[Intermediate: Stealth Suppression (Lv. 5)]

[Low-Level: Today’s Fortune (Lv. 2)]

[Intermediate: Tiger’s Strength! (Lv. 6)]

[Intermediate: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Lv. 5)]

[Master: Presence Detection (Lv. Max)]

After parting ways with Lucy’s group, Lin immediately used a series of appropriate skill scrolls. Two skills to erase his presence and weight, one to increase his luck just in case, one to enhance his strength, and finally, a high-level detection skill. Although it felt wasteful to use a top-grade skill, it was far better than risking his life by holding back.

Alright, let’s start searching for the Second Hero’s Tomb.

All he needed to do was scan the area along the coastline, so it wasn’t particularly difficult. Since the tomb appeared randomly based on probability, he had to rely entirely on luck. Lin walked slowly but steadily. He refrained from using speed-enhancing skills because he worried that walking too quickly might cause him to miss the tomb.

After walking for some time, the black-haired girl beside him asked sharply,

“Why do you keep following me?”

Don’t misunderstand. She was the one following him.

At some point, she had stuck close to Lin, walking as if she were guarding him.

“Can you see me?”

“Is that even a question?”

Strange. Had the scrolls expired?

Of course, skill scrolls don’t have expiration dates.

“Heartbeat, breathing, body temperature—if it’s a living creature, I can sense it.”

Theoretically, that made sense, but Lin had used skills to blur those biological signs.

Sensing one’s presence through such things? As far as Lin knew, that wasn’t a trait of a Demon Sword.

That was something a vampire could do.

A chill ran down his spine. Sensing that his judgment was wrong, he tried to remain calm.

“Why are you walking alone?”

“Because I want to.”

A reasonable answer, yet one that made him want to argue.

“What about you? Why are you alone?”

“It’s only for a short while.”

“Liar.”

The black-haired girl firmly denied it.

“You’re walking around alone, holding everything inside, not telling anyone what’s important.”

“...”

“Do you think that makes you look cool?”

“Not at all.”

“You keep enduring, pushing everything down even though you’re not being treated right.”

“I can endure.”

“Liar.”

The second denial hit harder.

“The heart isn’t that strong. No matter how strong the body is, it’s the heart that supports it. I’ve seen countless times how even the smallest irritation, disappointment, doubt, or crack can lead to wrong actions and disastrous outcomes.”

“You talk like you’ve lived a long time.”

“You don’t have to live long to see it.”

“What did you see?”

“Would you understand if I told you?”

On the surface, her words sounded rude, but they carried a hint of concern.

“I’ll endure.”

“Yeah, right.”

“But I still want to hear it.”

“Hmph. It’s simple and straightforward.”

The girl stopped walking and stared at the horizon.

“Whether it’s out of malice, goodwill, of one’s own accord, or someone else’s—those who harbor secrets accumulate misunderstandings, jealousy, envy, and hatred. Even if the target was once someone they loved.”

Her voice was small and overwhelmingly sad.

“In the end, he was betrayed by those he tried to protect, and when he finally cried out, no one listened. That foolish man had his head cut off and died.”

“...Who was that man?”

“He existed.”

The girl started walking again.

“Do you think the burden you carry is natural?”

“I’m a porter, so of course it is.”

“What a joke.”

The girl responded sarcastically.

“You don’t have long before your head gets chopped off too.”

Lin stopped in his tracks. The black-haired girl also halted immediately.

“Why?”

“You’re kind.”

“What?!”

“You’re worried about me, aren’t you?”

Her pale face turned bright red.

“Wh-who said I was worried about someone like you?!”

Grabbing her skirt, the girl yelled at the top of her lungs.

“A powerless human doing impossible things! And all alone! Fine, live like that for the rest of your life! Struggle alone and die!”

“Well… I’m quite used to being alone.”

“Wha…!”

She approached, eyes wide with disbelief.

Seeing no hostility, Lin stayed still.

“Did it tell you to do this?”

A small hand pressed against his left chest.

“Did that unfeeling heart of yours tell you to speak like that?!”

The girl looked pitiable. Why did she wear such a pained expression? He was fine, though.

“I’m a porter. A porter carries the party’s burden.”

“You just need to carry things. Nothing more.”

She spoke as if she knew everything.

But Lin didn’t bother to ask. The idea of someone worrying about his essence felt novel.

“A porter carries all the burdens.”

“All the burdens?”

“Yeah.”

“Then where’s your burden?”

The girl circled Lin, searching, but she couldn’t find anything.

“I don’t see it. Ah! It’s locked inside, isn’t it?”

She poked at his chest again.

“That’s enough! If you said you could do it alone, then prove it!”

“Thanks for the encouragement.”

“It’s not encouragement!”

The girl, clearly frustrated with everything about Lin, snorted in disbelief.

She tried to act cool but ended up stomping her feet in frustration.

“I don’t care what happens to you! I won’t even look at you!”

Her body began to disintegrate, not into smoke like an illusionist’s trick, but into something more like pollen carried by the wind.

“Take care.”

“Ugh, enough!”

After the girl disappeared, Lin was sure.

She was a demon sorceress.

And the situation was grim.

“So where on earth is the Demon Sword…?”

There was no time to waste. Lin hurried along the coastline. But he couldn’t find even a trace of the tomb.

He ran and ran, but the Second Hero’s Tomb remained elusive.

“Huff… huff…”

The sun had set. The sky was painted with the colors of dusk.

After walking so far, Lin found himself at the pier.

He bent over, trying to catch his breath. The mask made it difficult to wipe his sweat as he raised his head.

“There it is, the demon.”

Arsil was pointing directly at him.

