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Chapter 69: Lop off a Leg and in Return Adin Sets the Jungle on Fire (303-308)

However, Cale soon flinched.
He responded naturally after seeing Choi Han’s injured hands.

“No, never mind.”

He felt as if he would have a one-way ticket to the afterlife if he was slapped by Choi Han right now.

Choi Han was ready to complain. His head snapped upwards as he directed his menacing glare at the screen, knowing better than to challenge his counterpart or the troublemaker called Cale Henituse. Why the fuck would he slap someone strong enough to knock them into the afterlife?!

Even during his most extreme, he just breaks some bones and misplaces some teeth. Choi Han knew what holding back looked like. Thank you very much.

(He didn’t see the heavy judgmental glare directed at him.)

As someone who had a strong attachment to staying alive, Cale just chewed on the apple pie and put some strength into his shaking legs as he stood up.

Ah, yes.

“Can you repeat that, please? My ears must not be working properly.”

Aside from the humor Alberu displayed, he grudgingly knew Cale was speaking both the absolute truth and was lying out of his ass.

He did have a strong attachment to life. Alberu had firsthand witnessed the tenacity of Cale, further amplified once he caught a glimpse of Kim Rok Soo’s hellish life. Being resourceful alone wasn’t enough to live.

Alberu grew up privileged. Maybe not in the emotional kind, but he never worried about food, a place to stay, or resources to grow stronger. The queen and princes simply acted like he didn’t exist. Somewhat peaceful for a royal family, he supposed.

Kim Rok Soo grew up far from that luxury. An uncle, who abused his own flesh and blood, followed by the collapse of society as a whole. There was never a moment when Kim Rok Soo thrived. He simply survived.

The rare expressions that flickered across Cale’s face when they traversed the parallel world to Kim Rok Soo’s original one followed Alberu back home. He hoped the gods wouldn’t show this particular instance, yet without speaking, Alberu knew it was a foolish idea. They thrived on entertainment and seeing the past, ripping old wounds open, and laying Cale bare for the curious spectators to see. Alberu knew they wouldn’t miss such a golden opportunity.

He hoped – for the gods – that they didn’t go below the belt, otherwise, forget stopping Cale, Alberu would turn his spear in their direction as well.

Tasha and Mary were chatting.

“He looks like he wants to stab someone,” Tasha whispered to Mary. Concern flickered across her face as she took notice of Alberu’s pale face and his dulled gaze. Deep creases on his forehead spoke of worries.

Mary nodded. She fiddled with her fingers, anxious of what was to come.

“Cale-nim, will you be okay?”

Choi Han bit down on his lips as he asked.

‘I’m sure he’ll say that he is fine.’

That was how Cale always answered.
Choi Han slowly supported Cale while avoiding his gaze. He heard a grumbling voice at that moment.

“You think it’s okay?”
“…Excuse me?”

‘Does he mean that he’s not okay?’

The expression on Choi Han’s face turned extremely serious as this was the first time Cale had ever responded like this. Cale continued to speak at that moment.

“I can’t fathom what might have happened to the Jungle right now. Do you think it’s okay there?”

‘Adin, you fucking bastard. You fucking trash that’s a waste to even burn to death.’

Cale was getting angry as he thought about the Imperial Prince, Honte, and the Jungle. His insides were boiling as if it was lava.

Hearing Cale swear so venomously, quite a few people of Side B gulped nervously. They were used to a detached-looking Cale, or even a frowning one. Having him look on second away from casual murder, and worse, knowing that this will be the exact conclusion a few scenes later, they shivered.

It was easy to overlook Cale. He was thin, mostly proactive, and definitely more of a thinker than a speaker. His thoughts alone, unlike his unchanging expression, gave them regularly whiplash.

“He is seriously angered,” Bud said, his voice bare of any humor. Even his slumped form was gathered, and he sat almost properly in his seat.

Glenn was much better off. Anxiously biting his lip, the purple-haired mage stared at the screen, tracking Cale’s face as he cursed out the Empire and its Imperial Prince.

There had never been an instance before when Cale Henituse lost his cool. They thought they had seen his raw fury when he directed the attack on the Alchemist’s Tower, but looking back, Glenn realized with a startle that this was already a cooled-down version.

Instead of a bubbling fury that resembled agitated lava, the young master was as merciless as a frozen wasteland. Glacial fury was starkly different from a burning one.

“He will flip their shit,” Bud summarized with a slightly shaky voice.

Swordmaster or not, facing the raw fury of one Cale Henituse, even Bud had clearly enough brain cells to nope the fuck out.

“Ha, Cale-nim, you really-”

Cale, who didn’t know what Choi Han was thinking about as he shook his head, looked away from Choi Han and pointed his hand toward the sky.

Screeeech-

One of the white skeleton birds landed on the ground. It caused the rose gold ashes to fly up once again.

“Commander-nim, please get on.”

The Paerun Kingdom’s knight on top of the white skeleton bird got off. The Dwarf handed the reins to Cale as well. Both of them had looks of reverence on their faces, however, Cale was extremely annoyed and ignored them as he quickly started to move.

Unlike Askosan and Norland, Paerun had completely switched sides after getting thoroughly defeated. With Clopeh Sekka as the spearhead, they actively aided the Roan Kingdom and its allied nations.

Considering it was Clopeh Sekka, Cale didn’t have anything else to say. In a rare moment of bravery, he risked a glance in Clopeh’s direction. Green eyes stared fixated at the screen. A beautiful smile was on his lips. He would look incredibly handsome if it weren’t for his personality.

‘Crazy bastard,’ Cale decided. He waited for a second before he grudgingly corrected himself, ‘Our crazy bastard.’

Clopeh had done many questionable things, yet Cale wouldn’t say he didn’t trust the man. During the Battle of Puzzle City, Clopeh fought without looking back. He never left his position and braved the trials as instructed.

(Cale did his best to forget all about the recording orb.)

“Hey, Choi Han.”

Cale nonchalantly responded to Choi Han who blankly asked in confusion. They had no time to lose right now.

“Aren’t you going to fight?”

‘Ah.’

Choi Han immediately came back to his senses. He turned his head and saw respect in the eyes of the Flame Dwarf and the Paerun Kingdom’s knight who were looking at Cale.
He then looked back toward Cale.

Raon said that Cale’s plate was fine, however, he had bled a little and his legs were shaking quite a bit.

Yet he was still saying, ‘let’s go fight.’

“I will fight.”

Choi Han watched as the light in his counterpart’s eyes almost became unbearably bright.

They had the same will to fight, but not the same drive. He had passed the point of being jealous of his counterpart for his emotional state, accepting that he, Choi Han, was a little bit more broken. The permanent kind. His past had left deep scars, ones he decided to wear in memory and for the sake of a better future.

“I will fight,” he muttered.

The same kind of fire burned just as brightly inside him as it did in his counterpart.

Choi Han immediately jumped on top of the white skeleton bird.
The white skeleton bird quickly started to flap its wings as soon as he landed on it.

It was not the largest bird, however, this medium-sized white skeleton bird quickly flew up into the air. It was the fastest of the white skeleton birds.
It was obvious why this was the case.

A voice that others couldn’t hear could be heard on the white skeleton bird with Choi Han and Cale.

“Human, I will fight as well!”

Raon was levitating the white skeleton bird.
Raon and Choi Han could clearly see the Empire’s dirt wall once the bird was in the air.

Baaaaang! Baaaaang!

The white skeleton birds, the Paerun Kingdom’s knights, and the Flame Dwarves were all fighting against the Empire’s forces. They were also all aiming for one person.

Imperial Prince Adin.

“Get him,” Litana swore, venomously.

Her anger was barely contained as she recalled the destruction and the countless deaths in her Jungle. Adin, that bastard, she would wring his pathetic neck if she ever got the chance.

Her counterpart switched from staring at the screen in obvious trepidation to gazing at Litana, who was steaming in anger. Fear gripped her heart. She had heard about what her Jungle would suffer. It reminded her of the various dead mana bombs they exploded all over the continent. Not even her Jungle was spared.

Adin probably knew that if she, Litana, could utilize the military power of her Jungle, she could become a threat. He dealt with her by instigating the bloodthirstiness of the Whipper Kingdom with his spies and detonating dead mana all over the place. The previous fire was also his work.

Elisneh saved her. Litana no longer had the will to be grateful. Gazes of pity had followed her for the last few hours after she loudly defended her friend. Litana would understand anger, maybe even contempt, yet they were pitying her?

So far, all she could do was watch. With a self-deprecating laugh, she shifted her attention back to the screen.

“We’re moving.”

Choi Han nodded his head at Cale’s comment. He had made up his mind.

He then became flustered.

“…Cale-nim?”
“Human?”

Raon shouted with anxiety.

“Why? Human, why are you retreating?”

Cale was moving toward the Whipper Kingdom instead of the Empire.
He was moving very quickly toward the Whipper Kingdom. Choi Han and Raon were shocked, as well as Rosalyn, Harol, and Toonka, who had to greet them.

“Change of plans?” Shickler contemplated.

Witira gave her opinion as well. “Maybe, but he is too calm.”

Even Archie, who wasn’t the most emotionally empathetic individual, pointed out,” He isn’t calm. I would rather compare him to a volcano that was seconds away from erupting. His anger is real. Whatever plan he came up with to change his actions, the enemies will suffer.”

Schickler and Witira agreed with him.

“Can’t say I feel bad about it.”

Witira shrugged.

“Young master Cale! Are you in pain?”

Rosalyn almost ran toward the edge of the tower as she shouted before flinching. Cale, who had approached on the white skeleton bird, shouted toward her.

“Miss Rosalyn, sword!”

Choi Han realized that he didn’t have a sword in his hand at that moment.
Cale reached his hand out as well.

“Mary, let’s go!”

She had been on this tower the whole time.
Mary, who was covered by her usual black robe, walked over to the ledge. She had to just sit back and watch everything during this battle.

Cale needed her more than anybody else on this battlefield.

He had needed her more than anybody else?

Mary was in awe. Her eyes gleamed underneath her hood as she marveled at the knowledge. Hearing him say she was useful already felt great, yet his thoughts also praised her. She was so happy that she could directly summon a whole battalion of bone wyverns to witness her joy.

Of course, Mary didn’t do anything but clutch the hem of her cloak more tightly, happily fiddling with the material. Another present the young master had given her.

Mary reached her hand out past the ledge. Cale grabbed her hand as soon as the hand with the spiderweb-like black lines appeared outside her robe.

He grabbed her hand without hesitation, something nobody missed.

But –

“Is he strong enough to pull her?” Bud asked.

The answer came a second later.

It lifted the mood for a bit.

He then became anxious.
His hand was shaking.

“Raon!”
“Sigh, human, alright!”

Raon sighed before pulling Mary on top of the white skeleton bird in order to help Cale, who did not have the strength to do so.

Rosalyn stood at the edge of the ledge.

“Choi Han!”

She then threw the sword.

Clack!

Choi Han easily caught the sword.

“You managed to bring it so quickly.”

Choi Han smirked and touched his sword. It was his sword.
It was the same sword Cale gave to him in the Henituse territory battle after telling him to create a legend. That sword was in Choi Han’s hand again.

Screeeech.

Choi Han took off the black helmet and threw it away.
Everything had returned to normal.

Only then did the last people realize the implications. Since Cale Henituse had dropped his act, why should Choi Han continue to limit himself? He could now openly fight with all of his might.

Shivering, they recalled the level of destruction he managed to achieve without using his aura in its full capacity or his specifically made sword, which balanced him out perfectly. The blade gleamed under the lights, somehow showing a level of excitement that a piece of metal shouldn’t be able to do.

“Time to go nuts,” Lock commented, stealing Alberu’s catchphrase with a boyish grin on his face. The smile didn’t reach his eyes as the situation was far too tense, yet he allowed himself to show some humor. His siblings chuckled in amusement.

Cale confirmed that everyone was ready before pulling on the reins again.
They needed to head to the battlefield now that they were ready.

“Young master Cale!”

Cale turned his head toward Rosalyn who called out to him. Rosalyn smiled and continued to shout.

“I will let the Jungle, the Roan Kingdom, and the alliance know about what is going on!”

‘She really is smart.’

This was why Cale could move without worrying about his back. Rosalyn would thoroughly explain the changed situation to the rest of the alliance.

“I will coordinate the attacks!”
“Open the gate! Warriors, follow me!”

Chief Harol and Commander Toonka also came back to their senses and started to do their parts.
Cale turned back around without any hesitation. He then clenched on the reins and informed those on the bird.

The seamless cooperation happened in just a moment. Communication issues had been resolved, a clear order was handed out, and even the respective commanders understood each other, cooperating perfectly.

If this was what an alliance could be or even should be like, the people of Side A, the Birth of a Hero World, didn’t want to know what kind of mess they would create. Obviously, some individuals' thoughts replicating such perfect teamwork would be easy. Everyone just does their jobs and listens to the one with the most medals on their jacket. Easy to understand, right?

Others already realized this level of cooperation was based on trust, which their world didn’t have. Even if they start cooperating now, which the major factions try to do, distrust would be ever-present. Blind faith in someone who hasn’t had anything to show for it was stupid.

Unlike Cale Henituse, who had a track record of succeeding, the people on Side A were losers.

Alberu Crossman – Lost to Arm on multiple occasions. His country is currently getting bombed left and right.

Choi Han – Also a loser.

Queen Litana – Is currently losing against the Empire.

Toonka – Is currently losing to Litana.

And so on.

There wasn’t a single person they could place their full faith in.

“We will move quickly.”

They needed to quickly take care of things here.
They had to go to the Jungle. They could not allow the black despair to spread in that vibrant Jungle.

Screech- screech-
The white skeleton bird quickly headed toward the enemy leaders.

Cale felt the cool breeze brush past his face as they approached the other white skeleton birds in the sky. He could see the current state of the battle.

Baaaaang! Baaaaaang!

An endless array of spells continued to come from the Empire’s side.

“Second Mage Brigade, aim for the Dwarves and knights on the birds instead!”
“The birds! Third Mage Brigade, destroy those bones!”

The knights surrounded the Imperial Prince.

“We must protect his highness! Lift up your shields! Soldiers, at least throw stones or something!”
“It is over if we are caught by those birds’ talons! Protect his highness no matter what!”

Honte and the Vice Tower Master were right next to the Imperial Prince and the alchemists were surrounding him as well.

The Lions had already stepped back long ago while the nobles were busy fighting or retreating with their knights surrounding them.

“Block them! Protect me first!”
“Assist his highness! We can only win this battle if his highness survives!”

There were shouts and screams throughout the Empire’s base.

It was a stark contrast to the unity they saw on the other side of the battlefield. Greed ran deep. As soon as things looked unfavorable, the lions ran faster than a cheetah.

Gashan was disgusted with the cowardly actions of the lions. They hunted his tribe down alongside the bears, acting all high and mighty, yet they were the first ones to run away with their tails tucked in.

If it hadn’t been for their numbers, the Tiger Tribe wouldn’t have lost to such a collection of cowards. All bark and only bite when they have the numbers on their side.

Clicking his tongue, Gashan gazed at the remaining tribe members of the other world.

Most of his people were safely tucked away in Harris Village, which had been transformed into paradise. Nature came bursting out of every corner, abundant food and water, a lord that overlooked their needs and placed their safety first, as well as many friends and companions.

His counterpart inclined his head respectfully.

The wings of a white skeleton bird cast a shadow over them at that moment. The person commanding the white skeleton birds could not hold back his laughter.

“Kehehe, hehe!”

Clopeh Sekka. He felt chills on his back.

The Empire fought well even without the golems. That fact was giving him the chills.
The white skeleton birds had not managed to completely destroy the shield created by the Empire’s mages.

Baaaaang!

The beak of his white skeleton bird pecked at the shield.

“Ugh!”

One of the mages coughed up blood as the shield broke. However, a different mage appeared in his place and created a shield around the Imperial Prince.
Hundreds of people’s shields were gathered in one spot.

Adin was surrounded by the alchemists and Royal Knights underneath those shields.

Clopeh and Adin made eye contact.
Clopeh could see Adin’s mouth moving.

‘It’s you, isn’t it?’

Adin was looking at Clopeh with a relaxed expression as if he had figured everything out.

‘Guardian Knight Clopeh Sekka.
You’re Guardian Knight Clopeh, aren’t you?’

Adin could see the corners of the lips of the white-haired priest whom he was certain was Clopeh starting to move as he silently asked.

Adin’s terrifying intelligence and the nonchalance he displayed while under assault were scary to look at. He looked as if he were taking a stroll and not standing underneath seven layers of shields, while a bone wyvern itched to rip out his eyeballs.

The reveal of Clopeh’s identity wasn’t much of a problem as Cale and Choi Han abandoned their disguise first.

“Why the fuck is he so calm?” Archie cursed.

Adin seemed amused. Entertained even. He didn’t appear like someone who was in serious danger. Archie felt the chills, unknowingly mirroring Clopeh on the screen.

