Pirensha herself was surprised.

She wondered how she could maintain such a calm expression, it was almost unbelievable.

‘No. This isn’t something I’m putting on myself..’

She recalled the conversation she had with Velosian.

“Idria has already formally refused this plan. If you show even the slightest sign of strangeness, you will be exposed immediately.”

“I have quite a bit of patience.”

“Having your soul erased isn’t just a simple cold, you know. Let me help you a little”

Velosian had said that, then carried out some unknown measure.

Now her body was rotting away from within.

To have one’s soul erased was the same as dying.

With half her soul erased, Pirensha already had one foot clearly dipped into the Redby River.

‘I feel like throwing up. I’m dizzy.’

Her body burned with fever and shivered with chills. Blood kept surging up her throat.

And yet, she could still squeeze out such a calm expression and tone of voice.

What sort of trick had Velosian used to make such an act possible?

Pirensha stole a glance at him, speaking with Idria nearby.

Then Velosian said to Idria:

“I think I should be going now.”

“What’s the matter?”

“Seems I have a visitor waiting in my quarters.”

“You had a home?”

“Home isn’t the right word. Prison is more fitting.”

“…? Prison? Yet you walk around freely.”

Velosian shook his head.

“That’s like saying a rat squeezed through a hole. I shredded my body into pieces and forced it through, that’s how I got out.”

“…”

“In other words, my body is a complete wreck. That was the price of escaping prison.”

“Who could have imprisoned someone like you?”

“Who knows. At any rate, I should return to greet my guest. Though, I’m not sure they will actually visit the cell I am confined in.”

Leaving those cryptic words behind, Velosian vanished.

Idria gazed at the spot he had stood, then turned toward Pirensha.

“Are you alright?”

“Eh? W-what do you mean?”

“You have been sneaking glances at Velosian for a while now.”

“…!”

“He hasn’t done anything to you, has he?”

Pirensha nearly let her mask slip.

But with every ounce of willpower, she held steady.

She even tilted her head slightly as she replied.

“Nothing happened.”

Idria studied her carefully before murmuring,

“…Good. That’s a relief.”

----------------------------------------

I contacted the Emperor right away.

I bluntly told him I wanted to search the underground of the imperial palace.

Without hesitation or question, he granted my request, instructing the guards not to interfere.

Thanks to that, we easily reached the underground gate of the palace.

Creaaak. Clack.

When we opened the door and stepped inside, we were greeted once again by that white, endless world, a sight so familiar it was frightening.

Neril glanced around and said,

“So, among all these doors, one of them is the ‘special room’ Velosian is hiding in?”

“Could be, or maybe not.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Remember, Grade said he spent years opening these doors one by one? Yet Velosian was nowhere to be found.”

“True, he did say that.”

“If even he couldn’t find it, that means it’s not among these ordinary doors. If it’s called a ‘special room,’ shouldn’t the door itself look special?”

Everyone nodded, but their expressions turned uncertain. Updates are released by novel⚑fire.net

No door here looked especially ‘special.’

Which meant Velosian’s room might be hidden away far more carefully.

It was intriguing, but not what mattered right now.

Xenia spoke up.

“It’s crude, but let’s just start opening them one by one. If we find anything suspicious, we regroup.”

“What counts as suspicious?”

“Well, since Impelium told us to ‘head for the underworld’…”

“Pfft. That was just a metaphor, surely.”

“I think so too. Anyway, something like a necromancer’s grimoire or relics might fit the bill.”

We all agreed and quickly scattered.

All except me.

I stood at the center of the white world, arms crossed.

[What are you doing? You should be searching too.]

‘I’m waiting for your instincts to kick in.’

[..…]

‘You are better suited for finding things in this place than I am. You have proven it more than once already.’

[Hmm.]

‘Please. Even the smallest hunch will do, if you sense anything, tell me.’

[I will do my best.]

And indeed, Trail did give it his all.

Which meant, remarkably, he didn’t speak a single word for three whole hours.

Considering his normally chatty nature, that was a miraculous level of focus.

At the three and a half hour mark, I couldn’t help but click my tongue inwardly.

‘Which is more of a contradiction: a silent Trail, or an honest Idria?’

[That’s a bit harsh.]

‘It was a compliment.’

[Didn’t sound like it. Anyway, follow me.]

Click.

A screen popped up, guiding me somewhere.

I immediately used the communication orb to summon the others.

Having seen this before, no one asked questions and simply followed behind me.

Offense whispered,

“Did Mr. Trail find something again?”

“Seems like it. He also says you can just call him Trail.”

“It would be nice if he told us himself.”

“He’s a shy hero, you see.”

“Quite different from you.”

“That’s a bit harsh.”

“It was a compliment.”

Didn’t sound like it.

[That’s exactly how I felt.]

What’s that supposed to mean.

Click.

The screen stopped in front of a door.

Trail spoke in a serious tone.

[It’s here.]

‘What’s here?’

[I don’t know. But I’m certain it will help us in this matter.]

‘Alright.’

I gripped the handle.

Just as I was about to turn it.

Something caught the corner of my vision.

At first, it was just a faint sense of wrongness.

But when I turned to look fully, it wasn’t merely strange.

It was… foreign.

About twenty steps away from where we stood.

There was another door.

Identical in shape, but this one was red.

As though it had been drenched in blood.

“That door…?”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Only that door over there is red.”

The party turned their heads.

But they only tilted them in puzzlement.

