* * *

And the next morning.

“……It glows.”

Lydon, who was boredly hanging out on the watchtower, opened his mouth slightly. Following his muttering, Lumen and Garuel behind him also stood up.

“Looks like it’s about to start.”

“Let’s wake up the rest.”

Lumen moved to wake Van and Yozen in the tent, while Garuel pulled out the spare [Ullo] that Cadel had left behind to alert them to the anomaly in the magic circle. Lydon took to his wings and headed straight for the magic circle fragment.

A yellow glow radiated from it along the lines that formed the circle’s symbol. Lydon crouched down in front of it, staring at the glow as it glimmered in the sunlight, his eyes narrowing in anticipation of what he would find within the circle.

“They have made me wait so long, shouldn’t it be more fun?”

Lydon’s head tilted as he stared at the magic circle for what seemed like an eternity. His eyebrows arched as if he sensed something, and he reached out and prodded near the circle.

“……Hmm.”

A subtle expression of curiosity and anticipation crossed his face. His fingertips trembled slightly as they touched the ground. Not from fear or nervousness. It was a rumble from the ground. Slowly, faintly, but surely, it began to grow closer to the ground he stood on.

And a sickening stench wafting upward. Releasing his grip on the ground and rubbing the tip of his nose, Lydon slowly pulled himself to his feet and turned to see his comrades running toward him with news.

Lydon pursed his lips briefly, and in an instant, a barrier of ice formed around him and his comrades. At the same time, a shallow fissure was carved into the ground where they stood.

The fissure quickly grew in size. The Knight Order quickly ducked out of the way of the fissure as it cracked beneath their feet, but the fissure spread even faster.

Taking to the air, Lydon strengthened the barrier around his comrades, keeping an eye on the frighteningly growing fissure. The source was undoubtedly the magic circle. The glow intensified, and the faint vibrations grew noticeably louder.

And that thing spreading through the fissure was unmistakable.

“Ahaha! Stay strong, everyone!”

With a joyous shout from Lydon, a burst of demonic energy shattered the ground.

Shwaaah―

The demonic energy that burst through the fissure was accompanied by a tremendous surge of pressure. The Knight Order panicked at the sudden appearance of the demonic energy and quickly scrambled for safety.

“Keugh……! What kind of energy is this…….”

However, the pillar of demonic energy had expanded its range, making it too difficult to hold the safe zone. Van clenched his jaw to withstand the pressure of the demonic energy pounding against the ice barrier. If Lydon hadn’t shielded them beforehand, one of them would have died.

“Don’t think about holding on, just keep moving!”

Lumen pushed Van out of range of the demonic energy, his eyes darting around for someone, and soon Garuel, who stood as if nailed to the ground, stepped into his line of sight. The barrier was already half-broken, and despite the fact that his torn shoulder was constantly regenerating from the surging demonic energy, he was unmoving.

Garuel’s lips stretched in a troubled expression, and as he slowly raised his head, his gaze locked with Lumen’s.

“Have you contacted Leader?”

Garuel responded to the urgent question by tapping the [Ullo] that floated in front of him with his fingertips.

“I’ve been trying since a while ago, but I think it’ll be difficult to inform Knight Commander of the situation. No, should I assume he already knows even if I don’t tell him……?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Listen.”

Garuel turned up the volume on the [Ullo], and a series of explosive noises rang in his ears.

[This is Entelosse Island! Demonic energy has shattered the ground! The island is sinking, support……!]

[This is the 5th Battalion of the Heaven Time Knight Order. Demonic energy is emanating from the magic circle. The soldiers of the Empire watch the progress and…….]

[Jose Mountains……. Demonic energy causes landslides……. Requesting assistance for the injured…….]

[Damn it! Dunkelhai needs backup! The whole village is now…… Argh!]

[Save, save m…… Kkyargh!]

A cacophony of shrieks and pitiful screams. It was the same everywhere [Ullo] had designated. Dunkelhai and the Principality of Snivec, Cadel’s destination, were already in shambles, and the other areas they’d checked were just as chaotic. Any attempts to communicate through the chaos would be drowned out by the screams.

The knights’ faces hardened as the screams echoed through the space.

“Sounds like we’re all in a similar situation.”

“I actually think it’s better here. We’re not at the point of begging for help yet.”

Van clicked his tongue in annoyance as he backed away from the demonic energy. The incident occurred at a time when he couldn’t reach Cadel. The absence of his commander, who was always quick on the uptake and ready to give orders, was unsettling.

“A demon is about to appear.”

The fact that even the fragment of the magic circle here was glowing meant that the great magic circle was about to be activated, or was already in the process of being activated. They wondered what would happen once it was activated. Even though they had prepared for various situations, it was hard to let go of the tension.

Yozen was the only one keeping his composure, and he wordlessly walked over to Garuel’s side.

“Put a barrier around me.”

“……Hmm? Aren’t you already having Sir Lydon’s barrier?”

“I’m telling you to double up.”

“Gee, I guess that was pretty timid of you. I need to rebuild the image of Sir Yozen in me…….”

Annoyed beyond belief with Garuel’s nonsense, even in a time of crisis, Yozen quickly drew his dagger and pointed it at his throat.

“Now.”

“You’re even threatening me.”

Shrugging off the menace, Garuel released light mana to create a barrier around Yozen.

