No one in the mine had seen the enemy move. Except for one. Yozen Vardikta was different: He sensed from the moment he entered the abandoned coal mine that there was an enemy here, targeting the Knight Order.

Visuals were useless to him when he couldn’t see. Only auras and scents. That was the only way he could tell things apart, so there was no such thing as ‘invisible’ to Yozen.

‘……The enemy is one. Quick to move. If we only consider the explosive power of the moment, it is about the same speed as Lumen.’

Yozen kept his distance from the Knight Order and assessed the enemy’s capabilities. It was a demon, and it had great speed, both in terms of attack and movement speeds, and a great deal of destructive power.

With a little bit of dark energy, he made out the enemy’s appearance. He had an uncannily thin body, a height that could barely stand with his back to the mine shaft ceiling, and multiple arms that stretched from floor to ceiling.

‘Cadel said it’s a demon that can turn invisible, so if they can’t even see the enemy, it’s going to be tough for a normal human to deal with it.

Already, many of the Shadow Knight Order seemed to be dead or wounded. If they didn’t do something quickly, the situation might be grim.

Despite knowing this, Yozen didn’t act blindly. The demon’s position and movements were obvious. But going to the knights’ aid was never an option. The reason was simple. He didn’t want to help.

He stayed just far enough away to hear the Knight Order’s voices, and when they stopped marching, he sat with his back against the rock wall. He couldn’t bring himself to show himself.

‘No matter how dangerous this enemy is, Cadel will not die.’

He had great company and the protection of the Scarlet Dragon. It was even stranger that he would be killed by such a small demon. The problem was with the Shadow Knight Order, but that was none of Yozen’s business.

The Shadow Knight Order was a strictly meritocracy. They didn’t care what a member’s past was. Whether it was a stolen identity or a skill gained by killing people, the Order’s commander, Dasto Salawell, was indifferent.

Some might see the Shadow Knight Order as a progressive group, looking to the future and forgetting the past. But not Yozen. To Yozen, the Shadow Knight Order was just another clump of debris he’d like to clean out one day.

So for once, he wasn’t going to use his powers to save them, even if Cadel asked him to.

“All right, then, it’s an order. Killing Jeffrey is on hold until this operation is over.”

Having been told to hold off on killing Jeffrey until the operation was over, Yozen had no desire to do otherwise. He’d rather cheer for the demon. For while the Shadow Knight Order was dying by the dozen, the soul of the cursed Jeffrey Holiven still lingered in this world.

‘I’m not understood, anyway.’

Cadel would not understand his choices and actions until the end. The idea of killing someone to save someone was a foreign concept to a man as bright and brilliant as he was. He might say he understood, but he would never make the same choice under any circumstances.

So…… yes. Instead of waiting at the far end of the line, tormented by Cadel’s orders, he should have taken advantage of this chaos to eliminate Jeffrey. No matter what Cadel said, he did not need to suppress his anger all his life, trying to figure out the feelings of someone who would never understand him.

And yet, he found himself making an absurd wish, asking the demon to take his long-overdue revenge. He could kill Jeffrey without being hated by Cadel. It was a pipe dream.

“……What am I doing?”

It wasn’t like him to do something so blatantly obvious and yet he was avoiding it with all his might. It was always like this. If it had anything to do with Cadel, he acted as if he had forgotten the past. The past, his feelings, his resolve. It was as if he’d thrown it all away.

It would be right, then, to distance himself from Cadel. It was right to let go of him, to go on his way, content to cheer him on in life.

Yozen couldn’t see why he couldn’t.

‘I just need time.’

If he had to weigh Cadel and his life as an assassin, it was definitely the latter. Killing the wicked was his sole purpose in life, and without it, he had no reason to live. So if he wanted to live as an assassin, he’d have to leave Cadel’s side as soon as possible. All he needed was a little time. Time to shake off the unnecessary sense of security he’d gotten from being with Cadel.

A little more time to be with him, a little more time to remember him, a little more time to record a few short memories, and then move on with his life.

That was what Yozen thought at the moment.

“Yozen!”

From the depths of the mine, a familiar voice called out.

* * *

The situation was worse than Cadel expected. Even with the barrier around everyone, Port’s attack was deadly. He had pierced a small gap in the barrier, and before the knights had time to react, he was upon them. The barrier’s protection saved them from immediate death, but his attacks slowly cornered the knights.

It wasn’t just a physical challenge. The battle against an invisible enemy was eating away at their mental strength.

“It, it’s to the east! East!”

“What bullsh*t! There are casualties from the south!”

“But I heard a sound from here!”

Chaos struck the Shadow Knight Order first, as they lost many of their comrades before their eyes and were forced to rely solely on Cadel’s barrier and magic tools for survival. All their lives, they’d been sensing their opponents’ movements, striking first and taking them by surprise. The constant onslaught of an opponent whose presence they could not sense took its toll.

