Just seconds after Aldon mysteriously disappeared from the Dimension where the enormous Tree stood, a small crack opened in the void, and a figure clad in black rushed from within it. After the figure exited the crack, it quickly closed, and the void returned to its original state.

Quickly observing the surroundings, the figure’s face fell dramatically as it noticed that nobody was present in the vicinity of the Tree. It rasped in a hoarse voice, “Fuck! Once again, we are late! What is the Organization even doing!? Their information is becoming more and more unreliable!”

Looking at the bright leaves of the enormous Tree, the figure mumbled to itself, “I’m doomed!”

The instant the figure uttered those words, a young girl who appeared to be around ten years old, who was sleeping in the opposite side of Tree’s trunk where Aldon had previously rested, opened one of her eyes.

Immediately, the entire void began to tremble uncontrollably as the Tree emanated an aura filled with Divine majesty. The mere aura of the Tree instantly vaporized the intruder figure and completely erased it from existence. Even its soul was annihilated from this world!

Quickly after the figure was erased from existence, the girl closed her eye and returned to her slumber. It took a long while before the void stopped trembling and returned to its tranquility.

***

Unaware of the event occurring inside the Dimension he had just exited, Aldon’s mind was blown by the Divine Technique he had just obtained, and he promptly questioned Velina, “Is this the power of a Divine Technique?”

Velina answered, “Yep. It is a fact that every Divine Technique’s prowess is out of this world.” She continued, with a curious look on her face, “What kind of Technique did you obtain? Don’t hesitate because I’ll share the information of my Divine Technique in return for yours.”

Snapping back to his senses, Aldon answered, “The Divine Technique I obtained is named ‘Create Domain.’ The absurdity of this Technique is that I can create a domain around me regarding anything and manipulate it freely. For example, I can create a domain around me considering the parameter of Mana in my mind, and it will be created. Once this so-called Mana Domain is created, I’ll have absolute control over the entirety of Mana present within it. Even the Mana inside one’s body will be under my control. I can even dispel any Spells inside the Mana Domain. In other words, I’ll be the Sovereign of Mana inside the Mana Domain, freely controlling it as I see fit. The more absurd thing is that I can even consider parameters such as ‘Life’ and freely manipulate it. This means if I create a ‘Life Domain’, I’ll be in control of every living being’s life within it.”

Taking a long breath, Aldon continued, “Well, these are the full extent of my Divine Technique. The only problem is that I can currently only create and exert these Domains within an inch of my body.”

Aldon chuckled lightly and continued, “ It’s more of a body coating than a Domain right now. But, I can increase the range of my Domain if I advance through the Realms of Magic. So, the issue of the Domain’s range will eventually cease to exist.”

Even though he had revealed this much to Velina, Aldon hid a key part of his Divine Technique. He didn’t disclose that once he gained mastery in the creation of numerous types of Domains, he could stack them and create the combined Domain effortlessly.

Velina was shaken to her core after Aldon revealed the nature and power of his Divine Technique. She had never before heard of a Divine Technique that was so overpowered. She thought to herself, ‘He was right to call it a broken Technique. Who in their right mind would be willing to face this monster once he increases the range of his Domain? He will be almost unstoppable once he masters this Divine Technique! I’m dying to find out which God or Goddess bestowed him the Mark of Divinity and simultaneously provided him with such a broken Technique!’

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Velina spoke, “Well, that’s one hell of a Divine Technique. Thank you for sharing this information with me. As promised, I will also share the information regarding my Divine Technique.”

Sitting in a more comfortable pose, Velina continued, “My Divine Technique is named ‘Laplace’s Vision.’ By infusing some Mana into my eyes, I enter a dream-like state where I can glimpse into the immediate future. Through training, which is basically always keeping it active, I am now able to glimpse a minute into the future. The scary part of this Divine Technique is that it doesn’t have any limits. So, theoretically, if I train enough, I’ll be able to glimpse any event from even a millennium into the future. Cool, right?”

Though Velina revealed almost everything about her Divine Technique, she was also hiding many things about her Divine Technique, like Aldon.

Aldon was rendered speechless from the absolutely horrifying power of the Divine Techniques. Just when he was about to speak, a huge commotion started outside.

Both Aldon and Velina exited the tent hurriedly and noticed that the commotion appeared to come from Sylph’s tent, which was at a distance from them. Casting a glance around, Aldon noticed that Noah was chatting with some of the guards near Velina’s tent.

