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One hour before the meeting.
Sanctuary Headquarters, the Ark.
The Sanctuary Headquarters, also known as the Ark, built in the mid-eastern part of the Western Continent, was a colossal refugee facility that housed as many refugees as all the other branches of the Sanctuary combined.
Located deep underground to prevent easy attacks by demonic beings, it boasted security superior to that of many cities thanks to the enormous capital invested in it.
A clean and affluent living environment was an added bonus.
People praised Pia and the Sanctuary associates for their immense sacrifices to keep the refugees safe, but… in fact, the Ark had a ‘true purpose’ that 99% of the residents were unaware of.Clang-!
The deepest underground floor.
If someone were to step here for the first time, they would be extremely shocked by the scene before them.
“Move the materials this way!”
“Hurry up! Move faster!”
First, there were elves, dwarves, and humans gathered together.
Ahir, the legendary blacksmith of the elves and the mother of Noubelmag, was busily moving with her subordinate blacksmiths.
Even the dwarves, known to be at odds with them, were working alongside them.
All of them had skills worthy of being called master craftsmen.
Under their delicate handiwork, the work materials quickly took shape.
Of course, it wasn’t just blacksmiths here.
Robed magicians busily moved among the steel columns erected like a giant’s skeleton.
The designs in their hands were all for enchantments, each astonishing in its own right.
These individuals were the survivors of the Magic Tower, which had been attacked by Theo years ago.
Summoned by the Emperor, they were preparing a secret project here, vowing revenge.
Lastly, in the laboratory behind them.
Scholars in white research robes, alchemists, and experts from various manufacturing fields were having heated discussions, piling up valuable magic stones and rare materials like mountains.
…And Noubelmag, the chief overseer of this place, gazed at the scene from the control tower.
‘Three years…’
It had already been three years since this project started.
A project in which all available human and material resources were invested.
It was about to bear fruit, combining lost technology from the First Era obtained by numerous expeditions that sacrificed their lives, and the ancient magitech vision obtained by the hero from ???.
‘…It will be completed in a week.’
Thud-
Noubelmag then headed back to the office.
He had just received the bad news from the north last night.
Therefore, he could easily guess the agenda of the upcoming meeting.
Woo-woo-woo-
The promised time was approaching.
Placing the communication orb on the table, Noubelmag bit into a pipe and closed his eyes.
Tsst-tsst-tsst-
Illusion magic engulfed him.
* * *
Euphemia opened her eyes.
The conference room created by illusion magic.
The courtiers who had arrived early stood up and greeted her.
“Your Majesty, were you well?”
The Emperor’s golden eyes scanned their faces.
“……”
There were no insignificant people here.
Only the strongest strategists and warriors, whose loyalty to humanity was unquestionable, were present.
Felson.
Currently on a mission at the front lines, he was dressed in armor covered in dust and soot.
The main forces of the Dawn Knights under his command were in a similar state.
The Saintess, Barun, was absent as she was on a campaign to provide healing.
Larze also came into view.
She too, still weary from fighting Theo in the Great Forest, took her seat with a very tired face.
However, her red eyes were sparkling intensely.
She knew what would happen today.
Next, Yussi, who took her seat with a dark expression, came into view.
She whispered something to Pia next to her, but fell silent when she sensed the Emperor’s gaze.
The Emperor shifted his gaze again.
Pia’s husband, Kasim, surprisingly, was not beside Pia but in a corner of the conference room.
‘He must have been talking to his disciples.’
He seemed to have been easing the tension of the stiffened children.
Not only Leciel from the Dawn Knights, but also Ban, Luke, Gerald, Evergreen, and Karen.
The key members of the Lotus Knights were all gathered.
Although they had recently emerged as a tremendous new force, this was their first official meeting, and they all had awkward faces.
Roland Bryce, Gerald’s father, and Felson, Ban’s father, glanced at them with affectionate eyes.
Opposite them, Lucas, who had inherited the title of Duke, exchanged greetings with his friends with a pleased expression.
The Imperial Army commanders and the heads of the various knight orders were also present, their eyes gleaming sharply nearby.
“Ahem, ahem…”
At the far end of the table.
Arpheus, looking as if he might suffocate from the pressure, was glancing around.
No matter how bold he was to declare himself a new hero, attending such a meeting was a different matter.
Feeling the Emperor’s gaze, Arpheus hastily bowed his head.
The Emperor recalled the hero’s words and looked away.
‘…He said it’s worth watching.’
After surveying the conference room, Euphemia finally turned her gaze to one of today’s main protagonists, Noubelmag.
When their eyes met, he nodded briefly, signaling that he was ready.
“As you all know, there was a simultaneous attack by the Demon King’s army yesterday.”
…The Emperor got straight to the point.
