Alon discreetly lowered his gaze, looking at something frozen in the shape of a crescent moon. 

Then, he turned his attention to Maverick and spoke. 

“I told you, pull yourself together.” 

“I—” 

As Alon confirmed that Maverick, who had hastily stood up, was now belatedly gathering himself, he turned his gaze toward “It”—no, the Exile. 

The Exile, clad in the black robes of the Eastern Wind, had just moments ago been staring at Alon with eyes full of indifference and arrogance. 

‘Why did things go wrong?’ 

Alon glanced at the Exile, his expression tense. 

According to the report, the Exile was supposed to reach the fifth layer not now, but three days later. 

Even that was assuming the Exile moved at a rapid pace. 

Originally, it was thought that it would take more than five days for the Exile to descend to this place. 

That was how it should have been. 

Yet now, the Exile had reached the fifth layer. 

Unknowingly, Alon’s hand trembled slightly. 

The Exile standing before him had taken the form of a goblin. 

With ears far too large to be human, green skin, and a hooked nose, it was clear that this was indeed a goblin. 

However, 

No one, including Alon, thought of this being as merely a goblin. 

Those like Argonia and Himan, who had gained eyes to see the truth of the world. 

Even mercenaries who did not possess such eyes. 

Everyone here knew that this was not something to be understood by its mere appearance. 

Its naturally overwhelming presence was enough to dominate the space itself. 

Alon was no exception to this realization, and then— 

“Hoo—” 

It spoke. 

The arrogance in its eyes had not faded. 

However, the boredom that once filled them was now replaced by curiosity, which brought a smile to its face. 

“You’re doing something amusing, insect.” 

Its raised index finger slowly curled in, rubbing its chin. 

Watching this, Alon quietly spoke. 

“…Kailas.” 

Because it was a lowly creature, it sought knowledge. 

Because it was a lowly creature, it reached the end of its search and awakened to the law, ascending to the rank of a god. 

The King of all Gluttons. 

When Alon called out the name of Kailas, the curiosity in its eyes deepened. 

“You even know my name? Impressive.” 

Kailas brushed back his hair, now wearing a pleasant smile unlike before. 

“Very well. I’m in a good mood right now, and it seems that the others are as well. I’ll show a bit of mercy.” 

“Leave. And I’ll let you live.” 

A proposal. 

But Alon— 

“Prepare for battle.” 

He gave his answer by commanding the extermination squad. 

“Tsk, I was going to let you live because you seemed like an amusing insect.” 

Hearing this, Kailas looked at him as if gazing upon a fool. 

“If you insist on drinking the punishment brew, then so be it, insect.” 

He raised his hand forward once again. 

“Prepare for battle!” 

Argonia’s voice, shaking off the fear, signaled the start of the fight. 

***

From the moment the Exile reached the fifth layer, Alon’s original plan had already become utterly useless due to the unexpected twist. 

His plan was one that required a full day of dedication to execute. 

However, that didn’t mean he had given up on the Exile’s extermination. 

No matter how much the plan had gone awry, he still believed that they could sufficiently take down the opponent. 

There were two main reasons for this. 

One was that Kailas, unlike Ulthultus, had not yet fully progressed to the level of a Sage God as Alon had predicted. 

The other reason was that, unlike during the battle with Ulthultus, the mercenaries were now somewhat prepared for the Exile. 

Tch-! 

Magic shot out from Kailas’s hand in an instant, directed toward Alon and the mercenaries. 

But— 

Crash! 

With a sound of something breaking, Kailas’s invisible slash was blocked by the sword Argonia held. 

“A Dispel Sword, is it…?! How amusing… you’ve brought something interesting.” 

In Argonia’s hand was a sword that could cut through magic, one of fewer than a hundred on the continent—the Dispel Sword. 

Though it could not cut through people, the sword, made solely to sever magic, was enough to slice through Kailas’s spells, as he had not yet fully reached the level of a Sage God. 

Boom! 

With newfound confidence, Argonia kicked off the ground and charged toward Kailas, signaling the true start of the battle. 

Likewise, Maverick, equipped with a Dispel Sword based on Alon’s advice, joined the fight, while Myaon quickly used the surroundings to start firing arrows. 

3 vs. 1. 

Numerically, it was a fight where they had overwhelming superiority. 

Thanks to Alon, the mercenaries already knew most of the types of magic Kailas would use, making them formidable opponents who put pressure on him. 

However, even with the cooperation of the four mercenaries and the fact that all his spells had been neutralized, 

“Heh…” 

Kailas seemed to find the situation quite amusing, as a twisted smile crept onto his lips. 

Then, gathering his index and middle fingers, he formed a seal and lightly raised his hand. 

And— 

With that, as if the previous peace had been a lie, monsters began to spring forth from the ground. 

The fifth layer quickly descended into chaos. 

Of course, Alon was not idle either. 

