"Fenex was captured in the East during his mission..."
Inside a large mansion deep within the western forest, an elderly man in a butler's uniform read through the report in his hands, then delivered its contents to the young woman leaning back in her chair on the other side of the desk. Her expression had drawn taut.
"That idiot... always causing trouble."
The young woman in black gothic clothing — dark circles deep beneath her eyes — grumbled irritably. The black shadows moving beneath her feet seemed to respond to that surge of emotion, trembling and shifting left and right with displeasure.
But when the eyes of the torn doll in her hands began to glow, they quieted as though nothing had happened.
"I tried warning him not to go alone."
The middle-aged man with deeply tanned skin let out a heavy sigh. He was dressed in old wrappings decorated with skulls — creepy to look at. But his eyes were gentler than anyone else in the room, making him seem no different from a kind, ordinary person.
"Wasn't there a newcomer there too?"
"Vepar?... Heh, looks like they're just as untrustworthy as that Bathin..."
"That's enough!"
The sentence had not even finished before the elderly butler released a crushing wave of pressure. The young woman in gothic clothing flinched. In that same instant she became acutely aware of the faint but frightening aura that had been quietly building from her lady, who until now had not said a word.
"Ugh... sorry."
She swallowed with difficulty. But it successfully softened her lady's attitude.
"Not dead yet?"
"Yes... from reports it seems he's seriously injured and being detained by that country's military."
"Think he can get out like Barbatos?"
"That's probably quite difficult... his condition seems quite serious. That's all the information Vepar could gather. Anything beyond this was classified as secret by that country's government." The elderly man's expression was troubled as he reported.
"Because they learned their lesson..."
She was right. This time Marshal Zhang Xianyuan had issued a series of decisive orders, among them restricting access to any information about Fenex to an extreme degree. Even his most trusted subordinates and many senior officials did not know where Fenex was being held.
If he let a prisoner escape again as he had with Barbatos, he would not have the courage to stand before Bai Fanxian again.
And so this time, not even Night Shadow's intelligence network could investigate quickly.
"Was it Bai Fanxian who acted again...?"
Bael, about to continue his report, paused for a beat. He watched his lady's expression shift at the name "Bai Fanxian," then answered quickly.
"No. According to reports there were a number of witnesses. The one who defeated Fenex seems to go by the name 'Blue-Winged Goddess.'"
"...Blue-Winged Goddess?"
The one who spoke up was the young woman in gothic clothing. She narrowed her eyes and lightly licked her lips, expression unreadable. Though it seemed she was not especially pleased with this particular goddess name.
"...Seems to be one of Grandmaster Bai Fanxian's disciples."
"..."
"...No matter what era, you've never been alone, have you?"
"My lady?"
That last sentence, Bael could not make out clearly. But one thing he could be sure of: he could sense two entirely opposite feelings radiating from the shadow behind her.
One was a warmth so joyful he could barely imagine it coming from the lady he had followed for decades.
As for the other... it was a deep, burning rage that made the very air tremble.
Every person in the room felt the hair on their body stand on end. At the same time, uncontrollable sweat soaked through their worn clothes.
She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her expression had changed entirely.
"...Go tell everyone to prepare."
"What will my lady do..."
"It's been too long since I 'returned' there..."
As the words ended, massive magic power flooded out from her body. Mad darkness swallowed her eyes, turning them completely black. An incomprehensible smile crossed her lips.
"We're invading the Eastern Continent!"
.
.
.
"Why do they call you Bathin?"
In another corner of the world, a similar scene was unfolding at the original beach house where Bai Fanxian had once stayed. The surrounding area had transformed beyond recognition — the village built up around it had grown so prosperous it looked like an entirely different world.
On the way in, Grandmaster Lu Qing had passed the faces of many high-level figures he never expected to see out in the open again. Now they looked like ordinary village grandparents in good health, out enjoying group activities in the fresh air.
Bai Fanxian sat on the veranda, surrounded by her people, and asked Lu Qing.
"If I had to summarize it simply..."
"...I used to be a member of the Night Shadow group."
