Ch.387Chapter 387 – The Crisis Is Not Over Yet

The northern region of the Gelebrio Empire was always filled with bitter cold.

This was because the empire’s northern territory was located near the planet’s axis of rotation.

This world, like Earth, had a tilted rotational axis.

As a result, the northernmost and southernmost regions of the continent received relatively less sunlight.

That’s why very few people lived in these two regions.

Even the handful who did live there only came out briefly during summer when the cold was slightly less severe to hunt for fur, rather than residing there permanently.

Of course, there were still a very small number of people who did live there continuously.

A man covered head to toe in fur clothing walked into a cave halfway up a mountain, seeking shelter from the cold wind.

He looked around and then knocked on a protruding rock on one side of the cave wall.

After knocking at regular intervals, the adjacent wall split open, revealing a secret space.

The man, seemingly familiar with this scene, entered the opened space, and soon the split wall returned to its original state.

“Nothing unusual today?”

The one who greeted the man who had entered through the split wall was another man wearing similar clothing.

The difference between them was that the man who greeted him had brown hair, while the man who had just returned was blond.

And what they had in common was that they were both agents of the Gelebrio Empire’s Intelligence Department.

The brown-haired man’s name was Toben, and the blond man’s name was Luis.

“Same as always around here. Nothing special except for the biting wind.”

“Good work. Come have some tea.”

Toben offered Luis a cup of warm tea.

In this place with few luxuries, tea made from wild berries gathered nearby was the only available comfort food.

Although supplies were sent from the mainland, delicious things tend to disappear quickly.

Luis accepted the wild berry tea from Toben, took a sip, and began counting the days.

“So we return to the capital in two months?”

“Has it been that long already?”

At Luis’s words, Toben pulled out a calendar.

He had a habit of marking the calendar each day that passed.

“Oh, here it is. You’re right, we return to the capital in two months.”

“Who’s coming to replace us again?”

“I don’t know either. Whoever it is, they’re in for a tough time.”

Luis nodded at Toben’s words.

In fact, when Luis and Toben first arrived here, they nearly froze to death despite having studied the manual thoroughly.

“Is the pocket watch charging properly?”

“It is charging, but lately the pocket watch has been experiencing overloads more frequently.”

“That’s serious.”

In this northern part of the continent where sunlight barely reached, inexplicable things often occurred.

Day and night would reverse, or day would continue endlessly, or night would never end.

Or the sky and ground would flip, or water and land would switch places.

These occurrences were called anomalies, and agents from the Imperial Intelligence Department were dispatched to the north to prevent them.

Their mission was to use a magical tool called a “pocket watch” to reverse these anomalies.

“Shouldn’t we report this to headquarters?”

“The blizzard has gotten worse recently, making magical communication difficult. This is probably another anomaly.”

“This is bad. If it were just a communication problem…”

What Toben was implying was that the anomaly might strengthen to the point where not just communication but space itself could become disconnected.

“How many pocket watches do we have left?”

“Two. But those are for emergencies—to reverse anomalies and escape to headquarters.”

“Damn it.”

Luis let out a sigh.

He hoped that intelligence agents working at other locations had reported the pocket watch overloads.

Only then could they control the increasingly severe anomalies.

At that moment, he thought he should check the records of observed anomalies and their reversals.

After reversing an anomaly, it was mandatory to record the type of anomaly and the amount of energy used by the pocket watch.

Luis opened the record book and went back to the time before he was dispatched here.

He discovered that from a certain point, the amount of energy consumed by the pocket watches to suppress anomalies had increased.

“It seems like the anomalies have been gradually getting stronger since the Demon God fell?”

“That can’t be. Shouldn’t they be weaker now that the Demon God is gone?”

Hearing Luis’s words, Toben also approached and examined the records.

After checking all the records, a look of shock appeared on Toben’s face.

“This can’t be. The pocket watch energy consumption has been gradually increasing since the Demon God fell.”

“If this is true, it would explain why the pocket watches have been overloading more recently.”

“But what connection could the fall of the Demon God have with these anomalies?”

Luis couldn’t answer Toben’s question.

It was entirely possible that the timing of the Demon God’s fall and the strengthening of anomalies was merely coincidental.

“We should report this to headquarters anyway.”

“But magical communication is impossible right now.”

“Exactly.”

A troublesome situation had arisen.

Everything that happened in the north had to be reported, and any unusual occurrences had to be reported without exception.

However, they currently couldn’t inform headquarters of the situation due to the blizzard, which was likely another anomaly.

“How far has the blizzard spread?”

“I don’t know. But it’s not something that can be resolved by walking for a day or two.”

“Then we have only one option.”

Luis and Toben looked at each other and nodded.

“As soon as the pocket watches are fully charged, we gather all resources and equipment and evacuate to the safe zone.”

“Let’s hurry.”

“Agreed.”

Due to the suddenly intensified anomalies, Luis and Toben had to leave their designated post.

After about a week, with all pocket watches completely broken, they finally escaped the anomalies and reported to headquarters.

“Your Imperial Majesty. We have an urgent report from the intelligence agents stationed in the north.”

This news was delivered to Decatro IV, the monarch of the Gelebrio Empire.

“What is it?”

Decatro IV was in a foul mood, having been interrupted while talking to his grandchildren growing in Karen’s womb through a magic crystal.

If he had been disturbed for something trivial, he was planning to impose severe punishment.

But the contents of the single document placed on his desk soon made him reconsider.

[From the darkest place, to the brightest place.]

[North. Critical. Level 2 required.]

Just a few words lined up: North, Critical, Level 2 required.

But Decatro IV knew all too well what they meant.

“Hmm… Of all times, this happens during my reign.”

Decatro IV fell into deep concern.

He had been thinking about passing the throne to the crown prince soon and spending his remaining years watching his cute grandchildren’s antics.

Why did this have to happen during his reign, and just as his grandchildren were about to be born?

He wondered if it was because he had been an immoral ruler, but he needed to look for other causes.

Anomalies must never be disclosed to the general public. If handled poorly, the world could fall into chaos.

That’s why only the highest leaders of each country and religious order knew about the anomalies.

So when do anomalies become prominent? The answer was surprisingly simple.

‘Anomalies tend to appear prominently when something happens that greatly affects the world.’

Anomalies basically occur when there’s a disruption in the major flows that sustain the world.

And recently, there had been several major events that could disrupt the world’s flow.

‘The biggest one must be the disappearance of the Demon God.’

The disappearance of the Demon God, who was considered equal to the Great Goddess.

In a way, wasn’t this the elimination of one of the powers sustaining the world, causing everything to shift completely to the other side?

“I should discuss the activation of Level 2 with the kings of other countries and high-ranking officials of the religious orders.”

Therefore, Decatro IV hesitated to initiate the procedure called “Level 2” that the Intelligence Department had requested.

If it truly was a situation requiring Level 2, he couldn’t activate it alone.

‘Could this be a problem my son-in-law could solve?’

Decatro IV thought of his son-in-law, Pathos.

With his strange and marvelous ability to fix everything, perhaps he could also fix the excessive and powerful manifestations of anomalies.

So he immediately wrote a letter to his son-in-law.

[Come to the palace immediately. Alone.]