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Today, too, I meditated leisurely, reciting like an immortal.

Occasionally imitating the elders’ way of speaking brought peace to my mind.

It was a secret technique I discovered through countless hours of meditation.

There was a lot to learn from the elders.

Since the elderly could fall ill from even the slightest anger, controlling their temper was crucial. It was something I needed as well.

Immortality wasn’t that special, to begin with.

When the elderly kept suppressing their anger, there were cases where they exploded in a fit of rage. In those rare instances, they became immortals.

Here in the training grounds, there was a man who revered the elderly like immortals even while meditating. That was me.

Wind blades that cut through the air, Wind Cutter

“Stupid immortal.”

Hearing Zion’s incantation, I felt like an immortal about to explode with anger. I immediately threw Red Dagger.

The red dagger instantly disrupted the Wind Cutter and hurtled towards Zion’s chest.

Whoosh—

Zion twisted his waist to evade it, and the dagger, imbued with guidance magic, arched back in a wide curve.

I caught the dagger and said,

“You stubborn brat. Are you going to keep doing it like that?”

“Like what?”

“Aren’t you going to do it properly?”

As always, he wouldn’t understand unless I spoke harshly.

It had been ages since he reached the 3rd-circle, yet he still couldn’t handle a simple Wind Cutter properly.

‘Inner Peace. Inner…Peace. Peace.’

I thought of the immortals again and engraved peace in my mind.

As I embraced peace, I began to understand his perspective.

Zion lacked talent compared to Makan.

Makan and Palge had already entered the 4th-circle, but Zion still couldn’t perfectly control the 3rd-circle.

I knew that frustrating feeling well, so I didn’t intend to scold him too harshly. Just enough to motivate him.

I closed my eyes and meditated again, sensing the apprentices’ training. Then, I opened my eyes slightly and looked towards the distant mountain ridge.

Three figures were loitering near the temple.

‘They’re from the White Horse Squad.’

They were the ones I saw at Donkey’s restaurant yesterday.

The White Horse Squad members, who Lihan said had gone to the Red Magic Tower for training, had finally returned.

I had completely forgotten about them since there had been no news for so long.

I suddenly remembered what Kant had said a few days ago.

— The eldest son of Urgon has left the Demon Realm. It seems it took a bit longer because he had to conquer the 3rd-level Demon Realm. The Red Phoenix magic Division and the special task force also returned with him. Urgon will probably start making moves soon.

— There’s one more piece of news. It’s been confirmed that Samael’s mages also returned from the Demon Realm this time.

It seemed they had been in the Demon Realm, which was why I couldn’t contact them.

As I continued to observe them, one of them looked in my direction.

‘Was his name Taylor?’

According to Lihan, this guy’s father was the former leader of the White Horse Squad.

Since the current leader position was vacant, he was probably acting as the de facto leader of the White Horse Squad.

I observed the three of them for a moment and thought,

‘Not bad.’

Their eyes were alive.

Although they couldn’t match Urgon’s Azure Dragon Squad Leader, they seemed stronger than most of the Azure Dragon Squad members. They had potential.

But it seemed their thoughts were different.

The guys who had been making eye contact with me started walking down towards the training ground.

Blair, who was carefully examining my face, suddenly tilted his head back and forth.

“…That yesterday at the restaurant? The slingshot guy?”

Since it was a plausible situation, I nodded.

“Seems like it left an impression. I’m the guy who can shoot a slingshot to his forehead. That’s me.”

Blair’s pupils were shaking. It must have been quite impactful.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m in my own house. What’s the problem?”

“Are you also part of Samael? A new recruit who joined after the clan opened its doors?”

I looked at the three of them and said,

“It seems polite to introduce yourselves before asking about someone’s identity.”

Taylor nodded and said,

“Taylor Samael. A member of Samael’s White Horse Squad. I’ve returned after completing my training at the Magic Tower.”

I also stood up and formally introduced myself.

“Ruin Samael. Leader of the Crazy Mage Squad.”

Blair, who was listening next to me, suddenly gasped.

“Ruin? You?”

“Speaking informally right off the bat is a bit unpleasant.”

“Are you really Ruin?”

“I’m the real Ruin, there’s no fake Ruin. I’m the one and only Crazy Mage. Just like you’re not a fake Blair.”

Taylor and Blair exchanged glances, seemingly communicating with their eyes.

Having reached the 5th-circle, I had attained the ability to somewhat deduce a person’s thoughts just by their gaze.

The signal they exchanged probably meant something like, ‘It seems like he’s the real one.’

“It seems so. If you’re really Ruin, you should greet Senior Brother first.”

