The sun had risen over the weapon island of Pamillan.
"Oh my. What in the world happened?"
"I know. I took a quick look, and it was an absolute bloodbath."
The residents gathered in front of the guild furrowed their brows.
They had no choice.
Dozens of corpses were being carried out before their eyes by members of the Edillen family.
"I heard something happened at the Edillen family mansion too?"
"Ugh, don't even mention it. They say it's even more horrific there. Just going near it reeks of blood."
"Good heavens."
A man nearby gestured for them to be quiet.
"Let's keep our mouths shut for a while. Lord Marundo has met a terrible fate. Lord Ragharr must be deeply grieved."
Those who were cautioned lowered their heads.
This morning, the Edillen family had officially announced that the guild had been destroyed by a raid from the Phantom Mercenary Corps and that the young head, Marundo, had died.
And the head of the family, Ragharr, had yet to show himself, likely due to the shock.
The islanders, who respected him, were deeply worried.
"Sigh. Let's go home. Watching this like a spectacle doesn't sit well with me either."
"Agreed. We'll have to take a break for a while anyway."
The Edillen family had designated the next week as a period for resolving the incident and mourning.
During this mourning period, all work in the Black Sea and weapon crafting were prohibited.
"Oh, Father."
Limuna tightly gripped Rogadu's arm.
Rogadu held his daughter's hand and let out a low sigh.
The work guild of Pamillan had tried to kill him and Duko.
He had vaguely sensed that something was amiss.
But he never imagined such a disaster would occur in less than two days.
"Do you think Sir Jinhyuk and his companions are okay?"
"They'll be fine."
Rogadu had lived a life far removed from fighting.
Even to him, the strength of Jinhyuk and his party was beyond the bounds of common sense.
So they would be safe.
As long as they didn't go up against Ragharr, the head of the Edillen family.
"I wonder if the children are alright."
Limuna let out a deep sigh and looked up at the cloudy sky.
Momo, who was chubby and cute; Kancho, who was fluffy and nice to hug; and Nia, who for some reason just kept sleeping with her round belly rising and falling.
To think such small, delicate children were at the center of the storm.
It was maddening with worry.
'You have to be safe, kids.'
All she could do was hope.
That the children weren't cowering in a corner, terrified.
That she could see them again in good health.
And at that moment.
The Edillen family mansion.
"What is this eyeless crab?!"
"It has no eyes, but it's incredibly delicious!"
"Wooooow, so goooood!!"
Momo wore the happiest expression in the world.
It was exactly 180 degrees opposite to Limuna's worried imagination of her sobbing.
Nom nom nom nom nom!!
"Be careful, Piggy Momo! Piggy Nia is speeding up!"
"No! I have to save some! It's all disappearing!"
On the other side, Elia and Kamela were watching the Monican trio's eating show.
Elia sipped her tea and smiled.
"I guess being young means they have strong stomachs?"
She turned her head slightly back.
Right beyond that door.
The reception room, now splattered with blood everywhere.
Maybe because she had seen it too directly before coming here, she had no appetite.
"Come to think of it, how old is she?"
"Hm? How old?"
Elia followed Kamela's gaze.
Nia, the great sin of Sloth and Gluttony, was moving her hands nonstop, munching away.
Elia wrinkled her nose and rubbed her chin.
She had thought she would never lose in age anywhere.
But if that one was the opponent, it was a different story.
Snap!
After a moment of thought, Elia snapped her fingers.
"Let's just say she's the same age as Chubby. Or maybe Satan."
"Not bad. They get along very well with those two anyway."
Satisfied with the conclusion, Elia nodded and leaned back.
She couldn't give up the position of the party's eldest elder.
Anyway, the head of this family was no ordinary human either.
Knowing they were inevitably enemies who would clash, he still prepared such a lavish feast.
At first, she thought it might be poisoned, but it wasn't; it was just delicious.
'Well, he's no match for our master.'
Right after analyzing the poison Ragharr had suffered in the Star Workshop, she had subtly mentioned it to Jinhyuk.
Since they would fight anyway and the old man wasn't ordinary, she said she would only half-detoxify him.
But Jinhyuk shook his head and answered.
He told her to make him completely healthy.
Only then would it be worthwhile to crush him and move on.
'Is he not normal?'
She chuckled as she sipped her tea.
Her master, Yoo Jinhyuk, who, even after seeing the old man's overwhelming power, wasn't afraid but only thought of using it as a stepping stone.
Perhaps that was the madness.
The reason why Seira, Dark, and Renya, whom Elia and Kamela called true fighters, cherished and trained him with all their might.
Anyway, following her master's orders, she had restored the old man's body to over one hundred percent.
So, she would have to tell Jinhyuk when they met shortly.
That if he lost, he couldn't blame her.
* * *
Ragharr von Edillen's bedroom.
Ragharr, lying on the bed, clenched his fist.
'Hoo.'
He thought he had built up experience that was second to none, but it seemed that was arrogance.
To purge such a deadly poison in such a short time and restore his body to near perfection.
What level of mastery did one need to reach to achieve something like this?
He could confidently say it was far beyond the bounds of normalcy.
