Arthur and his companions climbed the ladder and arrived at a decrepit and dark room, one which has clearly been abandoned for years.

Not a second too soon, vines crept from the ground and showed a well-dressed dark-haired boy.

Halric, albeit surprised, didn’t attack them. First, he glanced at Emil Red then inspected the newcomers.

He recognized Arthur and Evelyn, but the rest were unfamiliar.

‘He must be Halric, the Alchemist Kirn told me about.’

Arthur had not forgotten the deal he had made with the Viscount, but considering current circumstances, it was wise not to antagonise Halric.

Viscount Kirn told Arthur that Halric had complete control over the city and that, within it, nothing escaped his notice.

“O-oh…”

Christopher let out a gasp as his eyes focused on the game-like window above the boy. He was able to see Halric’s Level.

Rather than being angry, Halric smiled at the unexpected visitors,

“Hello there.”

Excluding Emil, all the rest looked wary of the boy that appeared from the ground. Evelyn’s blades were already in her hands, but she didn’t attack yet.

“He’s Lv175. That’s higher than the Devil Doctor!”

Chris whispered in English so that even if Halric could hear him, he wouldn’t understand.

“Greetings.”

‘Leonis’ took two steps forward and politely reciprocated the alchemist’s greeting.

“You are back, Parasite. With new and old faces.”

“The Duke is still here, isn’t he?”

Emil was nervously tapping his foot on the ground as he asked.

“He is.”

“It’s not like I changed my mind, okay? I’d rather be here than down there.”

Confused, Halric frowned but didn’t offer a response to Emil’s excuse.

He turned around and gestured for them to follow

“Since you are here, let us talk in a more suitable environment. I believe you are no stranger to what is happening… or going to happen.”

“Master.”

“It’s fine. We already expected this.”

Evelyn solemnly nodded and sheathed her weapons.

“I’m starting to think there are no normal people in this world.” Mumbled Isabella as she looked at Halric.

…

The group was led upstairs, to the interior of the Duke’s palace.

It seemed that Terden Sidus was informed of the guests, and when he arrived, he was clad in crimson armor and looking not the least bit happy.

He was ready for a fight as he glared at Arthur.

“I warned you not to come back!”

Before the situation could escalate, vines twisted around Terden’s feet, immobilising him.

With an innocent smile on his face, Halric pointed at an adjacent room and said,

“Would you mind waiting for us there? We shall be back anon.”

Naturally, none of them objected.

…

“Listen to me, Terden.”

Flames erupted from the Duke’s hands, incinerating the vines. However, he didn’t rush after Arthur and the rest.

Furious as he was, he still stood there and impatiently listened to Halric.

“They came from the old tunnels. I don’t know what it was, but I sensed a dangerous entity there. It is likely that they were running from it.”

“...”

“I know what you’re thinking. But, let’s not rush things, okay? I get it, you don’t like the Parasite, but you can’t deny that he could be useful to us. Parasites shine in battlefields.”

“I will not trust damned fiends!”

“I’m not asking you to. Let me talk to them and gauge the situation. Having more people here, especially powerful ones, could help us immensely. Please.”

The Duke gritted his teeth and after a brief silence, he snorted.

“Maybe this was the help we were praying for. A chance to save Blackcrest.”

…

Halric and the Duke of Blackcrest appeared after a couple of minutes. The former was as polite as ever whereas the latter was in a sour mood, glaring daggers at Arthur. Nevertheless, he did sit down across the group, crossing his arms and taking deep breaths to control himself.

“Pardon his initial outburst. Ahem… could you tell us why you came here?”

Arthur took the lead, recounting their misadventures in the tunnels while omitting all details about the Devil Doctor and the Hashashin. He just said that they delved into ancient ruins and activated defensive mechanisms which forced them to escape.

It was a believable tale considering that the South-East of the Desert was known to have many underground ruins.

Of course, neither Halric nor Terden actually believed every word that came out of the parasite’s mouth, but they didn’t interrupt him.

“So you met up with Emil and he guided you here. I see.”

Halric nodded his head, his unshakable bright smile becoming more disturbing than friendly.

“I will begin by explaining our situation. Three of the Ten Seats, along with their armies, have come to assault Blackcrest and raze it to the ground. Moreover, the Blight Demon will also come.”

“That is very straightforward.”-Arthur

“There is no need to sugarcoat it. I’m sure you’ve noticed that, aside from us, there is no one in the castle or the city. We do have one more ally, but she’s currently preoccupied.”

Halric paused for a brief second and swept his eyes across the six of them,

“If you are thinking of leaving, I’m afraid it is literally impossible. I have barricaded the entire city with Magic, making any teleportation Magic obsolete. Of course, you can exit the city proper then teleport, but you’ll have to deal with the army outside. After all, we are currently surrounded.”

“And you’re going to fight all of them? Just you two?”-Chris

“We have made sufficient preparations.”-Halric

“You said they wanted to destroy the city, not take control of it. What type of preparation is even capable of stopping them?”-Arthur

“For now, I cannot say anything more. However, I do have a proposition for you all.”

“If you haven’t caught up, he’s going to ask for your help.”

Halric shot a glare to Emil, who shrugged and looked away while whistling.

“A Parasite will be a great boon to us. I know this is too much to ask, but I will ask it nonetheless: Will you please help us?”

“Halric, you’re begging? To this abomination?!”

Halric ignored the Duke and bowed his head toward Arthur.

Seconds passed but he heard only silence as an answer.

“You do realize you’re asking me to risk my life to fight an army and potentially a Demon, right? There is nothing to gain from this.”

“There actually is.” Retorted Halric, “A Parasite stands to gain by possessing hundreds of corpses. There will be plenty during the fight. In addition to that, the Duke and I will forever be in your debt. If you want anything else, we are willing to unconditionally comply!”

“I will not be-”

“Terden!”

The Duke closed his mouth, his face turning red as he clenched his fists.

“I am an Alchemist and I do not lack rare herbs or materials. My knowledge and resources will be at your disposal, before and after the fight.”

“Here is what I don’t get: Why stay here and fight?”

Halric, looking a bit hesitant, gave an honest answer,

“For want of a better word, I am connected to this city. Its fall results in my death.”

Arthur then looked at the Duke, but he merely let out a grunt and chose not to explain himself.

“I know this looks like a losing fight, but I promise you that it isn’t. You will not have to fight an entire army by yourselves.”

Arthur, brow creased, didn’t shy away from inquiring further,

“Why is a Demon coming?”

“For me. If He devours me, he will grow strong enough to fully manifest during the next Third Red Moon. As for the armies, they are here to destroy the city along with the Demon’s remnant magic, which is… a blight.”

“The System says he’s a Replicant, Arthur.”-Chris

‘Weird. I can’t see anything out of place even with [Magick Sense].’

From Arthur’s point of view, Halric was an average human. He had a bit of Mana flowing within his body, but nothing too dramatic.

It seemed that Chris’ appraisal skill bypassed all sorts of illusions and enchantments. Quite useful in situations like these.

“I will need to discuss this with my friends.”

“Certainly. The castle and its rooms are at your disposal. Rest well.”

Halric didn’t linger there more than necessary. He soon left along with the grumpy Terden.

“Can you also go? We’re going to have a team meeting.”

“What? How can you not include this handsome face in your team?”

“...”

Arthur expressionlessly stared back at the over-dramatic Painter.

“Whatever. I guess I’ll go wander around… by myself.”

Emil dismissively waved his hand and slowly walked away.

Charles stayed for the team meeting. He had been traveling with them for a short while and had become part of the group.