Everyone holds their breath.

Even the knights who had fallen into despair.

Even Reinhardt, who had been racking his brain to escape the current situation.

Even Syrkal, whose mouth hung open in shock.

Even Deus, who had been desperately maintaining his threads to block the black mana.

[-!]

Even the Apostle of Sloth, who had been striking down to kill Alon.

In that moment, as everyone held their breath, Alon, emitting blue lightning so bright it illuminated the ashen world, silently extended his hand and made a small motion.

A minuscule flick, barely noticeable unless one looked closely.

However.

The lightning that small movement unleashed shot out in an instant.

It began to massacre the small spiders.

BZZZZZT!!!

Chaotic blue lines started etching themselves across the ashen world.

At times moving in straight lines, at times shifting erratically.

The lightning mercilessly pierced through the spiders’ bodies, and within seconds, wiped out every spider in the ruins.

The first to react to this sight was none other than the Apostle of Sloth.

‘It must be dealt with now!’

The Apostle of Sloth, who had merged with Krakscha.

Sensing an instinctive threat from the being before him, he retrieved his disintegrating leg, and without the slightest hesitation, immediately scattered black mana, lunging at Alon to crush him.

Because he knew it with absolute certainty.

This was the only chance to deal with the being before him.

No— even now, it was already too late.

[Dieeeee—!!!]

Letting out a monstrous shriek to drive away the suffocating fear surging toward him, the Apostle of Sloth hurled his massive form toward Alon.

Yet, faced with such a desperate onslaught, Alon’s gaze remained utterly—

“……”

Serene.

As if nothing happening before him mattered at all.

Simply, serenely.

He watched the massive form charging toward him.

And just as it was about to reach him— Marquis Palatio raised his hand toward the sky.

Simultaneously—

BOOOOOOM—!!!!

A deafening roar shook the heavens as if the entire world had exploded.

And in his grasp—

BZZZZT~!!!!

—was lightning.

As if he had torn it straight from the sky.

Countless arcs of electricity streaked between the ground and sky,

converging into Alon’s hand.

The lightning, twisting and contorting as if about to burst,

ultimately settled within his palm.

And in the very moment the Apostle of Sloth lifted his remaining leg—

A voice rang out.

Heaven’s Wrath (天).

A quiet yet overwhelmingly clear voice.

And then—

What the Apostle of Sloth saw was—

[A—]

A pure white world blooming within the ashen expanse.

BOOOOOOM!

Light.

It swept across the land.

A piercing mechanical whine, far surpassing its threshold, consumed all sound.

The blinding radiance robbed the knights of their sight.

Everything was swallowed whole, and a void of sensation took hold of the world.

And then.

The moment their senses returned— what lay before their eyes was— a massive spider, pierced clean through from head to torso, completely motionless.

“……”

And standing before it, gazing down in silence, was Alon, wreathed in lightning.

“Ah—”

A low gasp escaped from the lips of one of the knights.

The unmistakable reverence in his eyes spread like wildfire to all those around him.

Not just the knights.

But also to Reinhardt.

To Deus.

And—

To Syrkal.

“……”

She blankly stared at the radiant man.

She had never once doubted his existence.

Yet, even so.

That did not mean she had been without doubt.

No matter how deeply she had devoted herself, a sliver of uncertainty had always lingered.

Because Syrkal had never once seen Kalannon with her own eyes.

There had been stories passed down.

There had been near-certain speculation.

There had been the unwavering conviction of the previous chieftain, whose judgment had never been wrong.

Yet, there had been no tangible proof.

That one missing piece had planted a seed of doubt in Syrkal’s heart.

Perhaps.

Just perhaps, she had been mistaken all along.

Perhaps the former chieftain, who had never once erred, had been wrong this time.

A doubt, minuscule in size.

Yet at this very moment—

“Ah……”

It vanished, as if it had never existed.

Because she knew.

What the blue lightning coursing through Marquis Palatio’s body truly was.

What the antlers sprouting from his head signified.

And so, Syrkal— she lowered her head in reverence and faith to the great deity she worshipped.

***

“Whew—”

As Alon’s hair, which had been standing on end, gradually settled, he felt the antlers atop his head slowly fading away.

Letting out a small sigh, he clenched his left hand.

Tremble—

His left hand shook uncontrollably, against his will.

A sharp numbness spread through it, as if blood had stopped flowing.

For a brief moment, Alon worried—had his left hand been permanently damaged?

But he couldn’t afford to dwell on it.

‘My body feels like it’s falling apart…’

Beyond his left hand, a searing pain racked his entire body, as if he might shatter at any moment.

‘If I move even a little, I might scream.’

The pain was worse than when he had been bleeding out after his encounter with Ulthultus—so intense it made his vision blur.

