it the moment Nero spoke. The strongest dragon sensed a vast surge of magical energy erupting from deep within the girl's body—energy that was warping the surrounding space in ways Mellusine had never witnessed before.
This wasn't simply a case of corrupted desire manifesting in draconic form. No, it was a return—no, a reversion—to some primordial origin, some ancient essence. It was as if Nero was a dragon to begin with, and her time as a "human" was just a temporary mirage granted to let her walk among mortals.
This wasn't man turning into beast. Rather, it was a beast that once reshaped itself to appear human, now shedding the disguise.
"...I understand."
Novia fully grasped what Mellusine meant: this dragon—undoubtedly—was the Beast of Sodom. Just being grazed by the crimson aura she exuded made him feel as if his mind were about to be completely devoured.
Both Mellusine and Novia sensed it simultaneously—
as though that blood-red ocean, thousands of kilometers wide, was staring directly at them.
With Mellusine's magical support and his own arcane knowledge, Novia activated a teleportation spell that surpassed human reaction speed—and in an instant, appeared before Nero.
"Don't come any closer... to me!"
Nero clutched her head with one hand and held the Primordial Flame in the other. As Novia approached, she stumbled backward in fear and confusion.
Her stance as she held the sword was laughable, nothing like the warrior she'd been on the battlefield. And yet, there was something unspeakably dangerous about her aura—a presence that evoked death. Even the Primordial Flame, in Novia's eyes, pulsed with the same ominous crimson glow.
"Nero, I don't know what you're thinking right now, but I won't abandon you. I won't let go."
Novia's voice was calm and steady.
"Hahaha... Why? Why?! What reason do you have not to abandon me?! What am I to you?! Even the throne—even that—you could find anyone to take my place! Tell me! Tell me, what worth do I have to you?! I'm worthless... I don't even deserve to live...!"
Her voice trembled, fragmented by sobs.
"I don't want to be abandoned... I... I've done nothing wrong... I won't forgive—
I'll burn it all—this world—
I'll drag you into the filth and reduce it all to ash...!"
The frenzied golden-haired girl's eyes were bloodshot. In a burst of movement, she surged forward, lifting the Primordial Flame to strike at Novia—
But at the last moment, Nero halted.
The blade slipped from her grasp and fell to the ground.
"I can't... I can't do it...
I don't want to kill you. I really don't.
Teacher, please don't abandon me... I'm useful... I can do anything... I have worth... Please, don't cast me aside. If I killed you—if I really did that—
I... I just couldn't bear it... I was wrong... please don't be angry..."
The words poured from her mouth unbidden. She wept—not soft sobs, but the kind of anguished, soul-rending cries a child lets out.
Tears, crimson as blood, streamed without end as she muttered, her voice fading to a hoarse whisper—
as if her soul had vanished.
Novia, unaffected, spoke with gentle firmness, as if to cleanse her sorrow:
"I promise you—I will never abandon you."
Yet even as he said it, she continued to cry uncontrollably, eventually collapsing to her knees, curling up like a wounded animal.
'Novia,' Mellusine spoke through thought, 'Nero's transformation—it's irreversible. What just happened? That was nothing short of a miracle. But it won't last. Soon... it'll happen again.'
'I know. Mellusine, can you help me buy a few days? Can you stabilize the magic running rampant inside her?'
Novia held the sobbing Nero tightly, stroking her back gently in comfort as he communicated telepathically.
'I can try. This place is saturated with seven ancient magical veins—it looks like they were prepared ages ago, possibly in anticipation of an event like this. If she doesn't resist, I can redirect the energy and buy you time.'
Upon hearing this, Novia gently wiped Nero's tears with his hand, caressing her cheek.
"Rest now, Nero. I don't want your burning flame to be extinguished here. Do you understand?"
His voice was the kind one might use with a frightened child—
words her true mother could never say.
He stood slowly.
"...I'll be good, I promise... So please, don't leave me..."
As Nero closed her eyes, Novia activated the spell Mellusine had prepared.
In an instant, a maelstrom of magical energy surged around them. At that very moment, from the eastern banks of the Tiber River, the Seven Hills of Rome—Quirinal, Palatine, Aventine, Capitoline, Viminal, Esquiline, and Caelian—lit up in unison.
From the Quirinal Hill, a radiant light poured forth—what could only be described as divine brilliance, left behind by Romulus Quirinus, the god-king of Rome.
This overwhelming force—an echo of the Age of Gods—unfurled across the land, converging where Nero lay. Interwoven shadows and light, shaped like flower petals, stretched across the city. Meanwhile, layers of lightning barriers formed a protective lattice around them.
All of this occurred in a blink. The citizens of Rome had no time to react before the spectacle vanished without a trace.
"...Romulus, huh."
Novia muttered to himself as he gently laid the unconscious Nero onto her bed.
A moment later, Mellusine appeared and asked:
"So, what now? Honestly, I've got no clue. I mean... how did it even come to this?"
Novia replied quietly:
"No need to dwell on the cause. Solving it is more important."
"We'll follow the prophecy in that Revelation... just as it says."
His tone remained composed—he already knew what he had to do.
"If Nero truly is fated to become the Beast who sets the world ablaze, then as her teacher, I can't turn away. I can't allow her fire to harm the innocent. And more than that... this is something that began because of me. I bear that responsibility."
"Mmhm! I'll stay with you the whole way!" Mellusine grinned. "And when this is all over, Novia, you'd better introduce me to Nero properly!"