Chapter 78

Chapter 78

“Commander, don’t push yourself too hard. You’ve only just woken up. I’ll do the searching.......”

“If I rested now, I wouldn’t even be able to relax.”

“Are you going to stay up all night like this?”

“One night without sleep won’t kill me.”

Fireballs lit up his dark vision. Cadel was hurrying through the deserted forest, searching for any signs of Ergo.

Beside him, Van let out a low sigh. He fully understood Cadel's obligation to save his subordinate caught by the demon, but he was also worried about his physical condition. Van had no choice but to do so because he had witnessed him collapsing with his own two eyes.

But he knew how great Cadel's stubbornness was. For that reason, Van stopped persuading and instead chose to somehow find traces of the demon and shouldered Cadel's trouble.

“It's too dark. There are many clouds, and the moonlight is weak. I think any further search is meaningless, Leader.”

Lumen, on the other hand, disagreed, skeptical of navigating an unfamiliar area in the middle of the night with only a few meager fireballs. In his opinion, Cadel was doing something pointless out of guilt for failing to protect his subordinate. There was no point in catering to Cadel’s stubbornness, then.

“Don't waste your time and let’s go back.”

While their conclusions were different, Van and Lumen were on the same page. For now, they decided to reorganize rather than search.

However, Cadel said.

“I’m the one who hates wasting time right now, Lumen

“Then.......”

“But I have to do it. I have no choice.”

Even though Cadel knew this was a task that would put his body through the wringer for no result, he couldn’t stop.

「Time remaining 13 : 41 : 48」

If he decided to retreat here and take a rest, he would be able to stock up on his stamina. However, the remaining time would be greatly reduced. Even with the shortest of breaks, he would have about 6 hours left.

In that remaining time, they must resume the search and find the demon that left no trace. Even if they found the demon, it was unclear whether or not they could defeat him in time. There was also the possibility that the demon would take Lydon hostage to stall for time.

If the countdown ended in vain like that.

“The monsterization of the villagers is underway.”

He hadn’t shared this information with Van and Lumen yet. They each had their own favors to ask, and since the end goal of getting rid of the demon was the same, he figured it didn’t matter when he told them.

Cadel looked back at his two subordinates who were in bewilderment.

“That’s what Lydon told me last night. The demon has been poisoning the villagers to gain power. Human healing technique can’t detoxify it, and the only solution is to kill the demon before the monsterization is completed.”

There was a brief silence. As if it were difficult to accept the sudden information, both were unable to speak easily.

Lumen was the first to speak up.

“Why are you talking about such an important thing now? If you told me right away last night, I could have asked for more reinforcements. And it would have saved us time if we had broadened the search significantly from the start.”

He frowned slightly. His tone was sharp as if he could not understand why Cadel was only now bringing it up.

“The source of the information is Lydon. Human monsterization is a phenomenon that has never been revealed. To explain it, you’ll inevitably have to bring out the fairies, but Lydon should not be known to the public yet. The goal was to wipe out the demon. If I let you know first, things might get messed up, so.......”

“It's not that I didn't tell you because I didn't trust you. It's just...... It's my problem. It's my fault.”

“You don't have to apologize, Commander. You didn't mean to hide it until the end―”

“Let me apologize. I said I was entrusting you with the care of the villagers because I trusted you, but I didn’t tell you that they might turn into monsters. You can be mad at me, Van.”

Van fidgeted in front of Cadel, who apologized earnestly. His hands hovered in the air, unable to reach him.

“I'm sorry, Lumen. You must have had a hard time bringing in the Twilight Knight Order. If I had informed you in advance, I could have done a better job.”

“I'm not looking for an apology, but rather.......”

Lumen, who blurred the end of his speech, ruffled his hair irritably. He stared into space for a moment, as if trying to cool off, then slowly opened his mouth.

“Maybe I'm not that dependable.”

“You know that's not true.”

“I don’t know that.”

The gaze that came back was just hot, unlike the first time. A maelstrom of intense emotion flashed across his once impassive face.

It was only for a moment that the emotions that seemed like boiling lava disappeared. Lumen quickly calmed his eyes and said.

“Knowing enough that time is running out, you two continue the search. I'll pass this information on to the Knight Order. They won't stand still when the villagers are turning into monsters.”

“You're gonna tell the Knight Order?”

“Don't worry. I won't bring up Lydon. I'll just say it was something Leader had heard when you fought the demon, and it came back to you afterward.”

Lumen turned his back resolutely. Cadel stared after him as he walked away without hesitation, then ran after Lumen, terrified by the stark shadow as he disappeared into the darkness.

“Lumen!”

Lumen stopped in his tracks at the urgent call. Cadel tugged on his arm.

“......What is it?”

Cadel rummaged in his arms and placed something on Lumen's hand.

It was a ring. He squeezed Lumen's wrist as he stared down at the ring.

“You'll need it to come back.”

“.......”

“Lumen.”

There was no answer. The silence hung heavy, and Cadel felt a sudden sense of unease. The moment he tried to part his lips again to say something, Lumen pulled his wrist free and slipped the ring on his middle finger.

The cold, emotionless face slowly turned. Into Cadel's ears, a quiet voice penetrated.

“I'm not leaving, so don't make that face.”

Lumen turned and headed back toward Baskin Village. Staring at the spot where he had disappeared, Cadel sighed and swept a hand over his face.

“......Pathetic.”