After the ceremony ended, I boarded the carriage to return to the Sixth Lord’s Domain.
There was a banquet remaining after the main event, but I had no desire to waste time chatting with nobles whose faces I didn’t even know.
Now that I had received my title, my business here was done.
The only difference from the way here was that there was one more person in our party.
I leaned back against the carriage seat, gazing out the window as my thoughts wandered.
I finally met Sylvia, the protagonist of the original story. According to her, the Gate of Order – the only entrance to Kalmas – would fall in a month.
“The problem is that the Gate isn’t just a simple passage.”
The Gate of Order. It was a seal created by the primordial Elves to isolate Kalmas, which had been consumed by Cliport’s chaos, from the world.
It served as both a physical barrier dividing Kalmas from the outside world and a barrier of rules preventing the spread of the principle of chaos.
In short, it was a kind of barrier that blocked the influence of the Outer Gods from interfering with reality, and it would be no exaggeration to say that it’s what prevented the erosion of the Outer Sea until now.
If the Gate falls in a month as Sylvia said, peaceful days will undoubtedly come to an end. Physical barriers will break, causing cracks in the sky, and the erosion of the world by the principle of chaos will begin, leading to the mutation and proliferation of monsters.
And that’s not all – eventually the ultimate bosses, the Outer Gods, will descend into the world one by one.
“And the Seeds of Doom…”
When the erosion by chaos begins, the Seeds of Doom hidden throughout the continent will begin their activities.
There are a total of five Seeds of Doom on the continent.
Rudine and Elfried. Thanks to saving them earlier – two characters who almost became the worst villains in the story – the difficulty of the campaign has definitely decreased.
But the two I saved were at least capable of redemption, while unfortunately the remaining three have no chance of salvation. They are pure evil that must be eliminated immediately upon discovery to prevent further wicked acts.
‘Now it’s time to start looking.’
It’s best to eliminate any elements that interfere with the campaign in advance. The only problem is that I currently have no way to pinpoint the exact locations of the Seeds of Doom.
While I have a rough idea of their positions, the areas are quite large, so it will likely take considerable time and effort to find them.
“Well, I’m sure Sylvia can handle that.”
Saving the world is undoubtedly the job of Sylvia, the protagonist of the original story.
It’s not that I’m simply trying to pass on an annoying task – while I can stop the apocalypse, only Sylvia, acknowledged by the world as the protagonist, can truly save it.
So my role is simply to intervene at the right time and help Sylvia save the world safely.
“Well, one way or another, it’ll work out.”
Lost in thought, I suddenly turned my gaze to the side.
Sylvia, sitting across from me without moving, caught my eye.
“…”
“…”
I had noticed it since our first meeting, but she seems unable to properly meet my eyes due to nervousness.
I considered trying to make conversation to improve our relationship, but it didn’t seem absolutely necessary. Since she came to me with the intention of courting me, she’ll likely take the initiative as time goes on.
With my arms crossed, I quietly observed her. Unlike the illustrations in the novel which masked her features, her real appearance gave a different impression.
Quietly observing her face brought on such thoughts.
“…She is pretty, after all.”
…Being pursued might not be such a bad thing, came that thought.
*
After a long journey, we finally arrived at the Sixth Lord’s Domain.
Sylvia felt relieved at last, despite being suffocated by the constant observation of the Sixth Lord sitting across from her during the carriage ride.
“Sixth Lord, you have endured a long journey.”
When we stepped down from the carriage, a man waiting in front of the castle gate greeted the Sixth Lord. For some reason, his face seemed familiar, and as I blankly stared at him for a moment, a system window appeared in the air.
[SYSTEM: You have encountered ‘Chief Executor Balkhan Kast’.]
I recognized him as someone I knew. A loyal servant who only followed the orders of the Grand Lord, he was one of the foremost loyalists among those belonging to the Council of Lords.
He was also a significant powerhouse among the Council of Lords’ ranks and certainly not someone whose favor would be bad to cultivate.
“My name is Sylvia. I hope we can work well together.”
“The Lord has informed me of you. Please feel free to speak.”
After exchanging brief greetings, Sylvia followed Luke into the Lord’s Domain.
Though small for a Lord’s castle, it was impressive that such a structure existed in Blackmore, famous for its Demon Realm.
It must have been possible due to Luke’s position as the royal inspector overseeing Blackmore and his status as the Sixth Lord of the Council of Lords.
That’s when it happened.
“Luke?”
A girl was walking from far away.
A girl with silver hair that seemed made by melting sugar, and ash-colored eyes.
Sylvia couldn’t take her eyes off her.
[SYSTEM: The Third Seed of Doom, Ludine Carlyle, has been detected!]
[※ Warning: Extreme caution is required when interacting with this person.]
“Rudine Carlyle?!”
The third seed of the world’s end, Rudine Carlyle.
She was an evil woman who yearned for blood and slaughter, destined to dye the continent red in the future.
She was a character whose recruitment was notoriously difficult, but who must be recruited for a clean campaign, even though she had a malevolent nature.
Sylvia was thrown off guard and blinked at the unexpected encounter.
But there was something even more surprising.
[Heavenly Killer Trait (天殺性) Owner]
[Degeneration Progress: 15.7% (stalled)]
[Danger Level: C (SSS → C)]
“…She’s not degenerating?”
Her degeneration rate was only 15%, whereas by this point it should have been at least 50%.
Not only was it much lower, the progress was stalled. Judging by the significant drop in danger level, it meant the Heavenly Killer trait she was born with was being perfectly controlled.
“Could it be the Ring of Ifrashia?”
