Was it the damned Cadel Lytos self inside him that had done the deed? Cadel couldn’t understand why he’d saved the Count’s life, why he couldn’t just endure that moment. All he could remember was an overwhelming refusal to see Yozen’s dagger pierce the Count’s throat.

“Find the Shadow Envoy, we must protect the Count!”

The Count’s bodyguards raced down the hall. Coming face to face with Cadel, one of them tugged on Cadel’s arm and said urgently.

“The Count is in the basement of the mansion. Follow him and put a barrier around him.”

The tug on his dislocated arm forced Cadel to bite his lips until they were white to keep from screaming. When he nodded weakly, the knight glanced around, his eyes alert.

“You did not see where the Shadow Envoy went?”

“No. After we evacuated the Count from the room, he suddenly disappeared.”

“Damn……. Did you see his face?”

“No.”

It wasn’t a lie. Cadel hadn’t seen Yozen’s face. Even if he had, he wouldn’t have gotten an accurate impression with the bandages covering his eyes.

Realizing there was no information to be gleaned from Cadel, the knight let go of his arm. Cadel turned away, gingerly clutching his burning arm.

‘Yozen will find the Count in no time, so I’d better get down to the basement.’

Cadel was about to move in the opposite direction when he realized he needed to get there before Yozen did.

[Halfling. Above.]

Kunra’s voice pierced through his head. Cadel looked up reflexively, and the blackened ceiling came into view. The ceiling where Cadel and the knights stood was stained with an oily, grimy color. There was nothing to see but dark energy.

In an instant, it turned into a solid thorn, reaching out in many directions.

“Get down!”

Cadel reflexively generated a barrier of fire that covered the ceiling. The sudden appearance of the barrier caused most of the knights to duck or raise their swords to counterattack.

“……!”

Some of the knights, terrified, fled outside the barrier, only to be pierced by a bolt of dark energy. The dark energy pierced their heads and crotches cleanly, then seeped into the floor without a sound.

In the blink of an eye, their limp bodies slumped to the ground. Cadel marveled at the futility of the deaths, and at the sheer magnitude of the force pounding against the barrier.

‘Just like that one.’

The impact was similar to that of Sellev’s fist when it smashed through the barrier. Whereas Sellev’s attack had been accompanied by a shockwave that reverberated through the entire barrier, Yozen’s dark energy only cut through the area it touched.

“What, what the hell…….”

The knights who had lost their comrades before their eyes in the blink of an eye made panicked noises. The dark energy faded away after a period of attack, but Cadel couldn’t retract the barrier as easily.

“Kunra, is he still around?”

He whispered quietly, and after a moment of silence, the answer came.

[……It’s hard to detect any sign of him with the power I’ve given you, but he’s not close.]

Even if it was just a part of it, it was the power of the Scarlet Dragon, who could be said to be the strongest being in this world. Yet, Yozen was hiding his presence so perfectly that it was difficult to determine his exact location.

Only after he was assured that Yozen was nowhere near, Cadel pulled back the barrier and hurried underground, leaving the confused knights alone.

‘This is just a stalling tactic, a simple distraction attack. ……He may have already arrived.’

After asking the scrambling servants for directions, Cadel arrived at the entrance to the basement, which led to a narrow stone staircase. Cadel summoned a fireball to illuminate the darkened staircase.

Hurried footsteps echoed through the narrow space. The footsteps were Cadel’s alone, but even so, he couldn’t be sure and turned around again and again.

At the end of the staircase, a thick iron door stood.

“Your Grace. Are you inside? It’s me, Carlo.”

He knocked on the door and fumbled around impatiently, and before he knew it, a small hole in the top of the door opened. The Count’s frightened eyes peeked through.

“……It, it’s you.”

“Are there knights inside?”

“None. They’re all outside, chasing the Shadow Envoy.”

A disarming glance was cast uneasily behind Cadel, and soon the iron gate swung open with a dreary clang.

“Come on in.”

Cadel pushed himself through the narrow opening. Once Cadel was inside, the Count hurriedly closed and locked the door behind him.

‘He’s still alone.’

