By the time the battle between Rikrakamur and Alon began.

“Thank you so much, Saint!”

“It is not because of me, but all thanks to Sironia’s grace.”

Another monster wave was repelled from the fortress walls at the border.

“Yes…! Thanks to Sironia’s grace, there were almost no casualties!”

“That’s a relief.”

Yuman responded as such, looking down below the fortress walls.

What caught his eye were soldiers clearing monster corpses beneath the hastily repaired walls that had been destroyed just days ago, as well as the still incomplete sections of the fortifications.

“When are the mages expected to arrive?”

“They’ve been contacted urgently and are on their way, but it seems it will still take some time.”

“That’s worrisome.”

Yuman’s expression darkened.

‘It’s not a major issue for now, but…’

Since the expedition left to hunt Rikrakamur, Yuman had repelled two monster waves and managed to do so relatively successfully.

However, the reason for his unease was the still-damaged fortress walls.

‘If the walls were intact, there might not have been any casualties at all…’

Even with Yuman now a part of the allied forces, casualties continued to occur.

No matter how much the walls were repaired, the monsters had an uncanny ability to break through them once more.

Even someone like Yuman could not bring a soldier killed in an instant back to life.

‘I hope the mages arrive as soon as possible.’

Of course, the number of casualties was small.

To have repelled the waves with such minimal losses was a significant feat.

However, to Yuman, the number of casualties didn’t matter as much as the loss of a single life itself.

What mattered was the sanctity of human life.

The very existence of casualties weighed heavily on his heart.

After all, he was the Saint.

He lowered his gaze, looking carefully at the soldiers’ bodies amidst the monster corpses.

Though the state of the bodies was gruesome, he did not avert his eyes. Calmly, he conveyed his condolences.

After the cleanup was roughly completed.

While discussing with Kiriana’s aide about how to fend off the next monster wave.

“…Did someone appear in the north?”

“Well, it’s not a reliable rumor, but…”

He heard a rather peculiar story.

“…So, when the soldiers were patrolling the border, they saw something resembling a person in the north. Is that correct?”

“Yes, it’s just a rumor among the soldiers. You don’t need to concern yourself too much. I only mentioned it because it came to mind.”

“…If you don’t mind, could you tell me more about it in detail?”

Yuman’s expression grew serious.

The aide, who had brought it up casually to lighten the mood, looked puzzled but continued the story.

A moment later.

“So, there’s a rumor that someone with white hair was seen in the canyon area of the northern region?”

“Yes, but as you know, it’s unlikely there’s anyone in the border area. Both we and the Empire keep it under strict control. Although the report reached Kiriana, most dismissed it as a hallucination.”

“Hm.”

“However, after Cardinal Yutia’s arrival—”

The aide paused briefly before continuing.

“The soldiers who saw the figure claimed that the person resembled Cardinal Yutia… well, that’s the gist of it.”

“….”

“Haha, saying it out loud, it does sound like an absurd rumor. After all, it makes no sense for the Cardinal to be there.”

The aide scratched his head awkwardly, noting the soldiers had only seen the figure from a considerable distance, making the account less credible.

But Yuman, hearing the tale, remained silent.

…

He pondered deeply, gazing toward the north, where a fierce battle was likely raging.

***

A massive crystal plummeted, piercing through Rikrakamur’s body and erupting in an explosion, with frost blooming beneath the blue moonlight.

!!!!!

Rikrakamur let out a chilling scream, thrashing wildly.

With a single sweep of its tail, it leveled the surrounding trees. From its sharp mouth poured needle-like tendrils, scattering frantically in all directions.

Even its slightest movements shook the ground as if the entire continent were experiencing an earthquake.

Between the monstrous cries, Rikrakamur’s crimson eyes burned.

Eyes devoid of reason.

From the colossal, streamlined body’s tail, black slime began to burst forth.

As with the slime Alon had previously discovered at the castle gates, it consumed all forms of magic.

This was a unique ability granted only to the monstrous Rikrakamur, rendering all mages’ powers ineffective.

In an instant, the massive ice crystal Alon had created melted and disappeared.

The crystal, which had accurately pierced Rikrakamur’s body, vanished.

The magic Alon had crafted by combining applied self-construction and spellcraft was nullified by the irrational laws of the world bestowed upon the monster.

It vanished, like a mirage.

Even amidst this irrationality, Alon prepared his next spell.

Having anticipated Rikrakamur’s behavior from the start, Alon remained confident in his ability to win.

Alon checked his magical reserves.

Though he had only manifested magic for about two seconds to conserve energy, his mana was already reduced to half.

It was sufficient for casting several small spells.

But it was far too little to create magic potent enough to effectively damage Rikrakamur.

Even so, it didn’t matter.

