Under The Canopy Of Night

Night soon arrived, and darkness crept into the world.

The starless sky had only the dull glow of the half moon shining upon the areas engulfed in the thickness of the dark.

On this very night, a certain carriage departed from the Blanc Mansion.

It was prestigious, well-made. It's surface Barry reflected any light, and it was obviously designed for stealth.

As an Enchanted Carriage, it made no sound as it passed through the hidden paths that led out of the Capital.

As one would expect from a carriage of this pristine nature, it wasn't alone.

An entourage of six powerful men—led by a pink-haired woman—surrounded the wheeled mechanism.

They were all on mounts, and they had solemn expressions on their faces as they advanced to whatever destination they had in mind.

Among the entourage, there was a certain hooded man who rode right behind the others. If Yuri could be labeled as the leader at the forefront, then this enigma was the one who took the rear end.

Their formation ensured that the carriage would be protected from all sides—even the flanks.

A pretty standard formation for a considerably long journey.

"So they finally took off…"

A silent voice, unable to be heard by anyone around, softly proceeded from the lips of a man who watched all of this.

He was the leader of the Scylla's Personal Recon Team—Jawl.

His body was completely shrouded in darkness as he narrowed his eyes to activate his Skill.

'[Transparency]!'

With it, he could see through solid objects. Hence, despite the carriage having tinted windows, that didn't stop him from seeing what was going on inside.

As expected, Jawl's Skill worked!

He saw the interior of the carriage, and it was as exquisite as anyone would imagine.

Seated within it were Rebal Blanc, Kara Verte, and a mysterious man in a mask.

Rebal and Kara were seated beside each other, while the masked man was opposite them.

Once Jawl confirmed their positions, as well as all the other information he required from the carriage and its entourage, he deactivated his Skill.

'I better call Lady Scylla.' His thoughts trailed as his eyes darted up and about.

His subordinates were spread up and about the path that surrounded the carriage. As professionals, they had formations of their own.

It didn't matter what kind of formation the target had. They could easily break through it.

'We just need her go-ahead.'

Jawl knew that his second Skill—[Dark Silence]—was still activated, so he was confident that his next action wouldn't compromise his mission.

He brought out his Enchanted Communication Device and activated it by pouring his Mana into it.

The thing was shaped like an orb, and it was considerably heavy thanks to how many high-quality Mana Crystals were needed to make it.

Since it was used for communicating long distances, the Mana necessary was incredible.

After this single call, Jawl knew he would need to recharge the Item.

~ZTTTZ!~

Before long, the Communication Item connected to the other end.

~What's the situation?~

Jawl recognized the voice to belong to his master—Lady Scylla herself—and he subconsciously bowed his head the moment he heard her voice.

"All the necessary parties are present. Rebal Blanc and Kara Verte are within the carriage. Leading their entourage is their strongest warrior, Yuri, and I can recognize the other entourages save a few new faces."

He went ahead and succinctly poured out all the intel he had uncovered.

It was brief, straight to the point, and accurate.

As a professional who had served Scylla for nearly a decade, he knew her preferences and how to do his job to her utmost satisfaction.

The reason he didn't even address her as 'Master' when on the call was due to her distaste for time-wasting formalities.

Jawl desired to please her to his utmost, so he did as he was told and reported exactly what his Master desired to know.

~Good job.~

The moment he heard this, Jawl felt like he had been rewarded for all the scrutiny he had put into his work.

Scylla's words of admonishment, spoken by her soft voice, put a smile on his face.

He wanted to do anything for her.

"My men are on standby. Should we attack passively and delay their arrival to the Dark Gathering, or engage in active assault to eliminate them?"

For a few seconds, there was silence on the other end.

Then—

~You said there are a few faces you do not recognize. Are there any of them dressed peculiarly? Perhaps in a way that resembles the title 'Reaper'…?~

Upon hearing this, Jawl searched through his incredibly photographic memory and came up with two results.

"I saw two men dressed entirely in black, hiding their faces. One was at the rear end of the formation, while the other was within the carriage."

~Two? I thought there would be three. Hmm…~

Jawl didn't know anything about this 'Reaper' figure, and frankly… he didn't care.

Sure, the name sounded scary, but that wasn't going to deter him from fulfilling his duties and completing his mission.

Reaper or not—they would all perish if that was the wish of his Master.

~Don't engage the enemy. You've confirmed what you need to, so let them be and begin your second assignment.~

"Understood." Jawl was curious about his Master's decision, but he was in no position to question it.

He didn't need to know.

He just had to act—that was his purpose.

~You desire to know why I ordered against attacking, right?~

Upon hearing those words, Jawl shuddered a little.

He wasn't surprised that his Master had figured out his thoughts, but it still caught him off-guard.

"Yes." He responded.

There was no way Jawl could lie to Scylla.

A slight chuckle echoed from the Communication Device, and Jawl swallowed hard as he listened to the melodious sound.

He felt something tingle between his legs, but he ignored it and focused solely on his Master's angelic voice.

It was enough to save a wretched man like himself.

~It's simple, really. I do not wish for you and your men to die futile deaths.~

The moment Jawl heard this, his heart nearly stopped. He couldn't believe the generosity and mercy of his Master.

"…"

He was rendered speechless by her consideration.

~Then, inform me of any other situation that arises. Bye.~

Once she finished speaking, Scylla cut off communication from her end, leaving radio silence on his device.

It automatically deactivated on its own, and Jawl slowly placed the Item in his pocket.

He couldn't say a word even a minute after the call. His mind was still recoiling from the kind words he heard from Scylla.

'She doesn't want me to die a futile death…'

Jawl seemed to have forgotten that her words weren't directed only at him, but at all of his men.

Still, his broken mind interpreted it the way he wanted.

~FWUSH!~

"Leader! We have been on standby for some time now. What is the order?" One of Jawl's subordinates appeared, seemingly out of thin air, his head bowed.

The subordinate's eyes nearly popped out of its sockets once he saw the massive pillar that rose from his leader's pants.

It was not human-like.

"Call all the men back." Jawl spoke, completely neglecting—or maybe just ignoring—his incredible boner.

"We're retreating."