Chapter 671: The Darkest Moment

Oliver stood as the Pied Piper crumbled, and in that instant, everyone else moved.

Both the strong and the weak knelt down.

Both the rich and the poor bowed deeply.

Both the wise and the foolish worshipped alike.

Both the living and the dead shared the same silence.

Was it because of this?

The world seemed utterly dead as if swallowed by frenetic silence.

It was the natural outcome.

Not just people but even leaves, grains of sand, and gusts of wind were silent.

Because Oliver didn’t allow them to make a sound.

But a dazzling light tore through that oppressive silence.

“…So, it has come to this.”

The old man appearing was none other than Merlin, cloaked in dust.

It might be an illusion, but the world seemed to awaken as if moving again with the old man’s presence. And the dead silence began to reverse.

The sound of wind sweeping through the Verdant Forest returned, along with the rustling of leaves, the creaking of branches, and the grinding of shifting sand.

Realizing this, people gasped for breath, like survivors pulled from a lake, letting out rough sobs.

Confirming they were still alive.

Merlin opened his mouth to speak.

“Thank you, Lady Holy Knight… Your courage caused the clock to stop for a moment.”

His words puzzled Yareli, and most of the others. Only Archpriest Roderick and Kevin seemed to understand.

Among them, Oliver had the strangest reaction.

His hair had turned completely white, and from beneath the leather mask, his innocent child’s face peeked out as he silently cocked his head.

Like a child fascinated by an unusual ant.

A tiny spark of interest—granting a brief reprieve.

Unfortunately, that time expired. Oliver, still tilting his head, reached towards Joanna’s sibling again.

Thunk.

And Merlin grabbed Oliver’s wrist.

Gripped his wrist with his bare hand.

“…”

The crowd reacted to this sight with the same quiet shock as when Oliver had first stood.

As if witnessing something impossible—a miracle.

Oliver was equally astonished. His eyes, dark as the depths, locked on Merlin.

Oliver’s attention shifted to Merlin.

Merlin, observing Oliver, gave a sad smile.

“It suddenly reminded me of that day.”

Oliver tilted his head even further, staring at Merlin.

What he was thinking remained a mystery, but he clearly wasn’t seeing Merlin as just another human.

“The day I helped you in Martel,”

While Oliver’s focus was on Merlin, Kevin managed to pull Yareli, Joanna, and her sibling to safety.

Merlin continued speaking to Oliver.

“Do you remember? When I tested your worth?”

Oliver didn’t respond.

Instead, he lightly shook off Merlin’s hand and then swung at him.

Merlin shattered like glass.

As the fractured pieces of Merlin began to scatter into dust, time appeared to reverse, and the shards reassembled.

At the same time, a radiant, pure white light struck Oliver.

Unbelievably, the light forced Oliver back.

“…?!!”

[…]

The crowd was shocked while Oliver remained silent.

Oliver lifted his gaze to Merlin.

The light from moments ago still enshrouded Merlin, with an old book floating next to him, opened mid-air.

On the open page, a single faded line was written.

[Chapter 0. Archive]

Oliver stared intently at the words.

Merlin smiled at him.

“You tried your best back then… This time, I’ll give it my all.”

Oliver responded with a pure, yet chilling smile.

Oliver dashed towards Merlin, and Merlin did not dodge.

The two collided.

***

When Oliver and Merlin clashed, an intense flash of light erupted, consuming everything around them.

Every tree, blade of grass, grain of sand, measure of air, even people.

Facing the flash, everyone instinctively realized within that short instant.

They would cease to exist the moment they were consumed by it. Moreover, there was nothing they could do.

As they braced for their inevitable end, a sliver of Merlin’s magic split time into fragments, encasing everyone nearby and teleporting them far away.

To a distant spot in the Verdant Forest.

A burst of magic light signaled their arrival as thousands of people appeared, lighting up a remote corner of the forest.

This was a miracle beyond any existing magic.

Yet the people neither marveled nor expressed awe.

For there was an even greater being—

“Ahhhhhhh… Ahhhhhhhhhhhh…”

A king of the Central Continent, after being teleported, collapsed screaming, an unending wail blending with sobs.

