If he thought about it, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect than now. The main quest had been completed and Lumen’s recovery was just around the corner. It was a short rest period before executing future plans. After now, he would spend significantly less time alone.

‘Yeah, you bastard. Thank you for your thoughtful appearance.’

You’ve helped me save time and be more efficient. He could have shed tears of gratitude. Cadel rolled his eyes nervously in the pitch-black room.

‘I can’t see anything, let alone any sign of Yozen. It’s like…… a darkroom.’

At first glance, it seemed like the ‘space of nothingness,’ but it was definitely different from that. What surrounded him was more like a melted shadow than complete darkness. Every time he took a small step, there was a sloshing sound, and perhaps because of his mood, it was strangely difficult to breathe. He felt like he was underwater.

‘It’s shrouded in dark energy, but the furniture is still there.’

When he stretched out his hand, he could clearly feel the texture of the bed or table. So, even though his sense of reality was a little off, it was still like he was in the room. The reason this place was covered with dark energy was probably because of his subordinates.

‘Is it to block this place from the outside world? ……Van will be back soon. If I don’t deal with it quickly, it’s going to be a mess.’

He hadn’t warned anyone about the fight with Yozen. It was obvious how his subordinates would react to their commander’s sudden isolation. The last thing he wanted was for there to be a commotion, so Cadel took small steps forward, strengthening the wind barrier around him.

“You arrived earlier than expected, Yozen. You must have organized your thoughts pretty quickly.”

Since the originally unknown man was buried in his own dark energy, I had to find out his location at least by his voice. With that intention, he gently tried to induce an answer, but Yozen was having none of it.

“……!”

The dark energy of the floor, which had spread like a thick liquid, spiked up like thick awls exactly where Cadel stood. The awls rose up one after another as if following Cadel’s hastily retreating steps.

‘This crazy……!’

Cade broke out in a cold sweat at the sight of the murderous dark energy that kept coming at him. The slightest nudge caused cracks to appear in the barrier, forcing him to constantly channel his mana while dodging.

The awls stopped attacking only after Cadel was backed up against the wall with nowhere to retreat. Cadel swallowed dryly, staring at the awl as it stood upright in front of him.

‘I’m afraid I’m not going to make it out alive if I get pierced by that.’

Wouldn’t it be okay to say that the attack was prevented at this point? With a simple breeze, he pulled himself out from between the awl and the wall.

‘The whole room is like a trap made by Yozen. I can’t stay long.’

The shallow trick of inferring location through voice didn’t work. If Yozen was serious about attacking him, he had to respond sincerely as well.

‘Let’s start by figuring out where Yozen is.’

If he used his striking power to attack the dark energy, he would be quickly discovered. Therefore, mana as secret and quiet as dark energy was needed.

‘Of course, fire is eliminated. In a static space like this, the wind is noticeable.’

Then all that remained was dark mana. With a light flick of his fingertips, a black mist rose and sank low to the floor. Cadel didn’t move from his seat as he began to channel the dark mana across the room.

‘The attack started when I called Yozen. Does Yozen not know exactly where I am? That’s possible if he’s still blindfolded. If he can only attack if I do the initiation first……. No, no. That bastard is a guy who can tell a person’s emotional state by listening to their breathing. Figuring out my location would be a piece of cake. It was Yozen who created this darkroom in the first place.’

So unless the darkroom was destroyed, the initiative would remain with Yozen. Sensing that the dark mana had spread far enough, Cadel drew in a short breath and began to ramble.

“But you know what, I’ve been thinking. Is this ‘raid’ a necessary process? If you’re here to respond to my invitation, why don’t you just say so? It’s not like I’m going to use force against you if you say no. Isn’t that a little heartless?”

Cadel made a deliberately loud noise to get Yozen’s attention. No matter how stealthy dark mana was, it couldn’t completely fool an assassin with a keen sense of touch, so he needed to distract him as much as possible so he wouldn’t notice its presence.

“Why don’t we talk it out? No need for bloodshed! Okay? Even if you think about it, it would be better that way……!”

