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For instance, the spatial magicians Lilian summoned were a specialized team back in the Ancient Austine Empire that directly served the emperor.

Their purpose was to teleport the emperor to safety during times of crisis, so that he could rally the people and stage a comeback. It would be difficult to invoke teleportation spells without that kind of talent, unless an exorbitant price were paid.

Theoretically speaking, there was a chance to invoke any spell in the world as long as the price was right—it was just a matter of how probable it was.

The tragedy in the fortress reflected a failed experiment to forcefully invoke a teleportation spell. Lilian’s soldiers were unable to utter a word. The charging knights pulled their steeds to a halt. Even the Rosaian soldiers couldn’t gloat at this.

The Saint Mesit Theocracy’s clergymen put their palms together and prayed for the dead.

Lilian stood silently before the remnants of the teleportation spell. Her eyes remained cold, even after the spatial crack reflecting the imperial capital had vanished.

“Your Highness Lilian, we have confirmed the cause of death of the deceased in the fortress. They had their mana and life force depleted in a ritual,” one of the commanders reported.

“What kind of ritual is it?” Lilian asked.

“It’s an evil cult’s ritual. We found unique inscriptions on the fortress walls that suggested so,” the commander replied.

Lilian’s expression slowly turned colder.

The fact there were inscriptions on the fortress walls meant that this ritual wasn’t conducted on a whim. Emperor Lukas had been plotting this for a long time now; his preparations might have already been in place back when Lilian brought her army over and confronted him.

That explained why he was so lackadaisical, not even bothering to repair the collapsed palace. He was probably idling away the time while waiting for the Savior’s awakening.

From the start, Lukas planned to sacrifice his soldiers to teleport himself and his Fallen subordinates to the imperial capital when the Savior awakened. Neither this fortress nor these soldiers would appear before him ever again, so there was no need for him to tidy things up.

“…Are there any survivors?”

“None at the moment,” one of the commanders bitterly replied.

“…”

Lilian took a deep breath before pondering the situation.

Lukas Ackermann had escaped. On the surface, it looked as if Lilian and the others had won the battle without suffering any losses, but the truth was that this was a terrible defeat for them.

Lilian, with the help of the united army, could confidently subdue Lukas’ garrison troops, which was why there were so many deserters on Lukas’ side in the first place. Had they taken a more decisive stance, there might have been survivors here, and these survivors would have fought for humankind’s survival too.

On top of that, Lukas and the Fallens under his command had to be plotting something.

Lilian was certain that Lukas would never become subservient to the Savior, considering his personality and his goals. This meant that he would never become a Savior worshiper. If so, what could he have in mind?

“Power and eternity; could it be…”

As Lilian slowly pieced the puzzle together, her conclusion unnerved her.

Godhood—that was the answer that best fulfilled the concept of power and eternity. She was lacking vital pieces of the puzzle to see the full picture, but she decided to report her conjecture to the united army’s top brass for the time being.

Having made up her mind, she turned around to relay her instruction to one of her aides, but before she could speak a word, she suddenly entered a weird trance.

Her surroundings grew brighter, as her body basked in comforting warmth. The world around her seemed to have stalled to a halt. At the same time, a black-haired, golden-eyed girl with a sweet smile appeared before her.

Lilian was stunned.

“Why are you here? There are a lot of people around us! The burden of the temporal spell…”

“Don’t worry, Mother. We are the only ones here,” the girl replied.

Lilian felt a surge of intimacy toward the girl. She looked at the stopped world around her, and her nervous expression slowly loosened.

This was not her first time meeting with her child, so she wasn’t too shocked by the situation. However, she couldn’t help but be bothered by the nervous look on the girl’s face. The girl had been composed the last few times they met, but she looked exceptionally uneasy this time.

Lilian wanted to ask what was going on, but the girl shook her head and said, “Mother, this may be my last advice to you.”

“Last advice?”

“Please stay by Father’s side.”

“Hm?” Lilian was perplexed by the abrupt advice.

As easy as the advice sounded, it was not easy for her to do. Both Lilian and Roel had things on their plate, as leaders of the united army. On top of that, this advice hinted that Roel might be in danger soon. It was also baffling to her that this was the ‘last advice’.

Feeling uneasy, she wanted to clarify her doubts, but time began flowing once more before she could say anything. The girl’s silhouette flickered like an illusion before vanishing into thin air.

