Three days had passed since they obtained the Ring of the Arrogant One and began preparing to leave for the North. By the time the knights and soldiers had finished preparing, the expedition force had already departed for the North.

Not long after their departure…

“Deus Macallian.”

A man approached Deus. He had long blue hair and a vertical scar across his face. This was Fiola, one of the Master Knights of Caliban, known as the Fourth Sword.

“You laid a hand on my disciple,” Fiola said, his expression cold, his eyes betraying a hidden fury. 

Deus, with an indifferent expression, responded, “Your disciple acted rudely towards my benefactor.”

“Ha, and that gives you the right to beat someone else’s disciple senseless?”

“Do you think it doesn’t?” Deus replied.

Fiola frowned at Deus’s words. His anger was clear on his face, and the intense energy he exuded filled the air, causing the knights around them to break out in a cold sweat. However, Deus, who took the full brunt of this power head-on, remained unfazed.

“You’re lucky I didn’t kill him, Fiola.”

Deus’s aura turned even more ominous, emitting a terrifying purple energy that pressed down on Fiola. The tension between them was so thick that it seemed like a sword fight would break out the moment someone drew a weapon. But after a moment of silence…

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“Tch.”

Fiola was the first to turn away. Clicking his tongue, he glanced at Count Palatio, who was standing behind Deus.

“Don’t think I’m going to just let this go,” Fiola said before returning to his resting battalion.

Alone, watching Fiola leave, Alon thought to himself, ‘Terrifying.’

He felt a tingling in his hands as he subconsciously clenched and unclenched his fists. ‘So that’s a Master Knight for you.’

Just the sheer power Fiola unintentionally released had left Alon breathless. At that moment, Evan, standing nearby, muttered in disbelief, “That’s insane… he’s a complete monster.”

Alon turned his gaze to Deus. Despite the overwhelming energy Fiola had directed at him, Deus showed no signs of discomfort, which reminded Alon again that Deus was a Master Knight as well. It wasn’t that he ever forgot this fact, but Deus had been rather humble towards him recently, so seeing this side of him was a fresh reminder.

‘Honestly, he’s kind of rude to everyone else except me,’ Alon mused. He recalled rumors from a few days ago about Deus and thought of the time Deus had snapped at Evan, telling him, “Shut up, old man.”

‘Rescuing his sister must have been the right move after all,’ Alon thought to himself. Initially, he hadn’t understood why Deus was so obedient to him, but now it was becoming clear. In fact, he didn’t even need to guess anymore. Just watching Deus around his sister was answer enough.

‘Maybe in the future, if I call for help while running my estate, he’ll come running to save me,’ Alon grinned at the thought, though deep down he knew Deus wouldn’t go that far. He shrugged lightly and returned to his carriage. The expedition to the North continued.

***

Two weeks and three days later…

The expedition force crossed the border between Caliban and the North and arrived at their first outpost. There, they received three pieces of news.

The first was the death of Delman, the Third Sword, who had gone missing after news came that the eastern outpost of Caliban had fallen and the enemy appeared.

The second was that Kiriana, the Second Sword, who had been leading an advanced expedition to the western outpost, had suffered severe injuries in battle against the enemy.

And the final news was…

“Undead, you say?”

The messenger reported that the enemy was approaching the outpost, leading an army of the undead.

“Yes, the enemy has been reanimating fallen soldiers and knights into undead and marching with them.”

At the messenger’s words, Fiola let out a deep sigh and muttered, “This is troubling.”

Deus, hearing the same news, remained silent. If the messenger’s words were true, the situation was clearly unfavorable for Caliban.

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The atmosphere in the meeting room was tense. Even the Master Knights and the nobles leading the soldiers were reluctant to speak. Finally, one of the nobles cautiously suggested, “Perhaps we should retreat?”

That simple suggestion unleashed a flood of opinions from the other attendees.

“Are you serious? You want us to turn our backs and run from the barbarians?”

“That’s not what I meant! I’m saying we should wait for a better opportunity. We’re already in a bad position, and the Second Sword is severely injured, not to mention Reinhardt still hasn’t returned from his seclusion. Do you really think we stand a chance?”

“At this point, do you think the injured could even escape while the barbarians advance on the outpost?”

The room quickly descended into chaos, but in the end, the opinions of the nobles didn’t hold much weight. The true leaders of the expedition were the two Master Knights. Eventually, the nobles looked toward Fiola and Deus for direction.

