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Countless Kelliark Zipfel filled the Theia Plain.
But they were nothing more than empty monsters created out of chaos, only resembling Kelliark Zipfel in appearance.
Jin came to the conclusion. If all of them were real Kelliarks, Zipfel should have conquered the world by now.
"What is going on?"
"Heh, there are so many of them that we can just kill them all."
Jin felt like the day he first escaped from Laprarosa and entered the Mitra Desert. The party easily fought off the swarming monsters and assessed the situation.
"Valeria, how is your record magic?"
"The chaos is too thick, making it difficult. The tower where the incident began is also too far away. We need to penetrate further inside."
"We'll have to fight our way in while dealing with everything. You don't have to worry about stealth, Lord Owal. For some reason, Veradin... I have a feeling that he knew we would come, so he just left this place alone."
It wasn't just a gut feeling.
The major factions are struggling to deal with the remaining areas of chaos contamination in the world. In the midst of that, Zipfel's heart, the Tower of Stories, has reached this point, and they couldn't just stay still.
"It seems like I'll show you something interesting, and the problem is for you to solve, Veradin intentionally left this area abandoned, right?"
"Yes, Lady Syris. The chaos may be thick, but it's not to the extent that it can't be resolved with Zipfel's abilities. Even the monsters in the form of Kelliark have low combat power."
They weren't all as weak as the initially dead monsters. Among them, there were individuals who occasionally used considerable levels of magic spells. All of them were weakened forms of magic used by Kelliark Zipfel.
Of course, even taking that into account, there was no reason for the Zipfel to leave the vicinity of the Tower of Stories alone. Owal and the others nodded in agreement with Jin's words.
"In other words, even Zipfel may not know the exact cause of how this place has reached this state."
"Yes, that's right, Lady Syris. If we go and examine the records, we will find some clues about that."
[Screeeech...!]
Swoosh!
Every time the party swung their swords, the monsters dispersed into particles.
However, upon closer observation, the particles did not simply evaporate but converged into chaos that burned like flames throughout the plain.
Then, it was reborn as Kelliark Zipfel from within the black flames and aimed at the party. They weren't a direct threat, but it meant that without "fundamental purification," this land couldn't be purified.
The party continued to advance towards the tower without hesitation.
Their justification for intruding into enemy territory without permission became even more certain. Currently, the Theia Plain was in a state where anyone can think that Zipfel "failed to create another evil god."
While on the move, Jin carefully surveyed the battlefield.
'15 km. No, with this level of chaos, problems have likely arisen even up to 30 km outside the Tower of Stories.'
It was a scene that revealed just how intense the battle had been in this place. The plains were filled with traces of dragon claws and various powerful spells.
Among them, the most noticeable were the pools of still clean water and towering pillar-like rocks.
It meant that beings with the highest authority over water and earth had participated in the battle.
The first to come to mind were the dragons of Itelmion and Rikta, Tuyan and Pinia. Coincidentally, the first sentence described in Valeria's record was the fact that they had participated in the battle.
"If Tuyan and Pinia participated, it means Veradin personally intervened, but he appeared in the recent Federation integration conference without a scratch."
The various experiments and the Demon's God's Orb that Zipfel had carried out had significantly increased Veradin's power, but in Jin's opinion, Veradin was still not a match to stand against him.
However, the traces of the battle that became more evident as they approached the tower were of such magnitude that even Jin himself would inevitably be injured.
The magic used during the battle still lingered in certain areas.
At a point where they were halfway to the tower, the party suddenly came face to face with a gigantic flame orb that was blazing in the middle of the plain.
Though somewhat distorted, the flame orb was undoubtedly the magic left behind by Riol Zipfel.
"Decimating effusive flame orb, 2nd version...."
Near the flame orb, various spells that clashed with it at the time were unfolding. They were traces of various Zipfel secret magic spells, including the azure eyes.
The fact that the magic still maintained its form meant that the spellcaster was still alive.
The record magic indicated that the owner of the flame orb was Kelliark Zipfel.
The party's gaze fell on the record.
After reading the description and looking at it again, they noticed that the creatures resembling Kelliark were reaching out their hands, infusing mana into the flame orb, just like adding firewood to keep the flames alive.
"Since it was a magic unfolded to confront Veradin, the pieces of the puzzle are almost coming together. The center of the battle was Kelliark, the Fire Dragon Kadun, and Veradin."
