That young man with eyes dark and deep as the night.
At first, she thought she had found a friend with whom to share her passions.
Life had separated her from her friends in the old party.
Adventures in dungeons were just a faded memory.
She could have organized reunions, but they would have only patched up that loneliness she felt.
That emptiness.
Slowly, Strauss Wagner began to fill that void.
Slowly, the man became the center of her world, making her experience a happiness she had not felt until now.

Kill him. Kill the bishop.

But he deceived her, betrayed her with other women while courting her.
He consistently manipulated and committed immoral acts in the shadows.
The right choice would be to reject that hand.
He is evil; she serves Chand, the goddess of light.
So why can't she help but think she should take his hand?
Why can't she stop thinking about the night they spent together?
Why does she think she can only be happy with him?
Would she go so far as to renounce Chand and everything she believes in to be with this demon?
A man willing to kill cold-bloodedly those who oppose him?

"If I told you I cannot accept your wickedness?" she asks the man with his hand extended towards her.
"Would you change for me?"

"I am this, Kanna. I have a goal, a desire. Every step I take is towards that direction. I have crossed the line too far to turn back now."
The man responds sincerely with a hint of sadness, but firm in his convictions, unlike her.

A tear falls sadly down Kanna Merfal's cheek.

"Do you remember the flower I gave you? The midnight lady?" Strauss asks.

Kanna remembers the happiness she felt when she received that beautiful gift.
The Selenicereus Orchirosacea, the black flower native to dungeons that blooms only at night in the moonlight.
The flower has alchemical properties and is used in curses.
But in the language of flowers, it also signifies a love that is suffering and obsessive, a nocturnal love.

"As the Midnight Lady, our love can only bloom in darkness," he reminds her of the meaning behind the flower.
It's true.
It has been that way from the beginning. A corrupted and impure love. A professor with her student.
A fifteen-year age difference. A scandalous and immoral relationship.
But why should she give it up? What would be the alternative?
Oppose the man she loves and die at his hands?
Watch her friends die, always at the hands of Strauss?
All this just to do the right thing and obey a goddess who despises her?
Can she really stop him? Despite all her knowledge, she couldn't do anything.
But then, does she want to stop him?
Sadness in the light, or happiness in the darkness.
Is it truly a choice?

"Shut up!" Kanna rejects the received order.

She won't take orders from a goddess who despises her, just because she tried to be happy.

Strauss's hand is still extended towards her.
She is afraid.
She knows that when she takes it, everything will change.
There's no turning back.
But she wants to walk this path, she wants to try to be happy.

The woman has made a decision.

She takes the man's hand.
It's so warm.
The man smiles at her.

With his strength, he lifts her off the ground, cradling her in his arms.
His black eyes delve into her.
She cannot resist him.

He kisses her.
Finally, their love can blossom.
In the darkness.

Shrieeeaiaiaiaiaiaiieeewaiaiaiaiihk!

In her mind, Kanna can hear the angry scream of the Goddess.
But she no longer cares.

Our kiss is passionate.
A liberating kiss of love, breaking her chains.
Her tears wet my face as well.
She is warm, and I am filled with joy.

"I am so happy. You made the right choice. I love you," I say to the beautiful woman who chose to stand by my side.

"Kanna! You can't betray us like this!" Deedee shouts at her.

"I'm sorry, Deedee. He is the man I love, and you cannot win against him," the professor replies, turning towards her.

"No, Kanna! This can't be!" Guli exclaims, incredulous.

"Guli is the only choice that can make me happy and, at the same time, ensure that you all survive," Kanna confidently tells the giant.

Bicrista smiles, Rero applauds, and Luysia nods in satisfaction.

"Raqahela didn't think she could be moved by a happy ending. You never cease to amaze her," the succubus informs me telepathically.
I'm not sure if she's serious or being ironic. I don't care; right now, I am happy.

However, there is still one more thing I need to do.

The tentacle that infiltrated the ranger's bag retrieves what I was looking for and then emerges with the loot.
Quickly, it brings it to me.
Upon seeing the tentacle approaching me, Deedee turns pale.

"N-no!" she exclaims.

The tentacle has taken two phones.
One belongs to the professor; the other is the detective's.
The tentacle hands them to me.
Both are still recording.
I smile and press the stop button.

"Nice try," I devilishly grin at the detective.

"I'm sorry, professor. I'll buy you another phone," I apologize to Kanna for what I'm about to do.

"S-sure..." Kanna does not object.

The sirens are here.
Police, firefighters, ambulances.
Another problem to deal with.
This reignites a faint hope in Deedee.
But...

The earth trembles again.
Stronger.
We all fall to the ground as the building tilts.

*RUMBLEEEEE*

Thunder flashes across the city.
The air is charged with electricity.

What is happening?

"Are we all okay?" I ask my women.

"Yes, Master," Rero replies.

Bicrista and Luysia nod.

"I'm fine, Strauss," Kanna informs me.

"Look down there!" Bicrista points in amazement.

I look at the spot indicated by the silver-haired girl.

I had never seen anything like it.
I had only seen it described in books or documentaries.
Seeing it live is a whole different experience.
In the middle of the city, a gigantic rift has appeared.

Describing it in words is not simple. The rift is like the crest of a body of water, like a vertical lake.
It's enormous. It's like a giant mirror.
The mirror has a translucent red color and slightly reveals what is behind it.
Positioned in the middle of the city, it can see the city buildings as if they were distorted by mirrors in a house of horrors.
It's not possible to see what's on the other side of the portal.
Everything around where it appeared has been pulverized.
The ground is covered in ash, as if there had been a fire.
That's a portal to a dungeon!

It's a door that connects to a dungeon and has a circular shape, but it's not uniform and varies with the undulation of the surface.
It hovers slightly above the ground, rotating counterclockwise.

But suddenly with a thunder...
*ZYUUISH*
A shrill sound, but deep as if the air were being sucked in, creating a vacuum.
Another one appears.

*ZYUUISH*
And then another.

*ZYUUISH*
Yet another.
Throughout the city, explosions and alarm sounds are heard.
It's the apocalypse.

Portals are opening everywhere in Neuesdorf!
The destruction these portals bring is immense.
Everything around a rift is pulverized.

The earth keeps trembling.
The sky is torn apart by lightning.

I gesture for the women to follow me. But just as I try to move...

*ZYYYYUUUUUISH*

The vacuum of air feels like it's crushing me.
A rift appears right where we are, completely engulfing us.

I try to grab Kanna's hand without success.

"Strauss!" she screams in desperation.

I plunge into the portal.
Is this the will of the gods? Is this their last resort against me?
Or is it a natural calamity? I think back to Professor Sfanzeen's lesson.
An atypical year. Almost a year without incidents.
I laugh.
That man never gets it right.

As I plunge into the portal, I wonder what will become of me.
Just when I had found happiness.
I had managed to achieve a happy ending with Kanna.
I was succeeding in rebuilding the shattered Luysia.
I had given a purpose to Rero.
I was beginning to understand that crazy Bicrista.
Bitterly, I think that I haven't been able to gather Welze yet.

It would be a shame if it ended like this.

This won't stop me.

I will survive this too.

I want to live.

****

END OF VOLUME 1