Far from Arcadia’s north gate, a panoply of torches lit the deep night.

“Don’t let your guard down; there’s a high chance that he’s still in Arcadia.”

“Hasn’t it already been a full day?”

“So what? Right now, we need to make sure that no one with questionable identities can pass the gates.”

As the capital of the Empire, each of Arcadia’s gates was directly managed by the Imperial family’s royal guard. Over the past day, the number of guards patrolling the area had doubled in preparation for Joshua’s escape.

“Did you hear?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The rumors that His Majesty would review the nobles’ rankings.”

His senior’s face suddenly froze.

“And His Majesty wanted to reduce the five dukes to only three dukes. He wanted to weaken the power of the nobility—but the question is, will they let him?”

“Of course they won’t… What do you—?”

“Here’s the deal: he wants to remove the Pontier and the Agnus family.”

“HUH?”

The younger guard’s eyes were stained with astonishment.

“Are we talking about the same Agnus family?”

“They’re saying it’s only temporary. Maybe it’s some kind of punishment for going against His Majesty. Supposedly it’ll be reversed once the Emperor is satisfied with Duke Agnus’s work, but…”

“But what about the Pontier family?”

The older guard frowned.

“That’s where things get serious. As you can remember from Marquis Crombell’s example, if unqualified people are left at the top, misfortune is bound to happen. As the master of an empire, His Majesty can’t let that go on forever.”

“Woah…”

“It’s His Majesty’s way of drawing the line.”

The older one looked at his bewildered subordinate and sighed. He fixed his eyes straight ahead.

“Stop worrying about other things; just focus on your job for now.”

“Can’t help it, it’s so shocking.”

But the younger knight shook the thoughts out of his head.

“By the way, wouldn’t it be a problem if he appeared here?”

“Huh?”

“Oh? Didn’t the higher ups tell you? There’s a rumor going around in the Imperial Palace.”

The younger guard stabbed his spear into the air with a swish.

“When he stabs his spear like this, fire and lightning strikes.”

He slammed the point into the ground.

“If he stabs the ground like this, an earthquake happens.”

Then he gave his spear a swing.

Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

“And with a light swing of his spear, a raging storm breaks out. If those rumors are true, doesn't that make him a walking disaster? Aren’t we as good as dead?”

“Are you serious?”

The younger guard just shrugged.

“I’m just saying. With his skill, there’s no way he’s still here. He’s probably far, far away by now.”

“Hey! Don’t jinx it!”

“I’m just calming myself.”

“You keep talking pessimistically. What a way to relieve the tension—and this isn’t the first time—”

A rustle from the grass to the side of the gates made them freeze.

They locked eyes.

“Go and take a look.”

“M-Me?”

The younger guard gave his superior a terrified look.

To ordinary soldiers, Joshua was already nothing short of a god. Sometimes not just a god, but the Reaper himself. Word of Joshua’s greatness was spreading far, far away, even among the ordinary people.

“Just go and take a look.”

“No! I won’t go without you. It’s only the two of us, and I don’t know what’s going on—!”

“Right, there’s only the two of us. So one of us has to report what we see.”

“So you’re gonna let your subordinate kick the bucket instead of blowing the whistle?”

“What? Die? Well, let’s see! Because of this guy—”

“You’re old, team leader. Are you going to act more polite in front of the coffin?”

“Do you want me to put you into one now?”

They heard the rustling again and fell silent. The young guard swallowed nervously and edged forward.

“If there’s really something, please take care of my family.”

“Your wife said she’s gonna go to the next royal guard wives’ party. I saw her drinking with Roman from the 17th Battalion.”

The younger guard shivered.

“If I die like this—”

Tree branches cracked under the younger guard’s feet, and then he disappeared.

“Jackson?”

Only the sound of the wind answered the guard’s shouts.

“Jackson, you punk, if you’re messing with me, I really will kill you!”

Still, silence answered him.

“Damn it…”

The older guard began approaching the bush with his whistle in his mouth and his weapon at the ready.

“Meow!”

“AHHH! CAT?”

It turned out the rustling came from a feral cat. But why didn’t Jackson answer?

“That bastard…”

The man let the whistle fall out of his mouth. He could see Jackson’s butt sticking out of the bushes—he must have been trying to hide.

…But his posture was a bit weird.

The man sighed resignedly and was about to shout at Jackson.

“...Man.”

A playful smile crept onto his lips and he began to sneak up on his subordinate, hoping to get a scare out of him.

But his hopes were not answered.

His eyes almost popped out of their sockets. The closer he got, the more a sense of danger crept over him. He realized that Jackson’s posture was unnatural.

“This…”

The man who approached Jackson from behind and examined the situation blankly.

Jackson was not squatting. His hands were tied to a tree branch above his head. The older guard took a sharp breath and clenched his hands around his weapon.

There was a dull thump and then the man collapsed.

Three new figures emerged from the bush, all wearing robes.

“Icarus, you’re good at making cat noises,” Cain teased.

Icarus ignored Cain and looked around worriedly.

Joshua’s expression was grim.

***

A river flowed through the Great Plains of Aiyas.

“Haah, haah, haah…”

A woman with pretty blue hair clawed for breath. Despite slender body, she supported a very large man. He wasn’t moving—it was hard to tell if he was still alive or not. The woman knew he’d been severely wounded. The robe he wore was drenched in blood, and his body was covered in lacerations. One of his eyes was nothing but a bloody, gouged out hollow socket.

“If it goes on like this…”

The woman bit her lip. Their pursuers were tenacious, even after several days. She could see another group in brown robes emerging from the other side of the river right then.

“There!”

“By order of the new Tower Master, Thetapirion Whitesox must be caught at all costs!”

The lady’s eyes narrowed coldly.

“The cold breath of the north wind that freezes even fire.”

Mana gushed out of her mana heart to her fingertips.

Blood also gushed from her stomach; she was exhausted by the constant chase.

But she endured.

“The purest, bluest mana in the world.”

“Stop her!”

The pursuers felt the changes in the air and belatedly attempted to conjure shield magic.

“Freeze their existence; annihilate the enemies before me.”

6th-Circle magic enveloped the entire river sweeping over the unprepared wizards in an azure wave.

“KAAKK!”

Their desperate screams pierced the air, but a black blood trickled down the corner of the woman’s mouth.

‘This is my limit.’

Her vision blurred and her eyes spun. He wasn’t here for her this time.

The woman collapsed.

***

“What are you talking about, by the way?” Cain asked as donned the guard’s clothes.

“While the two of you were making a fuss in the Imperial palace, I was gathering information on this and that in the center of Arcadia.”

“You said you were looking for a house.”

“You think we can worry about a house right now? I have to worry about my life because of someone.”

“...Sorry.”

“Something’s weird about this situation,” Icarus continued.

“How so?”

“The borders. Armies are gathering at international borders like they’re preparing for war.”

“What, war?”

“Besides the three great powers, there’s two countries acting especially strange.”

“Which two?”

“One is the Princedom of Thran, which our master is acquainted with. And the other one…” Icarus glanced at Joshua.

Joshua met Icarus's eyes.

“Are you listening?”

“The other one is… Terra?” Joshua guessed.

Icarus’s eyes widened.

“You knew?”

“You mean the Magic Kingdom, Terra?” Cain asked.

“The timing is wrong, but perhaps fate can’t be changed,” Joshua mumbled.

“What do you mean…?”

Cain was on the verge of the barest understanding.

“There you are.”

A new voice cut Cain’s thoughts short.

“You…”

The figure approaching in the dim moonlight made Cain’s eyes bulge.