The sound of footsteps echoed thunderously through the surrounding
darkness. The sound sliced the silence the sound of combat boots striking the stone floor was resounding and a heavy rhythm, indicating a determined stride.
A man appeared in a dark, solemn, well-tailored black suit. A short blue cloak draped over his left shoulder signified absolute, unquestionable authority. He walked quickly. Suddenly, the lights along the corridor flashed on one by one, lining up to the end of the hall, as if an advanced, hidden detection system was inside, which outsiders could never know existed.
.. Numerous individuals who looked like loyal officers or soldiers emerged from small alleys. They immediately stood at attention in salute when they saw him, and the man walked past without stopping, a clear display of superior authority. Upon reaching the far end of the corridor, a massive, giant door was revealed. The moment the man stood before it, the door's sound roared violently, and the leaves of the door slowly twisted and opened by themselves, slowly.
The door revealed a large, dark, and silent hall. The atmosphere inside was gloomy and chilling, but the man slowly stepped in with resolute and steady strides, completely alone. The moment he stopped and looked up at the top of the gigantic hall, a single spotlight appeared. It shone down in a circle right where he stood, making him the sole focus amidst the darkness.
Even though he didn't look around, the feeling deep inside was as if he was spinning uncontrollably in an uncontrollable trance.
"...Tell me what you need and be done with it. I don't want to stay in this wretched place for long..." He spoke with a voice that expressed extreme annoyance. His face was cold and his gaze was absolute, as he stood still, looking fixedly upward without flinching.
Suddenly, the lights came on, revealing two people standing next to him. One was the Vice Leader of the Farares group. He was in a tattered black cloak, a style unique to the group. His hand was wrapped in bandages, looking gruesome, with a sly smile appearing on his face.
"Oh, wow... It looks like that Kaman sent his lapdog to negotiate, huh... What a pathetic sight!" He spoke with a voice full of contempt and derision.
Suddenly, the lights flashed brightly throughout the entire hall, revealing a gathering of numerous influential figures. Jurarius, the Vice Leader of Farares, stood prominently there, as did many heads of dark organizations whose faces were tightly concealed by wearing fearsome animal masks. This caused the man standing below to widen his eyes in astonishment.
A deep voice boomed from a man standing on the upper left. His subordinate tightly covered his face with cloth. This concealed demeanor made him appear even more terrifying.
"...Jurarius... Was your Farares not founded for the sake of all humanity? Why are you doing this..." His voice was full of challenging a distorted ideology.
"We are like two swords... aren't we, young Caberik?" He spoke with an incredibly cunning and amused tone, completely disregarding the tense situation before him. His eyes were fixed on the young man, the subordinate of Kaman, below.
Caberik was the young man sent to replace the departed. He was one who fully dedicated his soul to the ideology, but who once had a period of defilement. He once used a destructive weapon to shoot Konji and Kaman while they were distracted. That action was at Kaman's own request, but unfortunately failed. He gazed fixedly at Jurarius, his eyes not leaving the target for a second, showing fierce determination.
Jurarius rested his left leg firmly on the balcony ledge, a posture clearly demonstrating superiority. He looked down at Caberik below with an indifferent gaze.
"You guys are merely... the safety of weak humanity. But we are the true weapon of every human."
..The sound of everything fell into a terrifying silence. The many influential figures simply stood aloof, with no counter-response or words uttered. Everyone's eyes were fixed on these two people who were clashing with words and ideology. Suddenly, a soldier from Kaman's group stepped forward, in a neat and orderly fashion, almost reaching Caberik. It was a precise movement. He (the soldier) handed a sword to Caberik, who took it quickly and naturally, as if it were part of a well-prepared plan.
Meanwhile, a young woman in a formal black suit, with a neat, flowing cloak, and white hair like snowflakes contrasting with a face that was cold yet still stunningly beautiful, gazed fixedly down at Caberik below.
The young man named Caberik's eyes were fixed on Jurarius without wavering. His face was still and controlled, purposely showing no emotion so that the man (Jurarius) could not know his true feelings.
He (Caberik) reached out to slowly draw the sword from its scabbard. The subordinate soldier held the scabbard still. The sound of metal rubbing together rang out as the sword was drawn, demonstrating well-planned cooperation. The clanging sound of the sword was a resounding 'Klick' echoing through the gigantic, still-dark hall. The sharp metallic sound cut the silence frighteningly. He gripped the hilt firmly, and turned the sharp point of the blade, pointing it directly at Jurarius standing on the balcony above, a declaration of challenge despite the great distance between them.
