Florida Man in Magus World: Unleashing Liberty and Freedom

He sighed. The weight of his thoughts dragged him down. Turning back, he met the gaze of Zen, who stood solemnly at the door. Her disciple and a few other priestesses stood by her side.

"We\'ve lost the girl and her servant," Martin\'s tone was full with frustration.

Zen replied with a bittersweet smile, "I see. This is beyond our ability. Don\'t blame yourself, Lord Magus."

Martin\'s expression remained neutral. His gaze shifted toward the sky, where the cursed moon\'s fading glow still loomed. Though its power had waned, the temptation it wielded was unmistakable.

"I\'m not blaming myself. It\'s just… even though she passed the exam, the calamity moon\'s influence was too strong. Too easy to fall prey to."

Zen\'s smile faltered. Her thoughts drifted to her own followers. "Yes, some of my people succumbed as well,"

She also admitted that her prideful followers of the Eleanor Church, who had always upheld purity and strict moral codes, had not been immune to the corruption. Many of those affected had already been detained, but some had vanished like Jane and Valley. Whether they had escaped or been taken was uncertain.

As Martin turned to leave, he stepped on something hard. He lifted his foot to reveal a sparkling gemstone ring. The diamond glistened under the sunlight, drawing the attention of the younger priestesses. One of them, Rosaline, couldn\'t help but admire its beauty from a distance.

"What a beautiful ring," she whispered.

"Pretty, but nothing special," Martin examined the ring briefly before tossing it into the bag of clothes. Then, he ordered the crowd. "We\'ll have someone tidy up the room later. Let\'s go."

Zen, however, had a different thought. She chuckled and teased, "I thought you were going to pocket the ring for a moment."

"I\'m no thief," Martin replied with a deadpan tone.

"It could be valuable," Zen suggested, eyeing the ring. "If you don\'t mind, I\'ll keep it. Perhaps I can use it to find its owner, or maybe help restore their sanity."

Martin shrugged. "Suit yourself, as long as you do exactly that."

With a nod, Zen entered the room, gathering the remaining belongings of Jane and Valley into her subspace storage using a spatial spell. The ring, though, she slipped into her robe, keeping it close. There was something about it that intrigued her.

The group left the room, heading toward another dorm where more students had disappeared. As they walked away, Rosaline paused at the door, lifting her blindfold slightly to peer back into the empty space. Her sharp eyes detected faint trails of purple mana leading from the room and out through the open window.

"The mana trails lead south…" she muttered to herself, her brow furrowing in thought. "The Solaris Commonwealth Empire?"

Why were the mutated fleeing south?

Rosaline pondered the question. But whatever the answer, it was no longer her concern.

The territory to the south belonged to the Solaris Commonwealth Empire. Whatever the mutated were planning or where they were headed, it was beyond the scope of their duties.

Adjusting her blindfold, Rosaline followed the group as they moved toward the special male dormitory where Hammer and the other male students resided. There was still work to be done.

.

.

.

A week passed in relative peace. Survivors of the calamity gradually returned to their villages and cities, trying to piece their lives back together.

But while normalcy returned for some, the mutated had all departed from their homes, migrating mysteriously toward the south.

It didn\'t take long before the mutated beasts, humans, demi-humans, and strange unidentifiable creatures gathered into a massive horde. They marched together in a snake-like formation, side by side, ignoring their once deep-seated differences. The sight of former enemies, species, and races walking in harmony would have been a marvel in any other situation. But now, it only added to the dread.

Surprisingly, the horde caused no harm to nearby survivors or civilians. No raiding, no destruction. They simply marched. Whenever civilians caught sight of the monstrous parade, they fled in terror, but the mutated paid them no mind.

The real trouble, however, wasn\'t for the people of the Dragoon Empire; it was now a looming crisis for the Solaris Commonwealth Empire.

Raah City, the capital of the Solaris Commonwealth, lay 500 kilometers south of the northern border town near Veria Belt Province. With its gleaming golden royal palace—constructed entirely from solid gold bars and plates—the city had always been a symbol of imperial grandeur.

But now, its halls buzzed with tension as ministers, knights, and leaders from all corners of the empire gathered to address the growing threat.

In the luxurious throne room, a young man sat on the emperor\'s seat. His cold and unwavering gaze fixated on his men.

This was Adol Taros the Third, the newly crowned emperor.

Only 19 years old, Adol had inherited the throne after the otherworlder summoning incident claimed his father\'s life. Despite his youth, there was nothing soft or inexperienced in his demeanor.

