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Garavan, who had just started casting a spell, turns back with an incredulous expression.

“You mean you found it that quickly? Even without using magic?”

Could it be that the statue’s presence was visible enough to be spotted with the naked eye?

Garavan whips his head around, following Ian’s gaze, but he doesn’t see anything suspicious.

Ian asks to confirm.

“The statue with the hood, right?”

“Yes!”

With Garavan’s reply, flames erupt from Ian’s grasp.

Whoosh!

Light and heat surge between his fingers, swelling until they form a long, blazing spear.

The intense heat causes Garavan to hesitate.

Ian remains focused solely on the spire above.

His task is clear.

He throws it.

Planting his left foot, twisting his waist, he extends his arm.

The spear leaves his hand, streaking toward its target with a long, clean trail.

Boom!

The flames burst, blossoming brilliantly.

“Did we get it!?”

If only it were that simple. Ian knows better than anyone this isn’t the end.

The fierce flames remain in place, eating away at the magical barrier surrounding the spire. Through the shifting blaze, the statue’s hidden form comes into view.

“Pamael.”

With that soft call, the relic of Herwin, embedded in Ian’s right arm, reveals itself.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, Ian swings the heavy, club-like spear in his hand, and Garavan, taken aback, stumbles back.

Since he’s acknowledged his alliance, he can hardly protest if he were struck by it. Even a seasoned warrior would perish if hit in a vital spot.

Ian, however, is merely preparing for a second throw. But Garavan, feeling uneasy, instinctively shrinks back.

Ignoring him, Ian looks at the statue, thinking, “Perfect.”

Pamael, even with minimal magic, is a relic capable of sweeping a wide area.

If the statue is positioned on the spire as if asking to be struck, it’s actually convenient.

Once more, he throws it at the statue, omitting the incantation.

Whizz!

Pamael leaves his fingertips and pierces the spire.

A streak of light flashes, scattering the flames, piercing the barrier and statue beyond in an instant.

Crash!

Fragments of the crumbling spire fall with the shattered pieces of the statue.

“It’s done!”

If only that were true. Something still feels wrong.

As the statue is destroyed, ominous storm clouds gather above, swirling like a triggered trap.

Whoooosh…!

“Why? How could this be?” Garavan looks around, bewildered.

“Weren’t things supposed to be resolved once the catalyst was gone?”

“What a naive thought.”

Just because a medium is destroyed doesn’t mean the portal will close. Monsters that have already escaped won’t vanish.

The dead won’t come back to life. Time that has passed cannot be reversed.

“Then?”

“I only prevented the portal from opening further….”

Creeeeak─

Seeing that the portal remains open, Ian sighs as he retrieves Pamael.

“It seems I was wrong. The statue was a trap, and the catalyst must be elsewhere—or there may be more than one.”

“That can’t be. The only thing that could hold such power from the Outerworld is…!”

Garavan’s eyes are wide, refusing to accept reality. He stops mid-sentence and gazes downward, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, he continues to channel magic, likely controlling the golems, but the situation is growing more dire.

Growl.

Somewhere nearby, a monster reveals itself, baring its teeth.

Only two or three, but they charge recklessly with fierce hostility.

Ian dispatches them swiftly with a sweep of his weapon, but the meaning behind their appearance is clear.

There are hardly any survivors left in Helrem Fortress.

No—none.

Expanding his senses, Ian detects no trace of life, aside from Garavan beside him. The area is teeming only with monsters.

With the situation like this, there’s no need to hold back to protect the fortress’s structures.

Ian summons his magic. As his will takes form, sparks ignite near the monsters’ feet.

A flash of light and a sudden sound. In the moment the monsters look down, pillars of fire erupt.

Fwoooosh!

Four fire pillars spiral fiercely, sucking in everything around them in an instant.

Ian feels the intense drain on his mana alongside the rising heat.

Another burnout.

His physical stamina is stable enough to endure using such a powerful technique, but his mana reserves remain limited.

They say those with great talent gain mana just by resting, but unfortunately, Ian isn’t one of them.

The fact that he has grown significantly since his return is perhaps his only consolation.

If he makes it out of here, he’ll need to find a way to increase his mana capacity.

Clatter.

He pulls a handful of unpurified magic stones from his pocket and puts them in his mouth.

Covered in monster blood and residue, they are far from clean, but now is not the time to worry about that.

Ideally, he’d chew them to pieces, but that would risk damaging his teeth. So, he simply holds them on his tongue, letting them dissolve.

Whoooosh!

The four pillars of fire rotate clockwise, slowly, creating a barrier that blocks the monsters’ approach.

Through the flames, Ian observes the grotesque forms of the monsters beyond. Their appearance is chaotic and indiscriminate.

Typically, monsters under an Outer God exhibit distinctive traits or abilities, but these ones have none.

They seem no different from wild beasts haphazardly gathered in one place. Among them, one creature strolls leisurely, unfazed.

With each step it takes, the nearby monsters scatter as though fearful, marking it as a beast of significant power.

“Garavan.”

“Wait.”

“I don’t know what you’re planning, but we’re out of time.”

“I know.”

“Don’t you have a secret weapon? Maybe a giant golem?”

“…….”

Now is the time to decide—whether to flee or stand and fight, even if it seems hopeless.

