Chapter 394

“We have gathered all the remaining fragments, Heavenly Lord.”

The messenger reported to the Heavenly Lord.

The fragments of the Dark God, torn to pieces and sealed.

Those fragments were a necessary condition for the complete resurrection of the Dark God.

For that, Red Rain had been moving in the shadows for years.

And finally, they had gathered all the remaining fragments.

“Yes, everyone has worked hard.”

It felt as if the Heavenly Lord nodded from within the dark curtain.

Originally, there should have been no lack of satisfaction in that.

However.

“But we missed two pieces.”

The most important piece was unavoidable.

It was sealed in the Saint’s body, so they couldn’t touch it now.

They had to seize it on the day of judgment.

So, that wasn’t what he meant.

The Dark God’s heart and one eyeball.

He meant those two pieces.

Among them, the heart was a fairly significant piece.

It meant that without the heart, the Dark God could only be resurrected incompletely.

“It is everyone’s shortcoming. We are ashamed.”

The messenger bowed his head.

As he did, he was inwardly grinding his teeth in resentment.

At Max.

Because that damned human was involved in their failure to obtain those two pieces.

That wasn’t all.

How much had that bastard ruined the organization’s work?

If he ever got the chance, he would definitely separate that bastard’s bones and flesh and chew them to pieces.

The messenger was sharpening his blade, biding his time.

“It cannot be helped. But that cannot stop our path. Because no one can escape the blade of the Judge.”

The Heavenly Lord’s dry assertion.

But it seemed there was something bothering him.

“However, we must confirm what is an eyesore. What is his recent activity?”

“He continues to gather private soldiers. He is also stockpiling military supplies.”

Max’s movements.

There was no way Red Rain wouldn’t be watching him.

He had been the most annoying thorn in their side so far.

They had been carefully observing the Odinel Duchy for a long time.

“Indeed, he is thoroughly preparing for the coming battle.”

There was no need to see who the opponent in that battle would be.

Red Rain.

He was preparing for a battle against their organization.

But.

“It will be a futile effort. Because everything will be over before that army can even move.”

The messenger’s mocking assertion.

He admitted that the preparation itself was commendable.

However.

The day of judgment would come sooner than he thought.

And it would end in an instant.

Before he could even move his troops.

“Yes, it will be so. Nevertheless, do not let down your guard. If his forces move towards the Holy City before the day of judgment, we must respond.”

“Yes, Heavenly Lord.”

Preparations for external forces were already complete.

Both the Empire and the Kingdom.

It meant that no one dared to interfere.

However.

They didn’t know.

That everything happening in the Odinel Duchy was Max’s deception, and that Max was actually augmenting his forces underground in the Holy City, preparing for the upcoming battle.

* * *

“The construction in the north has also been perfectly completed as planned, Savior.”

Milia reported.

“Good news. Everyone has worked very hard. Rest comfortably today and relieve your accumulated fatigue.”

A satisfied smile spread across my lips.

With this, all construction in the east, west, south, and north was perfectly finished.

Now, we could respond in an instant in any direction.

This was our definite weapon.

“Yes, Savior.”

Milia retreated.

My gaze turned to Gwen this time.

“How is the coordination with the warriors of the forest now?”

Warriors of the forest.

In other words, he was referring to the Elven warriors.

There was no way I had the power to move Elven warriors.

I was human.

There was only one being capable of that.

The child of the World Tree, a sister with the same blood as the Primordial Elf, the mother of the elves.

It was the High Elf Hiresia, who was perking up her ears next to me, waiting for Gwen’s answer.

Following my advice, she had accepted coexistence with the surrounding Elven tribes in the Forgotten Forest, a sanctuary where only High Elves could set foot.

With that, they were able to escape the threat of Red Rain that might have befallen the Forgotten Forest again.

But Hiresia didn’t stop there.

She offered to help me in any way she could first.

She would move the Elven warriors.

It was an offer to be welcomed without a second thought.

And so, the Elven warriors also secretly infiltrated the underground of the Holy City in the same way as the Turtle Unit.

It was also possible because of the Saint’s cooperation.

And their number was 200.

Combined with the 300-strong Turtle Unit, over 500 personnel were secretly living underground.

It was more power than I had planned.

“There’s no need to worry about coordination. They are already trained warriors, and they have faithfully participated in collective tactical training, so they have finished adapting without any problems.”

Gwen answered confidently.

“That’s a relief.”

I smiled again.

In fact, if it were just about combination, organizing humans and elves separately would have been the easiest and most convenient method.

But I didn’t do that.

The strength of the Turtle Unit lay in its powerful defense and close-quarters destructive power.

On the other hand, the strength of the Elven warriors lay in their powerful long-range attack power.

So, if the Elven warriors were organized separately, a gap would inevitably form at the front.

Because there would be no stopping power.

But what if a mixed unit was formed?

The strength of the Turtle Unit would perfectly complement the weakness of the Elven warriors.

And at the same time, the strength of the Elven warriors could be utilized.

That was why I had deliberately chosen the harder path.

And in the end, that path turned out to be the right choice.

It was the result of humans and elves working together, the excellent result of Gwen’s collective training, and above all, a result made possible because Hiresia was there.

Without Hiresia, whom the elves revered and served, such harmonious training would have been impossible in the first place.

“Thank you again, Elder.”

“Pfft!”

