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Lessing single-handedly stops both of them.

He then lifts his head find even more beams of Arts being flung toward one another.

Firelight, ice crystals, strange energy balls, frenzied flowerbeds, and upside-down fountains. Every spell ever taught in lectures is now interwoven with one another, all at once.

There is a thunderous rumble. A golem running around has knocked over a road sign.

'Ludwigs-Universität.' The shining school crest falls into a cloud of dust.

*pant*... *pant*... I'm really getting on in years. It's only been such a short distance, yet it feels as though I've climbed hundreds of steps.

I think I heard the sounds of a fight aboveground.

Are the Witch King's remains fighting with those from the university?

You're too weak. Leave the war to the others for now.

But suppose this war started because of me. I'd have no reason to hide.

You feel guilty. That's only natural.

Fate chose you over the others to live, and that is not necessarily a mercy. I know better than anyone how that feels.

Have you experienced a similar suffering?

I was gravely injured during the final battle, and spent the better part of a year in a confused state. It was Professor Fremont who spent the time and effort to cure me.

That day, when I finally woke up from my nightmare of being bound to those blood-red steps, the first thought that entered my mind was that... my classmates, friends, and even my lover were all gone.

In my despair, I climbed to the top of Sonata Spire, wishing to leap from it.

He found me up there, and I asked him: Was everything I did for Leithanien truly meaningful?

What happened next? Did you find the meaning you sought?

He gave me a number of books on the Güldenesgesatz. He told me that whenever I can't answer my own questions, history can.

So I started studying the Güldenesgesatz, how Leithanien came to be, and the direction it should go. I researched these topics for twenty years.

And... what answer did you come to?

The problems facing Leithanien have always existed, ever since the birth of the Güldenesgesatz. The cultural differences between tribes, the rift between nobles and commoners, etc. All these have existed for over a thousand years.

History has proven how difficult it is to change Leithanien, to give its citizens new lives, and to end the endless sacrifices.

You must possess both absolute power and unbreakable resolve.

Luckily, such power wasn't completely lost, and we're on our way to find it right now.

So this power you speak of is hidden somewhere on this old campus?

Ja.

And by obtaining it, we'll be able to resolve the predicament before us, eliminate the threat of the Witch King's remains, and... change my fate, all at the same time?

It was only my confidence in it that gave me the courage to go against my teacher.

Come, Franz. It's right up ahead.

Nein.

You again?

Don't follow him any further. You shouldn't go there.

Come back with me.

...So you can strap me to a table again and make me a vessel for summoning the Witch King's legacy? In your dreams.

Let the dregs of the past be buried by time, and vanish from Leithanien entirely.

They will. I'm doing what I can to ensure that happens.

But before that—

There's no 'before' anything. I've thrown away even a guarantee from the Kaiserinnen. Do you really think I'd listen to the promises of a remnant of the Witch King?

All I want is to obtain the Witch King's legacy. The people you're talking about—the ones who want to summon the Witch King—are my enemies too.

...Not this again. Is always denying your involvement really that fun for you people? Or are you fighting over who gets credit for what, all to crawl ever closer to that rotten throne?

I'm sick of all this. Can't you pick some other trophy... and stay away from me?!

Hm—The stairs beneath us are... vanishing?

This school is much older than you can imagine. Don't resist the power of history. Give up.

No—!

Lessing, not even you can fight a transforming staircase on your own. You'll only hurt yourself.

Ugh—Ah!

Are you this cruel to yourself, too?

Look, I don't know what Gerhard told you, but don't listen to him.

Rather than someone who claims to be grateful to the Witch King and wants to lock me away in a lab... I'd rather trust someone who once stood against the Witch King and saved my life.

The advent of the Genesis Horn is extremely unlikely to hurt you in any way. The old man and I triple-checked that.

The process may be painful, but not unbearable.

But you aren't me. What right do you have to make that decision for me?

I don't, but everyone has a responsibility that only they can bear.

Stop running away. If neither the Voice of Mundane nor the Urtica bloodline are things that you can change, then all you can do is accept them.

Accept them?

The ones who killed my parents and forced the Voice of Mundane into me gave me that same excuse.

The ones who almost turned me into a bomb to blow up a city—the ones who killed my brother—said nearly the same thing!

Why do you people always have these self-righteous justifications? Is that really enough for you to ignore all the screams you're creating?!

Ugh...

Verdammt... Still not letting go, even after that blow? Are you really so eager to be torn to pieces by the ancient Arts on these stairs?

I'd rather die than see you fall into their hands.

This has always been about more than just you... More than me, as well.

When Leithanien's future is at stake, any sacrifice is...

Franz, come.

We need to keep going.

This energy enveloping me... Did you save me?

I didn't do it to save you. I just can't stand people like you, obsessed with sacrificing themselves.

Franz...

...Ebenholz.

Don't walk right into a trap.

Come on, Franz.

What is this place...?

This is where the key I mentioned lies. The key capable of fundamentally changing Leithanien.

A thousand years ago, sages from the various tribes came together and signed an alliance, witnessed by an all-powerful, immortal caster.

This pact laid out the relationship between the tribes, established the Kurfürsten system, and set the foundation for Leithanian morality and appreciation of the arts.

You mean... the Güldenesgesatz.

Ja.

In the centuries that followed, the Güldenesgesatz ensured Leithanien's stability.

That is, until a century ago, when the Siracusans became the first to turn their backs on the Güldenesgesatz and seek independence from Leithanien.

It was... a bloody conflict, lasting several years. With one part of the choir gone, the Movement became destabilized, and many regions fell into chaos. Leithanien was on the brink of collapse.

In those dire circumstances, a man stepped forward.

He realized that the Güldenesgesatz had to be amended. Only by removing Siracusa from the score entirely could the reborn movement unite the nine remaining regions.

...The Witch King.

Correct, my child.

What you see before you is the most mysterious chamber of Ludwigs-Universität, where House Urtica's Arts—circulated for centuries—are gathered. And where Herkunftshorn rewrote the Güldenesgesatz.

I cannot agree to your methods.

Even if I were willing to believe you that the Genesis Horn truly exists, it is incapable of descending upon Zwillingstürme as it is now.

Hmph, this is exactly why I didn't bother notifying you people. The Gesatzswächter have heads even harder than their helmets.

Your so-called safe and controllable plan to summon the Genesis Horn has already failed.

The Witch King's remnants are hiding within the campus, and with all the relics of the Witch King stored here, they will bring forth a disaster of unprecedented scale.

And for now, there is only one efficient means of stopping them.

I refuse.

We'll evacuate all the students and university staff.

Ludwigs-Universität contains much more of value than just its students and instructors!

I've had tenure here for centuries! Can you even imagine how many precious Arts devices and enchantments there are here?

I understand, but I ask that you please prioritize Leithanien's safet—

Absolutely not. You say you understand, but that's far beyond your meager capabilities.

The old man's voice calms down.

His habitual tongue-lashing comes to a halt. As he stares at the man in front of him, the shadow of his skinny body on the wall suddenly grows very tall, like a spire covered in vines.