Cadel scanned the interior of the basement where Count was hiding. The ceiling was dimly lit, and there were a few torches on the walls, unlit.

He expected it to be a shelter for emergencies, but it was quite furnished. There was a large bed, a table that was too long to be a dining table and weapons that looked like they were meant for self-defense. The Count plopped down on the couch in front of the unlit fireplace and made a sickening sound.

“I survived thanks to you. Damn, what the hell were those bastards out there doing, letting the Shadow Envoy walk into my room? If it weren’t for you, I might never have opened my eyes.”

There was a high probability that it would have been so. If it weren’t for himself and his acquaintance, Yozen could have easily killed everyone in the room.

‘He was more dangerous than I ever imagined.’

Cadel circled the wall and lit the torches one by one. The darker it was, the more it would only favor Yozen.

‘I’d better be prepared for something…….’

He hadn’t gotten to the basement yet, and the only entrance to it was an iron door. Even Yozen wouldn’t be able to drown out the clanging sound it made when it opened. On the plus side, Cadel could easily keep an eye on Yozen, but in reality, he was trapped in an isolated space with only one way in and one way out.

‘I have no intention of committing suicide while trying to recruit a knight.’

Such a terrible threat was enough when recruiting Lydon. Cadel hoped to persuade Yozen with minimal conflict, and if he could not, he would give up on recruiting him.

So what was the goal after giving up? His own survival? Or the protection of Count Keinstein?

Cadel, lighting the last torch, took a deep breath.

‘I didn’t follow Cadel Lytos’ will. It’s weirder to watch a man die in front of you.’

He almost chose the wrong option, too conscious of Cadel Lytos’ presence. Cadel organized his jumbled thoughts.

‘If Kunra is true to his word, I will be able to feel the full force of my own will when I see the end of the story. That’s it. If I continue to dwell on an inconclusive problem, I will not survive the many battles ahead.’

He must not be distracted by such feeble worries, at least not in a time of crisis like this. Decision made, Cadel turned to face the Count.

But at that moment.

“Cough……!”

A large hand suddenly reached out and grabbed Cadel’s throat in a vicious grip. The force of the grip threw him against the wall. Wide eyes took in the face of the man before him.

“Kugh…… Yo, Yozen…!”

It was Yozen Vardikta. His eyes were hidden by white bandages, but his pouty lips curled into a faint smile that belied the words that followed.

“Such a disappointment. I trusted you.”

When did he come in? Cadel didn’t hear the door open. Sure enough, the door was still closed.

‘Don’t tell me he’s been here all along……’

Cadel could only assume that he had been in the basement with the Count from the beginning. That meant that the reason Yozen appeared was not the Count, but himself.

Cadel rolled his eyes hastily and looked over to the couch where the Count was, and there he was, screaming so desperately that his eyes were popping out of his head, and a man holding him down.

He looked exactly like Yozen, but his body was made entirely of dark energy. Yozen’s dark energy, as thick as liquid, had created an exact duplicate of him.

“It’s not good to cheat people, because there’s a price to pay.”

“Get off, me……!”

Cadel raised his non-dislocated left arm to strike at Yozen but was held back. Without hesitation, Yozen snapped Cadel’s wrist and pressed his body against Cadel’s.

“Your heartbeat wasn’t lying. Why did you save the Count? That’s a contradiction.”

Cadel’s eyes grew white as his breath was squeezed out of him. Cadel felt his body slowly give out.

‘At this close distance, I’m going to get hit when I use my magic.’

But if he didn’t get Yozen off of him now, he would suffocate. In his rapidly fading consciousness, Cadel shouted out the name of the other man instead of the few words that would dissuade Yozen.

“Kun, ra……!”

“……Kunra?”

Only Kunra’s power could help Cadel here and now. With a barely contained cry, the pendant on his necklace glowed slightly.

Soon after, the scale armor that had been released began to cover Cadel’s upper body. Unlike its original form, the scales clung to Cadel’s body and dug into Yozen’s hands as he strangled him.

A thin line creased Yozen’s brow at the unfamiliar sensation.

“This is…….”

And then he hesitated, loosening his grip. The scales that had been lying flat reared up in unison, forming dozens of blades that rushed forward.