What…?

He was already here?

“You wretch!”

In response to Arsil’s accusation, Gendry roared as he drew his sword and charged at Lin.

Oh, since yesterday, really,

Nothing has gone according to plan.

The sword closed in on him.

And then,

“Get out of the way, you damn fool—!!!!!”

A blast of red-gold light filled Lin’s vision.

“This is strange.”

As the ship approached the dock, Arsil frowned.

“What is?”

“There’s demonic energy all over the island.”

When Arsil answered Naidrion’s question, the entire Hero Party stood up.

Reinpolt grabbed his shield and moved to the bow, and the mage furrowed his brow, watching the island intently.

When they boarded the ship at the harbor village, they had expected demons on the archipelago, but not to this extent.

“When the ship docks, everyone prepare for battle and disembark.”

Tch, who does he think he’s ordering around?

Though feeling a rebellious streak, Arsil silently put on her dragon-scale gloves.

As the ship fully docked, the Hero Party wasted no time jumping onto the pier.

The few people around were startled and backed away when they saw the heavily armed group.

“Armed men! Don’t move!”

Gendry, having heard that a ship was arriving by evening, had gathered soldiers, ready to intercept. When he saw the Hero Party disembark from a supply ship, he immediately began an inspection.

“If you don’t plan to fight us, drop your weapons!”

“You idiot! With demonic energy everywhere, how can we drop our weapons? Are you telling us to die at the hands of demons?”

Arsil, impatient, snapped back, causing Gendry to hesitate.

He raised his hand to stop the soldiers and calm his pounding heart.

“What are you talking about? Demonic energy?”

“Damn it, can’t anyone else feel this foul presence?”

Even trained warriors would feel unsettled or chilled by demonic energy. Only those connected to the sacred, like saints, heroes, and priests, could clearly distinguish it. Even heroes needed a Holy Sword to accurately detect it.

“We are the Hero Party from the Empire! This is our certification, stamped with the Emperor’s seal!”

When Reinpolt held up the parchment, the royal seal shone brightly.

Recognizing it as a genuine Hero Party certification, Gendry felt like collapsing on the spot.

They’ve finally arrived.

The ones who will save this island.

And it’s the Hero Party!

“Please help us!”

“Lieutenant?!”

“What are you doing?!”

The guards were shocked as Gendry suddenly begged, trying to pull him away. Bowing to outsiders, even the Hero Party, was against their pride.

But Gendry didn’t care and pressed his forehead to the ground.

“A few days ago, demons appeared and hypnotized the island, bending it to their will. Everyone but me has been under their spell, unable to sense anything wrong!”

“Lieutenant, what are you saying?!”

“Lieutenant!”

“Raise your head. I am Reinpolt, the Shield Knight of the Hero Party. If you explain the situation, we will do our best to defeat the demons and save the Zramun Archipelago.”

“Oh, Sir Reinpolt, whom I’ve only heard of in rumors!”

As the Shield Knight helped Gendry to his feet, the overwhelmed lieutenant’s eyes welled with tears.

With a kind smile, Reinpolt asked him to lead the way.

“Now, let’s go inside and discuss this.”

“No, that won’t be necessary.”

“Why not, Arsil?”

“The demon is right there.”

She pointed to where Lin stood, barely catching his breath.

She hadn’t known that the demonic energy had already seeped into his arms.

“That guy…!”

Recognizing Lin’s mask, Gendry’s eyes widened.

No wonder the Demon Sword was protecting him!

“You wretch!”

Mentally exhausted, Gendry didn’t hesitate, drawing his sword and charging.

As he closed the distance in an instant, swinging his sword at Lin’s neck—

“Get out of the way, you damn fool—!!!!!”

Lucy arrived, exploding with red-gold power.

For some reason, she had removed the mask she had been using for her porter disguise.

The red sword was just in time to deflect Gendry’s strike.

Swish!

But then, arrows from Naidrion rained down, all aimed at Lin.

“Arghhh!”

Lucy twisted her body and deflected them all with her sword.

Thank goodness, I protected Lin…

“Hey.”

“…?!”

“Is that demon so precious to you?”

Arsil, moving as swiftly as the arrows, exploited Lucy’s moment of vulnerability and struck her in the chest.

Directly at Lin.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Was it luck?

Thanks to the luck-enhancing skill scroll he had used earlier, Lin instinctively shifted slightly to the side, causing the blow to miss his vital point.

But he was still hit, coughing up blood as he collapsed backward.

“Hello, Lucy, it’s been a while.”

Arsil dusted off her hands and sneered.

“I didn’t want to reunite like this.”

But Lucy’s attention was entirely on Lin.

“Ah…!”

She knelt before him.

She checked his faintly rising chest.

And the blood trickling down his chin.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Her anguished scream echoed across the land and sky.

“Grr?! She’s gone mad since I last saw her…!”

“Arsil, step back!”

At Naidrion’s shout, the saint hastily leaned back.

The red sword swiftly slashed through the spot where her neck had been.

“Hero! Have you fallen?”

Furious, Arsil demanded an answer, but Lucy didn’t hear a word.

When she raised her head, everyone present froze.

Hot, sticky tears of blood were flowing from the Hero’s eyes.

“No one…”

Red-gold energy surged from her body.

“…will leave here alive.”

And also,

“Don’t even think about begging for mercy.”

Those who harmed him, those who would harm him—everyone, every last one of them!

“I’ll tear you to pieces myself!”

Lucy’s power was no longer red-gold.

It had turned into a dark, bloody red.

[Estellian Secret Art]

“Sever and Split—!!!!”

The blood-red sword wave tore the anchored ship in two.