Donoz Sea.

Home to the headquarters of the Holy See, the Donoz Sea has long since become central to the belief in the gods of the clouds. Dotted churches dot the shores of this huge inner lake; The inhabitants of many villages live a simple life, and they often receive pilgrims from all over the mainland.

It's just that the "prison master" imprisoned the old pope, and after the power was monopolized, there was no longer the anger of the past.

The "prison master" has a stubborn personality, and he is not a magic caster, and the powerful priests who obey him are limited after all, many people flatter on the surface, but secretly grit their teeth at this "sect enemy", and many people directly say goodbye.

What made the "Prison Master" most vigilant was that the scattered crusading forces against the "Prison Master" organized by the Holy Warriors were also showing signs of gradually uniting. They raised the banner of relieving the old pope, and the believers gathered.

If they attack the Donoz Sea, the "Prison Master" will be wiped out. But they were cautious not to fully assemble, and the "prison master" was just waiting to put out the fire everywhere.

……

In a chapel.

The priest in charge of this place has quietly left, and now there are only ordinary villagers cleaning it every day.

A woman with ice blue hair and a beautiful face is praying here. She was dressed as a nun, so much so that the villagers thought she was the one who had come to take over from the old priest in charge of the church.

But this woman ...... Melia? Palamedes just chose to meditate in seclusion here.

She had withdrawn from the front lines, and had put aside all Okad's business.

Okard is on a path of no return. Invisibly, he became an accomplice to all this.

His powerful father, the Black Lord Palamedes, seems to have "turned a deaf ear" to this. And she is soft-spoken, and she has no power to change the status quo.

After meeting with the "Star of the Stars", Melia had a faint feeling in her heart, as if a seed that had been forgotten in the soil was stubbornly breaking through the soil and taking root.

Have you really forgotten something?

Isn't it true that you are powerless?

Why do you feel a sense of familiarity when you see knowledge related to divine arts?

Why do you have an indescribable sentimentality when you look at the "star"?

It's like the most important memory, slipping through the fingers like sand.

It's as if the most powerful pillar is clearly standing there, but he doesn't see it.

Merciful, almighty sea of clouds.

If you really are a god—can you answer all these questions?

Melia threw herself into prayer. She could even feel the intimacy emanating from the distant sea of clouds.

……

Suddenly.

The door to the chapel creaked open.

A woman with long black hair and a jet-black dress walked in. She wields the crystal clear "Staff of Altusai", and under the influence of illusion, she is silent.

She is the third apostle "Butterfly of Hades" Franbel, who came by order? Matthias.

As soon as she stepped into the chapel, she felt an aura that was different from the outside world. The energy of holy light permeated the air, and as far as Fran knew, only the most powerful and devout spellcasters possessed such a realm.

And in the center of the building. There was a faint golden glow on Melia's body. It's just that she was so immersed in prayer that she didn't even realize that she had reunited her amazing magical powers.

The teacher was right, Fran thought. When Melia and the Sixth Apostle met again, some of the vetoed power began to recover. As long as Jean continues, sooner or later she will once again have the power of the Holy Maiden.

The strength of a spellcaster lies in faith. All Melia needed was to regain her lost faith.

It's just that faith...... It's not just a foolish devotion to the concept of "god in the clouds".

It's something more practical.

Theoretically, the "sea of clouds" will only be given to devout believers. But after all, the "sea of clouds" is only a creature with limited intelligence. It has not looked away once or twice in history.

Especially, intense love.

Fran lowered her head and looked at the staff in her hand. A precious staff like a crystal, shimmering with a beautiful arcane light in the light of divine magic.

This was originally a treasure made by the great Lord of the Black for his wife. The Lord of Darkness and his wife traveled the world to forge this precious staff.

But calamity befell both couples. The two of them explore in the dream plane, and the realm of dreams will occupy all the souls born here.

By the time the Palamedes noticed, it was too late. The realm of dreams has begun to absorb the soul of the fetus Melia.

The female mage, the great mother, gave her life to the realm of dreams in order to keep her daughter alive.

She must have hoped that her daughter would take her place and wield this staff...... Unfortunately, Melia, whose soul was also injured, lost the ability to cast arcane arts for the rest of her life.

Because of this, this artifact staff finally fell into his hands......

But the mother's gift is not a flash in the pan.

