Shortly after becoming a trainee, Dorian had once blabbered about rumors and incidents in the continent.
Since he usually talked too much, Raon only listened to his random stories half-heartedly, but there was one interesting story among them.
It was about the appearance of a new monster in Eden. It was the story of a mysterious man wearing a death knight's helmet annihilating a knight order from the Owen kingdom on his own.
Raon had nodded because he figured a demon from Eden would be capable of achieving such a feat, and Dorian added a surprising detail. It was the fact that the knight order's name was the Blue Horse Knights.
The Blue Horse Knights were one of the Owen Kingdom's knight orders with a long history behind them, and their captain was Marquis Orn Parron, who had reached the realm of Grandmaster.
Owen's King personally drew his sword and looked for the demon wearing the death knight's helmet, but he simply disappeared after that and never showed his face again.
People called that mysterious man the Soul Severing Sword to express their fear of him because he managed to slay Marquis Parron and annihilate the Blue Horse Knights on his own.
Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at the swordsman wearing a death knight's helmet, who managed to stop the Blade of Requiem.
'Are you the Soul Severing Sword?'
A clear golden flame was burning in the eyes behind his helmet. He was a tall man with a slim build, and his armor was made of white bones. His appearance perfectly matched the rumor that Dorian had told him about.
'Moreover…'
He didn't even notice that he was there at first, but he could feel a tremendous amount of combative energy and the aura of the deceased after he made his appearance. He was another one of those extremely powerful warriors at the Grandmaster's realm.
Creak!
Raon pushed the Blade of Requiem, which had been blocked by the longsword, a bit harder and examined Soul Severing Sword's eyes.
Even though they were pointing swords at each other, he couldn't see any emotion in his eyes. Anger, confusion, surprise, happiness. None of those emotions could be seen. They were completely empty, just like firewood that had turned to ash after burning up.
"When did you get here?"
"..."
Raon tried to ask him a question, but he didn't respond. The death knight simply stared at him with emotionless eyes.
"Are you the Soul Severing Sword?"
"..."
He still didn't respond. Since it was impossible for him to defeat the Soul Severing Sword, he pulled the Blade of Requiem back.
Shring.
Soul Severing Sword also returned his longsword to the scabbard, as if he'd been waiting for it.
'When did he get here?'
He was here even before you woke up.
'He must be observing me.'
Raon exhaled faintly. Merlin must've assigned Soul Severing Sword to observe him, and that must've been the reason his weapons and artifacts weren't taken away.
'Well, whatever.'
Raon chuckled and put on the uniform. Since Eden's objective was to make him wear their helmet, they weren't going to kill him. Therefore, he decided to go outside.
Raon finished putting on his clothes and started to equip his swords, but Soul Severing Sword remained immobile and kept staring at his face.
Is he the same as that woman?
'That woman?'
You know, the one who loves your face too much.
'Ah…'
Wrath was talking about Encia. He must've been thinking that Encia, who kept calling him damn handsome, and Soul Severing Sword, who kept staring at his face, were the same type of people.
'He's just observing me.'
Hmm… It feels a bit different though…
Wrath licked his lips, saying that something felt wrong to him.
'There's no way.'
Just as Raon finished equipping the Blade of Requiem, the door opened and Merlin entered the room.
"Did you finally wake u… Why are you here?"
Merlin's kind voice turned cold as soon as she noticed Soul Severing Sword.
"..."
Soul Severing Sword kept staring at Raon without responding to Merlin's question.
"I see."
Merlin snorted and patted Soul Severing Sword's shoulder.
"Go out. You aren't supposed to be here."
"..."
Soul Severing Sword nodded extremely slowly and went outside.
"I bought you some new clothes. Why are you wearing those dirty clothes again?"
Merlin handed over the clothes she was holding. Her kind voice made her seem like a completely different person from when she was talking to Soul Severing Sword.
"Is he Soul Severing Sword?"
"Yes. You already realized it."
"Why did you get angry at him when you must've ordered him to observe me?"
Raon lowered his eyebrows slightly upon noticing the frightening change in the atmosphere around Merlin.
