Chapter 275
Chapter 44
Somewhere in the vast borderland separating the Land of Demons and the Holy Papal State.
“Lord God… What is that……?”
Sirenne of silver-blue hair murmured as she stared toward the end of the horizon from a high hill.
Beside her, Mirmias, the God of Mirrors and Crystals, stared at the enormous floating island at the edge of his vision with an unusually serious expression.
Symposion.
Once known as the Garden of the Gods, it was slowly moving eastward like some enormous living creature.
“……Something seems to have happened.”
The golden circle engraved within his crystal-like eyes shone sharply.
“But, Lord God.
You said the Garden of the Gods had completely lost its function……”
Kieeeeeeeek—
A faint monstrous cry could be heard.
At the same time, black dots poured out from the floating island like a swarm of bees emerging from a hive.
“……W-What on earth are those?”
“It seems Nox and Yuelos are doing something insane.”
“Something… insane?”
Mirmias turned around.
Then, with an unusually serious look in his eyes, he grabbed Sirenne’s hand and pulled her along.
“L-Lord God……?”
“Let’s run.”
Sirenne’s pupils widened.
“What?
W-What do you mean?”
“First, we need to get as far away from that thing as possible.
As quickly as we can!”
The god, who was always sly and relaxed, had eyes that were trembling more than ever before.
“Otherwise, we’ll get caught up in it too and disappear without leaving a trace.”
Symposion was moving eastward.
And large and small black flying objects were pouring out from it, filling the sky.
Mirmias could sense both powerful forces of fate and demonic energy coming from them.
Clip-clop, clip-clop—
“That’s the head of the household!
The head of the household has returned after completing the reconnaissance!”
The guards on the castle wall caused a commotion.
The gates of the old fortress opened, and Tris immediately rode her horse into Deventer.
Inside the fortress, preparations for establishing a defensive line against the Demon King were underway.
Soldiers wearing armor of various colors and carrying the flags of different families moved in perfect order as they transported supplies.
Although they primarily served different families, they were all troops belonging to vassals who followed the Wordsworth family.
“I’m glad you returned safely, Lady.”
Butler Fred approached Tris with a relieved expression as she dismounted.
“Hmm?
But, Lady…
The woman behind you is surely the young master’s maid……”
“That’s not important right now!
We need to prepare for battle immediately!”
Fred did not ask any further questions.
“……Understood.
I’ll gather the assembled vassals first.”
He simply nodded and quickly turned around to find the commanders.
He probably thought the Demon King had already arrived nearby.
Although he had misunderstood the situation, they really did need to prepare for battle, so Tris saw no reason to explain further.
There would be plenty of time to explain everything after the commanders had gathered.
“Are you okay, Romina?”
“Yes.
I’m fine, Lady.”
“What exactly did you see?”
“……I’m not sure.
At first glance, they seem to be beings containing demonic energy, but something feels strange about that……”
“Romina.”
Tris placed a hand on Romina’s shoulder.
“I know it’s difficult, but focus.”
Romina’s trembling amber pupils gradually regained their focus.
“Yes……
For now, they’re coming this way.
There are thousands of them……
Not all of them are coming here.”
“You mean they’re moving in different directions?”
“Yes.
It’s more like… they’re spreading out from a single point as the center……
I’m sorry.
I can’t explain it in more detail.”
“No, Romina.
If it weren’t for you, no one here would have known about them.”
Tris smiled faintly.
“……Thank you for saying that to me, Lady.
Still, the situation is urgent, so I’ll try to concentrate a little more.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard.
You only just fought the Demon King.”
When they had found Romina, blood had been flowing from her eyes, nose, and mouth.
Although she had not shown it, there was no way her body could be unharmed after fighting the Demon King.
“You don’t need to worry about that, Lady.
I drained the demonic energy from the Demon King all the way down to his soul.
And……”
Whoosh—
Making sure the soldiers could not see, Romina caused a small amount of demonic energy to gather around her finger.
The particles of demonic energy flickering above her index finger began to transform.
Soon, they took on the exact appearance of Tris.
The control was so precise that even her eyes, nose, and hair were perfectly reproduced.
There could only be one meaning behind this.
“Don’t tell me……?”
“Yes.”
Tris’s eyes widened.
Romina slightly raised the corners of her lips.
“I finally reached the ninth ring.”
Was it about half a year ago?
When she first met Glenn, she had been at five stars.
And in less than half a year, she had forged her ninth demonic ring.
The growth she had achieved in only half a year was so fast that even Romina herself was shocked by it.
Who could have imagined that she would forge her ninth ring at the age of twenty?
Well… he must have done something.
Of course, Romina did not think she had achieved this result entirely on her own.
Ever since she had escaped the cold prison and started traveling with Glenn, the demonic energy within her heart had grown faster than ever before.
He’ll probably be shocked when he sees it.
How would Glenn react when he saw that she had completely mastered Regnes’s Core despite receiving it only recently, and had even forged her ninth ring?
He’ll probably give me some awkward praise and call it a day.
Romina let out a small laugh.
Glenn was just as awkward at expressing himself as her father had been.
In any case.
If she wanted to receive even that awkward praise from Glenn, she had to protect this place properly.
She also needed to gather even the smallest amount of information about the enemy whose purpose and identity were unknown.
“There’s no problem on Lady Tris’s side.”
Tris had followed Fred.
By now, she would probably be gathering the vassals and commanders and informing them of the urgency of the situation.
Still, because the system was well established, the knights who had gathered from other regions were already waiting in place without even removing their weapons.
Romina had also seen the soldiers who arrived earlier immediately working to repair the abandoned fortress.
There was no longer any need to worry about Tris.
“Then all I need to do is my part.
Now……”
With a light deep breath, Romina slowly closed her eyes and concentrated.
Lobes’s Necklace, which helped her focus when she remained still, activated.
Thanks to Tris, her previously disoriented mind had also recovered, so she should now be able to learn more precise information about the approaching enemy.
If I’m lucky, I might even be able to figure out what they are…….
Thinking that, Romina pictured a map of the area west of the fortress in her mind.
At the moment black dots representing the enemies began appearing on the mental map, Romina’s pupils shook violently.
“Huh……?”
Her amber eyes widened.
A gigantic black dot overlapped her own position at the center of the imaginary map she had created in her mind.
And then—
Rumble, rumble, rumble—
An enormous pressure pressed down on her entire body.
The moment she realized that the overwhelming presence was coming from beneath her feet, Romina hurriedly took out Regnes’s Core and grabbed it.
“Everyone, run!”
Romina shouted.
Everyone nearby turned their attention toward her.
“Hmm?
What is she saying……?”
“Wait, what is this vibration……?!”
