The moment the door closed behind Kael, the atmosphere inside the medical ward changed completely.
Commander Louis and Commander Deo exchanged serious looks, neither of them treating Kael's warning as a joke.
"Assassins targeting the Lord..." Deo muttered. "That's not the kind of thing someone casually says."
Cheng Soo stroked his beard thoughtfully.
"More importantly," he said, "how did he know?"
The room fell silent.
No one had reported the dead strangers found outside the district to the public. Only a handful of knights knew about them.
Yet Kael had somehow reached the same conclusion.
Commander Louis slowly exhaled.
"Whether he has evidence or not doesn't matter," he said. "A Six-Core Nightmare appeared inside Fortress Genesis. Unknown outsiders were found dead nearby. And now there's a warning of an assassination."
His eyes hardened.
"Something bigger is happening."
"Wait! Six-Core Nightmare? Unknown outsiders found dead?" Commander Deo exclaimed, turning sharply toward Louis. "Did you just say a Six-Core Nightmare? That's a Nightmare capable of threatening an entire kingdom!"
Commander Louis nodded calmly. "Yeah. A Six-Core Nightmare and several unidentified dead bodies. Why do you think I was taking this seriously?"
Deo stared at him for a moment before his face twitched in irritation. "And why exactly didn't you tell me that the moment I arrived?"
Louis simply looked back at him and replied, "You never asked."
"You!! I'll really kill you, you piece of trash!" Commander Deo shouted, leaning forward until his forehead nearly collided with Commander Louis'.
The two commanders glared at each other, neither willing to back down even an inch as sparks seemed to fly between their gazes.
"You're calling me trash?" Louis shot back. "You're a homeless old man who can't even wear proper clothes."
Commander Deo's eye twitched violently.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
Meanwhile, the knights and medics in the room quietly took a few steps backward, already accustomed to the fact that whenever these two commanders met, chaos inevitably followed.
While Commander Deo and Commander Louis continued glaring at each other, Cheng Soo paid them no attention.
The old physician stood quietly beside Runa's bed, his eyes thoughtful as he recalled everything he had witnessed and heard throughout the day.
"Finally..." he whispered to himself. "Someone has come who might be able to save the Lord of Fortress Genesis."
His gaze drifted toward the closed door through which Kael had departed.
A faint smile appeared on his aged face.
"And I think..." Cheng Soo murmured softly, stroking his beard. "I finally have an idea of what you are, Kael."
Kael walked quietly through the streets of Fortress Genesis, the evening air cool against his skin as the chaos of the day slowly faded behind him.
"I thought I entered a situation that I never planned," he whispered to himself, glancing at the damaged district in the distance.
Then he remembered something the one-eyed leader had said during their battle.
Transcension.
"What is Transcension?" Kael muttered thoughtfully. "I think he was talking about my power... calling it Transcension."
He continued walking, his footsteps echoing softly along the empty street.
"I suppose he was right about one thing," Kael said quietly. "I really am newly awakened."
Unlike everyone else, Kael had no understanding of ranks, realms, or the power system of this world. To him, everything he had done felt natural—as if he were merely discovering abilities that had always existed within him.
Kael's eyes shifted sharply to the side.
"How long do you intend to follow me?" he said calmly.
In an instant, a man wearing a black and red suit appeared beside him, dropping to one knee with his head lowered in respectful submission.
"I'm here to inform you," the man said politely, his voice steady despite Kael's pressure, "that someone is inviting you to a meeting."
Kael looked at him silently, his expression unreadable.
The street around them remained empty and quiet, as if the world itself was waiting for his response.
"Who?" Kael asked simply.
"The Secretary of the Lord of Fortress Genesis," the man replied respectfully. "The one currently managing the kingdom's affairs—Garrick."
Kael remained silent for a moment.
The name meant nothing to him.
Still, considering the warning he had given earlier, it wasn't surprising that someone from the fortress leadership wanted to meet him.
"…Lead the way," Kael said.
The man immediately lowered his head.
"As you wish."
