CH 540

-Boom!

An indescribable roar shakes the ground.

As meteors fall and the earth trembles, it's impossible to maintain one's balance. The monsters standing on the ground face the same challenge.

A tornado has formed far away, but a fierce wind threatens to rip apart anything in its path.

The shockwaves and earthquakes caused by the crashing meteors are accompanied by storms.

Like the monsters unable to move properly, I find myself in a similar situation.

The reason Harriet is with me is simple.

Of the falling meteors, she can use her dimensional gates to redirect any that could cause direct harm to us.

And she's prepared for an emergency evacuation.

-Growl!

But the massive monsters are unaffected by the earthquakes, fierce winds, or shockwaves.

-Crash! Rumble!

Lightning bolts rain down from the sky, striking a monster with a lion's head and a serpent's body. Its flesh twitches a few times, but that's it.

Harriet casts an explosion spell, detonating it right in front of the monster's face, but it only flinches slightly and remains unharmed.

Fire, lightning, magic – nothing works against these monsters.

As the situation intensifies, more monsters with immunity to these attacks emerge.

-Howl!

I thrust my Alsbringer, wrapped in a blue aura, into the giant serpent's body and tear it apart.

Monsters immune to direct physical attacks are rare, especially if it's an aura blade.

Close combat is always the best method of fighting and will remain useful until the end of this battle.

Once.

-Slash!

-Poof!

Twice.

-Stab!

Three times.

-Roar!

As I cut through the serpent's midsection, its massive body, unable to support its weight, snaps in half like a broken tree.

Monsters around us vanish, swept away by the meteor shower and its ensuing explosions. Flying monsters plummet to the ground.

Monsters struck by lightning turn to ash.

Yet, the monstrous horde still screeches, coming closer to kill Harriet and me.

Harriet, who has created a barrier to protect us from the gales, runs alongside me.

-Flash!

Shockwaves, explosions, and flames engulf everything.

We must break through this monstrous wave to destroy the warp gate.

The original world could never be called paradise.

Misery was always present in the original world, just like anywhere else.

But even if the original world wasn't paradise, isn't this hellish landscape a worse alternative?

Even if we clean up this hell and end the gate crisis, paradise won't come.

The world can never return to how it was.

Nevertheless.

Despite all that.

I know we can't achieve paradise, but at least we'll save ourselves from this hell.

-Rumble!

A colossal monster that can fly through these fierce winds spews fire at Harriet and me.

"Reinhardt!"

Harriet's barrier protects us from the fiery breath.

Outside the barrier's range, the flames melt everything in an instant, including the monsters charging at us.

This is just the beginning.

Stronger monsters will appear.

And eventually, we will have to face the last monster.

-Rumble!

As the ground heaves and turns into crimson lava, Harriet and I watch the monsters melt away beyond the fiery breath.

With a deafening crash, the fiery breath that threatened to scorch the land where Harriet and I stood came to a halt. We watched as the monstrous shadow that loomed over the earth was struck by a meteor, losing one of its wings and plummeting to the ground.

Instead of the warp gate, the meteor struck the relatively larger monster, and the resulting shockwave followed as an added bonus.

"Kyaah!"

"Kuuung!"

The slow-falling monster crushed hundreds of other creatures as it descended.

Disaster met disaster head-on.

"Not much time left."

"Right."

Harriet froze the molten ground with her ice magic, clearing a path. We resumed our sprint, the goal not far ahead.

Soon enough, we found our first target.

"Krrrrrr!"

Were the monsters emerging or pouring out?

No, it was more accurate to say they were spilling forth, a tidal wave of flesh pouring from the glowing red warp gate.

The spilled monsters surged forward, most of them crushed to death before they could even stand up properly.

But from the overflowing wave of monsters, some took shape and rose, charging at us as if recognizing their enemies the moment they were born.

Even before reaching the gate, the surging mass of monsters themselves formed a wall we had to break through.

Even if we summoned a meteor shower, conjured a tornado, or created a lightning storm.

If we didn't destroy the accursed warp gate, monsters would overrun the entire area in a matter of days.

We had to crush it.

We had to erase it from this world completely to break the curse that had befallen it.

Paradise wouldn't come, but we could escape hell.

Blue magical lines began to boil from Harriet's entire body.

The shining blue magical lines and the glowing power cartridges on Harriet's necklace soon turned into a near-white light.

Just one chance.

One moment to clear the path.

Only Harriet and I stepped forward to destroy the gate.

The rest of our party decided to provide long-range support only, as it was agreed upon.

Because we were enough on our own.

Facing the wave of flesh, Harriet concentrated her magic at her fingertips.

She compressed her magic to the limit, gathering it all into one point and directing it outward.

There was no name for the spell.

It was just an attack based on Harriet's understanding and control of her mana, compressing and refining it into a concentrated burst.

A simple, honest release of magical power.

"Kuwakwakwakwang!"

But the blast of magical energy that erupted from Harriet's fingertips was a storm of energy in itself.

Even monsters with anti-magic properties were swept away and obliterated by the tempest of her power.

For a moment, a path opened, and the warp gate, enveloped in a red barrier, remained intact.

Could it really withstand such an energy storm?

We knew that the reinforced warp gate couldn't be destroyed by long-range attacks, but was it also impervious to such power? Was there no use even if a meteor struck it directly?

There was no time for despair.

If the first method failed, we'd try the second, and if that failed, the third, the fourth.

We would try until it broke.

There was no time for hesitation.

Instinctively, I charged down the path we'd opened.

Running and running, I aimed for the warp gate that was spewing monsters, pouring all the power I could muster into my sword, Alsbringer.

As I plunged Alsbringer into the warp gate's barrier, I roared.

