Chapter 227: Fading Consciousness

Meanwhile, far from the border where Kai had discovered the approaching army only a few minutes earlier, the emergency order issued by Revenant Mordret had already begun spreading throughout Celestara.

The order was sent to every registered Guild on the Continent, making it clear that this was no longer a situation that could be handled by the military alone. The Revenants wanted every available combatant prepared before the approaching Monsters reached the borders.

Every registered Guild received the same message: "There is a large-scale Monster invasion, just like last time. Although the source is unknown, it may be related to the emergence of that Beam in the Human Continent. All Guilds are to prepare for a large-scale invasion immediately!"

Seraphiel was among the first Guildmasters to receive the order. She had remained inside the villa as Solaris had instructed, but the sudden emergency transmission immediately changed that. The message had arrived through a Relic known as Call’s Echo, the same communication Relic commonly used for emergency situations because it allowed high-ranking Individuals to quickly relay information over long distances.

Seraphiel immediately picked up the Relic and heard the voice of one of the high-ranking Revenants coming from the other side. "This is Seraphiel Rosaria? The East Guild Branch Guildmaster, am I right?"

Before Seraphiel could properly answer, she heard someone take the Call’s Echo from the previous Revenant. The next voice was more urgent, leaving no room for unnecessary conversation.

"There is a large-scale invasion incoming. Mobilize all the Explorers currently visiting your Guild and all of your members as well. There is not much time, so please do it quickly!" The transmission was cut immediately afterward.

Seraphiel’s eyes widened slightly as she stared at the communication Relic. She had expected the Revenants to take responsibility for any immediate threat after the meeting with the Ancients, but the fact that they were now ordering every Guild to mobilize meant that the situation had already grown beyond what the military forces alone could comfortably handle.

She immediately tried contacting Solaris through another communication Relic, but the connection failed. She tried again, yet the result was the same, almost as if something was interfering with the transmission. she frowned at that and looked at the relic for a brief moment before lowering it and heading toward her father’s office.

As she had expected, the room was empty. She didn’t need to ask where he had gone because the situation already made the answer obvious, ’That means Father is already defending the border. I need to move quickly... Sorry, Solaris, but I need to maintain my position as a Guildmaster as well. If an invasion is happening, sitting inside this villa isn’t going to protect me or anyone else.’

She took out another Relic meant for long-distance travel. Its function was similar to the Relic Atlas used for location shifts, although its design was completely different. Instead of having the unusual half-clock and half-compass appearance of Atlas’s Relic, this one was shaped like a complete compass. Seraphiel channeled roughly half of her Spirit Energy into it, activated the Relic, and immediately disappeared from the villa.

A moment later, she reappeared inside the East Guild Branch.

The moment Seraphiel arrived, she began giving orders to everyone in the Guild. The members immediately understood the seriousness of the situation after seeing their Guildmaster personally arrive during an emergency mobilization.

Supporting Individuals were given the necessary Relics while the combat-oriented members began preparing their equipment. Several experienced members also started discussing how the different teams should be arranged so that their abilities could complement one another instead of interfering with their own attacks or creating unnecessary weaknesses during the battle.

The preparations didn’t take long because Guild members were already accustomed to working in teams, and the emergency order had given them a clear objective. Within roughly three minutes, the entire Guild had finished preparing and the assembled members began leaving the building. Seraphiel remained inside her office for a moment, watching them march away through the window before slowly exhaling.

’What is even going on? Why can’t I contact Solaris all of a sudden, and... why isn’t she using that same formation she told me about?’

She remembered Solaris explaining the formation that had previously been used to teleport thousands of Monsters away from the Continent. If something similar could be used again, then dealing with the approaching invasion should have been considerably easier. The fact that Solaris hadn’t activated it made Seraphiel even more uncertain about what was happening.

Then another thought suddenly entered her mind, ’Wait... Where is Atlas?’

Seraphiel’s expression changed slightly as she remembered that Atlas had entered a Cataclysm-rank Ruin several hours earlier. He had already cleared two Cataclysm-rank Ruins within only a few hours, so even considering the difficulty of such Ruins, she had expected him to return by now.

’He should have been back already, So why hasn’t he returned?’ The thought immediately concerned her. With the invasion beginning at the same time, the possibility that Atlas had encountered something inside the Ruin could not be ignored. Seraphiel didn’t waste any more time wondering about it and turned toward the door.

