“What the heck? What on earth is happening?”
“I don’t know either…”
Thud thud.
Jill struggled to keep pace with Yerina, who strode confidently, nearly running as she gasped for breath.
Something was happening.
The undead army’s attack was imminent on the battlefield.
The hundreds of peasant soldiers were supposed to stall for time, but the undead legion had vanished.
Literally vanished.
Not annihilation or destruction, but complete dissolution.
By the time the allied forces arrived, the undead legion had already turned to dust, with even a pinch of demonic energy no longer detectable.
Even more bizarrely, the peasant soldiers were entirely unharmed.
Clearly, someone must have suppressed the undead legion and left without a trace.
But no one knew who that person was.
It was a mystery.
An incident had occurred.
Yet only the outcome remained, while the process had completely disappeared.
“At least tell me the current status! You must have some guesses!”
“Well…”
Jill stood squarely in front of Yerina, arms spread wide.
With a gentle tap, she’d easily topple over; she seemed so fragile.
But Yerina couldn’t bring herself to do that.
‘I have my suspicions but can’t say them.’
The farmers testified that a strange white net filled their vision, and the next moment, the undead legion was shattered, rolling on the ground.
At first, she had no idea what that meant.
But when Transylvania said she knew someone who could use such swordsmanship, there was no choice but to be shocked.
Yoo Jin.
The sword technique of that man who had long since left this world.
It was said to be the origin of the Dakia-style swordsmanship born from the secrets of Transylvania’s martial arts.
‘Is it right to give this girl any more hope?’
A clear trace of Yoo Jin.
But that didn’t yet provide concrete evidence that it was indeed Yoo Jin.
In this situation, saying to Jill that Yoo Jin might be alive in the current world wasn’t easy at all.
Saying it was easy.
But witnessing Jill’s reaction after that would be far from simple.
With a simple hope, she’d gain the will to live, and with a trivial despair, she’d end up in tears thinking of death.
That was the true nature of Jill, known as a strong and steadfast Priestess.
Until now, she had endured solely because of the vague hope of reclaiming Yoo Jin.
If that hope were to betray her again, who knew what would become of Jill?
“Are you treating me like a child again?”
“What do you mean…?”
“That condescending look! By age, I’m older! If you keep this up, I’ll have no choice but to give orders as the commander of the alliance. Spill the analysis right now!”
Sigh…
That might not be entirely wrong.
Yerina sighed deeply, gazing at Jill’s trembling eyes.
A girl who laughed and cried like a reed at the mercy of small hopes and despairs.
But perhaps because of that, she could be seen as strong.
Though she may sway this way and that, she wouldn’t break until she was completely uprooted.
Abandoned by Yoo Jin.
Loved by Yoo Jin.
She was someone who had withstood all the trials of Yoo Jin leaving.
Yerina had to acknowledge that she was not someone to be underestimated.
“As far as we know, the only objective fact established so far is that the technique that annihilated the undead army is similar to Yoo Jin’s swordsmanship. Whether it’s just a resemblance in magic or curses, or if it actually is Yoo Jin or someone else learned Yoo Jin’s swordsmanship, we can’t confirm yet.”
“Yoo Jin… You mean it could actually be Yoo Jin…?”
Look at that.
No matter how many possibilities were presented, Jill seemed only to latch onto the one line.
This was precisely why Yerina didn’t want to share it…
Yerina felt a headache coming on.
‘First, I need to contact the nameless person…’
Currently, the most likely suspect was indeed the nameless one.
The girl who had been close to Yoo Jin.
At first, she appeared to be a regular girl, but as time passed, her skills soared in every field, reaching a level that was uncatchable in no time.
Perhaps she had absorbed and mastered Yoo Jin’s swordsmanship.
It was a slim and absurd possibility, yet with the nameless one, it felt plausible.
“Huh?”
At that moment, the mana stone started glowing a bright red.
This was the signal used when the three leaders of the alliance summoned a conference.
Since both Yerina and Jill were present, there was only one person left.
The witch, Yulia.
She urgently wanted to meet.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
Yerina and Jill nodded at each other and began retracing their steps.
The destination was the headquarters of the allied forces located in Hameln.
