"This mana barrier truly belongs to an ancient school of formations. Judging from its structure, it likely dates back to the era before the Battle at the Abyssal Depths. The craftsmanship isn't an issue," the field magician explained, "but by modern standards, it's certainly... primitive."

After the army's magicians finished describing the barrier encircling the St. Anna Peaks, Edward relayed the details through the Prayer Network to the scholars of the Church of Nightfall.

The Midnight Library had undergone countless upgrades since its founding. Its environment now verged on the sublime. There were spacious discussion chambers for scholarly exchange, and through the miracles of void energy, illusions so vivid that the senses could no longer tell dream from reality.

As for the more mundane functions of research, retrieval, and study, it put even the great libraries of Skyborne City to shame.

Many scholars, when not engaged in fieldwork, preferred to spend their days submerged in its endless halls. With the Lady of the Night's personal sanction, Edward found it all too easy to reach them. He transmitted the formation diagrams drawn by the field magicians and asked for their interpretation.

The moment those scholars beheld the formation encircling the St. Anna Peaks, they began murmuring with excitement, analyzing its every line and node before arriving at a clear conclusion.

"You know," said one, "the Battle at the Abyssal Depths did cause the loss of many arts. A pity, yes, but none that were truly irreplaceable."

"Indeed," another added. "It was only with the alliance among the five intelligent races that we made breakthroughs in nearly every field. Compared to what came after, these old formation techniques really do seem archaic."

In short, the array was impressive for its time, but by modern reckoning, it was riddled with flaws.

"I see. My thanks for your insight."

Edward inclined his head, departing from the Midnight Library's dreamlike halls back into waking reality.

"Your assessment was accurate," he told the gathered magicians. "The barrier is indeed built on severely outdated principles."

"I knew it!" one of the magicians said, snapping his fingers. "It's strange enough that these so-called relics from the old era started popping up everywhere. It felt like part of some grand conspiracy. But for their defenses to be this feeble..."

"Agreed," another said with a grin. "If that's the case, the barrier's strength must come purely from raw mana. Cracking it should be simple enough. It's nothing a bit of cleverness can't undo."

The group began to eagerly discuss how to dismantle the high-powered yet clumsily constructed barrier, their tools already at the ready.

"Hold on." Edward raised a hand to still them. "Something about this situation doesn't add up. If they've already retreated into the ruins, there's no reason for us to act rashly."

He contacted several of his trusted allies and cross-checked intelligence from other fronts. The reports he received in return only deepened his unease—Aleisterre's circumstances were anything but normal.

When Wang Yu read the information Edward had forwarded, he frowned in puzzlement. He'd heard of the ancient ruins resurfacing across the continent, but the events in Aleisterre struck him as oddly inconsistent.

These relics from a bygone age surely hadn't resurfaced without purpose. Yet instead of unleashing new terrors upon the modern world, they appeared outdated—technologically overwhelmed, relics rendered impotent by the march of time. From any angle, it didn't make sense. If this were truly the case, these ancient beings would be... laughable.

"That can't be right," Wang Yu muttered. "I don't buy that they came crawling out just to get outclassed by centuries of progress. I haven't followed every front, but I have heard what's been happening with the orcs, the elves, and the dwarves. They've been driven to their limits by these things. You expect me to believe that this is all they've got?"

He turned to Avia for her opinion. She had been in frequent contact with Church of Nightfall members among the elves and dwarves; her grasp of the broader picture far exceeded his.

"No," she said firmly. "Aleisterre is an exception. I've spoken to both Master Moira and Sir Gewen. The elven capital of Liaheim, and the other great elven cities, have all been attacked by these ancient ruins."

She dismissed Wang Yu's half-joking speculation. The relics disturbing the balance of the continent were no jest. They possessed power enough to plunge nations into chaos. As she spoke, the Perfect Fractal lens before her shimmered, projecting several shifting images into the air.

In one, the outskirts of the Forest of Origin were aflame with battle: dark elves led mixed companies of regular elves, launching assaults toward the forest's heart. Among them moved strange dryads, entities that had emerged from the ruins buried beneath the elven realm, old spirits awakened from a long and dangerous slumber.

The dwarven front looked different, yet no less dire. Their cities were defended by legions of small, steel-plated "Iron Kings." Runes and magitech cannons blazed from the walls, spitting molten light at the waves of rebels below who struggled to climb the mountain slopes.

