With a soft pop, the magic crystal flickered to life.

Unlike Tsaindoruks's projection, this wasn't a vision from someone's perspective.

It was a recording—like a set of still photographs examined from multiple angles, repeating the same view over and over.

At a glance, it looked like footage of a desert.

Sand stretched far and wide, and in the center of this expanse was a massive crater gouged into the earth.

Zooming out further, the recording showed the edge of the desert—a dense forest encircling the circular patch of sand.

And within the sand lay the deep, perfectly round pit.

A crater within a crater. Unnatural. As if something had fallen from the sky and vaporized everything upon impact.

In one frame, a few people were present, their size allowing the observers to estimate the scale.

The sandy field alone spanned several hundred meters in diameter, and the central pit consumed over half that space.

Some of the Twelve High Priests squinted, recognizing the outer forest as the very one from Tsaindoruks's earlier video.

Monkyspanner pointed toward the screen.

"As you can tell… this is the same location Chaa showed us earlier. It's written in the documents I handed out, but according to the Adventurers' Guild, this is supposedly the result of an 8th-tier spell sealed in a magic crystal going berserk while purging an evil vampire named 'Honjonyonko.'"

"…Huh?"

"…What the hell are you talking about?"

"You've gotta be kidding."

"That's insane…"

"Utter nonsense."

Reactions exploded from all around the room. Even Tsaindoruks himself nearly choked on his breath.

Everyone here knew what an 8th-tier spell entailed.

Outside, that might be considered "mythical magic," but within this room?

An 8th-tier spell was about as dangerous as a campfire.

"A magic crystal with an 8th-tier spell? Hah! Should I make one and detonate it right now? Let's see if I get that kind of blast!"

That scoff came from Kaguya, the Earth High Priestess, who was second to none in magic among the Twelve High Priests. With her advanced casting class, she could even wield Overmagic—though it came at great cost in sacrifices and rituals.

She stood abruptly, pointing at the image.

"I didn't witness it firsthand, so I can't be certain—but that… that's not something an 8th-tier spell could do. At the very least, that's a trace left behind by a 10th-tier magic, or a skill on par with it. And while Monkyspanner's observations aren't exactly trustworthy…"

She glanced dubiously at him before continuing.

"…Let's ignore the crater itself for now. If what's written here is true—that there was a palpable scent of death in the air—then this could only have been caused by one of the highest-tier instant-death spells. My guess? Based on the spellbook Chaa once showed us, this reeks of Cry of the Banshee—a 10th-tier death magic."

"Just casting that wouldn't be enough, though. Judging from the scope of devastation, it had to have been used with both Magic Boost and Magic Enlargement. Even then, for the spell to corrode not just the land, but the atmosphere? That suggests additional reinforcement—possibly through some kind of high-grade magic item or unique skill. Which would mean the user was at least…"

"That's enough, Kaguya," Drake interjected calmly. "We get it. You're excited to finally see magic you can't cast."

"…S-Sorry."

Kaguya, now aware of how carried away she'd gotten, sat down, her long rabbit ears—twitching wildly moments before—now drooping low. Her face reddened slightly, though her eyes still sparkled with the need to explain more.

"Monkyspanner. Continue."

"Right… ahem. Anyway, let's set aside the crater for now. Supposedly, the one who defeated that vampire was an adventurer called Darkness, a group that just recently got promoted to adamantite rank. But the more I looked into them, the stranger things got. So—can everyone check the documents I passed out?"

At his prompt, the priests flipped through the pages. For a time, only the soft rustling of paper echoed through the grand chamber.

Then—one large, furry hand shot up.

"…Question, Monkyspanner."

"…Lion? Wait, what—er, go ahead."

Beast High Priest Lion, among the Twelve, and possibly in all of Shinsi, was one of the strongest when it came to pure physical combat.

Usually indifferent and lethargic unless a fight was involved, the fact that he raised his hand was enough to throw Monkyspanner off.

"If my eyes aren't mistaken… these guys were promoted to adamantite less than three months ago. That correct?"

"…Yeah, that's right. Why?"

"So what?"

"…You've got to be kidding me."

CRACK!

A faint crack spread across the surface of the round table beneath Lion's hand.

Although the table—made of a material harder than adamantite—was a powerful magic item and instantly restored itself, the fact that it had been damaged just from the pressure of his grip said everything.

And yet, Lion didn't even seem to notice. He was too angry.

"I made it very clear during my tenure—special exceptions were not to be granted lightly. Just a hundred years, and now they're already breaking that law… these damn bastards…"

"Uh, hey now, Lion. I mean, sure, we've been blessed by the gods and don't really age anymore, but a hundred years is still a long time, you know? The humans from your generation probably rotted into skeletons by now."

"If a law can be overturned after a generation or two, it's not worth calling a law, you idiot… Dammit. Looks like once it's my turn to take the post again, I'll have to hammer the rules back in myself. Hell, I'll go now if you let me."

"…Wait, really?"

"Enough, Lion. This isn't the time. And remember, the laws of the Shinsi supersede your personal policies. Any Priest assigned to the surface must follow the mandated lifespan. If you want the next rotation, fine. But switching in the middle is not allowed."

Monkyspanner had brightened at the idea, but Orochi's sharp voice cut in like a blade. His glare skewered both Monkyspanner and Lion, causing them to simultaneously lower their heads.

