The next day, Evan was walking through the streets of Talin.
He was tracking Hilton’s footprints using the map he had received from Andre.
Normally, he would have led the Order of Knights out to the borderlands today, but following Hilton’s trail felt more important.
He decided to postpone the mission for a day.
“He’s been everywhere.”
At a glance, the buildings marked on the map seemed ordinary.
Taverns and shops mostly, with only a few shabby buildings suspiciously located on the outskirts.
Evan first visited the shops in the central district.
Of course, he left Alan, Reynold, and Celia behind.
This kind of investigation required secrecy.
It was more effective to move with the minimum number of people.
Pulling his hood over his head, Evan entered a general store.
The bustling crowd filled the space.
However, most people seemed to be there just to shop, with nothing particularly suspicious.
He asked the shopkeeper about Hilton, but there was nothing noteworthy.
Evan went on to other shops, searching for any trace of Hilton’s whereabouts.
Yet, he gained no useful information.
“Maybe I should avoid the shopping district and check the taverns or outskirts instead.”
Evan changed his direction toward a corner of the central district.
A shabby tavern caught his eye.
“Hilton came to a place like this?”
A tavern likely frequented by mercenaries or commoners.
Hilton was known to despise commoners the most.
For him to visit such a dingy place was suspicious indeed.
“This is strange.”
Evan stepped inside the tavern.
Immediately, hostile gazes from rough-looking mercenaries turned toward him.
Evan ignored them and approached the shopkeeper.
“What brings you here?”
It was almost certain that this place was connected to Hilton’s visit.
Evan asked directly.
“I heard Hilton came here. Let’s not waste each other’s time and keep this quick.”
He handed over a gold coin from his pocket.
The shopkeeper’s eyes narrowed momentarily.
“Where are you from?”
“I’m associated with Hilton.”
The shopkeeper clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, tsk. Too late now. I don’t know the details, but they’ve already left. It’s been a while since we heard from them.”
“Them?”
“I don’t know much, but whenever Hilton visits, he buys the finest wine and rents out the entire place.”
Though the shopkeeper claimed ignorance about their identity, it was obvious who Hilton had met.
‘He must have met with the Nervan Cult here.’
It seemed Hilton had dealings with the Nervan Cult in this place.
“I see. Then…”
With no further clues, Evan left the tavern without hesitation.
A short while later.
Inside the tavern, a man slowly stood up.
Leaving his half-finished beer behind, he stepped outside.
***
Evan decided to make one last round through the outskirts.
“I should ask the Earl to arrange a meeting with Hilton later.”
He had been coming up empty all along.
Perhaps finding a direct clue from Hilton himself wouldn’t be a bad idea.
At that moment.
Thunk!
Evan collided with someone.
He had assumed the other person would dodge since they were walking straight toward him, but the man barreled into him instead.
Evan frowned and said, “What do you think you’re doing?”
It was clearly intentional.
He wondered if it was a pickpocket attempt, but the items in his pocket remained untouched.
‘Maybe he just wants to start trouble.’
The man who bumped into him looked utterly ordinary.
When he raised his head and locked eyes with Evan,
Evan stepped back.
“Who are you?”
The man’s pupils glowed a deep red.
He was not in a normal state.
“Stranger, cease meddling in our affairs any further.”
“Our affairs?”
“This world has nothing to do with you, stranger. If you ignore this warning, our world will deal with you.”
The moment Evan heard those words, he understood the man’s identity.
“So you finally show yourselves. The fanatics.”
The Nervan Cult.
They had revealed themselves directly.
But the man’s words bothered him.
‘Stranger,’ and ‘this world.’
These words struck at the core of the relationship between Evan and this place.
He couldn’t ignore them.
Evan rushed forward and grabbed the man by the collar.
“What do you mean by what you just said? Who are you people?”
The man with red eyes began to smile sinisterly.
“You cannot deceive our eyes, stranger. This is your final warning. Cease interfering in our matters.”
With those words, the man’s eyes started turning white.
“P-please spare me! I don’t want to die! Please, I beg you…”
The man’s demeanor completely changed.
Desperately flailing his hands to break free, his body suddenly turned pitch black.
“Gyaaaah!”
Emitting a malicious aura, he exploded, and his body vanished in an instant.
The explosion was powerful, but Evan’s holy power shielded him from serious harm.
“Damn it. So they were controlling him.”
Evan threw the man’s clothes onto the ground.
The Nervan Cult… until now, they had merely been obstacles blocking his path.
He wasn’t sure how powerful the organization was, but he had assumed he could handle them.
However, after this incident, Evan had to reconsider.
‘They’re certain now. I’m not from this world.’
He didn’t know exactly how much they understood, but this was the first time his identity had been seen through.
He realized they would be formidable opponents.
Bwooo~!
At that moment, a loud alarm echoed throughout Talin.
“Huh?”
Evan turned his head toward the source of the sound.
It came from the tower at Talin’s center.
It was a danger alert.
‘What could be happening?’
Evan hurried toward the Central Command Office of Keluhtan.
Fortunately, it wasn’t far, and he arrived quickly.
