The Akabane family.
This mansion, home to all members of the Akabane clan, used to be brightly lit at night.
"Night is the time for mercenaries to be active."
Adhering to this principle, even at night, people can be seen everywhere in the Akabane family.
Sometimes a group gathers to practice puppetry.
Sometimes we sit cross-legged together to practice magic.
Sometimes they are doing their own things in the room.
Sometimes we would drink and chat.
This was the situation of the Akabane family in the past. If you look down from the sky, you will definitely see a vibrant family base, which is nothing like a mercenary family licking blood on the tip of a knife.
However, today, this mansion has completely changed its appearance.
No one in sight.
Unseen objects.
No puppet in sight.
No life in sight.
All he could see was a blazing fire.
Yes.
The entire Akabane family mansion was on fire.
Under the extremely fast flight of the familiar, Luo Zhen, who successfully rushed back to Akabane's house at nightfall without even spending a day, saw this scene.
""
Staring at the dazzling fiery red, Luo Zhen fell into a state of confusion.
Vaguely, Luo Zhen seemed to have seen the scene in Chaldea fifteen years ago.
At that time, under Leif's conspiracy, the control room was also plunged into a sea of fire, and everything in sight was like what was in front of him, all blazing flames.
As for Luo Zhen, Mashu, who was almost the same as the most important person, was in the sea of fire, crushed by concrete blocks under the ruins.
Could it be that after fifteen years, he will face the same disaster again
"Damn...!"
Without thinking, Luo Zhen jumped off the eagle's back and jumped from high altitude.
"Buzz!"
The thought power transformed from the magic power immediately acted on Luo Zhen.
After five years of training, Luo Zhen's "Thinking" has long been refined enough to wrap itself up and fly with his thoughts.
Luo Zhen squandered his magic power wantonly, controlled his body with his mind, and landed in front of the gate of Akabane's house.
"[Fire Rat Summons]!"
The red fire rat was summoned by Luo Zhen, bathed in flames, and jumped onto Luo Zhen's shoulders.
Then, Luo Zhen rushed into Akabane's house, which burned into a sea of fire.
As soon as the flames that could burn even the human body touched Luo Zhen, the fire rat fur on his shoulders could only bring a warm feeling.
With the protection of the fire rat, it is impossible for the flames to cause harm to Luo Zhen.
Luo Zhen just rushed into the fire scene unscrupulously and entered Akabane's house.
… …
In the end, Luo Zhen encountered the same scene he saw in Chaldea's control room.
That is, purgatory.
"Bang..."
With a dull sound, the wood burned into carbon fell from the ceiling and rolled to the ground.
Luo Zhen stood in front of the gate of Akabane's house and saw everything clearly.
There were burning bodies in the fire.
There were still blood stains on the ground.
The remains of the dolls were scattered all over the ground.
There are many large holes in the wall, telling Luo Zhen that extremely tragic and fierce battles have been recorded here.
Faced with all this, Luo Zhen could no longer move forward.
no way.
"You're too late, Narukami."
A familiar yet unfamiliar voice reached Luo Zhen's ears, causing Luo Zhen to slowly raise his head and look forward.
I saw a handsome man in kimono slowly walking out from the depths of the sea of fire ahead.
Familiar appearance.
Familiar eyes.
Familiar temperament.
A familiar figure.
"Brother Tian..."
It was Akabane Tenquan.
However, this figure who made Luo Zhen feel extremely familiar had unfamiliar emotions on his familiar face and eyes.
That kind of feeling is called coldness.
That kind of emotion is called sharpness.
What made Luo Zhen feel even more strange was what was following behind Chiyu Tianquan.
They were six girls in formal attires who remained untouched by the flames. They all had veils with Chinese characters written on their faces. Their faces could not be seen clearly, giving them a mysterious and dangerous feeling.
The six girls followed Akabane Tianquan and walked out of the sea of fire together.
In Akabane Tianquan's hands, he was still holding a half-dead boy.
"Lei Zhen!"
Astonishingly, it was Akabane Raijin.
"Well…"
At this time, Akabane Raijin seemed to have been severely injured. Not only was his body covered with black marks, but he was also scarred and half dead. He could only moan in pain.
Regarding this important younger brother who had always been protected in the past, Akabane Tianquan not only carried him like garbage, but also said so.
"I didn't kill him, he wasn't worth killing yet."
Akabane Tianquan spoke indifferent words and threw Akabane Lei Zhen out directly.
"Bang!"
Akabane Leizhen suddenly fell heavily in front of Luo Zhen.
"puff!"
A mouthful of blood spurted out from Akabane Raijin's mouth.
"…!"
Luo Zhen clenched his fists and did not rush forward.
"... It's a shame that you can endure it." Chiyu Tianquan seemed to be surprised, but also felt that it was true, saying: "Although you have been very smart since you were a child, I thought that in the face of all this, no matter how smart you are, Then it’s inevitable that you’ll be impulsive.”
Indeed, Luo Zhen now has the urge to deny everything in front of him.
But…
"If I continue to be impulsive, what should happen will still happen, and nothing will change. In that case, why should I be impulsive again?"
Luo Zhen seemed to have strangled all his emotions as he whispered such words.
If possible, Luo Zhen would of course want to stop everything in front of him.
But now that things have happened, Luo Zhen can only bear it and store up his emotions and impulses.
In this way, you can turn them into strength when it's time to vent.
This is what Luo Zhen does. The more crisis he faces, the more he is able to demonstrate his qualities and abilities.
"As expected of you."
Akabane Tianquan only responded like this.
The Akabane family's "Tendou" and "Prodigy" looked at each other in this sea of fire, one's eyes were full of indifference, and the other's eyes were full of passion.
Then, a short Q&A began.
"Where's father?"
"The body should be in the fire over there, with everyone in the clan."
"...You did all this?"
"yes."
"… Why?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"… Yeah?"
"Because you are only interested in your own practice, and your vision is too low to see things that are too high."
The two of them asked and answered questions very simply. One killed his own feelings, and the other froze all feelings.
Then…
"Where's Nadeshiko?"
Luo Zhen asked the last question.
In exchange for this answer.
"died."
Akabane Tianquan declared calmly.
"I have disassembled her and used it as materials to make the six dolls here."
The six girls following Akabane Tianquan were all automatons.
Moreover, it is an automaton made by Akabane Tenquan himself.
Use your own sister's body.
"… Understood."
Luo Zhen lowered his head.
A huge amount of magic power surged out from his body.
"Bah!"
The huge eagle swooped down from the sky and stretched out its sharp claws towards Akabane Tianquan's head.