Chapter 53: Shadows of Doubt

Batan couldn’t help but respond with a puzzled expression and voice.

Despite his reluctance, he had provided significant support by handing over the major city of Elrin.

Yet now, Lilith was not thanking him but reprimanding him.

As if Batan had harmed Luhan.

Did I help for nothing?

His mood soured.

He regretted offering assistance.

“Luhan is dead,” Lilith said.

…What?

Her words turned Batan’s mind blank.

Luhan, dead?

“His soul stone shattered just moments ago.”

Is that true?

“Do I look like someone who’d joke about this?”

That’s impossible. He went to the 1st Branch three hours ago.

He should’ve just arrived…

Batan spoke, his face and voice filled with disbelief.

Lilith, observing his reaction, thought to herself.

He doesn’t seem to be lying.

His response felt too natural.

Besides, there was no reason for him to tell a lie that could be easily exposed.

Then he either died at the 1st Branch or on the way there…

Lilith asked Batan, “Who’s at the 1st Branch? Is it as I know?”

Yes, Parn is still the Branch Leader.

“Can you contact him?”

Yes, I can.

I’ll check now.

Please wait a moment.

Batan’s image vanished.

Lilith waited silently, and soon after—

Swish!

Batan reappeared, his face etched with deep confusion.

Just looking at him, she could guess the situation without needing an answer.

He’s not responding.

As expected.

Something major had gone wrong.

“What about the soul stones?”

That’s the strange part. The soul stones of Parn and the other 1st Branch executives haven’t shattered.

Nor has the messenger’s who went with Luhan.

“That’s definitely odd.”

Luhan was dead.

Yet the messenger and the 1st Branch executives, including Parn, were not.

What kind of situation would lead to only Luhan’s death?

“They wouldn’t have betrayed us, so is there any force nearby that could threaten the 1st Branch?”

Due to the seals, betrayal was impossible even if they wanted to.

The lack of response despite being alive suggested another force might be involved.

There isn’t.

The Bretan Kingdom was founded under our control from the start.

“What about neighboring regions?”

The same applies to them.

Though there is one entity that concerns me.

At Batan’s words, Lilith had a hunch about who he meant without hearing the name.

“Gaon?”

Yes, so I have to ask.

Is he truly a 7th Circle Archmage?

Could the information be wrong?

Lilith couldn’t answer immediately.

She hadn’t confirmed it herself.

It was an estimation based on information from the 3rd Branch.

What if that information was incorrect?

What if Gaon wasn’t 7th Circle but 8th Circle?

That would explain everything.

Though one thing nagged at her.

But an 8th Circle emerging from the human faction makes no sense.

She had accounted for all Archmages in the human faction.

There were many 7th Circle Masters, but none were close to the 8th Circle.

Not a single one.

Moreover, even the 8th Circle mages in the Demon Realm faction hadn’t reached that level through normal means.

They’d switched their foundation from mana to magi and used special rituals to forcibly enter the 8th Circle.

Achieving the 8th Circle was that difficult.

Yet an 8th Circle mage had suddenly appeared in the human faction?

It was hard to believe.

What if he’s not a mage?

A sudden thought made Lilith’s eyes gleam.

What if he wasn’t a mage?

What if he walked the path of martial arts—sword, spear, or even whip?

Or perhaps a shaman?

Unlike Archmages, many great shamans remained untracked.

Finishing her thoughts, Lilith spoke.

“I’ll look into Gaon again. But are you just going to sit there until then?”

No, I’ll go check myself.

It was clear something had gone wrong at the 1st Branch.

But he couldn’t send subordinates to investigate.

Luhan was already dead, and the situation at the 1st Branch was severe enough.

Sending subordinates might only complicate things further.

So Batan planned to go himself.

“What if he’s 8th Circle?” Lilith asked.

It wasn’t certain, but given the circumstances, Gaon was either 8th Circle or possessed equivalent power.

In that case, Batan wouldn’t stand a chance.

I’m confident I won’t die.

Batan answered Lilith’s question.

Even against an 8th Circle.

Batan was certain.

He was confident he could survive even an 8th Circle mage.

If I do die…

Trailing off, Batan paused, then smirked and said, – Assume he’s an 8th Circle Master.

“I’ll wait for your report.”

Yes, I’ll send news soon, whatever it may be.

Lilith ended the communication after Batan’s response.

Her expression darkened.

The name Gaon and the mention of an 8th Circle Master together deeply unsettled her.

“Here it is.”

Swish.

****

Behid extended both hands with a respectful voice and posture.

In his hands was a large map.

It detailed the Bretan Kingdom and its surrounding regions.

Naturally, it wasn’t an ordinary map.

Red dots marked the locations of the 2nd Division’s headquarters and branches, with text providing detailed descriptions of each.

Parn didn’t know about some of these.

Behid knew of branches even Parn was unaware of.

There are so many.

After reviewing the map, Gaon looked at Behid.

Behid, whose eyes had been filled with curiosity, flinched and lowered his head upon meeting Gaon’s gaze.

“You seem curious about something,” Gaon said.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Don’t make me ask twice.”

“Are you planning to deal with the 3rd Elder?”

Gaon let out a low groan.

Currently, Behid, like Parn, was under the misunderstanding that Gaon was the Lord of the Abyss.

