The sun had disappeared.

As absurd as it sounded, it was really happening.

“Kyuuu! See?! What did I tell you, owner punk?!” Hamchi exclaimed.

“It really disappeared? The sun has vanished? What the hell is going on...?” Siegfried muttered, stunned.

“Kyuuu! How would Hamchi know that?!”

“Hold on a second.”

Siegfried immediately called the Guardians. While Cheon Woo-Jin was currently unavailable, he managed to connect with one of the agents.

“How’s the situation across the continent right now?” Siegfried asked.

— Nothing particularly unusual is happening, Your Imperial Majesty. The Marchioni Empire’s army does seem to be mobilizing toward the Proatine Empire’s borders, but it does not look like they are about to launch a full-scale invasion. We believe it is merely a show of force or their vanguard units preparing for the upcoming war.

“I see. Erm... Did the sun disappear by any chance?”

— Pardon me?

The agent looked visibly confused, as what Siegfried had said sounded like absolute nonsense.

— I am afraid I might have misheard Your Imperial Majesty.

“The sun hasn’t risen in the Proatine Empire.”

— Huh?

“It’s dark here. It’s still night.”

— We will confirm right away.

A few seconds later...

— Based on the satellite imagery we have gathered, only the Proatine Empire’s territories are completely dark as if it were still night.

“What about the other regions?”

— They are perfectly normal.

“Huh...?”

— This is indeed quite strange, Your Imperial Majesty. Only the Proatine Empire is without the sun.

“What in the damned hell is going on...?” Siegfried muttered, baffled by what he heard.

The sun seemed to have normally risen elsewhere, except for the Proatine Empire.

“Okay. Got it. Thanks.”

He ended the call and immediately convened an emergency council meeting.

Their main agenda was to determine the cause of this bizarre phenomenon, analyze the effects of the sun's disappearance, and come up with countermeasures.

“...”

However, even the most capable of his senior ministers had no solution to the crisis. After all, how could anyone figure out the reason behind the sun not rising only in one specific place in the world?

To make things worse, such phenomena were widely regarded as bad omens, and people would immediately think of pessimistic thoughts. Fear would spread that it was the end of their nation, or claim that it was punishment for the ruler angering the gods.

Of course, none of the ministers dared to speak such words aloud.

They weren't scared; they all knew that Siegfried was no tyrant. If anything, he was widely regarded as a wise king, a true ruler among rulers. Hence, to suggest such superstitions in his presence would be a downright insult.

“Hmm...” After much thought, Siegfried came to a conclusion. “This must be the work of one of the demonic beings that escaped from an Ancient Dungeon.”

A sudden and unexplainable phenomenon like this could only be caused by something that escaped from an Ancient Dungeon.

‘Which one could it be?’ Siegfried wondered and opened his quest window, scrolling down in search of clues tied to this bizarre phenomenon.

[The Ten Calamities]

[Hunt down and slay the ten most terrifying demonic entities that escaped from Purgatory.]

[Type: Special Quest]

[Progress: 60% (6/10)]

[Reward: +20 Levels]

[Targets:]

- Swarming Locusts ✓

- Bloodstained River ✓

- Destructive Hailstorm ✓

- Plague of Flies

- Endless Darkness

- Mass Extinction ✓

- Curse of Decay

- Bloodsucking Parasite ✓

- Wailing Beasts

- Song of Death ✓

[Note 1: Each slain Calamity drops an item infused with its powers.]

[Note 2: Collect all 10 to gain authority over world-scale disasters for six months.]

[Note 3: This quest is exclusive to the main protagonist of BNW.]

‘Swarming flies? No, that’s not it. Endless Darkness? Hmm... This seems somehow connected to this. The Curse of Decay or the Wailing doesn’t really explain why the sun has suddenly disappeared.’

After making up his mind, Siegfried immediately went to the Celestial Realm to find Michael.

If anyone understood the Ten Calamities, then it would be the Chief Archangel who locked them away in the first place.

“Ah, so he has finally appeared?”

As expected, Michael knew what was happening the moment Siegfried asked about the phenomenon.

“Oh? You know who is behind it?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Who is it?”

“Sun Devourer Nox.”

“Hm? Sun Devourer?”

“A fearsome demon who shrouds the world in darkness.”

“How do I defeat him?”

“To be frank, even finding him will be like searching for a needle in a haystack.”

“Huh? Why so?”

