Act 5? The World After

We dispatched Vulkan without further incident.

But the work was far from over.

*Thoom!*

Even now, the Earth Dragon was pressing forward, eager to butcher us.

The situation was critical.

When I raised my head, I saw Centriole lowering his sword in the distance.

It seemed even at the last, he was wary that I was still Vulkan.

In the meantime, Akrede approached, gathering herself.

She sighed, and bestowed the Goddess’s Blessing upon me.

Finally, I could breathe again.

My body, which had felt shattered until just now, felt properly reassembled.

“Truly, I thought we were done for.”

“I am in your debt.”

Akrede, while granting me the blessing, looked around her surroundings, her eyes darting.

The reason she came here was to retrieve Narea.

So she must be searching for where Narea’s soul resided.

“Cardinal Centriole.”

“Former Cardinal.”

Centriole approached at the summons, and I pointed behind him.

There, were stairs leading to another chamber.

“Go quickly, with Lady Akrede. You must reach it before the Earth Dragon arrives.”

Even now, the Earth Dragon approached this place.

It was all because that ancient dragon remnant had rampaged so wildly, that we were in this situation.

We must clean this up quickly, and leave this place.

“Yes, then we shall be off.”

“W-we’ll be back!”

Centriole hoisted Akrede onto his back and turned his steps in that direction.

Akrede waved her hand, bidding farewell.

Her composure was befitting of a Saintess.

“Wow, you are truly out of your mind! Pulling that off, I mean.”

Then, Mushika sidled up, a look of relief washing over her face.

But soon she subtly scanned our surroundings, then edged closer to me, asking,

“Hanon, that black thing that burned in the flames earlier.”

She noticed.

Mushika is sensitive to souls.

Of course she’d sensed the fragment of nightmare mixed in with the embers’ glow.

Instead of answering, I simply nodded.

At that, Mushika’s face grew grave.

The fact that an Archfiend was involved in Rosly, the Mercenary King’s, corruption was something she too could not abide.

“Hah, let’s talk more later, when the Saintess arrives.”

Mushika stepped back, her expression troubled.

She knew well enough that this was a subject not to be uttered lightly.

“Um…”

In the meantime, Zenia approached hesitantly.

Today’s events had been a complete bolt from the blue for her.

I was just about to praise her for handling it better than I’d expected.

Then I realized Zenia’s eyes were shining a little too brightly.

Zenia’s emotions seemed heightened.

It appeared adrenaline was surging through her system after being thrust into such a fierce battle.

Her fists clenched tight, she parted her lips.

“You were amazing. No, I want to say more. Truly, truly amazing.”

Zenia spoke as if profoundly moved.

“I admire you so much. That you can give your all without regard for your own well-being, it’s worthy of a hero.”

Zenia, though possessing perfectionist tendencies, was still young.

As such, she was at an age where she was easily influenced by others.

“How, how can I become someone like you, Hanon-nim?”

It seemed this incident had had a significant impact on Zenia.

Her eyes sparkled as if she’d discovered a new dream, a new goal.

Not a trace remained of the coldness I’d sensed when we first met.

Was this the look Jerion had when he followed Olfram, seeking to save the world?

Yet, being Vikamann, not Wolfram, stirred within me a complex brew of emotions.

Isabelle glanced at me sideways.

She knew my true face.

Did Xenia suspect?

That I, the very Vikamann she loathed, now held such sway over her?

Someday I’d have to tell her, but how to even begin untangled my thoughts into knots.

Still, I couldn’t simply ignore the question hanging in the air.

It was the query of a young girl just beginning to dream.

As a grown-up, I couldn’t just brush it aside.

How can I become like you?

I pondered for a long moment before giving my answer.

“Go to the Jerion Academy.”

I truly didn’t know what else to say.

It wasn’t as if I could tell Xenia to just play *Crimson Butterfly*.

Isabelle nudged my ribs with her elbow, irked by my tepid response, but there was little I could do.

This was the best I had.

“Jerion Academy, yes, Master Hanon will surely be there as well.”

Xenia spoke with steely resolve etched on her face.

Undoubtedly, Xenia would enter Jerion Academy with flying colors, likely as the top student.

“I’ll be waiting.”

That much I could say, and a vibrant smile bloomed across Xenia’s face.

“Yes, I’ll be there soon.”

Let us look forward to Xenia’s dazzling ascent.

“…What are you really going to do later?”

Isabelle whispered, but I pretended not to hear.

*Thump!*

At that moment, the Earth Dragon shook the canyon fiercely once more, as if demanding not to be forgotten.

It seemed it was truly nearing its limit.

“Xenia, with Saint-level magic, you should be able to manage spatial transference, correct?”

Spatial magic in a dungeon replay was a very different beast.

However, Jerion’s Divine magic surely extended to spatial manipulation as well.

Xenia’s gaze sharpened in an instant.

Perhaps owing to this battle, a certain gravitas began to settle upon her.

The perfectionist tendencies waned, replaced by a burgeoning heroic air.

“Yes, it is possible.”

“We must leave this place before the Earth Dragon arrives. Can you prepare?”

He intended to return to the surface immediately upon Acrede’s arrival.

White Lumberjack was, without a doubt, capable of extricating himself.

Therefore, all that remained was for them to escape this place.

“Yes, I’ll prepare it immediately.”

Xenia hastily began the preparations for her Divine magic.

The starlight emanating from her coalesced into a single, intricate magic circle.

Even after seeing it countless times, the magic’s power remained astonishing.

‘The synergy with Sharin is something to anticipate.’

Xenia’s Divine magic.

Sharin’s Milky Way.

These two possessed unique properties that could synergize with each other.

