* * *

Gentle slopes, flat terrain, and lower elevation than Mount Beryl. Normally, it should have been less strenuous than crossing the Mountains of Silence.

Unfortunately, their destination, the Lycella Plateau, was an outer sealed area. A place where even the most renowned knights were reluctant to venture. If the natural environment wasn’t harsh, something else was.

“Lydon! Bind their feet!”

Lydon’s [Great Frozen Ground] stretched out before Cadel’s command could be uttered. A group of fleeing goblins slipped on the ice that covered the slope, and the chill of the frozen ground froze their ankles.

Shaaa.

A blue flash cut through the horde. A beat later, a section slid away, half-dismembered bodies tumbling down the slope. More than a dozen monsters were killed in one shot, but they weren’t done.

‘This is a lot of monsters.’

Aura, demonic energy, and dark energy appeared here and there, slaughtering monsters, but just when they could catch their breath, new ones appeared as if they had been waiting.

They were fewer in number than an army, but they were popping up all over the place, and it made them more alert.

“Has the seal already been broken?”

Lumen clicked his tongue briefly, his senses tingling. They had only made it halfway up the plateau despite their constant slashing of monsters. If the seal was broken and the plateau was already infested with demons and monsters, it was a bad idea to waste their stamina like this.

“The type of monster is too ordinary to have come out of the seal’s crack, so maybe they’ve always lived here, or maybe they were pushed down here by a monster from the Demon Realm that was released on the plateau.”

Cadel could think of several theories, but they were all negative.

‘If a High Demon is going to appear, it would be better if they come out of the summoning circle. If they break through the seal, there will be too many enemies to deal with.’

Was there a lot of minions in the High Demon’s stage this time? Cadel didn’t remember.

But whether the seal was broken or still intact. Now was not the time to be dealing with these minions.

“Only kill the ones that chase you! We need to get as close to the plateau as possible before nightfall. Hurry!”

It was a war-like march. The Knight Order was only able to set up camp after nightfall.

Even Lydon was exhausted from fighting so many monsters. It was times like these that they needed to replenish their strength. They ate the potions Cadel had distributed and the food they’d brought, and then decided on the order of the watch.

Since there were still signs of the monsters around the barely established campsite, they decided to pair up in groups of two.

The first pair was Lydon and Garuel, the second was Van and Lumen, and the third was Cadel and Yozen. Each group was to rotate every two hours, but the first group rotated a little early.

“Your stench is covering up the smell of the monsters, Garuel. What are you going to do? Stay away from me.”

“Is there really a need to distinguish by smell? There are so many of them that I think no matter where I attack them, they will all hit.”

“Stupid! I just don’t like the way you smell!”

“Oh, dear, may I offer you my handkerchief? You can carry it around and get used to my body odor. Umm, it makes me feel a little queasy, but it’s for Sir Lydon’s sake.”

“Ahaha! You don’t want to live anymore?”

Because of the two men’s nonstop chatter, with the exception of Cadel, who was completely exhausted, the rest of the group couldn’t get any sleep with their loud conversation.

“Get out.”

Lumen’s frosty gaze turned to Garuel. About to make his own excuses, Garuel was humbled by Van’s annoyed expression as he pulled Lydon aside.

“If one stays next to Lord Lydon, one will be treated similarly.”

As Van and Lumen were forced to switch the shifts, Yozen withdrew the dark energy that had been coloring his fingertips. Lydon and Garuel, who had been chattering away, fell silent and into a light sleep.

The second group remained true to their duty as watchmen. They kept the campfire burning without speaking and focused on the sounds around them. Not every moving monster needs to be dealt with. It was better for their stamina to just pick off the ones that got close to the camp.

Then, with about an hour left in the shift.

“…….”

Lumen’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the campfire, his face impassive.

“……Quite a lot of them gathered.”

He could feel them gathering, a few here, a few there, but they were all in one place. They didn’t look like they were specifically targeting the camp, but they weren’t easily ignored either.

‘Better take care of them.’

Otherwise, Cadel, the next member of the group, might have to take matters into his own hands. At that thought, Lumen was about to join in the cleanup.

“I’m coming. You stay here.”

Van scrambled to his feet. Without answering, he grabbed his greatsword and moved toward the gathering of monsters. Lumen didn’t break his gaze until Van’s back was swallowed by the darkness. When he turned his head again, a strange expression crossed his face.

40 minutes.

40 minutes had passed since Van had gone to deal with the monsters. The first sign of the monsters that Lumen had detected had disappeared more than 15 minutes ago.

‘Did he really just collapse while dealing with the monsters? He’s a pain in the *ss.’

Lumen clicked his tongue briefly and pushed himself to his feet. He only had 20 minutes before the rotation. He’d expected Van to be returned before then, but he couldn’t wait.

Before Van left for the monsters, Lumen caught a glimpse of him. The icy look in Van’s eyes bothered him.

