Sizzle——!

  "......"

  Silabain froze in place. He slowly lowered his head, staring at the black spear piercing his chest. Warm liquid seeped out from the wound, soaking his chest—too dark to tell if it was red or black.

  ......The attack had come from the shadows behind him. His faded red battle aura had failed to block it.

  Silabain lifted his head to look at Hulim, raising his right hand clutching the Mithril Sword.

  But before he could make another move—

  Sizzle——!

  Another black spear stabbed out from the surrounding shadows, piercing his body.

  Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle......

  Spear after spear erupted from the ground, turning Silabain’s body into a pincushion.

  Whoosh——!

  Hulim slowly landed on the ground, sheathed her Mithril Sword, and took off her wand with both hands. She stared silently at Silabain, who stared back at her.

  "Sha......dow...... Spear...... Ho......w...... pos......sible...... Wh......o...... are...... you......"

  Blood surged into his throat, clogging his windpipe and making his voice barely intelligible.

  "......"

  With his life counting down, Silabain still raised his right hand with his last will, pointing his sword at Hulim.

  Hulim lifted her wand.

  "【?????????????????????????????????????????????????????】"

  "Shadow Spear!"

  Clang~!

  The Mithril Sword slipped from Silabain’s hand. His eyes grew more blurred. As his life force faded, he mustered his last strength to look up at Hulim.

  "......Gu......los...... will...... nev......er...... for......give...... you......"

  Silabain’s breathing stopped.

  "......"

  Hulim stared at his corpse in silence for a long time, feeling no joy in victory.

  ......

  "【????????????????????????????????????????????????????】"

  "Heal!"

  A gentle white light enveloped her body. Her wounds began to heal visibly.

  Once she felt able to move normally, Hulim stopped casting the healing spell. She glanced at the warehouse-turned-ruins and walked over.

  Clearing away some debris, she descended into the underground base through the hole Silabain had smashed open.

  The underground base was eerily quiet.

  Every organization member and abducted illegal slave had fallen into a day-long sleep from the Dragon Sleep Incense.

  Ignoring the organization members lying by the wayside, Hulim headed straight for the area where the slaves were imprisoned.

  Looking at the unconscious slaves scattered inside—

  Hulim gripped her wand with both hands and cast a spell.

  "【???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????】"

  "Nature Manipulation!"

  Boom!

  The ground and walls began to flow like liquid.

  Crack! Crack! Crack......

  The stone slabs above the cells shattered, and the earth split open, creating a large gap. Then the soil beneath their feet surged upward, forming a staircase leading to the gap above.

  With the exit open, Hulim continued manipulating the magic. Large earthen hands emerged from the ground, lifting the unconscious slaves one by one and carrying them to a safe open area on the surface.

  Hulim had made an antidote for the Dragon Sleep Incense, but unlike the potion— which could incapacitate large groups through vapor—the antidote had to be taken orally.

  Even with the leftover antidote, there wasn’t nearly enough to cure all two hundred slaves.

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  Instead of curing a few and risking chaos, it was better to let them wake up on their own in a day. By then, they would already be in a safe place under protection......

  Once all the slaves were moved to safety, Hulim returned to the underground base.

  She went to Silabain’s room, collected all the documents related to the illegal slave trade, gathered them together, and brought them back to the surface, placing them in a prominent spot among the slaves.

  "It’s over......"

  Hulim said calmly, looking at the unconscious slaves. She gripped her wand in her right hand and descended underground once more......

  "Fireball!"

  Boom!

  The exploding fireball instantly ignited a room underground.

  "Burning Curtain!"

  Boom!

  The fire spread, engulfing the underground hall.

  "Fireball......"

  As she cast one fire spell after another, roaring flames quickly spread throughout the underground base and soon reached the surface. The docks were soon ablaze. Except for the slaves who had been moved to safety earlier, every underground organization member lying on the docks perished in the fire.

  A dark force that had lingered beneath the royal capital was reduced to ashes.

  ......

  "Hurry! Move faster!"

  "These damned underground rats—daring to cause such chaos in the royal capital! We’ll bring them to justice today!"

  "Yes!!!"

  Hundreds of Royal Garrison Knights riding Armed Swiftclaws raced through the streets like a hurricane, heading for the burning docks.

  Hulim, still in her black robe, ducked into a side street, avoiding the knights’ sight.

  Watching their departing figures, she did nothing. She silently turned and merged into the night behind her......

  ......

  ......

  It was the night after the dock fire.

