Saint Yuman trusted Marquis Palatio.

From the start, because Saint Yuman was one of the people who had witnessed with his own two eyes the miracles Marquis Palatio had achieved so far.

However.

“......Isn’t this a dog’s death?”

“Shh—be quiet.”

“No, but honestly, it is, isn’t it? In the first place, to get rid of this black territory you have to deal with the thing in the center, but can you even do that? You saw it too! The moment you so much as set foot in there—”

Unfortunately, the soldiers couldn’t trust Marquis Palatio.

“.......”

Yuman looked at the soldiers.

Their emotions varied, but one thing was common.

Distrust toward Marquis Palatio.

Of course, the people here, too, would know Marquis Palatio to some extent.

Because in the Allied Kingdoms, there was no one who didn’t know the Marquis.

Even so, the reason the soldiers were skeptical wasn’t because of the Marquis’s ability, but because of the black territory.

“Hoo—”

Yuman turned his gaze and looked at the black territory.

Even though only a single day had passed, it had come far closer to Ashtalon Kingdom than yesterday, and it gave fear to everyone here.

Because they had seen it with their own eyes.

What happened to their comrades from making the “light” choice of simply ‘setting foot in’ that black territory.

“.......”

And Yuman, too, had clearly seen with his own two eyes what happened to those who entered the black territory.

Blood tears flowed from their eyes, confession spilled from their mouths, and their bodies—soldiers who mechanically drove blades toward other people’s hearts.

As he quietly recalled that horrific memory, he raised his head and looked at the sky.

A huge ship was floating so high it looked tiny.

And at that moment.

“......Selaim.”

“Parkline.”

On the outer edge of Ashtalon’s walls.

Parkline, the Red Mage Tower master who had arrived at dawn today, called Selaim.

“Are all preparations finished?”

“Yes. But—what do you think?”

“What are you asking?”

“This plan. Do you really think it’ll succeed?”

At Parkline’s question, Selaim looked at the ship floating in the sky.

“Why are you asking that?”

“We’re moving according to the plan, but I don’t understand it.”

Parkline recalled what Parkline had heard from Alon at the last meeting at dawn today.

A dubious expression settled on Parkline’s face.

Of course, it didn’t seem like Marquis Palatio’s plan was groundless.

His story sounded quite credible, and sometimes the thought even came up: ‘How does Marquis Palatio know these details so specifically?’

......Except for the plan he presented at the very beginning.

“Hoo—”

Right now, the Marquis’s plan was solid.

That was a truth beyond doubt.

However, that only held if the “Sin” in the middle of the black territory came all the way here.

In other words, if the Sin that created this black territory did not personally make the trip to the place they wanted.

This plan, practically, had no meaning at all.

Of course, the Marquis had also mentioned a way to draw out the Sin inside the black territory.

“......Firing magic to attack a place you can’t even confirm with your own eyes.”

But that “method”—

from Parkline’s standpoint, it sounded utterly ridiculous.

That was why Parkline threw a skeptical question at Selaim.

“Do you think it’s impossible?”

At the answer that came back, Parkline was dumbfounded.

Rather, Parkline wanted to ask: why on earth would you think it’s possible?

Even if Parkline’s magical attainment was a hair below Selaim Mikardo’s, Parkline still had an Origin of Parkline’s own, and was the tower master of the Red Mage Tower.

So Parkline could tell, too.

Just how absurd that sounded.

“It’s nonsense. No matter how special the Marquis is, it’s impossible to create a spell that can deal meaningful damage over a distance you can’t see. You know that too, don’t you?”

Even if you realized the spell, that wasn’t the end.

Depending on how long you maintained the spell, mana would naturally be consumed, and depending on the tier of the spell, the amount of mana consumed differed as well.

Naturally, the higher the tier and the higher the lethality, the more the consumed mana doubled.

No matter how perfect the structure was, the moment it became long-range, the arrangement—or ultimately the nature—could twist, and the spell could volatilize.

And beyond that, you had to solve all unexpected problems in advance for the Marquis’s plan to succeed even by a hair.

“Even if Marquis Palatio uses the divine power I’ve only heard of in rumors—”

So as Parkline continued—

“Your words are right.”

“What?”

At Selaim’s cool agreement, Parkline narrowed Parkline’s brow.

Whether Parkline did or not, Selaim’s voice continued calmly.

“I said your words are right. Yes. Like you said, with magic, it doesn’t all end just because you realize it easily. If you don’t pay attention to mana volume, you can’t even fire the spell far in the first place. And you have to consider all the deterioration that can happen in that short time, too—”

Because magic isn’t merely delicate, after all.

Watching Selaim add that leisurely, Parkline was dumbfounded for a moment, but—

“That’s if you’re just an ordinary mage.”

“......What are you talking about?”

At the sentence that followed, Parkline could only ask back.

