After being forced to step down, the once-annoying nun eloped with me.

The screams of terror echoed throughout the capital, where madmen, lurking in what had become a hellish place, seized every opportunity to attack those who were alone.

They capture and eat the poor victims alive, or subject them to even more blasphemous acts of torment, but ultimately the outcome is predetermined for the victims.

So those who wanted to escape went crazy trying to catch up with the Aresers, while the settlements in the surrounding areas, after discovering the strange occurrences in the capital, had already begun to flee as far away as possible.

It would likely take the Alese several days to hike to the eastern mines to rejoin their main force.

Meanwhile, upon noticing the purple pillar of light rising from the ground, the army of Isgard immediately halted their advance and began constructing positions on nearby hilltops while relaying the information to General Piss at the rear.

The on-site commander determined that it was best not to attempt to surround the capital of Roman at this time. Even if they wanted to surround it, they absolutely could not get too close to the capital of Roman until they figured out what the purple pillars of light outside the city represented.

General Piss received news from the front lines. But before he could even consider issuing a new order, the purple beam of light changed faster than anyone else could.

"What is that?!"

At first, a purple beam of light rose into the sky, eventually transforming into a thin membrane resembling an eggshell—this membrane had many gaps, making it appear incomplete and very thin.

General Piss realized this was a serious problem. But just as he used the magic mirror to order the troops at the front to retreat immediately, the thick, sun-blocking membrane that covered half the sky sank under the sunlight.

The purple membrane was not as transparent as General Piss had imagined. It blocked out most of the sunlight, and the entire interior was filled with a poisonous purple mist. Plants and animals within the membrane's coverage began to decay at an unbelievable rate, and even the stones began to transform into bizarre and twisted creatures.

General Piss stared in astonishment at what was happening before him. Only after the membrane had completely covered the land in front of the command post did he suddenly realize something:

The vanguard that broke through the enemy's town defenses is still near the capital of the Roman Empire?!

"Did you hear me?! Evacuate now! Evacuate now!"

Piss shouted in panic at the mirror, ordering the soldiers around him to punch a hole in the membrane in front of them, but they found that no matter what weapon they used, it had no effect whatsoever.

General Piss's exclamation went unanswered.

"Can you hear me?! Damn it—our people are still inside!"

Weapons striking the thin membrane barrier only produced an astonishingly crisp sound; bullets were even deflected by the barrier; and even the dragon's breath of fire did not harm it in the slightest.

This thin membrane separating the central core of the Roman Empire from the surrounding land is like an indestructible barrier, and Ysgard's current weapons are unable to pose any effective threat to it!

The soldiers, panting, stared at the ominous purple barrier before them. Just then, General Piss suddenly remembered something.

He recalled seeing numerous gaps in the membrane when he looked up from below. He realized that since he couldn't tear a gap in the membrane himself, he could at least find a gap that was already there and use it to get his troops out!

"Damn it... cavalry, cavalry! Immediately search the surrounding area for an opening, and then do everything you can to contact your allies inside!"

This is no longer just a matter for Isjugard. Immediately send someone to contact the Khanate of Khuttoth and the United Nations, informing them of the current situation! And this thing doesn't even distinguish between friend and foe?! Have all the Romans gone mad?!

General Piss was sweating profusely.

He realized that the Romans seemed to have detonated a terrible bomb.

These lunatics don't even spare themselves; how can these outsiders possibly have the upper hand over the Romans in their choice of self-destruction?

He stood there, watching his soldiers frantically search for an entrance to the barrier.

And it was at this moment that he suddenly thought of the Sirens...

Sirens can transform inorganic matter into pure flesh and blood.

This barrier doesn't seem to be made of pure magic; in other words...

"Send the Sirens here."

General Piss swallowed hard. Meanwhile, while the people of Isgard were scrambling to react to the appearance of the purple barrier, the Isgard army, within the barrier that the demon servants called the "Demon Realm," was desperately trying to escape.