Adol\'s deep, serene eyes spoke of a man who had seen countless battlefields. His aura was refined, that of a 7-star knight—a level of mastery shared by only a handful, including Tanaka, the Sword Saint.

Yet, what set Adol apart was the intense malicious air of someone who had personally slaughtered his enemies. It was the aura of a seasoned assassin, one who had shed blood with his own hands countless times before.

Today, the emperor had summoned the empire\'s finest knights and mages to Raah City. Adol sat in silent contemplation as the palace halls echoed with the murmurs of his gathered forces.

Adol\'s expression remained impassive as the hours of discussions wore on. His ministers, knights, and mages argued incessantly, their voices blending into a cacophony of bickering, blame-shifting, and self-importance. The young emperor, though patient by nature, found the farce increasingly tiresome. He\'d hoped for insight, solutions, but instead, what he got was endless hypocrisy.

With a quiet, deliberate focus, Adol allowed his killing intent to slip through, permeating the throne room. The reaction was immediate.

A cold chill swept through the air as the crowd of 200 men fell silent. The hairs on their necks stood on end, and their skin tightened with fear. All eyes snapped to the emperor as the weight of his aura commanded their undivided attention.

Adol, still calm and collected, finally spoke, "What\'s the number of the horde?"

A moment passed before the minister closest to the emperor—an elderly white-haired mage named Sion—stepped forward. He was a ninth-circle mage, at the very peak of his craft, and even the renowned Martin could not match him in strength.

Sion, towering at 6\'5" in his white, gleaming robes, cupped his fist with his palm in the respectful gesture Adol had taught his ministers, showing deference before he spoke.

"Reporting to Your Majesty," Sion began, "the monster stampede is estimated to be 5,000 strong. However, that number may increase as mutated people from our side are also marching toward Mesh Fortress."

Mesh Fortress was more than a simple border town. It was a strategic outpost and a trade hub for the Dragoon Empire and Solaris Commonwealth. It was secretly serving as a military installation to monitor Saucon\'s movements. But now, it seemed it had become a focal point for something far more mysterious.

Adol\'s gaze sharpened. "Do we know what is attracting the mutants and monster beasts there?"

Sion opened his palm, summoning a plaque from his subspace storage ring. It hovered in the air before projecting a hologram of recorded events at Mesh Fortress. The room dimmed slightly as the display flickered to life.

The projection revealed a group of refugees sheltered within one of the fortress\'s buildings. Most were men and former soldiers of the Dragoon Empire, but one figure immediately caught Adol\'s attention.

There was a half-naked pregnant woman, dressed in little more than dirty loincloths. Her state of undress and vulnerability made her stand out among the rest.

The hologram continued, showing how the local knights initially treated the woman with respect, offering her food and even clothing. For the first two days, she was left alone, and some even extended small acts of kindness.

But on the third day, everything changed. One of the knights, under cover of night, sneaked into the refugee shelter and forcibly dragged the woman outside.

Adol\'s lips curled in disgust as the scene unfolded. His eyes narrowed with mounting anger, his glare fixed sharply on Sion. "Are you trying to report your men abusing the refugees, or what?"

Sion, however, remained unperturbed, his face calm. He urged, keeping the recorded scene playing, "No, Your Majesty. Please continue watching,"

A minute later, the pregnant woman returned to the shelter, walking calmly as if nothing had happened. But her new clothes were stained with blood. Moments later, several knights stormed into the shelter, weapons drawn, their spears aimed directly at the woman.

Before anyone could act, the woman\'s lips curled into a wide, sinister smirk. Then, without warning, she floated into the air, her body suspended as if weightless. What happened next sent a chill through the air.

Suddenly, every refugee and knight in the room began to claw at their necks. Their fingers desperately dug into their throats as if something were crawling under their skin. Their nails tore flesh, and blood sprayed in horrific spurts, staining the floor and walls.

It only took two minutes for the carnage to end, leaving the bodies of male refugees and knights lifeless on the floor, their throats torn open.

Amid the chaos, the pregnant woman remained eerily calm. She approached one of the dead men, her jaw slowly dislocating, the corners of her mouth tearing open to reveal a grotesque, gaping maw that resembled that of a giant snake.

Without hesitation, she devoured a body whole. A moment later, she spat out everything that wasn\'t flesh—clothes, weapons, metal objects, and the man\'s skeleton—all discarded like trash.

Adol stared in stunned silence, struggling to process what he had just witnessed. He turned to Sion, his voice a low growl. "So... is she the cause of this madness?"

Sion nodded, his tone steady despite the horror he had just revealed. "Based on my hypothesis, yes, Your Majesty. I believe she may be one of the otherworlders."