He, Swordmaster Clopeh, lifted his head as soon as he noticed a person approaching him.

“Cale-nim, you’re here.”

Cale Henituse.
Clopeh smiled at Cale’s appearance. He then quickly moved his white skeleton bird to the side.

Swoooooooosh-

A rough and fast wind brushed by Clopeh’s cheek.
The white bird that Cale Henituse was controlling flew past him extremely quickly. That was enough for Clopeh to realize it.

‘It’s starting.’

The words echoed through the hall.

It is starting.

The counter assault.

Granike Orsena leaned forward. He couldn’t contain his curiosity, abandoning any sense of haughtiness, unlike his fellow noble, Sand Ailan, who sat properly in his chair. The Ailan Heir crossed his arms, trying to look as unbothered as his father. He succeeded somewhat if one ignored his shaking hands and the wide-eyed stare on his face.

They desperately hoped the Empire didn’t have another ace hidden up its sleeve.

(How wrong they were.)

Cale was only looking down at the eyes of the monster as he started to speak.

“Mary.”
“Yes sir, I have been waiting.”

Black mana started to flow out of Mary’s hands. It then landed on top of the white skeleton bird they were on.

The white skeleton bird slowly turned black.
No, it removed the white paint that was covering up its original color.

The white skeleton bird turned back into a black skeleton bird.
It returned to its true appearance. Everything was bound to be the strongest when it was in its true appearance. Mary’s black mana seeped into the black skeleton bird’s black bones, making it shine even in darkness.

Nobles stared at Mary, finding her more valuable the more they looked at her. A necromancer this strong couldn’t be left unattended. What if another nation picked her up?

Unlike their dangerous thoughts, their actions were far more demure. Not a single noble moved a muscle in Mary’s direction as she was sandwiched between Tasha, a now-known dark elf, and the holy twins.

Hannah, especially, looked ready to bite some heads off.

Her counterpart, the actual person that would return to their world, was also safely hidden away from curious eyes and greedy attempts.

Clopeh gave another order at that moment.

“Open up a path!”

Cale lowered his body. He raised the speed of the black skeleton bird even more. The black skeleton bird was turning into a black arrow.
He made eye contact with Imperial Prince Adin at that moment.
Clopeh shouted from behind him.

“Destroy everything in the Commander-nim’s way!”

Open up a path.
Block the enemy attacks so that Cale could move forward without worrying about anything else.

Bang! Bang! Baaaaang!

The white skeleton birds used their bodies to crash into the spells.

“Cast more spells! Fortify the shields even more! We can’t let them through!”

The Captain of the Empire’s Mage Brigade gave the orders before finally asking the Imperial Prince.

“…Shall I prepare for you to teleport?”

“He wouldn’t just run away,” Valentino said, utterly convinced Adin would stay behind. He looked far too amused to retreat. The way his eyes crinkled mirrored the indulgent amusement he showed when Valentino brought some puppies over to smother in hugs.

His counterpart scoffed. “With his ego? Fuck no.”

Well, they thought the same, one just said it directly while the other kept the truth locked away in his thoughts.

Teleport.
That was different than retreating to the back.
Teleporting would mean escaping from the battlefield. It would be something that would bring down the dignity of the Empire.
However, there was a limit to what they could do as the golems had disappeared while the white skeleton birds were continuing their attacks.

“It’s fine.”

However, the Imperial Prince refused to retreat. The Captain felt that Adin was acting like the Empire’s future emperor as he raised his voice again.

“Create more shields!”

He could now even see Cale’s face as the now black skeleton bird approached them.
That was how close they were now.

The only thing the Captain could rely on was the shield.
He put all of his strength into the shield.

Adin and Cale looked at each other – melted gold met fiery reddish-brown.

Two commanders, two leaders, and two vastly different personalities. Cale was accompanied by fury. His lips were kept in a straight line without his usual expression of indifference present. He resembled a wrathful god as he stood on top of the bone wyvern, ordering his people to continue attacking.

Meanwhile, Adin stood below. The image of casual. His lips were painted with a smile, indulgently staring at Cale. A glint in his eyes betrayed his amusement, yet it also showcased a deeper, more hidden anger. Earthbound for now, he was the counter to Cale.

Two extremes.

The tension was rising. Even the people in the spectator's hall had to gulp at the heavy atmosphere.

It was at that moment.
Cale charged toward the shields created by hundreds of the Empire’s mages without stopping.

Baaaaang! Bang!

The white skeleton birds helped create a straight path for him.
Cale clenched his hands that were holding onto the reins.

He had no strength in his body.
He felt extremely tired.
He didn’t have the strength to use any ancient powers anymore.
He would faint or who knows what else could happen if he used any of them once more.

His thoughts brought worry.

“He isn’t well? So, why the fuck is he spearheading the attack?!” Harol couldn’t help but bust out. “Sure, it is a sign of dominance and all that, but seriously?”

Coming from him, the chief of a warrior tribe, who valued brawn over brains, this was rather insulting. 

Choi Han had decimated the golems, sowing seeds of fear in the hearts of the soldiers. Cale stepping up is personal. He was fuming and contemplating murder – cough Adin cough -, yet his health suffered.

Something had been bothering Toonka. He stared at the screen with his head tilted. Rough, blond strands of hair fell into his eyes, creating a visual mess that would leave any hairbrush in despair.

“He looks like he knows,” Toonka stated with a frown.

“Huh?” Since Harol was busy at the people-in-charge table, Toonka wandered off to the nearby table that didn’t harbor a Jungle inhabitant. In this case, Bud and Glenn just nodded in greeting, too absorbed in the scene.

At Bud’s confused reply, Toonka waved at the screen. “That bastard. Look at his smug face. He knows.”

Looking closer, Bud came to the startling realization that Toonka was right. Was this why Adin acted so calmly and even dared to smile in the face of danger? He knew Cale was at his breaking point.

“Maybe he remained to confirm his guess? It has been previously shared that the young master is frail in health.” Glenn’s guess seemed solid.

“Fucking hell,” Bud cursed. He dragged a hand over his face, cursing out Adin for having two working eyes.

However, he could not stop.
He knew what he had to do.

The Empire’s shield was right in front of his nose now.
Everybody believed that the black skeleton bird would crash into it right here.
However, Cale’s decision was different.

“Raon.”

Cale started to speak to the invisible existence he couldn’t see but knew was always by his side.

“Pierce through.”

He didn’t even need to hear a response.

“Huh, huh?”
“T, the shield!”
“No!”

The Empire’s shield started to melt.

“Having a dragon is cheating.”

“He has more than one.”

“So what? Plus and plus is still plus. Cheat plus cheat equals cheat.”

“Oh, so you can do math.”

“Excuse me?”

“You are excused.”

“…”

“No! The shield’s been breached!”

The Mage Brigade Captain shouted as Cale led the black skeleton bird through the spot where the shield had melted.
The Imperial Prince was right in front of him now.

“Attack! Attack the black skeleton bird!”

The mages whose shield were dispelled urgently started to launch spells toward Cale.
Cale made eye contact with the Imperial Prince at that moment.

Adin had a relaxed smile on his face as he was protected by the Empire’s forces.

Cale didn’t know what was making this bastard smile like this, however, he smiled back as well.

Seeing them grin at each other with enough bloodlust to flood the whole battlefield, General Wetton tried to keep his cool. With his back straight and a fake unimpressed grimace on his face, he raised a brow at his neighbor as if saying, “You see that over there? How childish.”

The other noble openly rolled his eyes.

Huffing angrily, Wetton grumbled to himself about how he could do just as well. His pride wouldn’t allow him to walk away with his tail tucked beneath him. Not when a glorious position was just in arm’s reach.

His mind was like a sieve – every previous conversation he wanted to forget went right through the holes, while the bigger chunks remained.

He then started to speak.

“Choi Han.”

That was it.
Cale could see someone kick off the head of the black skeleton bird and shoot forward.

Choi Han.
There was a black aura coming out of his sword. The swordsman who no longer had any restrictions rushed toward the Imperial Prince.

Hannah grinned menacingly. She adoringly stared at Adin’s face, already imagining the blood and injuries Sir Choi Han’s blade would carve into that bastard’s flesh.

Jack noticed how his sister’s gaze had changed. Not at this exact moment, mind you, but in general. Before meeting the young master and the others, it was just the two of them against the wide world. His big sister was his shield, his swords, and the rock he could fall back onto when he was drained of energy. She was his everything, and he was hers. That’s why she risked so much, allying with Arm and the whole mess that followed.

Now, she thinks ahead. Not just about survival, but her gaze was clear. Hannah wasn’t just gritting her teeth and moving on; she started setting goals. Desires. A path for her future that will not end in ruin.

Jack felt tears pricking his eyes. He hurriedly wiped them off with his sleeve.

“It’s you who is coming for me.”

Imperial Prince Adin opened up his arms and welcomed Choi Han. He then sneered at Choi Han.
Choi Han responded to that sneer with a stoic expression as he swung his sword.

The black aura left his sword and shot down.

Baaaaaang!

“What a nice greeting,” Jopis stated. She hid her malicious smile behind her dainty cup, only to scoff when Adin remained unharmed.

“Tch.”

There was a dent in the dirt wall.
However, hits attack had been too obvious. The Imperial Prince had been surrounded by knights and alchemists and had already dodged. The smile on his face had not disappeared.

‘This is my level.’

Adin was someone who could aim to take someone’s life while being protected by others.
Why wouldn’t he be excited?

However, the Imperial Prince’s expression quickly changed.

“You bastards!”

“What?”

The spectators were left flabbergasted and winded at the fast pace of the battle, and the turn conversations were taking.

Adin switched from indulgent amusement, like one would use to stare at a child that couldn’t do anything but poop and sleep, to furious anger. His eyes were blazingly red, spitting imaginary fire as he screamed the insult.

On the contrary, Choi Han looked at him as if he were the child in the conversation.

Of course, the screen showed them the answer the next second. They saw Cale just a second ago, yet they forgot all about him once Choi Han openly challenged Adin.

Choi Han mumbled toward the Imperial Prince at the same time.

“Where are you looking?”

He was smiling. He then activated his aura as he charged toward the Imperial Prince.
However, Adin did not look at Choi Han. No, he could not look at him.

The black skeleton bird had not stopped once Choi Han had gotten off.
Cale had been moving toward a single goal since the beginning.

Choi Han’s aura was being used to make the Imperial Prince dodge to one side.
As the knights needed to surround him, Adin had no choice but to move away from someone in order to dodge Choi Han’s attack.

The Imperial Prince shouted.

“Honte-!”

Honte, the Tower Master’s disciple.

“Hurry up and protect Honte!”

Adin shouted with urgency for the first time.

Paseton was once again in awe of the young master’s mind. Swiftly changing plans, attacking where it hurt the most, and additionally, causing Adin to lose his haughty expression.

Critically, he analyzed the situation. Attacking Adin would be satisfying, yes, but once he escaped, he could pin the blame on the Roan Kingdom. He would paint himself as the victim and the righteous prince, who fought to defend his wonderful home.

Instead, Cale aimed for Honte, who was the symbol of the people. Showing what monstrosity he had become – nothing more than a meat sack for the true tower master – the illusion surrounding Adin would shatter. Who would care if he got hurt when he hurt his people first?

Cale aimed first for the destruction of Adin’s image, creating unrest in the previously harmonious Empire.

Paseton contemplated the past, the present, and what the future would bring. He knew one thing. As long as he sticks with the young master, nothing will be boring.

(And he lived.

The aching hole between the counterparts of his sister and father was obvious to him. Paseton liked to avoid gazing in that direction, recalling what kind of fate was written for him before Cale ripped the script.

The aged, sorrowful gaze of his father and the forlorn look of his sister hurt.)

Caaw.
However, the black skeleton bird’s beak had already opened up toward Honte.

The necromancer Mary was inside that beak with her black mana pointed at the enemy.
The only necromancer on the continent started to speak.

“Young master-nim, I am ready.”

“Get him, “ Tasha cheered quietly.

Mary gave her a soft smile in return.

“I will,” she promised.

Cale started to think.

‘The Imperial Prince cannot stop the Jungle’s golems. Golems were made with black magic by the Alchemists’ Bell Tower.
In that case, shouldn’t they capture the leader of the tower?’

The monster on land.
That was talking about Honte.

Cale looked down at the lifeless Honte’s eyes, the only things that were filled with life. Honte gently started to speak as he got ready to face Cale.

“How entertaining.”

Cale started to smile.
He clenched onto the reins even tighter and raised the speed of the bird as he started to speak.

“Mary, Raon.”

A dark blue light mixed in with Mary’s black mana at that moment.

– Human, I will help Mary! The two of us can do it!

The necromancer and Dragon’s powers combined in order to turn into a small and sharp dagger.
Cale looked toward Honte who was activating his black mana and gave the order.

“Fire.”

A dark blue arrow the size of a person’s arm shot out from the beak of the black skeleton bird.

The combined attack of a necromancer and a baby dragon was dazzlingly bright. A wall of blue light filled the screen, shooting at Honte with a speed that blinking once meant you missed it completely.

Zed Crossman frowned.

A wonderful fight, one his son’s counterpart and his people would win, no doubt. Yet watching the happenings, they left a hole inside his chest.

Imperial Prince Adin, the golems, the Tower Master, the alchemists, and so much more – the Empire is terrifying.

How can they deal with them? Zed wasn’t big on fighting other nations; if only they hadn’t attacked them first.

The more he watched the other world, the more he was sure his world was sinking. Just the fact that he was here while his counterpart wasn’t important enough to appear was one of the reasons why Zed feared for his kingdom’s future.

He was no warrior. Killing his siblings all those years ago, he naturally did that with schemes and well-placed allies. Fighting battles or commanding them, Zed was painfully aware that he was average at best. Ruthless, yes, but not competent and strategic enough to plan thoroughly.

Alberu was different, yet his youthful focus at the moment was concerning. He was still holed up with his small group and the other leaders, not only sparing a glance at his people, the ones who should obey his every word because of the faith they placed in him.

Even the electrifying clash of powers on the screen didn’t faze him as much as the downturned mood and the bleak outlook of their future.

(The gods noticed Alberu’s lack of focus as well. He was either trying to mirror Cale Henituse and be twenty steps ahead or wallow in his insecurities.

They could show him some fun instances, either boosting his spirit or crushing him completely. It was his decision how he wanted to take the information.)

The dark blue arrow instantly engulfed Honte’s body.

“No!”

The Empire’s knights flinched at the fierce shout.

Imperial Prince Adin shouted with a rare sense of urgency.

“We, we have to save Honte!”

He then paused and raised his voice.

“He is one of the pillars of the Empire’s future! Mages, go help him!”

This was the first time they saw Adin’s façade crack.

His sense of urgency carried across the collection of mages. They whirled around, horror was written on their faces.

“Serves them right,” Archie grumbled. He had crossed his arms and slumped down in his seat. It looked somewhat funny with his tall frame.

Witira nodded.

“It is good to see him lose his composure. It reminds us that even a monster like Adin was still human, and humans are rather easy to kill. Their mortality is both their greatest asset as well as their deepest flaw.”

Witira sounded quite wise as she stated her thoughts. Only Paseton knew she quoted one of the books they had read a few days ago. Not even a single word was changed. 

A warning brow was raised in his direction. He just hid a smile in his cup of tea.

However, his shout was in vain.

Cale broke out into laughter at Imperial Prince Adin’s shout as he looked at Honte.

“It’s too late.”

The dark blue arrow struck Honte.

Baaaam!

The deafening sound of the impact was heard.

Dust, gray smoke, and light burst out from the explosion.

The scale of the smoke was large enough to engulf not only Honte, but also the black skeleton bird.

“Ugh!”

The smoke slowly subsided and a collapsing person could be seen.

“Cough!”

“Ugh!”

Some of the battle leaders of the Alchemists’ Bell Tower who had been near Honte with the intention of protecting him were unable to withstand the explosive power and threw up blood as they collapsed.

The fire that Cale used felt like divine judgment delivered by a god.

The world was bathed in a bright light before smoke and dust covered the brilliantly shining beacon.

“He got him!” Someone in the crowd cheered.

A smile graced Rosalyn’s face, yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone like Honte, or whoever was using his body, wouldn’t be defeated this easily. Was it just her mind playing tricks? Maybe he was like Duke Huten, strong in every way, yet compared to the might of someone like Choi Han, he was as brittle as a stick.

Her gut feeling had proven to be true once the scene continued. The spectators’ moods plummeted like a bird that had been shot straight out of the sky. With less blood but equally horrified, they witnessed the following:

It was at that moment.

“As I thought, it’s too soon.”
“…Your highness?”

Adin drew a smile and the Mage Captain could see it.

“Huh?”

Someone could be seen cutting through the subsiding smoke.

The person had black mana around him.

It was Honte.

There wasn’t a single scratch on his body as he shot up into the sky with his hand outstretched and got rid of his shield.

That wasn’t all.

There was also another existence that cut through the smoke, no, that blew it away.

It was the black skeleton bird.

“It seems like that wasn’t enough.”

