As much as Cadel’s overzealous use of dark mana to disrupt the enemy team’s search, his subordinates were no less sneaky.

“Ahaha! Look at you trying not to fall, you’re so puny! I don’t even want to think you’re of the same race as Cadel!”

Lydon enjoyed tormenting humans even more than he enjoyed capturing monsters, and as he followed the Guardian Knight Order’s path, he covered the ground in ice and laughed at the knights as they slipped and slid and scrambled. He even personally built a wall of ice in front of some of the knights who narrowly escaped.

The impatient knights shouted insults at Lydon, only to be rewarded with more snow on their feet.

The other side of Lydon’s bullying of the Guardian Knight Order. Van was sprinting ahead of the others, shoving them all out of the way.

He threw punches at those who approached and stretched his aura like a rope to bind those who outpaced him and toss them over the edge. His response to the knight who questioned what he was doing was simple.

“Because all of them are big shots.”

To him, they were nothing more than ‘a bunch of noblemen whom he cooperated out of necessity’. A bunch of young masters whom he have even interacted with if it weren’t for Cadel. Just when he was starting to get annoyed with their little tidbits here and there, they decided to make a bet with each other as enemies. It was the perfect opportunity to beat the crap out of them.

And for Van, the most annoying young master of all, the one he must diligently follow. Lumen was slaying monsters more casually than anyone else in the Knight Order.

“Found it! Hurry, we have to kill it before the Scarlet Scales Knight Order arrives!”

The Guardian Knight Order, fed up with the Scarlet Scales Knight Order’s sneaky sabotage schemes, pounced on the monster as soon as they spotted it as if they hadn’t eaten in days. There was even a hint of madness in their eyes, as they felt compelled to interrupt at any moment.

But just before they cut down the monster in front of them.

Swoosh—.

A flash of light split the monster’s body one step ahead of them. They didn’t even need to look to see the flashes disappear and the beast tear apart in the afterimage. The Guardian Knight Order, seeing the blue flash, immediately let out a roar of curses and kicked the floor, some of them clawing at their heads.

“Not again! Not again!”

“Where the hell are you?! Are you still chasing us, Sir Lumen? Come out! Come out now!”

In that short time, one knight swung his sword in the air, his eyes bloodshot with fatigue. It was a pathetic scene indeed, but it was not enough to move Lumen, who watched them silently. Ducking behind a tree, his sword sheathed at the hilt, he muttered in an impassive voice.

“Those guys are too slow to detect monsters. I’ll go after the others.”

Lumen’s abilities would have allowed him to detect any sign of a monster in the forest and kill it quickly. But instead of searching for them himself, he chose to steal them from the Guardian Knight Order.

The reasoning was simple. It was much simpler, and it was the most effective way to steal his opponent’s motivation and performance. He was as much of a man of efficiency as his leader.

Amongst his comrades, all of whom were plaguing the Guardian Knight Order in their own ways, Garuel was the only one who felt bitterly alone.

“Hey, there’s a trace of a monster here, I think it’s just a short distance away…….”

In truth, Garuel had no intention of joining in on the bet, as his abilities were better left untapped. Unless he was going to be stuck with Cadel the entire time, he couldn’t unleash his demonic energy. The leftover light mana was easy to spot, no matter how careful he was. In the middle of a hectic battlefield, perhaps, but he didn’t want to do anything to arouse suspicion in such a small bet.

“Wa, wait. That guy over there…….”

So Garuel took a leisurely walk through the forest, enjoying the scenery. It was a nice stroll of sorts. Since the bet had started, all he’d done was wander around and watch the people. But then.

“Damn, is that the black magician?”

“How do we get around him so we can go back and catch him?”

“Forget it, we’re going to get tangled up in this. Let’s go the other way.”

The knights who spotted him were quick to turn back in fear, cursing the dark mana that Garuel didn’t have and pleading with him to flee before he robbed them of their sight. And no matter how many times he turned around, he couldn’t find any of his comrades to vent his frustrations.

“I’m burning my throat with frustration…….”

Eventually, Garuel found a shady spot and cracked open a flask he’d been saving. The Scarlet Scales Knight Order deserved the victory anyway, so he could afford to have a little fun. After all, he’d already unintentionally demoralized the other side.

And just as Garuel had predicted, the bet was closing in on the Scarlet Scales Knight Order’s favor, despite the overwhelming difference in numbers.

