"Well... since the Commander says so, I guess there's no choice."
As Isabel, the Commander of the Shadow Order who had ruled with absolute charisma until now, stepped forward and acknowledged me, the other members, including the Turncoat Rook, also nodded reluctantly as if they had no choice.
No, to be exact, it would be more accurate to say that the display of power I had shown earlier had quite the effect.
After all, no matter what anyone said, the Shadow Order was ultimately a militant group, and having strength in such a place carried a lot of meaning.
"Is he really human...? Earlier, it looked like his bones were tougher than Rook's."
"So, it has come to this. It's an honor to join forces with you, sir."
As if they had truly accepted me as a member of the Shadow Order, the members threw out a few comments one by one.
'Hmph...'
Although there had been a series of events, I had now become a member of the Shadow Order as well.
Of course, it would be a stretch to say I was truly one of them just yet, but that was something time would resolve.
'It might take a little while to earn real trust... but it shouldn't be too difficult.'
After all, I already knew quite a bit about the Shadow Order.
Getting here had been the hard part; from now on, earning their trust was merely a matter of time.
"Carl Marcus, don't you have something you want to talk to me about?"
Isabel spoke.
Just as she said, it was about time we had a proper conversation.
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Good. I like that you're cooperative. If you had tried to resist after coming all this way, I was thinking of roughing you up a little."
"Think you could?"
"You think I couldn't?"
Ether began to surge around Isabel.
[Crack, crackle...]
[Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus.]
[Screeeeech────]
The menacing ether was so intense it felt like my skin might tear even if I just stood still.
Even though I had the Experimental Round GHOST-157, confronting Isabel head-on would not have been a wise choice.
Especially since I was going to be working as a member of the Shadow Order from now on.
"Let's stop the jokes here."
"...Hmph."
Isabel withdrew the ether.
Along with that, Esther, who had been holding her breath quietly, let out a deep sigh of relief.
["Haa... Why do you always want to fight? Can't we just talk it out?"]
"We are talking."
["Like hell you are."]
Esther shook her head as if exasperated.
Isabel watched the scene silently for a moment, then slowly parted her lips.
"Carl Marcus, you didn't come all the way here just to play pranks, did you?"
"Yeah, I have something to say."
"What is it?"
"I want you to stop the line separation operation."
The line separation operation.
It literally meant instigating conflict between the lines within the Ark and was one of the main operations of the Shadow Order.
I was telling her to stop it.
"...Carl Marcus, do you even know what you're saying right now?"
"Yeah. I know."
"That's something we must do to achieve our long-cherished goal."
"We can achieve that goal without doing something like this."
"Can you prove it?"
"Anytime."
Isabel stared at me.
"...Fine, Carl Marcus. Let's get to the point. Where is the 'Sail'?"
Finally, the moment had arrived.
Isabel would do anything to achieve her goal, and the reason she accepted me into the Order despite potential backlash from the members was because of that.
And I already knew exactly what I had to say to this question.
"I don't know."
"What?"
Isabel's expression went blank.
"You don't know? What are you talking about? Didn't you say before that you knew?"
Yeah, I certainly had said that before.
'It was a bluff, though.'
In the end, the lie from back then had become a serious problem, but considering the situation at the time, there was no other choice.
Of course, Isabel, who had no way of knowing the full story, began to unleash a dangerous amount of ether.
[Kyaaaaaaah────]
It was enough to seriously make me consider pulling out the Experimental Round GHOST-157.
"I did say that."
"So... you've been acting all high and mighty without even knowing where the Sail is?"
"Yeah."
"Carl Marcus...!"
The ether Isabel was emitting became even thicker.
[Creak, creakkkkk─────!]
Esther screamed at the overwhelming wave of ether.
["Kyah! Master!"]
Even Esther, who was quite strong herself, was struggling against the wave.
Naturally, I couldn't remain unaffected either.
"You'd better be ready to take responsibility for deceiving us."
Isabel's voice was icy cold.
It felt like I would be sliced by ether if I made even the slightest wrong move.
"That wouldn't be the worst outcome, but I think you'd better listen to what I have to say first."
"Don't make me laugh. You think I'll fall for your silver tongue again?"
"I don't know where the Sail is. But, I do have a lead."
"...You think I'll fall for that?"
"Whether you believe it or not is your choice."
"Don't make me laugh."
The ether Isabel unleashed surged as if it would swallow me whole.
["Commander! No!"]
At that moment, the ether surge paused as Esther stood in front of me.
"...Move."
["Commander, let's just talk, okay? We can resolve this through dialogue."]
"Esther!"
Isabel raised her ether again as if she would tear Esther apart at any moment, but Esther didn't move.
Watching this, Isabel showed a conflicted expression, then eventually withdrew her ether.
"...."
As the atmosphere calmed, Isabel shook her head in disbelief and let out a hollow sigh.
"...Don't expect me to fall for it again next time. This is your last chance."
"Wise decision."
"Haa..."
Isabel's gaze shifted toward Esther, who was standing next to me.
"Esther, do you know anything?"
["...Hmm? Not really? I mean, I don't even know what you two have been talking about."]
"Haa..."
Isabel sighed.
But she couldn't really blame Esther. After all, Esther knew nothing about Isabel's goals or the Sail of the White Line.
"...Where is the lead?"
"I can't tell for now. But soon, the time will come."
Although Isabel couldn't shake off her suspicion, she eventually withdrew her gaze, as there was nothing else she could do at the moment.
"...You'll have to take responsibility for those words."
"I will."
Thus, the conversation about Isabel's long-cherished goal and the Sail of the White Line was temporarily concluded.
