"This place isn’t safe."

Old Bear pointed to the spot he had just marked on the map.

"According to the information I just got, the royal knights have already sealed off this waterway. Going there now would be no different from walking straight into a trap, so..."

His finger suddenly swung and stabbed toward a completely different direction.

"There are no royal knights here. This route is safe."

"..."

The room was dim, lit only by a few wavering candles.

In the shifting light and shadow, Dennis silently studied the map.

He was no professional, and he did not know all the twisting paths of Belrand’s Lower District that well, but he could still roughly read a map. The place Old Bear was now indicating was still on a tributary of the Glein River overall, but compared with the first location, it was less "fairly close" and more "in completely the opposite direction."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I’m sure."

Old Bear gave a thumbs-up and said with complete seriousness, "I stake my character on it."

"Why suddenly move it this far away?" Dennis frowned.

"Is that so hard to understand? Obviously we’ve got to stay farther away from the royal knights. If you know they’ve already sealed off a place like that and you still go near it, wouldn’t that make you an idiot?" Old Bear said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"...That does make some sense." Dennis could not refute it.

"Come on, brother, you’ve got Serpent Head’s gold coin. Why would I mess with you? You should know it’s not like you can leave Belrand from just anywhere. All the main routes are guarded by officials. At the moment, there are only a handful of smuggling channels in the entire Lower District. It’s not like you’ve got the luxury of picking whichever one you want."

Old Bear folded his arms, leaned back into the sofa again, and said indifferently,

"Anyway, whether you go or not is up to you."

"..."

Dennis stared at Old Bear, his thoughts racing.

Everything this gang boss who controlled the smuggling routes had said so far was logically sound and convincing, but...

"Fine."

After thinking for a moment, Dennis still gave a slight nod.

"We’ll use this route."

No matter what, if he wanted to leave Belrand, he still had to rely on these smuggling channels.

...

...

That night, a thin mist drifted across the river, and with the night breeze came a chill that did not belong to this season.

A few distant lights reflected in the rippling water, vague and wavering, like the eyes of demons.

Dennis followed Old Bear and his men along the wasteland and grass by the riverbank, keeping low and moving with extreme caution.

Dennis deeply despised this kind of "low-grade" camouflage method, but in order not to arouse the gang’s suspicion, his current identity was merely that of a Divik who had committed some minor offense and was desperate to flee Belrand.

After passing through who knew how many thorny weed patches, Dennis finally caught sight of the "river port" Old Bear had mentioned, where their boat was docked.

To Dennis’s eyes, it was nothing more than a stretch of riverbank that curved inward. It was hidden only because thick vegetation covered it.

Still, it did count as a natural hiding place.

A boat was moored in the "river port," seeming to wait quietly for their arrival.

"Move!"

The moment Old Bear saw the boat, he perked up.

"Don’t waste time. Get on board."

At the order, his subordinates hurried toward the boat with the goods for this trip, moving with quick, practiced hands.

Dennis stayed beside them and likewise prepared to board.

But suddenly he stopped.

"What is it?" Old Bear turned back and urged impatiently, "Get on the boat. We’re short on time!"

"...Actually, I have a question," Dennis said abruptly.

"What question?"

"These goods you keep talking about... what exactly are they? Shouldn’t smuggled cargo be loaded ahead of time?" A sharp gleam flashed in Dennis’s eyes. "And in a place this important, why does it look like there’s nobody guarding it?"

"..."

Old Bear smiled. "Brother, what kind of nonsense are you spouting? I’m only doing this out of respect for Serpent Head—"

"The cargo you’re shipping... wouldn’t happen to be me, would it?" Dennis asked, staring at him word by word.

"..."

Old Bear’s expression shifted slightly, and then his face turned savage.

The vicious aura he had hidden until now burst out instantly.

But Dennis moved even faster.

The instant Old Bear tried to °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° act, Dennis flicked a few fingers, and Old Bear—together with all his men, who had not even had time to react—collapsed unconscious.

The gap in strength between the two sides was enormous.

Though Old Bear indeed held a considerable position in Belrand’s darkness and controlled several smuggling routes, in Dennis’s eyes he was ultimately nothing more than a mere third-tier warrior. Subduing him was effortless.

After knocking them all out, Dennis concealed himself in the grass. Before long, around this river port that had originally seemed deserted, several shadows suddenly drifted out.

"Old Bear still isn’t here?"

"He’s probably on the way."

"Nothing’s gone wrong, has it? This prey is very important."

"Relax. Old Bear may not look very bright, but he’s rough on the outside and careful on the inside..."

