The chapter opens with Rune and Igrain burying the last of some explosives and Rune saying that it's almost time. We flash back to him speaking to Eusis's and Baldwin's troops, explaining that he needs Dragon Knights and their unicorns to come with him and round up a herd of grass-eater dragons, which will lure the meat-eater dragons to trample Brigion's troops. In the meantime, regular soldiers will need to distract Brigion. Baldwin volunteers his men. We flash back to Rune and Igrain, who've been burying bombs as a way to keep the impending stampede of dragons on course. Igrain muses to Rune that she had felt betrayed that Firiel lied to her about her reasons for coming south, but that in the end she's glad that Firiel's actions led them all where they are now, and says that she knows she belongs with the Dragon Knights. Meanwhile, Bladwin and the Kagwell troops attack Brigion's camp. Brigion's guns aren't working - which it turns out is thanks to the Hermes twins, whom Rune sent in to sabotage them. The dragons storm Brigion's camp, and it seems that our heros have won. However, a meat eater has gone off track and is right behind Eusis and Lot. Eusis and his unicorn Arthur double back to kill the dragon, which they do, but while their guard is down, the tail of a second meat eater knocks Eusis to the ground. [End Chapter]

Eusis is laying on the ground as a meat eater descends upon him, and he thinks "So this is the end?" Suddenly he sees Adale in his mind, calling out to her, and he looks up to see that Arthur has impaled the meat-eater with his horn. Arthur and Eusis defeat the meat eater, but Arthur is killed in the process. Eusis mourns his loss, but Lot reminds him they still have work to do. Suddenly word spreads that a huge battalion is drawing near. They are flying the flag of Astrea. It turns out to be Leandra and her private army. Lot comments that she has a lot of nerve, showing up after the main battle, obviously looking to take the credit. Rune says it's better this way. Eusis and his men can take some time to heal up and let her deal with the rest. Rune tends to Eusis wounds and he rests for a few days. Then he tells Rune that the two of them have been invited to Leandra's victory party. Rune doesn't want to face her, but Eusis tells him he will use this opportunity to make sure Leandra drops any thought of pressing charges against Rune for his having killed the duke. Eusis then explains that for a while he'd been thinking that he might not go back to house Roland at all, as he loved the camaraderie of the dragon knights. However, his near death experience had shown him what's truly important to him. Rune says he can understand that (referring to when he lost Firiel through the wall and that's what it took for him to realize he wanted to be with her). However, Rune thinks Eusis is talking about Firiel (not Adale), and tells Eusis mockingly that he will kill him if he tries to kiss Firiel. Eusis rolls his eyes. Later in Leandra's tent, she tries to convince Eusis to join her. She says a Graal divided into factions is too weak to take on invaders and that when she becomes Queen she will pardon the heretics and use their knowledge for the good of the country. Eusis turns her down. He questions her sincerity about the heretics, and asserts that Adale is the only sovereign he recognizes. Later Eusis flashes back to memories of Adale and thinks that he wants to see her again and tell her something important. Rune mentions he wants to see Firiel. A solider finds them and says that a huge unicorn stallion suddenly showed up in the camp and is wreaking havoc. Eusis runs out to see what's going on. Adale turn out to be riding the stallion. Eusis is shocked since Adale can't even handle a horse, and he asks her what in the world she's doing there. Adale said the stallion's name is Lancelot, and that she was able to tame him because of the queen's stone wristlet she got from her mother. She came all this way to deliver him because she'd heard what happened to Arthur. Eusis is amazed she'd face her mother for that. She also says that while traveling here through Tolbart, she learned some disturbing information. Leandra bursts in and demands to know what Adale is doing there, saying she's too late, since the phoenix task has already been completed. Adale says their task was probably never valid in the first place - High Priestess Meniere who gave them the task has been secretly ruling not only the church of Astrea, but also conspiring with Brigion and manipulating power for a long time. The real Queen? Murdered long ago. This task was all a farce to see Adale and Leandra likewise killed. We then flash to Firiel, who doesn't seem to know this information, and has gone seeking an audience with the queen. [End Chapter]

