He slowly stretched out his hand, creating a faint shield that covered the entire banquet hall.

“Wow…”

“My God…”

“Are we going to live now?”

The men who had been frantically looking for shelter, the trembling women and young ladies, all looked up at the Emperor with awe.

Without even knowing the identity of the person who had created the shield.

The Emperor, Lionel Fezzan Marcia, looked down upon these pitiful souls doomed to die.

‘A foreseen end.’

The darkest day.

An inevitable battle awaited them.

Its conclusion was certain destruction.

However.

He saw a gold cluster of light illuminating the heart of the capital like a beacon of hope.

The light resonated and connected to various points, forming a powerful shield that prevented the monsters from entering.

It radiated a brilliance that couldn’t even be compared to the shield that covered this banquet hall.

“Hmm…”

As everyone watched the outside with wide eyes, the Emperor, who had been stroking his beard, called Cedric.

“Aide. Later, arrange a meeting with your sister.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Seeing him expressionlessly lowering his head, the Emperor smiled in satisfaction.

But his smile faded-

When a giant serpent peeked its head from the rift and breathed fire.

Kuaaaaaaaaa!!

The Emperor’s smile vanished in an instant upon seeing where the straight-moving red beam was headed.

‘That place… isn’t it where the relics are stored?’

* * *

The red light that struck where they were just a few seconds ago began to fade.

“Well, let’s go get the holy relic now.”

“…”

Duke Echerzen stared at the back of Rosha, who moved without hesitation.

She briefly glanced at the broken building in front of her – the relic storage.

The protective magic that was cast to prevent anyone from entering disappeared without a trace once the building collapsed.

‘…Did the Master of the Trial anticipate such an attack? But how?’

No matter how much she thought about it, it seemed like a reckless attempt, yet everything seemed to fit too perfectly.

Crash-

Some of the building pillars, which had been barely holding up, suddenly collapsed. Watching this, the Duke asked her:

“Did you do this on purpose?”

“Yes. I couldn’t dare to destroy His Majesty the Emperor’s property.”

“But the relics inside might have been damaged?”

“The good ones won’t be.”

“…”

He had serious doubts about whether such words could come from a young lady who had lived a normal life.

But either way.

‘It seems sometimes helpful to draw the attention of the Master of the Trial.’

It was the strategy she had in mind on the first day of the banquet when the Duke proposed robbing the relic storage, but she had no idea it would go this smoothly.

Casually observing the crack, Rosha quickly overturned a pile of rocks.

They had to quickly salvage whatever they could before the ‘Master of the Trials’ began to move again.

But…

‘There aren’t many useful items, are there?’

This might be the only worthy one.

Rosha picked up a broken sword lying on the ground.

Its original shape might have been as long as a claymore, but the blade was broken and unimpressive.

…Did I break it?

However, the information window seemed to indicate otherwise.

Brilliant Shadow (A-class)

One of the famous weapons known for slaughtering tens of thousands of demon beasts in ancient times. However, with its broken blade and wings of brilliance are broken, it has now become a forgotten relic.

Its title was hidden, but it had the characteristics of being ‘very light’ and ‘very sharp’, an A-class weapon.

‘The blade is a bit disappointing… but with Cassis’s skill, he might be able to restore the missing blade.’

That’s when-

“…Huh?”

Suddenly, Rosha sensed a very strong trace of magic.

On removing the piled-up stones, a round door attached to the ground was revealed.

That door, undamaged from the previous shock, didn’t even have a keyhole.

“Hmm… suspicious.”

Koko, with a platinum ring he picked up somewhere on his ankle, muttered quietly. As he said, it was very suspicious.

‘Perhaps… all the useful relics are down there?’

But there was no time to solve the mystery.

Thump, thump. The sound of something tapping the ground approached from a distance.

‘What is this now?’

As Rosha hurriedly looked around, a deep voice echoed.

“Are you trying to steal His Majesty the Emperor’s belongings now?”

She looked at the figure of an old man approaching with a cane. It was Duke Feriel. Despite his age, he had sharp eyes.

But behind the old man was a familiar face.

A tall man dressed in formal pants, a shirt, and a vest.

‘…It’s Cassis!’

As Rosha, narrowing her eyes, glared at Cassis who was avoiding her gaze.

Swoosh-

Something massive moved silently from the corner of her vision.

The ‘Master of the Trials’ that had been silently watching from the crack finally revealed itself outside.

It had the shape of a massive snake.

Its long body covered in smooth black scales looked impenetrably hard, and its thickness seemed enough that it would take about five people to just hug it.

‘It’s different from what I heard… a little? Smaller than expected and with weak skin?’

Seeing the creature, even Duke Feriel, who momentarily lost his words, quickly changed his demeanor.

“First, give me that sword lying on the ground.”

Those gathered at the collapsed relic storage gripped their weapons.

Meanwhile, the ‘Master of the Trials’, having fully emerged from the crack, began to crawl towards them, destroying buildings in its path.

As the creature came closer, strangely, the surrounding light started to dim.

“Huh…”

“…Night is falling.”

It wasn’t just ordinary darkness.

Although it was daytime, the surroundings were engulfed by an unusually deep darkness that seemed to consume light.

Thanks to the golden protective barrier around the capital, they could still maintain some visibility, but…

Crackle!

“Even so, when it damaged the magic formula, it eventually disappeared.

The surroundings are engulfed in deep darkness.

In the midst of it, the constant screams of people and the sound of something collapsing echoed, and between them, the sinister approach of a snake was felt.

The ‘Guide God’ says this guy has a very cautious personality.

Since the ordeal began, the Guide God gave his first helpful advice.

Rosha estimated the snake’s position and ripped the hem of her dress with the broken sword she held. The front of the dress was swiftly cut up to her knees, making it ragged.

The revealed shoes were comfortable boots. Seeing them, Cassis smirked.

“You really came prepared.”

“Enough, take this sword.”

“…Its blade is broken. Are you giving it to use?”

However, from the way he examined the sword, it seemed he didn’t take her words lightly.

Then, Duke Echerzen quietly asked.

“What would you like to do, young lady?”

“Me?”

“I’m asking because I think you might know a solution.”

Looking around, everyone was indeed looking at Rosha.

Seeing the proud, upright feathers of Koko, who loved attention, she answered.

“I’m not certain… but I think snakes are weak to temperature changes.”

Suddenly, the magical beasts approaching nearby fell like burning meteorites. She had been conserving her magic power as much as possible from earlier, so this time it was Koko’s power.

People’s eyes filled with trust, and Koko’s chest swelled with pride.

The elder who had just picked up the sword asked as he fiddled with it.

“So, young lady, to unleash enough firepower to kill that creature, you’d need some time?”

“Yes, a bit.”

“Then we have our answer.”

Until Rosha prepares her major spell, the rest will take turns buying time. Everyone seemed to guess that she was the main one to put up the large shield over the city, and there was no disagreement.

Finally, as the Master of the Trial broke the wall and approached.

“I’ll go first.”

Cassis moved a step ahead of the others.

Seeing him get closer to the creature, Rosha started to draw her magic but quickly used [Guide’s Lantern].

‘No, why would he just rush in? He should value his life!’