A total of 15 reinforcements came down. It was the White Wave Knight Order belonging to the royal family.

After hearing a brief explanation of the situation from Garuel, Dolin, the commander of the White Wave Knight Order, ordered the Knight Order’s magicians to deploy protective magic.

“I’ll go along with what you’re saying, but we’re far from the village, and there aren’t any monsters around. I don’t understand why we need to cast protection magic in the middle of nowhere.”

“Yeah, I don’t get it either.”

“What?”

“Just kidding, just kidding.”

Grinning broadly at the wide-eyed Dolin, Garuel looked back at the group of magicians huddled together, casting the protective magic. Along their lines, a translucent silver barrier rose up around all of them, with several layers of magic circles above it.

It was the [Iron Fortress], a protection magic of the White Wave Knight Order that Garuel had experienced several times.

‘With this much magic, we can survive a dragon fall at least once.’

What was Cadel’s plan? If his request was any indication, Cadel was planning to unleash a magic spell with a range far beyond the village and the power to destroy the core once and for all.

He didn’t know if it was possible, or if it would work. It was clear that Cadel was an extraordinary talent, but if it were an easy magic spell to pull off, he wouldn’t have waited until the last minute.

‘Will he die, or live?’

Personally, he would like Cadel to live. After a brief pause, Garuel turned his attention to the mercenary corps.

Even though there were only two of them, there was no conversation going on between them. They didn’t make eye contact, just looked at the same place at a reasonable distance.

Baskin Village. Where Cadel would be.

‘Let’s talk to them.’

He couldn’t even drink to his heart’s content because of Dolin. Bored with his mouth, Garuel, with his ulterior motive, set off to talk to Lumen.

But at that moment.

He felt an unusual vibration.

“Commander Dolin! The Iron Fortress is complete!”

“Good. Keep the shields up no matter what attacks come our way!”

It was a tremendous, bone-shaking vibration. Some of the weaker knights were unable to withstand the shaking and collapsed.

A rumbling in the ground so violent that they could see the afterimage of their comrades. After what seemed like an hour, there was an eerie silence, as if the vibrations had never happened.

The weaker magicians gagged on the motion sickness that had set in, while the rest of them scrambled to find the cause of this strange phenomenon.

And Garuel rolled his eyes with a stiff face. The vibrations had died down, leaving only the dust of the risen earth. But there was a faint heat in the air. The temperature of the breeze was unnerving.

Garuel called out to the magicians cowering on the ground.

“Strengthen the shields! Pour all your mana into....!”

But before he could finish his rant.

Rumble—

In the distance, Garuel saw a flash of light that stretched across the space, like another horizon, a red line that stretched to no end.

He blinked at the glare, and in the next moment, it gathered into a dot, which soon swelled into a sphere.

A magnificent fire orb. Tripling in size with every blink, the flames burned brightly and menacingly, visible from miles away.

The speed was too fast to even attempt to keep up with. The brilliance of the light, as bright as the sun, grew and grew and grew until it was a size that made you doubt your eyes. It was overwhelming.

The earth began to crack under the impact of the massive fire orb, with the cratered earth being pushed out to either side. The cracked ground was rising high and pushing out like waves, and the aftermath reached even the [Iron Fortress].

“De, defend.... Defend the Fortress! It must not fall, no matter what!”

Dolin, frozen in place by the unbelievable magic, cried out urgently. A powerful blast of energy destroyed the ground, sending dirt and rocks into the air. The debris that hadn’t been burned by the fire orb was simply swept up in the shockwave and sent flying backward.

If the [Iron Fortress] were to fall, every single one of them would be reduced to a handful of ashes.

Everyone in the barrier was feeling it instinctively, and their instincts weren’t wrong.

“Kkeuaaargh!”

“Stay strong! You have to hold on!”

It was a tremendous shockwave. The gravitation and repulsion emanating from the fire orb were destroying everything around them with varying degrees of destructive power.

