After the chaotic situation ended, Davey quietly stared at the red ore he had snatched from the mysterious monster. Unlike normal ore, it looked like a crystal with concentrated power.

“Is that what you took from it?”

“For now. But what are you doing?”

“You said yourself that it’s gonna be dangerous. So, I won't let you fight alone this time.” Illyna steadied her power and firmly told him, “I'll be your sword and fight. It will have to kill me before I'll let it touch you.”

“Shouldn't it be the other way around?”

“Well, you'll protect me, right? Hehe.”

“Yeah.”

Putting protection aside, he was sure that she’d be a major asset in terms of firepower. The Continuum-Attacking Blade she mastered would be a threat even to the Thanatos of the past.

Unlike Reina, who withered without her talent fully blossoming, Illyna had fully awakened her own. The difference in results was astonishing.

Davey couldn’t help but smile as she pouted and stuck out her tongue and asked him, “But what are you going to do with that crystal?”

“Well, since it's a huge energy agglomeration, I want to take a look at it.”

“I don’t know much about magic, but can't you just look at it?”

“I’m not sure, but it seems to be a memory fragment,” he hesitantly told her.

“A memory fragment? From that monster? Then once we analyze it we'll know who it is and what its goal is, right?”

“It’d be great to see what’s in it right away, but I don’t know how.”

It was something Davey could probably just ask Willow once she woke up, but he couldn't let her get involved with that monster any further.

“Davey. This thing... you said it's a fragment of its memory, right?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed.

“Then, just out of curiosity, maybe the power inside comes from the mad angel who was influenced by it?” she said as she tapped the red crystal. “I just thought maybe we could use the power the mad angel has to remove the trigger.”

She chuckled awkwardly, thinking that she sounded ridiculous in a way. “Or am I being too naive?”

“No, it's a great idea.”

He stood up, and she followed behind with Caldeiras in her arms.

He was skeptical. “Do you really want to come?”

“I have to at least see for myself what kind of monster it is.”

The way she smiled cutely with her tongue slightly out made her seem lighthearted, but he knew that wasn't the case. She was pretending to be fine on the outside, but her insides were probably burning with worry.

Whatever the case, the mad angel’s range of activity was Earth. So, Davey took Illyna to Earth and went to see Hyun-Ah, who could quickly relay information.

She greeted them with a slightly tired face, “Welcome, welcome.”

“What's with your face?”

“I don’t know... I haven’t been able to sleep for days because of that monster.”

“Huh?”

“The monsters have been popping out of more Awakened individuals. Some people are saying Neltarid implanted those monsters into human bodies. It's been exhausting for us here.”

Various nations had received information about the mad angel and kept it classified to prevent mass chaos.

However, with similar events happening a few times already, it seemed impossible to keep it hidden.

Naturally, the Sacred Group—which worked with the Church of Neltarid—was struggling to respond.

“It happened a few times while I was gone?”

“Yeah. It’s happened in the US, the UK, Japan, and China, so it came out in some pretty major countries. Though, I will say they're mostly countries with lots of high-ranking Awakened individuals.”

“How’d they handle those things?”

“Handle? They couldn't.” She showed him a video labeled classified on her tablet. “This one came out in the US. Chris filmed it just in case, for analysis.”

It had the same kind of mad angel Davey saw before, destroying everything by firing light beams from its hundreds of eyes.

“It popped out of the body of an A-rank Awakened, Rick Bastar. The problem is, it didn't just come out when no one was around. It emerged during a city parade, which made it even harder to hide it.”

There was no precursor phenomenon before the transformation. In the video, countless Awakened individuals risked their lives to stop the mad angel, but they were all subdued in no time at all.

The casualty count was high.

“So. What happened to it?” Davey asked.

“It vanished. They're probably tracking its exact location, but that's also classified.”

As Awakened individuals transformed into monsters, more people around the world were demanding information on the monsters, and some groups were starting to treat Awakened individuals as potential threats.

“There's a lot of talk about how they should be restrained, monitored, or even killed because they're dangerous. The problem is, the Awakened individuals aren't taking it well either. Some are even hiding, terrified of becoming a monster themselves. Whatever the case, controlling the situation has become extremely difficult.”

“Hmm.”

“Davey... can you fix this?”