"..."

The figures slipped back into the shadows. After they vanished, Dennis’s face had gone completely dark.

He kicked open the so-called "cargo" beside him and found that the crates contained nothing but broken stones, river sand, and some scraps of cloth that had obviously been stuffed in at the last minute.

Even the disguise had been thrown together in a hurry.

"So there really was something off."

Dennis took a deep breath. He could not understand why these gangsters, whom he had never had any prior dealings with, had suddenly targeted him and even treated him as prey. The connection left behind by the Salvation Society’s covert line should have been solid.

That Serpent Head was also a follower of the Salvation Society. Dennis had personally verified his loyalty—just for the chance to board the ark of world-cleansing, Serpent Head had personally killed his own sinful wife.

No matter how he thought about it, he still could not figure out where the problem had come from. Fortunately, Dennis was not the kind of person who fell for something this easily. He always kept a layer of caution in reserve.

"Details. Details are what matter most. But your details were handled far too badly."

Dennis nudged the unconscious Old Bear with the tip of his shoe and sneered with contempt.

If he had been the one doing it, then this entire operation to lure prey into the trap would not have contained a single flaw. Whether it was the cargo or this so-called new smuggling point, none of it would have looked this suspicious.

Sadly, this so-called man who was "rough outside, careful inside" was still lacking just a little.

"Looks like I can only rely on myself."

Dennis searched Old Bear’s chest and quickly found the map he had seen before.

He spread it out, first pinpointed his current location, and then his gaze soon landed on a place almost at the exact opposite end of the map—the lower reaches of the Glein River, the smuggling point Old Bear had originally shown him.

...

...

There was no wind here.

The river breeze carrying the chill had been completely blocked outside the rock layers. Standing in a narrow underground passage, Dennis once again had to admit that Belrand’s gangs really did have some skill.

His gaze stretched forward. Beneath an artificially hollowed-out rock cavern were docks, boats, even shops and inns... the entire riverside cliff had been carved out and turned into a smuggling base by these people.

Voices clamored everywhere. From the dock came shouts:

"Cast off, cast off! Last shipment of the night! Move it!"

"Cast—off!"

The rope fixing the boat in place was crudely hacked apart, and a small pitch-black vessel set off, rocking lightly.

At first glance it looked like an ordinary fishing boat, but its speed on the water was astonishing. Like a fish, it swiftly followed the winding narrow waterway into the distance.

"That’s the one."

A flash lit Dennis’s eyes, and his figure vanished from where he stood.

With strength enough to hold back even a Church saintess for a time, a place like this was far too easy for him. Without attracting anyone’s notice, he slipped into the hold.

Dennis hid himself in the lowest cargo compartment, casually opened a crate, and found it filled with expensive high-grade tea leaves.

"Tea smuggling? Someone’s got taste."

Dennis grabbed a handful of leaves, chewed them, then pushed the crate back into place so nothing would look suspicious from the outside.

Then he leaned against the wall of the hold, feeling the sway of the water outside and the fragrance of tea spreading between his lips and teeth, and finally let out a long breath of relief.

"This should be fine now."

Dennis tugged at his foul-smelling clothes and showed a cold smile.

Who said leaving Belrand required being escorted by these gangsters?

As long as he knew where the smuggling route was, then with his strength, slipping out would be simple.

"Now all I have to do is wait for this boat to leave Belrand. After that, no one will be able to stop me."

With that thought, Dennis gradually closed his eyes and began resting to recover his energy...

...

...

"Hm?"

Who knew how much time had passed before Dennis’s eyes snapped open, a trace of confusion on his face.

"Why has the boat stopped? Have we reached the destination already?"

The boat was still rocking, but the motion had weakened considerably, as if it had suddenly come to a halt on the river.

Given Belrand’s size, that speed should not have been possible...

With that doubt in mind, Dennis slowly spread out his senses, and the result made his whole body go cold.

There was not a single person on the entire boat!

To preserve his control over details, and also to avoid being detected in advance in case there was someone strong aboard, Dennis had not allowed his perception to fully envelop the whole vessel.

And precisely because of that, without his noticing, the entire ship had turned into a ghost ship under circumstances he had never expected.

"Damn it!"

Dennis’s senses stretched farther, and only then did he discover that several figures in the river a few hundred meters away were desperately swimming toward the shore.

They were the gangsters who had been transporting the cargo.

They had abandoned ship and fled.

So it was not a ghost ship.

But... why had they abandoned ship and fled?

This boat should not have encountered any accident. Dennis could clearly sense that it was now in the middle of the Glein River, and there was no danger anywhere nearby...

