The sun descended; that was the only way to describe this phenomenon.

A gigantic fire covered the sky above the Meta Conveyor Belt like a curtain, gradually increasing in volume. A storm of flames seemed to scorch the earth as it swept through.

“This is…!”

After glancing back at the container behind her, Tyr quickly spread her hands. The lid of the coffin burst open and ominously swirling darkness flowed out.

The darkness instinctively found its enemy and rose up, pushing back the flames.

Since the very beginning, the battle between light and darkness had resumed. The rising darkness dimmed the flames, while the flickering fire gnawed away at the darkness, thus entangling each other.

In the end, all that remained was ash. Ashen smoke, as if bringing down the clouds themselves, flowed backwards, revealing a figure hidden behind it.

It was an old woman with firm wrinkles around her eyes. Her stubborn appearance and firm lips allowed one to guess her personality just by looking at her face.

The strongest mage of the Military State flew through the sky with a cloak that seemed three times larger than her body.

“It has been a long time, Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka. I am sure you have never seen me before, but I have seen you sleeping in the coffin from afar.”

The most foolish mage yet also the wisest. The Creator of Standard Magic.

The Milky Way that brightened up the night sky with countless small lights. Mage Marshal Prelvior gazed down on Tyr.

“Surrender. As the main force is coming.”

Despite the flames being dispersed by the blowing wind, the darkness still held its place. Even so, Tyr narrowed her eyes with a hint of discomfort and replied.

“How presumptuous of you to speak as such after a single measly spell. Do you think you are the only one who can use such magic?”

“Of course not. After all, are you not also the Sovereign of Vampires? You know better than anyone how futile it is to stand alone against an army.”

She was not standing on the flowing land, but floating above it. In other words, she was currently flying through the sky at the same speed as the Meta Conveyor Belt.

Perhaps it would be fine if it was night, but the fact of the matter was… Vampires avoided the sky as much as they hated the sun. It was because there were no shadows when in the air.

Prelvior, standing aloofly at a distance unreachable by both humans and vampires, spoke stiffly.

“If you surrender, your safety will be guaranteed. It would be in your best interest to decide quickly. Once you lose the upper hand….”

Prelvior looked up towards the back end of the belt. Noticing her intentional gesture, Tyr also turned her gaze in that direction.

From afar, a small group of people was madly rushing towards them, leaping over containers. A man wielding a giant spear sprinted at the very forefront, shouting in a booming voice.

“Our Little Daughter of the Military State! Wait just a little longer! Your daddies are coming–!”

Led by the Sunderspear, ten general officers had left the main force behind and were rushing to rescue the Gunner Corps.

Now, time was on the side of the Military State. Prelvior, who had brought them until the halfway point with Wind Magic, looked down at Tyr and spoke.

“...The more desperate your circumstances become, the less valuable your surrender will be.”

***

Riffffffle.

While hiding inside the dark container and shuffling cards, I sighed and flipped over one of the cards I had set aside.

“As expected, it was the Mage Marshal, huh. Well, I guess that makes sense. After all, it would be meaningless unless the asset they brought was at that level.”

The card I flipped was the Queen of Clubs, the Heroine of the Military State who symbolized magic itself. Along with the Earth Sage, she was a paragon who built the very foundations of this country.

The Queen of Clubs and the Queen of Hearts confronted each other. The Jack and Queen of Spades, too, were fighting. Meanwhile, the other side’s King was charging in.

Three against two. Even when only comparing numerically, they had the upper hand.

“I kind of expected it, but…. Are they really trying to start a war or something? What kind of gamble is this even supposed to be? Even though they have a comparative advantage, it doesn’t even seem like they have some overwhelming military superiority… So, why would they go out of their way to start a fight in their own territory…?”

Mage Marshal Prelvior was a powerhouse on the scale of a nation. No matter how powerful the Sunderspear or the Gunmaster were, they could not surpass the limits of an individual. However, the Mage Marshal’s strength could easily demolish mountains, twist rivers, and, at times, even make cement flow like a river.

Even the Earth Sage, who manipulated the land itself, couldn’t do something like that alone. The reason why she succeeded in such an achievement was because she worked together with Mage Marshal Prelvior, the Mage of Magnitude.

“What is it? What am I missing? I really don’t get it. There’s no rational explanation… Is there something I am not aware of?”

Surely, they didn’t come all the way here just to catch little old me, right? I keep having this nagging feeling that something I am not aware of had occurred on the side of the Military State.

Jeez, what am I even doing right now? It’s not like I can read the Military State’s mind or something. What I needed to do at this point in time is plan a strategy.

“In terms of compatibility, the Tyr should face the Sunderspear and Mr. Shei should go against the Mage Marshal.”

After all, Tyr was a renowned Knight Slayer. And the Regressor was a glutton who had feasted upon and experienced much of the Arcane through her regressions.

I pushed the Queen of Hearts towards the opposing main force, the King, and flipped the Jack of Spades into the Ace of Spades before pushing it towards the Queen of Clubs.

And so, only the Queen of Spades remained.

The Daughter of the Military State, Historia.

“Hm. Then who will take down Ria? Surely, it’s not supposed to be me, right?”

