Under the city stretched a long, dark sewer.

There was barely any light, and the musty, unpleasant odor was heavily embedded within the darkness. In that sewer, the sound of someone nervously running echoed.

“Damn it, damn it…”

The owner of those footsteps was Frieda, the one who had ripped through the barrier to unleash demonic beasts upon the city, plunging it into chaos.

Yet despite causing such turmoil, she was ultimately in a thoroughly irritated state.

“Ugh, I can’t believe I have to go through this… this disgusting place…”

The reason for her foul mood was that since she had invaded the city, she had been forced to navigate solely through this sewer.

Normally, given Frieda’s personality, she would never choose to move through such filth.

“Hmm, I have just the thing. Once I go down to the city, there should be a long sewer. I’ll have you travel through there to the center of the city. It’s perfect for a weakling like you to hide and scuttle about.”

Unfortunately for her, there was no such thing as a choice.

“Ugh, that damned woman… One day, I swear I’ll get my revenge…”

As she recalled the scornful expression of the woman who sent her to this city, Frieda shouted in frustration.

For her, it was truly an undesirable situation.

It was unbearable not only to follow someone’s orders but more so to be hiding like a rat.

For someone who once bore the title of the mightiest sorceress, hiding was not an option.

If only she could retake the glory that had once terrorized this world, just like that man who had made all humans kneel before him at the city gates, she wouldn’t be this irritated.

But what was her current circumstance?

She barged into a place where she could showcase her power, yet here she was, hiding and unable to fight.

That humiliation was more than she could endure.

She hadn’t awakened from that long slumber just to endure such indignity.

But,

“Follow the instructions properly. Well, I don’t expect someone as weak as you to handle the task well, but don’t deviate from my orders. Unless, of course, you want to experience the pleasure of what happened last time.”

“…Damn it.”

Recalling the warning the woman had given her before entering the city, Frieda had no choice but to stifle her rage.

She trembled at the thought of the torture she had endured to ensure she would follow orders.

Had it been a physical pain-inducing torture, she would have rather died than bend the knee.

But what she had faced was not pain but pleasure.

It wasn’t even just any pleasure; it was an overwhelming ecstasy she could never have imagined existed.

In that moment, as the sensation threatened to obliterate her very being, Frieda felt fear for the first time in her life.

Though prideful and self-assured, the pleasure that seemed intent on erasing her identity from this world was the most terrifying thing about it.

At times, the thought crossed her mind: Did she feel like obeying the orders given to her? At that point, she would have cast aside her pride and wept for mercy, pleading to stop whatever was happening to her.

That was why, despite all her irritation, Frieda obeyed the woman’s commands.

After finishing this task, she had vowed to herself that she would one day gain power to take revenge against the damned woman who humiliated her.

“……I should invade the city through the barrier and then destroy the magic circle at the city center…”

Frieda, desperate to break free from this foul sewer and the order binding her, increased her running speed.

And just as she thought she was almost at her destination,

“…So this is the right place, huh?”

Upon the arrival of a red-haired girl, standing there as if she were waiting for her, Frieda smiled, curling the corners of her mouth.

The girl’s confident words, claiming that humans wouldn’t expect an invasion through the sewer with beasts rampaging above, had proven wrong.

Feeling a slight uplift in her spirits, she thought to end it without pain.

Muttering that in her mind, she swung her attack at the girl’s neck.

However, that attack cut through the air with a sharp sound, due to the girl’s surprisingly agile backward movement.

At that sight, Frieda’s smile faltered.

It was displeasing that a mere human had evaded her attack once again. As another attack surged to her lips, she soon lost interest and retracted her claws.

After all, this human seemed to look weak enough not to cause any significant disruption.

Thinking it best to ignore her and finish her task before leaving the sewer, Frieda turned her back on the girl and prepared to run away.

“……This is strange. I did hear that a witch invaded, though.”

The girl, having regained her stance, brushed a wound on her forehead caused by the attack and mumbled, causing Frieda to stop dead in her tracks.

The nuance in the girl’s words somehow irked her.

That was why Frieda turned back to ask the girl.

“……What do you mean, strange?”

Then, the girl opened her mouth again.

“I’ve seen other witches a few times. So I know how terrifying witches can be.”

Smiling as if she were provoking Frieda.

“You, however, seem too weak to be a witch.”

And that provocation landed perfectly.

With those words, the option of not killing the girl disappeared entirely from Frieda’s mind.

*

The command post at the forefront of the Northern Boundary Region, assigned to Astrape’s 4th squad.

Despite being a gathering of renowned heroes, their faces were all marked with serious expressions.

The shocking news that a witch had broken through the barrier to unleash demonic beasts on the city was enough to plunge them all into shock.