Having already injured Rikrakamur and forced it to rampage in the visible marshland, Alon’s plan was unfolding perfectly.

“Unity of Shadows.”

As Alon murmured softly, the small creature that had been tucked into his chest pocket moments earlier sprang out, its body now covered with crimson eyes.

The creature’s tail flowed down Alon’s hand and seeped into the ground in an instant.

Raising his hand, Alon cast another spell to deploy a shield.

Soon, a projectile from a phantom wood was fired toward the shield in Alon’s hand.

With a loud bang!, Alon’s body shot into the air.

Having escaped the range of the black slime, Alon looked forward.

There, glaring at him with chilling, red eyes, was Rikrakamur—twice the size of the fearsome golden dragon, Lainisius.

For a moment, a question flashed through Alon’s mind, but his hands instinctively formed seals.

“Refraction, Repulsion, Azure Light.”

The words flowed from his lips almost automatically.

The speed of his spellcasting had become noticeably faster than before.

Then.

“Linear Diffraction.”

Like flicking a pebble.

Alon fired the azure light formed at his fingertip.

Not at Rikrakamur.

But toward the fractured and unstable ground beneath the monster’s rampaging movements.

Kwaaang!!!

The lightning from Alon’s hand struck the ground.

Though the spell was small and insufficient to harm Rikrakamur directly,

That tiny force penetrated the already cracked and unstable marshland floor.

Boom-Kuugugugug!

The small impact triggered a collapse of the ground.

Kwaaaaang!!!

Rikrakamur’s massive body began to be dragged into the abyss.

***

Kiriana stared blankly in one direction.

She wasn’t the only one.

The knights and soldiers—all of them were looking at the same place.

It was where Marquis Palatio stood.

Clad in a shadowy, rippling black coat, his left hand enveloped in an ash-gray aura as he floated in the air, his presence was so striking that no one could look away.

Beneath the dignified, radiant figure of Marquis Palatio,

Even the knights and soldiers, who had been terrified at the mere sight of Rikrakamur,…and even Kiriana, who felt awe that surpassed fear, watched as Rikrakamur fell into the collapsed ground.

Kwaaaaaak—!

The deafening noise roared so loudly it felt as though eardrums would burst.

The tremor was so powerful that soldiers and knights stumbled and fell, unable to hold their stance.

Yet their eyes remained fixated on the scene.

As Rikrakamur was dragged into the abyss, where the bottom was unseen, the sight of Marquis Palatio, standing in stark contrast, filled them with overwhelming reverence.

At that very moment, as everyone stared blankly at a single figure,

“…Ah…”

At the edge of the marshland,

In the dense forest,

In a place no one had yet paid attention to…

Yutia gazed at Marquis Palatio with an almost rapturous expression, admiring his figure.

Behind her—

Crunch— Crack!

The sound of bones being crushed accompanied by dying screams echoed through the air.

At the noise disturbing her admiration, she quietly turned her gaze.

There, monsters lay strewn about.

A goblin with its entire skeleton shattered, embedded into the ground like a paper doll.

An orc with its skin flayed.

A gnoll with its entire body grotesquely twisted in multiple directions.

An owlbear that had impaled its own neck with both arms.

The area was littered with corpses, their grotesque forms torn apart as if by a grinder.

Dozens of bodies?

No.

Hundreds?

Still no.

Enough corpses to form a massive perimeter around the edge of the marshland stood behind Yutia.

And—

“Grrrkk.”

Amidst the carnage, the only creature still making noise was—

A troll, enormous in size compared to the others, its body grotesquely bent and contorted, yet alive thanks to its impossible regenerative power.

Wrapped in black tendrils, it was reduced to instinctive terror, its eyes filled with primal fear as it stared at Yutia.

She gently raised her index finger to her lips.

“Oh dear, we must be quiet now. We shouldn’t cause a disturbance, should we?”

Smiling as if soothing a frightened child, Yutia approached the monstrous troll, gliding toward it.

Her crimson eyes glinted under the pale blue moonlight.

“Now, don’t look at me. Look over there.”

Crunch— Crack!

The tendrils coiled around the troll’s neck forced its head to turn, directing its gaze toward Marquis Palatio’s distant figure.

Grrraaaaah!

The troll let out a painful scream.

But—

Snap!

The tendrils seized its jaw, severing its protruding tongue.

Writhing in excruciating agony, the troll was once again forced to face Palatio’s direction by the tendrils.

Huff— Huff.

Panting in fear, it rolled its eyes to glance back at Yutia.

Amidst the horrific scene, Yutia’s lips remained curled in a serene smile.

“Now, offer your reverence and faith as well.”

She whispered softly.

“The reverence and faith that he deserves.”

Calmly,

“To my one and only god.”

She commanded.