"Everyone, stop. Cease the line separation operation for now."
"What? Are you serious, Commander?"
"Yes."
With Isabel's words, the ongoing operations of the Shadow Order's line separation also came to a halt.
The operation the Shadow Order had been preparing for so long was now suspended.
With this, one of the primary objectives for my immediate entry into the Shadow Order was achieved.
'Well, if we fail to find the Sail, they'll probably resume the operation for their cause.'
In other words, to prevent the Ark from being fractured by the Shadow Order, I needed to find a lead to the Sail no matter what.
Of course, as a last resort, there was always the option of exterminating the Shadow Order, but with my current strength, it would be insufficient — and frankly, a waste.
'No matter what anyone says, the Shadow Order is still a very useful force.'
The Shadow Order was one of the most powerful groups both inside and outside of the Ark.
Depending on how they were used, they could serve as a formidable shield for the Ark.
"...Then stay here and relax. There won't be much to do for a while anyway."
"I'll do that."
Leaving those words behind, Isabel walked away as if she had something to take care of.
Thus, I remained at the hideout as a member of the Shadow Order.
After the initial induction, the members of the Shadow Order, seemingly busy with their respective tasks, bustled around the hideout.
["Still the same, these guys."]
Of course, not everyone was like that.
The Turncoat Rook, for instance, seemed to have nothing urgent to do and was lounging on the sofa, watching a hologram broadcast from the Ark.
For a monstrous being with ambitions of ruling the Ark, it was a surprisingly wholesome hobby.
["...Master? What are you doing right now?"]
Ignoring Esther's reluctant voice, I approached the Turncoat Rook and spoke.
"Hey."
After all, there was still unfinished business between me and the Turncoat Rook.
"...Hmm? You got some business with me?"
"I do."
The Turncoat Rook narrowed his eyes.
"What business?"
"There's something you want to hear from me, isn't there?"
"...Ho."
The Turncoat Rook switched off the hologram and slowly rose from the sofa, facing me.
Just as I expected, he still had unresolved matters with me.
"There is. Definitely."
Soon, a menacing aura began to leak from the Turncoat Rook.
Although he wasn't blatantly revealing his bone tendrils as he had earlier, the hostility he radiated was sharp enough to sting.
"I was going to let it slide since we're supposed to be comrades now... but you're making it hard."
"We need to settle things properly."
"I agree."
The Turncoat Rook spoke.
"Follow me."
"Fine."
I followed the Turncoat Rook out of the hideout.
One way or another, I had to settle things with him eventually.
[Screek!]
As Janus let out a small cry, the Turncoat Rook clutched his head.
"...Kgh."
As expected, the seed Janus had planted earlier seemed to be germinating properly.
To be precise, ever since I faced the Turncoat Rook, Janus had been constantly sending me signals.
"...Get this thing out of my head. Now."
"Try using force."
"Gladly."
The Turncoat Rook stared at me.
And I stared back at him.
Sssss───!
Bone tendrils started to extend from the Turncoat Rook.
In response, I also unleashed the bone tendrils of Janus.
"Hup!"
Suddenly, a massive bone spear wrapped around the Turncoat Rook's left arm lunged at me.
Reacting instantly, I created a bone shield to block it and then drew a bone spear from my left arm to counterattack.
Clang!
Kaaang──!
As the bone weapons from Janus and the Turncoat Rook collided, sparks scattered in every direction.
["Take this!"]
At that moment, as ether began to surge fiercely around Esther, I intentionally manipulated the ether to disperse it.
["Huh, huh? What's happening?!"]
"Stay out of this."
["...O-okay?"]
I did not pull out the Ark-34 Automatic Conversion Rifle, the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher, or the ICE-54 Plasma Cooler. Instead, I fought the Turncoat Rook using only the pure power of Janus.
Somehow, it felt like that was the way it had to be right now.
'My goal isn't to kill the Turncoat Rook.'
Precisely speaking, it was to completely subdue him.
Therefore, it made sense to use only Janus's power during this battle against the Turncoat Rook.
[Screek!]
Janus shrieked as he fiercely extended his bone tendrils.
Each time the bone tendrils collided, cracks began to appear on the Turncoat Rook's bone tendrils.
Crack, crack...
Unlike our previous encounter, Janus was now starting to overwhelm the Turncoat Rook.
"...Kgh!"
The Turncoat Rook groaned as he retracted his cracked bone tendrils.
At a glance, it seemed like I was constantly pressing him, but that didn't mean the Turncoat Rook was an easy opponent.
"Good. That's the kind of strength needed to be part of our Order."
The Turncoat Rook gave a ferocious smile and kicked off the ground to charge at me.
Boom───!
Clad in full bone armor, the Turncoat Rook barreled toward me.
'Too late to dodge.'
It was a threatening charge.
I had no choice but to wrap myself in Janus's bone tendrils to brace for impact.
Kwaaang───!
With a violent crash, my body was flung back.
No matter how much Janus's power overwhelmed him, I was still human — there was no way I could overpower a monster like the Turncoat Rook purely through strength.
'So that's how you want to play it...'
No matter how much I trained my body, as long as I remained fundamentally human, I would inevitably lose to such brute strength without utilizing ether.
Honestly, I was tempted to draw my firearms immediately, but doing so would make this entire confrontation meaningless. Instead, I stretched out my right hand.
If the Turncoat Rook was willing to escalate things, I no longer intended to hold back either.
Sssss───!
"Things will be a little different from now on."
A familiar sensation spread through both my hands.
It was my beloved weapon that had been with me for a long time.
"...Ho."
The Spear of Ankelenth.
It revealed itself.