Choi Han looked into Cale's frowning face and started to think about Raon.
'If Raon was here!'
Raon could teleport him with magic or float him into the air.
'There is still Cale-nim's Sound of the Wind, but…'
Cale could make Choi Han float with his Sound of the Wind as well. However, the White Star had created a thick wind wall around the hall in order to make it difficult for Cale and Choi Han to escape.
'The people in the hall will charge at us as we break through the White Star's wind wall.'
Then there were bound to be people who got injured.
They were already recklessly charging at him.
"We must s, save him...."
Push!
Choi Han shoved a knight holding his clothes away. However, he only shoved the knight's hand, making the knight who was not injured only stagger.
Boom.
The knight fell backward. However, nobody paid any attention.
"I will…save him..."
In fact, a young child who seemed to be a servant tried relentlessly to grab Choi Han's clothes. Choi Han gently pushed the hand away.
These people would definitely charge at him as they tried to break through the wind wall.
'They can't even faint!'
Choi Han slowly started to frown. The White Star seemed to have realized this as Choi Han noticed the White Star smiling while looking at him.
"What's wrong? Do you not see any way out? I guess it's hard to teleport away because there's nobody here who can use magic? Where might the young Dragon be?"
'This was why he separated Raon from us.'
Choi Han realized the White Star was teasing him when he knew the situation and turned away. Red smoke surrounded the Illusionist who was creating symbols with her hands.
'Why do I not see a medium?'
He did not see a staff like Gashan's nor a talisman. Her hands were empty, but he was certain that she must have the medium somewhere on her body.
The Illusionist noticed Choi Han's gaze and started to speak.
"What are you looking for so hard? Just stand still and let us catch you. Just get caught. That's the small consideration I am giving you."
"…Why should I stand still?"
"You can't let your heart get hurt. Don't you sirs cherish each and every life? How hurt would their families be if that child or any of those civilians died?"
The voice that was changing back and forth between respectful and disrespectful echoed in Choi Han's ears like an instrument.
"The pain in their hearts will become your pain, won't it? Isn't that right, good little Mr. Choi Han?"
Ooooooong-
Choi Han noticed Bear King Sayeru's light arrows pointed toward him.
"I'll start to kill these people one by one if you resist. These people are not on our side, they're just poor people who we tricked."
Sayeru sneered toward Choi Han. His gaze was full of certainty that Choi Han would not be able to do anything.
'That's how Cale Henituse's group has acted this whole time.'
They preferred to save one extra person even if it meant that they would let the enemy leader escape.
How stupid was that?
Click.
Choi Han put his sword back into the scabbard. Both of his hands were empty.
"As I expected."
They truly were these types of people.
That was why they would not be able to stop Sayeru or the White Star. They were foolish and didn't know that sacrifices were required for the greater good.
Sayeru could not help but laugh as he looked at Choi Han who had his head down and Cale who had a blank expression. He felt as if all the frustration in his mind was washing away.
It was at that moment.
Tang!
A small item floated in the air before falling to the ground.
Tang, tang!
Something else fell and rolled on the ground.
Two badges shining in gold light became covered by the dirt on the floor.
Oooooong, oooooong.
The red light was stealthily roaming around the badge.
Sayeru noticed Choi Han slowly raise his head. He was smiling.
"I'm a good person-"
Choi Han moved both hands again.
Riiiiiiiiiip, riiiiiiiiiip!
He reached his hand toward the clothes of the people sticking to him.
"No!"
Sayeru charged toward Choi Han the moment the Illusionist shouted. Choi Han opened his clenched fists.
Tang, tang.
Gold badges fell to the floor.
These were the badges with the territory's crest that were on everyone's new suits or new servant uniforms.
Choi Han violently pulled those badges away. He pulled the badges away from the people sticking to him and the ones grabbing onto his legs.
Riiiiiip.
A person charging toward him stopped moving as if he was a puppet that lost its strings.
"Did you think I wouldn't even notice that?"
He pulled the badge off the young servant's clothes as well.
"You think I'm a good person? What nonsense."
"You bastard!"
Sayeru instantly arrived in front of the laughing Choi Han. The corners of Choi Han's lips twisted up as he looked toward Sayeru.
"Why are you personally charging toward me instead of shooting the light arrow when you said you were going to kill them?"
There was a badge on top of Choi Han's palm.
"Looks like they aren't listening to your orders without these badges."
"Shut up!"
Sayeru's fist that was covered in light headed for Choi Han's heart.
Baaaaang!
