The two girls who had stepped onto the path deep within the Gate of the Starry Realm vanished from sight—not because they were too fast, but because the light erupting into the plaza had begun to drift near the ruins, obscuring everything like a thick, glowing fog.
Sera and the others, who were equally worried about Ren, were torn between their duties as members of the Seven Great Archduke Families and their devotion to their friend. For a moment, they nearly lost sight of what they were supposed to do.
Some time passed, and once the evacuation was underway with the help of the knights, they gathered elsewhere.
"Liz, what did you just say?" Sera asked.
They were in the Count’s office. Sera spoke loudly enough for all the descendants of the Seven Heroes gathered there to hear.
"It’s somewhat similar to what happened with Orphide," Lizred replied. "But the light I saw from the inn was an anomaly."
"You’re right," Sera agreed. "It felt as if touching that light would instantly drain your mana and everything else."
"There’s that, too, but I’m talking about its nature. It wasn't something invoked through a Holy Relic. It was more like... the power dwelling within a temple had been forcibly detonated."
An explosion of light accompanied by a brilliant radiance.
That was the detail that bothered Lizred. She turned her gaze toward the bookshelves that lined an entire wall of the office.
A power of that scale... I’m sure I’ve heard of this somewhere.
"To simply call it a 'rampage' would be an understatement. That single beam of light..."
Suddenly, she looked at the Count, who was speaking with the knights and civil officials. At that moment, a realization struck her, and her eyes went wide. She hoped she was wrong, but she had to check.
"Excuse me, Count! Do you have any books here related to the Medil Dukedom?"
"O-Oh! Yes, I believe they’re in that section over there!"
"Thank you! I’m borrowing one!"
The others wondered what the Medil Dukedom could possibly have to do with the current crisis. However, the other descendants of the Seven Heroes quickly caught on to Lizred’s suspicion and followed her to the shelves.
Tracing her finger along the spines, she pulled out a volume that chronicled the fall of the Medil Dukedom. She flipped through the pages hurriedly until she found the passage she was looking for.
"...'Just before that land sank into the abyss, a brilliant pillar of light pierced the heavens from the temple.'"
She continued reading. After the light, a reddish-black mana had completely swallowed the Ducal Capital. When the pillar finally vanished, the Medil Dukedom had been erased from the world.
As she finished the account, Lizred whispered, "...No way."
"The same power from back then?" Vane asked. "Does that mean a Forbidden Book is involved?"
"L-Listen, Liz! Are you saying it’s the same power that destroyed Medil?"
"No... that’s too simplistic. I felt divinity in the light just now, so it’s different from the reddish-black mana mentioned in the records. But even so..."
"Even so, it’s one of the powers used when Medil was destroyed, right?"
"That... yes. I think the probability is high."
Lizred found it strange. If the brilliant light was indeed caused by a Forbidden Book, it clearly lacked the destructive force that had annihilated Medil. That meant they weren't identical.
"That light shouldn't be the power of the Forbidden Book itself," the descendant of the great mage mused, lowering her eyes in thought. "But if it surged before the Forbidden Book's power was activated, then it can't be unrelated."
She searched for the truth behind its identity. After a moment, her eyes snapped open again.
"What if that light is what’s required to invoke the power of a Forbidden Book?"
Thinking of it that way made everything click. It was a precursor—the energy required for the ritual or the preparation to unleash the book’s true power.
"I’m curious about how it links to the Forbidden Book that destroyed Medil," Squal said. "And why it’s being used in this city now."
Nemu followed up. "We don't know if a Forbidden Book is really involved, but let’s save the theorizing for later! As long as we protect everyone, that’s what matters!"
Vane, whose sense of urgency had reached a breaking point, turned to the Count. "Count, there’s a temple beyond the Gate of the Starry Realm, isn't there?"
"Yes. We know it connects to an underground space, but several doors won't open, and our investigations haven't reached the interior yet."
Even with the Ministry of Mysteries involved, they had hit a wall. If they had discovered the Emblem of Micel like Ren had, things might have been different, but they hadn't encountered the same phenomenon and lacked his understanding.
"Everyone, if we go to that temple, we’ll find answers," Vane said.
"Let’s get moving! we have to go get Ashton and the others!"
"Right. I still haven't paid back the debt I owe that boy for helping us in Windea!"
The group agreed with the descendant of the Hero. The evacuation was proceeding smoothly; most people had moved from the town center toward the magic ship dock, and arrangements were being made for them to leave the area.
