If you don’t want to regret, do your best.
Thinking over that phrase, Chloe got out of bed. Rania had already left, but the artifacts she had left behind remained on the spot: a circular transmitter and a cube-shaped artifact.
With those on, Chloe moved forward.
Her body ached, but she had recovered enough to be active again. After taking a few steps out of the treatment room, she found a group of elite fighters that Rania had arranged. They had a different atmosphere compared to the knights roaming the base.
Armor marked with scratches.
Weapons worn from use and shields stained with soot.
Those who survived on the battlefield for many years often exuded a unique sharpness. One of them stepped out from the group and approached Chloe. He was the man leading the search party.
A man donned in light armor with a robe thrown over it.
The insignia engraved on his shoulder was the symbol of the Mage Knights, indicating he was part of a special operations unit deployed for the most dangerous missions.
“Hero Chloe, I greet you.”
The man from the special operations unit saluted Chloe. She recognized his face; it was someone she had seen before.
“I’m Roks from the special operations unit.”
He introduced himself.
A Mage Knight from Apuria Academy, the dynamic Roks.
“It’s been a while, Hero Chloe.”
Originally, Roks had been Galahal’s aide.
He had heard the rumors about Chloe, the one who carries on the will of the greatest hero, Galahal. They had often crossed paths on the battlefield.
“I’ve heard from Lady Rania.”
Roks released a short breath.
“I will join you.”
Joining, he said.
Chloe’s eyes widened slightly at those words. It was a phrase that Galahal often used and had now become Chloe’s catchphrase. Roks smiled bitterly as their eyes met.
Even after Galahal’s death, Roks remained on the battlefield.
He had made significant contributions in grand battles and had not shied away from participating in dangerous missions. As a result, he had become the leader of the special operations unit and was often deployed on special assignments like this one.
“…Thank you for your cooperation.”
Chloe gripped the collar of the robe Belnoa used to wear tightly and closed her eyes. When she opened them, her gaze was steady.
“…”
Emerald-colored eyes faced forward.
Confirming the direction indicated by the transmitter, Chloe took a step forward. The knights who had lined up behind her began to move as well.
The established search party headed toward the depths of the Phantom Territory.
2.
Survival was Belnoa’s specialty.
It was only natural, considering the environment in which he spent his childhood. What else would a child abandoned in the deep alleyways of a slum learn, after all?
‘Just the way to survive, I guess.’
Rummaging through trash, picking up what someone had discarded, hiding in the darkness to stay alive. Reacting sensitively to danger, seeking places where others’ gazes wouldn’t reach. That was the knowledge Belnoa had first learned.
‘…Brings back memories.’
Old knowledge that hadn’t been needed for a while.
Yet it could be called the root placed at the very center of him, the essence of his being. With that in mind, Belnoa began to move. Erasing his presence, he climbed a tree.
‘First, secure a view.’
Hiding his body among the tangled branches, Belnoa looked down. The Demon Lord’s Army was ransacking the forest as if searching for a mouse. They occasionally looked up to the sky but couldn’t find Belnoa, who concealed his presence in the shadows.
As they failed to find any traces, they muttered as they made their way out of the forest. Belnoa listened intently to their voices.
“The Prophet said he would have fallen around here… it seems we’re late.”
“He must have left already.”
“Then we should widen the search radius. Starting with this area bit by bit…”
What they held in their hands.
Narrowing his eyes, Belnoa confirmed that what they were holding was a map. His mind raced, weighing its value.
An encounter would definitely lead to exposure.
Even if he wiped them out, the fact that soldiers sent to search would disappear would reveal his location.
However, even taking that risk into account, Belnoa felt a need to seize what they possessed. A map and simple food supplies. And maybe, if he was lucky, even potions. The scales tipped in an instant. Belnoa made his choice.
“…”
In the darkness, Belnoa let his arms droop.
A faint shadow flowed down from his fingertips. Like threads. Those threads draped over the heads of the Demon Lord’s soldiers, on their shoulders, necks, arms, and ankles. The moment the threads made contact with them.
Yank!
“Gah!”
“Gahhh!”
As the soldiers’ bodies were lifted in mid-air by the tangled threads, Belnoa’s lips moved. What he uttered was simple but the most efficient spell at this moment.
Shadow Thorns.
Thorns extended from the delicately stretched threads.
As soldiers pierced through their bodies fell, Belnoa descended from the tree. With a soft thud, Belnoa landed lightly and began to search through the soldiers’ corpses.
“Gah, urk…”
There was one soldier who had a pierced throat but was still alive. With a blank expression, Belnoa snapped the soldier’s neck and took the map he held.
As he unfolded the stolen map, Belnoa couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.
“…This is going to drive me crazy.”
A map marked with simple information about the front lines.
Even calculating the distance to the closest front line roughly would take more than ten days. This meant he would need to survive inside the Phantom Territory for at least ten days.
Survival for ten days.
Belnoa pressed a hiss sound from his side. The fluid seeping from his wound stained the hem of his clothing yellow. Belnoa clicked his tongue.
‘Injuries, and limited food supplies.’
The food he had looted was soaked in demonic energy. What could poison an ordinary human. In an emergency, he would have to swallow them, but he wanted to leave that as an absolute last resort.
‘I’ve got to survive for 10 days with this.’
There would be pursuers, and he would likely have to fight at times. The closer he got to the front lines, the harder it would be to avoid combat, and he needed to conserve his strength for that.
However… fundamentally, the Phantom Territory was not an environment suitable for human survival. Everything there would be poison for humans, and he wouldn’t even come close to finding a drink of water.
Honestly speaking, it was tough. Very tough.
No matter how excellent one might be, long-term survival in a place where food and water were poorly supplied was difficult. Especially in his injured state and deep within enemy territory.