‘Alright, I suppose this is enough? The guys can take care of the rest. I’m going to head back to Sir Ector.’

For the next half hour or so, they interrupted countless knights, stole their prey, and thoroughly mocked their opponents. It would be just the right amount to bruise their egos if the differences between the Guardian Knight Order and his own were too stark.

Nodding in satisfaction, Cadel groped around for the place where the bet had begun.

“Where was it?”

Cadel’s sense of direction was dulled by all the running around. Cadel retraced his steps and made his way through the forest. He was so sure of his victory that it was hard to keep the smile off his face.

He wondered how many steps he’d taken, and panic set in as he realized he must have misread the directions. Not far away, he heard a husky female voice.

“I don’t need you, so why don’t you just go somewhere else and fetch a magician?”

“Why do you need a magician?”

“Don’t pry. I didn’t come up here to smell blood.”

“If you don’t talk to me, I’ll have no choice but to kill you.”

“Ha! You think you can kill me? Anyway, I should know you’re a cocky race.”

Little by little, the familiar voice grew closer to the source. Cadel narrowed his eyes as best he could.

‘That’s Yozen’s voice. Who is he talking to? The female voice sounds strangely familiar, too…….’

No matter how much he tried to disguise it, there was no way Yozen wouldn’t recognize it. Nevertheless, Yozen didn’t stop talking to the mysterious woman. His tone was uncharacteristically impatient, as if he was trying to find out something before Cadel arrived.

“Tell me why you want to get a magician.”

“Stupid. Why would I want to get him? I need him.”

“Are you going to hurt him?”

“It’s my business.”

“Tell me exactly.”

“……You keep annoying me. Shall I kill you?”

“Go ahead.”

Cadel’s eyes widened at Yozen’s blunt reply. Dare her? Wasn’t she a normal woman? Sure, she was a little rough around the edges with her words, but…….

Feeling like a fight was about to break out, Cadel abandoned his cautious approach and scrambled to his feet. After squeezing through a narrow gap in the trees, a small clearing was revealed. And standing there was.

“Sellev?”

“……Huh?”

Dark purple short hair, symmetrical moles under her sharply slanted eyes, and small wings. Except for the prosthetic leg on one side and the cane on the ground, she was the same High Demon she’d first encountered at the gates of the Empire. It had to be Sellev.

Cadel wondered if Sellev remembered him too, as she rolled her eyes at his sudden appearance.

“Why are you here?”

“That’s what I’d ask.”

Cadel slid his scale armor around Yozen’s stomach, keeping his gaze focused on Sellev. Yozen’s hands were already stained black with dark energy, but he didn’t move as if he’d decided to put the fight on hold at Cadel’s arrival.

“Oh, dammit……. Here comes this *sshole. Is there no other magician here?”

“From the sounds of it, you’ve been trying to get a magician to come out. I guess one leg isn’t enough for you?”

“……You’d better not piss me off, because if you think you’re going to get away with it like you did before, you’re wrong.”

“Don’t keep interrupting me.”

Sellev took a deep breath, trying to control the anger that was building to the limit. Somehow, she managed to keep her temper under control, despite the killing intent she could barely hide at Cadel’s arrival.

Cadel, noticing the vein of blood on her forehead, whipped up a gust of wind to touch Yozen. Yozen, who had been holding his ground in front of Sellev, silently moved away as the heavy wind pressure pushed him back.

‘She doesn’t look like she’s here to fight. What’s her agenda?’

Sellev’s personality wouldn’t allow her to show up with the intention of fighting and just talk nonsense. If she was intent on fighting, she would have turned the forest upside down before she even found Yozen.

‘Even if she was only planning on killing the magicians, she’d have swung her fists at anything that came her way. A human magician is what she needs. If she’s so bold as to call for a magician, she must be doing something that benefits humans as well…….’

A demon would go out of her way to benefit humans? It was hard to accept, to say the least.

That was when Cadel was pondering Sellev’s unfathomable intentions. Barely swallowing her anger, she spoke through gritted teeth.

“I’m going to show you something good now, and you better make sure it sinks into your little skull.”

Sellev was channeling her demonic energy. Both Cadel and Yozen were wary of the purple demonic energy that quickly began to flow. But her demonic energy didn’t strike either of them. It simply flowed down, absorbed into the ground.

