At the war front...

A female could be seen, her body drenched in sweat and covered in the blood of human corpses.

BANG...

BOOM...

But she already seemed used to the explosions. Shield after shield covered the soldiers, yet they could barely say thanks before charging back in.

Their spells distorted the environment so badly that spatial storms began appearing within a stable world. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

It was that serious.

Gravity itself had been destroyed. In some places, there was zero gravity, while in others the gravity was so overwhelming that a person would instantly be crushed into meat paste.

In certain zones, a single step could age someone by ten years, causing them to die before taking even twenty steps.

Elsewhere, terrifying winds sliced through flesh while releasing howls that sounded like the cries of dead souls begging for help.

Mountains of corpses piled up in the distance, and everywhere one looked, dead bodies could be seen.

"Thank you..." A young man voice was heard as the female calmly crouched beside the wounded young man and spread her palm over his body.

Listening to his words made her take a deep breath.

They were both around the same age, yet in just two months they had changed so much that one would mistake them for adults in their mid-twenties.

Yet they were barely twenty.

"It’s alright. Just remember not to push yourself too hard, okay? Your parents still need you," Veya spoke softly as she touched his head before standing up.

"I understand... but I have to try my best. If they break through our lines, there won’t even be a home left to talk about," the young man laughed as he stood up.

His wounds had already healed, and his mana had fully recovered.

"Okay... stay safe," Veya said as the man nodded before flying into the sky.

Yes, he was a Tier 4 magi.

At the side, Veya watched calmly as a wolf-like beast collided with the man.

A terrifying pressure erupted as the surrounding area collapsed.

The ground vaporized while the sky itself filled with cracks and holes.

But..

SPLAT!

The wolf beast bit down on the man’s head as his body fell lifelessly to the ground.

He was dead.

Veya closed her eyes briefly as she clenched her fists.

"I told you..." a sweet feminine voice echoed beside her.

"You can’t save everyone. You have to focus on the strongest," a female soldier spoke firmly.

She wore luxurious enchanted mage armor, and above all else, she was a Tier 6 magi.

Her only responsibility here was protecting Veya.

Veya’s importance in this war was immense. After all, she could not only heal injuries but also restore mana, not to mention her enormous mana reserves now that she was already a Tier 3 magi.

After Azar left, a group from the kingdom had approached her and begun training her alongside others with healing or mana recovery abilities.

Only Veya was considered especially important because she could do both simultaneously while also possessing an enormous amount of mana.

The only problem was that Veya was stubborn and wanted to heal everyone.

That simply would not work.

They needed her at the Tier 5 battlefield. Even if she still could not regenerate lost limbs or save those on the verge of death, her mana recovery alone was invaluable.

For the kingdom, that was already enough.

"Do you see what I’m saying now?" the Tier 6 magi pressed again.

Veya was extremely important, but they could not force her. In fact, her value was considered even greater than that of a Tier 6 magi, so they had to treat her carefully.

And they were also investing heavily in her growth. If Veya could even reach Tier 4, she would likely gain the ability to regenerate lost limbs, which was incredibly important.

They could not even imagine what she might be capable of once she reached Tier 5 and above.

"Fine..." Veya muttered softly.

One of the reasons she stayed here, aside from healing lower-level magi and recovering their mana, was because she was searching for Azar.

After all, Tier 3 magi had already been summoned to the battlefield, yet after nearly a month she still had not found him.

Either he had not arrived yet...

Or he was already d—

No.

She refused to think about that.

She hoped he would survive and that she would see him again soon.

After all, he had survived a taboo-level spell.

Surely he could survive this war too.

---

0900

The sky was bright as the sun shone directly unto the fortress.

A full month had passed, and the pressure of war had transformed the once playful youths into battle-hardened individuals.

But their true test would begin once they reached the battlefield.

Every single day, transmissions announced the horrifying number of deaths occurring across the front lines.

And only then did they realize how many lies had been fed to the public.

The reported death tolls had been drastically reduced, which was why ordinary people never truly understood the gravity of the war.

As it turned out, even before their trials began, the casualties had already been outrageous.

So it was not that the war had suddenly spiraled into horror.

It had always been this horrific.

But for the sake of societal stability and public order, the truth had been heavily suppressed.

Now, however, they could no longer hide it.

The truth had finally surfaced.

Though even now, common citizens only knew the war was severe...

Not how catastrophic it truly was.

Only those heading toward the battlefield understood how grave the situation had become.

And because of the daily reports, the youths finally realized that the warnings about the fortress possibly being destroyed and all of them being wiped out were not exaggerations.

Thousands upon thousands of Tier 7 mana-devouring beasts, each one a Monster King, a calamity-level existence were appearing every few weeks, placing enormous pressure on the kingdoms.

And the mana-devouring beasts were already terrifying enough with their monstrous bodies and ability to consume the mana of their enemies.

But now...

A new variation had appeared.

One capable of both casting spells and devouring mana.

That single change completely altered the flow of the war.

Deaths continued increasing endlessly.

At this rate, within a few years the kingdom itself might collapse.

Perhaps even Tier 1 magi would eventually be forced onto the battlefield.

But now...

The day had finally arrived.

The fortress moved through the sky as dark clouds filled with dim green light appeared ahead of them.

And the moment they arrived..

A horrifying scream echoed across the heavens.

Azar and the others instantly felt their skin crawl as their legs trembled weakly beneath them.

At the front stood a massive mountain at least a thousand meters tall, surrounded by an endless number of mana-devouring beasts.

But the moment the image zoomed in, several people instantly collapsed onto their knees in horror.

That mountain...

Was made entirely of human corpses.

BAAMMMM!

The fortress shook violently as a gigantic beast opened its massive maw and bit down on it.

"Prepare for impact!" a rushed voice echoed out as Azar felt his heart skip a beat.

Then..

The fortress was ripped apart.

Everyone was exposed.

They were hundreds of meters high in the sky.

Only then did they realize where their deaths might come from.

But just as they began free-falling, their bodies trembled slightly, and in the next instant, they found themselves safely on the ground.

Above them, they saw the massive projection of a terrifying beast clashing against the monster that had attacked the fortress while deafening growls echoed through the battlefield.

Only a few meters away stood a gigantic army of mana-devouring beasts of mixed ranks, ranging from Tier 1 all the way to Tier 4.

The danger was overwhelming.

Even though they numbered in the tens of thousands, compared to the millions of mana-devouring beasts...

They were nothing.

They truly were going to die.

Even Azar collapsed onto the ground in shock.

Was this really their end?