Before dawn, Baletta was wrapped in the scent of salt and stillness. The sound of waves drifted from the harbor. The cobblestones were wet with night dew, reflecting the pale glow of the street lamps—light stones, they called them, powered by Mana crystals. It was that hour when the city seemed to hold its breath, before the merchants opened their shops, before the day truly began. Rigo turned down the last alley. His eyes, now brown—changed to human color by the Nulglass, a mark of his demon blood—confirmed the door at the alley's end. The back entrance of a general store. One of the merchants Valdo had arranged things with last night. The third man. Rigo placed the bundle of documents in a small wooden box quietly before the door. Two knocks. That was all that was needed. By the time Rigo left the alley, on the opposite side of the city, Soana was emerging from another merchant's shop. Final confirmation with the second merchant. A last pressing of the verbal testimony. Each of the three merchants would carry documents to separate auditors—the evidence of the money laundering that Drake, the mining office director of Golda, had been conducting for years would be received simultaneously by the kingdom's internal auditors. One location could be covered up. But three at once? No one could stop it in time. That was Valdo's design. Soana walked the path back to the abandoned building, her dark purple hair still covered with cloth. The scar on her left cheek felt cool in the morning chill. *Did it work?* She didn't know yet. But they had moved. All three of them had acted from their separate posts without crossing paths with anyone. When she returned to the abandoned building, Valdo was waiting with his back against the wall. Short black hair, a thin face. The imprint of the Grave Chain on his left wrist—a brand that sealed ninety-five percent of Mana flow—peeked slightly from his sleeve. Valdo saw Soana enter and asked briefly. "[serious]All three received them?" "[serious]Yes. The second one hesitated a little, but I pushed through." Rigo arrived a moment later. He closed the door quietly and looked at both of them. "[gentle]I left the third one properly as well." All three were safe. That was enough for now. --- It was past noon. Baletta's market was wrapped in the noise of midday. Voices calling out dried fish for sale, voices negotiating cloth prices, laughter from sailors who had come from the Breeze Sea. The air was thick with the mingled scents of salt and spices—the unique atmosphere of a port city. As Soana walked through the market gathering supplies, she overheard an old vegetable seller talking to a neighboring merchant. "Did you hear? Drake from Golda got caught?" "They say the kingdom's auditors took him away. Right in the street, surrounded by soldiers." "That bastard made my nephew suffer something terrible last year. Serves him right." "I heard the people in Golda cheered. Strange things do happen, don't they?" Soana stopped. Still holding the basket of vegetables, she looked at the two old women. They had already moved on to other gossip. Nothing important. But within it, there was a certain truth. Drake had been arrested. She ran back to the abandoned building. Her breath came a little quickly. When she opened the door, Valdo and Rigo turned around. "[serious]Drake from Golda has been captured. Market gossip. They say the auditors took him away. The people there cheered—" She stopped mid-sentence. Because Valdo said nothing. Silence continued. Five seconds, ten seconds—she couldn't say how long. Valdo kept staring at the wall, saying nothing. A subtle change occurred in his profile. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. Too faint to call a smile. But it was there, unmistakably. It was the first moment this man, who showed almost no emotion, had let something show on his face. Soana saw it and tried to say something. But her hand moved before words could come. She struck the stone wall of the abandoned building once with her right fist. Hard. It might have hurt, but she didn't care. Her father had been beheaded in Golda's square. In that city's plaza, ruled by Drake. Drake hadn't wielded the blade himself. But the man who had moved within the same corrupt structure had crumbled today. No tears came. She didn't let them come. But something deep in her chest felt like it was coming undone. Rigo watched Valdo's profile quietly. For three years, he had searched for Valdo alone. Since Dorgana burned, he had crossed the ash wastelands, infiltrated human cities, and finally reached Golda. All that time, he had moved believing the Demon Lord lived. And now that man was smiling faintly. Rigo narrowed his eyes quietly. That was enough. --- Evening came. The three of them gathered on the floor of the abandoned building. Valdo spoke. "[serious]Drake is just the end of the chain." His voice was emotionless, as always. "[serious]The embezzled money flowed to a minister. Above that is Elios. This is only the first step." Soana nodded. She had known. Even knowing, one step remained one step. Valdo continued. After a brief pause. "[serious]I couldn't have done this alone." Short words. That was all. Not quite gratitude. Not quite acknowledgment. Simply stated as fact. A man who had moved for three years without relying on anyone had spoken it for the first time. Soana was silent for a while, then said quietly. "[serious]You're welcome." Rigo said nothing. He simply stood and sat beside Valdo. That was all. The air inside the abandoned building seemed to change slightly. The stains on the walls, the creaking of the floor—nothing had changed. But something between the three of them had drawn closer, more certain than words. --- "[gentle]Valdo." Rigo