As I followed Rubia’s lead, I tried to imagine what I would be witnessing.

Honestly, it didn’t seem that hard. With an abundance of technicians around and that kid becoming a full-fledged member of the Black Fangs, it looked like the organization had been developing just fine.

Surely, the old secret base could be considered a city by now with a little exaggeration.

I didn’t doubt it at all when I boarded the secret elevator in the warehouse. But the moment I laid eyes on the underground city…

I couldn’t help but admit it. My guesses were way too naïve.

Thinking back, dwarves can build state-of-the-art underground bases in a month and come up with insane weapons that look like they popped right out of a sci-fi movie in three months.

These little geniuses even take my clumsy modern knowledge, analyze it, and adapt it for their own use.

I had given them three years.

Naturally, the results of their labor were far beyond just ‘impressive.’

‘…I can’t even call this medieval fantasy anymore.’

This city seems like it could barely compete with a first-world capital around the year 2100! It had already surpassed our current reality by a landslide.

With the blend of advanced technology and the unrealistic element of magic, this mutant beast had emerged.

And here I was in the Legitron base. While they clearly focused more on weapon development than living facilities, the level of equipment was mind-blowing.

So I wondered just how utterly insane the weapons that had been implemented here would be.

‘This alone is astonishing enough.’

But the real shock was the scale of it all.

Given how advanced it was, I thought the scale wouldn’t be too far off from the Black Fangs’ previous base.

‘But this is basically a nation!’

Even just a tenth of the Empire! The gigantic scale was irresponsibly massive, like half of South Korea. This was definitely not the level of just one city.

Considering their technological prowess and scale, it could easily dominate kingdoms and republics ruled by vampires.

…What can I say? The more I stared at this view, the more dazed I became.

I thought I had already grasped that I was leading the Black Fangs, but it seems I was mistaken.

Everywhere I looked, there were statues of me.

Cities and buildings named after me. And with each step I took, there were people buzzing around like I was some celebrity. I was totally out of my depth.

‘Well, I guess that’s understandable.’

Who could calmly accept that they owned such a superpower overnight?

Eventually, I’d have to get used to it, little by little.

As I pondered these thoughts while continuing towards my destination, I suddenly noticed something odd.

“Didn’t they implement the underground magic train yet?”

The shock of the sights had made me forget about it. Now that I think about it, I had instructed the dwarves to create a subway linking various parts of the Empire.

But here they were producing this ridiculous over-the-top technology, while they failed on my subway.

“Oh! That was completed two years ago.”

Rubia responded to my question.

However, that answer only deepened my confusion. There was one glaring issue implied by that.

“So… why are we walking right now?”

Considering the heavy workload, time was indeed money right now.

I thought we were walking to the central conference room because the subway wasn’t finished. But if it was complete, why the heck were we walking?

“Uh… well…”

As I posed this straightforward question, Rubia visibly panicked and stuttered.

“U-You just came back after so long, and I thought it would be nice for you to see how much the underground base has changed with your own eyes.”

Once she regained her composure, Rubia gave that response, but something still felt off.

While that reason sounded plausible, it felt like she was hiding something by constantly avoiding my gaze.

As I kept staring at her, she reluctantly revealed the real reason.

“A-And since it’s been a while since we met, I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a walk and chat…”

For her to go out of her way to suggest taking the long route—it felt almost like an admission. Realizing this, her face turned red from embarrassment.

Her voice gradually became so soft that it was nearly inaudible by the end.

“W-What a foolish thought! We can’t waste time like this. Let’s go take the magic train now!”

Rubia forced out a laugh while saying that, though she looked like she might burst into tears any moment.

While I do think saving time is important, I’m not inconsiderate enough to insist on hopping on a train at this moment.

“No, I have a lot of curiosities I’d like to explore. Let’s take it slow and have a conversation,” I said.

Rubia’s expression brightened up. I chatted with her as we walked.

It took us far longer than I expected to reach the central operations meeting room. But boredom was the last thing I felt.

