The man’s eyes trembled intensely.

Tears streamed down his face as Cassion’s murderous intent felt like it was penetrating every fiber of his being.

Cassion glanced at Ruel.

“It doesn’t hurt today, so go ahead,” Ruel waved his hand dismissively.

Cassion clamped the man’s mouth shut, gripping his jaw, while swiftly drawing a dagger with his free hand and pressing it against the self-proclaimed warlock’s throat.

“Ugh…” The self-proclaimed warlock groaned and spun around, then stopped.

He was helpless to do anything as the dagger touched his neck, he felt as if he would be split in half.

“You’re next,” Cassion declared with a menacing glare at the self-proclaimed warlock.

The atmosphere was so oppressive that breathing felt like a chore.

When Cassion retracted the dagger, the self-proclaimed warlock let out a shaky breath.

“I… I can tell you who that person is, if you spare me,” At the trembling voice of the self-proclaimed warlock, Ruel grinned slyly.

“Hmm… Is that so? What I need is someone who can share the information I want, so deal with the other one.”

“Ugh!”

At that moment, the guy that Cassion was holding desperately nodded his head.

As soon as Cassion removed his hand from his mouth, he spoke in a pleading voice.

“I will tell you everything. Please, please, let me speak!”

“Why were you luring the Great Purifier?” Ruel asked, and the guy spoke immediately.

“Death, death is the ultimate form. The Great Purifier interfered with that…”

“Did the Red Ash tell you to do that?”

As he spouted nonsense, Ruel cut it off sharply, wanting to get the answer he sought.

“I-I am not with the Red Ash. We collaborated because our interests aligned…”

“That’s right!”

Suddenly, the self-proclaimed warlock shouted.

‘Surprised me,’ Ruel thought, startled by the sudden outburst.

“He is the same servant of death, a very, very, very shameful bastard who ignores proper death and tries to lead the world to destruction with a false death!”

The self-proclaimed warlock glared at the man in front of him as if he were about to kill him.

Ruel pointed to the one the self-proclaimed warlock was glaring at.

“So, you’re saying he’s a warlock, too?”

“As much as I hate to admit it, yes,” the self-proclaimed warlock replied.

“Are there really factions among warlocks?”

“It’s not like that, they’re different from us because they’re mentally corrupted!”

“Are you saying they’re insane?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t speak nonsense! The Lord of Death desired the world’s demise for us!”

As the man retorted loudly at the self-proclaimed warlock’s claims, the room became very chaotic.

Ruel glanced at Cassion, who watched as the shouting continued to escalate.

Catching Ruel’s gaze, Cassion spoke low to them both, “The order of speech is determined by my master.”

Both fell silent at Cassion’s threatening tone.

“So what proof do you have that you are a warlock?” Ruel wanted to leave, but he needed some confirmation that assured the self-proclaimed warlock was indeed a warlock.

Cassion had intervened before he could verify everything, but when the self-proclaimed warlock had first offered to show proof, he remembered how the shadow of that man had writhed.

“I’ll show you right now.” As soon as the self-proclaimed warlock moved his hand, his shadow stretched out towards Ruel.

In an instant, Cassion’s dagger was aimed at the self-proclaimed warlock’s eye faster than he could blink.

The gap between the dagger and the eye was as thin as a sheet of paper.

Too late to react, the self-proclaimed warlock found himself utterly powerless.

“Stay still, Cassion,” Ruel’s displeased voice cut through the tension as the approaching shadow vanished.

“Understood, but this guy’s magic is a bit annoying,” Cassion sheathed his dagger immediately, remaining wary of the self-proclaimed warlock.

He knew what kind of person his master was. His master was as fragile as glass.

Gulp.

The self-proclaimed warlock swallowed dryly.

Only after calming his pounding heart could he move the shadow again.

‘Hmm…’

Ruel fixated on the shadow that the self-proclaimed warlock was controlling.

He thought he was a person with the attribute of darkness because he moved his shadow, but something about the self-proclaimed warlock’s shadow felt different from his own.

First of all, it was small and somewhat frail.

Second, even though it had no eyes, he felt like it was gazing at him with infinite affection.

Ruel watched the self-proclaimed warlock’s moving shadow and commanded, ‘Come here.’

Then, like Leo coming to eat meat pie, the shadow hurriedly approached him and waited patiently.

