At the very least, the Guardian Knight never had the god’s blessing. The Guardian Knight, whom Faern’s citizens depended on, likely had a different origin story. Clope believed himself to be the god’s chosen one, but that wasn’t the case.
And is that “precious child” the Fire of Destruction’s rival?
It brought to mind what the Scary Stone’s owner had said: “Do you seek to eradicate all traces of the fire’s eternal rival?”
The situation felt like a complex web of disparate threads woven together. Regardless, Cale didn’t rack his brain over it for long. He didn’t need to solve everything this very moment; this was neither the time nor the place.
He looked down at the watering can. “Let’s pack this away for now, Raon.”
“Okay! It won’t hurt us!” Raon swiftly deposited the watering can in his subspace.
Cale crawled back out of the shed, only to discover a soupy mist engulfing the area. When he raised his head, he noticed that Choi Han had walked over to him.
“Is it almost time?”
“Yes, sir. I think they’ll be here soon.”
Turning to Ohn and Hong, Cale said, “We should get started.”
“Meow.”
The mist around the field seeped outward. It turned stark-white, infused with poison that would make anyone affected lose their sense of direction. This toxic mist enveloped Cale and the field he stood in, but it didn’t touch him at all; it merely provided a protective shroud.
‹Are we dealing with Arm now, human? Will we nab their stuff?›
Cale shook his head. “Not yet.”
Choi Han looked toward the main gate, where he felt a strong presence making itself known as it approached the door. “They’ve arrived.”
That was enough to change Cale’s answer.
‹They’re here! Is it time now?›
“Yes. Let’s go say hello to Arm and help ourselves to their things.”
Choi Han flinched at his phrasing, but Cale was relaxed as always as he asked Raon to use flight magic. Still encircled by the poisonous mist, he floated into the air.
Boom! Boom!
Loud banging sounds echoed across the grounds, throwing the whole Seca estate into disarray. Cale landed on a nearby roof, watching the scene play out before him.
“Ha ha ha ha! How pathetic!”
A man in a black mask and a shabby Arm uniform cackled with glee, stomping on the shattered wyvern sculptures he’d just destroyed. It was Archie, who’d decimated those ugly sculptures with his bare hands.
Earlier, Cale had instructed him, “Do whatever your temper compels you to do.”
Archie swung his fists at the knights advancing on him. Boom! The final wyvern, the symbol of the Guardian Knight, collapsed in a heap of rubble.
“Wow, was that a wyvern or a fly? Adorable! If you so much as poke them, they break just like that! Ah ha ha ha!”
For the first time in ages, Archie was free to do as he pleased. Cale smiled with satisfaction at the sight of Archie acting like a lunatic. Rosalyn and Faseton, both dressed in the same shoddy outfits, stood behind the killer whale.
“Excellent.”
Enjoying the cool breeze, Cale observed the knights and the male lion closing in on them. The lion wore leather armor instead of Arm’s uniform. “H-how dare they wear such offensively fake outfits?!” he bellowed, glowering at the intruders. “They must be the same bastards from before!”
Cale’s mood lightened even further. “The night air is so refreshing.”
And the night was still young.
Not everyone could kick back and enjoy the evening air, however. On this final night of the festival, the residents of the duke’s estate were wide awake. When the master of the household and his son both couldn’t sleep, the rest of them suffered the same fate. The raucous celebrations were the least of their worries now that a radiant pillar of flame seemed fit to burn away the very night sky.
The estate’s elderly butler couldn’t believe his eyes. “Wh-what a l-lunatic!”
Although the knights and soldiers blocked his view, he could still make out the demolished wyvern sculptures. Those statues had been the symbol of House Seca for generations.
Crack, crack!
Such historic monuments were being ground into dust—all because of a single person.
“Oh my, it just falls apart when I put my hand on it!”
A madman in all black snickered while crunching the pieces of a sculpture into powder. Needless to say, it was Archie.
“Wow, this is a blast! Stepping on it feels great.”
Pow! Pow!