Cale drew a smile on his face that was pale from being driven to his physical limits.

“Damn it!”

Honte took the attack point-blank, yet not a single scratch. He looked amused even, almost pityingly at Cale, who returned the smile, far more strained.

“He is strong,” Choi Han realized with a gasp. His brows furrowed in concentration.

As much as he hoped to finally see an enemy he could confidently take, it didn’t surprise him as much anymore that all upcoming opponents were terrifyingly strong.  Choi Han contemplated. His face was moving through different expressions as he thought about possible solutions. It eased his nerves and distracted him from the rest of the cluster of emotions that did its best to remain stuck in his throat – like a disgusting hairball. He wasn’t a cat, so coughing up that thing wasn’t possible.

Calculating, contemplating, complaining – he was currently having c-grade levels of fun.

Fighting Huten will already be annoying, but adding Adin and his zombie knock-off into the mix, Choi Han was conscious enough of his current strength to know and accept that he was too weak. They would have to create a completely different battlefield to hope for success. This battle, the one on the screen, should never happen in their world, because they would lose badly.

Well, that and it already was impossible. The Whipper Kingdom has already lost most parts of its land, and Maple Castle has never left the Empire’s hands.

His hand moved and the black skeleton bird headed straight for Honte.

The black skeleton bird shot towards Honte who was rising into the air.

A battle began in the sky.

“Young master-nim.”
– Human!

Cale let out a laugh.

“Fine, I’ll do as you guys want this time.”

Cale began to move in accordance with Mary and Raon’s will.

“Thank the gods,” Alberu sighed, only to correct himself not even a second later. “Not the gods, they are behind the whole mess. Just thanks for finding your last living brain cell.”

Cale would be offended, but this would take too much energy. Instead, he simply grabbed a tasty-looking sandwich Beacrox had brought earlier, which had salad, cheese, a tasty sauce, and some ham on it, and bit into the snack with a satisfying hum. His eyes stared at Alberu as the other raised a provocative brow.

The artificial light above them flickered.

“What do you think?” Alberu asked in a more level voice. Only Choi Han, Choi Jung Soo, Sui Khan, and Cale, who were his immediate neighbors, heard him. He didn’t clarify what he meant, earning himself a confused, “huh?” from Choi Jung Soo.

“The other world. Will they get anywhere?” Asking if they would win was already critical. Rather, would they be able to manage?

“Hard to say,” Choi Jung Soo admitted. His lips twitched downward as he looked serious. The intelligence in his eyes gleamed dangerously. “They have solid chances, but with the way they are currently working together – not a chance in hell. Either they get their egos out of the sky before they join them six feet under, or some kind of miracle makes them see sense.”

Brutal, but logical.

“I have been thinking,” Alberu admitted, not even waiting for anyone to make a joke. Not that the atmosphere or the participants were in the mood for it in the first place. “What if we show them, and with them I mean my counterpart, some instances privately? Kind of like with the Wind Island. I reject having certain private conversations publicly shown, but for my counterpart, he needs to hear them.”

Again and again, he circled back to his counterpart, who was so over his head it physically hurt watching him try to plan, failing because he was too absorbed with copying their world instead of working with what he had.

Since Alberu was respected by his people and their allies, the other world immediately gave his counterpart the benefit of the doubt and placed him on a pedestal, creating both a stepping stone for him and also becoming shackles.

Concerned and slightly annoyed, Alberu kept an eye on him. Was he always this stupid?

“Well,” Sui Khan cheerfully hummed. He clapped his hands to get rid of some of the sugar on his hands from the pastry he had snacked on before continuing his sentence. “That could go both ways. One, we have a newly motivated prince, or we have to glue him together after he falls apart.”

“I’ll get the super glue,” Choi Jung Soo offered, only half-joking.

Alberu pinched his brow.

Mary immediately straightened herself up on the black skeleton bird’s spine. She revealed her hand that was laced with black spider web-like scars.

Honte and Mary.

Both of their hands were aimed at each other.

The corners of Honte’s lips curled up. Black mana rose up from his hand.

Black mana also rose up from Mary’s hand at the same time.

Honte spoke in an amused tone as he saw Mary in her black robe.

“You necromancers have had that hideous appearance since long ago. How foolish.”

He then looked toward Cale.

“I was barely able to get rid of the necromancers and the Dark Elves you know. I thought that I had annihilated them all.”

Cale’s eyes widened. A chill rose in the air at the same time.

Cale realized something at the same time.

‘That bastard is the Tower Master.’

It had been hinted at enough times. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Honte was only the kid from the slums in body, not in mind.

But-

“He said ‘I,’ didn’t he?” Basen whispered, utterly terrified.

His mother nodded grimly. She had heard it too and hopefully misunderstood, but there was no way to interpret those words wrongly. Unfortunately.

“The lich?” Deruth asked, confused.

Violan had no words to answer. The thought of a young child being sent to the tower to be able to leave the harsh life of the slums behind, only for the parents to never know that the child they sent wasn’t there anymore. A death more gruesome than straight-up slaughter.

As a mother, her heart beat furiously. If someone tried to lay a hand on her kids, she would snap their necks like a dry noodle.

The Tower Master who had lived for a long time.

He was probably able to live so long by taking over other people’s bodies.

Honte looked at Cale as he continued to speak.

“I suppose that wind is also one of your ancient powers?”

He had not missed the power that Cale had used to grab the Imperial Prince’s neck.

“Your plate is weak, but very big. Very very big.”

He then licked his lips.

Cale felt uncomfortable seeing Honte’s expression.

‘What is with this bastard?
Could it be?’

Honte started to speak when Cale’s eyes caught his moving corpse’s body. His eyes contained bloodthirst as he gazed at Cale.

“I want it as my next body.”

‘Is he crazy?’

It took exactly three seconds of merciful silence before disaster struck.

“What a creep,” Choi Jung Soo said, surprisingly the least homicidal of the bunch.

Sui Khan smiled. Menacingly. “He can be glad he is already dead; otherwise, I would pay him a friendly visit.” Ah, reinterpreting the words “friendly visit.” Cale didn’t feel like touching that with any kind of pole.

A soft click from his other side was just as alarming.

Alberu was idly playing with Tearang, which had shifted into its gun form. The clicking was him playing with the gun, which shouldn’t be as scary as it looked.

They all knew that this was in the past, yet the thought of their dear friend and family member having his spirit crushed and body stolen, of course, their hackles were raised.

Sui Khan would react the exact same way if the creep had been advancing on Choi Jung Soo.

“Well, you gave him enough close up before gently guiding him into the underground. Permanently, since this does count as sexual harassment. Some punishment should be obvious.” Rosalyn, of all people, gave the most terrifying answer.

Now, Cale felt dirty.

With a frown at Honte on the screen, he watched in relative silence.

A chill ran down his back the moment Cale thought that.

‘Behind me.’

– Is he crazy?!
“He is crazy.”

Cale ducked the moment he heard Raon and Mary’s voices.

Another small arrow grazed past him again.

Baaaaang!

An explosion occurred.

Cale raised his head. He saw a black arrow flying towards Honte once again.

It was from Mary. She started to speak calmly.

“Please be quiet.”

She spoke with her usual calm and composed voice. However, the energy from the black arrow that came from her outstretched hand was anything but that.

“Hahaha, you just keep firing those arrows. However, necromancers can’t use dead mana just like magic, isn’t that right? All they can do is move things that are already dead.”

“He is playing with them,” the Third Prince said. There was a hint of wonder at the end of his sentence. Incredulous, morbid wonder. “Dealing with him is just as dangerous as dealing with the imperial prince.”

The queen was proud of his progress, thinking ahead and critically instead of stating something without any logical thought. The various dress downs he received in this room must have affected him more than she previously thought.

With her as his guardian, he had more political leeway. She was both his blade and shield in the political world, keeping him away from most problems and creating opportunities. He hadn’t learned anything the hard way – until now, that is.

“He is more dangerous than the prince,” she stated, giving him a moment to think about the reason.

It was the second prince, Robbit, who answered. His voice was shy, hesitant even, yet he looked her straight in the eyes as he said, “Age. The Tower Master, the lich, has centuries of experience, while the imperial prince is dangerous because of his mind; he is still far more impulsive in his actions.”

Wetting his lips nervously, the prince continued.

“Isn’t that one of the major problems we have with the enemy in general? Time. They had decades, centuries maybe, yet we have pitiful months or no time at all.”

His statement rang true. Only the royal table had heard him, yet nobody said anything since it was the absolute truth. The other world did well, creating miracles where only despair previously reigned, yet how should they, a broken and doomed world, save themselves?

“Maybe because he had so much time, he lost sight of the power levels. Arrogance can and will be the downfall of many.” The Third Prince offered his suggestion with a shy smile in the second prince’s direction. They didn’t get along as normal siblings would, which would probably never change as long as the royal blood flowed through their veins, yet they were civil and as one unit…that should be possible.

Zed didn’t say anything. He gazed at his two sons with an odd look. Contemplative, and maybe surprised.

After all, he and his siblings lived such vastly different lives with unsolvable tension between them, Zed had killed them all. Seeing his sons, at least some of them, interacting without planning murder, he didn’t know what to think.

Seeing a far more comfortable silence cover their table, he decided to break it.

“How would you prepare?” He asked his two sons.

There wasn’t a definite answer, not when he couldn’t create one, either, but hearing the ideas of his line, maybe they could brainstorm a bit.

Alberu was too busy with the other countries. Zed was disappointed.

Cale flinched.
Boom. Boom. Boom.

His heart pounded again.

His heart was pounding despite the fact that he couldn’t afford to use any more of his ancient powers.

“Yet he will do it anyway,” Bud complained.

Valentino nodded with a heavy frown on his handsome face, while the nearby Litana was caught between a scowl and a look of gratitude.

The young master will use his powers on multiple occasions, most of which were for her Jungle. He risked his body, which was already as frail as glass, to save not just her people but the place they called home.

…should she give him another pile of magic crystals?

‘This is dangerous.’

“It’s black magic.”

Honte shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t have to control the dead like that hideous girl there. I can use magic and can just kill instead of just using the dead.”

Obante wanted to raise his walking stick, wishing for nothing more than to bash that stupid worm’s head in. How dare he call Mary hideous?!

Tasha was also fuming. She knew that this was what most people thought. They just were a bit more polite and didn’t say it.

“I don’t feel attacked,” Mary said, her monotone voice slightly softer than usual. Behind the hood, her eyes were calm, tranquil even. There wasn’t an ounce of anger, disappointment, or even agreement.

“I will be a hero,” she said with heaps of conviction. “I don’t feel like one now, but I know I will be one in the future.”

What right does he, someone who steals lives and creates suffering, have to call her anything degenerative? Insulting him back would place her on the same level as him, something Mary didn’t want to happen.

The young master of the other world told her counterpart she was a hero.

Mary believed him. She also saw how hard her counterpart worked and how many incredible friends she found along the way. Mary will do the same. She will become a hero – for herself and her family.

Tasha laughed in relief.

His shoulders shook as he laughed. Then he continued to speak.

“I’ll get rid of the Dragon, the necromancer, and you. I’ll get rid of all of you.”

Rasheel, awake and disoriented, snarled out of reflex.

You will get rid of the dragon? How stupid. This statement was just begging to be pounded into the concrete below. Rasheel would gladly paste and later peel him off the floor. A lesson.

The wind was blowing.

Cale could feel the wind that was slowly gathering in the air.

A great force was gathering towards Honte.
Boom. Boom. Boom.

His heart was beating harder and harder.

“Mary, Raon.”

Cale called out to them. He also motioned to Clopeh to have the white skeleton birds withdraw before continuing to speak to Raon and Mary.

“Hurry.”

They needed to kill Honte before the spell was completed.

However, Cale realized his party’s will the moment he spoke.

“Stupid Human, of course we fight together!” Raon’s young voice chimed in from the side. His large, blue eyes were blinking hazily, still half-asleep. He just woke up from a nap. His head was still nestled in Eruhaben’s lap, with the elder dragon looking down at him with fond eyes.

“Of course,” Cale repeated, wanting to avoid Raon going off on another expressive conversation about how mighty he was. This wasn’t the time, although Cale knew that if Raon started, Cale wouldn’t have it in him to stop the excited babbling of Raon.

Happily placated, the little dragon shoved his head into Eruhaben’s stomach, demanding some pets as he, still rather bleary-eyed, watched the screen.

The black skeleton bird began to move, but it wasn’t because of Cale.

“That’s right. I handle bones the best.”

Mary was making it move.

She continued to enlarge a black arrow as she controlled the black skeleton bird at the same time.

Honte’s magic continued to grow larger.

However, the body of the black skeleton bird also started to shine more and more with a black light. The black arrow was also growing larger at the same time. The black skeleton bird quickly shot toward Honte.

The tension in the room was thick enough to be cut with a butter knife.

Ron kept an eye on his son, who was completely focused on the screen. There was so much going on, their heads were practically bursting open, only a small information away from combusting. Yet, amid all that useless and useful information, it had been a while since they got any real information about the secret organization.

Every time he tried to focus on the screen, temporarily letting go of his desire for revenge, it came snapping back with vengeance. His wife’s cries were still in his ears. All those years, Ron had forgotten many things.

Her scruffy yet kind voice when she talked with Beacrox, the grin she displayed when she was in the mood for a fight, or even her deep belly laugh when she found something amusing – they all long since became a memory of the past.

He couldn’t recall those things anymore, living in the knowledge that he once took them for granted, forever losing them not long after.

His name, his home, his life – all had been destroyed by the secret organization.

Ron needed, not just wanted, to see them annihilated.

But just as he did all those years ago, he will patiently wait in the shadows. The opportunity will arrive. Either the leaders will have some interesting solutions, or he will head off on his own.

Mary started to speak to Cale.

“My teacher wrote on the first page of that book that necromancers were weaker than black mages and that necromancers would suffer their whole lives due to dead mana.”

Necromancers had to live a life of suffering despite being weak from dead mana.

“However, black mages stop feeling pain the moment they take in black magic.”

Black mages were stronger than necromancers and didn’t feel pain like them.

“This doesn’t sound like a fair deal,” Dodori muttered.

Mila disagreed with a twitch of her lips. “No, they may live in pain for the rest of their lives, but they keep something black mages lose almost instantly.”

“What is it?” He asked his mother. Curiosity gleamed brightly in his oh-so-young eyes.

Her answer was delivered without much emotion. Only sadness and sorrow accompanied her voice.

“Their humanity.”

The Dark Elf mayor had read the contents of the first part of the necromancer book to Mary when he had first explained about black mages and necromancers to her. That information still lingered in Mary’s mind.

The reason why she chose to become a necromancer came out of her mouth for the first time.

She had already suffered through a lot of pain and even death when she was just ten years old.

That was why the words left by the owner of the book were deeply imprinted in her mind.

“To accept dead mana is to bear the sufferings of the dead and the yearnings for life that they have. That is why necromancers are always in pain and also the reason why necromancers…”

Mary still couldn’t forget her mother’s voice telling her to run first through the desert.

“…Are grateful to be alive and feel gratitude toward the dead. It is something that necromancers will remember forever through the pain.”

Mary chose to become a necromancer as soon as she heard that sentence.

She has never regretted her decision since then.

“What a strong girl,” Eruhaben complimented.

There weren’t many instances in which he chose to recognize humans and what they had achieved in their short lives. Most thrive on greed, keeping the “I” before the “we.”

He was a dragon, speaking or judging humans for thinking about themselves first would be foolish, yet they somehow always managed to be even more audacious than some younglings he had encountered.

Mary had been young when she made that decision. Even then, she had something many never developed – compassion. Her gentle nature didn’t clash with the cruelty of the fate a necromancer suffered; instead, she made it her own.

This was a human Eruhaben was more than ready to respect.

So far, he has witnessed many strange, almost foreign, fights and people. They were all incredible, but their drive for power was always the same. Cale was different, yet he also desired power to achieve his “slacker life.”

Mary had made the decision to be a necromancer before she had something to fight for. She didn’t choose to suffer to be the strongest, nor did she take on the mantle to be written down in history. Her kindness became her strength.

Eruhaben decided to keep an eye on her.

She then heard Cale’s voice.

“Your thoughts are the right answer. Do as you please.”

‘I know.’

Mary replied inwardly and started to move her hands. Her hand swung beautifully through the air as if she was a conductor.

“He can read thoughts now?” Lock asked, mostly sarcastically.

Beacrox answered, which surprised everyone at the table, himself included.

“Her face must have projected her determination. You don’t need much skill to see what she was thinking.”

Rosalyn would have agreed if it were someone like Lock, who wore his emotions on his sleeves, but Mary had most of her face hidden, and her voice was as monotone as it could get. Only knowing a person for a long while and paying them enough attention to create a bond would allow the young master to read her like an open book.

What a wonderful friendship. A bond that transcended friendship, Rosalyn corrected herself. They were family. Ah, envy started setting in, not because she desired to have the same friends – she had those in Choi Han and the others -, but rather they had the sweet taste of victory accompanying every move they made.