A sound so wretched it seemed his soul was leaving his body.

And his appearance confirmed the authenticity of the horror—his hair turned white, his flesh withered, and deep wrinkles furrowed his face.

Sheer terror had ravaged his body, and he needed immediate help.

Yet no one extended a hand.

Because they were all too busy trembling with fear themselves.

“Gasp… Gasp…”

“…Mmmmmm…”

Although their minds recognized they had escaped danger, their bodies still fought to calm down, quivering and sweating profusely.

It seemed strange at first, but on reflection, it was a natural response.

They couldn’t even express fear in front of Oliver.

Yet, paradoxically, in this moment of safety granted by Merlin, pent-up terror erupted.

“Professor Kevin,”

Not everyone reacted that way, though.

Roderick, who had refused to kneel to Oliver, approached Kevin, who was trying to catch his breath on the ground.

Normally, a Holy Knight would be by Roderick’s side, but now he was completely alone.

All the Holy Knights were half out of their minds, completely unable to move.

It wasn’t surprising—after all, they had broken their vow never to kneel before anyone except the Father in Heaven.

Watching them, Kevin took a deep breath and forced himself to stand.

Even though he didn’t show it, the damage he suffered was evident as his legs quivered slightly. Yet his voice was steady.

“Speak, Your Highness.”

“Tell me everything you know.”

Roderick skipped any preamble and went straight to the point. However, it wasn’t in an oppressive tone.

This was more a plea than a demand from the Archpriest.

“Please, I beg of you… As the Archpriest of Pater Church, I have a duty to understand the situation.”

The others, still gasping and trembling, gradually turned their attention to the conversation between Roderick and Kevin.

They all instinctively knew the conversation unfolding was the most important in the world at that moment.

It had the potential to influence not just a person, organization, or country but humanity itself.

Kevin scanned their faces and finally replied.

“I don’t know.”

Given the circumstances, it might have sounded like a thoughtless answer. However, Roderick didn’t react with anger or frustration.

He continued the conversation.

“You’re a disciple of the Archive, aren’t you?”

“Being a disciple doesn’t mean I know everything, Your Highness. Pater Church has also maintained a close relationship with the Archive for many years, hasn’t it?”

“It’s true that it’s been many years, but close isn’t quite right… The Archive doesn’t share its most critical information. On the other hand, it seems you have some idea?”

Though phrased as a question, it was a statement in disguise. Yet Kevin maintained his stance.

“I don’t know for certain. I can only speculate.”

“We could use even speculation right now—”

━━━━━━━━━━━━ BOOOOOOM!!!

Roderick was cut off by an ear-splitting roar coming from afar, like the sky itself collapsing.

Everyone turned to look, and they understood that the noise was not an exaggeration.

High above the point where Oliver and Merlin collided, the sky shook violently and split open, pouring out seawater that began to defy gravity, filling the sky.

A sea formed in the heavens.

Amazingly, this sea didn’t spill a single drop, staying suspended like it was under a different gravity.

This was a power beyond magic—the realm of divine abilities.

The sea of the heavens, the Celestial Ocean, churned, and from its depths emerged a creature the size of a small continent.

Grrrrrrrrroooooooaaaaaaarrrrrr!!!!!!

Just by moving, it crushed the air, shattered the ocean, and cracked the earth. It was a massive jade-green crocodile—a sea monster, Leviathan.

Its body was armored with giant stone-like scales, and it let out a thunderous roar as it opened its maw toward the ground.

It looked like a mythical beast descending from the sky to devour the world.

At that moment, the earth trembled again as another monstrous figure burst from the ground.

With burning red eyes, a massive maw capable of devouring everything, skin covered in dark red scales, wings so vast they seemed to blot out the sky, and a body larger than mountains yet more agile than the wind.

It was Oliver’s dragon.

The dragon that had its head severed in the battle against the Pied Piper.

Yet, somehow, it had regained its head and risen once more.

This time, it was even larger, more ferocious, and stronger.

The dragon turned its head towards the Celestial Ocean, opened its flame-filled jaws, and charged.

Thus, in the space between the Celestial Ocean and the Earth, the jade-green monster and the dark red monster collided.