No danger nearby, so could it be...

Dennis’s pupils contracted sharply.

...

...

Boom!

A massive burst of fire lit up over the river like dawn arriving ahead of time, illuminating half the sky.

"Serves you right for trying to ambush me, bastard!"

Old Bear was hiding somewhere along the bank. Watching the fire flare up, he bared his teeth, rubbing his stomach and grinning in delighted vengeance.

"I told you this side was dangerous. Should’ve listened to Old Bear—ignore my advice and you’re bound to pay for it..."

After confirming that the boat had exploded exactly as planned, Old Bear shook his head and got to his feet, ready to go back and report.

Whoosh!

But suddenly, a violent gale swept in from the river, blasting apart all the vegetation in front of him. The water surged wildly, river water thrown skyward by the wind before crashing down like rain.

"You!"

Old Bear’s face filled with alarm, but before he could do anything, a large hand shot out of the spray and clamped around his throat.

"Why..."

Dennis emerged from the splashing water, savage-faced. His ragged cotton clothes, soaked through, clung to him like a garbage sack, making him look utterly wretched.

"Why are you doing this to me? I don’t think I’ve ever offended you people!"

He did not understand. He truly did not understand.

The earlier attempt to lure him had been one thing, but this time they had actually been willing to blow up an entire shipment of valuable smuggled goods just to deal with him!

Dennis was highly confident in how well he had concealed his movements all along the way. On top of that, he had detected no anomaly in advance while aboard the ship. That meant these people had already decided from the start to sacrifice that boat in the explosion.

One route or another, front or back—both had been dead ends!

"Ghk... ghk..."

Old Bear was far larger than Dennis, but Dennis held him by the throat as easily as if he were lifting a chicken. His face had turned red from lack of air, yet even in that state, a strange smile still spread across it.

"You... you’re finished."

"I’m finished?"

Dennis had never imagined that one day some rat from the underworld would say something like that to him.

"What do you mean?"

"Ghk... ghk... This was an order from the Rat King. He said..."

Old Bear’s eyes bulged. Clearly he was the one about to be strangled to death, yet it was as though he had already seen Dennis’s end. So he gave a rasping laugh.

"Our emperor... is looking for you."

His voice was hoarse, like an evil spirit.

Dennis was not frightened. He only frowned in confusion.

"...Emperor?"

Who?

That little girl from the Empire? But wasn’t she at the border?

Dennis had no way of knowing. He was not a true local of Belrand in the first place—otherwise he would not have needed the gang’s help to begin with. But he no longer had time to keep questioning.

In his senses, several terrifying presences were rapidly approaching from different directions, moving with perfect coordination to block every avenue of retreat.

The Royal Mage Corps!

The explosion just now had, in the end, drawn the people Dennis dreaded most.

"Damn royal lapdogs!"

Dennis flung Old Bear aside. Not daring to waste another moment, he blurred again and vanished from where he stood.

...

...

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

Some alley in the Lower District.

Dennis appeared again, but he no longer had any of the composure he had started with.

He slammed a fist into the wall and snarled,

"What the hell is wrong with these bastards?!"

Blood was running down from the hem of his clothes.

Even for him, getting caught in an explosion at that range was never going to leave him unscathed. On top of that, while escaping just now he had taken several attacks head-on from the royal mages. The injuries on his body were already extremely serious.

For the moment he had shaken off those royal lapdogs, but the problem was... they no longer seemed to be the only ones trying to catch him.

Wooo—

A shrill whistle echoed through the streets and alleys of the Lower District. Figures carrying torches darted through its darkest corners. These people knew the area better than anyone and would not miss a single hidden spot. Before Dennis realized it, the places where he could hide had already been compressed to almost nothing.

"Damn it! Forget the Royal Mage Corps—why are these people after me too?!"

He did not understand. Dennis truly could not make sense of it.

What was with these gangs? What was with this so-called emperor? 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Why was it that in the blink of an eye, it felt as though he had offended all of Belrand?

From top to bottom—from the lofty mage corps to the lowest street thugs—everyone wanted to catch him.

If he had not known that right now he looked exactly like some ugly vagrant, he would have thought they were all chasing some once-in-a-century beauty.

Twang—

An arrow came from nowhere and nailed itself into the ground beside him. The faint aura of magic flowing over it made Dennis curse again under his breath.

A magic repeating crossbow!

Were Belrand’s gangs really this advanced? They were even using military weapons like magic repeating crossbows.

What next? Don’t tell him they even had magical cannons—

Boom!

