The night was still long.
Within the seemingly ordinary Messenger Hall, news that concerned the survival of the world was being passed outward.
Meanwhile, the battles inside and outside the city would not be affected by this covert change.
On the road leading out of the city.
Alvitte's figure darted swiftly through the ruins.
She passed through the Black Mist created by the Abyss School, but did not linger in it at all.
The girl listened only to the sobbing at her ears as she watched the enemy retreating ahead!
"..."
"They've already passed the third city wall."
Alvitte continued her pursuit.
Her perception, far beyond that of ordinary people, allowed her to detect the Despairer's location.
She really was closing the distance.
But by now, both sides had completely left the center of the City of Law behind and reached the last of its three walls!
Here, the surrounding farmland was largely beyond the reach of the Abyss School's Black Mist, and bright moonlight once again spilled across the earth.
Yet the ordinary people Alvitte glimpsed by chance wore expressions of utter despair.
"Ahhh!"
"War, war again!"
"Why won't you leave me alone?"
"I finally made it here, Father... why..."
"..."
Alvitte frowned tightly.
The souls of these ordinary people had been infected by the powerful Awakened's technique.
Merely witnessing the Royal City being swallowed by darkness made them feel as though there was nowhere left to go, as though their lives had been consumed by shadow and war.
The misery left behind spilled from their despairing throats in wails, infecting the emotions of even more people.
"Despair..."
Alvitte's fingers unconsciously rubbed against the hilt of her sword.
She accelerated further. After crossing the final wall of the City of Law, Alvitte finally saw the Despairer charging ahead.
A