Beneath the overturned clock tower.

"Hurry up!"

Basto shouted as he cleared away the piled stones.

From the opposite side, Raul and Enzo came running.

"Basto! They say reinforcements have arrived from the north!"

"And what use is that if only now! Tell them to move faster!"

Bale shouted, covering Basto from the other side.

His eyes were bloodshot, his entire face covered in dust and sweat.

"Can’t you see people are buried alive?! At this rate, they really—!"

Loud shouts erupted from other directions as well.

"Be careful not to cause another collapse! Remove the stones one by one from above!"

Immediately after the four—including Tie—were buried under the rubble,

the siege was, of course, halted.

Leonardo deployed a barrier beneath the clock tower, and the remaining Holy Knights focused on clearing the surrounding magical creatures.

"Damn it, how long is this going to—!"

But the work had already been delayed for several dozen minutes.

There was a risk of another collapse, so they had no choice but to clear the rubble by hand, stone by stone.

"Basto! Watch out!"

Standing atop a pile of rocks, Basto slipped and slid down.

An abrasion appeared on his forearm, but without a single groan, Basto got back on his feet.

And immediately resumed throwing aside the visible debris.

"Your Excellency. There are no mages among the reinforcements."

Leonardo, who had been watching grimly, turned at his adjutant’s voice.

"What do you mean, no mages?"

"All mages who could be mobilized have already been dispatched to other sectors. After all, today is the Day of Ruin...!"

Leonardo clenched his fist.

The Day of Ruin.

That alone made the situation even more severe.

Because it wasn’t just this place that had been overturned.

Numerous mercenaries and Holy Knights, scattered across different regions, were engaged in sieges against magic crystals.

And even civilians, from early morning, could encounter magical creatures.

"Your Excellency, forgive me, but..."

The adjutant’s face darkened.

"In the current situation, we must retreat. If the allied forces suffer further losses..."

Amid the roars of magical creatures and the shouts of soldiers, Leonardo felt his ears ringing.

He understood it himself.

Four key fighters had been cut off, and the magical creatures attacked endlessly.

And above all, there was no guarantee that the pulsing tremor that had just collapsed the ground would not happen again.

"You must give the order to retreat."

The adjutant pressed him, but Leonardo could not respond.

He simply could not bring himself to open his mouth.

'Theseos.'

And Astie.

He did not know what was happening down there.

If they were merely isolated—that would still be tolerable.

But what if one of them had suffered a serious injury?

What if someone was on the verge of death right now?

"Damn it..."

Just as he muttered under his breath—

"Commander."

Someone called from behind.

Turning around, he saw Ardiana, her face covered by a mask.

"...Guild Leader."

"I have a way."

Ardiana stepped closer, her expression tense.

"The clock tower was built along the same line as the main palace building."

Leonardo frowned.

He did not understand what she meant.

But Ardiana continued:

"...What I mean is, there is a passage underground."

Leonardo’s eyes widened slightly.

The underground paths beneath the palace.

He knew of them.

But only members of the imperial family could fully navigate that labyrinth.

Originally, those tunnels had been built as evacuation routes for emergencies.

"How do you—"

Ardiana lifted her gaze.

Taking a breath, she raised her hand and removed her mask.

Leonardo’s eyes widened.

He had seen that face before—from a distance, only a few times.

The face of Ardiana, known as the discarded figure of the imperial family.

"Your High—"

Ardiana raised her hand and covered his mouth.

Putting the mask back on, she continued calmly:

"We don’t have time. Leave only a few people to enter the underground passage of the main palace with me, and order the allied forces to retreat."

Leonardo swallowed and froze.

But soon, he nodded quickly.

"Retreat!"

"Regroup!"

Under the sun, magical creatures surged across the ground.

From the retreating formation, four riders broke away.

"This way!"

Ardiana rode ahead, followed by Basto, Bale, and Leonardo.

They crossed the open square, passed through a shattered wall,

and entered a dense forest.

Deprived of prey, the magical creatures let out shrieks, but none of the four slowed down.

As she headed toward the palace, Ardiana thought:

'Should I consider this luck.'

Fortunately, the underground passages of the old palace aligned with those of the current imperial palace.

Several years ago, a large-scale reconstruction had been planned, but the Empress and Fides had opposed it.

'Fides, it’s fine. It’s an underground labyrinth that’s hardly used anyway.'

'I know that too. It just feels strange because of Ardiana.'

'What could Ardiana know. Unlike you, she does nothing. She must have plenty of time to memorize new layouts.'

At the time, it had sounded absurd.

But in the end, Fides’s carelessness helped her now.

Ardiana stopped her horse at the rear courtyard of the main palace.

Basto, Bale, and Leonardo halted one after another behind her.

"This way."

Fortunately, there were few magical creatures nearby.

Most had been drawn to the clock tower by the noise.

Even so, Ardiana moved cautiously.

There was no time, but they had to be ready for a possible battle.

After taking a winding route, they reached a small building used as a garden storage.

Inside, behind a wall, they found a staircase leading downward.

At that moment—

"Grrrr—"

A low growl echoed from the other end of the corridor.

Silence fell between the four.

Bale stepped closer to Ardiana.

"Mark it with this."

He handed her a dagger.

"Basto and I will deal with it and catch up."

Ardiana briefly glanced at the massive shadow of a magical creature cast along the corridor, then nodded.

As she began descending the stairs, Leonardo followed, lighting the lantern he had brought.

With a dull thud, the door closed.

And immediately, the sounds of battle erupted behind them.

Several dozen minutes later.

"This is..."

Having reached the underground beneath the clock tower, Ardiana stopped.

The tip of the dagger in her hand was already noticeably dulled.

"...Your Highness."

Leonardo also spoke, his voice tense.

At that moment, they were looking at the same place.

A vast underground space, like an open plaza.

Water dripped from the ceiling—drip, drip—and several pillars supported the vault.

The problem was that all of it was shrouded in an incomprehensible dark purple magical energy.

Squinting through it, they could see pulsing red roots.

Densely intertwined, they stretched toward something at the very center.

Ardiana murmured:

"...A heart?"

At that same moment, a sharp slicing sound—shhk—

Leonardo ducked instantly.

When he straightened again, a vivid red horizontal line appeared across his cheek, and blood immediately began to flow.

At his feet writhed something he had barely managed to deflect.

A root, split cleanly in half—sharp as a blade.