“I still prefer it when people call me that damned Muen Campbell... It sounds much better than monster.”

Muen smiled, twisting his neck in passing.

This had gone very smoothly. He had killed that little brat.

Otherwise, if the child had managed to twist a fifth time, it would have become troublesome.

After all...

Having one’s neck snapped did not feel very good.

“Damned? Heh... what you’re doing now is far beyond just damned.”

The smoky-eyed woman who had just arrived felt her eyelids twitch.

In the corner of her vision, Monster Child was already dead, without even ashes remaining.

Only the ancient relic in his hand remained behind, but it no longer looked like Muen. Without its user, the contents inside seemed to have collapsed, leaving only a cloth skin.

Monster Child was certainly not the strongest among them, but he was the one with the strangest ability. The power that ancient relic had given him had allowed him to secretly kill countless powerful enemies while he was still weak.

Though its side effects were also tremendous, and Monster Child’s ghostlike appearance was proof of that, there was no doubt that in Monster Child’s hands, it was something even she feared deeply.

Yet against Muen Campbell, that thing had not played much of a role at all, and Monster Child had been completely killed in a single exchange. This was somewhat beyond her expectations.

Not to mention, Monster Child had not been killed one-on-one. Beside him had been Altair, an extremely troublesome Gravity Mage.

“What the hell is this shit?” The smoky-eyed woman spat. She had originally thought this would be a simple slacking-off assignment, yet now it brought her pressure unlike anything before.

“Shaman, I keep feeling something is wrong.”

Altair’s expression was also grave as he recalled the series of details just now. “This guy’s way of attacking is too perfect. Every response is extremely appropriate, aimed completely at our flaws and weaknesses.”

“Delusion-Breaking Eye?” The smoky-eyed woman called Shaman froze.

“No. The intelligence never said Muen Campbell had anything like a magic eye! And...”

Altair looked at Muen’s eyes, which had returned from deep black to normal, his voice trembling slightly. “The Delusion-Breaking Eye wouldn’t make me this uneasy. The essence of that darkness... and the black flames just now. It has to be something even more terrifying!”

“Is there any point in saying that crap now?”

Shaman’s cheek twitched. “Do you think we’re not under enough pressure already? I’m telling you, my stomach is about to cramp!”

“Are you two done chatting?”

Muen suddenly interrupted them with a sigh.

“First you inexplicably call someone a monster, then you start chatting among yourselves and leave me, the temporary main character, off to the side. That’s very rude, you know.”

The pillar of light still enveloped Muen, like a spotlight, making him look very much like the main character.

Since he was temporarily playing the main character, he could not act like a villain and...

Talk too much.

So.

“I’m in a hurry. Next... it’s your turn!”

His twin blades spun in a beautiful flourish, then were gripped tightly.

The wounds on his feet had already fully healed. Muen lowered his body, every muscle taut like a hunting cheetah.

Then, with a piercing roar, an afterimage carrying the pillar of light split the entire middle court and charged straight toward Shaman!

“Not good!”

Killing intent rushed toward her. Because of Muen’s terrifying performance just now, Shaman subconsciously retreated two steps and assumed a defensive stance.

But the moment she stepped back, she suddenly realized...

She was the damn warrior. How could she retreat when her companion was a mage?

She really had been frightened by him.

But this...

Exposed a flaw!

Sure enough, the afterimage rushing toward Shaman suddenly vanished, and the pillar of light abruptly changed direction, as if everything had been her illusion.

And when he appeared next...

Muen was already in front of Altair.

Everything was still so natural, as though it had been planned in advance.

Shaman had not even made a move, yet the two of them had already fallen into an extremely unfavorable position!

“Shaman! You beast!”

Altair roared with bloodshot eyes. Though he looked muscular, burly, and rough, in truth, he was a mage so pure he could not be any purer.

At most, he knew a little Holy Light magic, but after leaving the Church for so long, the Holy Light on him had long since been almost fully consumed.

If a pure mage was approached by a warrior who could cut through peers of the same rank like chopping melons and vegetables, the outcome was easy to imagine.

So, facing Muen’s approach, he had no choice. He could only use his final move and activate magic at the fastest possible speed.

Not Gravity Magic.

He knew that kind of spell, with its enormous windup, would never make it in time.

“Come then, Muen Campbell! I want to see whether you really can respond perfectly to every technique!”

Seeing that forcibly condensed Holy Light barrier easily broken through by Muen, Altair did not hesitate. Scorching radiance surged rapidly at his chest, like a blazing sun rising!

Extreme light and heat exploded outward, crushing everything with Altair at the center!

Self-destruction magic!

“For the—New World!”

His body disintegrated along with the light and heat. Altair’s expression was savage as he stared fixedly at Muen, as though he intended to drag this monster...

To hell with him!

...

...

A head rolled to the ground.

The smoky-eyed woman’s eyes were wide, her unfocused pupils filled with disbelief.