Without another word, he rose to his feet and began walking through the dimly lit streets of Fortress Genesis, with Kael following calmly behind him.
Above them, the night sky stretched across the kingdom, while unseen eyes watched from the shadows, and the gears of a much larger conspiracy slowly began to turn.
As they walked through the quiet streets, Kael fell into thought.
The city was calmer now, but traces of the earlier destruction could still be seen in the distance.
"Hmm…" Kael murmured to himself. "I think I have an idea why he wants to meet me."
His gaze remained forward as he followed the guide.
"And if he's only the secretary of the Lord, yet currently leading the kingdom…"
Kael's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…then something must have happened to the Lord of this kingdom."
The man leading him showed no reaction, but the silence that followed was answer enough to make Kael even more suspicious.
After some time, Kael and the man arrived at the castle.
The guide led him through long hallways lined with guards before finally stopping in front of a large wooden door.
"The Secretary is waiting inside," the man said respectfully.
He pushed the door open.
The office beyond was spacious but crowded with work.
Stacks of documents covered the shelves, while maps and reports were spread across a large desk.
Behind that desk sat a man in his late thirties.
He wore elegant formal clothing, neatly groomed with a well-kept mustache, and despite the late hour, he was still reviewing a mountain of paperwork.
The moment the door opened, the man lifted his head from the documents and looked directly at Kael.
The man studied Kael for a few seconds before slowly setting down the document in his hand.
His sharp eyes carefully examined the young man who had defeated a Six-Core Nightmare.
Then he rose from his chair.
"Welcome," he said politely. "My name is Garrick, Secretary of Fortress Genesis."
He walked around the desk and stopped a short distance away.
"More importantly," Garrick continued, "allow me to thank you on behalf of the fortress and its people."
His expression became serious.
"You saved countless lives today, Kael Virent."
For a moment, silence filled the office as Garrick and Kael faced each other for the first time.
Kael looked at Garrick quietly.
"I didn't do it for the fortress," he said bluntly. "I simply dealt with a problem that was in front of me."
Garrick paused for a moment, then let out a faint, controlled smile.
"Perhaps," he replied calmly. "But the result remains the same. Whether intentional or not, Fortress Genesis now owes you a debt."
He gestured toward the chair opposite his desk.
"Please, sit."
Kael sat down without hesitation, his posture relaxed but alert.
The moment he settled, Garrick's expression changed—becoming sharper, more serious.
"I'll be direct, Kael Virent," he said. "The warning you left in the medical ward reached me immediately."
His fingers slowly interlocked on the desk. "You said there are assassins targeting the Lord."
The room fell into a deep silence.
Then Garrick leaned forward slightly, his eyes locked onto Kael.
"How did you come to that conclusion?"
Kael did not answer immediately.
His eyes shifted slightly, as if recalling fragments of the earlier battle and the scattered details he had observed.
"That was simple," Kael said flatly. "I fought them, so I know."
He paused for a moment before continuing, his tone still calm but precise.
"The most important part is the Nightmare appearing randomly. It wasn't planned as a battlefield—it was used as a cover."
Kael's gaze sharpened slightly.
"And I saw a purple bottle. It was called Concentrated Nightmare Poison."
Garrick's expression tightened immediately at those words, the atmosphere in the room shifting as the implications began to sink in.
"How do you know they're targeting our Lord?" Garrick asked again, his voice lower but sharper than before.
Kael leaned back slightly in the chair, letting out a small sigh as if the answer was obvious.
"…In assassination," Kael said calmly, "the target is always the one with the highest authority or greatest power."
His eyes lifted toward Garrick.
"And in this kingdom… that only leaves the Lord."
A heavy silence filled the office after his words, the logic simple—but the implication extremely dangerous.
Garrick's expression darkened slightly as he realized Kael wasn't guessing.
He was analyzing it like a fact.
Kael spoke again, his tone steady "Let's be direct. I know you want something from me."
Garrick paused for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly as if measuring Kael more carefully.
"…Yeah, you're right," he admitted calmly. "But tell me—how did you know that?"