I emerged from the midst of those shouting. Excluding the few elites I had selected in advance.

Nadia gestured urgently with her fist wrapped in knuckles.

“Your Excellency! You’re late!”

“…You’re too fast.”

Aston, Benedict, Ruth, Michael, and other key figures were already standing in front of the portal, waiting for me.

“We need to catch Kirie Warei.”

Mikael said, nodding his head. Hope that we could now end everything shone vividly in his eyes, visible beneath the signs of fatigue.

“Yes. Let’s go.”

To the perpetrator who initiated all tragedies.

As I raised my hand to the portal, we were sucked into it.

It felt like I heard a voice.

Please take care of this world.

“Hey, Cha!”

Having arrived at Whitewood, we raced to Rinstead at an incredible speed thanks to Ruth’s magic.

“Bring us faster than the wind.”

Benedict also exerted his power.

“Guide us to the destination as fast as possible, as if our feet never touch the ground, like we have wings.”

With the combination of magic and spirit arts, there was nothing to fear. We arrived in Rinstead with tremendous speed, as if riding a train, much faster than a horse at full gallop.

What awaited us upon arrival was, as expected, a sturdy barrier.

I casually asked my comrades, “Shall we break this together?”

“Sure.”

As I was about to raise a fist imbued with sacred power, I was stopped by Zero.

“Why?”

Wondering what was so urgent, Zero rummaged through my cheek pocket and pulled something out from his mouth.

‘…How did he take that out from his small cheek pocket?’

Before I could be amazed, Zero urgently spoke, “This is an amplifying wand given by the divine realm to use sacred power more effectively. It’s an item that only activates for sacred power, so use it only this once.”

It meant to handle the situation decisively.

“Okay.”

I accepted the wand without a word. The metal wand covered with flowers and plants was beautiful, as if crafted by a renowned artisan. It was so light that there was no problem holding it, despite its size.

I shouted to my comrades, “On three, we’ll all unleash our attacks together!”

“Got it.”

“I understand!”

“Of course!”

“Let’s go!”

“Let’s do it!”

Loud responses echoed from all around. It made me laugh. Despite the serious situation, it was reassuring to have people I could trust. I wasn’t alone.

After counting one, two, three and loading sacred power into the wand, a spell for amplification spontaneously came to mind.

‘Oh, I’m not a clergyman, but is this okay?’

Ridiculously, such thoughts crossed my mind, and I could even laugh as I recited the spell.

“Heaven, announce to all. Bestow upon us the power to eradicate the tainted and save the world.”

Around me, I heard spells attacking the barrier consecutively.

“Grant us the power to destroy whatever obstructs our will. Guide us.”

This was Benedict.

“Strike down like lightning. I command in the name of mana.”

This was Ruth.

“In the name of the divine, execute purification.”

This was Michael.

“Huh… Aaargh!”

Um… This was Nadia. It was clear.

“Cleanly, all at once.”

Finally, Aston.

With the power of a sword, magic, spirit, human strength, and sacred power combined, we mercilessly struck the barrier. Soon, a rumbling sound was heard, and the barrier crumbled into pieces.

Aaaaargh.

When the barrier collapsed, I vaguely heard screams, as if for a moment.

‘Is it an illusion?’

But Rinstead was too quiet to hear any screams. Crossing the now deserted city, we aimed to find Kirie, the world rebel.

“Where could she be hiding?”
“As we can’t accurately determine the location even with the search window, we have to search on foot.”

“You said before that Kirie was escaping through the status window! Weren’t you telling us the location?”

“Well, I only managed to obtain such fragmentary information! He is blocking information using the knowledge of Ardel, the deity of this place!”

“Ugh, this darn…!”

Swear words came out involuntarily. In the end, it meant we had to rely on our intuition.

I sighed and requested my comrades, “Kirie hasn’t left Rinstead yet. So, let’s all spread out and search. Since it’s dangerous, pair up in groups of two.”

“Okay.”

Everyone paired up and scattered throughout various parts of Rinstead. I entered the interior of Rinstead Castle with Aston.

‘I didn’t think he would stay here, but…’

Somehow, I had a premonition that I should head here. Perhaps it was because of the contaminated virus, or maybe it was because Kirie, who stole the knowledge of the deity, gave me a familiar yet different vibe.

As someone who chose to be an outsider, could I truly recognize him?

With unanswered questions, I ascended to the lordship of Rinstead.

While walking through the corridor.

I heard a rustling sound.

“… You!”