BOOM-

The crown prince of Roan, Alberu Crossman.

He felt a tremendous vibration.

The ground.

The moment he felt that vibration rising up from far, far below, Alberu realized it.

‘This is,’

This power—

‘Cale Henituse!’

It was that bastard’s power.

A grin tugged at Alberu Crossman’s lips.

Drip.

And a thin line of blood ran down through that gap.

HUMMM-

His hand was trembling.

But even so, he tightened his grip again.

BANG!

And he drove the sword down toward the ground.

The gray pool.

He struck the frozen small lake.

CRAAACK-

The tiny crack was slowly growing larger.

Drip.

And even more blood was running from the corner of Alberu Crossman’s mouth.

BANG!

BANG! BANG!

Even so, Alberu Crossman did not stop.

Because he was the only one here who could do this.

A little earlier.

Before he had started doing this.

SPLASH!

Cale Henituse had dragged the saint down with him and dived into the pool.

Alberu had known he was going to fetch the divine relic.

Glance.

He looked around.

ROOOOAR-

“Block the flames!”

“Damn it, these chunks of ice!”

“Aaagh!”

Everything around him was burning, breaking, collapsing, and filled with screams.

It was enough to make his ears hurt.

The Wanderers, Cho and Ryeon, had started smashing the holy land all over again.

And even so, they—

“Oh. Looks like that place is important? Ryeon, let’s smash that too.”

“Right. We should destroy that first, no matter what.”

—had not missed the movements of the saint and Cale.

They were moving closer and closer toward the center of the holy land of Primordial Night, the Upside-Down Night.

“The divine relic—”

“Damn it! No one but the saint can enter that lake!”

Also, the leadership of the Order of the God of Chaos seemed to have been pushed to the limit of confusion and unease the moment Cale entered the pool.

Of course, that was not the only source of the confusion falling over them.

“This isn’t the time to worry only about the lake! What about the sacrifices?”

Just as one priest had said, the sacrifices being lifted into the air and rescued one by one.

Just vaguely imagining what would happen if they escaped had to be enough to give anyone a headache.

And on top of that, one more thing.

“Kill them! Kill every last one of the bastards who ruined our holy land!”

“O Chaos! I will create sacrifices for you!”

Tens of thousands of believers.

The ones who had come here were quite strong.

Rather than fleeing from the current situation, every single one of them had gone mad-eyed.

The Night of Pleasure they had longed and longed for.

Cale’s group and the Wanderers who had ruined the great ritual for the descent of Chaos.

They charged at them fearlessly.

Because they had ruined their precious holy land.

A holy land in the shape of a wide basin.

The believers came running down toward it.

“What a mess.”

In the most literal sense, this place was chaos itself, with every kind of person mixed together.

And even in the middle of that—

“Aaagh!”

“Urk!”

—the Wanderers attacked the believers without restraint.

No, they simply swept them aside as though clearing pebbles that were blocking their path.

Glance.

Alberu looked at his companions.

HUMMMMM-!

Eruhaben.

Others could not easily approach his side.

Worried that his own dust attribute might reveal too much to the Wanderers, he refrained from using it and kept them away with mana alone.

‘!’

Their eyes met amid the chaos.

—Soon.

That was what Eruhaben conveyed to Alberu.

It meant that Raon and Choi Han had rescued most of the sacrifices, and that Eruhaben would soon be free from this battlefield.

‘Just as planned.’

While Cale stole the divine relic, they would pull the sacrifices up above the cliff.

Then Cale’s group would split up and flee.

Glance.

‘Miss Rosalyn is holding out well too.’

HUMMM—

Though not at Eruhaben’s level, she too was a great mage.

A mage far stronger than Alberu could ever hope to match even with his toes.

Naturally, others could not easily approach her side either.

‘The Heavenly Demon.’

And beside Rosalyn, the Heavenly Demon was standing firm.

He was not using his individuality because the Wanderers were here, but with the power of his martial arts alone, he could easily beat back the moths rushing in without knowing better.

And the tiger beastman Gashan had probably hidden himself among the believers the moment the Wanderers arrived, watching the flow of events.

‘Not bad.’

The situation was all right.

But Alberu knew this situation’s blind spot all too well.

“...Even so, it’s at the limit.”

Things were going well according to plan, but—

‘If even one thing goes wrong, it’ll head straight for the worst.’

What if the Wanderers turned their attention toward them instead of the Order of the God of Chaos?

What if those tens of thousands of believers stopped caring about everything else and charged only at them?

No matter how strong they were, they could not handle tens of thousands of people and powerful Wanderers at the same time.

‘Five hundred.’

Because they had roughly five hundred sacrifices to protect.

Glance. Glance.

Alberu kept scanning his surroundings without pause.