“I told you, I’m the leader of the Crazy Mage Squad.”

“Ha, are you trying to pull rank just because we haven’t seen each other in a while?”

Ah.

Why were there so many people in the world who disrupted one’s peace of mind?

Senior Brother my foot.

I suddenly thought that the path to controlling anger was long and arduous. But I still intended to suppress my anger as much as possible with these guys.

“Greetings aren’t difficult. Nice to meet you, Taylor.”

Blair glared at me.

“You call that a greeting?”

I raised my hand, then suppressed my anger once more and said,

“Courtesy should be mutual. And considering both age and position, I should be the one receiving greetings first. I’m the leader of the Crazy Mage Squad, so you should show some respect. Even if we’re in different divisions, there’s a clear difference in rank. What’s with calling me by my name right away?”

As Blair’s face contorted and I sensed mana fluctuations from him, Taylor stepped forward and extended his hand for a handshake.

“Alright. Nice to meet you, Ruin.”

“Senior Brother?”

“Don’t cause a scene, Blair. It’s right to show mutual respect.”

Taylor looked at me.

As I didn’t look away, Taylor nodded.

“Anyway, it seems things have indeed changed. It’s not bad for the clan. It’s a good thing.”

At that moment, the woman who had been looking around stepped forward and spoke to someone.

“Ain?”

It was a clear and refreshing voice.

‘So that woman is Arin.’

At Arin’s voice, Ain, who had been meditating in the distance, opened his eyes involuntarily and greeted her cheerfully.

“Huh, Sister Arin?”

The atmosphere suddenly lightened. Only then did Taylor look around and express his delight. It was because he knew everyone.

But I didn’t like the way things were going, so I compressed the wind into the Red Dagger in my hand.

‘Compression, Wind Press.’

Now, I could activate 4th-circle magic with just a simplified chant.

It was one of the many advantages of having five circles. Although it couldn’t match a full incantation, it was quite useful in situations like this.

Whoosh—

Red Dagger, charged with powerful wind pressure, shot straight towards Ain’s face.

It happened so quickly that everyone just blinked in surprise.

But Ain, who was already used to this kind of situation, twisted his body completely, enveloped in a Wind Barrier, and evaded Red Dagger.

“Distracted thoughts during meditation, you stubborn brat.”

“Sorry, Commander.”

“Forehead.”

As Ain approached without any resistance, Taylor couldn’t say anything in response.

Smack— Ain got smacked on the forehead, rolled backward, and then got up and resumed his meditation posture.

“…”

Breaking the brief silence, Taylor stepped forward and looked at me.

“I have a question.”

It was a simple sentence, but the atmosphere shifted.

His attitude seemed unaffected by my actions.

He was a man who knew how to change the flow with his own presence, regardless of the surrounding circumstances.

It was quite a seasoned response.

“I’ll ask you directly. You eradicated Bayern? How did that happen? And why are the apprentices learning incantations?”

At the barrage of questions, I tilted my head and asked,

“Why are you asking me that?”

“Don’t play dumb. I already heard it from the elder.”

“Which elder?”

“Answer my question first.”

“The Head Elder is secluded in the mountains, and it’s not Elder Isaac either. Considering you mentioned incantations, it’s most likely Elder Falcon.”

“I heard everything, so explain.”

Taylor glared at me, and I glared back.

If I were to follow my usual personality, I would have slapped him by now.

But as I met Taylor’s eyes, I discarded that thought. For some reason, I didn’t feel like doing that to him. It was because of his gaze.

“Sigh.”

Suddenly losing my composure, I looked up at the sky and started walking slowly across the training ground.

* * *

Taylor glared at Ruin’s back, about to say something, but then looked around again.

‘Zion, Makan, Iron, Palge…’

They were all familiar faces.

The children who had joined as apprentices before they left for training at the Magic Tower.

Their appearances had completely changed. Their youthful faces remained the same, but their bodies were as firm as those of knights.

But for some reason, they were all meditating without acknowledging them.

It didn’t seem like they were doing it on purpose.

They looked as if they were in a state of extreme concentration.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of someone rolling on the ground in the distance.

The good-for-nothing guy was sighing heavily. Then, his face turned slightly red, and he burst into a torrent of curses.

“Damn it. There’s not a single person I can trust in this damn clan. An elder should act like an elder. If they take two gold bars, they should at least do their job. Should I just take them back? Passing their responsibilities onto me because they’re too lazy?”

Taylor was momentarily speechless, while Blair cursed,

“That crazy bastard, how dare he speak such nonsense to an elder…”

Taylor didn’t stop Blair.

