Cadel’s repeated failures continuously summoned monsters to the ghost village. Although he hadn’t fought them all, the sheer effort of fleeing drained his stamina immensely. Despite this, Garuel never blamed Cadel, but Cadel, filled with self-loathing, was at a loss for what to do.

And then there was Kunra, who was observing them and giving orders. He had given Cadel some mild reproach for his repeated failures, but he didn’t truly think of him as pathetic. Of course, it was for reasons different from Garuel’s loving attitude.

‘If he were this slow-witted, he wouldn’t have survived this far.’

Kunra didn’t think that Cadel was simply wandering around because he couldn’t tell the height of the walls. This was the limit of the transmigrator. Cadel was accessing information he shouldn’t be, and his body instinctively rejected it. His body was not reacting normally to the unprepared, unplanned type of ‘counterattack’.

‘The system is noticing faster than I expected. If we keep dragging things out here, I don’t know what it might do. In the worst case, this war could lead to certain defeat.’

The device required pressing identical walls facing each other from different directions simultaneously to activate. For this, at least two people were needed, so if Cadel couldn’t do it, Kunra would have to step in. However.

‘I absolutely have to conserve my energy. I must minimize my interference by providing the least amount of information and removing any visible influence…… that way, I can use my strength in the end.’

With considerable luck, Garuel had joined them, but there was still a shortage of personnel. Bringing in other humans from here was impossible. After a moment of contemplation, Kunra closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His figure then dispersed like mist and shifted position.

“Kun, Kunra?”

In front of Cadel and Garuel, who had been hiding behind the wall, avoiding a swarm of purple wasps, Cadel flinched instinctively at Kunra’s sudden appearance.

“I know you’re frustrated, but if you could just tell me in words……”

Cadel, expecting a barrage of reprimands, muttered a futile excuse while glancing around. However, contrary to his expectations, Kunra neither scolded nor sighed. He simply spoke with serious eyes.

“You have two chances left, halfling.”

“W-What? Two chances left?”

“If you fail twice more, the device will stop working and send a signal to the Demon King. You know what happens then. We will no longer have a way to find the Demon King’s siblings, and it will be the end for us.”

“……What, what did you say?”

Cadel’s expression turned to one of shock at the disastrous news. He covered his mouth with trembling hands and anxiously glanced around. Garuel, too, made a distressed sound, his face troubled.

Kunra drove the point home for them.

“There are plenty of walls left to push. If you fail the next attempt, we should give up and retreat. If the Demon King discovers our location, it will only bring greater danger.”

In truth, there were no remaining chances. If the device malfunctioned, monsters would continue to appear, and that alone would prevent the ghost village from being invaded. Despite this, Kunra fabricated a lie to make Cadel more anxious.

‘I’ll trust in your potential.’

Instead of relying on Cadel Lytos’ body, which had already reached its limit as a transmigrator, Kunra decided to place his trust in the will of the new soul, Shin Yeohwan, to surpass that limit. He hoped that even a fleeting moment of the soul’s strong will would shine through. No other solution came to mind.

Once he finished speaking, Kunra stared at the confused Cadel for a moment before scattering his form and returning to the village’s center.

With Kunra gone, the sound of buzzing wasps filled the air as it struck Cadel’s ears from behind the crumbling wall. His face twisted in despair.

“What should I do…… Garuel, what should I do now?”

Cautiously lifting his eyes, Cadel looked at Garuel. He knew the answer was within himself. If he chose the right wall, the problem would easily be solved. Even so, Cadel clung to Garuel, desperately seeking an answer. Garuel, his face set with seriousness, opened his mouth.

“Let’s use wind mana to lift your body. If we raise your line of sight, it might be easier to find the right wall.”

“It’s not about height!”

“Knight Commander, don’t be so stubborn at a time like this. Of course, that fierce side of you is cute, but right now the situation is……”

“Stop annoying me!”

Cadel growled, flaring up, and Garuel loosened his expression, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He gently massaged Cadel’s stiffened shoulder with his hands.

“Knight Commander, you’re the type of man who never misses an opportunity. You can do this. There is nothing in this world that you can’t accomplish.”

“……”

“You’re the one who led this hopeless man onto the right path, so have confidence.”

His words were filled with nothing but warmth. As he delicately massaged the tense muscles, the tension naturally began to fade. His belief didn’t feel like a heavy burden. It wrapped around him like a soft blanket.

Cadel wrapped his hand around the back of Garuel’s hand resting on his shoulder and took a deep breath. After a moment, he forcefully removed Garuel’s hand and looked at him with bright eyes.

“It’s all or nothing. If we fail this time, we’re all dead.”

