In the ashen world, the first to make a move was Alon.

“!”

Alon, moving so fast that even Agu reacted a beat late, instantly kicked him in the stomach.

Kwaaaang!!!!

Agu shot through the air like a cannonball.

At the same time, lightning surrounding Alon scattered in all directions, burning everything around him and forming the shape of wings.

The impact was excessive for just a single movement.

The mouths of the surviving merchants and soldiers gaped open as if they would tear apart, and hope flickered in their eyes.

After sending Agu flying like a cannonball, Alon immediately reached out toward the air.

Pazzzzzzt-!!!!!

Massive bolts of lightning connecting the ashen world radiated in all directions, gathering into a colossal bolt in Alon’s grasp.

The lightning, absorbing energy with terrifying intensity as if it intended to consume everything—including Alon himself—swelled in an instant, splitting the ashen sky and earth.

Divine Punishment (天伐).

The lightning struck toward Agu, who was rolling on the ground.

!

The ashen world turned stark white.

It devoured the senses of the merchants and mercenaries.

The earth quaked.

And when their vision returned, what they saw was—

A conical fissure splitting the ashen land.

The merchants and mercenaries, who had regarded the overwhelming power with awe instead of hope, only had a brief moment to react.

“That’s insane—”

“He’s alive.”

It didn’t take long for their eyes to shift from astonishment to shock.

Within the massive conical crater Alon had created—

“Hah—This is beyond expectations.”

Agu (鬼), who had just been on the receiving end of a one-sided attack, smirked grimly as he looked at Alon.

Agu’s body bore many wounds.

However, none of them were severe enough to affect his combat ability.

Rine, who had been staring blankly until now, frowned.

“…….

Yet Alon showed no emotional disturbance whatsoever.

‘As expected, it’s not working.’

Agu exuded a relaxed composure.

Alon wasn’t surprised by that.

He had somewhat expected it.

‘To begin with, Agu is not someone I can deal with at my current level.’

The leader of one of the four major factions.

They were characters who appeared in the latter half of Psychedelia, only manageable when the protagonist and most of his allies reached nearly max level in the game.

Something had gone terribly wrong, though, as Agu now seemed to possess the power of Greed.

The creatures from the inner world that Agu controlled were never originally so grotesque and bizarre—they had singular forms.

And the humanoid scar on Agu’s chest hadn’t been there before.

In other words, no matter what Alon did at this moment, he could not bring Agu down.

“I was a little surprised, and it’s quite interesting, so I’ll entertain you a little longer. Heh.”

As if fully aware of this reality, Agu waved his hand dismissively, taunting him.

However, despite recognizing the despair of the situation, Alon did not feel despair.

Because he already had a plan in mind.

A way to do something about Agu standing before him.

Alon subtly shifted his gaze toward Rine.

He noticed Penia whispering something to her.

Pazzzzzzt!!

Without hesitation, Alon ignited his lightning and charged at Agu.

This time, even though Agu caught sight of Alon’s movement, he simply stood still, smirking as if daring him to try.

His confidence was something Alon could understand.

After all, Alon’s divine energy was gradually dissipating over time, whereas Agu—aside from his numerous but superficial wounds—was completely intact.

At this point.

Considering Agu’s personality in Psychedelia, to him, Alon was nothing more than an amusing toy—nothing more, nothing less.

But,

“Hoo—!”

Precisely because of that, Alon’s plan could be realized.

The moment Alon reached Agu, he gathered all his strength into his legs.

In response, the surrounding electricity concentrated at Alon’s feet.

Pazzzzzzt!!

He struck Agu with a kick.

Kwaaaang~!

With a deafening crash, Agu was once again blasted away like a cannonball.

Yet, even then, he continued to smirk at Alon.

As if mocking him—was this all he could do?

But in response to that reaction, Alon, beneath his expressionless face, smiled.

Because with this, he had achieved his goal.

Agu’s vision shifted.

From the empty ashen world to a vividly colored, violet-hued world.

The moment Agu realized he had entered the Forbidden Gate and saw Alon following in after him with a puzzled look—

Crackkk!

Until just a moment ago, Alon had been scattering lightning everywhere.

But now, he immediately dispelled it and formed a seal with his hands.

At that moment—

“……”

Agu sensed something was wrong.

‘What—!’

A sudden transformation within the space.

For the first time, a trace of panic crossed Agu’s face.

The Forbidden Gate’s world, which had been completely intact—

Crunch—Craaaack!!!

—Began to collapse.

The momentary panic over the sudden situation was brief.

‘……This is dangerous…………!’

Realizing that the collapse was caused by Alon, Agu immediately tried to rush at him.

“!”

Unfortunately for him, he failed.

At the moment Agu attempted to dash forward, a massive gate formed above Alon’s head.

“Pluto: Limited Deployment.”

And then—

Rine’s voice rang in Agu’s ears.

“Divine Punishment.”

A colossal mechanical hand rushed toward Agu.

Agu immediately twisted his body to evade, unleashing countless monstrous entities.

