In the drowsy night, the docklands are probably the last place in the whole of Stonebuch to be quiet.

It has only been a few decades since the new wharf was built, and countless crooked and simple wooden houses have been piled up on top of each other along the wharf, some of which have even been stacked up to dangerous heights against the city walls. The first two kings tried to clear the area during their reigns, but even if they destroyed all the buildings, the houses would once again grow tenaciously like moss on the rocks at the water's edge, covering everything...... Garden had no choice but to let it go after nearly a riot, Ante had no time to carry out all his plans, and the new dock remained a jumble and vibrant, and together with the towering Triple Black Tower, it became a buriant, magnificent, and eerie sight to everyone who first came to Stunbuch along the Vinez River.

But for the sailors who were already familiar with the port, it was not much different from the harbor of any city they passed, as long as there was wine, food, plump and spicy girls, and rough singing, and they didn't care whether it was solid stone bricks, ornate domes, or half-rotten planks and dim candlelight.

The noise on the pier usually doesn't subside until dawn arrives. A sailor staggered along the narrow path to the river, the moon hidden behind the clouds, his vision blurred in the deepest darkness, and he couldn't see the way at all, but he still walked forward carelessly, even if he fell...... If it's a big deal, roll down on the side of the road and sleep.

He was still smiling when the ground beneath his feet began to shake, letting himself stagger. He didn't think he had drunk much tonight...... But the world always gets a little more interesting when he's a little drunk.

It took a moment for a loud bang to bring him to his senses.

The young sailor looked back in a daze. Behind him, a thunderous roar emerged from the ground, and the solid ground slowly rose and collapsed with everything that covered it, like undulating waves...... A flash of fire rose into the sky, tearing through the fortified walls that Ston Butch was proud of.

He opened his mouth and stared blankly, fear rising from the chaos, making him tremble uncontrollably. Now he could see the way - the light of the fire that had burst out of the ground burned straight into the sky, and even the gray-black clouds seemed to be on fire, and above the darkness of the night, a fiery red, blood-colored vortex was burned.

For a moment, he felt as if the sky was going to be torn apart...... Angry gods will rain deadly thunder and lightning and fire from behind the cracked sky, destroying a world of chaos, filth, and god-forsaken worlds.

He waited, frozen in fear and dazedness. But the light of the fire quickly dimmed for a short time, and disappeared into darkness.

Only then could he hear the terrible screams and cries that resounded through the dawn.

By the time Ed was allowed in, it was already dawn. The sun is still shining...... Even more brilliant, as if the apocalyptic sight of last night was just an illusion of the people.

He was awakened by the light of the fire outside the window when he was half-asleep. With the window facing north, he could only see half of the city shrouded in a blood-red fire for a short time, but he could already vaguely guess what was happening.

Before the flames were gone, he had rushed out of the door and arrived here as fast as he could. He should have rushed straight into the looming, collapsed space beneath the ruined walls, but he had to stop and help those who had been injured in the sudden disaster.

By the time more priests arrived, the guards in Westport had come to their senses and cordoned off the surroundings.

Naria, who followed him, disappeared for a moment, then ran back and secretly told him that her friend had a way to take him around the guards, and he thought about it and shook his head.

He was indeed desperate to know what was going on underground...... But in fact, he thought he knew. If he sneaks in at this time, once he is discovered, he will be at a loss.

The soldiers from Lockburg arrived before dawn, but Fili Zeri was late...... Behind a middle-aged man who Ed was no stranger to.

Count of Hereford, Bass Marshall.

Moira gave the Earl and Stamp Butch's garrison, Briss Patterson, the task of finding out the matter. The new garrison officers who had been appointed after the plague were still very young and did not have much opinion. Count Hereford seemed to be in control, but Filly was calm about it, and didn't seem to care about their clash in the Pomegranate Hall a few days ago.

The Count himself was much more polite than he had been a few days ago—no, he had always been very polite, but his friendliness had surprised Ed a little compared to the-for-tat suspicion he had been a few days ago.

In his questioning gaze, Filly simply shrugged his shoulders and whispered to him, "We'll come back to this later." ”

The soldiers had cleared a passage downward, but no bodies had been carried out. The faint luck in Ed's heart was shattered when Count Hereford spoke.

"There are no living people down there. "There's no way to know exactly how many died...... I told them to leave all the bodies where they were. ”

The only thing to be thankful for is that the place of the collapse is probably not directly facing the city wall, but under the ground on the inside of the city wall, a strong vibration destroyed some of the fragile buildings inside and outside the city wall, but the city wall itself miraculously did not collapse completely, otherwise the entire section of the city wall would have smashed into the ground, and it would have taken them several days to clean it up.

Unlike what they had encountered in the basement of Mansini's house, the chamber here did not collapse downward, but rather some force rushed out from here and tossed the ground. Despite some impatience, Ed waited in silence until the workers had carefully reinforced anything that might collapse again, and then followed Count Hereford into the ground.

The weather was hot, and a faint rancid smell was already inevitable, but there was a strange aroma mixed with it. Realizing that it was the smell of grilled meat, Ed couldn't help but turn pale.

Most of the bodies were crushed under large and small stones...... There was only one, and it wasn't even covered in much dust.

He lay there on his back, with no scars on his body and no blood under him...... It's just that on the face, where the eyes and mouth and nose were originally located, only a few charred black holes remained, indescribably terrifying and weird.

Nalya tilted her head and hid her face behind Ed's shoulder.

Ed stared blankly at the unrecognizable face, and a deep sadness overwhelmed all emotions and spread silently.

That's Bloomer Christus.

(To be continued.) )