“What a coincidence to see you here!”

Eliban greeted Alon with an exaggerated gesture of delight as Alon looked bewildered.

“I didn’t expect to run into you here.”

“Me neither!”

Eliban, smiling brightly, also bowed slightly toward Yutia, who was standing next to Alon.

“Hello, Cardinal. It’s nice to see you here.”

“Indeed. Have you been well, Eliban?”

“Of course.”

Alon, seeing the broad smile on his face, asked,

“I heard you were over in Ashtalon. What are you doing here? And where are your companions?”

The last news Alon had heard was that Eliban had been dealing with strange rifts appearing in Ashtalon.

It was puzzling to see him here.

“My companions are waiting back at the base, and I came north for some business.”

“Business?”

“Yes!”

A cheerful response.

Did Eliban have something to do in the north?

Alon searched his memory for any relevant information.

…Of course, it wasn’t impossible.

According to the original storyline of Psychedelia, Eliban would indeed have many tasks in the north after some time had passed.

There were rifts appearing in the region, but that wasn’t the biggest issue.

The real reason was the arrival of the barbarians and the Outer God, Ulthultus.

But that was only if events followed the original plot.

Ulthultus had already appeared years ago—and Alon had defeated it.

In other words, as far as Alon knew, there were no major threats left in the north.

The only remaining danger was the occasional rift.

‘It’s like how the Horizon became accessible in the DLC. Maybe there are new quests added with it…?’

As Alon’s silence grew longer, Eliban continued the conversation.

“I heard there’s a hidden dungeon in the north, so I came to clear it.”

“A hidden dungeon?”

“Yes. I was asked to retrieve something from inside it.”

“I see.”

It seemed to be a quest introduced in the DLC.

Since Alon could roughly guess why Eliban was here, he didn’t probe further.

Before long, they arrived inside the outpost.

***

“This concludes the current situation in the north.”

As soon as they entered the outpost, a knight guarding the base briefed Deus.

Listening beside him, Alon found one particular detail strange.

Something—

“…A divine descent phenomenon has occurred?”

“Yes.”

A divine descent phenomenon affecting the monsters in the snowy mountains.

It was a phenomenon where peculiar crystals grew on monsters—a forewarning of an impending Outer God.

Hearing this, Alon couldn’t help but frown inwardly.

‘A divine descent, suddenly at this point?’

As far as Alon knew, with Ulthultus—one of the Chaos Gods—defeated, there shouldn’t have been any more Outer Gods appearing.

‘Moreover, if the divine descent phenomenon was first observed in the north, it means the Outer God is likely to appear here.’

Typically, the divine descent phenomenon spread across the continent when an Outer God descended.

However, the region where it first manifested was usually where the god intended to descend.

And as far as Alon knew, no such phenomenon had appeared anywhere else recently.

That meant only one thing.

An Outer God was descending upon the north.

The moment he realized this, Alon’s thoughts grew chaotic.

Now that the divine descent phenomenon had begun, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Outer God arrived at any moment.

But what confused Alon even more was the fact that an Outer God was descending here at all.

‘Who exactly is descending?’

As far as Alon knew, the only Chaos God that appeared in the north was Gwaeryeonnanshin.

There were three other Chaos Gods that hadn’t appeared since Kylrus, but they were supposed to descend in entirely different regions.

‘Did they add new Outer Gods in the DLC?’

That left Alon with two possibilities.

One, that one of the Outer Gods he knew was descending.

Or two, a new Outer God had been introduced in the DLC.

After a brief consideration, Alon dismissed the second possibility.

He hadn’t purchased Psychedelia’s DLC.

That DLC had been designed to lower the game’s difficulty by introducing powerful allies from various races to aid the protagonist against the Five Great Sins.

It was unlikely that it also added new Outer Gods to make the game harder.

That left only one possibility.

‘One of the Outer Gods I know is descending. And given that Ulthultus has already been defeated… there’s only one candidate left.’

Neltar.

Alon’s expression grew slightly grim as the name flashed through his mind.

A being with four arms, jet-black skin akin to a demon, and unparalleled abilities even among the Chaos Gods.