The chapter starts with a servant telling Meneire, who is in her garden, that rats have been found in the Temple of Astrea. Meneire, who is incredibly ugly (this is important), is intrigued. We flash to Firiel who is trapped in a cave under the temple, and wondering what Meneire is up to. Then we flash to ?three hours ago? where Firiel and Kain were walking around the capital. It seems that lately edicts about worshipping Astrea have become stricter, and Firiel notices religious memorabilia everywhere. She and Kain discuss this, and he tells her of the rumor that, as High Priestess Meneire has been acting out the alleged will of the Queen for so many years, with the Queen not having made a public appearance in many years, and Meneire being the only one allowed to see the Queen - the public has wondered for a while if the Queen is dead. Firiel is shocked at the thought. Isn?t Meneire only doing that because the Queen is elderly and frail? Kain thinks otherwise: saying the phoenix feather task to stop the invasion which came from Meneire has kept Adale and Leandra busy in the south, meanwhile domestic affairs have become rigid with power concentrated in the hands of Meneire. Firel wants to investigate this, and she, Kain and her baby unicorn Ruu plan to infiltrate the Temple of Astrea, which is out in the woods. When they get in, Kain gives her a bag of items curtesy of the Hermes group, which may be useful to her. He said Hermes wanted her it, because they all idolize her. Inside the temple, Firiel and Kain must choose from 3 doors. Firiel asks which one they should pick, and Kain says it probably doesn?t matter, there will be trouble no matter what. They choose a door and behind it, there was several guards. Firiel throws a tablet that had been in the bag from Hermes, and it causes a smokescreen. Firiel and Kain use the opportunity to run up the stairs and find a room with a monument to Astrea. The monument shows Astrea in her three known forms ?Star Goddess?, ?Goddess of Wrath? and ?The Beast?. Firiel has never seen the beast form, because on religious memorabilia she is almost always shown as the star goddess. Just as she?s observing that the beast form looks like a unicorn, the statue?s eyes light up and a trap door opens under Firiel, landing her in the cave she was in at the beginning of the chapter. She sits on a rock and takes out another item from Hermes - a bottle containing an antidote to a sleeping potion commonly used at the palace. We see a frog croak behind her. She gets up to look for a way out, and is confronted by Meneire and her servant. Firiel tells them her identity, showing the Queen?s stone as proof, and demands to see her grandmother. Meneire takes her upstairs to a parlor where tea has been prepared, and orders her to take a seat. Firiel refuses, saying she urgently needs to see the Queen. Meneire asks her what she thought of the statue. Firiel says she thought the trap door gimmick was childish. Meniere says she was actually reffering to the two ugly forms of Astrea, saying those are the true faces of Astrea. She gives a long speech about how she has watched many beautiful women: Queen Constance, Edilene, Adale, Leandra - even Firiel - and how they use their charms to allure others, but that all women are just hateful jealous beasts. She says that Queen Anne?s blood and the stone shouldn?t make them anymore special than anyone else. She takes out a sword and holds it to Firiel?s throat, announcing that she is going to put an end to the Queenship. [End Chapter]

Funny how she conveniently leaves out Princess Augusta, who is also butt-ugly. Way to cherry pick your facts, villain. :P

Firiel manages to backflip away from Meneire, who is shocked the Firiel (who drank the apparently drugged tea) hasn’t gone unconscious yet. Firiel reveals that she had used her sleeping drug antidote on the tea and so won’t be falling asleep. Firiel demands to see the Queen and to get some answers, and Meneire tells her she can ask the Queen in hell, as she lunges at her with a sword. Firiel throws a frog at Meneire, which paralyzes her with fear. Apparently one of the Heremes researchers had told her these were Meneire’s weakness, although how he knew that is not explained. Firiel finds her way to a door which is allegedly the Queen’s room, and notes that the handle feels “as cold as a coffin”. When she walks inside, she finds herself transported to a snowy field with a high tower (it looks like the tower in Sera Field, but it’s not), the Bard shows up and tells her that this is the Icy City spoken of in the old rhyme, and that the “Wise Man”, apparently named “Firi” lives there, although he can never leave (we do not see him). Meneire and her guards storm into the area, but Firiel tells the guards she is the Queen’s granddaughter and that they have no right to seize her. The Bard commends Firiel for getting this far on her own, and then offers to use his power to help her: he will take her to the Queen, as she would like to speak with Firiel. He grabs Firiel, who says that must mean the Queen is alive. The Bard has a strange expression