So far, only shame and defeat were at her heels.

“We could try to get to know Mary as well,” Choi Han said, voicing his thoughts aloud.

That sounded like fun.

Rosalyn readily agreed.

Cale heard a scream-like shout from down below at that moment.

“No! Save Honte!”

Cale looked down. It was the Imperial Prince’s voice. It was such a strong order that Cale flinched, but he soon turned away.

It was because Imperial Prince Adin couldn’t afford to only look at the black skeleton bird.

A person appeared before the Imperial Prince as Cale expected.

“Did you forget about me?”

He saw a black aura.

The black envoy approached Imperial Prince Adin as he easily cleared through the knights and mages. The corners of Choi Han’s mouth curled upwards as he approached the Imperial Prince.

It was Mary against the Tower Master and Choi Han versus Imperial Prince Adin.

Cale was a buffer between them. A failsafe, Ron assumed. Exhausted and at the end of his strength, yet the other young master would jump in to help, even if his body ruptured.

It was annoying.

Meanwhile, Kim Rok Soo was just staring deadpanned at what Cale was doing to his old body. What the fuck, bro? The slang automatically entered his thoughts, and Kim Rok Soo was too lazy to chide his inelegant actions.

“This shouldn’t be the right time for you to appear like cracked glass before me. I assume you are up to no good on multiple occasions.” His muttering sounded defeated.

It wasn’t as if he didn’t know that Cale got out just fine, technically fine. The future arc the gods had shown them with the showdown at the Mogoru capital was proof enough, yet Kim Rok Soo could practically feel himself developing gray hairs by the second.

“You look stressed.” His younger counterpart, Cale, pointed out. Just when Kim Rok Soo was ready to shed a tear of joy – his younger self finally found some manners -, he was reminded again that they were virtually the same person with just a few decades and war separating them.

“Are you getting older? Midlife crisis?”

… never mind then.

Manners were overrated anyway.

Adin did not look at Choi Han.

He stared into the sky despite the chaos around him from his subordinates collapsing after trying to block Choi Han.

Ooooong-

Honte’s massive spell looked like it was about to strike.

The large black skeleton bird and the large black arrow approached the spell at that same moment.

“Hahaha! Yes, come!”

Honte stretched out his arms as he summoned more and more black mana and condensed it.

The black storm ahead was terrifying. Waves of dead mana flew across the sky, with dark mist the color of the abyss escaping to the sides. Like heavy miasma, it dropped far too slowly and heavily to be anything natural.

Teus, Alberu’s right hand, watched with his mouth agape. If this kind of spell were directed at the Roan capital, the city would be crushed.

Honte had a good reputation throughout the whole continent. If he had asked for visitation rights, no country would have rejected him. Not only because the common people would complain about the elite keeping them out, but also because of his accomplishments and his young age.

The secret organization and the countries supporting them were terrifying. If any of them decided to say,” fuck it,” no country would survive. Especially, a surprise attack would decimate major countries in one go.

The only reason they held back was the image the Mogoru Empire painted for themselves, as well as their arrogance. They never once saw Roan and the other countries as anything but pesky flies.

Teus smiled bitterly.

As long as the Mogoru Empire kept its eyes locked onto the Whipper Kingdom, Roan would survive. But what happened once Whipper inevitably fell? Holding out for twenty years suddenly sounded like an accomplishment, not a failure.

Mary started to speak at that same moment.

“We are about to crash into him.”

“Go!”

Honte’s black mana transformed into a nine-headed snake and shot towards them.

Hiss- Hiss-

The snake’s heads hissed threateningly and tried to devour the black skeleton bird while revealing its sharp fangs.

The black skeleton bird’s beak and claws aimed at the snake’s neck.

Boom! Boooom! Booom!

Cale frowned at the explosion. Black smoke and light burst from all over. However, the black skeleton bird gradually approached Honte without being stopped.

Crack.

Parts of the shield broke off while the black skeleton bird’s bones began to crack and break.

However, it did not stop.

With bated breath, Tasha had watched the colossal fight – Mary’s bird against the vicious snake of the Tower Master.

She was anything but reassured when Mary’s black bone bird snapped the snake in half. Every chip that broke off the skeleton bird made her more anxious.

Reassuring herself, Tasha patted her chest. Mary was fine. The other Mary won, she was sure of that. Yet what about her Mary? The one who had no such thing as a black boned skeleton or a dragon backing her up, yet she mirrored the excitement and determination her counterpart displayed.

What if Mary signed her death sentence, believing she could do the same as her counterpart, dying an even more gruesome death than anything the Church of the Sun God could plan for her?

Tasha was fine with dying. Everyone dies one day, but damn her and everyone in her path if she didn’t make sure Alberu and Mary outlived her!

It was at that moment.

– Human, something’s strange!
“Something isn’t right.”

‘What?’

Mary and Raon spoke at the same time.

Litana was incredibly anxious.

This fight was already getting to ridiculous levels, none of which any of her warriors or she could contest.

What now? She thought, almost annoyed. There had to be a point when the enemies had nothing else up their sleeves anymore, right?

Even worse, if they were already this angry fighting there, what the fuck will be unleashed in her jungle? Another wave of golems?

Somehow, as scary as it sounded, she hoped it was the golems, because the other options were even more terrifying.

Cale’s eyes widened.

The beak of the black skeleton bird could bite and rip off Honte’s neck if it went a bit farther.

However, he saw something strange.

‘…He’s still wrapped in black mana?’

He still had a lot of black mana despite having made the nine-headed snake.

It was as if he was about to cast more spells.

It was at that moment.

Honte opened his mouth.

“See you at the capital.”

‘What?’

“What?”

Many spectators repeated Cale’s thought. Was “Honte” seriously leaving and just jumping back to the capital?

“How did he know they would fight there?” A certain noble asked.

It was a good question. His companion had no snarky answer.

“I don’t know? Maybe he expects them to get caught soon and be dragged to the capital?”

It would make sense. Somehow, it still felt as if half of the information was missing. Everyone had one question, which had been bothering them for a long while:

How will this battle end?

It couldn’t end as abruptly as it felt at this moment, because of what they had seen already.

“Another ace of his sleeve?” The noble muttered.

“I am starting to hate that word.”

“Same.”

It happened before Cale could even ask back.

The black mana flashed and the spell activated.

Oooong-

The spell soon appeared.

Imperial Prince Adin.

The area around him began to glow. Honte had used magic on the Imperial Prince.

Cale shouted out of reflex.

‘Teleport.’

That is teleportation magic.

“If they get the time to regroup, they can launch an official attack on the Roan Kingdom, since the young master revealed himself,” Valentino mused. “It would be catastrophic.”

Alberu nodded grimly. This wasn’t about the other world, which they knew worked out fine. Rather, it was about their own attempts. They had only one chance. Either they made it or the Empire would break them, fueled by Adin’s wrath.

“A combined siege could work?” Harol suggested with a weak voice. He didn’t believe in his idea, but felt as if he needed to offer something to break the heavy silence.

Litana waved him off. “Where? The Whipper Kingdom hadn’t taken any suitable spot and lacked the power to try again. My Jungle is currently under siege. A counter siege isn’t within my ability. The Breck or Roan Kingdom would need to start by choosing a  location and declaring war.”

Neither representative spoke.

It was one thing to plan hypothetically, but executing such a plan was a whole other mess.

The Roan Kingdom was a mess, currently with the bombing incidents having shaken the very foundation of the country. If Alberu mobilized an attack force to aim for the outwardly friendly Empire, his soldiers would question his decision.

Prince John was in the same shoes. With his sister abruptly abdicating her place as the crown princess, his position wasn’t as solid as he had hoped. His siblings watch his every step, some with malicious intent. Declaring his intention to poke the sleeping dragon would be met with disapproval.

Especially since, other than his younger brother Pen, no one else of the Breck royal family was present. How could he describe this whole mess of gods, other worlds, and secret organizations without sounding insane? He had no proof, and the power in his hands was as fickle as running water. It could dry out in the next second.

Silence coated the table.

“Raon!”
– I know!

Raon moved to block the teleportation magic.

Raon could cast magic faster than anyone else after learning the fast casting skill during his battle with the Dragon half-blood.

The dragon Half-Blood blinked.

He didn’t expect his name to be dropped during this battle.

“Mary, speed up! Shoot the arrow!”

They just had to kill Honte who was casting the spell.

Then the spell would stop too.

It was at that moment.

Cale and Raon heard a scream that caught their attention.

It was from a person who felt that something was strange a bit differently than Raon.

She shouted as she was the only one who realized the source of the strangeness.

“It is an explosion!”

Mary shouted emotionally unlike her usual emotionless self.

Her voice was full of fear.

‘We must not attack it!’

Mary realized that.

‘We, we must not attack that.’

“It, it’s suicide bombing!”

“But…they are in the middle of their own side?!” Antonio shouted. His voice climbed an octave as he disbelievingly watched Adin’s expression change.

Sonata flinched as well.

“His people are pawns. Nothing more.”

What a cruel ruler, she thought.

Meanwhile, Choi Han on the screen had noticed Adin’s switch of expressions as well.

Raon flinched.

Choi Han, who was on the ground and couldn’t have known the happenings of the battle above him, also flinched as he passed by the Knight Captain. The Imperial Prince was now right in front of him. He could see the Imperial Prince’s expression change.

“Ah, what a shame.”

Imperial Prince Adin felt that it was a shame as he stood above the teleportation magic circle.

His demeanor changed as if he had never shouted for Honte to be saved.

Choi Han could also see that some other people had received Honte’s teleportation magic in addition to Adin.

The leaders of the Empire, the leaders of the Lion Tribe who had escaped far away, and the people of the Caro Kingdom all received Honte’s teleport magic.

Adin dropped the act of caring for his people. Some soldiers, who realized they weren’t included in the teleportation, let their grip go slack on their weapons. Faces of confusion were replaced by both anger and incomprehension.

We are your people. Why don’t you save us?

“He will explode,” Sheritt said. She didn’t ask, but rather stated the fact.

Eruhaben nodded. “Once such a spell was cast, he couldn’t stop it. Nobody can.”

It could be contained to lessen the range of the explosion, but stopping it was impossible.

The previous dragon lord nodded. She hadn’t been present during many of those events, sleeping in her castle and dreaming of an impossible future where both her kids were alive. When Raon woke her, she wept in both relief and agony.

One had found a family and thrived, while the other was slaughtered like a pig.

“He can change bodies swiftly then.” Sheritt focused on another matter.

“Past tense for us since he had been dealt with,” Eruhaben said, countering her statement.

She nodded and dropped the conversation.

However, Choi Han did not flinch because of that.

“Oh well.”

It was because of Imperial Prince Adin’s strange reaction.

“What a shame.”

‘What is?’

However, Choi Han did not stop, and he could see Imperial Prince Adin mouthing something.

‘What a shame. They’re all going to die. It’ll take a lot of time and money to raise them all again.’

Adin looked at Choi Han and laughed while saying that it was a shame. However, his expressions showed that it wasn’t his business despite what he felt.

‘What?
Everyone will die?
Raise them again? Raise what?’

Choi Han turned his head and looked up at the sky.

He then saw the black skeleton bird suddenly retreating.

Cale looked at Honte as Mary retreated the black skeleton bird.

Honte was laughing.

He spread open his lifeless body.

“ ‘I’ am in the capital. ‘This’ is just a shell.”

Then his body started to fall.

He fell in slow motion. Tipping back, a maniacal grin contorted his face into a grimace – inhuman and deranged.

Some of the soldiers around him caught on to his plan. Their weapons dropped on the floor with a clang. The metals bounced on the stone floor, yet nobody paid them any mind. ‘Defeat’ was the closest the spectators could use to describe what the Empire soldiers were projecting.

They didn’t have the time to feel anger or process the betrayal.

“Will he really explode?” Lily asked no one in particular. Her brown eyes looked dull as she gazed at the screen. A part of her hoped her older brother’s counterpart would whip up some miracle, saving the day and the people.

Yet, looking at him, Lily realized he was unnaturally pale. The blue lines on his face contrasted sharply with the ghostly white shade of his skin. Even his lips were bloodless and dry. Her brother was one step away from fainting. If he did something big, he would face the consequences.

Her thoughts changed from “please save them,” to “please save yourself.”

It plunged downward like a puppet whose strings were cut.

What was once Honte had died years ago, and the puppeteer finally let his puppet rest. Sadly, after the final performance.

“He can finally rest,” Jack said, sorrowfully.

Hannah frowned. “We already beat that bastard up. Even his blood was disgusting. I felt dirty just looking at it.”

The body was dropping toward Toonka and the Whipper Kingdom’s forces who had come to support Cale, as well as the Empire’s forces who were holding them back.

The body was falling without stopping.

The life that had been in Honte’s eyes slowly started to grow dim.

That, ‘thing,’ spoke to Cale one last time before the life completely extinguished.

“It’s a gift. It’s a gift for your necromancer. Consider it just a taste.”

He then snickered.

“I’ll give you this gift of dead mana from all of the people here.”

Crack.

The last glimmer of life vanished from Honte’s eyes and his heart area started to open up.

Something black could be seen through the crevice.

Cale saw the scene on the ground as he watched the body of the real Honte who had died unfairly plunged downward along with the disappearance of the Tower Master.

This was a scene straight out of a horror movie.

Kim Rok Soo watched with wide eyes, his heart almost giving up on him when he saw Honte’s chest open up and the black, incredibly dense liquid slowly ooze out.

He tried to recall how Honte vanished in his time. The Tower Master’s apprentice never really appeared much, only boosting the common people’s morale with his presence, faithfully shadowing the Tower Master and Adin.

A projection, some years after the secret organization launched their attacks openly, when the Empire was still playing the role of righteous and fair, came to Kim Rok Soo’s mind. The puppet recommended some places, vouching for the Tower and its safety. Hundreds of people migrated to the Empire, seeking shelter from the war.

They must have all walked to their doom – like rabbits seeking out the open jaws of tigers. One snap and they were gone.

Kim Rok Soo didn’t pay them any mind, already having lost most of his will to live and seek shelter when his family died. He walked from battlefield to battlefield, seeing and feeling the horrors.

Gulping, he tried to recall why he had paid those news any mind. Not for himself, but he walked onto the new battlefield with a humorous, “Good for them.” For whom? Which of his past friends went there, abandoning the remains of their country in hopes of a better life?

Was it Amiru? No. It wasn’t Eric either, since his dear friend had died long before that. Gilbert maybe? Kim Rok Soo realized with a startled clarity that he had forgotten many things.

He desperately hoped it was Venion or Neo Tolz. Then again, even on them he wouldn’t wish upon such a cruel fate.

He could see the escaping Imperial Prince.

He could also see the Whipper Kingdom’s forces and Empire’s army.

“Damn it!”

Cale grasped the reins of the black skeleton bird.

He then flew straight downward.

He turned his head to the side.

A lifeless corpse.

He could see tears of blood streaming down from Honte’s eyes.

His body shook at the same time.

“Damn it!”

Cale stretched out his hand downward as veins bulged on his neck. A silver light started to pour out.

The bomb within Honte’s body exploded at the same time.

Booooooooom-!

People went momentarily blind and deaf in that instant.

An ominous black light struck down like Cale’s Fire of Destruction, except it was aiming for people instead of the golems.

The light was so blindingly bright that the spectators lost their orientation for a second. A buzzing sound accompanied them as they tried to regain their ability to see. 

Tears dropped, some out of compassion, others out of fear.

It was right before everyone’s ears went numb from the loud explosion. Only Cale who was the closest could hear it.
It happened a few seconds before the explosion.

“Aaaaaaah!”

He could hear someone screaming.
He assumed that it was Honte.
Then the explosion covered the world.
Black light came blasting out of Honte’s heart at that moment and started to spread to the surrounding area.

Boom! Boom! Boom!
Cale could feel his heart going wild.

‘That black light.
That must be true black magic.’

Cale’s heart was beating wildly for some reason.
It was fine when he had seen the black despair, but it was running wild now.

The room was filled with silence. A pin drop could be heard as they all gazed at Cale and his conflicted expression.

Alberu bit his lips. He didn’t bleed, nor did he taste anything metallic, yet his stomach complained anyway. This level of explosion, please, show me the consequences.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

It took him a while to realize this wasn’t an echo from the world on the screen shattering; instead, his heart was beating in tandem with Cale’s. Synchronized and heavy, Alberu had problems breathing.

Was he scared? Was this finally enough of the enemy’s power that he wanted to throw the towel? Alberu couldn’t think. He couldn’t even breathe properly, so how could he think straight? He had nobody who could stop such an attack should the Empire and Adin decide to use them.

Honte was one such instance. What held the Tower Master from making more? Nothing except time, and surprise, surprise, he had that.

“Fuck,” he cursed.

It was like when he had first seen the monsters that appeared on Earth as Kim Rok Soo. His body had shown an adverse reaction toward that disgusting monster he had seen for the first time in his life.
He had been scared at that time.

“…what?”

Cale’s thoughts, spoken seemingly casually, as if his hint about his past was nothing more than a side note. Or maybe, the spectators just felt that way because of the very real danger Honte currently represented.

“Monsters? Like those we have in the forest?” Deruth asked.

Kim Rok Soo, who was nearer than Cale, remained quiet.

“Rok Soo,” the man chided, pleadingly and desperately. Eyes so familiar, Kim Rok Soo could paint them with his own eyes closed. A gaze of those eyes, be it recognition or care, had always been something he had desired as Cale.

“Monsters so bad, they fuel your nightmares,” he admitted.

Having come into the world after Cale had dealt with most of the problems, the body switch wasn’t too hard for him. He took the name Kim Rok Soo and made it his own, carrying a past that seemed haunting to some, yet it also reassured him.

The monsters running around now can be dealt with. Weapons evolved, and people learned. Each day, they got closer and closer to regaining humanity’s position as the strongest existence.

It was a nearby Beacrox who poured ice over Deruth’s expression. As much as the father had tried to keep a smile on his face, it fell in an instant after Beacrox spat out four words.

“Guardians of the temple.”

“What?” Kim Rok Soo asked, gripping the table.

Beacrox didn’t look at him. Kim Rok Soo didn’t have the patience to contemplate whether it was because the other felt guilty or just deemed him as not important enough.

“What do you mean? Did Cale confirm that whatever monsters you encountered were the same ones from his old world? Tell me!”

Choi Jung Soo had dropped by here and there, sharing news about his old world and summarizing the chaos Cale had been up to, yet not once did the stupid, brainless fool think about mentioning this little fact.

“Yes,” Beacrox confirmed.

“Fuck.”

How did they deal with those monsters? Without modern weapons and experience? Was this why Cale looked like a dropped mirror? Fractured and hastily being glued back together.

Also, “Temple?”

Nobody answered him.

With a snarl, he looked angrily at the screen. His younger counterpart eyed him worriedly, slowly inching closer until he could feel their legs touching. Cale felt safer this way, especially since whatever the fuck had happened in the other world, it wasn’t good.

“You want me to be scared again?”

Cale clenched his fists. His eyes were currently bloodshot.
He twisted the reins with one hand. His other hand was creating a silver light at the same time.
That silver light headed down to the ground.

– It’s not enough.

The shield was talking to him.
The Super Rock chimed in as well.

– Do not sacrifice yourself.

- …

- Ehem.

- Honestly, what do you expect?

- Common sense? Listening to his elders? A learning curve?

- Ehem.

- I know….I know.

Cale was not impressed with the conversation going on without his consent.

‘What do you want me to do?! I’m not going to!’

Cale was getting extremely annoyed.

‘Not a single word,’ Cale complained to his ancient powers.

- …

- …

- Sob.

He could feel his body going past its limits. His sight started to get blurry.

Cael saw someone rushing past him at that moment.

“We must s, save them.”

He could see a human jumping toward that black light, no, that black swamp while speaking with a stutter.
It was Mary.

The black robe was heading toward the black light. Her instincts as a necromancer were telling her something.

‘This is a darker and more terrible power that is at a completely different level than the golem’s cores. This is dangerous.’

The people below would die and even Raon might struggle.
Cale also had no strength right now.

“This looks bad,” Karin said. Her voice was tainted by fear as she gripped her father’s arm. He had gone pale as well, imagining this level of destruction aimed at their home.

‘Bad’ would have been Adin using a sword and joining the fray. Another use for ‘bad’ would be Adin and his soldiers escaping unharmed, spreading the word of the Roan Kingdom’s unfaithful actions.

This wasn’t bad.

Disastrous couldn’t describe what they were seeing.

Mary was relying on her instincts to bring up the memories that were deep inside of her as she started to move.
She then reached her hand toward the black light.

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiizle.

It happened in a split moment. The back of her hand started to burn the moment it touched the black light.
Mary could feel the tips of her fingers starting to shake.
An immense power was coming to her.

It was something that was stronger than her.
It was like when she had first met Raon, no, when she had first met Eruhaben.
However, Mary kept her hand out.

< Necromancers are weaker than black mages. >

She recalled the line she read in the book.

< However, we are able to purify their powers. Unfortunately, it comes at a price. >

It was not free.
There was a cost to purify it.
It was the moment Mary saw the back of her hand burning and realized what that price would be.

“Mary!” Tasha shouted. She grabbed onto the one sitting next to her, who had her eyes glued to the screen. “Are you crazy?!”

Mary thought about it seriously.

“Probably,” she admitted with a monotone expression. Tasha pinched her cheek. This wasn’t the answer she was hoping for, even though it was the truth.

“You are in danger, Mary.” Tasha couldn’t separate the two versions. Her frazzled mind could only see the damage this action could cause.

Mary’s heroism wasn’t missed. Her first thought had been “I have to save them,” and not “I have to save myself.” Almost shamefully, many nobles realized that once again, they just thought about not wanting to end up there, avoiding the battle and the consequences, yet this girl, who wasn’t even thirty yet, thought about the people first.

“No wonder she became a hero,” one noble muttered.

Another complimented her as well, “She is incredibly brave.”

Their praise was useless since it was just lip service. In a minute or two, they would go back to snobbishly acting as if they were better than anyone else.

“Are you crazy?”

She withdrew her hand after a weak hand grabbed her.
A hand that was shaking as it did not have enough strength had grabbed her. Cale started to speak the moment Mary saw the red blood coming out of Cale’s mouth.

“Don’t hurt yourself to do that.”

“Hypocrite.” Sui Khan coughed, intentionally loud.

“Realist,” Cale countered.

“Idiot.“ Choi Jung Soo finished.

Alberu ended the whole conversation. His fingers were pinching his brow, as he rather emptily pointed out, “You – of all people – you, decided to say exactly that? I am so past this point.”

Naturally, Alberu was glad Cale and Raon were with Mary. Between the three of them, not a single cell or bone harbored any selfish thoughts, especially ones that would leave allies and friends behind.

Three peas in a pod.

If only some reason had joined them.

Choi Han didn’t count. He was just as bad as the other three.

Mary could see a silver light surround her and Cale at the same time. A small black Dragon also appeared in the area that was surrounded by the black light.

“Mary, I’m sorry! I can’t save the black skeleton bird too!”

Raon had covered Cale, Mary, and himself with a silver shield.
Two layers, three layers, four layers. He covered them in four layers of shields as he continued on.

“We are too close to the explosion, so the three of us is my limit! I’m sorry black skeleton bird!”

Mary could see Raon supporting Cale’s back.

“Human! I put a shield under us as well! You are an idiot! You are more of an idiot than the talkative Hilsman! You’re more of an idiot than Toonka!”

Whereas Toonka and Hilsman from Side B met the comment with a raised brow and some questions, Toonka crossed his arms, nodding along to what Raon was saying.

Mary could see the silver shield getting eaten up by the loud explosion and the black light.
Mary subconsciously supported Cale and Raon’s backs.

“Thanks Mary!”

She could faintly hear Raon’s voice through the explosion and could feel Cale leaning on her.

If they weren’t in danger of dying a rather gruesome death, many would coo at the adorable sight.

Such a level of trust was unheard of in many and even less shown by them.

“He trusts easily,” Ron said.

Bud nodded, his thumb pointed to the back of the table, where Clopeh was sitting. He didn’t need to say anything. Clopeh was proof that Cale either had immensely low standards or he knew how to turn even the worst enemy into a loyal ally. Maybe both.

Trust was easy to take, yet hard to give.

Cale gave out his heart and trust as if they were free candy, gaining the support he gave back tenfold. It was honestly quite scary.

Mary could suddenly see something.
She could see it even though everything outside the silver shield was dyed black, the shield was shaking and then breaking, and Raon was recreating the shields.
She could see something from the black thing outside.

Mary saw the path she needed to take.

She would become stronger.
She would become unrivaled in strength.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang-!

She did not close her eyes even as she heard the explosion.

The black light shot down along with the explosion as if it wanted to attack the people.
People had dropped their weapons long ago.
The soldiers were putting their hands on the ground or clasping their shaking hands to pray.

“I wonder if they prayed to any of us,” The God of Death contemplated. No prayer had reached him. Then again, praying to the God of Death to avoid death was rather contradictory.

Angelina stayed suspiciously quiet, while the God of War made a so-so motion with his hand.

“Praying and expecting miracles. They asked for many things, yet this was the first time many had uttered my name. Why should I help them when I am just a convenient tool?” The God of War complained.

His voice echoed, resembling the cries of soldiers during war. He thrived on battles and war, enjoying every blood that painted the earth a blooming red. Yet, senseless slaughter wasn’t war. It wasn’t art. That’s why he had his shelters, allowing those who would disgrace the battlefield to seek shelter.

There wasn’t any “out of the goodness of his heart,” or even a “merciful” god. War was brutal. It always demanded victims. One was a hero on one side, while they played the monster on the other side.

Crossing his arms, the uncaring god didn’t pay any mind to the looks the other gods were giving him. Angelina hadn’t said a single word, keeping her brilliantly gleaming eyes locked on the screen.

The God of Death hummed.

Not a single one appeared human during this exchange.

The black light was still not disappearing.
It looked ready to come down at any moment.

“…S, shield-”

However, they could see a faint light that was blocking that black light from coming in.
It seemed extremely thin and weak compared to that overwhelming black light.

Baaaaaang! Baaaaang!

The silver shield shook over and over.
The silver light weakened and strengthened over and over again in order to hinder the black light.

“…Cale.”

Toonka, the Whipper Kingdom’s Commander, was blankly staring at the sky and the large silver shield. The shield was created with the Empire’s dirt wall at the center. The black light looked ready to gobble up the dirt wall.
Furthermore, he was certain that he had seen Cale and Mary who were the closest to Honte being swallowed by the black light.
Toonka slowly started to walk toward the spot Honte would fall.

The remaining Empire’s forces, as well as the valiantly charging Whipper Kingdom’s forces, had all forgotten about the battle.

The black light slowly disappeared.
Finally, they could see the clear sky again.

They stood in complete silence.

The thin barrier separating them as opponents vanished a long time ago. Together, they stood as survivors.

Next to Toonka were a few Empire soldiers, helplessly trying to understand what had just transpired. They survived? But at what cost?

Betrayed by their country, tossed aside like garbage by the very person they followed and admired, and left to die a death so gruesome that not even the gods could save them.

“How are Mary and the rest?” Obante asked with a shaking voice.

Paaaat-

The silver shield slowly became faint before it disappeared.
Plop. Toonka let go of his club.

Screeeeeech- screeeeeeech-

A large white skeleton bird cut through the clouds in the sky and quickly fell down once the darkness disappeared. It stopped once in the air before coming all the way down.

Everybody moved aside to let it descend.
Clopeh, the commander of the white skeleton birds who had escaped to the sky while the black light covered the ground, put the people who were in the white skeleton bird’s beak down on the ground.

“Huff, huff.”

Cale sat down on the ground and tried to catch his breath before looking up.
He could see Toonka’s face. He had that expression of a children’s cartoon protagonist again. However, Cale didn’t even have the strength to frown at that.

Raon had turned invisible at some point and Mary was supporting him.
He had no strength left in his body.

“I have never seen him so close to death before,” Deruth whispered. A gust of wind could carry away his sentence, so weak and helplessly it was muttered. Even worse, he corrected himself not even a second later. The words got stuck in his throat as he recalled his son’s face and body after the hero, Choi Han, had beaten him up.

So far, everyone has just jokingly mentioned it. A past situation, one where his son was in the wrong and had to apologize. Even Kim Rok Soo had skipped over the event with a nonchalant shrug.

Choi Han had held back, yes, but for a man who could smash through a wall at the beginning of his journey with the other Cale, breaking someone's body was an easy feat. Broken bones, one even shattered, accompanied by lacerations across his abdomen. The scar that ran across his stomach, a permanent reminder of Choi Han's deed, was also not drawn on.

Cale had suffered.

With worry, Deruth realized he never openly asked how Cale was doing. He never talked to his son; instead, he just silently sent some doctors and the most comfortable bed sheets and pillows.

It must have hurt a lot. Cale endured it all alone.

What a garbage father he was.

Seeing the pale and shaken face of Cale Henituse on the screen, Deruth couldn’t help but draw parallels.

– You should have just left it to the Dragon. Why did you use the shield?

The Super Rock’s concerned voice could be heard.

‘Then what do you want me to do?
You want the Whipper Kingdom’s forces, the Empire’s forces, and everyone else on the continent to know about Raon just because Arm realized the existence of a Dragon?’

He couldn’t let that happen.

That was why he pulled out the last remaining bit of his strength to use the ancient power.

Cale’s worry for his child would be cute if he weren’t, you know, one step away from walking into his self-made grave.

“Is he always this way?” Alberu asked, slightly exasperated. He could feel some gray hairs growing by just watching the shitshow and the utter lack of care Cale had for himself, yet he treated his friends and family as if they were made out of glass when in reality he was the one close to shattering after stubbing his toe.

Multiple people answered, “Yes.”

Well then.

The Super Rock continued to speak.

– Why don’t you just be honest?

He sounded full of pity for Cale.

– Just say you moved while following your instincts.

Cale bit down on his lips and ignored him.

- …

- Cale, dear. Sob. Sob.

- Old man is right, you know that? That’s why you are ignoring him.

- Man, you are fucked. Ahahahaha.

Why did his brain not have a mute button Cale could use? As much as he liked having them around, sometimes he wished for merciful silence.

He ignored them all, just because he could.

It was annoying to listen to the nagging when he had no strength.

‘Plus, I’m fine.’

“If that is ‘fine,’ I worry for whatever he sees as actual injuries,” Bud commented lightly. His brow had risen through Cale’s self-delusion journey to the top of his hairline, vanishing beneath blue strands of hair.

“I don’t think we want to find out.” Adding salt to the injury, Glenn didn’t hold back with his comment. Even Valentino had something to add, “I am not sure if he is just lying to himself or actually believing what he is thinking. I don’t like either answer.”

However, there was a different concern on his mind. It was an extremely serious concern.
That concern soon revealed itself to Cale.

“Cale-nim.”

Clopeh Sekka. That bastard got off of the white skeleton bird and approached Cale.

“Cale-nim, you were truly a hero! A legend! No, you were even more than that.”

‘Ah, he’s driving me nuts.’

It was slightly awkward because the Fire of Destruction had been stronger than he had expected. But he ended up using the shield as well.
This was something even he had not expected.

His goal was for Mary to capture the Tower Master and for Choi Han to capture the Imperial Prince.
He had thought that would have equally spread the merits of this battle.
But now, he might end up as a hero among heroes at this rate. He needed to prevent that from happening.

“He is sounding too logical. I assume the next sentence will be about becoming a slacker and shoving the glory onto someone else’s back.” Alberu was sure of his assessment and didn’t do much but blink once the screen confirmed his guess, not even a second later.

All he could do was sigh, accidentally repeating the same sentence Cale had thought, which he had stolen from Alberu.

‘Ah, he’s driving me nuts.’

‘…I need to become just a small hero so that I can retire without any issues before I go live in a remote corner of the world.’

Cale had a small hope like that again, as usual.

Even the text was mocking him.

Toonka held back a giggle. A manly giggle, of course. His face scrunched up as he barely held onto Cale’s dignity and did not burst out laughing. It was a harsh battle, one Toonka knew would either be washed away by the next tragedy or, if Cale continued thinking, make him burst at the seams.

His friend was smart, no doubt, yet Toonka looked at him with pity.

Cale’s brows furrowed dangerously.

Even Toonka was mocking him now.

However, everything turned dark in front of him.

“…Cale.”

Toonka was looking at him.
The Whipper Kingdom’s forces were looking at him as well.
Furthermore, the Empire’s forces that had lost their commander were looking at him.

The soldiers were watching Cale’s weak appearance before turning away. That led them to see the empty area that was swept with the black light as Cale’s shield was not around it.
They believed that this would be what hell looked like if hell was to be visible from the world.

The soldiers turned their gazes back toward Cale.
Cale was debating what to do about this.

‘I didn’t expect that Imperial Prince bastard to throw his soldiers away.
No, I didn’t expect him to make them into sacrifices for the explosion.’

Cale never expected Adin to try to kill them all.
He really was a thoroughly crazy bastard.

Clopeh approved of the worshipping gazes the Empire soldiers currently displayed. During the battle and afterward as well, he had been too busy looking at Cale, as well as worrying about the state of his legend, to pay any mind to the soldiers.

Thinking about it, he should pay them a visit soon.

Clopeh wanted to do better as well. It shouldn’t be that Cale had to suffer so much, not when he had so many people by his side. Staring at his hands, the broken man’s eyes followed the lines across his hands. Hands that weren’t his, but he would make them his own.

The dead mana was always a constant presence inside of him. He could feel it in his veins, pulsating through his body, making him stronger.

Clopeh just had to find a way to access this new strength.

