"Guck..."

The Shadow's voice muffled out as the phantom appeared from nowhere, her legs folding against the Shadow's neck like a sprung trap.

Before the Shadow even registered the weight pressing down on his skull, Lydia's hands caught his temples and twisted his head around in one fluid, practiced motion.

The vertebrae in his neck cracked with a low, sickening crunch.

The Shadow's body kneeled, then collapsed... neck twisted at an unnatural angle, eyes wide and unseeing.

Lydia, nimble as a cat, dismounted before he hit the ground, landing without a sound.

'I've never seen a shadow killed from shadow,' Rune thought, genuinely impressed by the commander of Orc's stealth tactics.

"We should move quickly. Two more are turning from behind," Lydia whispered to her companions.

Merin immediately dragged the body out of the moonlit clearing and concealed it behind a cluster of trees before rejoining the group as they moved deeper into the estate.

"I don't see any demons here," Sera whispered to Ilya, her silver hair now hidden beneath the leather coat's hood.

"They're near the inner ward," Ilya confirmed quietly. "Along with the weapons."

Rune's party moved swiftly along the edges of walls, using the shadows they cast against the moonlight as cover.

Lydia raised her arm.

The group halted in perfect synchronization.

They waited, breath held, as Shadows patrolled the path near the turning ahead. The enemy patrol passed within meters of their hiding place completely unaware as the group slipped past behind them like ghosts.

Any commotion would expose them to fifty or more Shadows. Worse yet, it would alert the real powerhouses and demons inside the Yakumi-styled house.

They were here to retrieve their weapons and discover as much as they could in the process.

They were firmly against going out of their way to peek where they shouldn't be peeking.

'I hope we don't run into trouble...'

[...]

'What?'

[Why would you jinx it!?]

'That is just a superstition.'

The group continued moving.

Soon they reached the inner ward where the Yakumi stood. A large wooden house where the head of residence dwelled. It was traditional Japanese architecture: tatami floors, sliding fusuma doors, elegant simplicity.

Lydia vaulted up the high wall enclosing the mansion and surveyed the interior.

'Strange...'

She dropped back down.

"There isn't a single Shadow inside guarding," she whispered.

'That's really strange... Saytans are careful. Especially with an escapee loose.'

Rune lingered on that thought for a moment, then concluded the Saytans probably didn't consider Ilya a significant threat.

'But... didn't they know Selka was with her?'

Something told him that once they crossed that wall, things wouldn't be calm or easy anymore.

"There were hardly anyone inside when we first entered," Ilya spoke up. Then her expression turned dark and haunted. "Except for that strange man who introduced himself as the Saint's older brother."

The beautiful secretary recalled the man she'd met this morning. Her body unconsciously reacted to the memory with a slight tremor.

"Older brother? Can you describe him more?" Rune asked, despite knowing they didn't have the leisure to keep discussing.

"He looked ominous... his face was pale with long black hair. And he wore various rings with skulls on them around his fingers..." Ilya described the man to the best of her ability.

She wanted to stop recalling his face... but she knew if Rune was asking for details, it meant he recognized the description.

"I see... so you met Dominion," Rune said.

Despite his attempt to conceal it, a slight tremor entered his voice.

The group reacted immediately to his unusual behavior.

'Damn it! What the fuck is Dominion doing here?!'

"Is something wrong?" Lydia asked. The rest watched Rune closely.

"It's nothing. Don't worry. His aura mastery is at the same tier as Merin's. We should be fine as long as we don't get caught in his perception," Rune whispered back, forcing a smile.

Right now, Rune wanted nothing more than to turn around and leave the enclave without looking back.

But his weapon was still inside.

And though he was now in range to use its homing feature, he couldn't expose his aura... not with powerhouses on the other side of the wall.

He made a deliberate choice not to reveal that the Saint's older brother... or rather, the patriarch of the Saytans... was also one of the few eighth-circle mages in existence. Or that he wielded the divine gift Necromancy (S–).

