The monster soaring through the air.

The maw baring its sharp teeth.

The creature lunging forward with intestines trailing behind.

All of them turned pure white.

But that wasn’t all.

Every monster within the range of Alon’s magic also oxidized into pure white.

Ssshh—

They scattered.

It wasn’t flashy.

There wasn’t an earth-shaking explosion.

It wasn’t tyrannical.

Nor was it overwhelming.

They simply scattered.

Like snowmen slowly melting at the arrival of spring.

Every monster within Alon’s magical domain became nothing more than drifting snowflakes.

Monsters.

Maws.

Creatures.

Even the tree that ceaselessly birthed them.

And—

“This is absurd—”

—The Apostle, too.

Just as the laws of nature apply equally to all.

The magical space Alon had created bestowed an equally absolute law upon everything within.

Alon stared at her intently.

She gazed at her own body, which was gradually breaking apart into tiny fragments, as if unable to comprehend the situation.

She desperately tried to summon her magic to counter Alon’s, attempting to freeze everything in a last-ditch effort to escape.

But, unfortunately for her, any magic she mustered froze solid the moment it emerged.

“This power is—”

Her trembling voice, filled with disbelief, abruptly ceased.

Crack—!

A fissure formed on her frozen, pale face before she shattered completely.

And in the vast cavern, nothing remained.

—

Rine stared blankly at Marquis Palatio’s back.

His coat, adorned with ice crystals, fluttered as he formed seals with his hands, six icy arms extending from him.

The reverence in the silence he commanded.

And Alon—

…felt like throwing up.

His stomach churned from the magic he had wrung to its limit, and only then did he release the seal.

Crackle—!

The six hands behind him turned into snowflakes, just like the monsters, and scattered into the air.

‘…At least things went as planned.’

Alon recalled the Apostle, whose face had been frozen in disbelief before vanishing into white snowflakes.

There were two reasons why he had managed to defeat the Apostle this time.

First, the space was small enough for his magic to completely cover.

Second, he had predicted the Apostle would lower her guard.

He had known all along that her objective was to push Rine to her mental and emotional limits, forcing her to awaken to sin.

This time, he had also mitigated the weakness of his magic.

The spell he had developed with Penia was immensely powerful.

The moment someone was trapped within the expanding force of magic interwoven with three or more seals, the only way to escape was with overwhelming magic that could completely sweep away Alon’s power or with sheer, impossible physical might.

That wasn’t all.

By forcibly twisting the molecular structure of magic, he heightened the elemental resonance within the space, allowing even the smallest spell to reverberate across the entire domain.

And he could choose which spell to manifest.

But even this powerful magic had a fatal flaw.

The prison of magic itself was extremely fragile against external impacts.

Once inside, there was no escape.

The expanding magic restricted the opponent’s physical abilities.

The hardened magical molecules interfered with their spells and even disrupted their ability to cast magic at all.

But from the outside, it was like a balloon.

A single external force—be it magic or brute strength—could destabilize the molecules sustaining the magic prison and collapse it instantly.

‘…I need to find a way to fix this soon.’

Alon and Penia already knew the solution.

It was simple—he just had to forgo the expansion and link the seals directly.

But right now, Alon couldn’t do that.

He needed to use his full power and expand the magic just to ensure he could cover the necessary range.

Ultimately, he had only managed to capture both the Apostle and the monsters because the cavern’s size was just within his range, and because the Apostle had been careless.

‘…Still, for a first field test, it went well.’

Alon was secretly pleased that the magic he had devised had worked as intended.

Of course, he didn’t let it show.

Instead, he turned to Rine with an impassive gaze.

“Are you alright?”

“…Yes, I’m fine, godfather.”

She said the words, but her complexion told a different story.

“We should return for now.”

His voice carried a faint trace of concern.

***

Alon woke the unconscious Evan and left the cavern with him and Rine.

Evan, who had been unconscious and knew nothing of what had happened, soon heard the details from Rine.

“If you listen to that thing, you die?”

“Yes. Whatever she speaks of, it’s something that should never be heard.”

“…What the hell does that mean?”

Unlike Evan, who tilted his head in confusion, Alon immediately understood.

He had heard about it before and even experienced something similar in Raksas.

‘…But I never imagined there’d be someone who could weaponize knowledge itself.’

Alon looked at Rine.

Seeing her face full of uncertainty, he hesitated.

‘…She definitely knew something about the Apostle.’

Her reaction earlier, his own deductions—everything pointed to the Apostle having a connection to Rine’s past.

“Rine.”

“…Yes, godfather.”

Her response was slower than usual.

Alon studied her face intently.

Her complexion had recovered slightly.

But a different emotion flickered in her eyes.

A faint but unmistakable anxiety.

Catching this, Alon hesitated briefly before making his decision.