However, that bastard had teleported and Cale was too busy protecting the people from the explosion to catch him.
Furthermore, he had thought that Honte was the Tower Master. He had been tricked there as the Tower Master’s true body was somewhere else.

“He sounds angry, “Choi Jung Soo said. “It isn’t often that someone outsmarts our cute Cale and his brilliantly devious mind.”

“Well,” Sui Khan agreed, leaning back in his chair until his back popped satisfyingly, “the payback will be even more brutal, as we have already seen.”

Cale liked to act like he didn’t care about anything. Most of the time, it was somewhat true, but his mind and planning ability were both something even Cale knew was monstrous in its own right. Getting duped by a literal monster in human flesh, of course, Cale would be angry.

He was angry.

How could he not be angry since this oversight could have cost him his people?

While Cale gets annoyed quickly when people take his stuff, especially shiny stuff and food, he will walk the path of homicidal rage, as simmering as a waiting volcano yet as explosive as one that bursts free.

Cale’s wrath was something beautiful - morbidly beautiful, because it only showed up when someone threatened his people.

Even if they hadn’t already seen the future that awaited Adin, Sui Khan and Choi Jung Soo knew that the prince had crossed a line he should have never touched in the first place.

“Cale-nim, I’m sorry.”

He could see Choi Han through his blurry vision.
Choi Han had his head down and seemed to not know what to do.

“Huuu, for what?”

It happened as Cale took a deep breath and barely managed to ask. He saw something fall to the ground.

Plop.
Cale’s eyes opened wide after barely managing to see what it was.

“Did he pick up a stone or something?” One noble asked, scoffing loudly.

He suddenly became fully alert.

‘Huh?
This is?’

Choi Han lowered his head and started to speak once Cale turned toward him.

“I hesitated during the explosion and did not manage to catch the Imperial Prince.”

‘Huh, well, that’s fine. It’s fine since Raon couldn’t help either.’

The corners of Cale’s mouth slowly started to go up.

“That is why I caught this person who was the last one to teleport.”

Vice Tower Master Metelona was tied up on the ground.

“…”

Why was he sorry again?

The Vice Tower Master was in a sorry condition. Her limbs were tied as if she were an ugly parcel that had to be shipped off without corners breaking. Hands and feet were stuck together, while her expression could be summarized with: What the fuck?!

Even the Cale on the screen blinked a few times, losing the angry edge to his eyes as clarity took over once again.

“Choi Han, you are one scary bastard, you know that, right?” Bud complimented him from the other side of the room. The innocent smile he got in return sent shivers down his spine.

Even his counterpart was impressed.

Could he have done the same? Choi Han didn’t think about the physical aspect, but rather, could he do the same when he also fulfilled the commander position? His counterpart moved across the battlefield without looking at others. He got a job and would do his best to see it done.

Meanwhile, Choi Han’s role was to oversee the battlefield and always keep an eye on everything. At this point, he wouldn’t dare to dream of having the same kind of strategic ability as Cale, yet would Choi Han also be able to find a way out?

He doubted it.

Cale and Choi Han worked so well together because they had absolute trust in each other. Cale led, Choi Han followed.

He couldn’t do that. His role, the taste of commanding and being the one who questions others, once he tried it, a part of Choi Han desired to be in control. His fingers itched to send out orders, see the faces of his people, and even though the burden was heavy of having lives depend on him, Choi Han got used to the weight. If he suddenly let go of all of it, he would miss something.

It annoyed him to admit it, but he understood how General Wetton, for example, couldn’t let go of his desire for power. Once a commander, you will always want this place.

Even Cale, who was so used to people following his orders, would struggle with just receiving them.

Choi Han lowered his head again.

Plop.
Something else fell to the ground.
He continued in an apologetic tone.

“I apologize. I couldn’t capture or kill the Imperial Prince.”

Cale couldn’t help but laugh at what he could make out with his blurry vision.

“Instead, I cut off his right leg. I also cut around the right side of his heart with aura.”

Choi Han was apologizing while dropping Adin’s leg on the ground.

The wet plopping sound was heard loudly as nobody dared to say anything.

It lasted for a solid second, in which Cale, on the screen, delved into hysterical laughter. His anger was forgotten after Choi Han admitted to crippling Adin.

‘T, t, this viciously crazy bastard!’

Cale was flabbergasted at this unbelievable main character of, ‘The Birth of a Hero.’ He could also see Clopeh walk over and hand him something.

“What’s this?”

Clopeh quietly answered his question.

“It is a video recording orb I had on me to leave a record of the legend.”

‘Perhaps?’

Clopeh opened his shoulders up a bit and responded back to this rare look of anticipation on Cale’s face.

“The explosion of the golems and Honte. All of it is recorded here.”

Clopeh’s eyes curled up like a snake as he continued to speak.

“You will not be at a disadvantage in the battle for justification, no, the battle for truth on the Western continent in the future.”

“T, this smartly crazy bastard!’

Cale raised his head.

Disbelieving eyes stared at Clopeh, who had just managed to casually reveal a way to clear the Roan Kingdom’s image.

“If we keep recording orbs with us at all times, we could paint the narrative of our allied forces fighting against the Empire in a new, better light,” Prince John said excitedly.

Alberu was busy scribbling on his paper, having wanted to bash his head on the table when Clopeh revealed the easy answer to a lot of problems. He would give Choi Han an exclusive one, Rosalyn as well. They would be charged by Rosalyn every so often and hopefully catch a lot of information, as well as crimes of the enemies.

Why hadn’t they thought about using them more often?!

Meanwhile, two certain nobles were chatting.

“Why do I have the sneaking suspicion that this isn’t the last time he whipped out the recording device?”

“What made you think this way?”

“Well, he was far too smooth. He practiced a lot. Also, imagine somewhere in the future, one big battle, and the young master once again wants to appear as if he did nothing, yet Sir Clopeh took a video and projected it to the whole world.”

“..I would pity the young master because if that actually happened, he is, nicely put, fucked.”

“Ahahaha, yes.”

“Seems unlikely though.”

“I can feel it in my bones.”

“I am not even going to question that statement.”

Cale continued to laugh.
He lowered his head back down.

“Mm.”

He felt the world shake for a moment.
The ground and the sky were spinning as if he was lacking blood.

– Human!

A small front paw supported him.
Mary supported him as well.

Cale lifted his head up.
He could see the Empire’s forces and the Whipper Kingdom’s forces looking at him, but he saw his group first.

He started to speak.
He focused his blurry vision and tried his best to get the words out.

“Choi Han.”
“Yes Cale-nim.”

Cale spoke quietly but firmly.
It was the most important thing right now.
He could not allow something like the golems or Honte to happen again.
That was the most urgent situation.

Ron knew what was coming, yet he angrily clicked his tongue at Cale’s next words. The petty desire to serve his young master some lemon-flavored beverage rose quickly. Of course, Ron didn’t act on it…yet.

Beacrox had wandered off, making a new batch of snacks for their household. The wolf kids had gotten a bit cranky, and his kind son got up without another comment.

“We will head to the Jungle first.”
“…Yes, Cale-nim, I understand.”

Cale closed his eyes as Choi Han respectfully answered back.

“Cale-nim!”
“Cale!”
“Young master-nim!”
– Human! You good but idiotic human! This is not okay! Cale!

Cale could hear the voices but could not open his eyes.
He started to think.

‘Ah, I’m fainting. Damn it.’

Everything then turned black.

The screen faded to black, mirroring Cale’s unconscious state.

“So, he fainted.” Lock said, before pettily adding, “Again.”

Rosalyn just nodded. Her hair had gotten frizzy from all the head shaking and emotional ups and downs during the last few hours. A whole new battle was up ahead until the timeline matched what they had previously watched. She desperately needed a break. Just a bit more.

She was getting dizzy from all the whiplash and the onslaught of information.

A cup of tea was pushed in her direction. Rosalyn gladly accepted the offered drink, touching Choi Han’s rough hand for a second before grabbing the cup with both hands.

“Exhausting, isn’t it?” He said, his voice sounding tired. It didn’t fit with his young face.

“Do you think we even have a will to fight left after seeing more and more feats of the other world?” She was hesitant in her question, not knowing if she was alone in her exhaustion or if Choi Han felt the same.

Pursing his lips, Choi Han answered, “I don’t know.”

He really didn’t know. Whenever he thought he had let go of his jealousy, of his anger, and of his unhealthy desire to achieve the same, his counterpart and his merry band would do something even more ridiculous.

The Adin situation, for example.

Choi Han had already been in awe that his counterpart had distracted and engaged Adin, thinking he could do the same. The other wasn’t a swordmaster, but his skills and mind were nothing to laugh at. Imperial Prince Adin was an opponent Choi Han thought he could be confident in facing alone, as the other’s strength relied on the monstrosities he created along the way.

Yet when he cheerfully teleported away, Choi Han thought, ‘Damn.’ At least, his counterpart managed to distract him, right? Not only did he distract him, but he looped off a leg. That was more than doing his job.

Could he do the same?

Choi Han couldn’t say.

“We are in this together, okay?” Rosalyn’s gentle voice brought him out of his spiraling thoughts. A callused hand touched his own. He gripped hers tightly without hurting her, feeling her anchor him like a lifeline would.

“Always.”

The scene wasn’t done yet.

The screen came back to life, showing the next scene.

Were they ready? No.

Did they have another option? Also no.

Tap, tap.
Cale started to frown after feeling someone slapping his cheeks.

Tap, tap.
This hand that was rudely slapping his cheek made him upset.

‘I remember fainting, but who is slapping my cheeks?’

“Haaaa.”

Cale slowly opened his eyes after letting out a deep sigh.
He then became anxious.

“…What the hell?”
“Kim Rok Soo! You bastard, hurry up and snap out of it!”
“Huh- Jung Soo, why are you here-?”

Cale flinched and touched his neck.

‘This voice is-
Kim Rok Soo’s voice.’

The person in front of him was Choi Jung Soo, someone who started work at the same time as he did. And he looked younger than Cale last remembered. This clueless face was definitely when this punk was in his twenties.

“What?”

This was the first time they saw Cale in his old body. He looked good, exhausted and slightly bloody, but what he was lacking currently - Cale’s muscles – were more than present in this body. He wasn’t as muscular as Kim Rok Soo’s current body, but healthier and less in danger of just falling over.

Still too thin, though.

“What is this situation?” Alberu asked. He hadn’t known that Cale dreamed or experienced something involving his old world. The other never said anything.

“A memory.”

He was still dreaming then. A heavy mood settled over the group. Naturally, Choi Jung Soo missed the memo.

Draping his arms over Cale, he hugged the physically younger man like an octopus would with its next squeeze toy.

“You dreamed about me!” He shouted, rubbing his face into Cale’s hair.

Cale couldn’t dislocate him, even if he tried, so he didn’t attempt anything. The hug felt nice. Alive. Cale could feel the blood rushing through Choi Jung Soo’s body. His heart was beating, his face was flushed, and his chest was rising and falling rhythmically.

What a nice hug.

Cale felt his hot forehead and rubbed his cheeks. His forehead was bleeding.

He lowered his head only to find that his black work outfit that was made from advanced materials was ripped in multiple places and that he was bleeding.

“Ah.”

Cale remembered this moment.
Choi Jung Soo lifted him up at that moment.

“Hey! Let’s go! Why would someone who uses their head like you come to the battlefield instead of staying in the back? You stupid bastard! Did you think that you coming here would help us?”
“Move.”
“What? You bastard, I told you, this is not the time to be out of it!”

‘I know.
I know it’s not the time to do that right now.’

Cale lifted his body up and turned around.
He could then see it.
He could see the few buildings that they had barely managed to rebuild being destroyed while monsters were coming out of a black hole in the sky.
He could see the burning Korean sky.

“Damn it.”

‘It’s that moment.’

It was something that happened when he entered this, ‘company.’ It was something that happened during his first year.

Grade 1 monsters suddenly appeared in section C-1 of Korea.
The abilities user’s guild responsible for the area and the hunter bastards had all run away, leaving the company employees to come to hold out until someone showed up from the government.

“…Team leader.”

Kim Rok Soo, Cale, could see his team leader and sunbaes from his first year at the job. They were all focusing on defense in order to stop the monsters.

A dreary sky and a monster-infested street. Buildings collapsed with corpses lying underneath the rubble, forgotten by time or eaten as a snack later. A sense of utter despair coated the streets, sticking to the survivors like dead mana.

Some nobles of Side A couldn’t handle the sight. They barely made it to the side before vomiting. With a green hue on their faces, the scene of the other world was branded into their minds.

“That’s what your world looks like?” Rosalyn asked, aghast.

“It got better. This was many years ago, when humanity was on the brink of destruction. Shelters were built, yet they lacked the safety needed to soothe people’s minds,” Sui Khan explained patiently.

“It was hell,” Choi Jung Soo admitted. He still hadn’t let go of Cale.

The one this scene was about remained quiet. His reddish-brown eyes were blown wide as he recorded the instance. It was already branded into his memory, forever haunting him at every step. He just couldn’t look away.

“We managed, though,” Sui Khan continued. “It took years and many lives, but humanity recovered.”

Them included. Choi Jung Soo and Lee Soo Hyuk were two of many who laid down their lives to create a better future.

They weren’t included in "Humanity has recovered.”

He had been weak back then.
His ability had activated properly later, but he was just a green newbie at this time.
That was why he could do nothing before having to run.

“Ability?”

Side B was confused.

“Like Ancient Powers or something?”

Judging by the pale faces of Cale’s friends, it wasn’t anything pretty.

Kim Rok Soo, who had become Cale Henituse, his past was still shrouded in mystery. Just who was he, and what kind of life did he live?

Some hoped to get answers, while others never wanted to catch another glimpse of that apocalyptic world.

“Hehe-”

Cale naturally realized it.

‘I’m dreaming.
But it had to be this damned dream.
Why did I have to have this dream after fainting during my fight with the Empire and Honte?’

“Unlucky bastard,” Eruhaben said.

Mila pursed her lips while Dodori sat at the edge of his chair. Even Rasheel eyed the screen with an odd look.

“Hey! Hurry up! You stupid bastard who hasn’t even fully activated his ability! If you weren’t my one and only fellow first-year! Sigh!”

Cale remembered what he had said in the past when Choi Jung Soo had supported and dragged him out of here.
Kim Rok Soo in his twenties had said the following.

‘I’m going to kill all of those damned bastards and be a slacker for the rest of my life with my pension.

‘I’m definitely going to do it.
I’m going to kill all the monsters.
I’m also going to kill the ability guild members who got all the advantages we gave them to protect the citizens and defend against the monsters but ran away when we actually needed them to do something.
I’m going to kill them all.

‘…And then I’ll live peacefully in a peaceful world.’

Sui Khan smiled a sad smile.

His young face shifted into sorrow as he could feel the impact those situations had on Kim Rok Soo. The beginning of the apocalypse had been brutal, yet the real fight came when humanity built itself back up. Politicians and wannabe leaders came out of their holes and started claiming resources and people for selfish reasons.

Their whole structure, as fragile as it was, almost collapsed again. The rich became rich once more, while those who suffered fell even lower. It didn’t matter how many people patrolled, not when the truly powerful people had been placed next to politicians as bodyguards. Those people never left the safe areas, so how could the fighters kill any monsters?

People like Kim Rok Soo, Lee Soo Hyuk, and Choi Jung Soo were the unfortunate ones who ended up on the battlefield.

Cale repeated those same words again.

“I’m going to kill all of those damn bastards and then rest. I will definitely live a peaceful life.”

The Empire and Arm.
Why were there so many damn bastards in the world who don’t even deserve to be called humans?

“Why are there so many people who are even worse than I am?!”

When Cale, no, when Kim Rok Soo in his twenties had shouted that, he saw that Choi Jung Soo was looking at him.
Choi Jung Soo had responded back.

“Shut up, you bastard! Just take better care of yourself!”
“Hehehe.”

Cale laughed as he casually commented to his fellow newbie, Choi Jung Soo.

“You should do that first.”
“I’m better than you at that.”

Cale could not help but laugh at Choi Jung Soo’s response.

‘So why does someone better than me end up dying first?’

Cale was extremely annoyed. He knew that it was a dream from the moment he saw Choi Jung Soo, his sunbaes, and his former team leader. It made no sense.

It was something the Kim Rok Soo who was in his thirties and was now the team leader could not imagine.

Sui Khan grabbed Cale’s hand with one of his while his other moved to the back of Cale’s head, where Choi Jung Soo’s arms rested. The three were touching each other, not saying a single word.

Just as it had been hard for Kim Rok Soo to continue living alone, Lee Soo Hyuk and Choi Jung Soo entered the service of the God of Death, knowing they left Kim Rok Soo behind. They knew their youngest all too well and hated every second they were apart.

“Soon, we will be back together. I promise,” Choi Jung Soo said convincingly. He knew more than the other two, although Sui Khan was aware of what he was speaking of.

Cale had no idea, but he liked the sound of it.

Choi Jung Soo had responded back.

“Hey! Don’t you know our team leader’s motto?”

‘How could I not?’

