"Ah... don't worry... I will let you be reborn as a brand-new, pure child..."
A strikingly tall (approximately 2.3 meters) and beautiful woman floated in midair, draped in a luxurious and flowing sorceress robe. In her arms, she cradled an amber gemstone with utmost care, as if it were her child.
"The Grand Rune of the Unborn," Aoko said to Rellana. "That is the treasure the red-haired Radagon left for the Full Moon Queen."
"Sister!" Rellana stepped forward briskly, completely ignoring the crawling children at her feet—failed remnants of those in the Academy who had attempted to alter their bodies through Rennala's rebirth ritual. "It's me, Rellana! I've returned from the Lands of Shadow. Let us restore Caria together..."
Rellana's voice carried deep sincerity, so much so that even the outsiders present, like Aoko, could sense the immense emotion from this usually strict and commanding knight. However, the Full Moon Queen, who floated in midair, remained unresponsive. Her entire attention was fixated on the amber gemstone that held the Grand Rune.
"Is there an unborn child inside that amber?" Aoko quietly asked her sister, Touko. As an expert in biomechanics and souls, Aoko trusted that her sister could unravel this mystery.
"Hmm, there is a soul within it, but it is incomplete and immature," Touko frowned while staring at the Full Moon Queen. "I would need to study the amber more closely to be sure."
While Aoko and Touko were exchanging thoughts on the matter, Rellana was already contemplating how to bring her sister down from the air. The problem was that doing so without harming the Full Moon Queen was incredibly difficult, leaving her feeling bound and restrained.
The shield surrounding Rellana's sister was maintained by the failed sorcerers on the ground—those who had undergone the rebirth ritual but ended up as malformed creatures. Eliminating them would disable the shield, but the concern was that killing these children might further distress the Full Moon Queen, putting them in a dilemma.
"No other choice," Aoko said as she took out the Scarlet Staff. "I can't purify these children right now. Rellana, take this opportunity to catch the Full Moon Queen."
Rellana thought for a moment before nodding in agreement. Ignoring the children clinging to her legs, she charged forward like a tank, breaking through the blockade and positioning herself beneath her sister.
"Sleep spell!"
Aoko waved her staff in a precise motion, sending an invisible magical pulse spreading through the grand library. Except for the two Carian knights guarding the entrance, everyone in the room felt an overwhelming drowsiness, as if compelled to lie down and sleep immediately.
However, Aoko controlled the strength of the spell carefully—strong enough to put the half-paralyzed children to sleep but weak enough that those with magical resistance could withstand it.
Rellana and Touko only wavered slightly before resisting the spell's effects, while the numerous children in the library collapsed like falling wheat stalks, collectively drifting into unconsciousness.
Among those who succumbed were the individuals maintaining the golden shield around the Full Moon Queen. As the shield shattered with a resounding crack, the Full Moon Queen let out a startled gasp, falling from the air along with the amber gemstone containing the Grand Rune.
The agile twin-moon knight Rellana swiftly caught her sister, but her gaze remained locked on the amber gemstone, which had slipped from the Full Moon Queen's grasp and was plummeting towards the ground.
Just before the amber could crash, Touko silently caught it, even theatrically wiping her forehead with her sleeve, pretending to wipe away sweat.
"My child... my child... give my child back to me..."
The Full Moon Queen let out a sorrowful wail, like a helpless mother who had just lost her child. However, her towering height of over two meters and her overwhelming magical presence made it clear that she was far from powerless.
Luckily, Rellana was renowned for her physical strength. As long as her sister refrained from using magic, there was no way she could break free from Rellana's grasp.
"Can you use that sleep spell again?" Rellana asked Aoko while restraining her sister. "Holding her down like this isn't a long-term solution..."
"The Full Moon Queen's magical power is too strong," Aoko shrugged. "Putting her to sleep would be very difficult. Just let Touko return the amber to her."
Touko had no particular attachment to the amber. In the short time she had held it, she had already conducted a brief analysis, confirming the state of the soul and the Grand Rune within it. Without hesitation, she returned the amber to Rellana's sister.
The Full Moon Queen immediately clutched the amber tightly, whispering unintelligible words as if soothing a child.
The good news was that she had calmed down, allowing Rellana to breathe a sigh of relief. The bad news was that Rellana realized her sister's condition was worse than she had imagined... This was going to be a problem.
After a long ordeal, the group cleared the grand library of the children, relocating them to another room where they could be left alone. Meanwhile, the Full Moon Queen was temporarily settled in the reconfigured center of the grand library.
Aoko conjured a large sofa with magic for her to sit on, while the concerned twin-moon knight and the Aozaki sisters stood nearby. The Carian knights, to avoid any conflict, had refrained from entering.
"…Do you have any way to help my sister in her current state?" Rellana rubbed her forehead, asking the Aozaki sisters. "Is there any way to treat her... condition?"
"I can try," Touko considered. "But I'm not a professional psychiatrist, so I can only do my best."
"Then I'll leave it to you. If you need anything, I will do my best to—"
Before Rellana could finish, the inevitable happened.
Just then, Messmer, who had completed most of the Academy's purge, arrived at the top floor of the grand library. He stepped through the entrance, intending to check on Rellana's progress.
The Full Moon Queen, who had been murmuring to herself, fell silent. Her eyes locked onto the red-haired warrior, staring at him for a long time without speaking.
Rellana felt her heart skip a beat.
She knew that Radagon and Messmer were both red-haired men. Moreover, after acquiring Godrick's Grand Rune, Messmer's once-scarred and slightly deformed body had gradually been restored, making him appear even more striking and heroic.
In other words, Messmer now bore a slight resemblance to Radagon.
PS: Read atleast 125 advanced chapters at patreon.com/AbsoluteCode