* * *

The arm that was pressed against the ground trembled, and beads of sweat slid down the lowered head. Cadel, with his trembling body, gathered his strength and poured his mana into the magic circle.

Just below, the struggling demons could be seen, as if they were about to burst out at any moment. Their ominous gazes were fixed on Cadel, who knelt above them. Maintaining focus while receiving the attention of countless enemies required a great deal of mental strength.

‘I’ll change the location of the portal entirely. I’ll open a new gate in a place where the demons aren’t waiting.’

If he reinforced the Retribution Gate at the same coordinates, they would immediately face a second battle upon descending into the Demon Realm. That wouldn’t be meaningful. Cadel decided to find a spot with fewer enemies concentrated and safely lead his allies there.

Even so, enemies still rushed toward him, not losing their momentum. But with the absence of the High Demon, there was a significant difference in quality. The remaining knights easily cut down the monsters and protected Cadel.

The opposing Knight Order, though tired, continued to clean up the remaining monsters. However, it was the fairy race that was performing the most impressive feats. With their barrage of cold air and ice spears, as well as a considerable number of ice golems, the fairy troops under Hyron’s command were quickly clearing the ground of enemies.

“Commander Cadel!”

In the steadily stabilizing battlefield, Moritol, who had regained consciousness, sought out Cadel. He spoke unilaterally, as Cadel couldn’t even respond.

“Are you planning to reactivate the Retribution Gate alone? If that’s the case, stop. You can’t use all of your power before even entering the Demon Realm.”

“……If I don’t move the position of the Retribution Gate, we’ll have to face the enemies below immediately. Are you suggesting we go through the threat of total annihilation again?”

“I’m saying you should only move the position. We’ve dealt with all the High Demons. Let the remaining magicians handle the rest. You need to draw on the power of the Scarlet Dragon. In the meantime, you’ll need to focus on self-defense as well. If you waste your strength here, all the tactics I’ve helped you with will be meaningless.”

At Moritol’s calm persuasion, Cadel, who had been desperately channeling mana, slowly began to relax. Moritol was right. Excited by the arrival of reinforcements, he had become hasty, but thinking about the future, he had to conserve his strength for now.

As Cadel shifted the location of the portal, he watched the fading enemies below and replied.

“I understand. Then, Sir Moritol, please select the remaining magicians and send them. I will also ask the fairies for help.”

* * *

The enemy, having lost all of its High Demons, collapsed helplessly. Their forces gathered their final strength to fight, and with the scream-like cry of a knight as his sword pierced the heart of the last demon, the dreadful battle came to an end.

“To be reduced to this before even a proper start. The heavens are truly indifferent.”

Ector, now awake, expressed his dismal feelings as he surveyed the remnants of the victory. Numerous knights had been sacrificed, and among them, the most losses were suffered by the Guardian Knight Order.

“Do not overexert yourself, Commander. It would be best not to move until you have received healing.”

“Are you treating me like a patient, Sorin?”

“Isn’t it true that you are one? The death of our comrades has weakened the knights’ spirits and bodies. If you collapse again……!”

“Alright, enough with the nagging. Now I have a headache that I didn’t have before.”

Ector shook off Sorin’s concern, his gaze moving. In the not-so-distant place, he saw Cadel, Moritol, and Hyron gathered.

“……The Fairy King, huh.”

What surprised Ector the most was not that the allies, who had seemed to be in a dire situation, were now sweeping the battlefield smoothly. It was the fairies. The fact that the fairies were aiding the humans was something he could never have imagined. Even now, the shimmering fairy wings everywhere were hard to get used to.

Ector wanted to immediately join them and closely observe the Fairy King. However, he couldn’t easily move due to Sorin, who was glaring at him beside him.

‘It will take a long time for the healing troops to arrive. Until then, I can’t just stay put. Let me think…… Ah, yes. I can ask the dark magician of the Scarlet Scales Knight Order.’

Recalling Garuel’s presence, Ector quickly scanned his surroundings. Lumen, Van, Lydon, and even Yozen were there. However, Garuel was nowhere to be seen.

‘I thought he’d be near Cadel, though……’

Confused, Ector looked further around, his eyebrows raising as he spotted something.

“There he is!”

“What?”

“I’m going to see him. Stay here and tend to the wounded knights.”

“Commander, please don’t move……!”

Ector casually brushed aside Sorin, heading straight toward Garuel. His body, only lightly treated, screamed in pain, but he didn’t mind. If he were the type to complain about such pain, he would have already collapsed and died.

Arriving at Garuel’s side, Ector, who was about to demand healing, stopped in his tracks, his steps slowing.

“Modeleine? Can you hear me? Modeleine! Damn it, what is he saying?”

Garuel, holding [Ullo], raised his voice urgently. From the atmosphere, it was clear that something unusual was happening.

“What’s going on?”

“Sir Ector.”

“Is the situation with the allied forces not good?”

Like Cadel, Ector had been identifying the situation with the Imperial forces in mind. Was it possible that the forces on the other fronts were in an even worse condition? They had barely managed to hold their ground with the help of the fairies, but those without reinforcements might have met a much worse fate.

Ector, now more serious, asked, and Garuel roughly brushed his hair back, handing over [Ullo].

“It seems like the forces in the west faced the same battle we did. The damage is significant, but it looks like they’ve won. However, we haven’t heard a proper report from the eastern and southern knight units.”

“You mean there are no survivors?”

“No, the situation is clearer if you hear it yourself.”

At Garuel’s words, Ector manipulated [Ullo]. He infused mana into the magical tool, changing the communication range to the east, and soon strange noises were heard.

“……?”

It sounded like metal scraping, or perhaps something boiling, or even like a series of broken shouts.

“Does the Blue Blood Knight Order hear me? The Black Iron Knight Order! If anyone is listening, respond!”

Ector shouted, but the strange noises did not stop. Even when he tapped [Ullo] or increased the amount of mana he infused, nothing changed.

“Is there something wrong with [Ullo]?”

“Check the south.”

After a glance at Garuel, Ector infused mana again. As before, strange noises came from the east, but soon faint human voices could be heard.

[Why…… When will you…… all……]

“Can you hear my voice? The Twilight Knight Order! The Wilderness Knight Order!”

[Immediately……. retreat…… no……]

Communication was impossible. Ector could not even be sure if his voice was being transmitted properly. It was hard to believe that [Ullo] was simply broken. The [Ullo] created for war was highly durable, and it was unlikely that all the [Ullo] possessed by the allied forces had been damaged.

As Ector began to speculate, Garuel spoke up again.

“It’s the voice of Sir Modeleine, the commander of the Twilight Knight Order. I’m sure of it.”

“If it’s Sir Modeleine, he wouldn’t be holding onto a broken [Ullo] and continuing to try and contact us. It’s not a problem with [Ullo]. This is……”

After a moment of thought, Ector clicked his tongue in frustration.

“We’ve been had. The Knight Orders in the east and south have already entered the Demon Realm through the Retribution Gate.”

If all the allied forces had suffered losses before entering the Demon Realm, they could have taken time to regroup and then re-enter with the best condition possible. However, if only half of the forces were attacking, the damage to the attacked forces was inevitable, and the remaining half would be isolated in the enemy’s territory with reduced numbers.

“There’s no time to regroup. If we don’t move to the Demon Realm immediately, the forces that entered first will be annihilated.”