Chapter 238
Kuwagang—!
In the clearing of the forest where a thousand people were being protected.
An explosion occurred nearby.
“What, what’s happening! What is that!”
“F-fire! Everyone be careful!”
As the explosion happened, Vargan’s protection shattered.
When the magical barrier that kept them safe disappeared, the people were once again gripped with fear.
“It’s a surprise attack from the hidden monsters! Everyone, take cover this way!”
Schugenharz stepped forward to show the direction they needed to go.
People, all hunched up, quickly moved while looking after their families and acquaintances.
Having already faced monster attacks several times, a certain order was maintained even in the chaotic situation.
“Sch-Schugenharz!”
“Ami. This isn’t the time to be standing around. Hurry and take Zagan and get to safety!”
“But… what about Organon? He went hunting and hasn’t come back yet!”
“Organon is definitely safe. Don’t worry about him, just take care of your brother and yourself.”
“But…!”
“Come on, hurry!”
Schugenharz urged Ami, who was tightly gripping Zagan’s hand.
As the one in charge of the whole group, he looked busy, not having time to pour into any one person.
Ami looked back several times at her brother, but soon accepted that they couldn’t do anything and ran off, feeling frustrated.
“……”
Schugenharz glanced at Ami and Zagan moving forward, then turned his gaze to Lafez, who was sprinting in the opposite direction of the crowd.
Lafez was heading toward where the explosion had presumably occurred.
Normally not fond of running, for now, Lafez was ‘cooperating’ in his own way.
‘Who would’ve thought I’d end up in a play like this?’
As he continued to evacuate the people, Schugenharz thought.
Just moments ago, Vargan had proposed a plan to feed the people monster meat in a sort of play.
It was supposed to make it look like the hiding monsters had launched a surprise attack to move people while setting fire to the stacked monster corpses.
That way, even if the smell of burning meat wafted through, it wouldn’t be suspicious at all, and since they had moved, people wouldn’t be able to check whether they were dismembering well-cooked monsters or taking them somewhere else to cook.
It was because people couldn’t confirm whether they dismembered the well-cooked monsters or took them elsewhere to cook.
Of course, since there was a need to show the source and evidence of the meat provided as food, Vargan was actually out hunting.
Whether he miraculously caught something or not didn’t matter. The mere fact that he went out to get meat was enough.
‘A bit exaggerated, but… it was the best I could do under the circumstances.’
He could have cast Curse Magic on a thousand people to feed them, but that would be overly coercive and a severe waste of mana.
It was far more efficient to put on a show, even if it delayed things a bit.
Even in the chaos, Schugenharz took in the sight of the nicely roasted monster corpses.
…As long as he stored them well, it seemed there wouldn’t be any problems for at least a month.
“Hurry up and move! This place is dangerous! The monsters are getting close!”
Having wrapped up his rough estimates, Schugenharz shouted loudly, continuing his role.
*
‘It’s been a while since I’ve had such leisure.’
Separated from the group, Vargan was leisurely walking through the snow-covered forest.
He maintained a reasonable distance from the group because straying too far could risk losing track of his location.
‘I staged a little drama because I couldn’t let anyone starve, but I really don’t want to do that again. Even if it was the most efficient method, it was still just the least bad option.’
As he didn’t know what the clearing conditions for this stage were, he had to be cautious and gather any suspicious items.
If he carelessly discarded unnecessary things and advanced the story haphazardly, he could end up trapped later due to lacking conditions.
Crunch, crunch—.
Thick flakes of snow brushed past him as if forcing him to wash his face, but Vargan didn’t bother wrapping himself in a Protector.
He simply shook off the appropriate amount and scanned the surroundings.
In the forest, where all the monsters had been eliminated, only the heavy cries of the snow being stepped on and the sharp sounds of the wind could be heard.
Although he claimed to be out hunting, he had ended up having free time.
Even while casually wandering and being vigilant, he had plenty of room to think.
‘It’s already been two months since I arrived at this stage. However, I still can’t see a way out, let alone an exit.’
As he made significant progress alongside Schugenharz, he wanted to stay in here as long as possible.
But that didn’t mean he was okay with being in a ‘not knowing how’ situation.
He couldn’t afford to expend energy in a scenario where he had no idea how many stages remained.
Preparation was always essential.
‘If this place is truly a recreation of that moment in the past, how did it originally unfold?’
This thought came to him while pondering the clearing method for the stage.
Originally, Vargan wouldn’t have been trapped in Frikkanrisk’s castle, so the castle wouldn’t have fallen, and people wouldn’t have needed Vargan’s help either.
In that case…
‘…I’d guess that Schugenharz and Lafez broke into Frikkanrisk’s castle and rescued the prisoners. Then they likely moved as they do now.’
“This is big.”
If it were those two, they would have rescued the people back then without much difficulty. After all, Frikkanrisk wouldn’t have been around.
The issue lies in reaching the Guardian’s Stronghold, but I believe they had dealt with the circumstances of that time quite well.
“Those two are capable. Even if it weren’t for me, they would have solved the current food crisis as well.”
