***

The outside of the tent was bustling, and Ruel woke from a shallow sleep, opening his eyes.

His face still burned with fever, and he shifted his gaze to look for Cassion.

“It’s Ganien. I’ve finally caught the warlock.”

At the mention of the warlock, Leo’s ears perked up.

—This body has been craving that delicious powder!

Leo rubbed his face with excitement in his voice.

“How are you feeling, Ruel?”

With a bright voice, Ganien appeared, Hikars slumped on his shoulders.

—…!

Leo’s swaying tail came to a halt.

—So, he has fallen asleep. This body was craving that powder…

Ruel comforted Leo and pointed at Hikars.

“Ah, he wouldn’t stop resisting, so I just knocked him out.”

Ganien awkwardly laughed, feeling embarrassed.

It seemed Hikars had been quite stubborn to the point of being knocked out.

“What was Hikars doing?”

Ruel asked Ganien in a muffled voice.

“He was scattering powder everywhere.”

“Did he say anything else?”

“Well, he was weeping deeply about death. I’ve never seen a grown-up cry so sorrowfully, so it took a while to knock him out.”

“Wake him up.”

After speaking, Ruel inhaled Breath. He needed to talk to Hikars to see if the black water had spread or if it was simply stagnant death.

“Why don’t you rest a bit longer before questioning him? Your fever hasn’t gone down yet.”

Cassion firmly advised, noticing Ruel’s condition, which was even accompanied by cold sweat. The fatigue and cold were overlapping.

Although it wasn’t serious, it was uncertain when it might become critical.

“Then, should we move after the delegation arrives? Looking at the current situation, I think we should.”

Ruel was sarcastic.

Regardless of his well-being, there were tasks that needed attention.

When had he ever delayed action based on his health?

“Ruel-nim, are you thinking of going down below the wall…?”

“That’s right.”

At Ruel’s confident declaration, Cassion clenched his fist.

Ruel going down meant he was somewhat considering using the power to control the monsters.

“You know that using that power will make you collapse afterward, right?”

“I’ll decide based on the situation.”

“So, do you want me to wake him up or not?” Ganien asked while grabbing Hikars by the collar.

“Wake him up.”

“No.”

Ruel and Cassion almost spoke in unison.

After a brief pause, Ganien lightly tapped Hikars’s cheek. Hikars opened his eyes in surprise.

“Don’t glare at me, Cassion. Remember, your master is Ruel,” Ganien chuckled, finding amusement in Cassion’s blatant stare.

He might have thought he struck a nerve.

As soon as Hikars regained his senses, he busily looked around.

Just as he was about to dash out of the tent, Ruel commanded him.

“Sit there.”

Hikars obediently knelt before Ruel.

The urgency he had shown moments ago was gone, and he now looked like a docile lamb, waiting for orders.

“This is no joke. It’s like talking to a wall.”

Ganien was dumbfounded.

How much effort had he exerted to capture Hikars?

Whoever had first labeled him a warlock was clearly mistaken.

He seemed more like a black beast, with physical prowess akin to a knight and legs as nimble as a mountain goat.

“What did you think of the surroundings?”

When Ruel asked, Hikars recounted everything he had felt at that time.

“As soon as I returned to the Kingdom of Kran, I sensed an aura of death permeating the air.”

“So, the black water hasn’t spread?” Ruel asked, feeling a sense of unease at Hikars’s response.

“That’s correct. I don’t sense any corrupted energy of death.”

-Setiria.

Was this voice calling out to him from a monster?

“Something is consuming my existence. I can no longer maintain myself.”

He recalled the words of Rupina, the guardian that guarded the spirit’s home.

Her friend, the guardian Mayre, had said that Rupina had been corrupted, but it wasn’t due to the black water.

At that time, Leo didn’t mention that it was against the natural order.

This situation seemed similar—it wasn’t due to the black water.

‘Then why are the monsters behaving this way?’

The monsters were the Guardians who watched over the Great Man.

Didn’t Jan mention they only targeted the Great Man?

Yet now, they were attacking adventurers.

“Death is deeply settled here. I called for others because I can’t handle it alone.”

Seeing Hikars’s anxious behavior, Ruel felt a sense of doubt.

