A Guide for Mortals Traveling in Parallel Worlds (5)
As soon as Arisha heard that the same cracks and vibrations that appeared together with Evanâs disappearance had reemerged, she jumped to her feet.
âEvanâs coming!â
âWhat!?â
Shine, who was outside, rushed in. Arisha threw a teacup at him to quiet him and pressed the communicator for a report.
âPaul, itâs certainly not a monster, is it?â
[Yes, itâs not like the Mana Worldâs crack. Itâs the crack we saw then!]
âOkay, let me know if things change. Iâll be right there.â
[Yes!]
Arisha cut off communication and immediately shouted to Shine.
âCall everyone!â
âIâve already done that!â
The moment Shine said so with an unnecessarily refreshing smile, a huge shadow cast over the building of Astrayâs headquarters, vibrating and roaring.
[Kyooooooooooooooo!]
It was Serenaâs dragon: Gnar. Arisha glanced at Shine with thin eyes.
âShineâŠ?â
âNo, last time I tried it, it was noisy, but it was effectiveâŠâ
The members of the Astray rushed out in unison. Serena was already riding on Gnarâs back, flapping her legs in the air.
âOppa is coming! Letâs pick him up!â
âWeâre not sure if itâs Evan yet, you idiot!â
âNo. My gut and the child in my stomach are telling me that heâs coming!â
âShut up, shut up!â
Arisha, who was unnecessarily angry at the mention of her child, shouted, but it wasnât uncommon these days, so everyone ignored it and climbed onto Gnarâs back one by one. Arisha also rode Gnar, but there were more people than usual. Looking closely, Belois was riding on the dragonâs back with Redine.
âUh, uh, mother?â
âIâll have to go with you this time.â
âThen, is it really, EvanâŠ?â
Arishaâs eyes shook. Redine just patted her shoulder and laughed.
âEveryone, get ready for battle and climb. This time, with the idea of fighting the Devil!â
âAll aboard, all aboard!â
As well as the existing Astray members, Save and Renail, who didnât usually act with them, and Enoch, who had been focusing on missionary work in Sherden to spread the name of the unnamed god these days, joined them. The same was true of the rookie party.
âThis is a large number.â
âWe might encounter the Devil.â
ââŠYou shouldnât think too lightly of the Devil.â
Mirole replied in a cold voice to the murmur of the members.
âAnd what weâre dealing with isâŠmaybe itâs not the Devil.â
âMirole, tell me more about it now.â
âIâm sorry, I donât know everything about the seal, so I canât tell you. But there is one thing Iâm sure of,â Mirole, with a groping look at her past, unraveled a fragment of what she had experienced.
âHe had sealed it because he couldnât deal with the actual Devil.â
âItâs not like the Master. He couldâve just crushed the Devil.â
ââŠMaybe youâll understand soon.â
Then Gnar raced forward with a powerful cry. When Redine was thinking about Evan, staring blankly at the fast-changing landscape under her eyes, she held onto Arisha.
âArisha, can you communicate with Bernard?â
âOh, yeah. Should I call him, too?â
âThatâd be great.â
It was going to be a big rally. Arisha smiled bitterly and put Bernard on the line, and he responded immediately.
[Heâs coming, I get it. Here we go. Letâs go to the Eternal Glacier.]
âYes, Iâll be waiting.â
The communication was cut off. Indeed, it was understandable that his daughter, Eir, put him in a hurry to react, as she was believed to have been transferred to the Demon Realm with Elizabeth.
âIs there anyone else I need to call?â
âWell, Iâd like to speak to Louise.â
âYes, Iâll put you through.â
Arisha immediately connected Louise and handed over the communicator to Redine. Accepting it, she responded suddenly.
âIs Ctheasil over there?â
[Yes, yes! Iâll move on right away!]
Redine thought still, listening to the voice of Empress Louise, who she stumped. It was a lot of fun to have a famous son. Ctheasil soon responded to the communication. They were on standby, too.
