Chapter 681 – Even If I am Not There (3) #PART1
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Claudi Mansion.
“It’s over, huh.”
Wolf could feel it—the complete disappearance of Marbas’s malice. In the past, he wouldn’t have even noticed. It seemed the grueling training in Akshan hadn’t been in vain after all.
“…Yeah, looks like it’s over,”
Kichi replied, though her expression didn’t look good. Normally, Wolf would have teased her for it, but today, he simply shrugged.
‘I get how you feel. I really do.’
Despite standing face to face with him, it felt like the Commander was… unreachable. Sure, the Commander had always felt distant—his power and position alone made it hard to even keep up with him. But this felt different.
‘…He feels farther than ever.’
Before, the distance had been more figurative. But now, the man behind that door truly seemed to exist in another space and time—no longer the same Commander they knew.
‘Not that this feeling is unfamiliar.’
That dark-robed mage had once called it ‘Blackening.’ Back when Hoyeol was consumed by suitable magic power, he had seemed like a completely different person too. But Wolf wasn’t mistaken.
It wasn’t that the Commander had changed.
‘It’s just that… he’s become even more unreachable.’
Which meant—
“We’ll never be able to understand the Commander, will we?”
“!”
…As expected of the Captain.
Did she just read my thoughts?
Wolf wanted to crack a joke to lighten the mood, but the heaviness in Kichi’s expression made it hard to open his mouth.
So, Wolf lied.
“Who knows. We’ll see, right?”
“See what?”
“He’s not just anyone. He’s the Commander. I’m sure he’ll guide us, one way or another.”
He said it confidently, but he had no real certainty. They had just watched Marbas’s recent actions play out. And in doing so, Wolf had seen it:
‘Maybe even the Commander… can no longer clearly see what matters most.’
If that was the case, expecting him to act in a way they could understand was unreasonable.
And yet—
“Hey, Captain. You’re seriously lacking in pride, y’know?”
In the world of adventurers, there was a good term for this: “Homen.” So Wolf decided to simply believe. Kichi finally smiled.
“Talking about pride now, huh? Seriously.”
She liked Wolf’s response. And then, for just a moment, Kichi asked herself a question she knew wouldn’t get an answer.
‘…You haven’t forgotten about us, have you?’
The Shadow Pact. The Shadow Mercenaries had literally become Hoyeol’s shadow. They could no longer die—they would live on as shadows.
Some might scoff. Just someone else’s shadow? Didn’t this ruin the fearsome reputation of the mercenaries who once ruled Arcana’s underworld?
Kichi simply shrugged.
‘Just to be clear, I don’t see it as a bad thing.’
Shadows don’t disappear… until their source falls.
‘Didn’t they say we’re the final villain behind it all?’
The Final Villain.
That was how the adventurer community often referred to them. According to the lore, the Shadow Mercenaries would remain a major force in Arcana until its very end.
‘As long as I can keep watching over you… that’s enough for me.’
With that thought, Kichi looked up to the sky. Having left the Claudi territory, she could now see the Evil Eye glowing above.
Kichi murmured softly:
“…You’re thinking the same thing, aren’t you?”
.
.
.
A long trail of silver hair. Perfectly composed attire. A teacup held elegantly in hand.
Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo.
Though his body was in the Demon World, his gaze was fixed upon the Arcana Continent. More precisely, on the long-time comrades moving across it.
Grandfell spoke quietly:
“I shall be waiting.”
Silver weaponry gleamed beneath the heavy darkness.
“O Akshan.”
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