How long had they been moving to subjugate Astarotte?

Alon noticed something strange.

“...The sky is dark.”

“Yeah.”

Up until just moments ago, even with the countless Divine blood filling the sky, the sun had still shone brilliantly through the gaps.

But now, it was gone.

In its place were pitch-black clouds hanging overhead.

‘...Those don’t seem like ordinary clouds.’

They were too dark to be called clouds at all.

Alon stared at them in silence, then suddenly turned his gaze toward Seollang.

Like him, she was looking up at the sky as though observing something unusual.

And the farther south they moved—toward where Astarotte was—the darker the sky became.

For a moment, Alon wondered if something was hidden within those clouds.

“Lord Alon, over there—”

At Evan’s voice, Alon turned his head.

And soon, at the far end of the horizon, he saw ruins.

A place where it was painfully clear that people had once lived.

But now, no one could.

Only the skeletal remains of walls were left, as if merely to announce that there had once been a territory there.

And as both the Divine blood and Alon’s group took in the ruins—

“!”

Something appeared.

In the empty ruins ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) where nothing had been visible just moments before, a Divine blood suddenly manifested.

A black-armored Divine blood.

For a brief moment, the subjugation force was simply confused.

Then, their expressions twisted in incomprehension.

[...What is that?]

From the ruins that had been completely empty, black-armored Divine blood began appearing one after another.

First two.

Then four.

Then eight.

Then so many that they could no longer keep count.

The subjugation force fell into confusion.

Of course they did.

These Divine blood had not come over the horizon.

They had appeared out of nowhere.

As if they had simply been created on the spot.

And just as the Divine blood stood there, stunned—

[Attack—!]

Red Conviction snapped back to its senses and shouted.

A hasty decision, perhaps.

But the Divine blood charged forward without hesitation, rushing at the black-armored Divine blood.

It may have been rash—

but everyone knew.

Something was wrong here.

And so, as if by prior agreement, their interests aligned, and the subjugation force clashed with the black-armored Divine blood.

───────────BOOOOM—!

The moment the Divine blood collided, a horrifying sound echoed out.

If any ordinary human had been nearby, they would have been instantly erased by the shockwaves alone.

Explosions erupted in rapid succession, and before long, grotesque sounds rang out from all directions.

The battle had begun.

####

The battle, which had begun abruptly with the sudden appearance of the black-armored Divine blood, unfolded somewhat differently from what Alon had expected.

‘What is this...?’

A question surfaced in Alon’s eyes.

Just moments ago, he had been considering how to deal with Astarotte’s Divine blood.

But the situation unfolding before him deviated far too much from his expectations.

Even if they were subjugating Astarotte together, he had expected considerable losses.

Based on what he already knew, Astarotte was a dangerous opponent.

But—

“...Lord Alon.”

“What is it?”

“...Isn’t this too easy?”

Strangely, the battle was far more one-sided than Alon had imagined.

“......”

Alon turned his gaze forward.

At the front stood Red Conviction and Clumped Eye, mercilessly slaughtering the black Divine blood.

Yes—

this was not a battle.

It was closer to a massacre.

────────■■■■■!!!

A black Divine blood approaching Red Conviction let out a horrifying scream.

Its body began to melt.

Crack—!

The red Divine blood severed its neck without hesitation as its armor and flesh melted into something grotesque.

The red cross floating above Red Conviction’s head burned even brighter as everything within its range dissolved.

Thud—!

Nearby, Clumped Eye was also effortlessly dispatching the black-armored Divine blood.

As if they could see nothing, their enemies swung weapons blindly through empty air—only to be cut down with ease.

The same was true elsewhere.

Some Divine blood were killed by the black ones.

But most overwhelmingly dominated them.

Too easily.

And before long—

“...It’s over, isn’t it?”

The battle ended.

Far too anticlimactically.

With the subjugation force’s victory.

‘...Does that even make sense?’

Alon stared at the battlefield, unable to understand.

The fight against Astarotte had ended in a complete victory.

Some were already celebrating.

It wasn’t strange, in a way.

According to the information they had, Astarotte’s strongest leader—the Descended One—was unable to move because it was digesting fragments.

[......]

...Of course, like Alon, there were also those who frowned at how easily it had ended.

“Master.”

Seollang, who had been quietly watching, suddenly spoke.

“Those ones—they’re the same as the ones from before.”

“The ones from before?”