However, just as the seven of them made up their minds to head out, a massive tremor shook the building, originating from the plaza where the Gate of the Starry Realm once stood.
After running for a while longer, Licia and Fiona stopped.
Sensing something, they looked back toward the town and saw a massive pillar of light about to erupt in the plaza.
"Again!?"
"But that power is...!"
It wasn't just light. When the pillar appeared, a massive wall of mana emitting a silver-white glow emerged nearby. They saw vibrant Emerald Arrows, cloaked in whirlwinds, racing toward the sky.
It was the power of the Seven Heroes' descendants. Now that the seven of them were together, they were finally exhibiting their true strength.
"We have to hurry, too."
Driven by impatience, Licia moved her legs desperately, Fiona right beside her.
They raced until the terrain flattened out. Catching their breath, they entered an immense plaza. The mist had vanished, leaving a cloudless sky above them.
Only one structure stood in the plaza. The girls stared in awe at the majestic, ancient building. It was smaller than modern temples and severely weathered, with ivy crawling up its crumbling stone walls.
This was the Nameless Temple the Count had mentioned.
At a glance, it looked like a peaceful, forgotten garden. Despite the lack of human care, the space felt isolated from the rest of the world. The scenery, bathed in warm sunlight, was hauntingly beautiful.
But they hadn't come for the view. The exit from the underground space had to be here.
Just as they were about to survey the area, they saw it.
Is that... Ren’s?
Ren’s Magic Sword?
Their eyes were drawn to the flames rising within the sanctuary. A pillar of fire erupted from the depths of the temple, piercing the roof. It was a sight they had witnessed many times before—the work of the Flame Magic Sword.
The Red Sword.
It was the specific Art Ren used with that sword. The two girls were certain he was inside. They moved toward the temple, but hesitated when they saw the entrance.
"What is that?" Licia asked, looking at the wall of mana blocking the way.
It was immediately obvious that the Demon King Cult was involved. As the White Saint, Licia possessed an innate power that allowed her to sense the Power of the Mark they were failing to conceal.
"I knew it. The Demon King Cult is here."
"But... they’re a little different from the ones we’ve seen," Fiona noted.
Unlike the robed fanatics Ren had encountered, these men were dressed in high-quality knight's uniforms. They carried swords and staves at their waists and possessed a bearing that was worlds apart from the common cultists the girls had faced before.
The cultists noticed them and braced for a fight.
"Do you think they’ll let us through if we ask?" Licia muttered.
"I doubt it. And it seems impossible to just... destroy the temple to get in."
"True. If you look closely, that same mana is spread throughout the entire building."
It was easy to guess that this was linked to the anomaly at the Gate. Something was happening inside, and since Ren hadn't come out yet, it had to be serious.
If the doors were sealed, there was only one solution.
"Then we’ll just have to force our way in!"
Licia drew Byakuen and stepped forward. Fiona held out a hand, invoking her ice magic. Intense cold surged from beneath her feet, racing across the ground faster than the wind. As blue mana flared around the temple entrance, numerous ice thorns manifested, surrounding the enemy.
In that moment, Licia felt a wave of bewilderment.
"Ngh... Not again!"
Her Enshroud was acting up. It might have been her desperation to reach Ren, but the power was manifesting too strongly. The momentum was nearly impossible to contain, far worse than it had been the other day.
"It seems they aren't Leomelian Knights," one of the cultists said.
"It doesn't matter. If they draw their swords, we eliminate them."
Licia couldn't afford to worry about her Enshroud right now. As the cultists moved, she shook her head to clear her thoughts. "No! I don't have time for this!"
The Demon King Cultists deflected Fiona’s ice with their own spells, but the shards continued to dance through the air. Silver Sword Flashes cut through the chaos, striking astonishment into the gathered men.
"The Strong Sword?! And magic of this caliber?!"
One of the cultists fired a spell, but it was a Silver-white Grand Art. The magic was instantly dispersed into raw mana. In its place, the man found himself pinned by the piercing gaze of the White Saint.
"You are going to let us through," Licia declared. "We have to get to him."
The tip of Byakuen leveled at the cultists. As they shattered the remaining ice or deflected her strikes, one of them shouted in disbelief.
"Who on earth are you people?!"
"Who knows!"
Licia’s elegant blade moved in a blur, leaving white afterimages in its wake as she fell upon the cultists with a flurry of strikes. Despite her focus, a small sense of incongruity lingered—these men were fundamentally different from any cultists she had ever fought.