The Signal (7)

Selena wiped away her tears. She still had things to do, things that couldn't wait while she cried.

She approached Hagley.

"Hagley."

"..."

Hagley simply glared at her in silence. The paralysis had spread throughout his body, leaving him unable to move even a finger. Though it hadn't reached his organs yet, using any other tricks was out of the question.

"Excuse me for a moment."

Selena placed her hand on Hagley's shoulder.

"Wh-what are you... planning..."

Speaking had become a struggle. His mouth was stiff, his tongue numb, and his pronunciation slurred. Even this was humiliating for Hagley.

"You are the core of Manggot."

"...!"

Hagley felt it. Selena was exploring the path of the shadow connected to him.

"Being the core of Manggot means that all the key members of Manggot are connected to you."

"Even if you know that, what can you..."

Shadow Transfer required a pre-established connection. Normally, the shadows connected to Hagley would have nothing to do with Selena.

However.

"There was a time I pushed myself too far," Selena suddenly said. "It was a dangerous act, transferring myself, another person, and a horse all at once."

Hagley's eyes widened at her words.

Selena, when she had taken Malia and the steed Cassian to Yeranhes, had reached the barrier of Yeranhes with them.

It was a forbidden technique of Manggot. Because it transferred unconnected individuals, the burden on the caster was immense.

That single act had left Selena's physical condition similar to Frondier's after two Mana Depletions.

And since she had used Transfer relentlessly afterwards for her coordinated attack with Frondier, she was completely exhausted after the fight.

"But thanks to almost dying like that," Selena's Mana fluctuated. Her sunken eyes seemed to see beyond Hagley, distant and far away. "My understanding of Transfer broadened."

Selena, who had succeeded in transferring with those unconnected to her shadow, was now able to interfere with other shadows not connected to her own.

'...Even so, it wasn't until recently that I was confident I could do it.'

When Selena entered the Round Table meeting, she wasn't happy with her attire, but it had given her one advantage. While bowing her head and listening to Belphegor, she had examined the shadows of the Shepherds seated at the surrounding tables.

If they had been paying close attention, they might have noticed, but Selena moved with utmost caution, and more importantly, she only observed the shadows of the Shepherds who were preoccupied with their own bodies.

And for that to be possible, there was naturally one more hurdle to overcome.

"Y-you… ...me..."

Meeting Hagley.

Just as Hagley had waited for Selena, Selena had also been searching for him.

"...I'll go, Hagley."

Her hand, resting on Hagley's shoulder.

Selena's gaze, looking down calmly, seemed somehow sad.

"I wanted to believe in you."

"..."

"I don't care what happens to the Empire. So I believed in the power of Manggot, called the Inferno."

"..."

"But I can't do that anymore."

Hagley tried to say something at those words, but his paralyzed mouth couldn't even pronounce a single syllable properly.

And then Selena vanished.

Just before she did, Hagley saw a chilling murderous intent flash in her eyes.

* * *

Arrows soared through the sky, blades and claws flashed amidst the clash of two forces, massive rocks and spells rained down from the air to the ground.

The northern barrier. The battle was beyond grand, it was deafening.

"Kill them! Kill them all!"

"Don't let a single one get close!"

"Uwaaaak! I'll smash your heads in!!"

Roars and curses filled the air, a time when nothing mattered but one's own life and the victory of the war.

Enfer, in charge of deployment, stood atop the barrier. His swordsmanship was far more effective than arrows or magic for taking down the 'birds'.

His Divine Skill, which cut down enemies regardless of distance, was the most suitable for bringing down the birds. However, in exchange for abandoning the defense of the barrier, damage continued to accumulate on it.

The north, where the most monsters from the Empire poured in.

Yeranhes, which had suffered particularly severe damage during the past winter.

Mei, who had left without using Restoration.

The result of all these factors combined.

"...As expected."

Enfer's eyes, which had been on the barrier, shifted to the right. His gaze sank heavily.

"Has the time come?"

Boom! Kaboom!

Monsters surged in like a tidal wave. Gradually, creatures of different calibers crawled out from deeper within, clinging to the barrier.

Crack!

And then, finally, from the perspective of the monsters and Manggot, at last.

"Ah, ah... Aaaaaah!!"

"N-no! Stop it, we have to stop..."

Amidst the screams and despair of the soldiers, the barrier crumbled.

"Block the wall!!"

One of the knights shouted, and even faster, the mages began their chants.

Crackle!

A massive ice wall formed, filling the gap in the broken barrier.

"Ugh!"

However, the hastily created ice wall was far too weak compared to the original barrier. It had no chance of withstanding the renewed onslaught of the monsters. The mages continued to pour Mana into it, adding more ice, but it was crumbling at a much faster rate.

"L-Lord! The wall has been breached!"

A knight approached Enfer and shouted.

"Yes, I see."

"Please give us orders!"

However, Enfer shook his head at those words.

"I'm not the one to give orders."

"What? What do you mean!"

Enfer was receiving periodic reports.

The status of the barriers throughout the Empire, where the most critical point was at the moment.

And based on the reports and communications from the soldiers, the critical point was right here, in the north.

Since it was a barrier without 'Restoration', this outcome was almost inevitable.

Therefore.

"My wife will give the orders."

Enfer would simply move 'as planned'.

* * *

"The best thing would be if the barrier doesn't collapse. But the probability of that is not high."

Frondier spoke inside the room that Osprey had brought him into.

"As Her Majesty the Empress said, if I am a single spear aiming for the heart of Manggot."

Frondier used the obsidian to depict the location of the empire's barrier and Manggot, and then drew an arrow. It was too simplified to be called a map, a temporary symbol.

"We must prepare for the possibility of failure."

"......"

At those words, everyone's faces became gloomy.

However, Frondier shook his head.

"Failure doesn't necessarily mean I have to die."

"......Then?"

"Simply put, the barrier collapses before the spear reaches the enemy's heart. This is also a failure of this operation."