After an unknown amount of time had passed, Mistergo finally returned to complete calm.
With the Abyss Creatures all driven away by Zaryas's aura, the two Abyss Demon Lords already slain, and even the Abyss Gate closed, there were practically no enemies left in Mistergo. Only Riezel, Merlot, and Naisha remained.
By then, Riezel had descended from the sky and returned to Merlot and Naisha.
"Sir..."
Merlot and Naisha both opened their mouths as though they wanted to say something, yet neither knew how to begin. Their faces were full of gloom.
The atmosphere immediately became silent and oppressive.
It could not be helped. Whenever they thought of how Belti had sacrificed herself to close the Abyss Gate through a sacrificial ritual, neither Merlot nor Naisha could feel any better.
"I should have realized it sooner." Naisha even blamed herself. "That was a planar passage the Abyss had opened at tremendous cost. It had existed for eleven thousand years—how could it possibly have been so easily closed?"
If it had been that simple, this land would not have become what it was today.
That Empire had once been the greatest and strongest force in all the Source. If they had been capable of closing the Abyss Gate, how could they possibly have chosen not to do so?
Yet the Abyss Gate had remained open for a full eleven thousand years. Even after That Empire had fallen, it had not closed. The entire Source had been helpless against it and could only build a massive wall to completely isolate this land.
That alone proved that closing the Abyss Gate was far from simple.
Belti had been able to do it for two reasons. First, through sheer chance, she had obtained the research results left behind by a powerful ancient race and