“......You’re saying that thing floating in the sky is Divine blood?”

“Divine blood......?”

When Penia spoke as though she could not believe it, Reber showed a hint of confusion for an instant.

“I do not know about that, but that is Al-Akulakka.”

“......Fuck—”

But when Reber calmly answered soon after, Evan cursed without meaning to.

Alon did not bother showing his thoughts, but in truth, his own impression was not very different.

‘That is Divine blood?’

Alon recalled the sky he had seen outside the cave.

That gigantic entrail, pulsing at fixed intervals.

......And the world, which had released the same strange vibration each time it pulsed.

“Hoo—”

Alon wiped his face.

The thought, ‘Is there even an answer?’ flashed through his mind only briefly before Reber’s voice continued.

“In any case, this world is slowly moving toward destruction. Ever since Al-Akulakka fused with the world, the world has been eroded.”

“Are you talking about the flesh masses on the ground?”

“Not only those. Every living creature is turning into flesh masses. The only ones who do not immediately begin transforming are hornfolk like us, elves, or beastkin.”

“......Hornfolk?”

“Yes.”

Reber nodded, hesitated for a moment, then looked slightly surprised.

“Come to think of it, judging by the fact that none of you have small horns on your heads, you are not hornfolk, are you? You do not seem to be beastkin either, and elves...... not that either, it seems.”

Reber fell into thought, as though only belatedly sensing something strange.

Alon examined his appearance.

‘Huh......? Now that I look.’

Alon was slightly surprised.

He had not noticed at first, but on closer inspection, a small horn was growing from the right side of Reber’s head.

Silence flowed for a moment.

Then, as though Reber did not particularly care what race Alon’s group belonged to, he continued.

“In any case, we have not transformed yet, but I believe that will only last for so long.”

“......You mean you will transform into flesh masses?”

At Alon’s question, Reber shook his head.

“We do not transform suddenly. However, if those flesh masses attack us and leave even a wound, we immediately turn into the same thing as them.”

“Is there no way to respond to it?”

“If one can handle magic power, one can be free from the transformation, but ordinary people......”

Reber’s words did not continue to the end.

But Alon could easily grasp just how serious the current situation was.

“That is the summary of everything that has happened so far.”

After Reber’s explanation ended, Alon sank into thought.

“......Lord Alon, this is just—”

In that gap, Evan opened his mouth.

He did not bother finishing the rest.

But Alon easily understood what he meant.

‘He means we should not get involved and focus only on returning.’

Alon agreed as {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} well.

If a god had already assimilated with this world and this world was heading toward destruction, there was nothing Alon could do.

‘So even if this world is sacrificed as a seedbed and destroyed, once a god is born, it is restored again.’

If everything had perished here, there would have been no reason for this world to remain maintained.

Alon came up with one new hypothesis and reached a conclusion.

‘It’s decided.’

Alon chose what he needed to do without hesitation.

‘Find the Seat of War and return.’

Originally, he had thought about buying time to prepare for his battle with the Seat of War, and somehow trying to save a world whose destruction had been decided.

But now he had clearly realized that was impossible.

‘Of course, that does not mean I do not need time.’

Alon recalled his battle with the Seat.

He did not know about the early stage, but later on, he had certainly fought on equal footing within the Seat’s rules.

However, that alone had not been enough to defeat the Seat.

‘In the end, even there, there is a limit to death.’

Of course, that did not mean physical death.

It meant mental death.

At that time, even though Alon’s will had not broken, he had ultimately lost.

That meant that even if the body did not die, there was still a mental limit.

And the fact that Alon reached his mental limit faster than the Seat meant he was still lacking in the battle against the Seat.

‘I need preparation.’

Alon had to prepare to face the Seat.

So that he could defeat it.

And very fortunately, what he needed to do had already come to mind.

Magic used together with countless deaths and to the very limit—

And in the process of reconstructing that magic again to fit himself, Alon had gained an insight.

‘......I need to create a system.’

A system.

Something that did not exist for the current Alon.

And therefore, what the current Alon needed most.

‘Is it decided, then?’

Alon divided what he needed to do into two tasks.

The first was to find the Seat.

The other was to create a system for the magic he had learned haphazardly up until now.

Alon asked Reber if he had heard any rumors about the Seat of War.

“A black, one-armed dragonkin?”

“Yes.”

“Mm— I am sorry, but I have not seen anyone like that.”

“I see......”

A sigh slipped through Alon’s teeth.

Instinctively, he had a feeling this would not be easy.

‘If we had come just a little further into the past, it would have been easier.’

