* * *

“Still causing a commotion.”

Lumen clicked his tongue briefly as he tightened the knot of the bandage around his waist. The confrontation between Hyron and the warriors was dragging on longer than expected. Hyron had not wavered from his position of wanting to descend into the Demon Realm, and even Melphis, who had initially opposed it, had somehow ended up on Hyron’s side.

But the fairy warriors were still determined to get Hyron back to the forest. It seemed Hyron was saying something to calm his fellow tribe members, but it was unclear when their stubbornness would break.

“Hey, young master. When are the healers supposed to arrive? My wounds will dry up and wither if we wait any longer.”

Lumen’s gaze shifted from the fairies to the half-crushed body of a demon, where Van was sitting, hastily trying to stop the bleeding from his wounds. Perhaps due to the intense battle at the latter part of the fight, his injuries were numerous, and he had yet to receive any healing.

After giving Van’s ragged appearance a quick glance, Lumen spoke with a hint of annoyance.

“It’ll probably be faster to descend into the Demon Realm than wait for the healers. Stop acting tough and go get some basic first aid from Sir Garuel.”

“You’re telling me to get first aid after seeing this?” 

Van scoffed, casually gesturing with his chin toward someone in the distance. There, Garuel was still attempting to make contact, holding the [Ullo] device, his brow furrowed in frustration. He was rubbing his forehead, clearly overwhelmed by a sense of impending crisis.

Lumen, who had been watching him, shrugged and sat next to Van on top of a demon’s corpse.

“Then stop complaining and bear it. If you have enough energy to whine about those wounds, why don’t you clean the blood off my sword instead?”

“Get lost.”

“No, you get lost.”

Amidst their usual bickering, Yozen remained silent, staring into the empty air as if lost in thought. Though it appeared as if he was brooding alone, in reality, he was focusing on sensing Garuel’s presence.

“Damn it, Modeleine! Are you still not getting anything? You must be alive, right? Is everyone else okay? Whatever’s going on, stay calm. Focus on defense, and conserve your energy for healing. Keep the injured in the rear and hold your ground.”

Garuel kept repeating the same message into the device, desperately hoping his words would reach the Twilight Knight Order. He clung to the hope that his voice would eventually get through.

If it were any other time, Yozen would have had no need to concern himself with Garuel’s mood and would have simply ignored it. However, the emotions Garuel was transmitting now were filled with a level of agitation that was impossible to overlook. If Garuel was sent back into the battlefield in this state, it could potentially interfere with the battle itself.

As a healer, any mistake Garuel made could have fatal consequences for the entire Knight Order. In the grand scheme, it was better to alleviate Garuel’s worries, even if just a little.

“……This is annoying.”

Yozen muttered softly before approaching Garuel. Moving without a sound, Yozen lightly tapped Garuel on the shoulder, startling him. Garuel quickly turned his head, eyes wide.

“Sir Yozen?”

“I think Cadel told you to rest and conserve your energy. If you keep talking like that, your recovery will be delayed.”

“……I can’t stay still. My old subordinates are probably cornered in the Demon Realm. If I don’t go help them right away, they could die any moment.”

“They’re not going to die that easily.”

“How would you know, Sir Yozen……?”

Garuel’s voice raised in frustration, but he stopped mid-sentence. His wide eyes were now fixed on the shadow clone that Yozen had created in front of him.

“This is……?”

“I used some dark energy a while ago. I thought he was close to Cadel, so I was concerned.”

It was Modeleine’s shadow clone. The clone raised its sword and seemed to attack something, or opened its mouth wide as if shouting something. It looked quite urgent, but it didn’t seem as though it would fall so easily.

Within a minute, the clone melted away and vanished. Garuel blinked, staring at the spot where it had disappeared.

“It’s harder to maintain a clone in the Demon Realm. You wanted to confirm he was safe, right? You can be satisfied with this much.”

“…….”

“If you act strange, it’ll affect Cadel’s mood too. That’s why I showed you.”

With that, Yozen expected that Garuel would be able to calm down. Without a second thought, he turned and began to walk away from Garuel. But in the next moment—

“My top priority has always been Knight Commander.”

Garuel’s voice stopped him in his tracks. Yozen paused, and Garuel took a shaky breath before continuing.

“After that, it’s all of you. There have been many things, but…… I’ve always considered you all like family.”

“……What are you trying to say?”

“To the Twilight Knight Order, I still feel the responsibility I had as the commander. I may have shown some disgraceful behavior that made you all worried, but I will never put everyone in danger because of my personal feelings.”

Yozen didn’t turn his head, but Garuel continued to speak his final words.

“So…… could you please tell Sir Van to stop holding back and come get treated?”

