“What do you think Captain Gerard did? The captain I know wouldn’t have made an exception, since a mission must be carried out even if it means having to kill a child. However, Captain Gerard let them go after hesitating,” Horhell said.

“And that happened in the forty-fifth year after the founding of the empire?” Juan asked.

“Yes. And three weeks later, the door to the Crack opened in the northeastern metropolitan city of Arbalde.”

This was the beginning of the tragedy of Arbalde. The more the people praised and sought knowledge, the stronger the power of the Crack became. Then, once the ways to prevent and suppress the encroachment of the Crack became widespread, no one was interested enough to try to find out more about the Crack, other than corrupted magicians. However, at that time people had been helplessly exposed to the power of the Crack, without knowledge, which was now considered to be common sense. The fact that the door to the Crack had opened meant that the area could no longer be controlled by anyone.

“Captain Gerard and the Order of Lindwurm were desperate to try and prevent the spread of the Crack. But nothing we did was enough. And eventually… Captain Nienna led the Order of Fenrir to the eastern territory.”

As someone who had been fighting against the Crack ever since she was old enough to hold a sword, Nienna knew exactly what to do in such a situation. Juan clearly remembered hearing about the...