The annex where Cale was staying was old and small.

Whoooosh—

“The wind’s pretty strong tonight.”

“It is.”

Answering Team Leader Sui Khan’s quiet remark, Cale glanced downward.

The highest point in Moraka Castle.

Cale was standing still atop the roof of the tallest tower of the main castle.

His arms folded, he did not move.

“Human, shouldn’t we hurry up and go look for Choi Jung Soo?”

As he said that, Raon flicked a glance toward Sui Khan’s arm.

Even under the black night clothes, even with the wound bound tight to stop the bleeding, a faint smell of blood still drifted from him.

Sui Khan’s complexion was better than before, but it was still pale.

The wound was not deep, but the bleeding would not stop.

Meeeeow.

Hong rubbed himself against Sui Khan’s calf.

Petting Hong absently, Sui Khan spoke.

“Raon.”

“Hm?”

Raon, who had been sneaking glances at him, flinched when their eyes met.

Sui Khan looked up at the sky and said,

“Everything has its proper time.”

Following him, Raon looked up as well, and for a moment his gaze caught on the sky glittering with stars.

The sky of the Demon World was beautiful too.

“Of course, when that time comes—”

Sui Khan started speaking again, and Raon’s eyes followed his gaze back to Cale.

Looking at Cale’s back, Sui Khan was smiling as if he were enjoying himself.

Everything has its proper time.

Of course, when that time comes—

“Sometimes it comes to you if you wait. But sometimes you can just make it happen.”

And right now, it was the latter.

Knock, knock, knock.

At the sound of someone knocking, Clopeh looked toward the door.

Bang.

The door opened without waiting for an answer, and beyond it stood General Mol, the Hand Behind the Back, commander of the Third Army.

“Did you slip your brothers out?”

Smiling softly, Clopeh held both hands out in front of him.

“Would it satisfy you if I were restrained?”

“...Annoying bastard.”

Mol had said he would keep Clopeh alive, but he had never specified how he would keep him alive.

You could not simply let a man carrying this much information walk free.

Even if his martial strength was not especially great, a minimum amount of restraint was necessary.

And yet Mol found himself irritated by the sight of Clopeh already having sent his younger brothers away and remaining here alone.

“If I live, you live.”

With those words, Mol bound Clopeh.

Watching his hands and feet being tied in silence, Clopeh spoke as he looked at Mol’s back while the man assigned the middle-aged knight to watch him and then turned to leave.

“General Mol.”

To the man who was clearly on his way to seize the Pope—

“.......”

Mol looked back at him with a cold face, and Clopeh offered him a piece of sincere advice.

“When you can’t see the road ahead, all you have to do is follow the light.”

“I don’t have time to listen to nonsense.”

Letting out a mocking snort, Mol disappeared into the darkness.

As he slipped into the shadows of the corridor, it looked as though he himself had become shadow and merged with the dark.

Clopeh stared after him for a long moment, then lifted his eyes toward the ceiling.

“If you stay still, you won’t die tonight.”

With that warning, the middle-aged knight shut the door leading to the corridor.

Now only the two of them remained in the room.

Clopeh raised his head and gazed at the ceiling.

“Do you believe in the demon god?”

The middle-aged knight stiffened.

He was not one of Mol’s men.

He belonged to Terosa.

Terosa believed the Demon King was the only being who could become a demon god, and she followed him with something close to worship.

Clopeh had already done his part, so what left his mouth now was pure sincerity.

“A legend will unfold tonight.”

“...Enough of your nonsense.”

There was a subtle unease hidden beneath the middle-aged knight’s blunt tone.

Clopeh, staring up at the ceiling and smiling.

He no longer looked like the merchant from their first meeting, nor like Count Lupe’s sole blood descendant—dignified and brilliant.

Why did that smiling face, full of pure joy and excitement, look so dreadful and unsettling?

“Is Lady Terosa coming tonight too?”

“.......”

“No. If General Mol has moved, then the troops Lady Terosa sent must already be within range. Which means she is already here.”

“.......”

The middle-aged knight remained silent.

And yet he could not tear his eyes away from Clopeh.

Then—

“!”

Suddenly, a commotion broke out outside.

Booooom—!

A distant explosion rang out.

Boom!

Boooooom—

And the explosions were drawing closer.

“Hahaha—”

Then Clopeh laughed.

Still staring at the ceiling, he lifted the corners of his mouth higher and higher.

“A great many people will see it tonight.”

His eyes were full of ecstasy.

“The true legend.”

“!”

At that moment, the middle-aged knight’s eyes met Clopeh’s.

The instant Clopeh lowered his head from the ceiling and looked straight at him—

“......!!”

He could not say a word.

Because before he knew it, Clopeh was standing right in front of him.

Craaack—

A strange aura swirled around Clopeh’s hands.

The handcuffs and chains split apart, but the middle-aged knight did not even have the chance to see them clearly.

Crack!

Clopeh swung the chain as it was.

“Ghk!”

The chain wrapped around the middle-aged knight’s throat.

Dead mana...!

Not ordinary aura, but dead mana.

And this was not the power of the Demon World.

The middle-aged knight realized that—but too late.

“Kh, khh—!”

His body went limp.

Looking down at the unconscious man, Clopeh searched through his clothes.

Blink, blink.

Inside, there was a small magic orb.

Holding it up, Clopeh spoke.

“Lady Terosa. Is that correct?”

Raon had told him once.

The middle-aged knight carried a magic communication orb.

“You believe in the Demon King because you think he will become a demon god, do you not?”

Clopeh passed on a lesson to Terosa.

“You must not do that.”

Did he follow Cale-nim because he believed that man would become a god?

No.

A god?

What did something like that matter?

“You must believe in the being itself.”

Cale-nim.

That man was already walking his own path by his very existence alone.

He was creating legend.

“If you’re fortunate, you too may come to understand that being tonight. A being truly worth following, one that requires no assumptions.”

—.......

No sound came from the other side. No image either.

And yet the magic communication orb was clearly working.

Clopeh let it fall from his hand.

Craaack!

The magic communication orb shattered.

Without sparing it even a glance, Clopeh reached out.

Creeeak.

The corridor of the annex lay before him, sunken in darkness.

Booooom—

Boooooom—

Outside was loud.

But Clopeh slowly stepped out into the quiet darkness filling the corridor.

“The stronger the light, the darker the shadow.”

In secrecy, he had now surpassed even Ron. Because of that, Clopeh was adept at hiding the true extent of his power.

He was a shadow.

A shadow beside the light, wrapped around the light.

So he had to hurry back to the light’s side.

“Ha.”

Letting out a short laugh, Clopeh walked his chosen path.

Booooooom—

And the moment those explosions began—

something changed in Cale’s eyes.

Troops were advancing on the castle in great numbers.

It looked as though the Demon King’s army and the territorial forces from all across Dioriel’s domain had been scraped together and brought here.

And farther back, light from teleportation circles was pouring down. Not in one massive wave, but in scattered bursts.

One by one, it seemed the Demon King’s Third Army was arriving.

—Cale. There are a great many of them.

The Demon King’s forces Terosa had gathered from Dioriel.

There were a great many.

She really wasn’t someone to underestimate.

Terosa.

She must have been hiding that many Demon King troops in case Young Master Jimon became lord.

Dong, dong, dong—!

The bells shattering the silence of Moraka Castle’s night began ringing out from all over.

The quiet Moraka Castle was gone.

Lights began coming on everywhere.

—Cale. Holy knights.

Holy knights burst out from somewhere and ran toward the castle gate.

—They must have decided there’s no point hiding anymore.

The Ancient Tree was right.

After seeing Terosa’s Demon King troops and the Third Army arriving, the Order’s side must have decided concealment no longer had any meaning.

“Mol has already moved.”

“That’s right.”

Cale could feel Sui Khan’s presence at his back.

Even when he looked at Sui Khan standing now, and the average ten-year-olds beside him, Cale still did not move.

—Sniff, sniff!

The sound of the wind sniffing rose.

The instant Cale’s gaze shifted toward the rear garden behind the main castle—

Boom!

A massive shockwave came from that direction.

“Now it’s our turn to move.”

Wind curled around Cale’s ankles.

Without hesitation, he dropped from the roof.

Cale landed at the center.

Naturally, Sui Khan took the lead in front of him.

On and Hong took Cale’s left and right.

Raon settled into the rear.

In the rear garden of the main castle stood a smaller castle, one about a third the size of the main one.

The Pope was there.

And General Mol had surely gone there too.

Boom!

The shockwave came again.

It had clearly started from the rear garden.

—Sniff, sniff! I smell it! Divine relic smell!

General Mol had used a divine relic, and the sound of the wind reacted to it.

Cale spoke.

