[You have killed your first Catastrophe.]
[You have received a Weapon Gacha Ticket (Legendary Grade) x1]
[You have killed the Catastrophe, the Crimson Sky Wyrm.]
[You have received the Conqueror Trial Ticket x1]
The messages floated in front of Isaac’s vision.
For a moment, he just stared.
A slow breath left his lungs.
"...So it’s really dead," he murmured.
The weight that had been pressing down on his chest since the battle began eased slightly. Not fully. Not yet. But enough for him to realize how tense he had been the entire time.
A Legendary Weapon Gacha Ticket.
Isaac’s eyes lingered on that line longer than the others.
’A guaranteed Legendary weapon is good,’ he thought.
That alone was absurd.
Even in the Lord Cities, Legendary-grade equipment was something Lords fought wars over. Families passed them down like sacred relics.
And this one wasn’t even a normal one, it was from the System.
His plow flashed through his mind. It was Legendary grade.
The upgraded version of his old hoe. A farming tool that had somehow become one of the most terrifying items he owned. The land it touched changed fundamentally. Even the Water Elemental Spirit had sought him out because of it, claiming the soil had become comparable to a god’s domain.
That wasn’t normal Legendary gear, of course.
That was Legendary gear from System so it was more powerful than normal Legendary gear.
’And now I can get a Legendary weapon from the System,’ Isaac thought, a quiet thrill running through him.
He didn’t know what it would be. A sword, a spear, something stranger. But whatever it was, it wouldn’t be ordinary.
Then his gaze shifted to the next reward.
Conqueror Trial Ticket.
His expression grew more serious.
’Only Conqueror Candidates can use it. And passing the trial makes you a true Conqueror,’ he recalled.
Just being a Candidate had already doubled the effectiveness of his stats. Every point of strength, mana, constitution, it all counted for more. The difference was obvious every time he fought.
If that was the power of a Candidate...
"What kind of monster does a true Conqueror become?" Isaac muttered.
The thought made his pulse quicken.
He didn’t have time to dwell on it.
A golden blur slammed into him from the side.
Isaac was sent flying, and he crashed. Dust scattered into the air, but he barely felt the impact. His constitution absorbed most of it.
Before he could even sit up, arms wrapped tightly around him.
"You idiot!" Alice shouted, her voice shaking. She buried her face against his chest, gripping his clothes as if afraid he might vanish. "Why do you keep doing things like that?!"
Isaac blinked, then laughed.
"What was dangerous about it? I beat it without any injuries," he said lightly.
That was a lie.
A clean one, but a lie nonetheless.
He had been seconds from being digested alive. His shields had shattered. His healing had been pushed to its limit. If anything had gone wrong—
He didn’t finish the thought.
Alice pulled back slightly and glared at him, eyes red. "Don’t joke like that."
He smiled at her, softer this time. "Let’s talk about something else? Aren’t you happy? We defeated a legendary monster like you always dreamt! Of course, this is just the first legendary monster you fought! We will defeat more in the future!"
Her grip loosened.
Alice stared at him for a long moment.
Then, slowly, a smile appeared on her face. It was small, restrained, but real. The usual coldness in her expression softened just a little.
Before she could say anything—
"Everyone, stay alert!" Althea’s voice rang out across the battlefield. "The fight isn’t over yet!"
Isaac frowned.
He had clearly received the System confirmation. The Crimson Sky Wyrm was dead. There was no ambiguity there. And unknown to him, Alice had received the same rewards as well.
Catherine, too, though she hadn’t received the Weapon Gacha Ticket, had gained a Conqueror Trial Ticket.
The System wouldn’t make that kind of mistake.
Then Isaac felt it.
A pressure descended on the city. Dreadful pressure.
His expression hardened.
He switched his vision to one of his clones instantly.
Through its eyes, he saw the corpse of the Crimson Sky Wyrm.
And above it—
A final slit had opened.
The Sixth Eye.
"...What?" Isaac whispered.
Realization hit him almost immediately.
’It opened it at the moment of death.’
The Sixth Eye could partially control Red Rain.
But why use it now?
The Crimson Sky Wyrm was already dead.
A chill ran down Isaac’s spine.
"No," he muttered. "That bastard..."
He switched perspectives again, this time to a clone stationed near the city walls.
The view changed.
And his breath caught.
Far beyond the city’s perimeter, a massive chunk of flesh slammed into the ground. It was unmistakably a part of the Crimson Sky Wyrm’s body. Torn away during its death throes and hurled with terrifying force.
And above it, the sky darkened unnaturally.
Red Rain began to fall.
Too early.
It was supposed to arrive at least thirty minutes later.
"That thing threw part of itself outside the city," Isaac said grimly.
Understanding spread quickly among the command group.
Althea’s voice sharpened. "It’s trying to revive!"
Isaac remembered the Sinkhole Worms.
They had been dead, and fully decomposed by him. And yet, lingering spirits combined with Red Rain had twisted them into something worse.
The Crimson Sky Wyrm was on a completely different level.
If Red Rain touched its corpse, it would revive, and mutate, and become something far worse than Sinkhole Worms.
It would lose intelligence, yes, but it would gain raw power in exchange.
This move was its trump card.
Isaac opened his hand and began forming a spatial gate.
"I’ll retrieve it," he said.
But even as the dark spatial cloud began to form, he knew.
It was too slow.
Five seconds for the dark spatial cloud to stabilize. Two more to pass through and reach the corpse.
Red Rain would hit the ground before that.
And if he stepped into spatial cloud, he would mutate as well when rain fell.
Isaac ground his teeth, mind racing.