The people around Sayeru and Choi Han were pushed back along with the explosive noise. The people who were still caught in the illusion continued to charge toward Choi Han.
Choi Han was at the center holding onto Sayeru's fist with one hand.
Siiiiizle.
His palm started to burn.
"Y, you!"
Sayeru tried to pull his fist out, but it was not easy. In fact, Choi Han's hand pulled Sayeru's fist toward him.
He then lifted the badge that was stealthily releasing a red smoke in front of Sayeru's face.
"You can't shoot the light arrow because you can't destroy these badges. You're using these to cast the illusion to control these people. Am I right?"
"You bastard!"
Sayeru's other hand that was covered in light pushed Choi Han's palm away.
Tang, tang.
The badge rolled on the ground again.
"Ugh!"
Sayeru's body was then pushed back. He looked toward Choi Han who was pushing him back. Choi Han was already quickly removing the badges from the other people's clothes.
"Stop him!"
Sayeru bit down on his lips and turned toward The White Star after hearing the Illusionist's urgent shout. He then flinched. Cale Henituse who was fighting against the White Star… Sayeru made eye contact with Cale.
Cale slowly started to speak.
"I thought you had hidden something big."
"…What did you say?"
Cale looked toward the White Star and the Illusionist before Sayeru could respond.
"Is this it? Hmm?"
He approached the White Star. He watched Choi Han remove the badges for a moment before he started to frown again and looked toward the White Star.
"Did you think I wouldn't notice that they were under an illusion? Huh?"
He was frowning in disbelief.
"…You noticed the illusion?"
The Illusionist looked toward Cale in shock but Cale was only looking at the White Star.
"You said the following when I first fell into the banquet hall. 'Cale Henituse, you look like a mess.' is what you said."
Cale had noticed something the moment he said that.
"I don't mean to boast about my own name, but… I'm kind of famous."
The ordinary citizens of the Caro Kingdom might not know of him, but even the knights, administrators, mages, and the lord of a corner territory like this were bound to hear about things going on throughout the kingdom.
This was especially true for the territory lord or the main administrator who would have heard the name and seen a picture of the person who had played a pivotal role in saving their kingdom.
But they didn't know about him?
"The fact that nobody here recognized my name meant that they were not normal."
It felt weird saying this himself, but…
"I'm a hero in the Caro Kingdom."
There was no way that this bastard of a territory lord who had a famous cousin in the central politics of the kingdom would not know Cale's name.
"Ha, and here I was thinking something big was going to happen."
The moment the White Star and Cale looked only at each other…
"Is this it?"
Cale then disappeared from in front of the White Star.
Swoooosh-
The sound of the wind echoed inside the room.
"Ugh!"
The Illusionist felt someone grabbing the back of her neck. Her face was forced to turn. Cale who had almost teleported behind her was smiling.
"Remove the illusions unless you want to die. Got it?"
The Illusionist's eyes were shaking.
"I'm not as good of a person as you think I am. Do you really think I am a Saint or a hero?"
It was best if they could prevent people from getting hurt or dying, but…
Cale did not want to save other people's lives by sacrificing the lives of his people. That was why he knew he was selfish and cruel.
He was saying this because he knew that was the case.
"Get rid of the illusions, now."
Swoooooooosh-
A violent gust of wind formed on Cale's other palm. He looked toward Sayeru and the White Star as he spoke to the Illusionist.
"Unless you wish to die. I am not someone who threatens others. I'm someone who only speaks the truth."
The Illusionist's eyes were shaking. She was more sensitive to people's emotions than most after making people see illusions for so long. That was why she was able to tell that Cale was being honest.
Her mouth slowly opened again.
"A, all of you, throw your badges away!"
The people running toward Choi Han stopped walking. They then pulled the badges off their clothes.
Tang. Tang.
The golden badges fell to the ground one by one.
The people surrounding Choi Han slowly fell to the ground and fainted once the badges fell to the ground.
Choi Han let out a sigh of relief.
However, Choi Han's pupils soon started to shake.
"What the hell!"
The numerous golden badges on the ground…
The badges that fell from the people surrounding Choi Han seemed to be creating a circle with Choi Han in the center.
Oooooooong- ooooooong-
Red smoke instantly started to rise from the badges.
Cale moved his wind.
Bang!
The Illusionist's hands that were creating symbols stopped moving with a small explosion. The Illusionist smiled brightly toward Cale.
"What's the point of grabbing my head? My hands were still moving. I already finished the signing."
'What?'