After so long, sharing small talk with Rubia was genuinely delightful.

I couldn’t help but stay glued to the tale of how I unknowingly sparked a citizen’s revolutionary army and the Black Fangs’ missionary headquarters.

‘How on earth did they interpret my words as recruitment proposals?’

‘I just told them to lay low and avoid the Empire’s eyes! How did that turn into a full-on anti-establishment revolution and pseudo-religious figurehead???’

I held back my urge to voice those thoughts, and before I knew it, our destination was in sight.

Knock knock, I tapped the wall with a set pattern, revealing the hidden elevator. We both boarded and descended to the conference room below.

I asked Rubia if we were going to discuss strategies against the Emperor with the assembled executives, but she shook her head.

“We have something urgent to deal with first.”

“…Something urgent?”

My question came out startled, and the answer arrived from an unexpected source.

“Please.”

I saw a familiar face beyond the open elevator doors.

“Please… save our Lien.”

Lien’s adoptive father.

After a long time, I encountered a priest pleading with me with a desperate expression.

*

The situation was more serious than expected.

As I followed the priest through the secret passage connecting to the central conference room, my complexion was growing darker.

‘I had a feeling this would happen.’

But why did my bad premonitions never miss?

From what I understood, Lien was in a rampaging state of losing her sanity. No, from what I heard, it wasn’t just simple rampaging.

“Now nobody sets foot near that place. Even the Empire has given up on intervening and decided to leave it be.”

Lien’s hometown.

That area had transformed into a demonic realm. Anyone stepping foot there was likely to become prey to her madness.

There was a chance that she had completely fallen from grace.

“But I… I couldn’t give up. How could I abandon my daughter twice with my own hands?”

What happened as a result?

I could tell without needing to hear the details.

She limped. Her body was covered in wounds.

Though she hadn’t been butchered like the others, her condition was still a total mess.

Lien couldn’t even recognize her father.

Even if he visited her daily, she never regained her senses and even inflicted wounds on herself.

“…Now you’re the only one we can count on.”

With the mountain now looming before us, the priest looked at me desperately and said that, but then added something.

He wasn’t trying to compel me. He stated that if I found it a unreasonable request, I could refuse.

The fact that someone who cherished their daughter dearly would say such a thing reflected how serious Lien’s condition was.

She had become broken to the point of not recognizing even her own father.

This might turn out to be irreversible.

It was likely that there was a higher chance of me getting cut apart by her rather than successfully bringing her back.

For safety, barriers had been set up.

Crossing that line meant I would have to battle her.

But… I didn’t second-guess myself.

Hadn’t I faced similar situations before?

From the time we first met until now, the choices I had to make hadn’t changed at all. I girded my resolve and took a step forward.

Just then, I heard footsteps.

At a speed that could hardly be considered human, a blood-soaked demon swung a sword at me… but that didn’t happen.

“……?”

My expression turned puzzled.

Even walking through the mountains with the priest, there wasn’t a single demon in sight.

Just an utterly peaceful mountain view.

The silent mountain, lacking any living creature, was eerily quiet. On the contrary, it was noisy outside the mountain.

Thud thud thud.

The ground trembled violently. The sound of frantic footsteps echoed all around. The origin was the village outside the mountain. They were heading straight for where we were.

I pulled out the Holy Sword and took a defensive stance.

The priest also readied himself for battle, grasping his staff.

After ten tense minutes passed, someone emerged from the bushes…

“Oh, it’s been a while, Ian. How have you been?”

It was Lien, as if she had just rushed in, adorned in a dress that still had the tag on, casually flicking her hair back.

That unexpected scene.

“…Did I misinterpret something? This looks just like any other day.”

I turned to the priest, bewildered, but got no reply.

He stood there, dazed with a blank expression.

However, that ambiguous expression became an obvious answer, and I quietly closed my mouth, directing my gaze towards the priest.

A single tear dropped down, as if today’s wounds were aching even more painfully.