Butuo City has undergone earth-shaking changes now.

The golden leaves of the World Tree sway, becoming a familiar sight for the residents here, while the petrified Adeline Metal has been observed by many — a lot of people are somewhat fearful, thinking that one day they might become part of this so-called Earthly Heaven... which they find quite terrifying.

At first, people were quite worried, concerned about where this city should head, what should be done with its administrative planning...

Later, everyone realized that no matter how the people on top quibble, life still has to go on. So, apart from those nobles and merchants, no one really cared who Butuo City ultimately belonged to.

This city now hosts a wide variety of groups.

Alchemists, mages, elves, dwarves, minority races... In a sense, it could be called an "international metropolis."

Under such circumstances, the city itself hides many talents—

"Another Heart of Lava, please."

The woman placed a gold coin and called for a drink. She seemed a bit drunk, but no one underestimated this woman. On her first day at this tavern, someone seeing her drunk thought to offer some 'help.' She easily lifted him with magic and tossed him out.

Though not to the point of death, he almost hit the ground breathless.

People then knew that this was not someone you could mess with easily. She might be waiting or perhaps savoring something in this tavern.

However, others' opinions did not matter to Adriana at all.

She lost.

Losing was something she expected; she had prepared for it long ago. She had approached the plan with a mindset of either success or martyrdom, so even in failure, she felt she ought to die in her glory, to die in splendor.

To die by Doro's hand should have been a blessing.

But it wasn't.

Doro did not kill her, and moreover—Adriana knew very clearly that as long as she did not die by Doro's hand, whatever Doro said would stand. As long as the Demon King accepted this outcome, then the Wise King would not oppose it. In fact, two days ago, she had already seen her own wanted poster.

As expected, the position of president of the Mage Association was revoked, with various charges such as betraying humanity, causing the Thunder Emperor's death, and conspiring with demons. Recently, while drinking, she often heard people discussing these matters, clearly knowing she was at the center of public opinion and recognizing she had been abandoned.

But this was not something too worth her concern.

She was just thinking about what Doro had in mind when faced with these things.

If she were to say she was sad, she wasn't all that sad, though feeling quite embarrassed when people pointed behind her back. But it was just embarrassment, knowing others couldn't recognize her identity. Back then, Doro should have felt the same way.

So, she didn't quite understand.

She couldn't quite grasp Doro's feelings.

Even when mimicking Doro, getting drunk, trying to sober up through alcohol was nothing difficult for her, and actions after drunkenness were hardly impulsive—what exactly did Doro want to gain from alcohol at that time?

She didn't want to admit this fact but had to acknowledge that even when doing the same thing as Doro, she couldn't truly empathize with him, couldn't comprehend Doro's pain, nor his resistance and choice. She felt somewhat bad—perhaps she should feel angry about being wanted and betrayed by the Human Empire.

But she didn't care; pretending to care wouldn't do any good, as she had already tried hard, but she still couldn't empathize with Doro.

What would it take, what would it take for her to truly understand that person's thoughts?

Did she need to suffer more?

But how could she make herself feel pain?

The tavern suddenly became noisy; Adriana looked towards the commotion with bleary eyes and saw a familiar figure. Soon, there was a series of thumping sounds. When Adriana's vision refocused, she finally realized who it was.

"Adeline? You dare to appear in this city!"

Adeline clapped her hands, and the tavern had already become quite messy: "Adriana, you think I want to come? It's Charlette who is looking for you, but you have not replied to her at all, and she won't leave that tower now, so I've come to find you. You think I want to be here?"

As soon as Adriana heard the name Charlette, she immediately bowed her head again, lying on the table asleep. She wasn't fond of Charlette's name; in fact, she quite disliked it.

Adeline came to the table where she was sitting, poured herself a drink: "You know? What you are drinking is called Heart of Lava, a drink made from red melon, while mine is called Red Surprise, a drink made from roses, which I loved drinking when I came previously."

Adriana did not raise her head; she seemed genuinely drunk.

"My plan completely fell apart in this city." Adeline didn't seem to care whether Adriana was awake; she spoke to herself here: "I've always wondered why the Demon King stopped me, why Gedora stopped me? Clearly my vision was so grand. Clearly, if my plan succeeded, humanity would enter a new era, and everyone would be equal—such a great thing, why must it be stopped?"

Adriana showed no reaction.

"Because I never had credibility, someone like me, willing to backstab her leader, resorting to such sinister acts... how could I have the face to tell others she could create a world where everyone is equal? For anyone to imagine is just laughable; just a villain boasting."

She sipped her drink with self-mockery: "Sometimes I wonder, if at that time the Star Tear really fell, would I regret my decision? If one day, I truly succeeded, becoming the most powerful being in the world, and the Alchemy Dolls dominated the world, with all life approaching eternity—would I really not fear such a sight?"

"Overall, it's about proving something, Adriana. We want to prove our choices weren't wrong back then. Charlette wants to prove she's more mature than Gedora, more cold-blooded, more adult-like, so she'd make rational decisions that align with interests. She told Gedora she'd marry the Wise King and jointly rule the world, to which Gedora immediately responded that he and the Demon King could do the same—Charlette panicked back then. She got beaten badly and has sobered up quite a bit since then."

Adeline's tone was slightly pathetic, yet it drew Adriana's attention, making her look up in confusion.

"I am the same. I'm eager to prove I'm more correct, more great than he is. My ideas, my will—I want to prove my initial choice wasn't wrong... but in fact, we've been terribly mistaken, haven't we? Just..."

She met Adriana's gaze: "Whether it was the initial choice or the choice now, these were all just to cover our ugly hearts, Adriana. We wanted to conceal our fear of him."

Yes, fear.

Hero A·Gedora was always smiling gently, a man who made everyone feel at ease.

They experienced so many things together, they should have fought together, finally defeating the Demon King with everyone's power, writing a beautiful story!

But it was different.

Different from how the world saw it; truly deep in that battle, one would know that in the final fight, whether it was the Demon King or the Hero, their smiles were brilliant, their emotions were high, their powers were terrifying... completely different.

Completely different from the A·Gedora they knew. Finished.

At that time, Hero A·Gedora integrated into the Demon King's realm, engaging in fierce combat with the Demon King in that world, but ultimately, Doro emerged victorious.

He defeated the Demon King, but there was no smile on his face.

At least, when the girls joyfully came to congratulate him, Doro's eyes and expression were dim and lonely, though he quickly realized it, then showed a formulaic smile and celebrated the Demon King's defeat with everyone.

Yet, this expression was completely visible to the girls, who watched Doro more closely than anyone else, understanding him better than anyone else.

So that expression was fully captured by the girls, who deeply felt fear.

For a period, when the girls were under Doro's gaze, they felt as if they were being watched by the Demon King—this feeling was terrible, and they worried a lot about Doro becoming something like the Demon King, the same kind of being.

They were very afraid of such a thing happening.

"As things stand, there's only one path—Adriana, we've lost everything. To us who have lost everything, the only choice left is to perpetuate our mistakes; here is a plan that needs your power. If you're willing to help… it's a desperate plan."

"The Second Hero Plan... how laughable a scheme, thinking the clone might defeat what the original could not? Do you think it naïve enough to believe it could kill them?"

"In any case, this is a feasible plan... whether to join is your matter. This is our last chance we can grasp,"

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