What Jack Harper and Flora didn't know was that, because of his arrival, the storyline surrounding Flora's fate in this world had taken a different turn—one that led to the same destination by a different path.
Originally, had Jack Harper not entered the demon-infested town, Flora would have eliminated the demons herself. However, because she acted outside the Organization's orders, she would have been blacklisted. That detour would have delayed her journey by several hours, postponing the battle against the Awakened Being by a day. As a result, she wouldn't have encountered the second Awakened Being. Though the fight would still be difficult, victory would have been within reach.
Now, although Flora had avoided punishment for slaying demons outside her mission, she ended up facing two Awakened Beings. Unbeknownst to her, the Organization had warriors known as "Eyes" who could detect demonic energy from afar. Though Jack Harper carried no demonic aura, the Organization assumed Flora had single-handedly defeated two Awakened Beings—an assessment that didn't match their understanding of her strength. Thus, Flora was once again placed on a watchlist for concealing her true capabilities.
While Jack Harper was busy slaying Awakened Beings—or silently sharing a moment with the silver-eyed blonde girl—on the other side, the veteran adventurers of "Dark Oath" had already pieced together the world's storyline.
"Boss, here's the situation. Right now, the protagonist Clare has just mastered the Quick Sword and killed the Awakened version of No.4 warrior Ophelia. She'll soon encounter the Western Abyssal Being, Riful. In the story, Riful tries to recruit warriors by forcing them to awaken. Clare rescues No.9 'Spiral Sword' Jean and, together with No.3 'Eye' Galatea, defeats Riful's top subordinate—former No.3 Dauf. But I doubt that battle will be our mission. Riful, as the strongest in the West, doesn't harbor killing intent and ultimately lets the trio go. Based on past mission patterns, this isn't the kind of intense conflict that would trigger a main quest."
The speaker was the Alchemist, a short man with wild hair. Seeing that the long-robed, bearded leader remained silent, he continued, "After the Western Abyssal encounter, the next major event is the first true upheaval in the story—the 'Northern War.' I'm ninety-nine percent sure our main mission will center around that conflict. The only uncertainty is which faction we'll be placed in."
"Oh? What factions are involved?" asked the middle-aged man known as the boss.
"The Northern War revolves around the Awakened Beings marching south and the Greatswords trying to stop them. So naturally, the two main factions are: one led by No.6 'Phantom' Miria, consisting of twenty-four Greatswords including the protagonist; the other led by the original No.2 Awakened Being—'Silver-Eyed Lion King' Rigardo—with nearly thirty Awakened Beings forming the southern invasion force. In terms of strength, only a handful of Greatswords reach Silver-tier. Many are mid- or low-tier Bronze. The Awakened army, handpicked by the Northern Abyssal Being, has over half its members at Silver-tier. They hold an overwhelming advantage. In the story, if Clare hadn't suddenly exploded to Gold-tier, the Greatsword force would've been wiped out instantly."
The Alchemist shook his head and continued, "Besides those two, there are other forces. One is the former master of the Awakened army—nicknamed 'Northern Horse,' the Northern Abyssal Being 'Silver King' Illyas. He's accompanied by Priscilla, considered the strongest Awakened Being in the Claymore world. Though just two people, their power is unmatched. Then there's the Organization 'Staph,' which created the Greatswords. They've already gained control over the Abyssal Beings known as the 'Black Twins' and may have other hidden cards. Also, the Western Abyssal Being Riful—nicknamed 'Western Loli'—and the Southern Abyssal Being Luciela—nicknamed 'Southern Cat'—are formidable forces. In this world, Abyssal Beings are the strongest Awakened Beings. Based on Samsara Space's power scale, they're roughly equivalent to lower Gold-tier."
"Wait, what's with those nicknames—'Northern Horse,' 'Southern Cat'?" Lady of the Night suddenly asked.
"They're fan nicknames based on characteristics," the Alchemist explained. "You just skimmed the manga for plot, so you missed the fandom lore. As you know, demons are the base monsters in this world. Humans implanted with demon flesh become Greatswords. As they use demonic power in battle, they're gradually consumed and eventually transform into Awakened Beings. The strongest Awakened Beings are former No.1 warriors—qualitatively different from others and called Abyssal Beings. Currently, there are three: North, West, and South. The Northern 'Silver King' Illyas becomes a massive armored centaur with shapeshifting arms—hence 'Northern Horse.' The Western Riful usually appears as a twelve-year-old girl but awakens into a mass of black tendrils with no vital points—nicknamed 'Western Loli' or 'Western Noodles.' The Southern Luciela is a red-haired twin-tailed mature woman who awakens into a feline-headed humanoid with twin tails and mouths all over her body—thus 'Southern Cat.'"
