“Valdez.”

“We have a guest.”

Valdez reported respectfully.

But his shoulders were rigid.

Kyle already knew why this mage—who had been acknowledged throughout the Empire for his skill, even if he was not a Grand Archmage—was this tense.

In truth, Kyle himself was no less on edge.

He steeled himself, gave a slight nod, and turned.

He stepped out of the building filled with blooming flowers.

A heavy presence blanketed the entire grounds.

“Ah.”

The sky-blue-haired youth looked at him and smiled faintly.

“My apologies for not answering your summons sooner. I meant only to close my eyes for a moment... and, well.”

“It’s no matter.”

Kyle used the highest form of honorific speech for the first time in a long while.

“It is an honor that you responded at all.”

The Ice Dragon.

A few months ago, Hildebert had faced the Ice Dragon.

And his tattered leaf-veins had been restored.

Kyle still remembered the moment Hildebert’s presence—once severed—had flared back into clarity. He remembered Mou shouting that the Ice Dragon was near Hildebert.

There had been no need to piece together a puzzle.

Kyle already knew that if anyone could restore damaged leaf-veins, it was the Ice Dragon.

Clyde had told him so once.

Why had a dragon that never interfered in human affairs repaired Hildebert’s leaf-veins?

If it was a being favorable toward humans, could they approach and request help as well?

Or had Hildebert and Kairos persuaded a notoriously difficult existence?

They had debated internally.

Only recently had they decided to act.

It was a dangerous gamble. There was no guarantee the Ice Dragon would be favorable toward them.

If only Cecil’s recruitment had succeeded, they wouldn’t have needed to take such a risk. Instead of gaining the strength of a Grand Archmage, they had lost it.

So they gambled.

The gamble had not failed completely.

Those who went to find the Ice Dragon returned alive.

They had even secured a promise—“I’ll drop by later.”

But Kyle understood well that a dragon’s sense of time differed from a human’s.

So now that the dragon’s words had manifested, Kyle considered himself fortunate they hadn’t missed the moment.

Judging from the expression, though, meaningful cooperation seemed unlikely.

“You seem to anticipate my answer.”

“I’m not sure whether my expectations are correct.”

“They are. I cannot help you.”

The Ice Dragon spoke calmly from where it stood.

Present with Kyle were Meierbold, Valdez, and Seth.

The others were already preparing for the imminent sortie.

The air felt charged.

They had made their decision. There would be no turning back.

They would need luck—several strokes of it—but they believed this was the best course.

If the Ice Dragon helped them, they wouldn’t need luck at all.

“You did help restore the leaf-veins of the one whose were damaged, did you not?”

Seth asked, reckless.

The color drained from Valdez’s face, but the Ice Dragon smiled kindly.

“I did. But restoring leaf-veins is nothing compared to what you are asking.”

“You know Hildebert Taleb is not merely an individual.”

“Watch your tongue.”

Meierbold cut Seth off sharply.

“He may be threatening to us, but to this being he would amount to nothing more than an insect.”

“Thank you for the high appraisal. I have never considered him an insect. Still, compared to the cooperation you seek, restoring his leaf-veins was a far lighter matter.”

“Why did you decide to repair Hilde’s leaf-veins?”

Kyle couldn’t hold back.

He knew that even if he received an answer, nothing would change.

But he couldn’t stop himself from asking.

When they had succeeded—through considerable effort—in abducting Hildebert momentarily, Kyle had not severed his head immediately.

The reasons had been complex.

It wasn’t sentiment.

At the time, their objective had been entirely different.

Back then, their goal had been complete victory.

With Meierbold and Nabarate, and if they could draw in Cecil as well, they had calculated victory was possible.

So they had intended to extract information from Hildebert about their kin remaining inside the Core—and then kill him.

There was no way Hildebert’s allies could break the magical array the mages had cast. Rescue would take time.

That was what they thought.

Who could have predicted he would make the extreme decision to lure a Remnant Wraith?

And...

If by some chance they were still connected?

