Chapter 19: The Fifth Soul Stone

“Thank you. I don’t know how I can ever repay this kindness.”

Oris expressed his gratitude with heartfelt sincerity.

Even without Gaon, the demonic rift could be destroyed.

But it would take a long time.

And it would cause significant damage.

If Gaon-nim, an Archmage, steps in…

Oris didn’t know Gaon’s exact identity.

But Rotes, a 5th Circle High Mage, had been completely subdued by him.

And Rotes had shown extreme deference.

Based on that, Oris assumed Gaon was a 7th Circle Archmage.

If Gaon, an Archmage, took action, the demonic rift could be destroyed with minimal damage.

“It’s for the elixir,” Gaon replied with a faint smile.

“Thank you!”

Oris thanked him again, thinking,

I need to look for more elixirs or Spirit Herbs!

Oris had no intention of expressing gratitude with mere words.

Gaon needed elixirs and Spirit Herbs.

If Oris could gather and deliver them, their relationship would grow even stronger.

“See you later, then.”

Gaon left the Alion estate.

As he headed toward the demonic rift in the south, he thought,

When will the barrier disappear?

The rift was currently protected by a barrier.

While it could be destroyed, doing so at Gaon’s current level would be highly inefficient.

It was far better to wait until the barrier faded.

“Everyone, please stay calm!”

“We’re here, so you’re safe. Move slowly to avoid injury!”

As Gaon approached, he saw knights and soldiers guiding evacuating residents.

The residents’ faces were filled with panic and fear, but thanks to the swift actions of the knights and soldiers, they were moving in an orderly manner without major chaos.

Gaon passed by the knights, soldiers, and residents, continuing south.

They’re quick.

The closer he got to the south, the fewer people his senses detected.

Soon, he arrived in an area tainted by demonic energy, where monsters began to appear.

They were low-level monsters—nothing the knights and soldiers couldn’t handle.

In fact, they were holding them off well.

This area’s under control.

It seemed more efficient to deal with the monsters deeper in rather than those at the outskirts.

With that thought, Gaon resumed his southward trek.

A short while later—

Step.

Gaon stopped.

It wasn’t because he sensed a high-level monster.

While the monsters’ strength increased closer to the rift, they weren’t enough to halt him.

The reason he stopped was the detection of two powerful presences nearby.

They weren’t Rotes or Taylor.

The presences were infused with sorcery.

The Abyss.

The Abyss was the first thing that came to mind.

It wasn’t that Rabes had no sorcerers.

But for two sorcerers to be quietly lurking near the demonic rift like this?

No ordinary sorcerer would act this way.

Moreover, the sorcery of these two felt similar to that of the sorcerer Gaon had just killed.

No idea what they’re planning.

Gaon changed direction.

There was still time before the rift’s barrier would fade.

Even if he reached the rift now, all he could do was deal with monsters or demons—easy tasks for him that would be over quickly, leaving him waiting.

Rather than idling, it made sense to eliminate the Abyss, a potential variable.

Soon, Gaon arrived near their location.

Using his senses, he probed the building where the two sorcerers were hiding.

As expected, it was rigged with numerous sorcery spells, magic arrays, and even mundane traps.

“…!”

While scanning the building, Gaon’s eyes gleamed.

An elixir?

In what seemed to be a storage area, he detected concentrated demonic energy, sorcery, and mana.

It appeared to be an elixir.

Even if it was an artifact, it didn’t matter.

What mattered was that it was in a state he could absorb.

An absorbable artifact was as good as an elixir.

Coming here was the right call.

A smile spread across Gaon’s face at the unexpected loot.

After finishing his scan, he activated his Circles and placed a hand on the building.

“Break!”

With the chant, a hole just large enough for Gaon to pass through appeared in the wall.

He stepped through and headed toward the sorcerers.

The building was filled with sorcery, magic arrays, and traps, but they were no issue.

To Gaon, they were all low-level.

Annoying, but easily neutralized.

And he could do so stealthily.

Gaon advanced, disabling the sorcery, arrays, and traps.

Then—

“…!”

He paused.

One of the sorcerers was approaching.

They hadn’t noticed him—their pace was too relaxed.

And, more importantly, they were alone.

After a brief moment of thought, Gaon spoke.

“Invisibility.”

Shimmer.

His body became transparent.

He then suppressed his Pacheongi.

Completely concealed, Gaon waited for the sorcerer.

Soon, the sorcerer appeared.

The moment they were close, Gaon created a barrier to block sound and energy from escaping.

“Magic Blade.”

He cast the spell and slashed the sorcerer’s throat.

Unlike his concerns, the sorcerer didn’t even react.

Slash!

They met their end instantly.

Thud!

The sorcerer’s body collapsed forward.

Gaon glanced at the dissipating sorcery before turning away.

Only one remained.

Just one more to deal with, and it would be over.

Then—

“…?”

Gaon’s expression turned puzzled.

The remaining sorcerer suddenly began gathering sorcery.

Did they notice?

It seemed they had sensed his intrusion.