"Alright, so which side do you think we'll join? The Greatswords?" asked the bearded leader.
The Alchemist thought for a moment. "Story-wise, likely. But difficulty-wise, unlikely. In the original, the twenty-four Greatswords sent to intercept the Awakened army were nearly wiped out. Only seven survived by faking their deaths. If the Samsara Book assigns us to help the Greatswords and maximize their survival, it makes sense. But remember, Illyas sent his army south to distract the Organization and Riful so he could challenge Luciela alone. If we eliminate the Awakened army too early, his plan collapses. The result…"
He glanced at the others before continuing, "…is that Illyas might come to eliminate us himself. He's already lower Gold-tier, and Priscilla beside him is even stronger—at least mid Gold-tier, possibly upper. Don't forget, the higher the tier, the greater the gap between sub-levels. Two lower Iron-tier fighters might beat a mid Iron-tier, but ten lower Gold-tier ones might not match a single mid Gold-tier. If Priscilla joins the fight, we'll be wiped out instantly. That's why I doubt the Samsara Book would assign such a suicidal mission."
The golden-armored youth raised an eyebrow. "Then what kind of mission do you think it'll be?"
The Alchemist tilted his head. "Don't forget, there's another player in this world—a mouse. If I'm right, our missions are conflicting. We'll protect as many Awakened Beings as possible during their march south, while he protects as many Greatswords as possible. That way, Illyas won't intervene."
"But then what chance does he have? We've seen how strong the Awakened Beings are. Illyas's army consists of elite first-generation male Awakened Beings. Even the weaker ones are upper Bronze-tier, most are Silver-tier. Thirty Awakened Beings plus Silver-tier Rigardo—he's doomed!" the golden youth exclaimed.
The Alchemist rolled his eyes. "Don't forget, we also face the 'Black Twins' and 'Western Loli'—two Gold-tier Abyssal Beings. The difficulty is just as high. Our team has been modifying storylines to train Brandon Caswell, and we've come through several missions unscathed. Naturally, the mission difficulty keeps rising. So a challenge like this isn't surprising."
"Then… what do we do, Alchemist brother?" asked Elise, the bespectacled schoolgirl, nervously. "We can't beat two Gold-tier bosses."
"Don't worry, Elise. It's just a possible mission, not guaranteed," the Alchemist replied. "Even if it is, we shouldn't panic. The Organization 'Staph' is too deep to infiltrate quickly, but 'Western Loli' might be approachable. She's about to appear in the story. We can try to build rapport. Though moody, she's far more reasonable than 'Northern Horse' or 'Southern Cat.' That way, we only need to worry about the 'Black Twins.' Besides, our mission likely won't be to defeat Abyssal Beings. Other methods may suffice."
The boss spoke again. "Forget the mission for now. Any news on the one who killed Brandon Caswell?"
"Not yet. It's up to Lady of the Night," the Alchemist replied.
Lady of the Night, clad in black leather, snapped, "What do you mean it's up to me? This whole plan was your idea. If we can't find him, how is that my fault?"
The Alchemist quickly raised his hands in surrender. "No, no, if we can't find him, that's on me. I'm the one who baited the hook. But you, Lady, are the one holding the rod. If the fish bites and slips away, well… that's on you."
Night fell.
In the quiet forest, Flora sat with her greatsword planted in the ground behind her, leaning against it.
Not far away, a man wrapped entirely in black was speaking to her.
"That's the situation. The next assignment is the southern village of Kino. Reports say demons have appeared there. You're to eliminate them immediately," the man said in a low, grim voice.
"Understood," Flora replied curtly, clearly uninterested in further conversation. She watched as the black-clad man vanished into the shadows of the woods.
After a while, another figure emerged from the forest behind Flora.
It was Jack Harper.
"Jackie, done with today's training?" Flora's tone was noticeably warmer than it had been with the previous visitor. She stood up, her silver eyes meeting Jack Harper's.
Jack Harper nodded. "Yeah. My technique still lags far behind yours, but I've made some progress."
As he spoke, he held his battle axe, Sorrow of the Shadow, inverted in one hand and stood before a massive boulder over a meter tall. Without moving a muscle, his figure suddenly blurred. A sharp cracking sound followed, and the boulder split cleanly into nine slices, like a loaf of bread. Jack Harper remained motionless.
"That's it—eight strikes in one motion. It's my limit. I've still got strength left, but my wrists and fingers are starting to fatigue. If I push further, I'll lose precision." He withdrew his axe and shook his head with a sigh.
