Chapter 233

(3)

4.

Meanwhile, at that moment.

Just as Ulan joined the rest of his party, Noa walked quietly. Thick darkness blocked her path, but she had no reason to worry.

Paaaah!

Her companion had the holy light capable of sweeping away the darkness.

However, there was one problem.

‘This is awkward!’

It was the silence enveloping the room.

Of course, it wasn’t completely silent from the start.

They exchanged simple introductions.

‘But that was the last of it.’

After that, Noa hadn’t exchanged any words with her companion. In frustration, she let out a deep sigh in her heart.

She then glanced sideways at the companion walking in front of her, and after blinking her eyes three times, the information about him appeared before her.

[Name]: Kadel Dun Shanktus

[Age]: 43 years

[Grade]: A+

[Trait]: Blessing of the Divine

A named character from the original work.

He is a knight representing the Holy Nation and the Paladin Master leading all knights.

He has excellent skills and is generally of good character.

However, perhaps because he believes silence is a virtue, he is famous for being taciturn.

‘But still, this is a bit much.’

It had already been several hours since she joined Kadel, and he still hadn’t spoken a word.

Unable to bear the awkward atmosphere, Noa finally decided to speak up. Anything would do, she thought, just to break the ice.

But then.

“Was it Noa?”

“…Yes?”

Kadel spoke up first.

Stunned by the sudden turn of events, Noa responded with surprise. Kadel seemed to interpret her answer positively and continued to speak.

“I heard you attend Arsen Academy. If it’s not too much trouble, may I ask you a few questions?”

His polite tone conveyed a cautious demeanor. It looked like he had something burning inside to ask but had been holding back.

“Of course, I know this is not the ideal situation to ask, but I can’t help my curiosity.”

“Ah, yes! That’s fine.”

“Thank you. It’s just that I’m curious about the exchange event that Arsen and Eloden Academies held together.”

Kadel immediately fired off a barrage of questions.

Most of them were about the exchange event with Eloden Academy, as he had just mentioned.

Since these weren’t difficult questions to answer, Noa willingly provided her responses, only to suddenly realize a common thread in all the inquiries.

‘Every single one is related to Laurea.’

What kind of activities Laurea had performed during the exchange, what exactly happened during the friendly mock battle and the Source of Magic, and so on.

Kadel only seemed interested in Lauréa-related anecdotes.

‘I can see why.’

Kadel had been watching Laurea since she was young. If anything, he was like a godfather to her.

‘Apparently, despite his taciturn nature, he cared for Laurea like she was his own daughter.’

Naturally, he’d be curious.

Understanding the intent behind the questions, Noa continued to respond. It was a better option than keeping her mouth shut.

“Thank you. You’ve cleared up my curiosities.”

After some time.

Having heard all the stories he was curious about, Kadel wore a much more relaxed expression. Noa, too, felt satisfied to have escaped the awkward atmosphere.

However, it was short-lived.

Having resolved his questions, Kadel fell silent again, and the surroundings once again drowned in silence.

The atmosphere turned unbearably awkward.

Unable to withstand the heavy silence weighing down on her, Noa decided to speak again.

“Um, I also have something I’d like to ask!”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“I heard that Laurea received a prophecy, but I’ve never heard what it contained…”

“Ah, that.”

Kadel nodded quietly.

The contents of a prophecy were usually top secret.

However, Noa was an exception. She was one of the star warriors mentioned by Laurea.

So she readily recited the prophecy.

“At the end of the Far East, in the Forest of Life that existed since the beginning, the undead that go against the providence shall appear, and the world shall be covered in the darkness of the abyss.”

Immediately after hearing the first line of the prophecy, Noa’s expression shifted into something serious.

‘…This is a prophecy that didn’t exist in the original.’

It’s rare for a prophecy to directly mention the Abyss. Thus, she grasped right away that such a prophecy hadn’t existed.

‘Let’s try to interpret this first.’

The end of the Far East and the Forest of Life.

This clearly referred to the Eastern Jungle, and the undead that go against the providence must refer to the Lord of Immortals, Astevan.

‘Which means…’

There was a high possibility that the timing of the prophecy’s descent coincided with when Astevan emerged into the world. Noa immediately questioned Kadel.

“When did the prophecy come down?”

“Hmm, if I remember correctly, I heard it was a little over a month ago.”

That fits the timeline.

