WHIRR...

WHIRR...

Two streaks of dark, emerald-green arrows vibrated rapidly, piercing through the Gray Mist as they fell.

Outlined by golden lines, a massive Elemental Hand of earth quickly materialized before Zorn.

BANG! BANG!

The emerald-green arrows exploded.

Immediately after, a volley of green arrows shot toward Zorn from the left, right, and even above, following bizarre trajectories.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Zorn’s expression was grim. The shadow behind his silhouette suddenly swelled.

As the arrows descended, the shadow enveloped Zorn’s body and abruptly contracted.

His figure vanished completely.

Having used Shadow Jump, Zorn appeared in mid-air, held aloft by an invisible Wind Hand.

Then, several Destruction Magic Balls broke free from the Black Mist behind Zorn, plummeting toward the fleeing Forbidden Dark Elf.

Meanwhile, across the entire sixth level of the Gray Mist World, the Level Seven Transcendent named Bassman was being beaten back repeatedly by Marquis Albert.

Even Bassman, a Level Seven Transcendent and a Harvester, was in such a state.

Needless to say, the other Transcendents, who were only Level Six, fared even worse.

It had devolved into a desperate scramble where the slowest became the front line.

Just moments ago, Zorn had worked with Rosian to kill a Light Priest.

This Level Six Forbidden Dark Elf from the Harvesters had attempted a surprise attack on the two of them.

Zorn immediately gave chase.

This Level Six Forbidden Dark Elf was quite formidable, a battle-hardened expert.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The series of explosions from the Destruction Magic Balls, whose power Zorn had intentionally amplified, completely blocked the Forbidden Dark Elf’s escape route.

Eternal Calamity Whip.

This time, Zorn had infused the Eternal Calamity Whip—a spell that sealed and interrupted abilities—with extra Evil Energy.

Then, a howling gale of death, carried by Zorn’s Wind Element Hand, descended upon the Forbidden Dark Elf.

His escape route blocked by the explosions, the Forbidden Dark Elf instantly changed direction.

The next moment, his already dark, glossy face suddenly fell.

His Body Technique Secret Skill, which allowed him to ride the gales and move with incredible speed, had suddenly stopped responding.

’It’s some kind of sealing Forbidden Curse.’

The thought had just surfaced in his mind.

The winds of death howled toward him.

His eyes wide with fury and desperation, the Forbidden Dark Elf tried with all his might to evade the terrifying Forbidden Curse.

But how could he possibly dodge the slashes of a Forbidden Curse with mere footwork?

He barely managed to avoid the first slash.

The second invisible scythe blade sliced off one of the Forbidden Dark Elf’s arms.

Reeling from the pain and thrown off balance, the Forbidden Dark Elf struggled to lift his head. In the depths of his despairing eyes, he could see the reflection of a faint, terrifying cursed blade.

The next moment, he was engulfed by the howling Forbidden Curse Scythe.

By the time Zorn landed...

...the Forbidden Dark Elf had already been sliced into more than a dozen pieces.

Zorn held out his right hand, fingers splayed.

GURGLE... GURGLE... GURGLE...

Life, flesh, Spiritual Essence, and even the Wandering Souls born from the death of a soul—all of it was absorbed by him.

After this battle, Zorn would firmly establish his position among the upper echelons of Ogrande City.

He might even become one of them.

Revealing his Evil Spirit methods now was no longer a problem.

’What?’

’You dare say that Mr. Zorn Corick, the pillar of Ogrande City, is a damned Evil Spirit?’

’How audacious!’

’This is the esteemed Holy Witch!’

After collecting the Dark Crystal Core of the Level Six Forbidden Dark Elf, Zorn held it in his hand, carefully examining it.

A moment later, a sharp glint flickered in the depths of his eyes.

"Heh heh... Just as I thought!"

His brow relaxed slightly as a realization dawned on him.