He knew far too well what he had to do.

‘Remove the variables.’

He was not that strong, but he could do a fair number of things.

Spearsmanship, magic, judgment.

He lacked for nothing there, so instead of stepping forward now, Alberu kept his breathing down and watched the entire battlefield.

‘Cale......!’

That bastard needed to come back up quickly.

HUMMM—

The Sun Sword trembling inside its scabbard.

Gripping the hilt, Alberu briefly looked up at the sky.

The dark moon.

A night with no moon in the sky.

But it was not dark.

Because the light of mana made by Eruhaben and Rosalyn shone brightly.

Surely above that, there was also the black light of Raon’s mana.

Thump. Thump.

But why?

Even though he could not see the sun, Alberu felt strangely as if sunlight were shining down on him.

The warmth of sunlight wrapping around his whole body.

That warmth had lingered around him ever since earlier.

Maybe because of that, Alberu had been able to stay calmer than usual, and he felt that his senses had become sharper than ever.

“!”

Yes, just like now.

Alberu’s gaze shot straight toward the pool.

‘Just now—’

From that small lake, he had felt something dreadful enough to cover his entire body.

Step. Step.

Without even realizing it, Alberu started walking toward the lake at the center of the holy land, the Upside-Down Night.

Tap. Tap tap.

The lawn turned into a melee because of the countless believers.

Alberu started pushing through it faster and faster.

Thump. Thump.

His heart was beating more violently.

The warmth of the sunlight was fading.

Was it because the warmth was disappearing?

—Alberu, what is it? What’s wrong?

He ignored Eruhaben’s puzzled voice.

No, he had no room to pay attention to it.

Thump. Thump.

As the warmth disappeared, something cold took its place.

Was it the chill of the night?

‘No.’

It was different.

It was somehow different from the ordinary coolness of night.

Alberu realized that he alone was feeling this aura right now.

Tap, tap, tap—

His steps grew faster and faster until they had practically turned into a run.

Ignoring the people colliding with him, Alberu rushed toward the small lake that was the pool.

‘No—’

He did not know what it was, but this could not happen.

HUMMMMM—

Alberu even raised mana and used acceleration magic.

Thump. Thump.

And then he realized it.

It was not only his own heart that was beating right now.

‘The sword!’

The Sun Sword in his hand was pulsing.

As if warning him of danger.

“Damn it!”

Was it because he had stayed in the south, at the outer edge of the melee?

The center was too far away.

Tap!

In the end, Alberu kicked off the ground.

Wind made through magic lifted his body upward.

And Alberu hurled himself toward the pool.

He knew perfectly well how much this action would stand out, and that the enemies might notice him.

‘That’s not the problem.’

But Alberu made his judgment.

The Sun Sword was a divine relic imbued with the power the Sun God had given him.

And that divine relic was warning him right now.

Also, perhaps because he was carrying that divine relic, unlike the others, he had sensed that dreadful aura first.

‘A variable.’

Right. He had to cut off the variable.

It was then.

---!

There was no sound.

Everyone stopped moving.

As if they had all made a promise.

‘Damn it!’

That aura only Alberu had felt.

Now everyone felt it.

There was no helping that.

‘The lake!’

The surface of the pool was freezing over.

This was not Wanderer Ryeon’s power.

The small lake had turned gray.

‘The God of Chaos!’

It was the power of chaos.

And the instant the water’s surface froze—

everyone felt something.

“I got scared?”

Wanderer Cho looked down at his own arm, now covered in gooseflesh.

Ryeon stared at the lake with wide eyes.

“...The God of Chaos—?”

Because she was sharp, she realized something.

The moment shock spread across her face—

“Ahh—”

“Ugh!”

“Kuagh.”

Countless believers began trembling all over.

Chaos containing countless deaths and countless pleasures.

The original divine relic that had held that chaos forty-three times.

That divine relic had begun to affect even the outside of the lake.

“...What is this—”

Even the ancient dragon Eruhaben had his entire body freeze for an instant at the power pouring out from the lake.

It felt as though he had become prey that had locked up after facing an overwhelming power.

This was a natural, instinctive reaction.

‘Ah!’

And he understood immediately.

‘Cale!’

Something had happened to that bastard!

And at the same time, something had happened in that lake!

The moment he realized that, he heard the shout of the bishop of the God of Chaos.

“Kuhahaha! In the end, the ritual unfolds!”

Turning his body toward the believers, he shouted.

“Chaos will come soon! Do not worry, for there exists no being that can drive back this chaos!”

A bright smile spread across the bishop’s face once his frozen body loosened and he regained his senses.

“Ah.”

At the same time, Eruhaben let out a sigh.

“That one is Cale’s kind too.”

The moment he said that, the bishop heard one sound from behind him.

