Even when Rimle appeared—who was supposed to have separated—Ludger wasn’t particularly surprised.

He simply accepted the situation before him with calm resignation, as if it had been predetermined.

Rimle furrowed his brows deeply and asked,

“You knew?”

“To be honest, I was only half-convinced.”

“Half-convinced, huh.”

“It changed depending on the moment. When you first approached me, I was suspicious. Why would someone of your caliber come here? There was a plausible reason, but I couldn’t fully accept it. Still, the way you behaved afterward gradually eased my doubts.”

At the very least, the warm demeanor Rimle showed toward Arfa hadn’t been an act.

No—

Perhaps everything he’d shown until now had been genuine.

That’s why Ludger hadn’t been able to reach full certainty.

“And yet, you kept your guard up around me.”

“Yes.”

Ludger nodded honestly.

Even after discovering the hidden space in the study, he hadn’t told his companions.

The one who sought him out immediately after wasn’t Sempas or Loina—it was Rimle.

“So you really did find that hidden room. Not only did you not run away after seeing the Shadow Knight, but you tried to push through instead. I severely underestimated you.”

Rimle ran his hand through his white beard.

“When did you become sure of me?”

“When the door closed and we were separated from the others. Do you remember?”

“I do.”

“Thanks to the Truth School acting so high and mighty, we were forced to move separately. But I saw an opportunity in that. If there were assassins hiding inside this mansion, I was certain they would try to make contact with me somehow.”

“With you? Why?”

“Why hide it anymore?”

“Heh. John Doe... you really do pick up on things disgustingly fast.”

Rimle eventually let out a loud laugh.

It wasn’t from disbelief—it was pure admiration at how precisely Ludger had judged the situation.

“But no one followed you, right? That’s when you became sure—of why they didn’t.”

“It wasn’t that they couldn’t follow me. They didn’t need to. And the reason was obvious—they already had someone tailing me from the start.”

“And now that person’s appeared right in front of you. Are you satisfied?”

At his words, Ludger shook his head.

“I find it regrettable.”

“...Unbelievable. I deceived you. I’ve crossed a line I can’t come back from. Yet you don’t even get angry.”

“If this had happened without any warning, I’d probably be quite shaken. But knowing in advance makes all the difference.”

The same held true for Rimle.

From the start, he hadn’t expected Ludger to react with shock upon seeing him again.

Because Ludger had anticipated this moment—

And Rimle had also foreseen that things would turn out this way.

That made the bitterness even harder to swallow.

Because this disaster had been inevitable—and there had never been a way to avoid it.

“If you hadn’t shown yourself here, I would’ve remained unaware.”

“You’re surprisingly merciful, compared to what people say.”

This wasn’t the reaction one would expect from the infamous John Doe, who was said to kill subordinates for the smallest mistake.

But what did it matter now?

“You already know you couldn’t stay hidden.”

“Yes. That’s why I find it unfortunate. I hoped I was wrong, but in the end, I was right.”

“Same here. I even hoped I’d be taken out by the Shadow Knights. But that didn’t happen. You were all too capable. The only reason I came this far... was because of a faint hope.”

But that faint hope had, in the end, hit the mark.

“More importantly—what did you do with Samuel?”

“That boy? I handed him off safely to some other mages.”

The fact that he hadn’t killed him made Ludger glance over with surprise.

But thinking it through, there was no reason to kill him.

Ludger issued his final warning.

“I’ll ask this one last time. Do you have no intention of stopping?”

“Why don’t you stop?”

“If I did, I’d die. Do I look like I have any other option?”

Rimle chuckled, as if that made perfect sense.

Then his expression darkened, and he stared directly at Ludger.

His usually gentle eyes were now cold and solemn, radiating firm resolve.

“Unfortunately, I have a reason why I can’t stop either.”

“Is that so.”

“Do you find that sad?”

“Yes. I do.”

“That’s life. Conflict, opposition, strife—they all happen because each side has its own reasons.”

“I agree.”

Ludger looked to his side, where Arfa stood.

“Arfa.”

“Leader. I...”

Arfa opened his mouth as if to say something serious, but Ludger cut him off.

“Step back.”

“But, Leader—”

“I understand. He’s an enemy, so you feel you must fight. But Arfa—can you truly fight the old man with everything you’ve got?”

At that question, Arfa’s eyes shook violently.

He glanced toward Rimle.