“He disguises himself as an ordinary human. He moves freely while draining the sun’s energy. Wherever he goes, the sun will fail to rise, shrouding the entire region in darkness,” Michael said. Then, he added, “In ancient times, Sun Devourer Nox caused an ice age so severe that ninety percent of all life perished.”

“So basically... I have to go find him before he pulls something like that?”

“That is correct.”

“Well, that shouldn’t be so hard. I can just use Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance to find him.”

“It’s not that simple. Sun Devourer Nox is extremely skilled at hiding. I’m afraid that even Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance will be unable to detect him.”

“...Really?”

“But I’m certain of one thing. Wherever Sun Devourer Nox is, darkness will always follow shortly.”

“In other words, you’re saying that Sun Devourer Nox will always be at the center of the darkness.”

“Precisely. Which means that at present—”

“He must be in Preussen.”

The imperial capital of the Proatine Empire, Preussen, was located at the exact center of the empire, making it an extremely convenient location to influence the entire empire.

“Got it. Thanks for the advice.”

“Think nothing of it. Forgive me for not being able to offer more help.”

“No worries. Anyway, I’ll be heading back down now.”

“Go safely.”

Siegfried’s head was filled with thoughts as he left the Celestial Realm.

‘How the hell do I find someone who’s hell-bent on hiding?’ he wondered.

He felt like he was searching for a needle in a haystack—or rather, searching for Sun Devourer Nox in the whole of Preussen.

***

After returning to Preussen, Siegfried immediately activated Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance.

He typed in "Sun Devourer Nox."

[Alert: Searching...]

[Alert: Unable to locate Sun Devourer Nox!]

Michael was right; even Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance couldn’t trace Sun Devourer Nox.

‘Does that mean I actually have to comb through the city inch by inch?’ Siegfried grumbled inwardly.

It would truly be like searching for a needle in a haystack, but there was no other way. He had to find Sun Devourer Nox, or the sun would never shine on the Proatine Empire again.

And if that happened, catastrophe would surely soon follow.

No, perhaps the catastrophe had already begun.

“It’s too cold...”

“We need to bring out our winter clothes again.”

“Tell them to restart the heating supply!”

“Reheat the heaters!”

Premature preparations for winter had already begun within the imperial palace. With no sunlight, the temperature dropped nonstop. Even though it was still the middle of summer, a chill had begun to set in throughout the imperial palace.

However, that was not the main problem.

Crops couldn’t possibly grow in such a cold environment. Summer was the peak season for the young plants to do photosynthesis and grow, preparing them for the upcoming harvest. While they could somehow survive a bit of chill for a few days, they would certainly wither and die if the lack of sunlight and chill lasted longer.

While the absence of the sun seemed like a minor inconvenience, as the city would be engulfed in darkness, it was actually something far worse than that.

This was the beginning of the extinction of life itself.

“We will seal off the imperial capital and begin a major search operation.”

In the end, Siegfried convened another emergency council meeting and decided to seal the entire imperial capital.

They were going to comb through each and every individual in the city, as this was the only option left due to Sun Devourer Nox’s abilities that could even hide from the Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance.

However, an even greater problem presented itself.

“The entire empire will collapse if this continues, sire. The people are nowhere near prepared for winter. Not only will firewood prices skyrocket, but the price of even the lowest-grade mana stone will soar as well due to fuel shortage.”

“Ah...”

“If this lasts for just a week, forget about heating, the damage to the crops will be so catastrophic that the whole year’s harvest will be utterly ruined.”

“Damn it... So even if we somehow make it out of this, there will be a shortage of food, too...”

“And on top of that, this is not the season when winter clothes are even being produced. Our people will freeze to death long before harvest comes.”

“Then what do we do?”

“The only way is to find that demonic creature responsible for this mess as quickly as possible and—”

“I will help you,” Laimian van Laurent suddenly said.

Since her escape from the Magic Tower, her health had been improving, and she looked visibly better now.

Siegfried had invited her to join the emergency council meeting.

“Oh? Is there a way around this?”

“We can create an artificial sun as a temporary measure.”

“What?!”

Siegfried was completely shocked by what he heard.

Creating an artificial sun sounded like an outright impossibility.

For someone like Laimian, who was once the master of the Magic Tower and the chairperson of the Magic Council, it was more than possible.

“Hmm... It should be possible,” Duke Decimato added. Then, he explained, “Our empire now holds vast reserves of mana stones. And we have mages who escaped from the Magic Tower among us. I believe we could sustain ourselves for at least a month or two if we start creating artificial suns.”

