Ghislain’s eyes sparkled as he chased after the masked woman.

'The founder of the Shadow Knights.'

It was the same face he had seen in his dreams. Even with her face hidden behind a mask, he could recognize that gaze.

A strong certainty surged through him—that this masked woman was the hero’s companion, the very founder of the Shadow Knights.

No, he didn’t even need to call it a hunch.

The technique she had just shown was far too similar to the ones Belinda used.

'Wait. Does that mean she’s some distant ancestor from my mother’s side?'

Maybe. Maybe not. A thousand years was plenty of time for bloodlines to break and new successors to be chosen.

But what did that matter? What mattered now was that he had met someone he was meant to meet.

Clang!

Ghislain deflected the dagger the masked woman had thrown at him with ease.

He closed the distance in an instant and smiled leisurely.

“First, let’s calm down a little. I want to have a word.”

The masked woman remained composed. She gently set down the subordinate she had been dragging with her.

She must’ve realized that in this state, neither fighting nor fleeing would succeed.

Ghislain had left the rest of the intruders to his comrades. His focus was solely on the masked woman.

'Gotta beat her carefully.'

She was skilled enough not to die from a typical blow. But putting her through some brutal torture to make her talk wasn’t ideal either.

He didn’t want to leave any resentment with someone who would become the hero’s companion.

Still, judging by her actions, they weren’t likely to become friends easily. So he figured he’d just rough her up a bit.

'Let’s start with mobility...'

Ghislain swung his staff downward at her leg, planning to break just one to start with (lightly).

Shff.

Her body rippled like smoke and vanished, dodging the attack.

Ghislain immediately turned and hurled his staff to the side.

BOOM!

“Gah!”

The staff struck the masked woman square in the abdomen as she reappeared beside him.

She let out a pained scream and collapsed to the ground.

But she quickly melded back into the darkness and repositioned herself. Her mental endurance was astounding.

Ghislain extended his hand, sending out threads of mana. His staff moved like a living creature, slicing through the air toward her.

Clang!

This time, the masked woman blocked it with two daggers. Her eyes were trembling violently.

'W-What the hell is this guy?'

She’d heard he was a mage who’d reached the level of a superhuman. But no matter how she looked at it, his fighting style wasn’t mage-like at all.

'What do I do...?'

She retreated quickly and glanced around.

The subordinates she’d brought had already been completely subdued.

Julien’s Mercenary Corps had them surrounded, merely watching. It was hard to believe what she was seeing.

'They’re all stronger than the intel said...'

Even if he was a superhuman, he was still a mage. And mages were typically weak against detection and close combat.

That’s why she’d assumed that even if they were discovered, escape would be possible. She hadn’t worried ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) about the other mercenaries at all.

She had been confident in her assassination skills and made her move accordingly. That had been a mistake.

'Damn. I should’ve waited and watched longer.'

She never imagined those degenerates would get chased out of the village. That made her act hastily.

But judging from their response, it was clear they’d sensed something all along. She had no idea where they’d caught on.

It had been a huge miscalculation. Her escape plans were all based on the assumption that they knew nothing.

Now that that assumption had collapsed, things had gone from bad to worse.

Before she realized it, Ghislain had reclaimed his staff and was approaching again, striking without hesitation.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

She tried to flee multiple times, but it wasn’t easy.

For a mage, he was far too good at close combat.

In the end, she decided to fight more aggressively while searching for an opening.

Whoosh.

Dozens of daggers burst out once again from beneath her robe.

Each dagger was connected to her body by thin threads.

They squirmed like snakes as they shot at Ghislain from all directions.

Dodging the flying blades, Ghislain smiled.

'Man, this brings back memories.'

It felt like fighting Belinda again.

But compared to Belinda, this woman’s technique was lacking.

It was more experimental and bold, but her movements were rough, and control was unstable.

Rather than skillfully pressuring the opponent, it was more like hurling everything at random and hoping something landed.

So Ghislain understood.

'This technique isn’t complete yet.'

At first, he’d thought it was because she was inexperienced. But the longer they fought, the more he felt that the technique itself was still in development.

He glanced around.

'Hmm, is this her own invention? Doesn’t feel like a technique passed down by any group.'

No one else had used anything like this. At most, some of her body movement resembled what others used.

Ghislain didn’t finish her off immediately and continued observing. His head was now buzzing with possibilities.

'Ugh, what should I do? Talking won’t work with her.'

'Saying “come with me” won’t get me anywhere...'

'Do I seriously have to beat her half to death and drag her back?'

