"Honestly…"
Hedin's expression was grave.
"Surviving that relentless barrage of wide-area, high-power attacks… Hogni and I were already extremely lucky to come back alive."
Hearing him say that…
Renjiro (Aether) and Lumine finally understood why, just a few days ago, Hogni had suffered severe arm injuries, and why they hadn't even had time to retrieve it.
Indeed, if the widespread destruction had been triggered by divine power, and if it resembled Hedin's "Varian Hildr"-level magic light arrows raining from the sky by the thousands… even Ottar would have had no choice but to dodge.
At that moment…
"Countless magic circles forming a crescent in the sky?"
Lefiya suddenly pointed upward.
"Is that what you were talking about?"
It was as if a psychological shadow had been touched. Even someone as composed and calm as Hedin immediately tensed and jerked his head upward.
The sky had darkened, but at the horizon where dusk was just beginning…
Two crescents had appeared, suspended high above.
Clearly, one of the "false remnants of the moon" was the source of the "light rain" composed of countless magic circles that Hedin had mentioned.
And since it had already appeared…
"Kaka~"
The pebbles at everyone's feet trembled briefly.
No, this was a precursor to an earthquake.
"BOOM~"
"Waaah~"
The lower-rank adventurers nearly lost their balance, some falling over.
Anqiu, standing closer to Lumine, stumbled toward her, and instinctively, the little Elf girl sidestepped, ending up sprawled on the ground in a "don't stop me now" pose.
A trivial matter before, Renjiro (Aether) might have had the leisure to watch…
But now…
"Tsk~"
The already shattered battlefield was thrown into chaos once more.
In the distance, near the Large Tree Labyrinth, a colossal figure, nearly a hundred meters tall, emerged under the moonlight.
It tore through the earth's surface, uprooting trees and flipping everything around.
Dust and debris swirled in every direction.
Looking closely, it was obvious that this creature was structurally entirely different from the previous Scorpion Splinter Units.
If the regular small units were calf-sized, and the "super-large" Scorpions reached nearly thirty meters… this being was several times that size.
Above its giant pincers, a humanoid torso extended from its scorpion body.
Three smaller, elongated, segmented pincers protruded, along with a ninth tail claw, completely unlike an ordinary scorpion's hooked tail.
This was definitely not an ordinary Splinter Unit.
"Could it be…"
"Ugh~"
Almost everyone present considered it a horrifying possibility.
At that moment, Artemis, who had been troubling Barbara just moments ago, stumbled and could no longer stand.
The gentle, pure-hearted priestess instinctively supported her.
Yet…
"Orion, please, you must, "
Before she could even finish speaking, Artemis' body turned completely transparent in just a few seconds.
Her form shattered into countless golden particles, scattering before the shocked gazes of the others.
At the same time…
"Ooo~"
"CLANG~"
The colossal figure, tearing through the ground, released a deep purple beam into the sky.
It wasn't a tangible, empty energy attack, but something more…
"Divine authority?"
Hermes, standing beside Asfi on the opposite side of the camp, frowned.
"Artemis… you couldn't hold on until the end?"
At the same time…
"Is that Antares' true form?"
"How did it get here?"
Even a single leg of the nearly hundred-meter-tall monstrosity was several times thicker than the temple's main support pillars.
Its bloodshot, singular eye alone had a radius of several meters.
"This…"
For a moment, Renjiro (Aether) thought he had stumbled onto the wrong scene.
Ancient monster? Are you sure this isn't a kaiju?
And…
"You're telling me a single adventurer squad below Lv.5 could face that head-on?"
Integrity society, I curse your ancestors!
At that instant…
"Watch out!"
Hedin's heart raced as he shouted.
"Everyone, dodge! It's coming!"
The first time, seeing the colossal figure visually overwhelmed many, so no one immediately realized what "it" referred to.
But soon, the brain didn't need to think.
Because in their field of vision…
"Swoosh swoosh swoosh~"
Despite the night, countless light arrows rained from the sky as if illuminating the heavens once more.
Each arrow emitted a gentle, non-blinding glow, soft yet resolute, like a Moon Goddess who once carefully raised abandoned children.
But…
"BOOM BOOM BOOM~"
Hedin's description had been conservative.
Every single arrow, powered by divine might, exceeded the power of his second-level spell.
Even Riveria could barely touch one with a single attempt.
In other words… one of these attacks alone could level the entire Tower of Babel.
In that instant, a single thought pierced Renjiro (Aether)'s mind:
The catastrophe has arrived.