CHAPTER 179
To protect that precious scenery, I decided to make a move.

"Aigis-nim, we will be coming along this time as well."

I had always strictly adhered to watching from the rear. I needed to stay safe so that even one more person could be revived. I knew that fact better than anyone.
More than anything, there was a high possibility this was a trap.
Gather as many enemies as possible in one place, then blow them all up at once.
That would certainly cause massive chaos and deal a heavy blow.

But I didn't think that was the case here.

‘Because I’m here.’

As long as my Resurrection magic existed, Black Dawn’s suicide bombings were meaningless.
Because all I had to do was revive everyone, and that would be the end of it.
Black Dawn had to know that too.

‘So the chances of this being bait for a suicide bombing are remarkably low.’

If so, there had to be some other intention behind creating this.
Why did they build this structure in the sky right above Gladion, of all places?

‘They say if you want to hide a tree, hide it in a forest, but you can’t even call this a forest.’

Gladion was the nation with the largest population in the world.
There had to be a clear reason why they constructed the Sky Castle above such a country.
To figure out that reason, we ultimately had no choice but to go to the Sky Castle ourselves.

That was why I declared I would go to the Sky Castle in person.
Normally, I would stay in the rear, but if an Artificial Transcendent was truly involved, it was a different story.
If those Black Dawn bastards were really on the verge of completing an Artificial Transcendent, we would only get one chance.
The moment we missed that single opportunity, everything would be over.

The trump card known as Resurrection magic.
It could overturn any unforeseen situation.
Above all, out of everyone here, I was the one most deeply entangled with the Transcendents.
I might be able to pick up on some different intuition regarding the Artificial Transcendent.
And that could serve as a hint to stop Black Dawn.

I had fought tooth and nail just to protect my own life.
If I didn't see the fruits of that labor now, it would all be meaningless.

"Of course, considering the danger, I plan to move from the absolute rearguard."

Aigis fell silent at my persuasion.
The very VIP she was supposed to protect was saying he wanted to walk straight into the middle of enemy territory.
It was a proposition she had every right to refuse, but she soon opened her mouth.

"No. I also believe it is right for Harua-nim to join us this time."

Thank god.
Aigis agreed to my request.
My performance against Bloody back in the Holy Land definitely played a part in this.

"More importantly, won't we be the ones protecting Harua-nim?"

Saying that, Aigis looked to her side.
Aranseol, Babiyen, and Lululio were standing there together.

"Right."
"Don't go dying a dog's death somewhere."
"I'll do my best-ssumda!"

The three of them chimed in, affirming her words.
They were the most reliable people I had.

"Harua, there's one more person, you know."

Just then, Aranseol quietly approached and called my name.
I knew exactly who she was talking about.
Horizon.
She had left for Nox and hadn't returned yet.
She said she was going to train under the Lord of Nox, but there was no guarantee when she would be back.
It would have been great if she arrived in time, but what could we do?
If she didn't show up, we had to move on our own.

"Horizon will make it in time."

Aranseol spoke with a resolute face.
The sheer willpower she had shown us before leaving was genuine.
She would definitely come.
I nodded with a faint smile on my lips.

"Let's go on ahead and wait for her."

So, we would go first.
Thousands of meters in the sky above the Gladion Empire.
To smash Black Dawn's Artificial Transcendent project to pieces.

Inside the Regular Army Central Headquarters.
Countless soldiers stood in perfectly aligned formations.
They were fully armed, their faces grim and hardened.
This was a situation that could very well be their final war against Black Dawn.
It wouldn't be strange if any of them lost their lives at any moment.
Facing this reality, everyone wore expressions of solemn resolve.

It wasn't that they weren't afraid.
But they all knew far too well that they couldn't move forward if they only cowered in fear, so they held onto their convictions.

In front of them, mages began to line up in unison.
They were all mages who had prepared spatial magic.
Their destination was high up in the sky, far away.
Using spatial magic was much faster than trying to fly all the way up there.

While guarding the 2nd World and the Void Space all this time, the spatial mages had received training and education from Ririran, the absolute master of spatial magic.
Thanks to that, their skills had improved by leaps and bounds compared to before.
It had reached the point where mages were saying this was an era of entirely new advancements in spatial magic.

War advances human history.
Countless studies and grueling training conducted for the sake of victory leave a massive mark on the annals of humanity.
Ironically, the worst possible scenario known as war contributes greatly to the development of human society.

Of course, even so.
It was still best for war to never happen in the first place.
Because far too many people had to be sacrificed for the sake of that historical progress.

In front of the assembled Regular Army, other personnel moved swiftly.
No one could stand in the sky with just their bare bodies.
Therefore, magic tool creators were quickly weaving through the ranks, handing out flight magic tools.
Our target was the Sky Castle.
It was an absolutely necessary piece of equipment.

"Inferno, what about the reconnaissance unit?"

When Anastasia looked over the army and asked, Inferno checked a report next to her.

"They arrived and finished their sweep. They found something like an aerial satellite."

