On a street in a ruined city.
"It's surprising that they didn't even try to run away."
Christina murmured quietly as she gazed at the Order's mages, who had been brutally slain.
It seemed like just a moment ago that Ludwig had summoned his ominous and eerie dark aura blade, but now his right arm was still intact, wrapped in a bandage.
The Order's mages were all slaughtered by Ludwig.
They didn't even attempt to flee.
"Did they know that trying to escape would be pointless?"
"I don't know."
Anna de Gerna, who had been waiting at a distance, approached, crossing over the rubble.
"There are no life forms detected nearby. This is… all of them."
Anna looked away from the lifeless bodies with a stern expression.
Even if they had tried to flee, they would have been caught by Anna's magic, and the waiting Immortal archmages were maintaining a barrier further out.
"There might be remnants left, but it's pointless. They won't be able to take the Immortal from us anyway."
With this, the Black Order had completely vanished from the world.
One or two might have been missed or survived, but their existence would be meaningless.
"It's a bit frightening to think that if it wasn't for Louis, we might have lost the Immortal altogether."
Christina forced a bitter smile and wet her lips.
The intention of the Black Order had been clear from the beginning.
That's why Louis had focused on uncovering the Black Order's schemes.
If it hadn't been for Louis, the Black Order would have tried to control the world by force, using the Immortal.
It wasn't even a contest of strength.
It was a battle of genius and strategy, with genius emerging victorious.
The Immortal, which the Black Order had wanted to turn into their army, had now become Christina's army.
"Ludwig, what do you think?"
"About what?"
"About Ellen becoming the Emperor, the Demon King becoming the Emperor, or everything remaining as it is."
Christina asked.
"What do you think is better?"
In response to Christina's question, Ludwig replied shortly, as if there was no need to think.
"I don't know."
It was a concise answer without any hesitation.
"Whatever it is, it'll work out somehow."
It was good to be ignorant of the unknown.
If there was something to be done, it would be done.
The affairs of the world were left to the world.
Ludwig answered as such and stared quietly at his right hand.
The Grandmaster's arm had granted Ludwig immense power.
Ludwig had obtained a power that had skipped several steps.
However, he could not get used to the foreign sensation in his body.
It was a procedure that a normal person couldn't endure.
'At most, a few years…'
The words of Dettomorian, predicting death.
Now, Ludwig truly understood what that meant.
He had endured a pain that was almost worse than death, and only recently had been able to properly move and function.
The limits of the flesh would eventually catch up.
The price for connecting what should not have been connected was being paid in real-time.
"Are you alright…?"
With concern, Anna examined Ludwig's complexion. Ludwig nodded with a stern expression.
His body was still holding up.
He was able to fight once again.
Until his body broke apart.
Until he finished what they had to do.
He only had to endure until then.
"Uh huh. I'm fine."
For now, at least.
——
"Report the status of the army's preparation for departure."
Emperor Bertus sat quietly in the General Headquarters tent, with only the telepath, Evia, before him.
Evia sent telepathic messages to each of the commanding officers of the army, and she reported the situation back after compiling their responses.
"The army is ready, Your Majesty."
Telepathy made the communication process more efficient.
Thus, Evia was able to act as a messenger without leaving her seat.
"We will begin our advance toward Grenosia tomorrow. It is predicted that it will take ten days to reach Grenosia. Our vanguard troops that have already set out will eliminate small-scale warp gates in advance, so we will engage in battle as soon as we arrive at Grenosia. Make sure that each commander is well-informed."
Handling small and medium-sized warp gates was now within the scope of the Immortal's capabilities.
Full-scale warfare would only be necessary when targeting large city-sized warp gates. The struggle to conquer large cities would become increasingly difficult, so if the attack on Grenosia was not smooth, future battles would become even more challenging.
If conquering Grenosia was difficult even with the unparalleled army of the Immortal, the remaining battles would become even more daunting.
The days had become warmer, and the army had enjoyed a long rest during the winter.
