It felt like he was forcing himself forward, just to prove his own loyalty.
But the scale of it exceeded imagination.
‘Guardian Knight Pamel, numerous Wyvern Knights and Golem Masters, dozens of colossal siege engines… this is only what I’ve seen.’
Forces capable of turning several cities into wastelands with ease.
Even a major metropolis would be smashed apart in a matter of days.
But for a long time, the Empire had not waged war with the outside.
The only movement they had made recently was—
‘The Abyssal Labyrinth, and the Four Evils subjugation the Dersian family attempted.’
Hudson stroked his chin.
Through Player Talk, he always kept track of the players’ movements.
Thanks to that, he quickly heard that the Dersian family had challenged the Four Evils and failed.
‘If this is not civil war, then this must be preparation for the Four Evils subjugation.’
Lord Darkan suddenly attempting to subjugate the Four Evils?
Were they planning to succeed at what the Dersian family had failed at?
Or did they have another reason entirely?
Moreover, everything was moving far too urgently.
‘Too quiet.’
Suspiciously quiet.
Hudson stood up.
And then—
“Now, all preparations are complete, so you will come along.”
…Lord Darkan.
He appeared together with Guardian Knight Pamel.
Hudson bit his lip inwardly as he spoke.
“Lord Darkan. I believe we told you that we would wait here for ‘him,’ did we not?”
“No matter how long you wait, he will not come here.”
“…Then?”
“If you follow us, you will meet him. Come, let us go. And when you do, I would be truly grateful if you told ‘him’ of the majesty of Darkan you witnessed!”
When Hudson first saw Lord Darkan, he had seemed like a calm and respectable man.
But now, his eyes were filled with madness.
Had he completely lost his mind after the purification procedure?
“Where exactly are you going?”
“Why, to hunt the Four Evils, of course!”
“The Four Evils? Why?”
“Are the ‘Four Evils’ not the very culprits that destroyed the former Empire? Restoring the glory of the old Empire with our own hands—that is the duty the great citizens of the Empire must uphold!”
Had he truly gone insane?
‘That is not simple madness.’
This was not a sudden insanity.
He had gone mad from fear.
He had witnessed the Reaper Church cutting down countless nobles of the Empire without hesitation.
It was a frantic struggle to reaffirm his loyalty to the Empire.
‘The Empire is controlling its nobles through fear, using the Reaper Church.’
Hudson swallowed hard.
Damn it.
He never imagined Lord Darkan would react like this.
But he had no authority to refuse.
That bastard clearly intended to drag them along by force if necessary.
…For now, they had no choice but to follow quietly.
***
Ziiing!
Ziiiiing!
Through the warp gates, soldiers poured out endlessly.
All of them wore Imperial-style equipment.
“W–Wyvern Knights!”
“Isn’t that a Golem Master?”
“Is the Empire really determined to hunt the Four Evils?”
People murmured as they watched.
This was Mercenary City Cartel.
The last of the five neutral cities still standing.
But at its center, Gracia was staring at only one person.
“…The Pure White Knight?”
That was undoubtedly the Pure White Knight Serengeti.
She had been Wilhelm’s closest aide. Yet she had been reported dead at the end of the Great Expedition.
‘How is she alive?’
Gracia was confused.
There was no way he had mistaken her.
That was certainly the Pure White Knight Serengeti.
Even if her skills had been lacking compared to being Wilhelm’s closest aide, she was a woman Wilhelm trusted absolutely—there was no way he could fail to recognize her.
Wilhelm, after being betrayed so many times, kept only those he could truly trust at his side.
Their number was so small that they were once called the “Seven Knights of the Round Table.”
But all of them were said to have died during the Great Expedition.
‘Why is the Pure White Knight with the Empire?’
The strangest part was why Pure White Knight Serengeti was with the Empire at all.
It was a combination that should never exist together.
Why?
And such overwhelming forces.
Far more serious than the Dersian family, who had brought several transcendents before.
They had truly gathered to kill the Four Evils.
“Wh–what, why are they pushing us?”
“Are those bastards trying to use us as shields?”
“Isn’t combat between humans forbidden in neutral cities?”
The problem was that the Imperial soldiers were pushing the neutral-city soldiers and players toward the warp gate where the Four Evils would emerge.
As if intending to use them as shields when the Four Evils appeared.
In neutral cities, combat between humans was forbidden.
All cities had agreed to that rule.
Even the Empire was required to obey it.
But there was no rule saying they couldn’t push people.
“Gracia-nim. Shouldn’t you say something?”
“Those bastards’ intentions are way too obvious.”
As people protested around him, Gracia shook his head.
“No. Let it proceed.”