At a time when they needed to maintain their composure the most, they were unable to calm down even at the command of their commander, Dasto.

“Hmph, what a bunch of idiots. Can’t they just die while they’re making so much noise?”

Lydon, who was watching the Shadow Knight Order, said in annoyance. They were huddled in a circle with their backs to each other, but Port’s attack hadn’t yet been directed at the Scarlet Scales Knight Order’s line, so he hadn’t had a chance to counterattack, only to listen in on their every move.

“Quiet, Lydon. You’ll tire us all out here.”

“We’re tired enough already! Can’t I just freeze this whole place? Just because he’s invisible doesn’t mean he’s shapeless. If I froze him, wouldn’t we be able to see something?”

“If we show the slightest inclination to use that kind of magic, Port’s going to take action. If we provoke him, we could make him more dangerous. Unless we can pinpoint his location, we can’t attack him.”

“What if I freeze him before he notices?”

“If that were the case, I’d be blasting flames everywhere.”

Invisible Demon, Port. When he entered the [Invisibility] state, the player would be unable to target him. He evaded all attacks. The only way to hit him effectively was to dispel his [Invisibility] buff, which required an Assassin character, as only their unique skill could target Port.

‘I thought it was possible, but it seems that if you’re not the protagonist’s teammate, you can’t dispel [Invisibility], even if you’re in a similar position. I didn’t think even the commander, Dasto, would have a hard time.’

He wondered if only the protagonist, Cadel Lytos, could pioneer the crisis. He didn’t like the fact that the game was stubbornly centered on the protagonist in times like this, even though it acted like it was a different reality.

“Yozen!”

He couldn’t hope for help from the Shadow Knight Order, and Van, Lumen, Garuel, and Lydon couldn’t take on Port alone. He needed Yozen, Cadel concluded, and called out Yozen’s name loudly.

He could feel the Shadow Knight Order stirring at the unexpected call, but he didn’t care, calling his name over and over again.

‘He’s not one to hide until this, even though he hasn’t raised his voice since last night……. Please, Yozen.’

It didn’t matter now if Jeffrey or Dasto figured out Yozen’s identity or not. What good would it do with a mountain of corpses piling up in the mine shaft, when he could just cast dark mana into Jeffrey’s eyes, the most dangerous of all.

But despite his desperate cries, Yozen did not appear. The pathetic lack of response to his call caused Cadel, his subordinates, and even Dasto to become perplexed.

“Sir Cadel. If this Yozen is one of your subordinates, he may already be dead, out of sight.”

“That can’t be.”

“If not, then why hasn’t he shown up?”

Cadel glared at Jeffrey reflexively, then bit his lip and turned away.

“Leader, Sir Dasto may be right. He’s a quiet guy, so even if he was attacked, the chances of us noticing him are low. Let’s go back and check…….”

“That’s not going to happen, so stay here and don’t move.”

The subordinates looked worried for Yozen’s well-being, who had not been heard from since the beginning. He was a man who would show up immediately whenever Cadel called. Cadel hadn’t expected Yozen to be so stubborn, either.

“What if he wasn’t with us from the beginning? Because he doesn’t want to see Jeffrey and me until the whole thing is over…….’

Jeffrey was the one who led Yozen down the dark path, and Cadel was the traitor who protected him. To avoid killing him, Yozen might have to keep his composure in a place where he couldn’t even be heard.

‘If that’s the case, that’s the worst.’

If Yozen really wasn’t here, Cadel had to come up with another plan as soon as possible.

‘……No, there is no other way, Yozen must be here. He’s got to be here, he’s got to be nearby, and he’s got to be acting like he doesn’t care. If he is.’

There was only one thing: a way to bring him out of the shadows.

Cadel had lifted all the barriers that protected him. So did his scale armor. He dropped all defenses and extinguished the fireballs that lit his vision. There was an uneasy murmur in the sudden darkness. Cadel shouted firmly over the agitation of his allies.

“If we can’t see now, neither can you, Port!”

Port had been relying on the flames to ‘pick’ humans and kill them. The evidence was clear. All of the deaths in the Shadow Knight Order so far had been of new knights, all of them less than two years into their membership. They were the first to be killed because they were relatively weak.

The Scarlet Scales Knight Order, on the other hand, had only seen Van and Lydon receive shallow wounds. Seeing that his attacks weren’t easily met, Port pushed the Scarlet Scales Knight Order aside and returned to attacking the Shadow Knight Order.

Even now. Even though everyone was in a circle, watching out for their surroundings, the target of the attack was still the Shadow Knight Order. Port figured it was better to pick out the weaker ones and kill them first to reduce their numbers.

What if he took away Port’s sight? With such discernment, he would rely on his senses to find the most ‘easily killed’ humans.

And then, he would find it. A single human being, bare-chested and without barrier, buried in the darkness.

