Chapter 59: The Operation Begins

“We need to drag them out before they make their move…”

Mann snapped back to reality and spoke to Sophien with absolute seriousness.

After witnessing the Divine Revelation, he had roughly pieced together the Cult of the Evil God’s intentions.

“If their goal has always been to destroy this city, then all of their actions suddenly make sense.”

“Akrein’s occasional appearances.”

“Sometimes to confuse us.”

“Sometimes to mislead us.”

“Unfortunately, judging from the results, his plan has been very successful.”

“You mean…”

“He never considered us a threat in the first place?”

Sophien quickly reviewed everything that had happened.

“If they succeed…”

“It won’t just be the residents of this city.”

“The entire Empire’s population could fall into panic…”

In the end, she couldn’t bring herself to continue.

Mann nodded bitterly.

“That’s probably their objective.”

“And that’s exactly the outcome I’m afraid of.”

“They’re complete lunatics.”

“People without any bottom line whatsoever.”

Realizing the severity of the situation, Sophien immediately made a decision.

“We don’t have any time left to waste.”

“We need to focus all our efforts and locate their hiding place as quickly as possible.”

“This isn’t like the situation in Matthews Territory.”

“We have to eliminate them before civilians suffer casualties on a massive scale.”

“Mann.”

“Your injuries haven’t healed yet.”

“Go back and rest.”

“I need to make some preparations in advance.”

Watching Sophien leave, Mann returned to his residence.

The most urgent matter now was understanding how to use Rune script.

Even a slight breakthrough would increase the chances of changing the future.

He sat back down on his bed and summoned the translucent status panel.

[Name: Mann Matthews]

[Level: None]

[Faction: God (Messenger)]

[Affiliated Deity: God of Time, Helgerto]

[Ability: Time Manipulation (Pseudo) LV4]

[Divine Revelation: LV1]

[Divine Light: LV10 (Maximum)]

[Demi-Human Assassination Arts: LV10 (Maximum)]

[Thunderstep: LV2]

[&%￥*%￥》: LV?]

Divine Light and Assassination Arts had both reached Level 10.

Neither could advance any further.

Time Manipulation (Pseudo) remained stuck at Level 4.

Completely unchanged.

There was nothing he could do about it.

His current body couldn’t store magical power.

Thunderstep, which he’d learned from his father, had reached Level 2.

Unfortunately, without magical power, he couldn’t unleash the technique’s true potential.

As Mann scrolled downward, the familiar string of corrupted symbols appeared once again.

For some reason, unease stirred within him.

“I have a bad feeling about this skill…”

“If possible, I’d rather avoid using it.”

“Haa…”

After letting out a long breath, he closed the panel.

Then he pulled out the worn Rune book and began studying it carefully.

Nearly the entire book was written in obscure symbols.

Although Mann couldn’t read them, something strange happened.

He could sense the energy contained within each character.

After roughly memorizing several symbols, he closed his eyes.

His consciousness entered the familiar white space once more.

“If I want to experiment, this place really is the best option.”

Using his finger as a pen, he traced the strange symbols through the air.

Every time he completed one, an unusual fluctuation spread throughout the space.

Before long, three symbols floated before him.

They drifted up and down gently.

“So once a symbol is drawn, I can understand the meaning it represents.”

“Runes…”

“What incredible characters.”

Just as he reached out to touch them—

His entire arm was severed.

Mann froze for a moment.

Then he smiled in relief.

“So it’s a rune representing sharpness…”

“Only through battle can understanding be achieved.”

“This place hasn’t changed at all, Helgerto.”

Speaking that familiar name again filled him with nostalgia.

“Just wait a little longer.”

“If I can successfully obtain the Armor of Time, I’ll find a way to bring you back.”

Looking at the eager symbols floating before him, Mann assumed a combat stance.

“Come on.”

“We can begin now.”

When dawn arrived and his consciousness returned, Mann slowly opened his eyes.

At that instant, an unfamiliar fluctuation spread from his body.

He opened his status panel.

A new skill had appeared.

[Rune]

At the same time, an additional title had appeared beneath his faction.

“Orphan of the Divine Age?”

“What does that mean?”

He shook his head.

The panel disappeared along with the thought.

“Since it only appeared after learning Runes, I’ll ask Dirk about it after everything is over.”

Mann had no intention of wasting time on matters unrelated to combat.

He drew White Fang and cut a small wound into his index finger.

After drawing the Rune that represented sharpness in the air, he smeared his blood across the blade.

As the blood and Rune were gradually absorbed, the dagger slowly turned crimson.

For a brief moment, Mann had the illusion that the weapon had come alive.

It felt as though it were staring directly at him.

The sensation sent chills down his spine.

Fortunately, it vanished almost immediately.

The dagger returned to its original pure-white appearance.

The entire blade emitted a unique Rune fluctuation.

The inscription had succeeded.

Unfortunately, as a beginner, he couldn’t yet place multiple Rune inscriptions on a single object.

Rising to his feet, he tested the dagger against the wall.

A long gash instantly appeared.

Even without applying force, it cut through stone as easily as tofu.

“Not bad.”

Mann nodded in satisfaction.

He sheathed the dagger.

His body still felt somewhat sluggish.

“Time to help Sophien and the others.”

Inside Darkez City, Sophien secretly assembled several hundred people.

In addition to the Griffin Mercenary Company reinforcements, there were academy teachers, students, and a number of high-ranking adventurers.

Nearly everyone carried a miniature holy artifact.

Because the operation had already been explained to each squad leader beforehand, Sophien avoided making any grand speeches.

In fact, she barely spoke at all.

“The operation begins.”

The low voice entered everyone’s ears.

Immediately, the assembled forces spread out evenly.

Each moved toward their assigned area.

Soon, a massive encirclement formation took shape.

It rapidly contracted toward the center.

Using the holy artifacts’ ability to interfere with Divine Envoy powers, they only needed to watch for abnormal distortions in space.

Whenever the surrounding area suddenly felt unnatural, it was usually a sign that members of the Cult of the Evil God were hiding nearby.

As the encirclement tightened, more and more cultists were exposed.

The mercenaries eliminated them with maximum efficiency.

Before long, however, discoveries became increasingly rare.

Destroying large numbers of cultists should have been cause for celebration.

Yet Sophien’s expression only grew more serious.

The enormous stockpile of magic stones.

The monster called Trik.

Akrein himself.

None of them had appeared.

Just as the prolonged lack of discoveries caused everyone to relax slightly—

A monstrous roar suddenly erupted.

A pitch-black creature burst out of distorted space and charged at the nearest personnel with frenzied aggression.

The sudden attack stunned everyone for a split second.

By the time they reacted, Trik’s attack was already upon them.

Then came the sound of flesh tearing.

Yet what followed was not the screams of the victims.

Instead, it was the creature’s own agonized howl.

“You all should’ve been more careful.”

Everyone snapped back to attention.

Standing before them was a man.

Mann.

In his hand was a faintly glowing dagger.

At his feet lay half of a severed monster arm.

The cut was perfectly clean.

“Remember this!”

“When living creatures are attacked, they instinctively fear.”

“They hesitate.”

“They retreat.”

“But the bastards in the Cult of the Evil God don’t!”

“So as long as they’re still alive…”

“Don’t stop attacking!”

The moment he finished speaking, Mann’s body transformed into a streak of light.

He shot toward the struggling Trik.