“As you know, my barrier is no match for a true magician’s barrier. Please don’t treat it roughly.”

“I know.”

Double-barriered, Yozen strode boldly into the middle of the field. He was in the middle of a field of wide cracks and disastrous demonic energy.

Puzzlement flashed across the faces of his comrades as they watched, but none of them stopped him. This was Yozen, not anyone else, and he was a man who would not be deterred.

“Man, he’s a pain in the ass!”

Lydon frowned as he spotted Yozen’s movements from above. He’d been ordered by Cadel before he’d left to not hesitate to prioritize the protection of the Knight Order if he sensed danger. That included the safety of his comrades, even if they were willing to walk into harm’s way.

So, with his two comrades’ barriers surrounding him, Yozen knelt down on one knee beside the circle. Beneath his palms on the ground, dark energy spread out like a puddle.

“What is he trying to do……?”

From a distance, Yozen stood still, surrounded by a pillar of demonic energy. The barriers surrounding him were being sliced and repaired by the ever-growing pillar.

Lumen watched Yozen’s actions, intent on dragging him out if possible, and soon realized the intent behind his actions.

“He thinks there’s something underground.”

His dark energy permeating the ground found a hole that emitted demonic energy, and he dug down into it relentlessly. He suspected the source of the vibrations was underground, not in the magic circle.

‘……That’s pretty deep, huh?’

Despite the large amount of dark energy being channeled, the energy only groped and fell through the air, failing to detect any form. Yozen assessed the strength of the barriers around him. They regenerated as soon as they were damaged, but it wouldn’t hold for long.

If this much dark energy was released and nothing was detected, perhaps there was nothing underground. If the enemy appeared directly above the magic circle like a normal summoning, the vibrations could be a trick of the eye or some sort of protection for the magic circle.

Yozen was about to withdraw the dark energy when he realized something.

Tuk. Tuk tuk.

The plummeting dark energy crashed down on top of something, and Yozen felt a dull sensation as he quickly added more dark energy, tracing the outline of ‘it’. Finally, he succeeded in drawing a definite shape.

The source of the vibration must be this. Rising gradually from the ground, emitting a disquieting demonic energy, this was―.

“A building……?”

* * *

In the warm morning sun, the Dunkelhai Kingdom was burning brightly. Cadel had watched it all from above the city with Kunra. Tilting buildings, people rushing out of their homes, torches that had been left burning all night, and embers that had been knocked over.

The Dunkelhai kingdom was shrouded in a dark, pulsing demonic energy. Beyond the violet demonic energy, he could see burning villages and the movement of the people in panic.

And.

“A demon city…….”

A new city rose above the crumbling land of humans. Spire-like buildings rose from the broken ground. The blackened surfaces of the buildings were shrouded in a thick shield of demonic energy, and from the rooftops of the Demon Realm buildings, from beneath the exposed ground, and from within the pillars of demonic energy, demons and monsters began to emerge.

[So your worst fears have come true.]

Cadel’s heart pounded wildly at the sight of it all. The feeling of waking up in a daze to find a demon city piercing through the Human Realm was the worst of all. He felt nothing but horror as he realized what had happened.

‘The summoning of a demon city is shocking, but not entirely unexpected. The real problem is…….’

Whether it was a demon or a demon city, the fact that they had begun to act was evidence that the great magic circle was about to be set in motion. War had begun. Despite the obviousness of the scene before him, no system window popped up to announce the main quest.

Cadel’s brow furrowed as he took a moment to collect his thoughts.

“Kunra. You said it yourself, the summoning of the demon city in itself means their victory.”

[That’s right.]

“……I guess I’ll have to stop that summon first to start the fight.”

One didn’t need Kunra’s prediction to know that. The demon city had already been tearing a country apart from the get-go, and if it were to be unleashed in its entirety, the humans wouldn’t have a fighting chance.

Cadel hurriedly pulled out the [Ullo] at his waist.

‘I’ve already had a lot of doubts about the plan when the great magic circle is activated. I need to convey the priorities to the magicians who are probably confused.’

When the great magic circle was activated, the elite magicians’ first priority was neither combat nor the protection of civilians, but the destruction of the magic circle fragment. Once an empty shell, the great magic circle became a mass of mana circuits that could be destroyed upon activation.

But now, regardless of how high or low their level, everyone who could use magic had to run to stop the summoning of the demon city. Furthermore, few people would expect the Human Realm to collapse at the same time as the great magic circle was activated, so it was important to quell the chaos as quickly as possible and get the magicians to act properly.

But [Ullo] didn’t give Cadel a chance to open his mouth.

“What the hell. It’s all mixed up and I don’t even know what they’re talking about!”

They were shouting at each other that they needed backup, that they were under attack, that there were many wounded, that something was coming from underground, and so on, but nothing could be understood. It wasn’t just Dunkelhai, it was everywhere else.

‘The communication device that was distributed to ask for support in an emergency like this……. No, it’s an emergency.’

The problem was that everyone was in danger at the same time. This would make it impossible to leave warnings in areas where the demon cities hadn’t yet appeared.

‘What should I do…….’

His mouth was dry with nervousness. Biting his lip and staring at the innocent [Ullo], Cadel’s eyes widened as if he had just realized something.

“Kunra! Go to the Mountains of Silence now!”