By the time Yalilan, leading the Rose Commerce Association’s mercenaries and a group of Demon Hunters from outside Fude City, arrived at the site of Baron and Ferdinand’s battle, they were greeted by the most unforgettable scene of their lives.

The signs of battle had scorched the earth for hundreds of meters. A massive crater was blasted into the ground, and inside it lay a charred, human-shaped figure.

Yalilan dismounted. She used her Spiritual Perception to sense her surroundings and scanned the area with her Hunter’s Eye.

Her heart sank. Ferdinand, who had been on the verge of the Silver tier, was nowhere to be found. His trail had vanished completely.

Nor could she sense even a trace of L’s aura.

The Demon Hunters all realized something was wrong.

"Could... Could that figure on the ground be...?"

Andre’s voice trembled, his heart heavy.

’The gap between Tiers isn’t something skill alone can bridge.’

’From the looks of it, Demon Hunter L, a Black Iron Tier, was probably killed by Ferdinand—a man nearly two full Tiers his superior.’

’Back at the Underground Altar, Baron had only managed to slice off Ferdinand’s head by taking advantage of his weakness and the element of surprise. Facing a prepared Ferdinand head-on now... his odds of survival were slim to none.’

Andre sighed, gazing at the charred figure on the ground, its features burned beyond recognition.

’I treated him so horribly, yet he was willing to stay behind and cover for me, just so I could escape and deliver a warning...’ Andre’s eyes began to well up.

’I’m not even human.’

Hearing this, Maguire scrambled over to the charred figure, his face a mask of profound shock.

He kept muttering, "How is this possible...?" and other such things.

’That was L! In his mind, L was every bit as strong as Zod! He was his companion!’

’How could he have died just like that?’

He turned to Andre. "What the hell happened?"

Zod’s expression darkened as well. He had been about to twist the cap off his flask for a long drink, but his hand froze.

Andre sighed and recounted how L had responded when it happened.

"L... he died on his feet!" Andre said. "He told me he would use that one strike to buy me time to escape, and while he was at it, he’d settle things with Ferdinand once and for all..."

"It must have been the ultimate strike, one that poured in everything he had learned since he fled Feinan and became a Demon Hunter..."

No one replied. Nearly every Demon Hunter present knew, to some extent, what kind of man L was. If things had gone differently, he could have become a Silver-tier one day...

Handel, the tough who had once slain the Dream-eating Beast with Baron at the gates of Mundra Prison, also sounded regretful. "The good die young."

Yalilan’s expression hardened. She bent down to examine the charred figure, but its features were completely indecipherable.

Feeling agitated, she remained silent for a moment before ordering, "One squad, take this body back to Fude City. The rest of you, with me. We’re searching for any sign of L and Ferdinand."

"Even an Undead will leave a trail if it’s injured."

Yalilan leaped onto her horse and led the Demon Hunters deep into the forest.

About ten minutes after the group had dispersed and the body had been carted away, a new troop of riders galloped into view. From a distance, they looked like a moving black mountain range.

The Wizard leading them raised a hand, and the riders reined in their mounts. The black horses beneath them let out thunderous pants, snorting clouds of white steam after their hard gallop.

It was the Palmer Witch Riders, led by Silver Wizard Fei. They had just hurried over from the Immortal Church, where they had discovered the aura of an Azure Fire Dragon.

Just as Wizard Fei had expected, the aura there was suspected to belong to a Red Dragon.

They had followed the trail of scattered Spiritual Power they collected there all the way to this spot.

Wizard Fei narrowed his eyes, surveying the scene. ’There are signs of a fight. I estimate both combatants were at the Bronze Tier.’

’KK fought a battle here?’

Wizard Fei frowned.

’KK reached the Silver Tier many years ago, but through Astrology and divining with a strand of her hair, I know she’s been severely injured. And it’s not a minor wound.’

’It would be normal for her power to drop to the Bronze Tier for a short while.’

’That must be why her aura suddenly appeared in Gillian.’ 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

’No, that’s not right. Knowing her, she probably contracted some new Law Enforcer to fight and die for her.’

Wizard Fei glanced up at the sun, then pulled a compass-like object from his robes. He placed the Spiritual Crystal he’d collected from the scene onto the Compass. A speck of light appeared, pointing in the opposite direction from which Yalilan and her people had gone.

Wizard Fei nodded to the Witch Riders. "Follow this direction. We must find KK."

With a tug of the reins, the party charged into the woods in a great procession.

...

Sunlight slanted down, casting dappled shadows from the tree branches onto the ground. Two figures raced through, their passage shattering the patterns of shade and stirring up a wind that sent fallen leaves swirling.

On a path through the woods, Baron turned his head from atop Red Hare to look at Witch Carmen. She rode Nuzi, unusually shrouded in a gray robe.

"We’ve been riding in circles around this forest all morning. Are you sure your fiancé can still find us?"

Carmen said, "Besides being a Silver Mage, he’s also an exceptionally skilled astrologer. By now, he’s probably already collected the residual Spiritual Power you left at the scene and is using it to track us.

If we break out of the forest and into open country, a Silver Mage could easily catch us using a Magic Card.

What we need to do now is keep moving through this forest until the trail from your residual Spiritual Power fades completely."

Baron asked, "How long will that take?"

"Half a day if we’re lucky. A full day if we’re not."

"At that rate, Red Hare and Nuzi will be run to death." ’We can’t just run them into the ground,’ Baron thought.

"You hate your fiancé that much?" Baron said. "If that’s the case, why get engaged to him in the first place? Or was it some childhood betrothal set up by your white-robed Gandalf?"