Gein and Hanken had separated from Xers to fight Yorashu. Xers, meanwhile, headed alone into a passage beneath the castle that descended deep into the mountain. Along this passage, mana stones belonging to Kurogiri were hidden at regular intervals. Xers entered the passage by himself. Torches lined the walls, lighting up the dark corridor.
"Kurogiri keeps hiding what they steal from us in places like this. That bastard Nystral… I'm waiting for the day I face you."
After walking for some time, Xers reached a room. He entered slowly. In front of him was a blue chest, and beside it, a Kurogiri sorcerer who had fallen asleep on guard duty under dim light. With silent steps, Xers approached the chest. He drew his sword and decapitated the sorcerer in a single strike. As soon as he infused the chest with his own Spiritual Pressure, it opened, revealing a mana stone glowing blue inside. Since it wasn't very large, he slipped it into his pocket and left the room.
"Not as big as I expected. They're usually massive rocks… where are the others, I wonder?"
Xers continued downward, but the slope gradually became steeper. The Kurogiri had driven wooden planks into the rocks, creating wedges to help with footing. Xers used these wedges to keep descending.
Because of the mountain's shape, the slope increased to seventy-five degrees. This time, the Kurogiri had stretched ropes across the rocks using pulleys. Now, progress was only possible by holding onto the rope. Xers moved forward for a while, gripping the rope tightly. Another room appeared ahead. Peering through the slightly open door, he saw a mana stone nearly one meter in size, glowing bright blue and illuminating the entire room. On the ground, seven Kurogiri sorcerers were performing a ritual using the stone. Xers opened the door and stepped inside.
"W-What? Worshipping a mana stone… how foolish. Sorry, gentlemen, but I need that stone."
The sorcerer seated at the front—the one leading the ritual—suddenly lifted his head and stared at Xers. He froze for two seconds, then shouted:
"B-B-B-B-THAT'S THEND XERS!!!!!"
All the sorcerers abandoned the ritual and reached for their swords, putting on their B-tier masks. Xers pulled on his purple mask, and a purple blade appeared in his hand.
"Come on, then…"
One of the sorcerers leapt at Xers. Xers swung his sword, sending the sorcerer crashing into the rocks as dust filled the air.
"NOW HOW ARE YOU GOING TO SEE?!"
"ATTACK FROM ONE SIDE!"
Fourteen sword strikes came at Xers at once. With swift agility, he blocked every single one with his blade. Using the rock as leverage, he leapt to the opposite corner of the room.
"GQ#41!"
A black slash burst from Xers' sword, cleaving two sorcerers clean in half and slicing through eight rocks in succession. The passage began to shake.
"Shit! This passage is going to collapse. I need to finish this fast and get out!"
The ritual leader grabbed his sword and charged at Xers.
"GQ#41!"
Xers ducked under the attack, but it split four more rocks in half, causing the passage to shake even more violently.
Xers rushed forward and stabbed the ritual leader from behind. He ripped the mana stone from its place and headed toward the exit. However, Kurogiri sorcerers were pouring in from both sides of the passage. They must have received the warning beforehand—every one of them had their masks ready as they charged toward Xers.
Xers burst straight out of the room and flattened the rock beneath him by striking it eight times per second.
"I finally set up a place where I can stand! Come on—XERS VS THE KUROGIRI ARMY!"
Sorcerers closed in on him from both sides, leaping toward him. Xers swung his sword twenty times per second, cutting down nearly three hundred and thirty members of the Kurogiri army. Blood flew through the air. The number of corpses in the passage kept increasing. Eventually, the bodies below began to slide downward, clearing Xers' path. But the corpses above also started sliding. As they moved, they pushed a one-meter-wide, one-hundred-and-twenty-kilogram mana stone downward. The mana stone slammed into Xers, and together with the corpses, he began sliding down the three-hundred-meter passage.
"SHIT! THIS IS SLIPPING REALLY BAD! I CAN'T REACH THE ROPE! THERE'S NOTHING ELSE I CAN HOLD ON TO!"
As Xers kept rolling faster and faster, his legs slammed into the wooden wedges, sending sharp pain through his body. At that moment, an idea came to his mind. Xers drove his sword into a rock with all the strength he had left and held onto it. Xers's sword and arms were holding nearly 1500 kilograms.