They called it a castle, but it was massive—roughly the size of an entire town.
Even Anastasia couldn't guarantee how much blood would have to be spilled to conquer it.

"They plastered it with perception-blocking magic and all sorts of other crap. If the Lord of Souls hadn't given us the exact coordinates, we wouldn't have even spotted it."

It made sense how something that massive had gone entirely undetected until now.
Anastasia clicked her tongue at Black Dawn's sheer tenacity.
And she became even more certain.
They had to utterly annihilate Black Dawn this time.

"Also, we just got word from the Holy Church and the Imperial Army. They started moving the moment they received our message."

They weren't the only ones preparing for war.
Countless forces, including the Holy Church and the Imperial Army, were converging on Gladion.
Everyone was moving with a single heart, determined to wipe out Black Dawn.

Anastasia vaguely sensed who was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Harua, the Saint.
His intentions were undoubtedly woven deeply into this.
Truly, from their first meeting until now, he had grown into an existence capable of shaking the entire world in the blink of an eye.
More than anything, if it weren't for Harua, the Regular Army wouldn't be this united and resolute.
From his publicly known achievements to his hidden contributions, his impact was massive.

The Regular Army.
The Holy Church.
The Imperial Family.
Three major factions had joined forces.
It was a war they absolutely had to win.

"Understood. I'll leave the frontline command to you."

Anastasia steeled her resolve and turned around.
She was the Commander-in-Chief.
Her place was to command, not to run around the battlefield.

"Don't come charging out just because your body is itching for a fight."

Inferno said that and walked over to the Lieutenant Generals who would be joining the battle.
Anastasia etched that sight clearly into her eyes and stepped up onto the podium.

As she ascended, countless eyes looked up at her.
Anastasia felt the pressure of their gazes, but she straightened her back more proudly than anyone else.
She knew she had to, so that those following her wouldn't feel anxious.

"Greetings, everyone. This is your first deployment under my name."
"You're being too modest, Commander-in-Chief!"
"We deployed with you until we were sick of it back when you were a Lieutenant General!"

Shouts rang out from the troops who had served alongside Anastasia for a long time.
They were the commanders who had shared life and death with her.
When Anastasia snapped her head toward them and gave them a sharp glare, the other soldiers chuckled.

"Phew... Alright, honestly speaking, I'm not used to being in a position like this. Speeches and all that are just boring."

Anastasia wasn't a person who rose to the position of Commander-in-Chief because of her eloquence.
However, everyone knew full well that she had fought harder on the battlefield than anyone else.

"I won't give you some hypocritical bullshit about coming back alive."

That was why her speech held more power than any other commander's.

"Go out there and win."

Victory.
That was everything.
The eyes of the Regular Army soldiers gleamed fiercely all at once.
Those words were a more powerful stimulant than anything else right now.

"Deploy."

The entire Regular Army let out a spirited roar and thrust their fists into the sky.
The military might gathered to put an end to Black Dawn.
That force was now being injected into the skies above Gladion.
It was the power meant to end what could very well be their final war with Black Dawn.

While the Regular Army was rapidly teleporting into the sky, my party and I also finished our preparations.

"Ririran-nim."
"Yes, let us go."

While Ririran prepared for our departure, my eyes met Anastasia's.
The moment she saw me, she gave a firm nod.
It was her way of telling me to come back safe.
I would leave the overall command to Anastasia.

"Harua."

Soon after, Rapiel appeared.
She walked up to me and handed me a robe.
It was a white robe embroidered with gold leaf.

"It's a robe enchanted with various protective magics. I don't know how much it will help, but it should perform better than most standard armor."
"Thank you."

A gift from my master.
I accepted it gratefully and put it on.
Meanwhile, Ririran finished her preparations.

"We are departing."

The moment I nodded at her words, light flared up around us.
Immediately after, my vision flipped, and a sensation of floating washed over me.

A dizzying altitude.
If it weren't for the flight magic Babiyen had cast on us beforehand, we would have plummeted instantly.
Upon arriving, I slowly lifted my head.

High above the clouds.
Something massive was sitting right there in the open.
It was a castle.
Its walls were as smooth as white marble, and when the clouds brushed against it, it rippled like water, almost as if it were alive.
It expanded and contracted minutely, as if breathing, creating the eerie illusion that some colossal entity was slowly tossing and turning inside an egg.

Shiver—

Facing the castle, a repulsive sensation crawled up my arms.
Black Dawn's Sky Castle.
It was an inexplicable, horrifying dread radiating from the place.
I didn't have to think too deeply to know what it was.

‘An Artificial Transcendent.’

A sense of anxiety crept in, whispering that maybe those bastards were closer to their goal than I thought.
Looking at the Sky Castle alongside the surrounding Regular Army forces, I clenched both my fists tightly.

"Charge."

With the commanders' orders, the Regular Army launched a synchronized assault toward the Sky Castle.

"Let's go too."

Black Dawn.
This was an all-out war to absolutely crush their plans.