"Huh!"
Mustan's eyes widened as he finally noticed the crest of House Robert.
"Could this be from Derus Robert?"
He swallowed hard, unable to believe it.
"It seems so."
Rector clicked his tongue briefly and untied the letter attached to the white hawk's leg.
"This can't be! The only outsiders who know about this place are Lord Raon and his acquaintances!"
Mustan's eyes trembled, bewildered at how they could have discovered this location.
"Derus Robert is surrounded by archangels and other high-ranking masters. They can use all sorts of methods, so I'd say we were discovered rather late."
Rector didn't seem surprised, as if he had expected the new Holy Sword Alliance's location to be discovered eventually.
"You're right about that."
Mustan scratched his forehead, agreeing that it was natural for an archangel to find hidden people.
"But why is Derus Robert still using the crest of House Robert?"
He tilted his head, looking at the House Robert crest engraved at the end of the letter.
"Isn't Derus a traitor who abandoned the Five Kings and House Robert to join the Five Demons?"
"The reason is simple."
Rector flicked the letter with his fingertip, sneering.
"It means he alone is House Robert."
"He alone is House Robert?"
Mustan blinked, not understanding what that meant.
"It means that as long as he himself is alive, Robert continues to exist, even if the buildings crumble, the territory burns, and the bloodline dies out."
He clicked his tongue, saying the letter reflected Derus's confidence.
"What a despicable bastard..."
Mustan gritted his teeth in disgust.
"Indeed. He's an arrogant, repulsive man, but he has the right to pursue such ambitions."
Rector frowned, tightly gripping the rolled-up letter.
"After all, Derus demonstrated overwhelming power against Lecross, the king of Owen also known as the Silent Sword Master."
King Lecross's strength was certainly not inferior to his own. It made sense for Derus to show such confidence after decisively defeating such a top-tier transcendent.
"Excluding the secluded transcendents, the only ones who can definitely defeat him on the current continent are Glenn Zieghart, the Heavenly Demon, and the former Leader of the Holy Sword Alliance."
Rector unfolded the seemingly heavy letter, stating that there were very few people who could stop Derus Robert.
"Wh-what does it say?"
Mustan's eyes darted quickly, curious about the letter's contents.
"He's calling for a Five Demons conference now that the Black Tower has fallen and The Fallen is dead. Face to face."
Rector nodded calmly, as if he had anticipated the letter's contents.
"If we pretend not to have received the message and don't go, like before..."
"That won't work."
Rector lowered his eyebrows, looking at the white hawk with its broken neck.
"This is a warning."
"A-a warning?"
Mustan's chin trembled.
"Yes. He probably already knows this letter is in my hands. The fact that he sent a hawk capable of breaking through this place's barrier, despite having other ways to contact us from the outside, is proof of that."
Rector crumpled the letter and smirked.
"If we don't participate in this conference, he'll come here himself."
He frowned, saying that words wouldn't be enough then.
"But wouldn't attacking us in this situation be suicidal?"
Mustan exhaled sharply, unable to understand.
"The Derus Robert I've seen and felt is more than capable of doing just that. He's not human, but more like a demon. He'll never leave any loose ends."
Rector nodded firmly, as if certain.
"Even if that weren't the case, it's better to go. We need to find out what Derus Robert is thinking, if only for that child's sake."
He exhaled deeply, saying he would attend the Five Demons conference for Raon's sake.
"Th-then shouldn't we at least contact Lord Raon!"
Mustan raised his hand, suggesting they should inform him of the situation.
"Telling him would only make him worry. Nothing will happen yet, so don't be concerned."
Rector patted Mustan's shoulder and returned to the mansion.
"Something..."
Mustan's fingertips trembled as he watched Rector walking away under the darkening sky.
"...feels unsettling."
***
After telling his family he had been assigned a new mission, Raon began preparing to leave for the Five Divine Orders.
"Five Divine Orders? With only two left now, shouldn't it be called the Two Divine Orders?"
Evelyn quietly opened the door and entered.
"Knock before you come in."
Raon shook his head as he packed clothes and essentials into his subspace pouch.
"What's the point of knocking between us?"
Evelyn waved her pale hand, saying such signals were unnecessary.
"This mission to the Five Divine Orders..."
She approached and gently bumped his shoulder.
"Should I come along?"
"You want to come with me?"
Raon's eyes widened as he looked at Evelyn.
"Why?"
"You're planning to kill the Thespian Emperor and the Queen of Swords if the Five Divine Orders refuse to side with the Five Kings, right?"
Evelyn shrugged, suggesting she might be needed in that fight.
"Huh..."
Raon swallowed dryly as he met Evelyn's violet eyes.
"How did you know that?"
He couldn't understand how she had predicted the killing part when he had only mentioned meeting the Five Divine Orders.
-Eek!
