* * *

Cadel’s reason for bringing his subordinates to the mountains was to improve everyone’s performance, but there was one in particular he planned to pay special attention to.

“Garuel, come over here.”

Garuel, who had retracted the demonic energy he was unleashing, stood before Cadel. Since arriving in the Mountains of Silence, Garuel had removed his eye patch. His uncovered eyes still gave off an ominous aura, but Cadel had gotten used to it by now.

“There won’t be anyone watching, so you can fully train your demonic energy here.”

“Thank goodness. I thought I could only practice a little during battle. As expected, Knight Commander, you have good skills.”

Cadel rolled his eyes at Garuel’s cheeky compliment. Cadel shook his head at that shamelessness and added weight to his voice.

“It’s not just demonic energy, I want you to bring both demonic energy and light mana to an equal level.”

“Hmm……. You said something similar when we were dealing with Mendel, Knight Commander. You always ask for the difficult task.”

Garuel’s newfound power must be a challenge for him now, but Cadel knew. His true power came not from demonic energy, but from two perfectly proportioned sources. When those sources were balanced and harmonized, Garuel’s true power was unleashed.

“Normally, you can only fight with your demonic energy. In the first place, if we ever had to cooperate with other knight orders, you would have to hide your light mana. But if there comes a critical moment when none of that matters, it will definitely be helpful.”

“That’s a pretty good bet.”

“You underestimate yourself too much.”

Garuel’s eyes widened at Cadel’s words. He didn’t seem to disagree, but Cadel was serious.

Garuel was capable of far more than he realized. His low self-esteem, his instinctive rejection of demonic energy, and the disconnect that came from being forced to accept it. Those things had only hindered his growth.

He was different from his fellow S-grade knights, Lydon and Yozen. Lydon, whose sealing problem had been solved, and Yozen, who had long been an experienced assassin, were already in the completed form. They didn’t need Cadel’s intervention much. At least in terms of skill perfection.

Garuel, however, was born an S-grade, but had spent his life suppressing his power and never fully realized his true potential.

“I know you’re trying to embrace your demonic energy and use it to fight as best you can.”

“…….”

“But don’t let that stop you from utilizing the power you’ve built up. Demonic energy and light mana. Your ability to use them together gives you a unique advantage.”

Cadel had hoped that the battle with Mendel would bring Garuel to his full potential, but he insisted on using demonic energy to the end. A new compulsion had been born. So Cadel decided to spend a year of training to help Garuel fully embrace his power.

“You can be even stronger than you are now, Garuel, because I will make you so.”

Faced with Cadel’s resolve, Garuel could only give his usual languid smile.

“This is the right time to fall in love, right? I won’t miss this opportunity.”

「Knight ‘Garuel Monzasi’ ’s favorability has increased by 1.」

「Current favorability: 73/100」

“……Please stop it.”

* * *

Lumen, who had been fretting over the smallest of worries before coming to the Mountains of Silence, and Lydon, who had been crying and sobbing, adjusted faster than expected.

‘He’s flying like a bird.’

It was surprising how Lumen had managed to swing his sword so discreetly among people until now. Lumen was walking through the forest in a trance. It seemed like the fact that no one was paying attention to his actions had a significant effect on him.

Kunra’s requirement that he not harm any living creatures limited his sword’s trajectory, but it also made his swordsmanship more sophisticated.

Cadel turned his head, hearing the thudding of falling rocks everywhere.

There was Lydon, talking to the ‘spirits’. Lydon was making unintelligible arguments, snorting, and sticking his tongue out to mock his opponents. From the outside, it looked like a very heated conversation.

‘……It really feels like he’s talking to a ghost.’

The problem was that to a mere mortal like Cadel, the ‘spirits’ were invisible. To him, Lydon was no more than an actor practicing his lines or a child talking to an imaginary friend. Until he was introduced to the spirits himself, he thought Lydon was playing a prank.

But at least Lydon was able to make small talk with the spirits instead of being subjected to Kunra’s presence. The humans seemed to spend hours talking about things he couldn’t understand. Of course, he’d expected Lydon to attach himself to him as soon as he got to the mountain.

“Well, that’s actually a good thing.”

There was a hint of disappointment in Cadel’s expression as he said this, but he had no way of knowing it.

“All that remains is Yozen.”

After setting up his tent in the forest, Yozen suddenly disappeared. There was no mention of him descending separately, so he must be somewhere in the forest.

‘Where on earth should I go to find him? Will he come when I call him?’

Cadel also wanted to meet and talk to Yozen for a while, but he couldn’t think of a good way to find him, so he decided to wait for Yozen to show up first.

[You must be quite fearless to spread your dark energy across the mountains without this one’s permission.]

Kunra’s angry voice rattled through his head.