Valaris AcademyIt took Rhys several minutes to find Skylar.Before sending her off, he carefully wrote a letter for Grace.There was far too much to explain.The cloud repelling device.The cooperation with the Ironhand Guild.The farming plan.The military situation.Every detail mattered.By the time he finally finished writing, nearly half an hour had passed since their meeting with Wyndia and the others.Skylar accepted the sealed letter and immediately departed for Valaris Academy.Not long afterward, she arrived outside the Student Council office.Inside, Grace was still buried beneath a mountain of paperwork.Reports, maps, supply requests, and casualty estimates covered almost every corner of her desk.She had been working without rest for hours.Several times, her head had nearly fallen forward before she forced herself awake again.The exhaustion was beginning to catch up with her.The sound of the office door opening instantly snapped her back to full alert.For a brief mo

Divine HandAlan stood outside the Divine Hand headquarters, staring silently at the world beyond their walls.His brows slowly drew together.The landscape before him had changed completely.Snow already blanketed the ground.Now another layer had covered it.Gray ash drifted endlessly from the sky, coating everything it touched.The morning should have been bright.Instead…The heavens were almost completely black.The enormous ash cloud had swallowed the sun.It looked no different from the middle of the night.“…What is this?”Alan’s expression darkened.Jakaria stepped forward and looked up as well.He inhaled sharply.“…I don’t know.”Alan narrowed his eyes.“The entire world is buried under volcanic ash.”“And those clouds…”“They’re blocking the sunlight.”He clenched his jaw.“This is obviously the result of a volcanic eruption.”Jakaria nodded.“Yes.”“I heard the Ironhand Guild has been investigating a volcano recently.”“But they still haven’t identified the source.”Alan

“…Hmm?”One of the soldiers looked up at the dark sky and frowned.“Today is much darker than usual.”He rubbed his hands together before breathing warm air onto his palms.“And it’s freezing.”His companion chuckled.“Hahaha.”“Maybe this isn’t such a bad thing.”“The Abyssals probably hate this weather as much as we do.”“We haven’t seen any activity from them for days.”The two men continued their patrol without much concern.Neither of them realized how serious the situation had become.Neither had covered their mouths or noses against the ash drifting through the air.To them…It was simply another miserable day on the border.Unfortunately…They couldn’t have been more wrong.As they continued along the patrol route, a strange sound suddenly echoed across the frozen plains.Screee!Then another.And another.The first soldier immediately stopped.“…What was that?”He looked into the distance.His expression froze.A massive cloud of dust was racing toward them.His companion fol

“!!!”The entire hall fell silent.Everyone stared at the soldier with widened eyes.No wonder he had hesitated for so long.Repeating Tarok Vanak’s message felt almost like announcing Carmichael’s death with his own mouth.“…I’ll die?”Veins stood out across Carmichael’s forehead as his expression darkened.“In a situation like this…”“Is the Land of Death trying to provoke us first?”Several ministers immediately exploded with anger.“What does Tarok mean by that?”“How dare he say something like this?”“Our Sword Saint is one of the kingdom’s greatest pillars.”Although Virelith possessed several world-class Beast Tamers, Carmichael had once served as the kingdom’s Marshal. His reputation and achievements were known throughout the nation.To hear someone calmly predict his death was no different from insulting the entire kingdom.Just as Carmichael was about to speak again, the War Minister suddenly grabbed his arm.“Carmichael.”“Wait.”Carmichael frowned.“Wait?”He turned toward

Rhys made his way to a quiet corner of the settlement, far enough from the bustling construction sites that no one would overhear him.Since he finally had a little free time, there were two things he wanted to deal with.First, he needed to explain the situation to Raya.Second, it was time to question the members of the Divine Hands they had captured.Once the mayor arrived, the settlement would become much busier, and he doubted he would have another chance to do either.After making sure nobody was nearby, Rhys took out the magic circle Raya had given him.He activated it.The circle glowed softly, carrying a simple message.He wanted to meet.…Far away, Raya hesitated.The memory of her last teleportation immediately came back to her.The moment she had appeared beside Rhys, she had sensed four terrifying presences waiting nearby.She still hadn’t forgotten the pressure they had released.For a brief moment, she considered ignoring the call.In the end, she trusted Rhys.Space t