Chương 60: [BL] 59. Cost of Failure [1]

There were two problems she did not foresee: the first was that she was far too comfortable, making her eyelids heavy and causing her to nearly drop her book to its doom, despite what was probably nine hours of sleep. The second was the crawling steam that heated her neck, cheek, and brain, blocking her vision and forcing her to bring the book closer. Even with all these disadvantages, she refused to give up. So she started reading out loud.

"The Grand Abyss Rift, a tier-six Devil rift. Madness," Willow mumbled, bubbling the runic water around her mouth. When she splashed some of the water onto the page, she yelped in panic and quickly closed the book. Careful, you fool. Who knows how much this costs? She repositioned, getting more leverage with her upper body by pushing her feet down against the tub. This should keep the book safe, although it was becoming uncomfortable. She scowled, blew out the steam, and furrowed her eyebrows at the words.

"A Grand Purge is an event known as a group of Bright Stars, with the help of the Empire or Kingdoms' backing, to commit a raid onto tier-six rifts and upward. Tier-six rifts are always considered disaster levels, and their domain is at least the size of an entire country. This makes the raid take up to a month to years. Also, to end the Apocalypse Cycle, a Grand Purge must be called upon a… Tier-nine portal? Huh? And it's the size of an entire world?" Willow read it over again.

She had not even gotten to the part about the Grand Abyss Rift. The information about the end-goal of the Apocalypse Cycle was minimal here since the focus would be on the Devil. I will need to find a book about that, too. All that was listed here was that the Grand Purge would be called by a Bright Star possessing the [Hero] Class. This was a Party ability like Willow's [Divine Hunt], but at different levels and solely focused on the Bright Stars.

The [Hero] could summon up to a hundred Bright Stars around him and put them into his party; each Bright Star could still have their own party, so the normal strategy was to have the strongest of humanity ready when the [Hero Call] was invoked. On second reading, it looked like Willow had misunderstood something. Grand Purge did not need to be started by a [Hero] class. It could simply be a gathering of many Bright Stars and the backing of powerful factions with plenty of strong party members.

The goal was to rid the most dangerous Rifts, tier-six and above, but the Grand Purge with [Hero Call] was considered a legendary event of every Cycle. Local lords throughout history sometimes viewed it as luck when a strong rift appeared, requiring the [Hero] or Bright Stars' attention; it was a chance to gather renown for the lords, so they'd happily help by mobilizing their entire forces to aid the Bright Stars. I want to read about them. Maybe Kroos has a book about the Grand Purge documentary?

The Grand Abyss Devil Rift was curious, since humans had won the Apocalypse Cycle but failed to purge this rift, losing an entire island—an entire 200-kilometre island that housed two kingdoms. Millions died, and now the island, once unironically called Evil, is now known as the Devil's Reach. Apparently, it was a mocking name, since the Devil rarely left the island.

The Empire, along with its neighboring kingdoms, surrounded the island well and hoped for an attack to at least whittle down the Devils, but they have only sent a scouting party for the last… six hundred years?

"So, three cycles ago?" Willow chewed her lip. It was a disaster, yet they avoided the biggest disaster since Ser Edvard. The [Hero] almost invoked [Hero Call] upon the Grand Abyss Devil Rift, but instead he turned his attention to a tier-seven Vermin Nest—a Blight Rats rift. It was said that if Ser Edvard ever challenged the Devil's Rift, humanity might be doomed. Despite playing a huge part in purging a tier-nine portals and winning humanity their Apocalypse Cycle, people still hailed him as a coward.

But history was kind to Ser Edvard's name. Four hundred years later, a tier-six Bright Star, a [Sword Saint], challenged the Devil's rift rather unnecessarily.

"Huh, this Bright Star is a king." King Nunez was married to the third princess, and after a bloody war for control, he emerged as king. Under him, twenty Bright Stars, half of whom were Tier-six, entered, and the devils incapacitated them. After losing his wife, who was his party member, King Nunez spent the rest of his life in depression, only fighting once when the [Hero Call] was invoked to purge the tier-nine great rift. The raid upon Devil's Rift revealed a deep manalith where the Devil could draw contact.

The manalith aggressively gave the devils power as long as they offered souls into it. It was truly a beneficial contract. This manalith only became known thanks to King Nunez, who clashed with the Six-horn Infernal Devil…

"Six Horns?" Sounds like a pain to deal with. So it must be stronger than a regular tier-six. Even the two-horns Willow faced was a pain, and it was still a tier-two, which made Leynah and Becks struggle. What about the Devil's host the human currently facing? Chance was just like the Embers; this was a new group of Devils with their own portal. Would they have it too? A manalith? Willow looked up, surprised by the haziness in her vision. She might have stayed too long.

Her cheeks flushed bright red, and her neck started to burn. Unwillingly, she stood, used the towel the maids had left behind, and put on a new, comfy green tunic the maids had left for her and a close-fitting pair of trousers. Where should she even return these when she was done with them? Opening the door, Willow was still drying her damp hair with the towel when seventeen Legionaries stood in straight lines in front of her. They fisted their breastplates and bowed their heads.

Did they really wait for her to bathe? She could just invite them to the Hunt Party earlier… Willow moved and invited them to the party one by one, and at the end of the line were Krywen and Evan, looking tired with soot all over their faces. Their clothes also had tears across them and a trace of blood coloring the edge of their wounds. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

"Oh no, Krywen," Willow cooed, moving briskly, taking the [Squire]'s arm and pulling her for a hug.

"Are you all right?"

