<Author’s Notes>

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[We’re almost at the castle gates.]

The room where we fought Wormungandr, where Ikusaba Asagi died.

From there, we continued toward our objective, the castle.

Now, the gates were close.

On the way here, a few others joined up with us.

Most of them were from the later wave.

They seemed to have made it this far carrying supplies meant for the operation.

Maybe it was thanks to the advance team’s “clean-up” of the labyrinth————

They said they hardly ran into any Sacraments at all.

……Well, you could also say that only those who didn’t encounter anything managed to make it here.

Aside from the latecomers, Nyantan Kikipat was also among them.

“On my way here, I only encountered Sacraments. Perhaps it was sheer luck that I didn’t run into any Divine Servants, but I didn’t meet any allies either.”

Even though the chances of those who entered around the same time being transported nearby were high———–

Considering the sheer size of the royal capital, and the complexity of the labyrinth, maybe it was actually rare to meet up with anyone.

If so, we were lucky.

Also, the main gate wasn’t the only way into the castle.

This one was located on the south side.

There might be other groups who’d gathered at gates on the other sides.

[………………….]

The information we got from that conversation with the fake Vysis.

Kashima and Zine had told me about it.

By the way, Zine had been treated for her bleeding and was now being carried by Chester.

Apparently, Chester had personally asked to be the one to carry him.

When Zine was hoisted up……

“For once, my small stature has worked in my favor. Had it been Wright or Kaiser, carrying them would’ve been quite the ordeal.”

He joked like that.

Meanwhile, Chester looked a little conflicted and said:

“W- With all due respect, Your Majesty…… considering your current condition, I cannot bring myself to laugh……”

After that exchange, I thanked Zine.

“It’s a shame about Asagi but…… thank you, Zine, for trying to protect the two of them.”

“……Forgive me. I failed to protect Asagi.”

“Don’t worry about it. That’s not something you need to apologize for.”

Then there was the matter of the paralyzing drug Asagi had supposedly obtained in Monroi.

It seemed she had indeed made Zine and the others drink it.

Fortunately, the antidote vial in Asagi’s pocket had survived.

All three of them took the antidote, neutralizing the effects of the drug.

On the way, I also spoke with Kashima.

“Are you okay, Kashima?”

“……Unn, I’m okay. Though I don’t know if I’ll be of any use in the battles ahead.”

“Even if you end up doing nothing in the fights ahead———- Kashima, you’ve already contributed plenty.”

“……Asagi-san…… She really wanted to fight you, Mimori-kun……”

“It must have been scary.”

“Eh?”

“Thinking about what might have happened if she’d joined Vysis’ side…… honestly, it scared me.”

Hearing me say that, Kashima———–

For some reason, she looked a little happy.

“If Asagi-san had heard you say that…… she would’ve been happy too.”

“……I wish we could have competed in some other way, without risking our lives.”

“Yeah. I wish you and Asagi-san could’ve had that kind of relationship too…… it would’ve been wonderful.”

“Kashima.”

“Unn?”

“Don’t die. You have to keep the promise you made with Asagi.”

“……Unn.”

But then, Kashima added:

“First, we have to defeat Vysis.”

[……………………]

Vysis huh.

Hearing Kashima refer to that sh*tty goddess without any honorifics———

I realized just how much stronger she’d become.

It was a simple, honest feeling.

……Now then.

Sogou and the Takao sisters weren’t here.

Ars had been neutralized with <Freeze>.

Wormungandr had been defeated too.

I was curious about what had happened to the last Divine Servant, Yomibito, but———

[Looks like someone dealt with Yomibito. There shouldn’t be any Divine Servants left now.]

I relayed that to everyone.

Even if it came from a fake, getting that information out of Vysis’s mouth was a huge gain.

Was it Sogou who took them down?

Or maybe the Takao sisters?

The same question applied to Wormungandr.

Loqierra had mentioned it seemed weaker than before.

Meaning someone had already fought it.

And in that battle, Wormungandr had taken significant damage.

……If there’s anyone capable of going head-to-head with that thing, it’d have to be Sogou.

But Wormungandr had shown up at that place after fighting someone.

Which meant———–

“Whoever fought it put up a good fight, but ultimately lost.”

Thinking about it logically, that would be the conclusion.

Sogou Ayaka or the Takao sisters.

There was a real possibility that they had been taken out of action and couldn’t participate in the battle against Vysis.

It was something I had to account for.

……If possible, I didn’t want to believe they were dead.

But given the situation, I couldn’t rule it out.

The same went for Armia, whose equipment alone had been recovered by Ars, with her fate still unknown.

No, actually……

The same could be said for the other assault members and the follow-up teams who weren’t here.

How many had dropped out?

