Returning to the Castle of Soul was like returning from a graveyard, carrying a grave.

The weight of losing Wu Ze and carrying her sword was a burden Leon had not yet fully adapted to.

The air around the castle was as dark as the night, but the skies outside were as clear as a sunny day.

"Why do I have this strange feeling?" Leon asked as he felt a sharp pain lance through his chest just as he placed his right leg on the pavement of the castle. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

When Leon moved from the morning sun and moved to the front of the castle, the golden armor, which had blackened after leaving the Heart of Tartarus, increased its grip on Leon’s skin.

The walls were chilled, as if they had lost the humans that gave them warmth. After a two-minute walk into the castle, Leon saw no one.

"Where are Liu Yan and An Lang?" Leon asked in a furious voice as he whirled around in the upper chamber, where he knew they would be no matter what.

He asked again, and the only thing that answered him was the rustle of his own red cloth brushing his chest.

’The dining hall. Maybe An Lang would be there.’ Leon moved before his own thought could even finalize.

As soon as he reached there, the weight he was carrying deepened. No one was there, not even the metal-skinned rats that sometimes came for the leftover food.

The reflection of the molten sun seeped into the room through the small holes at the center of the ceiling and graced Leon.

"I don’t understand this." He said in a low voice, then sat down in one of the chairs.

He pulled out Wu Ze’s sword from his back and placed it carefully on the table, as if it had a life that needed to be protected.

The memory of Wu Ze getting torn into pieces and her head getting smashed by the Varkhaza’s teeth landed in Leon’s head like a blow.

He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes. When he cracked his eyes open, the ten-man rectangular table shattered as he slammed his right fist on top of it.

"Why couldn’t I save her. WHY?!" He screamed so loud that the ground beneath his boots began to shake.

Debris fell from the pointed ceiling and fell on him. As soon as the debris stopped, Leon saw a sheet hanging at the corner of the door leading to the exit hallway of the castle.

"What is that?" he asked while approaching it slowly.

The sheet was a folded white sheet that had the inscription written boldly on it. ’FOR CREATOR OF YRENDAL.’

When Leon picked it up and opened it, the first thing he saw was a black moon crest symbol, ☽◉☾.

"I have seen this somewhere." He focused on the symbol while trying to remember.

"Yes, the map on the scroll."

Leon pulled the scroll from his side. And there it was, the black moon crest, signifying the UmbraKhar territory. The horned being’s territory.

The remaining words written in ancient handwriting made Leon stumble two steps back.

One night. One choice. You have until dawn to save your friends... or collect their pieces by morning.

Choose wisely, Leon Storm.

Vaelith

Then Fallen Halo

☠

Leon’s skull trembled in his head for a minute as he tried to figure out who the message was from. But then, when his eyes fell on the name ’Vaelith’, his jaw tightened.

"AURELIAN!"

The name echoed so loudly that it made the Serakels, who were invisibly and silently following Leon, lose their invisibility.

"What is that?" Yoru asked in their Serakel’s clicking language.

"I think that is the human we’ve been following," Trag answered, tilting its head toward the mouth of the castle.

When the two Serakels saw the human exiting from the castle, they quickly dashed out of sight. But their snake tails left clear signs and a scent signature.

The air outside the castle was normal, but Leon felt it differently. In his lungs, the calm, chilled air turned into an unrelenting heat which reddened his bones.

As soon as he stepped back into the morning sun’s glow, Leon paused. Liu Yan’s smiles and An Lang’s friendly manners all flashed into his mind for a moment before being replaced by the image of Vaelith.

The black thirteen-foot feathered being whose arms were sharp metal. And above the head of the being were golden rings that rotated as the being’s grim grin appeared.

...

Twenty minutes after Leon had left the castle to the North of Tartarus, a triangular craft similar to the Triarch appeared.

From it, Kim and Eun-woo exited. They walked on opposite sides, scanning the surroundings of the castle.

"Did you find anything that showed they were here?" Kim asked, shouting from a distance.

Eun-woo continued, following the direction the Holographic Scene Reconstruction System was taking him.

The system beeped the moment Eun-woo stopped at the front of the castle. "Kim."

"Yes, what is it?"

"Come check something."

Kim stopped doing her search and rushed toward Eun-woo. As soon as she moved past the direct path that led to the north, her system picked up and recorded the movement of a human who had transformed from an E-rank to a B.

"Why did you call me?" Kim asked with a slightly angry face. She leaned in on Eun-woo before he could even respond.

"I think they came here." Eun-woo stretched the machine toward the front of the castle’s door, which was open.

When Kim tried to use her own, her eyes fell on the image her system had captured.

"Eun-woo," the name escaped her as her body began to tremble.

"Why are you shaking suddenly?" Eun-woo asked, but Kim remained shocked.

"Let me see." Eun-woo took the device from Kim and then focused on the words and the image on the screen.

For two seconds, Eun-woo’s mouth was left open, while his eyes silently read the words.

"LEON STORM. GRADE B? THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE."

The scream from Eun-woo brought Kim back from her shock. "We have to report this to Seo-jun before we continue the search."

"Why is this person even human?" Kim asked, feeling a bit dissatisfied by Eun-woo’s sudden amazement.

"Don’t you remember this kid?" Eun-woo zoomed in on the system.

With just a single look, Kim rushed into the craft.

...

Inside the craft, Seo-jun sat at the controls, reading the details of each person of the madhouse squad.

When he flipped it to Leon’s page, Kim entered, gasping for air.

"Kim, what’s the matter? Where is Eun-woo?" Seo-jun stood up and drew his katanas.

"It’s," Kim tried to speak, but the words dissolved in her throat.

"Tell me now, or we’re getting out of here in the next second." Seo-jun spoke in a voice that carried the dread of a man who had heard too many stories about Tartarus and believed every one of them.

When Kim’s eyes fell on the holographic image of Leon rotating slowly on Seo-jun’s wrist, she pointed. "Him."

"What has this E-rank done?" Seo-jun said in a low voice, almost pitiful. "I don’t know what he has done, but I knew he would be the first to get eliminated from this land. Now, tell me."

"He’s not an E-rank anymore," Kim said, locking eyes with Seo-jun. "He’s a B-rank now."

Seo-jun stood there lost in his thoughts as his grip on the swords increased while he rapidly recalculates everything he thought he knew about Leon.

At the corner of the craft, Demon lifted his head like a man who had never been asleep at all. His eyes drifted to the wrist display, to Leon’s face specifically and stayed there for more than he was supposed to.

When he looked away, a faint smile tore on his face while his mind exploded with a devilish joy.