Immediately after the ritual to open the abyss took place.
The reaction of the order, which had been on high alert following the intentions of the saintess recently, was immediate.
"Hurry up! Finish preparations and gather quickly!"
It was the elite of the order, who had been on standby at the Rosellia Grand Temple, that started to move immediately under the saintess's direction, who had quickly grasped the core of the situation.
"Ha... It seems like the Immortal King has started to move in earnest."
"Though we expected he wouldn't stay idle during his disappearance, this is beyond our expectations. A ritual of this magnitude..."
"It must have been something he planned a long time ago with those who followed him."
"It's impossible to guess how long they've been preparing for this."
The saintess's lament was met with a nod and agreement from Archbishop Latius standing beside her.
The fears during the Immortal King's absence had become reality.
No, it could be said that the situation had unfolded on a scale far beyond what had been anticipated.
"The site of the ritual is deep within the wastelands of the southern continent. With no nearby temples, even if we hurry, we'll likely arrive after everything has ended."
"But we can't just sit by and do nothing. And since we've already prepared in advance, it won't take long. Maybe we'll find some clues."
The observed location was so remote and unpopulated that traveling there was problematic.
A normal journey could waste at least a month due to the long distance.
However, the Holy Order was not so easily daunted.
"From the closest city in the southern empire, Weira, through a gate... if we hurry, we could arrive in about half a day."
They had already prepared for various scenarios, gathering those blessed with swift mobility into the waiting forces.
To respond quickly to whatever happened.
And less than an hour after the sudden incident, they had finished all preparations and were gathering in the gate room.
"Everything is ready. Then I will be going now, Saintess."
"Please, take care, Archbishop Latius. I need to speak with the other forces quickly. I haven't even finished the existing agreements yet, how will I get any sleep?"
The saintess made a self-mocking joke as she saw off Archbishop Latius.
"Ha-ha-ha, I will return and help you then. Maybe you can get a little nap?"
"Do you promise? You have to come back and help, okay?"
Of course, those being dispatched were the order's elite, configured to safely extract themselves from any crisis situation.
However, with such a large-scale ritual, no one could know what threats might lurk there.
There might even be traps waiting for them.
"Of course. Now, I really must go."
Archbishop Latius gently comforted the saintess with a somber look and immediately headed towards the gate.
The saintess always showed guilt for sending others into danger, but as a follower of the divine, exposing her to danger wasn't an option.
Thus, Archbishop Latius, along with other archbishops and paladins, led a group into the gate.
Having arrived at the temple closest to their destination through the gate, they waited there for a moment before...
"It's done. Now, let's enter."
They re-entered the gate they had come from.
Using the blessing of 'movement' as a medium through the gate, they created a virtual exit in the direction they intended to go, allowing them to travel even further.
Though there were limitations due to the distance and the number of people being transported, this method allowed them to minimize the difference from their destination as much as possible.
"The influence of the ritual is causing fluctuations in energy even here. We should hurry even more."
As they got closer, the turbulent energy became more palpable, and the expressions of those who had arrived in the middle of the southern wasteland hardened.
Just as the members of the order were about to receive assistance from one with the blessing of 'shortening distance'...
Roar—!
From afar, in the direction they were headed...
A black pillar connecting the earth and sky surged upwards.
Despite the considerable distance, the black line dividing the world was starkly embedded in their vision.
"Ah."
"Archbishop, could that be..."
"The Pillar of the Abyss..."
It was a sign of the abyss opening, known only through documents and almost forgotten by now.
"Let's move."
Gritting their teeth, the group hastened towards the location where the pillar had risen.
Even if it was already too late, they couldn't just stand by and watch.
Thus, for about half a day, the group continued towards their destination.
The black pillar that had shot up into the sky as if to pierce it had already disappeared as if its power had been exhausted, but they silently moved on and finally reached...
The place where the ritual to open the abyss had begun.
***
Swoosh—
[As expected, they've all fled.]
Hans, floating in mid-air, slowly descended while surveying the surroundings.
A large hole in the ceiling of the ritual site, located underground, allowed for easy entry.
'They fled right after finishing their business... Well, it has been several hours. They wouldn't be foolish enough to stay at the scene after drawing continental attention with something of this scale.'
The energy in this vicinity was too turbulent, making coordinates unstable, forcing spatial movement to a slightly distant location.
Having flown here in haste, the site was already devoid of any sign of life.
What remained were magical circles etched all over for the ritual and what appeared to be bloodstains of those sacrificed.
Everything had been thoroughly prepared and executed in advance, leaving no other trace behind.
'What's that?'
Except for one thing.
Something foreign was detected by Hans's sense that could read the space entirely.