Cale knew it too well.

“Being alive is the best! Why don’t you take those words to heart, huh?”

He had indeed taken it to heart.

“Hey, the team leader says he’s going to own a farm once he retires. I’m going to own an orchard next to him.”

He had scoffed at Choi Jung Soo back then.

‘How can you say something so relaxed in a situation like this?’

That made Choi Jung Soo let out his unique clueless laugh as he answered back.
He said the same thing he was saying in this dream.

“What do you want to do?”

‘What else could it be?
I want to be a slacker.
Damn it.’

Cale felt his annoyance and anger filling up along with the hidden emotions deep within him, making him even angrier.
He closed his eyes. He then shouted.

“Damn it! I’m going to destroy it all!”

Choi Han, the last Korean of the group, watched his young nephew and best friend interact. He was glad his family had found friends like Cale, and he was even more glad that he received the same honor of getting to know him.

He wasn’t alone – be it in his new home or his old one.

Unlike the Korean squad, the other Choi Han had never felt more alone. This was the first image he got from his old world. The joy of seeing skyscrapers and asphalt streets was quickly replaced by horror at the state humanity had fallen into.

He then opened his eyes.
He couldn’t help but blink.
The surroundings had changed.
The falling buildings, the company employees, and the running citizens were all not there.

He saw something else instead.
Cale subconsciously started to smile.

“…H, human?”

He could see round dark blue eyes in front of him. He could also see a front paw shaking from shock. That front paw had stopped while trying to put a towel on Cale’s forehead.
Cale started to think.

‘Ah, I finally woke up.’

Raon puffed out his chest. He was the first person his human saw after waking up! That had to have made his day, Raon decided. His chubby cheeks were pressed into Eruhaben’s chest as he excitedly stared at the screen.

Raon didn’t know how his human lived before he came to rescue him, but the little dragon prided himself on knowing exactly how their lives went after they found each other.

“I will take good care of our human so that he won’t be alone ever again!” He decided, cheerfully sharing his master plan with Eruhaben, who gazed at him with care. The golden dragon’s smile looked brighter than the sun as he patted the excited youngling's head.

“Of course, I will also watch out for the unlucky bastard since two dragons are better than one.”

Raon nodded sagely.

“Three,” he added after a thought. “We also have the Dragon Half-Blood! You can’t forget him, Goldie Gramps! The other dragons as well. We are family.”

The Dragon Half-Blood blinked away some stray tears, sniffing softly.

It was at that moment.

– How vicious.

‘Hmm?’

He heard a familiar voice.

Cale first tried to figure out what he could see.
First, he could see the shocked Raon, as well as Vice-Captain Hilsman who was holding the basin of water with a cloth in it.

He turned his head to the side to see a small round table.
Saint Jack and Clopeh Sekka were sitting there with Crown Prince Alberu connected through the video communication device.

The table was quite bright.

Three light bulbs were just sitting there, with at least Alberu not physically present.

“I don’t envy you,” Cale said, muttering under his breath.

Alberu’s eyebrows twitched. “Me neither.”

Innocent Jack and homicidal Clopeh, who was this close to going on a massacre because Cale wasn’t waking up. Alberu had some moments, pinching his brow and contemplating all life choices that led him there, where he just wanted to push the communication orb off the table and call it a day.

He didn’t, but the thought was there.

– What amazing sleep talking.

Alberu seemed very calm.
Most people would think he looked like a benign grandfather who had come with his grandson on a field trip.

“Excuse me?”

“…”

Ron found the description very amusing, Alberu not so much.

Alberu started to speak with that benign smile on his face.

– ‘Damn it! I’m going to destroy it all!’ is what you said, right?

The crown prince subconsciously asked even though Clopeh and the others were in the room as well.

– What are you going to do after destroying it all?

Cale looked around.
Everybody was fine. That was the important part.
They were inside a small barracks.
Cale responded back.

“Live as a slacker, your highness.”

Silence filled the area.
Even Clopeh shook his head at Cale.

The last part was somehow more insulting than the rest. Cale frowned heavily. His eyelids dropped as his mouth corners drew a straight line.

Cale ignored all of their gazes. Crown prince Alberu who knew about Cale’s long-desired hope was smiling with a, ‘too bad,’ type of expression, but he ignored that and started to speak.

Seeing his counterpart being so open with the young master, Alberu couldn’t help but try to draw parallels. Did he have anyone besides his aunt for whom he could shed his disguise? Not really.

Did he want anyone? Also, not really.

Now wasn’t the time anymore. The stress and the danger of the upcoming wars were already bad enough; he didn’t have the time nor the energy to try to make friends along the way.

The kingdom came first before the individual Alberu Crossman.

“Did Choi Han, Mary, and Miss Rosalyn go?”

Raon responded back.

“That’s right! The three of them headed to the Jungle first!”

His eyes headed toward Alberu who was on the other side of the video communication device. Alberu immediately started to speak once they made eye contact.

– You’ve only fainted for three hours.
“It’s already been three hours, I see.”

Alberu smiled at Cale’s description. It was obvious to him what this punk was trying to say.

– The Breck Kingdom, Whipper Kingdom, Roan Kingdom, and the three Northern Kingdoms will all make a declaration tonight.

‘As expected.’

Cale was certain that Alberu would have done something during these past three hours.

– We will announce that black magic has returned to the world.

“With the recordings, they have enough proof of the Empire’s questionable ethics. Publishing it now, when the Empire is attacking the Jungle, will lower the morale,” Zed Crossman mused. His chin rested comfortably on his hand as he analyzed the political minefield Alberu and Cale were casually creating.

Well, they already saw how Adin reacted. Instead, his curiosity wandered to the battle in the Jungle. Imperial Prince Adin had unleashed golems as well as shown what kind of existence the Tower Master was. Whatever would happen in the Jungle, tons of dead mana would be involved.

It made even more sense, considering the Jungle thrived on its nourishing grounds, large trees, and other smaller plants. Dumping dead mana there would crush a whole ecosystem alongside the inhabitants of the Jungle.

Zed clicked his tongue.

Cale sat up on the bed.
“I will head to the Jungle now.”

The place with a battle going on right now was the most important.
Alberu opened and closed his mouth a few times without saying anything. He had seen what Cale had done on the battlefield. Furthermore, he could imagine the toll that took on this punk without even seeing it.

However, they needed Cale’s strength in this battle, especially that power to destroy the golems.
The crown prince had something he wanted to say, but he didn’t know what he should say right now, so he could only open and close his mouth silently. He could see that Cale was looking at him.
Cale nonchalantly asked a question.

“Is the Roan Kingdom okay?”

The Roan Kingdom had chosen not to go to war.
However, they were now in the middle of one. The crown prince had no choice but to become the center of this war.
This was because the Roan Kingdom was the strongest nation after the Empire on the Western continent right now.

Alberu chuckled and responded back.

– Just worry about yourself, you stupid bastard.

The Roan Kingdom was the strongest nation after the Empire – this sentence resonated through many Roan nobles’ hearts. It was taunting them. The sweet promise of a possible future, yet they already missed half of the turns they needed to take to get there.

Cale’s worry for his friend wasn’t missed as well.

“How cute,” Choi Jung Soo cooed. The rest of him was still busy reenacting an octopus as he stuck to Cale like glue. Loud glue.

Sui Khan smiled with a teasing glint in his eyes. His lips valiantly fought a bigger smile as he said, “Jung Soo, watch out. Your position as sword brother has been stolen.”

“I can share. There is enough Cale for two people.”

Choi Han choked on his breath, while Alberu just smiled a princely smile in their direction.

Cale just nodded his head and motioned to Raon.
Raon immediately activated a teleportation magic circle. Saint Jack jumped on as well and Cale flicked his finger toward Hilsman.
He then looked toward Clopeh and asked.

“You know what to do, right?”
“Of course, Cale-nim. Chief Harol and Commander Toonka apologized for not being able to see you out.”

Clopeh stepped away from the teleportation magic circle as if it was obvious.

“I will take care of the Maple Castle business properly.”

Cale felt iffy after seeing Clopeh smile. Harol should be able to deal with Clopeh properly, but he was a bit worried as he never knew what Clopeh would do next.

Valid point, considering he was thinking about the same man who whipped out a communication device as if it were as natural as breathing.

“You went as well?” Valentino asked, rather rudely. He addressed Jack, whose table was close enough to Valentino’s table that there was no need to shout.

Jack nodded.

Valentino recalled the Holy Twins of their world, before they vanished from the face of it and presumedly died a painful death. The Saint moved with heavy steps, which wouldn’t look out of place on an elderly man, yet Jack hadn’t even reached thirty. He would never reach thirty.

The one from the other world, alive and well, walked with a small bounce in his steps. His feet rolled off the ground in a comfortable way, as if he knew every burden that ended up on his shoulder would be shared by others.

Had Valentino been blissfully blind or intentionally ignoring the now obvious signs? Maybe he had just always been a coward.

Adin was a great actor, that was a fact, but how could Valentino have missed so much? And he wanted to be the next ruler of his country. Of course, he will still take the Caro Kingdom as it was his birthright, but the salty taste of reality alongside the view of what sweetness could taste like, Valentino was angry at himself.

Alberu said a couple of other things and Cale asked for something as well.

– You thought that far ahead?

Alberu was amazed and happily obliged.

– I will prepare it right away.

Cale was about to suck up to Alberu for the first time in a while after hearing that Alberu had taken care of things so well.

– Contact me at the Jungle. See you then.

Drip.
However, Alberu hung up.

Cale was used to the way they treated each other. Alberu had shown his own petty revenge for the dozens of times he had hung up on him first.

That and the crown prince probably interpreted the second of silence Cale needed to gear up for a wave of flattery the right way, ending the conversation before Cale could unleash the abomination of a sentence he had planned.

Meanwhile, the other world was busy discussing what Alberu was preparing for Cale.

Curse the narrative for not sharing what it was.

The scene changed as the people on the screen were teleported to a different location.

Cale closed his eyes after seeing the scenery change. He felt something odd happening to his body and soon opened his eyes.
He could then see it.

“…Raon, where is this?”
“The sky!”

They had teleported to the sky.
Cale felt the emptiness under his feet.

“The smart Rosalyn told me to come here!”

Cale asked once more after seeing what was in front of him.

“Where is this?”

He heard a different response this time.
He knew it was the sky, but which sky was this?

“Section 8 of the Jungle! She told us to come here!”

It was not Section 7 that the Empire invaded, but Section 8 which was underneath it.
Cale could hear Hilsman and Saint Jack’s voices behind him.

“My goodness! What is that-”
“Oh, lord.”

However, Cale didn’t have the time to look at the two of them.
He could tell why Rosalyn had told him to come here.

“Those fucking black magic bastards.”

“What has happened to my Jungle?!” Litana asked, her voice climbing an octave as anger and fear took over. She gripped the pen in her hand until a snap announced the item breaking. Black ink dripped from her fingers down at the table, creating a puddle of black liquid, resembling the dead mana they had watched previously.

The answer came soon after, as the first thing the screen showed them was a shower of red.

“No!”

Litana averted her eyes. She didn’t want to see her Jungle burn again, having lived through multiple torching instances. Those damn golems.

Different parts of Section 7 were on fire.
However, what caught Cale’s attention were the black human-shaped Golems that were shooting up through the trees of the Jungle.
There was a total of four golems.

These golems that were close to 20 meters tall were guarding Section 7 from the North, South, East, and West directions as if they were gatekeepers.
Furthermore, in the sky of Section 7.
There was a castle-shaped airship located above the palace at the center of Section 7. It was looking down at Section 7 from the center of the area as if it was keeping an eye on everything.

“What the fuck?”

It was Choi Han’s turn to drop his pen. It scattered onto the table, swirling some ink here and there, yet all Choi Han could do was stare with his mouth agape at the airship. This was not something he expected a fantasy world to have.

The imposing construct flew over the Jungle, taunting the despairing people below with its magnificent size.

“An airship?” He repeated, his voice cracked at the end.

Not to mention the building-sized golems. Hulking behemoths guarding the strategic exits of the Jungle, caging the inhabitants and Litana in as the fire advanced.

“They are aiming for total annihilation.” Rosalyn realized.

Lock summarized grimly, “They dropped all acts of playing nice.”

“You’re here?”

Cale could see Rosalyn flying up from down below.
She quickly flew up next to Cale and started to speak.

“…The Jungle’s forces and us have currently stopped attacking.”

Cale could understand why they stopped.
Rosalyn continued on with a bitter expression on her face.
“The citizens of Section 7 are currently being held hostage.”

The citizens of an entire section were being held as hostages.
There would be no way for the regular citizens to get past the four golems in each direction nor the careful watch of the airship in the sky.

“Section 7 of the Jungle has turned into a fortress.”

It was a closed-off fortress that nobody could go in nor out.
It was also like hell.
That was the current Section 7.

“Damn it!” Litana cursed.

Hostages? That fucking bastard took her people as hostages?! She slumped in her seat, anger not forgotten, yet it was washed away by despair. Of course, he took hostages. It was Imperial Prince Adin, a monster in human clothes, whom they were talking about.

She was just so exhausted.

Not only was it painful to watch as the Jungle of her counterpart burned, but all Litana could see were sections she lost ages ago, still somewhat whole and salvageable. Her wonderful Jungle had been halved a long time ago. It started after she failed to gain anything at the Path of No Return, burning her way out and being saved by Elisneh.

But she came too late. Many sections had turned into ash. The ground was tainted and burned. There won’t be anything growing during her time alive. Even charcoal had a better chance of growing something than her people in those sections.

Rosalyn could hear Cale calmly responding back at that moment.

“It is not a fortress. There is a path.”

Rosalyn observed Cale’s clear eyes.
There was bound to be a path somewhere.

“…Young master Cale-”

There is a path.
Rosalyn thought about that phrase and slowly called out to Cale. Cale gave a short response back to her.

“We just need to find a path.”

They just needed to find a path into Section 7.
There was bound to be a path for them to use.
A smile appeared on Rosalyn’s face to remove her bitter expression. She slowly started to speak.

“I’ve been waiting for you to say that.”
“There is a path, isn’t there?”

Cale immediately followed up with that question. His gaze was saying something to Rosalyn.

‘I’m sure that you would have found one.’

Rosalyn’s smile became even bigger.

“Of course.”

‘As expected of Rosalyn.’

Cale started to smile as well.

“But it looks like there is an issue.”

They had found a path, but there was a problem.
Rosalyn nodded her head and pointed down to the ground as she responded back.

“Let’s head down first and then chat.”

What kind of problem could there be?

“More golems?” A noble suggested.

“Guards, tons of guards,” another assumed.

A third one voiced an even more morbid possibility, “Dead mana.”

The horror of what the Empire had planned overshadowed the heartwarming atmosphere between Rosalyn and Cale. Both trusted each other blindly. Cale had full faith in Rosalyn that she would use the brain behind her pretty head, while she always believed in Cale, who would come running as soon as his people were in danger.

“Fiery Rosalyn is the best!” Raon cheered.

On and Hong meowed in agreement.

Section 8 of the Jungle.
It was located right under Section 7 where the palace was located, but not that many people lived in this section.

However, there were more people here today than ever before.

Shhhh- shhhhh-
Cale turned his head after hearing someone sharpening their sword.
One of the warriors was leaning on a tree while sharpening his blade.

‘Vicious.’

“It’s over here.”

Cale turned his head after hearing Rosalyn’s voice. Rosalyn opened the flap of a tent.
He could see what was going on inside.

“Cale-nim!”
“Young master-nim.”

Choi Han and Mary both jumped up.

Grrrrr-

A large black panther rushed over and rubbed his head on Cale. It was Litana’s black panther, Ten.

‘…Ah, so scary.’

Cale lightly patted the black panther Ten’s head before approaching the person who was sitting at the table and looking at him with a sad expression on her face.

“Long time no see, Miss Lina.”
“Young master Cale.”

Litana, the Queen of the Jungle.
She seemed so worn down and pale.

The two were both pale, lacking almost everything someone would associate with a healthy human. Where Cale got used to his appearance, Litana looked as if most of her bones were missing as well. Gone was the fierce warrior stance with her back straight and her eyes blazing with fire. Instead, she looked frail. Slumped in her seat with heavy burdens on her shoulders that threatened to crush her alive.

Litana watched her counterpart grimly. She knew that defeated expression, having seen it multiple times when she gazed into the mirror.

“Are you okay? I heard that you fainted. I’m sorry to call you here right away.”

Litana asked with an apologetic expression after seeing Cale’s pale expression.
The black-robed Mary moved next to Cale and observed him. Choi Han was just being quiet and biting down on his lips.
The other leaders of the Jungle could not say much either after seeing Cale’s pale complexion.

Litana smiled at Cale. Her eyes crinkled kindly as she expressed her goodwill.

He had come even when injured and just waking up from a fainting spell. His kindness was something she would always appreciate.

“The more important question is about the Jungle.”

That made Litana close her eyes before opening them back up. She brushed her face as if she could not hide her sorrows before starting to speak.