Upon reaching the Sanctuary, he saw knights, Sacred Knights of the cult, and priests gathered in the Talin Training Hall.
Evan approached them.
Andre was nowhere to be seen, and another knight was leading the group.
“What’s going on?”
Evan asked the apparent officer in charge.
The knight noticed Evan and responded urgently.
“I was just about to look for you, Commander. It’s an emergency. Scouts report a monster wave is about to begin.”
“A monster wave?”
“Yes. There’s been a sudden influx of monsters on the Dran Plains. The scale is said to be enough to devastate the entire Talin Region.”
Evan furrowed his brow, thinking.
‘It happened right after that guy disappeared. It can’t be a coincidence.’
He recalled his recent encounter with the Nervan Cult member.
Just like the Ogre control device before.
No one but those cultists could cause such a large-scale disturbance.
“Where’s Andre now?”
“The vice commander went to request reinforcements from the upper knights. We were just about to depart.”
“Understood. I’ll take command. You assist me.”
The situation wasn’t entirely hopeless.
Releasing monsters throughout Talin was destructive but also reckless and dangerous.
The cult, which had operated covertly until now, was becoming desperate.
‘They must be getting anxious.’
A slight smirk appeared on Evan’s lips.
***
Evan observed the Dran Plains from beyond Aspa Gorge.
Half the knights of Talin guarded the gorge’s entrance.
Behind them, Sacred Knights and priests supported them with the cult’s aid.
“How many are there?”
Looking down from the cliff, he saw hordes of monsters spreading across the plains.
They remained still for now, seemingly waiting for something.
No one knew when they would charge toward Talin.
Alan explained the information he had received from Andre.
“It’s not just Talin. The monster flood is happening simultaneously across the entire borderlands. But this is the only area where the scale is large enough to cover the plains.”
“Got it. So this is the most dangerous spot. And reinforcements won’t come here. This is really the worst-case scenario.”
Evan lowered his gaze back to the plains.
‘Giant Turtle Kobolds, Owlbears, Goblins…’
All the monsters that could be found in the forest had gathered here.
Even someone faint-hearted could pass out just from seeing this sight.
Some had shells so tough they couldn’t be cut without a sword.
There was no chance of winning if they clashed head-on.
Jena spoke up naturally.
“We can try to hold them back, but you should consider retreating. There are just too many monsters. If we request the cult’s aid, they’ll send reinforcements.”
Evan looked at her after hearing this.
Jena avoided his gaze and fiddled with her staff.
She was cautious after previously interrogating Evan aggressively.
There was another reason as well.
Higher-ups had ordered not to treat Evan as an enemy.
They were to find out how he had defeated the Nervan Cult’s monstrosity.
They were to protect Evan, who was likely to become the cult’s next target.
This was Jena’s mission.
Of course, restoring their relationship was the priority for that.
But Jena was clumsy at it.
‘Ugh. It’d be easier to just judge him as a heretic.’
***
While Jena stood there awkwardly, a priest nearby chuckled and said,
“Haha, please forgive our previous rudeness. As an apology, we promise to send as much support as possible. Let’s overcome this hardship together.”
Evan simply nodded without much reaction.
At that moment, Alan, sensing the mood, spoke up.
“No matter how I look at it, it seems impossible to stop this with Talin’s forces alone.”
Jena and the priests nodded in agreement.
This was like a natural disaster.
Unless they had forces of equal size or siege weapons from the mage tower, it was impossible to stop.
‘If only the Pope or the Archmage were here…’
Jena knew it was a meaningless thought and couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud.
Alan continued.
“With the priests’ help, we might hold for a while. But if it becomes too much, the only option will be to seal off Talin and withdraw.”
It was practically the worst move.
It meant abandoning one side of the border and losing a critical trade route.
But it was their only option left.
Everyone was silent, weighed down by the grim reality.
Then, Evan, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke.
“Leave the troops as they are for now. All of you here, quietly follow me.”
As soon as he finished, he started moving.
Everyone looked puzzled but began following him.
“Let’s go. I think the young lord has something to show us.”
Saying that, Celia followed Evan, and the remaining priests followed her.
They went down the slope toward the cliff’s base.
Evan moved to a nearby hill within the monsters’ range.
He immediately raised his left hand, signaling them to stop.
Celia, right behind him, asked,
“Young lord? Why are we here? It’s dangerous if they spot us, even at this distance.”
Evan chuckled softly but kept silent.
When the priests arrived, he began explaining.
“What I’m about to show you… you might call it a miracle.”
Evan took an item out of his inventory.
‘I didn’t expect I’d have to use this now.’
The item was a Magic Storage Scroll containing Velled’s Blizzard (True).
Blizzard was a high-level spell that affected a wide area.
But this was not just Blizzard—it was an enhanced Blizzard.
Unless you were an archmage, you wouldn’t see power like this anywhere else.
In a place with so many monsters, its true power would shine.
“This is a magic scroll I received from an archmage I know.”
Chiiiiik!
Evan boldly tore the Magic Storage Scroll apart.