The largest taboo territory on the continent was located far to the northwest of the fortified city of Garlaige, which was itself on the western border of the Kingdom of Emelia. This taboo territory practically took up the entire western part of the continent, including its coastline. Roughly two centuries ago, one of the countries there at the time had tried to instigate a taboo territory boss into attacking a rival country, with the tragic result being equal annihilation for all. No one had entered since. It was now a giant blank spot on maps, a land that no country dared lay claim to. The name given to the boss of this taboo territory was Country Eater.
Having earned the ire of all humanity, the country responsible had been thoroughly erased, such that no one even knew its name anymore. All that remained was the knowledge that its actions had led to a catastrophe of unbelievable scale. The nations swallowed up by Country Eater, including the culprit, had numbered seven in total. The one that had been targeted was the Holy Kingdom of Crystania, which had ranked among the top five nations in the world alongside the Emelia Kingdom, the Istekario Empire, the Amnesphia Sovereignty, and the Poseinia Eastern Seaboard Federation. The common populace had called it the Kingdom of Magic, as its military and economic strength had been buttressed by such superior magic that it had been seen by all as the greatest power on the continent.
And yet, it had been obliterated with its six closest neighbors within a month. The upheaval this incident caused across the continent was said to have been on par with the events of a millennium ago as alleged by the Kuzuifabra. Country Eater had been such a major calamity that if it hadn’t stopped expanding its territory after the seventh country, the entire continent—and human civilization—would have been snuffed out entirely. The armies sent by the seven countries had been squashed like ants, and the Divine Punishment fired by the Holy Church had been absorbed and reflected all around as a spread-out barrage. The humans of the time had been truly powerless, and if the situation had worsened any further, chances were high that the Church’s last resort, the man-made angels, would have been deployed.
Anyone who got to watch the footage of the catastrophe would undoubtedly find themselves at a loss for words. The way that cities as large as Garlaige were swallowed, walls and all, to then gradually lose their silhouette until fading away to nothingness evoked not so much fear as it did instinctual disgust. It was like a nightmare dreamed by a madman.
Management of taboo territories consequently clamped down hard, but no one complained. The wisdom of the saying “let sleeping dogs lie” had been duly impressed on the world. Those who intentionally worked against those measures were seen as either actively trying to bring harm to others or completely out of their mind. There weren’t enough resources or tolerance going around to permit their foolishness as mere expressions of freedom. As the concept of human rights only applied to humans, those rejected by society were treated even more harshly for having the appearance of a human while not being one.
Two hundred years later, man was once again returning to this land. The person who now had final say on everything in this world, Sol Rock, had decided to devote his energy to delving into named dungeons and retrieving the organas that Lunvemt Nachtfelia the All Dragon had lost: an eye, a horn, and a pair of wings. After receiving contact from an unidentified being during the restoration of the Floating Continent, Sol had deemed it a top priority to restore his best fighter to her prime form.
The first target he had chosen was Abyss, the massive dungeon previously managed by Crystania, where he expected to find Luna’s wings. He had considered the others—Pit was in Emelia, Void was in Istekario, and Chasm was in Poseinia—but ultimately decided that Abyss would make for the best demonstration.
As part of the effort to conquer Abyss and retake one of Luna’s organas, he would also eliminate Country Eater, the boss that had reigned supreme over a taboo territory for two whole centuries. His group was preparing this very moment for the show that was to be broadcasted through his display windows to the entire world.