“Isn’t that Jishuka?”

“Wow, that proud woman?”

"Why is the guild master of the Tzedakah Guild squabbling like a child?”

Jishuka gritted her teeth as she heard those criticizing words. She felt like claiming damage compensation for her ruined image and reputation.

Meanwhile, Grid was unaware of what was happening around him, simply because he was really desperate. It was natural since hundreds of millions of won were stolen right in front of him. Now Grid’s head was filled with reclaiming the Divine Shield.

“Please lend me Regas!”

“...Hah.”

Grid didn’t think of withdrawing, so Jishuka was forced to retreat.

“Okay, let’s leave it to Regas.” Jishuka let go of Regas’ ear and then placed the burden on him. “Do you know better than anyone what a desperate situation our guild is in right now? Do you have time to help others?”

“Uhh...”

As Regas hesitated, Grid begged, “Regas, I’m asking you. You are the only one I can rely on.”

Regas’ worries didn’t last long. Grid expressed that he lost everything and even wanted to commit suicide. At this time! He said Regas was the only one he could rely on.

“I will help!”

Snap!

In the end, Regas grabbed hold of Grid’s hand.

Pajik.

There was the sound of something snapping in Jishuka’s head. All of the spectators looked at her. However, both Grid and Regas didn’t hear it.

“Thank you, Regas! I will consider you my lifelong benefactor!”

“Haha, it is nothing. After all, it is my responsibility to protect justice and help the needy!”

Regas was very motivated. Jishuka wanted to use violence against Regas right now, but she couldn’t act because there were too many eyes watching.

“... Yes, you have decided? Okay, I understand. Good luck.” Her red lips twitched as she suppressed the urge to curse. There was no energy in her voice.

Regas bowed and apologized to her, “I’m sorry! Please understand this once! I’ll do this and then help you straight away! Now, Grid! Let’s go!”

“Yes!”

Grid and Regas left the area, leaving Jishuka alone in the end.

"Choosing a guy you don’t know over a friend of a few years...”

The spectators watched her mutter and started gossiping.

“Jishuka was rejected for a man...”

“It wasn’t another woman, but a man.”

“Amazing...”

“......”

Jishuka decided not to listen to the noises entering her ears.

‘I will definitely break both of them.’

Then the spectators brought up an interesting story:

“But that guy, isn’t he a blacksmith? Don’t you know? He competed against that great beauty in the item creation game.”

“Ah ~ The one who joined with Khan for a two-against-one match, but still lost to that woman?”

Jishuka’s eyes widened in surprise.

‘Is that guy Khan’s disciple?’

Apart from the whereabouts of Euphemina, the Tzedakah Guild also wanted to find Khan’s disciple. He was the one who competed with Euphemina, so he probably knew something about Euphemina.

However, he was difficult to find because Khan never revealed his identity. Jishuka hurriedly sent a whisper to Regas.

-Regas! The man with you is likely to be Khan’s disciple! I have to talk to you right away! Where are you now?

[The recipient has blocked all whispers.]

“... This bastard.”

Regas had blocked all whispers because he was afraid that Jishuka would threaten him with a whisper. Jishuka summoned a holographic keyboard. Then she wrote in the guild chat window.

{Hey, Regas! Regas Regas Regas Regas Regas Regas Regas Regas Regas!}

{Guild Master (ㅡ.ㅡ) Don’t spam the chat.}

{Shut up = _ = This isn’t the time for jokes.}

{ㅠㅠㅈㅅㅈㅅ}

{Regas! Can’t you see the chat? Hey! Do you really want to die?}

{If he is quiet in front of your bombardment, has he blocked the guild chat? What is it? Did Regas get into another incident?}

{Regas is with Khan’s disciple! But he doesn’t know that the person is Khan’s disciple!}

{Eh? Khan's disciple? ㅡ ㅡ; How did that guy end up with Regas?}

{Anyway, find Regas right now! If he is Khan’s disciple, he is likely to have a clue about Euphemina!}

At this point, Jishuka and the Tzedakah Guild members couldn’t imagine—Khan’s disciple, who they just wanted to ask about Euphemina’s whereabouts, was actually the unknown craftsman they wanted to meet!

***

“Hrmm…”

Grid explained the whole story to Regas. Of course, he omitted or changed some parts since Regas did not know him as a blacksmith, but as a warrior. In the first place, Grid only needed to convey a description of the thief.

“So, Grid received a quest and went to Winston Castle, where a soldier suddenly turned into an elderly person and stole your item? You wanted to chase that old man, but ended up missing him?”

“Yes, that’s right. A black aura emerged from the soldier’s body and he suddenly transformed...”

“A black aura?”

“Yes.”

Regas thought carefully. “Doesn’t it sound like someone from the Yatan Church?”

Grid wondered if there was such a thing since the Yatan Church believers were said to feel pain just facing the Divine Shield, but that old man was fine when holding the Divine Shield in his hand.

“I don’t think it is a Yatan follower...”

Grid cautiously denied it, but Regas shook his head.

"It is definitely a Yatan follower. Those who deal with black magic have a 90% chance of being a Yatan follower. Let’s find the nearby hiding places of the Yatan followers. If we destroy their hideouts one by one, we will find the one who robbed your item.”

In the end, Grid added to the explanation, “No, in fact, the item that the old man stole was something that would deal great damage to the Yatan Church followers, but the old man easily touched the item, so he can’t be part of the Yatan Church...”