To prevent a potential catastrophe, they had severed the leaf-veins.

Kyle had denied the hypothesis.

Absurd. If they were connected, he would have been affected every time Hildebert was injured.

But that hadn’t happened.

The connection must have been severed when Hildebert returned to Earth.

That was what he claimed.

But his subordinates had not been reassured.

“The mechanisms of absorption and transfer remain largely unknown,” the mages had argued. “The traitor lost his memories, but you did not. What if there is still a faint connection? What if his death harms you?”

“You’re overthinking it,” Kyle had snapped in front of the anxious mages and Clyde.

“Aren’t you complicating things unnecessarily?”

“You were supposed to die!” Valdez had shouted, grabbing him. “For fifty years we have watched you recover from fatal conditions for reasons unknown, Captain! Now that we understand the reason, how can we be at ease?”

“So since he reawakened, did I get injured whenever he did? No.”

“When the traitor returned without his memories, did you lose yours as well? No.”

“Unbelievable.”

“Sever the leaf-veins.”

Clyde had intervened.

“Leaf-veins are the essence of our life, like heart and brain. I do not know much of the miracle the World Tree granted its children, but I do know that transfer is possible only for those with intact leaf-veins.”

So they damaged them.

To eliminate even the slightest probability at its source.

They thought that damaging the leaf-veins might prevent absorption-driven rampage.

It didn’t.

Even partially damaged, Hildebert had rampaged.

He had devoured the mages present.

And Clyde.

Had Clyde lied? Had he been misinformed? Or had Hildebert’s leaf-veins still retained some vitality?

They never knew.

They couldn’t recapture Hildebert.

Still, damaging his leaf-veins had felt like half a success.

Until the Ice Dragon intervened.

The overwhelming being before them.

A face whose gender could not be discerned smiled faintly at Kyle.

“Come to think of it, I never received full repayment from that child for repairing his leaf-veins.”

Repayment?

“I fell back asleep, you see. As for your question—why I repaired them? Personal preference. I liked his sword strike. I wanted to see it again. That is all.”

“What kind of—”

Seth exhaled in disbelief.

Kyle understood the sentiment.

But he did not protest.

He continued watching the Ice Dragon.

He tried not to think about Hildebert.

Not about the desperate longing that had spilled out when they damaged his leaf-veins.

Not about the relief he had felt when Hildebert’s presence vanished.

Not about the complex emotions when it flared back to life.

Kyle thought only of the future.

Their imminent sortie.

“I understand it is presumptuous. I know we have asked far too much. But shamelessly, I beg once more—if you could at least verify the precision of our work...”

“Very well.”

Kyle’s respectful request was cut off.

The answer was cool, simple.

Every eye in the chamber widened.

Kyle himself stared.

The blue-haired being smiled slightly.

“That much is not difficult.”

Meierbold recovered first.

“You honor us beyond measure.”

With a courtesy he had never shown even the Emperor, the Grand Archmage bowed deeply.

Kyle was stunned at how smoothly things had turned. Suspicion flickered. Then, finally, his tension eased.

He exhaled.

“I should do at least that much. It would only be fair to both sides.”

“Thank you.”

Good.

The moment Hildebert finished his revenge, they would move.

Their objective was no longer to overthrow the Elders.

Nor to strike humanity.

When Nabarate had been intact, a Third War had been one of their options.

Now, circumstances had changed.

Kyle adjusted accordingly.

Revenge, however, remained unchanged.

No matter what shifted, that would not.

They lived for retribution.

And he had ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) not forgotten Rei.

“You want me to verify it now?”

“Yes. I will guide you.”

As the Ice Dragon rose, so did they.

Relieved that one obstacle had vanished, Kyle prepared to follow Meierbold—

Footsteps pounded urgently.

A subordinate burst in without knocking.

“It’s begun!”

He shouted, breathless.

“Additional menu delivered at the restaurant. At this rate, it will be settled within seventy-two hours at the latest!”

Ah.

