At last, the passage leading to the Abyssal Depths was completed.
Whether the world will ever learn of it remains uncertain, but few will know in the immediate future that it was thanks to the efforts of three mages: Hio, Freya, and Furnel.
The moment Hio was convinced he had theoretically resolved all issues and could complete the magic circle, he immediately informed Sylvia of this fact.
From now on, it was a race against time.
There was no way to be certain about Kreutzvalt. If he noticed the completed passage or attempted to use it, the backlash would fall upon the Continent.
Sylvia understood Hio’s reasoning and made her decision even more swiftly.
She grasped that there was no time to scrape together every last soldier.
“We’ll form the primary allied forces with the troops we have gathered first.”
“The allied forces’ top priority is to establish a foothold and secure a retreat route.”
Immediately after crossing into the Abyssal Depths, they needed to secure a minimal base and build defensive positions.
It was about creating a defensive line that would prevent anything from the Abyss from using the passage to cross over to the Continent.
For that, the presence of Apostles and Priests was essential.
Fortunately, Apostle Irina was included in the primary allied forces.
But there was another issue.
“Considering the various variables of reaching the deepest part of the Gran Dina Mountains, we estimate it will take several months.”
The Dragon’s Temple, where the passage lay, was located in the deepest and highest part of the forbidden mountain range.
It was deeper than the Temple of Ariel, a place no human foot had ever touched.
“Even if supplies are taken care of, there are other problems…”
No matter how resilient the knights and soldiers, they were still human, weren’t they?
A human army would have to cross the treacherous mountain range and engage in countless battles with monsters.
Even if Freya provided aerial protection, how would they deal with the cold? Considering stamina, sleep, supplies, and caring for the delicate priests, the task seemed overwhelming.
Hio’s transcendent skill, Dimension Transfer, could not carry an unlimited number of humans either.
“There is a solution.”
It was then that Isidore, the Most Noble Elf of Arilleia, stepped forward.
“We have the technology.”
What Isidore and the elves referred to was the portal in Arilleia.
For over a thousand years, Arilleia, shrouded in mystery, had left behind countless magical relics and traces, and one of them was the portal.
In fact, they were the only race on the island that freely used portals.
“We may not have the ability to create portals ourselves, but we do have the technology to connect them.”
No matter how much they researched and studied, they couldn’t produce a portal from scratch.
But a thousand years was a long time.
They had the materials and the technology.
They had the know-how to maintain and manage it for a millennium.
So, what reason was there not to do it?
“We’ll prepare immediately.”
Isidore and Sylvia stood up from their seats at the same time.
Even as meetings continued daily for the movement to the passage, the Continental Alliance forces steadily gathered.
Various nations sent knight orders, elite soldiers, and supplies, but setting those aside and looking only at the main forces…
First, there were the priests, including Irina.
Having come from Hibernia, where Liphyue had been enshrined since ancient times, their nation’s foundation had been shaken by turmoil. However, thanks to Hio’s divine authority and Irina’s efforts, the chaos was quickly quelled, and they joined the Alliance.
Next were the Imperial Royal Knights.
The strongest military force on the Continent, including Vitalianus and Claire, had already received information and were on standby faster than anyone else, second only to Sylvia. They had long since established themselves as the core of the Continental Alliance.
And then, the Rankers from Earth.
News reached them belatedly as well.
Their influence in Verdan had sharply declined, so the quality of their information was poor, but they grasped the general flow.
A few of the top-tier Rankers expressed their intention to participate directly, but surprisingly, their numbers were not that large.
Finally, the elves of Arilleia, led by Isidore.
They naturally joined as well.
In a way, this was closely tied to their mission, wasn’t it?
The passion of those who had worked for a thousand years to realize magic had, by now, nearly turned into resentment.
Well, most of them volunteered for their own world without knowing the truth, but regardless, if they could only destroy Kreutzvalt, their wishes would be fulfilled as well.
A wish that transcended mission.
What had become desperate as they guarded Arilleia and awakened the dragon was the very existence of magic.
How they had wandered for it.
Though it was merely a possibility, if they destroyed Kreutzvalt, they might be able to reclaim magic.
Kreutzvalt himself had said that he traded magic for a dramatic peace in the war against the Abyss, but that had proven to be a lie.
The previous Abyss had simply annihilated itself alongside the gods, as part of the gods’ plan.
It was said that the loss of magic might also have been Kreutzvalt’s doing.
So, in the end, Kreutzvalt had to be defeated.
Everything began with him.
Everything would end with him as well.
***
Installing a portal.
It wasn’t that they hadn’t thought of it, but learning the related technology would take time, so it was a method they had passed over.
But they never expected the elves of Arilleia could actually reinstall the portal.