He would kill it before the Empire could.
He had prepared thoroughly for that.
He still did not know why the Pure White Knight stood with them.
‘…The Four Evils are my prey.’
Rip!
Riiip!
At that moment, a colossal, crimson-swollen foot began emerging through the warp.
《Evil God Baal is invading Cartel!》
《A Hidden Quest is being delivered.》
《Stop ‘Evil God Baal’ from becoming ‘the One Who Is the Abyss Itself.’》
《Additional rewards will be granted according to contribution.》
***
-Wow, insane. Nearly ten thousand gathered in Cartel
-Plus the Darkan Territory of the Empire joined with full force
-Wyvern Knights and Golem Masters? Only transcendents can do that right?
-Just watching this makes my chest swell
-We can’t lose
Player Talk ignited again.
The Empire, Darkan Territory’s participation!
The Empire itself was shrouded in secrecy, but Darkan was one of the few territories whose name was known.
A renowned sword family of the continent.
Knights produced there were known to surpass all others in skill.
-Guardian Knight Pamel? That guy can kill an ‘ancient dragon’ solo
-What? Solo an ancient dragon?
-Stop lying, that means he’s at least 3-star
-I once saw him by chance during an ‘ancient dragon’ subjugation, it’s true
-And yeah, compared to Dersian or whoever, this force is insane
-And Gracia is here too
-Even if he ran from the Abyssal Labyrinth, he’s still leagues above other heroes
-Finally, I can sleep peacefully
-I honestly thought the Four Evils were coming to Earth
-At this rate, they could hunt a demon king
-Well, back then there was no Empire
-Easy win
-This is epic
Everyone was relieved.
With this much strength, losing would be strange.
No matter how strong the Four Evils were, it was only one.
Hours passed.
Then, a single message appeared before all players.
《‘Evil God Baal’ has conquered the neutral city Cartel!》
《‘Cartel’ is beginning to sink into the Abyss.》
-…What the;;;
-Is this even possible?
-All those troops died again?
-What about Gracia? What about that Pamel guy who killed an ancient dragon??
-I’m losing my mind…
***
All warp gates exploded.
The city sank into the Abyss.
“Hey. Snap out of it.”
Smack!
Someone slapped him as hard as they could.
Gracia opened his eyes.
‘…Beautiful.’
Before him, there was an angel.
The pure-white angel, Serengeti.
For the first time in his life, Gracia thought someone was truly beautiful.
It was also the first time a woman had slapped him across the face.
“Gracia. Are you planning to let the Abyss devour you like this? You called yourself a hero, yet this is all you amount to?”
“You’re beautiful.”
“…?”
“If there are angels like you, then I suppose heaven wouldn’t be a bad place.”
“You have sinned too much, and you will go straight to hell when you die. Stop spouting nonsense and come to your senses.”
“Then why is an angel in hell?”
“…!!!”
When Gracia reached out a hand, Hudson flinched and jumped back.
His entire body broke out in goosebumps.
He must have lost his mind as the city sank into the Abyss.
‘This might really be hell.’
Hudson looked around and swallowed.
“Die!”
“Die, all of you!”
“Kihihihihihi!”
Baal focused solely on sinking the city into the Abyss.
And once Cartel sank, the ones who lost their sanity began attacking one another.
A former ally stabbed another in the back, someone who looked normal suddenly swung a blade.
A true Pandemonium.
It must be the nature of this Abyss.
‘Everyone who fought in the previous cities is down here as well. And the damn Imperials don’t care if we die.’
Lord Darkan cared only about killing Baal.
Hudson had dragged himself here to find the only somewhat sane-looking person—Gracia—but he seemed to have lost his mind as well.
There was no outside help.
And no way out.
‘That cocoon. That’s Baal. He’s turning into the One Who Is the Abyss Itself.’
Hudson turned toward the center of the Abyss.
There lay an enormous black cocoon.
After conquering Cartel, Baal had sealed himself inside it.
You’d think they could just break the cocoon—except—
-KYAAAAAH!
Black wings.
A creature resembling a demon was flying toward him.
Those who died here—especially transcendents—turned into demons.
And they attacked with far greater power.
Worse yet, most attacks barely worked on them.
Even a mighty Wyvern Knight barely managed to handle a single demon.
‘Damn it!’
Hudson, not even a transcendent, would surely die if one of these demons attacked him.
He wanted to curse, but there was no solution.
Rip!!
At that moment.
Right before Hudson, the Abyss tore open and someone appeared.
“Ah…!”
Hudson gasped and shouted in shock.
At the same time—
Crack!!
He swung the Skull Crusher and smashed the demon’s skull in a single blow.
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