Once they had put enough distance between themselves and the others, Jackson descended into one of the distant streets of Old Ashvarn while carrying both Ethan and Luna.

The place was empty—

As desolate and haunting as every other corner of the dark city.

Taking advantage of the absence of monsters, Luna quietly entered meditation, focusing entirely on pushing her blessing to its utmost limit.

As a result, her body began glowing with a beautiful starlike blue radiance that genuinely captivated Jackson’s gaze.

The giant remained nearby in silence, watching her while staying fully alert in case any threat appeared.

He never interrupted her.

Instead, he allowed her to meditate for as long as she wished.

After all, she was one of the main reasons he had decided to help in the first place after witnessing what she was capable of.

Luna only meditated for a few minutes.

She understood better than anyone how dangerous it was to remain in one location for too long.

Before long, the blue light surrounding her faded away, and she returned to normal once more.

Even though she had meditated for only a short while, her complexion looked noticeably livelier compared to the exhausted state she had been in earlier.

"What do we do now? Return to the rooftops?"

Luna turned toward Jackson.

The giant spent several seconds scanning their surroundings before finally answering.

"For now, we’ll move on foot and see what we find."

"If necessary, we can think about escaping again afterward."

Jackson preferred moving through the streets for the time being—

A decision Luna welcomed wholeheartedly instead of clinging onto him while he leapt across buildings.

Meanwhile, Ethan remained silent with his eyes closed, not uttering a single word.

"Is he asleep?"

Luna asked curiously after noticing how motionless he was.

Jackson shook his head.

"No. He’s awake."

"He’s half-asleep, resting his mind while keeping part of his awareness alert in case danger approaches."

"The fact that he developed a habit like that proves death has stalked him every single day for a very long time."

Jackson openly admired Ethan for learning such a skill despite spending barely over a month within the walls of the city.

"I’m not surprised he learned something like that."

"He’s the strangest hunter I’ve ever seen in my life."

Luna said while walking beside Jackson through the abandoned streets and ancient buildings.

"He truly is exceptional."

"I’ve never seen someone both blessed and cursed to such an extent."

The giant smiled before turning his head toward Luna again.

"But you’re just as abnormal as he is."

"Advanced-Rank mages shouldn’t be capable of casting magic like that."

He was referring to the High-Tier spell she had used earlier—

The Wheel of Crimson Flames that annihilated the majority of the monsters.

A spell that should have been impossible for her to cast.

Not only did it require mana reserves far beyond what an Advanced-Rank mage should possess, but it also demanded an extremely deep understanding of fire magic and a powerful connection to fire spirits.

And yet Luna had achieved it regardless.

"The credit belongs to my blessing."

"Without it, none of that would’ve been possible."

"Yes... it truly is an incredible blessing."

"And the person who taught you must be just as incredible."

Jackson praised her sincerely before his eyes gleamed slightly.

"But I’m a little curious about your current level, young mage Luna."

Hearing that, Luna slowed her steps for a moment before continuing forward at the same pace.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Don’t play dumb."

"You slaughtered hundreds of monsters with your magic back there. That means you obtained an enormous amount of souls."

"They may be useless to people like me since my level requirements are absurdly high..."

"But for an Advanced-Rank mage, you should’ve been able to break into the next rank immediately."

Jackson’s words pointed toward something extremely important.

And he was absolutely right.

Luna had killed hundreds of monsters using High-Tier magic.

And many more before that while the hunters were trapped.

To surpass the Advanced Rank and reach the Elite Rank, a Heart needed to raise their level beyond forty.

Luna was somewhere in the thirties currently due to being an Advanced-Rank mage.

Meaning that if she reached Elite Rank—

She would become one of the youngest hunters in history to ever do so.

At present, the only Elite hunter was Gustav, who was already over thirty years old.

But Luna had not advanced.

Jackson would have sensed it immediately if she had crossed into the next rank.

And her refusal to level up sparked his curiosity—

Curiosity Luna had absolutely no interest in satisfying.

"Whether I raise my level or not is my business alone."

"Focus on your own affairs, please."

Seeing her frown and refusal to answer, Jackson’s smile widened as he bent down slightly toward her.

"As you wish, little mage."

The giant spoke casually without any hidden intentions behind his words.

Unfortunately for him, the result was immediate.

Luna moved several additional meters farther away from him, visible disgust written all over her face.

At that moment, a dry laugh came from behind Jackson’s back.

"You probably shouldn’t have said something like that..."

"She hates men."

Ethan spoke while slowly opening his eyes, exhaustion still apparent all over him.

