The wind was blowing from up ahead... drawing him toward the back of the door. It seemed to lead toward the outside world.
Ren stepped up to the door and touched it, but no matter how many times he pushed or pulled, it refused to budge.
He didn't bother worrying about damaging the structure in this situation. He simply drew his Mithril Magic Sword and prepared to strike.
But just before he swung—
The words inscribed beside the Emblem of Micel suddenly flashed through his mind.
Ragna had called it a special language known as the Dragon Tongue.
However, Ragna had also explained their meaning.
If he recalled correctly...
"...'Desire, sing, Micel’s Game.'"
As Ren muttered the words under his breath, the door blocking his path glowed with a dull light and slid open silently.
He finally understood why those words had been placed alongside the Emblem of Muedi.
They were the key to this door. Words that Muedi had obtained long ago had reached Ren's hands across the vast expanse of time.
"To think I’d be saved by something like this here," he murmured with a wry smile, then stepped forward.
Ever since the door opened, the flow of the wind had grown much stronger.
He had to get outside as quickly as possible. Driven by that singular thought, he pressed on, and the scenery around him gradually began to change.
The mossy stonework vanished.
Ren ran up the hidden corridors and stairs, eventually emerging into a space that felt far more like a proper temple than anything he’d seen thus far.
The sight before him was solemn despite its antiquity—the very image of a sacred sanctuary.
The walls, floors, and ceilings were made of polished stone. Large gemstones were embedded in the walls at regular intervals, providing the light that illuminated the interior.
By this point, Ren was starting to believe his lingering suspicion was correct.
Was this the temple he’d discussed with Upperclassman Leonard and the others?
Did that mean this place was dedicated to the God of Games?
Given the emblem he’d seen underground and the door that had opened only to those specific words, it was the only logical conclusion.
Separately, he still didn't understand why the emblem had appeared specifically for him.
If it had been uncovered during the Ministry of Mysteries' investigations, he should have heard theories about the temple worshipping the God of Games. Since there had been no such talk, Ren realized the emblem likely hadn't been discovered during their surveys.
"...Now isn't the time to be wondering."
Besides, he didn't have the luxury of standing still.
Could that light from earlier be related to this place? Pondering the possibilities, Ren’s footsteps echoed through the silent corridors.
He broke into a run and stepped into a grand hall. Accessible by stairs on both sides, a similar corridor led out from the opposite end.
Just as Ren stepped onto the stairs—
"As you wish."
"Your Holiness. We shall take our leave now."
The voices of men drifted from the back of the hall.
"Thank you. Everyone, head outside immediately," a woman’s voice followed.
She had been standing before the door at the far end with her back to Ren... until she sensed his arrival.
She turned around.
Their eyes met. Even though they couldn't hear each other’s voices across the distance, they both understood what the other had mouthed.
"...You are."
"...You are."
The woman immediately held her hand over the door to open it. A mist imbued with a pale blue light spread across the floor, and she stepped through without hesitation. Before Ren could close the distance, she vanished into the shadows beyond.
The door clicked shut, and the men remaining in the hall looked up at Ren.
"Who are you?"
"Yeah. I was thinking of asking the same thing," Ren replied without a moment's delay, beginning his descent.
His pace was slow and deliberate.
However, the men sensed the overwhelming pressure radiating from him. They knit their brows and tensed their bodies, watching his every move with wary eyes.
There was no way they weren't related to that light.
Were they just bandits? Or...
He didn't have proof, but he had a strong suspicion. He didn't believe mere bandits could cause a disturbance of this magnitude.
Besides, that woman just now—
"Move aside."
"How foolish."
"I don't know how you got here, but we won't let you interfere."
One of the men stepped forward without warning. Moving faster than the wind, he drew two swords and swung them in a wide arc right in front of Ren.
"All alone at this distance... You’re far too overconfident!"
In that instant, Ren’s eyes widened. As the man attempted to cut him down with brute force, Ren saw it—the Mark of the Demon King Cult etched into the man's body had flared with power.
The attacker thought he had the initiative.
But then he realized he was staring directly into the boy's eyes. His movements were being read perfectly.
"I've already decided," Ren said, his voice cold. "I won't let any of you from the Demon King Cult escape."
"Impossible?! How can you follow this speed—?!"
Before he could finish, the Mithril Magic Sword struck.
The man barely managed to block with his twin blades, but only for a fraction of a second. Both of his swords shattered instantly.
The man caught a glimpse of the boy's sharp, focused eyes through the spray of steel shards before he was slammed into the wall. The air was knocked out of him, and after a few agonizing gasps, he slumped over, unconscious.
Ren’s calm voice dissolved into the air of the hall.
But something was different.
It wasn't rare for Demon King Cultists to carry staves or swords. However, their strength was apparent just from their posture, and their attire was far too dignified, resembling elite knight's uniforms.
The scene reminded Ren of his encounter with Kai and Maydas in the Baldur Mountains. This level of personnel suggested that there was something in this land worth a significant investment of their forces.
Just as they had targeted Fiona and the others before.
Even while Ren was analyzing the situation, the other Cultists attempted to take his blind spots at blinding speed. They drew swords, readied magic, and some even notched arrows.
Master Swordsman class. One of them, likely the strongest of the group, charged toward Ren with terrifying momentum.
Ren adjusted his grip on his magic sword and struck with cold precision.
The magic was dispersed. The sword strikes never even reached him.
