The dark sky was growing dimmer.

Under it, at the human camp, the smell of blood had spread everywhere.

The battle had stopped for a while, but the damage had already been done.

Injured soldiers were being moved into medical tents, where medic teams tended to their wounds.

Knights who were still fine and able to move took on another task. They handled the bodies of their fallen comrades.

Leaders like Lyra and others helped with this grim duty.

They had no other choice but to burn the bodies and collect the ashes. That was all they could do.

More than a hundred soldiers had died today.

Galahad watched over everything with the same cold, indifferent expression.

He hid his own disappointment well. His blue eyes surveyed the entire camp.

He was still wearing his armor, though it was broken in several places. His wounds had already healed a long time ago.

Now, he was thinking about their next course of action.

What should they do?

Should they continue this campaign?

Was there even a chance for them to find the demons and defeat them?

More soldiers were supposed to arrive in the next two days. So there might still be a chance.

Just then, Caspian came toward him.

His bright green hair was messy. Dirt covered his handsome face and armor. Blood stains were still visible on his body here and there.

His expression was grim.

"We are in bad condition, Commander. More than a hundred soldiers are dead."

Galahad simply nodded. He glanced at Caspian briefly, then turned forward again.

"Anyone missing?" he asked.

Caspian's expression turned serious.

"Yes… actually, three people are missing. Including Amon."

The moment Galahad heard Amon's name, he frowned. He turned back toward Caspian.

"You mean he's missing? And how about the other two?"

"The other two are Mira and Harvey. The other three members of that unit are dead. We found their bodies, but not the others," Caspian replied.

Galahad rubbed his temples.

He couldn't believe it.

Out of so many soldiers, the one who went missing was none other than Amon.

He wondered what kind of bad luck that boy possessed.

Just a few days ago, he had survived the demons and somehow made it here.

He was supposed to return to the kingdom when the transport ship arrived, which was only two days away.

But now, he was missing again.

Was he even alive?

"It seems the demons captured them," Galahad said, listing the possibilities. "They might be trying to get information from them… or torturing them for fun. Or sending them back to the demon kingdom as slaves."

Demons liked to take people of different races as slaves.

Even the human kingdom had slavery in its black markets—though not everyone knew about it. The rich did.

Slavery of different races.

No matter how much the royal family tried to eradicate it, it never truly ended.

Galahad himself had destroyed many branches of the slave market in the underworld within his territory. Yet it seemed there were still markets out there.

"So what should we do, Commander?" Caspian asked.

He didn't feel particularly attached to Amon.

What had that boy even done?

He had accidentally come to this island, somehow survived, only to be captured by the worst enemies possible.

Could he survive this time?

"For now, focus on our own situation," Galahad said calmly. "Once more soldiers arrive, we will search for those demons and their base. If we get the chance… if Amon and the others are fortunate… we might be able to save them."

Caspian nodded in understanding.

That was the only thing they could do for now.

He could only hope that Amon and the others would still be alive by then.

Since Amon had somehow survived before, he might survive again.

But this time, he would need pure luck. Nothing else.

---

Far away from the human base,

In one part of the Black Forest, there was another camp.

Multiple huge tents were built there. The entire base was much larger than the humans'.

In one of those tents,

Amon lay still inside a cage.

Cold metal pressed against his back, sending a chill straight into his bones.

The surface beneath him was hard, unforgiving, and slightly damp. Every breath he took was shallow and careful. Because any deeper inhale sent waves of pain crashing through his chest.

Pain was everywhere.

It throbbed dangerously in his ribs.

Burned in his stomach.

Pulsed through his arms and legs.

His entire body felt like it had been shattered and barely put back together.

Amon slowly opened his eyes.

His vision was blurry at first, the world swimming in dull shades of grey. After a few seconds, things began to focus.

Thick metal bars surrounded him on all sides.

A cage.

He was inside a cage.

The bars were dark, heavy, and etched with faint runes that gave off a weak, oppressive feeling.

He could tell immediately.

He tried to move his fingers.

Clink.

The sound of metal echoed softly.

His wrists were bound together with thick metal handcuffs, chains attached to the floor of the cage. The cuffs were cold against his skin—and worse, they completely blocked his mana.

Anti-magic.

Amon tried to circulate mana instinctively.

Nothing happened. His mana didn't budge. It didn't move at all. It was like trying to breathe underwater.

His mana felt sealed, locked down, unresponsive.

It was a terrible feeling.

He could feel that the mana was there, but he couldn't use it at all. It refused to obey him.

"…Tch," he muttered weakly.

He turned his head slightly. The movement sent a sharp jolt of pain through his neck, forcing a quiet groan from his lips.

The cage was inside a tent.

A large one.

Dim grey light leaked in through the entrance of the tent, barely enough to illuminate the interior. The air smelled of iron, sweat, and something rotten beneath it.

Amon scanned his surroundings again as much as he could.

There were more cages. The same sight as before. Several of them. But all were empty.

"…Where…" he whispered, his throat dry.

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