[Oh, uhmâŠRedineâŠ?]
The same was true of Ctheasil, who was stumped. Of course, the reason was different from Louiseâs. Redine talked to her with a vague feeling of nostalgia.
âCtheasil, you have a clan rune, right? Youâre the one in charge of the Magic Circle.â
[YesâŠbut why are you asking?]
âGet ready. Make sure you can activate it immediately when I give you the signal.â
[Oh, okay! âŠUhmm, Redine. Sheâs the sister of our founder, NazâŠ]
âShhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.â
The communication was cut off. She put the communicator in her arms and looked up. Mirole was staring at her still.
âWhatâs wrong, Mirole?â
âNo, I was measuring the degree of release of the seal by looking at you.â
âItâs soon.â
Redine declared with a mysterious smile.
âItâs going to be released soon.â
ââŠâ
Soon the image of the Eternal Glacier came into their view. However, somehow, the Eternal Glacier was showing a different side to what they knew. The site, covered with white snow and ice, let out a freezing chill. A magical storm was sweeping over the land.
âThe DevilâŠâ
Seeing it, Mirole bit her lips and murmured. Redine shook her head firmly.
âEverything is just a foreshadow. Did you say your name was Enoch?â
âUh, are you looking for me?â
Enoch felt embarrassed by the strange appearance of the Marquisâs wife, who suddenly became the leader of the group. Still, he immediately responded because he traveled through the continent as a free priest and wasnât going anywhere.
âIâd like you to clean up the Dark Magic with your divine power. Is that possible?â
âNothing is impossible with the power of the unnamed god! Itâs just that I wonât be able to use my energy later.â
âDonât worry about that. Iâd like to put aside what I can now.â
âI see!â
Enoch immediately rose from the dragonâs back, posed, and spread out divine power. Surprisingly, as his divine power descended to earth, it was greatly amplified, creating a purple tidal wave that engulfed the earthâs magic.
âWow, Enoch, when did you grow like that?â
âNo, itâs not my power. You should try it. As the priest of the same unnamed God.â
âThat God should have a name by now.â
Save laughed at him, but obediently followed him to create his magic. When he used the lightest technique as a test, it was endlessly amplified in the air, and it wiped out the earthâs magic and dissipated.
âThisâŠâ
âSacred Field.â
Enoch convinced, murmured in bewilderment.
âHow come this place has become an unnamed sanctuary of the unnamed godâŠ?â
âIsnât it because Evan disappeared from here?â
âNo, it wasnât like this when he just disappeared. Itâs likeâŠâ
It has been quite a while since the relation between the unnamed god and Evan was established. Enoch shed tears quietly, feeling the sanctuary stretching enough to cover the entire glacier.
âMaybe itâs not just once thatâŠâ
âWeâve arrived.â
[Cuuuuuuue!]
Gnar, who found a small crack in the air, landed with a cute voice. Paul welcomed them as he guarded the rift.
âI think somethingâs about to come out from the inside!â
âWeâre here, too!â
On the other hand, Bernard and Illoin were flying inâŠsurprisingly, they were riding dragons.
âDragon!?â
âA Fairy Dragon that protects the ForestâŠMother mustâve given it to you.â
[Quuueeeee!?]
Gnar was amazed at the appearance of a living dragon other than himself and tried to approach it, but soon realized that the dragonâs body was dead. Only an overwhelming number of spirits crawled into the dragonâs body and moved as if they were one.
âThere was a history like this in the Ancient ForestâŠâ
âShe made it.â
Mirole looked over the spirit dragon, nodding at Illoinâs downsized stomach while they jumped off the dragonâs back.
âIlloin, did you have the baby?â
âThank you for your concern, Mirole. I gave birth to a cute boy. I couldnât bring him here, so I left him to the forest fairies.â
âIâll be able to see him soon.â
âYes, Iâd love for you to. EirâŠwill be able to come back, right?â
âOf course.â
Mirole nodded firmly, and Illoin leaned into Bernardâs arms, apparently relieved.
