“How was this made?”
There had to be a limit to the mana emitted by the snow-capped mountain itself.
Raven rubbed his chin and stepped closer to the wall.
When he infused mana into it, a faint blue light seeped out, forming a magic circle.
“Is it like a filter?”
It seemed to contain divine power as well. It appeared to decompress highly condensed mana into a form the body could more easily absorb.
But then, why go to the trouble of separating it out like this?
“There must be a source of power somewhere.”
Forcibly drawing mana from nature would devastate the surrounding environment. As Raven thought this, he froze.
“Don’t tell me… they artificially created the snow mountain?”
It was a reasonable deduction.
Perhaps the snow-capped mountain had formed as a result of forcibly absorbing surrounding mana and gathering it in the ruins.
Raven’s gaze deepened.
If that were true, then the hero had given up land for future generations in order to defeat the Evil God.
“What’s so special about an Evil God that I should give up what’s mine?”
He didn’t care one bit about the hero’s sacrifice for the future. Raven placed his hand atop the magic circle.
“Teleport.”
Raven’s body vanished in an instant.
Whooooosh!
“Ugh. Shield.”
The destination he arrived at through the magic circle was beneath a dark cliff.
Buffeted by a fierce wind, Raven quickly cast a spell.
“Light.”
As light emerged in a space devoid of any illumination, a narrow and long path stretched out before him.
The overwhelming darkness behind him seemed to push him forward.
Why does a place like this exist?
It was filled with such an ominous, unsettling energy that his nerves were on edge. Was this place meant to purify twisted mana?
Raven advanced, letting his body guide him. The deeper he went, the more the darkness coiled around him.
Wooooong.
After walking for some time, a massive magic circle appeared before him. Suspended in midair, it glowed with such a deep green light that it was surprising he hadn’t seen it earlier.
[The one with the proper qualifications…]
“What?”
[Let the one with the proper qualifications undo the seal.]
The one with qualifications? Who was that? Someone who could break the seal on the Evil God?
Raven pinched his nose at the stench emanating from the magic circle.
‘Just hearing the voice makes me feel—’
Corrupted.
Darkness.
This was clearly a magic circle that controlled profound darkness.
“Ugh.”
Blood dripped from his nose.
Backing away, Raven studied the circle more closely.
Drip.
Drip-drip.
The more he focused on the magic circle, the more blood poured from his nose.
“Is this… a sealing formation?”
It even looked like it had sealed the Evil God. Why was something like this here?
Raven vomited blood and collapsed to the ground.
“I… I think I’m still okay.”
Every time the green light flared, the magic circle quivered. He had a strong feeling that once the seal broke, the darkness would burst forth.
He had to fix it.
As he concentrated on the magic circle, scattered weak points became visible. Those were the places where the seal was faltering.
Raven wiped the blood from his nose and mouth and drew mana into his body.
Floating into the air, he repaired the weakened areas of the seal. Meanwhile, the thick darkness began to stir, trying to invade his body.
The longer the incantation went, the more Raven’s red eyes were overtaken by black.
“Let all wicked things return to ash. Let light return to light, and darkness to ash.”
Thank the heavens he had learned holy magic. Feeling the darkness hungrily eyeing his body, Raven grinned.
No matter how wildly you thrash, you’re no match for me.
As if sensing his resolve, the magic circle pulsed violently, then lost its light and went still.
“Huh?”
As Raven repaired what was likely the seal on the Evil God, an abnormality occurred in the snowy mountains.
“R-Run!!”
A herbalist from Graham Territory screamed upon spotting a monster appear atop a tree.
They had just come to gather herbs at a lower altitude under the protection of soldiers—
Crunch.
“Hel—!”
Before he could finish the word, the monster swallowed him whole.
Whoosh.
“Run!”
The remaining herbalists and soldiers had no time to grieve. They raced down the mountain at full speed.
A higher-ranking soldier pulled a signal flare from his chest pocket.
Fwoosh!
Red smoke soared into the sky.
Screee!
“There’s… there’s more than one!”
As they ran, the soldiers looked up, only to flinch at the shadows of flying monsters above.
Can we really head straight for the city like this?
“N-No! The monsters are heading for the territory!”
The desperate voices of the herbalists rang out as they tumbled down the slopes.
They had thought the monsters would chase them, but the creatures were already soaring past them—straight toward Graham Territory.
“Stop them! Stop them!!”
Soldiers and herbalists shouted in vain, but the monsters that had taken flight did not turn back.
“H-Hurry!”
Those who remained behind began running frantically for the castle, desperate to reach their families.
“A signal flare was fired from the snowy mountain.”
The moment a soldier atop the wall spotted the flare, he slammed the emergency button.
Ding, ding, ding.
“A monster sighting signal from the snowy mountain—Flying monsters are approaching the territory!!”
As the alert was broadcast, a black swarm rapidly closing in came into view.
“Sound the monster invasion alarm!! All citizens must evacuate to shelters!!”
With the battle signal, the bell rang twice in quick succession. Everyone throughout the territory froze, then immediately broke into a run.
“Mom…”
A child who had been playing outside tripped and fell, unable to keep up with the fleeing crowd.
“Ugh… Waaaah…”
His leg was scraped and bleeding, but his friends and the adults had vanished.
W-What do I do?
The child rolled his eyes in panic, then crawled under a nearby vendor’s stall to hide.
[“If you can’t move, get into the smallest space you can and hide.”]
He recalled what he had learned at the new school not long ago. If I hide well here, someone will come rescue me.
Curled up tight, he clutched his wounded leg and waited for the knights to arrive.
“Monsters again?! Isn’t this happening way too often lately?”
Servants at the grand ducal castle clenched their teeth and ran, all heading for the underground shelters. Tom was among them. As he entered the castle, he began searching for Tinya.
“Hey, Tom. Who are you looking for?”
“I’m not looking for anyone. I’m just checking to see if everyone’s safe.”
Thump.
“You don’t need to say it—we all know.”
“What are you talking about?”
Tom scratched his head in frustration, but the people around him chuckled knowingly.
“H-Huge!”
As they ran down the hallway, they froze at the sight of a massive figure leaping over the castle wall.
“Hey! Don’t stop! Keep running!”
With wings wide enough to cover the windows and a massive, muscular body, it was not something ordinary folks like them could possibly face.
“I-It looks like a dragon… No, that has to be a mistake, right?”
“Cut the crap and run.”
Tom clenched his teeth and shoved the other servants forward, urging them to run faster.
The north was under threat, but he wasn’t about to die so pointlessly to some monster.
“Everyone stay calm and move quickly.”
Albert appeared out of nowhere and took command of the servants. His eyes, gazing out the window, were filled with concern.
With both of them gone, there shouldn’t be any major issues—but the more these monsters rampaged, the more he felt the Evil God’s resurrection was drawing near.
‘It’s almost time to go to the capital.’
The moment to reveal the truth was fast approaching.
“Everyone, survive!”
Thanks to their immediate response after the flare, the Graham Knights arrived at the territory almost simultaneously with the monsters.
At Elliott’s command, the knights dispersed.
Boom! Boom! Crash!
The empty streets echoed with the sounds of monsters destroying buildings in search of prey.
The local knights and soldiers stationed in the village were no match for them—they, too, were waiting for the main force to arrive.
“All junior and apprentice knights, assist the soldiers in evacuating any remaining citizens!”
Assessing the situation, Damian issued orders.
These weren’t monsters the weaker ones could handle.
Screeech!
Now that’s more like it.
Watching the Grand Duke and Duchess move in perfect harmony from opposite directions, Damian nodded in satisfaction.
He too sliced the wings off a monster charging at him.
