Chapter 207: The Key That Opens the Door
Saulak's massive body lay collapsed, motionless.
Where the black fragments had scattered, mana no longer flowed. The monster's tentacles had hardened like stone, and fine cracks remained along their surfaces. Like the wear marks left by a machine that had been used for a long time, coming to its final stop.
The battlefield was quiet.
Gone were the sounds of blades clashing against shields, the screaming, the commands of officers. Only grains of sand rolled along whenever the wind blew. The compressed and disfigured plains did not return to their original shape. The ground deep below had been twisted and then locked in place.
"......Did we win?"
A soldier's murmur drifted through the air.
Someone started to answer but stopped short. Another looked down at their own fist instead of speaking. Blood was smeared there, yet it did not tremble. Only after their heart settled did the pain from every part of their body come rising up, delayed.
After a brief moment of hesitation, a roar erupted.
The forces gathered from each kingdom raised their shields and weapons all at once. Those who had been clustered together broke formation and surged with energy. They looked into each other's faces, confirming with their own eyes that they were still alive.
In the meantime, at the center of the battlefield, high-ranking priests examined Saulak's corpse.
"The dark mana has nearly dispersed."
"No regenerative response either."
Brief confirmations were exchanged, and nothing more was added afterward. The priests looked to the mage Yelayen for confirmation. He offered only a faint smile.
That was enough.
Shortly after, the Mountain Rabbits gathered in one place and each added a word.
"Sent him off easier than I thought."
"Must've been a vanguard. A throwaway piece."
"And if it wasn't?"
"Then it means this Volga has gotten terrifyingly strong."
"......Yeah, it was definitely a throwaway piece."
As usual, they relieved their tension through light bickering. But Calix's gaze had already moved elsewhere.
No one had said it aloud yet, but everyone felt it. This war had only just cleared one hurdle. They had won, yet no time for relief was given.
Just then, his eyes met those of Viale's Master, Serin. He dipped his head in a gesture of respect, yet his expression suggested he had something to say.
It was not simply a matter of celebration. He wanted to speak of what came next.
***
While Saulak's body was cooling, Master Serin walked slowly around it. Rather than drawing a sword, he pressed his palm to the ground. The lingering echoes of dispersing mana caught clearly in his senses.
".....Strange."
The words came out almost as a murmur.
Belmar, who had followed behind, turned his head.
"Is something wrong?"
Serin chose his words carefully for a moment, then pointed to the cross-section of a severed tentacle. It was already crumbling to dust, yet a subtle dissonance lingered in the remains.
"Ordinarily, a creature at the Legion Commander level has its mana flow woven into a single current. Branches may diverge temporarily since they emerge from the root, but they always return."
He drew a line through the air with his fingertip.
"But that one.......fragmented as though it had been waiting to."
Calix's gaze shifted to Serin.
"How is that different?"
"Mana does have many currents, but cases where it never merges into one are rare. It is as if different forces were bound together by force."
Calix turned the moment of Saulak's death over in his mind. Just as he said, in the final instant the dark mana had split apart as if detonating.
Belmar's brow furrowed.
"You're saying the Legion Commander was never that form to begin with?"
Serin shook his head.
"No. It was genuinely powerful, truly. But.......it was not a being that ran on its own strength alone."
At those words, the air around them sank.
"Someone was propping it up. The moment that will was withdrawn, it could no longer maintain the form of a body."
Calix exchanged a glance with Royce. He did not deny Serin's words. He had sensed it too.
It was not Saulak that had been spreading the darkness. It had been nothing more than a means. A tool for casting shadow across the continent.
"So then."
Serin added.
"That is why it struck me as strange. It collapsed too quickly. Not because it was weak, but because it had finished serving its purpose."
Master Sevi Belgrado exhaled quietly.
"Then only one thing remains."
The heroes of the continental alliance looked to each other's faces.
Mage Yelayen took up the words.
"Precisely. The Corrupted Lord who had been hiding all this while has kicked back his chair and risen."
At that moment, the noise of soldiers reforming their ranks in the distance drifted over. The clatter of shields, the sound of the wounded being moved, laughter drunk on victory—all of it mixed together.
Yet here, it was silent.
Calix slowly opened his mouth.
"That one......."
Yelayen answered without hesitation.
"Will come out in person."
Those words were neither a prediction nor a warning. It was simply giving voice to what would naturally unfold.
"Having sent Saulak to measure our capabilities, there is no longer any reason to hold back. In a sense, the conditions have only now been met."
Calix looked toward the far end of the battlefield. The direction from which Saulak had appeared, and beyond.
"......De Generitum."
One of the Mountain Rabbits repeated that name in a low voice.
The wind blew, and what remained of Saulak scattered a little further. In that place, there were no longer traces of trampling—only the omen of the next decisive battle.
***
Inside the command tent hastily erected at the edge of the battlefield, only the faces that had remained standing through the previous battle gathered.
Outside, the soldiers' voices still rang out. Laughter bursting free as weapons were set down, shouts confirming names. Relief and joy intermingled, and the noise did not settle easily.