Friends of the sea of clouds. Giving Melia the power to survive is the mother's dying blessing.

……

What the mainland needs at this moment is a saintess who has regained her strength.

At the same time, she is the key to unlocking the necessary place.

Whether it's the relationship with the land of dreams, or the strong luck blessed by the sea of clouds. Now, Fran needs her to open the birthplace of dreams.

The silent chapel, combined with Fran's illusion disguise, is silent.

Melia was praying. Time is like an eternity. Breaking this peace seems to be a sin.

But Fran spoke anyway.

"Melia." Fran called softly.

Melia slowly stood up. She turned to face Fran. The black-haired female mage's whole body seemed to be shrouded in dreams, and only the staff in her hand gave Melia a faint sense of intimacy.

-----------------

Meanwhile.

The vast world under the clouds.

The Seventh Apostle, Simon? Using the sea of clouds, Disney was constantly moving between the fragmented archipelago.

He was already tired after not resting for days. Even the neat short black hair became unkempt.

But it can't be helped. It's a spell that only he can do...... Neither Goth nor Fran could take his place. With his diligent nature, the work assigned to him will certainly be completed on time.

Whether it's carpentry he loves, or the burden of saving the world.

Among the Black Apostles, he is comparable to Goth in terms of his natural talent for spell-casting and his ability to sense the sea of clouds.

But...... This junior disciple of the Black Apostle is different.

To Simon, it was as if he was part of the sea of clouds.

He can use this to cast some special methods, such as using the sea of clouds to cast spells in the world under the clouds where he cannot sense the sea of clouds in most places.

Simon didn't know why he had this ability. To him, Yunhai was like a disobedient body organ, resisting himself, but he was like one.

Simon's mission this time is twofold.

Use your "Staff of Acansus", a staff from an ancient demon that rivals the gods, and other inferior artifact tools provided by the Lord of Darkness, to "cut" several remnants of the ancient magic web in the world below the clouds, making them a source of arcane power that can be carried with you.

Just like when he was a carpenter, Simon is also comfortable with the intricacies of arcane work. There are things that are like they were born into his soul. Even so, thanks to the fact that his teacher had already done the preliminary work, he was able to complete such a reluctant task on time.

Simon shook his head. Now is not the time to overthink.

He didn't know who his parents were since he was a child, and Mr. Palamedes was his only relative. All he had to do was carry out Mr. Palamedes' orders.

Simon, who is humble, always feels that his strength is insignificant. Even among the Seven Black Apostles, Simon's presence was inherently indifferent. Many times, the teenager, who looked to be fourteen or fifteen years old, did not say a word despite being present.

But in fact...... His strength is no worse than that of Cliff and Goth. It's just that it's always not taken seriously because of shame and something like that.

"Next ......"

Cutting the web is his first priority. The Lord of Darkness, the source of magic that can be used alone, has prepared some of them, and Simon has prepared some of them, which are distributed to those allies who can be trusted in the face of a great war.

But Simon still has a small "selfishness".

Once the "Fall of the Sea of Clouds" plan fails, both the clouds and the clouds will be destroyed.

Even if it succeeds...... It doesn't necessarily mean that it won't affect the cloud.

What if the mainland stopped falling later than expected......

Perhaps half of the continent above the clouds is caught in a persistent "cloud tide", obscured by clouds that cannot be seen.

Perhaps a huge tsunami will be set off on the sea under the clouds, engulfing everything in the islands.

"Maybe it's better than nothing. But...... Inform the lords of the clouds as much as possible, and let them lead the people away from the seaside. ”

Work in the Northern Archipelago went well. In particular, Golding "Octopus" promised to mobilize pirates as much as possible to inform the fishermen of the remote islands. It's a pity that I can't attend his banquet.

In addition, Golding also hoped that Simon would bring a message to the girl and Dimi that his use of the "Spider Lord" was going well.

Next, he is going to the "Luo Island" territory that excludes the people on the clouds the most. Hopefully, the "Spider Lord" won't cause trouble for himself. Luckily, I can cast spells under the clouds now...... Coupled with the arranged magic net terminal, the arcane arts mastered by oneself can also be played seven or eight times out of ten under the clouds.

If Goth or Cliff had this kind of "mutation" that seemed to merge with the sea of clouds, they would definitely be able to accomplish the task better, Simon thought.

The thin figure of the Seventh Apostle disappeared from the sky.