Maddy sighed, running a hand through her hair as she looked down at the shredded remains of her cloak.

"Oh, geez," she muttered, her tone completely casual despite the cosmic revelation. "I really didn’t intend to reveal myself like this. That last skill of yours had a bit more bite to it than I expected."

She rested her massive greatsword on her shoulder, a faint, maternal smirk finally breaking across her features as her violet eyes softened just a fraction.

"But... maybe I underestimated my children."

Hearing those words, the agonizing corruption tearing through Erwin’s body seemed to freeze entirely. A surge of overwhelming shock, followed instantly by a profound, radiant pride, washed over the captain. The monster trying to claw its way out of his flesh was completely suppressed by the sheer reverence he felt.

Without a single thought for his rank, his strength, or his broken body, Erwin threw himself forward. He bowed so hard and with such desperate devotion that his forehead slammed violently into the stone pavement.

CRACK!

The cobblestones fractured beneath the impact, a small trickle of blood mixing with the golden liquid on his face, but he didn’t care. He kept his head pinned to the earth, his voice shaking with pure awe.

"Mother!"

Erwin cried out, his words echoing off the alley walls.

"I was created by you so I could serve in greatness—to fight in your name, to bear this heavy armor in the hope of becoming worthy of even a single glance from you! And all this time... you were here. Testing us. Judging our pathetic strength."

His gauntleted hand clenched against his chest.

"I am unworthy. We are all unworthy... and yet you still call us your children."

He smashed his head against the ground once more, the sound echoing sharply through the quiet, dark alley.

"So please... command us. Break us. Use us however you see fit. You are the only one this world needs."

Suddenly, the oppressive physical paralysis holding the rest of the S-rank party completely dissolved. As if their blocked nerves and heavy injuries meant absolutely nothing, the remaining four members scrambled forward synchronously. Moving as one, they threw themselves onto the fractured cobblestones beside their captain, slamming their foreheads into the earth with desperate, unified devotion.

"Mother! Forgive us!" they cried out together, their voices a chaotic blend of awe and absolute terror. "Forgive our weakness! We are so lacking... we couldn’t even give you a proper fight!"

The elite, untouchable S-rank party was completely broken, reduced to weeping devotees in the dirt.

Erwin was literally crying, tears mixing with the gold liquid on his face as he kept his head pinned to the floor.

Ed was shaking violently, his previous smugness completely replaced by a primal, trembling fear of the entity before him.

Gela was frantically whispering prayers, her hands clasped tightly together as she begged for absolution.

Lita was gritting her teeth so hard they threatened to shatter, overwhelmed by a mix of intense shame and absolute reverence.

Zaun lay perfectly still, his eyes closed as he completely accepted his fate, offering his life to her without a single word of protest.

Maddy looked down at the five of them, a soft, amused sigh escaping her lips. She rested her massive greatsword casually against her hip and let out a small chuckle.

"Oh, stop it, all of you," Maddy joked, her voice breaking the heavy tension. "It’s not like you actually could have given me a fight anyway. I already knew that before I stepped out of the shadows."

The party winced slightly at the blunt truth, but they didn’t dare lift their heads.

Then, Maddy’s tone shifted. The casual, teasing demeanor vanished, replaced by a deep, resonant, and undeniably maternal warmth. Her violet eyes locked onto the back of Erwin’s trembling neck.

"My real intention was just to see you," she said softly, her gaze narrowing with a terrifyingly sharp intelligence. "I wanted to see how my children would fare when forced to fight in their... Fake Forms."

A violent chill shot straight down Erwin’s spine, the sheer weight of her words making his breath catch in his throat. She knew. She had known from the very beginning.

Overwhelmed by her absolute omniscience, Erwin pressed his face even harder into the cracked stone, his voice trembling with a mixture of profound praise and frantic explanation.

"As expected of Mother!" Erwin choked out, his voice filled with ecstatic worship. "Nothing escapes your divine sight! You saw right through our camouflage! You deliberately pushed us to our absolute limits—disabling our roles, cutting off our escape, and suppressing our standard elements just to force the corruption out of us! You forced us to the brink of death just to see if the entities hidden within our flesh would awaken to defend us! We are nothing but open books to you, Mother!"

Zaun finally spoke, his usually quiet, stoic voice trembling with an overwhelming intensity as he kept his forehead pressed to the cracked pavement.

"That is why... Even with my specialized sensing traits, I could not detect your presence. I truly believed I was half-baked, Mother. I thought I was completely unworthy of the power you bestowed upon us, a failure of a scout. But it wasn’t that at all... it was simply because we were fighting you. What a display, truly deserving of the perfect progenitor!"

Maddy shifted her weight, a look of slight unease crossing her face. The formal, overflowing praise and absolute worship from five of the strongest adventurers in the kingdom was getting a bit too intense for her liking. She scratched the back of her neck, letting out a casual sigh.

"Alright, alright, get up off the floor," Maddy replied, waving her hand dismissively to break the heavy aura of adoration. "You’re laying it on a bit thick."

She then looked directly down at Zaun, her expression softening into a more sincere, appreciative look as she confessed the true mechanics behind her flawless ambush.

"But, my son... I should actually apologize to you," Maddy added, her tone completely grounded. "I had to take your rare trait, and I can’t give it back right now. It was exactly what I truly needed. Without your specific sensing capabilities adapted into my own skills, I would have been detected the moment I stepped into this alley. This fight, and this test, wouldn’t have happened the way it did if you hadn’t provided that piece."