Perhaps it was because they had always seen them working hard at magic but not excelling at it.
It seemed they hadn’t properly assessed Arilleia’s capabilities.
So, he immediately headed to the Dragon’s Temple with Isidore and the elf engineers.
“The installation is complete.”
They were able to install the portal.
“But can it really work? As I mentioned before, there are no small number of problems.”
“It’s fine.”
Hio replied calmly to the worried Isidore.
Inside Arilleia, the distances weren’t that great, and the number of people moving was small, so a small amount of magic power was enough to operate it.
But this was different, wasn’t it?
What Isidore was worried about was simple.
The long distance between the portals.
And the enormous number of troops to be moved.
“…Based on our calculations, we expect the number of magic stones needed to be several thousand times what we used on the island.”
Isidore was well aware that there was a limit to the magic power a person could possess.
After all, she was the Most Noble Elf who used magic power to move the Sacred Tree.
This was a task requiring an amount of magic power easily several hundred times her own total.
She was saying this was no trivial matter.
“I see.”
Even so, how could Hio be so composed?
“Anyway, thank you. Thanks to you, Isidore, we saved a lot of time and resources. If we had to carry everything one by one or follow along to protect it, imagine how great the losses would have been…”
While that was true, it wasn’t important to be giving thanks right now.
Isidore felt a bit frustrated.
“We managed to gather as many magic stones as we could in a hurry, but we only have about a hundred of mid-to-low grade. If we could request more from the Empire, we’d need at least several times that.”
Of course, she had told Hio about this before they left, so she assumed he had prepared accordingly. But during the installation process, she hadn’t seen a single magic stone, nor anything similar.
In other words, there were no magic stones.
Common sense dictated that without magic stones, the portal couldn’t operate.
It wouldn’t be ordinary magic power; it would consume an amount that even a dragon would find difficult.
***
‘No way.’
Surely he wasn’t planning to use Lady Freya.
Freya, a dragon herself, might be able to transport both the vast distance and the enormous numbers.
‘But then…’
Having a lot of magic power was a great advantage, but what about the time needed to replenish it?
They were about to cross into the Abyss to fight. Could they afford to leave a top-tier combatant like Freya idle for days or weeks?
So that was also an unreasonable plan.
“No. We don’t need magic stones.”
Hio’s answer made Isidore even more certain.
He intended to use Freya’s magic power to operate the portal.
He might have his own thoughts, but she, too, had a role to play, and she had to advise him.
She had to convey what she was thinking.
She opened her mouth to do so.
“Your plan to use Lady Freya’s magic power…”
Her words gradually lost strength and eventually stopped completely.
It was because Hio’s eyes suddenly turned violet.
“Don’t worry about the operating power.”
“I’ll handle it myself.”
[Divine Authority – ‘Drisella’s Breath of Origin’ is activated.]
The divine authority of the Magic God manifested.
Wherever Hio’s violet gaze fell, magic power moved without fail.
A breeze began to gently stir around the portal.
But soon, due to the gathering magic power, it turned into a storm.
All of it was pure magic power.
Raging violently, it began to pile up calmly and vast inside the portal without causing any damage to it.
Soon, light burst from the portal, shooting straight up into the sky.
[The portal is activated.]
A similar sight could be seen in the Imperial Capital.
***
“We planned to send them in two waves, but that’s no longer necessary. Most of the planned personnel have arrived.”
At Vitalianus’s words, Hio nodded firmly.
Within the five or so minutes he could sustain Drisella’s divine authority, he had compressed and stored a massive amount of magic power into the portal.
Having rested while the troops came through, he was able to somewhat recover from the backlash of using the divine authority.
“Now all that’s left…”
All the forces of the Continental Alliance had arrived at the Red Dragon’s Temple.
Their number was nearly fifty thousand.
“Is to go. To the Abyssal Depths.”
All they had to do was use the passage to cross into the Abyss.
With more knights than ordinary soldiers and as many skill users as knights, it could be called an unprecedented elite corps.
What was even more unbelievable was that even they were not the true elite.
The forces filled the vast Red Dragon’s Temple and even spilled outside.
Among them, only a handful would move deep into the Abyss to find Kreutzvalt.
“We are ready.”
About a dozen people gathered around Vitalianus and Hio.
These were the ones who could freely roam the Abyss without Apostle Irina’s help and even face the Strange Entities at the World’s End.
“Then there’s no need to wait any longer. Let’s begin.”
The Dragon’s Temple emitted a faint red glow.
The magic circles densely carved into the floor and walls.
Standing on top of them were Hio and Freya.
“I will open the passage.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a dense magic power spread through the magic circles.
The magic circles detached from the floor and walls, floating upward.
A deep, thick black began to spread outward.