Jack Harper's combat strength had originally relied on his Dark Aquarius Cloth and ice-type Cosmo energy. But once the Dark Gold Cloth had fully formed, further enhancement became nearly impossible—reaching the level of a true Gold Cloth would take centuries. As for his Cosmo, it couldn't be rapidly improved either. He hadn't yet grasped the elusive "Seventh Sense" that separates Gold Saints from ordinary ones, making their signature techniques unattainable. His fusion of Force and Frost Power had also hit a bottleneck, with no short-term breakthrough in sight. Although he'd recently acquired the high-tier manual Frostless Art, which suited his physique perfectly and allowed rapid progress, it still required years of dedicated cultivation to master.
Facing an imminent battle against a Silver-ranked adventurer squad, Jack Harper needed to boost his combat power. If he could convert Saint techniques into weapon-based moves, his strength would multiply. That's why he sought Flora's guidance in mastering the Windcutter Sword. After all, the weapon techniques taught on Death Queen Island—though descended from Greek and Spartan heroes—were fundamentally mundane, akin to traditional martial arts like the Eight Trigrams Spear. They lacked integration with internal energy or Cosmo, making them poor references.
Genetically speaking, Jack Harper's body was still that of a normal human. Though mutated and infused with the magic of Frostmourne, and tempered by five years of continuous Cosmo energy, his physique far exceeded human limits. Yet compared to the Demon-fused bodies of Greatsword warriors, he remained fragile. His Cosmo bursts might surpass theirs in raw power, but in finer aspects—fatigue resistance, recovery speed—he fell short. Flora could wield a hundred-pound greatsword and unleash hundreds of Windcutter strikes with precision and speed. Jack Harper, using the same technique with a similarly weighted axe, could only manage eight or nine before his fingers gave out.
He didn't dwell on the issue. Instead, he asked Flora, "How's your training going? Any progress with Cosmo?"
Flora nodded. "Some results." She drew the greatsword from the ground, slung it onto her back, and gripped the hilt to activate the Windcutter Sword.
Vmmm— Unlike Jack Harper's imitation Windcutter Axe, Flora's original technique showed no visible change. But the surrounding air suddenly surged like a tornado, scattering dead leaves and broken branches. Within seconds, a clean circular zone formed around her, spanning over ten meters.
Jack Harper was impressed. "Amazing. Fifty-seven strikes in an instant—much faster than before. How many times Cosmo amplification is that?"
"I just grasped it—about fivefold. The sword speed matches twenty percent of my Demon Energy release. And by using Demon Energy instead of life force, I avoid vitality loss and slow the growth of demonic tissue. If I refine my Cosmo technique further, I might suppress my body's demonization entirely and never awaken." Though her expression remained unchanged, her sweet voice carried a hint of joy. "If all warriors could train in this technique, perhaps…"
Jack Harper's heart tightened. He quickly interrupted, "I advise against that. At least for now."
Flora paused, her silver eyes questioning him.
Jack Harper considered his words. "First, not everyone can grasp Cosmo techniques. Even if your kind surpasses ordinary humans, few are like you—able to sense it just from my explanation. Second, you've only just begun training. The long-term effects are unknown. Better to wait until you reach a stable level before teaching others. Third—and most importantly—I don't trust the Organization that turned you into warriors. They know about Awakening but take no precautions. Instead, they keep pushing you into danger, resulting in more Awakened Beings. Originally meant to eliminate demons, the Greatsword warriors now mostly target Awakened comrades. And in fighting them, more awaken. It's a vicious cycle. It feels like the Organization is deliberately creating Awakened Beings."
Flora's silver pupils contracted sharply. She froze for a moment before replying, "No… That can't be… There's no reason… The Organization wouldn't benefit from that."
Jack Harper sensed her doubt but didn't press. His goal was simply to remain hidden. "Maybe I'm wrong. Or maybe they're hiding deeper motives. That's why I suggest you don't stand out. Don't let them know you're different."
Since their battle against an Awakened Being, Jack Harper and Flora had developed a strong rapport. They'd spent the past few days exploring each other's powers and grown close. Jack Harper knew Flora's character well: a knight at heart, loyal, team-oriented, self-disciplined, and willing to sacrifice. Her stoic demeanor didn't mean she lacked insight—on the contrary, her emotional control gave her clarity in assessing situations. She likely sensed something off about the Organization but wouldn't openly oppose it without proof. Still, she wouldn't refuse to withhold certain information.
Just as they finished speaking, Flora's gaze sharpened. She turned toward the forest depths. "A demon—in that direction."