Muen moved his arm, and a faint trace of pain appeared subconsciously between his brows.

On the skin of his arm, there was some kind of mark similar to having been coiled by a snake.

Those exquisite patterns were extremely beautiful, but if one looked closely, they would discover a ghostly green hidden beneath the markings, constantly corroding Muen’s skin...

And flesh.

“That woman’s poison is still this potent. But avoiding it is difficult. After all, her swordsmanship is also very strong. If she had truly been allowed to cooperate with that Altair guy, I might really have been dragged to death here.”

Muen smiled.

Of course, that sort of thing was impossible.

At least now, it was impossible.

Aside from Shaman’s poison, Altair’s self-destruction had not left much of a mark on him either. The distance had already been closed at the time, and before that huge explosion could fully unfold, most of °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° it had already been devoured by the black flames.

“In the end, I still have to rely on you.”

Muen took a deep breath. Black flames leapt up and instantly devoured all the poison.

Then the black flames spread further, completely burning and devouring the woman’s corpse as well.

The large amount of magic and stamina consumed within his body received a slight replenishment once again.

But the paleness of his face did not improve in the slightest.

After all, for Muen, what would be overconsumed had never actually been magic or stamina.

It was mental strength.

Battle aura, magic, stamina—all of those could be replenished through the black flames.

Only his mental strength, which still belonged to a “mortal,” was pushed to the edge of collapse every time.

But mental strength was also something extremely mysterious.

It was not like magic, where when it was gone, it was gone.

Every time Muen’s mental strength reached the edge of collapse, he gritted his teeth and somehow always managed to inch a little farther along that edge.

Muen knew that one day, he would reach the end of that edge, and there he would fall into a bottomless abyss.

But still, not now.

And it could not be now.

“No matter what, I have to keep moving.”

Muen took out his pocket watch and glanced at it.

“There isn’t much time left. I have to follow the plan and break into Saint Peron V’s bedchamber as quickly as possible.”

Without resting for even the slightest moment—

Ignoring the stabbing pain in his temples—

Muen stepped forward, crossed the middle court, and walked deeper into Saint Haze Palace. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

...

...

The bedchamber.

Donna, who was in the midst of galloping, suddenly stiffened.

A subtle sound came from the direction of the middle court. Even inside the king’s bedchamber, which had powerful soundproofing, it could be faintly heard.

One could imagine that outside this bedchamber, within Saint Haze Palace, that sound was absolutely not subtle at all. It was shocking, vast, and thunderous!

“That was some kind of magic, and very powerful.”

“Altair specializes in Gravity Magic. There’s only one spell he has that could create such a huge disturbance.”

“Looks like he already risked his life.”

“But the intruder is still unharmed.”

Donna lowered her head. On the grand barrier core in Saint Peron V’s hand, the point of light symbolizing the intruder still remained there, even clearer than before.

“In other words... Monster Child and the others failed too?”

This result was extremely unexpected.

Donna had never even imagined that a single intruder could reach this extent.

And not only head-on either.

She had not noticed earlier, but now she realized that those “reinforcements” who should have already entered Saint Haze Palace by now still showed no movement at all.

Donna took out a voice stone.

“What is going on? Why haven’t you arrived yet? Is it that difficult to mobilize troops from the Lower District? Those soldiers should all have been converted by the Third Seat already!”

“L-Lady Donna.”

The person on the other side of the voice stone spoke hesitantly, clearly under immense pressure.

“After receiving your order, we immediately commanded these people to rush toward Saint Haze Palace, but... but a group of sinners blocked the street and cut off the route. We are... temporarily unable to proceed with reinforcements.”

“Sinners? Blocked?”

Donna frowned. “Don’t tell me there is still an army in this city not under our control.”

“No...”

The person on the other side swallowed. “I don’t think they’re soldiers. Judging from the information we have received, they seem to be gangs from the Lower District.”

“So, a bunch of thugs.”

Donna’s voice instantly turned cold.

“Your subordinates are regular troops, and regular troops converted by the Third Seat at that, freed from fear for the birth of the New World. Don’t tell me you can’t even break through a bunch of thugs.”

“The other side’s resistance is somewhat fierce. We’ll need at least another hour—”

“One hour?”

“No... We can. We can do it right away!” the person on the other end said in panic.

“I’ll give you half an hour. If I don’t see your people in half an hour, then you can also go offer everything you have for the New World.”

“Yes! Yes! Absolutely!”

The voice stone cut off, though the panicked voice still seemed to echo beside her ear.

Donna’s expression still did not change much. She did not even think this was some great matter.

Including the failures, or even deaths, of Ghoul, Monster Child, and perhaps even more people.

For the New World, she could sacrifice her own body, while they were merely sacrificing their lives. What was so significant about that?

If they did not even have that much resolve, then their yearning for the New World must not have been pure enough.

People like that were better off dead.

If they remained alive, they would surely only affect the Holy Lord’s plan.