A crisis had arisen that could not be overcome unless everyone worked together.
There was no longer any reason to hide anything.
“We successfully defended the fourth seal without much difficulty, but the third seal suffered devastating damage, and the first seal was breached. Additionally, it has been confirmed that a part of the Demon King manifested briefly near the first seal. A report has been prepared, so review the details after the meeting.”
Swish-
Thick reports appeared on each table.
But no one immediately looked at them.
Everyone stared at the Emperor with expressions of disbelief.
A silent shock swept through the conference room.
“The first seal has been breached?”
“…The Demon King? Why?”
“Aren’t the other seals intact? How did he manifest?”
If it hadn’t been the Emperor speaking, the conference room would have quickly turned into chaos.
For example, Arpheus, who didn’t even know exactly what the five seals were preventing, looked like he was suffocating.
“Fortunately, Guardian Barrett Namsov and his clan sacrificed themselves to thwart the Demon King’s manifestation. They also managed to block the interdimensional passage he was trying to use.”
Of course, no one felt relieved.
The first seal had been breached.
This was practically a death sentence for the five seals.
‘The seals were incomplete from the start…’
Therefore, they needed periodic maintenance, and they couldn’t be guaranteed permanent.
With the first seal and Barrett Namsov, the mainstays of the seals, gone simultaneously…
‘At most six months… at least three months. Within that time, the seals will be completely neutralized.’
There was neither the leisure nor the capability to reconstruct them.
The Emperor watched the agitated high officials and delivered a decisive statement.
“Yes, the descent of the Demon King is imminent.”
A cold, heavy air settled in the conference room.
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A chilling silence.
Everyone stared at the Emperor with stern faces.
The same question arose in everyone’s mind: “So what’s the plan?”
The Emperor continued to speak slowly.
“Fortunately, we have been granted a bit of time.”
This was thanks to neutralizing Theo and Malekia in the process of defending against the attacks.
Theo had lost half of his power, and Malekia was in no condition to return to the battlefield for some time.
Moreover, they had defeated the elite forces of the Demon King’s army, including the lich units.
As a result, the main force of the Demon King’s army was retreating from human territory for the first time in years.
…They had time to reorganize.
“But that doesn’t mean we can wait idly for the Demon King’s descent.”
That was obvious.
Even if they gathered all their forces for six months, it would be a drop in the bucket compared to the Demon King’s augmented forces.
A clear strategy was needed.
The Emperor’s voice grew stronger as everyone realized this.
“Therefore, we will attack the Demon King’s castle next month.”
“…?”
Silence descended upon the conference room once again.
It didn’t take long for enormous question marks to appear on everyone’s faces.
“Why attack the empty Demon King’s castle?”
“And so soon, next month?”
“The Demon King’s castle isn’t just over the hill… How do we plan to cross the demonic realm and attack it?”
Some commanders raised their hands to express their objections to such an absurd conclusion.
But Euphemia dismissed them all.
“Quiet.”
“Your Majesty…”
“Do you think I am a fool and don’t already know what you want to say? I will explain the reasons for attacking the empty Demon King’s castle and how we plan to succeed, so wait a moment.”
Euphemia’s gaze turned to Noubelmag.
“Noubelmag.”
At the sudden call, all eyes in the conference room focused on him.
Except for those involved in the secret project, everyone had puzzled expressions.
“Please present the results of the past three years without omission.”
“Understood.”
Noubelmag, with a pipe in his mouth, walked towards the center of the conference room.
Vwoooom-
Soon, a large screen appeared before everyone’s eyes.
“…?”
“What is that…?”
As their gaze was inevitably drawn to the massive, unknown structure on the screen, Noubelmag calmly began to speak.
“Allow me to introduce it.”
A faint smile spread across his usually expressionless face.
A voice filled with irrepressible pride echoed through the conference room.
“The mobile fortress, Avalon.”
* * *
Outside the conference room door.
The hero stood quietly, listening to the voices from within.
Originally, it was a place that was not implemented, but Larze had prepared it for his dramatic entrance.
“The mobile fortress, Avalon.”
As Noubelmag’s explanation continued.
The hero recalled the final plan he and the Emperor had made.
The reason for attacking the empty Demon King’s castle.
It was because it was anticipated to be the place where the Demon King would descend.
‘Because it is the place where demonic energy, the energy of the demonic realm, is densest in the present world.’
The burden of interdimensional travel and the loss of causality would be significantly reduced.
At the moment when the hero and the Emperor reached that conclusion, an unexpected report came in.
“Exploration team reporting! We have confirmed that the demonic energy from all over the demon realm is being drawn towards Zone 1 of the demon realm.”
“The demonic energy maintaining the stakes in the western continent is also heading towards Zone 1!”
This made the hero and the Emperor harbor a single doubt.
