1.
Celestial Barrier.
A <Transcendent> artifact that absolutely blocks any attack once per day.
However, due to Nahan’s ridiculous mistake, the Artifact Guaranteed Enhancement Ticket was used, and now it has become an Ex-rank bound item.
An heirloom of the Gardner Count family, where the soul of its founder, Balak Gardner, resides.
No matter how you look at it, it was an excellent artifact in many ways.
“Ugh, war is such a hassle.”
“Huh? What do you mean, war?”
“The Celestial Barrier is gone. That means a war will break out soon.”
Wait, what? Why?
I looked at Marin with that very question in mind, but she simply spoke with a solemn expression.
“Give me back my cookie.”
“…I already crushed and swallowed it.”
“…”
As I watched her drowsy shock, I couldn’t help but wonder—Is there no sane person among the followers of the Light?
At that moment, Tehelan, who had been silent, placed a piece of candy on the desk and handed it to Marin.
“For now, take this.”
“Oh! Thanks, Tehelan!”
“It’s nothing.”
Rustle, Rustle.
While Marin was distracted by the candy, Tehelan spoke in a quiet tone.
“As you all know, our Gardner family has defended this land since the foundation of the Empire.”
The Gardner Border Marquisate.
A family of ironclad guardians that built an impenetrable fortress on the Beast Warfront, the border between humans and demons, defending the empire for generations.
Because of this, it was home to fierce warriors, and even mercenaries were abundant.
However, if someone were to ask what played the biggest role in holding the front line, Tehelan would shake his head and reply:
The wall, built over a thousand years ago, has done more than ninety percent of the work.
“The wall is strong on its own, but its true power is revealed when it resonates.”
When the Guardian Stones, mixed among the ordinary rocks, resonate with Aura, they form an impenetrable barrier akin to an iron fortress.
“But as you can tell from the sheer size and length of the wall, each resonance requires an enormous amount of Aura.”
Tehelan glanced at Hestia, who nodded in agreement.
“All of the Guardian Stones are in their raw form. Even my brother wouldn’t last a full day—maintaining the wall consumes a vast amount of Aura.”
“Well, you never know until you try…!!”
Just as Vulcan was about to snap back, Tehelan gave him a sharp glare, stopping him.
“Refrain from acting recklessly.”
“…I apologize.”
Only after receiving Vulcan’s apology did Tehelan continue speaking.
“In any case, the only reason the Gardner Wall has been maintained until now is entirely thanks to the Celestial Barrier.”
The founder of the Gardner family.
The Ironclad Hero, Balak Gardner, crafted this artifact after completing the wall.
The shield, recorded to contain ancient dragon techniques, continuously generated Aura, much like Balak’s own heart.
And not just any ordinary Aura—
“It was the same caliber of Aura as that of our founder.”
In nature, there is no spring that never dries, nor is there an inexhaustible source of energy. But the Celestial Barrier made that possible.
“For generations, the heads of the Gardner Count family have used the Celestial Barrier to power the Guardian Stones of the wall every single day.”
However, just recently—
Following the attack by the Black Wolf, the Celestial Barrier was lost, and as a result, the wall is now on the verge of shutting down.
Thanks to Tehelan pouring his Aura into it every hour, it has barely managed to stay active at one percent of its usual power.
But even that—
“This will last for only three more days. After that, the wall’s protection will vanish.”
Which meant—
“There’s a high chance the Demon Legion will invade. And if war breaks out, the fortress could fall within days.”
As Tehelan finished speaking, a heavy silence filled the room, darkening everyone’s expressions.
“This is more serious than I thought.”
“Ah, Asha! Couldn’t you just stay here for the duration of the war?”
“Vulcan, even if I protect this place, what if a Demon Legion Commander appears at another front during that time?”
“…Damn it.”
Meanwhile, Tehelan remained composed as he continued.
“According to yesterday’s reconnaissance magic, the Demon Legion forces on the opposite front have begun to show signs of movement.”
“Already? But it’s only been a few days since we returned.”
The demons.
Creatures with low reproductive ability but vastly superior physical prowess compared to humans.
Due to their inherently warlike nature, they had fought against humans for ages. However, after suffering a crushing defeat during the Great Battle at the time of the empire’s founding, they had retreated into their own lands.
Although they were powerful individually, their factions remained divided, never interfering with each other and existing in a state of mutual non-interference.
But this time—
“This time, something is different. As soon as they sensed the wall’s anomaly, they swiftly recovered from the damage inflicted by the Hero Party and reorganized their front lines.”
Just as Tehelan said, the demons were currently repositioning their forces after swiftly repairing the damage caused by the Hero Party.
In other words—
“If we don’t recover the Celestial Barrier, a war is inevitable.”
War.
Most of those present had experienced it before, so they fell into a somber silence.
Meanwhile, within Ian Red, Nahan thought to himself—
‘Well, sh*t.’
Thinking it was a <Transcendent> artifact that might be useful, he had casually taken it—only to find out it was actually a war deterrent between the Babylonia Empire and the demons.
‘If someone had told me that earlier, I wouldn’t have taken it. <Babylonia Full Content> never mentioned this!’