"It's an antidote, right?"
He lifted his head at the sound of a voice.
Come to think of it, there was one more thing that wasn't normal in a different sense.
Jinhyuk was sitting by the bedside, munching on an apple.
He was an enemy he would soon have to fight and kill.
Yet, not only did he provide the antidote, but he was also sitting there peeling apples as if visiting a sick person.
Of course, he was stuffing them all into his own mouth, but still. This guy wasn't normal either.
"It is an antidote, so stop swinging your fists, geez."
"Ahem."
Ragharr made an awkward expression.
The taste was so horribly awful that at first, he thought he had been tricked into taking another deadly poison.
So, instinctively, he had thrown a punch at Jinhyuk, who had brought the antidote.
Ragharr's half-lidded eyes traced the memory and moved to Jinhyuk's left cheek.
'Didn't even graze him. And we were that close.'
Even considering that his condition wasn't normal, it was an absurd result.
The strange thing was that even though Jinhyuk was right next to him now, he couldn't feel any particular energy.
Was it a coincidence?
Probably not.
He wasn't so rusty that he could be dodged by mere coincidence.
"Would you like some pear?"
At Jinhyuk's repeated question, he returned his gaze to the front.
At this point, he was a bit confused.
Was he teasing him?
He had kept saying he didn't want any, but Jinhyuk kept peeling them, eating them, asking again, and peeling more.
Thanks to that, the fruit basket that had been by the bedside was almost empty.
"You don't want any. I already peeled it, so I'll eat it."
Now he didn't even wait for an answer and just ate.
After watching the fruit-eating show for a while, Ragharr spoke.
"Was it the method to remove the contamination from Pamillan? What you asked for in return for saving my life."
"Yes. I understood the contamination path through the ruins left by Rick's father."
He put down the finished pear and the knife and continued.
"The sphere you brought down from the tower. What was contained in it is what's now called the Master of the Black Sea, right? And you released it into the Black Sea of Pamillan."
"The exact name is Divine Beast. I obtained it by luck on some floor."
"Rick's father described it as a poisoned chalice. It seems to grant infinite power right now, but in reality, it's slowly encroaching on the island and the sea, and at a certain point, it will reveal its true nature and devour everything. He even wrote down the specific method... I won't bother saying it. You already know, Lord Ragharr."
"So you've already decided that I was the one who blew away that ruin with a weapon."
"Because I came to this answer to the question: why would you deliberately destroy such a massive ruin? Because Rick's father had come very close to the truth. And the only person who could find out this fact is you, Lord Ragharr, who brought the Divine Beast down from the tower."
A smile formed on Ragharr's lips.
Everything was correct, so there was nothing to say or not say.
"I'd like you to answer this one directly. Is it true that at some point, the Divine Beast will devour the island?"
"It is true. Do you know why I named the Divine Beast the Master of the Black Sea? To scare people? No. They have a nature to rule as masters over every place they exist. They have the power to do so. That's why the tower manages the Divine Beasts very strictly. It never provides any environment where the Divine Beast can acquire and gather power."
"You released such a dangerous thing into that vast Black Sea."
Ragharr nodded and pulled down the robe he was wearing.
Thick, dark purple blood vessels ran from his waist to his neck.
The same color as the contamination Kamela had seen with her spiritual eye.
"I made a contract with the Divine Beast. I promised it the Black Sea and Pamillan."
"What was the reason? This was supposed to be a peaceful island where people lived day by day making weapons."
"That's the problem."
Ragharr got up from the bed, leaned on his cane, and walked to the window.
Looking at the island of Pamillan spread out below, he continued.
"Peace... What I saw when I returned from the tower was a precarious candle flame that could be extinguished by the slightest breeze. A fragility that would shatter the moment the slightest malice reached it."
Ragharr shook his head.
"I saw countless things while climbing the tower that I couldn't even imagine. And I came to realize one truth. Those who climb the tower challenge, and those who remain receive that challenge. Do you think this Pamillan could be free from the tower's truth? No. It just hadn't received a proper challenge yet. It wouldn't have been strange if it faced a challenge at any time, in any way, and crumbled."
Ragharr, standing with his back to the window, met Jinhyuk's eyes.
"So I made a contract with the Divine Beast. Even if it was for a limited time of a hundred years, to give the weapon island of Pamillan true peace."
"By occasionally throwing people as feed to appease the Divine Beast?"
"Great causes always come with sacrifices. You must have seen it too? The weapons made from their sacrifices and the island growing stronger because of those weapons."
Jinhyuk nodded a couple of times and stood up.
"So, to summarize."
He walked toward Ragharr and continued.
"You got scared of a crisis that hasn't even happened yet and sold the island and the sea to the Divine Beast wholesale."
Ragharr didn't answer.
He just stared at Jinhyuk with cold eyes.
"I've heard enough of your cowardly excuses wrapped in a grand cause. I don't need to hear any more. As the final payment for saving your life, tell me what you promised."
Rick's father had recorded it.
The only one who knew how to escape the contamination, from the Master of the Black Sea, was Ragharr von Edillen.
Now, let's hear that method.
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T/N:
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