Ereneth and Lionel had joined him of their own accord. Each for their own reasons, each with their own desires.

But this masked woman was different. She would almost certainly try to escape no matter what.

And that was a problem. The hero’s companions needed to be secured and subjected to intense training.

The more Ghislain puzzled over how to lure her in, the more flustered she became. She couldn’t hide her confusion as the fight dragged on.

'What the hell! What kind of mage fights like this?!'

Everyone knew mages were weak in close combat. Even a superhuman-level mage was vulnerable to skilled knights.

That’s why mages were always accompanied by guards.

But this guy didn’t have any guards.

No, he didn’t even care. Some of his men were sitting there eating and watching the fight.

That alone showed how much faith they had in him.

'Damn it, damn it! Perverted bastard!'

The masked woman cursed Ghislain endlessly in her mind—though he would’ve found it extremely unfair if he heard.

But no amount of internal cursing would get her out of this mess.

'What do I do? If this keeps up, I might really die.'

Not that she feared being killed by him. She could already tell he was holding back.

The fact that none of her subordinates had been killed proved it.

Her concern lay elsewhere. She had her own complicated reasons.

Now that the mission had failed, she needed to get away from here—far away from those people. But her opponent didn’t seem willing to let her go.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The more anxious she became, the sloppier her movements got.

And Ghislain, seeing that, suddenly had an amusing thought.

'She’d probably freak out if I used her technique.'

Yeah, definitely. If this technique hadn’t yet been completed in this era, then seeing a perfected version would be a massive shock.

Even if it had been completed, seeing someone else use it—someone not on her side—would be terrifying.

Clang!

Ghislain created distance and spoke.

“Your technique’s pretty sloppy.”

“......”

“Who taught you that? Or did you figure it out on your own?”

“......”

“Tsk, tsk. Quiet one, huh? Anyway, that’s not how you use it. Looks like you don’t know what you’re doing.”

Her eyes flared with sharp intensity. Her pride had clearly been wounded.

Seeing that, Ghislain smiled smoothly.

“Want me to show you something cool?”

Fwish!

Suddenly, Ghislain’s body melted into the shadows. The masked woman’s eyes flew open wide.

Before she knew it, Ghislain had reappeared behind her and swung his staff.

Clang!

She barely managed to block it. But then, his body once again scattered into darkness and vanished.

She couldn’t believe it.

'H-How? How is a mage moving like that?'

That maneuver—slipping into the shadows—wasn’t something just anyone could pull off.

Only top-tier assassins and thieves could perform such techniques.

But that wasn’t even what shocked her most.

'Why... why is his technique so similar to mine?'

In fact, even calling it “similar” was an insult. The structure of the technique might’ve been the same, but its precision and completeness were on an entirely different level.

Fwish! Fwish! FWISH!

Ghislain kept appearing and disappearing around her, shrouded in shadow.

She tried to flee again, but every time, he blocked her escape.

The masked woman grit her teeth, furious despite her confusion.

'This bastard... He’s toying with me.'

He wasn’t even bothering to attack anymore. He just kept vanishing and reappearing over and over again.

Her pride thoroughly shattered, she hurled daggers toward the direction he last appeared.

SHWIP!

Dozens of daggers streaked toward Ghislain.

He retreated quickly, putting distance between them—but the daggers chased him relentlessly.

Grinning, Ghislain spoke.

“I’ll show you something even more fun now.”

Zzzzznnnng―!

A subspace opened in midair. And from within it, dozens of daggers suddenly burst forth.

Clangclangclangclangclang!

The daggers summoned by Ghislain intercepted every single one of the daggers the masked woman had fired.

The masked woman froze.

'...That’s impossible.'

The daggers hovered in midair. They weren’t connected to the body like hers were.

That—was the very state she had always dreamed of reaching.

A state where every dagger moved on its own and emitted an aura blade.

With that alone, one could fight dozens of powerful opponents alone. Against a single expert, it would simulate the effect of a coordinated ambush.

It was, without exaggeration, the ultimate form of combat.

And now, that state she had so desperately longed for—was being demonstrated far too easily by a mage standing right in front of her.

The masked woman bit her lip.

'It’s magic. He copied my technique using magic.'

That much was possible. After all, it wasn’t real, it was fake.

But the way he kept mimicking her technique, mocking her, displaying a higher level of control—she couldn’t stand it.

“Tch!”

As the masked woman drew up her mana, her daggers grew sharper, more frenzied.

Clangclangclangclang!