A little over a month ago would be just before the end of summer vacation. The very time when the Abyssal Rift opened without anyone knowing.

‘I feel like the pieces are finally coming together.’

So, Astevan must have come into the world through the Abyssal Rift that was opened back then, hiding in the Eastern Jungle and gathering strength.

A more certain hypothesis.

Following that, Noa recapped the next line of the prophecy she had just heard from Kadel.

“Only when all the stars gather can the darkness finally be illuminated, so O Star’s Envoy, gather the stars that will illuminate the abyss in the Forest of Life and stand against the abyss.”

Here, ‘stars’ referred to heroes.

However, this too was something that hadn’t existed in the original.

The mention of heroes in the prophecy only occurred after all the heroes had passed their trials.

‘On the other hand, right now…’

The ones who had passed the trials were Ulan, Delia, and Fertisha. The others had yet to even face their trials. Yet, they were already mentioning heroes.

Noa’s lips were sealed.

Her expression deep in thought. But she couldn’t continue her ponderings.

“We’re surrounded.”

Suddenly muttered Kadel, who had been walking ahead. Without any hesitation, he drew his sword, and strange sounds began to echo from all directions.

[Grrrrr!]

[Grrrack! Gahhh!]

An undead horde had surrounded them.

The enemies were not only these. After sensing the undead, powerful beings also revealed their presence shortly after.

[What? An outsider?]

An unpleasant voice that sounded like metal grinding.

Soon, two monsters wearing the masks of beasts made their appearance. Those with glowing blue eyes locked their gaze on Noa and clicked their tongues.

[I didn’t expect to find you here.]

[Tsk, where are those three?]

A monster with a raven mask and one with a wolf mask.

Undying minions. Noa’s complexion turned pale, and Kadel was no different.

But there was one key difference.

“I’ll handle those two.”

Unlike Noa, who had turned rigid with fear, Kadel burned with fighting spirit.

He incessantly spoke to Noa.

“Can you handle the undead instead?”

“Yes! Leave it to me.”

Noa quickly regained her composure and responded.

Of course, she could only deal with the undead, not completely exterminate them.

Only Spirit Art and Divine Power could completely obliterate the undead.

‘But still…!’

As long as Kadel was tied up with the undying minions, she could buy enough time. Composing herself, Noa pulled a talisman from her possession.

Just as she was about to engage in combat.

A voice like thunder echoed.

“O Divine Being! Purify the undead that go against providence and care for the pitiful souls.”

A prayer emanated from a clear voice.

Once the prayer was completed, a fierce explosion of light engulfed the room.

Flash! Paaaah!

Soon after the flash of light subsided, the undead had turned into mere ashen remains.

The moment they witnessed this, both Kadel and Noa realized who had triggered the explosion of light.

“This is…!”

“Laurea!”

They both shouted with familiar faces.

At that moment, a rain of arrows and magical spells descended upon the undying minions as if to announce that the rest of their party had arrived.

Brrrrak! Kwoooosh!

As the scattered party regrouped, the coming attacks from all sides caused the undying minions to hiss.

[Damn you little pests!]

[You think something like this will work?!]

What the two minions said was correct.

To defeat the undying minions, a Transcendent Domain was necessary. But there was no need to worry about that.

Whoooosh!

While the minions focused on the furious onslaught coming from all sides, a singular strike flew toward them through a momentary gap.

[───!]

By the time they realized this, the heads of both minions had already flown off in the distance.

Following that, what appeared in Noa’s eyes was a man shaking off the ashen remains from his axe.

“Ulan!”

With the sudden appearance of a familiar face, the unexpected battle came to a swift end.

5.

After all the fighting had concluded.

The reunited party first shared the tales of their experiences within the maze.

During this exchange, Kadel’s eyes widened in astonishment upon hearing that Ian had surpassed the wall of the Master.

“Is that, is that really true?!”

His expression was so shocked he stumbled over his words. When Laurea nodded, Kadel marveled once more.

“I see. Finally breached the wall….”

Kadel continued to gaze at Ian, who had yet to awaken from his faint. Shortly after, a bright smile appeared on his lips.

“Haha, from now on, we can entrust the Saintess’s escort to Lord Marcus.”

His face beamed with delight.

Kadel gently ruffled the hair of the unconscious Ian with a satisfied expression.

A little later.

After finishing the story exchange, Delia brought up the main topic.

