Alon walked, blankly staring at the city before him.

The ruins remained unchanged from 700 years ago.

Why hadn’t he realized this sooner?

He was lost in thought for only a moment.

Soon, he emerged from the long tunnel and arrived at the ruins.

And Alon became even more certain.

That this had once been the capital of the other races.

Several questions arose in his mind.

‘Why is it underground?’

As far as Alon remembered, though it had been gray, the sky had definitely been visible in the capital of the other races.

Though the sky might be seen if one broke through the wall here, this place was clearly underground.

Another question soon arose.

‘And the name of this ruin is the City of the Old God, Kahara… Ah.’

Then Alon realized.

There was no real reason to dwell on that point.

‘The City of the Old God, Kahara’ wasn’t a name given because something was found here.

It was likely a name given by the first explorer who discovered the ruins.

Some questions remained unanswered, while others were unexpectedly easy to resolve.

Having sorted through his thoughts to a degree, Alon said, “I'll get going.”

“I’ll wait here, Master!”

“Have a safe trip.”

“Yeah.”

Receiving farewells from Seolrang and Evan, he walked toward the center.

Because the person who could answer his unresolved questions was here.

“Whew—”

Arriving at the tower in the center of the ruins, Alon began ascending without hesitation.

At the top of the tower, which he hadn’t visited in a very long time,

[It’s been a while.]

He saw the figure of a god, now different from before.

[Oh?]

Perhaps noticing Alon’s reaction, the god looked down at him with a smile.

Alon gazed up at the figure.

The first thing he saw was long blue hair that reached the waist.

Next were eyes so blue they bordered on icy.

And lastly, a long, elegant blue tail.

[Hmm? Did you fall for me after seeing my true form?]

The dragonkin chuckled as if she had found a fun new toy in Alon’s reaction.

But Alon wasn’t staring at the dragonkin because he had fallen for her.

It was because a certain connection had just sparked in his mind.

A connection that allowed him to guess the name of the god before him.

So Alon, silent for a moment, said,

“...Yongrin?”

He uttered the name as if to confirm it.

At that, her previously smiling face subtly changed.

[...I never told you my name.]

She questioned him.

Then, as if realizing something, Yongrin’s eyes widened.

[...How did you meet Dowon?]

She immediately figured out what Alon had not said.

Yongrin’s expression grew complicated and mysterious.

After a moment of silence, Alon said,

“...It may be hard to believe, but I traveled to the past.”

He slowly began recounting what he had experienced.

####

[That’s true?]

“Yes.”

Unlike before, when she always stayed perched on a bookshelf so Alon had to look up at her, Yongrin had now come down to his level.

After hearing everything, she showed clear disbelief.

[Well… I suppose it would be stranger not to believe, since Dowon’s traces still remain.]

Soon, she nodded as if she understood.

“...Then, you really are Yongrin?”

[Yes.]

“But if I remember correctly, didn’t you say you sealed yourself away because you were afraid to fight the Black Ones?”

As the dragonkin—or rather, Yongrin—nodded, Alon asked what had been bothering him.

The one Alon fought had been Baarma, not the Black Ones.

To that, Yongrin rolled her eyes and looked at Alon.

“?”

Alon tilted his head in confusion.

After a moment of evading the question, Yongrin finally said,

[...Don’t people often tell you that you’re slow to catch on?]

“Slow to catch on?”

[Haa—]

She let out a long sigh.

[...Yeah, you’re right. I did say that when I met you.]

“Then was I mistaken?”

[Of course not.]

“Then?”

At Alon’s follow-up question, Yongrin sighed again.

[Th—]

She blushed slightly and shouted,

[I just said it like that, okay!?]

“Why?”

[Why, you ask—]

Yongrin fiddled with her bangs for no reason.

Her fingers twisted and untwisted strands of her hair.

Unable to meet Alon’s eyes directly, she turned her head to the side.

[Well, wouldn’t it sound pathetic? The other gods fought the Black Ones and vanished in a grand epic, but I… I survived, only to run away during the Baarma incident, using sacrifice as a pretext.]

She mumbled with a slightly gloomy look.

“...But didn’t you actually buy time with your sacrifice?”

Alon asked, but Yongrin shook her head.

[No, it was running away. Back then, I was the one leading them. I should have taken responsibility to the end. But in the end—]

She gazed into the air, as if recalling the past, then murmured,

[I passed the responsibility onto them instead of bearing it myself.]

“But still, didn’t you buy them time with your sacrifice?”

[That doesn’t matter. What matters is that, despite exercising authority over those who worshipped me, I failed to fulfill my duty.]

Alon was about to say something but closed his mouth.

Not only was he someone who couldn’t fully understand the burden Yongrin bore, but he also didn’t want to trample on values she held dear under the guise of comfort.

Values could vary greatly in importance depending on the person.

And Alon understood that very well.

So instead of offering comfort, he said,

“Still, there was no one who resented you.”

[...What?]

“The soldiers, the king, all of them. They may have grieved your sacrifice, but none of them resented you.”

