“The part about him being strong enough to subdue the general in an instant... seems to have been true.”

Even as the old man said that, he could not help but let out a low groan inwardly.

‘He unraveled my magic that easily...?’

His class had changed recently after crossing the wall, but back when he had still been stuck in the level 20s, the old man’s class had been Water Mage.

The arrows he had just displayed were one of the offensive spells he was most confident in.

It was hard to believe, but he had already heard the report that this man was very likely a formidable powerhouse.

He had decided from the very beginning to come at him hard, thinking he ought to shave off some of that confidence.

But—

Drip... drip...

as a result of that strange mana spreading out from the man’s body, the water arrows he had created were now doing nothing but running uselessly across the floor.

There was only one thing that could mean.

That man’s ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) skill in handling mana was so overwhelmingly superior that merely spreading out a little mana was enough for him to dismantle the old man’s magic.

‘Impossible...’

After crossing the level 30 wall, the old man’s abilities had grown tremendously.

Even if water was no longer his main specialty, the power of that magic itself was still far stronger than it had been when he was stuck in the level 20s.

Breaking magic apart like that was dozens of times harder than simply blocking it.

It was the sort of thing that probably required an awakened of at least level 39.

“What do you mean true? How can you judge that bastard’s strength just because he broke one of your spells? You, come down here and fight me for a—”

“...Be quiet.”

After cutting off his loudly blustering companion, the old man straightened his posture slightly and said,

“I withdraw what I said earlier. It seems I was the one overestimating my own strength. As for how you were able to hear our conversation... I won’t bother asking. With the skill you just showed, I’m sure you had some method.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“But aside from that... we still have no choice but to be suspicious of you.”

Regardless of his strength, there were too many suspicious things about the man.

“At present, everyone is trapped on this island. But looked at another way, that means everyone once scattered across the continent has gathered here. And yet, I’ve never heard any rumors of someone like you.”

“......”

“And as luck would have it, the enemies we face are capable, if they wish, of creating strong individuals. Until we are sure that your identity is not something made by our enemies... we cannot remove the chains binding your hands.”

Clink.

“Chains, huh.”

At those words, the man looked down at the chains and said,

“You do understand that I’m still wearing these not because I have to, but because I’m showing my own kind of respect for your side, right?”

“Of course. But even so, it would be best if you didn’t get any ideas about breaking those chains.”

That man was certainly strong.

But—

“The magic I showed just now was merely my old specialty, not my current full strength. And... I am not the only one here.”

As he said, every member of the leadership gathered here was a fairly high-level awakened.

No matter how strong that man was, there was no way he could defeat everyone by himself here, in the center of their stronghold.

“So you’ve never heard rumors about me, and that means you can’t trust me.”

With everyone’s eyes fixed on him, the man seemed to think for a moment, then—

“Well, that’s understandable.”

“...?”

“I’m from beyond that barrier.”

And then...

he said something almost impossible to believe.

“I came from another country.”

***

“To think there are survivors outside China as well.”

“I did think the possibility existed... but from what he’s saying, it sounds like the scale is considerable too.”

Murmur, murmur.

“If we’re talking about the distance from the Korean Peninsula to Qingdao, can you really believe there’s a monster capable of flinging someone that far?”

“...Well, there’s also someone like the Grand Duke still sitting in our capital right now.”

“...When you put it that way, I suppose it is possible.”

After I finished speaking, everyone in the chamber opened their mouths with visibly shocked expressions.

“...If there really are survivors in other lands as well.”

And then, a few of them frowned and said,

“That means even if we succeed in wiping out those vampires... afterward, we’ll have to compete with survivors from foreign countries beyond the barrier.”

At those words, I couldn’t help feeling a little surprised.

‘...What?’

When I first set foot in this land, after the immediate thought that I had to find some way to get back, the next thing that came to mind was possibility.

If there were survivors in this land, then by saving them, perhaps humanity’s chances of survival could be raised even a little.

But—

“Mm. This makes the situation more complicated.”

“Damn it, if not for that traitor! We could have secured a solid advantage over other countries.”

They were thinking the exact opposite of me.

When they heard there were survivors in other countries, they categorized those survivors... as potential enemies.

Only then was I able to recall something I had realized at the start of the apocalypse.

‘Just because they’re human... doesn’t mean I can trust them unconditionally.’

They were the same species, yes, but in all of history, the beings that had killed the most humans were none other than humans.

Until now, most of the forces the Legion had encountered were far weaker than the Legion, so things had never escalated into a major conflict.

But there was no guarantee that people like these—people who would define even other human forces as enemies—were rare.

And thanks to that, I found myself thinking again.

‘The ones I want to move forward with.’

Once, they had been my unit.

Once, they had been humanity as well.

But now, many among them were no longer human, and yet they still belonged within my circle.

If I failed to clearly define the boundaries of that circle, then one day, it could place us in great danger.

“The likelihood that the influence China held before the apocalypse still remains in foreign nations...”

“Not high, I’d say. Just from his story alone, doesn’t it sound as though the government in Korea has already collapsed?”

And so, while they talked among themselves, assuming a future war with other countries—

at that very moment,

Sliiide... 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

I felt a faint, tiny movement amidst the commotion.

‘...!’

A movement so slight that if it hadn’t been me, with stats beyond comparison to any awakened here, I might not have sensed it properly at all.

But I felt it clearly.

‘That one moved.’

The second floor of the chamber.

That black screen at the center.

Whoever was inside it had moved, just a little.