“Literally what it sounds like. It means it’s something an ordinary mage can’t help but consider.”

“......You’re saying Marquis Palatio is special?”

At that question, Selaim—who had been looking at the sky—turned his head and met Parkline’s eyes.

Then, while pointing up at the sky with a finger—

“It’s better to see it yourself than hear it.”

Selaim said simply.

At that, as if bewitched by something, Parkline looked up at the sky.

There was the clear blue sky, and in the middle of it, the ship floating.

And unlike the scenery Parkline had already known—

“......?”

Something strange began to be seen.

The sky, little by little, was twisting.

“......!”

It was strange.

No—this wasn’t merely strange.

What was twisting wasn’t the sky.

It was—

“A mana... phenomenon?”

A phenomenon where the surroundings warp temporarily when mana is released at high output.

By itself, it wasn’t something to be that surprised about.

If Parkline released mana here, Parkline could produce that kind of phenomenon easily.

But the size of that mana phenomenon—

“Crazy—”

It was so huge it looked like it could chew up the entire ship that existed in the sky.

Without realizing it, Parkline spat out a curse.

“See? Not ordinary.”

Selaim’s voice, mixed with a hint of laughter, flowed into Parkline’s ear.

At that moment, even the soldiers who had been glaring at the black territory with distrust on their faces turned their gaze toward the sky.

Their eyes went wide.

With no other emotion mixed in anymore.

Filled only with the purest form of shock.

And.

───────!!!!!

Along with countless clusters of stars rising in the blue sky, as Alon looked at a shape that had grown so huge that even the caster could no longer properly handle it, a shape that could no longer be called a needle—

Alon spoke a sentence.

“Bullet of a fervent wish.”

The shape that had swollen without end changed into the form of a spiral.

And.

At the low mutter that followed—

“Of the unforgotten—”

-snipe.

───────────────-!

Light, fired.

The soldiers’ eyes turned toward the light being emitted.

The light that fell while bursting a tremendous roar so huge it could suck in even the high clouds.

That light vanished beyond the horizon they couldn’t see.

A near-instant moment.

But the soldiers stared blankly beyond the horizon.

And then—the light disappeared.

As if it had never existed in the first place.

The world that had been shining so brightly it hurt the eyes regained its original color.

And just as a subtle question was about to rise among the soldiers—

─-!

They heard it.

A small sound.

Heavy, but small—like the sound of a shell being fired from far, far away.

At the same time, they saw it.

A curtain of dust that covered the horizon far away—

And—

─────────────────!!!

A tremendous blast that struck the soldiers.

Soon, enormous dust covered the entire horizon, and above it, a massive cloud of dust rose.

Wriggle—!

As everyone stood frozen in that unbelievable situation—

“Th-those—!”

“!”

At one soldier’s shout, every face around them hardened stiff.

Because the black territory that had dyed the ground black began to wriggle all at once.

No—strictly speaking, what was moving wasn’t the black territory.

The flesh that had been spread over the black territory, flesh that had no longer been moving, was gathering as if it had gained intellect.

And threads that burst out from one point on the black ground—began binding together the moving flesh into one mass.

Binding—

Binding—

Binding again.

Human flesh, monster flesh.

Without distinguishing between them, they clumped together and formed a gigantic mountain, then created a shape.

Kwagak— kwadeudeuk!

Twisted bones repeatedly pierced out of the flesh and sank back in, while monster blood and human blood mixed grotesquely and produced a dark red stain.

“Crazy—!”

The soldiers were shaken, but the mountain of corpses that had already begun gathering only swelled its size more and more.

At first, as big as the wall.

Next, as big as the inner fortress.

Then—

Kwadeudeudeuk—!!!

Big enough to surpass even the royal castle.

At that overwhelming size, fear and terror filled the soldiers’ two eyes again.

A thing that looked like it should never exist in this world, dripping dark red blood and green blood, looked down at the soldiers with arrogant leisure.

“That’s...... bigger than I thought—”

“How could such a horrific existence—!”

Parkline and Yuman each spilled voices filled with shock. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

And as if responding to those humans’ reactions, it slowly raised a gigantic hand.

A hand with grotesquely twisted bones and flesh attached blotted out the sky.

“R-run—”

The moment a soldier, thrown into panic, was about to open his mouth without realizing it—

─────────!

From the sky,

────────────────!!!!!

it fell.

A gigantic blast swallowed the hearing of everyone there, and the twisted hand was cut off futilely, and once again the sun shone on the soldiers.

And—

what was reflected in the vision of the soldiers who had lost their hearing was a gigantic, ink-black snake.

While tearing off the arm of the existence that had thrown the soldiers into fear, an ink-black snake that flaunted its ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) existence with arrogant leisure—

—the Receiver Basiliora

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■-!!!!

manifested.