"Flora, Kaelion." Both of them came using their individual abilities as usual. Flora, her personal maid, stood beside Kaelion, her personal Knight, as they looked toward Seraphiel.

"Yes, How can we help you, Lady Seraphiel?"

Seraphiel turned toward them and spoke without hesitation. "Search for Atlas in the Central Solara Guild Branch, He entered a Cataclysm-rank Ruin today, so ask the receptionist whether he has returned. If he isn’t there, find out exactly which Ruin he entered and obtain its location. Bring that information to me immediately."

Kaelion and Flora vanished from the office, Flora leaving in a blur while Kaelion disappeared with the same wind that usually accompanied his movements. Seraphiel remained standing near the window as she waited, knowing that the Central Guild Branch would have records of every Explorer currently inside or assigned to a Ruin. It didn’t take long before the two returned with the information she had asked for.

"According to the Guild, he hasn’t returned from the exploration yet... The Ruin is located in the western outer parts of Solara."

Seraphiel immediately narrowed her eyes. The location wasn’t close to the East Guild Branch, and considering the invasion that was now approaching Celestara, she couldn’t ignore the possibility that Atlas had encountered the Monsters before anyone else had detected them. If hundreds of thousands of Monsters were moving toward the Continent, there was a chance that some of them had already reached the area around the Ruin.

"Kaelion, go to that Ruin. If those invading Monsters are already there, report back to me immediately. If there are no Monsters around the area, enter the Ruin and find out whether Atlas is still inside."

Kaelion stared at Seraphiel for a brief moment before nodding. He had little reason to refuse her order, but more importantly, he had already noticed how important Atlas had become to both Seraphiel and her father. Whatever connection existed between them, Kaelion understood that finding Atlas had now become one of his priorities.

"I understand, Lady Seraphiel."

The wind gathered around Kaelion’s body again before he disappeared from the office, leaving only Seraphiel and Flora behind. Seraphiel slowly exhaled and moved toward the couch near the other side of the room before sitting down. Although she knew Atlas was far stronger than most Explorers and had already cleared two Cataclysm-rank Ruins within a few hours, she still couldn’t completely push the concern from her mind.

’I just hope he’s safe. I mean, he’s so strong, so he must be safe, right?... I shouldn’t worry too much.’

Her thoughts gradually drifted back to the first time she had seen Atlas inside the Lumivale Branch Guild, then to the cautious behavior he had displayed when she invited him to meet her. The more she thought about his reactions whenever the Human Continent was mentioned, the more questions appeared in her mind, ’What did he go through in that damned Human Continent?’

The thought reminded her of the enormous beam that had appeared earlier. Seraphiel slowly raised her eyes toward the window, even though she could no longer see the beam from her current position, ’It was definitely coming from the direction of the Human Continent...’

The possibility that the two incidents were connected gradually became harder for her to ignore. She remembered the Ex-rank Monster that had appeared above the Royal Palace, then the Angelic merchants who had been killed by Monsters carrying that strange substance. Her father had also told Atlas about that substance, and Solaris had once warned her personally about the Human King, Azarion Embersun.

"He is a cunning man, Seraphiel. Even someone as smart as Eliana had a hard time negotiating with him over a Relic a century ago."

Seraphiel remained silent as she recalled Solaris’s exact words. She had never considered that warning particularly important beyond understanding that Azarion was a dangerous political figure, but after everything that had happened today, the statement suddenly carried a different meaning. The Monster incident, the strange substance, the beam that had appeared from the Human Continent, and now the sudden invasion were too many unusual events occurring within the same period.

She began connecting the details in her mind, trying to understand whether they were all parts of the same chain of events. The more connections she found, the more uneasy she became, just as another thought was coming to her mind, her expression changed slightly.

Before she could understand what happened, her eyes snapped open as her Unique ability which was her eyes reacted and the tiny silvery clock hands inside her left eye suddenly began rotating. Seraphiel’s eyes widened as an unfamiliar sensation spread through her mind. Her consciousness began fading almost immediately, and her body became unsteady as she struggled to remain aware of her surroundings.

Flora, who had been watching her from nearby, noticed something was wrong and immediately rushed toward her.

"L-Lady Seraphiel! Wh-What is happening?! Lady Seraphie—"

Seraphiel couldn’t hear the rest.

Her consciousness completely faded away.