Shards of broken earth pounded indiscriminately at the fortress, a murderous heat that no barrier could keep at bay. As the magicians withstood the merciless onslaught, they couldn’t shake off a question.

Who on earth used this magic?

Those who didn’t know were questioned and frightened, and those who did were shocked and appalled. The most shocked, of course, were the mercenary corps.

Beyond the storm that obscured their view, Lumen and Van watched the pulsating fire orb. They thought of the man in that flame, forgetting how to breathe.

It didn’t matter how amazing the magic was. The most important thing to them was ‘Can Cadel survive that explosion?’.

Van, who blindly followed Cadel, and Lumen, who always acknowledged Cadel in his heart. At this moment, they had no choice but to conclude ‘No’.

“Commander.....”

Muttering softly, Van raised his hand to the barrier. He wanted to believe Cadel, but the more he thought about it, the more he was convinced.

He staked his life on this attack. To prevent the people from being turned into monsters, and to stop Ergo’s evil deeds. His decision did not include his own safety.

“Like this.... This is how.....”

He shouldn’t have left the commander there alone. He shouldn’t have turned his back irresponsibly, trusting only in his plans, knowing full well the kind of man Cadel was.

Van shuddered at the nightmarish reality. His fingertips turned white as he clutched at the barrier. He sucked in a choked breath of uncontrollable emotion.

“Aaaaargh!”

“No....!”

The [Iron Fortress] that had protected them fell.

* * *

Garuel’s cheeks were scorched as he stood blocking the front. Charred flesh and skin fell away in the ensuing frenzy, revealing the reddened jaw muscles and teeth beneath. Soon, however, dark purple mana seeped over the wound.

When the mana that shimmered like smoke disappeared, his cheeks regenerated as if he had turned back the hands of time.

It was a cycle of tearing pain and regeneration. It should have been painful, but there was no emotion in Garuel’s eyes. Only the eerie reverse eye glowed behind the eye patch that was pulled down.

On either side of him, purple mana spread out like wings. The frenzied mana was reminiscent of the ominous flapping of the Siren’s wings that heralded the end of the world, only these wings embraced those who faced it.

‘It would be difficult if Dolin and his subordinates woke up here. Tsk, after all, there is nothing good about living long.’

When the Iron Fortress was destroyed, the people inside were caught unawares by the unexpected impact. They could only hold on for a moment, throwing themselves into the fray to protect the villagers.

The Twilight Knight Order and the Scarlet Scales Mercenary had already expended considerable power, and the White Wave Knight Order had failed to protect them. One by one, they fell and eventually blacked out. If it weren’t for Garuel, they would have been swept away in the explosion, never to wake up again.

Opening up the demon eye was a less desirable option than dying, but he didn’t want to waste it by killing someone. He might have been a prodigal son, but until he learned of the demon eye’s existence, he was a holy knight whose mission was to help and rescue people.

That conviction was not easily shaken.

“Really, that’s a lot of power.....”

The cornea would melt and regenerate repeat, and the vision would flicker and return.

The explosion was over. The sun-like orb of fire was gone. It had long since been extinguished.

Still, the impact hadn’t worn off yet. He wasn’t sure how much longer his demonic energy would be able to help his body regenerate, but he hoped it would last at least until he’d fended off all the shocks.

After that, he hoped everything disappeared on its own.

Garuel held out, and persevered. And heaven rewarded.

The earth-shaking vibrations and heat were gone. His face, which had been torn apart here and there, was now intact. Gathering up his unfurled demonic energy, he silently slipped the eye patch over his hideous left eye.

“Now, then.....”

Glancing behind him, Garuel scanned the still-unconscious men. None of them seemed to be in any danger of death.

Concluding, he spotted a white horse of the White Wave Knight Order, who had narrowly escaped death by staying within the protection range.

“You should come back to the village with me.”

Calming the frightened white horse, he climbed on top of it. With the aftermath of the explosion contained, it was time to check on the caster.