"I know it may sound strange and even ridiculous, but we must evacuate every single citizen of Namaran from the city. Not a single soul is to remain.
"Pardon...?"
The current Countess of Namaran, who used to be the young lady of this city, paused wrapping up her duties for the day in her study and frowned.
"What do you mean by that?"
She was genuinely confused. She had just exchanged her greetings with Lloyd in the afternoon and expressed how glad she was about seeing him for the first time in a long time, as well as concerns about the signs of collapsing the cliff was showing. It had only been a few hours since then.
"Have you already identified the cause of the collapse?"
But the Lloyd she knew certainly was capable of coming to the conclusion this quickly. After all, he was the one who saved the city from dark mages and the hell's knight. He had displayed unprecedented wits and composure to deliver Namaran unexpectedly, against all odds. And the new countess was right.
"Yes, I have."
"Then there must be a reason why you want to evacuate all citizens of the city."
"That is correct."
"Would you be able to tell me?"
"Of course. Namaran's Wall will be re-raised."
"...What?" Countess of Namaran was visibly distraught as Lloyd continued.
"The incident will take place exactly at midnight of the sixth day from today. The stabilization piles installed underground will be moved through dark magic, forming a magical seal of a sort. A wall of magical energy will shroud the city again, and all lives within the barrier will perish."
"That's..."
"And the hell's knight will awaken again, but in complete form this time."
“...”
"The city will be destroyed, as well as other settlements in the vicinity due to the activity of the hell's knight. That is what I am suspecting."
"Did you obtain a prophecy by any chance?"
"No," said Lloyd with a smile on his face. "I just happened to acquire a few key clues while I was investigating the scenes. I made deductions based on those, and came to this conclusion."
That was a blatant lie; Lloyd had read the ending spoiler, according to which he had met a tragic fate.
I was murdered in cold blood by the hell's knight.
Lloyd was away from Javier unfortunately in that moment, when he ran across the hell's knight in its full powers. As a result of the clash in which Lloyd put up a decent fight, he came up short against the creature that was mightier than swordmasters. The hell's knight ascending to Namaran was an elite boss with a name and the commander of the first division in hell's army. There was no way Lloyd could overcome this beast. He fought valiantly, sang, and tried to buy time until Javier came to his rescue, but all to no avail. His body was ripped apart to pieces, and he met his tragic demise. He tried to stand his ground and lifted his shovel to counterattack, when his heart was pierced by the blade. That was roughly the ending he had seen through the spoiler this time.
Tsk. And it hurt like crap.
Lloyd inadvertently trembled like a leaf, having been reminded of the excruciating pain he felt as the blade found his heart. That was the problem with the ending spoiler; it was so real, that Lloyd felt every single feeling of the ending, including the pain.
"Anyhow," continued Lloyd, brushing off the unnecessary thoughts. "All of us will be swept away by a tragic catastrophe if we don't do anything."
"What are the chances of that happening?"
"I would say a hundred percent."
The Countess of Namaran bit her lips tightly. After Lloyd gave her some time to process this, she spoke again.
"Okay, I trust your words, because you're the one that saved my father, and everyone in this city. But there is something I would like to ask."
"I am listening."
"Is evacuating all citizens the only way to respond to the tragedy?"
"I'm afraid it is."
"Why? If it is indeed going to happen six days from today, I think that's enough time to make other preparations."
"Are you feeling uncomfortable about fleeing from the problem?"
"To tell you the truth, yes," nodded the young countess. "It isn't easy to make a city-wide announcement and force all citizens to evacuate immediately. The city is their home, and it would make me and the rest of the citizens feel like we haven't tried enough to solve the issue."
"I understand how you feel, but there is nothing for you to worry about."
"Please elaborate."
"Evacuating doesn't necessarily mean running away."
"Then you have another purpose."
"Yes. We're laying a trap."
"...Trap?"
Countess of Namaran frowned, as the smile on Lloyd's face became even more apparent.
"That's right. We might as well get rid of the source of the problem, while we're at it."
"You want to lay a trap to exterminate the enemies."
"Exactly."
"Can you please enlighten me with the details?"
"Of course I can."
