[...When I was young? Why are you suddenly asking about that?]
[I lived in the mountains with my father. There is a mountain range to the east of Santea. That’s where we lived.]
[I learned all my swordsmanship and magic from my father. A promise is a promise, so I’ll answer anything else, but don’t ask me any more questions about him].
That’s the part of the conversation with the successor that I remembered from the game’s story.
The successor, who had opened up to the player and tsuccessor comrades, told the story of her past.
Chronologically, the successor was definitely in the Ramon Mountain Range at this time in the past, unless she lied.
The only problem was, just because her location was most likely here, it didn’t mean it was the end.
Even with the aid of a wyvern, scouring the entirety of this vast mountain range was a daunting task that would take forever. Even finding a needle in a haystack would be a bit easier.
About half a day had passed since we reached the mountain range.
Going the opposite direction from the hero, I looked down at the endless forest and sighed to myself.
“Let’s look around a little more and then rest.”
I patted Ti-Yong on the neck, and the other growled in response.
Both he and I were tired, our senses maxed out from earlier.
“...!”
It was at that moment that I sensed two incredibly subtle energy.
One was ominous, reminiscent of demonic energy, and the other was ordinary.
I was certain that the owner of the ominous energy was a demon, as I had encountered them many times before.
'Another demon?'
I couldn’t help but feel puzzled. I hadn’t expected to feel a demon’s magic all the way here.
An ominous assumption flashed through my mind.
If there was a demon in this mountain range where the successor lived, was it just a coincidence? Could it have come here on purpose to target the successor?
There couldn’t be a demon that knew of the successor’s existence at this time. It was an absurd story.
The existence of the successor was a secret that only the hero and I knew, having received the revelation directly from the Holy Sword.
No matter how much my actions had affected this world, in ways both great and small, it was not...
“Sir Ron.”
As we closed the distance, Asher called out to me as if sensing the energy.
“Full speed ahead, Ti-Yong, in that direction.”
I looked in the direction where I felt the energy with a stern face.
I would have to go there in person to see what was happening.
***
'A wyvern...?'
Rodiven stared blankly at the huge object flying towards them from the other side of the sky. And soon, he realized that its identity was a wyvern.
A black wyvern of such gigantic proportions that even he, who was well versed in all manner of monsters, had never seen one in his life.
Wyverns were a rare and virtually extinct creature, except in a few places on the continent.
He wondered if there were wyverns that lived in the Ramon Mountain Range, but upon closer inspection, he discovered that someone was riding on its back.
“What is that monster?”
Kaen also looked surprised as she gazed at the wyvern. To her, the wyvern was a giant, winged monster that she had never seen before.
Whooooosh!
With a gust of wind, the wyvern landed on the ground.
A man and woman descended from its back.
The demon contractor shifted his attention from the mage who had been casting a defensive spell and focused on them. His eyes flickered slightly as he looked at the two humans.
A palpable aura of power just from the distance.
The demon contractor, who had grown to a higher level by hunting demons, was able to sense the power of the magic that the woman was secretly emitting.
If the difference in power was ambiguous to the wizard who had erected a shield, this time the demon contractor immediately realized;
'I am no match for her.'
And the man who stood beside her as if she were his escort.
There was not an ounce of aura about him, as if he were a bug, but that made him all the more mysterious.
Moreover, a man with such a powerful person as a subordinate could not possibly be an ordinary being. It was a fact that could be easily inferred.
'...Wait, a black wyvern?'
The demon contractor felt a moment of fear as a particular information flashed through his head.
He was originally an ordinary human, still active within Santea, and therefore well informed about the world’s current affairs. Naturally, he had heard things about a being that had been causing a stir on the continent lately.
A black-haired human male, a female knight from the White Moon tribe, and a black wyvern...
'The Seventh Lord of Calderic.'
A new Lord of Calderic, who killed the Sixth Lord, the Tyrant, and caused conflict with the Santea royal family even at the neutral country conference.
The outward appearance of the two people in front of him matched exactly with what he had heard through rumors.
It wasn’t a hasty assumption. It was certain, given that even the black wyvern, which was tamed by a few people on the continent, was present.
'Why is the Seventh Lord here?'
Calderic’s Lords, the demons who gave him his power, the Five Stars.
They were monsters that could only be compared to archdemons, the pinnacle of all demons.
The demon contractor stared at the man with bated breath, unable to make sense of the situation.
The man, the Seventh Lord, kept his gaze fixed on the three beyond the barrier, as if he had no interest in this side.
The demon contractor moved cautiously, hoping to take advantage of the Seventh Lord’s distraction and escape. No, he tried to move.
“Not a demon, but a contractor?”
The Seventh Lord’s mouth opened.
The demon contractor answered obediently, barely concealing his embarrassment.
“Yes.”
The feeling of one’s life being in someone else’s hands was unpleasant, and it had been a long time since he had felt it.
