A violent tremor, accompanied by a deep rumbling, rose from the depths of the earth. The once peaceful royal capital became restless that night.
Terrifying, continuous shocks pounded the ground, each one stronger than the last.
Countless residents were jolted awake from their sleep by the violent shaking of their homes and the frantic neighing of horses.
Sleepy, confused eyes slowly opened.
At that moment, only one thought remained in everyone's mind, 'An... an earthquake?'
The instant that thought appeared, all traces of drowsiness vanished.
The entire royal capital fell into deep unease.
Panicked cries rose one after another like surging waves.
"There's an earthquake! Wake up!"
"Run! We have to get out!"
"Honey, wake the children too! Hurry!"
Horses broke free from their stables and charged wildly through the city, dragging their carriages behind them.
Countless residents hurriedly gathered their families and whatever belongings they could grab. Some hadn't even finished getting dressed and ran outside with their pants still off.
They rushed onto the wide streets, joining the streams of people fleeing for safety.
Only then did they realize that countless others had also been awakened, their faces just as frightened.
When everyone gathered on the streets of the royal capital, they looked at one another in confusion.
They raised their heads toward the night sky.
The moon still hung high overhead, casting its bright white light.
Though it was still the middle of the night, no one felt sleepy anymore.
However, after that single quake, the ground returned to calm, and the second tremor they expected never came.
Everyone was puzzled.
'Was that earthquake... just that one shake?'
Thinking of that, nearly everyone let out a sigh of relief.
At the same time, another question came to mind.
Why had there suddenly been an earthquake?
They had never received any warning that one was about to strike the royal capital.
Normally, before a natural disaster arrived, the capital's mages would issue evacuation notices throughout the residential districts and keep the warnings active for several hours.
For many years, the royal capital's mages had used powerful magic to deal with natural disasters.
With so many layers of defense in place, such rare disasters had become even less likely to reach the capital.
If a disaster appeared that even the mages found difficult to control, they would detect it in advance and report it to the royal family.
Warnings would then be issued in time so the residents could evacuate.
An earthquake as powerful as the one just now was an ultra-rare event that might only occur once every few decades.
Just as the residents were discussing and guessing the cause of the earthquake...
A group of mages wearing magnificent robes rode through the streets, coming into everyone's view.
Their robes were embroidered with flowing magical patterns, rainbow-colored light dancing across the fabric.
Even the horses they rode looked exceptionally strong and impressive.
The saddles glowed with a gentle light that shone beneath the moonlit night.
When the residents saw these mages, smiles appeared on their faces, and their eyes filled with surprise and hope.
"It's the Royal Mage Corps."
"Now that they're here, we should be safe."
"Quick, find out what caused the earthquake. Otherwise none of us will be able to sleep."
At that moment, a particularly steady-looking middle-aged mage stepped out from the royal mage corps.
The glowing patterns on his robes were brighter and more intricate than those of the others.
He was clearly the leader of the group.
Walking to the front, he addressed the gathered residents.
"Please don't worry. We're doing everything we can to determine the cause of the earthquake."
"For the time being, please remain in open areas. It would be best to move to the square as soon as possible, in case a second earthquake occurs."
Though still uneasy, the residents obediently began gathering toward the square.
As they moved in an orderly manner, one of the mages hurried over to the captain.
"Captain, we've got a problem..."
Hearing him, the captain turned around and frowned slightly as he listened to the anxious report.
"We tried measuring the underground earth elemental energy, but everyone's earth magic seems to have stopped working."
If earth magic had failed, it meant they could no longer directly investigate the source of the earthquake.
Hearing that, an ominous feeling suddenly rose in the captain's heart.
'Something's wrong.'
'Elemental failure?'
'Why does this feel so familiar?'
It was as if something similar had happened somewhere in the Empire not long ago.
As the team's only third-tier mage, the captain thought quickly and immediately realized how serious the situation was.
But the moment he thought of the possible cause, it felt as though his entire body had frozen.
His mind went blank.
'N-No way...'
Filled with doubt, the captain quickly raised his staff and drew a simple magic circle in the air.
He carefully traced two more lines along its edge and muttered softly, "Dust, stir. Earth, settle."
"Awaken the will buried beneath the underworld, and let the mighty land reveal its full form."
The moment the chant echoed through the air, the yellow-brown magic circle suddenly shone brightly.
The surrounding air began swirling toward its center.
But the next second, the entire circle started shaking violently before exploding apart.
A weak shockwave spread outward, sending a chill down the backs of the people standing behind him.
The captain completely panicked.
Just as he confirmed his suspicions, the earth began shaking again.
This tremor was several levels more violent than the previous one.
The streets shook like giant swings beneath the relentless vibrations.
Cracks split open across the streets, rapidly spreading into the distance. Even the vast square became covered with fractures.
The endless shaking was like a giant invisible hand, rocking the houses lining both sides of the streets as though they were weeds, almost overturning them.
Fortunately, there were enough mages.
They quickly formed magic circles in the air, inscribed magical patterns upon them, chanted spells, and cast every kind of magic they could to stabilize the buildings.
