‘There is a line that shouldn’t be crossed.’
Everyone has a line they’ve drawn for themselves.
While those lines may differ from person to person, there is a common boundary.
And in my eyes, those who cross that line…
‘Aren’t even human.’
They weren’t people to be saved, but targets to be killed.
Next to the one I had just killed, I moved toward another Black Mage standing nearby.
Stab!
I thrust my sword straight into him.
“……Ack.”
Another person who treated human lives like playthings met his end.
The enemies began to react immediately.
“It’s the enemy!”
Some called for reinforcements.
“Magic Missile!”
Some fired off spells.
“Release the test subjects!”
Some sent test subjects toward me, creatures that had become their minions—perhaps because the experiments were already complete.
Many of the approaching test subjects had at least one monster limb grafted onto their bodies.
Occasionally, there were those who had successfully completed the experiment, emitting Demonic Mana on their own.
‘So many.
How many have they killed?’
It was hard to say how many experiments had been carried out here, but it was certainly a lot.
And…
“Fire!”
Swoosh—
It was even more certain that the strength of the Black Mages emitting Demonic Mana was considerable.
‘Two 4th Class and fifteen 3rd Class.’
That was a number that could be considered a significant magical force.
If a 4th Class fired a large-scale spell and the 3rd Class followed up with a barrage of Fireballs, an ordinary knight would die without being able to resist.
However, that was only true for the world outside.
This laboratory, which might have been cozy for them, was too cramped for casting large-scale magic.
It was more than enough room for me to go wild, though.
Flash!
I lunged forward with my sword leveled.
Stab!
I flew in a straight line and pierced a Black Mage.
“……Guh.”
As I pulled my sword out of his stomach, I injected Internal Energy.
Boom!
The Demonic Mana and Internal Energy repelled each other.
As a result…
“Aaaaagh!”
The Black Mage who had been stabbed died as his stomach exploded.
I moved to the side again.
Whoosh— Whoosh—
I swung my sword.
Ten variations with a single strike.
The Illusion Sword was drawn incessantly, cutting and toying with the enemy.
“S-Stop him!”
“……Die.”
Thud.
I showed no mercy.
I cut down every enemy in my path.
Whir—
The aura that rose with it was unstoppable, cleaving through the enemies.
Their mana was readable.
No matter what tricks they tried, the Black Mages in my sight were nothing more than prey.
“S-Spare… me…”
“Did you spare those who begged for their lives?”
Stab!
I didn’t hold back.
I disposed of the chimeras that got in my way and killed every Black Mage I saw.
“The last one.
Only you are left.”
Only one Black Mage remained.
He was the one I had intentionally left for last.
The mana I felt from him was a substantial amount, close to 5th Class.
However, he only had 4 Circles.
Demonic Mana makes it easy to grow stronger by absorbing the Life Force of others.
To become this strong, this man must have killed countless people.
He might be a powerhouse to some, but to me, he was just a beast and a brute.
“Are you trying to go peacefully?
That won’t do.”
“……Ack.”
I thrust my hand into his abdomen.
I injected my Internal Energy and searched for the Geumje engraved inside his body.
‘He’s different from the others.’
Bang!
I tore the Geumje apart so it couldn’t be used.
“Aaaaagh!”
“I believe this sets the stage for a conversation.”
I looked at the trembling Black Mage.
He sat there, cowering in silence.
I had many things to ask him.
Ident moved as soon as he received the signal.
The signal’s owner was Rayrn.
For whatever reason, Ident had given Rayrn a Signal Bead to use whenever necessary.
‘I have no idea when he managed to enter the Inner City.’
The signal was coming from within the Inner City.
“Let’s go.
This task will involve some bloodshed.”
“We still have to go, though.”
“Right.”
He led the Crows into the Inner City.
‘How much time can we buy?’
Entering the Inner City was a gamble for Ident.
He had already been poking around various parts of the Marquis’s Castle to gather information.
The Foxes might have already noticed.
To think that the Youngest Lord would enter the Inner City and send a signal in such a situation.
‘As expected, he’s still a child.
This might be a good opportunity…’
To think that the genius Rayrn would cause trouble here of all places.
If he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have started this.
Then again…
‘I’m a madman too.’
Hadn’t he put his hopes in Rayrn, the one they called a genius?
Rayrn was someone who had raised people in a way that even the Crows found hard to detect.
Everything he touched became a success.
He had achieved unimaginable feats in just 2 years.
If one hadn’t seen it personally, they might think the achievements were an exaggeration.
Perhaps that was why Ident had hoped that a genius like him could resolve the frustrating deadlock of the intelligence war.
The problem was…
‘Only trouble has broken out.’
It seemed Rayrn had caused an incident right in the middle of the Inner City.
Ident was full of worry even as he moved carefully using Stealth Technique.
“It’s there.
The signal is coming from right over there.
Advance carefully.”
“……Yes, sir.”
Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be a major incident, as the guards in the Inner City were acting as usual.
Even if they were on high alert as usual, Ident and the Crows following him could move past them quietly.
They broke into the mansion where Rayrn had sent the signal.
“……I’ll go in first.
Hmm…….”
As soon as he stepped inside, a smell hit him.
It was the thick scent of blood.
He never imagined he would smell blood like this, the kind found on a battlefield, in a place like this.