Remembering that Sylph was supposed to be interrogating Julio, Aldon associated the commotion with something going wrong and quickly rushed towards her tent in a hurry.

Seeing Aldon rush off without any explanation, Velina quickly followed him and questioned, “What happened? Why are you in such a hurry?”

Aldon answered hastily, “There may be a problem. But, don’t worry about it. You go back to your tent. You’re nowhere powerful enough to tag along!”

Although Velina grumbled in discontent, she turned around and returned to her tent.

Aldon quickly reached Sylph’s tent, and before he could enter it, a disheveled figure rushed out from the tent and crashed into Aldon. Since both Aldon and the disheveled figure hadn't anticipated the collision, they were knocked onto the ground.

Observing the disheveled figure, Aldon realized that it was Julio! Before Aldon could pick himself up, Julio recognized Aldon and threw a punch right at his face.

Taken aback by the surprise blow, Aldon couldn’t react in time as Julio got on his feet and ran past him. Realizing that something must have gone wrong, Aldon got back on his feet and started chasing him.

Noticing Aldon close on his heels, Julio ran as if his life depended on it. He passed Velina’s tent and saw Noah. He appeared to be overjoyed as he stopped and exclaimed, “Lord Anwir! Thank the heavens that you are here! Please, Lord! Save me! I’ve been exposed by these wretched Empire elves! Help me, Lord!”

Aldon soon caught up with Julio and heard his plea. Casting a sharp glance at Noah, he noticed that Noah appeared to be confused and scared by Julio’s sudden appearance and words.

Though Aldon believed that Noah was not involved with Julio, he stopped and watched their encounter. He knew that he had the prowess to overpower Julio at any moment and curiously watched them, intending to draw out any traitors present within their ranks.

Caught up in excitement, Julio didn’t notice Aldon observing his actions behind him. He continued with passion, “What are you waiting for, my Lord? You can easily overpower these cretins! Please save me!”

Just when Aldon was beginning to grow suspicious of Noah, due to perceiving the undeniable expression of joy and relief on Julio’s face, Sylph appeared beside him and spoke hurriedly, “Aldon, Julio is definitely a member of the Eye of Eclipse. He wiped out his entire squad and approached us on the orders of someone called ‘Lord Anwir.’ This Lord Anwir is a top echelon in the Eye of Eclipse. He is the one who caused the early destabilization of the Dungeon. Apparently, he is also trapped inside the Barrier enclosing the city of Cartos. We should be wary and act quickly.”

Aldon’s face changed quickly when Sylph mentioned ‘Lord Anwir.’ Looking at the still confused Noah, Aldon changed his attitude towards him and whispered to Sylph, “You should quickly call for reinforcements. Julio is insisting that Noah is the so-called ‘Lord Anwir.’ If by any chance it is true, we are in a lot of trouble.”

Sylph whispered back, “I’ve already called for reinforcements. We should try to stall as much as possible.”

Noticing the commotion near her tent, Velina came outside and witnessed the happenings. Taeral and Elmon, who were passing by, also noticed the commotion and stayed to sate their curiosity.

Just as Julio was trying to convince Noah to rescue him, Celes, along with her squad, arrived at the site of the commotion. Noticing Sylph, she spoke, “I couldn’t wait for the Kingdom’s troops to assemble and came quickly with my squad for reinforcements. Where is the enemy?”

Though Celes didn’t speak loudly, it was barely a whisper, and Noah overheard it. As the guards who were previously chatting with him started to shoo Julio away as they noticed that he was making Noah uncomfortable, Noah began to laugh menacingly.

Everyone felt a shiver run down their spines when they heard Noah’s manic laughter. He quickly drew a brown, shiny orb from his storage bag and shattered it.

A large dome of earthy-brown barrier appeared into existence, enclosing everyone present around a hundred meters from Noah within it. Nobody could move a muscle as they experienced an excruciating force exerted on them by the barrier.

While the guards, who were also trapped within the barrier, were confused by the sudden development, Noah approached Julio and grabbed his head aggressively.

Smiling unnaturally, Noah exclaimed, “You piece of shit. If you can’t even do your job properly, what use do I have for you?”

Before Julio could answer, Noah plunged his hand into Julio’s chest and grabbed his heart. Staring into his eyes, Noah continued, “You had one job. Guarding the fucking Dungeon Core. Why did you leave your post and come here?” Squeezing lightly, he continued with that eerie smile, “Be careful with your answer. One misstep, and you’ll regret it.”

