201st Episode
The capital of the Alimo Kingdom, Pruwa.
At the royal palace constructed in Pruwa, King Alfonso IV of Alimo was reading a report transmitted by communication from Giland, the head of the Silver Cross Knight Order.
King Alfonso IV had a headache.
It wasn’t because he was worried about attacks from devil worshippers that his headache had come on.
Of course, Alfonso IV trusted the content of the report delivered by Giland.
He couldn’t imagine that this inflexible knight would exaggerate anything.
However, the kingdom had secretly been in contact with the devil worshippers of the Forbidden Forest for far too long.
The longer the exchanges continued, the more their caution dulled and their greed grew.
The complacency that they wouldn’t dare step outside the Forbidden Forest without understanding their place clouded Alfonso IV’s judgment.
What truly troubled Alfonso IV was the Empire’s intention to intervene.
Recently, the Empire had become extremely sensitive due to the appearance of demons near the capital and the impending succession of the throne.
Now that the Empire knew about the existence of the underground city, they could react very strongly.
Even though the Empire had shown no interest in conquest wars in the past, it was a nation with the power and will to dispatch troops through the Gate if serious issues arose, even by force.
Alfonso IV resented Giland almost to the point of hatred.
‘I shouldn’t have sent that guy to the Forbidden Forest in the first place…’
When Giland returns, I’ll demote him to a remote post this time.
While pondering how to manipulate the Empire, Alfonso IV noticed the protective barrier surrounding the palace faintly vibrating beyond the window.
Startled by the sudden reaction of the barrier, Alfonso IV summoned a mage to find out the cause.
*
There was also a Magic Tower in Alimo.
Due to the ease of obtaining monster corpses, its influence was quite large.
The Alimo Kingdom maintained a close cooperative relationship with the Magic Tower, and many skilled court mages resided within the palace.
The court mages gathered together, facing an unprecedented situation.
After quickly searching through historical records and adding their own analysis, they reached one conclusion.
A spell to open the sky would be completed within an hour.
Upon hearing this insane conclusion, Alfonso IV fell into a state of panic.
He couldn’t believe it—was he dreaming? Or were the mages playing tricks on him?
“Your Majesty!!!”
One of the court mages called out to Alfonso IV.
With his eyes glazed over, Alfonso IV finally managed to refocus and asked the court mage.
“Mark, mark, what is the target…?”
This was the most important question.
However, the court mage shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
“Are you calling this an answer right now?!!”
Alfonso IV was furious, but there was nothing to be done.
Even if the angle was slightly twisted or the caster made a mistake, the collision point could easily change by a few kilometers.
At this moment, it was impossible to determine the exact location where the magic would fall.
However, if this was an enemy attack aimed at the Alimo Kingdom…
Even a fool would know what the primary target would be.
The Gate or the kingdom’s capital, Pruwa.
And those two were located close to each other.
If the sky opened, both could be destroyed simultaneously.
But… what if it wasn’t?
For example, if someone like Alfonso IV himself was targeted, what should be done?
As Alfonso IV trembled with cold sweat, high-ranking officials in the palace rushed in.
“Your Majesty!!!”
There were naturally procedures to follow to enter the king’s office.
However, adhering to such formalities now would mean certain death for everyone.
Lard Count, the Minister of the Royal Household, shouted at Alfonso IV who was on the verge of losing his mind.
“Your Majesty!! We must request the Empire to open the Gate! If they refuse, contact other nations!”
“…Brilliant idea!”
Even if the sky opens, there are limitations to the range that can be struck from a certain angle.
Evacuating through the Gate to another country was the safest way to preserve lives.
Alfonso IV immediately contacted the Empire, pleading for permission to activate the Gate connection.
Prince Poibos readily accepted Alfonso IV’s request.
The moment Poibos’ approval was given, the high-ranking officials in the palace moved towards the Gate.
Time was short.
Hesitating unnecessarily could result in being hit directly by the magic.
If the distance between the capital and the Gate had been even slightly farther, Alfonso IV would have ordered a knight to carry him and run.
Fortunately, there was a little time to spare, so Alfonso IV personally rode his horse to reach the Gate.
Everyone, including Alfonso IV, knew that evacuating in this manner would incur unimaginable losses.
However, it couldn’t be helped.
The worst-case scenario imaginable was the complete annihilation of the kingdom’s leadership.
To avoid that situation, they needed to evacuate first, regroup, and reorganize afterward.
Of course, that was their rationalization.
If the leaders disappeared without any preparation or orders, what were the remaining people of the kingdom supposed to do?
Some knights silently clenched their teeth while guarding the king.
Tzuzuk!!
The Gate activated.
The Gate successfully connected with the one in the Empire.
The expressions of Alfonso IV and the high-ranking officials immediately brightened.
‘We’re saved…!!’
Having escaped the panic, Alfonso IV felt like shouting in relief.
Some of those who followed Alfonso IV revealed feelings of despair, but Alfonso IV didn’t notice.
Alfonso IV, the high-ranking officials, knights, and mages who evacuated from the palace crossed the Gate.
“Hmph…”
Upon crossing into the Empire, Alfonso IV sighed in relief but was startled upon seeing the massive imperial forces guarding the Gate.
