Chapter 228: Als Nova (2)
Muyoung could only be surprised.
The story of having experienced the world one more time. That meant that he knew of Muyoung’s return in time.
But he maintained his composure externally.
The administrator spoke.
“The concept of ‘time’ doesn’t exist in the nothingness. The me that you are seeing could be the me from the future or the past. That’s why I can recognize a being whose shaft has gone wrong.”
He seemed to understand what he was saying. At least it meant that this place didn’t work with normal ways of thinking.
The existence of the being calling himself as administrator of nothingness was really pale. Something like a mirage. There was nothing Muyoung would lose by telling him the story of what he had faced.
“What are you curious about?”
“About everything. Don’t worry. The time you spend here doesn’t affect the time in reality.”
He had a lot of time.
Muyoung opened his mouth slowly.
“I…”
What he wanted was a story he was confident in being able to tell it until he got bored.
But of course, he wouldn’t think about telling the story in a funny or boring way.
*
Enroth’s ‘castle’ arrived near the territory.
It was big enough to cover the entire territory and it was surrounded by uncountable demons.
However he didn’t proceed to attack.
What he did first was to make a kind of ‘declaration’.
“I don’t enjoy harassing the weak. Accept defeat and subject to me.”
But of course, the only one he wanted was the elder lich. The reason he spoke in that way was to find out the belief of the elder lich.
If the elder lich loved and treasured this place then it would follow follow Enroth.
The lich wasn’t a fool. There was no way that a magician at that level would be a fool.
A difference this big.
The three demon kings and the balrog that appeared before were merely appetizers.
It wasn’t possible for the lich to not know that and if it was a wise magician he would recognize the difference between them and lower its head.
But of course…
Bang! Bang bang!
The magic circles that were installed exploded and damaged the nearby demons.
A trap he prepared beforehand.
It meant that he wasn’t planning on agreeing to his terms.
“How foolish.”
It would have been good if he had admitted defeat.
But it didn’t matter.
He could take him by force and brainwash him.
Enroth hit the ground with his staff.
Boom!
Blue particles spread endlessly near the castle.
The demons that touched that particle went berserk and turned into mad warriors.
The number of demons inside the castle was 300.000.
Compared to that, all the forces the territory had was merely 100.000.
Even though they were better in quality, there weren’t many methods to overcome the difference in numbers.
If absolute power could overturn all tides then the Devils wouldn’t have demon kings under their commands.
Enroth thought that strong power also had its limits and he knew several methods to strengthen his forces.
Enroth sat in his throne again and savored the battlefield.
‘They are like moths flying into fire.’
Devils liked to suppress others by forces.
And it was no different for Enroth.
The maddened demons were taking the lives of their enemies with crushing power.
But they couldn’t easily pierce the middle. It was because of the strong undead, including the elder lich, were stopping them.
‘Let’s see how long you can endure.’
Something like a hologram appeared in front of Enroth. It was showing the battlefield live.
Enroth looked at the elder lich with eyes of those looking at a disciple.
Bae Sungmin gritted his teeth.
He had prepared many things.
He already knew that Enroth was going to invade so he mobilized all his wisdom to prepare for that.
The walls were built to be higher with the help of the dwarves and installed countless invisible mines in the air.
He researched black magic to strengthen the undead and also improved the quality of the armor that the soldiers were wearing by a stage.
He also offered lots of things as sacrifices to summon an ‘undead knight’ but…
‘I didn’t have enough time.’
Enroth had suddenly increased the speed at which he advanced.
Bae Sungmin had expected 10 days but Enroth arrived in merely 2 days.
There was a limit on how much he could prepare in two days. That’s why he had to squeeze out what he already had.
“Beatrice, make a hole in the enemy’s castle.”
The strongest card Bae Sungmin had was the witch Beatrice. The ray of light she fired encroached everything. It returned everything to nothingness.
It was hard to miss a castle that big.
Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Beatrice started to shed tears of blood after receiving Bae Sungmin’s order.
At that moment, a huge ray of light got fired towards Enroth’ castle.
Baaaaaaaaaaang!
An explosion so loud that shook the ground was heard.
But Bae Sungmin’ shook his head.
‘It doesn’t work.’
It was shallow. The castle was being protected with Enroth’ magic.
That meant that not even Beatrice was comparable to Enroth in magic.