Julio answered fearfully, “Lord Anwir, I was guarding the Dungeon Core dutifully as you had asked. But, the elves from the Empire were about to enter the area I was guarding. So, I had to reveal myself and divert them to avoid them discovering the Dungeon Core. They insisted that I stay with them as the jungle was quite dangerous to traverse alone. Before I had the chance to escape, the scouts of the Kingdom discovered us and brought us here. I had no choice but to go along the flow. I planned to disappear tonight, disguising my disappearance as falling prey to a Dungeon Beast, but I didn’t know that the wretched Empire elves would be so quick to catch on to me. That bitch, Sylph, requested my presence and restrained me quickly. She even used the Beads of Truth on me. Fortunately, those were of lower quality, and I could break free from its influence after a few minutes! Please, my Lord! I had no choice!”

A frown formed on Noah’s face as he questioned Julio in a dangerous voice, “Did you reveal THAT to her?”

Scared out of his mind, Julio answered, “Of course not, my Lord! I would never reveal THAT under the influence of such a weak pair of Beads of Truth.”

The frown on Noah’s face disappeared, and his unnatural smile returned to his face. Smiling even widely, he stared at Julio and spoke, “Good. Good. You even have a legitimate reason to leave the Dungeon Core unguarded. You would have been forgiven for your mistake if it were anyone else but me.”

Clutching Julio’s heart tightly, Noah ripped it from his body with brute force and held it in front of Julio’s eyes. As he noticed this, Julio’s face soon turned black with fear.

The smile on Noah’s face had disappeared, and with a grim and crazed expression, he continued, “You see, you disobeyed my direct orders. NO ONE disobeys ME! At least get this into your head before you die. Hahahaha!”

While laughing maniacally, Noah crushed Julio’s heart in front of his eyes. He crushed it with such strength that blood and pieces of flesh flew everywhere, coating a part of his face with blood.

Noah released his grip on Julio’s head, and Julio fell onto the ground. He bled uncontrollably from the hole in his chest and soon died with a terrified look on his face.

Not caring about Julio, Noah glanced at the guards who were vomiting at the gruesome sight. He questioned them sarcastically, “What? Never seen such a sight before?”

One of the guards shakily spoke, “Noah, why are you doing this? Even if he was making you uncomfortable, there was no need to go that far! What would your mother think of your actions!?”

After being confused by the guard’s words, Noah clapped his hands in realization and spoke, “Ah! You must be the family friend of the Sallow family! I heard that you went out of your way to make my accommodation comfortable. I thank you for that! But...”

Chuckling darkly, Noah continued, “I feel sorry for you. You have the tough task of breaking the bad news to the Sallow family that Noah’s already dead.”

As the guard looked confused, Noah laughed sinisterly and pulled at his own hair. The entire surface of his face came free, and he removed it. A striking elf with entirely different facial features, green hair, and red pupils came into view. Looking at the detached face, he chuckled and tossed it at the guard’s face. It slapped the guard’s face and fell onto the ground. He continued, “I’m not Noah Sallow. I’m Lord Anwir. Noah’s already dead.”

Whistling nonchalantly, Anwir continued, “It was quite a hassle skinning his face. So, if you find his corpse, make sure to dress it up with the face I just gave you before presenting it to the Sallow family!” As if realizing something, he added mockingly, “Oh! That’s right. You all are going to die here today. So, what’s the use of advising you! Hahahaha!”

Hearing Anwir’s mocking laughter, the guard was enraged beyond belief and began to scream hysterically. He couldn’t move his body and could only scream to let out his rage.

Seemingly annoyed by his scream, Anwir muttered under his breath, “What an annoying fellow!” and waved his right hand at him.

Instantly, the guard was reduced to a mist of blood, and his scream stopped abruptly. The sudden stop of the guard’s scream raised everyone’s hairs as they felt chill to the bones.

Casting a glance at the others, Anwir introduced himself, “How impolite of myself! I haven’t introduced myself yet! Hello everyone, I am Lord Anwir, one of the few Archdukes of the Eye of Eclipse. I know you may not understand what importance I hold. So, I’ll take some of my precious time to make you guys understand it! We consider our guild as an Empire! So, every member initiated into our Empire will be termed as a ‘Commoner.’ We promote the members of our Empire according to their achievements and give them titles from the Ranks of Nobility to distinguish their importance to the Empire! I am one of the only four elves conferred the rank of ‘Archduke’ in the Eye of Eclipse! My title is the ‘Archduke of Death.’”

