After taking a deep breath, Ian pushed himself off the edge of the cliff to begin his descent.
Thud!
Unlike his younger sister, who landed with a deafening crash and a shockwave, Ian gently touched down on the ground.
Ariel stared at him intently. Given that he had pushed her, anger would have been an understandable reaction. However, her gaze held no trace of fury.
“Haah… you came?”
‘This isn’t the reaction I expected.’
Instead, she simply glanced briefly at the defeated enemies fading into oblivion and shrugged her shoulders.
She seemed more interested in showing off that she had handled most of the monsters on her own.
‘I don’t know what’s gotten into her to cause such a change, but…’
Ian stopped trying to read her thoughts since the situation wasn’t unpleasant.
Instead, he turned his attention to his sister’s condition, given how hard she had pushed herself.
“Hah… hah… huh? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Your heavy breathing tells me you’re exhausted.”
“N-No, I’m not that tired. Really.”
Despite Ariel’s insistence, Ian wasn’t fooled.
The signs of fatigue, evident in her labored breathing and subtle gestures, made it clear she had overexerted herself while hunting monsters.
‘It’s not like being tired is something to be ashamed of. Why’s she trying so hard to hide it? It’s not as if this is a stamina test or anything.’
Ariel’s expression hardened as though she felt embarrassed for being worn out.
Ian, however, wasn’t particularly bothered by her condition.
‘As long as she’s standing on her two feet and hasn’t collapsed, there’s no issue.’
Not only had she managed to handle nearly half of the approaching enemies on her own, but she was also using unfamiliar equipment instead of her usual gear.
Ian, knowing how vital familiar equipment is for a warrior, fully understood the discomfort she must have endured.
‘It’s not just about familiarity. She didn’t even have time to adapt the equipment to her body. It must’ve been quite cumbersome.’
Ariel, who normally favored light armor for her preference for swift movements, had been forced into heavy armor that looked exhausting just to wear.
No doubt, it had been a challenging battle.
‘On top of that, she changed her fighting style—sacrificing herself to protect her allies. A selfless, noble effort.’
Using unfamiliar gear and performing new techniques without the benefit of experience was no easy feat.
It explained why most of her stamina had been drained so quickly.
“I-I’m fine, really. So… stop looking at me like that…”
‘She doesn’t look fine at all.’
Seeing Ariel put on a brave face, Ian smirked slightly. He knew what was going through her mind—she didn’t want to be treated as a burden anymore.
Whatever had happened during his absence seemed to have instilled a sense of responsibility in her.
‘So that’s why she’s pushing herself harder—to prove she’s changed and gain acknowledgment for her efforts.’
While he understood her feelings, Ian had no intention of pushing her further.
‘Normally, I would have considered coordinating with her for a joint attack.’
But he had seen enough with his own eyes.
The selfish behavior of her past was gone, replaced by a courageous warrior prepared to dedicate herself to the party’s well-being.
There was no longer any reason to test her.
Clink!
“W-What is this?”
“Sit down and rest. I’ll finish this quickly.”
Ian pulled out a folding chair he had prepared earlier, causing Ariel’s eyes to widen in surprise.
She was momentarily startled by its sudden appearance but was soon forced into the seat by Ian.
Despite her efforts to resist and stand up, his firm hand kept her in place.
“I-I can still help… Huh?”
“You’ve already done your part. Now stay seated.”
Bound by Ian’s Ether, Ariel had no choice but to remain seated.
Muttering in frustration, she watched as Ian turned his attention back to the remaining enemies.
Infusing his sword with mana, he assessed the situation.
‘There are a lot of them, but none are particularly strong.’
These creatures weren’t even strong enough to activate Rebrion’s traits.
It was a fight Ian could handle alone. Besides, he planned to use this as an opportunity to teach Ariel some swordsmanship.
Whoooosh!
Crystallized mana enveloped Rebrion’s in an instant, and the excess mana that couldn’t be absorbed began to swirl around Ian.
Rumble!
A storm that seemed to tear apart everything in its path erupted in an instant, with Ian at its center.
‘What on earth is that…?’
The overwhelming amount of mana caused Ariel’s pupils—and her entire body—to tremble.
She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
‘This… isn’t a dream, is it?’
Ariel raised her hand to rub her eyes, doubting her vision, but stopped mid-motion.
She couldn’t afford to miss this. If she did, she’d lose a chance to grow.
Even though she knew it was an attack she could never replicate, as both a hero and a swordswoman, missing such a moment would fill her with regret for a lifetime.
That’s why she was so resolute.
‘I can’t miss a single movement. I need to burn this into my mind.’
With a determined heart, Ariel kept her eyes wide open, watching Ian’s every motion.
Boom! Shwoooosh!
The storm split apart as a circular wave of sword energy surged forward.
The blade carried black mana, shattering everything in its path. The dissipating storm painted the air with a surreal hue.
