In the office of the Headmaster's residence, everything had fallen into silence.
Astrid was burned until not even ashes remained—she vanished completely into smoke.
The black-robed magus likewise slaughtered one another within Komurasaki's Yaegasumi, ultimately leaving not a single survivor—all collapsed into pools of blood.
Even the Bahamut was shattered by Yaya with a single punch—its heart destroyed, its magical circuits crushed. No one could extract the knowledge of Panta Rhei from this automaton.
Thus, the catastrophe was resolved by Rozen, leaving only the Academy Head and others who had been taken hostage—and Loreley, still singing loudly.
Looking at the automaton equipped with Multi-Controller, Rozen felt little emotional fluctuation.
He had already guessed the reason why Astrid possessed Multi-Controller.
In this world, there were only three people capable of creating Multi-Controller.
One was Ionela, the developer of this magical circuit.
One was Rozen, who had received Ionela's gift.
The third was the first in line to the British throne, the imprisoned crown prince, Edmund.
After all, Io had once provided Multi-Controller to Edmund—there's no doubt he possessed knowledge of it.
Astrid had already said that the Order had deep ties with Britain.
In that case, the prince—being Britain's crown prince—must have made contact with the Order of the Rose, and might even be one of its members.
With that, it was no surprise the Order gained the power of Multi-Controller.
However, creating an automaton with Multi-Controller was no easy feat.
"Even a genius like Io only managed to create one automaton with Multi-Controller, Evangeline. No matter how long the Order of the Rose's history is, analyzing and reproducing Multi-Controller in a short time is nearly impossible."
Therefore, the Order likely had no second Multi-Controller.
As for the automaton before him, called Loreley, who had successfully been outfitted with the magical circuit of Multi-Controller, it was probably due to the fact that it was a Banned Doll—crafted from a rare and precious living body.
Rozen could "see" a spiritual aura in Loreley almost identical to Astrid's.
What did that mean?
"Most likely, the living body came from someone of the Seth family."
In other words, Astrid probably used her own kin as the living core to create the automaton.
"It's probably Astrid's daughter."
Rozen prepared to destroy Loreley.
But at the critical moment, a desperate voice rang out.
"Stop!"
With that cry, a figure flew in from the window.
"Olga?"
Rozen raised an eyebrow.
It was indeed Olga.
She rode in on the wind, driven by a wind spirit, landing in front of Loreley.
"Ugh..."
But she groaned in pain and immediately dropped to her knees.
Looking closely, Olga was covered in injuries, and her automaton, Thor, was nowhere to be seen.
"Don't think you can escape!"
Charl flew in after her, also riding the wind, battered and bloodied. Behind her, Sigmund had expanded to lion-like size and was also covered in wounds, dripping blood—a clear sign of a brutal battle.
It seemed Charl had won.
Sigmund held Thor's corpse in his mouth—the enemy had been purged.
"Where do you think you can still run?"
Loki also appeared, standing atop the greatsword formed from Cherubim, flying in on hot wind, gripping two people.
It was the Zekaros brothers.
The two were in miserable shape—wounded head to toe, scorched and barely breathing.
Then, Frey and Henri burst through the door, entangled with a young girl and followed by a pack of dogs.
"Let go of me! Let go of me! Don't bully Olga-onee-sama!"
Dorothy seemed defeated but mostly unhurt. Held tightly by Frey and Henri, she struggled with all her might.
"No... we can't let go!"
"Please... please behave! We're begging you!"
Frey and Henri clung tightly to Dorothy, squeezing her between them so she couldn't break free.
Everyone had gathered, and it looked like the battle was decided.
Rozen could more or less reconstruct what happened.
Originally, Charl and the others were at a disadvantage against Olga and her group—they were being overwhelmed.
But Henri's presence changed everything.
The talismans Rozen gave her had been modified, infused with a great amount of magical power, making them very potent.
Even if Henri used them haphazardly, she could disrupt enemy rhythm and throw them into confusion, drawing their attention.
Once she became their primary target, the others could counterattack.
Loki likely seized that chance to unleash his full power, first defeating the Zekaros brothers, then helping the embattled Frey to easily subdue Dorothy, and finally teaming up with Charl to go after Olga.
Despite Olga's strength, she couldn't stand against both Charl and Loki.
Thus, Thor was eliminated by Sigmund.
Olga, realizing the tide had turned, used Spirit Art to escape the battlefield and flee here.
Unfortunately, this place had already fallen too.
"...Looks like Grandmother has lost."
Olga assessed the situation instantly and spoke bitterly after a moment of silence.
Everyone surrounded her.
Olga had now become the last survivor of the Order of the Rose, yet she stubbornly stood before Loreley, no longer trying to escape.
Rozen understood.
"She's someone important to you, isn't she?"
He referred, of course, to the living body used to make Loreley.
Olga's expression twisted even more bitterly.
"She's my mother."
That answer drew silence from the group.
Yes.
The living body used to make Loreley was Astrid's daughter—Olga's mother.
Because Olga was Astrid's granddaughter.
"Grandmother was a cruel and heartless person. Even her own daughter—if she had no talent or achievements—her last value would be to become the living core of a Banned Doll and make full use of the Seth family's bloodline."
Olga sneered.
"I really don't know how such a monster was defeated by you, Arneet-kun."
"So what do you plan to do?" Rozen asked. "Take that Multi-Controller automaton back to the Order?"
At that, Olga fell silent again.
It seemed this girl didn't know what to do next.
Return to the Order?
With Golden Rose fallen, was there even a point?
In the Order of the Rose, the Roses were not comrades—factional struggles and power grabs were rampant.
For instance, Dorothy's grandmother—Black Rose, a high-ranking member equal in power to the Golden Rose—was a sworn enemy of Astrid.
In that environment, Olga's return would likely mean her doom...
You should know, within the Order of the Rose, there are plenty of people eager to take control of the five hundred thousand men under the Golden Rose's command.
Once Olga returns, there's a high chance she'll be seen as an obstacle—eliminated by the Golden Rose's enemies or even others.
So, Olga now had nowhere to go.
Just as she was lost in her confusion...
"Are you the kind of woman who gives up so easily?"
Along with that voice, someone burst in.