"I never had him observe you."
Merlin shook her head firmly.
"He always moves around as he pleases. Don't worry about him."
She laughed behind her mask, calling him a meaningless existence.
"Are you telling me that no one was observing me? Weren't you worried that I would escape through there?"
Raon pointed at the rectangular window on the wall. The window, where sunlight was entering, was large enough to leave through.
"Escape…"
Merlin nodded smoothly.
"You can try it if you want."
She pointed at the window.
'There must be something stopping me.'
That was the only explanation for her carefree behavior.
"What happened to the Light Wind squad?"
"I didn't do anything to them, just like I promised."
Merlin's smile suggested that she wasn't interested in them at all as she placed the black clothes she brought with her on the bed.
'Hmm…'
She didn't seem to be lying, but he couldn't help being worried about them because of the tenth apostle. He couldn't even begin to guess what he was going to do in his enraged state.
Raon prayed for their safety and clenched his fist.
"Let's get you changed first. Those clothes are stained with blood."
"I don't need it."
"Really? In that case…"
Merlin snapped her fingers, and the blood covering the uniform disappeared in an instant. Even the torn part was fixed as if it were sewn back into shape.
"Follow me. I'll let you know why I don't need to observe you."
Merlin opened the door and left after talking like she was dealing with an old friend, or a child.
'I should follow her.'
He couldn't change the fact that he was kidnapped. Since it had already happened, it was necessary to find out where he was, and how he was being confined.
Raon took a deep breath before following Merlin. The scenery changed as soon as he went through the door.
The log cabin that gave off a warm feeling had disappeared, and a cold black corridor was in front of him.
"This place…"
"It's a new Eden branch that opened recently. Even though it's just a branch, it's as large as the headquarters. Shall we hold hands, since you might end up getting lost?"
Merlin extended her hand with a bright smile on her face.
"..."
Raon ignored her hand and stood a bit behind her.
"I guess you wouldn't be attractive if you were too obedient."
Merlin bobbed her finger and advanced.
Whir!
Different kinds of doors appeared on the solid and cold looking walls before they disappeared, and Eden's demons—wearing helmets and masks of different shapes and colors—went past them.
They didn't just bow to Merlin, but also paid respect to Raon.
"Why are they bowing at me?"
"It's because we have a hierarchy here. I'm your immediate superior, which means you start with seven stars from the beginning."
Merlin went to the end of the corridor while laughing in excitement. Once Raon went outside with her, darkness was waiting for him.
'The moon?'
Unlike in the log cabin, the sky was dark, and a yellow moon was floating in the middle of it.
'Is it a barrier?'
Time seemed to be distorted where they were. He lowered his head to look at the other buildings.
The buildings were similar to the ones in the north, which were designed to withstand the cold weather, but they had a more antique feeling to them. Considering the fact that the walls and ceiling were relatively thin, they must've been located in a more southern area than Zieghart.
A barren land could be seen beyond the buildings. There seemed to be a city far in the distance, but he wasn't too sure because it was too far away.
"Where are we?"
"Look behind you."
Raon turned around to look at where Merlin was pointing at. He could see a huge city behind the temple-like building that they had just come from.
It was also pretty far away, but there was no way he wouldn't notice. It was the merchant city Cameloon, which he'd visited before going to Habun Castle.
"Don't tell me, we are currently at…"
"Yes. We are right under Cameloon."
Merlin nodded and told him the answer that he was thinking of was correct.
"This is crazy…"
Cameloon was a neutral city under the influence of Zieghart, Owen, and Balkar at the same time. He couldn't believe that they ignored three of the six kings and set up their base right under their noses.
"It's because all three of them are present here. They keep holding each other in check, which makes it easier for us to move."
Merlin murmured that it was easy to set up the branch because the Six Kings kept competing with each other.
"But this location should make it easy for me to escape."
Zieghart was further away, but Owen was pretty close by. He just needed an opportunity, and he would be able to escape.
"It won't be that easy."
Merlin snapped her fingers. Mana emerged from her white fingers, floating in the air and radiating a magnificent light.
Whir!
