The defeat of High Priest Malcan.

And it happened in front of all the Narang Tribe members and the dark mage forces in the city. At first, everyone doubted their eyes.

Something that couldn’t happen even in their wildest imagination had unfolded right before them.

The dark mage forces, being excessively realistic, struggled to accept the occurrence of such an impossible event.

However, the Narang Tribe was different.

Although everyone thought it was impossible, it was a scene they had always dreamed of seeing!

As Baek Yu-Seol let out a deep breath and lowered his sword after defeating High Priest Malcan, the events he had planned from the beginning began to unfold naturally.

Suddenly, a young Narang Tribe warrior leapt to his feet and thrust a spear of lightning into the neck of a dark mage soldier. Raising the severed head of the dark mage soldier high, he shouted.

"Now is the time! Avenge the Narang Tribe! Show them your pride and strength!"

When the young warriors of the Narang Tribe rose en masse and began cutting down the dark Mage forces that had enslaved them, the battle proceeded swiftly.

Though many Narang Tribe members realized that Baek Yu-Seol was not truly one of them, it no longer mattered.

Whoever Baek Yu-Seol was, he had defeated Malcan, and at this moment, he was the true hero of the Narang Tribe.

’...It worked out better than I expected.’

While Baek Yu-Seol was confident in one-on-one battles against strong opponents, he was less certain about fighting countless weaker dark mage forces. This was the best plan he could devise.

Initially, he intended to keep Malcan alive to extract the location of the Green Core, but that was no longer necessary.

Baek Yu-Seol raised his gaze toward the bell tower.

At the top of the tower, a young boy was looking down at the scene with a flustered expression.

"Now that someone even higher has appeared, I should get a more precise answer."

Baek Yu-Seol smirked as he looked at the dark mage cult leader, Hui-Ryeon, and in an instant, using consecutive Flash, he ascended to the top of the bell tower.

As he pointed his sword at Hui-Ryeon, the cult leader’s face stiffened as he took a step back.

Seeing this, Baek Yu-Seol let out a sigh and relaxed his expression, as if the tension had deflated.

"It must be my first time meeting you, dark mage cult leader?"

"...Baek Yu-Seol. So you’ve appeared before me."

"Yeah. Honestly, I thought you’d be... what should I say, more of a final boss. A bit smarter, a bit stronger, you know? But now that I’m seeing you, it’s kind of disappointing."

Hui-Ryeon’s rigid expression didn’t change, but he lifted the corners of his mouth.

"I’m sorry to disappoint your expectations. Did you come here yourself to sever my head? I don’t know where my movements were exposed, but... unfortunately for you, my death will do you no good."

What nonsense is he spouting?

Baek Yu-Seol hadn’t come looking for Hui-Ryeon as part of some grand plan.

It was just a coincidence that the dark mage colony he stumbled upon happened to be under the control of the dark mage cult, and Hui-Ryeon just so happened to be visiting at that time.

"Also, I won’t die here."

Hui-Ryeon took a step closer to Baek Yu-Seol. Compared to the now grown Baek Yu-Seol, Hui-Ryeon’s much smaller frame looked relatively insignificant, but he lifted his chin with confidence, as if such things no longer mattered.

"I don’t know what thoughts brought you here to face me, but it doesn’t matter. In the end... the meeting between you and me was bound to happen eventually."

"I don’t care about that. My purpose isn’t you."

Baek Yu-Seol tilted his head slightly, and Hui-Ryeon let out a faint laugh.

"Then what is your purpose?"

"The Green Core."

"...What?"

Hui-Ryeon could no longer laugh at Baek Yu-Seol’s answer.

"How did you know the Green Core was here...?"

Hui-Ryeon could accept that information about his movements might have leaked, but this was something that couldn’t have been leaked.

The location of the Green Core was protected by triple-layered security.

The only ones aware of its location were stored in Hui-Ryeon’s mind, a handful of individuals under strict brainwashing. Even uttering the information resulted in immediate death.

The Green Core was a crucial part of the grand plan Hui-Ryeon was executing.

"...?"

Baek Yu-Seol was even more surprised by Hui-Ryeon’s reaction.

’The Green Core is in this city?’

It was something he hadn’t expected at all. If he had brought along Leafanel or Florin, they might have quickly detected the natural energy and realized it, but unfortunately, Baek Yu-Seol lacked the sensitivity to sense natural energy amidst the overwhelming dark magic saturating the area.

He had only come to this city for interrogation, hoping to gather clues about the Green Core, nothing more, nothing less.

And yet, the target was much closer than he had anticipated. It was only natural that Baek Yu-Seol was even more shocked than Hui-Ryeon.

"This shouldn’t be possible..."

The Green Core was sealed with a level of perfection that surpassed modern magical technology, and it was intended to be stored within the Persona Gate, which would soon consume this city.

There was only a short amount of time left until that happened, and yet, Baek Yu-Seol had somehow sensed it and demanded the Green Core.

This absurd situation made Hui-Ryeon clutch his head in frustration.

’Who could it be?’

All those involved with the Green Core were Hui-Ryeon’s most trusted dark mage subordinates. They were individuals so loyal that they would offer their hearts and souls to him.

And yet—

One of them had betrayed him.

What’s worse, this traitor possessed the skill to break through Hui-Ryeon’s sealing and brainwashing techniques.

’This is impossible. My magical prowess surpasses even Stella’s...’

No, that wasn’t the important part.

The more critical issue was that someone as close to him as his right-hand man had betrayed him and sided with Baek Yu-Seol.

