The twilight reached its fingers over the ground.

“A twilight worm is hatching!”

A fully grown twilight worm demon was as big as an adult.

Having just hatched from its egg, its body was sticky with fluid.

As it spat out soil, the ground was covered in sand.

The imperial city floor was paved entirely with bricks.

Those bricks crumbled into fine sand, which then sank below the ground.

“Tsk! It’s a sand tomb!”

“Be careful not to get your feet stuck in the sand!”

When the guards thrust their swords into the ground, the twilight worm overturned the soil and hid.

“Even if you hide, you’re still under the sand!”

“Damn it, another demon!”

Those who had drawn their swords twisted the blades in their grip and plunged them into the spots where breathing holes had opened.

“It’s a desert region demon! Twilight worms spit fluid to create sand tombs and collapse the ground! Find their breathing holes and kill them before that happens! They’ll have dug passages below because of those holes! If the earth caves in, thrust your swords into the ground to cut off their mouths first!”

“It’s troublesome if your feet get stuck in the sand!”

This characteristic was why twilight worms were so annoying.

“If your feet sink into a sand tomb, thrust your sword beneath your feet!”

Their habit of creating sand tombs underground and dragging things down into them was simply bothersome.

“Your Majesty! If you step down from the carriage…!”

Thud! The wheels twisted and sank.

Charlotte stepped lightly down onto the threshold.

“It seems someone is trying to bind my steps here once again.”

The guards opened the door and extended their arms.

“Take hold! We’ll move to safety!”

“Just a moment… lend me your sword.”

“Pardon?”

“The hairpin is too short when I stab with it. I’d like something deeper.”

She gripped the side hairpin with the white flower. Its length was less than a handspan.

Too shallow.

‘This won’t reach underground.’

Charlotte stretched out her straight arm, palm open. The scabbard was placed in her pale grasp. Catarina handed over her sword.

“Twilight worm demons eat tree roots and insects. They shouldn’t directly harm humans, but please be careful.”

“…”

“I’m worried.”

“Indeed, it hasn’t even been a day since I told the family not to get involved.”

“You don’t have to get involved.”

“That’s not something I can control at will.”

As she drew the sword from its scabbard, the blade exuded a chilling aura.

“Somehow it feels familiar yet strange.”

“The blade is sharp, Your Majesty.”

The sword’s handle fit into her grip.

The thin, elongated blade was light but keen.

As she twisted her wrist, the blade lay at an angle.

When she lightly sliced the air, the blade cut through the empty void.

‘I see you’re about to get involved again.’

Those words kept brushing against her earlobes.

“Yes, grandfather. It seems I’m about to get involved again.”

Charlotte narrowed her eyes.

“They say life becomes harsh when you keep close to blades. I suppose my life is intent on doing just that.”

With that, she thrust it in.

The sword pierced through the soil and stabbed what lay beneath.

An alien sensation met the blade.

As she withdrew the sword, cobwebs tangled around it like a net.

“Is it a spider’s nest?”

“…Something has been cut.”

“It seems the underground spider’s nest has collapsed.”

The sand scattered hazily like an illusion.

As if it had been an illusion, all the grains of sand disappeared.

The guards thoroughly examined the ground.

Traces of cobwebs that had been buried in the earth were sporadically revealed.

“It is indeed their spider’s nest. Fortunately, they hadn’t fully established their territory, so the core of the nest was exposed outside. The demon trap has been dismantled.”

Charlotte turned her head.

“Is it over?”

“This one has been dealt with. There may be more spider’s nests remaining. If we dismantle all the nests before they fully establish their territory, it will be over, but…”

“Why.”

“How did you know there was a spider’s nest there?”

“I’ve hardly encountered any demons before. I don’t know much about spider’s nests or cobwebs either. I just felt an alien energy concentrated down there, and thought that if I cut that link, the connection would be severed.”

Charlotte sheathed the sword. The blade scraped the edge of the scabbard. As Catarina received the sword back, she asked:

“Have you handled a sword before?”

“Why do you ask?”

“You seem, somewhat familiar with it. The way you thrust and withdraw the blade, and how you keep getting involved with demons despite never having encountered them before. I apologize. I’ve troubled your mind with unnecessary words.”

“…I’ve never handled one. Neither in the past nor now.”

Somehow, her body felt increasingly stiff.

“Using a crossbow was all I’ve done.”

“We’ll search for more spider’s nests.”

One more spider’s nest was discovered afterwards.

“Dawn will break soon and people will flood the streets, so hurry.”

The ground had been thoroughly churned up.

“Find a person as well.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Trees were uprooted and overturned.

The ground was a mess, with spilled soil and fallen rocks mixed together. Village livestock wandered nearby.

The imperial investigation team, cleaning up the village disaster, shouldered logs and set up supports.

“Be careful of falling rocks. If you get injured here, it will only slow down the disaster recovery.”

The investigation team gathered the soil and moved the casualties to a safe area.

“Inside, my child is inside. Please, at least let me know if they’re alive or dead. Please… Aah!”

“We’re sorry. We’ll examine thoroughly, so please evacuate to the safety houses.”

The area was designated as a rockfall danger zone.

The ground was still unstable. The sheer cliff had collapsed onto the village below, burying it.

“The mercenary corps sensed demon presence while evacuating people. With the ground all twisted from the earthquake, they were rushed to evacuate civilians, so they couldn’t investigate further.”

“Their spider’s nests…”

“They’ve been settled here for a while. The core is hidden, making it hard to find.”