If possible, he wanted to return it immediately.
But since he had used the Artifact Guaranteed Enhancement Ticket, the Celestial Barrier was now a bound item that only Nahan could use.
To make matters worse—
– [Hmph. I thought you were just a knight of the family, but it turns out you’re the head. You’ve grown weak, complacent in peace.]
—It even came with an unnecessary bonus.
As he silently suffered under the weight of guilt, pretending to be deep in thought—
Asha, who had remained silent, quietly turned away and spoke.
“All members of the Light, listen up. From this moment, we are going to subjugate the Black Wolf.”
I’m seriously screwed.
The confrontation between the Light and the Black Wolf—this was the 14th episode out of 15.
I had expected that the pace of preventing the bad ending would accelerate, but if it advanced this much, either the Empress or the Hero would inevitably be lost.
‘Think. Think. Think…!!’
As Nahan desperately wracked his brain to come up with the best possible move—
“…Ah.”
Marin’s expression twisted, and an ominous killing intent exploded from her.
What the hell?
Did she find out that I have a Soul Restriction?
As Nahan swallowed nervously and watched her warily, Marin’s killing intent bypassed him—
And landed directly on Tehelan.
“Do you want to die, Tehelan?”
“…I apologize. This all happened because I was lacking.”
Tehelan, equally startled, bowed his head in remorse, but—
“What are you talking about? The candy you gave me.”
“…Huh?”
“This is ginseng candy.”
That wasn’t the issue at all.
Marin’s golden eyes flashed fiercely as she delivered a grave warning.
“Get me something else. Cookies or cake. If you’re late, I’ll seriously get mad.”
“I’ll go get it myself.”
“Strawberry.”
“Yes. I’ll bring a strawberry cake.”
Tehelan deactivated the barrier and stepped out to fetch it himself.
Ptuh!
Only then did Marin spit out the candy. She hesitated for a moment before throwing it away.
“Why the hesitation?”
“…Well, it is still candy.”
Marin’s principle: No dessert, no matter how bad, shall be wasted.
Even if it was a failure, she would never throw it away or give it to someone else.
She believed it was the minimum respect for the dessert that was created.
‘She can handle it herself, I guess.’
Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about that.
‘Seriously, what should I do? Should I sneak in once a day and secretly replenish the Aura? But what if I get caught? I’m still not strong enough to fight alone…’
His mind spun rapidly.
‘Ugh, I need sugar.’
The moment the thought crossed his mind—
Click.
Something warm and sweet rolled into his mouth.
A rich, healthy fragrance spread immediately.
Snapped out of his concentration, Nahan looked down—
Just in time to see Marin stepping back from her tiptoes.
She casually asked.
“How is it?”
To be honest, it was something he could mindlessly snack on if it was there.
But he wouldn’t go out of his way to buy it.
“Well… It’s not bad.”
He gave a mixed yet honest answer, to which Marin lazily smiled and nodded.
“That’s how it is.”
“…What?”
“You need some failed desserts before you can make better ones. And even failed desserts… have their own charm.”
Her drowsy eyes gleamed with clear golden light.
At that moment, Nahan finally understood why Marin was considered a Great Mage.
As he unknowingly nodded along with her words, Marin whispered softly.
“I’ll trust you and go to sleep. When things get better, I’ll help out too.”
“…Huh?”
“Don’t pretend. You see everything too, don’t you?”
Following her gaze, Nahan turned his head—
To see Balak Gardner standing there.
– […Wait, did that kid just… notice me?]
Balak was shocked.
But before he could process it—
“Ah, well, this is…”
Even more flustered, Nahan instinctively reached out to explain.
But Marin was faster.
She smoothly dodged him and spoke to Asha instead.
“Don’t worry, Asha. The founder of the Gardners is with him.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Hmm. Maybe not ‘with him’ but ‘lingering around’? Or maybe ‘held captive’? Well, it makes sense, honestly… Ah, whatever. I’m going to sleep. Just tell him to handle it.”
Marin, rubbing her sleepy eyes, used magic to snatch the cake and cookies from Tehelan’s hands before turning back to Nahan.
“Bye. See you soon.”
And that was it.
Shatter!
Like glass breaking under sunlight, Marin scattered into brilliant fragments and disappeared.
Leaving behind Vulcan and Hestia—
“The founder of our family? What is the meaning of this, Red-haired Priest?!!”
“Brother, don’t yell. Let’s go through this calmly. No, wait. I’ll ask the questions. First, may I inquire about your ability?”
And Tehelan and Asha—
“Stay still, both of you. He is a benefactor and a great person. If I may ask—what kind of authority have you awakened?”
“…So your second ability was real. Priest, just who are you…?”
And finally, four people, their eyes shining with interest, surrounding Ian Red with eager expressions.
Meanwhile, inside—
‘…I’m gonna lose my damn mind.’
The beloved friend of all, Ian Red.
‘I haven’t even thought this through yet.’
What authority should he claim to have?
Communication with spirits?
Guiding the dead?
Something-something souls?
After a brief moment of internal debate, he came up with the best possible answer and opened his mouth.
“My second authority is…”
