“But how do we cross that barrier?”

Delphine asked anxiously, wrapping her cloak tighter.

The central barrier at least had gates for the exchange of goods, but…

That northern barrier stood tall and proud without a single gap, as if a giant mocking the ant-like humans.

Delphine gulped as she looked at the massive barrier, its presence evident even from afar.

“You’ve forgotten that we have magic, Delphine.”

Bella then replied with a smile.

“With you, it will be difficult but we can sufficiently accomplish it.”

It meant that as long as Delphine was there, they could freely charge the Possum.

Lin immediately objected to those words.

“No, we use magic as sparingly as possible.”

Then with a rather grim face, he glared at Bella and added,

“…As I said before, if you’re thinking of treating her as a pawn in your plans, give it up, Bella.”

Delphine also knew why Lin was being so sensitive.

As the Saint’s blood thinned, her descendants became closer to humans than gods.

As the price for exerting divine powers with a human body, her life force would be worn down each time she charged the Possum.

It was written in her mother’s diary.

But Delphine shook her head with a calm expression and stopped him.

“Lin. I’m fine. I’m sufficiently prepared for this.”

She fed poison to the man she loved and ran away.

…Though she hadn’t told them yet, she had abandoned the child’s father and left.

So how could she possibly not have that much resolve?

Seeing Delphine’s resolute face, Lin tried to retort but closed his mouth again.

Then, as if focusing, he narrowed his eyes and glared at the distant barrier.

“That barrier is not an ordinary wall made by stacking bricks. There is a defensive wall surrounding the barrier.”

He added with a shadowed face,

“A very powerful one at that… It likely dates back to the time of the first Emperor.”

Bella then sharply pointed out,

“But the magnitude of the power covering that vast range cannot be uniform.”

Then glancing at Delphine, she added,

“There must be joints where the power weakens. We target those.”

It was likely to find a way to use the Possum, or more accurately, her life force, as little as possible.

At those words, Lin examined the barrier’s direction with an even more focused expression, his brow furrowed.

Before long, he slowly opened his mouth.

“…Yes. You’re right. Like cracks, I can see gaps where the defensive wall’s power is weak.”

“Can you find the weakest among them?”

“Sufficiently, if we use a bit of magic.”

Hope and vitality circulated on the group’s faces at Lin’s answer.

“Let’s target that spot. Before that man wakes up, hurry!”

Protective barriers were magic used on fixed locations, so it was quite tricky to cast on a moving target.

They lifted the protective barrier they had set up in the abandoned house and soon began moving their steps toward the towering northern barrier.

If things went according to plan, they would be able to leave this empire before the morning sun fully rose.

‘As long as Ioan doesn’t wake up…’

Lin assured that the effectiveness of the poison he fed him was certain.

Even if it couldn’t kill him with his demonic powers, he said Ioan absolutely wouldn’t be able to open his eyes at least until the morning sun fully brightened.

‘But why do I keep feeling this unease…?’

Trying to suppress the ominous premonition that kept rising, Delphine quietly headed toward the plain shrouded in the early dawn.

The plain situated near the northern barrier.

The sound of an army’s horse hooves reverberated throughout the place where only wild animals had peacefully frolicked.

The troops led by Pryde were able to reach near the border village by dawn.

It was thanks to swiftly riding with well-trained warhorses.

Pryde, who had been riding at the head, suppressed and stopped the massive horse that had been madly galloping.

Far in the distance, the form of the huge barrier was finally revealed.

The army that had been following behind him all stopped.

“Halt! Stand by for a moment. Stand by for a moment!”

Amidst the disorderly sounds of the formation being reorganized, Pryde noticed a small wildflower crushed under a warhorse’s hoof while sitting atop his horse.

“……”

He looked down at that unknown yellow flower with cold and indifferent eyes for a long time.

“General!”

Walter approached him leading his horse and reported with a troubled face.

“The northern barrier is a massive barrier that spans this peninsula.”

“…So?”

