"GUWAAAAH!!"
Late into the night, a boy's pure and reckless scream echoed through the monster subjugation team's campsite of Fonkavun.
"Why in the blazes did you go and move the unit on your own, you utter moron! At a time like this, are you trying to get our country destroyed!?"
Seated in seiza at the center of the command tent, sporting a massive bump on his head, was the staff-wielding leader of Fonkavun, Pepe.
Opposite him, also a staff-wielder and his mentor, was Tonukapoli.
The cow-headed old woman was berating the young man before her with furious intensity, her hair practically standing on end as she reprimanded his actions—a routine occurrence, yet this time her severity was magnified.
The gravity of the situation and the danger he had courted demanded it.
"Well, I kinda thought I wanted some new land. My inner demon whispered that now would be the perfect chance!"
The sheer nonchalance with which these words were uttered left her momentarily speechless, unable to form a retort.
To have the army advance on such a flippant whim was utterly unacceptable. It was fundamentally different from a child wanting a new toy.
Tonukapoli clutched her head, trying to process and comprehend the dire situation Fonkavun had stumbled into.
(Land... is indeed crucial! Having ceded Dragontan, Fonkavun's domain has shrunk. With the weapons provided by Mynoghra, national defense has just become feasible, making the fertile lands of the northern continent very attractive. But sadly, the reason is still too weak.)
The necessity for Fonkavun to push its military forces here was actually quite limited.
Vast, untouched lands still existed on the southern continent.
Of course, they were untamed territories with poor soil, far from ideal—crude and inferior in quality.
However, if they utilized the Mana of the Land and military earth magic they were developing jointly with Mynoghra, making those lands fertile and habitable was entirely possible.
There was no need to meddle with such a potential powder keg.
Certainly, unknown monsters were a concern. The phenomenon, reminiscent of the barbarian invasions that once plagued Fonkavun, was an urgent event requiring immediate investigation.
But flaunting such actions right under the noses of the clergy was not the way to handle it.
Far from it—this is a military operation already penetrating the garden itself. It was impossible for there to be no problem.
Pepe was an idiot.
An idiot and reckless, with no respect for superiors, always doing something outrageous.
But he was no fool.
In fact, when it came to leading Fonkavun, he had consistently made the best choices at critical junctures.
Even if his actions here had stemmed from mere impulse, the gravity of the meaning they now carried was countless.
It had always been thus, and the likelihood was high that this occasion was no different. Given the speed of his action, it was clear at the very least that this was no aimless move.
Tonukapoli struggled to find the thread of this logic.
"Pepe. What are you thinking? Surely you can't evade this any longer. It's time you told me your scheme."
"Mmm..."
Pepe, despite his airheadedness, possessed an extraordinary political sense.
It was unthinkable that he would fail to recognize the danger of advancing troops here. It was precisely because of his intuition... no, precisely because his intuition was so sharp.
Therefore, he must surely possess it.
The material sufficient to back this perilous decision.
Did he not want to reveal it, or could he not?
As the old woman continued to press, accustomed to making the guarded man's tongue loosen, the man before her merely groaned and hummed.
"The current Mynoghra is in a delicate position. You have some kind of problem, I'm sure. If you move rashly, you'll upset the other party's mood, won't you? You don't want your friend to dislike you either, right? How do you see that?"
"Oh, Takuto already gave me direct permission after a consultation, so it's fine."
Tonukapoli buried her head in her hands again.
It was not fine at all.
Fonkavun determines its national policies through council among the staff-bearers.
That those old men have already half-retired and intend to leave foreign negotiations and the steering of the state to their successor, Pepe, is something of a half-well-known fact.
Even so, having the nation's policies decided so casually is still problematic.
Moreover — the other party is that King of Ruin. At the very least, they should have reported properly.
(Or rather, since when did they manage to hold a meeting with King Takuto Ira!? That king has not shown himself since the assassination attempt. Due to the refusal of his subordinates, Fonkavun has been unable to grasp his whereabouts. There has been no such report from Pepe's overseer either. What exactly is going on here?)
Doubts well up within Tonukapoli.
First, let her gather the thread of events.
At the transfer ceremony of Dragontan, jointly held by Mynoghra and Fonkavun, King Takuto Ira was nearly assassinated by an unknown party.