The silver line spread throughout the night sky, revealing the huge magic array surrounding them. Geometrical patterns—including the sun, moon, and stars—were spread throughout the branch.
"This is…"
Raon swallowed nervously. Even though he'd been using the Ring of Fire at maximum output from the beginning, he couldn't really analyze the barrier's secret.
The wriggling mixture of magic, dark magic, martial arts, sorcery, combative energy, and some unknown energy made it pretty much impossible to analyze it.
'It's not just the variety of energies.'
The flow of the energies kept changing randomly, without a pattern.
The disorder he witnessed made him think that the way the sun from the log cabin suddenly changed into a moon less than five minutes ago was a natural course of action. He could understand why Merlin said that she didn't need to observe him.
"What do you think? Do you think you can remove that barrier and escape?"
Merlin met his eyes and smiled faintly. Her smile showed her confidence that he would never be able to escape.
"..."
Raon didn't respond. It was honestly impossible to analyze that array in his current state.
"Moreover…"
Merlin pointed to the right. Soul Severing Sword, who'd clashed his sword against him in the room, was staring at him.
The warrior next to him was wearing a horned snake helmet, and his energy was at least at the intermediate level of Master even though he wasn't a Grandmaster.
"They aren't going to stay still if you try to escape."
'They shouldn't be the only ones.'
He could feel three more people's energies who were at the Master realm. It was impossible to force his way out.
"I don't think I can escape for now."
"You are giving up faster than I thought. Well, that's also pretty good…"
"You are mistaken."
Raon smiled coldly while meeting Merlin's overjoyed eyes.
"I never had any intention of escaping from the beginning."
'Because I'm planning to devour all of your powers here.'
It was another opportunity for him. He was planning to absorb everything Eden could offer before leaving.
"Aah…"
Merlin must've misunderstood him once again since she started panting in excitement. She extended her white hand to smooth down his chin.
"You want to stay with me, right? Yes, I'll always be with you, forever."
"Stop your nonsense."
Raon frowned and repelled Merlin's hand.
"Get to the point already. What's the mask that you wanted to make me wear?"
"Wait a moment."
Merlin slightly raised the lower part of her mask. Her red lips curved up into a smile as she pointed at Soul Severing Sword and the man wearing a snake helmet.
"What I've prepared for you is on a different dimension from what they are wearing."
Elixirs of frost with famous names were lined up on the round table.
A rectangular box was placed in the center, and it had a vintage pattern with angel wings and a demon's horn carved onto it.
Merlin placed the elixirs brimming beautifully with vitality inside the box one after the other while humming. Once she put in the last elixir, she lifted the glass bottle placed at the edge of the table.
Pssh.
She opened the lid of the glass bottle and sprinkled the splashing black liquid onto the elixirs.
Once the liquid reached the elixirs, some kind of evil energy started to rise alongside a stench.
Merlin savored the dark fragrance that was killing the elixirs' vitality before closing the box.
Whir!
It sounded like a small storm was rampaging inside the rectangular box once the elixirs and the liquid mixed with each other.
"Huhu."
Merlin's eyes deeply curved into a smile while watching the box, where the elixirs were being mixed.
'Raon Zieghart.'
'You are really a lovely boy.'
Raon didn't panic even though he was in a crisis he couldn't escape from, and he didn't show any impatience either.
He was preparing for the future while considering what he could gain.
She already knew that his willpower was even more excellent than his might, but she didn't expect him to show so much composure despite being kidnapped.
'He was worth using the Cage of Eternal Darkness on after all.'
Some people rebuked her for using the Cage of Eternal Darkness for a mere Master, but she couldn't regret her choice after she witnessed Raon remaining calm after being kidnapped. It was the best decision she could've made, which she knew would be the case.
Merlin bobbed her finger while watching the box slowly stop its rotation.
'Of course, that's not always going to work in my favor. However.'
Raon's willpower was as solid as an advanced Master, or even the highest level of Master, despite being at the novice level.
The soul inside the completed helmet should've been more than enough to break through his willpower, but she prepared that elixir just in case.
'The Cold Jade Elixir.'
