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[How did you know Histor had been there?]

[You’re spouting nonsense again. Do you think we can only know if a mosquito bites us on the back? I’m part of my mother. And the chaos in Hufester is all composed of my mother’s power.]

The power Dyfus received from Rosa exceeded Ilina’s expectations.

‘You’d better give it to me. Why to the Fourth Flagbearer… Is it because the Runcandel bloodline takes precedence? Is it too late already?’

Dyfus stifled a smile as if he could clearly see Ilina’s thoughts.

[You still have much in common with Joshua. You’re full of greed, desiring only what you don’t have and hesitating whenever things don’t go as planned.]

[Hmph, it’s amusing how you, who received Mother’s power, mock me.]

[Certainly amusing. You still only think about reviving Heluram through my mother… You worship my mother, but you are not loyal. Your loyalty still lies with Heluram.]

“Yes, yes. Think whatever you like.”

[But Prophet, Heluram will not awaken. Does my mother truly wish for the end of the world?]

[The end, that’s just an inevitable event that will occur when a perfect evil god reincarnates…]

Ilina’s pupils widened.

[Could it be that the matriarch doesn’t plan to attain complete divinity?]

[Yes, that’s correct. For the Runcandel name to not disappear, there must be people who remember and revere it. A world that’s only ashes and dust isn’t worthy of being ruled. You might believe that my mother’s instincts as an evil god will eventually desire the end, but if you continue like this, you’ll end up like Joshua—a miserable existence.]

Slowly, Dyfus rose from his seat.

The eternal flame attached to the upper part of his body still hadn’t been extinguished.

[If you understand, stop wasting time clinging to an uncontrollable flame and go do your job. The younger one will come soon. That boy never misses an opportunity.]

[…Because of the flame attached to you, we paused our invasion, but this isn’t an opportunity for the Twelfth Flagbearer. Even if they come here to attack, we would still be overwhelmingly superior.]

[It’s getting frustrating now. That’s why you and Joshua always end up at the mercy of the younger one. This is a bigger crisis than ever before. My mother cannot operate at full power, and there’s a high probability that the flame attached to me won’t extinguish until the younger one arrives. If a battle occurs, it means that I might be pushed back by the younger one.]

[You, could you be defeated?]

[Yes. That’s why we need to come up with a plan. Even if I were defeated, Runcandel will not fall.]

—————–

Jin shared the information that Valeria had obtained with Beradin and Zephyrin.

“…So, you’re saying that the reason why the Garden of Swords has halted its invasion is because you struck a blow to the Fourth Flagbearer? And Histor confirmed it by reading the records of the dimensional gate left in the feudal state of Shol.”

“Exactly.”

“The main forces of the Garden of Swords have shown a rapid revival even after death, but the fact that the Fourth Flagbearer hasn’t been able to recover from his wounds for several days… It’s an extraordinary story. His regenerative abilities come from the evil god, so something must be wrong.”

“Whether there’s a problem or not, it’s almost certain that the evil god cannot immediately restore the Fourth Flagbearer. Now I understand why Jin was so insistent on acting quickly.”

Jin nodded at Beradin and Zephyrin’s words.

“We have little time. Once the Fourth Flagbearer recovers, they will resume their large-scale instant teleportation invasion. All factions, except for our Tikan, have already suffered a heavy blow because of it, and we haven’t been able to respond adequately. The reason they haven’t attacked us is simply because they haven’t invaded yet. If they attack us a few more times like this, the human world might end even before we have a battle with an evil god.”

“So in this counterattack, we not only have to rescue the prisoners but also find a way to suppress their large-scale instant teleportation in the future?”

“Exactly, Beradin. If we don’t find it this time, there will be no future.”

“It will require mobilizing considerable force, not just military. It’s essential to have the fleet forces of each faction to bring back the rescued prisoners. In fact, it will be a rehearsal for the upcoming battle against the evil god…”

“Not only military forces, but also special technicians and researchers must participate on the front lines. We need them to find clues about large-scale instant teleportation.”

In Zipple, the best researchers of the Magic Tower and Beradin, and since Cold Joe had already been captured, so Bubare and Orgal of Kinzelo, and in Tikan, Valeria, Qwaul, and Latrie, also needed to participate directly on the front lines.

“Shall we set it for two days from now, at dawn, Jin?”

“That sounds good to me. We need at least that much time for my master, who is one of the main forces of the temporary alliance, to rest and show his true strength, in line with his reputation. He’s already tired and sent me to attend the meeting.”

Jin nodded in agreement.

Now, what remained was to finalize the details of the operation and ensure that Dyfus wouldn’t recover in two days.

——————-

At dawn on May 22, 1803, near the vanguard of the ship’s puberty deck.

The time for the counterattack had arrived. Valeria had been continuously inspecting the dimensional portals in the feudal state of Shol, and fortunately, there were no records indicating that the Chaos Dimensional Portal had reopened.

