After the Navy Line raid was roughly concluded, I leisurely returned to Ark after leaving it.
The people inside Ark couldn't even imagine such a thing happening, but for someone like me who could move freely across the skies and ground both within and outside Ark, it was an extremely easy task.
Upon returning to Ark, what I needed to do next was already decided.
'I will meet the Shadow Order.'
To meet the Shadow Order, who must be anxiously waiting by now, I immediately set off.
The Shadow Order had numerous bases both inside and outside Ark.
The place I found was one of their bases within Ark.
Creeeak...
The door slowly opened, and at last, I stepped into one of the Shadow Order's hideouts inside Ark.
"How did you…?"
Isabel's face, upon seeing mine, looked as if she had seen a ghost.
Well, it was understandable.
After all, I was now visiting her at White Line itself.
"You wanted to meet me, didn't you?"
Since I had already decided to join the Shadow Order, I had no intention of hiding the fact that I knew about this place.
There were many reasons, but the biggest one was—it was simply too much trouble.
"..."
Isabel looked like she wanted to say something but then tightly shut her mouth.
She seemed to slowly be starting to understand me.
"…Carl Marcus."
One by one, other members of the Shadow Order began to appear before me.
All familiar faces.
Finally, I had arrived at one of the strongholds of the Shadow Order.
"It's been a while, my lord."
Sart was the first to step forward.
Understandable, given he was one of the few in the Shadow Order who had a relatively deep connection with me.
"It has been a while."
"We've been through so much, but I didn't expect to see you like this."
"That's how the world works."
"Is Esther… with you?"
At that moment, as if waiting, Esther popped out beside me.
["I'm here!"]
"…Haha."
Sart let out a hollow laugh.
Understandable, because despite being known here as forcibly subordinated to me, Esther looked far too cheerful.
"I'm glad to see you're well."
["I'm always the same."]
As Esther joked around, Sart just shrugged his shoulders as if he had nothing more to say.
Soon, one by one, the Shadow Order members turned their gazes toward me.
["Long time no see, everyone."]
"…Esther."
Faces both familiar and unfamiliar swept past me.
'It's my first time seeing them in person.'
As those faces passed by, Turncoat Rook stood before me.
"…Carl Marcus."
"It's been a while."
"We have unfinished business, don't we?"
Turncoat Rook standing right in front of me blatantly radiated hostility.
Judging by his attitude, it seemed that the seeds Janus had sown earlier had flourished quite nicely.
"Anytime."
No sooner had the words left my mouth than bone tendrils began to slither out from around Turncoat Rook.
Responding to that, Janus also extended its own bone tendrils, facing Turncoat Rook.
Sss, sss!
A hair-trigger moment.
The moment we were about to launch at each other—
"Everyone, stop."
Isabel's voice came, soft but firm.
And it wasn't just words that arrived.
[Stop....]
[Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop.]
[Don't────]
With a surge of ether, an ether barrier sprang up between me and Turncoat Rook.
Of course, if I had wanted to, I could have easily torn down such a barrier, but I didn't feel the need to.
Isabel looked at me.
"Carl Marcus, should I take your presence here as your acceptance of my proposal?"
"I thought I already said that."
"…Good."
Isabel nodded.
With that, the Shadow Order members who had been surrounding me slowly lowered their weapons.
"Don't try anything funny, or I'll put a hole in your forehead."
It was a threat from Crux the One-Eyed.
Of course, I wasn't the type to flinch from such threats.
"If you think you can, try it."
"…Hooh."
Crux laughed viciously.
Then slowly lowered the sniper rifle he had aimed at me.
"For a human, you're not bad."
"For a monster, you're not bad either."
The guns pointed at each other slowly lowered, and Crux let out a light laugh.
"Welcome to the Shadow Order."
"Thanks for the warm welcome."
After exchanging these greetings—or rather, non-greetings—with Crux, the other members of the Shadow Order began to approach me one by one.
"I'm Sophia Belov. I've heard a lot about you, Carl Marcus. You're supposed to be impressive, right?"
"Just rumors."
"Rumors in Ark often aren't just rumors. I'm looking forward to it."
After greeting Sophia Belov, naturally, Michael Pilgrim next to her reached out his hand toward me.
"I'm Michael Pilgrim."
Michael Pilgrim.
Director of the Special Purpose Weapons Research Lab and younger brother of Maybelle Pilgrim.
Also, likely the reason Maybelle had been mentally disturbed earlier.