“If it was a high priest who transformed, he might not be influenced by the item because of his high faith.”

“Is that right? Hrmm...” After a moment of worry, Grid finally made a decision. “Okay. I will trust Regas’ words. By the way, where is the hideout of the Yatan Church?”

Regas scratched his head.

“I’m not sure. Don’t we just need to find it?”

“......”

Regas was a powerful person who was called a Taekwon Master. His combat strength would certainly be amazing. However, he seemed to be lacking when it came to the intelligence aspect.

***

“...This place?”

Irene woke up in the darkness. Where was this place? She couldn’t tell. It felt like she had been asleep for a very long time. The voice of a man was heard while she was feeling confused.

“Don't be afraid. Darkness is originally easy to adapt to. You will soon realize where this is.”

As he said, Irene’s eyes gradually adapted to the darkness. After a while, Irene discovered where this was.

“The Yatan Temple!”

“No, this is just a common cave that can be found everywhere. I just decorated it like a temple.”

“You...?”

Irene found a man kneeling in front of a statue of God Yatan. The man turned his head and introduced himself, “I am Malacus.”

“......!”

Irene knew who Malacus was. No, there were few people on the continent who didn’t know the name.

Malacus—he was the Sixth Servant of God Yatan and responsible for the sacrifices of the Yatan Church. It was Malacus who determined the number of virgins to be sacrificed every year. One word from him controlled the lives of many virgins on the continent.

“H-How are you...? Where is this place? And why am I here?”

Malacus got up. Then he slowly approached the confused Irene. “Winston Castle has a way of making the Divine Shield. Then I made a deal with a skilled blacksmith.”

“......”

“Light exists to be colored in by darkness. Do you know? What will happen if the Divine Shield contains dark magic?”

Malacus gave a wicked laugh. Irene grabbed Doran’s ring tightly with trembling hands.

‘Doran... Doran!’

Doran was a shadow who protected the Steim family for a long time. Irene had been saved by Doran whenever she was in danger since her youth. However, now he was gone. That fact made Irene feel despair.

Irene recalled Doran’s last words.

‘If you find the man who knows this ring, lean on him. It was thanks to him that I was able to save My Lady this time... he will surely be a big help if he is by your side. Be sure to keep him with you.’

When would the man that Doran spoke about appear? Irene earnestly hoped for it.

‘Doran... please help me meet him.’

On the other hand, Grid and Regas arrived at Rolf Mountain. Grid was gasping for breath.

“Pant... pant... what if all of this is in vain?”

A day had passed and they went through all the forests and mountains near Winston, looking for the Yatan Church’s hiding place. Grid was tired and sleep deprived, but Regas was full of energy.

“If this is in vain, can’t we just go to another mountain?”

“......”

Regas spoke without hesitation while smiling widely. The usual Grid would’ve already tackled him, but the current Grid was filled with the idea of finding the Divine Shield, so he followed after Regas with no complaints.

Then when he reached the middle of Rolf Mountain.

[Your persistence has risen.]

As Grid checked the notification that had appeared 10 times already, Regas shouted, "This is the place!”

Grid turned his gaze toward where Regas was pointing. He discovered a large cave guarded by Yatan followers.

“The numbers aren’t a joke... aren’t there at least 30 of them?”

Winston’s army had gone out several times under the pretext of subjugating the Yatan Church. Nevertheless, Grid never dreamed that there would still be so many followers in Winston.

‘The army led by the strongest knight in the north... he was armed with the Sword of Self-transcendence, but he still lost. He really is incompetent.’

Grid was busy criticizing Phoenix.

“Bring it on! You evil people!”

“Heok.”

Grid was shocked. He wanted to move as secretly as possible to avoid the enemy’s gaze, but Regas shouted loudly and jumped into the middle of the enemy.

‘He is crazy!’

Regardless of whether Grid cursed him or not, Regas was very excited.

“Isn’t this quite good? Gale Attack!”

Chachak!

Regas’ legs sprang up as quickly as the wind. The Yatan followers near him collapsed. Regas was even more delighted when he saw a follower hit by him getting back up.

“Okay! These guys are strong! Bring it on! Force Palm!”

Pepepepeng!

The 30 against 1 fight started.

“......”

The longer Grid spent with Regas, the harder it was to adjust to Regas.

‘I need to regain my senses.’

Grid couldn’t see the old man among the 30 people outside the cave. Grid moved toward the cave, in the hope that the old man would be inside. He was able to move effortlessly because all the Yatan followers were distracted by Regas.

The moment when he stepped into the cave...

“I don’t like uninvited guests.”

A bizarre voice was heard inside the cave, giving the illusion that two voices were simultaneously talking. Then a notification window popped up.

[God Yatan’s Sixth Servant, Malacus, has appeared.]

[The mighty dark power has applied a fear, weakness, and immobilizing effect.]

[A legend doesn’t feel fear easily.]

[You have resisted all the abnormal conditions.]

[Malacus has unleashed a surprise magic attack.]

Kwa kwa kwa kwang!

“......!”

Grid noticed the black blades flying from the cave and quickly escaped.

However, it was different for Regas. Despite being outside the cave, he was overwhelmed by Malacus’ magic power and stood still. Therefore, he couldn’t escape the flying magic and suffered great damage.