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Chapter 75




Chapter 75. It's because I received an invitation.
While wandering through the wilderness,
Flen had a terrible nightmare.
Or was it a nightmare?
He found himself alone in the middle of the Great Forest of Hameln, heading somewhere.
Pushing through the underbrush, scratching his face on branches, and repeatedly falling, his mind held only one thought.
‘But
 where was I going?’
A question that bordered on unconsciousness.
The answer came easily.
‘
That’s right. The First Base Camp. The place of the incompetent mercenaries.’
But why was he heading there?
He usually didn’t have good feelings about the First Base Camp.
Or rather, not just not good.
Negative.
‘After two hundred years, isn’t it time to stop?’
A petty jealousy. Honestly, it was envy.
But why was he, who felt this way, heading to the First Base Camp?
Why did he run with such urgency to meet that old stick-in-the-mud, Ficker?
He couldn’t remember.
He was just desperate.
- Squeak

- Gah!
Monsters of the Great Forest blocking his path at every step.
Even as he narrowly escaped death from their claws, fangs, and talons, his mind held only one thought.
‘Ficker, I have to meet Ficker.’
He had to meet the chief of the First Base Camp.
He had to meet that un-mercenary-like chief

‘Meet the chief
 to do what?’
Wait.
‘Chief? Chief
 Ah! Chief.’
A scene that had sunk into darkness suddenly surged to the surface at that moment.
Chief.
Leader.
Why was he trying to meet the chief of another camp, not his own?
- Live.
With a chest pierced, his eyes lost their light.
Like ink draining from a cup, a dark aura swiftly vanished.
His eyes turned gray.
- You are the chief.
‘The chief
 is dead.’
The owner of Victima had breathed his last.
There were no warning signs.
Just a pale hand that suddenly appeared, piercing his chest.
And then

- Slick.
Beyond the collapsing body, a figure was visible.
The black robe that tightly enveloped the body seemed to contain all negativity, yet the eyes beneath the hood sparkled with innocence.
Like a child observing a bug out of curiosity.
‘
A demon.’
If a demon existed in mythology, it might look like this?
Instinctive fear welled up, soon followed by a raging anger that flooded his chest.
‘I have to
’
No, he had to avenge the chief.
Light entered Flen’s retina at that moment.
“Huff!”
A deep breath that entered his lungs and was instantly expelled through his throat!
At that moment, a voice pierced his ears.
“No, Sir Mage. Even if you’re angry, hitting an unconscious person
 Oh? You’re really awake?”
It was a familiar voice.
This brash voice belonged to
 yes, the Pathfinder who managed to survive countless trips through the Great Forest.
‘Riley
 was it?’
But why was his cheek so sore?
Unconsciously touching his cheek, his retina, now adjusted to the light, formed a clear image.
It formed, but

“
Huff!”
If the previous breath was an expulsion, this one was the opposite.
An involuntary inhalation in the face of unexpected fear.
“
W-Who?”
Flen calmed his startled heart and looked at the person holding his collar.
His appearance was quite distinctive.
Dark gray hair and a black mask.
But, those eyes

Swallow.
Under the indescribable pressure, Flen swallowed hard as a voice echoed in his ear.
“Let’s talk a bit.”
“W-What
?”
“What happened here? If you answer honestly, your life will be
 Ah, that’s not it. Anyway.”
“Here
?”
Flen looked around with a bewildered gaze.
But something felt familiar.
From the wooden wall behind the masked person to the guard posts set at regular intervals.
And the tents below.
“Could this be the Second Base Camp
?”
Why was he here?
‘I was definitely heading to the First Base Camp.’
But Aster’s group didn’t wait for Flen to fully grasp the situation.
“I understand your confusion. But I’ll explain later. It’s better to answer the mage’s question first.”
“What
 I don’t understand
 Ah, no. I understand.”
Flen suppressed his inner turmoil with superhuman discernment.
The masked person’s eyes were truly terrifying.
“Before that
 what happened to our chief?”
“He’s dead.”
“
”
Flen tightly closed his mouth at Ficker’s answer.
But only for a moment.
“Just as I thought. But, what happened
?”
The tone suggested that the incident wasn’t limited to Chief Hallig.
It seemed something had happened to the entire Second Base Camp.
“I’ll tell you what I remember.”
Flen wanted to shake off the hand and check on the other members, but he answered the masked person’s question first.
When the explanation ended,
“Hmm, so that’s what happened?”
The masked person released his collar at that moment.
The masked person then walked away somewhere.
Flen, with a dazed expression, followed the figure and then turned his gaze.
“
I want to check the Second Base Camp. Is that okay?”
“It’s better not to see it
”
“
?”
Ficker’s incomprehensible answer.
Flen slightly furrowed his brow and stood up.
“I don’t understand, but I have an obligation to confirm.”
- You are the chief.
Now, the chief of Victima was him.
Though left alone, the responsibility placed on his shoulders by his chief remained.
The name Victima hadn’t faded.
Ficker, confirming this resolve, nodded.
“Then
 let’s go to the central square.”
“
Yes, sir.”
Flen looked into Ficker’s worried eyes and bowed his head.
And soon,

!
A scream echoed through the Second Base Camp.

! 
! 