âThatâs good; Iâm so gladâŠâ
âI told you not to worry, Illoin. Letâs just clean up the Devil and think about going back to Alon with Eir.â
Arisha, who was staring at the two, suddenly recalled one fact. Eir must have disappeared with Elizabeth. Was it just because itâs dangerous that Redine didnât bring Elizabethâs mother, Miriam? Then, feeling her gaze, Redine looked back at Arisha with a slightly sad smile.
âElizabeth will come back safely. I believe in Evan.â
ââŠYes.â
Clever Arisha immediately recognized the hidden meaning of her words. Elizabeth was going through a different crucible than Eir. And Evan held the key to solving it. At that time, the light emitted by the cracks became thicker. Once again, the atmosphere was hit by a magical storm.
âEveryone ready for battle! I donât know whatâs coming out of it!â
âGet ready for battle!â
All the members of the Astray Knights grabbed their weapons nervously. Then, a fine womanâs legs protruded from the crack as the members were getting ready to show off their skills.
âOh, my God, thatâs a big welcome. How have you all been?â
âAria?â
Aria came out of the crack alone, and then it closed in vain.
âWhy is Aria coming out from there?â
âMiraseulâs Necklace?â
âOh, Aria! What about Evan!? You have met Evan, havenât you?!â
âEveryoneâs here. Thatâs a good thing. Thereâs Illoin, and thereâs Bernard. Then Iâll open it right away.â
Aria sent a gesture to those who rushed excitedly to calm down and touched Miraseulâs necklace. Then a gate opened in the air, and Eir jumped out from inside.
ââŠEir!?â
âMom!â
Eir, who discovered Illoin, ran to her with a dizzying smile and immediately held her in her arms. Illoin couldnât help but feel confused while hugging her tightly.
âItâs likeâŠwhy did you get so big? Youâre a lady now, arenât you?â
âI came back from the Demon Realm.â
Rose, who crawled out of Eirâs hair, pouted her lips.
âEir has grown a lot in the Demon Realm. Iâm sure sheâs a lot stronger than you, Illoin.â
âThatâs because of you!â
âUh, umâŠsorry.â
Rose admitted it! Illoin threw a fit again, but Bernard, who tried to stop it, motioned to Rose. Rose raised her body in the air and fell into Bernardâs arms, as Eir did.
âGood job, Rose.â
âI missed you so much, BernardâŠâ
âI canât even hit you.â
It wasnât just Eir and Rose that came out of the gateâstarting with Leo and his son Lian, humans and dwarves that theyâve never seen before appeared one after another.
âOh, I can feel his strength as soon as I get out.â
âBut the overall concentration of magic is a little lighter. I was expecting it, though.â
âSo where is he? Can I see him soon?â
âWhat, what, who are they?â
People who expected Evanâs appearance were confused. Recognizing the energy flowing from their bodies, Enoch and Save sprang to their feet.
âAre you priests who serve him?â
âOh, my, there were so many comrades!â
âOh, here we go again.â
Renail sighed and touched his forehead. They recognized Evanâs divine power and immediately hugged each other with a deep smile. It was entirely thanks to him that they could join the pack even though they had no idea at all.
And, for the last time. Inside the gate, a breathtakingly beautiful witch appeared. Her sky-blue eyes without a blur were very impressive, and she was deeply saddened.
ââŠâ
ââŠâ
Arisha, Belois, and Serena instinctively saw through and narrowed their eyes. She looked around calmly, facing hostility towards her for no reason, and suddenly opened her eyes wide.
âUhâŠArpa?â
âI donât know who it is.â
Redine answered with a bright and thick expression.
âWelcome, new daughter-in-law candidate.â
Sharay, who felt like she was hit, couldnât get her act together. Who could have expected her sister to be the mother of the man she loved?
It was a situation more tragic than a Korean morning drama!