In the late hours before dawn.
“Hah… It’s been a while since I’ve been to the Black Forest Fortress. A lot has changed in many ways since back then.”
A large man with a thick white beard gazed at the interior of the fortress and expressed his admiration.
However, his appearance was entirely out of place in the Black Forest Fortress.
“Hey, was it really necessary to bundle up like that just to come here?”
The woman standing beside him threw him a reproachful look, to which the man burst out with a hearty laugh.
His full plate armor clanked and rattled as he laughed.
“Hahahaha! A paladin must always be fully prepared!”
The armor, which was thick enough to match the girth of an average man’s forearm, looked so heavy that just wearing it seemed enough to crush him under its weight.
Strapped to his back were a massive hammer and a tower shield large enough to cover his entire body.
No matter how one looked at it, his equipment was unsuited for the Black Forest Fortress.
“Haah… Thanks to you, everyone’s staring at us.”
“These are admiring glances from the faithful lambs who follow God. A weight that we clerics must bear!”
The woman pressed her hand to her forehead as if nursing a headache.
“Still… you must be getting on in years, if you’re coming all the way here to chase down a man.”
“…I told you, it’s not like that. I just needed to ask him something.”
“Yet you won’t answer when I ask what it is you want to ask.”
“That’s because I’ll tell you later――.”
Kaboooom――!!!
Just as the woman was about to respond, a thunderous noise shook the entire Black Forest Fortress.
The man looked off in the distance, spotted a cloud of black smoke rising, and grinned.
“Didn’t I tell you, Eleanor? We paladins must always be ready to face evil.”
“…Let’s go, old man.”
The two clerics of the Ariklotus Church quickly sprinted toward the site of the explosion.
***
Jun arrived hastily at the Gillen Merchant Guild branch of the Black Forest.
The branch was in ruins, barely resembling its former state.
Who could have caused such destruction in the Black Forest Fortress?
The culprit was easy to spot.
Perhaps she got caught in the aftermath of the explosion?
A woman lay collapsed. Her body was wrapped in torn bandages and a dagger was still clutched to her chest.
With no sign of breathing, it was certain she was dead.
And not far from her, Jun spotted a familiar face.
“…Aiden!”
His arms and abdomen had deep wounds with large chunks of flesh missing.
Every injury looked severe.
Jun hurriedly pulled a potion from his coat and carefully poured it over Aiden’s wounds.
“…Leader.”
A faint voice sounded from behind him.
When he turned around, he saw Maya staggering out from a collapsed building.
“Yo-Your leg…!”
“This kind of injury, I can handle it.”
“Stop the nonsense and stay put!”
Once Jun confirmed that Aiden’s wounds had healed, he ran over to Maya.
Maya had slumped down, leaning against the outer wall of a building.
“What happened?”
“The guild… it was attacked.”
“That woman?”
“Yes. She was strong… ugh!”
Maya’s leg had also been torn, with chunks of flesh ripped away like Aiden’s wounds.
As Jun poured a potion over the injury, the bleeding slowly stopped and the wound began to heal.
Not stopping there, Jun pressed the potion bottle to Maya’s lips.
“Drink. Judging by the wounds, it looks like you were hit by an aura attack. Your organs are probably injured, too.”
“Thank you…”
Jun cast a detection spell around them to prepare for any potential threats.
Due to the explosion’s aftermath, crowds of people were gathering from all directions.
There could be enemies among them. Whoever went this far might have more tricks up their sleeve.
“Maya, hide inside that building. Take Aiden with you.”
“What do you plan to do, Leader?”
“…There’s still someone I need to save.”
He could still sense a faint sign of life within the collapsed building.
Just as Jun was about to hurry in that direction—
Bang!
From within the rubble, something glowing with blue light emerged.
“Cough, cough, cough!”
“Chloe?”
“Uwaaaa! I almost died in there!”
Chloe emerged from the collapsed building. She was cradled in the broken arms of a shattered Golem.
***
The Black Forest Fortress was in complete chaos.
It was no surprise, given that an attack had occurred on the first floor of all places.
Fortress troops swarmed in to assess the situation as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, thanks to the network of connections Jun and Chloe had built over time, they were quickly cleared of suspicion.
Still, it had taken a full day to resolve the matter.
“Sorry… I can’t think straight enough to handle anything right now.”
Chloe, the one who should have been busiest during this critical time, also suffered serious injuries.
Moreover, many members of the guild she had shared years with had died, and she needed time to collect her thoughts.
“Get some rest.”
Leaving Chloe with her shoulders slumped, Jun turned and walked elsewhere.
He arrived at the building Chloe had been using as a storage facility.
“I didn’t expect you to show up at that exact moment.”
“Do you think I planned it?”
Despite the rough tone, the woman wore a pure white cleric’s robe, and her eyes were covered by a black blindfold.
It was Eleanor, the priestess who had been of great help during the Forest Guardian raid.
“Anyway, thank you. Because of you, my comrades’ injuries healed faster than expected.”
The moment Eleanor arrived at the explosion site, she had dedicated herself entirely to treating the wounded.
And she wasn’t the only one who had stepped up.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, we were able to contain the fire.”
“No need to thank me. Aren’t we all but lambs under the protection of God? It’s only natural to help each other!”
The man who responded in a booming voice was a middle-aged man.
A Crusader. And one of a high rank at that.
His size alone was immense, making one wonder if they were even the same species.
And all his gear was of Level 2 quality.
It seemed he held a considerable position within the Church.
“By the way, are you the one who wooed Eleanor?”