“Let’s think it over. I’ll call for another meeting later. For now, everyone, take a break and clear your minds,” Fiola said, standing up from his seat. Deus also rose without a word and exited the tent.

Outside, the land was the same dull gray as always. But to Deus, who had reached a certain level as a Master Knight, the world looked very different.

The red snowfields.

To Deus’s eyes, the gray land appeared as a crimson world, filled with an eerie, ominous energy. The sky, consumed by this sinister red mana, was both beautiful and terrifying, a sight that even made someone as strong as Deus feel a faint sense of intimidation.

He silently observed this strange world. After glancing at Fiola, who was likely seeing the same scene, Deus turned his gaze elsewhere.

There, he saw Alon, the Great Moon. Even though this terrifying world lay before him, Alon showed no signs of fear or awe. Instead, he sat calmly by the fire, eating a sweet potato with a blank expression. Unlike Deus, who couldn’t tear his eyes away from the crimson sky, Alon hadn’t glanced at the ominous landscape even once. He simply muttered to himself while eating.

“Diffraction, compression, focal point, annihilation.”

The Great Moon mumbled incomprehensible words as if he had seen this world countless times before, words that Deus couldn’t begin to understand. Watching him, Deus felt a surge of curiosity about Alon’s purpose for being in the North.

Of course, Deus had a rough idea that the Great Moon was here to deal with the enemy, but that didn’t quell all of his questions. After all, from Deus’s perspective, the Great Moon didn’t seem particularly powerful, neither now nor in the past.

‘Maybe he just can’t see what I’m seeing…’ 

Deus glanced back up at the red sky.

This scene was one that only those who had reached a certain level of enlightenment could see. The eerie landscape was enough to make him frown instinctively.

But what if it was simply that the Great Moon couldn’t see this scene? If that were the case, his behavior might be somewhat understandable. Just as Deus was pondering this…

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“Ugh, seriously, back off!” A loud, high-pitched voice suddenly caught Deus’s attention. Turning to the source, he saw a knight facing off against a mage.

“Please, just a little more help! You know how dire the situation is!” the knight pleaded.

“I know that! But no matter how hard I try, I can’t do anything more! I have to leave!”

“Even so, just one more time…!”

“No! I told you, it’s impossible, you idiots!”

The mage screamed hysterically, while the knights continued to press her. Deus easily recognized the knights by their armor—they were members of “Silver Shade,” the knight order serving the Second Sword of Caliban, Kiriana.

Opposite them stood Penia, the Deputy Tower Master of the Blue Tower.

“Ugh, dragged out here for research when I have so much work to do, why won’t they just leave me alone?!” Penia complained.

“But shouldn’t saving lives come first…?” the knight insisted.

“I’m telling you, I’ve done everything I can! There’s nothing more I can do! I’m not refusing out of laziness—I’ve already done all I can!”

Watching the tantrum of Penia, the young prodigy of the magic world who had reached the 6th rank at a young age, Deus felt a moment of confusion but quickly understood. He remembered that the Caliban outpost was working in collaboration with mages from the Blue Tower to research the barbarians’ ‘rituals.’

‘Deputy Tower Master, huh… She’s strong,’ Deus thought, noting the remarkable energy emanating from her.

As Penia continued pushing the knights aside in frustration, she noticed Deus standing in her path. She scowled and was about to speak—

“What are you—”

—but froze before she could finish.

“…?”

Deus raised an eyebrow, confused by her sudden silence. But then he realized that she wasn’t looking at him, but at someone behind him.

“Wh-why…?” Penia’s trembling voice broke the tense air, and terror filled her eyes as if she had seen something that shouldn’t exist. Her body subtly shook, and Deus instinctively followed her gaze.

Standing there was Alon, who had just been munching on a sweet potato a moment ago. Now, he was staring back at Deus and Penia with a puzzled expression.

A brief moment passed, and then…

“It’s been a while, Deputy Tower Master,” Alon greeted calmly.

“Y-yes, hello…!” Penia stammered, suddenly acting like a scared kitten, her head lowered, all traces of her previous hysteria gone.

“How have you been?” Alon asked.

“I-I’ve been well…!”

Watching Penia, whom Deus had previously regarded as a powerful figure, now cowering like a stray cat, he couldn’t help but be baffled.

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‘Was I simply ignorant all this time?’ Deus thought, quietly reflecting on his understanding of the situation.