The simple answer left many of those present in shock. Liu Yianfei, who had spent years working closely with the military, was perhaps the most visibly affected — he had never once considered that the greatest alchemist of the previous era could have ties to the world's most infamous "bandit group."
Questions crowded his mind. He burned to ask them all at once, but something held him back.
"The reason?"
Bai Fanxian was the only one who remained calm. She asked as if this were the most ordinary thing in the world.
"Aren't you surprised at all?"
Lu Qing looked at her with interest. He had expected a stronger reaction from this ice-cold young woman.
"I don't care who you 'used to' be..."
Bai Fanxian's answer left him speechless for a moment. He sighed and smiled faintly.
"Remember the Myriad Demon World I told you about?" Grandmaster Lu Qing paused. "I once accidentally slipped there..."
"But you said..."
"It was an uncontrollable accident. At the time I fell into dimensional currents through an ancient ruin — by accident — and found myself on that world's side. People there helped me survive. The items you've seen all came from that incident..."
Bai Fanxian nodded, accepting this. She remembered the things in the basement of that small shop. The mask Lu Qing used to disguise himself had been among them.
"...Wait, then how did you return?"
She thought for a moment, then furrowed her brow and asked.
If the trip there had been an "accident," what about the return journey? Could that kind of accident truly happen twice?
Then could it still be called an accident at all?
"...That's why I'm called 'Bathin.'"
"At the Myriad Demon World, I received power from one of the Seventy-Two Ancient Demons — a power that has the ability to create dimensional portals... Bathin's power."
"...!"
"Meow!?"
The moment Lu Qing's words ended, Bai Fanxian's eyes went wide. Her mind moved at high speed, processing what she had heard. At the same table, the small black cat that had been lazily sprawled out shot upright, tail pointing straight to the ceiling.
"...The Seventy-Two Ancient Demons, meow?"
"Do you know them?"
Bai Fanxian asked Kuro. But just from its reaction, she could already guess.
"Meow... the Myriad Demon World right now is ruled by Ancient Demons, meow."
Kuro trembled as it spoke. "There are only a few areas where humans still live, meow... the city Kuro came from is one of them."
"Aren't demonic beasts like you the same as demons?"
"No. Demonic beasts are like the various animal species of that world. They're born naturally. Though at the same time, there are some tribes that have served demons since ancient times."
Grandmaster Lu Qing looked at the still-trembling Kuro and explained in an even tone.
"So that world has humans, demonic beasts, and demons?"
Tang Yeye — who had fully recovered and was contentedly eating snacks off the table — asked with wide eyes, as if the story she was hearing were some kind of fairy tale.
"The demon race is rather special..." He stroked his beard lightly and continued.
"From ancient times until now, the demon race has only ever had seventy-two beings..."
"...No increase. Only a decrease over time. Though they are called the Seventy-Two Ancient Demons, in the period I traveled there, the confirmed number still living was probably under twenty."
Grandmaster Lu Qing sighed. That number was speculation regardless.
"Then you inherited power from one of them?"
Bai Fanxian's question made him shake his head.
"The Ancient Demon of Dimensional Rifts. Bathin was one of the demons who died in ancient times."
"..."
"It seems that when Ancient Demons die, part of their power lingers and can be inherited by others when the time comes. I happened to inherit a portion of that power... but as you can see, what I have is incomplete. At most, I can open dimensional portals over short distances to escape."
His fingertip faintly glowed. The path it traced left one small dimensional rift in the air as an example.
"Ancient Demon power has its roots in the Myriad Demon World, so the Magic Core is its foundation. The reason I cannot open a portal back there is that my magic power is insufficient — and I have no way to determine a clear destination point."
Bai Fanxian, having heard this much, seemed to understand something.
If Lu Qing's "magic" had originated this way—
Then...
"...If you received the name 'Bathin' through inheriting Ancient Demon power, that means...?"
He finally saw something like surprise in her eyes. He nodded at the conclusion she was drawing.
"You understand correctly..."
"Everyone in the Night Shadow group..."
"All received power from the Seventy-Two Ancient Demons..."