“Huh?”
Just when Jun thought “What nonsense is he spouting?” Eleanor swung her fist into the man’s side.
Of course, since he was protected by heavy armor, the one in pain was Eleanor’s fist.
“Damn, you’re ridiculously tough.”
“Hoho! Eleanor, if you keep attacking like that, you might end up hurting yourself.”
“My hand?”
“Exactly! Hahahaha!”
“Enough. You’re only getting in the way here, so just step outside, will you?”
“Hmm, should I? There’s nothing more distasteful than meddling in the affairs of the young!”
With that, the giant man exited, and Eleanor pressed her temples as if she was exhausted.
“Sorry. That was a bit loud, wasn’t it?”
“It was a little surprising. By the way… as someone who just received your help, it feels a bit awkward to ask, but how did you know to come here?”
“I had a few questions to ask.”
Even without hearing her out, Jun had a feeling he knew what Eleanor wanted to ask.
“It’s about this staff.”
“Hmm.”
Jun let out a shallow groan.
During his fight with the Fairy Queen, he had borrowed Eleanor’s staff in his rush.
What more was there to say?
That staff was an item rewarded only after defeating the boss monster known as the “Calamity of Sorrow” which appeared in the World Quest-level event.
Though it can’t be obtained through a simple defeat; it requires clearing an excruciatingly complex chain of quests.
In the game’s storyline, it was an item you could only acquire through relentless pursuit.
“I’ve never heard there was such a hidden secret behind this staff in my life.”
“Of course. It looks like an ordinary staff.”
Jun brushed his fingers along the staff Eleanor held out to him.
“I’m not sure if it still goes by that name, but… it was once called the [End of Sorrow].”
“That’s quite a heavy name. Does it live up to such a reputation?”
“If you know how to use it, wiping out an entire city wouldn’t be an issue with this weapon.”
“…….”
“The [Transformation] ability I mentioned before is somewhat handy on its own, but the true power of this staff is that it has no limits to the energy it can accept. For example, it could absorb something as troublesome as your divine power.”
“……!!”
Eleanor.
In the game <Blackout>, she was known by the alias of the World Boss, “Calamity of Sorrow”.
Perhaps this is the greatest variable and risk that I created.
There was no telling how her existence would play out. He understood the general storyline of <Blackout> but not every single detail.
“My divine power…?”
“It’s why you wear that blindfold, isn’t it?”
“…….”
Still, he had no intention of sitting back and simply watching Eleanor’s story unfold.
If fate had never brought them together, maybe it would have been different, but in the end, they had been drawn together up to this point.
If necessary, he was even willing to get involved in Eleanor’s life more directly.
“If you want to uncover the secrets of this staff… head to the level 3 field, to the ‘City of Stolen Breath’.”
“There…?”
“It’s a place with ties to your church in more ways than one, isn’t it?”
“How do you know something like that?”
“I’m a mage.”
“…So, you’re not going to tell me.”
Eleanor looked at him with eyes filled with suspicion.
Jun only shrugged his shoulders in response.
“But if I were to give you some advice.”
“……”
“Don’t trust your church’s people too much.”
With those words, Jun turned to leave.
He was heading off to check on Aiden and Maya’s safety.
Then, behind him, Eleanor murmured almost as if to herself,
“…I already know that.”
***
Thanks to Eleanor’s help, Aiden and Maya were able to recover from their injuries without any serious aftereffects.
“Still, don’t try getting out of bed just yet. Internal injuries from aura can’t be healed so easily with potions or divine power.”
“I’m sorry for worrying you, Senior.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that… anyway, I’m just glad you’re safe.”
“Leader, are you embarrassed?”
Jun replied with an incredulous look to Maya’s comment.
“What’s there to be embarrassed about?”
“Thanks for your help.”
As he awkwardly looked away, this time Aiden spoke up.
“Senior, what about Miss Chloe…?”
“Luckily, her life isn’t in danger. But it seems she’s struggling mentally.”
“Oh…”
Aiden lowered his head with a heavy expression.
He was recalling the many members of their guild who had lost their lives.
Though he couldn’t say he knew them well, they had spent several days together after all.
Jun didn’t think of Aiden as weak for this reaction.
This part of Aiden’s nature was both his weakness and his strength.
As the leader, Jun’s role was to watch over Aiden, to keep him from wavering.
“It must be hard for you, too. But don’t get swallowed up by it. Focus solely on recovering for now.”
“…Thank you, Senior.”
“Now, let’s get to the main topic. About the mastermind behind this incident.”
“Have you found anything about the enemies’ identities?”
“Yes. But this time, I’ll have to handle it alone.”
“Huh…?”
“Why is that?”
The two still didn’t know that Jun had fought against a mage from the Volkatornic Magic Tower.
When Jun briefly explained, they looked at him in astonishment.
After all, Jun had only recently reached the fourth-circle and yet had managed to defeat a fifth-circle battle mage.
“The mastermind behind this incident is Volkatornic.”
“Volkatornic… isn’t that quite a big magic tower?”
Though it wasn’t ancient, Volkatornic Magic Tower had recently been expanding its influence significantly within Blackout.
It meant they wielded considerable power.
“If I won’t be of help, I’ll step out.”
As usual, Maya didn’t show much interest in things that weren’t related to her.
However, an unexpected person reached out and grabbed the hem of Jun’s robe.
“Senior…”
“Aiden, you don’t look like you’re in favor.”
Aiden’s face, as he looked up at Jun, was filled with unmistakable fear.
Leave a Reply