More than ten men were running, yet the narrow, dark hallway remained in complete silence.
If it weren't for the occasional sound of their armor, no one would have noticed their stealthy movements.
"Where are we going now?"
"I don't know."
This was Ramashthu's world, secretly hidden within the cracks of the world.
The group that had entered through the passage opened by the exorcist priests was now wandering through an unfamiliar hallway.
"We have no idea where we are. We need to find a landmark first."
Behind Vlad, who was leading the way, Gunther studied an open map.
It was a small map with large concentric circles drawn on it.
However, even though the overall shape was a circle, the dense markings of the hallways on the map made it clear just how complicated this place was.
"The only thing we know for certain is that we need to move towards the center."
"What's in the center?"
At Vlad's question, Gunther, who was looking ahead, carefully scratched his dry lips, as if he was uncomfortable speaking.
"They said there was a tree."
This place, unknown to anyone in the world, was Ramashthu's hidden world, nestled in the cracks of the world.
However, Vlad, who had caught a glimpse of this world for a brief moment in the mist-filled city, seemed to understand what tree Gunther was referring to.
"It might be something familiar to us."
"…"
Roots growing towards the sky, branches pointing towards the ground.
The tree, representing everything inverted, emerged in Vlad's mind, and it was no coincidence.
***
Crash!
There was a loud noise, and dark red blood splattered.
It was blood from a corpse that had been split like firewood.
"Damn it! No matter how many I kill, they never stop coming!"
Droplets of dark red blood scattered like mist from the tip of the axe wielded by the lanky man.
However, the gap he had worked so hard to create was swept away by another wave, leaving him just enough room to catch his breath.
"Damn bastards! They've been gathering these corpses all this time!"
Behind the man who was fiercely shouting, a large banner with the symbol of an axe fluttered in the wind.
Karoy of Harkita. One of the knights representing the North.
He, who had dealt with Mirshea alongside Vlad in the city of Bastopol, was now constantly expressing his wild fury towards the endless army of the dead.
"The front line is slowly retreating. Duke."
"…"
In the middle of this battlefield, where the dead killed and were killed.
Beneath the seven flags of the North that flew over the battlefield, Timur, the Iron Duke, stood resolutely.
"Thousands of corpses have already risen. The problem is we don't know how many more are coming."
"And the Dragonblood Duke's army?"
"…The latest reports say they are about two and a half days away."
Valkov's voice grew weaker as he spoke.
And for good reason—the Dragonblood Duke's army seemed to be increasing its pace, as if they were aware of the situation they were facing.
"If we don't act quickly, they might catch us."
Now, in front of the Northern Union Army stood the Army of the Dead, and behind them, the Dragonblood Duke's army was rapidly advancing north.
Although it appeared precarious, like a moth flying into a flame, the Iron Duke Timur had a good reason for moving this way.
"We need to finish this before that happens."
Rooaaar-!
Just as Timur finished speaking, a deafening roar erupted from within the dark church.
It was such a powerful scream that it made the legs of those who heard it tremble.
-Hey, what is that?
-It's a monster! A monster!
A body so large and heavy that it could be compared to a siege weapon used to destroy castle walls.
The creature, with twisted muscles as fierce as its raised fangs, glared at the soldiers blocking its path with its wide, blood-red eyes that were difficult to face.
-An ogre… MY GOD!
-But why does it have two heads!
The ogre was a monster as difficult to face as a dragon, said to be no different from a natural disaster.
But this one had a second head, roughly sewn onto its shoulder.
Rooaaar!
It wasn't just the resurrected ones.
Witches were beings that created things that should not exist in this world.
For them, creating an ogre with an extra head would have been nothing.
"Damn it…"
Karoy swallowed hard as he saw the enormous shadow looming over his head.
Two pairs of eyes stared at him.
The knight of Harkita, who was facing those grotesque eyes, gripped his axe tightly, unlike the others.
"Come on, come at me!"
Men of the North, who had survived the harsh cold winds of the North, rarely retreated.
Even when faced with a two-headed ogre.
"Aaaah!"
A knight charging headlong into a wave of corpses towards a deadly predator.
Seeing that bravery, even the other knights of Harkita began shouting loudly, their morale soaring.
"Bastard!"
Karoy, whose enormous body made the large club he wielded seem to fill the sky, quickly slashed at the beast's thigh.
Rooaaar!
"Ugh!"
The pressure of the roar that echoed in response weighed on his chest, but it didn't harm Karoy, who was already ablaze with fury.
"Damn giant!"
Karoy grabbed onto the wound he had made and, step by step, began climbing up the ogre.
His bravery, which didn't waver even in the face of a colossal giant, reignited the fire in the hearts of the soldiers who had been exhausted just moments ago.
"What are you looking at, bastard?"
Though he looked like a pile of dust, Karoy managed to climb onto the ogre and reach one of its heads at the top.
The head reached out its arm towards Karoy, but the lumberjack had already swung his axe with all his might, having found his target.
"Die, bastard!"
The blade of Karoy's axe, lifted with all his strength, gleamed in the sunlight.
A fierce smile spread across Karoy's face as he soon felt the impact, but his axe had merely cut through the air in vain.
"Huh?"
One of the heads had already fallen and was tumbling back the way it had come.
Unable to withstand a single powerful blow, it rolled away.