Wrath shrieked and hid behind Raon's back.
-It seems this wench can now read your thoughts too!
He trembled, claiming she must have developed a new magic.
"How? It's all obvious!"
Evelyn hung a soft smile on her lips.
"We've spent nights together. I can read your eyes at least!"
"That's not what it means!"
Raon shook his head vigorously.
"Don't say things like that! Everyone misunderstands!"
He grabbed Evelyn's shoulders, pleading with her to stay quiet.
"This is nice too."
Evelyn's cheeks flushed, as if pleased just by being held.
"Oh, geez..."
Raon slapped his forehead with his palm, feeling the conversation was going nowhere.
"Anyway, I want to go too. I'm sure I'll be helpful."
Evelyn clasped her hands, as if sincere.
"Of course you'd be helpful if you came along. But..."
Raon shook his head, looking at Evelyn's sparkling eyes.
"You haven't fully recovered from your injuries yet."
Unlike himself, whose body and mind had fully healed, Evelyn's mind had not yet completely recovered. For a magician, mental strength was the most crucial element, so it was best for her to focus on recovery now.
"You knew?"
Evelyn blinked in surprise.
"It's all obvious."
Raon smiled faintly, returning Evelyn's words to her.
"Ugh, if I've been found out, there's nothing I can do."
Evelyn briefly licked her lips.
"Then take this instead of me."
She took out a small squirrel doll from her maid uniform pocket. It looked cute, but the ribbon in its ears and clothes were crudely made.
"This is..."
"It's a charm for you. I made it with the young lady."
Evelyn smiled, saying she made the squirrel doll while Sia made the ribbon and clothes.
"Thank you."
Raon received the squirrel doll with both hands. If she had made it alone, he would have declined, feeling burdened, but since Sia had also participated, he had no choice but to accept it.
"Come to think of it, you've been sticking close to my sister lately. Have you become friends?"
"The young lady and I get along well."
Evelyn grinned, saying their conversations matched.
"I-is that so?"
Raon rolled his eyes towards the wall.
'Is it because their mental ages match?'
It seemed Evelyn, who had lived solely for revenge since childhood, lacked experience outside of magic and thus got along well with Sia, who still had a young mental age.
"Well, take care!"
Evelyn said she would wait in the annex building and left his room.
-You'd better throw that away.
Wrath frowned, looking at the cutely decorated squirrel doll.
'Why? Do you sense something?'
-I don't sense anything, but it must be cursed! It will surely reveal your every move!
He shook his head vigorously, insisting Raon throw it away immediately.
'No way. My sister helped make it, remember?'
He absolutely couldn't throw it away, knowing Sia would be upset for a long time if she found out.
'I'll pack the rest of the luggage tomorrow. Should I do some mental image training today?'
As he was about to close his eyes and imagine fighting the Thespian Emperor, he heard someone walking towards the annex building.
'It's not Grandfather.'
He thought it might be Glenn, but the footsteps were different. However, it was definitely someone he knew. Knock knock. Opening his eyes and looking out the window, he saw Martha tapping the window with the back of her hand.
"What brings you here?"
Raon opened the window for Martha, who, unlike usual, had her eyebrows lowered gently.
"I have a favor to ask."
Martha bowed her head slightly, asking him to come out for a moment.
"I'll be waiting by the lake."
Raon closed the window again and went outside, approaching Martha who was standing in front of the lake.
"What's the matter, coming all the way here?"
He slowly turned his shoulders, telling her to state her request.
"The aura enhancement training we did recently..."
Martha bit her lip as she brought up the aura training they had been doing for a week.
"Can you continue it?"
She bowed, saying she wanted to do that training now.
"You want to do that training now?"
His mouth fell open, as he hadn't even considered this possibility.
"Yes. Not just today, but I want to continue this training even when we go to the Five Divine Orders."
Martha clenched her fists, saying she wanted to become stronger as quickly as possible.
"Why go to such lengths?"
Raon let out a faint groan.
"Honestly, it's painfully difficult."
The aura enhancement training he had created was a modification of torture techniques into a training method, so even as one's aura grew stronger, the pain from the cold and heat never subsided. Other swordsmen had welcomed this mission to avoid that pain, but he never thought someone would come asking to do it.
"I can endure this level of pain easily."
Martha bit her lip deeply.
"Compared to mental anguish, it's nothing."
She exhaled a murky breath, saying that while she wanted to endure mental pain, she couldn't.
"...I see."
Raon closed his eyes and opened them again, realizing why Martha wanted to continue the aura training.
"With the Black Tower Master dead and The Fallen gone, it won't be long until we clash with the Leader of the White Blood Religion."
Martha raised her trembling hand and placed it on her sword.
"I want to become even a little stronger until then. So that even if I die, I can at least land one stab on the Leader of the White Blood Religion!"
She clenched her fist until blood flowed from her palm, saying she didn't want to leave any regrets.
"Haa..."
Raon let out a deep sigh.
'This can't be helped.'
If it were any other matter, he would have told her to rest, but he couldn't ignore it since her mother was involved.
"Sit over here."
Raon pointed to the grass spread out beside the lake.
"Thank you!"
Martha bowed her head gratefully and sat where he had indicated.
"I'm starting. It will be a bit stronger than usual."
Raon concentrated the energies of Glacier and Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation at his fingertips, then inserted them into Martha's mana circuit.
"......"
Despite the intense pain she must have been feeling, Martha began her aura cultivation without making a sound. The sweat pouring from her forehead contrasted with her silence, seeming to speak of her determination.
'The Leader of the White Blood Religion...'
Raon bit his lip as he looked up at the dark night sky.
'That monster will be different from The Fallen or the Black Tower Master.'
Although the Leader of the White Blood Religion also uses powerful magic, her essence is that of a martial artist. Unlike The Fallen or the Black Tower Master, facing her directly would not be easy.
'Moreover...'
He clicked his tongue inwardly as he watched Martha enduring the pain and cultivating her aura.
'If I want to save this kid's mother, I can't just kill the Leader of the White Blood Religion.'
It was clear that the difficulty of dealing with the Leader of the White Blood Religion would be beyond imagination, as he needed to subdue her and extract her soul afterward.
-That blood-sucking wench, as you've seen, has the ability to grow stronger by absorbing blood.
Wrath furrowed his brows as if disgusted.
-She must have become even stronger by now.
'Nothing is easy. In the end...'
Raon gripped his wrist where six bracelets glimmered, grinding his molars.
'I have no choice but to become stronger.'
***
Two days later, at dawn.
Raon stood on the platform of the fifth training ground, looking down at the Light Wind Palace swordsmen.
The Light Wind Palace swordsmen, unlike during training, had cold eyes as if they had shed all emotions. They had reached a level where they could control their emotions and aura according to the situation.
"As I said, this mission could lead to an all-out war with the Five Divine Orders. Be prepared to fight even in your sleep."
Raon came down from the platform after explaining the mindset needed for the mission.
"We're departing."
Raon brushed aside his Black Dragon Coat fluttering in the wind as he passed through the Light Wind Palace swordsmen. The swordsmen followed behind him, emanating an aura as solid as a wall protecting their king. The Light Wind Palace didn't move towards Zieghart's main gate as usual, but headed for the internal magic tower.
"Preparations for teleportation to Barene are complete."
Berbin, the vice master of the magic tower, bowed his head, saying they were ready to teleport to Barene, the city of the Five Divine Orders.
"Thank you for accommodating our request."
Raon showed courtesy to Berbin, remembering his jovial interactions with Rimmer.
"It wasn't difficult. Barene provided the dimensional gate coordinates directly and cleared the path for us."
Berbin waved his hand, saying it was a simple task.
"If any problems arise there, please contact us. We'll come immediately."
He clasped his hands as if casting a spell, emphasizing his sincerity.
"I appreciate your words alone."
Raon nodded with a gentle smile.
"Then we'll begin now."
As Berbin raised his hand, the magicians behind him unfolded a magical formula pulsing with deep mana. A blue light rose from the empty circular hole, opening a massive gate that cut through dimensions. The undulating blue curtain seemed to reflect the image of Barene.
"You can enter now."
Berbin nodded, saying they would arrive in Barene as soon as they entered the blue gate.
"Thank you."
Raon bowed his head to Berbin and the magicians before entering the blue dimensional gate. As warm particles of light enveloped his body, he closed his eyes and then opened them to find himself in a vast building with luxurious carpets spread out.
"Greetings, Light Wind Palace Master."
Before Raon could move his gaze, a voice came from his left. Turning his eyes, he saw a middle-aged man in white robes bowing to him.
"I am Mekein, who serves the Thespian Emperor."
"It's been a while."
Raon gave a slight bow to the middle-aged man who introduced himself as Mekein.
"Oh? You remembered me?"
Mekein's eyes widened in surprise.
"You left an impression."
The Mekein he had seen before was acting as the Thespian Emperor's secretary, and his cool and calm demeanor had left a lasting memory.
"Ah..."
Mekein seemed a bit flustered but quickly composed himself and raised his head.
"This is the internal magic tower of Barene. Since it's been a while since you've been here, perhaps before the meeting, you'd like a tour..."
He raised his hand, offering to show Raon around Barene.
"No."
Raon shook his head, observing the cold eyes of the Light Wind Palace swordsmen emerging from the dimensional gate.
"I'd like to see the Thespian Emperor and the Queen of Swords first."
Raon grasped the faintly trembling Heavenly Drive as he parted his red lips.
"I have a lot to discuss with them."