"...How... how are you this strong—"
Seeing the Cultists sprawled across the shattered stone floor, Ren immediately ran to the door and reached out.
He searched for a mechanism, but there was nothing to be found.
"I can't let her get away...!"
What was that woman planning? Recalling the anomaly at the Gate of the Starry Realm, his dark premonitions grew more intense.
Finally, he thought of a certain magic sword’s power—
Back on the surface, Licia and Fiona immediately began searching for Ren. Their focus was fixed on the center of the collapsed plaza, where broken rubble floated like scattered pondweed amidst waves of shimmering light.
Their instincts told them that the light was dangerous.
Still, Licia and Fiona approached the center without a hint of fear.
Fortunately, the people who had been in the plaza were safe.
"Did you see it?" Licia asked.
"Yes. When it collapsed, I saw a vast space underneath," Fiona replied.
It had only been a glimpse, but it was undeniable. It was a space far too large and structured to be anything other than man-made.
But more than that, one thing lingered in their hearts.
The words Ren had mouthed as he turned toward them.
Escape from here.
His voice had been swallowed by the roar of the collapse, but they had read his lips and understood his intent perfectly.
"...He told us to escape. That's what he wanted, wasn't it?"
Fiona and Licia shared an unspoken, heavy emotion.
They understood his feelings, but they couldn't grant that wish. He had saved them too many times; they couldn't possibly turn their backs and leave him behind.
Meanwhile, they kept a close eye on their surroundings.
They were determined to protect what he had sacrificed himself for. Just as they were about to begin guiding the evacuations, the Count's Knights arrived.
"Everyone! Please leave this area at once!"
"Head toward the Magic Ship Dock! Hurry!"
Seeing that Vane and the others were already helping, Licia knew the civilians were in good hands. Fiona felt the same, realizing they were now free to focus on their true task.
"You two! Where's Ren?!"
Sera ran over to them, her face pale.
She feared the worst. Ren was nowhere to be seen, and the crater was filled with an ominous, surging phenomenon.
However, there was no despair in Licia’s or Fiona’s eyes. Instead, they wore expressions of iron resolve—expressions that would have moved even a descendant of the Seven Heroes.
Without answering, they stared into the waves of light. A knight hurried over to them.
"You three as well, quickly!"
Despite the urgency, Licia spoke with an eerie calmness.
"...Where does the space beneath this plaza lead?"
"N-now is not the time for—!"
"Just tell me. Please."
"Please. Where does this passage go?" Fiona added.
Their presence was so dignified and their voices so pure that the knight found himself physically overwhelmed. He stumbled over his words as he answered.
"T-this underground area contains an Underground Passage from the Era of the Lion King! It was used for storing supplies and moving troops in secret... It also leads to certain ancient underground structures!"
It was apparently an old site that received only the most basic maintenance.
An ancient underground structure? That caught their interest, but they had a more pressing question.
"Where is the nearest entrance?"
Most of them had been sealed off long ago, but a few remained.
"It's further down the Road Leading to the Gate of the Starry Realm, if you keep going without straying...!"
"I see... So it's further ahead."
"Thank you for telling us."
The girls turned their gazes toward the path beyond the destroyed Gate of the Starry Realm.
The path was flanked by stone waterways and mystical, lush trees.
They began walking, carefully navigating around the center of the plaza. Without a second thought, they headed for the path.
"W-wait! Licia!"
Sera knew exactly what her best friend was planning. She didn't think for a second that she should stop her, but the danger was undeniable.
Sera, Vane, Kaito... they all cared for Ren. They were all terrified for his safety.
But everyone had a role to play.
Hearing Sera’s voice, the White Saint turned around.
"Sera, you and the others take care of the town. As descendants of the Seven Heroes, do what needs to be done."
"We will return soon," Fiona added.
They couldn't commit every fighter in the city to saving one person. But that person meant everything to Licia and Fiona.
That was a priority that transcended logic.
The two of them broke into a run before Sera or the others could argue.
They knew heading into the unknown meant facing unforeseen dangers, but their resolve was absolute.
"If what happened earlier was a deliberate attack, someone might be lying in wait further ahead," Fiona noted as they hurried down the forest-lined road.
"It doesn't matter," Licia replied instantly. "If they’re waiting for us, we’ll just have to fight our way through."
"Yes. I agree."
"Good. Then we don't need to hesitate."
Still, questions remained. The scale of the disturbance was massive. The Demon King Cult was the obvious suspect, but this was far beyond their usual schemes. This was a catastrophe greater than even the attack on the waters off Eupeheim.
"If this is the Cult, their goal must be something far greater than we imagined!"
"That light wasn't normal magic! It felt more like the inherent power of the land itself!"
"They might be exploiting the power of Holy Relics again...!"
"Since there’s a temple ahead, it must be related!"
Like Orphide, whom Ren had defeated, they might be facing a high-ranking member—perhaps even a Priest. But that was an afterthought. Anyone capable of such power was a threat that had to be neutralized.
"But it's strange! It seemed like the Gate of the Starry Realm was only a secondary effect! If the Cult is behind this, it won't end here!"
"They must have another objective! Like attacking the temples throughout the city...!"
"Then why come to the Gate of the Starry Realm?! It's so far from the city center—"
Licia stopped mid-sentence as she and Fiona both reached the same conclusion.
"—Was the Gate of the Starry Realm affected only because somewhere else was the true target?"
They spoke the words in unison. If their theory was correct, the nightmare was only just beginning.