Dark Elves are a rare species from the Exotic Lands known as the Dark Fallen Ancient Forest.

Generally speaking, they shouldn’t appear on the Holy Land Continent until the mid-game phase.

Of course, some versions of the game occasionally featured native Dark Elves.

But now, Zorn could feel the aura of the Fallen Ancient Forest within this Dark Elf’s Sequence Crystal Core.

In other words, a secret passage to the Dark Fallen Ancient Forest had been opened.

Zorn, who was familiar with the framework of the World, instantly guessed many possibilities.

’This is a sign that the World’s trajectory is about to be greatly enhanced.’

’Are the terrifying Upper Rankers in the depths of the Dark Fallen Ancient Forest reviving, causing the World’s difficulty to rise?’

’Or is the Holy Land Continent about to enter a new, high-intensity version where three brand-new epic sagas unfold simultaneously?’

Zorn faintly guessed it was most likely the latter.

Three epic sagas would emerge at the same time.

Two World-level BOSSes, or perhaps even three, would take the stage together!

After all, the Sequence experts born from this World’s trajectory had very high Levels and Sequence strengths!

It wouldn’t surprise Zorn in the slightest if a massive new version of the world’s epic saga appeared with a whole new level of difficulty.

’If that’s the case, then I’ll have to alter my plans slightly.’

’A plan that adapts to the current version is the most perfect plan.’

Standing silently in the depths of the Gray Mist, Zorn’s thoughts raced.

Normally, after the first act unfolded and concluded, the death of the Evil Spirit Wizard Zorn Corick would officially end Ogrande City’s epic saga.

Following that, the second act’s epic saga, centered on the Saintisman Sacred City, would begin in full force.

The epic of the Empire’s vast rise and fall.

Rising to power by relying on the strength of the Upper Rankers.

Riding the tides of the era to its peak.

Declaring war on the World, pushing the tides of war to their climax, and then collapsing spectacularly!

Its corpse would rot, be dismembered, and utterly decay under the curse of the Upper Rankers.

And in the historical epic saga of the second act, it would sweep across the entire World.

At the same time, the second World-level BOSS would be born, the one who would bring the catastrophe of war to the World—the Lord of War, Joe Moriff!

A warmonger who could continuously gain power through conflict.

One who possessed a unique Sequence, a flame of war that would never be extinguished as long as war raged on.

A hidden existence who could perfectly survey the entire map of war.

Compared to the first World-level BOSS, the Evil Spirit Wizard Zorn Corick, who could be killed...

...the second World-level BOSS, the Lord of War, Joe Moriff...

...was an existence that could not be killed.

Only by ending the war and destroying the terrifying Steam War Empire of Saintisman...

...could the final Chapter, the ultimate confrontation with the second World-level BOSS, the Lord of War, Joe Moriff, begin.

It was worth mentioning that in the current year, the future Lord of War, Joe Moriff, should still be on the front lines against the Southern Imperial Alliance, growing stronger by killing enemies as a common soldier.

Under normal circumstances, the Evil Spirit Wizard would have already been on a killing spree in the Northern Border Region at this stage.

This would have exacerbated the turmoil throughout the entire Northern Land.

Although Zorn hadn’t been targeted, as the one meant to end Ogrande City’s epic saga, he had still actively participated in advancing its storyline.

If Zorn had fled this time and Ogrande City had been defeated, then the first act would have ended as well.

Even if three epic sagas were unfolding at once, the one in the Northern Border Region would inevitably be a weaker saga, far less grand than the core saga of Saintisman’s tide.

But this time, Ogrande City of the Autanston Republic was not destroyed.

Therefore, the Northern Border Region would surely be worthy of having its own grand, epic saga when the new steam tide arrived.

As Zorn was lost in thought...

RUMBLE...

...the sound of a violent explosion surged from the distance.

Zorn gazed into the distance.

A blood-red, forbidden mushroom cloud slowly rose into the air, like a blooming flower of death.

The world before Zorn’s eyes began to turn gray and distorted.

BZZZT... BZZZT... BZZZT...

A strange static, like radio noise, filled his ears.

At the same time, the faint silhouettes of numerous Scientific Wizards flickered around him, their chattering voices a dense cacophony.

’It’s a flashback of the Saintisman Scientific Wizards researching the Upper Rankers!’

Feeling his vision being polluted, Zorn gently rubbed his brow.

’After we get back, everyone will have to thoroughly purify their own Sequences.’

This was the downside of wielding Forbidden Power.

After being polluted in battle, one had to spend considerable time, energy, and resources on cleansing and purification.

Otherwise, there would be terrible side effects.

Then, the sky of the Magic Ring, which had been a canopy with a golden outline, was now stained a deep, bloody red.

Then, DRIP... DRIP... DRIP...

A pitter-patter of bloody raindrops began to fall.

A few drops of viscous blood rain merged, writhed for a moment, and a tiny worm with a bizarre human face appeared on Zorn’s shoulder.

Life Absorption.

With a mere thought from Zorn...

GURGLE... GURGLE... GURGLE...

...the newly born "bizarre human-faced worm" died on the spot.

’Trying to play with pollution and mutation in front of an Evil Spirit?’

’It’s all just food.’

With the fall of the Level 7 Saintisman Reaper, the battle on the sixth level completely entered its final phase.

「At the same time.」

The other Level Six Transcendents from Ogrande City felt the death of the Harvester and, while avoiding the pollution, felt their spirits lift.

The Level 7 Harvester had fallen.

This meant they could officially declare a phase of the battle won.

Although the Level 8 Archbishop Andre was still on the fifth level, he was, after all, only one person.

Facing a joint attack, even the immensely powerful Archbishop Andre would have no chance of survival.

...

「About two hours later.」

With Zorn using what amounted to a vision-hack, the last, deeply hidden Shadow Walker was found.

Even though this Shadow Walker was incredibly fast, they managed to corner it with their combined efforts. It was trapped and then killed by the group.

As the group of five gathered to discuss the many spoils of the battle, Marquis Albert and his two companions, who had been lagging behind, finally arrived.

"Zorn."

Marquis Albert’s gaze fell steadily on Zorn.

"Lord Albert."

Zorn turned and bowed.

"Are we going to team up to kill Archbishop Andre next?"

"No!"

Marquis Albert shook his head slightly.

"Although both Andre and I are Level 8, the Church’s resources far surpass those of Ogrande City."

"Archbishop Andre’s strength is far greater than mine, not to mention that, given his personality, he is bound to be carrying a powerful Forbidden Sealed Object."

"If we try to corner him now, I’m afraid we’ll just fall into a trap he has set for us."

"That old fox can’t be dealt with so easily."

"Even if our group could win, it would be a pyrrhic victory at best!"

At this point, Marquis Albert looked at Zorn again and chuckled softly.

"This Magic Ring Origin Resonance of yours... since it allows you to travel freely between the different levels of this World, it can also get us out of here, right?"

Marquis Albert was, after all, worldly and knowledgeable. With a little deduction, he was able to grasp the power of Zorn’s ability.

"Yes!"

Zorn answered truthfully.

"Excellent."

Marquis Albert nodded slightly, then his voice turned exceptionally solemn.

"Let’s rest for a moment. We need to leave soon. Ogrande City has an important guest to receive, and we can’t be absent!"

Hearing this, Zorn raised an eyebrow slightly.

’Even though Marquis Albert and the others were trapped here, they still had a way to contact the outside world.’

’Since he mentioned an important guest...’

Zorn had already deduced it was most likely someone from the Sun Church.

’When Ogrande City officially begins to cooperate with the Sun Church...’

’...that will mean the Crying Blood Sun is about to rise.’

’A new Chapter for Ogrande City... is about to begin!’