Countless knights descended along the sky path.
Because of the lingering glow surrounding their bodies, they truly looked like knights of light. The one leading them raised the visor of his helmet. A handsome man revealed his face through the steel helmet and smiled.
It was Avart, the knight of Helga who had lost his Lord.
*Clang—*
He and numerous other knights assumed a kneeling position.
“We greet the Saint of Hor!”
A strict military discipline could be felt from the thunderous shout. Although they were covered in armor and helmets, for some reason, I felt as if I could see their expressions. They surely had determined faces.
“It is good to see you,” I said with sincerity.
*Thump, thump!*
The knights responded by pounding their breastplates with their fists. As I looked at the long line of knights, a flag that wasn’t very familiar caught my eye.
“Have the knights of the Prot Kingdom come as well?”
“We heard the Divine Revelation of Hor that descended upon the Baren Kingdom! We, who have also received his Divine Grace, will not hesitate to participate in this war! Please do not turn away the followers of Hor who have traveled a long way!”
At my words, a general with a well-composed aura stepped forward. The burning look in his eyes and his resolute spirit were exactly like those of a Saint Knight.
‘Wow, he raised them well.’
It seemed the Hor religion had completely taken root in the Prot Kingdom while I was tucked away in the Southern Continent. No wonder the forces seemed twice as large as I had expected.
“I am well aware of the friendship between the Prot Kingdom and Baren. Although the darkness separated the two kingdoms, the light has once again connected the path.”
When I told the general that, the Prot knights waiting in the back showed visible signs of relief. I looked past them and cast my gaze further back. There were more unexpected guests there.
“Saint!”
“Chu-re! Ho-re!”
Around thirty civilians, the prophets of Snowfall, were jumping around and expressing their joy. They were a group that definitely did not fit in among the soldiers who were sharpening their fighting spirit.
“Mary, why did you all come?”
“We want to be of even a little help to the heroes. Although we can’t offer much comfort, we thought a Sacred Song might be able to boost the morale of the heroes…”
Mary spoke hesitantly. Unlike the purely cheerful prophets, she had a somewhat anxious look on her face.
‘Did she have another prophetic dream?’
The content of the prophetic dream she had told me before had already changed. Although the battle itself could not be stopped, the war between the Northern Continent and the Southern Continent had been prevented early on. If Mary had another prophetic dream, it would be about the future that had now changed.
“Fine. If you have something to say, come find me at the barracks—”
“Ho ho! I have come as well, Saint.”
A raspy voice interrupted me. I turned my head to see who it was and saw a familiar old man.
“Why is the Marquis here…?”
It was Marquis Trantis, who had once been the most faithless skeptic but had now become a devout believer. He bowed his head deeply.
“The war between Light and Darkness! I have participated to record everything in detail, having been appointed as a chronicler by His Majesty the King.”
Good grief. I told him to only send knights, but he sent along all sorts of things.
“This is a battlefield where your head will fly off if you lose your focus for even a second. You must understand that no one can be responsible for another’s life.”
“Do not worry. I have lived a fairly eventful life, so my survival skills are quite excellent.”
An eventful life wouldn’t be enough. My head began to ache as I looked at the Marquis making such a bold declaration.
***
The next day.
The drums rolled before the dawn had even fully broken.
*Boom. Thump. Thump.*
The brightly shining drumsticks struck the light-infused drums, and even the majestic sound carried the light as it spread far and wide.
We began our march following that sound.
As if all the Magic Armor Soldiers of the Southern Continent were here, there were so many iron giants walking ahead that they were constantly in sight.
Magic Armor. They were war machines created by wizards to compensate for their vulnerability in close-quarters combat.
Until recently, the wizards’ primary enemies were knights, so Magic Armor was one of the Artifacts created to deal with knights more easily.
But what about now? Those knights moving among the Magic Armor Soldiers would protect the wizards more thoroughly than anyone else.
The Southern Continent no longer needed to focus so feverishly on the production of Magic Armor.
‘Of course, that’s only if we win.’
Defeat meant death. Since the entire strength of the Hor religion was gathered here, everything depended on this fight.
We continued our march while managing the stamina of our forces. The smell of blood and rot that grew thicker as we moved forward seemed to warn us that the place we were heading toward was death itself.
“Dad.”
Adele, who was gripping my right hand tightly, muttered anxiously. Perhaps the aftermath of that emotion reached Mar as well, as he also looked at me with trembling eyes.
Adelgarten and Margarten. The sixth creations I had made could not hide their anxiety.
Originally, they possessed a status that would never fall behind the creations of the Demon Realm, but they had withered along with the fall of ‘Hor.’
‘I should also help you regain your former strength.’
The World Tree was the foundation of this world. Just as they had lost their strength, it meant this world was sick.