But amid the violent shaking, the ground behind them suddenly split apart into a massive chasm.
Then...
From deep beneath the earth, a gigantic muscular arm made of twisted stone reached upward.
The arm was enormous, like a colossal stone python.
As everyone watched in horrified silence, a mountain-sized body slowly emerged from beneath the earth.
It tore apart even more streets, causing the spreading collapse to race through the city.
In an instant, panic overwhelmed the crowd again.
The residents desperately fled toward the central square, surging together in a frantic rush.
Brown mountain rock burst through the earth.
Shoulders towering like mountain ranges rose from the ground, standing even taller than the Empire's city walls.
Wave after wave of deafening crashes sent towering clouds of dust into the sky, blanketing the land.
Heavy, terrifying smoke swallowed everyone.
As the crowd surged, the mages were knocked off balance.
The spell formations in their hands were forced to stop, and without continuous magical support, the houses on both sides quickly began collapsing.
A gigantic rock giant emerged from beneath the earth, revealing its enormous body.
Amid the thick dust, even its massive form became blurred.
Feeling the tide of fleeing people flowing around them, the mages stood there blankly, staring at the towering shadow rising over the shattered land.
Suddenly, the suffocating atmosphere became even heavier.
The dense dust billowed outward as though exhaled from the lungs of the world itself, instantly covering the dark night sky with a thick veil.
The mages stared ahead in a daze, struggling to see through the dense smoke.
Soon, however, three brilliant yellow lights lit up within the darkness.
Each one was as enormous as the full moon hanging in the sky.
Standing before those lights, every mage felt their body stiffen.
At that moment, even the thought of running seemed absurd.
They stood frozen in place like puppets that had lost their souls, unable to move.
Then the giant stone slammed down onto the earth.
The impact caused an even more violent tremor than before.
BOOM!!!
Where the giant palm landed, a shockwave spread more than a hundred meters beyond the royal capital in an instant, tearing through countless homes and the sturdy stone streets.
Dust and shockwaves blasted into the distance, soaring high into the sky.
The mages turned to look.
As they stared at the fallen stone arm and the erupting dust cloud, cold sweat soaked their entire bodies.
Their shocked eyes were filled with indescribable fear.
At that moment, whether commoners or mages, everyone felt a suffocating despair unlike anything they had ever experienced.
In the hopeless silence, the captain drew a glowing magic crystal from his waist.
His trembling hand raised it to his mouth.
His eyes remained fixed on the mountain-like giant before him, filled with the resolve to face death.
Finally, veins bulging across his body, he shouted into the crystal with every ounce of strength he had.
"Request... requesting..."
"REQUEST REINFORCEMENTS!!!"
———
The First Prince led a group through the streets.
Passing through the panicked crowds, they arrived at the central square before the imperial palace.
On both sides of the procession walked many pale-faced, absent-minded nobles.
In the center was a line of luxurious carriages.
The carriages slowly rolled through the streets.
Inside, the elves felt the constant jolting.
One after another, they leaned out the windows, curiously looking at the quiet royal capital in the middle of the night.
Cocotte sat cross-legged on a cloud, floating lightly above one of the carriages.
Her expression was serious, completely unlike her usual carefree self.
Another figure lay asleep on the cloud beside her.
It was Liya.
Viktor had told her to take Liya to the safest place possible.
And the safest place was the imperial palace, where Emperor Aubrey was.
Fortunately, all she needed to do was protect the elves and Liya.
The other nobles had others assigned to protect them.
Her gaze swept across both sides of the convoy.
There, Demon Hunters wearing patterned masks stood on guard with sharp eyes.
The knight order had already been dispatched throughout the city to notify residents to evacuate.
For now, these Demon Hunters had temporarily taken over the knights' role, protecting the elves and the Empire's nobles.
As an urgent shout rang out, the entire convoy stopped in the middle of the street.
"Requests for reinforcements have come in simultaneously from the East, West, South, and North districts!"
A guard stood before the First Prince, holding a glowing communication crystal as he anxiously reported.
"According to reports from the Mage Corps and the Knight Order, mountain-sized monsters have appeared in all four districts at the same time!"
"And the elemental fluctuations are extremely abnormal. According to the mages, earth magic can no longer be used properly."
The guard lowered his head and clenched his fists.
Cold sweat poured down his forehead as the transparent communication crystal in his hand continued flashing.
"Taking everything together, these monsters... may be just like the four monsters that appeared in the Padalenbu Sea. They all seem to have a strong connection to the elements!"
Hearing this, a loud buzz echoed through the First Prince's mind.
His thoughts became a complete mess, and confusion filled his face.
He stood there blankly, trying his best to process everything.
'Monsters like the ones from the Padalenbu Sea... Have appeared inside the royal capital!?'
He felt every bone in his body trembling.
Restlessly, he paced back and forth.
'Calm down.'
'Calm down, Albany.'
'Think.'
'Think about what Father would do at a time like this.'
Watching the First Prince's panic from beginning to end, Claudia didn't step forward to comfort him.
She merely sighed inwardly.
Then she turned to the reporting guard and asked, "Tell me where the nearest monster is."
"I'll go reinforce them."
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