The Warp Sinks

The end of the world was drawing near.

Two monsters collided. Mountains crumbled, and black storm clouds swept across the entire region.

"L-let us go!"

"If we stay like this, we're all going to die!"

Panic reigned. Human and monster alike were thrown into chaos.

Even the monster legion that had occupied the mountain was thrown into disarray the moment Laktusha began to lose ground. There was no way out. Helping Laktusha was their only option left.

The problem was the trainees climbing the mountain. As Laktusha had ordered, they had detained every last one of them—but fighting one of the Four Calamities with hostages hanging off their backs was out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the question.

"Lord Enkasa. What shall we do with them?"

"Kill them all."

The monster legion chose wholesale slaughter.

"Aaaagh!"

"S-save me!"

In the end, the trainees met their deaths without mounting any real resistance.

Enkasa. The strongest gladiator who served under Laktusha. A lion-faced beastman who had sworn to devote his entire life to the orc after being drawn in by Laktusha's skill.

"From this moment on, every one of us aids Lord Laktusha."

"B-but the enemy is one of the Four Calamities—!"

Slash!

The moment one of the monster soldiers opened his mouth in terror, his head was severed before he could finish the sentence. Enkasa scattered golden Sword Qi through the air and spoke without expression.

"Is there anyone else who is afraid?"

"……"

There wasn't. There never would be.

Enkasa turned his head. Laktusha had ordered the trainees detained—but with no trainees left to detain, he had not disobeyed the command.

Then he felt it.

Hm?

Another presence nearby. Enkasa shifted his gaze, and someone was descending the mountain. A trainee or cultivator from the upper slopes, perhaps?

"Isn't that the White King's daughter the human is carrying?"

"Th-that's right! It's definitely the White King's daughter!"

A human, hauling both the White King's daughter and some other man on his back. Enkasa's brow furrowed.

Trying to escape in the confusion, are you?

Bad luck for them. They had walked straight into him head-on. Even if helping Laktusha came first, he could not simply let the White King's daughter—their original target—slip away.

"Captain Enkasa. Let's just kill him and take her."

"……Wait."

A monster legion ten thousand strong. Killing a single human should have been nothing. And yet—something felt wrong. Deeply, unpleasantly wrong.

Then he understood why.

……He came down from the summit, through that curse, completely unharmed?

The summit—where one of the Four Calamities and Laktusha were locked in combat. He had clearly descended from there, and yet there was not a single trace of the curse on him. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Even Laktusha was not free of Baal's curse.

And more than that—

"Out of my way."

"……"

What was this composure? Standing before an army of ten thousand, he did not so much as blink. If anything, his tone was commanding—step aside if you value your lives.

Enkasa raised his golden Sword Qi, mane-like and blazing. The man was unsettling, but there was no time to waste. Kill him fast, take the—

Whoooooom!

In that instant, an even more brilliant golden aura rose from the human's entire body. The energy wove itself together like threads of silk, shaping itself into a single form.

A sword.

Th-that is—!

Enkasa swallowed hard. He could not help it. That was not Sword Qi. If it had been mere Sword Qi, he would not have been this shaken. Simply coating a blade in energy was nothing compared to this.

That was—

That was—

Sword Gang……!

The technique of weaving Sword Qi into threads and forging them into a single completed form. There was no mistaking it. This was the legendary Sword Gang spoken of in myth!

Even Laktusha could not reach the realm of Sword Gang. Enkasa clenched his fist. If it were a fake, he would have known. But this was real. The crushing pressure could not possibly be a lie.

"Captain?"

His subordinates looked puzzled. They did not understand the terror of that Sword Gang.

GROOOOOOAR!

Boom! Boom! KRA-KOOM!

The Calamity's roar spread louder still. With every passing moment, Laktusha was being driven further back. There would be no escaping the Calamity's assault.

"……Stand aside."

"C-Captain?"

"We aid Lord Laktusha."

If they tried to face this human of unknowable depths, Laktusha would die. And Laktusha's survival mattered far more than the White King's daughter. Even if every last one of them perished, saving Laktusha alone held far greater meaning.

The mercenaries Joaquin, Sean, and Malibu felt as though their minds were about to snap.

"C-Captain. This isn't some courage-training exercise, right? That's all real, right?"

"I think we actually need to run now?"

At his subordinates' questions, Joaquin stared at the warp. Laktusha and the monster legion had crossed into the Mountain of the Cultivator—and before long, one of the Four Calamities had suddenly appeared. The situation visible through the burning warp was the worst imaginable.

"At this point, that man is definitely dead!"

"O-one of the Four Calamities—are you serious? This is insane!"

With a commotion of that scale, the man was surely dead. No matter how remarkable he was, there was no way he could have survived caught between one of the Four Calamities and Laktusha.

Joaquin clicked his tongue softly. It was time to head back. The mercenary city would be in an uproar by now.

"Wait."

Then, suddenly, a figure appeared in the distance. The silhouette approaching the warp was none other than the man who had hired them.

"Employer?"

How had he survived that? And he was not alone. Two people had gone in—but four were coming out.

"Each of you, carry one."

"What?"

"Carry one each and get away from here. As far as you can. The warp is about to blow."

"Ah—!"

