Ghislain tilted his head as he looked down at Lavier’s severed head on the ground. “What’s with this guy? He gave up so suddenly.” To ensure a swift victory, Ghislain had activated the third stage of his core, a level of power he rarely used. By all accounts, Lavier should have had enough strength left to resist a few more rounds of attacks. Yet, as if all will to fight had vanished, Lavier had allowed himself to be struck down. For someone of Ghislain’s caliber, this was not something that went unnoticed. “Was he trying to leave some last words?” He pondered the thought for a moment before shaking his head. If there was one lesson his past life had taught him, it was that listening to a cornered enemy’s last words was rarely worth the risk. More than once, he had nearly lost his head indulging an enemy’s final monologue. There were more pressing matters to attend to now than solving the mystery of Lavier’s strange behavior. As the battle concluded, the knights rushed over, their shouts of triumph filling the air. “We got him!” “Beating him together was the best strategy!” “We knew we’d win!” The knights laughed heartily, their faith in their lord unwavering. Ghislain had never failed them in combat, so their victory today had seemed inevitable. Kaor, battered and bruised, collapsed to the ground. Panting heavily and drooling slightly, he shouted: “That bastard was terrible at fighting! Did you all see that?” “...” The knights said nothing, unsure how to respond to someone so beaten up yet still brazenly mocking his opponent. Belinda, too, let out a sigh as she sank to the ground, her exhaustion apparent. “Hah... He had no technique, but he wasn’t easy to deal with.” Though it looked like an easy victory from the outside, the reality was far from it. Each of Lavier’s attacks had carried immense power. If any of them had landed cleanly, it could have been fatal. Ghislain himself had deflected and dodged every strike, aware of the danger. Had Lavier possessed proper combat training to complement his raw power, this battle would have been far more grueling. “Did you know what technique he was going to use because you’d fought him before?” Belinda asked, glancing at Ghislain. Lavier’s final technique had been particularly devastating. Without Vanessa’s prepared defensive magic, the trio wouldn’t have been able to withstand it. Ghislain smirked but said nothing. As Belinda suspected, he had known. In his past life, Lavier’s technique had caused significant losses, and Ghislain had been determined to avoid a repeat of that disaster. That’s why he’d ordered Vanessa to prepare her spell in advance. With both the village chief and Lavier dealt with, no one remained to stop Ghislain and his group. “Destroy everything and check for anything suspicious,” Ghislain ordered. The knights wasted no time. They began tearing apart the village, digging up the ground to uncover any hidden secrets. Even the soldiers, who had been stunned by the earlier battle, joined in the search. Descending into the basement of the chief’s house, Ghislain frowned at the sight before him. “This wasn’t built overnight.” As Dark had reported, a massive magical circle filled the room, blood flowing through its intricate patterns. The stench of rotting corpses was overpowering, emanating from the piles of bodies surrounding the circle. Even the knights, hardened by countless battles, recoiled in horror. “Ugh! What is this?!” “These maniacs... What were they doing down here?” “Blergh!” The grisly scene was so vile that even the most battle-hardened among them gagged at the sight. “Check if anyone’s still alive,” Ghislain ordered. The knights began breaking the surrounding apparatus and carefully extracting the bodies. After a thorough search, they shook their heads. “They’re all dead.” “They don’t seem to have been dead for long.” “It looks like their blood was drained while they were still alive.” Ghislain clicked his tongue in disgust. Thousands of bones filled the chamber, a grim testament to how long these atrocities had been carried out. The malevolent energy emanating from the massive circle felt eerily familiar, similar to the energy he had sensed in the Rifts during his past life. ‘This confirms it. They’ve been opening Rifts with this magic circle.’ Rifts were otherworldly phenomena, appearing as fractured spaces that glowed with an unnatural light. While it was impossible to see what lay beyond, monstrous creatures would pour out through these cracks. The energy seeping from the circle was unmistakably linked to the Rifts. “Vanessa, can you decipher this magic circle?” Ghislain asked. Vanessa studied the circle with a serious expression before shaking her head. “I can’t fully understand it. There are traces of coordinate-based magic and mana absorption arrays, but... its structure deviates significantly from conventional magic. It seems to be an entirely original design.” “Figured as much.” In his past life, even mages far more skilled than Vanessa had failed to unravel the mysteries of the Rifts. It was no surprise she couldn’t either. Vanessa hesitated before suggesting, “We could take some time to analyze it in reverse. It’s clear they’re using life force and ambient mana to accumulate power.” “No, we’re destroying it immediately.” “This? But—” “The longer it remains, the worse the effects on the surroundings. Even with a barrier, we can’t fully contain it. It’s a shame, but we have no choice.” Vanessa nodded reluctantly. The circle’s unique nature made it impossible to block its influence entirely. Leaving it intact risked further contamination of the area. Once opened, Rifts would slowly corrupt their surroundings, turning ordinary people into mutants and making entire regions uninhabitable. Closing a Rift came at a tremendous cost, as Ghislain knew all too well. This circle had to be destroyed before it could cause more damage. Drawing his aura blade, Ghislain slashed through the circle. Boom! The malevolent energy radiating from the circle seemed to let out a scream, though no sound was heard. Everyone present felt the eerie sensation. Boom! Boom! Boom! Knowing the stakes, Ghislain obliterated every trace of the circle, reducing it to dust. Only when he was sure no energy remained did he finally stop. “Bring the soldiers down and show them this. Gather the remains and bones for investigation.” The kingdom’s officers, many of whom had fought alongside Ghislain during the war with Desmond, were horrified by the scene. Some even collapsed in shock. The commander of the 3rd Legion, his eyes trembling, turned to Ghislain. “C-Count... What is this?!” “It’s the work of the Salvation Order. I don’t know their exact goals, but they’re using human sacrifices for some twisted purpose.” Ghislain refrained from mentioning the Rifts. There was no concrete proof, and he preferred to present only what was undeniable. The commander spat out a curse. “These lunatics... What are they trying to achieve?!” The Salvation Order’s name had become infamous across the kingdom as a heretical cult. While most commoners dismissed it as noble infighting, the truth was far more sinister. “For them to have kidnapped so many, they must have been doing this for a long time,” the commander muttered. “Exactly. This isn’t something you can accomplish overnight,” Ghislain confirmed. Kidnapping thousands of people from a small village would have caused an uproar if done suddenly. The only explanation was a gradual, systematic abduction over many years. “Clean this up and prepare a report. I’ll personally inform Marquis Branford. I’ve already identified other locations.” “There are more places like this?” “Yes. They’ve built these facilities across the continent. We’ll find them all and destroy them.” “How do you know this?” “The dead tend to talk,” Ghislain replied slyly. It was a lie, but there was no way for anyone to verify his claim. He leaned in, his tone conspiratorial. “Spread the word. Let the rumors fly. People need to understand the severity of the situation.” “Understood, my lord. With so many witnesses, it’ll be impossible to keep this under wraps.” Letting the rumors spread like wildfire was exactly what Ghislain wanted. The more enemies the Salvation Order had, the more allies Ghislain could rally to his side. While Soldiers Cleared the Area, Ghislain Deliberated Alone As soldiers worked to clean up the village, Ghislain stood apart, lost in thought. ‘I remember enough of the locations. I can close a significant number of Rifts ahead of time.’ Though his recollection wasn’t precise, he had a general sense of where the Rifts were located. Searching the surrounding areas would surely yield results. ‘If I’d known, I would’ve investigated more thoroughly back then.’ Unfortunately, the Rifts that appeared during his early days as a novice mercenary—or those located far from his assignments—remained outside his grasp. Back then, his role had been combat, not investigation. The only consolation was that by the time he’d reached the height of his mercenary career, he had traversed much of the continent. Most of the Rifts he had fought at were still fresh in his memory. ‘So, it was deliberate that there were no Rifts in the North.’ Some regions, oddly enough, had no Rifts whatsoever. One such area was the northern territories of the Rutania Kingdom. Strictly speaking, there was a single Rift near the border to the north, but none within the region itself. ‘It must be because of the Forest of Beasts.’ The enemy seemed to have avoided the region intentionally, perhaps to preserve their plans involving the Forest. In his previous life, without this knowledge, the lack of Rifts had been dismissed as mere coincidence. Had there been Rifts in the North, investigations would have been conducted long ago. But with none present, everyone had focused their efforts on preparing for the chaos rather than preemptively seeking out sites. ‘This works to my advantage.’ Though he didn’t yet understand why, he knew enough to identify the enemy’s patterns and their operations. And thanks to his experiences, he already knew the locations of many of their sites. His preparations had always assumed the possibility of all Rifts opening at once. But if he could close even a few beforehand, it would significantly shift the balance in his favor. ‘I need to act quickly.’ Marquis Rodrik was likely to mobilize his forces soon, and with the discovery of the Rifts, the Duke’s faction would undoubtedly escalate their actions. It was imperative to share this information with Marquis Branford and other kingdoms as soon as possible. Doing so would put additional pressure on both the Salvation Order and the Duke’s faction. “Let’s head to the capital.” Leaving only a handful of soldiers behind to guard the area, Ghislain immediately set out for the capital. It had been a long time since he had moved with such urgency after his regression. At the Capital with Marquis Branford Marquis Branford, noticing Ghislain’s rapid return, greeted him with a suspicious glare. “What now? You’ve barely been gone.” “I have something important to report,” Ghislain replied. The Marquis folded his arms and, with a stern expression, interjected before Ghislain could explain further. “There’s nothing left.” “...Excuse me?” “I said, there’s nothing left.” “What exactly are you talking about?” Ghislain asked, visibly confused. “Isn’t it obvious? I already gave you a shard of the Dragon Heart. What more could you possibly want?” “...” Ghislain realized there had been a misunderstanding. For once, he wasn’t here to demand anything. “I’m not here to take anything this time.” Marquis Branford squinted, clearly unconvinced. ‘I’ve lost track of how many times this rascal has wrung something out of me,’ Branford thought. Though the results always worked out in his favor, it didn’t make the experience any less infuriating. “Out with it, then,” Branford said, crossing his arms. Ghislain sighed, exasperated. “I’ve uncovered one of the Salvation Order’s schemes. I even brought a witness.” “Hm? What did you say?” The Marquis’s suspicion waned as his curiosity was piqued. The kingdom’s military commander, who had accompanied Ghislain, stepped forward and recounted the horrors they had witnessed. His detailed explanation painted a vivid picture of the gruesome scene. Branford’s expression turned grave. “Are you telling me they’ve been kidnapping and killing people for rituals?” “Yes,” Ghislain replied. “The Salvation Order’s activities are as vile as you’d expect from heretics. They’re sacrificing people like black magicians.” “Those bastards...” “And it’s not just one location. There are multiple sites.” When asked how he knew, Ghislain repeated the same story he had told the commander: that he had extracted the information from Lavier before his death. Though it was a fabrication, it served its purpose. As Ghislain spoke, Branford’s expression grew increasingly severe. “So, this isn’t limited to our kingdom? Are you saying it’s happening elsewhere too?” “That’s correct.” “The man you interrogated could have fed you false information to mislead us. If that’s the case, and we act rashly, we’ll lose credibility.” Ghislain smirked confidently. “Then we simply verify the closest locations first. Once we confirm their existence, we strike all the sites simultaneously and notify the other kingdoms.” Branford nodded slowly. While the southern territories under the Duke’s faction couldn’t be easily accessed, there were plenty of areas near the capital, as well as in the east and west, that could be investigated immediately. If Ghislain’s claims were true, they needed to act before the Salvation Order and the Duke’s faction could respond. Rising to his feet, Branford called to his steward. “Prepare the kingdom’s forces immediately.” “Yes, my lord,” the steward replied. Branford turned back to Ghislain, his expression resolute. “Perhaps this could turn out to be an even greater opportunity than I anticipated.” For Branford, who rarely left the capital, this was a significant step. If Ghislain’s information proved accurate, the Salvation Order and the Duke’s faction would soon find themselves at war not just with Rutania but with every kingdom on the continent.