“…!”

Both the self-proclaimed warlock and the man who was still held by Cassion reacted almost simultaneously with widened eyes.

“A-Are you a Devotee of Darkness?” the man, still restrained by Cassion, stuttered out.

“Did I give you permission to speak?”

As soon as Ruel smirked, the man let out a scream. This was because Cassion had crushed one of his arms.

“Does ‘devotee of darkness’ refer to someone with dark attributes?” Ruel asked, looking at the self-proclaimed warlock.

While it could be said that this was merely a coincidence the first time, it became annoying with the repeated mentions.

“Yes. However, you are more than just that. You easily command the darkness,” the self-proclaimed warlock replied, gazing at Ruel with admiration.

“Why do you call me that?”

“You can guide the corrupted death properly, can’t you?”

“Are you talking about purification?” Ruel frowned as he asked.

Why did they insist on using a term only they understood when there was a clear word like “purification”?

“You might think purification and guiding death yield similar results so they are the same, however, purification is something only the Great Purifiers can achieve.”

“…?”

“The ‘purification’ that the devotee of darkness uses is about sacrificing their own life to create a path and then guiding the death along that path to its proper end.”

“Sacrificing my life?” Ruel paused. He had felt unwell every time he used purification, but to think he was actually sacrificing his life, it truly reflected the meaning of ‘devotee.’

A deep sigh from Cassion could be heard.

“I won’t need to do it again, so don’t worry.”

Ruel quickly said this before Cassion could object.

Did he really look like someone who would be reckless enough to sacrifice his life knowing this?

‘I should have demanded more from Huswen.’

If the life he was losing was a price for rolling around in Cyronian, it changed the conversation entirely.

The things that Huswen had rewarded him with now seemed utterly trivial.

Ruel asked, his voice tinged with irritation, “What’s the difference between a warlock and a devotee of darkness? You control darkness too.”

“I, no, we don’t call upon the darkness. It’s more like seeking a favor, requiring permission from darkness to act.”

It seemed that an additional somewhat bothersome step of ‘request and permission’ was removed in Ruel’s process of commanding darkness.

The warlock looked at Ruel as if he were worshiping a god.

With Cassion now out of the way, the warlock stood up and knelt before Ruel.

“We, the Servants of Death, are those who help the devotees of darkness to change the corrupted death that exists on this earth into a righteous death.”

“Ruel, the warlocks, are known as guides of death. They are different from us. They are given their mission from birth.”

Recalling Tyson’s words, Ruel suddenly found himself puzzled.

“Despite the presence of Great Purifiers, why are you engaged in this task?”

“We, too, are uncertain about our given mission.”

Once again, uncertainty reigned, causing Ruel’s eyebrows to twitch.

“Where are the Great Purifiers? You should have knowledge of their whereabouts.”

The warlock had appeared in the very spot where traps had been laid to capture the Great Purifiers.

There had to be a reason—whether to save the Great Purifiers or to eliminate the corruption hidden as bait.

“I don’t know. I can’t see them.”

‘Right.’

Ruel was the only human capable of seeing spirits.

While he was aware of that fact, it remained frustratingly limiting.

He turned his head to look at the other guy.

“And you, what do you know?”

“Ah… I believe they still exist. That’s why I laid the traps…”

Fortunately, there were still more to catch.

That was enough for Ruel.

Ruel cut off the man’s words and smirked, “I’ve heard that the Lord of Death sought the world’s end. Then why are you still alive? If you follow so faithfully, shouldn’t you be the first to die?”

Ruel’s gaze, filled with mockery, pierced the man’s resolve, “…ah, but you trembled at the thought of death earlier.”

“I’m not afraid of dying, this world is already out of balance, and at this rate, we may all be stuck here forever, unable to die. I’m not afraid of that horrible…”

It was a nonsensical argument. There was no need to listen further.

“Cassion, find out what this fool is involved with. He needs to be dealt with.”

“I understand.”

Cassion raised his pinky finger.

The shadows that lingered in the room appeared and grabbed the man.

“O devotee of darkness! We shall guide all towards rightful death! This unbalanced realm shall drift into a deathless abyss. For you sacrificed…”

The man, desperately shouting, vanished alongside the shadows.

‘To think the Red Ash would join hands with a lunatic.’

Ruel shook his head in disbelief.

What more terrible combination could there be?

He inhaled Breath and looked at the warlock.

“What’s your name?”

“Hikars.”

“Did you come looking for me?”

“Yes. To be precise, it was death who guided me to you.”

“Why?”

“To protect you as these lunatics are using dark devotees as scapegoats to create corrupted deaths. You are…”

Hikars paused for a moment, furrowing his brow slightly, “Death is close to you. An artificial death, it seems.”

“Can you see that?”

It sounded as though he was referring to the mark left by the Great Man.

So far, only the guardian Hian had seen that mark.

“We can feel death. That’s how we know of the Great Purifiers born from the darkness.”

“Even those lunatics?”

Hikars shook his head, “They are so mentally corrupted that they no longer feel death. That’s why they were unaware that you are a devotee of darkness.”

“You said you help people with darkness attributes like me. I want to know if purification is included in that help.”

“We do not purify, we only seek out the corrupted dead and burn their lives on behalf of the devotee of darkness.”

Ruel fell silent.

He had said that if a devotee of darkness used ‘purification,’ their life would decrease.

In other words, the warlocks became living batteries to help Ruel survive longer.

‘What kind of ridiculous system is this?’

Ruel decided not to dwell on this topic further. “Why have you come here?” He deliberately changed the subject.

“I sense a death here that is far more immense than one can handle. I came to resolve this before it transforms into a corrupted death.”

A shadow crossed Hikars’ face. “Are you familiar with the Red Ash? I overheard your conversation with that lunatic earlier.”

“I am somewhat acquainted. Why?”

“Because of them the warlock’s mission was twisted. Originally, they weren’t this severe. Whatever they’ve done with the Red Ash, they are distorting reality and leading the world to destruction.”

Ruel let out a laugh.

“What they did? It’s obvious; they’re just happy to be applauded for a job well done, so they go on a rampage, like children.”

“…?”

“Where’s their hideout? You must know.”

“Are you thinking of uprooting them?” Cassion spoke up.

“It wasn’t part of the plan, but I guess I have to.”

Ruel smiled at Hikars, who was staring at him in disbelief. It was an arrogant grin.

“The ones causing corruption are those lunatics. While not the sole perpetrators, they lie at the heart of it. Eliminate the instigators to eradicate corruption. It’s a straightforward solution, isn’t it?”

Ruel then turned his gaze to Cassion. “It’s what you do best, and above all, it’s foolish to let your main skills get rusty.”

Lately, Cassion had been functioning as a private investigator for himself, pulling the original Shadows, who had served as assassins.

“I currently serve as a butler,” Cassion remarked, a faint smirk playing on his lips, “But I am willing to undertake this task. If Ruel-nim commands, I shall obey.”

“So, if I prevent a corrupted death, what will you offer me?” Ruel redirected his attention to Hikars.

Taken aback, Hikars stuttered, “W-wait a moment, please.”

“Why? From what I understand, warlocks aren’t exactly known for their magical prowess. Are they perhaps strong in combat?”

“I’ve only fought that lunatic, so I’m not sure. Ah, we can’t do it, but they have the power to command the dead.”

‘Do they possess necromancer-like abilities? Then perhaps the soldiers that came out when the empire’s gates opened…?’ Ruel briefly lost himself in thought, staring intently at Hikars as he continued to babble.

“It’s difficult to clearly distinguish between strong and weak. However, a wrongful death becomes a corrupted death. And corruption feeds on more corruption.”

“So, by merely commanding the dead, they are spreading corruption?”

“Indeed.”

There was now one more reason to eliminate the lunatics.

“Are there royals or nobles among these lunatics?”

“None.”

“Alright then.”

Ruel quickly came to a conclusion.

After all, his goal was to destroy the Great Man.

If the lunatics were in league with the Red Ash and played a key role in creating corruption, then they too had to be eliminated.

“So what can you offer me?” Ruel asked again.

Perceiving his seriousness, Hikars responded composedly, “What is it that you desire, Devotee of Darkness?”

“What is your standing among the warlocks?”

“We have no hierarchy. Everything is shared.”

It seemed there was some sort of group chat existing somewhere in his mind.

“Alright. What do you think of my proposal?”

“We have accepted your proposal.”

Author's Thoughts

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read