"Stop.

　As I stopped saying this, first the two carriages stopped, and then the people following behind stopped.

What is it, Master Alec?

　Jumping from the carriage, Angel comes to my side.

That one.
"What in the sky ...... wow!　It was incredibly chilling.

　Angier hugged himself with his arms.
　As he said, he shuddered as he said it, because it was visually evident.

　Ahead in the direction we were going, the sky was filled with dark clouds of misfortune.
　It wasn't the usual bad weather or anything.

　It's something more sinister.

Come on out, guys.

　In response to the summons, all the maids came out of my shadow.

　By the way, Dorothy and Lotus are still in the shadows.
　These two are also separate from the maids, and they need to be called out individually to come out.

　After calling only the maids, I turned to them and said to Amelia, the head maid, who led the way.

I'll take the lead in case something goes wrong. I'll leave the line to you. You lead at your discretion.
I'll chase after you when you're okay. I'll catch up with you when it's okay.
"Yes.
"Dear Alec!　Take me too!

　As I was about to go ahead alone, Angier offered to accompany me.
　To be honest, I felt the presence of danger and shuddered at first glance, and Angier asked me to come along.

Yes, come with me.
"Yes!

　Angel with a happy smile.
　I took Angier and moved on with them.

　The air, the atmosphere was slowly deteriorating.

"There's something scary going on here.
Yeah, I feel the same way.

　Angier's senses are keen.

　Along the way, the environment got worse and worse.
　It's not just the wasteland.
　The trees and plants are dead and the swamp has become a poisonous purple swamp.
　Everywhere there's a miasma that can cause illness if inhaled by humans.

　There is something ahead as Angel felt.

You know what, Mr. ...... Alec?
Hmm?
I'm sorry if I'm wrong. Didn't you say you were going to make it to Avalon?
Yeah, I checked the map last night and it says it's about time.
"Could it be ...... here?
Good point, Angel. Yes, geographically we are already in an area called 'Avalon'.
"Ah, ......

　Angier blurted out.

　I knew it, I knew it.
　Is this the Avalon called Utopia?　The voice that leaked the two emotions mingled.

　Those two emotions were mixed together in a voice that escaped.

　I'm surprised, too.
　I've been prepared to a certain extent because I heard the area needed to be cleared, but I've heard it's far worse than that.

　As I continued on, I found myself in a wide open area.

Ugh. ......

　Angel held his mouth and wobbled a little.
　I held on to Angel and supported her.

Are you okay?
"I'm sorry, Mr. Alec.
"Never mind. Is it better than that?
"Yes, it's okay ......, but more importantly, it's terrible here: ......
"Oh.

　I nodded.
　The scene that opened up in front of me, it was even worse than I had imagined on the way here alone with Angel, noticing the horror.

　It was like--hell.

　The sky was black with occasional flashes of lightning.
　Corpses of rotting animals were lying everywhere and something that didn't seem to be a miasma or a miasma was spewing from the ground here and there.

　The land is desolate and poisonous.
　It's not a place for humans to live.

It's terrible.
"Yes ......
"Hmmm, I don't know what to do, I didn't expect this much,

　I thought.
　I just went to ...... and I said, "You know what?

"Not again, humans!
"Huh?

　It was neither me nor Angel, but a voice that I had never heard before.


　A voice with a spiraling grudge. When I turned to the voice, I saw a mermaid from a lake with a color like a poisonous swamp?　There was a creature that looked like a .

Hee!

　It is questionable because it is only half in its original form.

　Every part of the body is rotting away, and even the bones are visible.
　The lower half of the body is mostly bone, but only some flesh is left on the body just barely enough to show that it's like a fish.

　Frankly, it's a mystery to me how you're still alive.

Are you ...... a ghost?　Or is it God?

　Ask me.
　No human or monster would ever live in that state.

"Curse you, human. Get out of here.
"Do you hate ...... people?
"Get out!

　I couldn't make conversation.
　I was on one side, and he jumped at me with muddy eyes.

"Master Alec!
"Angier stay with me
"--Yes!

　Protecting Angier, she caught the mermaid's attack as she jumped at him with her wise sword.

　A swift, heavy blow.
　It was heavy enough to drive her foot into the ground.

　But it didn't last long enough.

　Just as I blocked the attack, the mermaid fell to the ground.
　She seemed to be on the verge of death.

Oh, my God!

　Angel stepped forward and squatted in front of the mermaid.
　She held out her hand and cast a healing spell.

　Angel with an S-ranked soul.
　After years of training in healing magic against the Calamity, he has become as good a user of healing magic as I am.

　I'm going to look around for a while, just to make sure that the healing magic isn't counterproductive.

"Angel, let Angel handle that one.
"Yes!

　Angier enthusiastically cast more healing spells.
　If it's not counterproductive, I'm fine leaving the rest to Angel.

　I'll be able to help you.

　As a result of Angel casting a healing spell on the mermaid, the miasma swirling around her has been driven out of her body and she's looking better.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make your life easier.

　Then we'll remedy that.
　I don't know why they attacked us, no matter what, and I don't know if they're just trying to bare their malice to the humans.
　I don't know, but I do know that this is not a good environment.

　I will hold my wise man's sword to the ground and explore the entire land.

......

　I could see the wrinkles between my eyebrows creasing as hard as I could.

　I felt a god-class power.
　It's been working deep underground, producing negative miasma and poisons.

　So the state of this land is a kind of divine punishment.

　It was--it was not pleasant, to say the least.
　I don't know what happened, but it makes me sick to do this to the land itself.

The wise man's sword.
"O

　Unusually, it began with a call.
　The power of the gods at work deep in the earth is so powerful that you must take it seriously.

　With your wise man's sword held out, close your eyes and expand your magic circle to increase your power.
　Reaching toward the divine power buried deep in the earth, you unleash your power.

　Purification.

　The strength is of the god class, but it is completely negative.
　There it is amplified by the wise man's sword--a baboon kane--and infused with positive power to purify it.

　I got resistance from the negative force.
　When I cut the fruit, there was a seed in the middle, a resistance like that.
　I poured in more cleansing power, and my power swallowed it.

　I opened my eyes.

　After purifying the other side, my power overflowed.
　It comes to earth and cleanses the poisonous swamps and other impurities.

　Poisons, corpses, and so on, they dissolve and become light ascending into the sky.

　All right, that's it.
　Now that mermaid will live normally without suffering...

--Oh, oh, oh!

　I was startled.
　I was so startled that I suddenly heard a huge cheer from behind me and I was startled.

　I turned around and saw the people.
　Somehow the people I had stopped came in, and as far as I could see, they were all cheering and shouting, their eyes shining.

　What's going on?　And I went to Amelia to lead the way.

"Why did you bring me here, Amelia?
"I sensed through my magic that the master had started something.

　Amelia says it like it's nothing.
　You look down for a moment, then remember Amelia's words.

I'll come after you when it's okay. I'll come after you when it's okay.



　You decided it was okay because I started doing something.

I'm not so sure about that.
It's your master.

　Amelia was able to say it simply, in complete confidence.