Lloyd put a huge smile on his face, appreciating the countess's trust. All that was left to do was explain the plan in detail, to win her support in all this. He approached the countess with confidence.
"Please allow me. This is something no one should eavesdrop on."
"I'm all ears."
"Okay, so the plan is... blah, blah... everyone will be safe... blah, blah... in the city hall... blah, blah..."
The young countess's eyes became wider as Lloyd's whispers continued. The next morning, the plan for all citizens to evacuate the city was announced.
♣
"Leave our homes and jobs and get out of the city all of a sudden? Just like that?"
"But they're going to have tents for us to stay, Dad."
"Tsk, are we supposed to be thankful for tents? What about our work?"
"It looks like that will have to be suspended. But they'll be providing food."
"Food? Okay, I'm bursting into tears because I'm so grateful. We will at least have food. Ha."
"But Dad."
"What?"
"The countess also stated this in the announcement."
"What."
"That this is the only way to keep everyone safe."
"Safe?"
"Yeah."
"From what?"
"From the slope that was showing signs of collapsing as of late. She said the entire city is to be emptied so that the inspection of the soil can be conducted."
"Inspection of the soil?"
"Yeah."
"And who's going to do that?"
"Lord Lloyd Frontera."
"What?!"
It was at the home of an ordinary family during breakfast. A single father of one daughter paused upon hearing this and asked his child again, in a cautious manner.
"Did you just say Lord Lloyd Frontera?"
"Yeah."
The daughter nodded confidently, and the father's grumbling attitude quickly subsided.
"I see. Hahahaha. So Lord Lloyd Frontera is going to do that for us?"
"Yeah. That's what the announcement said."
"Ahahaha. You should have told me that first. I wouldn't have gotten upset."
The single father burst out in laughter, quickly feeling embarrassed about his complaints against the order to evacuate.
"Then we must follow the order faithfully. When are we expected to leave?"
"It said the tents will be ready within five days."
"Alright, then should we get started on packing after breakfast?"
"Okay, Dad."
The single father picked up the bread to resume eating, and the daughter followed with a smile. Similar conversations took place all across Namaran, from old stables and shops getting ready to open for business, to the bedrooms of newlyweds and the barracks of guards. Every citizen of the estate was confused about the order to evacuate, with some asking genuine questions until they heard that Lloyd Frontera was involved. As soon as they found out Lloyd was going to conduct an inspection, they accepted it without question. It was obvious; that most citizens of Namaran considered themselves to be deeply indebted to Lloyd Frontera. This man was a trustworthy individual. They all waited to be assigned to their tents, aside from a few who were skeptical about this order. They were mostly vassals in service of the countess.
"Lady Namaran, I don't know what to say about this... but this is a bit strange."
"What is?"
Countess of Namaran stopped eating and put down on fork, staring at the administrator, who had rushed to the countess's mansion early in the morning to express his concerns.
"The order for all citizens that you had announced this morning. I was genuinely confused about it."
"What do you mean?"
"I am skeptical about the inspection of the soil that Young Lord Lloyd Frontera is going to perform," said the administrator, in an increasingly composed manner of speech. "I am aware of the problem that mysterious mana explosions and the collapsing ground have been posing as of late, and that we must come up with an action plan. Inspecting the soil underneath the city makes sense, too. However, does it require evacuating all citizens and emptying the city...?"
"You find that strange."
"I do, Lady Namaran," replied the administrator, nodding honestly. The Countess of Namaran chuckled and responded.
"I understand how you feel. Of course it is strange. I'm sure anyone would. However, we will all be in big trouble if we don't follow the suggestions of Lloyd Frontera."
"Huh? Are you saying that the inspection is just an excuse...?"
"I'm so relieved to have an administrator who's quick-witted."
“...”
"I can't tell you everything at the moment, but the ground collapsing is just the sign of a much greater issue that's hidden. Lord Lloyd Frontera identified the real problem, and suggested the evacuation to get rid of the
source."
"Then..."
"I have placed my trust in that man. And that's why I need you."
"I'm at your service."
"Please go convince other vassals of the realm that now isn't the time to argue, but to combine our efforts to solve this issue together. Understood?"
