"Irregular."
It referred to those who possessed singularities that deviated from the laws of the world.
Zeke himself had once been mistaken for an irregular when he first met Duke.
Moreover, Luther Zemben, who had taught Zeke the mana reversal technique, was actually an irregular who could wield both aura and mana simultaneously.
During the era of the Holy Empire, such abilities in irregulars were considered curses, leading to persecution, exclusion, and even hunts against them.
Though it wasnʼt to that extreme nowadays, prejudice still lingered.
There was discrimination, but no knowledge was passed down about the origins of irregulars or how they came to be.
They had existed in the continentʼs history for ages, sometimes becoming key figures in events that altered its course, yet no one could explain how they had come into being.
Zeke couldnʼt help but be shocked to learn that the God of Chaos was the one who had first created such irregulars.
He asked the Elder Dragon.
"Why did the God of Chaos make King Solomon an irregular?"
『Irregulars are small cracks even the God of Chaos couldnʼt foresee—scratches on the wheel of fate. Like how a butterflyʼs wingbeat can later birth a typhoon. No one can predict what results a small crack might bring. That is the power of chaos, and Solomon sought it as well.』
"A crack of chaos whose outcome couldnʼt be predicted..." The Elder Dragon continued.
『Having become an irregular, Solomon gained the ability to control karma, which only constellations could handle. Using the city management system established by the constellations, he created the karma system and reached the Sefirot Dimensional Server, the essence of the universe accessible only to them. He called it the 'Akashic Code.ʼ』
Zeke recalled the new function he had gained after becoming the master administrator.
'So the Akashic Code was that.ʼ
『But no matter how special he was, Solomon was still human and thus faced limitations. Using the information he obtained through the Akashic Code, he made a new proposal to me.』
Zekeʼs eyes widened as he listened to the Elder Dragon.
"No way, that was...?"
『A contract to share the dragon heart with humans. Solomon sought to transcend human limits through a contract with me.』
The idea of implanting a dragon heart into a human had originated not with Siemens Apollyon, but with King Solomon.
"Did you accept that contract, Elder Dragon?"
『At the time, I believed Solomon was the only hope. The atrocities of the constellations grew worse, and mortals had become their playthings. Even dragons were no exception.』
Zeke remembered glimpsing the fate of the dragons bound to the Golden City Blanca, forced into servitude.
Hades, too, had been confined there, enduring long years of isolation.
『Following Solomonʼs words, we formed the contract, and he became the first contractor to possess a dragon heart. But then... something no one could have anticipated occurred.』
The Elder Dragon continued.
『A being that was mortal yet not mortal.』 Zekeʼs gaze wavered.
『Solomon obtained the power of immortality.』
*
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
With a powerful shockwave, a massive magical beast toppled sideways.
Ku-gu-gu-gung!
At that moment, other magical beasts climbed over the fallen ones.
Nigel, who had been hunting magical beasts in the western part of the Forest of the Forgotten for months, ground her teeth.
"Damn magical beast bastards. No matter how many I kill, they never end." Adnan and Bodmir approached her.
Their faces and bodies were covered in the blood of magical beasts.
Adnan drew near her.
"Lady Nigel. Nabu is calling for you."
At the mention of Nabu summoning her, Nigel spat and said,
"Iʼm busy as hell, so why drag me back and forth! If he has something to say, tell him to come himself!"
Adnan then said to Nigel with a serious expression.
"Nabu says heʼs found the location of the gate summoning them." Nigelʼs expression changed at those words.
"Hoo, that spaced-out storyteller finally earned his keep after all this time."
Kraaaah—
Even amid that, magical beasts swarmed toward where Nigel, Adnan, and Bodmir stood.
Adnan and Bodmir gripped their weapons with tense expressions.
At that moment, Nigel swung her sword toward the oncoming magical beasts without even looking.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—
A powerful energy wave infused with the power of the full power technique swept through them.
Puk-buk-buk-buk—
The magical beasts scattered across the forest in an instant, reduced to sprays of blood.
Adnan and Bodmir gaped at the sight.
'Whoa, thatʼs insane.ʼ
'So this is the true might of the High Table.ʼ
Whether they were impressed or not, Nigel sheathed her sword and said to Adnan,
"Iʼll be right back, so hold the line here and donʼt let them through."
Adnan bowed his head at Nigelʼs words. "Understood. Iʼll stake my life to stop them." Nigel clicked her tongue at that.
"Why stake your life on this crap? Donʼt talk nonsense—guard it, and if it gets too hot, bail."
She leaped into the air with crisp words.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—
She shot beyond the forest with a massive sound tearing through the air.
Adnan and Bodmir, watching Nigel go, admired her for a moment before assuming alert positions.
Krrr—
Magical beasts appeared again from beyond the trees.
Adnan shouted to the Highlanders in the nearby position.
"Everyone, assume alert positions! Archers and mages, hold until they get closer! Knights, stand by and charge when their formation breaks!"
Kaaaaah—
The magical beasts roared and charged at them.
