“Are you confident in your assessment?” The mechanical king asked once he finished reading the report of the merchant they had sent through the strange gateway.

“Of course, sir. Just as it is written. A level nine civilization with a dimensium rich planet. Although it is unusual that they haven’t discovered the material themselves, the point remains that they would make excellent allies.”

The king’s eyes flashed once at that. “Indeed. And they have the leveling system as well. Very well, then. As we agreed, you may be the first to establish a store within this new territory, with the permission of the native government.”

“And the other matter?” The merchant asked, his eyes flashing as well.

There was some hesitation, before the king seemed to relent. “Yes, the forge of the seventh district will be leased to your company for the next three years.”

The mission that he had given this merchant was an incredibly dangerous one. To investigate an unknown phenomenon, leading to a completely new world where it was unknown if the natives would be friendly or hostile, weak or strong. There was a high chance that the merchant could have died in the mission.

As such, there had been substantial rewards promised to compensate for the danger. The exclusive use of one of the planet’s built-in forges was one of the highest prices that the king could pay, but he had done so with the belief that the creator would not lead them into danger.

The merchant turned to leave the room, while the king read over the reports again. From what the merchant had told him, there were still several other worlds that the one they joined with connected to. Each of them could be reached through that gate, and all had roughly the same level of development, though specializing in different fields.

This was all important information to the king, and he was quite pleased that the merchant had seen fit to acquire it before returning. Even if they were a more militaristic empire, he would not be so foolish as to attack an alliance of a half dozen civilizations.

“Still… the restriction of the ring is quite a burden on commerce.” The king spoke quietly, gazing at a new card that rested on his desk. It was a surveillance card, one which showed the area around the gate itself. “Trade ships will not fit through such a small construct, limiting us to what we can carry in our storage cards.”

The concept of dimensional travel had never truly crossed the king’s mind before this event, as they had always been expanding out towards the stars. Now, however, they seemed to have gained a new direction with which to expand.

“Now, boy, don’t lie to me about something like this.” A kitsune in a heavy white coat spoke, looking at the almost silver card being held in front of him, as well as the strange metal bar.

Yet, the person before him, who wore a military uniform no less, insisted. “I’m telling you, it’s the truth. The gate activated, and a single entity walked through. From the appearance, they seemed to be some form of intelligent golem. Something like a far smaller version of the Fox Troops developed recently.”

“And he said--” The research started, skeptically, before his words were cut off.

“Yes. That this metal can be found within our own planet, and is the reason why we are capable of using card magic.” There was a look of exasperation on the officer’s face as he spoke, having to repeat himself multiple times in an attempt to convince the researcher. “So, can you do it or not?”

“I never said that I couldn’t.” The older gentleman said with a huff, taking the bar of metal from the officer. “It’ll take some calibration, but I should be able to create a scanner to penetrate deep underground and look for this, if it is indeed there.”

In truth, they had always assumed that the unique powers of their cards were simply something that they were able to do in their world, due to whatever magical systems governed it. Much like how Fyor defied conventional laws of physics with its layered planet system. They knew about the background energy that helped to create the cards, but simply thought that it was another energy that existed naturally.

The thought of a physical material being the cause of the magic hadn’t been something that had occurred to them. If it was the case, however, then they could perhaps improve upon their technology, much as this strange golem had implied. “Has the queen heard about this?”

“Of course.” The officer nodded his head immediately. “She was the first to do so, and insisted that I come to you about the scanner.”

At that, the researcher let out a sigh of resignation. “Alright, I’ll get started, then. Don’t want to disappoint her Majesty.”

“Sister Wayver?” The High Priestess called out through the door, into the room of the Holy Sister. Bella had not appeared for the afternoon gathering, which was most unlike her, so the priestess wished to check up on her personally.

When there was no call from beyond the door, Mother Catarina pushed it open, fearing that the Holy Sister may have taken ill. What she saw, however, left her to gasp in shock. The room was in shambles, the wall blown out as if by an explosion. Even large sections of the floor were missing, planks barely hanging on.

Through it, she could see the people below in the garden, walking about as if they had not noticed the blatant destruction that had befallen the room. The priestess shook her head, grabbing the amulet at her neck and praying for the scene to be nothing but an illusion. However, when she opened her eyes, she found that it was still just as terrible.