‘Why are they in such a hurry?’
Even though the effectiveness of the seals was diminishing, there was still time before the dimensional passageway would fully open.
‘There shouldn’t be any need to gather the demonic energy so soon, should there?’
This doubt deepened further when they heard Cuculli’s follow-up report.
“But there’s something strange.”
“What?”
“Malekia and Theo. They didn’t seem to expect the Demon King to appear so soon either.”
An early appearance that even his trusted aides didn’t anticipate.
Moreover, he even tried to quickly break the first seal by forcibly stealing his subordinates’ demonic energy.
‘He could naturally descend in a few months, so why go to such lengths?’
Just then, ??? unexpectedly spoke up.
[Why the rush? Because of you.]
It was an answer he didn’t expect.
‘…Because of me? Why?’
[Because you possess the power of Ted Redymer, one of the two beings who cornered the Demon King.]
??? continued with a sneer.
[Think about it. As soon as the Demon King learned you were a doppelganger, he immediately returned to the demon realm. Why do you think that is?]
The hero voiced the absurd answer, though he didn’t quite believe it himself.
‘…Because he felt threatened?’
[Correct. He perceives you as an immense potential threat, a monster with the cheating ability of polymorph and the supreme essence of Ted Redymer.]
‘Not entirely wrong.’
[But by the time the Demon King realized your existence, you had already defeated Yol and completely disappeared. There was no way for him to find and kill you.]
‘If I had stayed at the academy…’
[The Demon King would have come to kill you at all costs.]
The hero finally understood what ??? was getting at.
‘He couldn’t find me, so he went back to the demon realm as a second-best option, to fully prepare himself.’
[Yes, in the demon realm, he could recover in less than a year. He probably thought he could come back and eliminate you before you became more dangerous.]
But an unexpected variable arose.
Barrett Namsov, who had been just a human, accumulated power over centuries through the art of timberization and cast the great spell of dimensional sealing.
As a result, the Demon King’s return was delayed by several years, and as he feared, the hero rapidly grew stronger after accepting ???.
The hero nodded in understanding.
‘But I’m still much weaker than the Demon King’s true form.’
[…Who cares? I assure you, the Demon King can’t accurately gauge your power right now. He’s just probing.]
??? seemed amused by the predicament of the past enemy.
[So what should you do now?]
The hero grasped the answer.
‘…We should attack the Demon King’s castle. The place where he’ll attempt to descend.’
[Hm, you’re not entirely a fool.]
Fortunately, they had a decisive weapon ideally suited for the assault on the Demon King’s castle.
A mobile fortress originally designed with the intention of combating the Demon King.
Avalon.
A fortress made of a massive amount of iron and mana, it was like a living war machine.
Hundreds of mana cannons and barriers.
A structure enchanted with every existing destructive and defensive spell.
The numerous functions created by humanity’s geniuses numbered in the hundreds.
Most importantly…
‘It can teleport.’
A feature included in case of a critical situation.
Given its size, it could only use the function once despite its enormous reserve of mana stones, but it was immensely useful for an assault.
‘Normally, teleportation to the heart of the demon realm would be impossible due to the demonic energy…’
Ironically, the Demon King was currently drawing all the demonic energy in the demon realm to Zone 1 for his early descent.
Once the density of demonic energy drastically fell, teleportation within the demon realm would become possible.
The mobile fortress carrying a hundred heroes could instantly strike the deepest part of the demon realm.
‘It would be a fatal blow to the Demon King, who is eager to descend as soon as possible.’
If the first zone, the very root of the demon realm in this world, were devastated and the gathered demonic energy scattered, what would the Demon King do?
[He would have no choice but to descend more incompletely, more forcefully.]
‘…What if he doesn’t come? What if he waits for a complete descent, even at the cost of his foothold in this world?’
[We still win. It would mean delivering near-annihilating blows to the Demon King’s army without his interference.]
??? added.
[I know. It’s a risky and reckless operation. But…]
‘There’s no other way.’
[Exactly.]
…It was true.
Six months.
To wait slowly for inevitable death and destruction, or to struggle and fight back somehow.
If it was between those two options, the latter was the obvious choice.
The hero was reminiscing to that point when…
…Beyond the door.
Euphemia’s sharp voice pierced his ears.
Though she feigned calm, her voice slightly trembled at the end.
Even as an Emperor, she knew how absurd what she was about to say was.
“Therefore, we need a captain to lead this humanity’s final operation, to command the mobile fortress and the heroes aboard.”
The hero closed his eyes and took a deep breath repeatedly.
“Then let me introduce them.”
Euphemia’s voice sounded as clear as if she were right beside him.
“Our greatest ally, who will be the strongest force of humanity.”
Click-
The hero’s rough hand grasped the door handle.
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