Chapter 218: The Night Lord’s Invisible Hand

To understand it properly, it was necessary to go back a little, to the moment Ethan had stopped his companions one final time.

...

...

...

"Hold on, everyone. There’s still something we need to discuss before we return to the outside world."

"What’s wrong, Boss? Did we forget something?"

Jackson asked curiously, while Ethan spent a moment looking at him and the others.

"Actually... yes, you did forget something. Two things, to be precise."

Ethan’s serious tone immediately caught everyone’s attention.

"I think leaving this city without making a plan first would be dangerous. If my suspicions are correct... things outside won’t be nearly as simple as you think."

His words sent a wave of tension through the group, especially because they were coming from him.

"Explain what you mean."

Moon gestured for him to continue, prompting Ethan to lay out his thoughts.

"All right... Let’s go over the situation, and correct me if I’m wrong, old man."

"We know the Arden family has become aware of what’s happening here. Even if they don’t have the full picture yet, it’s only a matter of time before they uncover the truth."

"The problem is that we don’t know how they’ll react once they discover the existence of a Legacy dungeon like this one. And worse still... that a hunter as powerful as the Uncrowned Emperor entered it to clear it."

"But we’ve already cleared the dungeon! The danger is gone!"

Raiden objected, but Ethan didn’t disagree.

"That’s true. We’ve conquered Old Ashvarn. But the greatest danger the Arden family fears isn’t the dungeon itself. It’s an extraordinarily powerful hunter beyond their control."

Ethan gestured toward Asterion with his chin.

Most of those present failed to understand what he meant.

The old man, however, understood immediately.

"They’re afraid I’ll turn into a monster... Is that it?"

"Exactly."

Ethan nodded.

"Good grief... Now that you mention it, I can’t help but agree. Those bastards would fear losing control over me more than anything else."

"And since I’ve been exposed to the curse for so long, they’ll undoubtedly assume that entering Old Ashvarn has turned me into a cursed creature."

Asterion sighed deeply.

The tension among the group continued to rise.

"We might be attacked the moment we leave..." Moon suggested, voicing the worst possible outcome.

Ethan immediately responded.

"Not necessarily. All we need to do is have Asterion prove that he’s still a rational human being. That alone will probably be enough to keep them from trying to exterminate us."

"The boy’s right. Looks like I’ll have to do a lot of shouting, then... What a nuisance."

The Uncrowned Emperor grumbled once again before turning his gaze toward the giant carrying him.

"You’ll have to hide, big guy. Everything we discussed earlier will be pointless if they discover you’re alive."

"I will. But I’ll stay close enough to help if things take a turn for the worse."

Jackson nodded solemnly.

It was the best course of action available to them.

"What is this...? We finally survive that hell, only for the outside world to welcome us with swords pointed at our throats... It’s not fair."

Alicia crouched down, wrapping her arms around her knees.

She’d thought their suffering was finally over, only to discover that more awaited them.

"Gather your courage, Alicia. This is what you signed up for the day you became a hunter."

Moon spoke firmly, placing a hand on Alicia’s shoulder.

"We’ll survive this just like we’ve survived everything else... Together."

"Yeah! Our Third Hunting Squad endured the horrors of Old Ashvarn! A little hostility from the royal family isn’t going to change anything!"

Raiden added, lifting everyone’s spirits.

The others nodded firmly in agreement.

Ethan was pleased to see their determination.

But his satisfaction didn’t last.

It was time to raise the second matter.

"Now that we’ve settled that... there’s something I need to ask you guys."

"Why the hell hasn’t a single one of you asked about Schierke, even though she’s disappeared?"

At last, Ethan voiced the question that had been troubling him for some time.

Schierke was an Apostle of Balance.

That much was now beyond doubt.

But to everyone except Ethan, she was still a fellow hunter who had fought alongside them and survived the battle.

As far as they knew, she was simply another girl in their group.

Yet none of them had shown the slightest reaction to her absence, leaving Ethan deeply puzzled.

At first, he’d assumed there was nothing unusual about it.

Perhaps Schierke had simply decided to wander off on her own for a while, and the others knew about it.

That was certainly possible.

But everyone had already begun preparing to leave without so much as mentioning her name.

That caught him completely off guard.

And so, he had no choice but to ask.

Ethan watched them anxiously, waiting impatiently for an answer.

What he heard, however, left him utterly stunned.

Everyone stared at him in confusion. Some even exchanged glances, searching each other’s faces for an explanation, only to discover that they were all equally bewildered.

"Umm, Ethan..."

It was Luna, standing nearby, who finally answered him.

"I know you’re being serious right now, so I’ll be serious too..."

"Who... is Schierke?"

That single question shocked Ethan more than anything else could have.

"Huh...? Huuuh?!"

He raised a hand to his face and took a step backward.

"You’ve got to be kidding me..."

His gaze moved from one person to another, desperately searching for someone who remembered her.

But no matter whom he looked at, the result was the same.

Ethan was the only one who knew the name Schierke.

"You seriously don’t remember her?! She’s a hunter who came here with us! She’s been fighting alongside us since the very beginning!"

"Chai! She saved you from Aldebaran! Don’t you remember?!"

"Sorry, Big Brother... But I don’t know anyone by that name. Weren’t you and Luna the ones who saved me?"

Chai answered innocently, unable to recall how Schierke had saved him from Aldebaran’s explosion.

"Fuck... What the hell is going on here?"

"Calm down, boy, and explain yourself properly. Who is this girl you’re talking about?"

"Even you, Asterion..."

What was happening was no joke.

In fact, it terrified Ethan more than anything else.

’She can do more than just fool someone like Asterion with her disguises. She can actually manipulate him into forgetting she ever existed! That’s impossible!!’

Every fiber of Ethan’s being rejected the idea.

’Apostles aren’t supposed to possess power like that... This is something far beyond their capabilities...’

The only beings capable of doing something like this were...

’The Night Lords.’

Suddenly, an image surfaced in his mind.

That horrifying creature concealed beneath a long black cloak, revealing nothing but a pale hand holding a set of scales.

The Baron of Night.

The Demon of Balance.

The creature that had cursed him and made eight deals with him.

’This is far more dangerous than I thought...’

The Apostle of Balance could not only disguise herself, but also make others forget she had ever existed, through the intervention of the Demon of Balance.

To make absolutely certain, Ethan turned toward Raiden next.

"Raiden... Do you remember the old woman who worked at the hunters’ cafeteria, serving food? The one we met before..."

"Ethan... The person who serves the food is a man..."

Raiden’s answer confirmed everything.

A dry, humorless laugh escaped Ethan’s lips.

"Fuck... I’m so fucked."