Leo remembered the traps woven into the doors, the layered defenses meant to react instantly to hostile intent. To him, they posed no threat. People passed in and out of the gate, laughing, talking, arguing, none of them noticed him. To their eyes, he simply did not exist.
He walked straight toward the entrance. In the next instant, his body vanished and reappeared inside the massive building. The air felt familiar. He turned left and approached the door that led toward the association's main hall.
Instead of opening it, he phased through space once more, reappearing directly inside the hall. He could have done this from the start, but he wanted to see the place again. To observe what time had changed, and what it hadn't. The hall looked much the same as it had years ago. The layout, the banners, even the worn stone floor felt untouched by time.
The first person he noticed was Lara, seated behind her desk. She worked with quiet focus, unaware of his presence.
Leo moved on, heading toward Edmond's office. He raised his hand and knocked on the door.
"Come in," came the familiar voice after a brief pause.
Everything Leo did remained hidden from sight, wrapped in illusion.
He opened the door and stepped inside. Edmond looked up from his desk, and his eyes widened as he rose to his feet.
"You… are you Leo?" Edmond asked, his voice tense with shock.
Leo smiled. Even after all these years, his former captain recognized him, despite how much he had changed.
"Hello, Captain," Leo said.
Edmond needed a few seconds to process what he was seeing. Then he moved around the desk and pulled Leo into a tight embrace, like a father seeing a long-lost son. When he finally stepped back, he rested a hand firmly on Leo's shoulder.
"It's good to see you again," Edmond said.
"It's good to see you too, Captain," Leo replied, returning the smile.
"But why are you here?" Edmond asked. "Are you back?"
Leo shook his head. "No. I'm only here to help Liam."
"Liam?" Edmond frowned. "He knows about you?"
Leo nodded. "We are all under the Creator now."
"Creator…" Edmond repeated slowly. "I've heard rumors. A new god awakening. Is that the one who stopped the God of Light in the capital?"
Leo had expected the news to reach Edmond sooner or later. He had spoken openly after the battle in the capital.
"Yes," Leo said calmly. "The god of light was sealed, but the seal will break soon. When that happens, the Creator will face him. The fate of this world depends on that battle."
Edmond's expression hardened. The weight of those words settled heavily on him.
"Is there anything we can do?" he asked.
Leo nodded. "There is. That's why I'm here. In the next three months, we need to remove every internal conflict and ongoing war across the three kingdoms."
Edmond stared at him. "In only three months?"
"Yes. And it starts now. It starts here," Leo said. "Liam plans to destroy the nobles' underground arena."
Edmond frowned. "What underground arena?"
Leo wasn't surprised. 'As expected, the captain knows nothing about it.'
He explained everything, the fights, the children forced into the arena, the nobles who watched and bet on their deaths. He didn't exaggerate. He didn't soften the details either.
When Leo finished, Edmond leaned on his desk, one hand resting under his chin. "We can't just storm noble estates and arrest people," he said slowly. "We need proof."
Leo raised one hand. A faint ripple spread through the air, like a pulse. A moment later, stacks of documents appeared across Edmond's desk and spilled onto nearby shelves.
Edmond stiffened. "What… are these?"
"Records," Leo said. "Transaction logs, names, locations, schedules. Everything they tried to hide."
Edmond picked one up, scanning the page. His jaw tightened. "How did you even get all of this?"
Leo didn't answer the question. "I need you to use that evidence to arrest the remaining noble families involved. Not all of them, only the key ones. That will be enough to shake the rest."
Edmond hesitated. "What about civilians?"
"I already moved them out," Leo replied.
Edmond looked up sharply. "There are multiple A-rank fighters with the nobles. Liam is only C-plus. Even with your support, that's dangerous."
Leo met his gaze. "Don't worry, Captain. I'm S1 now."
Edmond froze. His eyes widened. No one reached S-rank that fast. It shouldn't have been possible. What Edmond didn't know was that Leo had spent twelve years training inside the maze, not only that, he was also backed by a god's domain from the beginning.
"When this is over," Leo added, "I'll explain everything that happened."
Edmond slowly nodded. "Do you want to see the others?"
Leo shook his head. "No. If I do, I won't be able to turn away and focus on what needs to be done."
Edmond didn't argue. "As you wish."
At that moment, a knock sounded on the door.
…
"How long do you think it will take?" Rosie asked as she walked beside Liamond toward Edmond's office.
"Don't rush it," Liamond replied calmly. "Ranking up takes time. No one becomes a C-rank in just a few months."
"But I want to grow faster," Rosie said, her voice dropping slightly. "That's the only way I'll be able to…"
Liamond shot her a sharp look, cutting her off. They stood in an open corridor, and not everyone was meant to hear certain things. Rosie caught the warning and closed her mouth.
Liamond raised his hand and knocked on the door.
"Come in," Edmond's voice answered from inside.
Liamond opened the door, and the two of them stepped in together. They stopped just inside and placed their fists against their chests.
"Captain," they said in unison.
"At ease," Edmond replied.
Rosie's eyes immediately drifted to the stacks of papers spread across the desk and nearby table. "What are all these documents?" she asked, her tone casual but curious.
"They're related to your next mission," Edmond said.
A wide smile spread across Rosie's face. "We have another mission?"
Edmond nodded once. "Liamond, gather everyone in the great hall. This will be a large-scale operation."