“It’s Arahel and Mamon. They’ve crossed over.”
“They seem to be hiding now. If we don’t eliminate them quickly…”
‘In the worst-case scenario, the gates to the Demon Realm might open wide—’
I nodded at the warning voice. I could also feel the terrible energy of the Marshals from far away.
‘I shouldn’t expect a conversation to work.’
This was especially true for the fourth creation, Arahel. The fifth, Mamon, had a somewhat rational side, but when it came to me, his temperament was no different from the other creations.
I took a slow breath. It felt as if their resentment was already piercing my lungs.
“Adele, Mar. I have something to tell you.”
I had to prepare before meeting them.
***
We marched for a long time. We crossed the border of another nation, and then another. Because people were panting from the forced march, the army’s pace kept slowing down.
In the end, we had to stop our march today earlier than expected.
“Saint. I had another strange dream.”
During yet another camp, Mary approached me. She had been looking preoccupied the whole time, and her hands were clasped tightly together.
“Right. What was it about?”
I did not press her as she hesitated. I simply waited calmly.
“The Saint gradually turned black… I had a dream where you turned exactly like a Demon.”
“And? That can’t be all.”
“Monsters, whether they were of darkness or light, were crying. And although the world became peaceful, the Saint… he…”
As I thought. Mary had the qualities of a Saint. After hearing the contents of her prophetic dream, my mind felt much more at ease. It was like a guarantee that my plan would succeed.
I looked at Mary, suppressing a sigh of relief that rose to my throat. Her complexion was pale.
“Don’t take the dream so seriously. It’s just a dream after all.”
“Will it really be okay…”
“What is there to fear when Hor is with us?”
Only after I offered a few words of comfort did Mary smile.
“You’re right. Hor will protect the Saint.”
“Yes. It’s late. Go to sleep.”
After sending Mary away, I settled down to lie. However, sleep did not come. In the quiet campsite, only the sound of the crackling campfire and the chirping of crickets could be heard throughout the dawn.
***
“Once we cross that canyon, it’s the Typhon Kingdom.”
I followed the direction of Alisa’s finger. Far off, a massive canyon blocked our path, leaving only a narrow passage. Once we crossed that, it was the Typhon Kingdom.
*Boom! Thump! Thump!*
Someone beat the drum of advancement. We did not resist the majestic sound of the drum that seemed to push us forward. We moved the Magic Armor Soldiers through the narrow passage first.
Knights followed them, and behind them, the followers of Snowfall and the wizards moved in line.
“Everyone has passed through!”
A commander shouted, his voice infused with Mana. Alisa nodded and called for the march to continue once more. The destination was the capital of the Typhon Kingdom.
It was there that Markus’s Liches and the disgusting Marshals had taken their positions.
“Kueeeek!”
We encountered Undead in a nameless small village. An elderly couple, a snot-nosed kid, a young man who must have looked innocent once. They were now corpses, rushing at us.
However, the knights didn’t even have to draw their swords; the Undead were handled by the Magic Armor. Seeing Undead was a familiar sight for the men of Riot Castle.
But that was only for them. The knights of Prot, who looked around at the village of horrific corpses, closed their eyes, and the wizards gagged.
“Master. The drum.”
“I know.”
*Boom! Thump! Thump!*
The holy drum sounded again. Following it, the Sacred Song sung by the thirty prophets spread far and wide. We moved forward, draped in light amidst the darkness.
We passed several small villages. We passed several cities. Then, we encountered a fortress of the Typhon Kingdom.
The fortress bore clear marks of resistance against the Liches, and corpses poured out through the collapsed walls.
“Prepare for battle!”
*Clang!*
The knights drew their swords, and the wizards raised their staffs. We began to kill the dead once more.
“To think the day would come when we face these corpses again. Our lives are truly pitiful.”
Avart, who had struck down with his axe with all his might, looked momentarily exhausted. Members of the Union then began to exchange words. Most of it was grumbling.
“Stop whining and focus. If you get bitten, you’ll become an Undead too—”
Leading from the front and cutting down the most corpses, I suddenly felt a shiver run through my body. I felt a thick, sticky gaze.
I turned my head. Atop the half-collapsed spire of the fortress, a winged woman was standing. She had an angelic appearance, but in truth, she was far from it.
[Father]
The fourth creation and a Marshal of the Demon King, Arahel. She called out to me.
She did not smile like Kalgos. She did not cry like the Demon King. She didn’t vent her anger either. She simply stood atop the spire, staring blankly at me.
*Vrum—*
I rotated five rings. A strange sensation flooded my pupils, and I began to see much more.
[Eye of Laplace – Activated]
The secret technique of Alisa that I was now able to clumsily imitate after reaching the 5th Circle. The magic that had frustrated countless wizards was now overlaid upon my eyes.