Rine suddenly looked ahead.

The scenery before her felt utterly alien.

A world where everything looked murky.

And yet, within that world, there was a single source of warm light—a small hut.

The moment she saw the hut, Rine realized she was dreaming.

For more than ten years now, she had been having this same dream again and again.

A fleeting thought crossed her mind: I don’t want to go.

She had already had this dream hundreds of times.

Knowing exactly what was inside the hut, she had no desire to go in.

But soon, she moved.

Unless she entered the hut, this dream would never end.

Silently, she took a step forward.

With each step Rine took, the hut gradually drew closer.

And finally, when she reached the hut and quietly opened the door—

Creaaak~!

A gruesome sight unfolded before her.

The corpse of a woman with her throat torn open.

A man’s body, his limbs twisted at unnatural angles.

And three children—lifeless, blood pouring from every wound.

It was far from pleasant, but Rine was used to the sight.

Not only had she seen it countless times, she had also made corpses like these with her own hands.

And yet—

“Haa... haa...”

Her once-calm eyes filled with terror, and her heartbeat began to quicken.

As if she’d gone back ten years.

Back to the day she found the corpses of her parents and siblings.

And then—

And then, and then—

“!!.”

Rine opened her eyes and looked around.

The scenery had changed.

She could see clearly now—it was the room where she’d fallen asleep.

There were no corpses, no blood, and no warmly glowing hut.

Just a room washed in morning sunlight.

“...Haah.”

She covered her face with her hands, as if drained.

She didn’t know why, but lately she’d been having this nightmare more and more often.

And so—

Drenched in sweat, Rine lay in bed, unable to get up for a while.

*****

After the ball had ended—

“Hoo...”

King Shtalian V, seated in his carriage on the way back to the kingdom, rubbed his eyes with a weary look.

This kind of thing really isn’t for me.

To be honest, he hadn’t wanted to attend the ball in the first place.

But he’d had no choice.

There were political reasons, of course, but more importantly, there was still unfinished business regarding the remnants of Duke Komalon.

...To put it more bluntly—

By attending this ball, he could raise the prestige of Asteria’s king and uphold the dignity of the monarchy, thereby reducing the financial compensation required for the artificial Outer God incident.

In other words, he was compensating with his presence—using his body instead of money.

And so, after # Nоvеlight # letting out another deep sigh, King Shtalian V—

“King of humans.”

Turned his gaze toward the voice that had called him.

A man stood there, clad in full armor.

A being he had brought in through a secret contract with an enigmatic non-human race, for purposes he intended to use later.

The man suddenly posed a question.

His tone was far too arrogant for someone addressing a king.

Yet Shtalian V didn’t feel even the slightest irritation.

Because he knew.

The being inside that armor and helmet was strong enough that he didn’t need honorifics with a king.

“When it’s just the two of us, I don’t mind. But I’d appreciate it if you were more careful with your words when others are around.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll play along with the charade.”

“So what is it you want to ask?”

At King Shtalian V’s question, Zakurak the Scarred fell silent for a moment before speaking.

“Do you remember the man in the black coat at the ball?”

“...Black coat? Plenty of nobles wore black coats, didn’t they?”

“I’m talking about the man whose face showed no emotion.”

King Shtalian V immediately knew who he meant.

“...Are you talking about Marquis Palatio?”

“That’s his name?”

“Yes. He’s quite a renowned figure in the Allied Kingdom.”

“He must have built quite a reputation. Tell me more.”

“I don’t really want to, but it’s not difficult.”

King Shtalian V began sharing what he knew about Marquis Palatio.

After some time—

“Well, that’s about it.”

“I see.”

“But honestly, I think some of it may be exaggerated.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Of course, Marquis Palatio’s abilities are beyond question, but stories get inflated in retellings. For example, there are rumors that he single-handedly defeated the Outer God in the north.”

At first, the story had been that Marquis Palatio simply played a crucial role.

But as time went on, people added to it until it became, the marquis took down the Outer God by himself.

Listening in silence, Zakurak finally spoke.

“If you ask me, he’s probably even greater than the rumors. It doesn’t seem exaggerated at all.”

“Hm? What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what I said. The rumors about Marquis Palatio don’t sound exaggerated.”

“...You sound certain. Why is that?”

At King Shtalian V’s question, Zakurak grinned.

“Because he’s someone worthy of it.”

“Worthy of it...?”

He answered simply.

King Shtalian V, his voice full of doubt, tried again.

But Zakurak didn’t respond. Instead, he recalled Marquis Palatio from a few days earlier.

The man who had met his gaze with an expressionless stare.

...And the grotesque presence lurking behind him—so horrifying that merely perceiving it could make your eyes weep blood.

Zakurak wasn’t the type to take an interest in others.

Of course, the ominous presence behind Palatio was concerning, but even that wasn’t enough to sway him.

There were far more urgent matters, and he had left his world to cooperate with humans for a reason.

The real reason he’d become interested in Marquis Palatio was—

...How in the world does that man have the Gauntlets of the Primordial Saint?

Because that man was wearing the Gauntlets of the Primordial Saint.

The Supreme One.

The savior who had once rescued the forsaken races abandoned by the gods—whom the elves had arbitrarily named the Primordial Elf.

And those were the gauntlets he had used.

At first, Zakurak thought he was mistaken.

But there was no doubt—the gauntlets the man wore were the same ones the Supreme One had wielded.

The memories carved into his bloodline, passed down through hundreds of generations, confirmed it.

