Something had changed. The dissonance affecting Eugene’s senses was slowly growing more prevalent as he moved forward.

However, he couldn’t clearly tell where this dissonance was coming from. He had repeatedly checked with Akasha, but it didn’t seem to be a spell. Was this a side-effect of the demonic power? But if it were something like that, there was no way that Eugene wouldn’t be able to recognize it.

“…Sir Eugene,” Mer suddenly spoke up. She had been gazing up ahead with an expression that looked like she had taken a mouthful of sand. “This really isn’t a spell, right?”

“Yep,” Eugene replied, glancing down at Akasha, which he was holding in his hand. Akasha’s power enabled him to understand spells by allowing him to see through the secrets of the magic behind them. This forest wasn’t under the effect of any spells.

“…However, something is strange,” Mer continued as she gazed around at their surroundings with narrowed eyes. “It feels like we’re being herded somewhere?”

“We are?” Eugene asked in surprise.

“It’s not just you, Sir Eugene. Whether it’s mana or demonic power… all the ‘power’ in this forest is being gathered in one location,” Mer deduced.

Eugene glanced down at the compass he was still holding in his other hand. This was the compass that pointed towards the densest concentration of demonic power, but the location it was currently pointing at wasn’t the center of the forest. If one were to rely solely on this compass, one would arrive at a completely different location than expected.

And if one didn’t have this compass? They would be able to find their way through the forest with a different method, but those who had trained in the martial arts often grew over-reliant on their trained body and senses. Relying on such a method to make progress would usually end up being a mistake for first-timers. Only after a few such failures would their now-honed senses assist them in finding the right path, even in a densely tree-packed forest.

However, when in an artificially ‘tangled’ forest like this, it was even possible for one’s senses to be influenced. It was so subtle that Eugene almost hadn’t noticed it, but for someone like him, who was quick to grasp any situation, this whole situation felt like a blatant trap.

‘…The problem is that I might not be the only one caught in this,’ Eugene thought regretfully.

Spell or not, this ‘trick’ had been cast over a wide area.

‘To attract all of the energies in this forest…. Is that in order to neutralize the Knights of the Black Lion stationed around the center of the forest? What about the Captains who are meant to be supervising us? Without any energy to draw on, will they even be able to put up a fight?’

The mystery of it all caused Eugene’s imagination to run wild. His thoughts turned to the potential culprits. Once you crossed the Uklas mountains, Kiehl’s border lay straight ahead, and beyond that, sprawled the Samar Rainforest. Whenever the outlaws of Samar needed to smuggle something into Kiehl, the most commonly used route was to cross the Uklas Mountains.

One of the main tasks of the Knights of the Black Lion was to capture these smugglers who sought to bring contraband items into the country.

‘…No… no matter how greedy they are… there’s no way those types would pick a fight with the Knights of the Black Lion like this. Then the only remaining possibility is…,’ Eugene surmised.

It had to be the dark elves.

‘Iris’ dark elves were in Samar last time I checked,’ Eugene recalled.

The Rakshasa Princess wanted to convert all the elves staying at the main estate.

‘…She couldn’t really be thinking of taking us hostages and exchanging our lives for the elves, could she? Although that chick, Iris, has always been a crazy bitch, has she gotten even crazier after three hundred years?’ Eugene thought in disbelief.

He had made a lot of guesses, but there was still no way to tell the truth.

Eugene focused his mind and called out, “Tempest.”

His forceful summons reached out to the spirit world. Eugene’s hair whipped around as the wind in his surroundings began to shake.

What’s the matter? Tempest asked upon arriving.

“I need you to scout out the area for me,” Eugene explained. “And search for Genos Lionheart. You know what he looks like, right?”

…To summon the Spirit King of the Wind for such a trivial task. Hamel, you really are the only one who would— Tempest’s voice suddenly cut off.

“Kyaaah,” Mer then let out a cry of alarm as the rest of her body that was still inside the cloak began to wriggle.

After a few moments of twisting her body to and fro, her face contorted in a grimace, then she managed to reach into the depths of the cloak and retrieved Wynnyd.

Wynnyd, now held firmly in Mer’s hands, was shaking as it hummed.

Receiving Wynnyd from Mer, Eugene tilted his head to the side and asked, “What’s with you? Is there something strange?”

Hmmm…! Just like how Wynnyd’s body was shaking, Tempest’s voice was also trembling.

Although it had been quite a while since Eugene first got his hands on Wynnyd, he had rarely ever seen Tempest show such agitation.

Fwooosh!

The wind gathered into one location. Manifesting his body, Tempest reached out here and there as he turned and looked at their surroundings. With each gesture of his hands, a gust of wind blew out, leaving the tree branches swaying violently.

Although Eugene wasn’t able to understand what Tempest was doing, what he did know was that it couldn’t be in reaction to anything good. So he didn’t say anything further and just waited for Tempest to speak.

…This is unbelievable, Tempest eventually muttered.

“What is it?” Eugene prompted.

The wind spirits and the earth spirits… no, all the spirits in this forest are asleep.

“Why?”

It’s the darkness, Tempest declared, his voice still shaking. Most beings choose to sleep when in darkness without any light, as they fear to imagine what unseeable things might be lurking out there in the gloom ahead of them. …Hamel, the darkness has long carried with it an air of malaise, as it is a time when certain ominous beings are free to roam.

“…So, what’s going on?” Eugene asked.

Spirits can still be found even in such darkness. They are, of course, the spirits of darkness, but they are harder to contract than any other spirits. Spirits of darkness are indifferent to humans, and on top of that, darkness spirits can even drive humans crazy…, Tempest trailed off.

Eugene silently took in the implications.

…The darkness covering this forest is a spirit’s darkness. It has managed to engulf an area of this size and forced everything in its range, including the other spirits, to fall asleep. Darkness spirits are usually as strong as they are ominous, but for one to have such a powerful influence is….

“Could it be a Spirit King?”

No, that’s not the case. No Spirit King of Darkness exists. So it’s probably still just a high-ranking spirit of darkness that has managed to engulf this place. Hamel, I know how skilled you are, but this isn’t an opponent you can easily overcome, Tempest muttered as his body scattered back into the wind. …Genos Lionheart is probably wandering around somewhere in the dark. It’s hard to put such a skilled warrior to sleep, but twisting his path into circles is as easy as child’s play for a spirit of darkness.

“So I need to find the spirit summoner,” Eugene spat out as he bent his knees.

Thanks to the lightning flames dissolved into his mana, he could feel the spirits of the World Tree, but it was still impossible for him to sense the presence of other types of spirits.

So he had to leave it up to Tempest to find the spirit of darkness.

Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, Mer stopped whining and held on tightly to the edge of the cloak. After sensing where the concentration of demonic power was the deepest, Eugene kicked off the ground and leaped forward.

* * *

“…Young master?” Breaking her silence from all this time, Dezra suddenly spoke up as she looked around at their surroundings. “…Are we heading the right way?”

At some point, their surroundings had stopped feeling like a forest. The sun should have definitely risen by now, but even if they looked up at the sky, they couldn’t see any sunlight.

Was it because they were too deep in the forest? Was the foliage too dense? But no matter how dense it was, could it really get this dark? .

“The demonic beasts have grown stronger,” Cyan observed as he scrubbed away some blood that had gotten onto his armor. “No matter how foolish you are, you should at least be able to tell that, right? Though, you did make a fool of yourself just now. When that herd of spike-antlers ambushed us, you retreated instead of **ing stabbing them like you should have!”

Dezra colored in embarrassment as she stammered, “Th-that’s—”

Cyan shouted her down, “What in the world were you thinking? Why did you decide to take part in this hunt when you only have that level of skill to show for it? Even if you are weak, you should at least take responsibility for your weakness and try harder. Instead, you’re nothing but a burden—.” Cyan caught himself.

Something was strange.

Her mistake wasn’t something that he would usually get this mad about, but Cyan’s emotions felt strangely heightened. And even though he had sensed this strangeness, he still couldn’t hold back his irritation. But was there even any need for him to hold back in the first place? It was only natural for him to not like what he didn’t like, so why should he try to suppress that? Wasn’t he the next Patriarch of the Lionheart clan’s direct line?

Why should he have to carry around a useless burden like her in a place like this? Why should he, the future Patriarch, have to stand at the forefront of the party, swinging a sword to open up a path? Why did he have to accommodate that weak fool’s mistake?

‘…It’s because I am the future Patriarch,’ Cyan struggled to remind himself.

A flash of resolve brought this downward spiral of thoughts to a halt. Cyan took a deep breath and shook his head. This dark forest seemed to be making them feel strange things. It was probably because they had gone in too deep. The concentration of demonic power was having some kind of effect on them….

“I… I’m not weak. For you to call me just a burden is—! I’m also working hard. Whenever the young master can’t pay any attention to his rear, I’m the one guarding your back. And just now, I’m the one who killed the young master’s previous opponent with my spear!” Dezra shouted while holding back her tears.

Cyan wasn’t the only one feeling the emotional upheaval.

“Also, it really is strange. It’s really, really strange! If you can’t tell that something is wrong, that means you’re the one who’s the foolish idiot, young master. Look around us. We can’t — we can’t see anything. Even though we’re in a forest, we can’t see any trees, there’s barely any sound, and even the ground we’re stepping on is strange!” Dezra shouted as she kicked off her shoes; then, with a thump, she stomped on the ground with her bare feet. “A forest should have dirt! But even though it’s supposed to be dirt, none of it gets onto my feet! Th-there are no rocks either. And doesn’t it feel like we’re currently heading downwards? What the hell is going on here?”

“Calm down and clear your head. It’s not uncommon to be left in a confused state due to the influence of demonic power…!” Cyan tried to calm her, only to begin losing his temper, “You, you! Did you really come here knowing that you were going to enter this forest without even learning the basics…?!”

“All I’m saying is that it was the young master who led us down this strange path!” Dezra returned his accusation.

Cyan tried to hold back his annoyance. He really did try to suppress it. But when he heard Dezra shout those words, he couldn’t stop the anger inside of him from boiling over. Moreover, did he ever give permission for her to speak to him so rudely? Cyan was two years older than Dezra.

Cyan gritted his teeth, “This damn—!”

“Enough,” Gargith, who had been listening quietly as they argued, suddenly spoke up.

His heavy bass tones ruthlessly cut off the harsh words that Cyan had been about to utter.

“Just like the young master has said, we all appear to be caught in some kind of mental interference caused by the demonic power. We’re snapping at each other because our minds have been weakened,” Gargith said as he walked over and picked Dezra up with just one arm.

Surprised by her sudden weightlessness, Dezra let out a scream and kicked her heels.

“L-let go!” Dezra demanded.

“Put on your shoes,” Gargith instructed calmly.

Dezra’s thrashing hands scraped past Gargith’s cheeks, but he just held his head in place without taking even the slightest movement to avoid them. Gargith then carried Dezra over to stand in front of the shoes that she had just kicked off.

“…You… how are you okay?” Cyan asked with a sour expression.

Unlike Cyan and Dezra, whose emotions had run wild due to the mental interference, Gargith’s expression was as serious as it usually was.

“It’s because a healthy mind dwells in a healthy body,” Gargith replied as he flexed his bicep in a demonstration. “If you build as healthy a body as I have, young master, you will obtain a composure that will keep you from feeling anxiety under any circumstances.”

“Uhhh…” Cyan just gulped in disbelief and nodded.

Thanks to Gargith getting in between them, Cyan and Dezra stopped snapping at each other. However, their situation still wasn’t all that great, and if they kept heading forward, there was no way of knowing what they might run into.

“It’ll be fine if it’s just demonic beasts; we can handle them,” Cyan declared after shaking his head vigorously. “Seeing as the interference has grown so strong, the center of the forest must not be far away. Since the Knights of the Black Lion have been directing their hunting efforts in that direction starting from yesterday… there might not be as many demonic beasts as we fear there are.”

This wasn’t just a random guess. In fact, as the darkness of their surroundings deepened, the frequency with which they encountered demonic beasts had also reduced.

“…If something dangerous does happen, instead of the demonic beasts, it will probably be because of this thing affecting our heads,” Cyan warned direly. “For example… Dezra, you might try to backstab me with your spear like you did during the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony.”

“…Are you being serious right now?” Dezra asked in disbelief.

“I’m just saying that it’s a possibility,” Cyan insisted as he took a deep breath. “Of course, I believe in you two. After all, no matter what might happen, we’ve come this far together. Don’t worry about the demonic beasts becoming too dangerous for us to handle. I am stronger than you, so I can protect you. All you two need to do is try your best.”

“…You mean, I’m the one who has to try her best,” Dezra muttered with a lowered gaze.

After staring at her downcast appearance, Gargith slapped Dezra on the back.

“Aaargh!” Dezra cried out in pain.

“Straighten your back and stick your chest out,” Gargith advised. “Such an unsteady and slouched posture will only tire out the mind.”

“Ugh…” Dezra groaned, unable to argue with him.

“Also, you have to believe in yourself. That’s where true confidence lies,” Gargith said as he steadily began to stride forward.

Seeing Gargith open the path ahead of them, Cyan also followed after him without saying another word to Dezra.

“Since you’re weaker than me, don’t stand in front of me,” Cyan complained.

“Yes, young master,” came Gargith’s polite reply.

They walked like this for quite some time. It was so dark that it was impossible to believe it could get any darker, and it became impossible to tell whether the surface they were treading on was dirt or gravel. Just as Dezra had said while screaming, for some reason, it felt as if they were heading down inside the ground.

But it was just a feeling. There were still a few trees surrounding them. Whenever they tried to touch something that seemed to be shimmering in front of them, it turned out to be a tree.

…Yet, instead of reassuring them, this just made Cyan’s party even more nervous. This was still the forest, but it didn’t feel like a forest. If they hadn’t been able to touch the tree right in front of them, they definitely wouldn’t have been able to tell what it was.

“Should we take a short rest?” Cyan breathed out, feeling slightly light-headed.

Gargith also nodded in agreement at these words.

Although she was also dying to rest, Dezra didn’t feel comfortable expressing her opinion. So she deliberately kept her mouth clamped shut and looked around at their surroundings as if surveying the location.

“…Ah…,” Dezra’s lips parted slightly as she stammered. “…J-just now… th-that, I’m not the only one who can see that, right?”

“Are you trying to mess with me right now?” Cyan demanded angrily.

“N-no way. J-just l-l-look over there,” Dezra continued to stammer, her face paling as she pointed her finger.

As Cyan felt irritation boil up inside him, he clenched his fists. Apparently, this foolish chick was harboring the misconception that the next Patriarch of the main family was still afraid of ghosts.

‘Trying something at a time like this…,’ Cyan thought with a sigh as he turned to look in the direction she had pointed to.

Cyan’s expression abruptly stiffened. Gargith, who had also turned to look, widened his eyes in shock. Gargith immediately reached out to try and grab Cyan, but Cyan preempted Gargith by racing forward.

“Young master!” Gargith shouted after him.

But his cry couldn’t reach Cyan’s ears. Instead, the only thing audible to Cyan was the sound of his heart beating so fast that it was almost about to burst. White flames explosively erupted into life around Cyan’s body and flew outward from him like a mane.

Cyan’s thoughts were solely on his one and only younger sister, ‘Ciel.’

Cyan’s golden eyes grew bloodshot. That precious sister of his was now hanging off the ground in the middle of this stark darkness. Her body couldn’t be seen, with only her head standing out in this gloom; her eyes closed in her pale, bloodless face.

This scene caused Cyan to imagine a terrible scenario. Demonic beasts that ate humans weren’t rare. No, in fact, all demonic beasts could and did eat humans. However, among them, there were some especially terrible ones who would mark their territories by hanging up what was left of the corpses of the humans they had eaten.

Could Ciel really have been eaten, leaving only her head behind?

He didn’t even want to think of this possibility. Cyan let out a scream as he raced towards Ciel.

Whoosh!

But fortunately, he hadn’t fully lost his sanity. Instead, at this very moment, Cyan’s head was cooler than ever. So he was still able to react to an unexpected event with a leap forward.

‘What’s going on?’ Cyan thought as his body twisted in mid-air and saw the sword that had struck at him.

Something like black slime was clinging to its blade. But the attack didn’t end there. Just as he thought that the darkness in front of him seemed to be writhing, the sword shot toward Cyan once more.

He couldn’t allow himself to be cut by it. Cyan immediately reached this judgment and raised his left arm.

Chachunk!

The vambrace wrapped around his left forearm split apart and formed a shield.

This was Gedon’s Shield, a shield that could deflect all the attacks it received into empty space. The shield’s ability was quite broken, but it wasn’t invincible. It was impossible to completely block an attack that surpassed the limits of the wearer’s mana.

Wooooo!

The space around them shook. Although it had drained quite a bit of Cyan’s mana, he had succeeded in deflecting this attack from his unknown assailant. As Cyan landed back onto the ground, he immediately took a guard stance.

‘She’s still alive,’ Cyan realized with a glance at Ciel.

Although her face was pale and bloodless, she was still breathing faintly. If so, then everything was fine. Cyan regained his composure and glared ahead of him.

“…Who is it? Are you a demonic beast? Or perhaps… a human?”

“It’s me.”

Cyan’s face contorted at the reply that returned from the darkness.

“…Eward?”

“Mhm.”

Although Cyan could hear his voice, he couldn’t make out Eward’s appearance. He still didn’t know what in the world was going on. Why was Ciel hung up like that, and why had Eward attacked him?

…But did he really not know? It was just that Cyan didn’t want to believe it. Cyan felt such great rage that he could hardly believe that such an emotion could belong to him. As if sympathizing with his rage, the flames that engulfed Cyan flared up in size.

Cyan growled, “You, a child of the Lionheart clan… you really have gone crazy! Do you know just how much father did to protect you—!”

Eward interrupted him, “Twins really are twins, after all. How is it that you say the exact same things as Ciel?”