But inside the tent, it was different.
No one sat. Without even removing their armor, eyes caked with grime fixed themselves to the map spread before them.
Yelayen spoke first.
"Saulak is finished. That much is clear."
He spoke with certainty.
"However, even that mighty Legion Commander was no more than expendable to De Generitum. We must speak of how this war continues from here."
Belmar raised his head.
"Continues....... What do you mean by that?"
"I speak of the movements of the Corrupted Lord, De Generitum."
At this, the Dwarf Basim spoke with an air of unconcern.
"Won't he just crawl out on his own? That's how vile things tend to work. Either they hide in the back or they charge straight in."
Yelayen shook his head slowly.
"No, that is not the case. He is of a different order than the other Legion Commanders. He is capable of thought."
He pressed his fingertip to the point on the map where Saulak had fallen.
"Today, here, that one confirmed three things. Our numbers, our cohesion, and......Calix."
Naturally, all eyes turned to a single point.
Calix said nothing. He simply looked silently at the mage's face, lost in thought.
"Then Saulak was a throwaway piece. Master Serin made the same conjecture."
"That is correct. It would not have been a full offensive—he would have wanted to gauge our capabilities. Those gathered here are the last true obstacle, after all."
At this, Royce asked quietly.
"Then what comes next? What will De Generitum do?"
"What follows is simple."
Yelayen's finger lifted away from the map and rose slowly.
"He will not face the human army directly."
A brief silence filled the tent.
"To be precise, there is no reason to exchange blades. He has already devoured half the continent. His military superiority is plain, and the creatures of his army know nothing of hunger."
Gregor let out a hollow laugh, low and biting.
"So he has the luxury to drive us to the wall! What a god-forsaken bastard!"
"Gregor, your words are quite right. Which is why we must also change our approach."
Following the mage's gaze, all eyes turned to Calix. Yelayen held his gaze directly and continued.
"De Generitum does not fear a large number of humans. There is only one circumstance in which he moves in person."
"And what is that?"
"When the rules he has set are broken."
Calix's eyes narrowed.
"In the broader sense, Saulak was also part of those rules. A device to observe in his stead, fight in his stead, and spread fear in his stead."
Yelayen nodded immediately.
"Correct. And today, that device was destroyed. What is more, not by the methods of a Legion Commander, but by the methods of humans."
As everyone else kept their silence, the dwarf Basim slapped the table in frustration and spoke.
"So what's the conclusion? What in blazes are we supposed to do to make that thing crawl out?"
Yelayen paused for a moment. And then, immediately after, he spoke with absolute clarity.
"We must make it known that there is no one left to fight in his stead. We must show through action that his subordinates alone are not enough."
At those words, Calix opened his mouth.
"Do you mean for me to stand at the front and lead the battle?"
"Are you not already doing that?"
Contrary to his words, Yelayen did not smile. He listed Calix's achievements in a composed tone.
"You have stood at the center of all this chaos. Planted yourself firmly and erased every place the enemy could retreat into. Thanks to you, that one will now have to recalculate."
Calix looked toward the outside of the tent. He had only just understood the true meaning of the other's words.
"You were not telling me to be bait."
"No, you are nothing so trivial as bait."
Calix met Yelayen's gaze. The mage's azure-gold eyes gleamed brilliantly. What he was thinking could not be known, yet what he expected of him—that much could be understood.
"You are the key that opens the door."
For a time, silence settled inside the tent.
The meaning those words carried was understood by every person present. If De Generitum were to reveal himself directly, that moment would be the very ground of the decisive battle.
"Then until that time......."
At that moment, Adrian stroked his chin with one hand and interjected.
"We must not move."
"We stop pressing southward?"
"Yes. Forces fixed, front lines consolidated. We observe the enemy's movements but do not attempt anything like provocation."
"We wait here?"
At Master Belmar's question, he shook his head and answered.
"No. We make ourselves visible. We fight every time the enemy advances, we repel them, and we let De Generitum know."
Adrian then turned his gaze to Calix.
"That Calix is here."
Outside the tent, the wind blew once with great force. Black dust swirled up from the fields before quickly scattering.
"And that while De Generitum is the one who made this mess, the owner of the house is someone else entirely."
A moment later, Calix quietly nodded.
"Understood."
A short answer. There was no oath or declaration. Yet those few words were sufficient.
The meeting did not last long. It was not that there was nothing left to say—rather, the role each person would carry had already become clear.
***
At that same moment, in a place impossibly distant.
In a place where human eyes could not reach, De Generitum raised his head. The sense that had been connected to Saulak had been severed long before, yet what Calix had seen and felt—that, too, he had seen.
Dark mana was resonating.
[...Yes, Calix.]
He murmured without smile, without anger.
[Your death belongs to me.]
Beyond his gaze, a host of monsters came into view. The wicked army was on the move, blanketing mountains and plains alike.
The tide of war was shifting rapidly, unbeknownst to anyone.