"What humanity needs is 'Fararis'... Not you guys... You fake protectors!" His voice was cold as ice but he had to try to suppress his own voice from shouting out furiously, an act of tense emotional control.
"Farares... is not the answer to everything!"
After that, all eyes in the hall fixed on Caberik, the man who dared to speak those words, as if he did not fear the power and influence of the people before him at all. Jurarius, standing above, changed completely. The cunning amusement he had was gone in an instant. He bowed his head slightly, his expression revealing an unprecedented terror.
"We are not killing Sorcerers as you stupidly think!" His (Caberik's) voice was cold but powerful. "We... are making 'Sorcerers' completely vanish, leaving only humans... humans who were once Sorcerers!"
This was a terrifying distortion to the extreme. This group seemed to have compressed themselves into a dark and isolated ideology. They pushed themselves far from normality, yet showed no fear. It was a terrifying bravery.
"Wow... you've got guts, you brat!" The voice of a mysterious man, full of rage, rang out as he slowly stepped out from the opposite side. He stood on the upper level, ready to confront immediately.
"These days, that wretched boss... doesn't even dare to show up himself, huh? Do you have to send an idiotic kid like you to present himself instead!" The words were full of intense disdain. The man appeared with a neatly and meticulously styled beard. His face looked sophisticated, but he sent a decisive and violent gaze pressuring down.
He spread both hands out wildly to express a challenge, amidst a cold smile. That smile seemed to mock and celebrate everyone in the hall at the same time. "Look here! Almost everyone here is a Sorcerer! If you're really brave... try to attack me!"
..Suddenly, a gunshot rang out! A bullet instantly flew into the man's left hand, stopping the madness he was displaying by celebrating himself and others. (Ugh... My hand!!..)
He (the shot man) merely turned his head to look at the one who fired, and immediately aimed the gun in his hand at the target, with no other part of his body moving—a fast and precise reaction. Jurarius was the one who shot the man instantly. This action was surprising and unexpected, as his previous demeanor suggested restraint.
"What have you done! ... You traitor! You...!" His voice was violent and full of rage. His words were cut short by the uncontrollably soaring anger.
"Wow... is that the 'real' guy..." He muttered mockingly.
"You are the true amateurs! All the powerful people here... no one listens to your words!" Jurarius did not look at the shot man. Instead, he continued to gaze down at Caberik, a clear indication that the man was not important enough to capture his attention for even a moment.
"Consider those words aimed at me too... because I'm not a Sorcerer either..." Jurarius smiled slightly, unexpectedly, and looked down at Caberik. The gesture seemed to be an acknowledgment that although both had different ideologies, in some aspects, there was a compelling and interesting similarity.
Then he looked at the person with power equal to his own. However, that man was not the true leader of the evil faction; he was merely the Vice Leader of the malicious darkness. Then he (Jurarius) looked at the young woman in the suit standing above with a calm and elegant demeanor. Jurarius smiled slightly with a hidden agenda, before quickly pulling a needle out of his pants pocket a surprising action.
He slowly let himself drop from the height without hesitation, preparing to descend to the ground level to stand on the same plane as Caberik, expressing resolve and a desire for direct confrontation. As he was dropping from the height, Jurarius used his fingertip to spin the small needle in his hand, before quickly throwing it down to the ground a swift movement.
Jurarius softly muttered a short phrase, "...Ah... Al..." The last word was soundless, but he communicated it as a short sentence in his mind—the same words Bakvik had said many times when facing critical situations. Suddenly, a horrifying red light appeared where the needle landed. The light shot out quickly from a small crack, before flaring up and spreading across the floor, the birth of a violent and terrifying energy. The horrifying red light spread out, covering the entire surface within a 5-meter radius. Meanwhile, as he slowly let himself down to the ground, his eyes remained fixed on Caberik.
Before he plunged down into the red light covering the floor, as if returning to the path he came from, he uttered one short phrase:
"But a curse..."
On one side, a flash of light suddenly appeared amidst a pitch-dark forest. Birds cried out in alarm and scattered from their nests. In that instant, Jurarius appeared. He pulled his hood down to conceal his face, before slowly turning to face forward and beginning to walk slowly through the darkness of the forest. Every step was silent..
Stay tuned for the next episode..