That by itself was fearful enough.
If they couldn’t make a hole in the castle then it was hard to think about doing a guerilla. In the end they would have to fight hand to hand but the enemy was passing through the field of mines and charged.
‘The demons got strengthened. How did he do it with that kind of number?’
The problem wasn’t simply in numbers.
The demons that lost their will and went berserk. Taking a glance at them it looked like they got twice as strong.
It was close to impossible to strengthen tens of thousands of demons at the same time.
At least, Bae Sungmin wasn’t able to do that. His limit was to strengthen 500 important undead.
‘Enroth…’
He had heard that he was a magician.
Then, he was a powerful being that couldn’t be ignored.
“I will go in.”
At that moment Bae Suzy got next to Bae Sungmin.
Bae Sungmin got to know her name. Even though they had the same surname Bae Sungmin didn’t tell his name to Bae Suzy.
My name of the past isn’t that important and even if I tell her she will just start blabbering.
‘So she borrowed master’s strength.’
At the same time he realized a few more things.
That Bae Suzy had come as Muyoung’s cover for a moment.
And that Muyoung was getting accustomed to the new power he had obtained.
‘I must endure until master recovers.’
He decided to throw away all the unnecessary feelings.
Whatever the case, the most important thing was to hold up.
“You are going to that castle?”
“Ain gave me the blessing of the moon. If I add my stealth then I will be able to enter the ship unnoticed. This war will also end when we get that demon king, right?”
Ain was one of the higher classed high elf.
Bae Sungmin also wasn’t able to sense Bae Suzy’s presence until she got close to him and talked to him.
But will assassination work on Enroth?
There were 300.000 demons only on the outside. There would be even more inside.
“Just tell me where is Enroth. I will get his head.”
Bae Sungmin thought.
‘How foolish.’
Bae Suzy’s thoughts were really foolish.
Honestly speaking, the probabilities of success was close to 0%. It was the same even if he specified her the location.
But… there were always maybes. And it would also buy they some time.
Buying time. That was the most important task in the current situation.
It was a battle on whether they could endure or not until Muyoung appeared.
If Muyoung lost everything would end but Bae Sungmin didn’t even think of Muyoung losing.
“Wait.”
Bae Sungmin got determined.
That he would buy time with Bae Suzy.
They would be able to buy a day if they grasped Enroth’ location and destroyed some of the power sources supporting the castle.
Bae Sungmin then flew into the air.
Enroth was a magician.
And magicians had a strong pride.
Bae Sungmin was planning on provoking him. With a magic Enroth would never be able to imitate.
“Gravity field.”
Swoooosh.
It looked like rain was falling.
Black particles fell down from the sky and stuck to the ground. Then, it started to pull everything in the ground with great force.
It was a magic used for big battles that Bae Sungmin had come up with as he handled gravity.
But the allies also weren’t able to get off this influence. It couldn’t even inflict big damage to the castle. It was a magic that needed more improvement but the clear thing was that it could control ‘gravity’.
Booooooooom!
The huge castle floating in the sky got pulled down to the ground.
There was no bigger provocation than this.
It wasn’t able to damage it much but it would scratch his pride if Bae Sungmin was Enroth.
Booooooooom!
As expected, the castle started to float up once again with great force as if answering back.
Enroth was interfering.
Bae Sungmin read where was the center of that power.
“Over there.”
A bit higher from the center of the ship.
Bae Sungmin engraved the location to Bae Suzy with carving magic and also carved some points that she had to destroy.
Nod!
Bae Suzy nodded.
“I will end this war.”
She had to enter before the ship floated up again.
Bae Suzy moved like an arrow and Bae Sungmin continued the confrontation of pride with Enroth.
***
“This is Als Nova. It is a book that contains the great circulation magic.”
The administrator handed over Als Nova to Muyoung. But it was more of a small marble than a book.
However it clearly wasn’t a simple marble.
When Muyoung checked it up close, countless information filled his head.
“Mm.”
Muyoung could only fall back a step. The information it contained was too vast that he couldn’t see properly.
“Your soul will get destroyed if you look at it for a long time.”
“I thought so.”
For him to not be able to handle the information of Als Nova even though he obtained a half divinity.
This marble hit your consciousness and soul.
But he was able to memorize some important magic in that short instant.