And in that silent meeting room, the first to speak up was none other than Yoon Si-woo.

“……We must go, Captain Martina. The city is in danger! We need to provide support immediately—!”

“……Yoon Si-woo, I understand your anxiety, but calm down. You know it’s difficult right now.”

However, upon Martina’s subsequent words, Si-woo had no choice but to close his mouth.

“Due to the backlash from the teleportation seal, the teleport gates are currently nonoperational, so immediate support is impossible. Captain Leon set out as soon as he heard the news, but even if he’s quick, that’s still quite a distance from the front line to the city.”

As she mentioned, the gates, which were the means of support, were completely shut down.

Yoon Si-woo was well aware that it was practically impossible to provide support.

Yet, despite that, he couldn’t shake the uneasy thoughts from his mind.

What if something were to happen to Scarlet because of the witch or the beasts…?

Seeing Yoon Si-woo’s worried expression, Martina tried to soothe him with calm words.

“Just don’t worry too much. We’ve deployed emergency forces around the city just in case. Lucas, the vice-captain of the 3rd squad, is over there, so no matter how strong the enemy that attacks may be, it should be enough—”

“……Captain Martina. Urgent news. Vice-Captain Lucas Eloise has been severely injured in battle against the witch and is currently unconscious. They say he’s in surgery at the hospital, and it’s uncertain whether he can be saved…”

“……Damn it, is it true…?”

Martina’s expression contorted at the newly conveyed news as she was trying to reassure Yoon Si-woo.

She recognized Lucas’s abilities more than anyone else.

Lucas Eloise was a man of exceptional talent whom Martina had once secretly admired as someone stronger than herself.

The fact that he had been hurt meant that the current situation was even worse than she could imagine, so Martina slammed her hand down on the desk unintentionally.

The sound echoed, and in that moment, Yoon Si-woo flinched and trembled.

It wasn’t just because of the noise.

It was the hair of Scarlet that was laid upon the Holy Sword.

Through that, she had conveyed to him that she had been harmed.

“Right now, right now we need to…support…”

“Shut up! Do you think you’re the only one feeling that way? I want to go and provide support too! But there isn’t a way, alright? The teleport gate is shut! Do you think simply running out to offer support would change anything then?!”

As Yoon Si-woo couldn’t hold back his cries, Martina’s frustration burst out into an outcry.

Yoon Si-woo twisted his face in response.

He knew it well.

That he was acting without composure.

But he had promised Scarlet.

That if she were ever in danger, he would rush to her side, no matter where he was.

But the distance was too great to simply run as he had promised.

In such a pressing situation, where it wouldn’t be strange if something had already happened to Scarlet, he couldn’t maintain his composure.

He had to find a way to reach her, as soon as possible.

In desperation, Yoon Si-woo asked.

“Is there… is there no way? Maybe we could reactivate the teleport gate…?”

“……To properly resynchronize it will take at least a few days.”

“Then what about an unconventional method…?”

“……I’ve considered that too, but the installed magic circle is not as flimsy as you think. If we were to forcibly open it, the dimensional stability would twist, and we wouldn’t be able to guarantee the safety of those trying to get through. Moreover, that method also requires another magician of my caliber on the other side….”

As Martina shook her head, murmuring that there was simply no way, Yoon Si-woo felt as if he was about to crumble.

Just then, the face of his newly formed friend popped into his mind.

“Then if there’s another magician on the opposite side, can that unconventional method work?!”

“……I already told you. It has to be a magician of my caliber—”

“There is! At least in this regard, there’s someone who can be compared to you, Captain!”

Yoon Si-woo exclaimed, pulling out his mobile phone and dialing the most recently registered number.

Please, please answer.

In the midst of his fervent prayers, the call connected, and moments later, a gruff voice resonated from the other end.

“……Yoon Si-woo? What’s going on? We’re currently busy evacuating citizens.”

“Dwight! Go to the closest gate to the city near the boundary region right now!”

“……What are you planning to do?”

“I’m going to cross over! From this side to that side!”

“……Are you seriously thinking of forcing your way through a gate that’s about to break? That’s madness. There’s no way you’re going to get through safely.”

At that question, Martina’s gaze shifted towards Yoon Si-woo.

He understood she was asking him the same question Dwight had.

Even though it was said that safety could not be guaranteed, was he truly considering doing something so reckless?

And without hesitation, Yoon Si-woo threw his sword into the air, letting it fall toward one of his arms.

As his arm was severed and Martina gasped in horror,

Yoon Si-woo instantly regenerated a new arm from the empty shoulder using the Holy Sword’s unyielding power, declaring,

“It doesn’t matter if my limbs are severed, as long as I’m alive.”

So just shut up and send me to Scarlet’s side.

That was Yoon Si-woo’s answer to their questions.