He also judged that Ruin’s words had clearly crossed the line. How had Samael’s hierarchy crumbled to this point?

Just as a powerful mana surge erupted from Blair,

An aged voice boomed from the distant mountain ridge.

“White Horse Squad!”

The elders, led by Head Elder Norman, were descending towards the training ground.

Blair immediately suppressed his mana, knelt on one knee, and bowed his head. Arin knelt down, and Taylor followed suit.

“Taylor Samael, greetings to the elders. We have returned to Samael after completing our training. We apologize for not greeting you sooner.”

Head Elder Norman approached with a hearty smile and helped them up.

“You’ve all grown well. I heard you conquered the 3rd-level Demon Realm. Thank you. It’s truly commendable and a proud achievement.”

“Thank you.”

The three of them, well aware of Head Elder Norman’s strict personality, knew that these words were high praise.

Taylor looked up and met Head Elder Norman’s eyes, then tilted his head slightly.

‘The Head Elder’s aura has changed too.’

It wasn’t as drastic as the Clan Head’s, but there was definitely a change in Head Elder Norman’s aura.

As Taylor observed Head Elder Norman’s aura for a moment, he noticed a hint of impatience in his expression.

“…Head Elder?”

“What are you doing here? You must be tired from your journey. Go inside and rest.”

Blair, who had been silent, shook his head and spoke,

“No, Head Elder. There’s someone disrupting Samael’s hierarchy.”

Head Elder Norman followed Blair’s gaze and sighed. It was as if his ominous premonition had come true.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but discard those thoughts, Blair.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m saying your thoughts are mistaken.”

“No. Those who fail to uphold Samael’s clan precepts must be punished thoroughly. I’ll educate him… Mmmph.”

A wrinkled hand covered Blair’s mouth. Head Elder Norman’s eyes darted around anxiously, glancing at Ruin before sighing again and looking at Blair.

“Go inside and rest now.”

Watching this, Taylor immediately realized that the cause of the impatience in Head Elder Norman’s eyes was Ruin.

‘What is this…’

“Didn’t I tell you to go inside and rest! Taylor!”

“…Blair, Arin, follow me.”

Taylor didn’t ask any further questions and immediately led Blair and Arin into a separate room. Seeing this, Head Elder Norman let out a sigh of relief.

Ruin shook his head and clicked his tongue, then finally greeted them.

“Hello, Head Elder.”

Ruin bowed his head to each of them in greeting, then suddenly his eyes lit up and he said,

“Ah, Elder Falcon is here too. Would you mind having a meeting with me?”

“Go ahead, Falcon.”

As Head Elder Norman stepped aside as if he had been waiting for this, Falcon, sensing the atmosphere, smiled awkwardly and grabbed Norman’s arm.

“Let’s go together, Head Elder.”

“Let go, Falcon.”

“Head Elder?”

“Do you want a taste of the magic stone?”

Head Elder Norman ruthlessly shook off Elder Falcon’s arm.

For some reason, Elder Falcon seemed to be sweating profusely.

* * *

“This isn’t something we can just overlook, Senior Brother.”

Despite Blair’s urging, Taylor remained silent. Blair raised his voice.

“Are you just going to watch?”

“Wait.”

Taylor shook his head slightly with a serious expression.

They had entered the room following the Head Elder’s orders, but no matter how much they thought about it, this wasn’t a situation they could simply ignore.

“It’s not just a matter of disrespect.”

“Then…”

“We need to know the whole story first.”

A brief silence followed.

Blair sat on the bedding, lost in thought, and Arin also closed her eyes, contemplating something.

Taylor, who had been tapping the table in thought, suddenly looked up and said,

“Bring Wright here.”

Blair, seemingly sharing the same thought, straightened his posture and nodded.

“Understood.”

As Blair was about to open the door and leave, Taylor corrected himself.

“No. Bring Lihan. That would be better.”

A moment later, Lihan entered the room with Blair, bowing respectfully.

“Greetings, Young Master Taylor.”

“Have a seat.”

As Lihan sat down, Taylor went straight to the point.

“Do you know Ruin well?”

Lihan had already anticipated what Taylor was going to ask.

“Yes, I serve by his side.”

“Then you must be well aware of what Ruin has been up to.”

“That’s correct.”

Taylor looked into Lihan’s eyes.

“I’d like to hear the details.”

“Where should I start?”

“Everything that happened after we left Samael.”

Surprisingly, Lihan smiled and replied,

“You might find it hard to believe.”

“Tell me everything, without leaving anything out.”

Taylor found Lihan’s smile somewhat odd but didn’t say anything.

“Then I shall begin.”

Lihan cleared his throat once and started speaking.

———