“Hoo—” 

Alon exhaled white breath and uttered a word. 

“Ice and Snow (氷雪).” 

As he formed a seal, frost began to gather in front of him. 

Watching this, Alon thought to himself. 

‘I need to end this as quickly as possible.’ 

Though the battle between Kailas and the mercenaries was holding steady, Alon knew it wouldn’t last much longer. 

He could see it. 

The Dispel Swords that Argonia and Maverick wielded, though they had blocked a few spells, were slowly starting to crack. 

Himan’s expression was growing darker by the second. 

“Shape (像).” 

As he uttered another incantation, frost rose around Alon. 

Then, 

“Glory of the Snowy Mountains.” 

A round sphere formed before Alon’s middle and ring fingers, freezing and beginning to produce snow crystals. 

“The Inevitable Fate of the Blind.” 

In no time, the ice flower bloomed. 

The hexagonal crystal rapidly expanded, consuming the surrounding air to create a massive form, 

Crack, crack, crack—! 

At the center of the crystal, a beautiful spear materialized before Alon’s eyes. 

And then, perfectly timed.

“Hoo—”

Rine, who had been standing behind Alon, pulled out a book from her chest and—

“Essetra-ia Amatia—”

—muttered softly.

Swish~!!!

In an instant, the magic tome spread open with a resonating hum.

Clang~!!!!!

Suddenly, dozens of layers of black chains shot out from the air and raced toward Kailas.

“P—”

Caught off guard by this unexpected situation, the Exile widened his eyes as he looked at the chains.

However—

Snap!

Before he could react, the ravenous chains had already bound his body.

With this unanticipated assistance, Alon, having gained a quicker-than-expected opportunity, wasted no time.

“Ice Spear Halberd (氷精画戟).”

Without hesitation, he cast his spell.

And then—

Crack-crack-crack-!!!!

The spear, born from the blooming ice flower, shot toward the Exile, engulfing him in an instant.

Sizzle~!

It froze everything around it, bringing silence to the fifth layer.

***

The monsters stopped moving.

Following suit, the mercenaries who had been frantically crawling out of the ground also halted.

Soon, their gazes all turned toward one point.

The ancient ruins.

In the middle of those ruins stood the enormous ice flower (氷花).

The mercenaries looked in awe at Count Palatio, who had created the ice flower.

Similarly, the guild leaders, who had been battling the Exile just moments ago, stood with their mouths agape.

Even Alon let out a small sigh of relief.

But—

Crack—!

A strange, out-of-place sound of something breaking echoed, drawing everyone’s attention to the massive ice flower.

Sizzle!

A sharp, clear sound followed.

Rumble-rumble!!!

The ice flower, which had garnered so much reverence, began to collapse.

And then—

“!”

From within the crumbling ice, the Exile calmly walked out.

Despair filled the eyes of the mercenaries.

The guild leaders, who had been fighting him, were struck with a sense of defeat.

Yet the Exile, who had brought despair and defeat to all, simply smiled lightly and spoke.

“You got me, insect.”

Kailas, with a light smile as if the previous attack had amused him, left Alon in disbelief.

According to his calculations, Kailas, who hadn’t yet become a Sage God, should have been destroyed by that direct hit.

“But it seems you still know nothing.”

Alon, staring at him in confusion, realized that the Exile’s body had no trace of ice, only shattered remnants around him.

…Did he slice through the Ice Spear Halberd with just a slash…?

As Alon masked his shock behind a neutral expression at the Exile’s absurd feat of nullifying his attack, 

Kailas, still grinning, spoke again.

“Still, thanks to you, I’m in high spirits, insect.”

“So, I’ll play along with you now. Although this is still far from a perfect manifestation in my current state, it should be an entertaining game nonetheless.”

Then, he wrapped his right hand around the index finger of his raised left hand, forming a fist seal (智拳印).

“Release (解放).”

In that moment, a surge of magical energy spread out.

Sensing the danger instinctively, Argonia and Maverick, without hesitation, leapt toward the Exile, pushing off the ground.

“Vibration (振動)—”

Myaon, who had just been relaxing moments earlier, quickly nocked an arrow and fired it, while Himan raised his staff and cast a spell to intercept the Exile’s magic.

However—

Just before Argonia and Maverick’s swords reached the Exile’s neck, Myaon’s arrow pierced his heart, and Himan’s magic approached his throat.

The magic that had already spread around the Exile began to vibrate the air according to his incantation.

“Expansion (擴張).”

With that softly spoken word from the Exile—

Crack!

Alon saw it.

The bodies of Maverick and Argonia compressed and twisted in midair, as if crushed by invisible force.

Along with the burst of blood.

“The Nameless Law (無名の法道).”

The Exile’s distorted smile accompanied his low muttering.

And then—

Flash—!!!

A blinding white light filled everyone’s vision.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep