Dust whirled up around the southern valley of Tartarus when rocks broke loose from the mountains and dropped on the ground.

"Leon, watch out!" Kim screamed when she spotted two-foot rocks rolling toward Leon’s direction.

"Let them come," Leon said in a calm voice as he stood there, watching the rocks moving toward him at the speed of light.

Seo-jun dashed forward and shouldered Leon out of the way, causing his right shoulder to be hit and bounce off.

"Are you okay, Seo-jun?" Kim asked when she placed the bag of Starfire she was carrying down, then neared Seo-jun.

"I’m fine," Seo-jun said in a low voice, while brushing his left palm on his shoulder. "Let’s keep going. We can’t stay here for long, else all of us would be buried under these giant stones."

He pushed himself up, looked at Leon with a disdainful stare, then shook his head.

"You shouldn’t have done that," Leon said in a solemn voice when he reached Seo-jun’s side. "You should’ve allowed it to fall on me."

Seo-jun’s head snapped back for a second, then he gave Kim a glance before looking at Leon.

"Would you let their deaths go to waste? After all your squad had sacrificed, would you let them rot without any honor, Leon? Your family needs you, just like we all need you."

Seo-jun placed a hand on Leon’s shoulder, then exhaled sharply. He secretly wiped the blood that had splashed on his lips off, then smiled when Eun-woo turned and looked at him.

When they reached the front of the Castle of Souls, Seo-jun pressed a button on his left wrist. As soon as the green light died, the Triarch began to materialize before them.

"Eun-woo, Kim, place the Opal stone in the ship and make sure Joon and the other guys wrap the body well and place it in a place where it wouldn’t shake."

"Yes, sir." Eun-woo and Kim saluted, then dashed toward the now-opened ramp.

Leon smiled when his mind replayed the gesture that Eun-woo and Kim portrayed, then shook his head.

Immediately he turned and saw one masked soldier playing with a wristband that had fallen from Liu Yan’s arm. Leon frowned. "Hey! Send that back, now!"

"Take your time, Leon, that’s just a wristband." The soldier said in a cunning voice and began tossing the black band like it was just a toy.

"Hey Shane, SEND THAT BACK!" Seo-jun said in a loud voice that made Eun-woo and Kim dash out just to look at Seo-jun, as if they hadn’t seen that version of him.

After a few minutes, when every stone had been placed in the storage room and the body had been given a room of its own, all five soldiers joined Leon and Seo-jun outside.

Seo-jun looked at the castle for a while, then looked at Leon. "Since you and your team were the first to come to this land, can we spend the night here and take off in the morning?"

Leon didn’t answer; he simply turned and walked toward the Triarch.

"Why, did I say or ask something that’s impossible to do?" Seo-jun asked while raising his shoulders.

"Seo-jun, take your time. We don’t know why he didn’t give an answer to that. Maybe something happened in that castle that he doesn’t want to share or even think about." Kim said while shifting glances between Seo-jun and Leon.

Without hesitation, Eun-woo dashed into the castle’s entrance, then returned with a pale face. "Guys, I think it’s better we leave now!"

"Are you sure?" Seo-jun asked in a curious voice. "This place seems to be a nice place for rest."

"I bet it isn’t." Eun-woo added, then began walking toward the Triarch.

Kim looked at the castle’s windows and the pointed pillars, then turned and began calling out to Eun-woo as she ran after him. "Eun-woo, wait, what did you see when you entered?"

Seo-jun looked at them then laughed. "Always running away when there is a small sense of danger or unfamiliarity."

Just as he was about to enter the castle by himself, the wristwatch he wore vibrated. "I need to get to the console to see what message has been sent this time."

He neglected entering the castle and rushed inside the Triarch.

Inside, Joon sat at the far end while the other two masked soldiers sat opposite him, as if he had done or said something that had caused them to move away from him.

’This is strange. Joon always sits close to these two; something is not right.’ He said low in his head, then shook it off when he noticed Joon was staring at him.

When Seo-jun went and sat behind the console of the Triarch, a holographic image of Hei Yung appeared boldly before him.

Seo-jun saluted the holographic figure, then focused on the words being said.

"Good day, Seo-jun. Your return mission has been cancelled. Your new mission now is to find and collect one thousand Starfire Opals within five days and return with them."

’Gather one thousand Starfire Opals, how are we going to do that in this short while?’ Seo-jun said low in his head, while staring at the floor.

The holographic stayed for a little longer before dissipating and vanishing.

At that same moment, Leon was standing at the front of the opened ramp, staring at the mask of Joon, as if he alone knew who might be hiding behind the mask.

Before Leon was his panel, showing him full detail of the person sitting there, posing to be someone he wasn’t.

[System Notification]

Presence Detected.

Scanning...

Name: D. D. Demon

Rank: C

Unique Ability: Fire Manipulation

Hostility: Positive

’Hmph, so you came here posing to be someone you aren’t just to kill me.’ Leon said in his head, then smiled. ’Then I’m sorry you came at the wrong time.’

"Hey Leon," Kim called out to Leon from inside the Triarch and drew Leon’s attention from Joon. "I think you find Joon interesting."

She laughed, then walked toward him.

Eun-woo also walked out of the Triarch and stopped beside Leon. He hesitated for a moment before placing a hand on Leon’s shoulder, but when Leon turned and looked at him, Eun-woo removed his hand quickly as if he would be scolded for that.

A smile tore across Leon’s face as An Lang’s smiling face flashed into his head when he saw the fear in Eun-woo’s eyes.