Chapter 2

The sun was high in the sky, yet the world was shrouded in darkness, and the sunlight did not reach the ground.

The capital of the Rothschild Kingdom, Sejour. If the world were defined by this place alone, it would not be a metaphor or an exaggeration, but a stark reality.

The ancient city, fortified with massive walls, was experiencing its first-ever invasion by an external enemy.

They were invaders from the sky, coming from hundreds of kilometers to the south. Who could have imagined that a fortress would move through the air and settle above the capital?

The black castle made of obsidian—the Black Enigma.

The capital Sejour was ravaged by lightning bolts emitted from the spires surrounding the castle, and ten thousand residents fled in panic.

This Black Enigma was the headquarters of a group that revered the "Veil of Nothingness," a spiral of despair, and the site of a ritual for their evil plans.

The "Veil of Nothingness" had long lurked in deep shadows and darkness, waiting for the day of their long-prepared and long-awaited goal: the revival of the Spiral of Despair.

The Spiral of Despair.

An ancient and great entity that could reduce the world itself to nothingness. In the past, even the gods of good and evil could not destroy it, only bind it in a prison. It was a symbol of despair.

All preparations were complete, and the "Veil of Nothingness" began to act with a clear will.

Its symbol, the dark and unclean castle, loomed high, overlooking the myriad beings on the ground, breaking their spirits and crushing their will to resist.

It seemed there was no way to resist, but suddenly the rain of lightning stopped.

The people of the capital Sejour—regardless of gender, age, or status—all looked up at the sky.

Perhaps they had a premonition, or perhaps it was unconscious. Someone knelt and bowed their head to pray to the god they believed in.

This movement spread like ripples, covering the entire capital of Sejour.

The people would later learn that a battle to determine the fate of the world was about to begin.

On the top floor of the Black Enigma.

It was also a dome-shaped space entirely covered in black obsidian, with a ceiling height of about 20 meters. The room itself was spacious, proportional to the ceiling.

Six adventurers who had fought the "Veil of Nothingness" for a year quickly ascended the stairs to the top floor, without letting their guard down.

Among them was a boy who followed cautiously, as if walking through the darkness.

He held a thick spellbook in his left hand and was clearly a mage, as evidenced by his robes.

Mages are usually scholars, so they might not be accustomed to battle—yet his presence here meant he had survived many battles.

Moreover, in the world of Bluewars, where conflicts with other humans, goblins, kobolds, and other races were not uncommon, it was strange for him to be intimidated by the atmosphere of battle.

He gave off a somewhat alien impression.

"It seems the ritual has ended."

Pointing to the altar about ten meters away, the young mage calmly stated the fact.

It was a simple confirmation of the facts, but it also implied that conquering this fortress in a short time was impossible.

Although the capital had suffered damage, they had given prior warning. The damage should have been minimized—there was no other way to think about it.

The altar, elevated by a step and illuminated by several candelabras.

A complex magic circle was drawn on the floor, incomprehensible to any sane human. Or rather, it was a blasphemous motif, intricately and delicately carved, that would drive one to madness if understood.

In the center, three supreme leaders—Triade—wearing black robes and masks, glared at the intruders.

Behind them, a giant enveloped in flames. The evil prince of fire spirits—Il Kanzuar.

The core that freed the Spiral of Despair from the gods' bindings, using the souls of the capital's residents stolen by lightning in the ritual.

With the formidable presence of the otherworldly being behind them, the Triade calmly welcomed their adversaries.

"O 'Veil of Nothingness,' your schemes end here."

At the forefront of the adventurers stood a golden-haired, blue-eyed girl clad in a powerful magic silver plate armor. She held a large shield integrated with a gauntlet in her left hand and had already drawn a beautifully crafted one-handed sword.

She dominated the scene with a single gesture.

No one could look away.

At the same time, no one could bear to look directly.

Overwhelming charm.

It was not just her physical beauty. It was the noble soul of a cathedral knight, her life dedicated to good, and her sword skills honed to the limits of human capability.

All of these combined to form her.

"Valthrude, in the name of 'Ever-Victorious' Helennia, I will thwart your schemes."

Pointing the tip of her holy sword at the evil, the girl declared with a stern voice. Her strikingly beautiful face was now filled with the will to fight against evil.

It was beautiful, even that expression.

"Futile."

"What can you do with just five of you?"

However, the Triade showed no signs of being moved by Valthrude's declaration or her beauty, their muffled voices coming from behind their masks.

"The evil prince of fire spirits, Il Kanzuar, has manifested in Bluewars. Therefore, the return of our lord, Reliuria, who was imprisoned in the gods' prison, is inevitable."

The "Origin" that shaped the world.

The "Realm of Chaos" left behind during its creation.