  The docks remained in ruins, and the city guards had withdrawn.

  Inside a dilapidated building, three figures cloaked in black stood in a triangular formation, motionless.

  Before them, Zev knelt trembling, his eyes filled with terror.

  His forehead pressed tightly against the ground, he dared not lift his head an inch.

  "I-I’m so sorry! P-please...... spare my life!"

  "......Spare your life?"

  The hooded figure standing at the front spoke in a calm tone.

  "We traveled all this way, only to find this. I’m curious—what happened? Why is everyone dead... except you?"

  Zev’s face twisted in agony, his teeth chattering.

  He was both lucky and unlucky.

  Though Zev was cowardly beneath his bluster, he wasn’t a fool. He had long known about the underground base’s escape tunnels and had memorized their locations over the years.

  As one of the developers of the black cell’s security system, he also knew exactly how to break free.

  When he was thrown into the black cell, he hadn’t dared to escape immediately. Even if he got out, he would be recaptured within two hours—sealing his fate. So he’d chosen to gamble on a glimmer of hope in the cell.

  The black cell was located in the deepest, least ventilated corner of the underground base. As a result, the Dragon Sleep Incense’s vapor had reached it last.

  Zev had been poisoned much later than the others.

  When he saw the organization members collapsing one by one, he realized something was terribly wrong. Without hesitation, he broke free from his cell and rushed to the escape tunnel hidden in the black cell’s depths.

  Unlike the others, who didn’t know about the tunnels and had stayed to fight, the escape route was his salvation.

  The black cell’s tunnel led to an inconspicuous house near the docks.

  Zev pushed open the hidden floorboard of the house and escaped. But he didn’t linger to celebrate. He immediately grabbed the supplies hidden there and fled—knowing the enemy might find the house soon. He wasn’t safe yet.

  As he fled into a nearby alley, two loud booms erupted from the docks.

  Zev glanced back instinctively, catching a glimpse of Silabain standing on the collapsed warehouse, confronting Hulim.

  Then an overwhelming drowsiness hit him. He collapsed stiffly in the alley’s corner......

  He didn’t wake up until a full day later.

  Though he’d survived, all his money and weapons had been stolen while he slept. If his clothes hadn’t been filthy from days of torture in the black cell—making him look like a beggar—they would have been stolen too.

  After piecing together what had happened, Zev panicked and tried to flee Langard, abandoning his stolen belongings. He knew if he didn’t run, terrible things would come for him.

  But he was too late......

  "M-my lords! I-I’m so sorry! Someone poisoned the entire base—everyone collapsed! I escaped by luck, but I still passed out from the poison...... S-so...... I don’t know exactly what happened!"

  The hooded figures said nothing, staring silently at Zev.

  After a long pause, the lead figure spoke two words:

  "——Is that so?"

  Zev trembled violently, kowtowing repeatedly. "My lords, please spare me! I-I only know it’s related to a female student of Manacos! She ruined some of our plans from the start—she’s definitely behind this!"

  "A female student of Manacos? Manacos again......"

  The hooded figure seemed to care deeply about the name.

  "Explain in detail——"

  "Y-yes...... It was half a month ago......"

  Zev recounted everything: his first encounter with Hulim, what he’d seen before passing out, and her approximate appearance.

  "That’s all?"

  "Y-yes, my lord! That’s everything I know......"

  "I see——"

  The hooded figure turned and took a step forward.

  The other two said nothing, following silently as the three walked toward the exit.

  Sensing they were leaving, Zev cautiously lifted his head. "My lords, what about me——"

  Boom——!!!

  Suddenly, a pillar of fire erupted from the ground, engulfing Zev completely.

  "Ah——!!!"

  In a scream, Zev’s body burned to ashes.

  In the bright flames, the hooded figure’s raised right sleeve slid down, revealing an arm marked with a demon tattoo.

  As the scream faded, he lowered his hand.

  "Shall we report back?"

  One of the figures in front asked.

  "No. We can’t leave just yet. At the very least...... someone must pay first."

  The tattooed figure replied.

  "......"

  The other figure in front fell silent for a moment, then said:

  "Whatever. I don’t care."

  The first figure thought for a moment and nodded silently.

  "Hehe~!" The tattooed figure laughed. Even his black hood couldn’t hide his deep, dark gaze. "Then let’s have some fun~. Darkness shall cover the world—eternity belongs to Gulos!"

  The two companions paused, then chorused:

  "Darkness shall cover the world—eternity belongs to Gulos——!!!"