The smoke and dust slowly faded.
But—Lilya was no longer there.
Not at the point of impact. Not on the cracked and gaping ground at the center of destruction.
Her body had been thrown dozens of meters from its original position, tumbling among uprooted tree roots and scattered rubble. Her once-light-colored dress was now barely recognizable. The fabric was torn, scorched, and soaked with blood that continued to flow from the countless wounds covering her body.
But what was most devastating—
wasn't the wound on her stomach.
Wasn't the claw marks on her shoulder and waist.
But—
her right arm.
Gone.
From the elbow down—nothing remained.
All that was left was a pitch-black burn that had frozen the blood at the stump, as if something so hot it had cauterized everything it touched.
And her left leg—most of it was gone too. From the knee down, only charred flesh and broken bone were visible among the melted fabric.
Her body did not move.
At all.
Only her chest rose and fell—too slowly, too weakly.
Lilya did not move.
Inside the sacred chamber—
the Goblin Shaman still sat upon the stone throne.
His small body appeared calm.
Both hands rested on the armrests, while his dull yellow eyes gazed at panels displaying three different situations.
The first panel—
showed the ravaged forest.
Smoke still billowed among the fallen trees.
In the distance, the figure of the Hell Kong stood in the center of a newly created crater.
Meanwhile, far among the ruins of roots and rocks, Lilya's body lay motionless.
The Goblin Shaman only glanced at it briefly.
Without any change in expression.
The second panel—
showed a narrow path formed between the trees.
Rhett stood at the front, sword drawn.
Behind him, Bram, Darian, Kael, and Harlan maintained their formation.
Before them—
Shura.
His three swords still floated around his body.
Black aura pulsed slowly across each blade.
No one moved.
The Goblin Shaman shifted his gaze again.
That wasn't what he wanted to see.
Slowly, his thin finger rose.
The third panel expanded.
Filling almost his entire view.
"..."
Eldwyn's town square.
The village gate.
The stone wall that had protected the village for a thousand years had now collapsed.
A massive hole gaped in the side of the ruined defenses.
And through that gap—
monsters began entering the village.
No longer held back.
No longer slowed.
They flowed in like a black flood.
Hell Wolves.
Goblins.
Goblin Knights.
Goblin Riders.
Hell Bears.
Hell Kongs.
The monsters no longer walked slowly.
They flowed.
Like a flood overflowing from a river after days of heavy rain—unstoppable, unguided, only to be accepted.
The first Hell Wolf leaped over the pile of rubble from the village wall, its pale yellow glowing eyes immediately locking onto a group of villagers still running near the village well.
No roar.
No warning.
Only the pounding of feet on cracked ground, then—a leap.
"Watch out—!!"
The shout of a middle-aged man broke through the panic. He pushed his wife behind him, his stout, untrained body blocking the Hell Wolf's path with both arms outstretched.
The Hell Wolf didn't stop.
Its body sailed over the man, striking a young boy who had been standing frozen by the well.
"AAAHHH—!!"
The scream didn't last long.
Blood sprayed from the boy's neck, his body falling to the ground with a heavy thud.
"...I'm sorry... Reynold..."
The man sobbed, tears streaming down his face covered in dust and sweat. His hands gripped a piece of firewood tightly—his only weapon.
But the Hell Wolf didn't give him time.
The beast turned with inhuman speed.
CRAAKK—!!
Its black claws swept across.
The man fell.
Near the eastern gate, an elderly woman screamed as she watched a neighbor crushed by a large boulder sent flying by one of the Hell Kongs beginning to tear down a small wall nearby.
"Help—!!"
On the other side, a young father with a wooden axe tried to slash the neck of a Goblin Knight approaching his house.
He wasn't a fighter.
His hands trembled.
But he didn't retreat.
Behind him—
a young girl cried from behind a cracked door.
"Papa... Papa..."
"Don't come out, Sera!" he shouted as he swung his axe.