Step.
Is this why he sent the signal?
Thinking that something had happened, Ident increased his speed and followed the trail of blood.
Ident descended through the corridor that opened up further and further ahead.
“……Young Lord?”
“You’re here.”
He saw Rayrn sitting calmly in the middle of the bloodbath.
Corpses were scattered everywhere, and monster blood was mixed in here and there.
Those who appeared to be human were all unconscious, though it was unclear how he had managed it.
Growl.
Grrr.
Only the monsters on one side were emitting bloodlust toward the Crows as they entered, making animalistic sounds.
The interesting thing was that not a single monster dared to direct its bloodlust toward Rayrn.
‘……He’s powerful.’
Rayrn, positioned in the center, exuded a presence stronger than ever before.
Just by looking at him, Ident felt his head bow involuntarily.
It was a level of strength and presence different from his usual self.
“What happened here?”
“It seems the Marquis has colluded with Black Mages.”
“Black Mages, sir?”
Rayrn nodded instead of answering.
“He used that power to hunt the Crows.
He used them for tracking.”
“That’s…”
No wonder the Foxes had been so powerful lately.
They had somehow managed to chase them down, forcing the Crows to flee many times.
The Captain himself had stepped in and dealt a heavy blow to regain the upper hand, but it had not been an easy fight.
To think the reason was none other than Black Mages.
“Hmm…….”
Ident could only swallow a groan.
“Colluding with Black Mages… that could be a major justification.
If we inform the Kingdom right now, the Marquis’s House will be destroyed…”
“Nonsense.”
Rayrn dismissed Ident’s words.
He shook his head and looked at him as if he were being ridiculous.
“Did you forget the incident with Viscount Baxien?
The Kingdom won’t admit that Black Mages are running rampant in our country.”
“But… the evidence is clear.
If they don’t move even with this, it means the Kingdom is being toyed with by Black Mages.”
“Who knows?
Perhaps the Royal Family has already been consumed.”
‘That’s impossible!’
Ident wanted to shout, but he had to swallow his words at the sudden thought.
‘……The evidence was clear back then, too.’
Just as Rayrn said, the Royal Family might not step in.
The reason?
He didn’t know.
The Royal Family always moved quietly for its own purposes.
Strengthening royal authority.
They moved solely for that one goal.
Unless the Earl’s Territory had a connection to the Royal Family, which they didn’t, there was no way to know.
Ident asked out of frustration.
“……Then what do you plan to do?”
“Is there any reason to inform the Royal Family?
Don’t forget the important part.
Our goal was to hunt the Foxes.”
Rayrn replied with a smirk.
Along with his strong presence, his gestures seemed full of leisure.
“How, at this point… The Marquis will likely try to escape.”
“No.
He can’t.
Something quite important to the Marquis is right here.”
He was even confident.
After a long pause, Rayrn gave Ident an order.
“I gave you autonomy until now… but from here on, I’ll be the one coordinating.”
“……I shall follow your orders.”
Ident had no intention or reason to refuse that command.
He simply knelt as if he were facing the Count of Ophern and accepted the order Rayrn gave.
“Is this true!”
The voice thundered through the room.
As the voice of the Count of Ophern, who rarely lost his temper, echoed out…
Silence descended upon the mansion where he was.
A quiet report had arrived late.
At that report, the Count of Ophern was furious.
“……I asked if it was true.”
“It is true.
The Young Lord passed the iron mine and went further down.”
The Crows had kept their promise to Rayrn.
A Crow cannot lie to the Count of Ophern.
However, they could hide the truth for a while.
When the time promised to Rayrn arrived, the Crows submitted their report to the Count.
This was after the youngest, Rayrn, had successfully developed the iron mine.
The report stated that he had not gone to find another iron mine, but had moved toward the Marquis of Owen’s House.
The Count asked again.
“Hah…… For what reason?”
“He said he wanted to see the situation of the Marquis’s House with his own eyes.
He said he wanted to witness his arch-enemy…”
“And you allowed that!
That wasn’t your decision to make!
Aren’t you supposed to report everything to me!”
The Crow delivering the report squeezed his eyes shut.
Although it was something done for the sake of the Count of Ophern’s House, it was also true that the Crows had crossed the line.
They shouldn’t have fallen for the genius Youngest Lord’s persuasion.
When Rayrn first came to them, they should have reported it to the furious Count of Ophern instead of making a deal.
But the deed was already done.
“I will settle this matter later.
Even if nothing happens, there will be punishment.”
“……We are aware.
Even if you punish us, we Crows will accept it.”
“Hoo…….”
A Knight follows only the Count’s orders.
The Crows were different.
The Count’s House had given discretionary power to the Crows, who had permeated the underworld to remain loyal to the family.
It was a discretionary power given so they could make their own judgments.
If it was for the sake of the Count of Ophern’s House, the Crows could move ahead of the Count’s orders.
But to think they would use that discretionary power in this way.
He didn’t know if his son, Rayrn, was so capable that he had charmed the Crows, or if the Crows had lured Rayrn.
‘It must be Rayrn.’
He was troubled, but the situation had already unfolded.
“……Prepare yourselves.
We’ll have to go down there.”
“Yes, sir!”
The Count of Ophern began to move.