Dominion Saytan was easily in the top ten strongest mages in the entire Imperium.

But revealing more about the long black-haired man would only make the group more tense. He concluded it was best to hide that fact until they'd secured their weapons and escaped.

The group climbed the wall swiftly and dropped to the other side.

'No wonder there are no Shadows inside', he thought.

'But...'

He couldn't shake off the ominous feeling that they were being watched by something insanely strong. More dangerous than Dominion Saytan.

'What is this feeling...'

Before he could ponder further, Ilya spoke.

"The wagons are near the entrance."

Rune looked around. They were in a Japanese-style inner courtyard. A pond lay nearby with a wooden monk sanctuary positioned at its center, ethereal in the calm moonlight.

He glanced at the closed sliding doors of the wooden mansion. There seemed to be no one near the backyard.

The group moved through the garden-like area and turned toward the entrance.

With no Shadows inside the walls, their pace quickened considerably.

"There it is!" Lydia, at the forefront, spotted the wrecked wagons.

Everyone visibly relaxed.

"I hope they don't know there were weapons inside..." Ilya whispered.

"Don't worry. They wouldn't suspect you were hiding weapons when everyone in the convoy was already armed," Lydia said with newfound cheerfulness.

Ilya nodded, finding the logic solid.

Everyone moved forward on Lydia's command.

Everyone except Rune.

He stood completely still... not because he wanted to, but because his instincts had frozen him in place.

It had been too long since he'd felt this level of dread.

'When have I felt this...'

The regressor's forehead was now slick with cold sweat. The night breeze didn't help.

His hand shook visibly... trembling with primal fear.

"How long has it been..." he whispered, smiling at his own trembling hand.

Sera turned back, confused to see Rune talking to himself.

Meanwhile, Lydia and Ilya had reached the wagon. They immediately searched for the hidden inner compartment, finding it open and unlocked.

They assumed it had been opened during the wreckage.

"Ahh... so the weapons belonged to you beautiful ladies."

Both froze instantly.

They turned around immediately, Ilya drawing her sky-blue sword in one fluid motion.

'When did he...'

Lydia watched, coiled and ready to lunge.

The owner of the voice had long white hair. His eyebrows and attire matched the color of his hair perfectly. The bun restraining his hair allowed the rest to flow freely in the breeze. With white robes dancing in rhythm with his flowing hair, he looked like a wise, otherworldly being.

He folded his hands behind his back as his ancient figure walked calmly toward the beautiful young ladies.

Thud.

The sound echoed from behind them.

The two women turned to see Merin collapsed on her knees, staring at the old, ancient man with pale, terrified eyes. Her breathing was ragged. Her form trembled as if she'd lost the will to even run.

"You see... I am quite fond of this one especially."

The ancient one's voice drew their attention back to him.

His hands now held Rune's sword — the katana with the ashen chain and black sheath.

"Perhaps you beautiful ladies know who this belongs to?"

The wise figure before them spoke in a fatherly tone, his smile peaceful and soothing.

They couldn't feel a single ounce of hostility emanating from him.

"W-who are you? Leave the sword on the ground!" Ilya commanded, pointing her blade toward the wise one.

The ancient one's hand rose. The robe around his pale arm hung downward gracefully. He stroked his long white beard thoughtfully.

"Excuse my curiosity, but... it's not good manners to point your sword at this old one."

He sounded genuinely disappointed... like a curious child who'd been scolded instead of answered.

The ladies felt conflicting emotions warring within them.

A lone shadow emerged from behind the women, drawing their attention.

It was Rune's.

The answer to the ancient one's question.

Rune watched the ancient figure with a resigned smile.

He'd found his answer — the answer to why he'd been feeling that mysterious, ominous presence. The reason there wasn't a single Shadow guarding inside the walls. No form of security whatsoever.

His hand covered his face.

'I'm such a fool.'

"That sword..." his voice carried across the courtyard.

"...is mine." he answered slowly, to the SwordKing.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.