Fragments of the sculptures crumbled every time he stomped on them. Archie was in his element; he could see in the knights’ eyes that he was getting on their nerves. After behaving himself over the past few years on Seakeller’s orders, Archie felt liberated.
‹Human, that killer whale’s acting like a total scumbag! Amazing!›
Cale agreed with Raon, thinking Archie was being nothing short of a bastard.
One of the duke’s knights—not the captain, but perhaps the vice-captain—began shouting. “Who are you?! What in heaven’s name is this?”
Archie snorted. Filled with bravado, he bellowed, “We’re the secret organization!” More mad laughter bubbled out from him.
Enraged though the knight was, he couldn’t move. The duke was on his way, while Clope had rushed to the lake. He’d already dispatched a messenger to notify both of them. As vice-captain, he had the authority to make a call, but he didn’t dare.
One of the interlopers was strong enough to destroy a giant wyvern sculpture with a single blow, and his strikes lacked any trace of mana or aura whatsoever. He relied on pure physical strength. An impressive undercurrent of mana emanated from the other masked person behind him. It was Rosalyn, of course, but the vice-captain had no way of knowing that.
Biding his time, the vice-captain glanced sidelong at the man with golden hair resembling a lion’s mane. Everyone else knew this man only as a guest of the duke, but the vice-captain was aware of his true identity: Edrich, the Lion King’s second son. Hoping to get a handle on the situation, the vice-captain faced the powerful lion head-on.
Voice dripping with disdain, Edrich said, “They must be those nutcases I’ve heard so much about.”
The vice-captain’s eyes narrowed. These intruders have a reputation?
Unaware of the vice-captain’s perplexity, Edrich roared, “Do you bastards have any idea who you’re barking at?!”
Though he outwardly berated Archie, Rosalyn, and Faseton, he was secretly amused. I didn’t expect to see those infamous punks here.
He recognized the makeshift uniforms. The magic spearman and the tamer had suffered at the hands of people wearing those same outfits. What’s more, these people had derailed both the whale-mermaid conflict and the attack on the elf village in the Ten Finger Mountains. Arm had reported them to the higher-ups a while back.
At a time when the organization was already busy investigating the Empire’s schemes, these troublemakers kept increasing their workload; it was quite the headache. And they’re strong.
Edrich sensed that his foes matched him in power, or perhaps even surpassed him, just as the magic spearman had described. Yet he couldn’t afford to stand down now; he was the grand and majestic heir to the Lion King’s throne.
Acknowledging his enemies’ skills, Edrich demanded, “Who the hell are you?! Reveal yourselves!”
Cale raised his hand, signaling to Archie. The killer whale took note of the gesture and replied as Cale had directed: “Would you do that if you were in our shoes? Those broom bristles around your head must go straight to your brain.”
As Edrich’s features twisted, Cale cheerfully told his party, “We should get moving too.” He slowly vanished into thin air, turning his back just as Edrich resumed shouting.
“How dare you look at my beautiful golden mane and call it something so mundane!”
“What? Why’re you throwing a fit when this isn’t even your house?”
“Y-you insolent…!” Edrich sputtered at Archie’s retort. The nearby vice-captain winced, then tried to calm himself.
Cale had to commend Archie on his goading skills. “You see Archie’s technique?” he said to Choi Han. “That’s how it ought to be done.”
“…I’m not really interested in learning that.”
“No problem. We only need one person who’s good at it.”
Choi Han shot Cale a look that said, Is Archie seriously the only one? but Cale was already moving on.
Once Cale was completely invisible, his group entered the next phase of their plan.
“Enough talk,” Archie said. “Come at me.”
Without waiting for his opponent, he charged straight at Edrich. Rosalyn and Faseton rushed toward the knights in the killer whale’s wake.
While they advanced, Cale told Choi Han and Raon, “Follow me closely. Don’t leave my side.” He needed them to protect him and the kittens, as the other lion and Arm’s remaining members had yet to show themselves.
‹I understand, human! I’ll always be with you!›
Tuning out Raon’s happy voice, Cale snuck into the duke’s manor.