Sofia's front paw loomed before me.
It was incredibly fast—and enormous.
Escaping now would be difficult.
Then, I have no choice but to block it!
I braced myself, gripping my sword…
Clang!
A shadow suddenly intervened.
Flowing hair that swayed in the wind.
A beauty so divine, I wondered if this was what a goddess looked like.
And eyes stronger than anyone’s.
"Sofia!?"
"What are you doing to my Fate!!!"
Out of nowhere, Sofia appeared and effortlessly blocked Snow’s strike.
But she didn’t stop there. With a furious expression, she launched a counterattack.
First, she deflected the front paw—
Then, spinning swiftly, she delivered an upward kick as if scything from below.
It was an unbelievable sight, but…
Snow was sent flying.
"No way..."
Even though Sofia was much smaller, she had just knocked back the rampaging Snow.
Was this the power of a Sword Saint?
It was reassuring…
But also a little scary.
"I don’t know who you are, but you’re all talk, aren’t you? Honestly, that thieving cat was more troublesome."
Thieving cat… Did she mean Lena?
"To end this chaos, I’ll finish this quickly."
With that, Sofia prepared to strike again—
"Sofia, wait!"
I realized she was about to deliver a finishing blow and hastily stopped her.
Sofia, who had just started moving, faltered slightly in surprise at my voice.
She stumbled to a stop and turned back to me.
"What is it, Fate?"
"Wait a second. That monster is—"
"I understand. You were going to warn me that it was something that thieving cat prepared, weren’t you?"
"Wait, Lena is involved in this?"
"Yes, it seems so. I don’t know the details, but apparently, she scattered cursed swords, disrupted the city's order, and summoned that monster. The exact method is unknown, though."
"Lena did...?"
I didn’t think she was a bad person…
But was I being too naive?
She had done something this serious.
By any normal standard, she was undeniably a villain.
"Well then, Fate, stay here. I’ll take care of this right away—wait, speaking of which, where are Aisha and Licorice?"
"Uh—"
I could worry about Lena later.
Right now, I had to do something about Snow.
"Aisha and Licorice are fine. But more importantly, you can’t kill that monster."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Because... that monster is Snow."
"That monster is... Snow?"
"It might be hard to believe, but it’s true. Snow suddenly started suffering, and before I knew it, she turned into that… We have to stop her somehow!"
"That’s... but..."
Sofia hesitated, uncertainty flickering across her face
After a brief pause, Sofia spoke, her voice filled with resolve.
"Fate, now that you’ve said it, I realize… That monster really is Snow."
"Then…!"
"I want to save her too. But… can she be saved?"
I couldn’t think of an answer to that question.
I absolutely wanted to save her.
Not just because she was Aisha’s friend—Snow had already become a part of our family.
Even if the time we spent together was short, that didn’t change anything.
But how could we save her?
How could we bring her back?
…I had no idea.
"If that monster is really Snow, then of course, I want to save her too. But if we don’t know how to do that…"
"That’s… true, but…"
"If we leave Snow in that state, how much more damage will she cause? No, she’s already caused significant destruction. We can’t just leave her like this. We have to neutralize her immediately."
"You don’t mean…"
"If knocking her unconscious is possible, I’ll do that. But if it’s not… This is my duty as a Sword Saint."
Sofia averted her gaze uncomfortably.
In other words, if subduing her wasn’t possible… she would have to kill her.
I understood.
Sofia wasn’t wrong.
If anything, I was the one being naive in this crisis.
But even so…
Even so, I…!
"However."
As I hesitated, Sofia looked straight at me.
This was the Sofia I knew.
"I am Aisha’s mother. And as her mother, I have a duty to fulfill as well."
"Sofia!"
"Fate, what will you do?"
"That’s obvious."
Thanks to Sofia, my hesitation disappeared.
I could finally make up my mind.
"I’ll bring Snow back!"
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