“If Choi Jung Soo has lost contact, then he was definitely captured by someone stronger than he is.”

“A top-tier holy knight.”

Sui Khan recalled the man who had wounded him.

That holy knight was about strong enough to deal with Choi Jung Soo.

“It wasn’t the one who wounded me.”

That wound had come because Sui Khan had failed to suppress his emotions for an instant, had been exposed, and then taken the hit while escaping. If they fought seriously, that man was not someone who could capture Choi Jung Soo so completely he could not even resist.

“It would have to be the strongest of the holy knights.”

If Choi Jung Soo had truly been taken—

“Or he got caught by some other trick, the way Choi Jung Gun did.”

And whether the answer was the former or the latter—

“Choi Jung Soo will be in the building where the Pope is staying.”

“Right. There’s no way the Order would just leave a Wanderer loose.”

“Whether he’s a Five Colored Blood Wanderer or a Wanderer on the God of Balance’s side, it makes no difference. Either way, the Order would imprison him and try to extract information.”

“Right. They won’t kill him.”

Because Choi Jung Soo had been taken by the Order, Cale and Team Leader Sui Khan concluded that he was still alive.

Their conversation was so emotionless that even the average ten-year-olds looked from one to the other.

But when Cale and the Team Leader went to rescue one of their own, they were always this cold.

Lives were at stake.

“The castle in the rear garden is five stories total. Three above ground, two underground.”

Tap.

Lightly kicking off from the roof, Cale reached a position overlooking the rear garden and spoke.

“Young Master Jimon’s map only covers the first and second floors.”

The first and second underground levels, and the third floor above ground, were unknown.

“We were told the Pope is staying on the third floor, and the underground levels are guarded by holy knights.”

“That means Choi Jung Soo is there.”

“Yes.”

Standing beside Cale, Sui Khan spoke in a detached tone.

“So that’s why you dragged Mol into this?”

“Yes.”

Boom!

Another heavy tremor shook the air, and Cale silently looked down at the ruined rear garden.

The beautiful view was gone.

At the road leading to the small castle at the far end of the destroyed garden, Mol was standing there.

“It wasn’t the one who wounded me.”

“I thought as much.”

The one who had wounded Sui Khan was probably out beyond the castle by now, searching for Sui Khan after deciding he had been rescued by the first Emperor or the Three Emperors.

A high-ranking holy knight could not deal with a Five Colored Blood hunter Wanderer.

That’s information the Demon King’s side doesn’t know.

At the moment, it looked as though Terosa’s Demon King troops and the Third Army teleporting in from the Demon King’s castle were surrounding Moraka Castle.

And the longer time passed, the more reinforcements the Demon King’s castle would likely send.

Which is why Mol moved to target the Pope.

Because time was on his side.

But they did not know about the holy knight forces roaming outside in search of the Five Colored Blood Wanderer.

Those forces will strike Terosa’s Demon King troops from behind.

In the end, a savage battle was going to break out.

“One of the three top-tier holy knights is dealing with Mol.”

And—

“another will be outside with Terosa.”

Which meant the last one—

“The strongest holy knight will be beside the Pope.”

“He’d have to be.”

Mol was the commander of the Third Army.

If by chance he defeated that top-tier holy knight and made it through to the Pope, then naturally the Pope would need the strongest top-tier holy knight at his side.

And that prediction proved correct.

“So in the end, you intend to remain by my side?”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

The highest-ranking holy knight had originally intended to go kill Mol.

Instead, he remained beside the Pope.

“There is no one here more precious than Your Holiness.”

As blunt as his tone was, not a trace of hesitation or wavering could be seen on the highest-ranking holy knight’s face.

“And that child is enough for Mol.”

It was simply an obvious fact of the future that the top-tier holy knight ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ would kill Mol.

In the meantime, the Pope looked out the window.

“How strange.”

He spoke calmly.

“No matter how I think about it, it does not seem that all of this was arranged by the Demon King’s side alone.”

The commander of the Demon King’s Third Army had come here so suddenly, and the Demon King’s troops were attacking this very night at once?

And they themselves had failed to notice even the slightest sign of it until now?

Something about it was wrong.

He turned his head.

“Hitelis. It seems someone has been working tricks behind the scenes.”

Dressed as a head steward, Hitelis lifted her head from one knee.

“Was there a variable?”

“Yes.”

With a blank face, Hitelis gave her report.

“The starting point of this matter was the merchant called Kase. The one claiming to be Count Lupe’s blood descendant.”