The troops besieged in front of General Piss also spotted a gap in the barrier. They consciously tried to find the location of a natural opening within the barrier, but as they searched, they discovered that the area within the barrier was beginning to change rapidly...

The people of Isugard seemed normal enough. But some of the Romans in the Roman towns had undergone a horrifying transformation.

"Hey...what, what's that?"

The colonial soldiers stared wide-eyed. Within the crimson curtain, everything began to blur and become indistinct amidst the ever-spreading, acidic mist.

Fleshy buds began to sprout from the ground, clinging to anything they could climb like vines, and the Romans seemed to be their targets.

Under the watchful eyes of the soldiers, the Romans, who were equally terrified and trying to escape, were targeted by the flesh buds.

They couldn't even offer help. The Romans, whose flesh buds had climbed over them, were transformed into monsters amidst their screams.

If Yang Hao were here, he would probably be able to clearly see the process of the Romans turning into monsters, just like the transformations in some bizarre movies on Earth.

First, the flesh and skin were torn apart, and then the internal organs were transformed into even more bizarre forms by the action of granulation tissue.

Eyes larger than a human head stared greedily at the expensive personal belongings of the Isgard warriors, while a gaping maw, ripped open from the stomach, emitted gurgling sounds.

Except for a very small number of Romans and infants, most Romans were transformed into viscous monsters right before the soldiers' eyes.

Their eyes widened, their teeth chattering. They had never seen anything like it before, but their bodies screamed with fear, telling them what the Romans had become.

"A demon...a demon?!"

The soldiers screamed and raised their guns, aiming at the Romans who had turned into demons and the Romans who had not mutated.

Gunfire rang out incessantly. Bullets blossomed into countless flowers of blood on the bodies of the Romans and demons. Countless bodies collapsed lifelessly to the ground, but even more bizarre and grotesque monsters crawled on the earth.

Soon, as the Roman corpses twisted into even more bizarre demons, the soldiers of Isgard quickly realized what was happening.

It's better to protect the Romans who haven't mutated and let them die than to let them leave this place.

At least by doing this, the number of demons will not increase further.

"Monster, monster! Aaaaaaah!"

Gunshots rang out incessantly.

Near the capital, the retreating Ysgard colonial army was shrouded in mist and lost its way, forced to grope its way out in a world that had undergone tremendous environmental changes.

Before leaving, they discovered the strangeness of the Roman capital, but faced with an entire city beginning to be eroded by fleshy buds and twisted, nauseating organs, and the mad screams emanating from the city, everyone lost the courage to continue.

The magic mirror has completely lost its function here, and all long-distance communication using magic can only hear a strange heartbeat.

Left with no other option, the on-site commander had to use a code system made of glowing mirrors to communicate. But what use was a simple flash of light in an area where the fog was getting thicker?

Compared to this...

The on-site commander discovered that, seemingly due to their proximity to the capital, they all exhibited some form of illness.

.......

The colonial army in Issugard is rapidly withdrawing, and the Aleserans are also moving frantically towards the outside of the barrier.

The road from the Roman Empire's capital to the eastern mines is a straight one; they don't need to worry about going the wrong way, but they do need to worry about what kind of enemies they will face.

"Quick, get out of here—what the hell?! Wasn't that the Imperial Knights' camp they ran out of earlier?! What the hell has it turned into?!"

While fleeing to an intersection, they stumbled upon the encampment left behind by the Imperial Knights who had previously fled with Knight Robert.

A fierce battle is currently raging at this outpost, with the Imperial Knights struggling against the people who once protected them but have now turned into demons. The Aresers know that this is no longer the time to dwell on past conflicts, and to avoid complete annihilation, they have been forced to lend a helping hand to the Imperial Knights.

Puff puff puff—!