“…” Looking at her disappeared child, Lilian slowly closed her mouth.

Her aide was still waiting for her instruction, and the soldiers around her were unaware of what had just happened.

Lilian’s expression slowly hardened. She turned around and headed toward Nora and Charlotte.

…

Roel and Alicia walked alongside each other toward the heart of the billowing white fog, but they were walking much faster this time around.

There were so many folded spaces inside Shrouding Fog that traveling within it was no easy feat even if one had its permission. The two of them were able to travel with greater ease now that both of them had reached Origin Level 1, but Alicia seemed to be in a heavy mood.

Roel took a few glances at Alicia before finally asking, “Is something on your mind?”

“It’s nothing much. I’m just… a little worried.”

“Worried?”

“Lord Brother, you’ll be fighting once more after reviving the Six Calamities, right?”

“…” Roel didn’t know how to answer that question, so he chose to share what he had discussed with the others. “Our investigation shows more Fallens will awaken in the imperial capital over time. With the Savior’s madness corrupting the surrounding mana, our plight will only worsen. Our best course of action is to launch an attack as soon as possible.”

“I know that,” Alicia replied, quietly sighing.

She also knew that now was the best time for humankind to make their move.

Humankind currently had their elites gathered on the eastern border, whereas the Savior was still inactive for now, and not all of the Fallens in the imperial capital had awakened yet.

A thousand years was a long time, even for those who had succumbed to depravity. Most Fallens had gone into hibernation after such a long lull. Even when the Savior became more active, it would still take time for them to awaken and join the battle.

This period was of utmost importance to humankind.

This was the best opportunity for Roel to absorb the Savior’s power and complete Carolyn and Charles’ final plan, and humankind would have to move fast to capitalize on this opportunity.

In the earlier meeting, Holy Eminence John, Chief Senator Antonio, and King Friedrich had come to an agreement to launch an attack three days from now. This was the minimum time it would take for them to coordinate the three million soldiers for an attack.

The united army had already begun its deployment, and it wouldn’t be long before news reached all of the fortresses.

Three days from now, Roel would march onto the battlefield once more, but this time around, Alicia was afraid for him. As someone who had inherited the Mother Goddess’ powers, she was the person who best understood the Savior’s strength, aside from Roel and Carolyn.

If possible, she would rather Roel never revive the Six Calamities, for their revival marked the beginning of the war.

“Lord Brother, are you sure you’re all right now?”

“Rest assured, I’m fine. Has your soul recovered from its jolt?”

“Ancestor Carolyn re-summoned the ancient god to remove the negative effects on my soul, speeding up my recovery. I’ll be able to join the battle this time around.”

“I see.” Roel was conflicted to hear Alicia’s reply.

Even now, he was still averse to having Alicia on the battlefield, though he knew that she was an irreplaceable asset to humankind.

While it hadn’t been long since she made her breakthrough, there was no doubt she was one of humankind\'s strongest Origin Level 1 transcendents. On top of that, she was the only one who could control the Six Calamities, which meant that she had to be on the frontlines.

“Lord Brother, are you still hesitating?”

“I still don’t want you on the battlefield even though I know that you’re very strong now.”

“You’re always like that, Lord Brother. This is called being excessively protective.”

“No, it’s just that…”

“I want to be together with you, even if it’s on the battlefield,” Alicia said with a smile.

Roel was startled by those words, but he eventually nodded with a smile too.

It was the desire to protect each other that drove both of them to become stronger. Now that both of them had reached Origin Level 1, it seemed more apt for them to fight alongside each other instead.

Soon, they arrived at the divine temple shaped like a pyramid. Alicia brought Roel to the six floating magic items.

“Lord Brother, how do you intend to go about it?”

“Simple.”

Roel evoked the power of Sia-fication and released a divine white light that instantaneously enveloped the six magic items. Under the nurturing light, the origins of the Six Calamities slowly regained their fervor. Be it the long-gone Sire Darkness or the surviving Shrouding Fog, they slowly became more active under the call of their Mother.

Six light pillars of different colors gushed into the sky, piercing through the white fog to the root of the world. They began absorbing the mana at the root of the world to reforge themselves.

Within days, they would be ready to return to the battlefield.

While Roel was rekindling the flames of life in the Six Calamities, in a distant divine tower, a silver-haired woman slowly opened her eyes. She gazed intently at the darkness, as if looking at someone, before slowly returning to sleep.