Of course, it would be best if there were zero casualties.

But in this kind of battle, hoping for zero losses was———— frankly, wishful thinking.

I had everyone stop for a moment.

[The castle’s just up ahead. Based on everything that’s happened so far, I’ll explain our next moves.]

There were several possible scenarios.

First, we’d assume the most likely one.

And based on that, we’d fit the various preparations we had made into place.

Then, in this situation————- how would Vysis act?

If she had shared vision with the fake Vysis, what kind of information had she gotten?

Ever since I was disposed of, I hadn’t seen Vysis face-to-face even once.

We hadn’t spoken.

Not even with the fake.

……And yet, somehow———–

I felt like I could predict how Vysis would move.

Maybe it wasn’t just my imagination.

Maybe Vysis———- was trying to show me something.

Even if we hadn’t met directly.

If I thought back on everything Vysis had done after summoning us into this world———-

How she had moved, what she had done———– the clues to her thinking were scattered all over.

Somehow…… it felt like that.

[……Hmph.]

Actually.

Compared to her———- It was Ikusaba Asagi whose thoughts had been harder to read.

Just like I had told her, I hadn’t been completely sure she wouldn’t betray us.

It was closer to a gut feeling than actual certainty.

Apparently, the biggest reason Asagi hadn’t turned against us was thanks to Kashima.

In that sense, I guess———–

Kashima Kobato had earned the greatest achievement in this battle.

[Touka-dono, it seems the preparations are complete.]

The follow-up group had finished putting on the Fly King masks.

Of course, they weren’t the ones I had used before.

They were the replicas Zine had prepared.

The final Fly King Suit was a unique, one-of-a-kind piece, after all.

[Now it’s just…… a matter of how far we can push it.]

We waited just a little longer for a few others to arrive———–

And then, the decision was made to storm the castle.

▽

The time had come.

After that, only a handful more from the backup group managed to regroup with us.

In the end, Ayaka Sogou and the Takao sisters never appeared.

I had hoped we could reunite with them but……

For now, it seemed Seras would be taking the lead in close-quarters combat.

[Seras, you’re still good to use your Origin Regalia, right?]

[Yes.]

[Alright…… Then———–]

I strode toward the gate.

[Let’s go.]

My comrades fell in line behind me.

[If Vysis doesn’t have any more powerful hidden pieces left…… then the only enemy standing in our way———– is that sh*tty goddess. If that’s really the case…… then without a doubt———–]

This will be……

[The final battle.]

<Author’s Notes>

Today, April 25th (Friday), Volume 13 of “I Became the Strongest With The Failure Frame【Abnormal State Skill】As I Devastated Everything” has been released.

In Volume 13 as well, I’ve performed an overall brush-up of the text along with detailed corrections (and some revisions).

Additionally, this volume includes newly written bonus content.

The main additions are:

(From p.321) A scene showing Seras’ perspective during the battle with Wormungandr, revealing what she was feeling when Touka sensed a fluctuation in her emotions.

(From p.336) A small addition where Asagi, in his final moments, briefly speaks to Seras (this is really just a few lines).

(From p.378) While waiting briefly before storming the castle, Seras (in front of the others) asks Touka to hug her.

(From p.384) A short scene showing the defense of the Sacred Eye at Azziz from Yasu’s perspective.

If I had to highlight the key points, it would be the scenes listed above.

And of course, KWKM-sama once again provided illustrations of incredible quality for this volume. There are two color illustrations of Seras (one of which features Chibierra), and one of Ikusaba Asagi. Seras with Chibierra is adorably charming, while the double-page spread of Seras in her Origin Regalia form is truly beautiful and cool. As for Asagi’s illustration, I think it might strike you differently after you’ve read the entire volume.

Speaking of amazing quality, the black-and-white illustrations are full of highlights too: Yasu, whose atmosphere has changed compared to before, Lili, who’s closing the distance with Yasushi (and she looks very beautiful), Gio and Eve looking cool in battle, Touka in his final Fly King Gear, Ayaka, Asagi, Kobato & Asagi (this particular illustration, I felt, carries a certain beauty to it), Seras (for the added scene), and Vysis———– it’s truly a rich collection of illustrations.

For this volume as well, Seras graces the cover once again. I’m truly grateful to KWKM-sama for depicting a different Seras for each volume (personally, I also think the background painting is amazing).

If the above information helps you consider purchasing the volume, I would be very happy.

As I wrote in the afterword too, it’s thanks to everyone who has supported and purchased the series that I’ve been able to come this far (thank you as well for the many messages letting me know you got the book). I know it overlaps with what I said in the afterword, but once again…… Everyone, thank you very much.

The next chapter is scheduled to be updated today around 11:00 PM.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep