This is quite the predicament.

Everyone in the Ouroboros Sect and I were on our way to the Capital when we felt a strong resonance to this place and had to change course almost immediately.

Since this could be a major part of Lucien Zevalis’ scheme, we couldn’t take any chances.

However—

’It turns out it was just a village... and is that Dustin?’

My eyes slightly broaden as I watch my cousin fall unconscious behind me while I assess the situation around us.

This area has been taken over by Magivores led by the Cadre 5 Noble Plant-type Magivore known as the Ironbloom Empress. It’s a rather unfortunate thing for a small settlement like this, since it is bound to be exterminated as a result of this invasion.

They would all perish without a doubt.

At least, that is what would have happened in my absence.

’Now that I’m here, I can’t just ignore the plights of these people. I have to do something to help.’

I raise my head to the sky and notice something hovering in the distance.

That’s the Flying Bug Construct.

All the other Ouroboros Sect members are currently within it, and they’ve chosen to act as observers from within the construct. Alistair has agreed to offer some aerial support if the situation becomes too dire for me. The Construct has some offensive capabilities which could be exploited, but I should probably not depend on it too much.

Still...

’What was that sensation we sensed?’

We were already in the vicinity, but the steed would have flown past this settlement without that sudden resonance we felt.

Now that it is gone, the Ouroboros Sect members likely wish to depart straight for Lucien.

But we can spare some time for some cleanup, can’t we?

Thankfully, I was offered another Armament in addition to Golden Dawn.

—Tempest Cloak!

A dark cloak that clings to my body and flaps relentlessly, capable of releasing a massive gust of whirlwind akin to a powerful blizzard.

I used this upon landing, dispersing all the nearby Ironbloom Magivores with ease.

’It’s a great defensive Armament which also serves offensive capabilities. Since I’m the weakest of the group, I can see why they gave me such a valuable Armament.’

Although it is only an A Grade Armament, combining its effects with Golden Dawn, my Floating Horse Construct, and my Conception guarantees that I’ll be able to make quick work of this swarm of enemies.

"Now then..." With a sharp glint in my exposed eye, I whisper while tossing a dark and wooden winged horse statue forward.

"... Frontflow!"

Time around me slows down considerably, and the figurine expands in an instant.

It becomes as large as a powerful stallion, with broad wings that stretch marvelously around it.

I once again admire its oily dark sheen and the small slits around its skin that warble mechanically, as though to remind me that this is not a living creature.

Without hesitation, I mount the steed and ascend to the sky.

At this point, the Magivores have long regained their composure—readying their counterattack.

Unfortunately for them, I am sixty times faster than the world now.

All of them—even their petal projectiles—are so still that they might as well be lifeless statues.

I tightly hold in my right hand Golden Dawn, while my left hand holds the reins of my Construct with practiced comfort.

Gliding through the sky, I begin slaying every obstacle in my path.

Naturally, I have an efficient solution to all this.

’It’ll take forever to kill all of them, even with Frontflow activated. I can’t believe Dustin was actually standing his ground against so many of them. I’m guessing they were just messing around with him. If they had gone all-out, he wouldn’t last a single second.’

I sigh deeply.

The Ironbloom Magivore species is notorious for its sadistic tendencies.

They are likely to give their targets some measure of hope before seizing it at the last moment to grant the utmost kind of despair.

At first, scholars speculated that this was a sign of intelligence, but this was later disproved.

The Ironbloom Magivores are not an intelligent species.

Their sadistic tendencies are simply an instinct they are born with, and although it hints at a more complex thought process, they have been shown to be lacking in other cognitive departments.

Of course, this makes no difference to me at this point.

Intelligent or not...

... I’ll still cut them down without hesitating!

WHOOSH!

The floating petals in my way are sliced away, while my overpowering tempest roars to blow every obstacle away from my path.

Taking care of every single Magivore is one way to go about things, but the most effective method is to attack the Ironbloom Empress herself. By taking her down, the hive chain should be broken, and I’ll be able to control all the Lesser Magivores at once.

’Although... I should be able to control even Cadre 5 Magivores at this point.’

So why can’t I use Existential Compulsion on this Ironbloom Empress?

’It’s because their Existence has already been altered by someone else. I’m guessing it’s one of Lucien’s arrangements...’ I sigh deeply, using Existential Resonance to peer into the Cadre 5 Magivore’s Existence.

It is already under the influence of another.

I can’t hijack control.

’But the situation is different with Cadre 4 and below Magivores.’

A smile of relief forms on my face.

Although their Existences have also been influenced, my current Existence is powerful enough to override the arrangements there.

’Killing the Empress should solve everything!’

After slicing past all my obstacles, I finally reach my target—the Ironbloom Empress.

However—

WHOOSH!

’It’s fast!’ My eyes broaden as soon as I watch her zoom towards me with almost comparable speed to mine.

That means... It is almost sixty times faster than the world as well!

Insane!

How incredibly absurd!

’Even the Direwolves, with the exception of the Crimson Direwolf Emperor, weren’t this fast!’

Back when I fought the Crimson Direwolf Emperor, we were matched in speed, which means that creature was sixty times faster than the world. However, this makes sense because it was a Cadre 6 Magivore—one that exists beyond the realm of human ability.

But the Ironbloom Empress is only a Cadre 5 Magivore.

How can it be this fast?!

I have no time to properly think about this, as I expertly evade its frontal assault, while using the opportunity to slice through even more of its minions.

’Since it is on the move, it won’t be able to divide its body parts. I can use this chance to whittle down the numbers without worrying about replacement.’

Since I also replaced my Minute Layer with my Hour Layer, I have an entire Hour to spare in this situation. It might seem like a lot of time, but it really isn’t.

I have to hurry and finish this as quickly as possible, especially since this is only a detour.

"Let’s go all-out, then!"

With a flash of resolution in my gaze, I directly charge at my adversary.

It launches blazing petals my way, but I expertly evade some of them while using my Tempest Cloak’s ability and Golden Dawn to slice through the rest.

Then, the Ironbloom Empress does something quite unexpected but advantageous to me.

BOOOOOOM!!!

It shoots an incredible blast of pure golden radiance towards me.

’Fool...’

I stretch my blade at the blast, and it immediately absorbs the energy, rejuvenating Golden Dawn with its powerful light.

Then—

WHOOOSH!

I increase my speed on the Floating Horse Construct, making it accelerate to maximum speed.

As I have established before, my normal travel speed as a Knight is around fifteen meters per second. With the aid of Potions, this figure can rise to as high as twenty-five to even forty meters per second.

However, even now, that remains the limit.

With the use of Frontflow, though, even my base speed sharply rises to 900 meters per second.

Even this isn’t comparable to my maximum speed with the Floating Horse Construct.

Since its maximum speed reaches 120 meters per second, one can only imagine this figure multiplied by sixty.

That is... 7,200 meters per second!

This far transcends the speed that even the Ironbloom Empress can achieve.

"Now then..."

While the world blurs around me, I raise my Armament and activate all the pent-up energy it has absorbed within this brief period.

Its golden lustre shines even brighter than before.

Powerful energy swirls around me in this moment, waiting to be released.

The distance between my opponent and me shrinks.

Then—

I smile in victory.

I’ve won.

"Die... Monster!"

WHOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!

The strike of radiance easily cleaves the enemy into two before sending destructive energy through its metallic body and exploding everything in beautiful radiance.

Not even one chunk of the creature remains.

It all melts and scatters in a blaze of unmatched glory.

Once the Empress is defeated, the other Magivores begin to act in confusion, although this isn’t very clear since time is still rather slow around me.

But it doesn’t matter much.

’Existential Compulsion...’ I quickly hijack control over the horde and command them to self-destruct.

Essentially, each Ironbloom Magivore uses its own petals against themselves.

Since their petals are much sharper and harder than the rest of their body, it makes sense that this is an effective method to cause mass suicide. Within moments, time returns to normal, and all the Ironbloom Magivores—from Cadre 1 to 4—descend to the ground.

All of them are already dead.

"There are some nice Special Resources that can be harvested from this bunch, but I don’t have the time to start gathering everything since we’re in a hurry. I also ended up destroying the Ironbloom Empress, so I didn’t even take the most valuable one..." A sigh of disappointment leaves my lips as I stare at the pile of corpses in a forlorn manner.

I find it strange that I don’t even relish in my victory, or in the fact that I just saved an entire village of innocent civilians.

In the past, I would have been more concerned with such things.

I really have changed, haven’t I?

"Hmm..." My gaze narrows as I stare at all the evacuating villagers from a distance.

As tempted as I am to tell them that they don’t need to flee any longer, I’m also pressed on time, so I’ll simply have to wait until they figure it out by themselves.

’It’s possible that another horde of Magivores will attack them, though that is unlikely, since there aren’t any other Magivores near this area at all.’ I glance at Dustin for a moment, recognizing that he is still alive and his breathing is stable.

His Existence doesn’t appear weak either, which means he isn’t dying.

That’s good.

’Since he’s a Knight, he’ll regain consciousness eventually. I shouldn’t concern myself too much.’

Since all of the issues have been settled—in under a minute for that matter—I believe I’ve fulfilled my promise to the Ouroboros Sect members.

’Now, we proceed to the Capital... Hm?’

Right as I am mulling on these thoughts, I notice something suddenly pierce the sky from an absurd distance.

The direction... It seems to be towards the Capital.

However, the Capital is so far away, so if I can see the light so vividly, just how intense must it be? And what in the world could be happening over there?

"Javier, hurry back in!" I suddenly hear a voice in my head, quickly recognizing it to be Alistair’s.

"O-okay!"

While ascending, I notice the sky slowly changing color.

From the deep orange evening hue, it begins to take on more dark purple radiance.

It rings ominous to me, and perhaps this is just my imagination, but a fierce and sudden chill assails me as I stare at the small pools of distortion that start to appear within it.

The distortions swirl like small whirlpools.

Their sight is nauseating.

Deep dread—instinctive fear—spreads throughout my body immediately.

Whatever this is... It’s bad!

No...

... It’s extremely terrible!