“It’s my fault for being late.”
“Your majesty-”

One of her subordinates called out to her, but Litana raised her hand and stopped him. Cale watched her eyes slowly open back up.

He could see anger and magnanimity within the sorrow.
But at least her eyes were clear.
Litana started to speak.

“I headed for Section 7 as soon as I left you those messages.”

It was the call that had come right before Cale had grabbed Imperial Prince Adin’s neck. Litana explained what had happened after that.

“I thought about sending just a few people to Section 7 first using teleportation as we did not have many mages with us, but our teleportation got rejected by the destination. No, they created a magic circle in order to prevent teleportation.”
“Where were you trying to go?”

Litana started to frown.

“The palace.”

Cale immediately understood.

“The Empire’s spy must be in the palace. The Empire must have taken over the palace first. Do you have any idea who it might be?”

Litana nodded her head.

“It is most likely one of the mid-grade leaders responsible for the defense of Section 7.”

Gritting her teeth, the sound she made was more animalistic than human.

First, she had laughed at Toonka and the Whipper people for having a traitor in their midst, yet here she was, falling victim to the same betrayal. What a joke.

Litana felt as if she were falling apart. Each betrayal and setback just removed a part of her, scattering her foundation and belief as if they were nothing more than dirt on the road.

A new pen had been supplied to her, and she started writing down the position of the traitor anyway. What else could she do?

Weep and give up? Never.

She did not need to say anything else for Cale to figure out the rest.
A mid-grade leader responsible for the defense of the capital was neither a high nor low position.
They wouldn’t be able to know about extremely secret affairs, but would still easily be able to notice large numbers of warriors moving around.

“That means if we create an alliance and you aren’t able to spot the spy fast enough, they wouldn’t know about us, I assume. That’s actually not quite bad. The other world had some aces hidden up its sleeves, I am sure. We can try the same.”

Alberu also didn’t give up. He analyzed the situation, trying to spot a glimpse of light in the overwhelming darkness. Litana nodded gratefully. Something other than despair, she could focus on.

Litana let out a laugh of disbelief.

“…Section 7 fell into the Empire’s hands easily.”

She had immediately moved to the outside of Section 7 after the teleportation was rejected.
She then saw the golems.
She saw those large monsters that made her feel uncomfortable. Those things were blocking all four entrances into Section 7.

The sight of the gates that were made with the unique trees of the Jungle being trampled upon and replaced by those black giants had given Litana quite the shock.
Furthermore, she saw the capital defenders dying on the castle walls as they were killed by their fellow capital defenders.
She had immediately shouted once she saw that.

‘Do not resist!’

She had a mage use amplification magic so that everybody inside Section 7 could hear her voice.
She was feeling emotional but had remained rational, but most importantly, her instincts were strongly warning her.
Don’t attack those golems nor that airship.

That was what her instincts were saying.

‘This is an order from me, Litana! Don’t throw your lives away for no reason!’

They were all people of the Jungle.
The Jungle was somewhere that was difficult for people to farm.
You needed to hunt and gather food in order to survive here. The terrain was rough as well since there were no flat areas. The natives and citizens of the Jungle had their own level of stubbornness.
That was why even those who were not warriors might try to fight against the Empire’s forces.

‘I, Litana, will soon…! The Jungle Warriors will soon save you! Trust us and wait!’

Litana wanted to prevent the people of the Jungle from dying for no reason.

The gods were in a fickle mood today, showing a quick glimpse of the capital as people lay dying on the walls. Some resisted, yet spears made by the same materials they trusted were pushed into their chests.

It was a gruesome sight.

Litana cursed once more.

The screen didn’t respond to her plight, merrily showing off the next interaction.

Cale responded to her after hearing everything.

“That was a wise decision.”
“…I feel that way about it now as well.”

Litana had a bitter smile on her face. She had heard and seen everything that the Empire had done through Clopeh’s video and Rosalyn’s descriptions.

“Something similar to dead mana, but even more deadly. Terrible things would have happened to the Jungle and our citizens if they had attacked.”

The black despair was an issue in a desolate plain like the one Maple Castle was located in, but it would be even worse in a place like the Jungle with many plants and animals.

Litana touched her spear as she continued to speak.

“I also think I know why the Empire is staying within Section 7 without moving.”

Cale nodded his head.
It was easy to tell why the Empire was remaining in Section 7 while keeping the golems as gatekeepers.

‘It’s because of the contents of the battle with the Whipper Kingdom.’

Furthermore, Adin had been injured thanks to Choi Han.
Finally, their use of black magic had been revealed.
They could not attack the Jungle right now when they had to worry about their relationships with the other kingdoms, as well as the churches.
That was probably why this fortress was created.

This was a chance for the Jungle.
This was a chance for them to flip the situation around.

“I don’t understand,” the son of Sand Ailan said, pouting angrily. “Why don’t they just raze the Jungle down? They already revealed their dark magic anyway.”

Aside from his rude words, he somewhat had a point. Unfortunately for him, it wasn’t hard to guess the answer.

Karin Orsena answered flightily, “Because they can still act as if nothing happened with their citizens. They don’t know about the recording orb, assuming the puppet exploded as planned.” She licked her lips, feeling quite parched as she continued her explanation under the appreciative gaze of her father.

“A declaration is probably being planned on their side as well. They hope to blame the Roan Kingdom, the Jungle, and the Whipper Kingdom for crimes they didn’t commit.”

“Wouldn’t everything be solved if they published the recordings now?” The Ailan heir asked curiously.

Karin had no direct answer.

Cale immediately got down to business.

“Where is the path?”

It was a map of Section 7 and the surrounding area.
Her finger drew a circle around the entire Section 7 and a bit outside of it.
Vice-Captain Hilsman slowly chimed in as she did that.

“…So, the only way to reach there by land is to do it openly?”

He hesitated for a moment before cautiously adding on.

“But if we openly confronted them, isn’t it possible that the Empire will use that black liquid in order to prevent us from approaching?”

‘Don’t they also have the dead mana bombs?’

The Jungle would become desolate and the warriors would not be able to approach.
Hilsman continued to speak.

“Furthermore, the hostages, ahem, the citizens in Section 7 will be in danger as well.”

They had no way of knowing what the Empire would do to those hostages if Litana approached.

So many questions, almost no answers.

Witira eyed the black, despair-filled golems critically. If that liquid dripped into the ocean, they were done for as well. She didn’t know the Empire had achieved such destructive weapons. The airship was a concern as well. What stopped them from flying over the ocean and dropping some bombs on their heads?

The more she watched, the more she knew her tribe’s motto wouldn’t be useful. Land deals with land, sea deals with sea. Yeah, she didn’t think this would work anymore.

Her father looked worried as well. His aged face, still as handsome as any whale was, furrowed a lot. The lines around his eyes and mouth were drawn tightly.

Saint Jack slowly asked after hearing Rosalyn’s response.

“Then are we going through the sky?”

He looked toward Rosalyn with concern before flinching.
She was smiling. She responded back to his question in a calm voice.

“No. We will proceed in the stealthiest way possible this time.”

Her finger pressed down at the center of Section 7.

“Our goal is to infiltrate Section 7 with a small number of people, destroy the golems, and aim for the airship.”

The Jungle warriors in Section 8 could then get in and fight the enemies.

“And there is a route to conduct that raid.”

A new finger appeared on the map as Hilsman and Jack stood there looking confused after hearing Rosalyn’s plan.
It was Cale. His finger drew a line from north to south in Rosalyn’s place.

“The river.”

There was a river where his finger moved.
A river cut through Section 7.

“Ah.”

Cale looked toward Litana and Rosalyn as Hilsman let out a gasp.

“The reason you are here in Section 8 is so that you can go up the river and aim for Section 7, right?”

Both women started to smile.
Rosalyn started to speak.

“It is possible to use magic to go up the river while underwater as long as it is a small number of people.”

Litana looked up.

The plan wasn’t bad. It didn’t explain how they would deal with the numerous enemies inside or fight against the black despair and those stupid golems, but it would give them a proper chance to infiltrate the captured sector.

Rosalyn looked thoughtful as well.

She didn’t have a dragon with her, so her power wasn’t even close to what they could achieve with their support, but ten people should be possible for her. This reminded her, didn’t other locations also have deep waters? Couldn’t they stealthily take down some Arm bases this way?

The other world will definitely give them quite a few locations in later viewings. Following the other world’s moves to a letter will do nothing but spell their doom; instead, changing up the order and creating chaos in the enemy lines seemed like a proper way to do it.

The geographical information they have already gained and will gain even more in the future should be used more.

Rosalyn started to speak.

“Currently, Queen Litana, Choi Han, and Miss Mary are planning on going.”

‘Litana too?’

Cale flinched for a moment before understanding.
Litana was someone who was just under Choi Han in terms of skill, as well as a strong spear user who could keep up with Choi Han for a while. She was perfect for this task. It was reliable having her around in the chance that Choi Han ended up bewitched again.

“I will lead the operation from the rear.”

And Rosalyn would be supporting them from here.

Choi Han made a helpless face as his past blunder was brought up again.

His counterpart was less amused, seeing it as an incredibly dangerous weakness he needed to overcome. As soon as possible.

“But there is a problem.”

Rosalyn finally got to the issue they had with this plan.

“It is the purification.”

They could destroy the golems.
But the problem came after that.

The golem’s core.

“Miss Mary says that she can purify them, but it will be hard for her to do it alone. The issue is that we need to get rid of them extremely quickly, but we can’t ask young master Cale to do it. You know why, right?”

Cale nodded his head.

“We can’t let the forest burn.”

The Fiery Thunderbolt was powerful and mighty. It burned the disgusting, dead despair into ash, yet using it in the highly flammable jungle? A bad idea, especially since the forest was already on fire.

“Then how?” Litana asked.

She didn’t expect an answer and wasn’t surprised when none came.

Rosalyn continued to speak.

“Correct. The other issue is the remaining dead mana even if Miss Mary purifies the black liquid. Miss Mary said that it would be difficult to quickly get rid of it at once.”

Mary chimed in at this moment.

“I haven’t tried to purify it, so while I know that I can do it, I can’t be certain about how long it will take.”

Purification as well as absorbing dead mana.
It was too much for Mary to handle on her own when time was of the essence.

“Is that what’s worrying you?”

Cale asked and Queen Litana nodded her head.

“Yes, that is the concern.”

Alberu was the first one to realize that Cale was far too calm. He had an idea as well, suddenly recalling his counterpart and Cale’s conversation.

‘Is it possible?’

It would make sense, especially since they openly want to push for the dark elves to be acknowledged. One instance was already a lot of credit, with the Castle Leona Battle laying the foundation. Fighting and saving the Jungle, well, it would do well to have multiple countries support the dark elves.

Alberu wrote down the idea. It was also a good alternative for him to introduce his dark elves if the Castle Leona Battle had never takes place in their world.

However, Rosalyn asked instead of nodding her head.

“Young master Cale, you have it, don’t you?
You have a solution.”
Rosalyn had seen it. She saw that Cale was smiling.

Cale nodded his head.
It was what Cale had asked Alberu for before coming to the Jungle.

Paaaat-

A light flashed inside the tent.
It was the light of teleportation magic.

Cale turned around after feeling someone pulling at his sleeve. He saw a black robe. It was Mary. Cale seemed to have figured out what she was thinking as he smiled at her and approached the teleportation magic circle.

He recalled what he asked Alberu to do.

‘Your highness, Mary cannot do it alone.’

He could not use the Fire of Destruction.
There was no way Cale would not have thought about this in advance.

“Smug bastard,” Archie cursed, impressed. There was no heat behind his words, only awe, which he poorly hid with an insult.

Cale spoke so casually about points Archie and many others couldn’t have predicted, even if all clues were posted on their foreheads.

A born commander. A strategist. Someone who stomped the plan of a thousand-year-old wannabe god in just two years.

That was why he was relieved to find out that Mary had gone to the Jungle before realizing what else was needed.
Cale looked at the person in front of the group that just teleported and started to speak.

“Tasha, long time no see.”

The Dark Elf, Tasha.
She had a refreshing smile on her face.

Dark Elves who were darker than the people of the Jungle and had skin the color of black pearls had appeared.
The ones that were here were all highest-grade Dark Elf warriors.
All of the others other than Tasha had clothes covering their skin, leaving only their glaring eyes visible. Only their eyes were showing, but the pressure coming from there was strong.

Necromancers and Dark Elves.

Black despair and dead mana. They were people who could take care of both of those issues.
They were extremely necessary for the Jungle, no, for the future.

“It really has been a long time, young master Cale.”

Tasha reached her hand out to shake Cale’s hand.

The Roan nobles looked up. The distaste was still heavy on their tongues, yet they held their poisonous thoughts in, seeing the advantages even if it physically hurt to admit it.

The silent Church of the Sun God members scoffed, yet even they had learned their lessons. Cale’s warm gaze, which flickered across the crowd at a leisurely pace, felt incredibly heavy.

“…As I expected.”

Rosalyn realized what Cale was thinking and nodded her head. Litana and the leaders of the Jungle gasped at the team of Dark Elves and could not hide their joy.
They had realized Cale’s plan as well.

However, one person…

“Young master Cale?”

Rosalyn could see that someone was stiff.
It was Cale.

He was stiff as he looked at the team of Dark Elves.
His pupils were shaking.

– Human!

He could hear Raon and feel Raon shaking him.
However, that was not the issue.

Cale could see a brown-haired man within the group of Dark Elves who had a slightly lighter skin tone than the rest and also had everything below his eyes covered by clothes.

Alberu choked on his tea. Like a spluttering fool, he stared at his counterpart on the screen, who cheekily waved at Cale from the back of the crowd.

He appeared in his true form. Pale skin, sun-kissed yet warm-toned, was replaced by a darker brown. It wasn’t anything close to the black pearl-like beauty that full dark elves gracefully carried. His eyes were also void of the false blue. Instead,  a warm brown, the color of earth, gazed at Cale, practically spitting amusement.

Cale looked so done.

Alberu was done with his counterpart.

He tried to prepare himself for the fallout his reveal would no doubt create. It was one thing for his human family members to know about his heritage; the other was for them to see him in his undisguised form.

‘What the…?
Why is he here?’

Cale recalled what that person had said.

‘Contact me at the Jungle. See you there.’

‘He meant it when he said see me here?’

“Your-”

The man behind Tasha walked over and put his hand on Cale’s shoulder as Cale started to speak in shock.
He spoke in a voice that was extremely low in order to prevent people from recognizing his regular voice.

“Long time no see, little brother.”

‘Alberu Crossman, why the hell are you here?’

Cale was at a loss for words.

“That’s his Highness?” One noble bravely asked, already knowing the answer as it was spelled out for them.

Alberu waved at them, his face set in a friendly expression. His counterpart avoided their gaze, staring at the screen without blinking.

“Unfairly handsome either way,” Cale muttered. He wasn’t as quiet as he wished he had been. Various pairs of eyes looked at him, which he definitely glared back at. Kim Rok Soo laughed at his younger counterpart.

“Handsome bastard indeed.”

Alberu laughed openly. He threw his head back, letting those false sun-kissed strands of hair fall around his eyes. The brilliant light gleaming in his eyes didn’t care about whether he had blue or brown eyes.

“Why,” he giggled, “thank you.”

Cale made a face.

Kim Rok Soo grinned back.

Blonde hair and blue eyes.
Those who only knew of Alberu’s fake appearance would never be able to tell that this was the true appearance of the quarter Dark Elf Alberu. It was far from his usual majestic self.
Furthermore, it was even harder to tell as he had his face covered other than his eyes.
It was only Cale and Raon who had seen this appearance before who recognized him.

Cale was flabbergasted.

‘Why is the person who said that they are making a declaration tonight over here?
No, is it even okay for him to be here? In this form? What about the Roan Kingdom?’

Cale pushed away the hand that was on his shoulder in shock. He bluntly responded back while playing along with Alberu’s story.

“Hyung, don’t you have work to do?”

The brown eyes that were visible on the covered face curled up like crescent moons.

Naturally, Choi Jung Soo focused his attention somewhere else.

“You call him hyung so easily? I had to fight to get you to say it! Sob.”

Even Sui Khan joined in with the teasing.

“Ah, we laid the way for others to reap the benefits.”

Alberu grinned at them, smugly. “I thank you for your sacrifices.”

Choi Jung Soo stretched out his tongue at the royal, almost licking Cale’s head since he still had the slightly shorter man in his grasp.

Cale glared at him, but Choi Jung Soo acted like he didn’t see.

“I could take off my disguise,” Alberu mused. His whole secret identity had been revealed a while ago, and with his image being shown anyway, the need for the bracelet vanished. His counterpart glared at him, daring him to even attempt to take it off, yet Alberu steamrolled over his opinion.

With a soft click, the bracelet fell off his wrist, landing on the table with a clank.

Blond made way for brown, while blue was replaced by a darker color as well.

“Still damn handsome,” Cale Henituse scoffed from the side, hiding his face in his counterpart's chest when Alberu looked at him.