A dense cloud of suffocating smoke filled the air, as if something were burning.
The cries of children could be heard on the other side of the blood-red flames.
Those sinister presences carried by the wind wrapped around her heart, filling it with an indescribable anxiety.
"No, no…"
A nun ran towards the black smoke in the distance.
A small rosary trembled on her chest as she felt anxious and desperate.
It was somewhat crudely polished, small and cute, as if made by a child.
Now, the tiny hands that had intertwined it would soon be reduced to ashes by the voracious fire.
"Ah, no… no…"
Ding—dong—
The sound of bells echoed as the entire village burned.
Corpses were piled everywhere.
And beneath the ringing of those distant bells, the cries of the children who sought her filled the air.
"No!"
The wind blew towards her as she hurriedly fled, pushing back the flames.
The wind, mixed with the children's last breaths, began to caress her tearful face and leave its mark.
Her headscarf fluttered high in the strong wind.
Her burned fingers opened the door glowing red hot.
Even her tears mixed with the ashes and turned completely black.
"…God. Please!"
However, despite her fervent prayers, when she opened the door, the sight before her was a scene of hell.
Because there were images of children desperately stretching out their hands beneath the symbol of God.
And in her tears, now stained black, remained only the final desperate effort of the children, abandoned even by God.
***
The laboratory of a sorcerer filled with strange-looking specimens.
Normally, the place would be full of gloomy voices, but now it was filled only with swords, blood, and the cries of wicked people.
[Don't give them time to cast spells!]
"…!"
With a sharp warning echoing in his mind, Vlad's sword pierced the head of the sorcerer.
"Agh!"
Vlad's sword, which had been pulled from the sorcerer's mouth to prevent him from casting a spell, pierced through the back of the wicked man's head and gleamed fiercely.
[Don't let them make signs! When facing a mage, time and distance are what matter.]
"How dare you!"
"Kaaaak!"
Vlad's eyes began to shine at the strange hand gesture seen just in front of him.
When dealing with mages who manipulate mysteries, all you need is a quick movement.
In the flow of a lethal strike, someone's severed wrist began to bounce noisily.
"One is enough!"
Knights cut down sorcerers without giving them time or space.
With every strike, they put the will of God and their own world first, erasing the shadows of the wicked one by one.
"We only need one to guide us!"
And even a dragon roared over the gleaming blade of a sword.
Vlad, with his blond hair and blue eyes, appeared so fierce that even the sorcerers who had escaped death trembled in fear.
"Repent, damned ones!"
"This is vengeance for a comrade killed by you!"
There was a glimmer of madness hidden in the righteousness exercised by the knights, but today, it was justifiable.
Because today was the only chance to rid the world of the poisons that had accumulated over hundreds of years.
It was truly inevitable that the Paladins, who had waited so long, harbored a little selfish desire at the tips of their swords.
"Save me, save me…"
Is there anything more amusing than someone who's already dead begging for help?
But now, a voice pleading for life flowed from the mouth of the last remaining sorcerer, and the tip of Vlad's sword trembled before that weak voice.
"Where is it?"
Though he was a bit late, the blade still pierced his body.
As if the sword he had just swung had punctured his lungs, the sigh he let out was filled with empty air.
"Keh... ugh."
"Where is that damned tree?"
Bang!
The sound of the wall shaking was loud and cruel.
It was the sound made when the back of the sorcerer's neck, held by Vlad, slammed into the wall.
"In the center… in the central garden…"
The back of his head, now completely shattered by the impact, dripped sticky blood that was hard to control.
However, the sorcerer felt more terror from the sight of Vlad's eyes right in front of him than from the unpleasant sensation soaking his neck.
"Over there…"
The fingers of the dark sorcerer, overwhelmed by Vlad's momentum, began to point towards a location.
Behind all the oddly dissected corpses, beside specimens that resembled people.
There, a door that hadn't been visible until a moment ago slowly began to emerge, like a mirage.
Kuaaaaaa—!
"Keeeeeee!"
"What's going on?!"
At that moment, a strange scream came from the group that found the door.
Upon hearing that vaguely familiar sound, the engraving of the World Tree on Vlad's sword shone quietly.
"…What the hell is that presence?!"
Rumble—
The Paladins covered their ears and began to suffer from the immense sound.
What they heard was noise, but what followed was vibration.
A massive roar from something shook Ramashthu's world and spread its pain in all directions.
"Vlad!"
"…."
The men who heard that sound stood still.
Gunther and Vlad exchanged glances and nodded.
