An extremely eerie fluctuation spread outward, and as if facing a natural enemy, everyone’s bodies began to tremble involuntarily.
Mann stared blankly at the head floating in the air, a chill running through his body.
This head was identical to the one that appeared in the Divine Revelation, and it didn’t seem to be fully awake yet. But its terrifying pressure was even greater than in the Illusion.
‘Was it because the Ritual was interrupted by Sophien and the others that it didn’t fully awaken? But even so, that gave us a little more time to prepare…’
‘If I hadn’t been rescued, I would have merged with that thing… Judging from how Lai La’s personality changed drastically after she took over the Matthews Territory in the Original Novel, my consciousness would probably have been overwritten.’
Thinking of this, Mann felt a wave of fear.
“Hey! Hey! Can you hear me? It’s pointless to keep worrying about that eerie blue flame! While there’s still time, quickly take the survivors and retreat! Don’t dawdle!”
Sophien shouted hysterically into the Communication Artifact. Even she, who had fought the Heretic God Sect for so long, couldn’t help but lose her composure, her body trembling slightly.
“That… what the hell is that thing?”
“Just looking at it makes me feel like my consciousness is being corrupted…”
Mann looked at Sophien, and a trace of worry arose in his heart.
‘In the Original Novel, this Dragon Scale Armor had strong resistance to mental anomalies, but unexpectedly, even it struggled so much…’
‘But I’m not that affected myself. Is it because I’m the Holy Son?’
‘Anyway, the unrelated people need to evacuate first. If we wait for this thing to fully awaken, more people will die.’
“Sophien, quickly order your people to pull back! While this thing hasn’t fully woken up!”
“I’m trying to contact them… Damn… They’re not responding!”
She gripped the Communication Artifact tightly, her voice filled with anxiety.
“There’s no time. I’ll take Mei to a safe place first. You go check on your companions and find a way to gather them together. I’ll be there soon!”
“Okay!”
The two immediately agreed. Mann picked up the unconscious Mei and looked into the distance.
“Jump!”
In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from the spot.
He arrived at a very distant place and only stopped when his Magic Link with Sophien became extremely weak.
He gently placed Mei on the ground.
“Rest well, Mei. I will definitely solve this!”
Just as Mann turned around, he felt a slight resistance pulling at him.
“Please… no… don’t go, okay? I don’t want you to take risks.”
Hearing Mei’s weak voice, Mann suddenly felt a twinge of reluctance in his heart.
He recalled his original goal, which was simply to survive in this world.
‘That’s right, if I just run away like this, I won’t have to take risks. This crisis is supposed to be for the protagonist to face. After all, I’m just a side character.’
‘If I leave with Mei and go into hiding, with my modern knowledge, I could surely live well in this world, right?’
‘But is this really okay?’
‘To push all the responsibility onto others, to have the ability but do nothing—is that really okay?’
‘Is it okay to run away like this?’
Mann shook his head and gently removed Mei’s hand.
“As the son of a Viscount, how can I leave all the problems of my own territory for others to solve? Besides, if I don’t solve this problem, I won’t be able to sleep at night.”
“But don’t worry, Mei. I’ll definitely be fine! I promise you!”
Tears welled up in Mei’s eyes. In the end, she couldn’t keep her beloved.
“…Please… make sure you come back alive!”
Mann nodded with a smile, though behind that smile was nothing but fear.
“Retrospection!”
His figure disappeared before Mei’s eyes, and without any hesitation, he threw himself back into the battlefield.
As soon as Mann returned to the territory, thunderous sounds exploded one after another.
Looking up at the sky, it was his father, Viscount Matthews.
Fierce attacks continuously struck the eerie head.
Under attack, the head flew rapidly toward the mountains away from the territory.
“Mann, what are you standing around for? Hurry and come here! We need to evacuate the people while the Viscount is creating an opportunity!”
Sophien grabbed Mann and dragged him toward the gathered crowd.
The two arrived at the assembly point. Except for Dulufu and the six Paladins who had just arrived, everyone else was showing symptoms of mental disorder to varying degrees.
But even with mental resistance, they were barely holding on.
They barely managed to use Holy Light to cover everyone, preserving a shred of clarity in their minds.
“Lord Mann, it’s been a while…”
Dulufu said wearily.
“Don’t talk, quickly grab hold of me. I’ll take you all out first!”
“You all hurry and leave with Lord Mann. The Viscount and I will hold the line here!”
Sophien shouted orders, and at the same time, the scales on her body became sharper and thicker. The Mana fluctuations grew increasingly violent.
Just then, an indescribable eerie fluctuation spread out.
Sophien was forced to one knee, and Dulufu’s group couldn’t even maintain the Holy Light.
Blood seeped from everyone’s orifices, and a few people, unable to bear the fluctuation, began to attack their comrades in madness.
Accompanied by a loud crash, Viscount Matthews was sent flying backward. Fortunately, Sophien reacted in time and used her body to block him, barely stopping his momentum.
The Viscount’s armor was severely deformed, and even had several bloody holes in the front.
The previously exaggerated Giant Sword was now broken in half.
“Damn it…”
Matthews glared at the head floating in the air, his eyes full of unwillingness.
Mann followed the Viscount’s gaze. In the sky, the blood-red pupils looked at everyone with indifference.
It… had fully awakened…
“Lord Mann…”
Sophien pushed the Viscount over as well.
“I entrust them—and the protected people in the north—to you.”
Feeling the mana rapidly rising from Sophien, Mann had a good idea of what she was going to do, but there was no time to waste.
He nodded gently, then immediately disappeared with everyone.
In an instant, a large amount of Mana was drawn out from himself, making even Sophien feel a bit dizzy.
“This guy really doesn’t know how to conserve…”
“But never mind. If it can save everyone’s lives, this consumption is nothing.”
She walked slowly toward the head, and with each step forward, the scales on her body grew larger.
“And I can use the Divine Envoy Authority without any restraint.”
As soon as she spoke, a gigantic magic circle formed beneath Sophien’s feet. The circle spun continuously, gathering countless Mana into it.
A pillar of light enveloped Sophien’s entire body, and then two enormous wings extended from the pillar.
“Divine Envoy Authority: Dragon God Descent!”
A piercing roar echoed across the sky. A white dragon, larger than a mountain, shot out from the pillar of light.
The wind pressure from its wings even blew away the surrounding ruins, leaving only an empty space.
Sophien stared straight at the head, compressing a terrifying amount of Mana in her mouth.
The next moment, the mana, which seemed capable of annihilating everything, erupted forward.