After he finished 'apologizing', one more person entered the room and stood behind the Shogun. He was a slightly old man, his appearance average and easily forgettable yet the moment Arthur saw him, his pupils shook and his aura became momentarily unstable. Once could see that the years took a great toll on the man's tired face, in fact, he was pitifully weak in comparison to the woman or the shogun yet here he was, dutifully serving someone he considered as his master and leader.

Arthur's memories drifted to the past, just when he and Lucy got separated. The Emperor's castle got invaded by a bunch of monsters called Khin but were in fact the Cthulhu. There was a man who guided Arthur into their world yet he tricked him and teleported his people and himself, causing the world to crumble.

It was one of the few times Arthur almost died were it not for Anastassia's intervention later, he would have been killed by Bucama.

"Ah! Let me introduce you. He's one of my closest friends, Elias."

The old man smiled at the couple and lightly bowed his head showing the necessary amount of respect. In response, Arthur's chilling gaze fell on the man, causing the latter to shake for a moment.

Even Lucy was surprised by his unusually hostile behavior. Through the invisible Soul Bind, she could see the Dark Magic boiling inside Arthur, ready to devour the man named Elias.

Although the man sacrificed Arthur to save his people, the parasite didn't care and now, he added Elias to his kill-list. He vowed to not leave Riarravar until this benign-looking old man is dead.

A very long time ago, when Arthur was resting with his brothers in a desolate cave, the Joker proudly narrated his adventures saying:

"Life without enemies is very boring which is why I tend to make one almost every day. However, an enemy is someone or something that needs to be killed, no matter the cost. If they escape then you hunt them down and kill them in the second meeting because in the third one, and believe me when I say this, you won't be able to finish them off."

…

"Something wrong?"

The Shogun noticed Arthur's strange reaction so he calmly asked while glancing at the confused old man, who shook his head.

Fortunately, Elias didn't notice Arthur as the parasite's appearance did change drastically since last time. Furthermore, he didn't expose his Dark Magic and Makaze returned to his home so unless he say it himself, there's no way the old man will recognize him. Nevertheless, Arthur didn't forget the past grudge as he added one more step to his plan.

"Before we get down to business, I'll introduce myself. I am Sol'dhin and this one is called Sivenna."

He pointed at the woman previously captured by Arthur. She left the couple's side and stood next to the easy-going Shogun, who heartily laughed as he saw her venomously glaring at Arthur.

"Don't force yourself, you're not his match."

He softly stated, causing her to sigh and take a step back, nonetheless, he gaze remained on Arthur, who totally ignored her.

As he heard the man's name, he became even more shocked. It was very similar to the cane, the one he found near Zodiak's corpse. Its name was Sol'khin's cane, he was certain it's not just some coincidence.

"I am Bilgart."

Arthur reciprocated by giving his last name from his first life, not even his expression changed as blatantly lied. By hearing him say a fake name, Lucy joined in and introduced herself:

"I'm Eva."

After a brief and awkward bout of silence, the Shogun faked a cough and said:

"Ahem, I'm sure your goal is the same as ours. We want to leave this broken world and live a proper and peaceful life. This word, Riarravar, is completely isolated so the only way to escape is by destroying the seal trapping the Black Devil's soul. Once he's released, this place won't be able to handle his power and it'll crumble and, at that time, we'll create a Spatial Tunnel and swiftly leave."

"And how exactly are we going to do that?"

Expecting such a question, the Shogun grinned and replied: "We'll talk about the plan when the last guest arrives."

"The last guest?"

The man enthusiastically nodded his head while explaining: "Yes, in addition to your esteemed selves, we need the help of another party."

After a brief pause, Sol'dhin said: "The Calypso Parasite, Emir."

Quite surprisingly, Arthur wasn't didn't show any reaction when hearing that. It was because Timos already told him about what was supposed to happen. Although the Shogun was extremely strong, he's not well-versed in Magic so he needs Emir, who's said to be an old Archmage.

"Please rest well and enjoy your time until he arrives."

The Shogun signaled for Elias, who marched forward and motioned for the couple to follow him. The short road to their rooms was silent as neither Arthur nor the old man spoke. In fact, Elias didn't dare look behind him as he kept getting the chills. He didn't know why but Arthur was looking at him with eyes that contained unrestrained killing intent. The elder remained oblivious and swiftly left after taking them to well-decorated rooms which were prepared for them before their abrupt visit.