Someday, surely, he would witness the synergy between those properties with his own eyes.

And that day would be the final battle.

*Thump-*

Just then, a new figure appeared, joining their ranks.

“Haa, was Vulkan dealt with?”

It was White Lumberjack’s attendant.

He, too, seemed to have successfully subdued the mysterious faction.

“Hannon-nim!”

Acrede, clutching a vial etched with a goddess’s image, could be seen hurrying back from afar.

Her face, however, was ashen white.

For a moment, he feared she had failed to retrieve Narea, but the vial was empty.

She had definitely recovered Narea.

The paleness of her face was likely due to the story she heard through Narea.

Meanwhile, Xenia completed her spell, showering us with starlight.

Now, it was time to return from the long, drawn-out ordeal with the Esoteric Order.

“You.”

Just then, Isabel approached me, abruptly speaking.

“When I get back, I have something to tell you.”

“Something to tell me?”

As I showed my bewilderment, Isabel slowly curved her lips into a smile.

“But before that.”

The smile was so radiant, the most I had ever seen on Isabel.

“I think I’ll have to lock you away for a while.”

Huh?

And Xenia’s high-level spatial teleportation magic activated.

* * *

Thanks to Xenia’s high-level magic, we escaped unscathed.

The place we moved to with the spatial magic was a little ways from the Wyvern Gorge.

Perhaps because of that, we could clearly see the rampaging Wyvern in the distance.

The Esoteric Order was completely wrecked by the Wyvern.

That… it was beyond repair now.

At the same time, white flower petals could be seen fluttering down.

Soon after, Baekmokgong kicked off from mid-air and returned.

Her appearance, a mess here and there, attested to the fierce battle she had with the Wyvern.

But she seemed to have no critical injuries, no major problems.

Even now, her extraordinary regenerative abilities were working, so that says it all.

‘As expected of someone among the strongest in this world.’

To think that even Baekmokgong couldn’t handle the Evil Reverent.

Once again, I realized just how dangerous the entity I was opposing truly was.

“So, the Wyvern suddenly heading towards the gorge… was that your doing, boy?”

“Yes, it seems the Wyvern noticed due to the vestiges of the Ancient Dragon going berserk nearby.”

“Berserk, you say.”

Baekmokgong landed in front of me and slowly stroked her chin.

Then, with a slight furrow creasing one brow, she regarded me intently.

It felt as though my body were being stripped bare.

Shame washed over me.

“The aura of your soul has shifted.”

Why could she see even that?

I couldn’t fathom the limits of Baekmokgong’s abilities.

“She… she underwent Soul Fusion!”

In that instant, Mushika cried out, as if delivering a denouncement.

Better to be flogged sooner rather than later, I reasoned.

I resolved to accept it with humility.

“I underwent Soul Fusion with Vulcan. Vulcan’s consciousness was consumed by the remnants of the Ancient Dragon.”

“Hmph.”

Baekmokgong exhaled, a sound laced with disbelief.

Then, she raised a hand and gently cupped the back of my head.

“Frankly, I am not pleased that you risked your life to such an extent.”

But soon, she was stroking my hair.

“Even so, I acknowledge your heroic actions more than anyone. Well done.”

A lash followed by a sweet carrot.

It was quintessentially Baekmokgong.

“Let’s discuss the details later. There’s no advantage to inviting the ire of that thing.”

Baekmokgong gestured towards the writhing Earth Dragon.

Lest the Earth Dragon target us again.

We decided to vacate the area as quickly as possible.

Just then, the Blue Master Magician and the Imperial Knights appeared in the canyon, heading our way.

They had apparently been waiting, ready to mobilize depending on the situation.

We joined them safely and began our journey homeward.

Having accomplished something significant, everyone seemed untroubled.

Except for one person.

Me.

Isabel’s words after defeating Vulcan.

How to navigate this… abyss ahead, I cannot fathom.

“Um, Hannon-nim…”

Just then, Acrede addressed me.

She glanced around, a troubled expression plastered across her face.

The moment I saw that reaction, I knew why she was speaking to me.

In the fifth act’s finale, Narea, not Acrede, had approached me like this.

*‘So, here it comes.’*

My gaze flickered to Baekmokgong.

She was walking toward the Azure Magic Tower Lord and the Imperial Knights, deep in conversation.

It must be about retreating.

Perfect timing, actually.

I had matters to discuss with Musika as well, related to this.

“Acrede-nim, let’s discuss what you have to say in the carriage.”

“Ah, yes, yes!”

Acrede nodded hurriedly in response.

My eyes landed on the Earth Dragon.

The fifth act had ended even sooner than the fourth.

How much the main story would change from now on, I couldn’t dare to predict.

*‘What becomes of the empty fifth act?’*

Perhaps, like this time, the sixth act would be pulled forward and occur within the fifth?

*‘No, that must be it.’*

The fifth act is a preparatory scenario for the sixth.

Like it or not, the sixth act was destined to be pulled forward.

*‘Never did I imagine that the butterfly effect of saving Grantoni in the fourth act would ripple this far.’*

My head spins.

If even the sixth act is pulled forward, the scenario I know ends.

Does that mean the world will simply regain peace?

*‘Or…’*

Perhaps a seventh act, unknown to me, will begin.

But this current, it is no longer within my power to stem.

The affair was already on its course, an unstoppable train.

I was merely holding the rudder in this brakeless carriage.

‘Must see it through.’

I had vowed to quell even Vulcan’s grudge and save the world.

I’ve no intention of giving up now, not in the least.

But speaking of current problems…

My gaze flicked towards Isabel.

She met my eyes and offered a bright smile.

Terrifying.

Isabel’s smile is terribly unnerving.

I… I don’t want to go to the Academy.