One of the seven princes who rule the "Realm of Chaos," a being on par with gods and kings of the abyss.

A being that should not manifest in the material world.

Even Il Kanzuar was only a sacrifice to open the door to the gods' prison where Reliuria was confined.

"Of course, that's the ultimate goal. Reliuria—once the Spiral of Despair is freed, not only Bluewars but all dimensions will be destroyed. Literally."

The young mage in a pure white robe, a symbol of a mage of good, raised his eyes from the spellbook he held.

"Indeed."

"That is our ultimate wish."

"What do you want to achieve by destroying the world?"

"Both you and we are destined to die."

"The world, where the balance of good and evil wavers, is too absurd."

"Then, let us be destroyed along with our lord."

The candelabra's light flickered, creating an illusion that the masks were swaying. The flat, indistinguishable voices contributed to this effect...

Madness.

At the core, there was a philosophy that ordinary people could not understand.

The world, born from the "Origin," is filled with both good and evil. If it was born from perfection, it should not have any flaws.

Therefore, the Spiral of Despair, Reliuria, must be freed from the gods' prison to return the world to its perfect form—the "Origin."

That was the ultimate goal of the "Veil of Nothingness."

"Commit suicide alone."

The young mage, still holding the spellbook in one hand, sighed in exasperation.

From his experience fighting the seven high priests, goblins, orcs, giants, dragons, and other evil beings under the Triade, he did not expect to persuade them. But this was literally beyond reason.

"The conversation is over."

"Got it, Valthrude. I'll leave it to you."

"You must fight with us!"

"Well, I'll do it..."

"You lack determination!"

"Let's stop the bickering, shall we?"

"Althea! This is not bickering!"

"Then, is it a marital spat?"

"Althea, please, it ruins the tension. Seriously..."

The female priest, who had been observing the situation, stepped in to mediate.

The holy symbol hanging from her neck belonged to Tras-Sink, the god of magic and death. Her hair was as dark as the night sky, and her features were well-defined, though not as striking as Valthrude's.

However, what first caught the eye was the crimson eye patch covering half her face.

The eye patch, which completely covered both eyes, made it impossible to read Althea's expression. It was a striking and intimidating presence.

"Yona, are you ready?"

"Yep, I'm good. Exile is ready too."

"Alright."

Exile, the rock giant warrior, smiled wryly as he readied his spiked flail—a mace with spikes on a long chain. His towering figure was over two meters tall, with arms as thick as logs, giving off a sense of overwhelming power.

His skin, true to his race, was rough and rocky.

The rock giant smiled in a way that seemed out of place.

It was only natural.

This rock giant was twice the height of Yona, the albino girl. The custom-made dragon scale armor alone was probably heavier than Yona.

Exile, who would feel out of place anywhere but on the battlefield, was the one who seemed out of place, but Yona was the one who didn't fit in this setting at all.

She wasn't wearing armor like Valthrude, nor did she have any equipment to indicate her status like Yuto or Althea.

Her deep blue tunic and a single piece of cloth as a cloak were of the highest quality, but they didn't look like attire for battle. Her white hair, red eyes, and thin, short stature made her presence fundamentally wrong.

However, despite the absurdity of an albino girl encouraging a rock giant, everyone accepted Yona's presence as a matter of course.

The three Triade and Il Kanzuar. The five adventurers prepared for battle.

First, the sixth member moved.

"Here I come."

A light voice came from a few steps ahead of Valthrude and Exile.

At the same time, several arrows were released from the air.

They whistled, spinning as they sliced through the air.

The arrows pierced the forehead, eyes, throat, and heart of one of the Triade, who served the Spiral of Despair, and he fell to the ground without a sound.

As the attack ended, the spell of "Complete Invisibility" wore off, revealing the attacker.

It was a figure shorter than Yona, a child-like presence. However, unlike Yona, this figure's age did not match its appearance.

"Great job, Rasia!"

The mage Yuto's cheer went unanswered as the grassland race thief, Rasia, continued to observe the Triade she had just felled with five simultaneous arrows, without letting her guard down.

"He can't die yet."

The Triade, who had been hit in vital points, rose to his feet. His voice and movements showed no change.

Without the arrows, and with the mask hiding his expression, he appeared to have suffered no damage at all.

"Of course."

"The 'Heavenly Mandate of Death' spell. I expected as much."

Yuto named the spell that repairs the body upon death.

A spell of the art of magic, learned and wielded by mages.

A spell of the divine arts, chanted in prayer by priests.

Both systems classify individual spells by their power and difficulty of acquisition, from first to ninth tier.

Furthermore, those who can use first to third-tier spells are called mages, fourth to sixth-tier spells are called sorcerers, and seventh-tier and above are called archmages.

Similarly, those who can