Beneath the burning volcano, the solemn, ancient city lay shrouded beneath dark clouds.
Streams of flame constantly rose from the blazing mountains, circling amid the clouds before falling like rain. The air was thick with sulfur and pungent odors.
Yet beneath the drifting volcanic ash, as dense as snow, Pompeii City still stood upon the earth.
It was a city formed from the final fusion of countless building cards, including military camps, law enforcement offices, grand bathhouses, and even temples.
With inexhaustible energy and the defensive advantage of molten fire, the sound of anvils and hammers colliding rang endlessly from the workshops. Blessed divine weapons emerged from within, continually being equipped by every legion.
And at the city's highest point, halfway up the mountain, within a fortress built from black basalt, a soothing fragrance of tea now lingered in the air.
"I never expected to find such good tea in a place like this." Across a somewhat rough table, the young swordsman seated upright lifted the silver cup in his hands and took a deep breath. Feeling the fragrant aroma coil through his lungs, he could not help but sigh softly.
Izumi nodded. "I must thank Lord Vulcan for his generous hospitality."
"Not at all."
Across from him, the bearded giant wrapped in Mai clothes laughed heartily. "Since fate has allowed us to meet, of course I should entertain you properly. I simply wonder why the Sword Saint came to such a remote place as ours—especially in such an extravagant manner..."
At the mention of Izumi's descent from the sky, Vulcan looked utterly amazed, his curiosity overflowing.
"What was that?" he asked solemnly. "Could it be that weapon the Archipelago Lineage spoke of... that Human Cannon? Was it real?"
"Well, that's quite a long story."
Izumi hesitated, then gave an