Ghislain kept pace with her, his movements fitting hers just enough.

The goal was to show her—without question—that his technique was far superior.

Clangclangclangclang!

Before she knew it, Ghislain’s daggers had begun knocking hers away.

He even severed the threads that linked her to the blades.

Clink, clatter.

With their connections cut, her daggers began falling one by one to the ground.

Soon, Ghislain’s daggers surrounded her from all directions.

Once trapped in this space, even a superhuman couldn’t easily escape.

Belinda had used this very technique to grind down Melkir and the Salvation Order’s other superhumans.

As the dozens of daggers enclosed on her, the masked woman’s eyes filled with fear.

'How... how is this even possible...'

The realm she had dreamed of her whole life.

The dominator of space, moving through the shadows.

Now, its perfect form was being displayed right before her eyes.

She was going mad with curiosity—how that man knew this technique, why he could wield it so freely.

But this wasn’t the time for questions. She had to escape.

Fwish!

Her body turned to shadow once again, attempting to slip away—but Ghislain’s daggers moved faster.

Fshhhhhh!

Dozens of daggers zipped past the masked woman’s body. It was a deadly symphony no one could dodge.

'Careful... slowly...'

Ghislain guided the blades with precision.

The point wasn’t to injure her—he wanted to show her his skill and plant curiosity and longing in her heart.

So he couldn’t cause any serious wounds.

Shk! Shk! Shk!

As the masked woman frantically shielded her face, she began to feel something strange.

The daggers were grazing her very lightly. Her clothes were being cut and she was getting nicked, but none of the wounds were deep.

The blades kept pressing in, as if keeping her in check.

Some were even just poking her gently—like they were playing with her.

Wearing a bewildered expression, the masked woman eventually sank to the ground, eyes brimming with tears. She clutched the torn remains of her robe tightly.

“You perverted bastard... stop messing around and just kill me.”

“......”

Clatterclatterclatter.

Ghislain’s daggers dropped to the ground all at once.

The situation had grown extremely awkward.

He’d been holding back, but still—his daggers had grazed her body. Her clothes were torn to shreds; she looked like a beggar.

A woman, on her knees, tearfully clutching ripped clothing—anyone looking would surely get the wrong idea.

And unfortunately... the villagers were watching. Again.

“Oh no... he's at it again.”

“Wasn't his name Astion? He seems like the biggest problem.”

“Yeah, yeah. He was the first to threaten us yesterday too.”

The villagers whispered among themselves. But of course, with Ghislain’s superhuman hearing, he caught every word.

He felt a revolutionary level of injustice.

“......”

The more he thought about it, the more this village just felt like a terrible match for him.

Scratching his head in frustration, Ghislain muttered internally,

'Man, this isn’t easy.'

Unlike the future, there were so many things to consider now. Trying to account for all of them honestly made everything harder.

Others still saw him as reckless, but from his perspective, this was restraint.

'Still... this should be enough, right?'

He’d shown her plenty. Now it was time to start pressuring her in other ways.

Zzzzing—!

Ghislain summoned Gramdir from subspace.

“This sword’s name is ‘Gramdiologue’—no, just ‘Dialogue.’ I only bring it out when I want to have a serious conversation with someone.” 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

“......”

“You know I’ve been holding back. The reason I used the same technique as you was because there’s something I want to share.”

“Something you want to share?”

“Yeah. But that’s not the priority right now. First, I have something I want to know.”

“......”

“So you’d better answer properly from here on out. If you don’t...”

Ghislain raised Gramdir and held it to the masked woman’s neck.

“I’ll start by killing your comrades one by one. And you... won’t get a clean death either.”

A line only a villain would say. But Ghislain was the kind of man who would do exactly that if necessary.

The atmosphere shifted instantly. A chilling bloodlust began to fill the area.

The masked woman couldn’t breathe properly. That was how intense the killing intent radiating from Ghislain was.

And the villagers, seeing this...

“...He finally showed his true colors.”

“Let’s get out of here. That look in his eyes isn’t normal.”

“Astion... is a terrifying pervert.”

They whispered and began fleeing.

And so, Astion’s infamy steadily piled up again today.

“......”

Ghislain now felt completely resigned.

Astion was already being badmouthed in multiple places—for multiple reasons.

At this point, changing his name might not be a bad idea.

Ghislain knew that threats alone wouldn’t work. As he caught his breath and began considering his next move—

To his surprise, the masked woman suddenly spoke.

“We... were sent by the Pope.”

“...What?”

Ghislain narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.

It was a name far too unexpected.