“I have to try,” he solemnly responded.

“Is Neltarid really trying to wipe out humanity?”

“That dude isn't the type to do that.”

If there was a culprit, he believed it had to be the colossal eye he’d seen in that mad angel's deep consciousness.

“If the one in the US is like this, what about the others?”

“That's what's a bit strange.”

She played another video. It showed mad angels that appeared in countries other than the US. Just like the one in the US, they initially rampaged, but then eventually turned to dust and scattered in the air after a while.

Only the fallen Awakened individual was left where the monster had vanished.

“Did they lose their power too?”

“No. Strangely enough, the ones that vanished like this have no change in their power. That's why I think...”

Illyna chimed in from the side, “It's like... they rampaged and then fell back asleep, retreating inside?”

“Exactly. I think that’s what's happening.”

As Hyun-ah clapped her hands in response, Illyna gave Davey a shy, smiling glance, as if asking for a compliment.

“Does this mean that thing doesn't have the power to control multiple mad angels?”

If that was true, one thing was becoming clear. The mad angels were separate beings from the monster. Basically, they tried to stay dormant, but the monster forcibly dragged them out and made them go on a rampage.

The implication was that as time passed, the entity’s control would gradually decrease, and the rampaging mad angels would seep back into Awakened individual’s inner self, ending the situation.

“I have something I need to do first,” Davey told Hyun-Ah.

“What is it?”

“The current situation of Awakened individuals being suppressed because of the mad angels is too disastrous.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It'll be a headache if multiple gates show up while they’re being suppressed like this.”

Only the Awakened individuals could handle the gates. Earth didn't have the luxury of fighting amongst itself right now.

“Haah. I'll discuss that part with Uncle. Since Sacred Group’s an internationally recognized group, and part of international treaties, I can at least voice an opinion. We have enough justification.”

“Don't overdo it, though. If they don't listen, just let me know.”’

If they fought amongst themselves, unaware of their own peril, making them realize the gravity of the current situation was one way to wake them up.

“Then I guess I need to find the guy who just ran away without disappearing first.”

“We're cooperating on our end, and Chris is making a strong request to American senators for cooperation. If it works out, he'll call right away...”

Whumm!! Whumm!!

Her cell phone began vibrating.

“Hello? Hyun-Ah speaking.”

- Miss. It's sorted. I'll send you the necessary information. Tell the Saint of Tionis...

Davey chimed in, “I'm listening, Chris.”

“Oh... Saint of Tionis. Perfect timing. Could you head over right away? The casualties are worse than we thought.”

“Sure.”

Davey couldn’t get used to Chris speaking so formally, especially when it was just because they were on a professional call.

“Are you moving now?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

The moment Davey left the house, he summoned the black dragon Megalodria, who was the Storm Dragon King and Mythical Beast King.

[Where are we going?]

“Now that I think about it, I’ve never met the Awakened guy. They might run away if I use my divine power carelessly.” 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

[It seems meaningless, but whatever.]

Megalodria lowered its head slightly, and Davey climbed onto its back with Illyna.

As if on cue, a set of coordinates was sent to his phone.

“First, fly east. The location’s Florida Beach.”

* * *

The monster vanished, and the disaster disappeared.

Florida Beach was slowly returning to its former state. After also getting caught up in a massive incident during the Primordial Winter before, people were starting to wonder if the place was cursed.

The moment Davey arrived in the US, Chris joined him.

The US government had no reason to refuse his offer to take care of a monster, one that could cause massive casualties and couldn't be dealt with by the Awakened individuals, free of charge.

“Stop! This is a restricted area. Ah! It's Chris. Sir.”

A number of US Marines in gas masks had blocked the way, but quickly lowered their rifles.

“Where's the monster?”

“We don't sense any movement right now, but it reacts immediately if approached within a certain distance.”

“Good. We'll enter now, so make sure there are as few casualties as possible.”

“Understood, sir.” It was a sergeant who gave a sharp salute and quickly waved his hand. “Squad One, move in! Squads Two and Three, help the ongoing evacuation line! And Squad Four, remain here. What are you all waiting for?! Move out!”

“Yes Sergeant!”

Following the guidance of the seamlessly moving soldiers, Davey and Chris hopped into the humvee.

Megalodria, who was watching Davey from afar, then had a question.