Cale immediately started to speak after seeing the red smoke start to rise.
"Choi Han, dodge!"
However, Choi Han could not move. He didn't know why, but he was frozen stiff and could not move at all. Cale heard Choi Han's shaking voice at that moment.
"Why, why did the darkness suddenly-!"
One chandelier had fallen, but the banquet hall was still bright. It was very bright. Cale's face was crumpled in a frown as he jerked the Illusionist's neck.
"What the hell did you do?"
Cale was able to look into the Illusionist's eyes for the first time. He then realized his mistake.
The Illusionist was different than the White Star's other subordinates Cale had met before. Cale could see the eyes of a wild beast that had yet to give up.
She leisurely whispered in Cale's ear.
"Mr. Cale, you need to be on equal grounds if you want to make a deal with me. I created that equal grounds for you."
He could see Choi Han who didn't know what to do as he slowly became surrounded by the red smoke.
Swooooooosh-
Cale tried to send his gust of wind toward the red smoke.
"Ah, Choi Han might get seriously injured if you attack."
However, he could not act rashly after hearing the Illusionist's comment. She looked toward Cale and joyfully continued to speak.
"Okay, I'll threaten you as well. Let go of my neck if you don't want to see Choi Han cut his own neck. Got it?"
He heard the White Star's voice as well.
"…You asked if it was just this? Of course not."
The White Star who was slowly observing Cale's stiff expression started to speak with a more satisfied expression.
He had thoroughly prepared after being defeated multiple times.
"You think I only prepared the fake?"
Boom! Boom!
The ground started to shake.
This rumbling was similar to the rumbling Cale felt while he was in Young-en city.
No, it was stronger. It felt as if the ground was splitting.
"What the hell!"
"Why am I here?"
"Ugh, where is this place?"
The rumbling made some people wake up in confusion. The people looked around trying to locate the source of the rumbling and managed to find it.
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh-
The White Star's wind wall slowly disappeared. Then they saw the fire snake that was heading over the walls of the Lord's Castle.
But the fire snake soon stopped moving as well.
The people were not looking at the fire snake either.
"…M, my goodness-"
Boom!
The ground shook as a large pillar of fire appeared on the west side of the Dubori territory.
The pillar of fire that was shooting through the ground did not seem like regular fire.
"…M, magma?"
The moment someone said the word that best described it…
Boom-, boom, boom!
The rumbling continued before large pillars of fire appeared in all four directions.
Cale watched the White Star open a western window and head toward the terrace.
The White Star raised his hand with an expression that seemed to say he didn't care about Cale or Choi Han. Cale's gaze was focused on those hands.
Craaaackle-
The fire sword was burning brighter than ever in the White Star's hand.
'…It's different.'
This was different than the fire sword Cale had seen in the past. He could feel that the sword in front of him right now was significantly stronger than in the past.
This was probably the true fire sword.
"Cale Henituse, you should know about the Sword of Disasters after fighting against Syrem, right?"
The fake Dragon Slayer's half-powered Sword of Disasters. How strong had it been?
Cale and Raon had struggled during the Henituse territory battle to defend against that sword. Raon's shield had been broken and Cale had to push to his limits to block it.
"I added fire to that sword. Isn't fire a symbol of disaster?"
The White Star who was the final Dragon Slayer had added his fire attribute ancient power into the Sword of Disasters.
The fire the ancient White Star had possessed was a disaster.
Fire was one of the easiest things for people to fear.
"I will bring forth a true fiery disaster."
His sword pointed past the Dubori territory and into the Land of Death.
The Land of Death.
The only place among the Western continent's Forbidden Regions that was said to be created by human hands.
The desert that became known as the Land of Death after the death of the final necromancer.
And the Dubori territory that was located next to that desert.
The White Star leisurely spoke as if he was dealing with a passing breeze.
"I will create a new reason for this land to be called a Forbidden Region."
He would bring death to this land through a fiery disaster this time.
"So, what will you do? Cale Henituse, your young Dragon is not by your side. You cannot escape."
The White Star was full of anticipation. He was looking forward to seeing how this man would react when he was left to fight alone, when he was at his limits.
He thoroughly observed Cale's blank expression.
Cale mind was loud at that moment.
– That damn bastard we need to beat with a stick! It won't be enough to curse that bastard until the moment he is gone from this world! We need to curse him to death! Aaaaaaaaaah!
It was a clear voice that was swearing so coarsely.
– I'm going to kill that bastard.
It was the voice of the Sky Eating Water.