Just as Graycliff Town's guards stood ready, expecting some noble lord clad in splendid robes to arrive.
Whoosh!
The blue barrier racing toward them smashed through the last obstruction of black mist and crossed into Graycliff Town's Deity Barrier!
At that moment, every knight's spear and sword froze in midair.
There was no imposing divine emissary as they had imagined.
Nor were there any luxurious robes fluttering in the wind.
All that stumbled out of the black mist was a scrawny refugee wearing a ragged, patched coat!
The refugee's face was covered in grime and sweat, his hair looked like a chicken coop rooted through by wild boars, and his eyes were bloodshot. He was so exhausted that his tongue nearly hung down to his chin.
And on his frame, which looked too frail to carry even a sack of flour.
He was actually carrying a silver-haired knight whose armor was shattered and whose entire body was soaked in blood!
"Cough, cough, cough..."
"Someone... someone give me a hand, quick!!"
Ma Lou had long since lost all feeling in his legs. Sheer determination alone had kept him going until now.
The instant he entered the barrier, his knees buckled from exhaustion, and he crashed heavily to the ground with Kairils still on his back.
"H-help!"
Ma Lou no longer had the strength to lift a finger. His eyes rolled back as he strained his scorched throat:
"I... I really almost ran myself to death!"
"Quick... someone alive, come take him!! He's not going to make it!"
When the old guard recognized Ma Lou's unforgettable face, the torch he had just picked up dropped to the ground with a clatter, scattering sparks.
"You... you're that young fellow from Fog Town who left with them this morning?!"
Once the old guard identified