“Now, figuring out where this is and how to escape is our top priority.”

This place felt ominous.

Just existing here felt like it was siphoning away their magic power. It was best to leave as quickly as possible.

Just then, Ulan opened his mouth.

“If that’s the case, Noa should know.”

“Hmm? Noa?”

The sudden comment turned the gazes of Delia and the rest of the party toward Noa.

Noa nodded quietly and disclosed the information about the maze that only Ulan and she knew.

“This is a maze. It’s a sort of trap created by the Lord of Immortals, Astevan.”

“The Lord of Immortals? Astevan?”

“Who is that?”

“One of the Lords of the Abyss. The undead attacking Shulfern were his doing.”

The being leading the undead army.

As soon as she finished this explanation, Kadel’s eyes sparkled. It seemed he was starting to piece it together.

“You’re not implying he was mentioned in the prophecy….”

“Yes, you’re probably right.”

With clues connecting the Abyss and the undead, the only candidate was the Lord of Immortals.

When Noa confirmed this, Kadel’s expression quickly turned serious. But it was only for a moment before he asked with a puzzled look.

“But isn’t it supposed to emerge only through the Source of Magic? I seem to remember the Saintess saying that.”

“That’s right. So I suspect that Astevan must have emerged at some point about a month ago, just as summer vacation at the Academy was ending.”

Right at the end of summer vacation.

When Ulan’s party had stepped away.

There was a time when the Abyssal Rift had opened without anyone knowing. Noa continued her conjectures based on the information she had heard from the White Wolf.

“In other words, Astevan was already out in the world back then, hiding in the Eastern Jungle to gather power.”

“Hmm, I see.”

If everything explained were true, Noa’s conjectures were likely the closest to the truth. Kadel nodded as if he understood.

After wrapping up the explanation about the maze and Astevan lurking behind it.

“But, about that.”

Suddenly, Delia interjected.

With a look full of questions.

“Where did you get such information?”

“That is….”

The time for accountability had finally arrived.

Naturally, it would be strange if no one questioned her for spewing out information no one knew.

Noa swallowed hard.

‘…Heart’s Eye.’

Standing before those golden eyes that could see through any lies, she hesitated for a moment on where to begin her explanation.

Just then, an unexpected voice came to her rescue.

“I can’t answer that right now.”

It was Ulan, who had been silent until now.

He looked directly at Delia, who posed the question, and continued with an almost pleading tone.

“So please wait a bit.”

“Wait a bit….”

“Don’t tell me, Ulan already knew?”

Delia and Ivella’s surprised questions followed.

Ulan nodded silently in response to the two girls’ reaction and spoke again.

“I shall explain everything after we defeat Astevan. Until then, can you believe in me and wait?”

On the other hand, Kadel wore a worried expression at Ulan’s words. Even if he said so, he didn’t think the girls would let it slide that easily.

But he was wrong.

“Sure, I understand.”

“If Ulan is saying that much…”

“I’ll wait as well!”

Delia, Ivella, and Fertisha all accepted Ulan’s offer without a moment’s hesitation. Witnessing this, Kadel couldn’t help but admire them in his heart.

‘He’s already gained everyone’s trust.’

At the same time, he realized who the true leader was, guiding the star warriors against the Abyss.

After wrapping up their discussion.

The conversation shifted back to the main topic.

Now that they had identified the nature of their location, it was time to discuss how to escape the maze.

Noa quickly provided the answer.

“The way to escape the maze is simple. We just need to break the Abyssal Core at its center.”

“Abyssal Core? Is there such a thing?”

“There is. And to break the shell surrounding the core, Divine Power or Spirit Art is needed, but there’s no need to worry about that right now.”

After all, their party had fully reunited.

The only remaining issue was finding the path to the center where the core existed. Even that, there was no need to worry.

“Then I’ll take the lead.”

Sven, the beastkin hunter with pointed ears.

Among all the heroes, he had an exceptional talent for finding his way.

“I took a rough idea of the structure while looking around earlier. So it’ll be quick to figure it out if we wander around a bit.”

“That’s reassuring.”

Hearing Sven’s words, Ulan smiled.

Soon, the party resumed their journey.

And not long after, the darkness that had engulfed Shulfern rapidly lifted.

This could only mean one thing.

That the Maze of Devouring that Astevan had unleashed was successfully destroyed.

Chapter 53. Breakthrough