The warp was going to blow. Meaning this land itself could sink into the Abyss. Once it sank into the Abyss, there would be no leaving this place.

Crazy!

If they wanted to live, they had to run until they sweated through their clothes.

The appearance of the Four Calamities had wrecked the warp. With teleport books unusable, the only way out was to run—blindly, desperately—all the way to the warp connected to the next city.

Why the hell is Seia unconscious?

Finding Saintess Seia had been a stroke of luck, but the problem was that she had been collapsed near the warp, completely out cold. The reason was a mystery—but either way, they had to survive.

Guided by the mercenary Joaquin, they miraculously passed through the warp leading to the mercenary city of Cartel.

"Hah! Hah! Kuh-hack!"

"Huff! Huff!"

A sweat-soaked ordeal. And at the same time—

KUUUUUNG.

The warp shuddered. Moments later, the warp connected to the Mountain of the Cultivator went black, as if the power had been cut.

"……The warp has sunk."

"If we'd been even a little later……"

The entire region had been sealed. The mercenaries swallowed hard, tense. A moment later and they would never have returned.

So it wasn't enough after all.

Laktusha and the monster legion alone had been insufficient to stop the Calamity. Whether they lived or died, the attempt to eliminate the Calamity itself had clearly failed.

"W-what happens now?"

Sean asked. What happens now. One thing was certain—the Calamity was not dead. And if the Calamity was not dead, it would soon invade another region. Likely one of the five neutral cities, including Cartel itself. If they stopped it, fine. If they failed, catastrophe. Who knew how many cities—how many kingdoms—would be destroyed.

The White King's daughter handed me a book.

Facing the monster legion, he had been certain of the white tiger beastman's identity. She was indeed the White King's daughter. And before she collapsed again, she had pressed a single book into his hands.

I pulled the book from my coat and opened it.

Sword Sage's Diary.

A book bearing the title Sword Sage's Diary. And at the same time—

A map appeared above the book. A red point marked upon it.

The Empire.

Somewhere in the Arhon Empire, without a doubt. That was where Baal's Armor lay. If he obtained the armor alone, would he be able to control Calamity Baal?

But that was not the end of it.

The moment he fully left the Mountain of the Cultivator, Main Quest 7 concluded and the settlement began.

A vast conference hall.

Fully thirty Rulers had gathered in one place. Each was the master of a city, wielding formidable power and authority—the strongest of the strong. The rulers of the five cities linked to the Mountain of the Cultivator, and of the twenty-five cities connected to those five, were all assembled in this chamber.

The sight was nothing short of extraordinary. Every one of them cloaked in a Ruler's mystique, exchanging sharp words with grave expressions as they discussed the present crisis.

"What did you just say? You intend to sever the warps and break off relations?"

The master of the mercenary city of Cartel—Red Lynx Jeraph—raised his voice. The other city masters frowned and shook their heads.

"The Calamity's next target will be one of the five cities tied to the Mountain of the Cultivator."

"We cannot be expected to share that risk simply because our warps are connected, can we?"

"Mm. Jeraph—we will spare no material support in your stead."

In a situation where even uniting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their strength would barely be enough, they were talking about cutting the warps. Severing a warp meant breaking off relations—eliminating all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠traffic between cities and dissolving the alliance. The reason was singular: to put distance between themselves and the Calamity's invasion.

"Do you think that makes any sense right now?!"

Thud!

Jeraph slammed his fist down on the round table. It made no sense whatsoever. He could not understand it, and he refused to understand it. The importance of the warps linking the cities needed no explanation—cities connected by warps were tacitly regarded as allies. After all, a city that failed to maintain at least three warp connections would sink into the Abyss.

"If you sever every warp, you're saying you'll cast Cartel into the Abyss?!"

"You neutral cities can simply link among yourselves, can you not?"

"Mm. Once the five cities are connected, there is no need to fear the Abyss."

Jeraph trembled from head to toe.

"So you're telling us to handle it ourselves? The five neutral cities linked to the Mountain of the Cultivator—just sort it out among yourselves?"

"Not exactly that… perhaps seeking aid from the Empire or the Goddess Sect as well……"

"Ahem. Must be the mercenary in you—far too extreme."

Their intent was simple. The five cities connected to the Mountain of the Cultivator should band together and stop the Calamity on their own. Even if they failed, once those five linked cities fell, the Calamity's power would be considerably drained. They were demanding the sacrifice of the neutral cities.

Jeraph was not so dense as to miss so transparent a design.

"Do you think it ends there if the five cities fall? Do you think the Calamity will simply refrain from invading because the warps are no longer connected?"

Not a scrap of sense in it. The Mountain of the Cultivator had already sunk. And with extremely high probability, the Calamity would become a Master of the Abyss. More than that—it was highly likely to become one who is the Abyss itself.

"If the Calamity becomes one who is the Abyss itself, it can invade wherever it pleases regardless of warp connections. Moreover, that monster exists solely for destruction—it is a destroyer. You will reach a point where no amount of preparation can prepare you. By the time you try to stop it later, it will already be too late. Do you truly not understand that?"

Jeraph's words held a measure of truth. Once it became one who was the Abyss itself, random cities would be eroded. The moment of erosion, every city still connected would become a target of invasion. There would be no preparing for it—only greater hardship ahead.