“Scatter!” She shouted, waving an arm and calling forth a shred of power from above. This was not the power of Bihena that she had utilized here, but that of Irena. The power to dispel illusions spread out, causing the air to ripple. Only now did the people outside take notice of the room, crying out in shock.

“What happened here…” Clearly, someone had used a powerful ability to isolate this space in an illusion. But where had the Holy Sister gone to?

“Let me make it in time.” Bella Wayver thought to herself as she flew through the air, icy blue wings spreading from her back. She didn’t take the time to bother healing the shattered stump of her right arm, knowing that it would take time and energy that she didn’t have.

She couldn’t tell if she was being followed, her attacker able to evade her senses at all but the very moment that he struck. All she knew was that she had to use her greatest speed, boosted by her divine energy.

Beneath her, Bella saw the endless ocean, the waters which had always brought peace to her heart. Now, however, they only served as a constant reminder of the distance she had to travel.

In the distance, an island appeared in her vision, and her eyes grew wet with tears of joy. The land of Rokindrol, the unofficial home of the Sky Citadel. And, while she couldn’t see the citadel itself, there was something else that she saw that eased the pressure on her heart.

“Holy dragon Fafnir!” She shouted, projecting her voice with all her might. The dragon, scales currently shining a brilliant silver, was lazily curled atop the highest peak of a mountain. When it heard her desperate cry, it glanced upwards, eyes locking onto her.

What is it, human? The dragon communicated its thoughts to her, evidently upset that its rest had been disturbed. There were few among the humans who would ever dare to disturb its rest, so it believed that this one was either foolish, or truly in dire need of its attention.

“Please, call Tsu--” Bella began, before a shadow covered her vision. A male figure appeared in front of her, hazy mist spreading behind his body as if to form wings. He held a sword in his hand, and was using it to pierce towards her head from directly in front of her, mere inches from her face.

Yet, with the sound of steel clashing against steel, the strike never connected. Instead, the blade rebounded off of a thin blue barrier that had suddenly appeared between the two of them. Call who? The dragon asked, seeing that the woman had been interrupted by a strange fellow.

Bella gulped, fully aware that her life had just been saved. As soon as his attack failed, the figure vanished once again. When she spoke, she did so with a dry mouth. “Tsubaki… please. We need her…”

The dragon let out a long sigh, plumes of smoke emerging from his throat. Is it to deal with the fly buzzing around you?

“Please, lord Fafnir. This man is a hunter of those who wish to ascend! He calls himself godslayer!”

That seemed to catch Fafnir’s interest, and he let out a roaring laugh. A godslayer? With just that little power? Slowly, Fafnir rose from his perch, craning his neck from side to side as if stretching it.

You, who seeks to wield the power of the Unknown, know that your form does not escape my eyes. As the dragon’s ‘voice’ reverberated through the air, his eyes remained locked onto a certain point in the air. Then, as if tracking an invisible figure, glanced off towards the side. Leave, before my patience ends.

A warning growl echoed out from Fafnir’s throat, before Bella felt a wave of relief wash over her body. She didn’t know how she knew, but she was faintly aware that the presence that had been following her ever since the church had vanished. “Thank… thank you, lord Fafnir.”

Fafnir simply nodded, moving to lay back down atop his mountain. If that is all, you can leave now.

A rather difficult expression came upon Bella’s face as she heard that. Leave? That killer was still hunting her down. If she left now, then she would simply be presenting herself as a target again. “If… if it pleases you, may I remain in this place for a while longer? It is beyond my ability to track the individual hunting me, so I wish to use this time to recuperate until Lady Tsubaki returns.”

Fafnir’s shoulder faintly shrugged. Do as you wish. Despite laying down to rest, Fafnir’s senses were still projected outwards. He was now keeping a watchful eye over the entire island. While the so-called godslayer’s power might be able to elude Bella’s senses, it could not do so against his own.

Tsubaki had taught Fafnir how to identify divine energy, which allowed him to identify the path that the stranger was pursuing while he was visible. Thanks to that, he knew what he was dealing with. And because of that knowledge, the ‘unknown’ ability would no longer affect him.

This was the secret to the hunter’s power. As long as his prey did not understand his ability, he would be invisible to their senses. In this state, he was the perfect killer. But, when his power became known, he lost his advantage.