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It is said that there are exactly two times when a creature encounters the supreme being during its life.

When it is born, and when it dies.

At the moment life begins, the god appears to bestow life, and at the moment of death, it appears again to take that life away.

Having experienced birth and death once, I can tell you that’s not the case.

In other words, an ordinary human rarely, if ever, meets a god.

But for some reason, I seem to have frequent encounters with them.

Naturally, this is never a good thing.

“Your vessel of power has grown much larger than before.”

Such an exalted compliment for this wretched being; I am truly overwhelmed and at a loss for words.

To repay this, I instinctively drew my sword, Kaeram, and pointed its blade at him.

“Do you see me as an enemy?”

“At the very least, I don’t see you as an ally.”

Sabulom, the God of Sand.

Seven years ago, in the ruins of Nodeli, he tried to kill me by using Set, who had fallen into the Absolute Coma.

There’s no way I can see him in a good light now.

“The murderous intent in your eyes is still the same.”

“Well, would there be any reason to see a god favorably when our first meeting began with fists rather than explanations?”

Sabulom subtly raised his chin and smirked.

“Rest assured, I don’t plan to make this place your grave, as it’s not in Spania.”

“Didn’t you consider the possibility that it might become the grave for your own body?”

Apparently, my provocation hit the mark.

He had been standing with his arms crossed, but now his hands slowly clenched into fists.

“The reason I possess this unintelligent body is nothing other than to protect my domain. Just as you try to protect your own from Lumendel. That’s why I have never taken anyone’s side and never will.”

At the mention of Lumendel, my gaze sharpened involuntarily.

So why has this neutral god come here?

“Therefore, I warn you, successor. Do not blur the lines of my neutrality.”

With his warning, sandstorms began to seep out of his body.

“If you don’t want this sand to blind your vision.”

I could only snort.

“However, depending on the circumstances, I might choose the other side.”

“…?”

“Which side it will be, is entirely up to you.”

His last words strangely grated on me.

Depending on the circumstances, he might choose the other side?

Does that mean he could help me?

The more I encounter them, the more incomprehensible these beings seem.

With those words, Sabulom smiled and lowered his head deeply.

Then, after a moment,

The fool prince, having returned to his original form, looked at me with a vacant expression and shouted,

“Ugh! This damned god appears at the most inconvenient times!”

Then, glancing at me, he slyly asked,

“How about it, Cyan? To blow off this sour mood, how about a sparring session…!”

Without looking back, I left the spot.

* * *

The tumultuous day passed, and morning dawned the next day.

Luna, who had been engrossed in breaking the barrier all night, succeeded just as dawn broke.

The envoy immediately reorganized a search party to track down Duke Vert and Aschel.

“Wouldn’t it be better to get some rest? Moving without any break like this…”

“I know my body best. I can move well enough, so don’t worry.”

Schurz asked with concern, but Luna firmly denied.

Contrary to what one might think, given the fatigue from working overnight, her eyelids didn’t droop even slightly.

Rather, her eyes burned with the excitement of entering a new, unknown area.

So the envoy lined up once again at the frontier gate.

While the final checks were being made, Ressimus, sensing unease, whispered to Arin.

“Princess, do you really have to go?”

“Of course. We can’t delay any longer, not knowing when reinforcements requested from the imperial city will arrive.”

“But our forces are too meager to explore this unknown region where dangers might be lurking.”

Originally, the knights who were supposed to protect the envoy from monsters had now become enemies.

“Wouldn’t it be better for you to wait outside, Princess? We’ll go and return.”

“I’m the chief in charge of this envoy. It’s my duty to protect you, not for you to protect me. If you live, I live, and if you die, I die.”

Arin expressed a strong will not to back down.

Everyone here had risked their precious lives for her.

How could she stay in a safe place while such people were in front of her?

As a princess, she couldn’t do something so irresponsible.

Ressimus, seeing Arin’s firm resolve, didn’t argue further.

With the final checks completed, only the departure remained. Arin stepped forward.

Of course, Cyan was not in sight.

But she decided not to worry too much, thinking he would follow well enough from an unseen place.

“Before us lies an unknown danger we do not know…”

She addressed the envoy.

“So, before we set out, I will say this one last time: if anyone does not wish to continue, please stop here. I won’t stop you.”

A tense atmosphere filled the room momentarily.

However, the tension was short-lived. The entire envoy answered with intense determination in their eyes, indicating that they would not stop.

Confirming their resolve, Arin clenched her fist and swore,

“I, Arin Sevellerus, Princess of the Ushif Empire, will ensure your safety!”

The morale of the envoy soared instantly, and they proudly stepped forward into the frontlines.

“…”

Could crossing just one door change the atmosphere this much?

To describe the current atmosphere in one word,

“Desolate.”

It was desolate and bleak.

Even when Arin first came here with Emperor Dionne ten years ago, the atmosphere wasn’t like this.

There wasn’t a hint of life, not even from small creatures like insects.

The envoy followed the path towards the rear camp where the frontline knights were stationed.

“Nothing here!”

“Nothing here either!”

“It’s all the same!”

The knights searching the camp crossed their arms in a gesture of denial.