With that cautious voice, Yozen, who had been standing still, began walking again.

“It’s annoying. You go to him yourself.”

* * *

Despite the countless complaints from the fairy warriors, Hyron did not back down. With Melphis also supporting him, the warriors had no choice but to reluctantly step back, blood boiling in their veins.

“Take good care of the children, Melphis. And please deliver the message to the elders of the forest as gently as you can.”

Hyron gave his final greeting to Melphis, who wore a troubled expression.

“Once I return to the forest, let’s all gather and discuss our next steps. With the Fairy King finding freedom, the freedom of the Pinai Tribe will follow soon.”

Melphis silently watched Hyron, who seemed at ease, and after a deep sigh, spoke.

“You must return safely.”

“Of course. I’ll return with Lydon.”

With a bright smile from Hyron, Melphis took the warriors through the prepared teleportation circle. Since it had been firmly stated from the beginning that no farewells were necessary, the humans expressed their gratitude from afar, watching their departure.

In the blink of an eye, the reinforcements were gone. Left standing alone, Hyron now faced the three Knight Order’s commanders.

“Please take care of me. I am Lydon’s father.”

Introducing himself not as the Fairy King, but as Lydon’s father, he looked at the three commanders with a proud expression. Although he was very different from Lydon in many ways, none of the three mentioned it.

Moritol, who seemed somewhat relieved that Hyron had decided to join, spoke in a much softer tone than before.

“Before the healers arrive, we’ll need to split up the injured. Sir Cadel and the Fairy King……” 

“Lydon’s father.”

“……Right. The two of you must hold the front until we meet up with the allied forces. Please get your signals aligned first. We’ll do our best to cover you based on your tactics.”

Given the limited time, Cadel and Hyron needed some time alone to synchronize. Moritol intended to leave the room to give them that space, but Ector remained. His gaze never left the Fairy King standing before him.

“The distribution of the injured will be handled by Sorin, I imagine. I’ll stay here and work on the strategy with you.”

“Sir Ector, your focus should be on covering with me.”

“That’s not something we can be certain of, Sir Moritol. Sometimes, your vision gets a little narrow.”

“Don’t be driven by curiosity even now.”

Moritol tried to pull Ector away with annoyance, but Ector was unmoved. Even Sorin, whom they had counted on, had long given up on Ector and had started focusing on his deputy role. Ultimately, Moritol gave Cadel a look, signaling that he should handle things, and then left.

“What kind of magic does the Fairy King prefer? During the battle, I saw some impressive ice magic. Is your mana alright?”

“I don’t have any particular preferences for magic. I tend to use whatever fits the situation at hand. And I’m not the Fairy King; I’m Lydon’s father.”

“I have a son as well. He’s fighting here with us. Just like Sir Lydon and the Fairy King…… Speaking of which, I still don’t know the King’s name. Will you share it with me?”

“It’s Hyron.”

“The title of Lydon’s father is a bit too long and inconvenient to use, so if you don’t mind, I’ll call you Hyron instead of the Fairy King. Is that alright?”

“Of course.”

“Haha! You’re quite straightforward despite your appearance. My name is Ector. Ector Enti.”

Even though there were several magic strategies Hyron and Cadel needed to synchronize immediately, Ector monopolized the conversation, continuing to talk non-stop. Hyron, seeming intrigued by Ector, a human type he had never encountered before, showed no sign of stopping the conversation.

‘Now that I think about it, Lord Hyron has been quite talkative since the first time we met. He’ll get along very well with Sir Ector.’

Under normal circumstances, Cadel would have felt relieved seeing Hyron so comfortable conversing with humans. But not now. Cadel was only waiting for the right moment to interrupt the endless chatter between the two.

But the two conversed as if they had been close friends for at least 10 years, and as the conversation dragged on, Cadel found himself not just frustrated, but actually starting to feel bored.

“Focus on Cadel.”

Lydon, who had been spending time with the others, returned. Hyron’s gaze shifted to him. Hyron naturally placed a hand on Cadel’s shoulder and looked at Lydon with a slightly dissatisfied expression before gently smiling.

“I was so caught up in my conversation with Ector that I lost track of time. Apologies, Cadel. Let’s get back to the matter at hand.”

Unlike the belated realization of Hyron, Ector still seemed eager to continue their conversation. However, Dreyfe, who had been observing them from afar, intervened. He forced his oblivious father to move away while sending a silent apology to Cadel.

Finally, in the peaceful moment that had arrived, Cadel faced Hyron.

“We don’t have much time, so let’s keep it brief. From the moment we enter the Demon Realm until we join up with the allied forces, we need to lead our forces so that they can move with minimal casualties.”