Sylvia quickly checked the Sixth Lord’s hand.
The orthodox way to control the Heavenly Killer trait was only one.
At the ruins of Westmarch on the west side of Blackmore, deep within the corrupt World Tree Mirckdrasil, a forgotten ritual to obtain a ring was performed. So she hurried to check the Sixth Lord’s hand, but…
“It’s not there?”
There was no sign of the ring.
Looking around at the people nearby, there was not a single person wearing the ring.
In other words, it means the Heavenly Killer trait, a fragment of chaos, was being controlled without the Ring of Ifrashia…
“What is this…?”
It was a situation that Sylvia simply couldn’t comprehend.
Rudine was controlling her Heavenly Killer trait using the Demon Sword Evil Blade, but the exact specifications of that sword were information known only to Luke, who had memorized the entire original work including the epilogue.
Sylvia only knew about the existence of Demon Swords, and was thus even more perplexed about the current situation.
At that moment,
“Luke Richter? Is the appointment ceremony over?”
A girl with a silver tail swaying approached from afar.
[SYSTEM: The ‘White-Haired Thousand-Year Fox, Aqua Lord Adina’ has been detected!]
[※ Warning: The subject’s level of vigilance is increasing!]
Aqua Lord Adina.
A being at the apex of beastmen and known as the ultimate calamity.
A first-tier hero among the White-Haired Tribe, boasting the highest combat prowess, and one of the required recruitment characters – encountering her here was unimaginable.
“Who’s the woman behind you?”
Adina narrowed her eyes while glaring at Sylvia.
Breaking out into a cold sweat, Sylvia had to endure the intense gaze.
Clearly, there was an unusually close relationship with the Sixth Lord, but being confronted with both Rudine and Adina one after another, the awkwardness outweighed any feelings of joy.
“Remember her face since she’s in my group.”
“…Group? You’re telling me you’re keeping this obviously weak human with you?”
Adina muttered discontentedly as Rudine tilted her head in confusion.
“I’m human too, right?”
“…You’re an exception.”
“Luke’s human too.”
“That man’s just a monster pretending to be human!”
…Surprisingly, they all seemed quite intimate.
Moreover, the word “group” implied they had already been successfully recruited by the Sixth Lord.
As I blankly watched them, a familiar voice rang out from afar.
“Have you arrived?”
Radiant blonde hair and golden eyes.
A figure wearing the pure white sacred robe symbolizing a saint.
[SYSTEM: The Fifth Seed of Doom, Elfried Trivia, has been detected!]
[※ Warning: Extreme caution is required when interacting with this person.]
[Saint]
[Degeneration Progress: 0% (removed)]
[Danger Level: C (SSS → C)]
“…”
The fifth seed, Elfried Trivia.
The true saint of the continent.
And then,
“Sixth Lord is here? Did you miss the banquet because you came early?”
[SYSTEM: ‘Grand Lord, Arkhan’ detected!]
[※ Warning: Complete analysis of the observation target is impossible.]
[Danger Level: ???]
[Insightful Eye Possessor]
[※ Warning: Survival rate below 10% if hostile]
Grand Lord Arkhan, one of the strongest figures in the world, was approaching with a grin.
I thought there wouldn’t be any more surprises, yet my legs began to feel weak.
Just as I was struggling to grasp the situation,
“Sixth Lord, you’ve finally arrived.”
[SYSTEM: ‘First Lord, Ekion’ detected!]
[※ Warning: Complete analysis of the observation target is impossible.]
[Magician]
[Danger Level: SS]
[※ Warning: Survival rate below 20% if hostile]
First Lord, Magician Ekion.
He greeted the Sixth Lord with his characteristic indifferent tone as if he had been waiting.
However, something was strange.
On the vast plain, dozens of people and something massive stretched behind him.
Ekion approached Luke as if it were nothing, offering his hand for a handshake.
“To return what I borrowed.”
“Is that so? Was it helpful?”
“Of course. Thanks to you, I made unbelievable progress. Thank you. I will certainly provide a return that matches the assistance I received.”
…What did I borrow that has First Lord saying such things?
Unable to suppress my curiosity, I cautiously approached to inspect the item.
Its identity is…
[SYSTEM: Mythic tier material detected!]
[※ Caution: Observation target exceeds normal analysis range.]
[Target: Fragment of Outer God, Ouroboros]
[Rank: Mythic]
[Danger Level: ∞]
[Status: Deceased]
[Item Classification: Mythic Tier Material]
[Potential Value: Unable to Measure]
[Utility: Infinite]
[※ Caution: Extreme care required when handling.]
“…Huh?”
Ouroboros… isn’t that the raid boss in the Abyss?? Aren’t these the drop items from the field boss that appears probabilistically in the later part of the scenario?
There’s no way they could take it down with their current level.
“…Did they do a raid together or something?”
There was no other explanation.
Well, actually, even this explanation didn’t make sense.
Given Ouroboros’ nature of infinite proliferation if certain conditions aren’t met, it should have been impossible to completely annihilate it even with the entire Council of Lords.
As Silvia stared blankly at Ouroboros’ corpse, First Lord and Grand Lord began their conversation.
“Still, the state of the corpse was quite neat.”
“That’s natural. The Sixth Lord handled it directly.”
“…Directly? You didn’t go with the Sixth Lord to exterminate it?”
“Exterminate? What do you mean? I just watched from behind. The Sixth Lord just swept it away with one move, so there wasn’t even time to help.”
“….?”
One move from Sixth Lord and Ouroboros was killed?
The words echoed in Silvia’s ears.