Why else would they be powering up?

How did they know?

Gaon looked back at the dead sorcerer’s body.

Were they connected somehow?

He wasn’t certain, but it seemed likely.

If that’s the case, no need to take it slow.

Gaon dispelled the barrier and quickly moved toward the remaining sorcerer.

***

In a safehouse meeting room in the southern part of Rabes, McCarrin let out a grave murmur.

“What’s going on?”

Moments ago, three soul stones had shattered.

They belonged to Glaxion, Krante, and Balion.

The three had gone to the Alion estate to kill Oris and Gron and retrieve Luel’s Blessing.

McCarrin knew their strength.

He had expected them to complete the mission easily and return.

Yet all three were dead.

Not one had survived.

“Drashin.”

“Yes?”

“Bring the Curse of the Haunted Night.”

“…You’re going to use that?”

“Given the situation…”

“Understood.”

Drashin stood and headed to the storage.

McCarrin sank into thought.

What in the world happened?

No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t make sense.

Why had all three died?

Could it be Gardion Tower’s mages?

A mage named Gaon from Gardion Tower had recently gone to the Alion estate.

If other Gardion mages had arrived afterward…

Even so, how could all three die?

They hadn’t moved together.

So how could all three have perished?

Crack!

A sound of something breaking echoed.

McCarrin froze.

He swallowed hard.

No way.

He couldn’t believe what he’d heard.

He hoped he’d misheard.

The sound had come from the soul stone display.

McCarrin slowly turned to look.

He hadn’t misheard.

One of the two remaining soul stones had shattered.

The problem was whose it was—Drashin’s, who had just gone to the storage.

Why would Drashin’s soul stone break?

An intruder.

There was no doubt an intruder had appeared.

The alarm sorcery and magic didn’t trigger?

That was the issue—neither had gone off.

That meant one thing:

This wasn’t an opponent to underestimate.

McCarrin gathered his sorcery and stood.

He began casting various enhancement spells.

Patterns appeared and vanished on his skin, his face and right hand turned red, his left arm swelled to twice its size, and his left eye turned gray.

After completing the enhancements, he cast a detection spell.

“…!”

He flinched immediately.

A powerful presence was right outside the meeting room.

Creak.

The door opened, and McCarrin turned.

He saw a boy who looked to be in his early teens.

A piece of information flashed in his mind.

Gaon!

It was undoubtedly Gaon, the Gardion Tower mage Glaxion had mentioned.

McCarrin closed the distance instantly.

According to Glaxion, Gaon was a 4th Circle mage.

That meant he couldn’t be given distance or time.

Foolish kid.

McCarrin smirked.

A mage daring to get this close?

Was it because he was young?

He seemed far too inexperienced.

“…!”

But the next moment, McCarrin was stunned.

His body wouldn’t move.

It felt like he was tightly bound.

Bind?

The first thing that came to mind was the spell Bind.

But that was impossible.

A 4th Circle mage’s Bind couldn’t be this strong.

It had to be something else.

But it looks like…

No matter how he looked at it, it was Bind.

Could it be…

A sudden thought made McCarrin swallow hard.

5th Circle?

Glaxion had said 4th Circle, but that was an assumption, not a certainty.

No one had doubted it because being 4th Circle at such a young age was already unbelievable.

No one considered he could be higher.

At that moment, McCarrin felt an unfamiliar energy seeping into his body.

It wasn’t mana.

It was an energy he’d never encountered before.

It was obviously Gaon’s.

Gaon’s brow furrowed.

“Ugh, I was hoping to extract some information.”

The reason Gaon hadn’t killed McCarrin immediately was to gather information about the Abyss.

“But they’ve got a prohibition spell.”

McCarrin’s brain and heart were under prohibition spells.

The one on his heart was familiar—Gaon could undo it.

The problem was the one on his brain.

It was unlike anything he’d seen before.

“…How do you know that?!”

McCarrin was shocked.

Only those at the leader level or above knew about the prohibition spells.

How did Gaon know?

Then—

“…!”

The energy Gaon had sent into McCarrin’s body moved toward his heart.

Soon, the prohibition spell on his heart was undone.

McCarrin was astonished.

A prohibition spell undone so easily?

“…What?”

McCarrin’s expression twisted.

His head felt hot.

Not from shock or overthinking—it was literally burning.

It felt like his brain was melting.

He quickly realized why.

The prohibition spell in his brain had activated.

“P-please… save…”

McCarrin desperately pleaded with Gaon.

But before he could finish, he lost consciousness.

He wasn’t dead.

His eyes turned red, and his sorcery began to surge explosively.

The surge weakened the Bind’s effect, and McCarrin started to move slightly.

Gaon didn’t stand by idly.

“Magic Blade.”

Slash!

In one swift motion, Gaon severed McCarrin’s throat.

Whoosh!

The corpse burst into flames.

Gaon hadn’t done it.

It burned on its own, as if to erase all traces.

Watching McCarrin’s body burn, Gaon thought,

They’ve gotten more vicious.