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Ray and Ulte, assigned to defend the stronghold, initially spent their time fairly leisurely.
It took quite a while for the demons that had swarmed on the surface to form an encircling net around the underground city.
As they slowly tightened their encirclement in exploratory fashion, the first demon entered the underground city about an hour and a half later.
The enemies used the paths where the elevators had passed and hidden narrow passageways to infiltrate the underground city.
Of course, Ray and Ulte weren’t at all threatened by them.
Both were superhuman, armed with all sorts of artefacts, and furthermore, they had the support of wind spirits, including Karga.
Ray and Ulte kept the passages open, fearing that blocking them entirely would provoke the enemies into more aggressive actions like collapsing the ceiling, and continued to monitor them.
This was an easy task, almost boring, but stamina became an issue.
It was natural for Ulte, but even Ray began to feel dizzy after using his core, which put a strain on his heart, for a long period.
Both Ray and Ulte sighed simultaneously.
“Phew, this might kill us.”
Though their tone was light, there was a considerable amount of sincerity mixed in with the jest.
Ulte, standing Genesis beside him, intercepted enemies with a red bow-shaped artefact while sighing.
Holding out in the underground city and repelling enemies? Of course, it wasn’t difficult.
However, staying here indefinitely was akin to willingly becoming mice trapped in a jar.
‘The Lord-class Demon I saw in the vision probably won’t come directly…’
The distance between underground cities was significant, and the Demon wouldn’t leave its position carelessly to protect “it.”
Still, fortifying oneself in the middle of enemy lines isn’t necessarily a wise choice either, especially when reinforcements are not expected.
Ulte didn’t know what kind of powerful magic Luna was preparing, but he doubted that a single-use annihilation spell of 7~8 circle level was worth holding out for three hours in enemy territory.
Ray spoke up, looking at Ulte who had a furrowed brow.
“You look tired.”
“So do you.”
In response to Ulte’s remark, Ray chuckled and launched a golden spear forward.
The golden spear, propelled further by the wind spirit as it moved ahead, increased its power.
KABOOM!!!
A Longtail demon sliding down through the elevator passage was pierced through the head and collapsed limply.
Its neck tore open as its massive body crashed to the ground with a thud.
As Ray retrieved the spear, he asked,
“How have you been holding out here until now?”
“It’s hard to explain since I’m not a specialist in Demon Path engineering… But when using Blink, there’s something like stepping into a gap in space. I confined myself within that spatial gap. I hid there and held out.”
“You mean you went into A-Space?”
Ray was slightly startled.
He recalled someone threatening to confine him in A-Space whenever he got injured, causing his shoulders to tremble slightly.
While Ray worried if he could fit into A-Space, Ulte shook his head.
“It’s different from A-Space. Anyway… Time perception is distorted in the spatial gaps, and metabolism drops drastically. That’s how I managed to endure.”
Of course, during that time, physical damage continued to accumulate.
Due to prolonged hunger and contaminated mana corroding his body, Ulte was no longer in a state where he could engage in combat.
An ordinary person with normal mental strength would have already collapsed.
Nevertheless, Ulte was still moving his body with sheer willpower.
KABOOM!!
After intercepting another demon, Ulte pointed his thumb toward the tower behind him and asked,
“Who exactly is that person?”
The mage accompanying Ray seemed, by skill alone, to be a high-ranking official from the royal family or one of the five great Magic Towers.
However, Luna conversed very casually with Ray and maintained a close relationship.
With a warm smile, Ray replied,
“A legendary orphan from Mount Dinor.”
“…What?”
“And someone I trust as much as family.”
After observing Ray’s warm smile for a moment, Ulte tried to ask another question.
However, their conversation was cut short.
ZEEEERRRRR!!!!!!!!!!
Suddenly, a tremendous roar echoed.
A wave of mana compressed to its extreme erupted from the central tower, shaking the underground city.
Even Ray and Ulte couldn’t completely dissipate the shockwave generated by the collision with the mana surge, spitting out blood.
The demons that had infiltrated the underground city collapsed alone, forming pools of blood.
“?!”
Ray and Ulte turned around hastily, their mouths stained with blood.
A massive storm of mana was raging.
The density of mana was so high that the blue currents were clearly visible even without activating enhanced vision.
KRAAAKK!!
A portion of the ceiling touched by the mana storm disintegrated into powder.
The tower located in the center of the underground city was mostly destroyed, making it unrecognizable.
The density of the swirling mana continued to increase.
Now, the sticky mana storm began distorting their vision and emitting light.
Experiencing an unprecedented sensation coursing through his body, Ray stood frozen, muttering under his breath.
“Luna…?”
*
The Silver Cross Knight Order, which had ventured into the Forbidden Forest, returned to Rioshuko.
Just hours earlier, the Silver Cross Knight Order successfully broke through the Devil Worshippers and demons before the underground city was completely surrounded, but they suffered many casualties while swiftly traversing the forest.
Ultimately, one-third of the Silver Cross Knights perished in the Forbidden Forest.
Giland, who led the charge, pushed himself too far in order to save as many members as possible, ultimately suffering serious injuries.