Memories of their recent time together, talking and laughing, came flooding back.

“I...”

I don’t want to fight Grandpa Rimle.

But I can’t just let Ludger face him alone, either.

“It must be confusing.”

“......”

“I understand. But Arfa—life will always bring you moments like this. Even when you don’t know what the right choice is, you still have to choose.”

“There might still be a peaceful way to solve this without fighting...”

It was a naive, almost childish sentiment—something out of a fairy tale.

But Ludger didn’t mock him.

No scolding. No lecture.

Only a faint smile at the corners of his lips.

As if proud of him.

“Arfa. The world doesn’t work out nicely. Bad intentions lead to bad things. Good intentions... lead to even worse things. That’s the world we live in.”

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Ludger thought that line rang truer than ever.

“Why is it like this?”

“No one knows. Not even I do. And that’s why... we have to find the answer.”

We must keep walking this path.

We must reach the end and uncover what lies there.

“Our choice is simple: we keep going. We don’t stop.”

That is—

The duty of those who live in this world.

Arfa lowered his head deeply, as though something had finally clicked within him.

“I’m sorry. I was being childish.”

“It’s fine. In fact, I hope you never lose that purity.”

Ludger liked Arfa’s childlike honesty.

He didn’t like seeing children pretending to be adults.

“Help the fallen and get out of here. If you stay, you’ll get caught up in this. They’re both still alive—basic first aid should be enough.”

“Yes. Understood.”

Arfa immediately lifted the unconscious Loina onto his back and began retreating.

It was then that Rimle, who had been watching silently, finally spoke.

“You really are different from the others.”

“Is that so.”

“Yes. We’re enemies now, but you’re right. Our job is simple—we don’t stop.”

Rimle muttered in a self-deprecating tone and then firmly shut his mouth.

No more words were needed.

There is no path where everyone can reach a happy ending.

Two who refused to stop now stood face-to-face on a narrow bridge.

Two people.

One path.

Here, one of them must fall—

Down into the shadows of the world.

Clack.

Rimle struck the floor with his cane.

“As a senior in life who respects you, I’ll give you one piece of advice.”

“Please do. I’ll listen carefully.”

“You’ll need to go all out if you want to survive this fight.”

Boom!

At that moment, a blinding light exploded from Rimle’s eyes.

It wasn’t just the light—an overwhelming ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) pressure burst out from him, flaring wildly.

Winds howled around him, whipping his robe into a frenzy.

His mana roared, taking on a vivid, palpable form.

It looked like a massive brazier burning with pure mana.

“Because if you don’t... you and everyone behind you will die.”

“You didn’t need to say that—I was planning to, anyway.”

Despite having used up a considerable amount of mana in the previous battle, Ludger still had reserves he had carefully managed in advance—and now he unleashed them.

[Ater Nocturnus]

His body became enveloped in pitch-black shadows.

The rippling darkness rose from his toes, swallowing him whole, until a crow-shaped mask formed over his face.

Rimle was a 6th-Circle mage—one of the Lexuror tier.

Not someone Ludger could afford to go easy on.

A duel against a 6th-Circle mage...

Come to think of it, this was his first time.

He had faced such opponents before, but never in a pure one-on-one confrontation.

And this opponent doesn’t underestimate me—he’s not letting his guard down for even a second.

The air trembled as the space around Rimle seemed to warp.

It wasn’t actually bending—it just felt that way because his mana was so overwhelming.

The atmosphere shook as though an earthquake had struck.

A tingling sensation crawled across Ludger’s skin.

This was the full power of a Lexuror-class mage.

Rimle intended to go all out.

If I show even the slightest hesitation... I’ll die.

A 6th-Circle mage.

And not just any—one who had lived a long time and accumulated vast combat experience.

Even within the same circle, there was a hierarchy.

In that regard, Rimle was undoubtedly the strongest human mage Ludger had ever faced.

Rimle made the first move.

Fwoosh!

Mana spiraled above his head and began spinning violently, sketching out a brilliant spell formation.

To construct such a complex ritual spell instantly, with no prior preparation—

It was a sight so absurd it felt unreal, and the power behind it was even more shocking.

A blinding flash erupted and closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye.

A brute-force attack formed from pure mana discharge.

Simple, but fast and devastatingly strong.

—I can’t block this.

Ludger immediately dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the blast.