Yet Alon didn’t show it.

He couldn’t.

Because every single person around him was watching.

Their faces were filled not just with awe, but with something closer to divine reverence.

Their eyes were wide, their mouths slightly open, as if they were beholding a god made flesh.

‘……This attention is a bit much.’

Alon wasn’t the type to care about others’ gazes.

At least, not under normal circumstances.

But in this situation, where he was the sole focus of such open veneration—

‘I have no choice but to endure.’

He had no intention of collapsing from pain in front of them.

……Even if, the looks of “reverence” were to suddenly cool into mere “respect,”

That would be— A little embarrassing, even for Alon.

But just then—

[Still, I’m glad the first attempt went well.]

“1”

Kalannon’s voice echoed in his head, and before Alon could even react, the voice continued.

[No need to reply. I wouldn’t hear you anyway at this point. I’m just delivering my message, so just listen.]

Straight to the point, as always.

[I’ll keep it to three things. First—Even with my help, you actually managed to manifest properly. That’s impressive. It’s not something that usually succeeds so easily.]

[Second—Your body is probably in excruciating pain right now, but if you plan on using divinity again, don’t bother healing yourself. I’ll explain why later.]

[Lastly, I need you to retrieve something for me. There’s a pair of deer antlers buried somewhere in these ruins. You must find them. Without them, we won’t be able to communicate anymore, and I won’t be able to teach you anything about divinity.]

Got it? It’s really important! Really! I’m counting on you~!

Kalannon repeated the request multiple times, emphasizing its importance, and finally—

With one last, “Please, I’m begging you!”

The voice faded away.

“……Well, looks like that’s settled for now.”

Alon sighed softly, committing the girl’s words to memory.

Then—

Boom!

A massive tremor echoed from a distance.

Despite having just defeated the Apostle of Sloth and the monstrous Krakscha, the sound made Alon turn his head.

“What…?”

His mouth fell open before he even realized it.

It had barely been a few seconds since he had sighed in relief— and yet,  now, even from deep within the forest, he could see it clearly.

A massive horde of monsters.

“What the hell is that?”

“They’re mutants from the Selvanus region! It looks like they lost control of their territory to the black mana, but now that it’s gone, they’re returning immediately!”

“Why does nothing ever end in one go?!”

The urgency in Reinhardt and Syrkal’s voices reached his ears.

Thud, thud, thud!

But even in that short moment, the mutated creatures had already drawn near.

Reinhardt swiftly drew his sword, but his face was filled with dismay.

And for good reason.

If it were just one or two monsters, Reinhardt wouldn’t have been so tense.

But unfortunately, there were at least eight of them.

Meaning, it was practically impossible for him to take them on alone.

Deus was already exhausted, having exceeded his limits.

And even though Alon looked fine on the surface, Reinhardt could tell that he wasn’t in great condition.

“Looks like I have no choice…!”

Reinhardt steeled himself.

He gripped his sword tightly and prepared to charge forward.

But just as he did—

Splurt—!

The head of the leading mutant exploded.

“?”

The unexpected, instantaneous event left everyone in shock.

And before they could even comprehend what had happened—

Thunk! Thudududu!

As if confirming the reality before them, the rolling, blood-soaked head of the fallen mutant skidded across the ruined ground.

But it wasn’t just one.

A moment later—

A snake’s head was split cleanly in two, spilling blood in the air.

A wolf-like mutant’s skull was crushed beyond recognition, its brains splattering in all directions.

And a creature with dozens of tentacles had its torso torn apart, painting the green forest red.

The massive mutants hadn’t even had a chance to strike before—

An instant massacre had unfolded.

As everyone stood frozen, unable to comprehend what had happened—

“Heh, man, it feels good to stretch a little after so long.”

A girl emerged from the field of slaughter, stepping over the fallen mutants.

Everyone held their breath at the sight.

Not because she was leading some strange group.

Not because of her beauty.

The reason every single person instinctively froze was—

“Well, I’m a little late, but.”

The overwhelming aura radiating from her.

A primal, suffocating pressure.

The kind that warned—

If they moved even an inch, they would die.

It wasn’t just enough to make knights hesitate.

It—

“Kh—”

“Guh—”

Made them collapse.

One by one, knights began fainting, unable to withstand the sheer force of her presence.

But the girl—no, the King of a Hundred Ghosts—

Didn’t spare them a glance.

As if their existence didn’t even register to her.

Instead—

“Anyway, long time no see!”

With an impossibly cheerful voice and an energetic wave, she greeted Alon.

“……???”

Those who barely managed to remain standing turned to stare at Alon in unison.

But—

“……????”

Alon was just as confused as they were.