spoke after a long silence. "[gentle]Shouldn't we start looking for a way to remove the Grave Chain?" Valdo looked at Rigo for just a moment. "[cold]If there were a way, I would have removed it long ago." "[gentle]I know. But——" Rigo continued. His voice calm, but filled with will. "[serious]The ancient documents on sealing techniques should be stored in the underground archives of the Grand Temple of Tornia. Before Dorgana fell, I heard adults discussing it. In the temple's underground library, there are records of seals passed down since before the kingdom's founding——" Valdo's face changed. It wasn't that his expression changed, but something moved deep within his face. It was a subtle shift, but Soana could see it. Tornia—the former capital of Dorgana. About five hundred kilometers north of Granfors. A ruin standing in the middle of the ash wastelands. The former demon capital burned three years ago by Elios's expeditionary forces. Valdo's own country. "[serious]The Grand Temple is half-destroyed. There's no guarantee the underground archives still exist." "[gentle]But there's a possibility they do." Yes. There was a possibility. Valdo stared at a single point on the wall. The ash wastelands. Returning to his former country was the most dangerous path for anyone. The eyes of the Orgrim Agency, feral magical beasts, and more than anything—something wordless about returning to the ashes. But what else was there as the next move? Sealed as he was, his power wouldn't return. Without power, he couldn't reach Elios. Soana listened silently to their exchange. And without speaking, she reached out. She slowly gripped the hilt of the short sword at her waist. That was all. No words. But the meaning of that gesture was clear to all three. *I'm coming with you.* Valdo looked at Soana's hand gripping the sword for a moment, then looked at Rigo. "[cold]The ash wastelands are not living land. Mana is depleted, and almost nothing grows there. Feral magical beasts roam. From Granfors to Tornia is over five hundred kilometers, and even via Golda it's more than three hundred." "[gentle]I know." Rigo's red eyes—the mark of his demon blood, which would return if the Nulglass broke—looked straight at Valdo. "[serious]Understood." He said it shortly. That was enough. The next objective was quietly shared among the three. --- Meanwhile, night was beginning in Granfors. Two floors below Elseide Castle. A windowless stone chamber. The Orgrim Agency—the intelligence organization of the Felzesta Kingdom—moved in the flickering light of candles. Kelvin stood before a desk, looking at the documents his subordinate had spread out. A thin man with short black hair. Black leather gloves gleamed on both hands. His gray eyes moved across the documents, but his expression revealed nothing. This man had long since stopped showing emotion to the world. "[serious]Tell me again the path of evidence to the auditors." His subordinate answered. "Yes. Documents arrived simultaneously at three separate auditors from three merchants via different routes. The precision of the ledger copies is high, detailing Drake's embezzlement amounts and the flow of money to the minister. The format of the documents differs among the three—they appear to have been copied separately by each." Kelvin didn't answer. After a brief pause, he spoke. "[cold]They don't appear to have been copied separately. They actually were. But the design of the route is singular." His subordinate fell silent. "[cold]Leak simultaneously at three locations. Make it impossible to cover up at even one. To do that, three merchants were moved separately. The route via Baletta, the selection of merchants, the precision of the documents—all of it was designed by one person." Kelvin looked up from the documents. He looked at the map on the wall. A map of the southern Ulvarna continent centered on Granfors. A line was drawn to Golda's position. For three years, Kelvin had pursued this man's shadow. The copy of the map left on Golda's wall. That map, accurately depicting the structure of the underground water channels of Dorgana's royal castle, could only have been drawn by someone who lived within. The Demon Lord lives. That was now certainty. And that man was now launching an information war. "[cold]Investigate the merchant network in Baletta. He's still in that city." His subordinate nodded. "Where should we start?" "[cold]Begin with the lower ranks of the Verna Trading Company. Identify every merchant involved with Drake's ledgers. Confirm every single person connected." His subordinate left. Kelvin stood alone before the map. He placed his fingertip on the point marking Baletta. Through the black leather glove, he felt the texture of the map's paper. For the first time in three years, pursuer and pursued stood on the same ground. The candle flame swayed quietly in the stone chamber. --- In the abandoned building in Baletta, Valdo stood alone, looking at the wall. Rigo was already asleep. Soana's eyes were closed. The scent of salt drifted through the gaps in the walls. The imprint of the Grave Chain throbbed dully. It was always like this. A familiar pain. *The ash wastelands.* For three years, he had tried not to think about returning to his former country. The situation hadn't allowed it. Even if he returned, he could do nothing. But now he had moved forward. Only one step, but a certain step. *I couldn't have done this alone*—the words he had spoken still lingered in his chest. For three years, he had moved alone. He had never even considered relying on anyone. Beside him, Rigo breathed in sleep. Soana slept with her hand still gripping her short sword. Valdo closed his eyes. The long night continued quietly.