‘Come.’

Port’s movements were soundless. Cadel stared straight ahead, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness as if waiting for a ghostly attack. His subordinates were focused on the road ahead, unaware that Cadel had lifted the barrier. There was no way they would suddenly jump in front of him and take the blow instead.

‘If my assumptions are off, it’s going to be a pretty nasty situation…….’

Cadel took a calming breath. He felt his heart beat slowly in the darkness, and the next moment.

Whoosh―

A low wind whistle rang in Cadel’s ears, a short, whispery burst of sound, and he realized he’d been targeted by Port. He bit his lip and closed his eyes in anticipation of the pain that would follow.

But there was no pain, even as time passed.

“……I’m not in my right mind.”

Cadel’s voice was casual, yet fierce, and he let out a low sigh as he relaxed his stiff shoulders. Slowly, Cadel opened his eyes and looked up at the man before him. A hard back and white bandages that glinted in the light. It was Yozen.

“I knew you’d save me.”

Yozen’s mouth fell open at the innocent answer. He held the dagger up as if he were holding on to something out of nothing. Then, as he brought the dagger down hard on the other side, a strange echo spread like nothing he had ever heard before. It was Port’s scream.

It rang through the air inside like a heavy vibration, causing some confusion as the knights reacted to the sound and scrambled to find him.

Cadel seized the moment and yanked Yozen away. Cadel tried to get Yozen away from the crowd, but he couldn’t see clearly, and he was being tossed from side to side by the knights. Impatient with him, Yozen dragged Cadel himself to a corner. He pushed him up against the wall and said.

“If I hadn’t come, you would have been badly hurt.”

“But you did come.”

“I tried not to come.”

“You saved me in the end.”

“…….”

“I need your help, Yozen.”

He wanted to have a deep conversation if he could but now was not the time. If they didn’t get rid of Port as soon as possible, everyone in the mine would be in danger.

So Cadel cut straight to the chase. Yozen didn’t give him the answer he wanted.

“I won’t help you.”

“……We can’t take on that demon without you. You’re the only one here who can capture his movements perfectly.”

“I don’t want to help. I think I’m putting up with enough without killing him.”

Yozen crouched down so he was at eye level with Cadel. He pressed his forehead against Cadel’s, the corners of his hard mouth twitching in a warning.

“I don’t care if they all die.”

His voice was filled with hostility and killing intent. He stood upright, his normally docile demeanor sharpened, and he looked nothing like the Yozen Cadel had known. He shuddered. But Cadel was undeterred. He grabbed Yozen by the scruff of the neck, pulling him even tighter against him as if he had become angry.

“Don’t lie to me. If you don’t help and let people die, you’re going to regret it.”

“What makes you think you know what you’re talking about?”

“Because you want to save humans, because you want to get rid of the bad ones, because you want other humans to live, because you care so much about other people’s lives that you don’t care about your own.”

“……What are you talking about?”

“You don’t want to save Jeffrey right now, so you’re forcing the other humans with him to fit your killing criteria, because if they’re the ones who deserve to live, then you’ll have no choice but to save Jeffrey too, right?”

“…….”

“So in the end, you’re going to regret it, and you’re going to eat yourself up again, trying to take it all on yourself, killing more people, saving more people.”

Cadel’s voice grew stifled, unable to shout out loud. His throat tightened as he tried to control the emotions that threatened to explode at any moment. He moved his hand from Yozen’s clenched jaw to swipe at the bandage covering his eye.

It was the first thing he’d thrown away when he’d chosen the path of killing, the first thing he’d abandoned to separate himself from the world. His life had clearly been one of attracting pain to overcome his fears.

“You won’t be happy.”

So even if he couldn’t forgive Jeffrey, even if he would end up killing him. Cadel didn’t want to add useless guilt to the end of the vengeance Yozen would exact. He would save the humans by his side as best he could. The pain of killing would not be necessary for that act.

A shudder ran down Yozen’s spine at Cadel’s firm words. He was silent for a moment, accepting the feel of Cadel’s hand on his eyelids, before he let out a sneering breath and grabbed Cadel’s wrist, pulling him down.

“I don’t need to be happy. No one needs my happiness.”

Cadel was about to retort to the absurdity of that statement, but Yozen was quicker.

“But, yes. You’re right, it would be a betrayal of my beliefs if I let everyone die here. …… I’ll help you as long as I can.”

With that, Yozen backed away a little. In the distance, Cadel’s urgent footsteps were followed by the voices of his subordinates, who had noticed their commander’s absence.

Yozen turned his head in the direction of his comrades and spoke.

“It doesn’t matter if you turn the lights back on, they won’t be able to see anything anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

Without answering the question, Yozen vanished in a flash. Cadel panicked and searched the dark mine shaft, eventually returning to his subordinates without finding Yozen.