Neltar was notoriously difficult to handle in Psychedelia, appearing only in the late stages of the game.

If he were to appear now, even if Alon prepared his magic and landed a clean hit, victory would be uncertain.

“No.”

To be precise, with Alon’s current strength, defeating Neltar was nearly impossible.

It wasn’t just a matter of power—it was a matter of compatibility.

Alon was particularly vulnerable to Neltar’s abilities.

Realizing this, Alon took a deep breath, trying to cool his head.

Any speculation at this point was meaningless.

Too many discrepancies existed between what he knew and the reality unfolding before him.

Thus, Alon decided to focus on the task at hand.

‘How do I enter the Horizon?’

As far as Alon knew, the method to enter the Horizon was simple yet difficult.

It was simple because the path was clearly visible.

The reason it was still difficult was because they had to fight the barbarians.

Especially since the barbarians were blocking the path to the Horizon, there was no way to avoid a battle with them.

‘…Should I ask Reinhardt for help again and launch an aerial attack like last time?’

After the brief meeting ended, Alon walked back to his room, deep in thought.

At that moment—

“My Lord.”

“…Yutia?”

Yutia’s voice reached him.

“You mentioned before that you had business at the Horizon of the Snowy Mountains, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Have you found a way to get there?”

“Technically, I do have one, but honestly, it’s not a great option. I’d have to fight the barbarians.”

As if she could see straight through Alon’s thoughts,

Yutia took a step closer.

“Then, would you like me to show you another path?”

“…A path?”

“Yes, I believe this way will let you reach the place without encountering the barbarians.”

“A path like that exists?”

Surprised, Alon asked again, and Yutia nodded.

“Yes, actually, I only heard about it after arriving here.”

“…A shortcut to the Horizon of the Snowy Mountains?”

“Yes. The priests who arrived earlier discovered it.”

Recalling the priests at the outpost earlier, Alon asked Yutia,

“Is the Pope’s mission related to the Horizon of the Snowy Mountains?”

“Technically, it seems that our mission is connected to a cave that leads there.”

“So, the path is through a cave.”

“Yes, but the information is reliable.”

After a brief moment of thought, Alon nodded.

“…Alright, I’ll take your help.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“No, I feel like I’m always relying on you. Is there anything you want in return?”

Yutia smiled, her eyes crinkling with amusement.

“Will you really listen to my request?”

“As long as it’s within my ability.”

“Hmm~”

She pondered for a moment before speaking.

“Can I tell you later?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Then I’ll let you know next time. I’d like to gather up a few things first.”

“…Gather up?”

“Yes, I thought that if I help you more and gain your favor, maybe I can make a bigger request later.”

“I mean, I’m already willing to grant you a reasonable request—”

At that, Yutia hesitated for a moment.

Then, still smiling, she gazed at Alon.

“?”

As Alon tilted his head in curiosity—

“Is that so—”

Breaking the brief silence, her voice rippled through the air.

“Well then, I have some business to attend to, so I’ll take my leave first, My Lord.”

Yutia left first.

Alon watched her departing figure for a while.

***

The next day.

At dawn, Eliban set out for the dungeon.

Meanwhile, Alon and Yutia took the shortcut that would let them avoid the barbarians.

A little later, Deus, who had set out afterward, soon reached the boundary where they were supposed to encounter the barbarians—

“?”

A small question arose in his mind.

The reason was—

“There are no enemies?”

The barbarians, who should have been visible beyond the boundary, were nowhere to be seen.

It was as if they had all vanished at once.

Puzzled, Deus murmured,

“…An ambush?”

But his lieutenant shook his head.

“No.”

“Then where did all those goblin-like barbarians go? And even their chieftains are missing.”

“The soldiers reported that early this morning, they suddenly left for somewhere.”

“…Left for somewhere?”

“Yes.”

Deus’s expression darkened with confusion at his lieutenant’s report.

At that moment—

“This is the place?”

“Yes, it is.”

Alon looked up at the massive cave before him.

“It’s huge.”