“Hmm…… should we really go as far as death? That’s a bit extreme, Knight Commander.”

“That’s why I’ll say it now. Garuel, you wanted us to become people with no secrets, right?”

If the world reset due to his failure, and a new Cadel Lytos was born, there would be no more chances to tell Garuel the truth. He would lose the opportunity forever. That bitter reality was closing in on him, and he could no longer delay.

He met Garuel’s amethyst-colored eyes, which held a mix of mild confusion and anticipation. The buzzing of the bees that had been echoing in his ears faded away, and complete silence descended.

“I’m a transmigrator from another world. I’m an outsider who borrowed Cadel Lytos’ body. My real name is…… Shin Yeohwan.”

It was a surprisingly straightforward confession, considering how desperately he had hidden the secret until now. There was even a faint smile on his face. However, his clenched fist trembled slightly.

Garuel silently took in the sight of Cadel. The trembling in his eyes, the slightly labored breathing, and the forced upturn of his lips. There wasn’t even the slightest trace of humor.

A dreadful silence descended between them as if time had stopped. The only evidence that time was still passing was the sound of their breathing. Neither Cadel nor Garuel knew what to say or how to break the silence.

Then, like a breath of fresh air, Kunra’s voice echoed in their minds. There was a brief hesitation in their exchanged glances, but it didn’t last long. Cadel, as though he had been waiting, turned his back and left. Garuel couldn’t take his eyes off Cadel’s retreating figure.

Only after his stiff body had completely disappeared from view did Garuel let out a heavy sigh. There was no way to tell how long he had been holding his breath.

* * *

“Sir Ector’s side is accompanied by Sir Modeleine, Sir Sorin, Mr. Mamil, and Yozen. We can focus on killing the demons without worry.”

“If you’re just going to talk about what we already know, why not throw away that old junk instead?”

On the way to the High Demons, Lydon, at the front, heard Lumen’s retort as he frowned.

“I got another sword, so there’s no problem with fighting.”

“Hmph, are you trying to show off? What use does a young master, who can’t even use dual swordsmanship, have for two swords?”

Garuel had also been advised to use it, but the cursed sword still hadn’t been drawn. Perhaps it was a sword that only pure-blooded demons could wield. Or maybe there were entirely unexpected conditions attached to it.

In any case, since it couldn’t be used right now, it would be better to discard it. However, Lumen couldn’t bring himself to throw it away. His stubborn desire to draw the cursed sword with his own power began to rise.

Explaining this feeling would certainly earn him ridicule, but Lumen remained silent, knowing that. When Van noticed Lumen’s stubbornness, his eyes gleamed like a predator spotting prey.

“Really, is it true that the weaker ones talk the most? Stop talking and prepare for battle, will you?”

Lydon, who had been looking around, clicked his tongue. Van immediately closed his mouth when he caught Lydon’s disdainful gaze. There was nothing more humiliating in the world than being criticized by Lydon. Lumen scoffed at Van’s reaction and gripped his perfectly fine sword.

“We’re getting close. They still haven’t moved.”

“Hmph, they probably think we can’t approach them. To think they’re still acting so carefree even with me here. It makes me angry just looking at them!”

The distance between them and Ector was sufficient, and they had closed the gap to the High Demons. Lydon, having calculated the demons’ exact position, released mana. Dense ice crystals spun around them like a whirlwind, surrounding Van and Lumen’s bodies.

“Three minutes. I’ll lift you up in that time, so don’t complain if it gets too high and fight properly. Got it?”

At the same time as those words, their bodies, enveloped in ice crystals, began to float. Lydon, noticing their flustered attempts to regain balance, immediately took off toward the High Demons.

The opponent in front of him was Elina. With a light flick of her hand, a mass of demonic energy, coiled into a round shape, was fired toward Lydon, aiming to strike him.

“Hahaha! What’s this? It doesn’t even tickle!”

However, Elina’s attacks were all blocked by Lydon’s shield. The rapidly closing distance, following the flight, and the consecutive ineffective strikes forced Elina to stagger and retreat. Immediately, Lydon rushed toward her and threw an ice spear, but—

In an instant, Russo appeared in front of her and deflected the spear.

“……Hmm.”

Russo wasn’t holding a weapon. It seemed he had deflected the ice spear directly with his arms, tainted by demonic energy. Upon noticing this, Lydon’s expression quickly shifted.

“Seems like a familiar type.”

Both the powerful body and the demonic energy that enhanced it strangely reminded him of Sellev. He barely pushed that enemy’s face to the back of his mind.

Sensing the rapidly dropping temperature around them, Russo kept his distance from Elina. His gaze toward Lydon was filled with deep wariness.

“Don’t show any openings, Elina. This one…… is dangerous.”