Chapter 222

Chapter 222

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Knock knock

The fresh morning sunlight and cool air penetrated the darkness along with the sound of knocking.

Good morning.

The Hero looked at the Mother Ghost standing by the door.

More precisely, at her outfit.

Covered entirely in dust, wrinkled here and there.

Morning dew settled in every crease.

He had given her orders to gather information just last night.

Were you wandering around all night?

Of course, it wasnt just the Hero who glanced at her appearance.

His grim and weary eyes met the Mother Ghosts.

A strange look appeared in Mother Ghosts eyes as she saw the Hero exhausted from facing dozens of terrible virtual deaths.

Youre sweating even though you havent removed your armor.

The Mother Ghosts eyes observed everything around her meticulously.

An eagerness to find hidden information.

The Hero deflected the topic without showing any signs of awkwardness.

Looks like youve got some decent information since you came knocking at the crack of dawn.

Yes, may I come in?

Sure.

As the Mother Ghost entered, she placed several documents on the table from her embrace.

I conducted an investigation last night regarding the areas you instructed.

The Hero hadnt only focused on the herbal trade trends.

That was just one way to track him down.

Similarly, there was a part that couldnt be overlooked.

The hideout.

Fugitives instinctively seek their hideouts.

In situations where the desire for safety and protection is strong, hiding in a completely unfamiliar place feels much less secure than being in a known location.

He had sought refuge in the depths of the forest when his tribe was annihilated.

That was about thirty years ago.

But nobody knew exactly where he had hidden in the forest.

At that time, he had lived in complete seclusion, and it was more than a decade later when he met Ted and joined the Dawn Knights.

Originally, tracking him down would have been nearly impossible.

Thirty more years had passed.

A very long time for humans.

Finding people who had operated in the forest at that time was difficult, and it was even more unreasonable to expect them to have detailed memories of Ivar.

But to the fairies, its not such a long time.

To fairies, a decade passes in the blink of an eye.

Just as we remember one or two years ago relatively clearly, they would remember Ivar.

Thats why the Hero entrusted the Mother Ghost with a pending inquiry.

He instructed her to ask the fairies living in human territories if they remembered the young savage warrior who fled to the forest.

The result

We found him.

The Mother Ghost pointed to one document.

It contained a profile of a fairy.

A fairy who granted permission to Ivar in the past.

Permission.

The Hero recalled.

A few months ago, when he came to the forest with Noubelmag, Pia, and Kasim.

Noubelmag used a branch of the World Tree he received from his mother to navigate through the forest.

For those who were not fairies, such as the Hero, to freely come and go in the forest, permission was required.

Permission it involves possessing a part of the World Tree.

Possessing a part of the World Tree, or being accompanied by someone who does.

If one didnt follow these rules, they would get lost in the jungle of the forest, no matter how skilled they were.

In other words, the Mother Ghost was saying she found a fairy who had given Ivar a part of the World Tree.

The Heros eyes gleamed.

He must have had considerable interaction with Ivar.

Yes, indeed. He remembers him vividly.

Thunk

A map of the forest, about the size of a desk, unfolded over the documents.

The Mother Ghost continued her calm briefing.

Weve determined where Ivar spent his time in the forest. Its near a deserted village that the residents left a long time ago. Its quite a distance from here.

Where is it?

Its right here

For now, Ill go around this area. If agents are sent nearby, keep me informed.

The Mother Ghost looked puzzled.

Its just a suspected location of Ivar; its not confirmed as his hideout yet. If its a preliminary investigation, our agents could

No, Ill investigate it myself.

Doubts quickly turned into dissatisfaction.

In the Mother Ghosts position, who didnt know about the existence of the laboratory, she couldnt understand the Heros strong conviction.

But the Hero felt a strong premonition bordering on foresight.

Ivar must have visited the vicinity of the laboratory at least once.

It was the outskirts of the forest near his hometown.

Moreover, there werent even powerful illusion spells in the area.

There was no reason for a fugitive to avoid it.

Even if I dont meet him directly, I might at least find some traces.

The Hero stood up abruptly.

Hero?

The Mother Ghost only remained still, watching his back as he dashed into the forest.

She muttered softly to herself.

Things are getting out of hand.

Then, she too slowly got up from her seat.

* * *

Cough, damn, its blindingly bright.

Ivar shielded his eyes with his hand, continuing to cough lightly.

Although noon was still far off, the sunlight today was unusually piercing and bright.

He staggered along, struggling to take each step.

I need to hurry.

Today was the day to relocate his hideout.

It was always necessary to change hideouts periodically.

As soon as his condition improved, he headed to the next predetermined hideout.

It would probably be the last hideout.

Starting next week, he would have to act as a decoy according to the orders.

Sigh.

Deep wrinkles appeared on Ivars face.

A month, huh.

The demons had ordered him to keep the Heros gaze fixed on the south for a month.

What kind of scheme were they planning during that time?

No.

Ivar frowned and shook his head.

There was no use in thinking about that.

He had to do his best to carry out the orders anyway.

And the demons would surely engage in some nasty business during the time they bought him.

That was a fact that hadnt changed once in decades.

Darn it.

Thinking about the consequences of his actions would only increase his guilt.

What he needed to focus on right now was not that, but whether the orders were feasible.

Ivar thought of a man in his mind.

The man with sunken gray eyes and a fearsome swordsmanship.

Its an impossible order.

To withstand the Heros pursuit for a month in the limited space of the south.

That was a difficult task even for Ivar, who was considered the next best martial artist after the Hero in the world.

Even if I manage to avoid him, itll be over if we meet once.

No matter what measures he took, he couldnt defeat the enraged Hero.

A precarious tightrope walk.

But there was one comforting fact.

Hes gotten much weaker.

The demons emphasized that the Hero had weakened.

It was a situation that Ivar couldnt imagine.

He was a Hero who had survived even the trap of the Great Battle where he was sure to die.

Even if he was weaker, then he would be stronger than before.

Moreover, wasnt he in a situation where he was injured as well?

Ivar shook his head and stopped walking.

He had arrived at his destination.

His final hideout.

And the beginning of sin.

Ivars dark eyes contained the scenery of the old laboratory, covered with thick vines.

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