When the two beasts clashed, the sheer force of the impact distorted the void, creating massive waves that radiated outward.

The shock split the skies and raised huge tsunamis, while the earth cracked and twisted, forming canyons and mountains.

The force uprooted or smashed every tree within a radius of several kilometers, wiping out the entire forest. The landscape was reshaped.

Despite this, the monsters did not stop. They opened their massive jaws and bit into each other, writhing as their violent struggle triggered earthquakes, further reshaping their surroundings.

The sheer scale and surreal nature of the scene caused people to collapse once more, losing their sanity.

All that came from their lips were hopeless whispers.

However, even those sounds were drowned out by the monsters’ roars.

Crrraaaaaaashhhhhhhhhhh….!!

Shrieeeeeeek!!

The monsters fought fiercely, giving no quarter.

Above them, like ants, Wooden Golems and the undead clashed, while Merlin and Oliver, even more imposing than the beasts, faced off once more.

Each time they collided, the air itself distorted and shattered, to the point where it became impossible to observe with the naked eye.

As everyone was about to lose themselves in the spectacle, Kevin spoke.

“Your Highness!”

Kevin called out to the Archpriest.

The Archpriest responded.

“…Speak.”

“Please, take these people and get as far away as possible. If you stay here, you might get caught up in this… Even if you don’t, watching that battle will destroy your sanity.”

Roderick silently agreed.

Just by being here, they could die as easily as being stepped on by a person walking over an ant.

The trembling earth was proof of that.

And watching that fight would push their sanity to the brink.

Even Roderick felt that if he continued watching, he might realize just how small and insignificant he truly was.

Still, there was something he needed to ask.

“…Where do you intend to go?”

“I plan to return there.”

Kevin pointed his finger toward the hellish scene where space itself was twisting due to the battle.

In that place, the massive monsters were biting and tearing at each other, forming a gigantic ring—the Ouroboros.

In the process, the Celestial Ocean and the Earth shattered and began to merge into one.

Whether it could still be called a fight was debatable, but one thing was certain.

Entering that place meant risking one’s life.

Nonetheless, Kevin did not back down.

“I have no choice. There is something I must find.”

“…The Quarterstaff?”

Joanna, who had been calming the children, quietly interjected.

Kevin, Roderick, Yareli, and the others turned to look at her.

“Yes.”

“Why is this Quarterstaff so important that you must recover it?”

“It’s something that matters most to Xenon.”

Kevin remembered a tale Merlin had once shared.

Right after rescuing Oliver in Martel, Merlin had asked Oliver for something meaningful in return.

Surprisingly, Oliver had admitted that the Quarterstaff was his most treasured possession but refused to give it up.

The same Oliver who always yielded in every situation refused to give up the Quarterstaff.

Because it was a gift from his first friend.

Kevin closed his eyes and then opened them.

“…I can’t say for sure, but I believe that Quarterstaff is crucial right now.”

Roderick, the Archpriest, stared at Kevin and found himself unable to argue.

He chose to place his trust in him, as he had no other choice.

“I must leave now. Your Highness, please lead these people as far away from here as possible to minimize casualties. For the sake of the future.”

For the sake of the future. It held a multitude of meanings.

“Professor, I’ll accompany you.”

Yareli, who had been silently listening, stopped Kevin and made her offer.

One of the core members of Skadi Faction was volunteering to enter that hellish scene alongside him.

However, Kevin accepted her proposal without hesitation.

The gravity of the situation and the possibility of failing to find the Quarterstaff alone both weighed on his mind.

But he didn’t forget to give a warning.

“I can’t guarantee your life.”

“I’ve made up my mind.”

“Wait a moment.”

Joanna interrupted, speaking up.

“I’m coming with you.”

“Sis… ?”

The children from Ark Orphanage, with Joanna’s brother among them, were shocked as they clutched at her. But Joanna calmly soothed them while insisting on her decision.

“I can be of help. Please take me with you.”

“No, you can’t, Knight.”

“What? Why—”

“—Someone needs to stay and protect the children, especially Rosburn. Please, Knight, stay and protect Rosburn…”

Kevin stopped mid-sentence.

He had noticed something wrong as he looked around.

Rosburn was missing.