With an escort, the two quickly arrived at the headquarters, descending deeper and deeper below ground.
They reached a dark place where even the air seemed thick.
In the dim light, they found a disheveled woman waiting with just a single lantern lit.
“Couldn’t you at least leave the lights on…?”
“I’m, I’m s-so sorry. I should’ve gone out…”
“It’s alright. You said it takes you at least three days just to mentally prepare for an outing.”
“…”
Yulia had been so nervous about the unexpected emergency deployment during the last feast that she had secretly thrown up in the bathroom.
While dragging her out would certainly result in a relatively normal encounter…
It was better to come here directly, as she’d probably be internally screaming ‘I want to go home; I’m scared of people.’
Until now, Yulia had only opened her heart to Yoo Jin.
But since that day, she had gradually begun to reveal her inner thoughts to Jill and Yerina as well.
She realized there was no need to hide among those who shared the same intentions, goals, and pain.
“So, what’s the matter? Huh?”
“You’re a bit too close for comfort…”
“Ah, sorry! So what’s up that you called us?”
Jill rushed over and clung to Yulia.
This made Yulia flustered, stepping back a little.
Aside from small animals, she had never seen anyone get closer faster physically or mentally than Jill.
“Wait, what?”
“Eww…”
Jill was just overly curious.
Although Yerina and Jill were the only people Yulia felt comfortable with, she had never called them over first in the past three years except for urgent matters.
Although Yulia claimed they were friends, it seemed she felt more relaxed when there was some distance.
Jill, who needed to be physically close to assuage her loneliness, found this type of person utterly incomprehensible.
Yet this very Yulia had called for a meeting.
She surely wouldn’t suddenly flip 180 degrees and invite them for a drink because she felt lonely.
It must be a matter of utmost importance.
“I, I have… been investigating the flow of demonic energy…”
Yulia pulled out a large box and unfolded a data sheet.
While Jill was running around addressing the divisions of the alliance, Yulia hadn’t just been partying.
She’d incessantly deployed scouting fleets, meticulously recording the flow of demonic energy and mana, as well as weather conditions into data.
No one knew if this data would ever be useful.
An amount substantial enough to fill a warehouse might turn into nothing more than scraps of paper.
But in case it might be needed someday, Yulia silently took charge of the information agency behind the alliance.
And now, that result was being presented before Jill and Yerina.
“This, this is… oh, yesterday’s data… The concentration of demonic energy suddenly skyrocketed at the Gallia coastline… Do you see it…?”
“Yeah, I see it. It looks like one of those occasional anomalies, right?”
Having abnormal figures appear on a data sheet wasn’t rare.
There were naturally occurring surges of demonic energy.
And sometimes, errors in recording due to equipment failures as well.
“I checked everything. The possibility of a magical surge and equipment malfunction is all less than 1%… You can trust me.”
However, when it came to Yulia’s information, it was perfectly safe to trust her.
Her obsessive perfectionism was borderline bizarre.
In her daily life, she might seem naive; however, when it came to work, she was thoroughly meticulous.
“And in a few hours… at this point, a few kilometers away, the readings spike again… Here is the next location… and here’s the next one…”
Tap, tap.
Yulia traced her finger over the map as she explained.
Those points formed a straight line.
And the direction of that line pointed to…
“And today…”
“Here. This must be where the battle with the undead legion took place.”
“You’re right…”
The battlefield where the undead army was annihilated.
‘The incomprehensible incident’ had occurred there.
Just before the battle began, the data sheet’s readings had suddenly skyrocketed.
Then, immediately after the battle, with the undead army being wiped out, the readings soared past the measurable threshold.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Yulia, Jill, and Yerina’s gazes met.
Only silence passed.
Yet the three understood they were all thinking the same thing.
It was a prospect they hated to even imagine.
“This too…”
“Yes, I’m thinking the same…”
“The Great Demon has returned. The only being capable of landing at Gallia beach and spreading this amount of mana inland in just a day is that one…”
The return of the Great Demon.
The alliance was on high alert.
They had prepared for a confrontation with the Great Demon someday, but the thought of it actually appearing sent shivers down their spines.
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