Afterward, the sisters of the Elful clan — his elven subjects — had privately confirmed that the king was safe, yet for some reason he had disappeared alongside his close aide Atou.
Before long, the southern province of the Holy Kingdom Quolia seceded under the leadership of the Holy Maiden, declaring the founding of a new nation called the Sacred Light Kingdom Renea.
At the same time, as if to sever the Northern Continent from the Southern Continent, unknown monsters appeared.
(Considering how Mynoghra responded, not all information has been conveyed to the Fonkavun side. I thought the assassination attempt and the political upheaval in Quolia were separate events, but could they be connected!?)
At this point, Tonukapoli arrives at the truth.
She had thought two troublesome events occurred simultaneously, but in reality, they were all part of a single phenomenon.
Like puzzle pieces clicking into place, various pieces of information converge toward one point.
At the same time, Tonukapoli's heart beats faster, and within her mind, alarm bells begin to ring furiously.
Because she has arrived at an unpleasant premonition.
The nation called the Sacred Light Kingdom Renea is a newly founded state carved from the Holy Kingdom Quolia.
What kind of nature this nation possesses and what legal doctrine it professes, she does not know, but at the very least, it is certain that they worship the Holy God Aros.
If they worship the same god as Quolia, it would be difficult to move against them hastily.
That nation looked down upon the countries and peoples of the southern continent, and its obstinate, pride-swollen clergy could never tolerate the fact that lands bestowed by the Holy God would be carved away by nations that did not worship Him.
Even if that meant another nation that had parted ways with them.
And if Quolia moved, then its ally, the El-Na Spirit-Contract Union, would also move.
Reaching out toward the northern continent was synonymous with stepping on the tail of a sleeping lion.
That was the reality Tonukapoli had recognized until just moments ago.
That was precisely why Tonukapoli had come in such a fury over what Pepe had done this time.
No matter how much they were allied with Mynoghra, there was no way to survive a direct confrontation with Quolia and El-Na…
But there was only one path that could overturn that premise.
For instance, a scenario bordering on the absurd: that a chaos so violent, it would leave no leeway for warfare, had erupted within those holy nations.
If such a situation came to pass, then not moving from here would be tantamount to a fatal misstep. At the very least, being caught on the back foot could invite unforeseen negative consequences.
(*So that's it! The target isn't the fertile northern zone, but the connecting region between north and south! They intend to put a lid on the north!?*)
Tonukapoli remembered.
The fear he had felt when he first met and exchanged words with the existence known as the King of Ruin.
The indescribable, crawling terror his own soul had sensed.
And the near-mad exclusivity that burned in that king's eyes.
Perhaps, because they were allied, he had let his guard down somewhat.
The other party was the apocalyptic being destined to bring ruin to the world—Takuto Ira, the King of Ruin.
What kind of sentence he would pass upon his adversaries.
It was something one would know immediately upon thinking about it.
He was never the kind of being who would leave his enemies to their own devices.
That is the kind of person Takuto Ira was—one who would not stop until every last shred of their adversary was incinerated.
Tonukapori felt this as the very essence of Takuto Ira's existence.
"So tell me. How much are you listening to?"
Tonukapori asked this time, quietly.
His gaze was fixed straight on Pepe, silently pressuring him with the implication that any clumsy evasions would not be tolerated.
The picture Pepe was drawing... no, the picture the King of Ruin, Takuto Ira, was drawing.
"Whoa, whoa. Takuto and I are friends, but that doesn't mean I know everything about him, you know? Even in close relationships, there's such a thing as politeness!"
"Then what *are* you listening to?"
Eventually, Pepe seemed to resign himself. He raised both hands lightly, and then, with a rare look of slight trouble on his face, uttered the words.
"The Renea Shinkoku, right? That country... it's probably going to be gone soon! Literally!"
His words, spoken as if it were already a settled fact, made Tonukapori feel a wave of dizziness at how much graver the situation was than he had imagined.
The Northern Continent where Quolia and El-Nar existed. The Southern Continent where Mynoghra, Fonkavun, and several smaller city-states were located.
Right beside the point connecting these two continents—that is, in the very heart of them both—the spark of ruin that sought to engulf and detonate everything was now smoldering.