Bermuda

Leonardo and Kenis flew into the air and severed all the vines that had grown over the tall stele.

While they cleared the upper part of the stele, Alec, who was below, also removed the fallen vines and cut down the grass growing on the lower part. With their rare cooperation, the stele that had been covered by nature for many years was gradually returning to its original appearance from when it was erected.

Although unclear, the stele was densely engraved with characters. Kenis felt a strange sense of both familiarity and unfamiliarity from those characters, but without knowing why, he grabbed the end of the last vine and came down.

The vine stem tore off limply and fell with a thud under his feet, and at last, the unobstructed front of the huge stele came fully into view.

The stele, which seemed to glow with the reflected light of the sunset, was heavily marked with the traces of time. Kenis felt overwhelmed by the gulf of that time and couldn't take his eyes off the countless letters, asking into the air,

"What... are these characters?"

Leonardo's gaze, which had likewise been fixed on the characters as if enchanted, reached the highest point of the stele. The red light seeped into his pupils, causing them to contract.

Estimating the worn and unrecognizable parts, he carefully traced three lines from left to right and down with his eyes, and felt a sense of exaltation similar to what Alec Siles was feeling flow into his body.

Eventually, he halted his gaze at a certain point and answered in a voice filled with certainty,

"This is ancient language."

At that moment, Alec immediately turned his head toward Leonardo. There was quite a bit of surprise in his eyes.

"You know ancient language?"

Leonardo shot Alec a glance, then turned his eyes back to the stele and said,

"A little."

Commonly, ancient language refers to old, archaic words, but in Raina Logia, ancient language mainly refers to the characters and words used before the founding of the empire. Many of the forbidden magics Leonardo uses also require an understanding of this ancient language to cast.

However, now that nearly a thousand years have passed since the era when that language was chiefly used, it was quite surprising to Alec that someone young and a soldier far from academic research knew it.

When Alec's curious gaze slid over his side profile, the wind blowing from the mountain ridge also swept past them.

Kenis, whose tension was evident, turned around and looked at the forest, but Leonardo, who had been yearning for the answers contained in the stele, didn't notice it at all.

He looked at the top of the stele and shielded his eyes from the sunset pouring in with his hand. Then, he began to slowly read while interpreting the contents engraved there.

"Raina Year 938. Akan Year 153. Five years of famine and... two small volcanic eruptions."

Raina Year 938. Akan Year 153. We endured five years of famine and two small volcanic eruptions, but at some point, the cruelty of those who came in and filled their bellies with our flesh was an endless nightmare and an unbearable disaster.

When all the seeds of this land where evil prevailed withered—— and even hope was torn away with the fragile souls, the king of a great nation in the north took pity on us and came with thousands of soldiers.

His name was Theodore ——scania Ragnavalode Raina. The dazzling Sun King of the great nation of Raina and our eternal savior.

****

Flynn, who had been away «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» for a while to carry out a personal order from the Commander, waited nearby with a member of the 1st Battalion and immediately joined them when he confirmed Hugo, the 8th Platoon Leader, and some members entering the base camp.

And right after that, Deputy Commander Bruno Amos of the Southern Branch and the commanders and members of the temporary headquarters also arrived at the assembly location.

The commanders of the 9th Battalion of the Southern Branch led by Liner Molten and the 12th Battalion of the Southern Branch led by Isabella Roslin had not yet arrived, but as soon as he arrived at the base camp, Bruno requested Hugo to proceed with the meeting.

Afterwards, in the meeting held for those who had arrived early, the topic Bruno brought up was enough to shatter the internal atmosphere, which had been frozen by the tension between Hugo and Meterion, in a completely different way.

"There is a huge magic circle formed on this Elder Millie Peninsula. The statues, pillars, and all artificial structures of the ruins are all part of the strokes that make up the magic circle!"

Bruno spoke in a somewhat agitated voice in front of the gathered commanders.

When he first conveyed this story, most of the commanders found it hard to believe and didn't readily accept it. However, when the members of the operations department who came with him assembled a map of the peninsula and the magic circle on a support stand and showed it, surprise and shock spread across the faces of everyone present.

After a brief silence, a confused murmur poured out. It was because no one had thought that the ruins of this peninsula would form a magic circle.

Delua had a lot to say, but she couldn't sort out what to say first, so she just opened and closed her mouth and took a step towards the map. What she saw before her eyes was clearly a magic circle.