BAAAANG!

He turned his head.

At the moment when everyone had felt fear from the chaotic aura pouring out from the divine relic and stopped moving.

The one and only person who had kept moving just as he was—

because Alberu alone had kept moving, he had been able to reach the pool.

“How—!”

The bishop was flustered.

But he quickly came to his senses and shouted.

“He will be stained by chaos! Another sacrifice!”

He was certain.

Now that the divine relic, the Knife of Chaos, had activated, there was no being that could stop it.

‘This isn’t a world without gods!’

The only god here was our God of Chaos.

A bright smile appeared on the bishop’s lips.

Even so, he soon shouted with a furious face.

“But we cannot let a mere sacrifice ruin the great ritual!”

He shouted to the believers and the members of the Order.

“Kill that sacrifice!”

But neither he nor anyone else ran toward that lake.

The gray pool.

Though it was frozen, an enormous aura was still pouring out of it.

Because the moment they faced that aura, they felt a fear that made it seem as though they would be overturned by confusion.

“Use ranged attacks!”

Because of that, what they chose was long-range attacks.

“Cho. Let’s pull back.”

“What?”

“This isn’t it. This isn’t ours to handle.”

Wanderer Ryeon sensed a death that went beyond simple foreboding.

If they involved themselves here any further, they would die.

That instinct struck her.

That pool.

It was truly ominous.

It reminded her of the ancient god she had seen once before, the God of Chaos.

No matter how strong she was, the God of Chaos was not something she could ever stand against.

“Let’s run.”

The moment she reached /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ that conclusion—

HUMMMMM—

“Fire all the magic at once!”

Just as every attack was about to pour down toward Alberu—

BANG!

A sharp sound stabbed into everyone’s ears.

BANG!

BANG, BANG!

Alberu. He drew the sword that had been hidden inside the scabbard.

An ordinary sword that gave off no light whatsoever.

With that sword, he began driving it down toward the frozen water surface.

Thump. Thump.

He could not see the surroundings.

No, in truth, he heard everything and knew everything.

Even so, he did not care.

‘I’m fine.’

The moment his feet touched the frozen surface, he felt as though he would collapse from dizziness.

The countless screams and cheers full of pleasure that had suddenly covered his mind.

At the same time, it was as if countless scenes were appearing in his vision.

Someone’s death. Someone’s pleasure.

All sorts of things mixed together, making it feel as though he were being dragged into chaos itself.

Thump. Thump.

And yet the Sun Sword in his hand was holding his mind together.

And Alberu realized it.

‘It’s only me.’

Among their group, the only one who could approach this place right now was himself, the one holding the Sun Sword.

And beneath the frozen lake—

‘Cale Henituse!’

That bastard was there.

There was no doubt that something had happened to him right now.

When they had faced the eyes of the God of Chaos before, Alberu had heard from the others that Cale had struggled particularly badly.

“Damn it!”

BANG!

He struck the water surface again.

It did not even crack.

BANG, BANG!

Even so, he repeated it.

BANG!

And he felt the warmth wrapping around his body return little by little.

The warmth that had disappeared the moment the pool turned gray was slowly coming back.

What was the reason for that?

HUM— HUM—

Alberu flinched for a moment as the Sun Sword suddenly began vibrating violently.

[The greatest divine relic, the first divine relic of the Order of the Sun God, the Sun Sword, has finished charging.]

[Would you like to use it?]

The Sun Sword, which had been holding sunlight as if charging—

‘Finished charging?’

Only then did Alberu realize that the moment the real Sun God had given the quest and power had entered the sword, its charge had been completed.

“Of course—”

He raised the sword.

“I have to use it!”

BANG!

The moment the sword drove down—

FWAAASH—

a brilliant light burst out from the sword.

Not warmth.

Light.

CRACK—

At that moment, a small crack formed on the lake’s surface.

A light that illuminated chaos.

BANG!

BANG, BANG!

Alberu knew all too well what he had to do, so he did not stop driving the sword into the lake’s surface.

CRAAACK—

Unlike before, cracks slowly began to spread.

Ssssss—

And gray smoke began to rise through those cracks.

Once again Alberu felt as though he could see dreadful hallucinations of chaos.

BANG!

But he drove the sword down.

“Urgh!”

And in that instant, Alberu felt pain.

[You still do not meet the conditions to use the divine relic ‘the Sun Sword’.]

Ha!

Even in the middle of pain, Alberu was dumbfounded.

The Sun God said he was entrusting it to him, but now he was lacking the qualifications to use this divine relic?

[Backlash occurs accordingly.]

That was when Alberu realized that the reason his body hurt was that backlash.

“Damn it!”

BANG!

Even so, Alberu continued hammering the water surface with the sword.

