The Black Wood that began from the royal palace split the heavens and earth into thousands of strands as it surged upward.

What was heard belatedly was.

-!!!!

The chilling screams of the Anomalous entities.

As if hundreds, thousands had gathered together to scream at once, the sound reverberated throughout the Colony.

“Ah-”

The black tree that had maintained its form until just moments ago slowly disappeared.

And.

The fruits that had been hanging from the tips of the black branches all began to fall to the ground.

Hundreds, thousands of Anomalous entities—each one alone something an average warrior could not properly stop—were smashed futilely against the ground and crumbled like soft fruit.

“Didn’t you say that?”

Muttering vacantly as he watched the scene, Acaron spoke.

His mind was already having little difficulty deducing who had caused this.

It would have been stranger if he could not.

Right now, aside from the First Prince who was trying to hand them over to that monstrous Anomalous entity.

There was only one person in that royal palace.

“What did I say?”

“That thing was just about as strong as Golden Flash?”

Acaron felt a thick, sticky shiver crawl over his entire body.

At the sight before his eyes, he involuntarily recalled the figure of Golden Flash.

The Colony’s first Babayaga.

And among all Babayagas, the strongest one.

Golden Flash.

Acaron knew her strength.

Naturally so.

In the last several battles, the one who had been the greatest help in blocking the Anomalous entities was her.

If in future battles other Babayagas were to die off, Acaron would show only brief regret.

But if Golden Flash were to fall in battle.

Acaron would withdraw from that fight without hesitation.

For her death would mean that.

Even if all the remaining forces in the Colony combined their strength, they would be facing an existence they could not defeat.

That was how great the strength of Golden Flash was, as Acaron understood it.

However, the scene currently before him was.

“That’s just, a god—”

So overwhelming that even he was made to blurt out such words on his own.

“Looks like the rumors weren’t exaggerated after all.”

Just as Kazan, who had been standing there blankly, nodded in agreement.

Bang-!

From the half-destroyed royal palace, another chilling explosion erupted.

-!!!!

Anomalous entities so repulsive that merely looking at them made one frown in disgust began pouring out yet again.

“This is fucking insane, after killing that many it still wasn’t over!?”

Acaron screamed at the unbelievable situation.

But only for a moment.

“Tsk, hurry and grab the baggage!”

At Kazan’s ensuing shout, he belatedly came to his senses.

Frowning, he slung the fallen soldiers under both arms.

They immediately moved their bodies toward the Colosseum.

***

‘...............Had the evacuation finished.'

As the Black Wood disappeared, the Anomalous entities fell from the sky.

And now, the Colony’s royal palace had been completely half-destroyed.

Alon, who had been looking at that scene, only briefly confirmed that the plan had succeeded.

"Ha-"

A sound was heard from beside him.

“......”

When Alon shifted his gaze, Karaan was there, letting out a hollow laugh as if in disbelief.

At a glance, Karaan’s condition was far from normal.

The body that had waited for Alon’s death with an expression of ecstatic delight the moment the Anomalous entities were summoned no longer had a single intact spot.

Among his limbs, only his right leg remained.

And even his torso had at least three massive holes pierced through it.

It was a body so miserable that for an ordinary human, it would practically mean instant death.

Yet Karaan was alive.

"Just like the rumors, huh, that reputation wasn’t for nothing. But that’s unfortunate, because I won’t die.”

Alon quietly looked at Karaan’s body.

Beyond merely being alive and talking normally, that body was actually recovering little by little.

If there was one difference compared to before.

It was that his body was changing to resemble the Anomalous entities that had been summoned earlier, rather than a human.

However, Alon showed no surprise or shock at that.

From the start, Alon had not found it difficult to predict that Karaan would have a hidden card like this.

Karaan’s actions were far too bold for someone without power, and he had been overflowing with confidence even with Alon standing right before him.

In the end, to Alon, Karaan’s current appearance meant nothing more or less than confirmation that his thinking had not been wrong.

“What are you planning to do by regenerating alone? It looks like I already dealt with most of the Anomalous entities you summoned.”

“Huh- Don’t worry. Besides the creations you handled, there are still plenty of ones left to scatter.”

Kwa-ddeudeuk!

As if proving those words were not a lie, Anomalous entities began pouring out from the outer perimeter of the royal palace.

“So there were two summoning circles.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Karaan smiled cheerfully.

“Now then, watch with your own two eyes, the moment my creations rule this city with fear, He will appear. Ah-”

He grinned, yet he looked as if he were in an extremely unstable emotional state.

Unlike the smile on his face, his eyes were filled with confusion and doubt.

“-No, no, I suppose I should ask first whether you’ll even be able to see it?”

As Alon watched Karaan like that, he suddenly realized that the divine-blood creations of the Anomalous entities had already gathered around him.

Roughly estimating, there seemed to be well over several hundred.

Looking at those things advancing from afar with overwhelming bulk and grotesque footsteps, Alon spoke after seeing Karaan sneering while hiding his complex emotions.

“Do you think I won’t be able to handle them?”

