After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

Reunion after a long separation – a beautiful phrase.

Every resident of the Southern Principality knew that their country had once again fallen into a state of nominal existence. Parliament was paralyzed, the prime minister and general had vanished, and a young man claiming to be a great sage had casually purged the lords, nuns, magicians, and dragons, who had successively seized their lands.

Fewer and fewer familiar faces remain around me; the lingering stench of blood fills my nostrils; a silent fear grips my life, heralding the arrival of a new era.

Valesha, hanging on the railing, clapped incessantly, letting the battle below destroy the entire city.

A giant dragon snorted, raising a cloud of dust as it flew to a quiet spot outside the city to rest. The passing magicians, however, remained indifferent, continuing to use their magic to search for tobacco and alcohol goods hidden beneath the ruins.

"How about we take a gamble? Who do you think will win?"

Valesa spoke with great interest, turning her head to look at Annie, who was sitting on the balcony drinking tea.

The shackles of her restraints clanked against each other. Annie, her expression calm, savored the flavor of her southern black tea before replying, "Why haven't you begun your grand schemes yet? Or are you also planning to feed me to Oswald?"

"What grand ambitions? The Northern Army is too good at fighting. Perhaps we shouldn't have given up on Maria in the first place, but her performance disappointed the goddess greatly. She can't compare to you and Lilith. In the end, there are people who love you both."

Valesha's bizarre logic made Annie frown. What did that mean? That bastard Thorne was also after me?

"Oh, looks like there's no point in betting anymore, the female lead has been changed."

With a big smile, Valesha cheered loudly, and the clock tower not far away collapsed with a crash.

In the empty council hall, Diana, covered in blood, had been dragged in by Lilith by her hair, leaving a long trail of blood on the smooth wooden floor.

Diana was barely breathing, but since everyone was an embodiment of the curse, no one cared about her safety.

Thorne, who wanted nothing more than to stick to Lilith, finally showed some human-like agility. His lips were always turned up in a smile, and he followed Lilith wherever she went.

Perhaps sulking, Lilith quickly walked to the seat next to Annie after leaving Diana. The two gave each other a high five, then talked quietly, waiting for the meeting to begin.

"You know about Nicole's situation..."

"We should be happy for her; no matter what, she's at peace."

Annie lowered her eyes and then looked up again, a hint of relief on her face. If there was any regret, it was that the two of them couldn't see each other properly one last time.

Whether the goddess achieved her goal or the Duke of Oswald stood firm to the end, none of them had the option of living; death was the easiest punishment.

"Yes, now that we're all together again, it's time to bring this journey to a close." Lilith said with emotion, gently squeezing the back of Annie's hand.

"Now we finally look like a real team."

Not wanting to be ignored, Thorne leaned closer, only to be met with a glare from Annie, before shrinking back with an embarrassed grin. But he couldn't help smiling; this was the happiest day he'd had in years.

I've never felt happy being a hero. (JPG)

"You guys are still as boisterous as ever, huh? Full of youth and energy."

The Great Sage Baltazar and the Archmage Valesa entered the council hall together, looking at the three sitting together with kind smiles.

The three people didn't respond, only casting cold glances at them.

"Don't look at me like that. One day, you will understand the goddess's good intentions."

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The Great Sage casually found a seat and sat down. Valesa used her staff to lift the unconscious Diana and placed her in an open space. She then crossed her legs and half-reclined on the seat, completely oblivious to the silence in the air.

Time passed second by second, and Thorne didn't know what they were waiting for; he could only see two hands silently clasped together.

Snapped!

A sharp crack seemed to snap a string in his brain, startling Thorne, who was on edge. He immediately turned around to check on Lilith and found that she was also clenching her fingers.

This action confirmed to Thorne that he wasn't the only one who heard the cracking sound, but when he looked around, it seemed as if nothing had happened.

Until his gaze settled on the great sage's extremely delighted expression.

"Children, the gods will return to the human world; the world's glorious moment has arrived!"

The excited words echoed in the empty hall. Annie frowned, feeling that these people were more like lunatics than she was.

Then the Great Sage raised his arms and shouted, "Let's go, members of the Hero Squad! You should go and quell this disaster and save our world!"

A madman, an absolute madman!

With her bound hands pushing up her glasses, Annie, walking along the forest path, felt extremely annoyed and frustrated by the noisy chirping of insects nearby.

A mad sage and a great magician disguised as a girl went to great lengths to gather them together, only to reorganize the hero team.

Crazy... Look at this group of people!

Thorne, a twisted hero clearly driven to neurasthenia by torture, who drools even after being cured; Diana, a cursed princess who destroyed her own homeland and whose reputation is worse than a dog's; and a magician who appeared out of nowhere, claiming to be their fan?

A certain magician, a staunch henchman of the goddess, is named Sylvie. It is said that she was the one who created the spiral of desire in the royal city, making her arguably humanity's most wanted criminal.

There is also the savior saint who is sealed inside the Iron Maiden and can only be taken away by carriage, and the silent Lilith, and finally, the unfortunate one whose abilities are sealed.

Saving the world? There are three factions among the six people. If it weren't for the great magician and the great sage taking turns visiting them, this group would have already started their own thing.

Annie was a staunch escapee. As for where to escape to? Definitely heading north! She had already begun to miss the quiet desk and the small electric light that stayed on all day in her prison cell.

She wanted to take Lilith with her, but Lilith dissuaded her. Since she couldn't use her powers, she could only temporarily form a faction with Lilith and the dog hero Thorne.

The sorceress Sylvie and Princess Diana belong to another faction, the goddess's loyal lackeys, but the two don't interact much and don't usually chat.

Diana tried to pull Thorne away from Lilith, but ended up getting beaten up by Lilith the whole way.

As for the savior saint in the Iron Maiden, I heard her name is Isolde. She looks like an old lady and hates everyone in the hero's party equally...

Only the kind-hearted Thorne would occasionally let her out to drink water and eat.

"Look closely at this forest. Our destination is probably the Elf Kingdom," Lilith said slowly, stroking a young elven tree.

Annie didn't care where they were going or what the mission was. She turned around and sneered, "Heh, you'd better stay away from Diana. She has a blood feud with the elves."

After mocking Diana, Annie went on to criticize Thorne. "What are you grinning about, you bastard? You think your reputation is any better?"

"You think you're all talk? You traitor!" Diana, who was walking at the very back, retorted without any politeness.

Annie, who had studied in the Northern Territory, had become much more sophisticated in her insults. "Although my memory has deteriorated, I still remember certain sows in heat. Tsk tsk, those who are abandoned by everyone call others traitors. Those high butts, all for nothing."

A single sentence ignited her anger, and Diana was about to unleash a torrent of abuse when Lilith interrupted her with a shout.

"Quiet down, we're about to reach the territory of the Elf Kingdom, so all of you be quiet."