In the end, they would have safely reached the Guardian’s Stronghold.
…But that’s only assuming there were no major variables in between.
Step, step—. Step.
“That should be enough. I should get back now.”
Vargan paused his exploration of the surroundings.
There were no stages or secrets of the present age, nor did any beasts appear.
Time had passed reasonably.
Now he just needed to go back and help Lafez, who would be dismantling the monsters.
Vargan turned on his heel.
I traced back the footprints following his stride.
“Now that I think about it, I’m starting to get concerned about what’s happening outside…”
How is the world beyond the black egg flowing right now?
Is Erica managing to cope well with her anxiety on her own?
How far has Gamigin’s search progressed? What about Alicia, assigned to Helion’s unit…?
“Well… Regardless of how things are going outside, it’s more important to get people to the Guardian’s Stronghold first.”
It’s pointless to dwell on what I can’t reach.
As Vargan returned to the open area, he cast aside concerns about what lay beyond the egg and instead began to visualize the form of the Unique Spell he was perfecting.
*
Meanwhile, while Vargan was facing his final trial.
The story of the world was steadily flipping pages, albeit at a slow pace.
The Heroes were leading the charge with two Judgment Weapons to search for Cardinal Gamigin.
The area presumed to be Gamigin’s nest was quite constricted now, and it felt like they could reach it without the Judgment Weapons in a relatively short time.
“No unusual reactions.”
One of the hundred squads Helion commanded.
The squad leader, a woman among five, concluded her mana exploration and spoke to her squad members.
Ranked 42nd among heroes, she was leading a squad that included three Academy students, including Alicia and Serena, who weren’t even heroes yet, but she carried out her duties without complaint.
Unless they were hindering her, the students were impressive and had obediently followed all previous orders.
In her anxiety, she took one more look around, her eyes instinctively scanning the area.
The thick trees, so large that even the combined arms of five adults couldn’t encompass them, obstructed her view, yet her keen elven hearing and smell could not be fooled.
“…There really is nothing unusual.”
After confirming, she issued a movement order to her squad.
A grand forest where the blue leaves shrouded the sky.
So dense and tall that the leaves looked like swarming green insects.
Alicia’s squad continued searching the same areas repeatedly.
They were walking around the area narrowed down by the Judgment Weapons, searching for traces of Altife, but even after several weeks, there was still no sign of the Cardinal or any Priest-level beings.
Even though the estimated area had shrunk quite a bit, it still felt vast to those moving on two legs.
“Alicia, it’s your turn to scout this time.”
“Yes, understood.”
Among the group, the squad leader, who was the most sensitive to the changes in mana.
She had recognized Alicia’s talents early on and often created opportunities for her to showcase her abilities.
‘If Alicia graduates from the Academia, she will become a significant force for the Church. I need to give her as much experience as possible.’
As Alicia mobilized her mana to explore the surroundings, she followed up with a confirmation.
“There’s no reaction here either. Let’s move.”
Just as she was continuing the task, giving opportunities not only to Alicia but also to the archer Serena.
“……!”
Everyone felt a chill down their spines.
In an instant, all five heads snapped in the same direction.
A massive and sinister mana presence.
Clearly not at the level of a typical bishop.
‘Archbishop…!’
About two and a half months into the search.
Finally, they had detected the energy of Altife.
Just as Alicia grasped the rough identity of it.
The parrot familiar perched on the squad leader’s shoulder shouted urgently.
—Northeast, 10km! Archbishop Sabnak’s mana detected! Archbishop Sabnak’s mana detected!
Sabnak was undoubtedly an archbishop affiliated with Cardinal Gamigin.
The parrot then called for the necessary squad, and Alicia’s squad was not included in that range.
“What should we do?”
Alicia asked, and the squad leader gestured to pause, perked her ears up.
She quietly listened to the sounds of the forest.
The powerful hero ranked 42 could even hear the movements of the insects.
Noise began to reach her ears.
The movements of those previously concealed by blessings started to become audible to her.
The squad leader’s expression hardened.
A group was unmistakably approaching their destination.
Of course, that target was headed toward the search parties of Helion and Kello.
—N-northwest! 11km. The appearance of Archbishop Bifrons and 13 bishops! Estimated force of priest-level troops… about 30,000!
A large-scale army.
Forces appearing as if they had been waiting for an opportunity.
The Goddess Church had set traps, waiting for the heroes to venture deep inside.
Urgent voices poured out from the parrot.
Ordering each squad not to move recklessly, it announced the appearance of more enemies.
—From the southeast, the emergence of 2 archbishops and 2,000 unidentified forces! This isn’t… Gamigin’s forces!
There was only one archbishop left under Gamigin.
If two more archbishops had appeared, they were certainly reinforcements from another cardinal.
—Ah, I’ve figured it out…! Southeast, 2 archbishops! They belong to Cardinal Jephar! Glashalabolas and Salecius! Glashalabolas and Salecius!
They were the archbishops and creations of the mad scientist Jephar.
Among them, Salecius was the name of the archbishop closely tied to Alicia.