"It's strange that those are the remnants of Kelliark's grudge. Does it mean that Veradin abandoned Kelliark first?"
Jin and Valeria spoke.
"If Kelliark went on a rampage, it could have been because he was in a state of resentment, hatred, or madness due to chaos."
The important thing was what happened to Kelliark, who was clearly still alive.
"It seems clear why Veradin left this flame orb alone without getting rid of it. He wanted to confirm Kelliark's life and death through this. Therefore, there is a high possibility that Kelliark fled during the battle. It's clear that Kelliark caused the rampage..."
Jin paused for a moment, thinking about the "conditions" for the rampage. Jin knew of two conditions for a rampage.
First, chaos runs rampant when stimulated by larger chaos. The rampages of individuals like Yona and Amela in the past were examples of this.
Second, a rampage caused by someone's, who can handle the power of chaos, manipulation and strategy.
Rosa becoming the evil god by accepting chaos through the prophet fell into this category. If it was the latter, it meant that Kelliark was also receiving assistance from a being similar to the prophet.
Whichever the case, it was a problem that could potentially bring great danger to the world. The party continued past the flame orb and pressed forward towards the Tower of Stories. The remnants of Kelliark's spirits relentlessly attacked, wave after wave.
Finally, the Tower of Stories came into view.
Among Zipfel's magic towers, it was the most overwhelmingly tall and gigantic tower. Even though its upper part was completely shattered, it didn't lose any of its imposing presence.
Now, the distance between the party and the tower was just about 500m.
At such a distance, the forces stationed in the tower should have been unleashing magic. Even with Owal utilizing his stealth abilities to the maximum, it was still an extraordinary feat.
However, the tower seemed completely empty, devoid of any response. It appeared abandoned, and nearby, the spirits of Kelliark writhed.
And the spirits gathered near the tower no longer attacked the party.
Instead, as the party approached, they didn't even spare them a glance but instead prostrated themselves towards the tower. More precisely, they were all bowing towards a person kneeling in front of the tower.
"A person?"
It had been the case since the Kelliark-like creatures emerged, but it was particularly eerie. The monsters seemed as if they were worshiping a god.
It was a woman.
She was kneeling at the entrance of the tower, seemingly unaware of the party's approach.
"That woman seems to be praying...?"
"Heh, how strange. Should I kill her?"
"No, elder sister. She is someone we need to investigate."
The party carefully observed the energy emanating from the woman. A golden aura faintly enveloped her, much like the power of the Bale. Clearly, it was the energy of the Sun God.
[T/L: Here comes a new character.]
Passing by the prostrated spirits of Kelliark, the party approached the woman. She remained unresponsive until the party was right behind her, but when Yona tried to touch her, she spoke.
"Please wait a moment, honored guests, until my prayer is complete."
The party couldn't help but be taken aback by her words.
It was because she knew exactly how Yona was sneaking upon her and trying to poke the woman with her finger.
At least 10-star level power was needed to vaguely perceive movements of current Yona. However, there was no sense of a martial artist's presence coming from the woman.
Jin decided to comply with the woman's words. She was an unknown figure until now, so it was necessary to carefully examine her.
Instead, Valeria opened the record window. The woman didn't seem to be bothered by the unfolding of the record magic right next to her, as she didn't ask them to stop.
<...Veradin Zipfel and the fire dragon Kadun clashed in battle.>
As they approached the magic tower, the records in the window were being described more smoothly than before, detailing the events of that day.
<...Kelliark Zipfel... sought the power of the evil god...>
The pupils of the party grew larger as they looked at the record window. So far, the strong indication was that Kelliark was attempting to transform into the evil god.
The record paused for a moment.
Sweat dripped down Valeria's forehead as she refocused. One sentence that should have appeared in the record window was missing, causing her frustration.
<...Veradin Zipfel defeated the fire dragon Kadun... Kadun couldn't become Veradin's opponent...>
Amidst the fragmented and intriguing records appearing in fragments, the woman stopped her prayer.
And simultaneously, Valeria, in surprise, alternated her gaze between the record window and the woman.
'Why did the records suddenly start appearing so easily right after she finished her prayer?'
Others might not have noticed, but Valeria was keenly aware. The woman's prayer had influenced the records.
Turning around, the woman rose and introduced herself.
"I apologize for my discourteous appearance while I was finishing my prayer. I am Sanna, the shrine maiden of the Sun."
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