CLANG—!!
The Goblin Knight's sword deflected it easily.
Then—a quick thrust.
The young father's chest was pierced.
He fell to his knees.
The little girl screamed.
Cedric watched everything from a distance.
His heart felt as if it had stopped.
His face was pale and wet with sweat and held-back tears. His eyes kept moving, unable to focus on one point because in every direction, something was wrong. Someone was falling. Someone was dying. Someone was crying.
But he couldn't stop.
Couldn't look down.
Couldn't close his eyes.
His right hand gripped an old sword tightly—a sword passed down from his father. The blade had rusted in places, but it was still sharp enough to use.
It was the only weapon he had.
And in his youth, he had trained hard enough to be able to use it.
"But that was over twenty years ago..." he whispered bitterly.
Before him, a Hell Bear began moving slowly toward a group of villagers still gathered near the remains of the collapsed village wall. Its black claws scraped the ground, leaving dirty trails that hissed faintly on the stone surface.
They screamed.
They ran.
Some fell.
Cedric turned his body.
"HEY!!" he shouted as loud as he could.
The Hell Bear turned.
Its red eyes glowed.
Cedric stepped forward.
One step.
Two steps.
His legs felt heavy, his body trembled, but he kept moving.
He wasn't Rhett.
Wasn't Darian.
He had no experience fighting against monster hordes, no sharp reflexes honed from years of training.
But he had trained before.
Long ago.
In his youth, he had swung his sword in his backyard, under his father's watchful eye, learning the basic techniques.
"Your legs must be strong. Your back must be straight. Don't fear your sword, Cedric—because if you fear it, your sword will never protect anyone."
His father's words echoed in his ears.
Cedric planted his feet firmly on the ground.
His sword rose.
"ARRRGGGHHH—!!"
He ran.
He shouted.
And the Hell Bear turned.
The monster wasn't surprised.
Wasn't threatened.
Only confused as to why this small human—even smaller than the others—dared to charge at it.
Cedric swung his sword.
[Basic Sword Slash]
The old blade gleamed.
No magical light accompanied it.
No high-level skill.
Just a swing.
But—accurate.
The sword struck the side of the Hell Bear's head.
SHHK—!!
—before its tip got stuck in the monster's hide, unable to penetrate deeper.
A little black blood came out.
But that was all.
Cedric's eyes widened.
"...no!"
The Hell Bear's left arm swung.
BOOM—!!
Cedric was sent flying.
His body slammed into the wooden wall of a house behind him.
BRUK—!!
Pain spread from his back, radiating through his ribs. The air was forced out of his lungs.
But he didn't pass out.
He gritted his teeth.
His sword was still in his hand.
He forced himself to stand.
Behind the rampaging monster, a mother and her young child were still hiding behind the rubble of the collapsed wall.
Cedric saw them.
And he knew—he couldn't fall here.
The Goblin Shaman laughed softly.
As if all the villagers' suffering was merely entertainment for him.
His eyes shifted to the seed crystal, now completely blackened.
Thick black aura poured from within it.
He rose from the throne of the first Sword Saint, walking slowly toward the fully corrupted crystal.
His hand stroked its surface, and he laughed again.
"Finally....the...wish...of...that...one...will...be...fulfilled...." he said, his grin widening in satisfaction that his mission had entered its final phase.
Then the Goblin Shaman walked slowly toward the white altar.
Where Cecilia lay unconscious.
Her body was pale, weak, and completely still. Her chest still rose and fell slowly—too slowly—but enough to show she was still alive. Her brown hair was tangled, covering part of her face, and on her stomach, the dark red pentagram still pulsed weakly—continuing to drain mana from her body without pause.
"..."
The Goblin Shaman stared at her silently.
His yellowish eyes moved slowly from Cecilia's face, down to her weakened body, then back to the pentagram on her stomach.
Then—
he raised his staff.
And struck it against the floor.
DUUKK—!!