Liamond hesitated. He still held the report from his previous mission, ready to present it. Before he could speak, Edmond added, "Go now. I'll be there in a few minutes. Give that report to Lara, I'll review it later."
Liamond placed his fist to his chest again. "Understood."
He turned and left with Rosie, heading down the corridor to gather the others. Rosie walked ahead, quietly humming to herself, clearly pleased.
Liamond followed, his expression more reserved. Despite her excitement, his thoughts lingered on Edmond's words. A large-scale operation meant complications, and risks.
He couldn't help but wonder what kind of mission required that many documents.
…
When they left, Edmond turned his gaze back to Leo. A faint smile had settled on Leo's face, softer than before. After so many years, he had finally seen his sister again.
"She's grown a lot," Leo said quietly.
Edmond nodded. "So you already knew she became a paladin."
Leo inclined his head but offered no explanation.
"What rank is she now?" Leo asked.
"D+ elementalist," Edmond replied.
"And Liamond is training her?"
"Yes. He's A- now and close to reaching A1. He's already stronger than me." Edmond paused, then added, "The bishop asked him to become a captain, but he refused. He said he needed to stay here."
A small smile returned to Leo's face. "He's protecting my family." Then the warmth faded from his expression, replaced by focus. "I'll leave everything here in your hands, Captain."
Edmond met his gaze. "And I'll leave Liam and the civilians in yours."
Leo nodded once. The air shimmered, and he vanished without another word, leaving Edmond alone in his office.
Edmond looked around at the piles of documents scattered across his desk and the floor. He exhaled slowly, then allowed himself a tired smile.
"It looks like I have a lot of work to do."
…
An hour early, Liam arrived at the arena. Preparing the grounds fell to him, and he intended to leave nothing to chance. He dismissed the soldiers stationed inside and walked the perimeter alone, checking every trap one last time. Each one sat exactly where it should, hidden and ready.
Satisfied, he took his seat in the elevated chamber built for him. From there, enchanted glass revealed the faces of the nobles' sons and daughters as they entered the arena. The nobles had designed it this way on purpose. They wanted the executioner to see the ones he was about to kill.
"Sick people," Liam muttered.
Soon, it would end. The Creator would cleanse this rot from the world, and as one who had pledged, Liam would begin that work here.
Within the hour, the battlefield stood ready. Soldiers escorted the first combatant into the arena, a fourteen years old girl. Her steps faltered, and tears streaked down her face. She knew exactly what awaited her.
Liam closed his eyes for a brief moment, then rose from his seat. He moved toward his own gate on the opposite side of the arena. By the time he stepped in the middle of arena, the girl already stood there, frozen in place.
She stared at him, terror carved into her expression. Liam recalled her file. Low mana capacity. Forced into the path of a warrior. Denied time, denied growth, just like him. The only difference was that she never had the Creator's hand reach out to her, but she had him.
His expression hardened.
With a broken cry, the girl screamed and charged, tears blurring her vision. Liam moved once. His blade struck her weapon cleanly, sending it spinning across the arena floor. She stopped short, unarmed, exposed.
Laughter rolled down from the stands. The nobles drank and jeered as if watching a game.
The girl squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for death.
Instead, she felt a hand rest gently on her head.
In shock, she opened her eyes and saw Liam standing in front of her, smiling calmly.
"Don't worry," he said. "You're not going to die tonight."
He turned away from her and faced the noble stands. His gaze locked onto his father, who stared back in disbelief, just like the others around him.
Liam raised his sword and pointed it toward them.
"The ones who die tonight are all of you."
The A-rank guards beside the heads of the noble families drew their weapons at once. Before any of them could move, Liam lifted his Volcryst Gauntlet toward the arena wall. Fire gathered in his palm, compressed into a blazing sphere, and then shot forward.
The explosion tore into the stone and triggered the hidden traps he had planted earlier.
Fire erupted across the underground arena. The ground shook violently as shockwaves rolled through the structure. Sections of the earthen roof collapsed, burying screaming nobles beneath falling stone. Some survived, shielded by their own strength or by the A-rank guards protecting them. His family remained alive as well.
Two A-rank warriors leapt into the arena and rushed him. Thornak, his summon, burst from the ground and blocked one of them, its hardened form forcing the attacker back. The second closed the distance in an instant.
Just before the blade reached Liam, the warrior froze mid-strike. Ice surged around him, locking his body inside a massive frozen block.
Every eye turned upward.
A man in a long coat hovered in the air above Liam, his presence crushing and absolute. He looked down on the arena as if everyone below meant nothing. Ranged fighters reacted at once, loosing spells and arrows toward him, but every attack vanished before reaching its target.
"Liam," Leo's voice echoed in his mind. "This is your fight."
"But how can I defeat A-ranks?" Liam asked, glancing up at him.
"You can," Leo answered. "Summon him."
Liam knew exactly who he meant. Fear tightened his chest. He had always worried that the answer would never come again.
"He made a pact with you," Leo said. "If your goal is just, he will answer."
Liam closed his eyes and focused. He drew in every drop of mana he could gather and reached out, calling to Alad, the Gatekeeper of Ethereon. Doubt crept in as his strength began to waver.
Then bells rang through the arena.
His hair turned white. His eyes burned red as a surge of power flooded his body.
Liam opened his eyes and shouted, "Hear my call, Alad."
The arena shook harder than before. Instead of a black rift, a massive golden portal opened behind him. From within it, a colossal lion's paw emerged, heavy with power.
Alad had answered.