They can’t simply wait for a rescue that may never come.

Boom!

The sound of cannon fire has lessened. Screams are nearly gone.

Then, a magic circle appears beneath Garavan’s feet, glows briefly, and vanishes.

“Hah… hahaha… I see.”

Suddenly, Garavan lets out a hollow laugh.

His expression is strained, and unstable magic begins to flicker around him.

Perhaps the fortress’s fall has shaken his very spirit.

It’s hardly surprising—this collapse has broken even the mightiest heroes. But did it have to be now?

“Garavan?”

“Hmph.”

His laughter stops abruptly as he lifts his head and stares at Ian.

The sudden hostility prompts Ian to tighten his grip on his spear, ready to act at any moment.

“Heh heh.”

Garavan wears a complex expression.

“You… never give up, do you?”

“Isn’t it a bit early to give up?”

“Early? The fortress has fallen, and everyone’s dying.”

There may be survivors, but they, too, will soon perish.

“In this despair, why haven’t you abandoned hope?”

Ian, still vigilant toward both the monsters beyond the flames and Garavan’s hostility, replies evenly.

“Has an Outer God descended?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? An Outer God?”

Few have ever witnessed the true form of an Outer God in this world—and Ian is among them.

Their mere appearance warps the landscape, inducing madness and causing one to lose all reason.

If one had appeared here, they wouldn’t be having this conversation.

“Or has an Outerworld Apostle appeared?”

The downfall of the once-mighty Empire of Xail was attributed to the Outer Sea, but its ultimate ruin was brought about by the Apostles.

Though not on par with a deity, these beings could only be defeated at the cost of many superhuman lives.

Ian observes Garavan’s stunned silence and continues.

“And it’s not as if one of the Ten Thousand Fiends has come either. Though it’s tragic that lives have been lost and the fortress has fallen, the empire has not yet fallen. Not yet.”

“…Hah.”

“But what concerns me is that.”

The sky is tinged with purple as dark clouds gather, swirling ominously above them.

As blood and souls were offered up in this fortress, it’s uncertain what entity might be summoned.

Stopping it feels essential, yet there is no way to do so.

Ian remembers that the Helrem Fortress didn’t exist before his regression, but he doesn’t know what happened.

Garavan let out a hollow laugh.

“Perhaps it’s the Outer God you desire that’s coming directly for you.”

“Are you blaming me? Do you see me as the cause of all this?”

In response to Ian’s straightforward question, Garavan fell silent.

Boom!

A sudden explosive sound echoed. Yet, it wasn’t from artillery fire.

This was a slash created by an aura-infused blade, slashing through buildings that crumbled one after another.

“Reinforcements?”

For a moment, Ian thought so, but he realized the golems scattered throughout the fortress were gathering in one place.

He cut off the mana sustaining the fire pillars.

Crackle…

Although the intense flames and heat remained, monsters could still cross over if they wished.

But they only glanced his way. They didn’t advance. Instead, the golems confronted the monsters.

“Yes, I am blaming you. Right now, I resent you. This fortress has fallen because of you. The residents of this fortress have died because of you. Because of you.”

Murmuring bitterly, Garavan’s hostility grew.

Mana and aura radiated from him with an increasing ferocity.

Even amid the tension prickling his skin, Ian maintained his composure, offering no response.

“If only you hadn’t come here. If only you’d completed your mission and returned quickly. Perhaps none of this would have happened.”

But Garavan’s rising anger dissipated, leaving him looking dejected. His shoulders slumped as his stance weakened.

“But I know it’s all just an excuse. I was the one who summoned you. I was the one who willingly taught you about golems. No, I’ve been blaming the wrong person from the start.”

“……”

“All of this happened because I made a pact with an Outer God. I shouldn’t have done it. But back then, my impatience and guilt led me to make a terrible choice.”

Just as the monsters appeared, golems emerged one by one, wielding their weapons without hesitation, having nothing left to protect.

“Look at them. That’s the result of my deal with an Outer God. As you’ve seen, I implanted human brains into these golems. That’s why they learn fast and can behave almost like humans. They can even wield martial skills instead of relying on magic. With the brains of the Red Spear Knights, in theory, they could even use Bane of Evil. I wanted to use that to create a legion of golems.”

“What was your purpose?”

“I told you. I dreamed of being a hero. I wanted to sacrifice vile criminals or worthless individuals to prevent greater sacrifices. Or perhaps, to give noble warriors who lost their bodies a second chance.”

Hoooooooonk…

A faint horn sounded in the distance.

“Looks like the train we were waiting for is finally coming. Took it long enough. Were they watching from afar all this time?”

“Well, maybe we should be grateful it came back at all?”

“Perhaps.”

The monsters around them were mostly cleared out. The golems seemed to have suffered considerable damage, but they were still able to take down what looked like a beast monster.

Garavan muttered bitterly.

“Perhaps I should have done this from the start. Trying to protect everyone, I ended up losing them all.”

“Let’s go. If we want to board the train before it departs, we need to get back to the platform.”

“Before we leave, don’t you think we should finish this?”

“We still don’t know what the catalyst is.”

“No, I know. I realize what it is now.”

Ian turned to look at Garavan, who slowly spoke.

“It’s me. I’m the catalyst for the Outer God.”

———-