Swoosh—
Something embedded between the cracks in the flooring was pulled out by his will and sucked into his hand.
'A metal fragment?'
It appeared to be a fragment of a thin chain, a piece of metal debris.
The only impurity left in this cleanly tidied space.
While its significance was unclear, it was, for now, the only clue, so he decided to keep it.
'The energy is too scattered here to trace back anything.'
The energy of the abyss itself and the aftermath of something that seemed to have been brought out from there made it difficult to do anything in this place.
"This is... 'madness'. Is it because the gate to the abyss was opened incompletely, it couldn't be fully extracted."
Since such a scenario hadn't been anticipated, the madness that started to crumble and spread across the continent was unpredictable in terms of the impact it would have on the world.
But in some way or another, there will be significant changes.
As he scanned the surroundings to grasp the situation, his gaze was drawn to a pit on the ground that had been emanating a strong presence.
The thick darkness writhing, pressed against the huge magic circle under his feet, was slowly shrinking due to the world's restorative force, but it was still violently spewing ominous energy.
"Ho, this energy..."
It was a heavy, sticky, and mind-numbing energy that he felt when he contemplated the inside with the "Heart of Immortality."
'Is this energy seeping from the abyss?'
And the moment Hans took a closer look at it with the "Eye of the Abyss"...
He was able to understand the energy in more detail.
'...So this was the origin of the dark magic power harbored by the heart.'
The endless stream of dark magic power from the Immortal King's heart was merely a diluted version of the energy that had been tightly compressed there.
'It was nothing compared to this. The difference in concentration is this severe.'
If dark magic power was merely a toxic gas, this was a high-density concentrate.
An even more vicious energy than the notoriously tricky dark magic power.
But...
'...I think I can handle this directly?'
Perhaps because the heart and its source were the same, it felt strangely familiar.
After all, wasn't he the Immortal King himself, who crawled up from the abyss, with both the "Eye of the Abyss" and the "Heart of Immortality"?
It would be stranger if he couldn't handle it!
'Let's try.'
Hans slowly extended a hand and gently stirred the air.
With his hand movement filled with extreme concentration, the turbulent energy of the abyss gradually began to follow his fingertips.
For ordinary people, just breathing in this place could be life-threatening, but to him, it was no different than the air of his homeland.
'Not that I can breathe it, though.'
Even as he entertained such frivolous thoughts, he felt increasingly familiar with this energy and sucked it into his heart, storing it there.
The energy of the abyss was as dangerous as radioactive waste, but it was too precious to be left untouched since it wasn't easily accessible.
[Keh-heh... This could be a very useful power if used well.]
As tricky as it was to handle, its effects were bound to be exceptional.
Having absorbed enough of the abyss's energy to his satisfaction, Hans looked around again with a contented heart.
Seeing all sorts of magical circles densely surrounding the slowly closing pit of the abyss, he could tell how much effort they had put into this.
'With this level of preparation, they must have been working on it for at least 10 years. Considering the sacrificial rituals activated across the continent, it must be even longer...'
The capacity to carry out such an event across the entire continent, the secrecy to operate undetected for a long time, and the organizational skills to encompass all of that.
The Oath of the Reversal was a much stronger force than I had imagined.
This meant they were likely the largest dark force on the continent.
And that meant...
'They are exactly what I've been looking for.'
A perfect casting of villains to support the protagonist, Hans, essential for the smooth progression of the story.
'Finding them should be my top priority. Gathering small fries like now can wait.'
He planned to track down those who had fled from this place, and if that failed, finding the master of the novice dark wizard who conducted the sacrificial ritual would be a good strategy.
From there, by following the trail, he would eventually reach its true form.
"Hmm?"
Just as Hans was pondering his next move, he felt some energy from the violently writhing pit of the abyss.
"Oh, this is a welcome development."
He had never faced it directly, but he knew of its existence through information given as 'experience.'
"Another legacy."
He felt something much larger than the Arch-Lich Drwell that Heinrich had encountered, coming up from below.
Until now, the connection to the deep abyss was too strong, so the creature drifting on the edge had no chance to emerge.
But as that power began to weaken, it seemed to be naturally sucked upwards.
The continuously writhing pit of the abyss and the energy becoming clearer.
Wriggle—
And finally.
A part of that being burst forth from the tumultuous abyss.
Whoosh!
But to call it a "part" was an understatement due to its immense size.
"ROOOOAAAAR——!"
The surrounding air swirled around the overwhelming mass as it twisted its entire body, squeezing out of the hole that seemed too small for it.
Gleaming black bones and teeth, a giant skull shaking violently, and vicious, purple flickering eyes.
That being was.
'The Bone Dragon, Entrasio.'
A gigantic dragon made of bones was crawling out from the bottom of the abyss.