"Shatter!"

With that, one.

------

On the outskirts of Serandia.

"What... is this...?"

Kono Lint couldn't close his mouth as he witnessed the scene unfolding before him.

-Whoom

-Flash!

-Whirrrrr

Three enormous, immeasurable tornadoes were swirling around Serandia, while hundreds of lightning bolts rained down from the sky every second, killing monsters. Meteors were also pouring down from the heavens.

Anyone who saw this scene would say that the end of the world had finally arrived; it was a vision of utter destruction.

Suspended high in the sky, Kono Lint was observing the ongoing catastrophe that was befalling Serandia in real-time.

Kono Lint hadn't been assigned to scout this area.

He was here on his own volition.

The high command provided no explanations for the bizarre events happening in the front lines.

At first, Kono Lint had set out to scout the initial few peculiar situations, but since then, only a very small number of units had been deployed for frontline scouting missions.

Some members of the allied forces were already aware that strange events were occurring, and Kono Lint, who had seen the phenomenon with his own eyes, was no exception.

Something too enormous and inexplicable to be the power of the Empire was aiding them.

Kono Lint had ventured out to scout on his own, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever it was before the Serandia campaign began.

The sky opened, and meteors rained down.

Lightning struck.

-Woooooosh!

"Ugh!"

Although Kono Lint was suspended in the sky, a gust of wind so fierce that it threatened to tear his ears apart blew around him.

Struggling to keep his eyes open in the raging storm, Kono Lint tried to take in everything that came into his field of vision.

On the ground, battles were raging.

Facing the tide of monsters was a tiny dot.

A mere speck, but there were those who somehow managed to endure.

Though meager compared to the allied forces, they were undoubtedly fighting.

Kono Lint couldn't properly discern the identities of those too distant. While he could approach them at any time, he didn't dare to.

The battle at the city's outskirts.

And within Serandia city.

-Flash!

Kono Lint clearly saw one of the warp gates shatter in a burst of light.

He remembered it vividly.

The day the sky opened.

The world seemed to have been cursed since that day, and all these calamities began.

The gate incident, known to have originated from the Demon King, was also known to Kono Lint.

But why was the magic used by the Demon King's minions cast on Serandia, and why did one of the warp gates vanish?

Due to the fierce wind, it was difficult to see who or where the battle was taking place.

However, it was possible to guess from the events unfolding.

Meteors fell.

Lightning was summoned.

The Demon King's magic and the supernatural powers of Liana, who disappeared with him.

'Reinhardt...?'

Why were those known to have caused the gate incident desperately trying to destroy the gates?

'Was it Reinhardt who paved the way for the allied forces until now?'

Kono Lint didn't know what was going on behind the scenes.

However, if the forces here belonged to the Demon King,

If these forces, capable of annihilating humanity, were trying to destroy the warp gates,

Wasn't it true that things that should be known were not being revealed?

Wasn't there a truth that people needed to know but didn't?

Something was different.

What people know and what is true often diverge.

It was at that moment that Kono Lint had such a thought.

“Damn rat...”

“!”

Kono Lint widened his eyes as a white-haired old man appeared, the air around him distorted.

“So you were there.”

‘Damn it...!’

The old man's hand reached out to Lint faster than Lint could use spatial teleportation.

------

‘Reinhardt! We need to get out of here now!’

‘Just one more, one more...’

‘It's time! Everyone's going to retreat! We've done enough!’

‘Still... just one... just one more...’

‘No!’

One large warp gate.

One medium.

Two small.

It was a miraculous feat, and enough to provide significant help to the allied forces.

It was fortunate that Harriet was there.

If not, attempting to destroy one more gate could have led to an irreversible disaster.

Our troops returned to Edina after providing support for the designated time, and I reluctantly retreated upon Harriet's insistence.

Yes, it was a miraculous feat.

I retreated after attempting to do something beyond my capabilities, and it was good that our forces suffered no losses.

However.

I couldn't help but furrow my brow at the sight of a familiar face hanging limp on the shoulder of a vampire clan mage.

“What... is this?”

“I caught a scout, your greatness.”

Antirianus had captured Kono Lint, an odd spoil of war.

------

Antirianus had caught Kono Lint, who had been observing the situation.

His eyes were sharp. How on earth did he spot and capture this guy in that situation?

It was certain that Kono Lint had seen the scene.

He probably had a rough idea that my forces, including myself, were in Serandia.

I couldn't know what Kono Lint thought when he saw it.

But Kono Lint saw something he shouldn't have seen.

I couldn't send him back to the allied forces as is.

If he says the wrong thing, it could cause a huge accident.

So.

“...”

“...”

I looked at Kono Lint, who had just woken up upon our return to Lazak.

As soon as he woke up, he opened his mouth wide and froze.

His eyes rolled around, but he said nothing.

“Planning to run?”

“...!”

He was so easy to read.

Kono Lint could run away anytime due to his abilities.

“It's fine to run, but do you know where you are?”

“Uh, well... I guess not...”

But he didn't know that this place was Lazak, located at the southernmost tip of the Edina Archipelago.

It would take years to wander around the continent using spatial teleportation and find the allied forces' base.

He might be a long-lost acquaintance to me, but it hasn't been that long for me.

So I wasn't that unfamiliar with Kono Lint.

On the other hand, he looked clueless, his eyes rolling around.

“If you run away half-heartedly, you'll likely end up as a skeleton when found. Do you get what I'm saying?”

“Uh... yeah.”

“I don't plan to treat you harshly, and there's no reason to. Let's talk. After a few words, I'll send you back to the allied forces' base safely.”

Kono Lint couldn't handle the situation, his mouth only twitching slightly.