Anwir continued in a complete frenzy, “Do you understand how important I am to the Eye of Eclipse? I can bring any woman I fancy onto my bed! I possess riches beyond your wildest dreams! What more does anyone want from their lives?”

With a crafty look in his eyes, Anwir continued, looking straight at every single elf within the barrier, “What do you say? Will you switch sides and come work for the Eye of Eclipse? If you show results, you’ll be rewarded graciously! Do you desire riches? Do you desire women? Do you desire men? If you contribute enough and rise in ranks, you can possess any material thing present under the expanse sky! You can live lavishly like a King! Now, decide. Will you defect to our Empire and enjoy your life to the fullest?” Pausing for a second, he continued with a menacing look, “Or will you stubbornly cling to a foolish cause and die like dogs!? It’s your choice.”

Nobody uttered a word for a long moment. After a while, Celes snapped angrily, “F**k you and your damn GUILD. You guys are nothing but a bunch of malevolent predators who prey on the weak. You guys have no land; you don’t rule over any subjects, and yet you consider yourselves an Empire? Hah! Don’t make me laugh! You guys are nothing but arrogant little pricks with a massive superiority complex! You all performed such multitudes of evil things that you were cursed by the World Tree itself! Hah! I’ll open your eyes. You are nothing but a cluster of cancer, roaming this world, corrupting and ruining it!”

Anwir’s face blackened quickly, and he questioned the rest of the elves, “Do you all think the same? Speak up if you don't!”

Even after a while, no one spoke, silently agreeing with Celes. This angered Anwir greatly as he laughed crazily, “Hahahaha! Here I am extending an olive branch, but you ungrateful fucks not only pissed on it but even dared to tell me to stick it up my ass!? You are all dead!”

Casting a glance at Celes, Anwir growled angrily, “And you’ll be the first to die!” and waved his hand in her direction. But miraculously, nothing happened.

Anwir was caught off guard, and he waved his hand again. All the elves trapped within the barrier took this opportunity when he was caught off guard to cast their most powerful Spells towards him.

Waves of Fire, storms of Lightning, enormous Boulders, numerous blades of Wind, and various spears of Water flew towards Anwir one after another.

Anwir was instantly engulfed in a wide array of Spells, and the elves quickly moved towards each other and kept their guard up.

After a few seconds, the Spells vanished, and Anwir came into view. Though he was slightly disheveled, he was basically unharmed by their surprise onslaught of Spells. All the elves' hearts fell as they witnessed this.

Stretching both of his arms as if he had just awakened from a slumber, Anwir spoke with noticeable surprise in his voice, “How the hell are you all able to move?”

Noticing the shattered pieces of a heavily adorned mirror, Anwir realized something and continued, “Ah! Now I understand. Someone tried to use the ‘Interference Mirror’ to nullify the effects of my Artifact.” Laughing lightly, he continued, “Unfortunately for that certain someone, the quality of their Artifact wasn’t very high, and it only managed to nullify the paralyzing and attacking effects of my Artifact before shattering into pieces. I’ll gladly reveal that you all are still trapped within the barrier and cannot escape. Hahahaha!”

Aldon’s face fell as he realized that Anwir was telling the truth. It was he, who had realized, the life-threatening danger that they were in and used one of the Artifacts that Haldir had given him, the heavily adorned mirror called the ‘Interference Mirror.’ By activating the ‘Interference Mirror’, one could nullify any Artifact that held the user captive. Unfortunately, the one that Haldir had given Aldon was of medium quality. Though it was more than enough to deal with any usual, run-of-the-mill Confinement Artifact[1], it couldn’t deal with the unique Confinement Artifact used by Anwir.

Anwir laughed mockingly as he spoke, “Did you guys think that you could escape from me even if you broke through my Confinement Artifact? Don’t make me laugh! I’m more than capable of handling you all at once.” Glancing at the sky, he continued, “Now, let’s get this over with, shall we? It’s already time for breakfast, and I haven’t eaten anything!”

After finishing his sentence, Anwir swiftly arrived in front of Celes and threw a punch.

***(Footnote)***

[1] Confinement Artifact: A type of Magic Artifact that is specifically designed to capture and confine any target(s).