The Villain has Perished



Two days passed after Setsuna met Sol. 

She prepared appropriate measures to take against Jae-sung once he regressed. She also used the excuse of escorting them to follow the group to the location where the Rite of Passage would take place.

During the two days, Varnish and Klein were healed with the help of herbs and Setsuna's healing magic. Varnish had a particularly hard time, as Sol had made him eat herbs that upset one's stomach which Setsuna's healing magic couldn't heal.

Finally, the day arrived of judgement. It coincided with their arrival at the venue for the Rites. 

At the same time, Yula – a Daemon posing as Sol's personal maid – also joined their group. It could've been a disaster if Setsuna had not warned Lumine about Daemons.

One could say, Setsuna's preparations were wonderful. But there was one thing she never anticipated…

Sol had yet to wake up.

His body had been healed completely but for some reason, Sol remained unconscious.

…

..

.

Meanwhile,

Grudean City, the capital city of Caliburn Kingdom, one of the 13 Kingdoms on Kamera Continent.

"I'll be back later." 

Morie Feint felt his heartache when he looked at his bedridden sister.

The problem appeared a few years ago. She suddenly fell unconsious and didn't rouse for a week. Mori took her to famous doctors, herbalists and even healers but nothing worked. 

Her condition didn't improve.

Like a disease eating at her from the inside, she only became weaker and weaker to the point that today, she couldn't even reply to her brother's greeting, who was leaving for work.

Mori smacked his face and took a deep breath. He put on a bright, cheerful aura that was opposite to his previous despondent self, opened the door, and then left for work.

"Elder brother Mori, Good morning!"

"Oh, it's Mori. How are you, child?"

"Mori! You are early as usual, huh? Take these fruits from me. No, don't worry about money, take them as thanks for protecting us every day!"

"Hey, Mori! Going to the post this early?"

"Mori…"

Throughout his path, various people greeted Mori. Although he was poor, and his job was nothing more than a normal guard at the city gates. He was liked by everyone. His diligent and sincere personality melted the hearts of the people he met.

As Mori reached his post with his hands full of fruits and snacks the shopkeepers of the neighborhood gave him, his colleague chuckled.

"Dude, you are too famous. Donate me a bit of your handsomeness, will you? I don't want to die single."

A chuckle escaped Mori's lips. He had dark blue hair that looked almost black at first glance, and bright red eyes that resembled blood. His appearance, coupled with his muscular and toned physique, was also cut above the rest.

Mori shared the food with Harion, his colleague, and the kids from the slums. 

The gate Mori and Harion were guarding was located near the slum area of the capital city. It was rarely used by the travelers, thus two guards were enough for this post.

"Man, I think today the Rite of Passage ended. I wanted to go and try my luck too." said Harion while frolicking.

"Me too." 

At Mori's modest response, Harion gave him a sideways glance and sighed. "You know, it was my dream to climb the hierarchy from a foot soldier to a knight. Then I would go through a mortal awakening, enter the Labyrinth and make a name for myself.

I don't want to become strong, but I do crave attention. It might be a vain dream for others but for me, it is the only thing close to my heart."

Dream. The word made Mori go into a momentary daze. "It is a good dream. Everyone seeks approval of others, even animals and monsters, let alone us humans. I don't see why you should be ashamed of it."

"Right? So…." 

Harion's gaze was attracted to the suspiciously robed figure hiding in the slum. A sly smile appeared on his face.

"Oh my, it's the admirer of our prince charming."

His words were loud enough to reach the robed figure. Mori, who saw the robed figure just now, smiled awkwardly. "I'll return soon." 

"Now wait here, Sir prince charming." Harion pulled Mori into a corner and whispered. "Hey, she is a young lady from a noble house, isn't she? Why is she coming here frequently? You didn't seduce her and knock her out or something, did you?"

Mori choked on his saliva at the hidden meaning of 'knock her out'. "Of course not!"

Refusing to share what Harion called 'spicy details', Mori left to meet the robed figure. Suddenly, he heard Harion saying something strange. "Goodbye, Mori and… I'm sorry."

"Hmm? Did you say something?"

"I said, go enjoy your date and don't worry about the captain, I'll make an excuse for your absence. Oh, but don't take her to a hotel or pub to fuc–"

"I won't!"

The two burst into chuckles.

…

..

.

"It seems you two are good friends" the young lady chatted happily while taking a scoop from the pancakes.

Mori had a troubled smile on his face when he looked at the surroundings. The two were inside an empty confectionery shop.

The sweets were a rare luxury throughout the continent so; it was surprising to see a confectionery shop without customers on a working day.

"My lady, did you use your family's power to book the place? If you keep this up, then the secret that you are sneaking out of—"

"Didn't I tell you to call me by my name?" Ferien pouted and poked Mori's cheek.

Mori wanted to refute but before he could, a heavy presence appeared behind him and spoke.

"Brat, you sure do have courage to put your hands on my sister, the eldest daughter of His Majesty and the future Empress of our kingdom."

A crushing grip. Mori almost felt his shoulder become powdered dust.

"Stop, Maclein! I didn't bring you to harm Mori!"

"tsk"

Maclein released his grip and sat down next to Ferien and Mori. Time trickled. Ferien continued to chat with Mori enthusiastically while Maclein only sat silent.

"But–"

"Tsk"

When Mori tried to speak, Maclien would click his tongue to show his displeasure. Finally, after three times, Ferien couldn't ignore it anymore.

"Maclein, I think you weren't going to interrupt my outing~"

Ferien was smiling with 'ufufufu' while covering her mouth. The laugh reminded Maclein of his childhood ptsd and hurriedly he left the establishment with an excuse.

"Sigh, I apologize on behalf of my brother. He is a gentle person, but he wanted to see my future Knight and troubled you."

Speaking her part, Ferien stood and bowed gracefully. 

"N-no, please don't bow! Also, I'm thankful, but I've already refused the offer. I'm not fit for the job. Even if I reach 1st Mortal Awakening now, I won't be able to catch up to the knights who awakened during childhood. There is no way I can become the princess' personal knight."

"You don't have to lie if you don't want to work for me. But I hope you'll accept me. If you do, I promise to help your sister," said Ferien and left. "We'll meet tomorrow~"

A heavy sigh escaped Mori's lips when he saw that the sun was about to drown below the horizon. He massaged his shoulder. "He caught me off guard. With this, the princess would be sure that I'm not weak. Haah, her pursuit is going to become stronger from tomorrow."