Cadel’s eyes narrowed as he watched the steady flow of energy.

‘A magic circle?’

A magic circle began to form out of the bare earth permeated with demonic energy. Like a watercolor painting, the magic circle gradually smeared and revealed itself. It seemed that the demonic energy was adding color to the intangible magic circle that had existed from the beginning, rather than just being created.

The demonic energy was activating a pre-existing magic circle. Sellev seemed to be anxiously searching for a magician to demonstrate this scene. But still, Cadel couldn’t see why she had to go to a human magician to show the activation of the magic circle.

‘Is that a summoning circle? Is she trying to summon enemies just to mess with us?’

Cadel could understand if it was such an impure and childish intention. Cadel felt himself stiffen slightly, preparing himself to deal with Sellev’s erratic behavior at any moment. On this side, he had his own subordinates and Ector’s Knight Order. They weren’t going to be taken lightly.

‘We just have to be vigilant.’

By this time, Cadel’s suspicions and animosity toward Sellev were growing. The magic circle, which had been slowly revealing itself, took full form. Filled with demonic energy, the magic circle glowed faintly, emitting a poisonous, ominous smoke.

“Our Emilia has a special trick up her sleeve for you foolish humans, though I doubt you’ll be able to utilize it.”

“A trick?”

“Yes. So put your stupid heads together and analyze it well.”

Smirking, she threw the demonic energy in her hand down onto the magic circle. The magic circle began to distort and shake. Black smoke leaked from within, quickly engulfing Sellev’s body.

“……Ah, right.”

With more than half her body engulfed in smoke, she looked up at Cadel and asked.

“Your name. Tell me.”

Her body, obscured by the smoke, was slowly disappearing. The silhouette through the smoke swayed grotesquely, with holes all over her body. Watching the vision, Cadel spoke nonchalantly.

“Why me?”

“Because Emilia asked me to ask you.”

“She’s interested in me? Tell her to ask me herself. I’m more of an assertive type.”

“……You have a talent for making people want to do things.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

Sellev gritted his teeth, but she didn’t get out of the magic circle. It would be more accurate to say she couldn’t. Her body, mostly swallowed by the smoke, didn’t seem to have the energy to move.

And it was only when the smoke reached the tip of Sellev’s nose that Cadel spoke, in a tone that tinged with a hint of irritation.

“I don’t want to give much away, but I think you should at least know the name of the man who’s going to kill you. Cadel Lytos. Pass it on to your princess. Go clean your throat and wait for me.”

Sellev’s eyes widened with rage at the bold statement, but that was all. Black smoke engulfed her body in a moment. With a short shockwave, the smoke dispersed in all directions, and Sellev disappeared completely.

Cadel slowly made his way across the quickly deserted space, stopping in front of the magic circle that had consumed Sellev. The mangled magic circle had resumed its neat form as if it had never been there. Above it, a faint remnant of demonic energy remained, preventing the magic circle from dissipating.

“I can’t feel her, she’s completely gone.”

Yozen said, coming up beside him. Cadel crouched down in front of the magic circle and nodded slowly.

“It’s not a normal traveling magic circle, and it’s a little different than a summoning circle.”

Sellev’s intentions slowly dawned on him. Cadel carefully reached over the magic circle and let the mana flow through it. It sparked like static and rejected him.

‘The magic circle rejects mana. It can only be activated with demonic energy.’

The magic circle could only be activated with demonic energy, and the target traveled through the magic circle and disappeared into a place so far away that even Yozen couldn’t detect its presence. Cadel muttered in a low voice as he gathered his thoughts.

“……It’s probably a one-way portal to the Demon Realm.”

“A one-way portal?”

“Yep. If that’s why she bothered to show this to me, no, to a magician……. I’m guessing it’s so we can use this magic circle formula to create a portal to the Demon Realm.”

Kunra had once said in passing. Once the great magic circle was activated, humans would be able to cross over to the Demon Realm, but it would be tricky. Cadel was just trying to figure out how to do that.

The only thing that bothered him was why the demons themselves would give humans the key to the Demon Realm.

‘Humans are dominant, so they want to turn the tide in their own land. If so, they must have already prepared a bait to lure humans into the Demon Realm.’

A lure that would force them to walk right into it, even if they knew it was a trap. Cadel pondered, then shook his head. This was not a problem that would be easily answered by sitting here alone.