C704 Unexpectedly, as Beradin waved his hand, a green window appeared in the air.
The green window bore an astonishing resemblance to the Record Magic.
Jin perceived the lingering energy, similar to what he had seen in the land that the Zipple referred to as the "Holy Land," where the remnants of the power of the sun god resided. Jin recognized that it was the price they had paid for saving Valeria with the help of the Holy Land.
"......Record Magic?"
"You must have encountered the original magic frequently, so it would be embarrassing for me if you were so surprised by a mere imitation."
However, it seemed that the elders who had followed them to the study room were even more astonished than Jin.
"Young patriarch, so this is... magic! You've finally succeeded!"
"Why didn't you tell us, such a joyous occasion!"
The elders' greedy eyes gleamed as if they didn't care about the tragedies facing the federation.
Beradin continued smiling, but Jin sensed the darkness hidden behind that smile and instinctively realized what would happen next.It was a purge.
"Why didn't I tell you, dear elders? Because useless old men like you don't need to know."
"What is this...?"
"Young patriarch, kkeok, young, oop, ooh......!"
As the elders tried to respond, their throats suddenly tightened, and their bodies convulsed.
Suddenly, their breath was cut off. On Beradin's green window, there were characters engraved that resembled letters.
"Considering your previous efforts, I wanted to show you the way. What do you think? As I said, it didn't take that long, did it?"
Ronil remained calm, as if he had expected something like this to happen, while Beradin looked down on the fallen elders with disdain.
One of the elders managed to resist Beradin's magic, gasping, and reached out toward Beradin.
A deformed fireball shot out of his hand, but Beradin easily deflected it with his power.
When the fireball dissipated, tears of blood streamed from the elder's eyes.
"Ah, you should keep me alive..."
Those were the last words uttered by the elder who had momentarily resisted the magic.
As he fell, there were no surviving elders left in the office.
Jin felt a chill throughout his body.
It wasn't because of the magic that nearly matched the abilities Beradin had demonstrated or the difficulty in finding faults in his swordsmanship.
It was because he once again realized that his friend had changed. His friend, his brothers, had become monsters.
"I originally planned to take care of them after you left, but this isn't so bad either. Anyway, where were we? Ah, we were discussing the extent of despair. Take a look at this."
Beradin's green window expanded to fill the entire study.
Inside, a map of the world was depicted, filled with various regions covered in dark spots.
Hufester, in particular, was so dark that it was difficult to find clear areas, while the rest of the continents were filled with lighter spots or similar darkness.
"These black spots marked on the map represent the despair that the evil god is harvesting. The evil god has completed approximately 50% at this point."
"What is the basis for estimating it at 50%?"
"The speed at which the Ram vessel is forming. Every time new black spots appear, changes occur in Ram. That elder, Orgal, who arrived before you, seems to have equated the completion of Ram with the evil god."
Beradin pointed to the dark spots on Drakka, the Autonomous Districts, and the Milkun Kingdom.
"These spots formed when the people of the Milkun Kingdom were massacred by Dyfus Runcandel's attack and taken hostage. They continue to spread and darken. The faith of the civilians, especially those in Drakka, who thought they would be safe like the Federation, has been shattered."
As he said this, the dark spots in that area slowly but steadily expanded.
Compared to the entirety of Huphester, they were clearly small, but compared to other regions, they were quite significant.
As Jin silently examined the spots, his gaze fell in the direction of the Tikan kingdom.
There were also black spots in Tikan. They were literally just spots in size, but they stood out for their unusually dark color.
"Is it the despair of Elder Sister Mary... or Euria?"
Two people immediately came to Jin's mind.
"I've heard about the relationship between the Seventh Flagbearer and the Fourth Flagbearer. Additionally, the Thousand Year Contractor of Az Mil might suffer a terrible future."
Beradin spoke, aware of Jin's gaze. Jin didn't respond and continued examining the other spots.
Among the Hufphester landscapes, one land was undergoing the most active transformation.
Rikalton.
The land where the Prophet gathered human sacrifices in the past.
In the past, Jin had asked Dox, the Black Knight, to investigate that place. Since then, Dox had been out of contact.
"Seeing how closely you're examining Rikalton, it seems you've realized it too. We are certain that the 4th Flagbearer is moving all the hostages to that place. Rikalton is the most actively cultivating despair after the attack on the Federation."
The course of action was clear.
Attack Rikalton and rescue the hostages.
Operating on a small scale as before was not suitable. It was unlikely that the ten thousand hostages were still alive, but given the unfavorable situation, a fleet was necessary, even if it meant rescuing only a thousand of them.