"...Of course. As you wish."
The administrator came to ask questions but left persuaded. Half a day later, other subjects of the countess agreed with their lord and pledged their support. The order to evacuate the citizens picked up speed, and a huge camp outside of the city under the cliff was created. In five days, all tents were built and assigned to the citizens of the city, allowing them to relocate temporarily, including most of the cattle. The entire city was pretty much empty.
In the meantime, Lloyd filled the empty city with tens of thousands of insects and worms. He had thoroughly searched all forests in the vicinity as Countess of Namaran led the citizens out of the streets, capturing the likes of moths, grasshoppers, worms, and beetles with the help of Ggoming, the bird and natural bug hunter, and Javier, who had superhuman senses. Lloyd gathered an especially additional amount of detestable mosquitoes, before releasing them into the city. He then waited an entire day in the empty settlement. Having spent a quiet noon and ruddy afternoon, a moonlit sky of the night welcomed him. The stars were up in the northern skies towards midnight, during which a strange, unstable sign of a huge change showed.
Bzzzt... The stabilization piles installed in the cliff supporting the city unleashed nefarious light, forming a dark purple wall of magical energy that swirled ominously.
Whoooooosh! The nightmarish wall that stood with the intent to devour even the moon and the stars marked the beginning of the second Namaran's Wall incident.
♣
Rustle! The pouch moved violently. The opening was still sealed, so the beetles could only twitch around on the inside. Namaran's Wall emanated a strange vibe and absorbed the life energy of these insects, which struggled to resist amidst shrieking noises of agony. Other pouches were just the same. Thousands of grasshoppers, worms, and moths all fluttered their limbs and antennae, before losing their lives to the devastating wall. This life energy was all absorbed by Namaran's Wall, which refined it all and gathered it in a single place: the city hall of Namaran. The memorial stone in the center of the huge hall shook.
Crumble! The life forces came together, powered the ominous, evil energy at work, and broke the memorial stone that commemorated the end of the first Namaran's Wall incident.
Crush! A transcendent something opened its eyes from within the stone. It was the hell's knight, which had tasted defeat in this very place. It was the commander of the first corp of the freakish hell's army, Sir Giolexius, who had been beaten by Javier and Lloyd.
A black skeletal figure resurrected and came back from the realm between hell and eternal doom. He certainly looked different from his incomplete self before; his limbs were all intact, and a fearsome-looking armor covering his dark bones that glossed like obsidian let out the roars of the pure-evil grim reaper. The greatsword that ruled over the demons of the underworld unleashed scary clinking noises against air molecules.
"...My fight is not over yet."
Crush! Crush! Sir Giolexius lifted his head, breaking the memorial stone apart and glaring through baleful eyes that shone beneath the helm as he stepped forward. His eyes were full of grudges and disappointment from the previous fight. The commander of the first corp of hell's army was infuriated by the battle in which he was defeated and perished.
"It shall be different this time around, swordmaster Javier Asrahan and deceitful Lloyd Frontera. If you think you can stop me again, you're wrong."
Crush! He stretched out his hand, completely breaking the memorial stone. The evil commander placed his hand blessed with hellish, murderous powers on the floor of the city hall, which subsequently cracked apart like soil struck by drought.
"I have regained my complete form today. Swordmaster? I don't care. Challenge me.'
Kwoosh! Crush! He slowly lifted his upper body amidst the hell's flames that sparked near him. The fearsome atmosphere that would surely put pressure on any living creature spread around in the vicinity, as Sir Giolexius shouted out with his heart.
"Only a grandmaster, that does not exist in this world, can defeat me in this form! Javier Asrahan, come and face me so we may finish this once and for all!"
The hell's knight's confident statement did not go unheard. All of a sudden, a massively composed voice spoke out in a familiarly annoying manner from the knight's back.
"First time facing a grandmaster?"
"...What?"
Sir Giolexius was genuinely confused by the reply. He quickly turned around and saw what was coming at him, but it was too late when he realized it. Grandmaster Javier's nuclear slash was charging towards him with the
intent to slice the entire galaxy in half.
Kwooosh!!