"Thanks for the hard work, Lord Karoy."
"Huh?"
With a perplexed expression, Karoy turned to see a tall man with slicked-back hair.
The man standing on the ogre's other shoulder was Guillermo of Romnie.
Another knight representing the North, Guillermo smiled at Karoy.
"I knew you'd catch its attention."
"…Guillermo, you bastard!"
Karoy's curse rang out loudly, but Guillermo's laughter didn't stop.
Now, he was determined not only to become a knight representing the North but also an ogre slayer.
"I'll leave the other head as a gift for you."
The tip of his sword swung violently towards the remaining ogre's head.
***
"My… my masterpiece!"
In a dark room, a cry of sorrow echoed from the space where several men were gathered.
"It was an ogre! Those damn lunatics!"
The crystal ball they had been watching with great anticipation showed the image of the ogre slowly collapsing.
"Did we mess up? It doesn't seem as strong as we expected."
"No, it wasn't that. Maybe it's because of the priests chanting in the background."
"Besides, it faced Guillermo and Karoy. For its first time, it had really bad luck."
Some people were mourning, others analyzing.
As they watched the scene outside and engaged in a heated discussion about the creatures they had created, they were all sorcerers who had dedicated their lives to creating new life.
They had gathered here and there, depending on how they dealt with the mystery, and now their eyes gleamed intensely as they watched someone's creation fall.
Boom! Boom!
But their attention couldn't stay on the crystal ball for long.
"What's that sound?"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A deafening noise, like something was being smashed apart.
Even the pitch-black wall began to tremble.
With an ominous sound, the desk they were sitting at started to shake slightly.
As the sound grew closer with each passing moment, several sorcerers quickly pointed towards the beast.
Crash!
"What the hell is that!"
"The wall exploded! It's caved in!"
Before the figure they were pointing at could even finish, a loud, deafening noise assaulted them.
It was an explosion that felt as if they had been chanting a spell.
"...Looks like I came to the right place."
An eerie silence settled between the thick stone dust that rose from the wall being torn down.
However, the sorcerers' attention was more focused on the glowing golden eyes shining through the dust than on the stone debris blocking their view.
"Soa… Vlad of Soara!!"
The world created by Ramashthu was too complicated and disadvantageous for me.
So, Vlad decided to reject the path she had laid out, and now there were walls full of holes behind him.
"The path was too confusing."
The fastest way to reach your goal is a straight line.
The former pickpocket, who once climbed the rooftops of alleyways to steal wallets, already knew this well.
"So, will someone tell me what to do? I'll let one of you live."
The rules you imposed don't bind me.
Therefore, behind the path freshly carved out by Vlad, a straight road gradually led towards a strange tree.
***
"…!"
Joseph, who was running through the hallway, saw the headless knights ahead and quickly hid in a nearby corner.
'I'm almost there.'
Joseph, panting silently, looked at the large garden before him and frowned in sorrow.
Ramashthu's Garden, the center of the concentric circle and the only place where one could gaze upon the bubbles.
In that ugly garden, a tree with strange roots reached up towards the sky.
'There are too many of them.'
If I get rid of that, I can change a lot about this place.
However, there were too many knights guarding the area for him to get close.
Joseph, who was neither a swordsman nor a mysterious sorcerer, had no choice but to stop and stare at the target in front of him.
'My weak body won't make it…'
The goal was visible right in front of him.
The target was so close that, if he ran with all his might, he could reach it within a few breaths.
However, Joseph knew full well that with his weak body, he wouldn't even make it a few steps before being caught.
"…Haha."
That's why, for Joseph, the desired goal was always far away, no matter how close it seemed.
Even though he was born a noble, he had always fought against illness, and though born into a family of knights, he was the one who could never swear allegiance to the Swordmaster's blade.
"Still, this last step seems like it will be worth it."
But Joseph smiled as he looked at the target in front of him.
Because Joseph could feel that he had surpassed one of the limits that had always held him back.
"I've never pushed this hard before."
Joseph pulled out a small teacup from his bag with a faint smile and took a deep breath, silently feeling the small warmth emanating from it.
"Huff."
He directed his gaze towards the cursed tree ahead of him.
Joseph's trembling shoulders were suddenly covered with black marks of death.
"I'm sorry."
Crack-!
Joseph's fingertips, gripping the teacup, exerted a strength that would normally be hard to muster.
His grip strength, far exceeding that of an average adult man, went beyond the limits of his frail body and slowly began to dent the dwarven-made teacup.
"Instead, I'll burn it all with everything I have."
Now, the black form of death extended beyond his fingers, up to his shoulders.
Thus, Joseph's shoulders, freed from the constraints of his body, began to bend significantly backward.
"Hmph!"
The teacup burned in the hands of a man tainted by death.
The magic of the dwarves, refined with an eternal flame.
The teacup, which had purified all the evils, began to ignite a purifying fire in Joseph's darkened hands.
"Ugh!"
With all his might, he aimed it towards the world he saw before him.
Now, with his fingertips, beyond his frail body.
Joseph's sling, which he wielded with all his strength for the first time in his life, began to fly towards the cursed tree.
Crash-!
The sound was small, so faint it was barely audible.
But Joseph's world, thrown with all his might, was already ablaze.
Creating a small crack in Ramashthu's bubble-like world.