The wall suddenly exploded inward. The scorching blast singed Dennis’s skin as he rolled away, nearly cursing out every filthy word he knew.

A magical cannon!

They really did have one!

"I hit him!"

From a rooftop not far away, Old Bear—operating the magical cannon—shouted excitedly, "I hit him!"

"You son of a bitch!"

Dennis was furious beyond words. If he had known, then even if it meant taking a few more hits from the Royal Mage Corps, he should have crushed that bastard’s throat first.

But this time Dennis still did not choose to charge over. Instead, he immediately dissolved into shadow and slipped into the darkness.

A magical cannon by itself could not truly trouble him, but the deadly part was the commotion it caused. That kind of noise would absolutely draw the Royal Mage Corps and the Royal Knights.

Damn it, these people who ordinarily took maintaining Belrand’s order and light as their sacred duty had all gone blind tonight. There were gangsters and street thugs swarming the streets everywhere, and they were not arresting a single one of them—they were only trying to stab him to death!

"No. This can’t keep going."

After shaking off the pursuit once again, Dennis vaulted into a courtyard beside the street.

If this chase continued, then even if he was not captured, sooner or later he would be exhausted to death!

He had to find a way out!

"Good thing... details. My details are still as flawless as ever."

Dennis pulled a list from his coat. Looking left and right through the courtyard, he finally found the house number hanging on the iron gate.

"13 Nick Street... there it is!"

Dennis’s eyes lit up.

So what if there were gangs? So what if there were royal mages and knights? So what if there was that damned dark emperor?

No matter how many people they sent to hunt him down, there was still a place for him in this city!

The Salvation Society could never be uprooted completely!

Without any hesitation, Dennis climbed straight in through the window.

"Who’s there?!"

The house was very dark, but the owner—a matron in her fifties or sixties—seemed to have already been awakened by the noise outside. Holding a pair of scissors for self-defense, she stared nervously at Dennis as he climbed in.

"It’s me."

Dennis tore off the disguise from his face and revealed his true appearance.

"H-Holy Envoy?"

The old woman’s eyes widened in shock. "How are you here?"

"There’s been a small problem."

Dennis was breathing heavily and could not be bothered explaining anything to this lowest-grade piece of fodder.

"I need water, food, clean clothes. And if anyone searches this place, cover for me."

"Y-Yes!"

The old woman showed no doubt whatsoever toward the Holy Envoy’s orders. She set down the scissors and hurried off to prepare things.

Dennis pulled back the curtain slightly and looked outside. Figures moved to and fro under bright torchlight, but having lost the trail, they could only run around like headless flies. He could not help sneering.

"A bunch of idiots. Trying to catch me? You’re not good enough yet..."

"Holy Envoy."

The old woman moved quickly. It was not long before she returned carrying hot water and bread.

"Good."

Seeing how devotedly she served him, Dennis nodded with satisfaction.

"Some of your sins have been cleansed again."

"R-Really?" the old woman asked excitedly.

"I’m a Holy Envoy. Would I lie to you?"

Dennis took the water and bread without ceremony and began swallowing them down in large mouthfuls.

With food finally in his stomach, the fatigue of the night at last eased slightly. As he ate quickly to replenish his strength, he also considered his next move.

Using the gangs’ channels was clearly no longer possible. He would have to take a different route. Fortunately, he had not placed all his hopes on that one path. The Salvation Society still had—

"Hm?"

Dennis suddenly raised a hand to his forehead.

"My head... why is it getting dizzy?"

Loss of blood?

No. He had stopped the bleeding from his wounds immediately. The blood he had lost was nowhere near enough to make him dizzy.

And this vertigo was growing stronger and stronger. No matter how he circulated his battle aura, he could not get rid of it. Instead, it was steadily interfering with his control over it, almost as if...

"Poison?"

Crash.

The cup fell to the floor.

Dennis looked up, his face more furious and bewildered than at any point before, and stared at the old woman who should have been the very soil of the Salvation Society, utterly loyal to him.

"You put poison... in the food you gave me?"

"..."

The old woman did not answer. She only nodded silently.

"Why?"

Dennis asked in disbelief, "Why would you do this?"

She was the soil of the Salvation Society. She was someone who longed for the new world.

Shouldn’t she have been willing to offer everything she had to the Salvation Society just for the chance to board the ark of world-cleansing, just like Old Zorde before her?

But... but... then why?

"Holy Envoy, I really did want to see that new world."

The old woman slowly raised the scissors again with trembling hands, her wrinkled old face tightening as she said,

"But that new world’s too far away... and they’re delivering eggs tomorrow morning."