He had no choice.

Drip.

Blood ran from his mouth, and it hurt.

But what else could he do?

It was bearable.

And it was something he had to do.

‘So this is what it felt like.’

Cale Henituse. So this was how that bastard felt!

“Damn it all!”

There was backlash, but it did not hurt as much as he had expected.

Still, it hurt.

Right, he was coughing up blood—there was no way it would feel fine!

BANG, BANG!

Even so, it was manageable.

He only lacked the conditions, but the Sun God, Cale Henituse, had entrusted this role to him.

BANG!

Like a madman, Alberu hammered at the frozen surface.

CRAAACK—

The cracks were growing larger and larger.

Now, instead of gray smoke, gray water was beginning to ripple and leak out little by little.

Dreadful hallucinations covered in desperate screams and cheers full of pleasure came crashing toward him.

Even so, gripping the warmth wrapped around his body and the increasingly brilliant light, Alberu hammered at the surface.

Just like a blacksmith endlessly hammering iron.

“Huff, huff—”

He was running out of breath.

Blood was flowing.

Even so, he could not stop.

He was worried about Cale Henituse below the lake, and he was afraid they might ruin everything.

And also—

“Do not worry about the attacks.”

The lake, which no one dared approach rashly because they were filled with fear.

The one who came toward it and stood beside Alberu—

was the Heavenly Demon.

Unlike the frozen lake, the lake leaking smoke and water inspired even denser fear.

Yet though his whole body shook, the Heavenly Demon wrapped his body in dark red internal energy and stood on the ground outside the pool facing the enemies.

“This one is also a god—”

The Heavenly Demon, the god of the Demonic Cult.

A god could not fear another god.

The Heavenly Demon chose to protect Alberu.

HUMMMMM—

And a shield wrapped itself around the lakeshore where Alberu stood.

Rosalyn, the one who had sent the Heavenly Demon, could not come close, but even while trembling, she spread the shield.

Tap.

And Eruhaben stood on the lakeshore opposite the side where the Heavenly Demon stood and protected Alberu. The ancient dragon’s face was stiff, and his hands and body were trembling in tiny motions. Worse than the Heavenly Demon. Even so, he remained composed.

North and south.

The Heavenly Demon and Eruhaben took one side each.

“That is the power of the Sun God! How can the sun—! Kill him!”

“Kill him!”

“Stop him!”

Tens of thousands of believers, along with the priests, warriors, and leadership of the Order, sent long-range attacks flying.

And his companions tried to block them.

Alberu felt and heard all of it.

That was why he could not stop.

“Damn it!”

Cale Henituse!

I get why you live like that!

You bastard!

“Cough!”

Blood came up.

Even so, he could not stop.

BANG, BANG!

BANG! BANG!

The water surface was breaking more and more.

CRAAAACK---

And at last,

BANG!

the sword pierced the frozen surface.

Ripple.

And the moment it lightly touched the gray water below.

The moment a tiny little hole formed.

BOOM-

The earth shook.

‘This is, Cale Henituse—!’

Within the chaos, Alberu could feel Cale Henituse.

BANG! BANG!

“Damn it, hurry up and get out here!”

BAAAANG!

At last, the light-emitting sword opened a hole in the frozen surface.

A hole about the size of the sword.

“Kuhek—”

That was Alberu’s limit.

[Battery Remaining: 10%]

The battery of the Sun Sword remained, but Alberu looked down at his hand.

His hand was trembling violently.

He no longer had the strength to grip the sword.

Really, it felt as though he was about to faint.

But he did not want to faint.

“Ha, haha—”

Alberu laughed.

A smile appeared at the corners of the Heavenly Demon’s mouth. Alberu heard his voice.

“It is coming.”

Yes.

It was coming.

Alberu lowered his head.

Gray water in which nothing could be seen.

Within it—

‘I can see it.’

The gray water was splitting apart.

And something was rising.

Alberu did not pull the sword away.

Even if it used up all the remaining battery, it continued to pour out light without pause.

He no longer had the strength to use the sword, but at the very least, he could show the way with this light.

“Haha—”

At last Alberu laughed.

And he squeezed out the strength he had left.

He pulled out the sword.

CRAAAAACK----

The water surface split.

KWAAAAANG!

And a huge rock burst up through that surface.

A stone that had risen from the bottom of the lake, cutting through the water as it came up.

And on top of that stone, Cale Henituse stood.

Alberu and Cale.

The eyes of the two men met.

In the same indifferent tone as always, Cale said to Alberu,

“Thanks to you, I survived.”

Alberu just started laughing.

He forgot every other circumstance and simply burst out laughing.

“Ha, haha—”

He had no choice.

Because both of them looked like complete wrecks, with blood streaming down them.