Leone practically dragged Giland back, carrying him all the way to Rioshuko.
When the Silver Cross Knight Order returned with heavy losses, chaos erupted in Rioshuko.
Healers and clerics from across the city rushed to treat the knights who had sustained various injuries.
Despite sustaining severe injuries, Giland moved after only receiving emergency treatment to fulfill his duties.
First, he needed to report.
After brief consideration, Giland exaggerated the situation more than what he had witnessed firsthand.
The underground city was teeming with experimental subjects created by Devil Worshippers.
Terrifying Chimera and attacks from Devil Worshippers forced the Silver Cross Knight Order to retreat without being able to hold out for even a moment.
Based on the enemy forces identified by the Silver Cross Knight Order, it was anticipated that they could devastate the kingdom’s territory in no time.
An imperial agent joined the knight order and returned with information about the underground city, conveying the Empire’s intent to actively intervene in this situation.
After communicating this content to the royal family, Giland began drafting an official report.
Giland likely wrote an exaggerated account in the official report for the first time since becoming a knight.
It was a path to help Ray’s group, who had saved his life, and to ensure the sacrifices of the fallen members weren’t in vain.
Having lived a life avoiding lies, Giland’s exaggeration was credible.
Despite bleeding profusely from a gaping wound on his waist, Giland painstakingly drafted the report.
Leone watched anxiously as the room outside grew noisy.
After listening intently for a moment, Giland shouted loudly,
“Bring them in.”
The door opened, and Comet, disguised and belonging to the Imperial Intelligence Agency, entered the room.
Although Giland realized Comet was disguised, he chose not to point it out upon hearing the name ‘Ron.’
“Knight, where is Ron? Didn’t he accompany your unit?”
“What relation do you have with him?”
“To make a long story short, he’s a colleague.”
“Are you also from the Empire?”
At Giland’s straightforward question, Comet paused briefly before stepping forward.
“Yes, I am from the Empire. Where is Ron now? He accompanied your unit, right?”
“I’ll explain what I know.”
Giland provided a summarized account of what happened in the Forbidden Forest to Comet.
“…And thus, Ron volunteered to stay behind in the underground city, claiming he had tasks left to perform. Thanks to him, we managed to return alive. Without Ron and his group, we would have been annihilated.”
“Damn it.”
Comet frowned and clenched his fists.
Adding to Comet’s agitation, Giland said,
“If you need assistance, please let me know. Members of the Silver Cross Knight Order will gladly stand for Ron. There are a few knights whose injuries aren’t severe, and they can offer help.”
“Hmph, that’s not the issue right now…”
Comet’s head throbbed.
Currently, the higher-ups in the Imperial Intelligence Agency were pressuring him to immediately locate ‘Ron’ and bring him back.
Moreover, the pressure was reaching an insane level.
If things worsened, there were even talks of occupying the kingdom’s Gate and dispatching troops to rescue Ron.
It was essentially talk of starting a war over one person, though the Empire wouldn’t actually go that far. However, it emphasized the gravity of matters concerning Ron.
‘What exactly is that guy?’
Although Comet didn’t know Ron’s true identity, he understood that he wasn’t an ordinary agent.
However, based on Giland’s explanation, even thinking positively, Ron was undoubtedly dead beneath the underground city.
He had no idea how to report this fact to the higher-ups without inviting a major backlash.
At that moment.
BOOM-!
A wave of mana swept through the room.
A crack appeared on the windowpane shortly afterward.
Comet and Giland blinked at each other before opening the door and stepping outside.
People walking along the streets also stopped, having sensed the mana surge moments ago, and began murmuring among themselves.
Giland looked around and spotted the mage mercenary hired by Leone.
Approaching the mage, Giland asked,
“Pardon me, what was that just now?”
The mage didn’t respond.
He simply stared wide-eyed at something in the distance.
After waiting for a bit, Giland questioned the mage again.
“Pardon me.”
“H… Haha…”
The mage started laughing to himself, seemingly deranged, without turning to look at Giland.
“Could it be… Could it be that I’m dreaming? Am I having a nightmare?”
The mage rubbed his eyes.
But even after closing and reopening his eyes, the sight before him remained unchanged.
Wobbling slightly, the mage sat down on the spot.
A chilling thrill creeping up his veins made his shoulders tremble uncontrollably, forcing him to hunch over.
Yet, he couldn’t tear his gaze away.
He couldn’t turn away from the scenery beyond, something he would never witness again in his lifetime.
With bloodshot eyes, the mage gazed at the sky and muttered,
“Pray.”
“…?”
Confused by the mage’s sudden mention of prayer, Giland finally followed the mage’s gaze to the sky.
Clouds were drifting by.
But the scene was not ordinary.
The distant clouds were swirling violently, as if being sucked somewhere.
It was as if there was a hole in the sky.
They were contracting and being drawn toward a single point.
Frowning at the unprecedented natural phenomenon, Giland soon realized it wasn’t a natural occurrence at all.
“Fold your hands and pray.”
Turning back to the mage, Giland saw him clasping his hands together, tears streaming down his face, overwhelmed by profound fear and awe.
“All we can do is pray.”
Prayer (2)
