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“It’s true.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

“Huh?”

“Why?”

Alvin looked blank for a moment before answering.

“Ah, I didn’t expect you to believe me so easily. Thank you.”

“We should trust each other in this harsh world.”

Actually, in a harsh world, one should be more suspicious of others.

But every action has a reason. There must be a reason why this guy is here with me.

It didn’t seem like a lie that Balkan was dead.

It was my intuition. I could tell by looking into his eyes.

Sometimes unexpected situations occur.

“Who killed Balkan? Did Loren do it? Did Balkan offend her? He doesn’t seem like the type to have the guts to do that.”

“No.”

Alvin took a deep breath and said,

“I’ll get straight to the point. The Lord was waiting alone in his room. The External Affairs Manager…”

“Balkan was waiting?”

“I don’t know the details. Perhaps he was taking a break from being interrogated. Anyway, there was no one else in the Lord’s room except for him. The External Affairs Manager said the Lord was looking for me, so I knocked…but there was no answer, no matter how much I called. It didn’t seem like he was asleep. Somehow, when I opened the door…”

“And he was dead?”

“I was the first one to find him. There were no servants.”

“Any external injuries?”

“I couldn’t see clearly. There were no visible wounds.”

“What a futile death.”

I looked at Alvin and something suddenly hit a nerve.

“Why did you come to me?”

“I thought it was the way to save my life.”

Water was still dripping from Alvin’s clothes.

“You’re looking for a way to survive?”

“No one knows that the Lord is dead yet. I might be suspected. The family won’t protect me. After much deliberation, I came to you, Young Master.”

“You’re playing both sides with me. Whoever taught you, you’re quite the smooth talker.”

“Thank you.”

“Knowing how to play both sides is a skill. Let’s see if your actions are just as smooth. So, what do you think I should do?”

Alvin wrung his clothes like a rag and answered,

“I think it would be best if you saw it for yourself. Please come with me to the Lord’s room, Young Master. We need to check if it was suicide or murder.”

“Excellent.”

I said as I walked towards the window,

“It’s best if we go quietly.”

The rain was heavy.

Looking out the window, the ground was quite far below.

I pointed out the window and said,

“Are you alright with this?”

“No problem.”

“Go ahead.”

Alvin, who had come closer, threw himself out the window without hesitation.

A moment later, as soon as I heard a splash, I threw myself out the window, using levitation magic.

Shwaaaaaaaaa—

“It’s really coming down.”

As soon as I landed on the muddy ground, the rain drenched me.

I looked to the side and saw Alvin squatting and dusting off his backside.

“Are you okay? I heard a cracking sound.”

“It’s fine, it’s just mud. Let’s go.”

It was an eerie night.

It was raining so heavily that it was hard to see.

Alvin walked without hesitation.

“Slow down. It’ll be a pain if we get lost.”

“Yes.”

We didn’t run into anyone.

At some point, Alvin’s steps became unnatural. It felt like he was putting too much effort into walking.

“Are you nervous?”

“I think we’re almost there.”

“Relax.”

Alvin’s body stiffened even more, so I deliberately spoke to him.

“You said you weren’t sure if Balkan’s death was suicide or murder, right?”

“There were no peculiarities in his appearance.”

“It wasn’t suicide.”

Alvin stopped walking for a moment.

“I’m not sure.”

“You don’t know Balkan. He’s not the type to commit suicide. He’s a typical example of someone who bullies the weak and fears the strong. He’s the type who would gladly endure today’s humiliation if it meant gaining power. To put it nicely, he’s patient, and to put it badly, he’s an idiot without conviction. He’s the type who would grovel for his life. But this is strange.”

“What’s strange?”

I looked straight at Alvin and replied,

“Alvin, our Urgonis spy. Isn’t a spy supposed to know his Lord’s temperament? It shouldn’t be that hard to figure out.”

“I apologize.”

“I really can’t understand you. When you were pretending to be a spy, you were an idiot, but earlier you were quite smart. You played both sides well. But now you’re incredibly stupid again. Just pick one, Alvin.”

Suddenly, Alvin’s pace quickened.

“I told you to walk slowly. See, you’ve taken the wrong path.”

“This is the right way.”

“It smells strongly of urine here.”

This place, filled with the smell of the lake and urine, was where I had once disguised myself as a black dog to eavesdrop on Elder Parin’s conversation.

“Why are you going in the opposite direction, Alvin?”

