The True Arrival of the Dark Age

"Hahaha... hahahahaha!!!!!"

Having figured out his situation, Archduke Garibaldi's body trembled slightly before he erupted into uproarious laughter at an astonishing volume.

His reaction was baffling, but only Archduke Garibaldi himself knew what he was laughing about.

The Eclipse of the Hour ritual had been disrupted, but the ritual itself had not been completely interrupted.

Archduke Garibaldi still had a chance to become a God Hand... provided the British Expeditionary Force let him go, which was absolutely impossible.

Never mind Arthur's side—even the thirty or forty members of the Scorching Sun Legion craving BOSS treasure chests would never compromise.

Making peace was out of the question~

However, compared to whether Garibaldi could become the first God Hand in this world, the ritual's successful activation itself had a far greater impact on the world.

Because it meant that this world had thoroughly established a connection with the demon-realm-like region called the Astral World, which had previously existed only within the Berserk Dungeon World.

In other words, the instant the Behelit answered the Archduke's wish and formed the Eclipse of the Hour was when the [Dark Age] Dungeon Modifier truly activated.

Even those who had originally belonged to Golden Fortress and had now gathered behind Cheng Tian bore a blood-red mark upon their bodies. Like unhealable wounds, those marks continuously seeped blood.

This mark was the "Sacrifice Brand." Its presence proved that they had been marked by the ritual.

Even if holders of the Sacrifice Brand, like Guts, were fortunate enough to escape the Eclipse of the Hour's Sacrifice Ritual, their very existence would be completely altered.

Under the brand's transformation, every drop of blood and every cell in a sacrifice's body had effectively been claimed by darkness.

To Wandering Spirits, Dark Creatures, Beast-Demon Apostles, and other beings lingering between the mortal