“A red door? There’s no such thing.”

“They are all just plain white.”

“Heh. A red door, you say? As expected of a hero who knows how to spice things up.”

What?

So in their eyes, it looks the same as the other white doors?

In that instant, I knew.

“That’s the one.”

“Huh?”

“That’s the special room.”

“……!”

“The door’s shape is the same, but it’s the only one that’s red.”

“I told you, it’s not red.”

Neril denied it, yet to my eyes the door was still crimson.

Why could only I see it?

“…Let’s leave it be for now. Either way, we mustn’t meet Velosian yet.”

“Impelium advised us of that, didn’t he?”

“Yeah. He said Velosian’s strength is on a whole different level compared to Adin. That’s probably why, unlike Adin, he can freely walk outside.”

“……”

“For now, let’s open this door first.”

Creaaak.

I pulled the door open.

Inside seemed to be a small storage room.

Ropes, axes, sickles, all scattered about haphazardly.

And on a table sat a small, worn bell.

Like the kind a noble might use to summon a butler, or an inn guest to call the innkeeper.

Adwin remarked,

“A cute little toy. A soul-summoning bell… every necromancer has one.”

“Huh? But you don’t.”

“Heh. I cast aside such trinkets twenty years ago.”

“You got rid of it before you were even born?”

“Normally, even if necromancers summon souls from the underworld, calling them precisely into their own body requires grueling training. For me, it’s as easy as flipping a hand.”

At that, Neril and Xenia both smiled sweetly.

That smile said: ‘If you don’t want to die, drop that tone.’

Startled, Adwin quickly changed his manner of speech.

“That’s when they ring the bell, to guide the soul. Like saying ‘come this way.’”

“Hm. So it’s just a beginner’s tool, then?”

“Yes, exactly. Should I try ringing it?”

“Do it. And call for Lady Lepia first. She is the one we get along with best, so she won’t mind if it’s just a test.”

“Understood. One moment.”

Adwin picked up the bell and shook it.

Chime. Ding.

A clear sound rang out in the storage room.

Without thinking, I said,

“Pleasant sound.”

“Haha. You’re quite the joker, Hyung.”

“Eh? Why?”

“This sound can only be heard by necromancers and souls. Living humans can’t hear it.”

But at that moment, Adwin’s face suddenly went pale.

Because of our testimonies.

“Huh? I think I heard it.”

“I heard it too.”

“Me as well.”

“Same here.”

Every one of us had heard it.

Adwin shook his head furiously, insisting such a thing was impossible.

But soon he calmed himself and said in a grave tone,

“W-whatever happened, I did manage to summon a soul.”

“Lady Lepia?”

“No. I had set it to summon her, but someone else came instead. Looks like they volunteered to come in her place.”

“…Who?”

“Lord Leon Sioc.”

Not a single one of us failed to recognize the name.

Leon Sioc.

The Third Hero who, alongside Beyond and the other champions, had slain the Demon King of Corruption.

We had heard that the first through third Heroes sometimes met in the underworld, but for him to say “I will go instead of you”…

I nodded to Adwin.

His voice shifted.

“Wahaha! Greetings, everyone! Wow, what a fine-looking bunch. Though one of you looks like old age hit early.”

“Don’t tell me you’re talking about me…”

“You’re Offense, right? Yeah, I meant you. Anyway, I’m Leon Sioc. Nice to meet you all.”

Just as the stories said, Leon was overflowing with energy, perhaps too much energy.

He went around shaking each of our hands.

And even a simple handshake turned into him swinging our arms up and down like a seesaw.

At this rate, just introducing himself could take an hour, so I cut in.

“Lord Leon. It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Eh? Don’t be so stiff, we are both Heroes. No need for such stiff formality. Save that for my old party members.”

“……”

“Let’s speak casually. So, why did you summon me?”

“You came on your own.”

“Ah, right, I did.”

He scratched his head.

“Correction then, why were you trying to summon Lady Lepia?”

“Before that, why did you come in her stead?”

“The other Heroes have all already met the Fifth Hero, except me. So I begged Lady Lepia a bit. She graciously agreed.”

I was sure she agreed just to be rid of him.

But instead of pointing that out, I returned to the main topic.

“It wasn’t for anything urgent. We only wanted to test that necromancer’s bell you’re holding.”

“Hm? Ah, this thing. I made it myself.”

“Yes, Lord Leon, you… wait, what?”

“Yeah, I crafted this late in my life.”

We couldn’t believe our ears.

Xenia interjected,

“Lord Leon, were you a necromancer? From what I know, you weren’t.”

“I never really had a set profession.”

“Oh… right.”

Indeed.

Grade was famed for his pure martial might, Lepia for her mastery of the sword.

Leon was different: he excelled at everything.

A genius in every field.

In magic alone, he supposedly surpassed Beyond within just a few years of learning from him.

Whatever he put his hands to, he achieved wonders, so much so that paradoxically, he became someone for whom “it didn’t matter what he did.”

That’s why, after slaying the Demon King, he never settled down, but wandered across the continent.

[Heh. Just like you.]

‘I plan to settle after retiring.’

[Hm.]

‘Everywhere Leon went, people gathered like clouds. The emperor of the time grew wary of him. That doesn’t sound like a peaceful retirement to me.’

[True. With his fame as a Hero and a genius, people must have lined up for even a scrap of teaching.]

At that moment, Neril asked,

“Why did you make this bell?”