Sol'dhin was about to go look for them anyway so their sudden arrival saved him a lot of trouble.

After Arthur entered the room, he used his Space Magic to envelop the whole room and block any noise from getting out. He reinforced it with a silencing formation, as a precaution.

"Do you know him?"

Obviously, Lucy was asking him about Elias, whom Arthur was acting hostile toward.

"He's a bastard who tricked me when I went to save his people."

Arthur told Lucy everything but his trip to Bucama's world. The suffering he saw there should not be described to anyone so he just briefly went over what happened, not mentioning any names and passing it as 'no big deal'.

"So what will we do?"

Seeing Lucy frown, Arthur sat up next to her, caressed her head and softly said:

"The same plan. I'll just make sure that the old man stays here forever."

The only reason Arthur was agreeing to go along Sol'dhin's plan is because, currently, it's the only way to leave Riarravar. Though Timos told him there are 'many ways' to escape, he refused to tell them how so the couple decided to try this one. Sure, it'll lead to lots of causalities and the destruction of Riarravar, nonetheless, Arthur didn't care.

The only thing that will remain unscathed is the Free Space, which is an independent dimension that will follow Timos once his soul is freed.

The next day, another individual was invited into the Frozen Keep. He came alone and no one blocked his path as he traversed the long bridge and slowly walked to the Shogun's residence. He had a serious countenance, a handsome face, and a sky-blue long hair. He wore a dark blue robe with golden lines on the shoulders, the materials it was made of were top-notch as it emitted something called 'Mana Pressure'.

'Mana Pressure' are invisible vibration that leaks out of items that contain an unimaginable amount of Mana. Even Lucy's Lonely Moon, which is infamous for its high Mana reserve, didn't have 'Mana Pressure', this indicates that the robe, alone, was a unique and priceless equipment. In addition to the robe, Emir had a silver wand hanging on his waist, it was decorated with dozens of shiny and colorful rubies.

The Shogun and the Archmage talked for less than two minutes before Arthur was invited.

The moment Arthur got close, Emir's body twitched, seemingly noticing something. The parasite's gaze fell on Arthur, examining him from head to toe.

'He knows!'

Arthur didn't need to ask as Emir's gaze was enough to tell him that this robbed-individual knows about his real race. He remembered Timos and his long talk about parasites.'

"Dear Guest, Calypso parasites are extremely rare and are the strongest existences under Zaarae. Emir is a loyal but eccentric subordinate of hers. He's very well-versed in magic and the only one in his time who's been called an Archmage. Although he'll be weakened in Riarravar, his prowess will still be superior to you and the Shogun combined. Though he'll still require your help to get his people out of here."

..

The Shogun smiled at the couple, who just entered the room, and introduced them:

"This Bilgart and his partner Eva, they'll be helping us destroy the seal."

Unexpectedly, Emir didn't show contempt or arrogance but actually did a noble's bow towards the two.

"He's the one I was talking about. His magic will destroy the seal and we'll be the ones protecting him."

Sol'dhin vaguely went over the plan to which the old man, Elias, coughed and held his master back. As he saw the couple's confused gazes, he apologetically said:

"Please excuse him, he's not that good of a strategist. Please wait a moment, I'll thoroughly explain the plan."

Elias disappeared from the room for fifteen seconds before coming back with a large parchment that was laid on the biggest table. The parchment was a map of the Frozen Keep and the place Timos' soul was trapped.

Once he confirmed that Emir and the couple got close and are attentive, the old man coughed and said:

"The Black Devil's soul is trapped in a spiritual prison. East of here, there is a broken bridge and beyond that, there is a floating piece of land."

He pointed at a rectangular area on the parchment before continuing:

"The Spiritual Prison will be destroyed by Sir Emir, however, the place is guarded by two guardians and a fair number of angels. Sivenna along with our strongest warriors will deal with the angels, as for the guardians, our master will deal with one while the other is for Sir Bilgart and Madam Eva."

To this point, everything was clear yet Arthur had a foreboding. There will be a lot of backstabbing as he knew Elias' true nature. He only cared about himself and his people so it won't be surprising to see him deceive Emir and them just so the humans could escape.

This is why he needed an ally, a powerful ally, someone he could rely on in this battle. Coincidentally, Arthur's gaze met with Emir, who smiled back as if he could real his kin's thoughts.