It was said that such events occurred every year in the Kingdom of Kran.

But Hikars’s expression now looked like someone facing a scene he had never seen before.

“This is an annual occurrence in the Kingdom of Kran. Were you not aware?” Ruel questioned.

“We travel to many places, including the Kingdom of Kran, but I swear, it wasn’t this dire last year.”

‘It wasn’t this bad last year?’

That couldn’t be true.

Glen Syria of the Red Ash had been involved for two decades— something was amiss.

‘Has the Red Ash covered the warlock’s eyes? Why?’

As his thought continued, Ruel felt a chill run down his spine.

The soldiers were only present to protect Glen Syria, and a strange situation was unfolding where only adventurers filled the area.

Moreover, hadn’t Cassion mentioned that there were few corpses?

Adventurers were a profession that typically had a high risk of death, meaning they were often easy to dispose of.

‘Could it be that all of this is to gather materials to create the black water…?’

No way.

Ruel clenched his fists tightly.

“Ganien, did you notice anything unusual while capturing Hikars?”

Ganien’s expression darkened slightly, “I was just about to mention that.”

At the mention of something being off, even Ruel’s face darkened.

Ganien stroked his chin as he spoke.

“The deeper I went down the mountain, the stranger it felt. It was like something was seeping out through a blocked gap. But it’s quite vague.”

“Why?”

“It feels like something is obstructed, yet I can’t see it,” Ganien explained.

“You can’t see it?” Ruel was taken aback.

If Ganien couldn’t see it, his gaze instinctively turned to Cassion.

“No matter how sharp my vision is, I can’t see that distance. I’ll investigate now,” Cassion declared before vanishing into the shadows, startling Hikars.

Leo chuckled softly.

—This body was just as surprised as you!

Soon, Leo opened his eyes wide and rushed over to Hikars, circling around him.

It seemed he was checking the pouch that produced the powder mixed with darkness.

Ganien, conscious of where Cassion had disappeared, spoke up.

“If Cassion can’t see it either, it might be related to mana. Even if the essence of aura is mana, the perspective of a wizard is different.”

He then turned to Hikars, adding, “In my view, a warlock isn’t quite a wizard.”

Hikars nodded, “That’s true. We’re often called wizards due to our use of simple magic, but we are merely servants of death.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Ganien wanted to say that, unlike a wizard, his physical strength was monstrous, but he held his itchy mouth shut. He wasn’t comfortable enough with Hikars to say that yet.

“Ruel, you’re likely the best among us at sensing mana,” Ganien remarked.

Ruel chuckled, “If Cassion caught wind of that, it’d be chaos.”

“Since we’re on the subject, let me ask. Why is Cassion so overprotective of you? It’s a behavior that doesn’t match his personality at all.”

“Perhaps you should ask why he became my butler first, or how our paths crossed.”

“Alright, alright. If you want to talk about it later, let me know then.”

With the teasing remark and Ruel’s sharp smile, Ganien decided not to pry further.

—Ruel, Ruel.

Leo, waiting for their conversation to end, urgently called out to Ruel.

“What”

—Tell that human to give this body the powder.

‘Ah.’

Knowing how long Leo had been waiting, Ruel looked at Hikars.

Hikars was staring at him, as if ready to follow any command.

‘He’s even more devoted than Aris.’

While Aris was loyal, Hikars looked at him as if he worshiped him like a god.

It felt even more burdensome.

“The powder from the Black Wayfinder doesn’t require a sacrifice of life, does it?”

“No, it doesn’t. It guides the deceased to the right path, ensuring a corrupted death is led to a righteous death.”

“Could you give that powder to Leo?”

As soon as Ruel finished speaking, Leo’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Hikars.

Hikars smiled broadly, “Of course. I was a bit surprised that the great purifier enjoyed this.”

“I didn’t know either.”

—This body didn’t know either!

Leo licked his lips and began to fidget in place.

“Can you see it?”

Ganien, with his arms crossed, spoke while looking into the air.

At that moment, Cassion reappeared.

He looked at Ruel and said, “It seems there’s a barrier. The smell is quite different in a specific area.”

“You didn’t see it either, did you? Right?” Ganien chuckled and asked again.

Since Cassion remained silent, it was implicitly agreed that he hadn’t seen it either.

In the end, it was clear that Ruel had to get involved.

That was acceptable.

“Cassion, pass me another fever reducer,” Ruel requested, ensuring he was adequately prepared for what lay ahead.

Cassion hesitated, glancing at Hikars, but eventually handed the fever reducer to Ruel with a resigned sigh.

Ruel’s determination to go forth made any further protests pointless.

***

“Over there.”

Cassion pointed to the location with his finger.

At first glance, it looked just like any other place, but the smell of blood was much stronger.

“That’s it. I sensed a blockage there too,” Ganien affirmed.

They had deliberately circled around the outskirts, aware of the adventurers.

Since Cassion and Ganien took turns checking if anyone was following, Ruel felt reassured as he approached the spot they indicated.

However, the relentless blizzard made it difficult for Ruel to see ahead.

“Leo, do you smell anything out of the natural order?”

—Not at all. This body is focusing its nose right now to catch the scent!

After enjoying the powder mixed with darkness, Leo was in high spirits.

—Huh…!

Leo’s ears perked up.

As some of the powder Hikars sprinkled flew towards Ruel, Leo quickly stuck out his tongue.

Since they had come down beyond the defensive line, Hikars began to scatter the powder like a madman.

With each sprinkle, Leo’s head moved busily in response.

Swish!

Ruel shielded his eyes with his hand against the fierce snowstorm.

Thanks to Hikars’s Hold, his body wasn’t strained, but the heavy snowfall made it incredibly difficult to keep his eyes open.

“Are you alright?” At Cassion’s question, Ruel nodded.

Cassion and Ganien were unperturbed by the snow falling down on them, and Hikars didn’t seem to struggle as much as he did.

Ruel had no choice but to call Leo.

“Leo, can you stop the snow around me?”

—Understood!

Ruel felt Leo’s tail perk up.

The snow that had been pouring down like it was piercing his face gradually slowed, falling softly like petals.

“Perfect.”

The snow fell slowly around him, barely noticeable from a distance.

When Leo looked at him with eyes seeking praise, Ruel patted his head.

—Hehe. This body helped Ruel!

As they progressed, a peculiar wall with intricate patterns came into view.

It looked out of place against the surrounding scenery, yet strangely felt familiar.

Cassion, who had been walking ahead, suddenly stopped.

‘…?’

Ruel blinked as he inhaled Breath.

Wondering why Cassion had stopped, he looked around, but the scenery remained unchanged, so he turned his gaze back ahead.

‘…!’

Soon, Ruel understood the meaning behind Cassion’s halt.

It was right there.

The wall that both Ganien and Cassion had found strange was now visible.

Perhaps this wall was something only he could see.

“There’s definitely more death accumulating around here.”

Hikars stood right in front of the wall and began to sprinkle the powder.

Then, he boldly walked through the wall.

‘…!’

Ruel’s eyes widened slightly.

He had suspected it wasn’t an ordinary wall, but he hadn’t expected to be able to pass through it.

“Strangely, there’s no hint of death within. What do you perceive, Ruel-nim?” Hikars directed his gaze towards Ruel.

“It appears you can see something.”

Ganien didn’t miss the moment Ruel looked surprised.

“Indeed. There’s a wall here,” Ruel confirmed, pointing towards the invisible barrier.

Cassion, with a dry chuckle, followed Ruel’s gesture, realizing there was nothing visible to him.

It seemed that only Ruel could see it.

‘Ah.’

Cassion was reminded once again that his master was like an onion.

“A wall, not mana?” Ganien asked, startled.

“Yes, a wall. A rather peculiar one,” Ruel responded before inhaling another Breath, scrutinizing the wall that starkly contrasted with its surroundings.

“Hikars, release the hold.”

“Understood. I will release it right away.”

As Hikars released the hold, the pressure that had been weighing on Ruel disappeared, allowing him to take a deep breath.

“Ruel-nim, what are you getting yourself into this time?”

Cassion’s voice was filled with disbelief, and Ruel couldn’t help but laugh.

Author's Thoughts

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read