"Who... is it?"

"Who’s what?"

"Who leaked this information to you?"

"About the Green Core?"

Baek Yu-Seol scratched his cheek.

He hadn’t actually heard it from anyone.

Then, a peculiar thought crossed his mind.

Who was it that commissioned this mission?

The Green Tower Master, Toa Legron.

The New Moon Tower Master, however, suspected Toa Legron of being aligned with the dark mage.

Although Toa Legron’s true identity was still uncertain, the New Moon TowerMaster was willing to go so far as to sacrifice the Green Core to uncover it. But now, Baek Yu-Seol felt he might be able to roughly figure out the truth right here.

"I received the commission from the Green Tower Master, Toa Legron."

Hui-Ryeon’s expression suddenly twisted. Clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, he muttered.

"So, in the end, while pretending to be neutral, he’s sided with them..."

Normally, Hui-Ryeon wouldn’t have completely trusted Baek Yu-Seol’s words. But given the circumstances, Baek Yu-Seol seemed to know far too much already.

For such high-level information to leak, the source had to be someone as significant as the Green Tower Master.

"The Green Tower Master... A parasite who pretends to remain neutral but latches onto whichever side shows the most promise..."

Although Hui-Ryeon referred to him as a parasite, he secretly wished for the Green Tower Master to side with him, considering the immense power the man possessed.

However, the current situation suggested otherwise. The momentum had already shifted in favor of the Dark Mage King.

This was a decisive event for the once-neutral Green Tower Master to prioritize his allegiances.

’...Then, the information that Baek Yu-Seol is colluding with the Dark Mage King’s right-hand man, the Dark Knight, must be true!’

Of course, it wasn’t true.

Baek Yu-Seol had merely spread some nonsense among the dark mage forces to annoy the Dark Knight.

Yet, somehow, that false rumor had made its way to Hui-Ryeon. Over time, the rumor gained enough traction and context to piece together a seemingly perfect puzzle.

’Why? For what reason?’

Hui-Ryeon’s mind began racing.

The reason Baek Yu-Seol might have joined hands with the Dark Knight...

The reason the Dark Knight would join hands with Baek Yu-Seol.

What purpose could the two possibly share? What kind of deal had been struck between them that they were willing to risk being seen by countless dark mage forces?

This partnership would be a catastrophic blow to both of their reputations. Each of them could be labeled as traitors in their respective worlds.

’A purpose so grand that it’s worth the risk...’

Countless potential purposes that Baek Yu-Seol might pursue flashed through Hui-Ryeon’s mind, only to disappear just as quickly. Some were utterly absurd, while others didn’t seem like goals Baek Yu-Seol would pursue.

As he added and removed possibilities, considering them carefully, Hui-Ryeon finally managed to deduce a fragment of Baek Yu-Seol’s plan.

"I see, Baek Yu-Seol. You, too, have a grand plan no less significant than mine..."

"...?"

It’s not like Baek Yu-Seol had no plans in life. If anything, his Plan A was to marry a beautiful woman and live a sweet, loving life. As for his final goal, well, he supposed preventing the destruction of the Aether World could count as a plan.

But whatever grand plan Hui-Ryeon was imagining, Baek Yu-Seol had no idea what he meant.

Baek Yu-Seol wasn’t the type to meticulously draft and execute detailed strategies. He simply went with the flow, and things tended to work out somehow.

However, to Hui-Ryeon, Baek Yu-Seol’s seemingly spontaneous actions appeared entirely different.

"Alright, fine. I concede. I’ve been utterly defeated in this game of information. It stings... but I’ll retreat for now."

Hui-Ryeon realized he couldn’t win against Baek Yu-Seol here. The dark mage forces guarding him were indeed powerful, but he suspected that Baek Yu-Seol hadn’t even shown his full strength yet. Wasting energy on a fight seemed pointless.

"Where do you think you’re going?"

Naturally, Baek Yu-Seol had no intention of letting Hui-Ryeon escape. However, Hui-Ryeon, whose body was inherently weak, had always been prepared with a flawless escape plan.

Woom...!

The space around Hui-Ryeon shimmered in a gray hue as it swiftly enveloped his body.

Baek Yu-Seol swung his sword belatedly, but it was restricted, unable to cut through space.

"Let’s meet again, Baek Yu-Seol."

With an expression steeped in defeat, Hui-Ryeon added.

"I’ll hand over the Green Core."

With a fierce glare, he disappeared into the gray space, his figure vanishing completely.

"...Missed him right in front of me."

Killing him earlier would have made things easier, but as expected, someone blessed by Fawn Prevernal Moon wouldn’t give up their life so easily.

Whoosh!

A cold wind swept past.

Below the bell tower, the Narang Tribe and the dark mage forces were still engaged in a fierce battle, but up here, the place was now completely empty.

Which meant the important question was...

"So, where’s the Green Core?"

In movies or comics, when villains say something cryptic and make a dramatic exit, the protagonist is usually shown holding the treasure in the next scene.

And every time, Baek Yu-Seol had wondered.

How?

Where did they find it?

The villain never leaves any clues, so how do they locate it?

Now, that very question struck Baek Yu-Seol squarely again.

’...So where the heck did he hide the Green Core?’

Clang! Clang!

Flash!

Amidst the blazing fire, lightning, blood, and flesh of the brutal battlefield below, Baek Yu-Seol stood atop the tower, overwhelmed by a sense of futility, staring aimlessly into the distant sky.

’... Do I have to search this entire city?’

The daunting thought made his chest tighten in frustration.