“…You’ve been through enough. Rest when we return.”

He chose not to press her about her past.

He was curious, of course.

But it was obvious.

She didn’t want to talk about it.

Still, if Alon asked, she would surely answer sincerely.

But he didn’t want to force her to bring up something she didn’t wish to discuss.

“Thank you, godfather.”

Rine bowed her head.

To an outsider, it would seem like a simple expression of gratitude for his concern.

But Alon knew better.

She had recognized his consideration and was thanking him for it.

“…? What’s going on with you two, leaving me out of this?”

Evan, unable to grasp the subtle atmosphere, simply looked back and forth between Alon and Rine in confusion.

By the time the sun began to set, Alon had returned to Lartania and encountered Deus, who had just returned from the labyrinth.

“You came back sooner than I expected.”

“Yes, finding the path was easy, so I was able to retrieve what I needed quickly.”

A satisfied smile played on Deus’s lips, as if he had acquired something valuable.

“Did you get what you wanted as well, Marquis?”

“I did.”

Alon nodded, idly fingering the artifact, ‘Footsteps of the Past’, inside his pocket.

Truthfully, he should have returned only after finishing all his discussions with Kylrus.

Strictly speaking, he had only obtained half of what he truly sought.

But there was one reason he could still confidently say he got what he wanted.

‘Now, I don’t have to go back there to meet Kylrus.’

He recalled what Kylrus had said just before he exited the mental realm.

[Don’t worry, kid. Even if you leave now, the moment I connected to this place, I became linked to you. As long as you activate the medium, you’ll be able to summon me back here anytime. We’ll continue our conversation then.]

A very brief exchange.

Of course, to use ‘Footsteps of the Past’ again, he would need to replenish his mana.

But that wasn’t a major issue.

As long as nothing catastrophic happened, he could recover enough mana within a month.

‘…That said, in Psychedelia, I could only use it in that specific place. Why was that?’

Alon briefly pondered this curious inconsistency before Deus spoke up.

“Marquis.”

“What is it?”

“You can look forward to it.”

Deus straightened his posture with a slight smirk, exuding a quiet confidence—almost like a child seeking praise.

“…I appreciate the gift, but don’t overdo it.”

“I understand.”

“So, have you finished your business in Lartania? Are you heading back now?”

“No, I need to stop by Raksas for something.”

Deus added that there were materials he needed to acquire there.

For a moment, Alon wondered if he had even heard what he just said.

At that moment—

[Hmmm… That was refreshing.]

A familiar voice rang out.

Alon glanced down.

Basiliora, who had uncharacteristically stayed silent inside his ring until they returned to Lartania, had finally emerged.

[…Whoa! What the hell is that guy!?]

The moment he spotted Deus, Basiliora flinched in shock.

“…Huh?”

Deus furrowed his brows as he observed the tiny snake.

Alon explained, “That’s Basiliora. Remember when I briefly mentioned him on our way to Lartania?”

Deus thought for a moment before clapping his fist into his palm.

“Ah, right. Just like you said, he’s much smaller now.”

Deus inspected Basiliora with interest.

[What are you staring at?!]

Basiliora, on the other hand, bristled with hostility.

A stark contrast.

Observing the situation, realization dawned upon Alon.

‘…Ah, that makes sense.’

He recalled that Deus had helped capture Basiliora.

‘It’s no wonder he harbors some resentment.’

He also remembered that Basiliora refrained from lashing out at him only because of Heinkel.

Alon gave a slight nod of understanding.

“Hm.”

Deus, unfazed by Basiliora’s reaction, simply stared at the small creature before remarking,

“He’s quite cute like this.”

He let out a low chuckle.

[WHAT!? How dare a mere human call ME cute?!]

Basiliora went into a full-blown frenzy.

“…Cute?”

“Yes.”

“…That thing?”

Alon found it incomprehensible.

Despite carrying Basiliora around daily, he had never once thought of him as cute.

‘…If anything, the only cute one is Blackie, not— Ah.’

He suddenly remembered how Deus’s younger sister, Sili, had admired Blackie while Deus himself remained indifferent.

‘So that’s his taste…’

With that realization, Alon simply nodded.

“Yes, this insignificant thing is rather cute.”

[Raaaaaahhh!!]

“…I see.”

Alon concluded that Deus’s sense of aesthetics was rather peculiar.

***

At that same moment—

In the Kingdom of Colony—

“…So, according to you, a ‘Sage God’ might actually exist?”

“Rather than might exist, I believe it’s more accurate to say that the Sage God truly does exist.”

“Can you take responsibility for that statement?”

“Yes.”

As Carmaxes III listened to the scholar’s claim,

‘…Could it be that Marquis Palatio is truly a god?’

He found himself reaching a bizarre conclusion.