Then—
A dark spatial cloud appeared next to the fallen flesh.
"What?" Isaac gasped.
A figure burst out of it.
Celia.
She moved without hesitation, clutching the Soulbind Pendant in her hand. The subspace within it opened, and she stuffed the writhing chunk of flesh inside with practiced precision.
She turned back—
And the first drops of Red Rain began to fall.
"Celia!" Isaac shouted.
He was already flying, wings flaring as he pushed himself to maximum speed.
Too far.
Too late.
The rain was seconds from fully descending.
Then Isaac felt it.
That familiar, chilling sensation.
His hair stood on end.
Blue lightning flashed across his vision.
The sky split open.
A clean, precise slash carved through the clouds, parting them completely. The Red Rain halted mid-fall, dispersing unnaturally as the pressure behind it was severed.
It was the same attack.
The same overwhelming sword intent.
Sword Empress.
Celia didn’t waste the opening.
She dove back through the spatial cloud just as it closed behind her.
The sky slowly returned to normal.
The Red Rain was delayed for a few seconds before it began again.
Isaac finally let out a long breath.
Alice, who had already been told what had happened through Emily’s telepathic link, glanced at him and spoke. "You were worried sick when Celia did that, right? That’s how we feel every time you pull those stupid stunts."
Isaac scratched the back of his head and gave a wry smile.
"...Yeah. I don’t really have a comeback for that," he admitted.
Before Alice could say anything else, Celia’s voice burst into their minds through the telepathic channel.
"Isaac! Alice! Emily! Did you see that? I was awesome, right? Hahaha!"
She sounded genuinely thrilled, her laughter bright and unrestrained, as if she had just finished a fun game rather than nearly being caught in Red Rain.
Isaac smiled helplessly while Alice let out a small sigh and shook her head.
"Praise me, Isaac!" Celia continued, clearly grinning on the other end. "I did a good job!"
Isaac opened his mouth to do exactly that.
Alice covered it with her hand.
Then she leaned slightly forward and spoke into the telepathic link instead. "Celia, where are you right now? Vale is looking for you. He said he saw you teleporting out of the city just as the Red Rain was about to fall."
There was a pause.
"...Eh?"
Celia froze.
Even through the link, Isaac could practically picture her stiffening.
"Celia? Vale is asking for your location. Where are you?" Alice called again, her tone perfectly calm.
"Hello?" Celia replied nervously. "I c-can’t hear you very well, Alice. Alice? Seems like the mana from the Red Ra-Rain is causing interference. So—"
The connection cut off.
Just like that.
Isaac stared blankly ahead, still half-opening his mouth to speak.
"...She hung up," he said.
Alice lowered her hand and rubbed her temple. "She did."
For a few seconds, neither of them said anything.
Isaac was the first to break the silence. "She really did help though."
Alice turned and looked at him.
Her gaze wasn’t angry. It was tired.
"Don’t encourage that behavior. If you praise her this time, she’ll do something even more dangerous next time," she said quietly.
"But..." Isaac started.
He stopped when she didn’t look away.
"...Alright," he said eventually, backing down. "I won’t."
Alice sighed softly.
She didn’t want to be strict. She really didn’t.
But her heart had already been stretched thin after watching Isaac gamble with his life again and again.
If Celia, a new part of her family, started following his example, acting first and thinking later, Alice wasn’t sure she could handle it.
Isaac had already slipped out of her control long ago.
Celia didn’t have to.
While they were talking, one of Isaac’s clones flew down to a different part of the battlefield.
Sword Empress stood there, her sword planted in the ground for support. Sweat clung to her hair, and her breathing was heavy and uneven. Her hands trembled slightly.
She had pushed herself far past her limits.
"Thank you," Isaac said as his clone approached her.
She looked up and gave a tired nod.
"Please rest now," Isaac continued. "We’ll handle things from here."
She shook her head. "The Red Rain has just started. This is everyone’s first time experiencing it. I should stay and guide them."
Before Isaac could reply, Catherine appeared beside them.
"Master, I will guide them. I’ve seen Red Rains before. I know how cities defend against them," she said firmly.
Sword Empress hesitated. "But—"
"Rest," Catherine said, her tone leaving no room for argument.
Sword Empress opened her mouth, then closed it again. After a moment, she nodded.
"...Alright."
Isaac took that as his cue. "Please enter my Soulbind Pendant. You can rest in the mansion there. The maids will take care of you."
Sword Empress didn’t argue this time. She accepted, her body clearly too exhausted to resist.
Since she was bonded to Isaac, she could enter the Cradle
As Isaac looked up, he noticed a familiar presence approaching quickly.
Celia.
She was flying toward Catherine’s location. Isaac didn’t miss the calculation behind it. Celia’s brother didn’t like Catherine, which meant Vale probably wouldn’t come looking here.
Clever.
Isaac let her pass without comment.
His gaze shifted upward.
Red Rain was finally falling.
The Sky Dome shimmered faintly as it intercepted the droplets, preventing them from reaching the city itself. Even so, watching it made Isaac’s chest tighten.
There was something deeply unsettling about it. It felt as though something vast and unknowable was watching him through the rain.
He looked away and exhaled slowly.
While the Red Rain had begun, the monsters wouldn’t come immediately. That much he knew. The corrupted monsters near the city had already been cleared earlier by the guilds and Professor Catherine.
The ones that would respond to the Red Rain were farther away.
It would take time for them to come.
"One or two hours at least," Isaac murmured.
That was their rest window.
And it was crucial.
A Catastrophe-level battle had just ended. Their strongest fighters were exhausted. If they didn’t recover now, they wouldn’t last once the real horde began.