"You only made things worse. She probably won’t even let you carry her anymore."

Jackson slightly turned his head toward Ethan after hearing him speak before looking ahead once more.

"The fact you can still talk like this means you’ll recover soon."

The giant openly praised Ethan’s endurance and mental fortitude.

"I may look frail..."

"But my body isn’t normal either."

"Just like yours."

"I’d like to test how true those words are once you recover."

The two continued speaking while Jackson’s eyes constantly scanned the streets around them for any approaching danger.

Seeing how serious the giant had become, Ethan laughed louder before whispering beside his ear.

"I see your attitude has changed."

"Have you finally started believing we might actually succeed?"

It was a crucial question.

After all, most of the madness Ethan had thrown himself into earlier had been for one purpose alone—

To make Jackson help them with his full strength from now onward instead of holding back like before.

If the giant had unleashed his Aura Armor, he could have wiped out those hordes of monsters in record time.

In response to Ethan’s question, the giant took several seconds before answering.

And the answer was far from simple.

"If you want the truth, boy... I still believe you’ll fail."

"You have no idea what horrors await you inside the old cathedral."

Jackson spoke seriously, one of the rare moments where not even the faintest trace of his usual smile remained on his face.

"But from this point onward, I’ll help you with everything I have."

"What you showed me is enough for me to grant you at least that much."

Jackson had decided to help not because he believed in their chances of success—

But because he acknowledged Ethan and his companions’ capabilities.

A hunter both blessed and cursed with one of the most terrifying curses imaginable.

A deadly mage capable of casting spells beyond her level.

And a girl wielding Phoenix Flames pure enough to resurrect her even from death.

Not to mention the many other talented individuals among them.

Even in Jackson’s eyes—a man who had reached the King Rank long ago—they were an exceptionally impressive group.

And he himself had never managed to surpass that rank because the only monsters capable of granting him enough souls for another breakthrough...

All resided inside the old cathedral.

Where the Golden Dawn Knight awaited.

"That’s more than enough for me."

"I need your strength, not your faith."

Ethan replied, satisfied with what he had heard.

"We’ll begin the plan once the curse is sealed."

The moment he added that, Luna joined the conversation again.

"What plan?" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

She asked, causing both Ethan and Jackson to fall silent briefly as they stared at one another.

The two had been speaking quietly.

Luna had even walked some distance away from them—

Yet she had still heard every word clearly.

In the end, Ethan decided to tell her everything.

Her presence would be necessary regardless.

So he spent the next fifteen minutes explaining the entire plan to her—

The fires.

The signal.

And bringing the higher-ups from outside into Ashvarn.

"Using the curse to lure the monsters together, killing them all, then cleansing the zones so Bonfires can be established in each area..."

Luna pondered the details of the plan for a moment, silently evaluating its chances of success and failure.

"It’s an extremely dangerous plan."

"And even if we manage to deliver the message, it’ll all be meaningless if anyone enters besides Grandfather."

She pointed out something extremely important.

"You said that Golden Knight is at least at the High King Rank, didn’t you?"

"In that case, unless Grandfather himself fights him... everything will fail."

Ethan nodded in agreement.

"You’re right."

"But we have no choice except trusting that old man Asterion will understand the message and enter personally."

While listening to the conversation, Jackson’s curiosity deepened.

"This Asterion Heart..."

"Is he truly that powerful?"

"The confidence you two place in him isn’t normal."

Jackson noticed that Ethan and Luna were speaking as if the battle would immediately be decided the moment the Uncrowned Emperor joined the fight—

Despite knowing absolutely nothing about what the Golden Dawn Knight was capable of.

To him, they sounded like they were exaggerating.

But Ethan didn’t see it that way at all.

"Trust me, Jackson."

"As long as the enemy hasn’t reached Emperor Rank yet..."

"Old man Asterion will not lose to any High King in this world."

Jackson remained silent after hearing that.

The doubt in his eyes was obvious.

But there was no way to erase such doubt except by witnessing Asterion Heart fight with his own eyes—

Something impossible for now.

As for Luna—

Her gaze toward Ethan subtly changed after hearing those final words.

He had spoken as though he had personally watched Asterion Heart on the battlefield before.

Yet that was impossible.

The Uncrowned Emperor had withdrawn from hunting and combat many years ago.

What she didn’t know...

Was that Ethan’s certainty came from experience.

Long experience.

He had fought Asterion thousands of times back when he played the game in the past.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that no one in the world of Ordeal understood how terrifying Asterion Heart truly was—

More than Ethan himself.

Fortunately...

That monster was still their ally.

For now.