“Your story was really interesting. I hope we can meet again.”
The administrator of nothingness hid himself. Muyoung looked at the place he was standing at and then turned around.
He had obtained an unexpected treasure. He didn’t know that nothingness would be at the lowest place, at the smallest place.
In addition…he obtained a hint that Solomon could be still alive.
‘I will find him if he’s alive.’
He had to ask him of his responsibility.
Muyoung nodded and returned.
His soul started to head higher and swell up and then arrived at the world.
Booom!
When he opened his eyes he could only hear explosions.
There was quite a lot of distance from there but Muyoung could hear that as if it was happening right next to him.
‘So Enroth invaded.’
It happened faster than he expected. But he couldn’t just watch from behind because it was fast.
Muyoung stood up.
Swish.
And then disappeared like smoke.
***
“We are retreating!”
Bae Sungmin came to a conclusion.
The war became less advantageous for them the longer it kept on.
They needed to retreat and inspect their arrangements.
He was worried about Bae Suzy but the probabilities for her to succeed were faint. He couldn’t continue to defend this place to the end while betting on that small probability.
‘There is no hope like this.’
Enroth’ advance was just too fast.
The only thing Bae Sungmin could do with his strength was to stop him. However, not for long.
“Stop them! Block their escape path!”
“It’s a hunt! Wahahaha!”
The demons ran wild but it seemed like they hadn’t gone completely crazy. They had the least bit of consciousness to ‘hunt’ efficiently.
That was really bothersome.
Bae Sungmin clicked his tongue.
If they retreated like this he would lose about two to three thousand warriors. But he still had to do it.
If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to avoid annihilation.
“Fall…”
Baaaaang!
It was at that moment.
Something came flying.
It came flying like a cannonball but its range couldn’t be compared to a mere cannonball at all.
A huge crater got formed and about 500 demons died by that aftershock.
Flames!
A strong fire devoured the nearby demons.
The demons got astonished and fell back. Normal demons don’t leave behind a corpse so the demons that were nearby turned into dust and scattered.
There was someone at the middle of that,
“Master?”
Muyoung!
He had appeared.
Fwhoooosh!
The Ruler of Fire. The fire created by the real Ruler of Fire couldn’t get put out. At first, the fire was merely a copy of Diablo’s fire but now the power became Muyoung’s complete authority.
Six pair of wings also got created by fire.
Muyoung approached in that state.
The demons couldn’t dare think to get close.
“Where is Bae Suzy?”
“She entered the ship.”
Bae Sungmin kneed down and answered.
Muyoung frowned.
“Why didn’t you stop her?”
“It was something she wished. She should at least be able to buy some time.”
“Are you fine with that?”
At this point, Bae Sungmin also tilted his head. It was because this was the first time Muyoung asked such trivial things.
“Is there a reason why I shouldn’t?”
Maybe he didn’t recognize her?
He could not know because Muyoung didn’t tell him but it was too coincidental.
He couldn’t turn a blind eye to it.
He couldn’t ignore this matter anymore.
How indignant would it be if he never knew the truth in front of him?
But of course, he just let it pass until now because it would get more chaotic but the story changed if the two involved parties had gathered.
And Muyoung didn’t wish the two of them to fall in crueler situations because of ignorance.
Muyoung said.
“Bae Suzy is your daughter.”
Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep
Chapters
- Chapter 270: Epilogue
- Chapter 269: King of the Battlefield
- Chapter 268: King of the Battlefield (1)
- Chapter 267: A War with the Demon Gods (Fin)
- Chapter 266: A War with the Demon Gods (9)
- Chapter 265: A War with the Demon Gods (8)
- Chapter 264. A War With Demon Gods (7)
- Chapter 263. A War with the Demon Gods (6)
- Chapter 262. A War with the Demon Gods (5)
- Chapter 261. A War with the Demon Gods (4)
- Chapter 260: A War with the Demon Gods (3)
- Chapter 259. A War with the Demon Gods (2)
- Chapter 258. A War with the Demon Gods (1)
- Chapter 257. The Transcendental Beings (End) Part 2
- Chapter 257. The Transcendental Beings (End) Part 1
- Chapter 256. The Transcendental Beings (8) Part 2
- Chapter 256. The Transcendental Beings (8) Part 1
- Chapter 265: ‘Has he given up?’