[What are you thinking so deeply about?]
“…Just thought it would be hard.”
Just when his thoughts were deepening, the goddess’s voice reached him. Belnoa relaxed his stiff expression and exhaled deeply.
“The road ahead is very long.”
[That would be the case. Since it’s the deep parts of the Phantom Territory.]
“Yes, but by any chance, can I summon a dragon or something? Riding a dragon would be so much easier.”
[Unfortunately, that’s impossible. All the dragons under my command have lost their lives. Even the remaining dragons are nothing but children that even their lord wouldn’t recognize. They wouldn’t listen.]
It was indeed a lamentable matter. The goddess murmured like that.
Though Belnoa had thrown out that remark as a joke, it seemed the goddess didn’t take it as such. Sensing the goddess’s somber tone, Belnoa smiled bitterly.
[Ah, but that child did manage to subdue all the dragons. In the most straightforward manner.]
“The straightforward manner?”
[Through fear.]
The goddess shrugged her shoulders.
[Just by making eye contact, all the dragons knelt before that child. Bowed their heads and obeyed.]
The one whom the goddess referred to as “that child” could only be one person: the sorcerer Belial, who lived hundreds of years ago.
‘The most powerful sorcerer I know of…’
That was also the level Belnoa aimed for.
“Then if I could turn into a dragon like him…”
[Don’t even think about it.]
The goddess cut Belnoa off.
[You wouldn’t be able to come back.]
The goddess, who seemed to be relaxed and would listen to anything, indeed had her own line. The goddess pressed her face closer to Belnoa.
Black eyes, intertwined with a bloody hue.
[The act of turning a portion of your body and soul into that of a dragon ultimately touches upon a taboo. While I hold a skeptical position on taboos, there is a reason they are called taboos.]
A price must be paid.
A very steep price.
[Even if it becomes possible for you later on, do not attempt that. I will not grant that deal.]
The goddess looked somewhat sad as she said that.
[A tragedy is enough if it happens once.]
Belnoa slowly nodded.
3.
In the vicinity of Artiya, where the barrier was deployed.
Numerous mages gathered around the barrier, pouring their mana to suppress it. Even among the high-ranking mages drafted from nearby front lines, there were dozens, and the Mage Knights were also employing physical means to keep the barrier down.
“Magic stones, magic stones!”
Among the top-grade magic stones that had lost their light, new ones were being transported. Mages fitted their staffs with those magic stones and unleashed incantations toward the barrier.
It wasn’t a spell to dismantle the barrier.
It was solely to suppress the barrier and disrupt whatever was occurring inside it.
Even with dozens of top-tier mages gathered, their goal was only to disrupt. The moment they confronted the barrier, the mages realized the reality.
‘We can’t break it, not ever.’
Something unknown lay ahead.
Before the massive wall, humans felt insignificant. While realizing the futility of their magic path, the mages drew their staffs. They sought to do what they could.
‘But, we can suppress it.’
The emptiness was a daily feeling on the battlefield. Despairing before the great wall was something that only lasted a day or two. The mages, who had gotten used to seeking out what they could do, pressed forward, consuming a significant amount of magic stones to suppress the barrier.
“Hoo…”
Fallen mages due to mana exhaustion held potions to their lips as they drew circuits. With flowing nosebleeds, trembling pupils, and quaking fingers. Yet still clutching their staffs tightly. The area was filled with fallen magic stones and empty potion bottles.
…Of course, this wouldn’t solve the fundamental issue.
What the mages were doing was merely buying time. Because they couldn’t dismantle the barrier. However, none of this was meaningless.
“Until he arrives…”
They were waiting.
For the one who always responded to their efforts. The one who would make sure this whole endeavor didn’t come to naught.
Druud-drrr.
A mage, who had been weaving circuits while bleeding from the nose, staggered. Signs of mana exhaustion. Just as he was about to loosen the stopper of the potion bottle with his trembling hands, he inadvertently dropped the potion.
Crash! The sound of a shattered potion bottle echoed.
With no strength left to stand, the mage was about to slump down when someone grasped his shoulder. Thanks to that, he didn’t fall as he turned around.
“…Ah.”
A short exclamation.
With wide eyes, the mage looked at the person who had grabbed his shoulder. Blue eyes, ashen hair. And a woman donned in a platinum robe, reminiscent of the symbol of a hero.
“You did well.”
She spoke shortly.
As she lightly tapped the mage’s shoulder a couple of times and passed by him, the other mages lowered their staffs as she brushed past. Exhaling the breath they had been holding, some sank down, while others fell.
They had held on. Or, rather, endured.
With those thoughts in mind, the mages smiled.
It was only natural. They had seen the silhouette of the one who stood before them, passing through them. She wasn’t heavily armored, nor was she wielding a symbolic weapon like other heroes.
Yet it didn’t matter. That very existence was a symbol.
Hero Rania van Trias.
Or, the Wise One. Or, the Guide. Or, the Great Mage.
Or, the Mage stepping forth to challenge divinity.
The presence the mages had been eagerly waiting for had finally arrived on the battlefield. Watching the woman standing closest to the barrier, the mages all lowered their staffs. They stopped squeezing out mana.
Droooom.
The lights of the circuits that had never gone out for the past few days vanished. And in front of the darkened barrier, Rania spread her arms wide.
“Leave the rear to me.”
In the midst of the darkness.
A platinum flash surged.
Whoooosh!
And then, the mages saw it.
Before the light could fade away, thousands of circuits unfurled in the air. Circuits glowing brilliantly in platinum. A colossal amount of mana began to overflow, shining brightly.
Right after.
In the Phantom Territory, which was always shrouded in darkness without the sun rising, a platinum sun rose in the middle of it.