The Pope asked quietly,

“Do you believe that was the true starting point?”

“If we take into account not only this matter, but other separate incidents as well, then the earliest variable existed elsewhere.”

“And what was that?”

“A Wanderer.”

At that, the highest-ranking holy knight’s eyes sharpened and he stepped forward.

“There were those Five Colored Blood hunters not long ago.”

He addressed Hitelis formally.

Regardless of strength, she was the owner of a divine relic of the God of Chaos.

Now that the saint was gone, it could be said that along with the highest-ranking holy knight, she stood just below the Pope and on equal footing with him.

“Hitelis, are you saying Five Colored Blood is behind everything?”

If so, then it made sense.

“...Revenge for what happened at Primordial Night, in the holy land?”

Primordial Night.

The plan to bring down the God of Chaos into New World had completely failed, and the Five Colored Blood hunters had found out about it.

Perhaps this was their attempt to sabotage what the Order was doing in the Demon World.

It was then that—

“No.”

The Pope spoke.

“That too was merely part of the process.”

His gaze shifted to Hitelis.

“So the Five Colored Blood hunters were not the beginning either.”

“That is correct.”

Hitelis nodded and looked toward the highest-ranking holy knight.

The Pope did as well.

At that moment, the highest-ranking holy knight recalled something from somewhat further back.

Not something recent.

“...There was one more Wanderer.”

One Wanderer the highest-ranking holy knight had captured.

Whether he belonged to Five Colored Blood, or was a servant of the God of Balance—

they had not identified him, so he had been imprisoned and interrogated.

As the highest-ranking holy knight’s gaze darkened, Hitelis spoke calmly.

“He is the starting point of every variable.”

The brown-haired Wanderer.

The Pope gave Hitelis an order.

“Bring him to me.”

“Yes.”

Boom!

At that moment, another tremor shook the entire annex castle through the rear garden.

The Pope spoke again.

“If the situation becomes unfavorable, use the divine relic.”

A flicker passed through Hitelis’s eyes.

“If that happens, he will lose all usefulness.”

“The great plan is near. A Wanderer is a valuable resource, but if he obstructs the great plan, it does not matter if he ceases to be useful.”

“Yes.”

The Pope added,

“Capture the one called Kase as well.”

“Yes.”

Leaving the third-floor banquet hall where the Pope was staying, Hitelis headed downstairs.

She flicked her eyes toward one of her subordinates, and the subordinate immediately moved to seize Kase.

Hitelis slipped a hand inside her clothes.

Bzzzt—

Perhaps it had heard the Pope’s command.

The divine relic in her possession was trembling lightly.

The Wanderer captured by the highest-ranking holy knight.

Tonight, that man would lose his reason and be trapped in a gray world of chaos.

And once that happens, he’ll spill every bit of information he has.

Hitelis knew someone’s reason was about to be destroyed, and yet her face remained indifferent as she moved swiftly.

To her, finishing the job mattered more than a single Wanderer.

Boom!

Watching Mol and the top-tier holy knight collide once more, Cale spoke.

“We head underground first.”

To rescue Choi Jung Soo.

Cale leaped into the rear garden.

—I’m turning us invisible!

Raon cast invisibility over everyone.

Meeeeow!

Meow!

After their last brief cries, On and Hong became so stealthy that no trace of their presence could be felt.

“I’m not turning back, so keep up.”

Holding the copied map he had received, Sui Khan moved ahead at high speed.

Every step he took led straight through blind spots.

Whoooosh—

With wind wrapped around his ankles, Cale sped after him.

Now, with the Order’s attention fixed on General Mol and the Demon King’s army—

and with the Order’s remaining attention moving in search of Clopeh Sekka—

Click. Click.

Hitelis was descending to the second underground floor, heading toward the imprisoned Wanderer.

At the exact same time—

the man standing at the center of every variable, Cale, infiltrated the annex castle where the Pope was staying.

The moment Cale stepped onto the first underground floor—

“Begin.”

The instant he spoke, On and Hong slipped into the shadows and let out short cries.

Meeeeow!

Meow!

“Wh-what is—!”

“Atta— ghk!”

“Khk, I can’t— can’t breathe—!”

Mist and poison spread through the first underground floor, swallowing up the Order of the God of Chaos forces guarding the entrance below.

Within the mist, Cale and Sui Khan pushed forward without hesitation.

They headed straight for the second underground floor.