At Gwen’s greeting to Hiresia, I spat out the coffee I was drinking to the side.

It was because of the title.

Elder.

The title the elves used to respectfully address Hiresia.

Considering Hiresia’s relationship with the Primordial Elf, their mother, it wasn’t a strange title.

It would surely be the same for the High Elves.

The problem was.

That Hiresia was a peculiar High Elf who had been thoroughly exposed to the human world.

One didn’t even need to think to know how the title “Elder” would sound to her, who had spent her academy life full of youth, calling others “Senior” and “Junior.”

It was the same now.

Her cheeks were awkwardly stiff.

An expression that said she could tolerate it from the elves, but not from humans.

…Why did that old man have to learn strange things from the side?

“N-No, you don’t have to go that far…”

Elf Senior, your voice is trembling.

“No. I am well aware that this was only possible because the Elder was here.”

Stop it, you clueless old man.

“…Y-Yes.”

Elf Senior’s cheek twitched.

Feeling sorry for her, I quickly stepped in.

“It seems your intentions have been well conveyed, so you may go and attend to your business.”

“Yes, I understand. Then I will see you next time, Elder.”

*Squeeze.*

I quickly covered Elf Senior’s clenching fist.

And so, Gwen finally disappeared.

Only the two of us remained in the space.

“Aaargh, that old man is doing it on purpose, right? Right?”

Elf Senior panted, her face flushed.

“C-Calm down, Senior. He’s not that kind of person.”

I quickly tried to pacify Elf Senior.

“He’s not?”

“Yes, he may be a bit clueless, but he’s not that detestable of a person.”

“He’s plenty detestable.”

“…”

“Hmph, but if you say so, then I shall endure it.”

“Thank you, Senior.”

It was a relief that she calmed down quickly.

“Still, I should avoid seeing that old man’s face as much as possible.”

“Yes, yes, please do.”

I played along and offered Elf Senior some beef jerky.

It meant she should eat her favorite meat and change her mood.

The fact that it was beef jerky, not chocolate or candy, was a joke in itself to others.

“Hmph, as expected, you’re the only one who thinks of me.”

Elf Senior accepted the beef jerky with a pleased expression and chewed it deliciously.

*Gulp.*

Though she swallowed it in an instant.

“Is the plan progressing without any problems?”

Elf Senior changed the subject with a more relaxed expression.

“Yes, for now. We are doing everything we can.”

“Then that’s a relief. However.”

“Yes.”

“It bothers me that we don’t know the exact date the enemy will attack.”

It was a valid concern.

Not knowing the exact timing was certainly a difficulty for us.

But.

I was by no means idle.

“I don’t know the exact date, but I have an idea. So, we are preparing flexibly and resiliently.”

I spread out a calendar.

On that calendar, about fifteen days were marked in red.

Fifteen days back from the end of the protagonist’s final semester.

I was strongly convinced of one thing.

It would definitely not go over into next year.

All of the protagonist’s events had to end exactly within the four years of the academy for the picture to look right to anyone.

Next year’s graduation ceremony was the ending and epilogue, not the main episode.

This was an intuition and experience born from playing countless games.

Therefore, I had set a fifteen-day deadline and was preparing to respond whenever things might happen within that period.

“Those dates marked in red are what you suspect?”

“Yes, Senior. Things will definitely happen within that period.”

“Then there isn’t much time left.”

“That’s right. So.”

My eyes gleamed.

“We are also preparing for external matters without any setbacks.”

* * *

“You’ve arrived, Master.”

The middle-aged attendant magician bowed respectfully.

To a young woman with blue hair who looked much younger.

Age didn’t matter.

What mattered was that the young woman was a master of two attributes of magic and his teacher.

“Ah, yes, was there anything unusual while I was away?”

The master of fire and water, Elaine, opened her mouth.

“No, nothing unusual… Ah, one guest did visit.”

“A guest?”

“Yes.”

“Did they happen to say who they were?”

“Well…”

“What is it?”

“A-A sickly pretty girl genius magician…”

“Cough, cough.”

Elaine let out an embarrassed cough.

There was only one person she knew who would introduce themselves with such an outrageous self-proclamation.

“…I-I see. Then, did they happen to say anything?”

“This.”

The attendant magician politely offered an envelope sealed with wax.

“Hmm, yes. I understand. You may leave now.”

“Yes, Master.”

The attendant magician went outside.

Elaine, left alone in the room, let out a chuckle.

It was clearly an important letter, yet to leave it so abruptly like this was indeed typical of that friend.

Elaine first picked up the envelope and carefully checked if there were any signs of it having been opened.

Fortunately, there were no such signs.

*Rip.*

She tore open the envelope and slowly unfolded the letter.

However.

There were no words written on the letter.

Elaine blinked her blank eyes for a moment.

But soon, as if she had an idea, she lit a candle next to her and burned the letter completely.

*Crackle.*

The letter burned.

Then, surprisingly, letters appeared in the air.

Truly strange magic.

The effort was commendable.

But viewed differently, it could be said that they were thorough with security.

“The date…”

Elaine muttered.

The fifteen days that appeared.

Elaine immediately realized that it meant the deadline.

And.

“First, please take care of the North Gate. After that…”

Muttering softly and memorizing all the contents, Elaine smiled warmly.

“Yes, leave it to me. I’ll pray that everything goes well.”