Unaware that he was already being closely watched, the village chief publicly addressed Gesture Village, accusing Kael and the other outsiders of pretending to bring peace while secretly kidnapping villagers and selling them to merchants as slaves. Privately, after the muscular man left his house, one of his subordinates informed him that Kael's group was investigating him and attempting to erect a magic barrier designed to block demonic movement in and out of the village. Realizing his cover was compromised, the village chief concluded that Kael's team had uncovered the truth—that demons were attempting to quietly seize the village under a pact arranged by Count Morgan, who had promised assistance if the takeover occurred without rumors or exposure.
Most villagers, however, did not believe the chief's accusations. Kael and his companions had behaved transparently and were actively searching for the missing. Anticipating this reaction, the village chief enacted his true plan. Possessing the abilities Cloning and Memory Extraction and Implantation, he created replicas of people he had killed and implanted them with false memories. His first move was cruelly calculated: he created a clone of the little girl whose mother had begged him for help before Kael's arrival, implanting memories that framed Kael, Elian, and Brown as her attempted kidnappers.
Throughout this process, Kael observed everything through his summoned familiar. With the system's assistance, he analyzed and fully understood how the cloning and memory manipulation skills functioned. Acting decisively, Kael arrived at the woman's home before the clone could return. He told her the painful truth—that her daughter was dead—and proved it by having Brown summon the girl's shadow, allowing the mother to see and accept reality. Before leaving, Kael warned her that someone would soon arrive claiming to be her daughter and instructed her to notify him immediately.
As expected, the clone returned home and behaved convincingly, showing no signs of trauma, as if nothing had ever happened. The mother secretly contacted Kael through the system's communication function. Kael quickly confirmed the clone's flaw: clones acted normally but showed no emotional disturbance or memory gaps from their supposed ordeal. In front of the villagers, Kael exposed the truth. Once revealed, the clone lost stability and transformed into a Mazama monster, attempting to multiply. Kael immediately cast the holy spell Purifier, causing the creature to scream before dissolving into nothingness, shattering the village chief's narrative.
Meanwhile, Arra completed a hidden teleportation circle near Gesture Village. Anyone using it would be transferred to the outskirts of REF territory. The mechanism was kept secret, intended as an emergency measure to evacuate the village if the situation collapsed.
Shortly after, Luminor activated the village-wide magic barrier. The barrier possessed multiple functions—healing, mana purification, land restoration, and most critically, automatic expulsion of demons and dark-magic users. Infused with anti-demonic materials, it immediately teleported Brown outside the village, forcing Kael to temporarily recall him into the Tamer Park space. The false village chief and his six subordinates were also expelled and reappeared outside the village—directly before Kael, Elian, Luminor, and Arra.
Kael demanded to know who the demon was working for. Revealing his true form, the demon laughed and refused to answer. Kael responded by releasing his Death Aura, a suffocating pressure that forced screams from all present. Even Elian, Arra, and Luminor struggled to breathe until Luminor hastily erected a defensive barrier to shield them from the overwhelming force.
Attempting to flee, the demon and his subordinates found themselves immobilized by the crushing aura. Recognizing the opportunity, Kael devised a new plan: rather than kill the demon, he would tame him and force the truth from his mouth. Knowing the Death Aura would last only an hour, Kael immediately began casting a taming spell. The demon cursed under his breath, fully aware that if the spell succeeded, he would lose all chance of escape—and for the first time, uncertainty replaced his arrogance as the chapter closed.