And that wasn’t all.

He wouldn’t have been so certain from the gauntlets alone.

Not without the Shadow Leaves around Marquis Palatio.

There were at least six of them.

Zakurak recalled the six elves who had been lurking near Marquis Palatio.

Each of them a warrior with swordmaster-level strength, a force assembled solely to protect High Elves.

They had been guarding Marquis Palatio from the shadows.

And if the Shadow Leaves—whom only the Queen herself could mobilize—were protecting him, then there was only one possible explanation.

“...Hah.”

Zakurak let out a hollow chuckle, as if the thought were absurd.

Even to him, it didn’t make sense.

A dead man... had returned?

There was no way—

There should be no way.

And yet, here was a man who made him question that certainty.

After a long silence, Zakurak finally spoke.

“Prepare a letter when we return.”

“...It’s not the usual reporting period, though.”

“I know. But this needs to be sent. If what I suspect is true—”

A grin spread across his face.

“Then everyone needs to be prepared.”

Because the world might soon be shaken.

*****

About four days after Alon and his group left Terea for Lartania—

Traveling at an unhurried pace—

“...Marquis?”

“Deus?”

Alon unexpectedly ran into Deus in a village not far from Lartania.

“It’s been a while.”

“Yes. I hope you’ve been well.”

The moment Deus saw Alon, he hurried over and bowed deeply.

“What brings you here?”

Alon asked, a faint confusion showing behind his usual impassive face.

“I was on my way to Lartania.”

“...Lartania?”

“Yes.”

“Then... there was no reason for you to stop here, was there?”

Alon had every reason to be puzzled—Deus shouldn’t have been here.

Given Lartania’s location, Asteria was to the east, while Caliban was to the west.

If Deus had been traveling from Caliban to Lartania, there was no reason for him to pass through this village.

As Alon voiced his doubt—

“Ah, well, there was something I needed to pick up nearby, so I came this way.”

“Something to pick up?”

“Yes.”

“...Ah. Now that I think about it, I heard you were making something. Was it for that?”

“Yes. I was preparing a gift for you, Marquis.”

“A gift for me?”

That was news to him.

“Yes.”

“...So that’s what you were working on?”

“That’s right.”

Deus nodded firmly, confidence on his face.

Seeing the eager anticipation in his pure expression, Alon felt oddly flustered.

Why all of a sudden?

The thought flickered through his mind.

But hearing that someone had gone out of their way to prepare a gift for him, he couldn’t help feeling a little pleased.

Even if he also felt a bit guilty, seeing Deus put in so much effort—

...Well, the happiness outweighed the guilt.

“Where are you headed, Marquis?” Deus asked.

“I’m also going to Lartania.”

“Then let’s travel together.”

“...All right.”

With that, Deus joined Alon’s group.

The next day—

Alon met Deus’s younger sister for the first time in a long while.

“Greet him, Sili.”

“...Hello.”

“...? Ah, yes.”

Alon was quietly glad to see her again.

But Sili—

Her expression was complicated.

A tangle of emotions, with just a trace of resentment.

*****

In an underground location on the outskirts of Lartania—

Ron, the manager of the Lartania branch of the intelligence guild, silently watched the hooded woman in front of him.

Rustle, rustle—

With each slight tilt of her head and each movement of her hand, another page of the document turned.

The next page.

Then the next.

The woman read all the way to the final page, then casually set the document on the blackwood desk and spoke in a languid tone.

“Hmm—this isn’t quite enough. Do you have anything else?”

“Anything else?”

“Yes.”

“If you want deeper information, the money you brought won’t cut it.”

“Really? Wasn’t it quite a lot?”

“...Ten gold coins is already a generous price. Information on High Councilor Rine is expensive.”

At Ron’s blunt reply, the woman hummed thoughtfully, as if calculating, then smirked and shrugged. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“Well, fine. It would’ve been nice to get more, but this much should be enough.”

“Then leave.”

“Aren’t you being a little too cold to a woman like me?”

“You’re hiding your face under a hood. And this is a workplace.”

At Ron’s detached response, the woman grinned.

“Then how about we talk business?”

“...As I said, business requires money.”

“I heard you sometimes buy valuable information, too.”

“Hmph. And you think you have something valuable?”

“Of course. Right now, no one else knows what I do.”

Ron looked down at her skeptically.

However—

“I’ll hear it first and then decide on the price. If it’s something we already have, I won’t pay.”

He couldn’t afford to miss a potential lead.

“Well, we’ll see if you can even afford the price.”

“...?”

Ron gave her the chance.

Slowly, the woman stepped closer, bringing her mouth near his ear, and then—

“The demon buried beneath the roots— $&%$%&”

She whispered softly.

And the moment she did—

“...!”

Ron realized something.

The woman’s face, visible just moments ago, was now obscured by a veil of black mist.

A bizarre object began to take shape before him.

As the eerie entity’s eyes slowly opened—

Splatter!

Ron’s head exploded.

Blood instantly drenched the pitch-black room in crimson.

And then—

“See? I told you you wouldn’t be able to pay the price.”

The woman—or rather, the Apostle of Greed—looked down at Ron’s headless corpse.

With a twisted smile, she flicked the bloodstained documents off the desk and into the air.

“Now that everything’s ready—”

As the documents were sucked up with a ripple, a glimpse of a sinister abyssal entity briefly flickered into existence.

“Well then. Time to move.”

The Apostle of Greed quietly stepped out of the dark chamber, leaving no one behind.