In the northeastern streets of the kingdom, underground organizations detonated bombs and incited riots.
A massive disturbance that even engulfed the mercenary guild located at the heart of the street.
The news, which could not be hidden, was immediately transmitted directly to the king of the Shardena Kingdom, Arad Ring Shardena.
“What…?! Immediately deploy battalion-level forces!!”
Naturally, upon hearing the news, King Arad gave the order to deploy battalion-level forces from within the kingdom without any hesitation.
He also deployed remaining forces to other streets in case the riot in the northeastern street was a bait for something bigger.
Thus, battalion-level soldiers, who had been resting except for those guarding the palace, were selected and dispatched, and even some members of the Shardena Knights were sent in.
Although it was an excessive force for calming down a single street, Arad wanted to suppress the disturbance as quickly as possible, even if it meant using such forces.
As a result, it took about 10 minutes for all the soldiers and knights to deploy.
While making the fastest judgment, Arad couldn’t help but worry about the 10 minutes it took.
“Please, goddess… protect the citizens of our kingdom…”
He was anxious about whether there had been significant damage to the citizens during those 10 minutes, or if the underground organizations had already finished their work and escaped.
Naturally, Arad was filled with worry, and after the forces had left, he nervously gulped down water, trying to calm himself.
However, contrary to his concerns, not even 3 minutes had passed since the forces left when a new report reached the king’s office.
It was a completely unexpected report.
“What’s this? What do you mean…? Report properly!”
“Uh?”
Receiving the communication through a ringing crystal ball, the assistant, who was listening to the commander of the forces, raised his voice.
Naturally, King Arad, who had been anxiously waiting, turned his gaze to him at the raised voice.
“What…? Is that really true? How in the world…?”
The assistant continued to express doubts as if he couldn’t understand the report, but eventually, after about ten more seconds of report, the assistant, who seemed to have received all the information, turn his head toward Arad.
“Your Majesty…”
“Yes, speak now! What on earth is going on?”
What could have happened for him to show such a reaction to the report?
Arad urged the assistant to speak, and the assistant, still looking bewildered, answered Arad’s question.
“Apparently… everything has been resolved.”
“What? What do you mean by that? Who in the world resolved the riot?”
It had only been 13 minutes since the bombs exploded and the riot began.
Who could have resolved the situation in just 13 minutes?
From the previous report, it was stated that at least dozens of underground organization members, using explosives, might have had a difficult time suppressing the riot, so how could the situation be resolved in just 13 minutes?
“Did the mercenary guild step in?”
“No, it wasn’t the mercenary guild. When they went out, the situation had already been resolved.”
“Then who…?”
“Umm… If I understand correctly, it was Sir Kael and Lady Ruina… who resolved the situation.”
A response that left him speechless for a moment.
The name that suddenly came up, one that he hadn’t expected to hear, made Arad unconsciously ask the assistant again.
“Who? Did I hear that right?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, it was Sir Kael and Lady Ruina.”
“…Why are they in the kingdom?”
“I heard they returned to the kingdom this morning with Knight General Zenre for some official business.”
It was truly a coincidence that seemed like a divine intervention.
To summarize the situation: Sir Kael and Lady Ruina entered the kingdom this morning, and on the very day, the underground organizations caused the disturbance.
By coincidence, their presence helped resolve the situation so easily.
It was as if the goddess had granted his wish, and Arad exhaled the breath he had been holding, placing his hand on the table.
“Ah… What incredible luck. Truly incredible luck.”
It was a situation where the phrase “incredible luck” was more than fitting.
According to further reports, there were dozens of casualties, but thanks to Ruina quickly managing the situation, the damage, which could have been in the hundreds, was dramatically reduced.
Additionally, Kael seemed to have captured two key individuals closely related to the incident and handed them over to the soldiers.
Hearing this report, Arad smiled warmly, still vividly picturing Kael and Ruina in his mind.
“I should congratulate them for this and finally see their faces after so long.”
“I will inform Sir Kael and Lady Ruina about the audience time right away.”
The assistant bowed, ready to deliver the message immediately.
Arad nodded and then remembered something. He added a question.
“By the way, didn’t they have a child?”
“Yes, I believe they adopted a daughter. Her name is probably… Elia.”
“I should also meet their daughter. Honestly, I wanted to see her at their wedding, but they secretly got married, so…”
“I will make sure to inform them about that as well.”
The assistant bowed once more in response to Arad’s words.
After the assistant left to relay the message via communication crystal, Arad began to feel a rare sense of anticipation, imagining meeting Kael and Ruina and their child after such a long time.
