In the distance on the horizon, the early dawn is once again shrouded in darkness.

It appears as if the approaching morning is retreating, and night is arriving again, but that is far from the truth.

What looks like the sky and ground being engulfed in darkness is a spectacle caused by the magic emitted by the Witch of Gluttony.

Magic is not unfamiliar to the heroes standing here now.

After all, the areas beyond the boundary region typically appear covered in a murky mist shrouded in magic.

However, even those heroes found themselves instinctively taking steps back at the terrifying might of the magic that is currently spreading toward them.

To compare it, it’s akin to the difference between the mist at dawn along a riverside and the smoke billowing from a burning building.

While mist can be inhaled without significant impact, smoke can kill anyone who breathes it in.

If there is that much difference in the level of harmful magic, then it hardly requires further explanation of just how dangerous it is.

The very essence of the Witch of Gluttony spreads out simply by existing.

After witnessing that sight, it seems people finally began to feel the reality.

Most of the magic saturating this city, which has forced them to shelter in it, is merely the residue left behind centuries ago when the Witch of Gluttony rampaged.

And now they have to fight against such a being.

The sound of swallowed saliva echoes everywhere.

Everyone is tense, staring into the distance at the approaching darkness when that thick obscurity flickers like a mirage.

And within it, something takes shape as a silhouetted figure.

“Tha-that…”

“What kind of size is that…”

The onlookers gasp, inhaling sharply at the revealed shape.

Now, it merely appears as a small dot.

However, considering that the mountains at the same distance beside it look similar in size, it’s understandable just how enormous the approaching witch is.

Coupled with her immense presence, the psychological pressure felt each time that small dot grows larger is horrifying.

“Oh, it’s coming… It’s coming this way…”

The witch, which appeared as a small dot, has now grown in size enough for anyone to visually identify its form.

A figure akin to a gigantic girl.

But no one would think it resembles a human.

That monster, crawling on all fours, hands on the ground and knees down, looks as if it is bursting with countless writhing tentacles, akin to the higher demonic beasts that invaded the city the previous day; it can only be described as a creature that seems to have sprung forth from hell.

And from that monster, the hells of this world manifest.

The land is tainted with magic, appearing as a black swamp, rising from which are the jaws of hell.

With magic in abundance, lesser demonic beasts are inevitably born.

Like they are being manufactured in a factory, demonic beasts spring up all around.

The heroes flinch briefly at the sudden increase in the number of lesser demonic beasts, but what followed was far more dreadful.

“What the hell… What is that…”

“Ugh…”

Moments ago, the bodies of the lesser demonic beasts that had just been born are now entirely darkened and slowly melting away.

The melted beasts seem to revert into a handful of magic, scattering back to where they originated.

The tentacles sprouting from the witch’s body inhale that magic.

While the lesser demonic beasts that invaded the city showcased a similar ability, what is occurring now is vastly more horrifying.

The ability, named “Devour,” is the power possessed by the Witch of Gluttony that transforms everything around her into magic and consumes it.

The range of this power encompasses the territory of the magic the witch has scattered.

As such, the Witch of Gluttony swallows lesser demonic beasts that are akin to her own offspring birthed by her power without discrimination.

Thus, the witch grows stronger by eating magic and again releases magic, which births further lesser demonic beasts, allowing her to absorb them and become even more powerful.

Simply by existing, she possesses the ability to grow infinitely stronger.

This was the reason the Witch of Gluttony was able to approach victory against the world.

“…Can we win against that?”

Someone mumbles blankly.

Seeing that horrifying and terrifying scene, it is only natural for anyone to wonder.

As the fear they had been struggling to suppress rose, Eve’s voice gently resonated.

“At her peak, she was much larger than this.”

Was she trying to encourage them in her own way?

Eve murmured to the people around her.

Her words allowed the people to regain a bit of their resolve.

Yes, compared to several hundred years ago, it’s certainly reasonable that the current witch is weaker.

Given that she hasn’t had much time to recover her power since her resurrection.

Moreover, humanity has experience in defeating the Witch of Gluttony, who was much stronger than she is now.

So there’s no reason to be scared—what our ancestors once did can surely be accomplished by us now, everyone encouraged themselves in that way.

And they steeled their hearts as they waited.

Waiting for the witch to come closer.

