Thud, thud, crack!
Surprisingly, it wasn't just Cain's head that fell.
His sword arm and the other arm also shattered into several pieces, scattering across the floor.
In the brief moment it took to pass by, Liam had toyed with Cain using swift sword strikes, slicing him apart effortlessly.
In contrast, Liam remained unscathed, even after clashing fiercely with Cain's powerful sword strikes—the man reputed to be the strongest among mercenaries.
The Breaker Mercenary Company, along with the Kallam and Brothers Mercenary Companies watching from behind, couldn't hide their shock at seeing Cain's head severed in a single blow.
Jenna's face, already pale from her unresolved defeat against Liam, turned even whiter.
'He didn't even use his full strength against us.'
Jenna and Fain realized that Liam's skill surpassed the blue knight level and reached red knight grade.
Liam slowly approached the Breaker Mercenary Company's vice captain, who stood at the forefront of the group.
In a low voice, he said,
"Shall we continue?"
At Liam's words, the vice captain's face drained of color as he frantically shook his head.
He dismounted his horse and knelt before Liam, bowing his head.
"The Breaker Mercenary Company will follow the orders of the Stone
Mercenary Company."
With the vice captain's declaration, the other mercenaries immediately knelt before Liam as well.
Liam silently looked down at the kneeling Breaker Mercenary Company.
The birth of the Mercenary King, who had unified the continent's three great mercenary companies.
*
"Hmm."
Zeke sat in the office at Tera, the headquarters in Atlas, sipping tea leisurely as he reviewed documents for the first time in a while.
Boris stood rigidly before him.
As Zeke skimmed through the documents Boris had brought, he said,
"Liam unified the three great mercenary companies... That's good." Boris nodded at his words.
"The news bulletins were already making a huge fuss about the continent's first Mercenary King."
Just as Boris said, the continent was abuzz with articles about the fall of Jupiter Castle and the emergence of the first Mercenary King.
In fact, this was the result of Zeke deliberately leaking the information.
It was to minimize exposure of his own movements while diverting attention elsewhere.
'Liam made a name for himself as the Mercenary King in his previous life. This time, having received proper training as a knight, he's gaining fame even faster.' Zeke smiled in satisfaction at Liam's growth.
With a pleased expression, he set the documents down and asked Boris,
"How's the situation at Jupiter Castle?"
"The urgent matters have been mostly resolved. The citizens seem to welcome the allied forces, given how poor Castro's reputation was."
"That's fortunate. Is Helen handling the on-site command? I wonder if the Central
Kingdom nobles are behaving themselves."
"Yes. Some Central Kingdom nobles lingered, trying to seize the imperial treasures discovered in the castle's underground. But after nearly losing their heads to the Grand Duke of the North, they've quieted down." Zeke chuckled slightly at Boris's words.
"The Grand Duke would do exactly that. Is the Himonas Knight Order still in Jupiter?" Boris shook his head at Zeke's question.
"No. After a few growls with Count Bathory Basarab, the Grand Duke said they'd settle things later and led the Himonas Knight Order back north as soon as the situation stabilized."
"The Grand Duke of the North and Count Bathory Basarab... Their personalities don't mesh at all. No, in terms of temperament, they're the worst possible combination."
But in terms of ability rather than personality, the Grand Duke and Count Bathory Basarab seemed like they'd work well together.
The combination of Alicia, who had awakened the power of the Wolf King Fenrir through the Fang-Wolf Sword, and the cunning Count Bathory Basarab could lead to unpredictable results.
'This should be interesting. I need to arrange a meeting with those two.' Boris continued his report to Zeke.
"The Supreme Commander plans to reorganize the troops in Jupiter and send the allied forces toward the Thermo Pass." Zeke nodded at his words.
"The Thermo Pass must have reached a stalemate by now." Boris nodded.
"Yes. With the gate closed, they're maintaining their lines with just the summoned monsters and magical beasts."
The Narak forces responsible for sustaining the gate had been crushed by Zeke, cutting off any reinforcements. In that situation, it would be easier for the allied forces to join and clean things up.
Zeke rose from his seat after hearing Boris's report.
"Alright. Boris, take the Black Stage operatives and assist Helen at the Thermo Pass."
"Understood, my lord."
"Oh, and have you decided on a name for the Black Stage?"
Zeke planned to officially deploy the Black Stage, so he had left the naming to Boris, its captain.
Boris, who had been struggling with it, finally nodded as if he'd made up his mind.
"Yes, we discussed it with the members and settled on one."
"Glad you finally decided. What did you go with?"
Boris's eyes gleamed as he said,
"Nemesis."
Zeke gave a lukewarm reaction to Boris's meaningful declaration. "That's surprisingly ordinary for something you pondered so long." Boris's eyes flashed with indignation as he protested.
"What do you mean, boss? Let me explain in detail why we chose this name. In Thebea, Nemesis refers to the ancient goddess of retribution, symbolizing causality and reprisal..."
Zeke furrowed his brow at Boris's lengthy explanation and waved him off.
"Fine, I get it. You put a lot of thought into it."
Despite Zeke's dismissive tone, Boris looked satisfied, as if that was enough.
"As a newly formed organization, we wanted to deliberate carefully."
"Good. The Black Stage name is settled then. By the way, what about that new recruit,
Dmitri? The one from Room 13. Is he trustworthy?"
"Yes. He was ranked second among agents people wanted to work with in Room 13."
"And you were first, weren't you, Boris?"
"You remember."
