* * *

「Quest success rate: 53%」

Despite his diligently rising level of contribution, Cadel’s expression never faltered.

“I should’ve killed you from the start. It’s contribution, quests, and other bullsh*t, so you must have looked down on me.”

It was like there was no bottom to his power, Cadel constantly raised his mana. He drained every last drop of mana from the mana vessel.

As a result, Cadel succeeded in pressuring Sellev, causing brutal pain to her flesh.

‘Not enough. As in, just not enough.’

At the same time, he realized his limitations.

Cadel was not weak. He was a competent 7-star magician and had outstanding talent beyond his level. However, what was needed now was a firepower of ‘more’.

The fire dragon, clad in thunderbolt, could injure Sellev, but couldn’t kill her. Sellev had always had a handful of leeway. Cadel’s attack cut through Sellev’s skin but failed to pierce her heart. The fact was unbearably unpleasant.

‘I need to finish this until my subordinates are fully healed, no, before that.’

Both Van and Lydon had suffered excessive injuries in a battle they were unprepared for. It wasn’t Cadel’s fault, but he felt responsible. If he hadn’t advanced the story, if he hadn’t been their commander, they wouldn’t have had to fight such a horrific battle.

‘I can’t have them jumping back on the battlefield with bodies that are barely healed.’

They weren’t expendable. They weren’t convenient chess pieces to be sacrificed to further his goals. They were comrades with whom he would share the final future, would be with until the last of the last. He was the one to protect and lead them.

So no matter what happened, he would finish it with his own hands.

“Mercenary Commander!”

Cadel’s cold gaze shifted. In the center of the battlefield, where no one could reach, someone was penetrating through.

Sorin. His longsword sliced through storm after storm of lightning and flame. Slowly but surely, the sturdy, strong blade cleared a path for him to advance. When he was close enough, Sorin didn’t hesitate to pick up the fallen Lydon.

“I’ll take care of the fairy, so bring the fire dragon to the outskirts. As soon as the requested battalion arrives, the demon―”

Sorin, who had been quickly relaying the plan, fell silent, his eyes fixed on Lydon, who had slumped in his arms.

The fairy was clearly suffering from a severe bout of rampage that froze the ground on the battlefield. Jeriel suffered from the same rampage, but he was cured with the help of the fairy, so it was no surprise that his mana was no longer felt on the battlefield.

But he also couldn’t feel the fairy’s mana. Currently, the only magician who could suppress the rampage here was Cadel, but he had no time to care about the fairy because he was dealing with Sellev.

Without help, there’s no way the fairy’s rampage would have stopped.

No mana could be felt in the shriveled body of the fairy. Even the ice that covered the ground had melted away.

“Is he already…….”

To his naked eyes. The fairy’s chest no longer rose and fell, and not a single pale breath was felt upon his corpse-pale face.

Already dead, or close to death, with no way to tell.

“Sir Sorin.”

The call, fierce as a scolding, would not tolerate his complacency. Cadel looked back at Sorin, the emotion in his eyes choking him.

“My subordinate didn’t die.”

A true rage that burned, devouring finite impressions. His anger was not directed at Sorin, but it was all the more poignant for that.

“He’s not dead. Save him. Take responsibility and save him. An Empire that didn’t save my subordinate wouldn’t mean anything to me.”

The implications of that statement were clear.

He had no ties to the Empire, and his desperation to fight the demon was driven solely by a sense of justice. If the demon succeed in breaking the gate and invading, the death of innocent humans was certain, and he fought to prevent it.

However, it was up to him to decide whether it was worth risking his subordinates and his own life. Their retreat was not a betrayal. The role of guarding the gateway was the knights of the Empire, not the mercenary corps from outside. So at any time, he had the right to withdraw his magic and escape with his fallen subordinates.

However.

“……Mercenary Commander. You are.”

Instead of angering or accepting Cadel’s vague threats, Sorin recalled slowly drifting memories.

‘An Empire is worth having because there is something to protect. So never stop searching for meaning. A reason to love the Empire, a reason to defend it. It will make you strong.’

When he first joined the Guardian Knight Order. A man stood in front of a group of knights who were mere newbies, looking each one in the eye and encouraging them. He was not a member of the Guardian Knight Order, but he was above them all, trusted by the Emperor, and looked up to by everyone in the Empire.

‘The reason I care about the Empire is because I have family here. If my children, whom I love more than anyone else, can be protected by the Empire, I’ll go in limb for limb again and again. That’s what makes it worth it.’

Jenga Lytos.

Sorin had only met him once, and he didn’t remember talking to him, but the memory of that time hadn’t faded, it had settled deep in his mind.

‘I can’t believe I didn’t recognize him.’

The silent eye contact between the two men was brief, but it spoke volumes.

“……I’ll ask you to back me up.”

There was not much a swordsman could do between a flying demon and a fire dragon. Neither could anyone safely cut a path through the Red Men and lightning bolts. So Sorin had to evacuate Lydon himself through the gate.

Cadel did not answer Sorin’s words, nor did he watch his back as he and Lydon walked away. Instead, he bit his lip and looked up at the fire dragon.

‘He noticed.’

「Quest success rate: 58%」

The current level of contribution was 58%. He was barely halfway there, and he wasn’t sure how Sorin’s behavior would affect the quest if he realized his identity at this point. Cadel couldn’t make a good guess.

‘Since he said he would ask me to back him up, so Sellev is not going to catch him right away, there’s only one thing to do.’

At Sorin’s request, Cadel dragged Sellev to the edge of the battlefield. The target was the circle of magic, the cause of everything.

Cadel planned to take down Sellev and dispel the magic circle in one fell swoop.