- Chapter 264
- Chapter 263: The Transcendental Beings (7)
- Chapter 262
- Chapter 261: The Transcendental Beings (6)
- Chapter 260
- Chapter 259
- Chapter 258: The Transcendental Beings (5)
- Chapter 257
- Chapter 256: : The Transcendental Beings (4)
- Chapter 255
- Chapter 254: The Transcendental Beings (3)
- Chapter 253
- Chapter 252
- Chapter 251
- Chapter 250
- Chapter 249
- Chapter 248
- Chapter 247
- Chapter 246: Demon King of the Ash Gray (4)
- Chapter 245: Demon King of the Ash Gray (3)
- Chapter 244: Demon of the Ash Gray (2)
- Chapter 243: Demon King of the Ash Gray (1)
- Chapter 242: Sky Lord (End)
- Chapter 241: Sky Lord (4)
- Chapter 240: Sky Lord (3)
- Chapter 239: Sky Lord (2)
- Chapter 238: Sky Lord (1)
- Chapter 237: Dantalian (End)
- Chapter 236: Dantalian (1)
- Chapter 235: What are you going to give me (End)
- Chapter 234: What are you going to give me (4)
- Chapter 233: What are you going to give me (3)
- Chapter 231: What are you going to give me (1)
- Chapter 230: Als Nova (End)
- Chapter 229: Als Nova (3)
- Chapter 228: Als Nova (2)
- Chapter 227: Als Nova (1)
- Chapter 226: Omen of the Ruin (End)
- Chapter 225: Omen of the Ruin (7)
- Chapter 224: Omen of the Ruin (6)
- Chapter 223: Omen of the Ruin (5)
- Chapter 222: Omen of the Ruin (4)
- Chapter 221: Omen of the Ruin (3)
- Chapter 220: Omen of the Ruin (2)
- Chapter 219: Omen of the Ruin (1)
- Chapter 218: Swamp owners (End)
- Chapter 217: Swamp Owners (1)
- Chapter 216: Demon King of Iron, Enroth (End)
- Chapter 215: Demon King of Iron, Enroth (4)
- Chapter 214: Demon King of Iron, Enroth (3)
- Chapter 213: Demon King of Iron, Enroth (2)
- Chapter 212: Demon King of Iron, Enroth (1)
- Chapter 211: Sky Lord (End)
- Chapter 210: Sky Lord (2)
- Chapter 209: Sky Lord (1)
- Chapter 208: Truth, or (End)
- Chapter 207: Truth, or (4)
- Chapter 206: Truth, or (3)
- Chapter 205: Truth, or (2)
- Chapter 204: Truth, or (1)
- Chapter 203: Hell King (End)
- Chapter 202: Hell King (3)
- Chapter 201: Hell King (2)
- Chapter 200: Hell King (1)
- Chapter 199: Hell Path (End)
- Chapter 198: Hell Path (6)
- Chapter 197: Hell Path (5)
- Chapter 196: Hell Path (4)
- Chapter 195: Hell Path (3)
- Chapter 194: Hell Path (2)
- Chapter 193: Hell Path (1)
- Chapter 192: The Banquet (End)
- Chapter 191: The Banquet (4)
- Chapter 190: The Banquet (3)
- Chapter 189: The Banquet (2)
- Chapter 188: The Banquet (1)
- Chapter 187: The Noble Castle
- Chapter 186: The Noble Castle (2)
- Chapter 185: The Noble Castle (1)
- Chapter 184: Fire Spirit King Ifrit (End)
- Chapter 183: Fire Spirit King Ifrit (1)
- Chapter 182: The traces of Diablo (End)
- Chapter 181 — The traces of Diablo (4)
- Chapter 180 — The traces of Diablo (3)
- Chapter 179 — The traces of Diablo (2)
- Chapter 178 — The traces of Diablo (1)
- Chapter 177 — Exist Alone(End)
- Chapter 176 — Exist Alone (2)
- Chapter 175 — Exist Alone(1)
- Chapter 174 — Wung Chunglin (End)
- Chapter 173 — Wung Chunglin (3)
- Chapter 172 — Wung Chunglin (2)
- Chapter 171 — Wung Chunglin (1)