"Starting tomorrow, the army will not stop until we see the complete end of the Gate situation."
The emperor calmly issued his command, and Evia quietly relayed his words to all military commanders.
——
The atmosphere in the garrison, just before the departure, was more serene than bustling.
With a minimum amount of necessary supplies, including tents, prepared, they were about to embark on a long march.
It was as if a beast, having slept a long winter slumber, was ready to awaken.
From now on, there would be no such long rests.
Either the war would end, or humanity would be annihilated.
The army would march on until one of those paths was reached.
In such a quiet garrison, those who had been at the temple until now were also prepared for departure.
Christina.
Anna.
Louis Ancton.
And even Ludwig.
Naturally, everyone was astonished.
Ludwig, who was supposed to have lost his arm, had regained his right arm, though it was still wrapped in bandages.
"Ludwig? No, that arm…?"
At Ranian Sesor's question, Ludwig gave a clumsy smile.
"There was an experimental procedure, and I was the first subject."
"Are you alright…?"
"Yeah, surprisingly, it moves pretty well."
Ludwig demonstrated the normalcy of his arm by clenching and unclenching his fist, moving his arm up and down.
There was some procedure that could restore a lost arm.
No one had any idea what it was, so they were at a loss for words, watching Ludwig's nonchalant demeanor.
Getting his arm back was a good thing, but was he really in a state to fight?
Just by looking at his bandaged arm, Ludwig did not seem to be in a condition to fight.
As if aware of their concerns, Ludwig lowered his head.
"I won't be going into direct combat. I'll be assigned to a rear support unit. So you don't have to worry."
"Oh, I see…"
It was a lie.
Ludwig had been assigned to carry out a mission with the Immortal.
In a way, it was the most dangerous fight since the beginning of the Reclamation War. Ludwig felt no need nor reason to discuss such matters with his friends.
News of Ludwig's sudden return and his restored right arm had quickly spread throughout the Royal Class garrison.
Scarlett had no choice but to immediately seek out Ludwig upon hearing the news.
"Ludwig…?"
"Scarlett, it's been a while."
Scarlett stared at Ludwig's new right arm, her mouth agape in disbelief.
Ludwig told her, as he had explained to others, that he didn't know how his arm had been restored, and that he wouldn't be engaging in direct combat, so she shouldn't worry.
"Well, that's a relief…"
However, everyone felt uneasy upon seeing Ludwig's return.
Setting aside the restoration of his arm, they couldn't help but notice the change in Ludwig's demeanor.
There was a dark, gloomy energy surrounding Ludwig's eyes. Something was amiss in his disheveled appearance.
Anyone with a keen eye could see it.
The length of Ludwig's left and right arms was slightly off.
His right arm was a little longer. Just enough to be unnatural.
They couldn't know what kind of experimental procedure had been used, but it was obvious to everyone that it wasn't a normal one.
They couldn't help but feel a subtle sense of unease at the dangerous aura surrounding Ludwig's return.
"…"
"Cliffman, long time no see."
Ludwig also encountered Cliffman, who had previously urged him to withdraw from the battlefield.
Ludwig, who had left the battlefield as Cliffman advised not to cause trouble for others, had ultimately regained his right arm through some means and returned.
As Ludwig greeted him with an attitude not much different from before, Cliffman stared back with a stern expression.
"You stubborn bastard…"
As if he had a premonition, Cliffman looked at Ludwig with a mixture of disgust and shook his head.
After exchanging greetings with familiar faces upon his long-awaited return, Ludwig prepared for the march and walked through the garrison as night fell.
Ludwig wouldn't fight alongside the Royal Class garrison or the main force of the alliance.
In fact, he would spend more time fighting alongside the Immortal than staying at the garrison.
He only exchanged greetings to avoid making his presence at the garrison seem strange.
However, not everyone believed Ludwig's lie.
"Hey…"
Heinrich von Schwarz.
Upon learning what was happening in the imperial capital, Heinrich couldn't help but harden his expression as he saw Ludwig, who had regained his arm and returned.