A brief silence fell.

Only the sound of raindrops hitting the mud could be heard.

“I apologize. I think I was mistaken because it’s too dark.”

“I keep telling you, relax.”

“Yes.”

“Lead the way.”

Pretending to walk, I instantly grabbed Alvin by the neck as he walked ahead.

Alvin quickly tried to turn his back, but I was faster.

Grab—

I squeezed his neck, turning him around to face me.

“Who are you?”

“Ugh, why are you doing this all of a sudden?”

“The noble clan isn’t careless. Now that Loren has declared control over Urgon, all of Urgon’s members are under Ardehain’s watch. You can’t just scurry back and forth to me like a rat.”

I tightened my grip on his neck, stopping Alvin from replying.

“You’re not from Urgon, are you, Alvin?”

Alvin’s pupils shook incessantly.

“You were a double agent from the start. Who are you? Parin?”

“…”

Suddenly, Alvin’s shaking pupils stopped.

His rapid breathing calmed down, and the corners of his mouth twisted into a smirk.

As soon as I loosened my grip on his neck, Alvin laughed out loud.

“Don’t laugh.”

“It’s too late, Ruin Samael.”

Suddenly, I heard an unfamiliar sound.

The rustling of leaves shaking in the wind pierced through the rain and reached my ears.

Someone was there.

As soon as I realized it, I leaped into the air from the muddy ground.

Thud thud thud—!

Needle-like objects flew from all directions and pierced the spot where I had been standing.

I ignited a flame in mid-air to find the target.

The pouring rain quickly extinguished the flame, but it didn’t matter. I had already spotted my target.

“Who are you! Reveal yourselves!”

I shouted the most typical line in this situation, but it was all a bluff.

‘Who are you!’ was a bluff, and ‘Reveal yourselves!’ was also a bluff.

My real target was different.

How dare they misunderstand me?

I couldn’t let those who misunderstood me go unpunished.

I ran straight towards the target I had just identified.

‘Wind Armor.’

The wind and rain condensed around me, forming a hard shell around my body.

I swooped down from the air at an incredible speed towards the fleeing target.

Fwaaaang—!

With a powerful impact, I headbutted the back of Alvin’s head as he lay sprawled on the ground.

Crack—!

At the same time, more needle-like objects flew from behind and pierced my back.

Alvin, turning his head, said with a dumbfounded look,

“…The madman isn’t even trying to run away.”

“That’s me.”

“You’re not assessing the situation.”

“Am I?”

With a Clang— sound, the hidden weapons that failed to pierce the Wind Armor bounced off and fell to the ground.

As soon as Alvin looked at me with a bewildered expression, I grabbed his neck again.

“I knew you weren’t from Urgon the moment you came to me today.”

“Don’t lie.”

“That’s not important. There’s something I want to tell you. I hate being misunderstood.”

“What?”

“Try smiling like you did before.”

The moment Alvin boldly raised the corners of his mouth, I snapped his neck. Alvin’s neck twisted 90 degrees, and he blinked for a few seconds.

It seemed his nerves weren’t dead yet.

He seemed to want to say something, but couldn’t.

I also twisted my neck 90 degrees, briefly met Alvin’s eyes, and moved my lips.

‘Didn’t I say you would really die this time?’

Our strange eye contact ended.

The look in Alvin’s eyes at the last moment was one of emptiness.

Thud—

Alvin’s completely twisted head separated from his neck and fell to the ground.

As soon as I dodged the needles flying towards me again, I felt a presence to my right.

“Tsk, too late. He was a promising talent.”

At the same time, a regretful voice came from the bushes to my left.

I ignited a flame on my hand and covered it with a wind barrier.

Whoosh—!

This allowed me to secure some visibility even in the pouring rain.

I immediately illuminated the source of the voice, but the owner of the voice had disappeared without a trace.

But I could make a deduction.

“That gloomy old man is quite energetic. Is he openly targeting me like this?”

Instead of an answer, five or six figures appeared from the right.

They were all wearing masks.

“And who are you?”

They weren’t from Urgon.

Urgon’s subordinates were all under Loren’s surveillance.

Even if they weren’t, their eyes held too much killing intent for Urgon.

These weren’t guys who had killed just once or twice.

“Are you Parin’s subordinates? How did you get in here?”

“…”

“Why aren’t you answering?”

As soon as the masked figure at the front gestured, the two standing in front leaped towards me.

