* * *

‘This is kind of depressing.’

Cadel returned, dragged like a stone statue by Garuel’s hands, and smiled bitterly.

“What’s your new plan, Knight Commander? Whatever it is, we’d better get started before Sir Lydon does any more of his rampage.”

With Cadel firmly planted on the soft ground, Garuel pointed in Lydon’s direction. A white blizzard formed a boundary between them and the Knight Order, and within it, a dizzying mix of Lydon and Palaig’s laughter, the clang of hammers, and the crackle of ice.

It was a savage fight, with attacks coming at any moment. Cadel had no intention of letting Lydon do all the fighting.

“As you saw earlier, three pillars flew into the forest. They are dispensers. Only one of the three is real, and the real one scatters petrifying powder. We need to destroy the dispenser before it kills us all.”

“We have to search the forest? It’ll take a long time if we don’t pinpoint a location, and in the meantime, that demon might break the seal.”

“Yeah. So, we have to specify the location first.”

Cadel’s gaze shifted to Yozen.

“Yozen, can you do it?”

Turning his head toward Cadel, Yozen smiled an unreadable smile. After a moment of silence, he nodded slightly.

As soon as Palaig appeared, dark energy was already buried in him. The world Yozen saw was made up of outlines of energy. Just feeling the outline of that energy was enough for him to fight. However, when he needed to feel the details of a shape or track a target, he would bury the dark energy and add it to his ‘shadow world’.

He didn’t realize Cadel had picked up on that old habit.

“Then you lead the way. Van, Lumen, Garuel, you three will follow Yozen’s instructions to find and destroy the dispensers.”

“Follow the instructions……. There’s only one Sir Yozen, Knight Commander.”

Garuel looked at Cadel questioningly, but Cadel only stared at Yozen instead of answering. Yozen touched his thigh casually, as if he had something to say, and then sat down on one knee on the floor.

“The objects the demon was holding were filled with dark energy. Just follow my clone.”

Dark energy spread from Yozen’s fingertips, staining the floor black. The dark energy surged like a thick liquid, and soon transformed into his three identical clones.

Yozen, who had created three clones, rose to his feet, while Van, Lumen, and Garuel stood, each occupying a mass of ominous dark energy.

“One of the three of you will find the real dispenser. Be careful not to get petrified, and if you’re in danger, don’t try to push through. Since Yozen’s clone can send the signal, the rest should go support the direction that sent the signal.”

As soon as Cadel finished speaking, Yozen’s clones split off in three directions and began running. His subordinates quickly followed.

Cadel looked away from their retreating backs and suddenly looked up at the sky.

“……It looks like it’s going to rain.”

There were dark clouds in the sky after the sun had set. Even if it rained, the petrifying powder would not be affected, but he was worried that it would make the battle for his subordinates more difficult.

‘If possible, it would be better for us to kill Palaig first before destroying the dispenser.’

Even petrified bodies couldn’t take a break from fighting as long as their power was spread out.

“Yozen. Let’s join in soon.”

Ice and flame erupted. Instead of consuming each other, the simultaneous blizzard and flames paved the way for each other, maximizing their power.

The cold, which penetrated the entire body, dulled the senses. In severe frostbite, you might lose a finger or two and not even notice. Such was the case with the current Palaig. He had to rely on his vision for all his attacks, and even that was blurred by the heavy snowfall.

Cadel’s flame slipped through the gap. His flames, mixed with dark mana, minimized the light and cover, and penetrated Palaig’s blind spots, which he would only recognize long after he was struck by a slow-burning sensation.

As if these two attacks weren’t troublesome enough, it was the dark energy that caused Palaig the most damage.

“Futile! This Palaig will never be defeated by humans!”

His muscular body was scarred with deep cuts. His tattered body was littered with blast wounds, holes pierced by dark energy, and frozen blood that could not flow.

His momentum was incredible as he slammed the hammer into the ground with a vicious swing. Given his current condition, it might have seemed like a final act. But the reality was a little different.

“Yozen!”

“……You don’t have to scream. This won’t kill me.”

Cadel bit his lip as he looked at Yozen’s ankle, which was now frozen solid.

Cadel, Lydon, and Yozen remained in the sealing circle. The three men’s bodies had already petrified to a significant degree.

Cadel’s body was down to his face and right arm. Lydon, who had bided his time against Palaig, was petrified in every joint and could barely take a single step. Fortunately, the two mainly used long-distance attacks, so they were able to assist Yozen.

‘In the end, even Yozen was stranded.’

Lydon and himself kept Palaig in check, and Yozen nailed the attack. The fierce battle that lasted 20 minutes came to an end when Yozen lost his ability to act.

“Kahaha! Everything has calmed down now! This Palaig will crush you flat, so keep your eyes shut!”

Now Palaig had nothing to bother with: a crippled magician could not watch the battlefield, and a shackled assassin could not ambush. All that remained was to literally ‘crush’ them to death.

As Palaig raised his hammer, the moon, which had been casting a dull glow, was eclipsed, and complete darkness descended upon the land. Cadel hurriedly drew a barrier of fire over his subordinates, but he could feel it in his gut.

10 minutes. They had 10 minutes to break the petrification, or someone would die.

* * *

“Oh my, it was a fake.”

Garuel rubbed the corners of his mouth with an awkward smile. In front of him sat a shattered dispenser, slowly weathering into a powdered mess.

“I thought it would be better if I handled it myself……. No such luck, it seems.”

As soon as he approached the dispenser, it sprinkled sand-like powder into the atmosphere, so of course he thought it was real. He worked hard to avoid the powder, only making himself look ridiculous for attacking it.

Garuel put back on the blindfold he had temporarily removed and looked around at his quiet surroundings. There were no signs of other comrades, and Yozen’s clone disappeared as soon as he destroyed the dispenser.

“I don’t know if it would be better to go to another dispenser location or go back to Knight Commander. Since there is no signal, there is no need for help. ……Hmm, it’s difficult for a subordinate to judge.”

After some deliberation, Garuel decided to head back to the base camp. If he found a signal on the way back, he could join them then.

By this time, Lumen was having similar thoughts.

“……My resolve is meaningless.”

As soon as Lumen saw the scattering powder, he knew this dispenser was real. It was impossible to avoid all the petrifying powder in the air and smash it. He swung his long sword with determination, even if it meant his entire body would harden, he would smash the dispenser.

As it turned out, the powder was just sandy dust and only stung his puffy eyes a little. Lumen tore his gaze away from the weathering dispenser and looked up at the sky.

Still no signal. Either the real dispenser had been dealt with, or it wasn’t too much trouble to deal with. Whether it was Garuel or Van, there was no telling, but……..

“I’m a little uneasy about that guy.”

Van Herdos.

He could still see the craziness he had seen that night.

“……I’ll do what I have to do.”

As soon as he saw Cadel, he quickly changed his demeanor and behaved himself. There was no way he would disobey orders and endanger Cadel.

After a few minutes of waiting for the signal, Lumen chose to return to the main base, as did Garuel. That was when the two men took care of the fake dispenser.

Faced with the real dispenser, Van couldn’t say he didn’t need their help.