-1517- [ Asmod ]

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

As the three gray monsters were about to attack the blond boy again, a surge of magical energy swept through the area, and the three gray creatures were suddenly engulfed in a raging inferno before violently exploding.

Their bodies were shattered, scattering burning embers in all directions. Slowly, the flames consumed them, turning their remains into blackened ash, which gradually dissipated into nothingness.

"Ugh...!"

The boy, who had been standing close to the three gray monsters, let out a groan as the blast wave flung him backward. He crashed to the ground, landing right in front of Rozen.

"Cough, cough…!"

The boy clutched his chest, coughing heavily.

In response, a teasing voice came from above him.

"Your welcome ceremony is quite grand, I must say. So grand, in fact, that you're using your own life as a joke. Even I can't help but be impressed."

Hearing this, the boy immediately raised his head to look at Rozen.

When he did, his expression changed slightly.

It was because the fire in Rozen's eyes hadn't yet died down.

"W-What... what is that?"

The boy exclaimed in shock.

"This?" Rozen touched his own eyes casually and said indifferently, "These are mystic eyes. I inscribed runes into my eyeballs and combined them with various magic formulas. It allows me to instantly activate magic in battle."

"You inscribed runes... into your eyes...!?"

The boy was left speechless.

"What? You want a pair too?" Rozen asked with a smirk.

"No... no thanks..."

The boy replied with an awkward laugh.

"Well then, explain this." Rozen gestured toward the still-burning remains of the gray monsters.

"What exactly are those?"

The boy fell silent for a moment before sighing.

"Those are humans whose consciousness has been devoured by the cells of variant Armored Beetles. We call them—Asmod."

"Asmod?"

Rozen mused thoughtfully.

"In simple terms, they are artificially created humanoid Armored Beetles," the boy explained. "If a human ingests the cells of a variant Armored Beetle, those cells will consume their body, transforming them into a humanoid beetle. They gain jutsuryoku, as well as the tough exoskeleton of an Armored Beetle. Their defense is formidable, they're highly agile, and they can regenerate rapidly, making them difficult opponents. However, their minds are corrupted, causing them to lose their sanity. Didn't you encounter one in Mistgun?"

This boy, it seemed, knew about Real Nua.

Well, it wasn't surprising. Since he was from the Pope's faction, he probably had access to sensitive information. The events in Mistgun had likely already reached his ears.

"Of course, the one you met in Mistgun was a bit special. I heard it possessed not just jutsuryoku, but also Collapse Force. Thankfully, you destroyed it. If it had fallen into Zeth's hands, and they managed to research how to create artificial Collapse Force users, things would've become problematic."

The boy casually brushed the dust off his clothes as he spoke.

This was also why Elis had taken an interest in Real Nua. Despite him being an Asmod who was losing his sanity, the fact that he could wield Collapse Force made him a valuable asset, potentially allowing for mass production of Collapse Force-wielding Asmod.

Luckily, Real Nua had been slain by Altera.

"I heard that Asmod wasn't a Sky Wizard, but a normal Mage. Despite having magic, he didn't explode when infused with jutsuryoku. It's quite the rarity."

The boy clicked his tongue in amazement.

It seemed he had extensive knowledge about humanoid Armored Beetles.

Given his background, that was only to be expected.

"It's about time you introduced yourself, don't you think?" Rozen asked, staring at the boy. "Who are you?"

"Me?" The boy smiled faintly and replied, "I'm River—River Endycase."

"Endycase?" Rozen raised an eyebrow. "That's the same surname as Hartmann Endycase, the councilor who spoke at the banquet, isn't it?"

"That's right." River nodded frankly. "I'm the councilor's son, his secretary, and, as I mentioned earlier, I'm currently working for Her Holiness, the Pope."

Being a descendant of a family that had served the Pope for generations, this was only natural.

However...

"You were the one spying on me when I first arrived in Vebel, weren't you?"

Rozen bluntly exposed him.

"So you noticed after all…"

River's expression turned a bit awkward, with a trace of lingering fear.

At the time, River had merely been following orders to confirm Rozen's arrival. However, Rozen had detected him, and River was almost scared to death by a single look from him.

Fortunately, Rozen had used Spirit Vision to sense River's aura, confirming that he was a human male, and not an Armored Beetle. Only then did Rozen let him off the hook.

It was also River who had arranged the meeting between them at the banquet.

Thus, it was clear that River was indeed one of the Pope's people.

But...

Before Rozen's arrival, River had encountered the Asmod here.

"They were once the missing people of Vebel, captured by Zeth's faction and used in experiments. They were injected with variant Armored Beetle cells and turned into humanoid Armored Beetles."

River stared at the charred remains of the Asmod, his expression dark and conflicted.

"I just don't know why they're here. Did I accidentally leak the information?"

That was obvious, wasn't it?

"With Zeth's intelligence, it's impossible they wouldn't have guessed that the Pope would send someone to contact me, hoping to recruit me to fight against them," Rozen said, rolling his eyes. "I'm sure you've been under surveillance for a while. Yet you still openly invited me out at the banquet. Did you really expect them not to strike?"

River was speechless.

In other words...

"So this meeting was exposed from the start?"

"Of course."

"And now...?"

"Now the real fun begins."

As Rozen said this, figures began to appear around the clearing.

"Creak, creak, creak...!"

With unnatural sounds, the figures started writhing and morphing, transforming into large, gray monsters.

They were all the missing people from Vebel.

They were all artificially created humanoid Armored Beetles, injected with variant Armored Beetle cells by Zeth's faction.

Their name was Asmod.

"Gah…"

"Gah…"

With beast-like growls, the Asmod surrounded Rozen and Lipa, exuding jutsuryoku that rippled through the air, shaking the atmosphere.

"Tch...!"

River's face twisted as he clicked his tongue, raising his magic sword.

Rozen, however, remained calm, glancing around the area with a smirk.

In the darkness of the night, malicious intent filled the air.

The gray monsters lunged at the two humans, blotting out the stars above, shrouding the night in pitch-black darkness.