as he says, “Of course she’s alive.” They teleport to the central tower in Heiraglion, apparently a chamber called “the hall of stars” which has a planetarium-like ceiling. Adale and Leandra have been brought their as well, apparently suddenly teleported by the Bard right in the middle of political negotiations down in Kagwell. Firiel is impressed that the two of them had been working together. The Bard says that the Queen will appear shortly, and that even though their task was indeed fake, that the Queen has been observing them and is impressed with their actions. Queen Constance suddenly appears on a throne and tells them that she is very proud of them. Firiel is surprised at how petite the Queen is. Adale says the Queen’s words honor them all. The Queen goes on that she is especially proud of Firiel, who did so much to influence the entire situation. She says that at times she’d considered having Firiel eliminated because of her connections to heresy, but that she can no longer stand in the way of Firiel’s rightful place as a Queen candidate. (She is also very amused that Firiel threw a frog at Meneire.) The Queen then gives her Queen Stone ring to Leandra, meaning each girl now has one. She says that her time as ruler has been too long and too taxing, and that she is entrusting Graal’s fate to the next generation. She will now explain what has led them all here. [End of Chapter].

The Queen’s personality seems to turn on a dime as she suddenly explains in a condescending way that the girls are free to do whatever they want. Leandra asks if she’s telling them to decide the next Queen amongst themselves, but no. Queen Constance actually WANTS Meneire to take over as Queen. They ask her why, and she says that someone as power hungry as her would rule with an iron first: thus inciting rebellion. Most likely men would be the ones to rebel, and a new monarchy would begin with a king. Graal would be transformed into a new nation like those of the east, no doubt with new religious beliefs following suit. She says it’s only a matter of time and doesn’t matter anyway. Firiel cannot fathom her Grandmother’s radical stance and flippant attitude. Meanwhile, Rune meets up with Kain. He is looking for Firiel. Firiel’s unicorn Ruu seems be trying to lead them to her. Back in the hall of stars, Firiel fiercely stands up to the Queen and gives an empowered speech about HOW DARE she talk about Graal like that. Firiel loves Graal - she was nurtured by it’s air and soil and everyone she loves is here. Up until now Firiel has only referred to the Queen as “Her Majesty” or “Grandmother”, but here she just says “Anata” or “You” with dots next to each letter for emphasis. This is a very powerful moment. Adale is moved, but keeps silent. The Queen says it doesn't matter because her blood bond with "Firi" has been broken. The Bard suddenly begins playing his harp and begins to tell a story. The story is about a beautiful mother star (earth), which was polluted and destroyed by humans. Some humans stayed behind on the planet and became the “main office”, while others set out in ships to find other places to settle, swearing that they’d never destroy another ecosystem. Queen Anne was on one of these ships, called “The Seed”. They crash landed onto this planet, which so closely resembled earth in prehistoric times. (He alludes to the possibility that it might actually be earth in the past, but we don’t get a clear answer on that). Anyway, the ship’s equipment to contact the “main office” wasn’t working, so while the other passengers set out to explore the planet, Queen Anne went into a deep slumber (cryogenic sleep) until the equipment came back online. When she finally woke up/the equipment began to work, it was 200 years later, and the descendants of her fellow passengers had populated the land and forgotten all about the home office and ship. She contacted the home office, who wanted them all to get off the planet, but she had been moved by seeing happy families together, and begged the home office to let her experiment on this planet, vowing that human history would be different, all creatures would live in harmony, and that they would not harm the dragons who primarily lived on the planet. The home office agreed if only her descendants were allowed to know everything and make reports to them, and a huge computer tower “Firi/The Wise Man” was erected and connected to a satellite (the middday star), which projects a wall to keep humans and dragons separate. We don’t get an explanation on how the other kingdoms broke off, but the Bard says that if too many humans congregate around the wall, it becomes weak and cannot separate the humans and dragons. Brigion’s army has pushed Firi’s powers to the limit. Then with a scary look on his face, the Bard tells the three girls that he is pronouncing Queen Anne’s experiment a failure and that the home office is already making preparations to have them all evicted.