Kyle’s hand tightened around his sword hilt.

The time to face him again was nearly here.

***

Colton sat in an armchair, legs crossed.

Jaeyeon sat beside him.

In a man’s form.

Impeccably dressed in a suit.

The fox-eyed man propped his chin on his hand and whistled softly.

The eerie sound filled the suffocatingly silent room.

Screens covered the wall.

Destruction unfolding across multiple locations.

Colton took a sip of liquor.

There was nothing he could do now but reminisce.

The military would move on its own, striving to capture Hildebert in Harlem.

The powerful figures who controlled Harlem would try as well.

The bullets he and the military supplied would be fired relentlessly.

But they probably wouldn’t catch him.

Colton knew it was likely futile.

He let them try anyway.

Because whenever he faced Hildebert, he was sincere.

Overwhelming force.

A being so oppressive it warranted detonating nuclear self-destruction—yet possessed self-awareness like a human.

Among such beings, Hildebert had been the one whose eyes were most clearly open.

When Colton realized that joining hands with him could overturn the entire board, the shock had been immense.

Unlike nuclear weapons that couldn’t be used freely.

Unlike Jaeyeon, who was deteriorating.

Unlike others who couldn’t assimilate into human society.

Hildebert was an extraordinarily powerful card.

Like holding a hand that wins every poker game.

Colton wanted that card desperately.

He agreed with those who believed in detonating everything rather than accepting defeat.

But he had slipped away from that faction and extended his hand to Hildebert for one reason.

I want that card.

No matter what, I will obtain it.

Whatever gamble it takes.

“I’m jealous.”

Jaeyeon stopped whistling and grinned.

Colton set down his glass.

“You don’t mean that.”

This was the final gamble.

The cost of defeat was his life.

The prize of victory was an unbeatable ace.

Colton had always been strong in games and gambling.

The problem was—

So was his opponent.

He had won their poker match long ago.

“This time...”

He leaned back.

“...we’ll see.”

And waited for Hildebert.

***

The aftermath was catastrophic.

Every nearby window must have shattered.

Shrapnel from the midair explosion scattered like hail.

The surroundings turned gray in an instant.

Dawn had been breaking—but now it felt like hell.

I sheathed my sword and ran to Lin and the Old Spider.

There was no time to check thoroughly.

I lifted the Old Spider with my right arm and hauled Lin upright.

“Can you run?”

“No!”

Lin wailed, tears streaming.

He fumbled, unable to open his eyes properly.

“No, I can’t!”

He could.

No visible injuries.

He might have internal damage from the shock, but I had no capacity to assess that.

“There’s no other way.”

“Captain!”

Lin screamed and staggered after me.

“What is this? What the hell is going on?!”

“We’ll go down the pipe.”

I looked over the increasingly chaotic street.

First, I needed to drop off the informant.

I couldn’t go to Colton’s mansion dragging him along.

This would be settled before the day ended.

It had begun.

There was no turning back.

And I couldn’t miss this chance.

“Move.”

“Wait—!”

I slid down the pipe from the rooftop to the ground in seconds.

Lin followed, sobbing.

I heightened my senses, scanning the surroundings, and whispered to the Old Spider.

“Where’s easiest?”

“The subway.”

She answered calmly.

“That would be most convenient.”

“Catch them!”

The man called Guillaume shouted from the rooftop.

“Kill them!”

“Captain!”

Lin clung to me.

I opened his backpack, grabbed the drug packets—

And flung them in the opposite direction of the approaching men.

Some flew far.

Some were shot midair and burst.

The effect was dramatic.

“Crack!”

People surged through the pale dust toward the drugs.

Lin screamed.

I ignored his cries of “My severance pay! My severance pay!” and sprinted for the subway.

Like Hansel and Gretel scattering crumbs, I threw drugs as I ran.

It worked.

I didn’t need to draw my sword again before diving into the subway.

Empty.

“Ha.”

Déjà vu.

“In the end... back to the subway.”

I thought of Jin.