The sound of air guns firing rang out, and smooth lead bullets or steel balls shot at high speed toward the grotesque monsters. These bullets might not be able to cause much damage to the demons, but hindering their movements had already achieved the Aresians' goal.

With the help of the Aresers, the Imperial Knights finally had the strength to deal with the demons. The Areser commander felt that rather than fighting each other and waiting to die, it would be better to find a way to cooperate and escape first.

So he demanded to see Sir Robert immediately, but instead of Sir Robert, he was met by another knight.

"Knight Commander Robert escorted some of our people to seek refuge in the eastern mines a few days ago! Those remaining here are the newest group from the surrounding area... What exactly is going on in the capital? What has happened?"

The knight captain's panting inquiry drew a few curses from the Aresei:

"I'd like to ask you the same thing! What kind of suicidal tactics is your royal family using?! Dragging us down with you is one thing, but you won't even spare your own people?!"

"But the problem is, we don't know what this is! And the Roman royal family doesn't have such a secret technique! Where would the Roman royal family get a magician these days!?"

"Then what's going on here?!"

They stared at each other, bewildered. Finally, after looking simultaneously at the purple pillar of light rising near the capital, they realized the problem must lie beneath the pillar of light outside the capital.

But who has the guts to go and investigate now?

The Imperial Knights and the Aleseans were speechless. Finally, they chose to cooperate temporarily, and after the Imperial Knights had organized the camp's supplies, they continued eastward.

Their journey would take them through many separate towns and villages. To avoid encountering the demons again, they chose to detour around the main road.

But in the thick fog, without the aid of landmarks to find their way out, could they really find their way out?

Perhaps.

"Waaah... Waaah... Ah..."

But they first have to get past the Roman refugees who have turned into monsters blocking their way.

.............

In the Roman capital.

The demon servant sighed as he watched everything unfolding in the city. If nothing unexpected happened, this city would be completely assimilated into a demonic lair within days. A young demonic entity would develop and grow based on this lair, and the humans within would become new demons or nourishment for the lair itself.

The Romans were transforming into demons even faster than the demon servants had anticipated. Perhaps it was because they had lost divine protection, or perhaps the Romans were even more suited to becoming demons than demons themselves... In any case, within an hour of the incomplete expansion of the Demon Realm, so many Romans had been assimilated into demons...

This is really a good thing.

"However, the Demon Realm is incomplete. There are gaps everywhere that can be infiltrated... and many Romans even escaped because of the incomplete Demon Realm, so the current territory is not as large as imagined."

This is my shame... but to have driven me to such a shameful state, Regent... I will absolutely assimilate you into our kind.

The demon servant licked his mutated lips. Under his gaze, despair spread wildly throughout the Roman capital.

The people of the Roman capital had already fallen into hell due to the doomsday prophecy. After the demon realm actually appeared, these madmen who had already fallen into hell naturally began their final revelry before their death.

In the process of being assimilated into demons, they changed into different forms according to their own desires.

This was a scene the demon servants had never witnessed before. After all, in the previous [Demon Realm], creatures that spent their days searching for food would be assimilated into demons with enormous mouths, and some creatures that liked to run would also gain stronger legs after being assimilated into demons.

Assimilated individuals will transform into shapes with unique abilities due to their own habits—originally, the demon servant thought that this was the limit of the demon realm, but after seeing what the Romans had become, he realized that there are always people more powerful than you.

While it was eating, countless gaping, blood-red mouths sprouted from its stomach.

Envious yet yearning to possess the eye to discover wealth, countless eyes sprouted from their own bodies.

And those that were so controlling and greedy even had strange noses that seemed to be searching for gold and jewels...

The demon servant felt bewildered. But soon, he was no longer bewildered.

Because now everything is a fait accompli. The demon servant's next task is to send a message to his companions in the north...

He needs the Ice Calamity to travel to the Demon Realm to prepare for the Demon Calamity ten years later.

At the same time, he also needs the Ice Calamity to help him protect this newly born demon realm.