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What fell, leaving a long tail, was a spear of flame.

The searing fire pierced the back of the monster and immediately swelled, erupting into a whirlwind of flames.

Whoosh!

Heat quickly seeped into the cold ground. However, this warmth was not a comforting relief from the cold but a scorching heat in stark contrast to it.

The monster engulfed in flames ignited right where it stood.

Kraaak!

Unable to endure the pain of their flesh burning, the monsters screamed in agony and convulsed.

In response, the monsters charging at the Blue Flower Knights turned back. What appeared beyond the mist was not their kin, but knights clad in red armor.

“It’s the Red Spear Knights!”

Someone from the Blue Flower Knights shouted with delight. The Red Spear Knights joined the battle alongside the mercenaries.

The time it took for the hundreds of monsters to collapse onto the icy ground was not long.

Gawain sheathed his greatsword, bursting into laughter.

“Hahaha! Reinforcements have arrived!”

The appearance of the Red Spear Knights was truly remarkable. It felt as if they had been quietly observing before coming to help!

Knowing that couldn’t possibly be the case made Gawain even more grateful. After all, thanks to them, there was little damage done.

Gawain stepped forward. Just then, two figures approached from the direction of the Red Spear Knights.

One was wearing a helmet, making it impossible to tell who they were, but he recognized the other.

“Ian Berger.”

However, judging by the fact that he was standing a step behind, it was clear that the one leading them was the Red Spear Knight who had come forward.

Since they had offered their assistance, it was only polite to greet them. Furthermore, he had been told by his seniors to avoid any friction with the Red Spear Knights, so he slightly bowed his head in respect.

“I am Gawain Serdic, the acting captain of the 5th Squad of the Blue Flower Knights.”

“I am Dior Berger, the deputy commander of the 4th Squad of the Red Spear Knights. It seems there are no casualties, which is fortunate.”

Gawain’s eyes narrowed slightly behind his helmet.

Dior, the second son of the Berger family, was renowned as one of the greatest geniuses of his time. He also had a notorious reputation for being quite rude.

Gawain could sense it from the tone of his voice. He thought he needed to be cautious.

“Thank you. How did you come to know about the situation here?”

“Know? That’s wrong. Of course, I didn’t know.”

“Excuse me? Then how did you—”

“I just followed my brother.”

Dior’s gaze shifted to Ian, who was standing beside him.

Gawain blinked in surprise and then shifted his gaze as well.

Ian shrugged his shoulders.

“In this situation, is it really important how we got here? We should be focusing on how to get out of this place.”

Gawain pulled out the compass he had checked earlier. He had confirmed it was broken for some unknown reason.

There was no way it could have miraculously healed in that brief moment; it still struggled to find direction.

“It’s hard to follow the conversation. You said you can get out? How do you plan to do that? Is your compass working fine?”

“Oh, that. It’s not broken; it’s being affected.”

“…Affected by what?”

“The culprit, of course. It’s obvious, isn’t it?”

Ian kicked at the corpse of a monster lying at their feet.

It looked as if it were made up of more than two monsters stitched together.

At first glance, one might think of a chimera, but there were no visible stitches; it was a seamless integration, appearing entirely natural.

Fusion; that was the only way to describe it.

“Dark Mage?”

“Hmmm, hard to say. I don’t know if it’s a dark mage or a monster, but it’s definitely connected to the outer sea.”

“So you have some guesses?”

Ian replied in a flat tone.

“This land was once the domain of the Black Dragon. A tremendous number of monsters perished here, and it’s probably the same now, isn’t it?”

“And so?”

“Isn’t it strange? I heard the monsters were devouring each other. Yet, now that we’ve arrived, they seem to be gathering as if they made a pact. As if they received a command.”

“That is…”

“Of course, it’s natural for the monsters to be led by a beast, but for one to exert influence over such a vast area doesn’t make sense. Yet, there exists a being capable of this. Do you know what it is?”

“…A dragon? Are you saying the Black Dragon, which perished in the past, has resurrected?”