Those rebels were a jumbled alliance—gnomes, gray dwarves, and normal dwarves alike—driving colossal construction machines up the incline. The mechanical arms of their war engines rose like towers of iron, shielding them from the city's bombardment as they advanced step by steady step.

Within their ranks, certain constructs stood out. They were less intricate than the Machine God of Skyborne City, yet unmistakably shaped by the hand of alchemy.

Most of the massive engines of war were controlled by those alchemical automata. Machines that resembled tanks fired volleys of alchemic explosives toward the dwarven city. The battlefield roared with constant cannonfire and eruptions of flame, so much so that, for a fleeting instant, Wang Yu thought he was watching a war on Earth.

No matter where one looked—the elven realms, the dwarven fortresses, or the orcish tribes whose situation was still unclear—none of the ancient forces that had resurfaced were as outdated as those in Aleisterre.

"In the lands of the human kingdoms," Avia continued, "far fewer ruins have resurfaced. So far, we've only confirmed two: this one in Aleisterre's St. Anna Peaks, and another within the theocracy of the Church of Light. There's been no word from them, which likely means the Church wiped it out the moment it appeared."

Compared to the turmoil shaking the other civilized races, the human territories were almost peaceful.

"...Either way," Wang Yu murmured, shaking his head, "we need to keep preparing. As for everything else, we'll wait and see."

He gathered the reports, sent them to Edward for review, and left it at that. If Edward needed help, he'd ask.

Meanwhile, Charles clawed at his hair in frustration, reading Edward's transmission as he fought the mountain of paperwork swallowing his desk. His voice echoed through the office like an artillery barrage. Ever since the royal house fell, his own position had soared—and with it, the number of documents demanding his signature.

"Ugh, finally wrapped that up... and everything else across the other kingdoms is chaos! For once, could people just not dump their mess on me?"

Of the four grand dukes in the newly formed Assembly, not one had the time or the skill to help him handle bureaucracy. They were warriors and commanders, not administrators, brilliant on the field and hopeless behind a desk.

Charles, poor overworked Charles, was staring down the kind of workload that would make a saint bald. Until the Assembly recruited officials who were both competent and trustworthy, he was stuck doing it all himself.

"Those bastards are just sitting on their titles while I'm working," he muttered darkly. "Maybe I should just drag my father and those useless siblings in here to help. It's not like anyone's got the guts to criticize us for nepotism anymore."

He was, in truth, talking to the devil One sealed inside his body. Their conversations had become a habit, a strange kind of partnership between exhaustion and corruption. Were it not for the potent stimulants Wang Yu brewed specially for him, as well as One's occasional assistance, Charles would've collapsed long ago.

"Enough whining," the devil's voice rasped in his mind. "We've got a problem. Someone will try to slip into the royal city thirteen minutes from now. They'll enter with a merchant caravan through the west gate. They're from the Sarybin Empire. That's all I've seen. Their purpose remains hidden."

The pen in Charles's hand froze mid-stroke. His face darkened, veins standing out on his hand as his irritation flared into fury.

"Oh, for—those damned idiots! I just finished this pile of paperwork! You want trouble? Fine, I'll give you trouble..."

Cursing in the colorful style he'd learned from Wang Yu, Charles closed his eyes. His mental energy surged outward, linking with something deep beneath the palace: an ancient mechanism tied into the very foundations of the city.

The fall of the royal family had unearthed far more secrets than anyone had guessed. Their hidden power, once reserved for desperate last stands, had now become Charles's weapon against intruders.

At the western gate, several Sarybin operatives sat concealed among a merchant caravan bound for Aleisterre's capital.

The guards' inspections were thorough but easily circumvented. Their forged papers were flawless, their manner practiced. The caravan rolled through the gates without incident.

They surveyed the streets with cool detachment. To their surprise, the old wall district had been dismantled, the derelict slums refurbished. The citizens no longer bore the shadows of despair once etched into their faces.

The caravan pressed on, weaving through the bustling avenues toward its destination. Then, halfway through the city, a wizard among them stiffened, sensing that something was wrong. He rose abruptly and reached for the void to cast a spell— 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

—but Charles had already made his move. The great net that blanketed the royal city quivered once. Then, a node collapsed with a soundless detonation. The wagon carrying the Sarybins shuddered and was swallowed whole, vanishing into the narrow gulf between reality and the void.