‘Did he get berated by Leader?’

He was a perpetually annoying fellow, but he was also the one who had been with Cadel the longest. It was the first time Lumen had ever seen that look in his eyes.

It shouldn’t have bothered him.

Maximizing his senses, Lumen scanned the direction Van might be, then said, his back turned.

“I’ll step away for a moment. Do me a favor while you’re still awake.”

He didn’t hear an answer, but he didn’t care.

‘Even though he is an assassin, he never sleeps. He seems to have quite a sensitive personality.’

There was no sign of the monsters in the distance. After a moment’s thought, Lumen decided to search for the faintest sign of the monsters a little further away. It was unlikely that Van had been attacked by a monster.

And he was right on the mark.

“…….”

Phoosh. Phoosh.

A greatsword wrapped in a red aura sliced through the goblin’s belly. The corpse shifted with the movement of the greatsword, releasing a thick, bloody stench. It was not the smell of a single goblin.

The ground around where Van stood was littered with the torn bodies of monsters. The moonlight, unusually bright tonight, filtered through the foliage of the trees, illuminating the gruesome scene without fail.

Thump.

Lumen’s foot touched one of the corpses. As if sensing the small sound, Van stopped in his tracks. Slowly, he turned his head, his eyes bright red. The flow of aura swirling within his pupils was fierce.

“You should vent your anger in moderation. We might meet a demon tomorrow, so why are you wasting your stamina in a place like this?”

Van glared at Lumen, who had found him, then turned his head away again. Wiping the blood from his cheeks with the back of his hand, he spoke in a low voice.

“Don’t interfere.”

“I don’t want to interfere at all.”

“I’ll go back on my own, so get out of here.”

“You sound like a grumpy little kid.”

Lumen was deliberately sarcastic, trying to get on Van’s nerves. He didn’t know why Van was doing what he was doing, but it would be a detriment to the fight if his comrade, who was supposed to be slaying the demons with him, was drained of energy. Lumen planned to drag Van back and make him stop.

But Lumen’s taunt didn’t go unanswered. With a sneer, Van pulled his greatsword from the goblin’s body.

“Grumpy……. Grumpy, huh. Is that what it looks like to you?”

“Other than that, I don’t know what else to say. Surely you weren’t sulking because Leader didn’t pay attention recently? Don’t be annoying and just stand guard.”

“……I’m so jealous of you.”

Lumen frowned slightly. Not because of Van’s incomprehensible demeanor, but because he sensed killing intent in Van’s eyes once again.

“Did you lose your mind while fighting the monsters?”

“I’m jealous of you. I’m so f*cking jealous, Lumen.”

Van walked slowly. His red eyes shone brightly, but there was no power in his stride. Slowly approaching, Van paused in front of Lumen, the atmosphere between them sharp as if they could slice through each other at any moment.

“You have power, you have abilities, but I’ve never been jealous of what you have.”

“…….”

“But now…….”

Van’s face twisted into a grim expression. A red aura swelled from his rage-filled eyes, threatening to explode.

“I want to take away the emotions you are feeling. I want to have it even if I have to kill you.”

Lumen’s hand moved to his scabbard, the excessive tension pulling the air around them taut, hostility crackling in Van like it could explode at any moment.

This was bad. At this rate, one of them would be badly hurt. As much as he didn’t want it, there was nothing Lumen could do to stop Van’s rage.

He was accustomed to Van’s anger directed at him, but this was different. Something was going wrong. A faint sense of bewilderment flickered over his blue eyes.

“What happened, Van.”

“……What happened?”

Van’s mouth contorted strangely. He looked like he was holding back laughter, or like he was in pain. But he didn’t answer.

“Van! Lumen! Are you there?”

Cadel’s voice cut through the stiff air, echoing through the forest. The tension between them broke as if a vein had been cut.

Cadel stepped out of the trees, Yozen behind him, and as he approached them, looking greatly relieved to find them, he tripped over a monster corpse and stumbled. With Yozen’s help, he regained his footing, and in hindsight, he captured the sight of the carcass.

“This is all…….”

It was Lumen that reassured the panicked Cadel.

“I ended up here because I was chasing those who were running away. Is it already time for the shift? All the monsters around have been killed, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Ah…… I see, you caught a lot.”

Smiling awkwardly, Cadel stepped around the corpse and approached them, his worried eyes darting between Lumen and Van before settling on Van.

“Let’s go back. You need to get some sleep.”

A mixture of suspicion and anxiety filled Lumen’s eyes as he wondered if Cadel was acting strangely as well.

“Yes, Commander.”

Van wore a grim smile, his face completely devoid of the killing intent that had been there a moment ago. His face was so pristine that Lumen could hardly believe his eyes. No hostility, no anger, nothing at all, shone from the golden eyes filled with aura.

A shiver ran through Lumen’s body, but instead of pointing out Van’s demeanor, he chose to remain silent. Now was not the time.