Using them as footholds, he attempted to escape from Pluto’s grasp.

But—

“!”

For just a brief moment.

Penia’s magic bound his legs.

Agu shattered the restraining spell in an instant with a mere shake of his body.

However—

The fleeting moment created by that magic—

Kwaaaang~!!

—Was enough for Pluto’s hand to reach Agu.

Simultaneously, six hands formed behind Alon’s back.

Hand Seals. Six Bindings.

As he completed the binding seal, the Forbidden Gate’s world shattered like glass, giving way to the abyss.

Snowflake (雪花).

The moment Alon completed the final seal—

The world, now completely broken,

“!!!!!”

Cast Agu into the abyss.

“Now, now, Marquis! Stop! You must stop! Aaaaaah! Falling, falling, falling, falling, falling, falling, falling, falling, falling, falling—aaaaack~!!!!”

Penia flailed in panic as she confirmed that Agu had been cast into the abyss, while Alon cut off the magic he had been performing.

And then.

Thud!

The shattered Forbidden Gate world began to return to its original form.

The world, cracked like broken glass, was restored as if time had reversed.

Tududududuk~!

Finally, after confirming that the void where Agu had been thrown had been completely filled—

“…..Hah.”

Alon let out a small sigh and sank to the ground.

####

“……I thought I was going to die.”

“Hohohoho~ So, Marquis, how was it? My perfect plan?”

As the Forbidden Gate was restored without a scratch, Alon muttered under his breath.

Penia, now brimming with pride, asked as if she hadn’t just been panicking moments ago.

Alon let out a small chuckle.

“I had my doubts, but it was flawless.”

“Right? I mean, I analyzed your magic and calculated everything myself while searching for the Forbidden Gate, so honestly, failure was never an option.”

“……Is that so?”

“Yes, remember when you were away for a bit? I went then.”

“You saved us all, then.”

“Heh.”

Penia puffed up her chest and exhaled sharply, as if demanding more praise.

Normally, she would have seemed arrogant.

But right now, Alon was more than willing to praise her over and over again.

“Even though you had warned me that space-time would distort due to the Forbidden Gate phenomenon, I didn’t expect it to be this extreme.”

“Well, to be honest, even I didn’t anticipate this much. Based on the magic level I observed from you before, the collapse should have been weaker than this.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Given your total mana capacity, I didn’t think you’d be able to bring down the entire Forbidden Gate world…… Maybe I miscalculated?”

Penia muttered to herself, lost in thought.

Alon then shifted his gaze to Rine, who was still staring blankly in the direction where Agu had been thrown.

“Are you alright?”

“Ah—”

Rine finally snapped back to reality and nodded.

“Yes, Godfather, thank you for your concern.”

“I’m glad to hear that, but you don’t look well.”

Rine hesitated, then gave an awkward smile.

“……Sorry, I must have worried you. It’s just—something is bothering me.”

“Agu?”

“Yes. I just wonder… if this is really the end.”

At her words, Penia shrugged and interjected.

“If that’s what you’re worried about, don’t be. No matter how strong that Agu guy is, he got thrown into the abyss. We won’t be seeing him again.”

“……Can we really believe that?”

“Hoho, of course! Beyond the abyss, there’s no mana, no nothing, and space-time is completely tangled. Survival is practically impossible. At most, we might be able to find some traces of him?”

She then quickly added—

“Though, with the space-time distortions, his body would probably be shredded into a thousand pieces, so at best, we might find a scrap of flesh or something.”

Clearing her throat, Penia then turned to Alon.

“Ahem, so, Marquis.”

“Yes?”

“I worked really hard, you know? I feel like I did something super helpful this time, too, and well—”

She glanced sideways at Alon expectantly.

Alon watched her for a moment before chuckling.

“When we return, I’ll give you one of my artifacts.”

“Really?!”

“Yes.”

“Kyaaa!! I knew I could count on you!”

Penia jumped up and down with a bright, triumphant expression.

She then quickly spun around and declared—

“Let’s go! We need to finish our journey!”

With sparkling eyes, she stepped through the Forbidden Gate’s exit.

“Let’s go too.”

“Yes, Godfather.”

Alon followed after her with Rine.

But then—

Swoosh~!

Penia suddenly backstepped, returning inside the Forbidden Gate.

“?”

Ignoring Alon’s puzzled expression, she stepped out of the gate again—

Swoosh~!

Only to immediately backpedal and re-enter.

“……What are you doing?”

After repeating this odd behavior several times, Alon finally asked.

Then Penia—

“Marquis…….”

“…?”

“Ahaha— I feel like my eyes might be playing tricks on me… Something feels… really off.”

She forced out an obviously mechanical, awkward laugh.

Hearing that, Alon stepped out of the Forbidden Gate himself—

And was met with—

“?”

Nothing but barren land.

No, to be precise—

“…!”

A ruined world.

The same devastated world he had seen every time he went to meet Kylrus.

A world where nothing existed.

“What the……?”

Amidst the absolute void,

Alon could only murmur blankly.