They could feel that the sound they were hearing now was the same as what came from Moshiam, the fog-covered city.
"I'll go first!"
"Everyone, prepare! We're moving now! Protect the bishop and the mage!"
Boom!
Another darkness began to creep ahead of Vlad, who kicked the door open with all his might, as if secrets were a luxury.
The darkness of the hallway, where nothing could be seen more than an inch ahead, resembled a black, wolf-like sea, but there was no hesitation in Vlad's steps as he moved forward.
"Keeee!"
When the Paladins, having braced themselves, charged out, all that remained was the sorcerer pinned to the wall.
He felt relieved that the will of God was not upon him, but it wasn't just His will present here.
Puff!
"We have something left to settle, too."
An ominous sensation came with a chilling voice.
Bright red hair reflected in the wide-open eyes of the sorcerer.
"This is my reward for teaching my father to drink blood. Bastard."
"Kughhh."
A cold sneer appeared on Radu's smiling face.
An indescribable rage flared in the eyes of the sorcerer staring at that smile, but it only lasted a moment, and Pedro's blessing on Radu's sword began to pierce the heart of the wicked man.
"I never said I'd spare your life."
Radu spat as he watched the sorcerer crumble slowly and started to leave the room.
Now that even the bound dragon was gone, the only thing left in the completely disheveled room was the sorcerer, suffering from the karma he had finally faced.
***
I understand! I'll make sure to provide the translation without any formatting that adds highlighting or bolding to the text. Here's the translation again, without any unnecessary formatting:
---
"There's an intruder! There's an intruder here!"
"Where the hell...? Ugh!"
"Stop them! Don't let them get through!"
The spiraling corridor remained dark, and the path ahead was unknowably complex.
Rumble-rumble-
However, there was no hesitation in Vlad's steps, as he could sense the presence of the World Tree through the hand that held it.
"Get out of the way!"
"Aaaah!"
The closer they got to the center of the world, the more malicious figures began to appear.
Many corpses had already fallen to block the Northern Allied Forces, but the ferocity of the spirits that stood in their way was still formidable.
"I suppose this is the right path!"
"Stop talking and do something!"
As they advanced, the corridor widened.
This was proof that there was a large space ahead, but it was also a warning that more enemies might be lying in wait.
"I was getting ready!"
The knights' movements swayed back and forth amidst the black waves crashing in from all sides.
As the situation grew more dangerous, Nibelun rummaged through his backpack, as if it was finally his turn to act.
"What is that!"
"Dandelion seeds!"
Contrary to Vlad's expectations, what Nibelun revealed wasn't some grand and awe-inspiring mystery.
It was merely a tiny dandelion seed, perhaps no bigger than a fingertip.
Seeing the cute, fluffy head of the seed, Vlad let out a sigh of exasperation without even realizing it.
"What are we supposed to do with that now?"
"Please, clear the way for a moment!"
However, while the dandelion seed may have seemed insignificant, the magic within it was something Nibelun had cherished greatly.
"...Everyone, hold on tight!"
Nibelun took a deep breath as he spoke.
It looked rather ridiculous, but the determination reflected in his puffed cheeks and his eyes was unmistakably sincere.
"Return home, children of the wind!"
Fuuuuu—
In the gap that Vlad and the knights had opened, Nibelun exhaled a powerful breath along with an incantation.
Tiny dandelion seeds scattered into the black wolf-like sea.
The small spores, blown into the oppressive blackness with no clear hope, appeared to be a futile effort.
"Oh?"
If they hadn't been infused with magic, it would have been nothing more than an insignificant gesture.
But under the blue sky, the Holssi, who had embraced all the winds of the world, now began to soar powerfully on the breeze, returning home.
Woooosh!
"Ugh! What the...!"
"What is this again?"
Along with the shouts of the knights, a fresh breeze began to blow through the dark corridors, where even the air had felt heavy.
And with terrifying force, it seemed as though it might tear apart everything in its path.
"Graaaaah!"
"Kiiiik! Kieeeek!"
It was a gust of wind that shouldn't have been possible in such an enclosed passageway.
But the wind carried by the Holssi had no intention of stopping until it returned to its homeland. Soon, the wind summoned by Nibelun became a fierce gale, sweeping away the evil hordes in front of them.
"Now's the time!"
"The path is clear! Run!"
Taking advantage of the momentary gap created, Vlad began to run.
It was hard to even keep his eyes open in the howling wind, but this wasn't a world where one relied on sight to make decisions.
"Aaaah!"
Zum—zum—
The further he ran, the more Vlad's sword vibrated.