Eward still didn’t show his face. Crouching in the darkness, he chuckled to himself.

“Eward…! If you’re feeling so self-satisfied with your crimes, then stop hiding and show yourself! You damned son of a bitch!” Cyan cursed loudly.

“But there’s no need for me to show myself,” Eward rejected his demand.

Squeak… squeeeak.

As Eward drew a pattern on the floor in red blood, he absently muttered, “I don’t really enjoy fighting.”

Cyan cursed once more, “Fuck your bullsh—”

Bang.

The sound had come from behind him. Cyan flinched and turned to look at his rear.

The first thing he saw was the sight of Dezra, who had fallen to the floor bonelessly.

Beside her, Gargith’s giant frame was also lying collapsed.

“This **ing…,” Cyan ground out as he clutched the hilt of his sword.

Could he still rescue Ciel and escape? If so, didn’t that mean he would have to abandon Gargith and Dezra? No, in the first place, was it even possible to save anyone else from the current situation? The most important thing right now wasn’t to care about someone else, but to take care of himself. So for now, he should run away on his own….

This wasn’t a situation where he had a lot of time to think. Cyan forcefully cut short his train of thought and leaped forward. With Ciel, Gargith, and Dezra, no matter what he tried to come up with, it would be impossible to run away with all three of them at once.

As the next Patriarch, could Cyan really abandon his younger sister and his vassals to run away all by himself? That was impossible. Thus, his sudden charge wasn’t meant to be an escape attempt.

“Hector!” Cyan shouted as he swung his sword.

Hector Lionheart raised his hands with a bitter smile on his face.

“It’s so much harder to subdue someone without killing them,” Hector muttered.

Hector’s body tensed as he lowered his stance. As Cyan swung his sword, Hector ducked beneath it. The sword’s trajectory twisted mid-swing. Hector’s eyes sparked as he brushed the falling sword aside with his shoulder.

Pang!

Hector’s hand caught the blade.

‘He caught it even though it’s covered in sword-force?’ Cyan thought as his eyes widened in shock.

With his hands clapped together, Hector held the sword firmly so that it couldn’t move. Cyan quickly released the sword and tried to retreat.

But Hector wouldn’t let Cyan go off so easily. By the time Cyan had taken two steps back, his opponent had taken four steps forward. Like this, Cyan and Hector’s bodies collided.

Tching!

The aura shield protecting Cyan’s body was shattered.

“Gagh…!” Cyan gasped as his body bent forward at the waist.

Bam… bam bam bam!

Hector’s fists smashed through his armor and pounded his solar plexus.

Baaam!

His left elbow then slammed down on Cyan’s spine, causing Cyan’s eyes to roll back in his head.

“Phew,” Hector let out a sigh he had been holding back.

His hands stung as he picked up Cyan, who had fallen face-first onto the ground, and swung him over his shoulders. A glance down at his hands revealed that they were covered in blood.

“Indeed, as expected of the main family’s young master,” Hector muttered in appreciation as he clenched and unclenched his blood-stained hands.

It was true that he had resorted to barbaric means in order to subdue Cyan quickly, but to think that his hands would become this damaged… Had he really bled so much?

With these thoughts, Hector headed deeper into the darkness.

“Is it going to take much longer?” Hector asked impatiently.

“Not too long, but it still needs some time,” Eward answered.

“Hm… I suppose it would be unreasonable to expect you to control that with your own power, right?” Hector eventually conceded.

Eward broke into laughter, “Haha…. If it were possible for me to do something like that… then I wouldn’t even need your help.

“Well, that’s true,” Hector agreed. “Would you like me to help out with an earnest prayer? If not, you can also tell me if there’s a simpler method.”

“Prayers are something that only apply to gods and Demon Kings,” Eward corrected.

“Heh…” Hector shook his head with a huff as he looked down at Cyan. “If that’s the case, then I’ll be back later.”

“Where are you going?” Eward asked.

“Young master Eugene is approaching,” Hector revealed.

Squeak… squeak.

Eward’s hand, which was still in the middle of drawing the pattern, paused for a few moments.

“Can you subdue him?” Eward confirmed.

“It would be easier to kill him,” Hector said uncertainly.

Eward recommended, “Try to subdue him if it’s possible.”

“I’ll give it my best shot,” Hector promised. “In a place like this, I might still be able to subdue young master Cyan, but it will be difficult for me to subdue young master Eugene. Because all our plans will be ruined if you also get caught up in the fight.”

“What if I help you?” Eward offered.

“Just keep praying… no, requesting,” Hector waved off the offer with a grin as he turned away. “So that the other Captains won’t be able to interfere.”

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