“It’s been 8 years… I’ll finally be able to catch up.”
A long-awaited reunion with Kael after 8 years.
Arad returned to his place, looking forward to meeting Kael again after a long time, to whom he had owed a great deal over the years.
He needed to prepare a reward for them, whom he would meet soon.
The city known as the gateway to the underworld, Rahman.
Once part of the noble territory, it became a lawless city after an uprising—one that occurred even before the infamous War of Beasts and Demons.
The noble who ruled Rahman was assassinated, and his body was scattered across the city.
With this, countless criminals from all over the continent began gathering in Rahman, and it was at this point that the so-called “underworld” was first born.
A place where criminals with incomparable malice gathered—the underworld.
As if all the world’s evil had converged there, unspeakable atrocities took place within the city of Rahman.
And the sheer power of the criminals who had gathered there—beasts unworthy of being called humans—was formidable enough that Rahman became a city no one dared to touch.
A foolish attempt to interfere would mean being swallowed by the malice, leaving not even a corpse behind, only a tormented soul.
As a result, even today, Rahman remains a chilling gateway to the underworld, where a single misstep could lead to a blade at one’s throat.
In one of the countless underground spaces of that city, a man lifted his head.
—Swoosh.
“Ah, what a mess.”
A man with navy blue hair and deep indigo eyes—undeniably handsome—lifted his head and let out a sigh.
Hearing his voice, a woman who had been handling business in the underground space approached him.
“What is it, Leader?”
The man was none other than the leader and strategist of the villainous organization “Worst,” which was destined to grow uncontrollably in the future.
His name was Chain Iriar.
Looking at the woman who had approached him—Naila, an executive of Worst—he spoke in a low voice.
“It looks like Benjamin and Sherda have been taken down. Their mana has been sealed. It seems our plans in the kingdom have failed.”
It was supposed to be an important operation, requiring utmost caution.
Yet, why had it failed?
His face remained calm, but the unmistakable cold fury surfaced in his expressionless gaze.
Sensing his demeanor, Naila swallowed dryly.
At that moment, her communication crystal rang, and she quickly lowered her head to check it.
“Ah, a report has just come in regarding what the leader mentioned. It seems that before they were killed by the knights chasing them, they managed to send a final message.”
“Is that so? Fortunately, one of our planted watchers managed to send information. Read it out.”
“Yes, according to the report…”
Naila skimmed over the desperate screams and pleas for help at the beginning of the report and proceeded to read the main contents.
“The riot was successfully initiated, but two minutes after it started, Kael and Ruina intervened…? The members were slaughtered by Ruina in three minutes, and Benjamin and Sherda had their legs severed by Kael before being taken into custody by the knights… Huh?”
As she continued reading, Naila’s composed voice gradually turned into one of confusion.
The contents were simply too difficult to comprehend.
Chain, listening to her report, felt the same way—though to a lesser degree.
“…Why are the names of war heroes suddenly appearing here? I can’t make sense of this.”
Sigh…
“Leader, what should we do…?”
They had no way of knowing why those two names had suddenly emerged in this riot.
There was no reasonable explanation, so the only possible conclusion was sheer coincidence.
If that were the case, then Chain could only consider himself extremely unlucky this time.
He answered Naila.
“We were originally going to rescue Benjamin and Sherda… but at this point, there’s nothing we can do. We have to abandon them.”
“W-What? But they have the demon regeneration factor…!”
At Naila’s protest, Chain’s gaze turned to her.
A gaze colder than ice.
A look that brooked no argument.
Understanding that, Naila quickly shut her mouth and bowed deeply.
“I-I’m sorry, Leader. I spoke out of turn…”
“…The demon regeneration factor implanted in them was just a prototype.
Besides, without my research data, even if the kingdom discovers it, they won’t be able to learn much more.
And more importantly…”
Chain paused, lost in thought.
To be precise, he was recalling a man he had seen during the War of Beasts and Demons.
A man who seemed to embody the concept of a protagonist, who knew no defeat, cutting down countless demons.
“As long as Kael is in the kingdom, even the slightest mistake could mean the downfall of Worst. No matter how much of a waste it is… sometimes, you have to sacrifice an arm to save your head.”
We cannot afford to lose our own necks.
With that final remark, Chain turned his attention back to the newspaper he had been reading.
Or more precisely, to the revised plans for the future.
“This is going to get interesting…”
A challenge against a towering wall that seemed impossible to overcome.
Anticipation for the road ahead curled Chain’s lips into a smile.
“I may end up seeing him sooner than I expected.”