Vlad's sword, born of the stars, forged with a dragon's fragment, and now inscribed with the mark of the World Tree.
The engraving on the sword now showed Vlad the way toward another tree.
"Light!"
"Just a bit more! The end is right ahead!"
The group charged forward, trampling over the bodies that had been swept aside.
Wherever they went, they were greeted by a scene very different from what they'd seen before.
"...It was really a garden."
As they exited the corridor, the first thing they encountered was the sky.
A purple sky, with soft waves rippling like the surface of a lake.
And beneath that sky, a vast floating garden, like an island, awaited Vlad.
"Kaaaa!"
"We need to get there!"
A picturesque landscape, entirely different from the horrid sights they'd witnessed earlier.
However, the group couldn't afford to be mesmerized by the view before them.
"To the bridge, quickly!"
With Gunther's shout, the knights began running again.
Toward the bridge that led to the island.
The most central place in Ramashthu's world, a secret and precious location, could only be reached via several aerial bridges.
"This is as far as you go, humans!"
"Stop disturbing Lady Ramashthu's world!"
However, headless knights blocked the bridge.
The aerial bridge, made of pure white marble, was already lined with black-toned headless knights.
"Sh*t!"
"We need to change bridges! Hurry!"
Noticing the unusually large number of headless knights blocking the path, Gunther quickly directed the group to change course.
Yet even though they could avoid the knights, there seemed to be no way to avoid the endless stream of corpses emerging from everywhere.
"Don't you have more dandelions?!"
"No! That was a treasure of my tribe!"
As the group ran along the perimeter of the circle, another aerial bridge appeared in front of them.
Fortunately, fewer knights awaited them there than at the previous bridge, but the problem now wasn't just those ahead.
"This is insane! Why are there so many?"
"Oh, Lord, have mercy!"
An army of the dead was approaching like an enormous tidal wave.
Even if they crossed the bridge and broke through the line of headless knights, the massive wave of enemies threatened to reach them soon.
"Vlad, you go first!"
Gunther, seeing the scene, showed a determined look in his eyes.
The Holy Knights of the Northern Orthodox Church, having confirmed the resolve in his gaze, exchanged signals and nodded.
"You need to run and don't look back!"
"...Gunther!"
Vlad, realizing their decision, turned back in surprise, but the swords that followed God's will had already made their choice.
"Please, cut down that tree, as you did last time, knight who protected the children's breath."
With a barely audible voice, Gunther turned around.
With the other paladins on the bridge.
"Graaah!"
"Argh!"
The knights had resolved to become the prey that blocked the black tide.
With the recitation of God's words, they began to form a protective stance that only the Holy Knights could perform.
"Sh*t! Damn it all!"
Vlad heard the cries of the corpses behind him.
But he and his group had to run across the white bridge, leaving those cries behind.
"Aaaah!"
Destroying the headless knights that stood in their way.
The roar of a golden dragon echoed, its power insufficient to change the fate of those left behind.
"I'll kill you! Every last one of you!"
A dragon roared with rising fury, alongside an old heretical inquisitor and a mage with a backpack.
They were running toward the enormous tree ahead of them.
***
"Huff… huff…"
With its roots stretching toward the sky and its branches hanging toward the ground, a completely twisted tree stood alone on the island, forming its own world.
"Huuuaah…"
And right in front of that black tree, a woman with her feet on the ground was dancing.
She was shedding dark tears that she couldn't control.
"I'll kill them, I'll kill them all."
Ramashthu twisted from side to side, as though she were dancing.
But now, instead of dancing, she was merely contorting her entire body in agonizing pain.
"My children, again…"
A black smoke rose before her as she continued to weep.
The magic of the dwarves, which purifies everything.
Ramashthu was going mad again as she watched the flames, created by the fragments, purify the evil tree.
"It's burning!"
Rumble—
At her cry, the purple sky began to tremble.
But despite her wails, the flames that would never extinguish continued to incinerate the inverted tree little by little.
"Kyaaaaa!"
Her children, whom she couldn't save when they were alive, and whom she couldn't save when they were dead.
A root rose toward the sky above the head of the woman who wept for her children.
It was like the black wolf-like handprints of children who had cried out beneath the symbol of God in the church.
"…"
And at the end of that root hung a man, lifeless.
His black hair fluttered weakly, his heart pierced.
The color of his hair, gently swaying, was the black of Bayezid that Vlad had been searching for, his heart now impaled.
Under the purple sky, where both had sworn to kill each other, Joseph's black hair floated silently.