“Once you pass through this cave, you’ll see the Horizon you’ve been searching for, Marquis.”

Nodding, Alon suddenly remembered something and asked Yutia,

“But isn’t this area controlled by the barbarians?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure about that part, but when the priests investigated, they said no barbarians ever came here.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. So don’t worry and go ahead.”

As he naturally took a step forward at Yutia’s farewell, Alon suddenly hesitated.

“…Wait, aren’t you coming with me?”

“No, as I mentioned yesterday, my job is only to investigate this cave.”

“I see.”

“Take your time. I’ll be busy with my own work here.”

Smiling, Yutia lightly waved her hand.

Alon hesitated for a moment but eventually said,

“Then, I’ll be going.”

He left her behind and stepped into the cave.

Before long—

As Alon disappeared from sight, Yutia, who had been waving at him, murmured with a cold smile, “You all arrived sooner than I expected.”

She turned around, erasing all traces of laughter from her face.

And before her stood—

“A woman.”

Barbarians.

Not just one—

Dozens.

Hundreds. No—

There were so many that they clearly stood out against the gray world.

Countless barbarians had surrounded Yutia.

Tens of thousands of eyes focused on her at once, and the murderous intent and hostility emanating from their bodies were directed at her.

And among the eight barbarian tribes, the strongest chieftain, a man who was effectively the leader of all the barbarians in terms of raw power, a giant over eight feet tall—Luraka—stepped forward.

“Are you the one responsible for this?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m asking if it was you who severed all the blessings and sorcery that had been bestowed upon our tribe’s sacred land for the past thousand years and dared to set foot in this forbidden sanctuary.”

A voice rough and wild.

However—

“So what if I did?”

Yutia calmly countered.

“Do you even realize what you’ve done? You have desecrated this sacred place and cut off the magic our tribe has upheld since we first settled in this harsh northern land!”

As Luraka trembled with fury, Yutia let out a soft chuckle.

“Oh dear, what a shame. But you see, I had my reasons.”

“Rea…sons?”

“Yes, I needed a path to the Horizon. And this was the best way to get there without having him encounter your people, wasn’t it?”

“…What??”

“Did you not understand me?”

“You mean to say that just for that petty reason, you carelessly destroyed the sacred land and sorcery our people have protected for over a thousand years?”

Unable to hold back his anger, Luraka gripped his massive axe tightly.

Yet Yutia did not stop speaking, her red lips curving slightly.

“Petty reason? It was important to me. He found the thought of encountering you all exhausting.”

Not a hint of fear in her demeanor.

“So, do you think that fool won’t confront us?”

“A fool, you say.”

In that instant— a deep silence fell upon the scene.

Yutia rolled Luraka’s words around in her mouth for a moment.

Then—

“Since you’ve said that—”

She nodded.

“All of you will die here anyway.”

The moment her hand slowly lifted, her index finger pointing forward— countless barbarians rushed at her, their sheer numbers overwhelming.

It was a truly overpowering sight.

Their murderous intent solidified into a visible aura, dyeing the gray world in a dark red hue.

Their madness, raw and unrestrained, focused entirely on a single person.

Every weapon they wielded was aimed at one target— Yutia.

And just as their blades were about to reach her body—

Whip—

A single, delicate finger moved slightly.

From left to right.

Just once.

And then—

Tick—

From Yutia’s lips, a small sound echoed, like the ticking of a clock’s second hand.

At that moment—

Fwoosh—

The gray world was engulfed in a flood of crimson.

Silence fell.

No, silence was imposed.

The bodies of the charging barbarians no longer existed.

What remained was nothing but red blood and scattered flesh.

Nothing else.

Thus, a massive red circle was drawn around the girl at its center.

The blood left behind by the vanished barbarians painted a picture of death, and their shattered remains awakened a primal survival instinct in the others.

The bloodlust of the barbarians turned into tense caution.

Their wild fervor morphed into an eternal, suffocating fear.

And standing at the center of it all— Yutia Bludia, without a trace of emotion, looked toward the terror-stricken barbarian who had mocked him.

Tick—

And indifferently, she pronounced—

A death sentence.