Behind the positionʼs defensive wall, mages and archers held their breath, gauging the distance.
Adnan tensely measured the gap between the position and the magical beasts.
Then, at a certain point, Adnan sprang up.
"Left flank, 15 meters ahead! Mages, fire!"
At his command, the mages unleashed their long-range attacks first.
Whoooong!
Explosive spells flew toward the oncoming magical beasts.
As the magic struck, a massive explosion erupted.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!
The blast disrupted the charging magical beastsʼ formation on one side.
Adnan shouted again.
"Archers! Hit the flanks!"
At his order, the archers loosed arrows into the sky.
Chwaaaa—
The Highlander archers fired four arrows at once each.
The arrows rained down like a storm on the magical beasts.
Kaaaaah—
As the beasts faltered, Bodmir gripped his bastard sword and leaped out from the position.
"My turn now!"
Other knights followed him.
Bodmir charged forward with his sword raised.
"Here we gooo!"
The sword-wielding Highlanders surged ahead, sweeping through the disorganized magical beasts.
As Bodmir swung his massive bastard sword, the beasts it hit were torn apart like minced meat.
Kaaaaah—
While Bodmir and the other knights held the front, the reformed mages and archers provided cover fire from behind.
"Haaaah!"
The Highlanders swung their swords like demons, cutting down the magical beasts.
The charging beasts couldnʼt breach the defensive wall the Highlanders had set up.
Kwaduduk—
Bodmir finished off the last remaining beast and looked up.
His face and hair were drenched in the blood of magical beasts.
Then, he spotted more beasts approaching from the rear.
Adnan shouted.
"Everyone, fall back to the defensive wall! Mages and archers, prepare to fire again!" An endless battle against the magical beasts.
Such fierce combat unfolded every day, unknown to the rest of the continent.
*
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
Nigel, who had flown through the air and arrived at the central headquarters in one breath, burst straight into Nabuʼs tent.
She yelled at Nabu, the Hermit of Stories, who was frantically searching through books, documents, and maps floating around him.
"Whereʼs the gate! Spit it out quick!"
Nabu poked his head out from between the books and looked at Nigel, gesturing for her to sit and wait a moment.
He then used a nearby crystal orb to relay instructions.
"Yeah, that areaʼs a swamp, so be extra careful. Take some ice-attribute mages with you.
Freeze the swamp solid. Thatʼll make movement easier."
After giving site-specific and situational countermeasures, Nabu finally set down the crystal orb and sighed.
"Ughhh! I want to rest! I want to rest, I say!"
Watching him, Nigel clicked her tongue and shook her head.
"You never change, no matter how old you get." At Nigelʼs words, Nabu pouted and replied.
"To hear that from you, you old hag."
At the "old hag" remark, Nigel drew her sword with murderous intent.
"Looks like your tongue is the root of all this trouble. Iʼll cut it out today and feed it to those magical beast bastards."
Nabu panicked as Nigel approached with her sword drawn.
"Eek! The High Tableʼs ignoring the Oath of Concord and swinging a blade! Ewww!"
Just then, another person entered the noisy tent. A Naga monk in ancient clerical robes clasped his hands together upon seeing Nigel radiating killing intent.
"Oh dear, you two are fighting again." Nabu said to the Naga monk.
"Ewww! Manna! Stop Nigel!"
The summoned Naga monk, Manna, shook his head.
"This too shall pass."
"Argh! You damn monk!"
In the end, Nabu was caught by Nigel and pummeled until his eyes swelled like chestnuts before being released.
Even after that, Manna barely calmed the still fuming Nigel.
As Nabu treated his swollen eyes with karma, he floated a map in the air.
"You know why I called you two, right?" Manna clasped his hands and said.
"I heard you found the gate summoning the magical beasts, Nabu."
Nabu nodded and waved his hand, zooming the map in until red dots flickered across various spots.
He pointed to them and began explaining.
"To be precise, itʼs not the gateʼs location."
At that, Nigel glared daggers again and shouted.
"You bastard! If you didnʼt actually find the gate, why drag busy people around!"
Nabu said to the yelling Nigel.
"What a temper. At least hear me out before cursing." He pointed to the red dots on the map.
"These arenʼt gates, but places with things needed to open the gate." Manna nodded at Nabuʼs words. "So destroying those will close the gate." Nabu shook his head.
"Well, not exactly."
Nigel flared up again at his words.
"Want to die?"
As Nigel barked, Nabu waved his hands in defense.
"You told me to summarize!"
Avoiding Nigelʼs deadly glare, Nabu continued his explanation.
"Itʼs complicated, but... anyway, those places are hard for us High Table members to approach. Borrowing Mannaʼs words, we need help from the mundane world to strike them."
Nigelʼs face twisted at his explanation.
"You mean we have to join forces with the Central Continent kingdoms." He nodded.
"Yeah. And you and I know one person perfect for that."
Nabu unfolded his fan and spoke.
"Zeke Draker. We need him to assault those places."