If the kingdoms had still remained, he could have quickly looked into where the Seat was.

Back then, there would have at least been the minimum infrastructure needed to follow rumors.

But in a world where destruction was closing in right before their eyes like this, that too was realistically impossible.

As Alon was thinking that—

“Are you perhaps looking for someone?”

Reber carefully spoke to him.

“I am.”

“Then, may I make one proposal?”

“What is it?”

Reber immediately elaborated.

“As you have likely noticed to some extent already, we do not live in this cave. We were staying here on our way to Keremenia because there were too many flesh masses.”

“Keremenia?”

“Yes. It is the final sanctuary resisting Al-Akulakka. Perhaps all lives that have not become flesh masses are gathering there.”

Reber brought out the main point in earnest, and Evan, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth.

“To summarize simply, you want us to protect you until you reach Keremenia?”

“That is correct. In truth, if I were alone, I could reach it well enough, but moving with this many people by myself is......”

Reber glanced at them and added,

“But I believe this will by no means be a loss for you. As I said, there is a ‘sage’ in Keremenia.”

“......An existence that can observe everything, you mean?”

“Yes. If it is that person, I am certain they will be able to find the black dragon you are searching for.”

Alon thought for a moment.

Just as everyone was waiting for Alon’s decision—

“Let us do that.”

He nodded.

Either way, it was true that they needed a clue.

And so—

“Thank you!”

—the first destination for Alon’s group was decided.

####

Hidan was engulfed in tension and could not easily raise his head.

Naturally so.

All the executives of Blue Moon followed the Great Moon, and they already knew what had happened once before when the Great Moon disappeared.

They had even seen it with their own eyes.

In other words, since he could plainly see what was going to happen next, fear came first.

‘......Why exactly did Red Moon tell me to relay this story?’

Hidan recalled that moment.

He had clearly heard that Red Moon had gone to the Empire, yet Red Moon had appeared before Hidan without warning.

‘Tell the other executives that the Great Moon has gone missing.’

After leaving only those words behind, Red Moon had immediately disappeared.

As though there were something that had to be done quickly.

Because of that, Hidan had arrived in Colony without hearing any details, simply to carry out Red Moon’s order.

And after conveying that fact to Seollang, he was trembling in anxiety.

“Really?”

At that moment, Seollang’s voice fell over his head.

A strangely calm voice.

“......?”

Without realizing it, Hidan lifted his gaze and looked up at Seollang.

And soon, he could not help being surprised.

Because—

‘......She is smiling?’

—strangely, even after hearing that Alon had disappeared, Seollang was smiling.

Hidan’s face went blank for a moment.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

At Seollang’s next words, Hidan flinched in shock and became flustered for an instant.

“Ah— well...... I wondered if I had conveyed the story incorrectly—”

He carefully opened his mouth, but Seollang still did not erase her smile, as though it did not matter at all.

“I think I heard it just fine? You said my benefactor went missing, right?”

“......That is, correct?”

“Mm, I heard you properly. I understood, okay?”

Seollang confirmed it with a smile at Hidan’s question.

However, Hidan’s doubts only grew stronger.

Because Golden Moon’s reaction was completely different from what he had expected.

“Are you perhaps...... not worried?”

Hidan knew.

He knew there was no reason to ask such a question.

Even so, the words came out on their own.

And to Hidan’s question, which might perhaps be considered rude—

“Mm, not at all.”

—Seollang replied far too lightly.

“......Is that so?”

“Of course? To begin with, it makes no sense for my benefactor to die.”

At Seollang’s laughing response, Hidan felt a strange sense of wrongness.

But he could not easily realize the reason for that wrongness, or what it was.

It could not be helped.

Golden Moon’s words were far too ordinary to feel wrong.

She was merely showing infinite trust, saying she believed in the Great Moon.

He wondered briefly, ‘Is that what feels wrong?’

“Mm— this is actually better.”

Seollang spoke brightly and rose from her seat.

“Hey, Hidan. Did you know?”

Then she spread out a finger toward Hidan.

“In this world, there are, you see, a little more children who get in my benefactor’s way than you might think.”

“......In the Great Moon’s way?”

“Mm. So this is actually better. While my benefactor is gone—”

Because I can deal with all the leeches clinging to him.

Seollang whispered quietly, then moved.

Her blond hair swayed.

Her golden tail swayed as well.

“......Is there a reason you must move specifically when the Great Moon is absent?”

At Hidan’s question, Seollang nodded as though it were obvious.

“Of course? When it comes to my benefactor, I—”

She smiled sweetly.

“Still want to remain Seollang, just as I am.”