As soon as he could raise his voice, murderous intent came from all directions. The dark energy that flew in like a bullet struck the barrier mercilessly and shook Cadel’s body. Cadel gritted his teeth against the merciless attack.

“If you join my Knight Order, you will have to change this barbaric habit of putting the cart before the horse!”

With that, Cadel’s gaze fell on one place. Yozen’s position, caught in the beam of mana that had spread out. Without missing a beat, a fireball was fired, aimed at the corner of the room. With a heavy thud, the dark energy that had been pounding the barrier stopped.

There was no time to wait for the outcome of the attack. Cadel took advantage of the lull in the dark energy’s momentum and ran in the direction of the fireball, intent on catching Yozen and ending the attack.

He launched himself into the remnants of the flames, and soon something solid was in his grasp. Buried in the dim flames, it was clearly Yozen, but at the very moment Cadel saw Yozen’s face.

Just like in Count Keinstein’s mansion, Yozen’s face melted into a black substance.

‘Did he replace himself with the clone again……?’

Yozen had apparently repositioned himself just before the fireball hit. Cadel’s brow furrowed as he tried to spread his mana once more.

“……?”

Yozen’s clone melted, and the flowing dark energy began to cling to Cadel as if it were going to devour him. It seeped through the gaps in the barrier that had been partially lifted to hold Yozen earlier.

He shook off the eerie sensation that crawled across his skin, but the dark energy grew faster and more sinister as he did so, and even after he reinforced his barrier, he couldn’t close the hole once it had been punctured.

‘……This feels bad.’

It was a strange sensation that Cadel couldn’t describe. He could feel the murderous intention in his bones, and his skin tingled where it touched the dark energy as if someone had dug their fingernails into it and scratched. Cadel’s expression hardened as he realized that the dark energy would not come off, no matter how hard he tried.

‘Most of Yozen’s techniques are based on dark energy, and when you have dark energy all over you, it’s like you have blades everywhere.’

Failure to shake it off would inevitably lead to defeat. No, first of all, if Yozen really wanted to harm Cadel, he would be seriously injured at the very least. They had just saved Lumen’s life and now their commander might be in a coma. Cadel couldn’t let such a tragedy happen. Even if it left a scar on his body, he had no choice but to tear off the dark energy that clung to him.

Determined, Cadel summoned his fire mana and tried to channel the flames into the dark energy that surrounded him.

“I don’t mean to hurt you.”

The dark energy that had bound him flowed like water in an instant, and it took the form of Yozen once more. He touched the back of Cadel’s flaming hand lightly, closing the distance between them. Then he bent his head toward Cadel’s wary face. Above the flickering flames, shadows appeared on the white bandage covering his eyes and the neatly raised corners of his mouth.

“I just wanted you to prove yourself strong.”

“……I haven’t been hit by your attack yet.”

“You were about to get hit.”

“So. Are you saying I’m not worth hearing your answer?”

Yozen’s head tilted at the sharp question. He didn’t answer, only smiled. Cadel’s eyes narrowed at the unreadable demeanor.

“I can’t help but wonder. If you’re going to be the sole judge of this, I might as well blow up the whole place to prove I’m strong.”

“That would hurt people nearby.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to keep them safe. What do you want me to do to prove it?”

“……Are you bluffing?”

Cadel snorted softly at the non-malicious question, then took another step closer, already close enough. Staring into Yozen’s face, almost touching, Cadel raised his index finger and lightly lifted the tip of his chin.

“Looks like you’re covering your eyes properly. Or maybe you were too focused on what I was saying.”

The corner of Yozen’s mouth twitched slightly at the voice mixed with laughter. Removing his fingers, Cadel raised his other hand and waved it in front of Yozen’s eyes. A flame that had not yet been extinguished fluttered along with the movement.

And the flames, from the moment the first fireball was fired, had been burning the dark room without a sound. Dark energy dripped down the perfectly licked flame, and the hidden appearance of the room began to be revealed.

Cadel, who had taken up his pace again and put some distance between them, chirped at the halted Yozen.

“Can you answer me before your dark energy burns out? It looks like my subordinates will attack in a little while.”