"Ahh! I-It's too heavy! I don't train with this much weight!"
At that moment, the rock began to crack.
"N-No, no!"
In the end, the rock shattered, and Xers started sliding again.
"I don't want to summon Gomerai. If I do, he could destroy the entire mountain!"
At the last 120 meters of the passage, there was a rocky ledge. After that point, the slope increased to 85 degrees.
"T-There's nothing else I can do! GOMERAI!"
Gomerai struck the mountain at extreme speed, carving out a massive hollow in it.
"Carry me with the stone, Gomerai!"
Gomerai grabbed Xers and the mana stone, pulling them out of the passage. When Xers looked back, the mountain had begun to collapse. A cavity nearly 140 meters deep had formed in it. The rocks in the mountain were breaking off one by one and falling. The entire shape of the mountain was collapsing, and the walls of the castle they had raided were beginning to crumble. All Tshusenkai sorcerers started retreating. The remaining Kurogiri sorcerers began falling into the crack that had formed in the mountain.
On the cliff stood Gein. After killing Yorashu on the spot, the rock he was standing on broke apart, and Gein began sliding downward.
"G-GOMERAI! CATCH GEIN!"
Gomerai changed direction and flew rapidly toward Gein. Gein had completely detached from the rock and entered free fall. He kept falling as Gomerai tried to catch up. When Gein was only 15 meters away from hitting the ground, Gomerai caught him midair and ascended again.
"GEIN, ARE YOU OKAY?"
"W-WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH THIS MOUNTAIN?!"
"I-It collapsed because of me, but if you're okay, that's what matters! Where is Hanken?!"
"H-Hanken was escaping Yorashu's veil ability the last time I saw him. I don't know where he is now."
At that moment, the mountain completely collapsed, and there was no such mountain left anymore. The falling rocks crushed trees and even rendered an entire village completely uninhabitable.
Gomerai landed Xers and Gein on the ground and disappeared.
"We need to find Hanken!"
"I know, Xers! But even if we wanted to, we couldn't find him right now. Returning to the base is the best option."
Xers and Gein returned to the base. Night had fallen. Xers went to his room, troubled and filled with sorrow. General Fushiroma prepared an analysis report. Seventy-five percent of the Tshusenkai army had lost their lives in the collapsed mountain. Whether Hanken was alive or not was unknown. Fushiroma entered the room.
"H-Hanken might be dead. Most likely, he was trapped within the collapsed mountain and is now buried under the rocks. All of it... all of it... ALL OF IT WAS YOUR FAULT, XERS!"
"W-What?"
"Look at me, Xers! We lost seventy-five percent of our army for a single mana stone. Gomerai came and collapsed the mountain as well. We don't need mana stones or anything like that, do you understand?!"
"H-HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO YOUR COMMANDER LIKE THAT, FUSHIROMA!"
"SHUT UP, XERS! AFTER TAKING THE LIVES OF 15,000 TSHUSENKAI SORCERERS, YOU STILL DARE TO TALK BACK?!"
Enraged, Xers slammed his hand onto the table and stood up. He grabbed Fushiroma by the collar.
"REALIZE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, FUSHIROMA! YOU CAN'T SPEAK TO A COMMANDER LIKE THIS!"
Gein, Kiminage, and the other sorcerers began listening closely to the voices coming from the room.
Fushiroma forcefully shoved Xers back with both hands. Xers crashed into the cabinet.
"YOU ARE NO LONGER A COMMANDER, XERS! GO AND ASK THE ENTIRE ARMY, NO ONE WILL FORGIVE WHAT YOU'VE DONE! YOU WANT TO RISE AGAINST US? THEN WATCH SHADOWIA BE INVADED BY KUROGIRI SORCERERS! L-look... look! If you love us and Shadowia, then leave this place! Leave it to us. Don't you remember? We talked about the mana stone before the expedition. IT WASN'T NECESSARY, XERS. IT WASN'T NECESSARY!"
After Fushiroma's words, the room fell into silence. Xers looked down, then into Fushiroma's eyes. He removed the Tshusenkai emblem from his collar and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
Gein and Kiminage stood up.
"X-XE—"
Xers said,
"Just be quiet, Kiminage."
Xers left the clan base and disappeared without a trace.