[See? Didn’t I tell you? Your flames are special. That Dyfus must still be suffering from terrible pain], Bale said.

Jin pondered how to respond to this oblivious ex-Ten Great Knight and simply remained silent.

Mary must have heard Bale’s voice as well.

Mary didn’t react to Bale’s words and kept her gaze fixed on the dark sky.

The participating members of Tikan were currently aboard the fleet of Mary and Cosmos, waiting for Orgal’s arrival.

They had decided to use his Steel Gate to quickly move from the center of Rikalton to the nearby territorial waters of Hufester.

“Younger one.”

“Yes, Elder Sister.”

“I just want to make sure you understand that you mustn’t have any careless thoughts about somehow saving Dyfus oraboni. He’s different from Elder Sister Luntia; Dyfus oraboni has already killed too many people. Even if it wasn’t his will.”

“…Yes.”

Jin shared the same thoughts.

At first, he had wanted to save Dyfus by any means, just like Luntia.

But now it seemed pointless.

Above all, the current Dyfus wasn’t an opponent they could take lightly.

If they faced him with a half-hearted determination, their companions aboard the ship would end up dying.

The Vamel Alliance had mobilized almost all its forces, just like when they went to support Dante at the Sword Emperor Castle.

From the surviving members of Runcandel, including Mary and the Tona brothers, to the key figures who had been waiting in Tikan, and even large-scale forces from the palace and the nameless and hidden empire, all had joined the battle.

Essentially, only Kashimir and the Royal Guards remained in the Palace, while everyone else headed to the battlefield.

“Ugh, Young Master Jin. Tikan won’t be attacked as soon as we arrive in Rikalton, will it?”

“For that, we left behind Red Owl, Enya. Valeria has been reading the records of the dimensional portals until now.”

Cuicantelle responded to Enya’s question.

“Ugh, I’m still worried. Especially about Euria… Will she be okay? If something happens to her while we’re gone, I’ll feel terrible. Her Majesty has to keep waiting for the situation, so she won’t have the capacity to take care of Euria. And my master isn’t exactly good at consoling people.”

“Veris has surprisingly gotten along well with Euria, you’ve seen it. And Pinte and Kou are also there. So don’t worry too much, focus on successfully completing the mission and returning safely.”

“Yes, Enya. Don’t forget you’re the Commander of the Tikan Magic Corps. If you’re not focused, your subordinates will be more anxious.”

Ching, Alisa ruffled Enya’s hair while inspecting her gauntlet.

“Ugh, I understand, Garrison Commander.”

“You may not have good memories of the Empire, but most of the imperial civilians captured in Rikalton are weak and helpless, just as you were back then. Let’s rescue them and return them to their normal lives.”

“Oh, so you think it’s a hassle for me to rescue people from the Empire? I was just worried about the garrison commander’s daughter. If you saw it that way, you’d disappoint me! Even if there were aristocrats among the prisoners who tormented you, I wouldn’t care. Hmph, all that is in the past, thanks to Young Master Jin.”

“It’s just something I said, darling. I know Enya is the kindest among us.”

“Yes, yes. I’m sure some of our club members are mixed with the prisoners. Since we’re the club presidents, we have to rescue them.”

“Stop saying weird things, Mrs. Sandra.”

“Hey, Hedo, if we happen to be where our members are, you mustn’t address me by my real name. You should call me Nodav Sargent and preserve my aura of mystery.”

“Well…”

“By the way, Orgal is late… I hope there hasn’t been any disruption in the operation.”

Valkas said while looking at the clock.

3:07 AM.

He was only 7 minutes late, but given the scale of the operation, he was becoming increasingly anxious.

Unlike Tikan, which used Orgal’s dimensional portal, Zipple and Kinzelo flew directly to Rikalton with their fleets.

The Zipple fleet (including imperial forces) arrived at Rikalton’s northern border, while the Kinzelo fleet (accompanied by the nameless and unnamed) arrived at the western part. Orgal planned to divide Tikan’s forces and move them to the central area of Rikalton and the surrounding waters.

Clank, clank, rumble…!

As the expected time continued to be delayed, the waves dyed the night sky and relentlessly crashed against the fleet.

After more than 30 minutes had passed, the entire fleet’s unease grew. But finally, the vision of a massive steel gate forming in the air appeared.

“Orgal!”

When Orgal emerged from the steel gate, he already seemed quite exhausted.

[You must have been worried because I arrived late. There’s no problem with the operation. In fact, something fortunate happened.]

“Fortunate?”

Jin asked, and Orgal nodded.

[I had a bad feeling, so I conducted another reconnaissance. During that process, there was a surge of energy from the evil god. The delay was due to the rest of our allies waiting for the aftermath to calm down before entering.]

“And how is that fortunate?”

[That surge was as if the evil god lost control, Jin. Right now, the evil god is probably… unable to manifest due to despair or some other reason. She trembled momentarily at the external stimulus of our intrusion. It means that the likelihood of the evil god directly intervening in this battle has significantly decreased.]

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