'I'll have to talk to Michael Pilgrim eventually.'
I didn't want Maybelle Pilgrim constantly ruining my equipment because of emotional turmoil, after all.
'Well… that's for later.'
Thus, starting with Sophia Belov and Michael Pilgrim, I exchanged greetings—formal or not—with each member of the Shadow Order.
"..."
Including familiar faces like Sart of the Shadows, Turncoat Rook, and Nameless the Doppelgänger.
After the greetings with the members gathered together for once were finished, Isabel approached me.
"Glad to see you again, Carl Marcus. You won't regret joining us."
"Sure."
"All for the sake of the Great Wish."
Isabel said as she nodded.
Thus, after a long winding path, I had come to face the Shadow Order.
"By the way, you caused quite a scene at Navy Line, didn't you?"
Nameless spoke up.
True to his nature as a Grade-2 Illusion-type Doppelgänger, he was now appearing as a middle-aged man.
"It was necessary."
"Well… it's fine. Thanks to that, the attention on us has slightly diminished."
As he said, the Shadow Order's White Line raid had somewhat been overshadowed by the Turncoats' Navy Line raid.
Of course, that was only the appearance.
In reality, within Ark, anxiety had risen sharply, and various movements were taking place.
'Still, it's true that the immediate focus on the Shadow Order has somewhat eased.'
More accurately, Ark simply had too many problems to deal with now.
Regardless, the Investigation Teams and Suppression Units organized by Ark were now scattering their attention in many directions.
"So, what's your plan now?"
Sophia, who had approached at some point, asked.
"What do you mean?"
"If you went out of your way to interfere with our plan, you must have something in mind. What are you going to do next?"
"I'll accomplish the Great Wish."
"…What?"
Sophia Belov looked genuinely dumbfounded.
"So, you interfered with our plan, and now you say you'll accomplish the Great Wish? Are you joking?"
"As I said before, even if you had passed through White Road that day, you wouldn't have achieved it."
"And how would you know that?"
"Because I've seen it."
"What nonsense─"
Just as Sophia Belov was about to shout, Isabel stepped in.
"Enough."
"Commander! Are you just going to listen to his bullshit?! We should make him pay for interfering with our work."
"Sophia."
"If you won't do it, I will."
Sophia Belov had already drawn her R-1 Plasma Sword and pointed it at me.
It was clear that if left alone, incidents like this would keep happening.
I decided it was about time to establish a clear pecking order.
"Come at me."
"Oh, you think I won't?"
Without giving Isabel a chance to intervene, Sophia Belov's Plasma Sword came slashing toward me.
I responded by drawing the Spear of Ankelenth from my right hand and parrying the Plasma Sword.
Tzzt, zzztzzt──!
As the Spear of Ankelenth and the Plasma Sword clashed, sparks flew wildly around.
"…You can withstand a Plasma Sword? I heard rumors, but you're definitely not ordinary."
"You're praising me too soon."
I swung the Spear of Ankelenth and instantly knocked Sophia Belov's Plasma Sword aside.
Moving faster than her perception could track.
Even if Sophia Belov was an ether-compatible individual and had endured the harsh training of the Belov Family, she couldn't match me.
After all, I had Janus's bodily enhancements, innate ether strength, and had even received enhancement serums.
"…Kuh!"
No sooner had I aimed the Spear of Ankelenth at Sophia Belov's throat than Turncoat Rook and Sart of the Shadows stepped between us.
"That's enough, Carl Marcus."
"Please stop, my lord."
Of course, if I had really wanted to, I could have cut down Sophia Belov even through them, but I had no reason to.
I hadn't joined the Shadow Order to make enemies but as part of a means to protect Ark.
"Fine."
As I withdrew the Spear of Ankelenth, Sophia Belov, who had been bristling with hostility, finally exhaled deeply.
"…You monster bastard. Are you even human?"
She seemed to have given up on fighting me for now.
The intended gap in strength had been properly demonstrated.
"Thanks for the compliment."
Along with that, Turncoat Rook and Sart of the Shadows slowly backed away as well.
If they had underestimated me, they would have tried to subdue me.
But they knew that would not end well.
Finally, Isabel approached, having watched the whole scene unfold.
"I think that wraps up the welcoming ceremony."
"A grand welcome, indeed."
"It's always like this. Maybe you already know, but our members tend to be a little rough."
Isabel smiled lightly.
And said:
"Welcome to the Shadow Order, Carl Marcus."