Whaaaak—!
✦ ✦ ✦
And then, he unleashed a crimson divinity.
✦ ✦ ✦
Everyone present held their breath.
✦ ✦ ✦
They instinctively shrank back due to the divinity that far surpassed their perception.
✦ ✦ ✦
They felt like frogs standing before a snake.
✦ ✦ ✦
Among them, the only one unaffected was Vera, who sighed deeply and spoke to the stiffened trio.
✦ ✦ ✦
“...Be prepared. His Holiness will pave the way.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Their eyes shifted towards Vera.
✦ ✦ ✦
And then it went back towards Vargo, who was clenching his entire muscular body which was enveloped in crimson divinity.
✦ ✦ ✦
A massive figure over 2 meters tall, his intimidating muscles bulging even through his clothes.
✦ ✦ ✦
And the terrifying mace forming in his hand.
✦ ✦ ✦
They all realized at the same time.
✦ ✦ ✦
What Vargo was trying to do.
✦ ✦ ✦
He was planning to blow up the lake.
✦ ✦ ✦
He was planning to strike the largest lake on the continent, Lake Granice.
✦ ✦ ✦
To clear their view.
✦ ✦ ✦
Although it sounded absurd, they instinctively considered it feasible.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Hurry!”
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera shouted.
✦ ✦ ✦
The three were startled and began leading their groups.
✦ ✦ ✦
Dozens of people started moving frantically.
✦ ✦ ✦
Dozens of spell formations emerged into the air.
✦ ✦ ✦
They started to weave together, intertwining to form a giant telescope.
✦ ✦ ✦
“We’re ready, Your Holiness! Once the path opens, the information will be captured in this spell!”
✦ ✦ ✦
Miller spoke.
✦ ✦ ✦
Vargo nodded his head.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Let’s see...”
✦ ✦ ✦
He gripped the mace with both hands and twisted his waist.
✦ ✦ ✦
He spread his legs shoulder-width apart, then bent them.
✦ ✦ ✦
In a posture as if he was about to strike something.
✦ ✦ ✦
Vargo’s eyes flared red.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Let’s go.”
✦ ✦ ✦
The words were followed by a blast of crimson light.
✦ ✦ ✦
-----!
✦ ✦ ✦
There was a deafening roar.
✦ ✦ ✦
A massive explosion that seemed to erase existence itself.
✦ ✦ ✦
Along with it, a terrifying discharge of energy.
✦ ✦ ✦
While everyone present felt their bodies freeze in place, the spell formations prepared in advance by the spellcasters operated and began to radiate a strange light.
✦ ✦ ✦
Click—
✦ ✦ ✦
Such noise was made amidst the tinnitus.
✦ ✦ ✦
A brief moment, seeming like an eternity, followed.
✦ ✦ ✦
The sorcerers stared blankly at the path that had opened in the middle of the lake, and Vera stared at the fortress beyond.
✦ ✦ ✦
Immediately after...
✦ ✦ ✦
Whoosh—!
✦ ✦ ✦
With a roar, the lake water covered the path.
✦ ✦ ✦
“...Why didn’t you tell me beforehand?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“What are you talking about?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“That you were going to do such a thing.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Back at Elia’s barracks.
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera sipped his tea while glaring at Vargo, who was patting his waist.
✦ ✦ ✦
“You showed off too much.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera was still shaken by the sudden release of divinity.
✦ ✦ ✦
He spoke while shaking off the lingering tension in his body, and Vargo chuckled.
✦ ✦ ✦
“You wouldn’t have been affected too much.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“That’s not the issue, it’s the spellcasters. Thankfully, it was an automated observation spell. Otherwise, it might have been more than just giving them a scare.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“That’s not so bad either. Isn’t it helpful for the control you’re so concerned about?”
✦ ✦ ✦
A sigh escaped from Vera’s mouth.
✦ ✦ ✦
“...In any case, thank you for your hard work.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Yeah, when will the results be out?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Within an hour, they said. The analysis itself won’t take long.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Vargo’s hand swept the teacup.
✦ ✦ ✦
His sunken eyes gazed deeply into the light ripples forming within the teacup for a long while before shifting to Vera.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Did you see it?”
✦ ✦ ✦
It was a question without a subject.
✦ ✦ ✦
Yet, Vera understood exactly what he meant.
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera nodded.
✦ ✦ ✦
The image of the castle that had been revealed filled his mind.
✦ ✦ ✦
“...It was an inverted cross.”
✦ ✦ ✦
The inverted cross was lodged in the center of the castle’s main body.
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera frowned as he recalled it, and Vargo nodded in response.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Yes, it’s a symbol of blasphemy.”
✦ ✦ ✦
The inverted cross had been a symbol of unfaithfulness since ancient times.
✦ ✦ ✦
The cross signified the completeness of the Gods.
✦ ✦ ✦
Inverting it was a kind of insult representing the fall of heaven, an expression of apostasy.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Alaysia is committing blasphemy against divinity.”
✦ ✦ ✦
The purpose of the castle was now pretty clear to the both of them.
✦ ✦ ✦
“That castle itself must have been built to desecrate the divinity of this land.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera’s expression twisted.
✦ ✦ ✦
Vargo, too, had an angry look on his face.
✦ ✦ ✦
“The castle itself is said to be alive.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Yes, they said there’s flesh embedded beneath the outer walls.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“What could that mean?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“It’s a human sacrifice.”
✦ ✦ ✦
A long sigh escaped Vera’s lips.
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera was someone who knew about these kinds of rituals.
✦ ✦ ✦
“It’s an act of apostasy. It was rampant at the end of the Age of Gods.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“So it’s her doing, after all.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Vargo and Vera’s gaze simultaneously turned towards the lake.
✦ ✦ ✦
Shortly after, Vargo muttered.
✦ ✦ ✦
“She’s been preparing for this since then.”
✦ ✦ ✦
A castle made from human flesh.
✦ ✦ ✦
A blasphemous, inverted cross.
✦ ✦ ✦
And Alaysia, scheming within it.
✦ ✦ ✦
They thought about how long she had been preparing this.
✦ ✦ ✦
Alongside it rose anger.
✦ ✦ ✦
As emotions of indescribable wrath boiled within them, their expressions became more grim.
✦ ✦ ✦
[Are you angry?]
✦ ✦ ✦
A seemingly hollow voice echoed in their heads and shook the both of them.
✦ ✦ ✦
Flinch—
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera’s body trembled, and Vargo’s eyes widened.
✦ ✦ ✦
Their gazes shifted towards a single direction.
✦ ✦ ✦
What they found there was…
✦ ✦ ✦
“...A dog?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“...A puppy.”
✦ ✦ ✦
A black puppy.
✦ ✦ ✦
It was wobbling towards Vera’s feet.
✦ ✦ ✦
Why a puppy?
✦ ✦ ✦
Just as Vera was pondering about it, his eyes focused on the dog and he froze.
✦ ✦ ✦
It was for no other reason.
✦ ✦ ✦
The puppy had two unusual features that he recognized.
✦ ✦ ✦
“...Gorgan.”
✦ ✦ ✦
A golden pupil on its forehead, and a snow-white arm wrapped around its neck like a necklace.
✦ ✦ ✦
[...Hello.]
✦ ✦ ✦
The Wave of Despair, Gorgan.
✦ ✦ ✦
He waved a white hand over his immaculate fur, which was the complete opposite of the despair he supposedly embodied.