Though it was expected that there would be troops guarding the Gate, their numbers and presence were much greater than Alfonso IV had anticipated.
‘In just that short time, the Empire has mobilized this many troops through the Gate?’
Though difficult to accept, even against the Empire, it wasn’t particularly crucial to Alfonso IV.
“I express my gratitude to His Majesty the Emperor for his generous assistance.”
First praising the emperor, Alfonso IV then regained his composure and exchanged greetings with the waiting nobles of the Empire.
During these greetings, an elderly man approached Alfonso IV.
An imperial noble quickly introduced him.
“This is Marquis Ernst Prisland.”
“Ahh…! It is truly an honor to meet the renowned Swordmaster of the Empire.”
Ernst stared blankly at the hand extended by Alfonso IV before speaking.
“Do you find this amusing? Abandoning your territory and citizens, fleeing to another country, yet you still have the nerve to smile.”
“…!”
Alfonso IV froze, then began trembling with embarrassment and anger.
Ernst passed by Alfonso IV and approached the Gate.
The mage from the Empire who had activated the Gate bowed slightly to Ernst.
“The Gate is currently connected.”
“Keep the passage open; do not close the Gate.”
“Understood.”
Ernst frowned as he felt the wind blowing from beyond the Gate.
Though Ernst criticized Alfonso IV for his behavior, it was hard to fault his judgment entirely.
If the act of opening the sky was the work of devil worshippers, the most likely targets of the magic would be the kingdom’s Gate and capital.
The Empire was also formulating military strategies assuming the collapse of Alimo’s capital and Gate.
“Can we devise a way to protect the kingdom’s Gate during the remaining time?”
If only the Gate could be preserved, military operations would proceed much more smoothly.
However, the mage shook his head.
“It’s impossible. There isn’t a fortress that could withstand a direct hit from that magic… perhaps only the Imperial Palace in the world.”
Even that wasn’t certain.
If the Gate were to be attacked, deploying additional troops to Alimo within a short period would be nearly impossible—and undesirable.
‘But… if the enemy’s target isn’t the Gate…’
Then how should they respond?
Ernst furrowed his brow.
*
Monsters poured into the underground city.
Despite tearing each other apart, the monsters did not stop moving.
Ray and Ulte continued intercepting them until they collapsed the tunnels to catch their breath.
KWAANG!!!
As the tunnel collapsed, a brief silence enveloped the area.
However, before long, the collapsed tunnels were breached, and demons and devil worshippers resumed their assault, breaking through the ceiling.
They were desperate.
Ray groaned and looked at Ulte.
“The ceiling, let’s bring it down.”
“…Just a moment.”
Ulte confirmed that the key-shaped artifact obtained from the underground city was still connected to him.
Though it was questionable whether the system would function normally with the underground city mostly destroyed, they had no choice. Ulte sent the command to open the ceiling to the system.
KUNG!!!
Miraculously, the system worked.
A crack appeared in the ceiling, and light began to flow through the gaps.
Two thousand years ago, dragons would glide down from the fully open ceiling to land in the city.
However, after many years, the ceiling had suffered severe damage.
The ceiling, which had opened about a third of the way, soon collapsed under its own weight.
KWAANG!! KWAANG!!
The falling debris from the collapsed ceiling rained down on the underground city.
Monsters on the surface were crushed to death, and those entering the underground city were buried.
However, the demons and dark wizards only sustained minor injuries and rose from the thick clouds of dust.
Neither Ray nor Ulte had expected the demons and dark wizards to give in so easily to the number of monsters.
Reducing the number of monsters was already a significant achievement.
CHUNK!!
Ray fully donned his armor, and Ulte wrapped his body in a black wave.
They just had to hold on a little longer.
As they yelled at themselves, aiming their weapons through the thick dust—
KUUUUNG!!!
A roar accompanied a gust of wind that swept away the dust to the outskirts of the underground city.
Sensing a change from Luna’s position, Ray and Ulte turned around.
The towering pillar of light that had been so oppressively brilliant was gone.
Finally, breathing became a bit easier.
But no one could relax.
Both Ray and Ulte, along with the devil worshippers, remained tense, sharpening their senses amidst the silence.
TICK!
A sound like something breaking echoed in their ears.
On the completely halted battlefield, as if by agreement,
Everyone looked up at the broken ceiling beyond.
There was the sky.
The blue sky… was cracking.
As if a giant hand had slashed across it.
The blue fragments shattered, revealing a completely different view beyond.
Beyond it lay a scene resembling the clear night sky they had lain on grassy fields watching for hours as children. Countless stars shone brightly beyond.
That sight was so grand and beautiful that it left everyone speechless.
That sight could be seen from afar.
All those who stood where the sight was visible turned their heads toward the sky.
Some laughed as if they had lost their minds.
Some collapsed and cried.
Some fled, some hid, while others simply closed their eyes.
Some children clapped and cheered at the sight they had never seen before.
And someone else…
Someone clasped hands or pressed their forehead to the ground, offering the most earnest prayer of their life.
“Please.”
In the middle of the dark sky illuminated by starlight,
The apparition of a blonde girl with flowing hair looked down at the earth and smiled faintly.
“Please pray to your god.”
A colossal ball of fire stepped into the blue sky.
“So that you may realize how worthless blind worship and devotion truly are.”
Extinction (1)