“I can’t say for certain. If it has resurrected, it wouldn’t be in perfect condition. It might only be a remnant of its will, rather than its full essence.”

Ian recalled hearing a tale before his regression about a dragon appearing in the Gehiel plains, heading toward the defense line.

There hadn’t been significant damage, so everyone had brushed it off, but given the current circumstances, that memory couldn’t be taken lightly.

Gawain seemed to want to deny that harsh reality.

“Could it be the work of a Dark Mage?”

“If it were a Dark Mage, they wouldn’t have targeted us in the first place. Who in the El Carda Empire doesn’t know about the Red Spear Knights and the Blue Flower Knights?”

Even a newborn would have heard of them.

“Touching us carelessly could lead to failure, raising our vigilance. They can’t be that foolish.”

Perhaps they had ventured too deeply into the Gehiel plains.

“What if that hypothesis is correct? What would we do then?”

In response to Gawain’s question, Ian calmly replied.

“There are two options. One is to break through those bones that are cornering us.”

Ian glanced back and gestured with his chin.

Beyond the still mist, the sound of creaking could be heard, and red glows began to appear one by one.

They had maintained a good distance, but they had chased them down in the meantime.

Gawain’s expression hardened as he watched the skeletons gradually reveal themselves.

“The other option is to eliminate the essence or the remnants of the Black Dragon.”

“If that’s the case, we’ll help.”

“What?”

“Didn’t you have that in mind anyway? No matter how many bones there are, if it’s the Red Spear Knights, you could have easily escaped. The fact that you didn’t means there must be another purpose.”

“…”

“The Black Dragon was a formidable opponent that required a hero to confront it, but its avoidance now indicates it doesn’t have the same might as before. It should be winnable now. At least, that’s what I think.”

“…”

“Isn’t that right? There’s nothing wiser than cutting the root of a problem before it grows into a greater threat. So let’s work together. It will be a glorious battle.”

He felt as if he was seriously mistaken. He hadn’t wandered through this mist with such noble intentions.

Meeting the Blue Flower Knights had been a mere coincidence while searching for the heroic chant.

He reluctantly nodded, even as Dior shot him a look that seemed to ask what kind of nonsense this was.

Of course, they could decide to confront the remnants of the Black Dragon after retrieving Pamael.

“Then it would be good if you agree.”

Ian looked around. The fog was still thick.

There were still many mana stones yet to be recovered, but the skeletons were gathering again, approaching slowly without running.

“Let’s go.”

The Blue Flower Knights had joined them.

Unlike mediocre mercenaries, they were a reliable backbone of their strength.

Although their abilities to handle fire and its opposing attribute might not synergize well, that was a matter of skill.

Moreover, the Blue Flower Knights had a priest with them, which meant that any injuries could be recovered to some extent.

During their movement, they managed to pull in two more knight orders and one mercenary group.

However, as the continuous battles wore on, losses began to accumulate among the mercenaries rather than the knights.

“Ahhh!”

No matter how hard they fought, not everyone could remain unharmed.

Those with lower skills or weaker stamina fell first, and they had to keep moving without being able to retrieve their bodies.

Finally, they entered a new area. It was not a meadow but a land covered in flesh.

“Do we have to go in there?”

“I can’t believe there’s such a horrible place. Just looking at it makes me feel like I’m going insane.”

“We have to follow the knights. It’s too late to run away.”

The ground felt soft like stepping in mud, but the appearance of flesh made it quite unsettling.

Even Ian, who had experienced many things, felt nauseous.

And then, some who reached their mental limits due to this bizarre sight began to emerge.

“Ahhhhhh!”

While they were moving quickly, one of the mercenaries following behind let out a scream. Everyone looked on in confusion.

It seemed like he was releasing the pent-up frustrations from the repeated battles. His fellow mercenaries hurriedly tried to calm him down.

“Hey, what are you doing? Shut your mouth!”

“Why are you suddenly acting like this? Did you eat something wrong?”

But it was useless. The mercenary, with unbelievable strength, flung his companions away.

“Get the hell away! Everyone!”