“Yeah.”

At her nod, Alon looked momentarily blank.

Then he realized what she meant.

“The ones that felt like Divine blood, but weren’t?”

“Exactly.”

Seollang nodded.

Crack—

Something changed.

Subtle—but both Alon and Seollang saw it at the same time.

The corpses of the black-armored Divine blood, which had been lying cold on the ground—

were beginning to distort.

[...!]

Red Conviction, who had already found the situation suspicious, noticed it as well.

Crack-crack-crack—!

The corpses, now compressed into small spheres, suddenly shot off—

and began gathering in front of Red Conviction.

In an instant, the black masses converged, taking on a human-like form.

[!]

Red Conviction immediately struck, its cross blazing red as it brought its blade down.

BOOOOOM—!!!

A deafening explosion.

Power enough to obliterate an entire town was unleashed.

And yet—

All the Divine blood stared downward in shock.

Because—

there was a person standing there.

No—

it could not truly be called a person.

It wore tattered robes like a monk.

Its body was shriveled, like a dried corpse.

A hole pierced through the center of its chest.

It had a human shape.

But—

it had no head.

In its place were two spears.

The shafts of the spears crossed, embedded into its shoulders as though replacing a head—

and with a single finger, it blocked Red Conviction’s strike.

[The Descended One—]

Red Conviction spoke in shock.

[My brother’s ability does not have such a wide range. It also takes quite some time to deal damage.]

The old man’s voice rang out.

And the next moment—

Thud—!

Red Conviction’s head exploded.

A grotesquely massive thorn had pierced through it from behind the old man.

[!]

Clumped Eye immediately tried to retreat—

But—

Tsk—

The old man was already in front of it.

[My brother cannot use that ability unless contact is made.]

With that—

Crack—!

A fist slammed into its body.

Thud—!

Its heart burst instantly.

The Divine blood froze at the shocking sight.

But only for a moment.

[My brother’s ability becomes meaningless if focus is not maintained.]

As if it had been waiting, the old man—the Descended One—began killing them one by one.

[My brother’s ability is powerful, but easy to avoid.]

One by one—

[My brother’s ability—]

Calmly—

“!”

In that moment, Alon realized two things.

One—

the information the subjugation force had was wrong.

And the other—

Thud—

why the Descended One had created those black-armored Divine blood, fully aware they would lose.

‘To figure out their abilities...!’

The moment Alon realized that, the old man stopped.

No—

not stopped.

More precisely, it had finished its initial sorting.

It had eliminated those who had used their abilities in the earlier fight.

“......”

Alon realized that most of the Divine blood now lying dead had been the ones slaughtering Astarotte’s forces at the front lines just moments ago.

[Let me make you an offer, brothers.]

The Descended One spoke.

[Why not serve the great Astarotte?]

Calmly.

[If you abandon the path of heresy and serve Astarotte, we would gladly welcome you as one of us. Just like those before you.]

It was—

a strange proposal.

[Those before... you?]

[Yes. Like your comrades.]

[...You mean the ones you killed?]

One of the Divine blood asked, frowning.

[Kill? No. Of course not.]

The Descended One shook its head.

[They have simply become brothers.]

[What kind of—]

The Divine blood began to retort—

Then froze.

Because—

the corpses that had been spilling blood just moments ago—

had disappeared.

And—

[Look.]

They were reappearing.

[See? Alive. As servants for Astarotte.]

Clad in black armor.

[Within me.]

And then—

[...This is insane—]

[Impossible—]

[The information—]

A strange tension and fear spread among the Divine blood.

They had all witnessed it.

The leaders Red Conviction and Clumped Eye—

killed instantly.

Of course, the force gathered here had not lost all its strength.

Even if those two were strong, they were not overwhelmingly beyond the rest.

But still—

fear, once born from witnessing such overwhelming deaths—

was not easily suppressed.

[...Don’t tell me— you devoured even the Divine blood that follow you?]

[Choose your words carefully, brother. They have simply become one. For the sake of welcoming Him.]

The incorrect information only deepened the confusion—

and the fear.

“...Shouldn’t we run, even now?”

“This is seriously bad.”

Even Evan and Penia could not hide the fear in their eyes.

But—

Alon, who had been silently watching, turned to Seollang.

She looked back at him.

Saying nothing.

And finally—

after finishing his thoughts—

“...That won’t be necessary.”

Alon spoke.

With quiet certainty.