And in that moment—

“...Everyone, be quiet!”

The dignified-looking old man who had been watching the situation suddenly raised his voice, and silence fell over the room that had been full of murmuring.

“You all seem to be talking about a future far too distant.”

And after that, the bald old man who had looked like nothing but a hothead cleared his throat and said,

“Right now, we don’t even know whether we can win this war against those vampires. We’ve got more than enough to deal with right in front of us, so let’s not get worked up over what comes later.”

Words so calm I could hardly believe they had come from the same man who had been red in the face and shouting earlier.

At that, I was able to grasp one thing.

‘I don’t know about the others...’

But the two old men on either side of that black screen, both awakened in the level 30 range—

at the very least, those two

‘are taking orders from whatever is inside that screen.’

Even with a temperament that fiery to begin with, he had suppressed it that completely at just one small gesture.

“And you.”

While I was staring at the black screen out of curiosity, the bald old man glared down at me and said,

“If what you say is true, then it would certainly explain the uncertainty surrounding your identity. If you came from another land, then no matter how strong you are, it would make sense that no rumors of you ever reached us. And your strength as well... rather than making you harder to believe, it becomes easier to accept that someone that strong could have fought a monster capable of sending you flying all the way to this distant land.”

“When you say if what I say is true...”

“What you’ve presented is nothing but words. You have no proof, do you?”

At that, I had no choice but to frown.

“I’m telling you this as honestly as I can. Even if you ask me for proof, how would I, someone from another land, have any physical evidence?”

“Even so, we can’t simply choose to believe you without question.”

“...Doesn’t any awakened here have some kind of skill that can tell whether what I’m saying is a lie?”

“A skill that can detect lies? What kind of ridiculous skill would that be?”

Ah, damn it.

Gyeonggi Province, where ridiculous skills like that actually existed, had at least been easier to persuade with words.

“Ahem. Of course, we have no intention of forcing the issue blindly. So let me make you a proposal.”

“A proposal?”

“Bring us the head of a noble.”

...?

The head of a noble?

“In my eyes, you look suspicious no matter how I look at you... but even so, if there’s any way for you to prove you’re harmless, that would be it.”

“Bringing back the head of a noble would count as proof?”

“Of course.”

As I tilted my head, not following the logic, the bald old man looked at me with a displeased expression and said,

“Every last one of those vampire bastards is a monster that ought to be slaughtered, no question there... but even so, among themselves they’re bound together by something they call bloodline. All the vampires we’re fighting belong to a single bloodline.”

“And why does that—”

“This bloodline is a relationship much like a human family. Unless things have gone very seriously wrong between them, they respect each other more than anyone else. It seems they think that by honoring a noble who carries the same blood as them, they elevate the value of themselves as nobles who bear that same blood... something like that.”

At those words, I recalled one noble who had died not long ago.

Judging from that case alone, it seemed there were exceptions...

‘...No. In that case, maybe that one was the exception.’

Ariella had also said that bloodline was a concept similar to family.

So what he was saying was probably true as well.

“As it happens, the purpose of the death squad you interfered with this time was to hunt a noble.”

The bald old man grinned as he looked down at me.

“You’re the one who interfered and ruined it. So shouldn’t you be the one to clean up the mess?”

“......”

“You seem confident in your ability, so once General Kaio recovers, go with the members of the death squad and hunt that noble down. I don’t know whether you can actually do it... but if you really do bring back a noble’s head, then we’ll trust you a little.”

...Eliminate a noble.

Since these people were apparently at war with that bloodline, they were telling me to eliminate the head of an enemy force to prove my innocence.

At that, I fell silent in thought for a moment before finally speaking.

“Fine. I’ll do it.”

“Oh? You’re accepting that rather easily. It won’t be an easy task.”

“Instead...”

“Ah, right. Of course you wouldn’t accept it that easily. Is there something you want?”

“It’s not exactly that I want something. More like the opposite...”

I thought of General Kaio, of the status window I had seen a little while ago, and opened my mouth.

“I won’t need General Kaio.”

“...What?”

At those words, the bald old man frowned and said,

“...You seem awfully full of yourself just because you subdued General Kaio once, but the general’s own combat power is only part of what makes him valuable. He’s a great warrior more specialized in hunting vampires than anyone. Even if he may have lost in a fight against you, when it comes to fighting vampires, the likes of you—”

“Wouldn’t even compare. I know. I know that.”

I knew it because I’d seen it myself.

Those thralls giving off blue mana.

That horrifying spectacle of him overwhelming those monsters—creatures that even I, as I am now, could probably only handle one of at a time.

“Yet you’re refusing General Kaio’s support? Do you really intend to bring back a noble’s head?”

Still, that was separate from this.

“He was badly injured, wasn’t he? Treatment’s going to take time.”

“...According to the report, at least a week.”

“That’s too much time to waste. I’ll go and come back before the general is even healed.”

The thought of receiving help from that so-called general didn’t sit well with me.

“...Even so, you’ll still have to take members of the death squad with you. There’s no telling what kind of trick you might try to pull and whether you’d forge a noble’s head.”

“That much I can accept. Ah, but.”

I had already turned as if to leave, when a thought suddenly occurred to me, and I turned my head back toward the old man and said,

“There is something I’d like instead of General Kaio’s support.”

“What is it?”

Tap, tap.

I lightly nudged the shadow on the floor with my foot.

All I could feel was the hard floor.

“Lend me a kitchen.”

Unfortunately, I had just recently lost the entire refrigerator I’d been making such good use of.