Paat!
A pillar made of bright light shot up high into the sky. Just as Hayun and I rushed inside after arriving in the village, it was already too late.
The Grand Witch, having spent all her mana, kept gasping and collapsed, while Adriana, beside her, mournfully hugged the Grand Witch, tears streaming down her face.
The surroundings were filled with nothing but blood and corpses.
What was supposed to be a haven for witches was now left only with their lifeless bodies.
“This can’t be…”
In shock at seeing everyone I had just seen a few hours ago dead, Hayun covered her mouth in disbelief, but I immediately headed towards Adriana.
“Where’s the Priestess and Kurika?”
That light from just now was a warp. It seemed they had taken the witches hostage and demanded a warp from the Grand Witch, and those two had gone somewhere.
Trying to suppress her emotions and with a trembling voice, Adriana explained, “The two are heading to a village in the countryside. I don’t know what’s there, but it’s a village near Palem Plains.”
“Palem…?”
A place that could only be considered as the outskirts even within the kingdom. While there were no dangerous magical beasts nearby, wild animals often roamed, attracting hunters from outside every so often.
It was originally established by hunters who settled down, gradually growing into the village of Palem.
“It’s my hometown.”
At my words, Adriana and Hayun turned to look at me, surprised. I exhaled deeply, feeling the tight grip of my fist.
“And it’s also the hometown of Rin and Ares.”
Now that they knew I was in the Forest of the Demon Realm, they aimed to blackmail the witches and went to the village of Palem.
Since it was vacation, the Priestess had accurately deduced that Rin would have returned to her hometown.
‘Besides, with my memories, knowing the village’s location wouldn’t have been difficult.’
I felt completely blindsided.
It felt like my throat was tightening.
Even if I wanted to head to Palem immediately, it would at least take over ten days. The Grand Witch’s condition wasn’t great, and I couldn’t use warp magic either.
Just as I was anxiously pacing back and forth, praying for Rin’s safety, Adriana slowly stood up and grabbed the Grand Witch’s staff.
“I’ll send you there.”
“Is warp magic possible?”
I looked at her with hope, wondering if it was real, but Adriana shook her head.
“No, it’s my first time. But I’ll give it a shot.”
“That’s too dangerous!”
Hayun stepped forward and shouted. Warp magic was certainly dangerous due to its high difficulty.
Basically, just practicing warp magic was hard, and to actually use it required countless trials.
Starting with moving objects, progressing to animals, and expanding distances was crucial.
In the process, there were cases where things were shattered or transported to unknown, unreachable places.
Using warp so suddenly was extremely risky.
“But it’ll be fine.”
I gazed slowly at the collapsed Grand Witch. Even in a situation where she seemed on the verge of death, the one she had tried to save until the very end was Adriana.
Even with blood on Adriana’s forehead, she seemed okay now, so the Grand Witch must have healed her with the last of her mana.
The Grand Witch, who had lived for centuries, had chosen this girl as her successor.
“I’ll trust you. Please.”
I slowly reached out my hand to Adriana, who nodded with a smile filled with gratitude for my trust.
“I’ll make it work. Don’t worry.”
“Haah, really!”
Hayun ruffled her hair, but her expression showed she was somewhat displeased with the trust bond between the two of us, placing her hand down.
“I’m going too.”
*
“Phew, it feels like I’m too busy since vacation started.”
In the dark of night.
After a horse collapsed from exhaustion mid-way, Ares Helias, who had no other choice but to walk, wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Thanks to the power bestowed by the god Helios, which illuminated the darkness, he was able to move comfortably, or else he would have had to camp out.
As the weather got colder, wasn’t it just right to be camping out on this chilly dawn?
Moreover, in the Palem Plains, the wild animals that could harm people were plenty, so it was entirely possible to get attacked while sleeping.
“Look, didn’t I say Ares was coming?”
“Ugh, my lazy brother didn’t come, but here comes the brat.”
“A bit disappointing.”