The demon contractor tried to answer politely and read the Seventh Lord’s expression. But it was useless.
The Seventh Lord turned to the woman and ordered.
“Take him down, but don’t kill him, Asher.”
***
When we arrived at the source of the energy, the scene that unfolded before them was difficult to understand.
There were many monsters under the control of some demon contractor, and three people who seemed to be defending against them.
“...!”
I couldn’t help but be surprised when I recognized the face of the girl among the three.
The color of her hair, the color of her eyes, her appearance, though young, exactly matched the successor I remembered.
'The successor!'
It was definitely the successor.
I felt a tingle of excitement all over my body and ordered Asher.
“Take him down, but don’t kill him, Asher.”
I didn’t know the identity of the one leading the monsters. Based on tsuccessor magic power, they didn’t seem to be a demon, but rather a contractor.
The coincidence of tsuccessor attack on the successor at this time made me wonder if the demons really did know about the successor’s identity...
'No, they don’t know.'
[Lv. 73]
He’s level was too low.
First of all, it doesn’t make sense that the demons would know about the successor’s existence.
If they really knew, they wouldn’t send a demon contractor like this, but would at least send an archdemon directly, since the hero was the biggest obstacle to tsuccessor king’s resurrection.
It would be enough to subdue the contractor and interrogate him to find out what his purpose was.
As soon as my command was given, Ashr drew her sword and flew towards the contractor.
Kwagwaggwaggwang!
The monsters around the creature were swept away by her sword before it even reached the contractor.
The contractor panicked and created a defense magic, but it was a futile resistance. The gap between Asher, who was over level 90, and the other was too vast.
In an instant, Asher jumped behind the contractor, grabbed hiss head, and slammed him down to the ground.
“Argh--!”
“Stay still, or I’ll blow your head off.”
The contractor sagged in defeat at Asher’s warning.
I shifted my gaze back to the three.
They had already retracted tsuccessor defensive barrier and were looking at us.
***
“They wiped all those monsters out, Father--?”
Kaen murmured with a bewildered look in her eyes.
The woman who had appeared out of nowhere had subdued the horde of monsters and tsuccessor leader in the blink of an eye.
The man, whose magic was slowly reaching its limit, withdrew his shield. He looked at the two of them with a calm gaze.
“...”
Rodiven, meanwhile, was staring at them in horror. At the man, to be precise.
It took him a beat to realize who he was.
'He can’t be------ the Seventh Lord of Calderic?'
The person’s appearance, as well as the black wyvern, matched the rumors that had spread about him.
It was a mountain after a mountain. After the Demon Contractor, why would the Seventh Lord of Calderic be here?
In a mountain range where he had come simply to study magic, Rodiven wondered if he had been caught up in something far greater.
The Seventh Lord who had subdued the demon contractor began approaching them. He stopped just a dozen steps away and gave the three of them a quick glance.
Rodiven spoke first.
“Are you the Seventh Lord of Calderic...?”
He immediately regretted his words. He had spoken too rashly, given the situation where he didn’t know why the Seventh Lord had revealed himself here.
“...Calderic’s Lord?”
Even the man who had calmly faced the demon contractor showed a little surprise at Rodiven’s words.
Kaen, who didn’t understand, just looked back and forth at the three of them. She didn’t know what Calderic or a Lord was.
The Seventh Lord, who had initially remained silent, finally spoke.
“And you are?”
Rodiven was slightly relieved to hear an affirmative, but unexpectedly gentle, response.
But his guard was quickly raised again, and he considered what his response should be.
He wasn’t sure if he should be so forthright as to identify himself as a professor of Elphon to the Lord of a faction that was undeniably an enemy of Santea.
'What is his purpose? No, he seemed to be looking this way for some reason ever since he appeared--'
Rodiven’s head swam dizzily.
That’s when Kaen interrupted.
“I’m Kaen.”
The Seventh Lord’s gaze shifted to her.
When she spoke, Rodiven felt that the Seven Lord was slightly surprised for some reason.
“This is my father, and this is someone who came from outside the mountains. I think he was a professor at some academy or something, but I’m not really sure.”
Suddenly, Kaen’s words revealing his own identity made Rodiven flustered.
“Thank you for your help. But that extremely strong person over there, and the atmosphere... Is she also an amazing person? What’s a ‘Lord of Calderic?’”
“... “
The Seventh Lord didn’t answer, just stared at her.
Rodiven screamed inwardly, scanning the Seventh Lord’s mood.
Even if she was ignorant about the world, how could she not know about the Lords of Calderic?
Who would dare to say such a thing right in front of a Lord of Calderic?
“This child only lives in the mountains and is ignorant of the world...”
If she happened to incur the wrath of the Seventh Lord, no one in this place would be able to survive.
Rodiven was about to explain in place of Kaen, feeling as if a cold sweat was about to break out at any moment.
Kuuuuung!
With a ripping sound, something shining golden from the other side of the sky was once again flying towards them.