When Ariel opened her eyes again, she gasped.
“The… the whole world is black and white.”
She saw the scorched, blackened foliage and the pulverized corpses of monsters.
For a fleeting moment, the entire area seemed to have lost its color.
“Wow…”
Dumbfounded, Ariel stood still, gazing around with a dazed expression. Ian smirked faintly at her reaction.
‘This should be enough… as a demonstration.’
He hadn’t shown the attack expecting her to mimic it.
Rather, Ian had done so to clear her path as someone close to the level she aspired to reach.
All he intended was to leave a lasting impression, a foundation for her growth.
“That should do it. Let’s head back.”
With the monsters seemingly dealt with, there was no reason to linger.
His main goal—checking Ariel’s condition—was complete, and she looked tired enough to warrant a break before the next battle.
Just as he was about to prepare for their departure, Ariel’s voice broke through.
“Huh? What’s that?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Over there! Look, something’s there!”
She pointed toward the cloud of dust hanging in the air.
‘What could it be? Could there really be something left alive?’
There shouldn’t have been any survivors after that attack. It wasn’t Ian’s ultimate move, but it had been more than enough to eliminate every monster in the area.
From the cliff above, he hadn’t noticed any particularly unique or resilient creatures, either.
‘Unless… there was something hiding?’
Considering the possibility of an oversight, Ian once again infused mana into his sword, preparing to strike.
“Excuse us, but could you stop attacking? We’re not enemies, Ian.”
“That voice…!”
He put his sword back in at the voice flowing out of the fog that was slowly starting to clear.
Of course, the being in front of him wasn’t an enemy.
Hearing the familiar voice, Ian lowered his sword. Emerging from the dissipating mist was a woman smiling wryly, surrounded by a holy barrier. Behind her stood two men, their faces equally recognizable to Ian and Ariel.
“Glendia?”
“That last attack… You’ve grown much stronger. I’d heard you’d reached the rank of Mana Master, but I didn’t expect it to be true.”
Ian smirked as he recognized his unexpected ally.
***
“Massacre… How amusing.”
Elsewhere, Lucifer let out a long breath of disbelief upon hearing that the army he had sent had been completely annihilated by Ian and the hero.
Even with the massive forces he’d deployed, the result was an utter slaughter. While concern was warranted, Lucifer sat still, laughing softly.
Meanwhile, Serenos, his chief advisor and strategist, looked as if he were about to die from stress.
“The enemies are stronger than anticipated, Demon God. While we’re currently overwhelming them with sheer numbers, if this drags on, it could lead to significant problems.”
“Hmm. Are you worried?”
“…To be honest, yes. While we’ve succeeded in pinning down the Empire’s Masters, if we fail to eliminate the hero party swiftly, the losses on our side will be catastrophic.”
The picture Serenos was drawing was simple.
Serenos’ plan was simple: keep the most troublesome enemies—such as the Empire’s Masters—occupied using the remaining forces of Astelgia.
Simultaneously, lure the hero party to this location and eliminate them.
In essence, it was a feint operation, high-risk but with potentially high reward.
The danger lay in its failure, which would leave them with neither side neutralized.
But given the increasingly dire situation, Serenos saw the gamble as necessary.
‘At least, everything has gone as planned so far. We’ve successfully tied down the Empire’s key players.’
The results weren’t bad. The likes of the Dragonslayer and the Fist King were immobilized. Even Edenria’s Holy Knights—whom Serenos considered the second most dangerous group after the hero party—had been sent to reinforce the Empire.
By a stroke of luck, both Edenria and the Empire had been neutralized at once.
It was the ideal scenario for Serenos’ gamble to pay off. Yet his expression remained tense.
‘What good is it to tie them down if the hero party isn’t dealt with? They haven’t even arrived yet.’
He understood they needed time to gather, but if the heroes decided to fortify their position rather than attack, the situation could turn disastrous.
His carefully laid plans would crumble, and the gamble would result in complete failure.
This looming possibility kept Serenos from relaxing.
“Ha! Don’t fret so much, Serenos.”
Lucifer interjected, chuckling as if amused by Serenos’ worry.
“You fear that the enemy will fortify their defenses, exhausting our forces, don’t you? But why think so negatively?”
“What do you mean, my lord?”
“If you’re worried they won’t come to us, we simply make it so they must come.”
“Make them come? How?”
Serenos furrowed his brow, unsure of what Lucifer meant. He bowed slightly, waiting for further explanation.
“How exactly…?”
“Open the Gate.”
“The Gate…?”
Serenos’ eyes widened in shock.
To open the Gate—it could mean only one thing.
“If we open the Gate, the Hero party will arrive here directly.”
“If they try to play defense, we’ll just have to clear a path.”
I’ll summon them to the depths of Astelgia and deal with them myself.
Serenos was at a loss as to what to do with Lucifer’s confident ambition.
