The underground.

Beneath the southern edge of the Allied Kingdom Alliance, under the wasteland.

A place where not a single ray of light reaches.

A place inhabited solely by Agu (ghouls), where they should have been running wild, devouring one another.

No—truthfully, they were already rampaging.

Because the newly appointed leader was killed just days after rising, returning awareness to the ghouls.

Thus, the ghouls repeated their vicious cycle of fighting once again.

‘It’ also joined in the savage cycle of devouring and being devoured, consuming its own kind.

Until she appeared.

The ghouls, who had been preying on each other, immediately sensed the presence of intruders descending into the depths.

They ceased fighting and turned to look in one direction.

There stood a beastkin.

A beastkin with golden eyes that shone even in the abyss.

The moment they recognized that presence, the ghouls, without exception, charged toward the beastkin.

Intruders were never welcome.

In their internal battles to choose a leader, outsiders were just pointless obstacles.

■—!!!

The ghouls shrieked in dreadful, grating screams as they surged forward.

Whether the enemy was strong or weak didn’t really matter.

After all, as long as their soul cores remained, ghouls would endlessly resurrect.

That’s why they charged even at ‘it,’ who had devoured far more of its kin than others.

Yet, the ghouls that got close to the beastkin were all slaughtered in no time.

The reason—

Crackle!!!

—was the golden lightning that erupted from the beastkin’s body.

That golden light swallowed the ghouls.

Everything that had swarmed around was erased into nothingness.

Even so, the remaining ghouls did not stop.

Though hundreds vanished in an instant, they continued to charge in waves.

No, if anything, they let out eerie giggles as they flew at Seolrang.

Because unless the sealing stone was destroyed, the ghouls would not vanish.

An endless clash of power.

Ghouls charged relentlessly, and lightning annihilated them again and again.

Then—

“…I heard it. That all I have to do is destroy the sealing stone.”

Seolrang spoke, her golden eyes gleaming brilliantly—

“But I don’t want to kill you all that easily.”

Softly,

“…You who killed my Master,”

She said as if making a vow.   ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by novel{f}ire.net

“Must die in the most agonizing way possible.”

She murmured.

Soon after—

Crack!

The golden lightning turned black.

Crackle!!!

The air in the underground raged, and thick black lightning shot out in all directions.

At that moment, the ghouls who had been charging like mad all came to a sudden stop.

It was instinct.

Yes, they would not die as long as the sealing stone remained.

But the thousands, tens of thousands of ghouls here—

Those who were so consumed by hunger they would even open their jaws at their leader—

Instinctively realized.

If they were touched by that black lightning radiating from the beastkin— if they were touched by that which only the ‘black beings’ who created the ghouls could emit— they would be completely annihilated.

And then—

“The most—”

Amidst the black lightning, Seolrang’s deeply sunken golden eyes glared at the ghouls.

“Agonizing death.”

Her fierce, merciless gaze shone sharply.

***

“Tsk. As expected, it’s not working.”

A few hours after Alon had returned.

Breaking the long silence, a faint murmur reached Alon’s ears.

“Of course it wouldn’t work. It was never possible for a non-True Mage to use something only True Mages can wield.”

“Exactly.”

“At this point, maybe he’s too embarrassed to come back down? I heard he confidently said to show him Agathon.”

“More likely he’s too scared to come down. He spoke so confidently about activating Agathon, but if he fails, the wrath of those higher-ups who had high hopes will be immense.”

The murmuring of the soldiers.

Alon looked around.

Indeed, the expressions of the kings had changed.

Their faces once filled with hopeful expectation.

Now, though they tried to hide it, disappointment was clear to anyone.

Even the blacksmiths who had restored Agathon to working condition were the same.

“So it really is impossible, huh.”

“We had some hope since she was brought by the Outer God, but—”

“Without Agathon, what are we supposed to do now…”

As Alon listened to the hushed whispers,

Just as he was about to approach Rine, who still stood motionless—

“Ah~”

A small sound of realization escaped Rine’s lips.

As if something had clicked, her eyes opened wide,

And at that moment—

Wooooong~!!

The cube, which hadn’t moved at all until just now, trembled with a strange resonant hum.

Clack-clack-clack!

And began to transform.

What had once fit snugly into Alon’s palm

Rapidly grew in size.

And in no time, the finely crafted device seemed to come alive.

It twisted and contorted in an instant, forming a massive new shape.

“N-no way.”

“She’s not even a True Mage, and she activated Agathon?”

“What in the—”

The soldiers and blacksmiths, who had been skeptical, all at once widened their eyes in disbelief.

“!”

Likewise, the faces of the kings watching Rine lit up with anticipation.

Agathon, which had just been a small cube, had now transformed into the shape of a massive cannon.

“Oh—Ohhh!”

The atmosphere that had been dominated by doubt and sighs was suddenly overturned.

Even to Alon, the Agathon revealed amidst everyone’s admiration felt foreign.

Its bizarre design looked more fitting for a future generation than the current world.

Yet, no one showed any resistance toward it.

All because of the strange magical sigils etched across Agathon.

“Whoa—crazy—what is that magic circle!?”

Penia, standing nearby, let out an exclamation for a slightly different reason.

As Rine, who had deployed Agathon, hesitated briefly, she began asking the blacksmiths some questions.

Meanwhile—

“Lord Alon.”