The white marble floor cracked.
A wave of purple energy spread from the tip of his staff, sweeping through the entire room like an invisible wind.
Cecilia jolted.
Her body, which had been lying still, now slowly rose into the air.
Not forcibly.
But as if invisible hands were lifting her from behind.
Both arms stretched out to the sides.
Both legs hung limply, offering no resistance, no movement.
She floated above the altar, like a puppet suspended by invisible strings.
The Goblin Shaman watched her for a moment.
Then—
he began walking again.
His staff tapped the floor with each step, his small body moving slowly around the altar, guiding Cecilia's floating body to follow his direction.
He stopped beside the massive black crystal.
The crystal that had once glowed red—now pitch black. The dark stains on its surface moved like living things. Pulsing. Breathing. As if waiting for something.
The Goblin Shaman guided Cecilia to the crystal's side.
Her body now floated right beside the pulsing black surface.
So close.
The air around them felt cold, heavy, and filled with something that couldn't be described in words.
The Goblin Shaman slowly raised his head.
He gazed at the crystal.
Then—he smiled.
A wide smile, full of satisfaction, like someone who had waited too long—and finally, the moment had arrived.
"Already..."
His voice came out soft, hoarse, broken.
"...the...time..."
His thin hand gripped his staff tighter.
"...I..."
Purple light began gathering at the tip of his staff. Spinning. Faster and faster. Denser and denser.
"...will..."
The air around him began to tremble.
The black crystal pulsed harder.
DUUM...
DUUM...
DUUM...
"...summon..."
Cecilia still floated.
Unconscious.
Unmoving.
"...him..."
The Goblin Shaman raised his staff high.
And in a fraction of a second—
purple light exploded.
Filling the entire sacred chamber.
Lilya slowly opened her eyes.
Her gaze swept in all directions.
There was nothing.
Only darkness so thick that the boundary between up and down disappeared.
"...I"
Her lips moved slowly.
"...came back here?"
She recognized this place.
Impossible to forget.
This was—
the place where everything first began.
The place where she saw a life that wasn't hers.
The place where two souls met.
The place where synchronization occurred.
Lilya lowered her head.
Slowly, she raised both hands.
"...?"
No blood.
No wounds.
Her skin was clean and white again.
The dress she wore had also changed.
Not the tattered, scorched clothes from the explosion.
But the simple dress she had worn this morning.
Clean.
Neat.
As if the terrible battle had never happened.
Lilya closed her eyes.
"There are two possibilities..."
she murmured softly.
"...I only fainted..."
She opened her eyes again.
"...or..."
Her gaze was empty.
"...I'm already dead."
No one answered.
Silence continued to blanket this endless space.
But...
something changed.
Little by little.
Black turned to gray.
Gray turned to white.
In a few seconds—
the entire endless space had transformed.
White.
Everything was white.
White sky.
White ground.
White light.
No shadows.
No boundaries.
Only an empty white world with no end.
Lilya frowned.
"...?"
Then—
a voice sounded.
Soft.
Relaxed.
With such a familiar tone.
"Hm..."
The voice chuckled softly.
"...just as I expected."
Lilya froze.
"My creation truly is magnificent."
The voice paused for a moment.
Then spoke again.
"...no..."
Its tone changed.
Slightly softer.
"...she was always meant to be in this world."
A pause.
"...I"
The voice chuckled softly.
"...am just a small anomaly in her world."
"...!"
Lilya's eyes widened.
Impossible.
She recognized that voice.
Couldn't be mistaken.
Her body slowly turned.
And...
her breath stopped for a moment.
"...impossible."
Someone stood a few meters behind her.
A man nearing forty years old.
His body was plump and unkempt. His hair was greasy and messy, his pale face covered in unevenly grown stubble. His shoulders were slumped, his posture heavy—like someone who had long stopped hoping for anything.
That figure was exactly the same as the one she had seen in her dream.
"Hi-Hikaru?!!"