“He’s gone crazy!”

In an instant, the atmosphere became chaotic. Ian turned around and approached the mercenary.

“Hahaha…! Ahahahaha…!”

The mercenary was laughing as if he had lost his mind.

No, he had indeed gone insane; Ian could see his eyes turning a deep purple.

Soon, a thick purple mana began to emanate from the mercenary’s body.

“……”

Ian didn’t continue to watch. He didn’t hesitate. He drew his holy sword and swung it with the speed of a beam of light.

Swish!

With a sharp sound, the mercenary’s head fell, and blood spurted out.

Ian glanced at the mercenary’s waist. The holy artifact given at the temple had already lost its power and turned murky.

“……”

No one asked what had just happened. They all understood what they had witnessed. Instead, they remained silent with stiff expressions.

They knew they could be next. If left unchecked, the mercenary would have gone berserk.

Ian lowered his voice and urged them.

“Keep your wits about you. You don’t want to die like a dog.”

He could have offered encouragement. If they returned safely, he could have promised a feast or something.

But he had already used that method, so he refrained. Instead, he simply stated the cold reality.

“Remember that once you go insane, there’s no turning back.”

It wasn’t that there wasn’t a way out. But that was only true when safety was guaranteed. In a situation where monsters could attack at any moment, it was practically impossible.

Ian turned his gaze forward again.

Woosh!

The tremor of the ring intensified. Moreover, he could see faint lines extending from the ring.

Others couldn’t see them. If he asked, they might think he was going mad.

But it was certain. After witnessing the external phenomenon, he had gained the ability to track the traces of magic with his eyes.

‘We’re almost there.’

He quickened his pace.

As the thickness of the line connected to the ring increased, the surrounding scenery grew increasingly grotesque.

Unknown creatures, formed from clumps of flesh, began to appear. Earlier, it was clear that different types of monsters had fused together, but now, that was no longer the case.

It simply felt like flesh was rolling around.

While their combat power was insignificant, seeing their forms and hearing their howls drained his mental strength.

‘Here.’

Finally, after a long time, he arrived at the location of the Piercing Spear Pamael.

It felt unsettling to have gone so deep, but there was no choice.

Ian looked down at the ground. It was buried below.

There was no time to leisurely dig it out. He pulled out his holy sword.

Whoosh!

A flame erupted along the blade, taking the form of a massive axe. It felt heavy and powerful.

“Hey, wait a minute.”

“?”

Dior called out urgently.

“What if the artifact breaks?”

“That won’t happen.”

Ian smirked. Artifacts were all incredibly durable. They wouldn’t even get scratched by ordinary impacts.

With that confidence, he swung the flaming axe mercilessly down toward the ground.

Boom!

With a thunderous noise, dirt and flesh were smashed and flew up. Blood spurted out, and a nauseating odor filled the air, but he didn’t care.

The real problem lay elsewhere. The previously quiet flesh began to squirm. He could sense an unusual reaction.

Grrrroooowwwl!

“!”

“!”

Everyone tensed at the rough rumbling. The flesh was writhing in response.

“Knights! Burn the flesh at once!”

Under Dior’s command, the Red Spear Knights began to incinerate the flesh, while the Blue Flower Knights protected the surrounding personnel from the heat.

Though it wasn’t the promised action, it was executed immediately without anyone needing to say anything.

In the meantime, Ian jumped into the deep pit in the ground.

In the distance, flesh was piling up and rising. The number had reached an astonishing two.

“What is that?”

“A tower…?”

However, the tower made of flesh without any skeletal support began to wobble and lean toward one another.

Everyone stared in a daze at this unfamiliar sight they had never heard or seen before.

Boom!

The towers collided but didn’t collapse.

Their tops interlocked like gears, forming an arch-shaped structure.

Soon after, a massive amount of magical energy swirled around, creating colorful ripples.

“Outer… outer gate?”

“No! It’s a warp gate!”

Kyaaaahhh!

They were being summoned. A staggering number of monsters burst forth, crashing into one another wildly.

———-