At the same time, the masked figures in the rear unleashed a barrage of hidden weapons.

Fwoosh—

“Attacking without a word. These kids have no manners. Haa…”

I cloaked myself in the wind and performed the Rotating Divine Art I had recently developed.

As the barrage of hidden weapons bounced off with the sound of wind, a sudden realization struck me, and I immediately chanted,

“Wind Cutter.”

Rotating wind blades tore through the air with a tearing sound.

It was like a small-scale whirlwind.

Thus, the Rotating Divine Art I developed evolved once again.

I couldn’t keep this evolved Rotating Divine Art hidden any longer, so I shouted,

“Rotating Whirlwind Blade!”

Some might find it ridiculous to shout out techniques or magic names during battle, but that’s only seeing half the picture.

There was a clear reason why I named the Rotating Divine Art I just created.

To become famous.

You need a name to become famous.

Just as the charging masked figures were about to be torn apart by the Rotating Whirlwind Blade…

Fwoom—

A powerful surge, impossible to ignore, came from the opposite direction.

At least a 5-star mana fluctuation.

I had no choice but to change course and clash with the surge.

“Rotating Whirlwind Blade!”

Kwaaaaaang—!

I tore the surge to shreds, and the shockwave scattered the heavy rain in all directions.

As I stopped rotating, a brief lull ensued.

“That old man is sneaky. Attacking from hiding?”

A voice came from somewhere.

“Keep that bastard alive.”

“Finally revealing your true colors, huh? Why were you pretending to be so refined while eating the braised carp…?”

I spouted random nonsense while aiming at Parin’s location, but he had already disappeared.

“That nimble old man. Let me give you some advice. Hiding like that will hurt your back. It’s hard to heal a back injury at your age.”

I looked at the masked figures who remained motionless.

“Hey guys, tell the old man to come out.”

“…”

“Are you mute?”

I sighed.

There was no fear in their eyes.

Even when they were almost torn apart by me, they didn’t show any fear.

What kind of people were they?

Parin had these guys under his command?

As soon as the masked figure at the front signaled with his eyes, they all charged again with a fearless look.

I defended myself, blocking their attacks while observing my surroundings.

The rain showed no signs of stopping.

The sounds of rain and mud mixed together from all directions.

Every time the drenched masked figures stepped on the muddy puddles, I could hear the squelching sound of their footsteps.

Squish! Squish! Squish!

A rhythmic pattern.

The moment the masked figure at the front stepped on the ground, I launched a wind blade, and another powerful surge flew at me from the side.

“Oh, come on.”

Parin was once again aiming for an opportune moment to attack me.

He was waiting for me to get agitated.

What was Parin thinking?

No matter how many questions he had for me, this method wouldn’t do him any good.

He was openly trying to kidnap me, which was simply idiotic.

It wasn’t about success or failure.

Now that Ardehain was involved, Parin would never be able to handle the consequences.

The problem was that Parin couldn’t be unaware of this…

Thud—

I pressed my heel into the ground.

I bent my knees until my feet were submerged in the mud, then explosively leaped towards the sky.

High in the air, I created a large fireball.

Whoosh—!

The area was briefly illuminated as if a small flare had been launched.

Although the fireball was quickly extinguished by the wind and rain, I was able to capture an unnatural point in a split second.

At this moment.

Five masked figures charging at me from the right.

And an artificial movement disappearing to the left, all captured in my eyes.

I chose the latter of the two.

I threw the fireball towards the artificial point on the left and immediately chanted a short incantation.

‘Penetrate, Piercing Wind.’

The wind blade pierced through the flames, igniting like the tail of a meteor.

When the flaming wind blade reached its target.

Fwaang—! A powerful movement was detected.

“There you are, old man.”

Slash—

The moment I felt a stinging sensation on my shoulder, a burning sensation spread through my body.

The instant I attacked Parin, one of the masked figures broke through my defenses and landed a successful attack.

Blood splattered before my eyes, and my vision turned red.

“It seems you haven’t learned to control your excitement.”

Finally, Parin revealed himself.

Parin’s satisfied voice reached my ears.

I smiled at Parin, whose figure shimmered beyond the rain.

“Nice to meet you, Parin. We finally meet face to face.”

“You can still laugh?”

“Well done.”

Parin tilted his head.

“What do you mean, well done?”

“Whatever.”

Whatever it was, it was a good thing.

I felt good.

I also had a lot of questions for Parin.

———-