"I—yes, my lady. Storm Warden Erick saved my life against the Devil—" she stammered as she blushed and, out of nowhere, started reporting the battlefield situation.

"There were five skirmishes. Their Hunch Devils were fast, and there were also flying devils, so we were at a disadvantage—""Flying? Did Josha or Shera help?"

"No, my lady, they were on standby, but the flying Devils did not commit. It's like they're scouting our way of fighting."

"Well, anyway, I'm glad you're fine," Willow said. She softly brushed the back of her head, and Krywen relaxed into her neck.

"You know, I'm here too. With my robe torn by a literal Devil's claw," Evan said.

"Well, I'm not hugging you. You'd almost kill me, remember?" Krywen gave Evan a pointed look, and the noble merely said:"She's exaggerating." Looking at them again, Willow was pleased to see they had made incredible progress, with Krywen reaching level 17 and Evan 15.

"Judging by how much you two levelled up, I assume they have plenty of tier-two?"

"Yes, my lady, their scout party is clearly not a throwaway group. They meant to escape us or win the fight. Your Olympya Knights play a huge role in us only having fewer than three deaths." So there was death? Willow let the fact settle. Being coddled inside a castle, even for a day, made it feel surreal that armies of Riftborn were waiting outside. Three of them. Perhaps she had already gotten enough rest. One thing was for sure: she shouldn't let herself become too comfortable now.

"You two are resting, then?" They nodded.

"Good, take a long sleep. Next battle, I'll be there." Krywen's eyes lit up, and even Evan gave her an approving nod. When they said goodbye and walked down the corridor, Willow saw they walked straighter and faster. People expect me to fight. She chewed on that for a brief moment, leaning her back against the stone wall. She did not mind fighting; she even saw it as necessary. This was just that kind of world—one where monsters and magic exist.

Deciding she needed time to think and some fresh air, Willow left toward the stairs. With a respectful bow, she returned the glass and plate the maid had given her and set them on a kitchen counter as she crossed into the chef's area. They asked whether she wanted more, and honestly, she did, but that could come later. For now, she stepped outside and breathed in the evening air. The afternoon had passed. How long did I sleep bathe?

With the Devil book tucked under her arm, Willow made her way toward the fortress walls—until a piercing cry rose. She turned and peeked around the corner of the castle to see the barn where a familiar voice was giving out instructions. Naturally, she walked there, sneaking forward, lowering her head so no legionaries could see her. She pressed her hand against the double wooden door of the barn. Inside, three Griffins were standing atop stacked haystacks.

A bridle made for them, especially crafted so that their flying maneuvers were not impeded. The barn was large enough for a small flight. Currently, Josha rode atop one, and it looked like he was standing as the Griffin craned atop one haystack. He gave instructions to three watching [Riders] and flew a short flight to the other end of the barn. Hay fluttered across in a lash of wind as he and the Griffin crossed.

When they landed, the tier-one Griffin let out a pleasant squawk, and Josha patted it right atop its head.

"There's really nothing I can teach you, but be steadfast. Our Enhancer, Master of Mount, will take care of the rest."

"What about Rider's Bond? Should we use it on them?" One middle-aged woman with greying hair down to her hip asked.

"Yes, absolutely, do it when you learn it. In the first tier, Rider's Bond limits you to one ride. One only. I only got another when I ascended, so choose wisely. My first is a normal horse. Under normal circumstances, it's a bad choice, but it was the best option for me back then. But for you guys?" Josha scratched below the Griffin's neck.

"They can fly, and we sorely needed an aerial cavalry unit."

"Three Griffins, and there are three of us here, with you riding the Thunder Pegasus," said a man dressed in brigantine armor, showcasing Kroos' flower crest. He rested his arm on his hip and grinned upward.

"Good, good. An aerial cavalry, count me in. This is better than being assigned a Legionary Class Stone."

"It is, isn't it?" said a brunette young man with a ponytail. He wore a fine woolen shirt that also had Kroos' family sigil on it. But this time, it was obviously not a soldier's wear.

"Lordling, this is dangerous stuff," the older man teased.

"You can ask your grand-uncle for some fancy horse instead, you know."

"Bah! The fanciest horse is given to him to appease the Bright Lady," the young man said.

"No offense."

"None taken, it's the truth," Josha said simply.

"But, yes, this will be much more dangerous, considering we don't know where the rest of the aerial cavalry currently is…" He trailed off, locking eyes with Willow, who gave him a sheepish wave. Willow did not miss her chance and mouthed, 'I want to pet them'. Josha crunched his eyes in disapproval, but with a loud sigh he motioned her closer. With a triumphant grin, she walked in and skipped past the three [Riders]. They each stiffened as she passed by.

The scurrying sound of hay underneath was probably them saluting her. I will never get used to that.

"Who is this girl?" Willow asked as she poked the Griffin's underneck. So soft! She wanted to bury her face in her fur.

"This is Evelyn."

"Why do you have to pick a boring name?" Willow scolded.

"How about Aveline?" She craned her neck to see the Griffin's reaction, and Aveline let out a melodic churn, even rubbing her head toward Willow. She giggled and slung her arm around the Griffin's neck.

"See? That's better."

"I'm not sure what the difference between Evelyn and Aveline is," Josha mumbled.

"Well, the difference is—" [Your Hunt has failed] What? Willow pushed Aveline's neck away and whirled around. She ran out of the barracks because she remembered the consequences of—"Willow! Wait!" Josha called. Before he reached her, the earth shook, and far beyond the wall, a giant tree rose to the sky.