If my thoughts were correct, it made sense that the flames surrounding us were part of the divided Queen.

With the Queen’s fragments scattered in all directions, the detection item just kept spinning without being able to sense direction.

Meanwhile, those flames, parts of the Queen, began to encircle us in a seamless ring and close in.

Fortunately, the elite members we brought showed no signs of panic and calmly awaited orders.

In the meantime, Martin shouted towards them.

“Defense Formation 2!”

Defense Formation 2 was a formation deployed when surrounded by monsters with flame abilities.

The well-trained members immediately formed a circular formation facing the flames.

Then, the water ability users positioned in between sprayed water towards the approaching flames.

Tsss―

The flames that had been tormenting us instantly subsided.

However, it was impossible from the start to completely extinguish all the widely spread flames.

The remaining flames gathered together and began to form a human shape.

Seeing this, I muttered quietly.

“It seems the Queen is about to reveal her true form. In the past, people used to call that form this way. The Mother of Crimson Flame.”

As expected, the Queen that revealed herself was in the form of a woman enveloped in flames from head to toe.

With a rather benevolent expression, she opened her arms as if to embrace, which is why the members of the Silver Knight Order in the past called this monster the ‘Mother’ of Crimson Flame.

Of course, when I said ‘in the past’, I was referring to before the first regression, so Martin, hearing this for the first time, showed a puzzled expression.

“It had a name? I’m not sure, but it seems fitting.”

“You might not say that if we get attacked. I’ve heard that monster is extremely powerful.”

Even before the regression, half of the knights who participated in hunting that monster died.

Those who survived returned trembling with fear.

Hoping this time would end without any casualties, we faced the monster.

“Attack Formation 3!”

Following Martin’s shout, the members quickly changed their formation.

Those who had been in a circular formation now lined up in a straight line facing the monster.

In that state, like before, the water ability users sprayed water, followed by the wind ability users who blew that water widely towards the monster’s direction.

Having poured water so extensively, even that monster whose body was made of flames shouldn’t be able to withstand for long.

But the Queen neither showed surprise nor panic.

She just calmly received the attack with the same benevolent face like a mother.

And then she simply vanished.

“Is it over…?”

Martin muttered with a slightly bewildered face.

The Queen had died too easily.

Anticlimactically easy.

Of course, it was a good thing that we were able to hunt it easily, but something felt off.

I was about to say we shouldn’t let our guard down yet, when suddenly―

“Your Majesty! The Queen’s form is visible at 11 o’clock!”

Someone’s urgent cry sharply awakened my senses.

I thought it couldn’t end this easily, and sure enough.

The Queen we thought had vanished was rising again from a small flame.

Seeing this, Martin gritted his teeth.

“Don’t panic! Second attack!”

The knights formed ranks again as before and poured water towards the Queen.

And extinguished it.

But.

“The Queen has regenerated! This time at 6 o’clock!”

The flame in the Queen’s form kept reviving no matter how many times we extinguished it.

Each time, we persistently poured water towards the Queen, but there was a limit to that too.

Our mana eventually bottomed out, and it was then that the Queen finally began her attack.

“Argh!!”

“Fire!!”

“Block it!!”

Although everyone was wearing flame-resistant armor items, they couldn’t completely protect us from the flames.

The armor eventually melted under the intense heat the Queen poured down.

Consequently, the lives of the members also turned to ashes.

Martin tried to counterattack using his ability, but his ability was also flame-based.

Being of the same nature, he couldn’t inflict a fatal blow on the Queen.

Their flames intertwined and grew more fierce, turning the surroundings into hell.

“Ugh…”

“Someone…”

“Sa-save me…”

While Martin was dealing with the Queen, I spread coldness to protect the members begging for their lives.

Martin attacking the monster, and me defending against the monster’s attacks.

This tactic, which initially seemed reasonable, soon revealed its flaws.