"Doesn't it seem absurd for humans to fight against a god? If there weren't an element of despair, there would be no reason for the world's most powerful forces to intervene and save civilians in such a situation."
"What?"
"It means that if the opponent were human, it would be terribly ineffective. And if you, as the Chaos Immune, were injured while trying to save only civilians? What if there were irrevocable losses among other superior forces? It's something that shouldn't happen."
Jin felt as if he were listening to Rosa in her human days, not to Beradin.
Now, ordinary people in Beradin's world seemed to be nothing more than meaningless entities.
"Let's put aside unnecessary words. It's not a pleasant story to hear. Anyway, if you've also met Orgal, he should be aware of the situation. What we need to decide is the date of the attack on Rikalton and the number of troops to mobilize."
"Yes, it seems best to act as soon as possible. Although there must be limitations in the mobility of the Fourth Flagbearer and the forces of Chaos, I can't estimate that part at all. Is it the same for Histor?"
Firstly, with Valeria's current Record Magic, he couldn't even create the map that Beradin had just made.
Jin nodded, and Beradin shrugged.
"It's a shame... I can't believe the original can't handle it to that extent yet. If you're going to use it like this, you'd better hand it over to us."
"You're talking nonsense again. I agree that we need to start the operation quickly. Before the Fourth Flagbearer attacks somewhere else..."
As soon as Jin said that,
Suddenly, a new spot formed on the map.
Beradin also looked at the map in surprise.
The newly formed despair spot was in the Empire.
Among them was the land directly guarded by Dante, the capital.
Considering the time, not only Dante but also companions including Syris and Kashimir might be in the Imperial Capital now.
"...it's moving as soon as you speak, though it may not be the 4th Flagbearer."
"I need to go there immediately. We'll discuss the rest when I return."
When Jin turned around and tried to leave, Beradin followed him.
"I'll go with you."
Jin looked at Beradin for a moment and then nodded.
Imperial Capital.
"Disband the pursuit unit immediately and ensure the safety of the civilians. It's an order from the patriarch."
"Yes, sir!"
At a commander's order, the knights stopped their formation and stood still.
They were surrounded by chaos and corpses. Although there were knights among them, most were civilians.
The knights dispersed and began rescuing the fallen civilians scattered throughout the area.
The civilians lay under the collapsed buildings.
About 30 minutes ago, a dimensional portal suddenly opened in the middle of the capital.
Chaos dragons and black ships emerged from it, instantly turning the area into hell.
Dante began responding almost immediately.
Fortunately, Kashimir and Syris had just arrived, which was a stroke of luck.
If they hadn't been able to board Mort, no matter how quickly they responded, the damage would have been greater than it was now.
It took Dante barely 15 minutes to reach the site and eliminate more than 80% of the chaos dragons and black ships.
However, the thousands of casualties that occurred during that time were truly inevitable.
Now, Dante was pursuing the fleeing enemy commander while ordering the pursuit unit and defense force to rescue the civilians and instructing the knights of the noble families, including the Dragon Knights, to clean up the enemy's remnants.
I'll definitely find you and tear you to pieces...
Dante's eyes, filled with anger, scanned the area relentlessly.
The enemy had already escaped to the outskirts of the capital, continuously forming dimensional portals to flee but being hindered by Dante.
As Mort was exhausted and could no longer use teleportation, if he lost sight of the enemy even for a moment, it would all be over.
However, Dante wasn't one to lose sight of the enemy out of impatience. Moreover, this place was the heart of the land he protected.
Slash!
When Rashid unleashed the glow, part of the outer forest was cut like puzzle pieces.
Dante shot new sword energy in all directions of the cut forest to block the enemy commander who was inside.
The enemy struggled to break through Dante's sword energy, but Dante didn't miss a moment.
"Bastard!"
Dante swung his scabbard toward the helmet, revealing none other than Joshua Runcandel's face.
"Joshua Runcandel, it was you...!"
Joshua looked even more disheveled than the last time he was struck by Bale.
His eyes trembled unsteadily, and cold sweat dripped continuously down his pale face.
-Go and attack the Empire. Originally, it was the task assigned to the Fourth Flagbearer, but I didn't inform him for your sake. If you successfully complete the terrorist attack without the matriarch's help and return, she will surely give you another chance.
That was what Joshua heard from Ilina before going to attack the Empire.
However, now he was captured and couldn't return without help, and the terrorist attack didn't meet the Prophet's expectations.
Once again, Joshua had failed.
What further despaired Joshua was the fact that behind Dante, another dimensional portal was forming beyond his control, and from it emerged Dyfus's army.
Thus, Joshua's despair grew once again for Rosa's sake.
- -