At the entrance of the village, two girls, Rin and Diana McLean and Sen, had been waiting for Ares. They had come out to greet him, hoping for the shining light of Ares’s power.
“I didn’t expect you all to be super excited, but being obviously disappointed is kinda hurtful.”
While Ares spoke as if he was slightly offended, the two had already ignored him, focusing on their own conversation.
“When the hell is Daniel coming? Does he want to see his sister worry herself to death?”
“He asked us to trust him and wait, so let’s believe a little. You know how strong Daniel is.”
“That’s quite amazing. He definitely didn’t seem that strong when I saw him before. Where did he learn this?”
“I don’t know. Even if Daniel shed his timid nature and grew, that’s a huge leap.”
“Wasn’t he originally strong?”
“Not at all!”
“……”
Was that really something to say in front of someone who had just arrived at the village?
Ares missed his girlfriend, Arni Duratan, again.
He greeted his future parents-in-law back in her hometown. Even though they were commoners, her outstanding grades in the academy and elegant looks devoured by nobility had left a good impression.
Plus, since he had the mark of Helios from Batian, he had gained the title of Honorary Paladin, positively affecting that first impression.
Especially because he had turned the rough, sword-obsessed Arni Duratan into a more feminine version of herself, the Duratan family left with quite a positive impression.
He missed that last night of wild passions, with no stars in sight.
He had no choice but to come because Daniel McLean had commanded him to stay with Rin, but…
‘I wish school would start right away.’
Ares Helias longed to head to the academy soon.
“Sigh, I want to meet before heading to the Dragon’s Boundary.”
“You’ll come before then.”
Trying to comfort the disappointed Diana McLean, Rin turned to head back. As Ares watched her leave with Sen and Diana, he felt a strange sense of emptiness and followed them.
Boom!
The ground trembled.
Without any forewarning, a blue light poured down from the sky, injecting unwanted vigor into the tranquil village.
The dogs raised by the villagers barked, and the trees shook. People who had already fallen asleep began to emerge, peeking their heads out of the windows.
“This is…?”
Starting with Ares, Rin and Diana immediately turned their gazes.
The shift in aura with just their arrival indicated that dangerous beings had come. The heavy air enveloping the village was not merely a trick of the mind.
A one-handed woman in a black priest’s robe was eyeballing them with a terrifying intensity.
Beside her, a wounded wolf beastman emanated an overwhelming presence, making the Priestess seem laughable by comparison.
Though her vision was hazy and her breath unstable, she looked significantly weakened compared to the last time seen in Nirva.
However, there was no one on the continent who could dismiss Kurika just because he was injured.
“Tell the villagers to wake up and run away.”
From Rin’s chest, a mix of black and purple energy erupted. As the power swirled around her body, the Priestess laughed so hard her mouth seemed to tear apart.
“I found you.”
With a bone-chilling smile, Diana instinctively felt herself shrink back. Having transformed into a Dragonkin, her animalistic senses had heightened drastically.
The two in front of her were truly monsters.
Of course, Ares, Diana, and Sen were thinking of helping.
No way they would let Rin face those monsters alone.
But before the three could speak, the thick darkness spread across the ground began to twitch.
This was not just the darkness of night; it was something stickier and endless, moving as if it had its own will.
Rin slowly looked at Sen with a bitter expression.
“I’m sorry, I might hurt you a bit.”
“Huh?”
She didn’t want to show this kind of power in front of Sen if possible.
The darkness rose.
From the depths of Rin’s shadow, an army that had been lurking was awakened.
Starting with Zavalanco, the pirate officer who had been executed for distributing drugs in Elgrid, along with his subordinates.
Then came the members of Tudogs from Bethel and those who had been killed in Batian by Daniel.
Even Jesant, whom they had met in the recent competition, and his minions, all stood before them, bowing their heads in blind loyalty to the one girl.
Finally, beginning with the two-in-one leader of the Chokugen Faction, this Madame appeared to protect Rin, marking the start of a long, long night.