While the two of them were undeniably stronger in combat, when it came to law and order, Orochi's authority rendered brute strength meaningless.

"Also… Monkyspanner. There's something odd about this document. These adventurers—the ones called Darkness—why are there so many blanks in their records? Do we not have any proper background on them?"

"Oh, that? I don't know either. That's all the Guild provided. Just two members—'Momon,' a warrior, and 'Nabe,' a magic caster. Their origins? Unknown. Age? Unknown. They refused to disclose any personal information."

"…I see. Suspicious, to say the least."

Orochi nodded slowly. Suspicious? No—outright unnatural.

It was as if these people weren't even trying to properly hide their identities.

There were no fake backgrounds, no false affiliations, not even fabricated names or faces.

One of them even wore full-body black plate armor, completely hiding his appearance, with nothing on record about where he came from.

It was as if they had just dropped out of the sky.

And yet… they weren't hiding their strength at all. In fact, according to Monkyspanner's added notes, it was as if they were in a hurry to rise in rank.

What did that mean?

As the others fell into quiet contemplation, Kaguya cautiously raised her voice.

"…Everyone seems deep in thought. Mind if I ask a question, Monkyspanner?"

"Huh? Go ahead."

"This part here… the crater in the middle of the desert—it says the residual mana felt there was absurdly powerful, possibly even the result of an Overmagic spell. Could you explain why you think that?"

"…Well, you remember when you used Overmagic once? For some reason, it felt really similar to that. It gave off the same vibe."

"…That's it?"

"Y-Yeah…"

At that answer, Kaguya's rabbit ears stood rigidly upright. Her expression was perfectly calm—but blood vessels visibly bulged along the base of her ears. Monkyspanner instantly went stiff.

Earth High Priestess Kaguya, widely considered the strongest magic caster in Shinshi after their revered god, was deceptively cute with her rabbit beastkin appearance—though aside from her ears, she looked nearly human.

She rarely changed her expression, but her long ears revealed everything. And those ears now said she was furious.

If he wasn't careful, he might become a live test subject for Overmagic.

Monkyspanner's survival instincts kicked in hard.

"N-No! That's not all! The magical residue wasn't like Tier-10 magic! It felt different! Higher! I'm not a magic caster myself, so I can't say exactly what it was, but I know it was something else!"

"…I see. Thanks for the clarification."

Kaguya's ears slowly drooped, the veins vanishing. Monkyspanner let out a heavy sigh of relief.

Just then, Drake—who had been calmly reviewing the document—looked toward Tsaindoruks.

"So then… these Darkness adventurers are capable of casting Tier-10 death magic over a wide area and possibly using Overmagic. And they were involved with the vampire as well. The vampire seems to have been eliminated, but its remains weren't recovered… Is that accurate? What do you think, Chaa?"

"…There's still not enough information to be sure. However…" Tsaindoruks's voice sharpened, "I can say this with confidence: they are the catalyst for this century's Tremor. Their alignment—good or evil—is unknown. But they are undoubtedly the key."

"You think so too, then?"

Drake closed the file. "The Cycle," originally called the Aftershock of a Century by Tsaindoruks, was something he'd later identified through his research as a regular phenomenon: a temporary linking of Yggdrasil and this world. Every cycle, something from Yggdrasil would fall into this world.

Two hundred years ago, it had been the Thirteen Heroes. A hundred years ago, there had likely been another, though unrecorded. And now—these people. The ones known as Darkness. Possibly even that vampire.

With his thoughts gathered, Drake turned to the room.

"Looks like most of you have sorted out your thoughts. Let's hear your opinions."

"Then allow me to start."

A muscular hand, coated in smooth, dark-brown skin, rose. Its owner bore a pair of thick horns and a chiseled, bovine face.

Tauros, the Bull High Priest. Head of the Production Division—the most vital department in Shinshi. Like Lion, he rarely spoke during meetings. He usually just followed the majority.

"You may speak, Tauros."

"It's simple. I believe it is no longer wise for Shinshi to maintain any unnecessary connections with the surface world. In other words—I propose we sever all links aside from the absolute minimum."

"This is the unified will of our Production Division. And we will not bend on this."

Following him, three other priests and the Dwarf Governor solemnly nodded.

----------------

The Beautiful Rabbit Who Seeks the Truth

Name: Kaguya

Title: 12 High Priests of the Divine City (Shinshi), 4th Seat — Earth Priestess / Rabbit High Priestess.

Commander of the Magic Corps.

Director of the Magic Research Institute.

Residence: Rabbit Manor, 5th Stratum of Shinshi

Shinshi Magic Research Institute

Alignment: Good (Karma Score: 200)

Height: 167 cm (ears add an extra 35 cm)

...

Total Level: 100

Racial Levels: Rabbitfolk (10), Moon Rabbit (10), Others (Total: 30)

Class Levels: Wizard (10), Sorcerer (10), Archwizard (10), Lunar Mage (10), Seeker of Truth (5), Warlock (5), Others (Total: 70)

Stats:

HP: 50

MP: 100

Physical Attack: 25

Physical Defense: 60

Agility: 70

Magic Attack / Defense: 88 / 90

General Resistance: 80

Special: 80

Power Total: 643