Since it was basically a mixture of excellent elixirs of frost, it was bound to drastically improve aura and physical abilities—but the most important part was the Soul Nullifying Water that was added at the end.
The Soul Nullifying Water was the epitome of black magic that could destroy the soul's control. Since the evil energy became even more effective after absorbing the Cold Jade Elixir's energy, Raon's mind was bound to collapse no matter how strong his willpower was.
Tap!
The storming sound inside the box finally stopped, and the lid opened by itself. A smoothly refined round pill was placed under the gray steam.
"Raon."
Merlin smiled in satisfaction as she felt the Soul Nullifying Water's presence smear into the deepest part of the elixir.
"It's time to become an even more lovely boy."
* * *
Raon returned to his room after looking around the entire branch.
'It's night here once again.'
How the time inside the room was opposite from the outside was a mystery. If it was night outside, it was day inside, and if it was day outside, the night inside.
'This isn't even funny.'
No one from Eden tried to stop him from going anywhere, probably because of Merlin's insistence. Even the Soul Severing Sword and the snake head warrior simply watched him and didn't really interfere.
He was apparently allowed to do anything as long as he didn't try to escape.
The King of Essence actually kind of likes this place.
Wrath licked his lips while looking at the cookies placed on the center of the table.
The food and snacks are delicious. It's almost as delicious as the food at the annex building.
'...'
Raon thought that Wrath would wag his tail for anyone as long as they fed him a lot. His impression of him, which had become pretty good over time, suddenly plummeted.
'Who the hell started calling you Wrat…'
Just as he was about to ask the question that he'd been curious about for a while, the door was opened and Merlin entered. She casually sat on the bed and shoved her shoulder towards him.
"How is this place? Are you doing okay?"
"Except that I'm getting bored."
Raon looked at Merlin nonchalantly. He responded to her question honestly instead of trying to hide his weakness.
"Don't worry. You should be able to leave pretty soon."
"After I wear that helmet you mentioned, right?"
"Of course."
Merlin slowly nodded and came even closer to him. She offered him a small wooden box, a sweet fragrance coming from her body.
"Is this…?"
"It's an elixir."
She opened the wooden box. There was a blue elixir inside with a clean energy flowing from it.
"Hmm…"
Raon frowned while looking at the inside of the elixir instead of the outside.
'Something is mixed in.'
It looked like an elixir of frost from the outside, but there was some unknown evil mixed inside.
'It must affect the mind.'
The tenth apostle had mentioned that the soul dwelling inside the helmet tried to crush the soul to take over the body. Considering what he said, the elixir was bound to have a bad influence on his mind.
"What if I refuse?"
"I also would love to feed you. Shall I use my mouth to do it?"
Merlin raised her mask slightly and brushed her lips with her finger.
"I don't need it."
She was telling him that she would force-feed him if he didn't want to consume it by himself. Refusal wasn't an option to begin with, as there were two Grandmasters and a bunch of Masters around.
"Haa."
Raon briefly exhaled, then threw the elixir inside his mouth.
'I have no choice but to trust the Ring of Fire.'
He chewed the elixir while counting on the seven rings that managed to completely remove the Curse of Frost, which even the Saint hadn't managed to heal.
Merlin's elixir turned into liquid the moment his teeth touched it and went down his throat effortlessly.
Whir!
The Ring of Fire rotated violently to control the elixir's flow.
The frost of high purity came from high quality elixirs, such as the Herb of Eternal Coldness, Derum's Energy Core, Bloody White Flower, Tree of Isolated Valley, and more, but a lone evil energy emerged from between them.
Cring!
It secretly headed towards his head, unlike the icy energy. It would've been difficult to recognize if he hadn't been using the Ring of Fire. Its destination wasn't his brain. The upper energy center, the dwelling of his soul, was its target.
'So, she's trying to attack my mind after all.'
He'd expected it. She was obviously trying to destroy his will before he wore the helmet. The evil energy sharpened itself and started knocking on the upper energy center's wall, which protected his soul.
Thud!
Raon furrowed his brows as he felt the knocking.
'What…?'
'Why is this so weak?'