And there was more.

He also believed the 3rd Elder was plotting treason.

“I’ll decide after hearing from the 2nd Division Leader,” Gaon replied.

“T-Thank you for answering!”

Just then, Parn approached.

With a respectful posture and voice, he said, “Everyone has gathered.”

“Good.”

Gaon nodded and rose from his seat.

He headed to the grand meeting hall.

Soon after arriving, Gaon thought to himself.

So many.

The hall was filled with countless people, neatly lined up and prostrating themselves.

There were nobles, knights guarding the palace entrance, and even stable keepers managing the palace stables.

Their true identity was the Abyss.

Gaon had ordered Parn to gather everyone in the capital.

“Is this everyone?” Gaon asked.

“Yes, this is all of them,” Parn replied.

Gaon approached the nearest middle-aged man.

He injected Pacheongi to check for seals.

As expected, there were seals in his brain and heart.

Unlike with Parn and Behid, Gaon didn’t dismantle the seals.

Instead, he left the injected Pacheongi in place and withdrew his hand.

He moved to the next person.

Again, he didn’t dismantle the seals.

As before, he left the Pacheongi and moved on.

Gaon continued this process, checking each person.

Some time later, after finishing, Gaon scanned the hall and thought.

Time to wrap this up.

The reason he hadn’t dismantled the seals and left Pacheongi was to kill every single one of them.

He had already extracted all the information he needed from Parn and Behid.

There was nothing more to gain.

Killing them wouldn’t cause any issues.

With his decision made, Gaon approached Parn and Behid.

He placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

“Good work,” he said.

“No, it was our duty,” Parn replied.

“It’s an honor,” Behid added.

As they responded, Gaon injected Pacheongi.

Parn and Behid flinched slightly.

But that was all.

They took no further action.

Gaon continued, “Live a proper life in your next one.”

“…What?”

“…Pardon?”

Parn and Behid looked puzzled.

Then Gaon detonated the Pacheongi.

Boom! Boom!

With a thunderous explosion, Parn and Behid perished.

It wasn’t just them.

Gaon had injected Pacheongi into everyone in the hall.

And he detonated it all, sparing none.

Gaon withdrew his hands.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Parn and Behid’s bodies burst into flames.

Naturally, they weren’t the only ones.

Gaon turned around.

Every Abyss member in the hall was burning.

Soon, all the bodies turned to ash, and the flames vanished.

Gaon gave the hall one last glance and stepped outside.

He headed to the reception room.

He needed to meet Lamu, who was waiting there.

Creak.

Upon arriving, Gaon opened the door and entered.

Lamu leapt to his feet.

“It’s done,” Gaon said.

“Ah…”

Lamu let out a soft gasp.

He understood what “done” meant.

“You’ve worked hard,” Lamu said, bowing deeply.

“Hardly,” Gaon replied, shrugging.

He continued, “I’m heading to Deisrin now. Handle the cleanup well.”

Deisrin was a major city in the Maphion Kingdom, northwest of the Bretan Kingdom.

Gaon’s reason for going there was because the 2nd Division was located in Deisrin.

Originally, his plan was to destroy the Ritual of Sacrifice formations scattered across the Bretan Kingdom.

But thanks to Parn’s misunderstanding, things had become easier.

Gaon had used Parn to issue a decree.

It warned of a critical issue with the magic circles, urging people to avoid them until resolved.

In other words, there was no longer an urgent need to destroy the Ritual of Sacrifice.

Even if someone tried to activate it, there would be no sacrifices to fuel it.

“Don’t worry about the cleanup; I’ll handle it perfectly. But are you going alone?”

“Yeah, stopping by Elrin would take too long.”

Rotes and Taylor were still in Elrin.

Taking them to Deisrin would be too time-consuming.

And that wasn’t all.

“It’s dangerous, too.”

According to Parn and Behid, the 2nd Division Leader was neither a Swordmaster, a 7th Circle Archmage, nor a 7th-Star High Sorcerer.

Yet they possessed abilities comparable to those ranks.

Not an opponent to underestimate.

“Just tell them to keep training and stay on standby.”

“Yes, understood.”

“See you later, then.”

Gaon finished his conversation with Lamu and stepped outside.

Leaving the palace through a secret passage, Gaon, alongside Kring, raced toward the city of Deisrin with full speed, thinking to himself.

If the headquarters falls, the Abyss will falter.

There wasn’t just one headquarters.

But that didn’t diminish their value.

Unlike branches, a headquarters was like a torso or limb.

If it was destroyed, the Abyss would suffer a major blow and hesitate.

In other words, it would buy time.

I need to reach the 8th Circle immediately.

During that time, Gaon planned to ascend to the 8th Circle.

And then break through the Fifth Wall.

The Fifth Wall had appeared some time ago.

Gaon hadn’t yet shattered it.

The 8th Circle was more urgent.

As he thought about his future plans while moving—

“…!”

Gaon had to stop.

A powerful presence was detected through his senses.

It was an aura equivalent to a 7th Circle Master.

A thought struck him, and his face turned skeptical.

…Batan?

The 2nd Division Leader, Batan, came to mind.

The direction of the powerful aura was exactly where the city of Deisrin lay.