Due to her ability, the fundamental strategy to adopt is to attack the witch from a distance.

However, despite it being a ranged attack, firepower typically diminishes as the distance increases. Therefore, they needed to lure the witch close to the edge where her magic wouldn’t reach.

Thus, they had to wait and watch until the witch entered the predicted range.

Enduring the mounting pressure and fear from the approaching witch.

But then came the sound.

-Brrrr!!!

-Woof!!! Woof!!!

The wails of beasts resembling blind dogs, swallowed whole, echoed.

Their desperate and painful last cries.

The screams of those who had their lives and strength seized by a tyrant.

As the distance closed in, the cries grew louder, unceasing.

-Help!!!

-Save us!!!

“O King, take our lives.

Grant us strength in exchange for our lives.”

The witch’s hymn, resembling the cries forcibly wrung from the lesser demonic beasts, fills the air.

The lesser demonic beasts sing such praises to sacrifice for the witch.

And through the sacrifice of the lesser demonic beasts, the Witch of Gluttony is becoming increasingly stronger even in this moment, constantly approaching.

Watching such a spectacle, hearing that sound, suddenly a thought crosses one’s mind.

Getting stronger? Stronger than now?

It’s already suffocating to breathe from the pressure.

Could it be that I, too, will end up screaming and dying like those beasts?

As I try to suppress the surging negative thoughts,

the now amplified cries echo endlessly in my ears.

The sound of the living dying pitifully eats away at the rationality of the living.

From within, a heavy sound resonates.

Thud, thud.

With every time the witch brings her hands and knees forward, a thunderous sound akin to a giant drum shakes the air.

It intensifies the already profound pressure and sense of dread.

Holding on against it,
holding on,
eventually…

“Ahhhhhh!!!”

“Ughhh!!!”

Some crumple under the weight of fear.

Even though these heroes possess mentally honed skills through training and experience, even they couldn’t endure it.

The terror of the witch becoming stronger and the fear of her closing in.

The fear bleaches out their reason and vaporizes it.

“What the hell are you doing! Stop…!!”

“Grab them! Don’t let them go!!!”

By the time people noticed their aberration, it was already too late.

“Ahhhhhh!!!”

People lost in panic scream as they leap toward the barrier.

Like moths drawn to flame, they rush toward the nearing witch, having lost their reason to flee.

Was it due to memories of living as heroes that prevented them from fleeing?

Or were they too scattered to even think of escape?

It would have been better if they had run; instead, they chose the worst of all choices.

“The hell, stop you bastards…!”

Leon, the hero with the fastest legs, hurriedly jumps down to follow them and manages to stop a few, but he could save them all as he had only one body.

Soon, a small group was already near the influence of the magic that was pooling.

“Don’t…”

As I began to think about what would happen to them, I instinctively nearly leaped beyond the barrier to save them.

“Evan, it’s too late to save them now… Even if she’s a witch, stepping there will not guarantee safety.”

Eve, standing beside me, grabs me and stops me.

I nodded with a feeling of despair, ultimately looking at those who have unwittingly stepped into hell.

“Ah…?”

Blocking the people who had lost their reason in fear and charged ahead were the lesser demonic beasts, born from the magic the witch emitted, repeating cycles of birth and death.

-Brrrrrrr!!!

Instinctively, the lesser demonic beasts that had aimed to attack the people suddenly began to scream terribly.

People, confused as they watched the now-screaming beasts stop their attacks, soon looked down at their bodies as if they had realized something.

“Ah…”

Dark.

Their bodies were darkening at an ever-increasing speed.

Just like the beasts screaming before their eyes.

Seeing themselves turned black like the beasts before their eyes, the people could only blankly turn their heads in shock.

They saw their mouths moving.

“Sa-sal─”

And then, with a thud.

The heroes turned into a handful of black liquid, melting away, not even having the chance to leave behind a last word.

The devastation of their demise makes the morale of the watching heroes plummet in real-time.

And as morale waned, realizing there was indeed no chance of victory, Eve, the one in command of this battle, opened her mouth.

“Ugh, all of you—!!”

Can they overcome the disaster as they did in the past?

Or will it be a meaningless struggle?

Finally, the time to determine that has arrived.

“Battle commence—!!!”

An all-out battle against the Witch of Gluttony begins.

The fight commences.