Cobwebs were tangled between the soil, forming a net-like structure.

“Get out of the way!”

The creature spewed fluid and sprayed cobwebs.

“Damn it! The cobwebs are slowing down the cleanup!”

“If we cut the cobwebs wrong, the soil will collapse. Divide into extermination and search teams!”

The knights cut through the cobwebs with their swords. As the creatures rewove the cut webs with their legs, the extermination team severed those legs.

“Here’s a demon trap.”

The alien sensation was drawing closer.

The war horses were the first to react keenly to that sensation. As the black horse stomped and struggled, the knights readjusted their grip on their sword handles. The blades slit the demons’ throats and.

Slash!

It exuded a fierce killing intent.

As Pophyta’s extermination team joined, Benjamin sheathed his sword. The emperor, with his outer garment draped over his shoulders and hood pulled low, narrowed his black pupils. His eyes became as thin as slits.

“It’s a spider’s nest, isn’t it?”

“It’s been torn.”

“The cliff above collapsed, right? Then, was it due to the ground caving in?”

“If that were the case, I would have said it collapsed instead of being torn. This was torn.”

Someone had forcibly torn it out.

The investigation team realized this fact as well.

“Someone has taken the baby spiders’ nest.”

“…By nest, you mean the baby demon’s shell?”

“Yes. It’s also called a demon’s lair. The cliff’s foundation collapsed as it was torn out. Also, there are several deliberately twisted demon traps visible. It seems someone stole the babies.”

“…The number?”

“Three were torn out. Traces remain at the seams where the demon shells of the spider’s nests were ripped away.”

Benjamin rolled the sword handle in his grasp. His fingers clashed together with a clack-clack sound. The inside of his palm, covered in dense calluses, grated with a crunch.

“Your Majesty.”

The Pophyta commander approached.

“The search for survivors inside is complete.”

It was a small village. The villagers already knew each other well, so with the large influx of manpower, the search operation was concluded.

A child crawled out from under a log.

The child whimpered while brushing off dirt.

“Mom!”

Long hair obstructed the view.

Somehow, the child’s steps seemed to thud heavily on the ground.

[This is the timeline separator]

As the imperial guards removed all the demon traps, they reported:

“All spider’s nests have been eliminated.”

“We’ve identified and dismantled the sand tombs as well. The subsequent cleanup will be left to the security forces, and the floor work should be finished by afternoon.”

As day broke, merchants opened their shops. Passersby on the streets gradually increased. Plans were in place to bring in manpower to replace the broken bricks and reinforce the ground.

“Are you sure there are no more spider’s nests?”

“There were none besides those two.”

Charlotte looked down at the old man lying face-down on the ground.

The old man had lost one arm.

A body tainted by black magic was different from ordinary humans. The old man had burst that arm to entangle the guards’ feet.

‘This bastard! Even after bursting his body, new arms keep growing!’

The old man only fell face-down after losing both arms.

His body had stiffened and moved sluggishly, and his white eyes with transparent pupils were alien.

“In ancient times, it was said that black magic devotees would recite spells offering their own bodies as sacrifices.”

“Ah. A soul (魂) close to death.”

The whites of his eyes narrowed. As he continued to recite spells offering his body as a sacrifice, even his eyes became one of the offerings.

‘Why didn’t I know?’

Why didn’t I know any of those around me?

The connections from the previous life gradually intertwined.

Past and present lives meshed together with a creak. That fate also touched.

“Why, death, earth exudes uh… How strange. To lose my eyes and be unable to see, who is it? Where did we meet?”

The old man crawled, flattening himself against the ground.

“The taboo has never been this deeply involved, is this the end?”

The old man bit his cane and bent his waist.

The connection from the previous life was so different from that life.

What is this bizarreness?

“A blade at this old man’s neck, are you saying I should die from metal poisoning?”

“That would indeed be a gentler way to die.”

The guards’ blades exuded killing intent.

Unlike the gloomy aura of black magic, the blades carried the knights’ spirit, rough and fierce. That killing intent was also honest. It was largely because what the extermination team was killing were demons, not people, so there was no deception.

“Are you Haden Kricker himself?”

“You know this old man’s name. I didn’t expect that name to be remembered in this era. This old man must be near his time, tsk tsk, I’m glad someone remembers me.”

“…”

“My name that doesn’t even exist in records.”

Charlotte took in the old man from beyond the alley.

‘Though human, he lacks the aura a person should have.’

Perhaps this was why the sense of alienation was so strong.

“How did you know the name?”

“Was it not in the intelligence officer’s report?”

“There are some findings.”

“…I happened to see a report near Your Majesty once.”

I’ve never seen such a report.

He who dislikes even the fact that I’m getting involved wouldn’t show me such a report.

However, I do remember that name.

The old man clacked his mouth.

“This is the limit of the taboo.”

Is it soil?

Is it wood?

It seemed like a hard piece of wood.

“Kkeuk! Kkeuuk!”

The old man drew close to death, and his skin lost its color and dried up.

Click-.

The old man wove a black magic spell, offering his body as a sacrifice to detonate the imperial city area.

“Take cover!”

A thunderous sound erupted. Whitish smoke rose, and a wave of heat swept over.

That was all. A firm chest touched my arm.

“Are you alright?”

“…”

“…Charlotte? Charlotte?”

Strength drained from my body.

Somewhere, things become hazy.

My vision gradually turns red.

As if sinking into a distant lake. Further. Downwards. Continuously further down.

My body crumbled.

It feels like being submerged in water.