- Chapter 170 — Forest of Death (End)
- Chapter 169 — Forest of Death (2)
- Chapter 168 — Forest of Death (1)
- Chapter 167 — The Dragon Lord (End)
- Chapter 166 — The Dragon Lord (2)
- Chapter 165 — The Dragon Lord (1)
- Chapter 164 — The God—Killing Spear (End)
- Chapter 163 — God—Killing Spear (3)
- Chapter 162 — The God—Killing Spear (3)
- Chapter 161 — God—Killing Spear (2)
- Chapter 160 — God—Killing Spear (1)
- Chapter 159 — Cult Judge (End)
- Chapter 158 — Cult Judge (3)
- Chapter 157 — Cult Judge (2)
- Chapter 156 — Cult Judge (1)
- Chapter 155 — Absolute Nothing (End)
- Chapter 154 — Absolute Nothing (3)
- Chapter 153 — Absolute Nothing (2)
- Chapter 152 — Absolute Nothing (1)
- Chapter 151 — Authority Predator (End)
- Chapter 150 — Absolute Predator (3)
- Chapter 149 — Absolute Predator (2)
- Chapter 148 — Absolute Predator (1)
- Chapter 147 — Evil Spirit Sovereign (End)
- Chapter 146 — Evil Spirit Sovereign (4)
- Chapter 145 — Evil Spirit Sovereign (3)
- Chapter 144 — Evil Spirit Sovereign (2)
- Chapter 143 — Evil Spirit Sovereign (1)
- Chapter 142 — Chaos (End)
- Chapter 141 — Chaos (1)
- Chapter 140 — Sky Devil Church (End)
- Chapter 139 — Sky Devil Church (3)
- Chapter 138 — Sky Devil Church (2)
- Chapter 137 — Sky Devil Church (1)
- Chapter 136 — Hyacinth (End)
- Chapter 135 — Hyacinth (4)
- Chapter 134 — Hyacinth (3)
- Chapter 133 — Hyacinth (2)
- Chapter 132 — Hyacinth (1)
- Chapter 131 — Sun Guild (End)
- Chapter 130 — Sun Guild (1)
- Chapter 129 — Hellhorse (End)
- Chapter 128 — Hellhorse (1)
- Chapter 127 — Gremory (End)
- Chapter 126 — Gremory (3)
- Chapter 125 — Gremory (2)
- Chapter 124 — Gremory (1)
- Chapter 123 — The Duke, Bastro (End)
- Chapter 121 — The Duke, Bastro (4)
- Chapter 121 — The Duke, Bastro (3)
- Chapter 120 — The Duke, Bastro (2)
- Chapter 119 — The Duke, Bastro (1)
- Chapter 118 — The Devil’s Long Night (End)
- Chapter 117 — The Devil’s Long Night (4)
- Chapter 116 — The Devil’s Long Night (3)
- Chapter 115 — The Devil’s Long Night (2)
- Chapter 114 — The Devil’s Long Night (1)
- Chapter 113 — Those who seek death shall live (End)
- Chapter 112 — Those who seek death shall live (2)
- Chapter 111 — Those who seek death shall live (1)
- Chapter 110 — Undead vs. Undead (End)
- Chapter 109 — Undead vs. Undead (2)
- Chapter 108 — Undead vs. Undead (1)
- Chapter 107 — Disordered Terror (End)
- Chapter 106 — Disordered Terror (4)
- Chapter 105 — Disordered Terror (3)
- Chapter 104 — Disordered Terror (2)
- Chapter 103 — Disordered Terror (1)
- Chapter 102 — On a Different Level (End)
- Chapter 101 — On a Different Level (6)
- Chapter 100 — On a Different Level (5)
- Chapter 99 — On a Different Level (4)
- Chapter 98 — On a Different Level (3)
- Chapter 97 — On a Different Level (2)
- Chapter 96 — On a Different Level (1)
- Chapter 95 — Dwarves’ Castle War (End)
- Chapter 94 — Dwarves’ Castle War (2)
- Chapter 93 — Dwarves’ Castle War (1)
- Chapter 92 — Immortal King’s Armor (End)
- Chapter 91 — Immortal King’s Armor (2)
- Chapter 90 — Immortal King’s Armor (1)
