Except for Damian, the three of us adjusted our balance due to the building shaking violently. It felt like the ground beneath it had completely collapsed. The structure swung from side to side, feeling like a tightrope.

“Master, this way!”

At that moment, Damian reached out his arm toward me.

Normally, Lucian would never hand me over, but this time, he seemed ready to hand me over. I held onto his neck tightly. Meanwhile, in my mind, I searched through Enzo’s spells. I could mimic them until he disappeared.

Surely, there must be a spell that could help in this situation.

“Ray, go first. I’ll follow right behind.”

He tried to reassure me, but I couldn’t accept it.

I thought he would be safe, but he ended up having his body taken away before. People are unpredictable. Moreover, I couldn’t fully trust Oscar. Although I recognized his exceptional abilities, trust was a different matter.

“Oh, I remembered.”

While searching, I found a spell. Thinking of a lightweight spell, I quickly envisioned the magic circle in my mind, making Lucian, Oscar, and myself as light as feathers.

“…Huh?”

Then, our bodies suddenly lifted. No, just before being swept away by the wind, Damian grabbed Lucian’s shoulders, and Oscar held onto Lucian’s ankles.

Damian propelled upward with powerful flaps.

The white building beneath us continued to sway significantly, and when it reached a certain distance, it began to collapse with a deafening explosion.

I thought of Paul inside it.

There was also the Saint, Enzo, and Elliot in my thoughts, and I even thought of Sihoo and my adoptive parents. I wanted to soar above the remnants of the past that crumbled away, leaving all the history behind.

And I decided not to mention the ancestors I had vaguely cursed before.

Despite the audacious attempt to seize the bodies of their descendants, their achievements and sacrifices remained intact.

If Enzo had not been there, the barrier could not have been reconstructed, and the Demon King would have likely resurrected. With only a fraction of the sacred power compared to the Saint’s original body, I wouldn’t have been able to confront the Demon King. Experiencing it made me realize how great the ancestors were.

“Ha, is it finally over?”

Since there was no separate command from God to build another temple and lead, it seemed like my role would end here. I didn’t like such a fate. Even if it sounds selfish, all I wanted was to live quietly with Lucian.

Now, I understand why the ancestors might have felt unfairly treated.

As I looked down at the debris of the building that was sinking deep like a sinkhole, I thought of Enzo, the Saint, and Paul and whispered softly.

“…I’ll remember you for a long time.”

I wanted to remember their sacrifices.

* * *

Pedro hurried as the vibrations intensified.

With unidentified individuals and even the guards combining their efforts, the progress was swift. Even all the nobles in the Capital joined forces.

The vibrations were abnormal.

The pulsating tremors seemed to originate deep underground, causing roads to split suddenly.

Dilapidated houses had long crumbled due to the force. There were many shabby houses in the neighborhoods where commoners lived, and if they hadn’t evacuated them in advance, it could have been a disaster.

“Herem comes this way!”

Pedro squinted his eyes as he looked at the person giving orders in the distant crowd. Although he was a commoner, his ability to command people seemed as if he had led a unit like a seasoned knight, making it suspicious.

As he moved cautiously, Pedro noticed a man in a corner doing something to a child. The man seemed to be the child’s father, consoling him.

“It’ll get better soon. No need to cry like that.”

“Huwaah, Daad.”

The child, sobbing, seemed to have severely scraped his knee. Blood was flowing from the torn flesh revealed through the ripped pants. It seemed that the child got caught up while the group was moving.

At that moment, a white light burst from the man’s hand.

Pedro widened his eyes. Although he knew about healing magic, healers were very rare, so he couldn’t help but be surprised.

“There, see? It disappeared quickly, right?”

“Hehe, Dad is the best!”

As the child hugged him, the man’s expression softened, though there was a hint of sadness somewhere.

“My son, you should be able to live bravely even without Dad. Just like this wound disappeared quickly, you should forget everything and leap forward. Understand?”

“Why? I have Dad.”

“It’s just in case. With so many people, you might lose Dad. But didn’t Dad always say? What should you do in such a situation?”

“Find Uncle John’s family.”

“Yes, and what about the bag?”

“You told me to always carry it! Not to put it down even when resting! I did a good job remembering it, right?”

“Oh my, my son is a genius.”

It was a typical exchange between a father and son, but for some reason, it was hard to look away.

Was it because of the father role he couldn’t fulfill, or was it because the man used suspicious magic? It was hard to comprehend.

At that moment, more powerful vibrations than the earthquakes that had occurred so far began to resonate. Citizens in the wide square were startled and embraced each other. Pedro tried to gauge the point where the vibrations originated.

Then, he realized that the shaking came from the maze forest, which covered half of the Capital.

The maze forest, with eerie magic waves, where no one dared to enter. It was also the place where Rachel was found when she was kidnapped. What could cause such a strong vibration in such a place?

Could Rachel be there?

It was unlikely. Did the ancestor who took Lucian’s body go there?

The frustration of not knowing where he went made him feel powerless. In the end, if not for his lineage, he was nothing more than an insignificant person. He didn’t expect to learn at this age that there was nothing he could do.

“It’s okay! God won’t abandon us!”

The man who treated the child stood up and shouted to the anxious crowd.

The word ‘God’ was unfamiliar, but Pedro understood. Most nobles couldn’t ignore the war that happened long ago. Nonetheless, how did commoners understand the word ‘God’?

How?

Because he was possessed?

Not just one man but people everywhere began to gather, raising their hands in unison. Even those who assisted Pedro joined them, each silently praying for something.

A faint white light started to emanate from their bodies.

Pedro couldn’t take his eyes off this strange spectacle. Although it was the first time he had witnessed such a sight, it didn’t feel strange or repulsive.

So, like them, he looked up at the sky, hoping for Lucian and Rachel’s safety.

Standing on the shaking ground, he gazed at the sky for a while, worrying only about the children without making any plans.

* * *

“This can’t be happening!”

After hearing the foresight from Kylus, Dustin shouted angrily while dragging him away.

Now that all preparations were complete, the plan was to attack the palace, kill the Emperor and the crown prince, and place a puppet emperor in their stead.

He had struggled to find a possessor, and persuading him took quite some time. Furthermore, he had recruited more than half of the nobles in the empire and had prepared all those who would lend their strength to him even if the emperor was replaced.

But what was this?

“The Saint had returned to finish things! What nonsense is this? Wasn’t the barrier completed back then? Weren’t we wandering because of that barrier?”

Dustin exploded in anger, grabbing Kylus by the collar.

“I, I just spoke about what I saw!”

“Is your foresight outdated? How could such a thing happen? It’s been a thousand years! Huh? It should have happened earlier! Why now?”

Dustin returned to the bookstore and took everything he had prepared. He quickly called the possessors who could assemble swiftly and hurried towards the palace.

Now that things had come to this, he had to somehow occupy the palace. Though he verbally disregarded Kylus’s foresight, Dustin, who knew his abilities better than anyone, tried to take action before things unfolded.

However, upon arriving at the palace, he couldn’t help but sense that something was amiss with the intense vibrations. Debris from the ruined buildings, already in a state of collapse, began to pour down.

The imperial knights were busy going back and forth.

Dustin, who was hiding and observing the situation, clenched his fist and, scanning the surroundings, spotted the crown prince running frantically from a distance.

There were a few knights around, but he immediately recognized that this was the moment.

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