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"Other than my strength and genius attainment?" Alexie did not answer but threw in a joke instead. Emma pouted with displeasure at his usual deflection using humor, but she refused to let him off the hook.

"No, something regarding your identity."

"I am a bastard?"

"...are you acting ignorant?"

"How would I act ignorant of what does not exist?" he questioned, and it made Emma doubt her suspicions for a second.

There was no concrete theory in her mind as to why Alexie was similar to Arthur Silvera, but she did not dismiss any absurd ones. Everything was possible in this world, and the man in front of her could be Arthur himself or related to him somehow.

"You asked to help me in the search for Arthur Silvera," she squinted her eyes. "However, you never questioned whether he was alive. You were there to help me."

"That can be explained via other means," Alexie scratched his neck with a smile. Emma raised a brow, unsure of what he meant. "It just means I wanted an excuse to befriend you."

"...oh," she exclaimed as a hammer slammed her heart. His words left her mind a wreck, and her face was growing a blush that she tried to hide. "I... I..."

"You... You..." he mocked her for stuttering while pulling her hand with his. "There is no need to overthink it. I am just having fun with a friend. This place is where you can find me when everything else falls to chaos."

"Are you leaving to create Ascent?" she asked while taking the card, unable to hide her sadness. Alexie paused for a second when he noticed her expression, but his face hardened.

"I need to leave," he said with a shake of his head. "Jerano became nothing but a nest of troubles. I fell from one problem into another, unable to grow as fast I hoped to be."

"I understand," Emma nodded as her hand tightened around the card. "I knew this was going to sound absurd, but I need to ask it. Have you ever met Arthur Silvera before we met?"

***

When he was faced with her question, Arthur was tempted to reveal the truth. However, as monitored by the Yalen Family, Emma was a dangerous person to interact with. A simple revelation of the truth can send the seven families in his pursuit.

Arthur has grown powerful, but it wasn't enough to face the calamities and the vessels alone. His mana-essence needed to grow enough to allow him to exhibit his full potential against the darkness.

Furthermore, he needed to find his people scattered around the world and train new guildmates as powerful as the other nations.

The vessels should be awakening soon, and the world will fall into chaos. Arthur stared at Emma, whose eyes were pools of curiosity, as he knew that he needed to hold back again.

"I never met him," he lied. "However, if I ever hear about his whereabouts, I will send you a message."

Her expression was blank, and it seemed that she did not believe him a lot. However, there was nothing that she could do since he denied it, and the noble daughter sighed before taking a step back.

"I am sorry for making Caleb scheme against you," she sharply bowed her body. "This is not your battle, but mine. I have inconvenienced you for a long time. I will always remember the debt that you have shown me."

Arthur could not point it out, but his lie created a wall between the two of them. However, unlike what his foreign emotions asked of him, he knew better than letting himself ruin another chance to save her.

Her thin figure had the slightest trembles as she raised her head. Emma refused to look him in the eyes, and he turned away to honor her desire.

"Wait for me," Arthur said, and Emma tightened her fist in what he believed to be an understanding. Then, he jumped off the balcony and dived into the shadows of the night.

Arthur glanced back at Emma, standing on the balcony with her back resting on the railing. Even though her body was weak, she stood firm while losing another friend. Arthur turned away from him as his feet landed in the space inside his shadow.

"I have returned, My Lord," Ruki bowed in front of him, her aura more threatening than ever. "I have some unfortunate news."

Arthur nodded as he looked at the countless shadow monsters behind her. These were his silent troops and his hidden knife. It seems that the previous Arthur sent Ruki and her troops to aid Ivy in one of her missions, but the shadow monster just returned from the venture.

"Has something happened to Ivy?" asked Arthur with a frown. Ruki looked at him with holes of gaping darkness before nodding. His frown deepened, and the shadow space began shaking. "Report."

"We encountered a few missionaries from the Ilios Empire," reported the shadow queen. "Their light was too overbearing for us, and it seems they have heard of our last assignment as the shadow corps."

"Continue," he said as his confusion grew. Mistletoe and the Ilios Empire already had different encounters, and they seem to extend to this timeline.

"Miss Ivy has fallen prisoner to an Astra-ranker from the Sun Temple, and we failed to save her. I have reported this to Master Sier."

"A prisoner to the Ilios Empire?" Arthur breathed out, trying to minimize the rage he was feeling. "What has Sier done to save her?"

"Master Sier instructed that we report back to you, hoping for a chance that you would clear your schedule. Mistletoe is going to save Miss Ivy once her location is found."

"Remind me, Ruki," frowned Arthur. "What was the purpose of this mission?"

"...as you wish, My Lord," bowed down the shadow queen. "Mistletoe has received intel that the Ilios Empire found a suitable candidate for the vessel to descend. We have been trying to uncover their identity to prevent the descent or to assassinate the candidate."

"A vessel," repeated Arthur with understanding. It seems Mistletoe was still aiding him in this timeline. But, of course, it was also assisting itself as a criminal group of misfits. "I understand."

Ivy has saved him once before, and he was not someone who did not repay his debts. However, the next full moon was still in a week, and this gave him a chance to visit the ruins in Runera.

However, this incident made Arthur realize that the ending has begun. The vessels will start to descend, and Arthur could not prevent them from doing so, and the dungeons will start to break one after the other until the two worlds merge.

Arthur can delay the process, but it was inevitable to lead to that. This was the beginning of a long fight against people who believed this world should be abandoned, and he refused to do so.

Nameless was an omnipotent existence, and Arthur knew that. It was the same as Gaia, but a different kind of existence. Finally, however, it was possible to learn how to stop this natural deterioration of the world from his past life.

"I will visit Sier soon," said Arthur as his body began to leave the shadow space. "Report back that I need to handle a few matters first."

"I understand, My Lord."

After that, Arthur appeared in front of the workshop, which was illuminated by the silence of the night. However, on its walls were new words that were not there before, and Ori looked at them.

"We have new fans," laughed the runemaster as he looked at the hateful words written on the walls. "A few low-ranking students did it, but I think others threatened them."

"The weak are always the scapegoat," said Arthur as he walked forward. "I wouldn't hold it against them since we will be leaving soon."

"I will never hold it against them, but against their horrible manners. Someone even called me slurs because of my sexuality," pointed Ori at one of the marks.

"I will break their arms."

"...you just told me not to hold it against them," laughed Ori as he shook his head. "There is no need to break any arms. I am used to these kinds of insults."

"You are a strong man, Ori," said Arthur with a smile. "You are the only person I want as the Vice-Guildmaster of Ascent."

"The title has been set in stone?" laughed the runemaster sheepishly. "I am quite pricy, dearest friend."

"I will pay whatever price for you," replied Arthur with a smile before his eyes turned toward the side. In a usual-looking ally inside the city, a fluctuation of mana raised his suspicions.. "My offer extends to you, Saint of Shon."