"Is it what I think it is?"
Heinrich immediately knew how Ludwig had regained his arm.
It was clear that he had received an arm reconstructed through black magic.
He had risked his life to regain his arm.
And they didn't know how he was overcoming the rejection reaction and other issues.
Heinrich, however, couldn't help but know that Ludwig was in a very dangerous state.
So, Heinrich knew that Ludwig's claim of not fighting was a lie.
"Did you really have to go that far?"
"I don't know."
At Heinrich's question, Ludwig gave a bitter smile.
"Perhaps even a nobody can do something…"
"…"
"I wanted to find out."
It had already happened.
It couldn't be undone.
Heinrich could say nothing to Ludwig, who had already committed the act.
With gritted teeth, Heinrich spat out the words.
"So you plan to fight and die, huh?"
Now, Heinrich seemed to understand what the prophecy of Dettomorian foresaw.
And so.
On a secluded hill near the royal-class garrison, Ludwig spotted someone silently observing the garrison from above.
Ellen Artorius.
Under the full moon's light, Ellen stood still on the hilltop, gazing down at the garrison.
Ludwig wordlessly looked up at Ellen on the hill.
Ellen, who had pursued the case without questioning Ludwig's plea for help, eventually fled back to the garrison.
This was their first encounter since then.
Ellen's eyes slowly moved towards Ludwig.
There was no emotion in her gaze.
She said nothing.
She didn't ask how he returned or what happened to his arm.
She was neither bewildered nor frightened.
She just acknowledged that there was a person there, with no thoughts or emotions revealed.
"You've changed somehow."
Looking at Ellen, who seemed to have become a completely different person, Ludwig said so.
She had changed more than he had, to the point where she seemed rather strange.
Something had changed.
Everyone changes.
They become changed.
"…"
The lifeless-eyed Ellen gave no response or reaction.
She merely stood in the moonlight, silently gazing at Ludwig.
Ludwig asked no more questions of the still life in the moonlight.
——
The alliance forces moved.
Maintaining an army for a long time was a risk.
Ending it quickly was the only virtuous act in war. With sufficient power, the empire would now wage a swift war to destroy the warp gates throughout Riselen.
The empire had to pass through several small and medium-sized cities to reach their next destination. Thus, it would have taken a long time for the march, as it had been so far.
"They've swept through…"
But now, I was looking at a city devastated by smoke and flames.
"… I anticipated it would be terrible, but…"
What was the city's name?
I couldn't remember, but it was a city with one medium warp gate and two small warp gates.
However, all Eleris and I could see were the remnants of destruction and slaughter.
Small towns and medium-sized cities could be swept away in less than half a day, even by the Immortals alone.
I wanted to see the Immortals fight, but we arrived late, fearing that getting caught in their sight would cause trouble.
Eleris, who was always pale, looked even paler now.
Eleris couldn't help but be frightened by the strength of cornered humans.
The gate incident might have lost its meaning now.
"Depending on how the Grenosia occupation battle proceeds, the alliance forces might completely withdraw."
"That's a possibility."
If it seemed that the gate incident could be managed with only the immortals, the alliance forces might even disband.
"But each gate is becoming more dangerous. It would be foolish to hastily disband the alliance forces. Like it or not, they can't leave until all the warp gates in Riselen are destroyed."
The gate incident wouldn't be over until the last warp gate was destroyed.
If they hastily tried to withdraw the alliance forces only to find out that the immortals alone couldn't end the gate incident, they would have to reassemble the alliance forces. That would be a ridiculous endeavor.
In the end, the alliance forces had to exist until the complete end of the gate incident.
The Immortals were a large-scale unit and, at the same time, an army with incredible mobility advantages since the entire army could move using mass teleportation.
That was why the Immortal can wipe out these small and medium-sized cities by going back and forth across Riselen with a super-large mass teleport as if intercepting the enemy's stronghold.
"For now, we have to watch how the Grenosia battle unfolds."
As the war intensified and deepened, it was gradually coming to an end.