“As the radius is wide, it is impossible to dispatch troops across the entire barrier.”

Pryde, who had ordered that very impossible task, deeply furrowed his brow and showed a displeased face.

His superior, who rarely expressed emotions, had the surrounding air freezing with how twisted his expression was.

“…However, General. It is a barrier so solid that no one has crossed it in the past three hundred years.”

The sudden warrant issued at dawn.

Moreover, searching for a woman with red hair and emerald eyes.

It was not difficult to guess the circumstances behind his superior suddenly coming here to the border with crazed eyes.

But in Walter’s common sense, the possibility of an ordinary noble lady crossing that massive barrier seemed nonexistent.

To soothe his mood even a little, Walter very carefully conveyed,

“So there is no need to worry too much…”

“Is that not why this is happening right now?”

However, a response as sharp as a blade immediately cut off his words.

Walter quickly shut his mouth.

Towards him, Pryde poured out cold commands in succession.

“The power of the defensive wall is not constant due to cracks. So concentrate the troops at the weakest crack…”

Pryde suddenly stopped speaking.

His beastly senses were whispering something to him.

And now, he had no intention of ignoring the whispers within him, blinded by love.

“…General?”

“…No.”

Delphine.

I can now read your mind so easily like this.

Even though you threw away my sincere love confession as if it were worthless and left me.

Talking to the woman who miserably abandoned him in his mind, he muttered lowly,

“…Disperse the troops among the other cracks, with only a few at the weakest one.”

“…There’s no need to waste Aurum.”

While walking towards the barrier, Lin expressed his dissatisfaction again.

He seemed quite unhappy with the plan Delphine had proposed for a while now.

Well, it made sense.

“Wait a moment.”

“Delphine? What is it?”

“…Let’s go somewhere else.”

While walking towards the weakest crack according to the original plan, she suddenly suggested attacking a different crack.

Breaking through a stronger defensive wall to escape requires more power.

To Lin, it felt like she had proposed taking a more difficult path despite having a shortcut.

And at that, chipping away at her own life force.

“I just feel like it for some reason.”

Delphine softly recited while looking at the small wildflowers blooming in the field in response to his grumbling complaint.

If asked for a reason or basis, she herself couldn’t explain it well.

She just had an ominous feeling since earlier for some reason.

Moreover, targeting the weakest part. Doesn’t it seem like specifying the escape route in this wide barrier?

Of course, Ioan should still be sleeping like the dead from the poison she fed him, but she wanted to be as cautious as possible even if it was groundless anxiety.

If they missed this opportunity, the possibility of escaping would become truly distant.

Delphine smiled slightly at the worried Lin.

“We won’t have many occasions to use magic once we leave here anyway. So this much is okay.”

“Delphine is right. There’s no harm in being as prudent as possible.”

Bella also agreed with her words with a smile.

“……”

Fortunately, Lin did not express any further objections.

And so, after walking and walking across the wide plain without a single blade of grass or tree, they were finally able to reach near the barrier.

The barrier viewed from right below seemed endlessly high.

It was difficult to see the end even when craning one’s head all the way back.

‘…I’m really crossing this place.’

“Delphine.”

Lin called her name quietly and held out his hand.

Even if it was a part weakened due to cracks, a lot of Aurum was needed to break through this defensive wall erected by demons.

Delphine silently grasped the hand of Lin holding the Possum.

As if concentrating, he closed his eyes and muttered something.

Soon, a white magic circle began to rise under the feet of the four people standing close together.

Delphine looked at that light enveloping her with trembling eyes.

I’m really leaving this place.

From this empire where I was born and raised.

What kind of world will unfold beyond that barrier?

Will I be able to return here again?

‘…Will I be able to see Ioan again?’

Delphine threw her gaze far away with eyes that had now become moist.

To capture the sight of this empire one last time with her eyes.

…But something was strange.

Far in the distance, fully armed knights were rushing in, covering the wilderness in black as they rode horses.

Delphine could easily recognize the man riding faster than anyone at the head.

“Ioan…!”