The rear camp, which should have been bustling in preparation for monster appearances, was completely empty.

They searched everywhere for any remaining traces, but found nothing special.

“It seems they intended to abandon the rear camp from the start.”

“But to abandon even their base…”

Though it was somewhat anticipated, the actual impact of facing it was greater than expected.

“What will you do, Princess?”

With no forces at the rear camp, there was only one place left.

“We will head to the front camp.”

It was the camp located at the very front of the frontlines.

The envoy moved immediately without delay.

“This place is surprisingly boring, isn’t it?”

Set, who had anticipated fierce battles with monsters, sighed in disappointment.

“It’s too early to let your guard down. We don’t know when or where something might appear.”

Luna rebuked Set’s words with a sharp tone.

“No, there’s no sense of danger around here at all. If there was, my body wouldn’t be this relaxed.”

Luna somewhat agreed with that statement.

She had been reading the surroundings for any traps, but hadn’t sensed anything unusual.

It was as if there had never been anything here from the start.

The forward camp they arrived at felt empty from the entrance, causing Arin to naturally feel uneasy.

The envoy immediately began their search, but the situation was no different from the rear camp.

It was also completely empty.

‘Did they abandon the forward camp too?’

By now, it was beyond puzzling to the point of being absurd.

Where could the duke and knights have gone, abandoning even these two critical strongholds?

‘Could it be…?’

“There’s something here!”

Finally, the knights, who had found a clue, shouted urgently from the center of the camp, and the envoy quickly headed to the location.

It was the tent of Duke Vert, who had been conducting the final search.

This tent was no different from the others.

There were no documents or records to follow, but something on the empty desk caught everyone’s attention.

“What’s this?”

It was an item that didn’t seem to belong in the frontline area at all.

“It looks like a pendant?”

It was a pendant typically worn by women as jewelry.

It wasn’t old or shabby but rather an attractive and charming pendant.

“Why is something like this here?”

“Don’t touch it!”

Luna immediately stopped Arin, who was about to reach for it out of curiosity.

She had everyone step back three paces while she faced the pendant alone.

“There’s something strange about this pendant.”

“Is it, is it enchanted with magic?”

“No. I don’t sense any magic. Instead…”

The entire envoy held their breath, waiting for Luna’s answer.

“There’s a power in it that stimulates inner emotions.”

“Inner emotions?”

“Yes. If you keep looking at it, it feels like you might be bewitched without realizing it.”

At the mention of bewitchment, Arin’s eyes widened.

“Then this pendant… could it be the reason the duke and knights…?”

“It’s not certain yet. But they wouldn’t have left this pendant here as a gift for us.”

A pendant left alone in a camp where all other traces had disappeared.

Even a fool could sense something suspicious.

Soon, Luna carefully grasped the pendant with a hand imbued with mana.

“May I keep this?”

Arin nodded in approval.

With permission granted, Luna pocketed the pendant.

Although they discovered the suspicious pendant, they found nothing else of value.

Facing an unexpected obstacle, the envoy quickly convened an emergency meeting.

“Not a single monster or person, not even an insect? Are there no other camps besides these?”

“The two officially reported strongholds of the Empire are these.”

“Then, isn’t it possible there could be an unreported camp elsewhere?”

It was a plausible suggestion.

“Of course, that’s possible. But…”

Arin pondered.

If there were another stronghold besides these two, it would definitely not be within this frontline region.

“Duke Vert told me. He said Aschel, who we are searching for, is not in Velias.”

He even said Aschel is not in this empire or anywhere on this continent.

Arin was certain that this statement held some hint.

“Attention all envoys. We are now moving to the Lemea Gorge.”

At the mention of the gorge, some knights’ eyes widened.

“It’s our last boundary where we might find traces of those who disappeared. If we can’t find anything there, then Duke Vert, the knights, and Aschel whom we have been seeking…”

Arin hesitated slightly before continuing.

“…will be considered dead.”

No one objected to her firm decision.

As they exited the barracks to head beyond the frontline towards the new destination, Lemea Gorge,

“……!”

The entire envoy halted simultaneously, as if on cue.

Their hearts pounded violently, and some parts of their bodies began to tremble.

Had they ever felt such a sensation before in their lives?

No, they hadn’t.

None of them could claim otherwise.

Simply standing still caused a surge of negative and despairing emotions to flood through them.

Several managed to regain control and turned their heads towards one direction.

“It’s from the camp entrance…”

It was the first sign of a living being since they crossed the boundary.

However, the being exuded an inexplicably overwhelming sense of negativity and despair.

The knights simultaneously drew their swords, focusing their attention on the indicated direction.

– Step, step

The sound of someone’s footsteps reached them, carried by the eerie wind.

Something unknown was approaching the envoy.

The envoy neither advanced nor retreated.

They simply heightened their vigilance to the maximum, preparing to confront the approaching mystery.

Finally, when the unknown being came into view and the entire envoy saw it,

“……!”

An indescribable terror and fear enveloped their bodies.

It wasn’t human.

Not even a monster.

It had a human-like form but also possessed body parts that humans did not have.

In a common fairy tale told across the continent, such a creature was referred to as:

“A demon?”