The kings, their faces now bright with hope, approached Alon.

“We truly thank you. You’ve helped us in so many ways.”

As Surang bowed his head, Alon pointed beside him.

“You should thank Rine, not me.”

“Understood. However—”

“?”

“Is Lady Rine… perhaps a True Mage?”

A cautious question.

Recalling what Dowon had told him, Alon shook his head.

“She’s not.”

“I see. Then how did she manage to activate Agathon—”

Surang was full of wonder.

He cautiously asked one more question.

“May I ask one more thing?”

“Go ahead.”

“What is your relationship with Lady Rine…?”

Though Alon wondered why he was curious about that now, he took a moment to consider how to answer.

Of course, Alon and Rine were very close.

But it was hard to explain that clearly to others.

Just then—

“I’m his daughter.”

Rine, having finished speaking with the blacksmiths, approached and answered for him.

“Right?”

“…Well, I suppose so.”

When Rine sought confirmation, Alon nodded for now.

At this, Surang exclaimed in surprise.

“You’re an Outer God, yet you had a daughter at such a young age!”

Surang nodded as if he understood.

…Though it seemed like a ridiculous misunderstanding,

Alon didn’t bother to correct it.

Explaining would only make things unnecessarily complicated.

“Anyway, since Agathon is now operational,”

“We can start preparing properly. Let’s move to a different location and talk there.”

###

“Then let’s begin preparations starting tomorrow.”

“Let’s do that.”

“We should be able to move to the World Tree’s location within a week.”

“The plan is fully set, so let’s stop here for today.”

Around the time the gray sky turned dim— after finalizing all the plans, Alon, having stepped away, heard some intriguing information from Rine.

“…Agathon wasn’t made by True Mages?”

“Yes, Godfather. I think the reason some said only True Mages could use it was because a few of them were able to interpret and use it. But this is a weapon from the Alaneph Empire.”

“The same one that made Pluton?”

“Yes. I thought maybe you already knew that, but I still wanted to tell you.”

…?

Alon felt puzzled for a moment.

‘How would I know that…?’

He tilted his head, wondering if he had ever told Rine he knew about Alaneph.

But only for a brief moment.

‘That aside, it really is amazing. How did an ancient empire create something like this?’

Lost in thought, Alon found himself standing in front of his room.

“…Magrina?”

He spotted Magrina waiting for him.

“Could I have a word with you, if you don’t mind?”

There was a gloom shadowing one side of her face.

###

“…My Lord, could you tell me why I wasn’t afflicted by the curse?”

“Unfortunately, that’s impossible.”

Alon led Magrina into the garden.

When she asked in a trembling voice and Alon shook his head, Magrina hesitated for a moment—

“I thought so…”

Then murmured with a bitter smile.

“None of the gods I’ve asked could explain why I wasn’t cursed…”

“You’ve asked other gods too?”

“…Yes. But even Lord Yongrin and Lady Dowon couldn’t explain why I wasn’t affected.”

In the garden, so poorly maintained that even a single flower was hard to find, a long silence settled.

At the center of it, Magrina, her head bowed low, suddenly spoke.

“Why… was I born like this?”

“…What do you mean?”

“Why was I born with a body immune to the curse? If only I had been cursed like the other elves—”

If that had been the case, she might’ve been happier.

Her voice barely audible.

There were no tears in Magrina’s eyes.

Only emptiness remained.

Her eyes filled with resignation, having given up on everything.

A situation Alon had seen before.

He was reminded of the same anguish he had seen in Ryanga.

He could offer comfort.

But he feared that shallow consolation from someone who hadn’t experienced it might only cause more harm.

Still, saying nothing at all didn’t seem like the right choice either.

After some thought, Alon carefully organized his thoughts and spoke.

“To be honest, I can’t ease your pain. Words alone won’t help.”

“But I can listen to you.”

“…Listen to me?”

“Yes. It may not solve anything, but just having someone to talk to might ease your heart a little.”

After speaking, Alon wondered to himself, ‘Was that the right thing to say?’

He had chosen his words carefully to avoid hurting her further,

But he couldn’t be certain.

Just as he began to worry again—

“Thank you so much… Then, could I speak for a while?”

Though her eyes remained hollow, Magrina looked up at him as if clinging to a lifeline, and Alon quietly nodded.

The bench was old and worn from lack of upkeep.

They sat down with a comfortable distance between them.

“…So, um.”

Now that they were settled, Magrina found it hard to begin.

Seeing her discomfort, Alon made a suggestion.

“Call me casually.”

“Pardon…?”

“You seem uncomfortable.”

“But—”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about formal titles like ‘Lord’ or ‘Divine One.’ Call me however you like.”

At that, Magrina looked up at Alon.

“Uh, then…”

She slowly said the word.

“Uncle…?”

“…Ah, Uncle?”

“S-sorry!”

“No, no. I was just a bit surprised since no one’s called me that before.”

“…I just heard you had a daughter, so…”

“Ah…”

Magrina’s cautious explanation reminded Alon of his earlier conversation with Surang.

“Then… how about older brother?”

With her new suggestion—

“That does sound much better.”

Alon nodded right away.

“…At first,”

Magrina’s story truly began.

A very long story.

And when it finally ended— Alon let out a small sigh of relief.

Because on Magrina’s face, which had once held nothing but emptiness—

“Thank you so much, Brother.”

A small smile had bloomed.