How absurd. I never won a single practical lesson against her when I was at Hamelin, you know? Defeat her? What a joke. After all, I was just a cheat who conned my way into being the top student by peeking into everyone’s minds. Compared to the other two, whose scores were immeasurable and thus boosted my average, I was a 1st Place who could actually be considered purely human. Mhm.

“It’s impossible. I’ll have to use myself as bait and use a different card…”

I placed my hand on the ground and vigorously stirred it. The scattered cards disappeared in an instant and gathered back into my hand.

Plap.I sighed heavily as I gathered all the cards back into a stack.

“I don’t have any other choice but to buy time…. But still, there is still some history between us, so she won’t kill me, right…? Right, Ria?”

If only the world was an actual card game. Then I would always win, sweeping the stakes.

But even if the world were a card game, I was not a player. Even as the owner of these cards, I was, at best, just a single card moving alone on the board called the world.

After shuffling, I pulled out the top nine cards.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 of Diamonds. And lastly, J.

Except for a few, these were damaged Diamond cards, either split apart or having lost their mana or bullets.

The cards lost in the fight against Wolfen would not return. It nearly cost me an entire alchemic gold to make one, but once damaged or lost, that was the end of it.

“Ugh, the cost-efficiency is so bad. I’m seriously gonna cry. My money….”

Riffle, riffle.I shuffled the cards tearfully. And then, I flipped the very top one.

J of Diamonds. A knight clad in metal depicted on the Diamond.

“The weapons are all used up and I’m lacking in equipment…. But well, when have I ever fought with weapons? Let’s just stop sudden death. That’s all I need to do.”

The moment I got involved in that, my life was in grave danger. But, so what? What else could I do? If I didn’t throw myself in, I might get caught.

All I could do was hope that I don’t get swept away and die miserably.

J of Diamonds, Full Plate.

In other words, the Combat Arm of the Military State.

I plugged the entire bundle of Diamond cards into my bio-receptor. A suffocating sensation enveloped me as mana flowed through the card bundle and covered my Arch-Avatar. In an instant, all my mana was drawn into a single point.

I felt a sense of emptiness, as if all the moisture in my body had been drained.

Iyaa. My mana gets halved with just this? Even though most of the mana is actually contained in the cards themselves?

Give me a mana vessel as big as the Mage Marshal… is what I want to say but the path she walked was a bit thorny. Honestly, it’s better to just live enjoying my Mind Reading than to suffer like that… My blood, sweat, and tears are precious to me, you know?

When I made up my mind and stood up, Azzy perked up her ears and came towards me.

“Woof? Going?”

“That’s right.”

“Too much! No! You, too frail!”

“Yeah, yeah. I know, you punk. But what else can I do? Sometimes, you have to face danger even if you know it’s there. That’s the dignity of a human. And…”

Pauldrons emerged on top of the very shoulders I shrugged.

It was a thin and slender armor. A buckler hung on my left hand as if it were part of me and wires and chains secured the metal plates that appeared along my body.

The Diamond card signified armor. Among them, the Full Plate Armor, led by the J, wasn’t particularly spectacular, but it should save my life at least once.

Humans became brave when they wore armor. The heavy weight seemed to bolster the courage in my heart. The sound of clanking that accompanied my every movement seemed to empower me.

“I was born a gambler, you know? And the more desperate the situation, the more cornered I am, the bolder the bet.”

It was a declaration of my determination, but for some reason, Azzy just shrugged her shoulders.

“Woof, understand! Me, bold!”

“Why are you the one shrugging when we’re talking about me?”

“But, I! Woof! Got bitten!”

“What are you saying… If anyone got bitten, it would be anyone but you. Actually, you would probably be the one to have bitten them.”

“Woofwoof!”

“Why are you barking at me? No matter how bad my circumstances are, I would never bite dogs.”

While we were having this casual and friendly conversation, the armor began to cover my face. A steel mask wrapped around my face, completing the transformation.

The armor pressing down on my shoulders was heavy. I felt a bit dispirited because my mana had been halved.

But, oh well. If I wanna live, I gotta wear it.

Meanwhile, Azzy got up to follow me.

"Hate, tissue paper! I’ll, go! You follow!”

“...Really?”

Azzy volunteering by herself to help me? I thought she would avoid getting involved in human conflicts as much as possible, though.

Was this a repayment for how well I usually treat her? Well, I mean it makes sense. They did say animals recognized favor and help as well. There were many old tales about animals repaying the kindness they received from humans.

“Thanks. At least that will stop me from dying sudd, heuk!”

When I actually tried to walk, I almost fell over. If Azzy hadn’t caught me with her front paws, I might have collapsed right then and there.

Azzy looked at me with eyes full of pity and affection.

“Woof. Let’s just, hide, okay?”

“Sorry, sorry. My mistake. I just need to overcome this and take a step forward.”

I can’t believe a dog is worried about me. This is the embarrassment of a lifetime.

It’s just because I haven’t worn armor in a while. I just need to get used to it, that’s all!

“Let’s just not die. That’s all I need to do. Not die.”

With that resolve, I stepped out of the container, a little surprise gift for Ria in hand.

Onto the land that flows like a river. Into a battlefield that would only appear in legends.