“R-Really?”

“Yes, sire. That is the essence of magic. The origin of this mysterious power was always meant to make lives better for people. Thus, we mages will do everything in our power to prevent the worst from happening.”

“Then I will leave it to both of you.”

Siegfried agreed to Laimian and Duke Decimato’s proposal. He put them in charge of creating artificial suns. With the real sun gone, this was the only way they could stop the darkness from bringing the entire empire into ruin.

Unfortunately, the clock was still ticking, as this was only a temporary measure.

***

The mages immediately began creating artificial suns. Of course, it was impossible for a single sun to light up the entire empire, so they focused on the major cities and farmlands in order to minimize the damage.

‘But how do I find him? How...?’

While directly overseeing the massive search and identity checks, Siegfried did everything he could to hunt down Sun Devourer Nox.

Unfortunately, he made zero progress even after two full days.

‘This is bad... If this drags on, then we will be in serious trouble...’

Siegfried’s worries grew by the day.

Maintaining the artificial suns was anything but free. The artificial suns floating across the Proatine Empire were insatiable monsters that devoured mana stones at a terrifying rate.

Just thinking about the hourly cost of mana stones already gave him a massive migraine. The longer this situation continued, the greater the Proatine Empire’s financial losses would be.

The Proatine Empire was supposed to be tightening its belt and filling its war coffers, as a full-scale war against the Marchioni Empire was looming on the horizon, so the financial squeeze from this situation could definitely be felt.

‘Ah, what do I do?’

It was then...

“We have received a call from the Guardians, Your Imperial Majesty.”

“Oh, really? I’ll be right there.”

The one calling was none other than Cheon Woo-Jin.

— Hey, I heard you’re in quite a mess.

“Yeah, I am. Things are so crazy here that we even had to put up artificial suns.”

— I know. I saw it.

“Give me some intel if you know what’s going on.”

— What did you say, punk?

“You called because you have something, didn’t you?”

— Yeah, I do have something.

“Then what is it? Hurry up and spit it out.”

— For free?

“I’m not in the mood for games. Help me properly if you’re going to help anyway. I’ve done everything you asked me to until now, haven’t I?”

— Okay, fine.

After seeing that Siegfried was not in the mood for games, Cheon Woo-Jin went straight to the point.

— Look at this satellite imagery here. Do you see this black circle? That’s the Proatine Empire, right?

“Yeah.

— Then what about this?

“It’s the same thing, no?”

— No, it’s not. Look closely.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

— The circle shifted slightly to the side.

“Eh...?”

— It means that the black circle is drifting bit by bit in different directions.

“R-Really? But what about it?”

— I zoomed in on the satellite images and traced the center point of the black circle.

“And what did you get?”

— Well, the location is... strange.

“Huh? Where is it?”

— The imperial palace.

“What?!”

— It’s exactly the imperial palace. In fact, the movement pattern matches perfectly with the corridors inside the palace. You can see it clearly if you take a closer look.

Cheon Woo-Jin pulled up hundreds of satellite images for Siegfried to look at.

On each one, the red dot marking the center of the black circle was recorded in detail, showing that it shifted across the palace grounds.

— Sun Devourer Nox should be at the center of the black circle, feeding on the sun, right? Then there’s only one conclusion. That demonic being is hiding inside the palace... No, he’s moving freely around the imperial palace.

“Then that means he’s disguised either as a servant or a maid. They are the ones who can move freely across the imperial palace grounds. If you take a closer look, this area here is the kitchen, a place where ministers or officials would rarely venture into.”

— Exactly.

“That’s it then.”

— So? Got anything to say?

“Thank you. I really owe you big time. If it wasn’t for you, then I would’ve wasted months looking for this bastard.”

Shockingly, Siegfried sincerely expressed his gratitude to Cheon Woo-Jin this time.

— Oh?

“I’ll treat you to something big soon. Let’s meet in a few days.”

— Are you serious? You, Han Tae-Sung, will buy me a meal?

“Yeah, I will.”

— Do you promise?

“Geez, I swear. Happy?”

— That’s good enough for me.

“Anyway, I’m hanging up now. I’m busy these days, but maybe let’s grab coffee at least before our meal.”

— Okay, just let me know when you’re free.

With that, Siegfried ended the call and began searching inside the imperial palace. Now that he knew Sun Devourer Nox was lurking within the palace, there was no time to waste.