“It’s not working. The attacks aren’t effective at all. Even if I try to cut, there’s no form to cut.”

Hearing Martin’s words, I also reported the desperate situation.

“I’m out of mana too. I don’t think I can protect the soldiers anymore.”

Without needing to say more, we both knew.

We wouldn’t be able to catch the Queen, and we would meet our death in this final rift.

As Martin blocked the flames the Queen was pouring down with his own flames, he said.

“Then, did you remember this battle clearly?”

“Yes, we can succeed on the second try.”

Hearing my words, Martin nodded and lowered his weapon.

As soon as he withdrew his ability, the Queen’s flames instantly engulfed his entire body.

Seeing Martin turn to ashes in the greedy red flames, the members cried out in shock.

“Your, Your Majesty…!!”

“Aaaargh!!”

“Ca-calm down! We must protect Her Majesty the Empress at least!!”

The members, having witnessed Martin’s death, moved to protect me in a state of confusion.

But having already used up all their mana, they couldn’t spray water and wind like before.

They had no other means left to counter.

I too didn’t bother to resist the Queen’s flames.

Instead, I observed. I clearly engraved in my eyes how the Queen’s attacks were carried out.

So that I wouldn’t forget even if I turned back time.

“Your Majesty, I’m sorry we couldn’t protect you… We have… no… face…”

While I was imprinting everything in my mind, even the last member protecting me turned to ashes.

Now there was no one left by my side.

Standing alone in the wasteland, I gazed at the Mother of Crimson Flame.

The mother who had burned us with a benevolent face also gazed steadily at me.

I heard that such humanoid monsters usually have high intelligence, so what might she be thinking now?

Why doesn’t she attack me right away?

At that moment, the monster’s lips slowly opened.

And surprisingly, she ‘spoke’.

“Fear…”

It was just a fragment of a word, but the word the monster uttered was clearly in the Empire’s language.

Did she utter it knowing the meaning?

Or did she just mindlessly mimic like a parrot what the members had said earlier?

I wasn’t sure, but I decided to willingly engage in what could be called a conversation with this world’s last Queen.

“You ask if I’m afraid?”

The monster didn’t answer my question.

I felt a little disappointed but answered anyway.

“I’m not afraid. Just bored. Anything that repeats becomes tedious and boring, right?”

“Repeat…”

“Yes, repeat. I can repeat.”

“Re… repeat…. Re, repeat…. Repeat…”

Repeating the same sound like a child learning to speak for the first time, the monster drew up her ability.

Then she created a massive fireball in the air, different from before.

The completed fireball of flames flew. Naturally, towards me.

The scorching flames voraciously devoured my flesh, blood, and bones, and I met my death just like that.

When I first regressed by going back in time, I was grateful to my mother.

I thought I had regressed thanks to the mysterious power contained in my mother’s heirloom.

But after repeating regression several times, I came to know for certain.

That I was able to go back to the past not because of my mother’s heirloom, but thanks to the second ability I possessed.

The heirloom did indeed contain a mysterious power.

However, upon investigation, it was only a power that ‘helped’ awaken abilities.

It was an item that awakened and strengthened the innate ability a person originally possessed.

Thanks to that, I, who awakened my second ability of regression, would occasionally go back in time.

Like now.

“Empress, what are you thinking about?”

Martin was asking the exact same question he had asked me about 5 hours ago.

It seemed I had returned to the point just before entering the rift.

Instead of giving him the same answer I gave in the past, I said this.

“I think we need to rework our strategy.”

“Pardon?”

“Wasn’t the original plan for Your Majesty to directly attack the monster while the water and wind ability users check the monster’s attacks? That strategy won’t work.”

“How does the Empress know that… Ah, could it be you’ve already come back once?”

Martin, who already knew about my power to regress, quickly caught on and asked.

I nodded to his question with a slightly sunken expression.

“I just died and regressed. Before regressing, we all lost our lives.”