Eventually, she raised her head and looked around at the structures erected next to the base camp. In Delua's mind, the mysterious things she had been curious about suddenly came to mind all at once.

And she thought that perhaps the magic circle those structures were shaping could be the key to solving this mystery.

"Have you also found out what kind of magic circle this is?"

Delua immediately asked Bruno. Then, Scott, the operations officer next to Bruno, answered instead,

"From what we've learned, it was a type of supreme sealing magic. It's not a magic you can see in this day and age, and it's definitely not a common one, but it seems to have been used to seal powerful criminals, high-ranking monsters, ancient devils, and such, who pose a risk level close to a disaster."

"Supreme sealing magic?"

Delua asked back with widened eyes.

Hearing the unusually high-pitched voice, the 8th Platoon Leader, who had been looking in that direction next to Hugo, suddenly recalled the conversation she had with her before entering the search operation for the missing persons. Commander Rivera was the first person to claim that the underground space had a different flow from the surface.

Afterwards, while following the traces of Kenis and Leonardo, the 8th Platoon Leader was able to directly experience the strange flow in that tunnel that Delua had mentioned, and the story that a sealing magic circle was widely spread throughout the peninsula connected the phenomena she had been curious about into a single link.

And Commander Rivera seemed to have the same thought.

"Then, can we say that the reason why mana has been suppressed and monster energy couldn't be felt underground is also due to the influence of that sealing magic circle?"

"Yes, that's how we see it."

Gray Scott, who knew that fact through the constant news from the interior of the peninsula via liaison officers, nodded and answered Delua's words.

With his words, the commanders became agitated, but Hugo raised his left hand to calm the noisy atmosphere. Then, with slightly furrowed brows, he asked,

"Then what was it sealing?"

Common sense dictated that if a physical magic circle was implemented on this peninsula, its purpose should have been to seal the monsters. However, the creatures were now roaming the peninsula as if they were hardly restricted.

But there were a few catches to seeing the reason for that as the magic circle's power running out. Wasn't it the case that the abilities of the members, including himself, were limited underground, and as a result, the tracking of the missing persons was also delayed?

In other words, the effect of the sealing magic was still ongoing and was likely acting on something other than the monsters they had seen so far.

Gray answered Hugo's question again,

"The target of the seal is the mother body."

"...Mother body?"

The blue eyes narrowed at the familiar term.

Flynn, who had been observing the meeting from behind Hugo, also suddenly raised his head. It reminded him of when the senior investigator of the Southern Branch had suggested the existence of a mother body that creates mutants.

"This sealing magic is basically used limited to one person or one entity. Assuming the magic circle is floating in the air, the closer the sealed target is located directly below the exact center, the more powerful the effect becomes. Also, depending on the resistance ability of the sealed target, the binding force increases together, seemingly affecting the surroundings to some extent."

At his words, Meterion, who had been staring at the magic circle with his arms crossed, opened his mouth,

"Then, is there only one mother body? And its resistance is powerful enough to affect the entire peninsula?"

"We haven't found out the exact resistance ability yet. However, according to the report from the exploration team of the 9th Battalion of the Southern Branch a few hours ago, among the several entities that could be the mother body, there is only one leader-like individual. The resistance of that one entity is expected to be far superior to other monsters."

As Gray finished speaking, Bruno pointed to the center of the large map set up on the stand with his command baton.

"This is the reason I summoned all the commanders. Because this place where we are standing now..."

He added, feeling the gazes of the commanders following his hand,

"...is close to the center of the magic circle."

The place his command baton was pointing to was the southern region in terms of the peninsula zones arbitrarily divided by the Council, and a location slightly north based on the magic circle.

If someone had built these structures that form the magic circle to seal the mother body, they would have naturally designed the magic circle based on the target of the seal.

Hugo unconsciously raised his head toward the south. The others also followed his gaze. Before their eyes, endlessly high mountain peaks unfolded.

Among them, one particularly huge peak that pierced through the clouds and fog was so magnificent that it could contain the blazing twilight and the scattering of light. It was an overwhelmingly different size from the other peaks they had seen so far.

"The exact center of the magic circle. Right below."

Hugo's gaze gradually descended along the vivid light that created the illusion of flowing lava. His sliding gaze only stopped when it reached the foot of the mountain, hidden by the lush forest.

Down there, the mother body might exist.