“Of course not. After witnessing your power with my own eyes, there’s no way I’d think that. You’ll probably be able to deal with these things again and again. But—”

Grin.

“Can you repeat that a hundred times, two hundred times?”

In time with Karaan’s muttering, magic circles identical to those from earlier began appearing one by one behind him.

“The army of Him is endlessly vast beyond what you imagine. What I’ve summoned here is merely a small part of it.”

".....”

“So, just how long do you think you can hold out?”

Karaan’s reasoning was rational.

If his words were true.

Alon would not be able to last very long against that endless army.

From the start, Alon’s Mana Hole and Reverse Heaven were not suited for prolonged battles.

Even so, Alon did not panic greatly.

There were two reasons for that.

The first was that he judged there was a fair chance Karaan was dressing up lies as truth.

After all, it had only been about a month since the divine-blood had begun appearing in earnest across the continent and causing incidents.

Of course, even before that, reports had come in that Anomalous entities had appeared.

But creating that many Anomalous entities in a span of only a few months was virtually impossible.

And above all.

If he truly could directly handle that many Anomalous entities.

No matter how important faith born of fear was, there would have been no reason to limit his reach to just the Colony.

And the second.

Even if everything Karaan said was true.

“That’s unfortunate, but I don’t particularly plan on holding out.”

Alon had no intention of continuing to endure here.

And.

“What?”

At the moment Karaan frowned as if asking what that meant.

Pajijijik!

Golden lightning.

“Master!”

—Seolrang, her entire body wrapped in golden light, descended in front of Alon.

She enveloped him and launched herself forward just like that.

“Ha?”

Karaan could only stare blankly at the spot where Alon had vanished.

And.

" ...You bastard—!!!!"

By the time Karaan realized that the citizens were gathering at the Colosseum under the protection of the warriors, and that he himself had been toyed with.

It did not take very long.

***

Immediately after escaping the kingdom with Seolrang’s help.

“Thank you, Seolrang.”

“No, Master! More importantly, are you okay?”

“I am.”

Alon, who had landed in front of the Colosseum, gently patted Seolrang’s head as she wore a worried expression, then looked ahead.

“So it already started.”

Perhaps because a battle with the Anomalous entities had already taken place once.

The scene before him was utter chaos.

Groans could be heard from all around,

And the corpses of Anomalous entities and warriors were mixed together, strewn messily everywhere.

“Marquis!”

“Are you all right?!”

As Alon silently surveyed the surroundings, Penia and Evan rushed over in a hurry. From them, he was soon able to grasp without much difficulty how the situation was unfolding.

‘For now, the plan succeeded.’

In conclusion, Alon’s plan had succeeded.

While he drew Karaan’s attention, and the Babayagas dealt with the soldiers to prevent rumors from reaching the royal palace.

All the citizens had been evacuated to the Colosseum, preventing indiscriminate slaughter.

However, just because the plan had gone as intended did not mean everything was over.

From the start, what he had to deal with was—

“You bastard—!”

—namely, the divine-blood.

When he turned his gaze at the voice that had suddenly reached him.

There stood Karaan, who had clearly been in the royal palace just moments ago, looking down at Alon.

“That… is that the prince?”

Just as Penia asked, Karaan’s appearance as he looked down at Alon was already far removed from anything that could be called normal.

Most of his body had already been corrupted into something resembling the Anomalous entities,

And even his eyes, which had been relatively intact, had twisted into something bizarre.

“You seem to have used some petty tricks, but even so, the situation won’t change!”

As if that madness-filled voice were a signal.

Anomalous entities encircling the Colosseum and magic circles beginning to form appeared as though they had been waiting for it.

As the warriors all cursed in unison, and Alon held his breath to use magic, at that moment—

Squdge—!

The back of Karaan, who had been staring down below with eyes full of madness, suddenly began to swell grotesquely.

“Huh?”

At that instant.

Karaan, looking at his own body with a puzzled expression, soon seemed to realize what was happening.

“W-wait! Please fix this! O divine-blood!”

He hurriedly opened his mouth, but

Squdge~! Squdududuk~!

His body began to swell even more grotesquely.

“O divine-blood! Please keep your promise!! I-I will offer everything! I will offer everything of everyone here! I will fulfill every promise perfectly—!!”

Karaan struggled as if he had sensed his own end.

However.

“Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease~!!!!! Gyaaaaaaah~!!!”

The body, which had grown uncontrollably large, silenced him by completely tearing apart Karaan’s skin.

And then.

What appeared along with that was.

Quadudududuk~!!!

A gigantic leg.

So enormous that—

“Insane.”

A spider’s leg that easily surpassed the height of the Colosseum.

It burst forth from Karaan’s body.

Soon after.

[Prostrate yourselves.]

As a hollow, resounding voice echoed,

‘That thing,’ which crushed Karaan’s skin remnants and clawed its way out through a space that seemed impossible to emerge from.

[Before me—]

Finally, before Alon and the others.

[The Poison Swallower.]

It revealed its full form.