He stated the fact plainly.

[Thank you.]

“That’s sudden...?”

[If what you say is true, then had you not defeated Baarma, those who worshipped me wouldn’t have survived.]

Yongrin sincerely expressed her gratitude to Alon.

####

Right after that—

[...You can't hear anything?]

"Yeah, I couldn’t hear anything at all even after holding onto it for a few months."

Alon took out the jewel and handed it to Yongrin.

The reason he had intended to visit her in the first place.

[Hmm~]

Yongrin furrowed her brow as she examined the jewel intensely.

Then, as if she had realized something, she let out a quiet exclamation.

[It looks like it suffered a shock.]

“A shock?”

[Yes, this jewel was originally reconstructed using the divine power I had left, but it seems like some other divine force seeped into it and caused some misalignment.]

“It wasn’t just an ordinary gem?”

[It contains the soul of a mage. Of course, it’s not a regular jewel.]

Yongrin levitated the red gem into the air and began forming geometric patterns.

The patterns were different—somewhat foreign compared to the divine power and magic that Alon used.

After a short while—

[All done.]

“...Is it over now?”

[Yes. You should be able to communicate again in about a day.]

Yongrin returned the ring to Alon.

[By the way, did you finally manage to acquire your own spell technique?]

“Yeah.”

[So, what law did you distort?]

“I thought you already knew.”

[I do know it’s something about reversing the heavens, but I’m not exactly sure what kind of law it is.]

As Yongrin asked, Alon thought for a moment.

“It’s a power that overturns the laws of magic.”

He admitted.

“...What?”

Yongrin’s relaxed eyes widened once more.

“??”

A visibly shocked expression.

Alon was confused by her reaction.

####

The Apostle of Purity wore a deeply displeased expression.

He was only walking toward the communal cavern entrance.

So why did he look so annoyed?

Was it because someone had disrespected him?

No.

Was the cave too dark?

No.

Was it the tension of meeting the one who waited at the end of this cave?

Not that either.

Certainly, the being at the end of this path—

The very thing he had come to see, this vessel of Purity—

Was a being even the Apostle of Purity had to feel wary of.

But that wasn’t the reason for his displeasure.

What truly irritated him—

...Why is the lighting only on one side?

Was the fact that the cave was lit only on one side.

Unable to smooth out his frown, the Apostle of Purity clicked his tongue.

“Tch—”

He snapped his fingers sharply.

And in that moment—

Bzzzzzt—!

The lights that had gently illuminated the cave a moment before were all cleanly severed and dropped to the floor.

As if sliced in a single stroke.

“Phew—”

Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

With lighter steps, he soon arrived at a massive cavern.

At the center of the cavern, he saw a man and a woman standing behind his chair.

Two individuals with chillingly unnatural auras.

The Apostle focused his gaze on the man among them.

A smile twisted onto his lips.

He had reviewed him several times for investigation, but the reality surpassed all expectations.

It was almost to the point where he could summon that one right now without any further preparation.

But of course, the Apostle had no intention of doing so yet.

The vessel offered to that great being must be endlessly perfect.

That was why he had come here—to ensure that perfection.

“Nice to meet you.”

The Apostle greeted with a smile.

The seated man looked at him expressionlessly.

“You're the merchant, then?”

“Rather than a merchant, I see myself as someone who shares hope.”

Speaking of hope, the Apostle pulled out a cube.

The man glanced at the cube.

“Hope? That’s hope?”

“To those without power, it certainly is. Just absorbing it gives one strength. Wasn’t that why you asked to meet me—because you were interested in this?”

He spoke confidently, as if he already knew everything.

A moment of silence passed.

“So, what’s the price?”

At Nangwon’s follow-up, the Apostle’s lips curled into a smile.

The vessel, who was said to be obsessed with power.

Just as he’d heard, the man clearly showed strong interest in the essence of the abyss.

As the events played out just as he had predicted, the Apostle felt pleased.

And then he spoke of the price he had in mind.

“Money isn’t necessary. I just want you to take care of someone.”

To easily remove a troublesome nuisance.

“Alon Palatio—the marquis of the Kingdom of Asteria.”

The Apostle uttered the name.

With a satisfied smile.

And then—

“...Alon Palatio?”

“Yes.”

The Apostle replied.

“You want me to take care of him?”

“That’s right.”

That was when something felt off.

“...?”

Nothing had changed.

The King of Curses still sat in his place, looking down at the Apostle.

The woman behind him remained the same.

But then—

Shiver—!

His body... wouldn’t move.

As if he had been struck by something.

In that moment—

“....”

The Apostle realized it.

Why his body wouldn’t move.

It was killing intent.

A viscous, suffocating intent to kill, so strong that even his instincts had failed to sense it, had wrapped around his body.

And the next moment—

“You want me to... take care of my brother...?”

The Apostle saw it.

“If you’re running your mouth just to piss me off—”

From deep within the abyss, it began to stretch—

“Then let me say this sincerely... Good job.”

Countless hands.

So many that they couldn’t be counted.