"...Anyway. So you're planning to use Dmitri to pull in the old Room 13 agents to Nemesis."
Boris nodded.
"The current organization is heavily skewed toward combat personnel from Salmak and The Six. The intel from the Thievesʼ Guild and Red Eye is excellent, but it's still external.
Relying solely on them limits our intelligence operations, so we need experienced people in this field."
Zeke nodded at Boris's explanation.
"Understood. Handle that matter as you see fit."
"Yes, sir."
"Alright. You're dismissed."
Boris bowed and left the office after the report. Zeke sat still for a moment, lost in thought, then pulled a mirror from his pocket.
Woooong!
As he gripped the mirror and channeled energy into it, the reflected light projected onto the office's glass wall, creating a magical image.
After assimilating Satan's authority and knowledge, he had grown more adept at handling karma, allowing him to use his power in various ways.
Soon, the face of Nabu, the Hermit of Stories, appeared on the glass wall.
—"Hey! Zeke!"
The hermit greeted Zeke in a voice even more cheerful than usual.
"You seem in good spirits."
At that, the hermit fanned himself leisurely and said,
—"Kuh, I've finally escaped Nigel's clutches and returned home."
It seemed the task of helping Nigel clean up the Forest of the Forgotten had finally concluded.
Nabu waved his fan and continued,
—"From what I hear, your side's affairs are wrapped up too. Narak's basically annihilated, right?"
"We missed Harvey West, but that's about it. We're still tracking the remnants."
—"Heh, then you can finally relax. No one else should be harboring that vain delusion of summoning the Demon King, aside from Narak." Zeke shook his head at his words.
"I don't think so."
Nabu's tone grew serious, sensing something ominous.
—"What do you mean by that?"
"Do you remember the Black Star stolen from beyond the Giant Mountain Range before?"
—"I do. Wasn't that Narak's doing?"
"It was Arthur Draker."
Nabu's eyes widened at Zeke's words.
—"Your dead father came back to life and took the Black Star?"
"It's complicated to explain, but... Arthur Draker didn't die, and he's not my father."
—What?
Stunned by the unexpected information, Nabu gaped.
He straightened up and leaned closer to the mirror, asking Zeke,
—"So... the fall of Narak isn't the end of it."
Zeke nodded.
"Harvey West wasn't the real issue. The center of all this conspiracy is none other than Arthur Draker."
Nabu let out a low hum from the other side of the image.
With a grave expression, he said to Zeke,
—"Who else knows about this?"
"For now, it's just me. The lords of the Demon Realm might know."
—"The lords of the Demon Realm. If Arthur Draker's goal is the same as Narak's— summoning the Demon King—then it's possible."
Nabu frowned, as if the situation had grown more complicated.
Watching his reaction, Zeke asked Nabu,
"Hermit, how much do you know about the Leader of the Highlander?" Nabu's expression turned peculiar at Zeke's question.
—"The Leader? Well, I've observed for centuries, but I don't know much myself."
"How did you first meet the Leader?"
—"Hmm, it's been ages. When I attained enlightenment as a sage and underwent
Ascension, the Leader appeared before me."
"In spirit form?"
—"Something like that. The Leader asked if I could help maintain the world's balance before ascending to a higher dimension."
"Why did you accept that offer?"
Nabu scratched his cheek and said,
—"The Highlanders like me who remain in the Phenomenal World have achieved the rank of Transcendent but cling to lingering attachments. Otherwise, we'd have already ascended."
Zeke thought of Archmage Hoshgar.
She had left her spirit body in the mansion out of concern for the future, even as she ascended.
And her message had reached Zeke a thousand years later.
'If she had a way to let go of her attachments like that, would she have just left? No.'
Ultimately, each had their reasons, but the High Table members had bound themselves to the Phenomenal World through their contract with the Leader, enduring karma's sanctions for some purpose.
'The Great Sage. Truly the one most attached to the Phenomenal World. He's stayed here, refusing rest, to correct his past mistakes and errors.'
The Great Sage had undoubtedly sought out other Transcendents with similar attachments, binding them to the High Table to find a way to break the Wheel of Fate.
Nabu looked at Zeke and said,
—"You're suspicious of the Leader's identity." Zeke shook his head at Nabu's words.
"Not exactly. I'm just concerned about something. To confront Arthur Draker ahead, we need the Highlander's help, but if the Leader keeps up this mystique, it could breed distrust. That's why I asked."
Nabu nodded in understanding.
—"The Leader does have his enigmatic sides. But... from what I've observed over the years, he's someone you can trust."
"You believe his intentions are good."
—"Yes. Not all good intentions yield good results, but the Leader is definitely someone trying to protect this Phenomenal World." Zeke nodded at Nabu's words.
"I understand."
Nabu tapped his palm with his fan and said,
—"I get what you're worried about. Hmm, I'll summon the other High Table members and discuss this with the Leader. If the intruder is really Arthur Draker, the last remaining Black Star could be targeted too."
"Thank you, Hermit."
—"No need for thanks. It's my duty to say it. Zeke, always be careful."
Zeke ended the communication with a nod. He gazed at the restored glass wall.
His reflection stared back from the glass.
Looking at it, Zeke pulled out the portrait Carus had drawn of him from his inventory.
The painting floated into the air and positioned itself beside Zeke's reflection on the glass.
Gazing into the canvas filled with endless black shadows, Zeke felt an inexplicable emotion.
'What lies in that darkness.'
For a long time, Zeke stared at his reflection and the shadows in the canvas on the glass wall.