We open with a flashback of life on the seed spaceship prior to the crash. There’s a man looking for “Lady Anne”, who is apparently named Abel. He finds her in the “video room”, looking at holograms of earth’s dinosaurs. (Remember that in the manga, unlike the anime, the “dragons” are dinosaurs.) He says she must be bored of looking at that footage, and she says not at all. She loves to imagine a world covered in life and greenery, and is sad she was born too late to experience it on their home world, having spent most of her life on the ship. He says she would have made a great biologist if she had stayed on earth. A second, dark haired man, named Pluto walks in, and Anne greets him with a kiss. He tells her that they will be arriving at their intended planet in one month’s time and he’s happy they’ll have their lives together there. Abel looks on wistfully. We return to the hall of stars in the present, where the Bard explains that Queen Anne had desired to protect dragons from humans, but the blood pact she made with Firi 900 years ago is broken. He says her ideals were impossible, and that information-hungry humans will never change. He insists that one of the girls decide when to end this world - Firi has been computing for 900 years and cannot come up with a simulation of how things could possibly continue from here. The Bard is ordering all humans to evacuate the planet under interplanetary law. Adale demands to know what would happen to them. He says they’d all be taken to a different planet that would be a more relaxed environment, and that all of their memories of this one would be erased. Firiel flashes back to a cold winter in Sera Field, and living with the Holys, who were strict, but doted on her. She remembers being happy in her naiveté. She thinks about the path her mother chose - did she chose to not become Queen because she didn’t want to be faced with these terrible choices? Firiel thinks that humans will always have a destructive side, it will be unavoidable no matter what she chooses. Just as she is thinking that this is too much to bear by herself, Rune bursts in through the door screaming her name. Firiel runs to him and is shocked he managed to get in. He said the Hermes group’s inventions helped (Ruu is with him too). She thinks about how Rune always recuses her when she needs it the most. She holds both of his hands and tells him she has a wish: that he will always hold her hands like that and stay by her side because when she’s with him, she isn’t afraid of anything, not even defying Firi. She tells the Queen to listen well. All she really cares about in this world is Rune. This is the world where she met him and they grew up together. Rune my only be a small part of the world, but it’s her world, she will not surrender it to anyone. She says that if men (who apparently represent “knowledge”) and women (who represent “ideals”) work together, then of course they can find a way to live in peace with the dragons. The Queen says, “Really? Coexist with dragons?”. Adale runs to Firiel’s side and tells the Queen that she agrees with Firiel, and that she doesn’t think Queen Anne’s original experiment has been compromised yet. The Queen wants to know what Leandra thinks. Leandra says that she has no desire to join forces with the other two, but that surrendering from a fight (ie, leaving the planet) would be an insult to her pride and she’d never forgive herself. The Queen asks the Bard what he thinks of her three granddaughter’s decision. The Bard starts to laugh all crazy and his hair turns silver. He tells them menacingly that it’s all pointless. [End Chapter]. The next one is the final chapter :D ~

The Bard laughs psychotically and says it’s all pointless. The Queen nervously says, “You’re not the Bard!”. The Bard goes on to explain [this part was a bit confusing in Japanese and I hope I’m explaining it correctly] that he is Firi, who is controlling the Bard from his location in the Northern tower. He says he lived there for 900 years and projected the wall around Graal. Firiel wonders why this Firi is in the Nothern Tower. Firi says that’s where his real body is, and that through the eyes of “The Bard” he has monitored Graal. He used his computer generated predictions to serve as the Queen’s counselor and to make sure humans don’t destroy the planet. If the midday star and the wall fail, it will be over. Firiel tells him that is something The Bard, The Wise Man (Firi), and the Queen have to decide together. He tells her that the decision has already been made. He tells “Queen Anne’s descendants” to listen well. He goes on to explain that during