!
A sound that didn’t seem human, a voiceless animal’s cry.
* * *
As the scream echoed through the Second Base Camp,
“
You were here.”
Ficker moved towards Aster, who was on the guard post at the back gate.
Aster was fixed on the Great Forest of Hameln, and Ficker, after a moment, spoke.
“You’re
 quite cruel.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Can’t you hear that sound? Is there a reason you showed Flen that atrocity?”
Originally, the mercenaries of Abiot wanted to collect the bodies as soon as they discovered the atrocity.
But,
- Let’s just leave it for now.
Aster stepped forward to stop them.
The mercenaries were confused and some even showed mild resistance to Aster’s orders.
But Aster’s resolve was unwavering.
- Just leave it. We’ll collect them by tonight.
At first, it seemed he was looking for the killer’s traces, but

‘That wasn’t it.’
Aster’s inspection of the atrocity was the last time he saw it.
“I have to see my comrades’ last moments with my own eyes.”
“
It doesn’t seem like a good choice.”
“It’s not good now. But isn’t it better than carrying it in my heart for a long time?”
“Up to a point
 Hmm. No, no.”
Ficker stopped talking.
For some reason, Aster’s back, looking at the Great Forest, seemed hollow.
‘It’s as if
 he’s lost countless comrades.’
In fact, who hasn’t lost comrades?
But the mage in front of him felt different.
It was as if he had lost countless comrades but never even heard of their last moments.
But, that aside,
“I think it’s time to tell me.”
From the day Ficker found Flen to their arrival at the Second Base Camp today,
Ficker voiced the questions he had been holding.
“What did you see that day? What is that rat? Is it related to the man in the black robe that Flen mentioned?”
The man in the black robe that Flen mentioned.
The one who suddenly appeared, without any sign or sound, and pierced Hallig’s heart.
Ficker was asking about him.
“Probably one of a group.”
“A group?”
“Not just one or two.”
“Hmm
 That makes sense.”
Ficker nodded in agreement.
The atrocity at the Second Base Camp.
No one could escape, and everyone in the central square of the Second Base Camp had died.
A complete massacre.
Even a being at the pinnacle of power couldn’t slaughter all the mercenaries in one place.
So, it had to be a group.
“Then, what did you find out that day?”
“What did I find out
?”
Aster crossed his arms and stared at the ground.
To be honest, he didn’t really find out anything.
- Huh, huh. It’s the command of the Seer. That guy is just a lure to lead to more sacrifices.
- A lure?
- Tremble in fear, insignificant mage. He has marked you. An eternal death awaits you.
The interrogation didn’t even start.
He died with a gasp.
He committed suicide.
Of course, the “gasp” was far from an ordinary suicide.
- Sssss-
As if all moisture had been drained.
The figure crumbled into sand.
All that remained was a disturbingly black pile of ashes and clothes.
The ashes were scattered by the wind.
In the end, the only evidence of his existence was the blood on his hands and the tattered clothes.
But.
‘I did find out something.’
The hiding spell he used.
It was different from a regular hiding spell.
He wasn’t just hiding in the shadows; he was merging with them.
‘It didn’t seem very stable
’
The collision with magic interfered, easily breaking the fusion with the shadows.
That’s how he was able to pull the guy out.
Anyway, there was another clue.
The ominous aura the guy emitted as he committed suicide.
‘It was definitely
 demonic energy (é­”æ°Ł).’
Or, since it was refined, should it be called dark magic?
Aster relayed these facts to Ficker, excluding the part about the demonic energy.
“Hmm
 Unknown mages.”
Ficker, hearing the details, slightly frowned.
“Why
 now? What’s their purpose?”
“
I don’t know.”
Aster shrugged.
Of course, he had his suspicions.
‘Only dark mages accumulate demonic energy. So
’
The Forbidden Magic Order (犁魔甐瀟), Salvatium.
A dark, hidden existence he was entangled with in his previous life, when he killed Frezen.
They were the most likely candidates.
Aster recalled the information about Salvatium he had heard from Professor Felina several times.
- Not all dark mages belong to Salvatium. But regardless of affiliation, Salvatium stands above all dark mages. The reason is

‘Because of the existence of the Forbidden Mages (犁魔棫)?’
Those who learned forbidden magic like dark mages but took a different path.
‘Then
’
A figure came to mind.
The man in the black robe that Flen mentioned.
‘Is he a Forbidden Mage (犁魔棫)?’
He could be just one of many dark mages, but a strong premonition told him otherwise.
If all these speculations were true,
‘Their purpose is probably
’
Destrue.
That was certain.
According to Professor Felina, Salvatium moved with sinister goals like the Demon Realm.
‘Or, it doesn’t matter what their goal is.’
Aster gathered his thoughts and looked up again.
In front of the guard post.
Dense underbrush and towering trees obscured the view.
And in between.
Chirp, chirp.
Grasshoppers chirping at regular intervals.
No matter what their goal is, it’s faster to see it with his own eyes.
Especially when

‘They’ve invited me so openly.’
Aster smiled bitterly at the familiars lined up as if guiding the way.
“Let’s put aside complicated thoughts and stay here for the night.”
“
Hmm, yeah. We need to collect the Victima mercenaries. But
”
Ficker’s gaze dropped.
Aster was already at the base of the guard post, beyond the wall.
“Where are you going?”
Without turning back, Aster replied.
“I’m accepting the invitation.”
“Invitation?”
Ficker, puzzled, tilted his head and then seemed to realize something.
“Those
 unknown mages? Then, I’ll go with you
 Hmm.”
Ficker couldn’t finish his sentence.
Aster was already gone.
Only the message magic lingered in his ear.
[If I don’t return by morning, leave first. I’ll follow as soon as possible.]
“
”
Ficker stared blankly in the direction Aster had gone.
‘
A man full of secrets.’
He revealed most of the information but kept the core hidden.
A truly inscrutable person.
“Tsk.”
Ficker, thinking to this point, turned and jumped down from the guard post.
‘It’s not my business to be curious.’
His job was just to escort and guide the group to the Fourth Base Camp.
But why?
“
”
Ficker, looking back several times, had a faint worry in his eyes, even if he didn’t realize it himself.