He had augmented his body with magic, drastically increasing his physical ability—otherwise, he wouldn’t have even had time to react.

But as soon as he dodged, another mana cannon fired at the spot he landed.

Rimle had never expected that first shot to end it.

This time, the angle was too precise to dodge.

Ludger had no choice but to dive into the shadow below him.

Like sinking into a swamp, his body slipped under the darkness.

The massive mana blast tore through the space where he had just been.

The force was so intense it left visible damage even to the magically reinforced mansion.

Rimle quickly scanned the surroundings with his sharp eyes.

He didn’t seem surprised that Ludger had vanished.

Calmly, he searched for where he might reappear.

At that moment, multiple mana reactions flared above his head.

With a series of flashes, a rain of arrows made of ice, fire, and lightning came crashing down.

A full bombardment blanketing a 10-meter radius around Rimle.

But Rimle didn’t budge an inch.

He casually twirled his cane and gave it a flick.

Charrunng.

Countless threads of mana pierced through the falling elemental arrows.

A split second later, the arrows exploded one after another.

Brilliant, multicolored bursts of magic dazzled the air.

But even among the chaos of flashing light, Rimle remained completely composed.

Just then, Ludger leapt out of Rimle’s shadow and thrust his swordstick toward his back.

A surprise ambush from behind.

Rimle rotated his staff once and slammed it into the ground.

KRAAAAAK!!!

A massive storm of mana exploded from him, radiating outward in a circular wave.

The shockwave blasted Ludger back before he could complete the strike.

Turning around, Rimle aimed his staff directly at Ludger.

Spell formations blossomed around the tip—and a barrage of mana blasts erupted in rapid succession.

Ludger vanished from the air, collapsing into a single point.

“Spatial displacement magic, is it? You never cease to surprise me.”

A spell that allowed him to evade anything instantly.

Even more surprising was how he used it to launch close-range attacks.

Rimle surged his mana even further, flooding the entire hall with his energy.

Sensing something unusual in the dispersed mana, he reached out.

The moment his hand moved, Ludger reappeared in what had previously been empty space.

“But it’s not perfect. In an environment this saturated with mana, it’s difficult to control.”

“......”

To dominate the entire area’s magical flow like this—

Rimle had disrupted the shadow-jumping spell by filling every gap with his own mana.

Only a 6th-Circle mage could manage such a countermeasure.

Still, the mansion itself is overflowing with ambient mana—yet he’s suppressing that and replacing it with his own.

A reckless, brute-force method.

But undeniably effective.

Even as he analyzed it, Ludger’s left hand moved toward his waist.

He swiftly drew a black revolver and fired.

Tatata-tang!

Rimle didn’t use Silence of Fire. Instead, he erected a mana barrier to block the bullets.

The shield didn’t even budge.

But Ludger kept pulling the trigger.

Rimle’s brow twitched.

The bullets...

The mana-forged projectiles swerved in mid-air, changing trajectory at impossible angles.

Dazzling movements that confused the eye.

Rimle responded by thickening his barrier, surrounding himself entirely.

If he couldn’t predict the direction, he’d just block everything.

But then—the bullets vanished.

Rimle saw it: a chilling gleam appearing right in front of him.

Even the bullets could teleport?

Rimle instantly understood.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Inside the barrier, the bullets exploded in mid-air.

But they had been intercepted—Rimle’s fine mana threads had pierced them just in time.

A level of precision akin to shooting flies mid-flight with arrows.

And Rimle executed it without difficulty.

“Not bad.”

A mage using a sword hidden in a staff.

A revolver that fired mana bullets.

“Still not enough.”

Each tactic was unorthodox, even ingenious—but they weren’t enough to reach him.

Rimle stared at Ludger, as if asking, Is that all you’ve got?

And then his brows furrowed.

Beneath the plague doctor–style crow mask, Ludger had a pipe in his mouth.

There was no way he would suddenly light a pipe in the middle of battle.

He wasn’t the kind of man to indulge in that sort of thing at all.

Doping, then.

All those attacks—were they just a stalling tactic for this?

A dense blue mana haze began rising around Ludger.

And slowly—it was pushing back the mana Rimle had filled the space with.

A doping of this density should be destroying his body.

But Ludger was bearing it with no sign of damage.

Or maybe his constitution was just that unusual.

Either way, Rimle knew his objective wouldn’t change.

Then—he saw it.

A golden radiance rising behind Ludger’s back.