Queen Anne’s reign, his original form, a man named “Abel”, had his personality turned into an AI, so they could live on forever and protect Graal. For 900 years he has pondered over simulations on how to keep Queen Anne’s kingdom going, but each one always led to humans destroying this planet just like they destroyed the mother star. We see three flash-backy looking boxes, one of humans chopping down trees, one of the French revolution (??) and one of dead bodies. He says Queen Anne’s prayers have been trampled by human instincts. He says it’s time to draw the final curtain, that “Queen Anne’s utopia ends here and now.” A very angry Leandra screams that she doesn’t want to hear any more of his ramblings, and surely it was his seclusion in the tower that drove him mad. He zaps her with some kind of lightning, and Adale calls out, “Leandra!” We see flashes of the tower, the midday star satellite, and the wall disappearing from around Graal. The Bard/Firi laughs and says the star and the wall have fallen, and that it’s over. Firiel passionately yells that she won’t let it end like this. The three Queen’s kinship stones suddenly light up, and Firiel hears a mysterious voice in her mind, asking her to lend her power. The Bard’s harp lights up, and the voice tells Firiel to grab it. She lunges for it, and holds it up in the air as the three kinship stones break free of the jewelry they were cased in and float into three oval shaped holes in the harp’s handle. The voice tells Firiel to strum the harp, and she, Adale and Leandra all do so. This seems to cause Bard/Firi severe pain. We shift to Lot and Eusis, who observe the wall disappearing. We see a woman’s form embrace the Bard and call to him, “Abel”. [End part 1. I’ll post part 2 as soon as I can :) ]

The naked phantom lady who is clutching at Firi/Bard is apparently Queen Anne, who was also turned into an AI, but in secret. She has been “sleeping” for 900 years, but as part of the consciousness that makes up the wall, she has witnessed everything that has gone on. The strumming of the harp was specially programmed to wake her. She cuddles Bard/Firi (who is apparently Abel) and thanks him for all his suffering for her sake these many long years. Firiel realizes Queen Anne is the one who manipulated the wall the time she fell in and back out. Then there is a flashback, which is a bit confusing, because it sort of contradicts the version of the story where Queen Anne was asleep while everyone else lived and died... unless Pluto and Abel had been cryogenically frozen as well. In any case, Pluto is leaving Anne’s kingdom with he and Anne’s young child. Abel tells him not to go. Doesn’t he love Anne? He says he does, and he agrees with her goals, but he is a scientist and wants his child to grow up in an environment where science can be freely explored. He says that someday in the far future when the “Good Witch of the West” and the “King of East” meet again, they will all be reunited. It is implied that he goes and establishes Brigion. (Which begs the question of who fathered the line of Anne’s children that Firiel descended from? Also Pluto? Abel?... Some other guy?) Abel is devastated that Pluto is leaving and wants to do everything he can to reconcile Pluto and Anne someday. He vows to bring them all back together no matter how much time it takes. (This also makes the relationship between the three characters a bit unusual since Abel clearly ships Pluto and Anne, but also seems to love Anne himself... This is quite possibly how the Queenship tradition of having different men father your children started.) In the present, the naked Anne hologram (or whatever she is), tells Abel, “It’s all thanks to you.” Abel is confused and says, “But I couldn’t search anymore...” Anne says, “No. Look at them.” Everyone looks at Firiel and Rune, who have been holding hands this whole time. Abel says, “It can’t be!” Leandra demands to know what they’re talking about. Adale flashes back to a boy named Digger she met while traveling through the dessert on her way to Kaldwell. (That story is in the Gaiden volume, but since it’s crucial to the plot here, it should really be considered volume 6.5). Anyway, Digger is apparently Rune’s older brother. Rune is descended from “eastern” (mostly likely “Brigion”) royalty - effectively making Firiel and Rune the Good Witch and Brave King from the opening riddle. Abel observes Rune and says happily to Anne, “He’s descended from You and Pluto?” Anne says, “He’s not the only one.” Kain runs in. Anne tells Abel that Kain’s first name is also “Abel” and says “Don’t those three look just like us back then?”