- Chapter 89 — God Hand Bartas (End)
- Chapter 88 — God Hand Bartas (1)
- Chapter 87 — Three Pickaxe Sack Alliance (End)
- Chapter 86 — Three Pickaxe Sack Alliance (3)
- Chapter 85 — Three Pickaxe Sack Alliance (2)
- Chapter 84 — Three Pickaxe Sack Alliance (1)
- Chapter 83 — Star of the Absolute (End)
- Chapter 82 — Star of the Absolute (7)
- Chapter 81 — Star of the Absolute (6)
- Chapter 80 — Star of the Absolute (5)
- Chapter 79 — Star of the Absolute (4)
- Chapter 78 — Star of the Absolute (3)
- Chapter 77 — Star of the Absolute (2)
- Chapter 76 — Star of the Absolute (1)
- Chapter 75 — Awakening (End)
- Chapter 74 — Awakening (4)
- Chapter 73 — Awakening (3)
- Chapter 72 — Awakening (2)
- Chapter 71 — Awakening (1)
- Chapter 70 — Second Class (End)
- Chapter 68 — Second Class (5)
- Chapter 68 — Second Class (4)
- Chapter 67 — Second Class (3)
- Chapter 66 — Second Class (2)
- Chapter 65 — Second Class (1)
- Chapter 64 — Hedley’s Kow (End)
- Chapter 63 — Hedley’s Kow (2)
- Chapter 62 — Hedley’s Kow (1)
- Chapter 61 — Murloc King, Murdudun (End)
- Chapter 60 — Murloc King, Murdudun (3)
- Chapter 59 — Murloc King, Murdudun (2)
- Chapter 58 — Murloc King, Murdudun (1)
- Chapter 57 — The Outlaw (End)
- Chapter 56 — The Outlaw (5)
- Chapter 55 — The Outlaw (4)
- Chapter 54 — The Outlaw (3)
- Chapter 53 — The Outlaw (2)
- Chapter 52 — The Outlaw (1)
- Chapter 51 — Endless Battlefield (End)
- Chapter 50 — Endless Battlefield (2)
- Chapter 49 — Endless Battlefield (1)
- Chapter 48 — Burning Heart (end)
- Chapter 47 — Burning Heart (1)
- Chapter 46 — Demon God’s Territory (End)
- Chapter 45 — Demon God’s Territory (2)
- Chapter 44 — Demon God’s Territory (1)
- Chapter 43 — Asura (End)
- Chapter 42 — Asura (6)
- Chapter 41 — Asura (5)
- Chapter 40 — Asura (4)
- Chapter 39 — Asura (3)
- Chapter 38 — Asura (2)
- Chapter 37 — Asura (1)
- Chapter 36 — The Avengers (end)
- Chapter 35 — The Avengers (2)
- Chapter 34 — The Avengers (1)
- Chapter 33 — Free—for—all (end)
- Chapter 32 — Free—for—all (4)
- Chapter 31 — Free—for—all (3)
- Chapter 30 — Free—for—all (2)
- Chapter 29 — Free—for—all (1)
- Chapter 28 — Underworld (End)
- Chapter 27 — Underworld (2)
- Chapter 26 — Underworld (1)
- Chapter 25 — Blood—Red Tower (End)
- Chapter 24 — Blood—Red Tower (6)
- Chapter 23 — Blood—Red Tower (5)
- Chapter 22 — Blood—Red Tower (4)
- Chapter 21 — Blood—Red Tower (3)
- Chapter 20 — Blood—Red Tower (2)
- Chapter 19 — Blood—Red Tower (1)
- Chapter 18 — Art of Death (End)
- Chapter 17 — Art of Death (2)
- Chapter 16 — Art of Death (1)
- Chapter 15 — Necromancer (End)
- Chapter 14 — Necromancer (3)
- Chapter 13 — Necromancer (2)
- Chapter 12 — Necromancer (1)
- Chapter 11 — Boss Battle (End)
- Chapter 10 — Boss Battle (3)
- Chapter 9 — Boss Battle (2)
- Chapter 8 — Boss Battle (1)
- Chapter 7 — Star of David (End)
- Chapter 6 — Star of David (3)
- Chapter 5 — Star of David (2)
- Chapter 4 — Star of David (1)
- Chapter 3 — Blue Temple (End)
- Chapter 2 — Blue Temple (2)
- Chapter 1 — Blue Temple (1)
- Prologue