[Contractor, what should I do?]

“Go up into the sky and wait. Be ready to intervene whenever I give the signal.”

[Understood.]

Whoosh!! Boom!!

The marines stared blankly at Megalodria as it flapped its black wings and soared upward at tremendous speed.

“Shall we?”

Since the monster went berserk whenever they got too close, the marines had no choice but to keep their distance while moving.

As they drove, an officer turned to the trio. “I'll brief you on the information we've confirmed about that thing so far.”

They shared its size, appearance, and dangerous abilities. It felt like they had conducted quite the thorough investigation.

“We believe its ability to fire light beams is the most dangerous of its powers. We were told to tell you that the amount of energy contained within those beams is substantial.”

Davey asked, “What about other abilities?”

“Nothing else has been confirmed.”

Just the light beams the monster shot out were close to a disaster. Naturally, ordinary weapons proved to be ineffective.

“So all ordinary firearms are ineffective?”

“Well... it's different from the monsters we usually deal with. It's not a matter of being effective or not—it's completely unaffected by them.”

It was as if it were something entirely separate.

“From this point on, you'll have to get out and proceed on foot.”

“Thanks for your help. We'll go in from here, so please wait.” He knew too many onlookers would only cause trouble.

Davey moved forward, accompanied only by Illyna and Chris.

The officer quickly grasped the situation and gave a salute. “Good luck, Sir.”

“I mean it is a dangerous monster, but it's not our first rodeo, right?” Illyna commented once they put some distance behind them.

Davey was still reluctant to see her come along. “You could get hurt, so why don't you just go back?”

“I'd like to, but I'm the face responsible for the defense of the United States, even if I don't look it.”

Chris grinned and activated his power. “I was told I don't have a monster like that inside me, so I can go all out. I can at least draw its attention.”

After kicking off a building, a vast white beach came into view.

Right in the middle of that white beach, a gigantic monster was lying silently with its eyes closed.

“The Awakened who became that monster was a guy I was friends with before. Do you think it’s possible to save him?”

“The monster and the individual are separate. Don't worry about it.”

As Davey warmed up his hands, Illyna drew Caldeiras.

“Hold on, Miss,” Chris quickly called out. “You're going first?”

“Shouldn’t I go first?”

“Yeah, she should,” Davey advised. “It might react to my power. Just keep it from running away, Chris.”

At his words, Illyna began to lightly stretch, and Chris looked at her with a worried expression, wondering if she might get hurt.

Davey then wondered if Chris had ever truly seen her combat power. Though, even if he had seen her fight, he wouldn't have been able to gauge her true level.

He wouldn't know.

That Illyna was extremely powerful just based on pure attack power alone.

Thud!!

White aura slowly rippled out from her as she placed her sword down.

“Caldeiras, it’s been a hot minute. Let’s get ready. Though, we do need to control our power.”

She took a step forward, then another, and rapidly approached the monster.

The monster immediately sensed her presence, flew up, and opened its eyes wide. At the same time, its hundreds of eyes, attached to countless rings on its body, flashed brightly.

“Watch out! The light beams... Heek?!” Chris cried out in surprise at her seemingly too-relaxed approach. However, he soon shut his mouth.

The reason was that Illyna, who had been moving casually just a moment before, suddenly vanished and instantly reappeared right in front of the monster’s face.

[Continuum-Attacking Blade]

[Extreme Divine Slash]

Boom!!

The slash created a massive ripple.

Illyna, who reappeared as quickly as she vanished, had already crossed to the other side of the monster, with the light beams it’d fired all cleanly sliced apart and scattered into the air.

“What in the...” Chris was stunned at her display of power. He knew she was strong, but she was beyond what he could have imagined.

The single strike she delivered completely shattered the monster’s rings as well as its wings, utterly subduing it.

He mumbled dazedly at the attack, which truly defied imagination, “Holy crap... If you two ever get in a fight, the world’s toast...”

“Don't say dumb things and step back. A shockwave might go off.”

Davey finished his light warm-up and moved to join.

The monster had somewhat blocked Illyna’s surprise attack, distracted. Now, once it noticed Davey, it would already be impossible to escape.

Of course, he could still catch it even if it ran, but there was no harm in being careful.

“Kiiii!!!”

The monster let out a shriek and tried to regenerate its severed body. It also tried to counterattack against Illyna.

However, before it could, Davey was already in front of it.

[8th Circle Spell]

[Prometheus of the Heat Wave]

Boom!! BOOM!!!

The instantly compressed and then expanded heat blast flooded all directions, utterly demolishing any buildings nearby.

The massive column of blue-burning flame far surpassed the level of a mere 8th Circle magic spell.

The monster was soon engulfed in immense flames, and began to crumble without even having the chance to scream. It desperately tried to escape.

Just as Davey suspected, it had a hidden trick.

“Megalodria.”

A breath of enormous thickness fell from the sky and pulverized the hundreds of magic circles the mad angel had created.

Meanwhile, Davey condensed his divine power, then let it explode outward. He then placed his hand on the mad angel and resonated with it.

If the red ore he had taken from that guy reacted to the monster, just as Illyna had hypothesized, it’d surely reveal something.

Swoosh!!

It didn't take long for him to confirm her guess.

* * *

‘Am I in its memory?’

A dark, ash-gray sky. Countless gravestones stuck everywhere. The letters were unreadable, but Davey had seen them before.

“It's ancient language.”

The script from the era ten thousand years past, when the Three Gods fought.

The being from his past past life that he didn’t remember, the being that gave changes to Goddess Freyja, and the being that had given her the name Goddess Freyja.

It was the language that existed when Priestess Freyja did.

As Davey slowly walked toward the countless gravestones, the red ore in his hand resonated and shook even more strongly.

- Maxia. Kargon. Brustahn. Rompel. Brellis, Malkon... Hercules...

A voice was heard in the memory.

He then heard a familiar name.

- Freyja... don't forgive me.

The surrounding scenery began to change, as if a tremendous amount of time was flowing.

When the massive flow of the world disappeared, a man clothed entirely in white was sitting on a grave with a large stone staff stuck in it, right in front of Davey.

However, he knew it was just a fragment of memory anyway.

The man had his back to Davey, and was mumbling something while looking at the grave with the long stone staff stuck in it.

When Davey slowly approached, wondering what he was saying, he realized the man was mumbling to the empty air.

- The world has truly... become peaceful. Indeed, it's too peaceful. This peace is a good thing. The festering sores that were rotting all over the world are healing with new flesh.

He kept mumbling.

- I didn't know before, but now I do. That's why I want to ask.

He kept talking toward the grave.

- What should... I... do?

Thud!!

A sudden burst of power pushed Davey back.

At the same time, the gigantic eye he had seen before was staring straight at him.

“Looks like there's something you don't want me to see, huh?”

As he grinned, the colossal eye stared straight at him and revealed a tremendous will.

[Get out.]

Davey only coldly sneered. He had never heard the voice or seen the figure before. He had never seen the monster in front of him, either.

However, he was certain of one thing. He knew who the guy behind all of it was, though he didn’t know what their motive was.

“Let me ask one thing.”

[Get out.]

“Why are you doing this?”

Neltarid.

The colossal eye; twisted divine power; a divine being with immense power that no one could have imagined was its original strength. Unlike the incomplete divinity the mad angel was, it was a complete divinity.

The twisted monster was none other than Neltarid.

They were the tranquility remaining after destruction disappeared.

‘Wait. Can I even call them tranquility now?’

All Davey could feel as he stared straight into the colossal eye was intense sorrow and hatred. It was completely different from before, when Neltarid had deliberately faked things and locked Willow away to prepare for the Primordial Winter.

If they had merely moved as a god for Willow back then, the guy now was so full of sorrow and hatred that they couldn't control themself.

This was their true condition, not influenced by anyone else. Which made it even harder for Davey to understand. He knew Neltarid shouldn't be able to hold such extreme emotions.

Soon, the colossal eye spewed out a massive light. Davey was completely flung out of the deep consciousness.

“Davey! Are you okay?!”

As he slumped down, Illyna and Chris, who had been watching from afar, rushed over.

The mad angel had turned to dust and returned to being human.

“We need to find more of these guys. I couldn't figure out why this happened with only fragments of information.”

Neltarid had blocked Davey from seeing the full memory held in the red ore.

If that was the case, he was certain that the reason Neltarid had changed was hidden in that memory.