If weakening the enemy before the war was the only viable option… then maybe it was time to head north and assassinate the "Silver-Eyed Lion King."
Jack Harper didn't even bother weighing his own strength as a Dark Gold Saint. Whether he could take down Rigaldo—a high-tier Silver-ranked boss on par with Magneto or Professor X—wasn't the real issue. Even if he won, he'd never escape Illyse, the Northern Horse. Sure, his Death Steed could fly and Illyse couldn't, but Priscilla, the strongest Awakened Being, could fly just fine.
As for reinforcements? That was a dead end. The only factions capable of shifting the tide were either Awakened Beings—natural enemies of the Claymores—or the Organization "Staff," which had orchestrated this entire death trap to sacrifice the Claymores. Counting on them was a fool's hope.
That left only one path forward: the Dark Oath squad.
With the Styxian Vengeance curse hanging over both sides, diplomacy was off the table. The only option was to strike first—cut off their support to the Awakened Beings and maybe loot some skills or gear that could turn the tide. According to Elliot Gray, the Dark Oath squad had split up. Their captain and a guy named Goldflash had gone west to negotiate with the Western Abyss, while the remaining three stayed in the north to connect with Illyse's forces. The captain was clearly a mid-tier Silver veteran, which meant the three left behind probably included just one low-tier Silver. Still stronger than Jack Harper, sure—but if he played it right, he might just pull it off.
What Jack didn't know was that every move he made was already under enemy surveillance.
"He's on the move," Lady of the Night said coldly, watching through arcane vision as Jack bid farewell to Flora and mounted his Death Steed.
Nearby, the Alchemist dusted off his hands and stood up with a grin. "I'm just about ready… whew, that was a grind. Elise, hit me with a recharge. Lady of the Night, it's your turn—let's see if you can reel him in."
As the bespectacled girl summoned a beam of holy light to restore his energy, Lady of the Night nodded, then dissolved into a swarm of crimson bats and shot into the sky.
Jack Harper rode hard, battle axe strapped to his back. He didn't dare take to the air—too easy to spot. But even on the ground, his speed was formidable. Within half a day, he reached the town Elliot had mentioned as the Dark Oath's former base. After gathering intel on their departure route, he dismissed his Death Steed, pulled up his hood, and began tracking them on foot.
He'd learned tracking and counter-tracking back on Death Queen Island, so finding traces wasn't hard. But after a few hours, he gave up on footprints—because a swarm of crimson bats had just flown overhead. Elliot had warned him: one of the five Dark Oath veterans could transform into red bats.
Jack kept his distance, trailing the blood-colored swarm across rugged terrain until they vanished. Then he crept forward and finally spotted several sleek, modern-looking travel tents nestled in a small valley.
He watched for a while, then shook his head. Something felt off. He turned to leave.
But before he could retreat, the ground beneath him erupted in light. Dozens of circular magic arrays, etched with strange glyphs, flared to life. Jack Harper was trapped dead center.
"Ding-dong, we've got a bite~~~~~" The wild-haired Alchemist stepped out, laughing. "Seriously? You're the one who killed Brandon Caswell? I spent two days setting up six chained magic traps, and you got caught by the first one? At least you didn't try to fight back — smart move. This trap rebounds any internal attack. One wrong move and you'd be sizzling like bacon."
Jack said nothing. He simply drew his axe and hurled it at the edge of the array. Boom! The hundred-pound weapon was repelled several meters into the air. The runes flared, and lightning crackled violently in all directions.
The Alchemist smirked. "Still got fight in you? Cute. But let me show you what else this trap can do… Weaken and Bind!"
He pointed, and several more arrays lit up outside the main one. A red array fired hundreds of curling crimson beams into the core, bypassing Jack's defenses and wrapping him tight like a cocoon.
Lady of the Night snarled, "Alchemist, per our deal, he's mine. You can deliver the final blow, but you'll have to wait two or three days. I don't want him dying too quickly. Elise, help me—if he's about to die, heal him."
"Help… me…" came a faint cry from behind. It was Elise.
"Who's there?" The Alchemist and Lady of the Night turned sharply. Elise stood pale and frozen, her body encased in frost. Behind her was a black-haired, blue-eyed youth—Jack Harper.
Without a word, Jack raised his hands. Dozens of icy blue arcs surged toward the Alchemist and Lady of the Night—Frostgrasp. But both were seasoned Samsara veterans. The moment they saw an enemy behind them, they reacted.
Lady of the Night scattered into bats again. Though dozens were frozen instantly, most escaped and reformed midair.
The Alchemist's body swelled into a six-meter-tall green-skinned giant. His bark-like skin resisted the cold; the frost couldn't penetrate his core.
Jack Harper said coolly, "Too bad. I wanted to wipe you all out. Miss Elise, though, is beyond saving."
"You're here… then who's in the trap?" The Alchemist turned to the array.
The cloaked figure inside slowly pulled back its hood—not a person, but an empty Dark Gold Aquarius Cloth.
A decoy.
Straight out of an old Saint Seiya episode—using the Cloth as a stand-in. No attack power, but enough to throw off your enemy's aim. Phoenix Ikki once used it to fool Hyoga's Cold Tornado. Gemini Saga used an empty Gemini Cloth to toy with four Bronze Saints during the Twelve Temples arc.
This time, Jack Harper had used the Cloth as bait—and it worked.
The Alchemist still didn't understand how his plan had been exposed, but Lady of the Night did.
"Damn it! That rookie! He broke my puppet spell while my power was low and expelled the blood bat I implanted in him!" she screamed, livid. "He betrayed us and leaked our plan!"
The Alchemist's eyes flickered. After a moment, the giant's face twisted into a bitter smile. "So that's it. I underestimated him. He's a one-in-a-million natural psychic—immune to hypnosis and sensitive enough to detect your blood bat. Our brainwashing and memory implants were wasted. And I was careless not to shield our planning sessions. But I still don't get it—your blood bat shares all sensory signals. Why didn't it detect his actions?"
Jack shrugged. "Some people are just built different. Give them Freud's Interpretation of Dreams, and they'll teach themselves deep hypnosis overnight."
He looked calm, but inside he felt like curling up in a corner. Facing elite Samsara veterans, he'd been outshone by a rookie. Elliot Gray's constant surprises had shaken his confidence.
The Alchemist paused, then nodded. "I see. Self-hypnosis doesn't rely on psychic strength, just technique. He masked his emotions to mimic hypnosis and fooled Lady of the Night. I didn't expect so many coincidences. But even if he avoided detection, how did he expel the blood bat? That's magic, not just mental power."
"That's why I gave him an earring called 'Twilight Eye.' You know what that is, right?"
"The λ-Driver? A psychic manifestation system?" The Alchemist's face fell. "So many unexpected variables…"
Jack Harper smirked. "You're stalling for time so Lady of the Night can recover, aren't you? Fine. I need a moment too."
He raised his hand. The Aquarius Cloth trapped in the array turned into a dark gold stream of light, bypassing the barrier and merging with his cloak—reforming into full armor.
"Sorry, Alchemist. Took me a moment to recall my Cloth and break your trap."
"That's impossible. My array blocks all internal movement. How did—wait, your Cloth is energy-based? That explains the color. A Dark Gold Cloth never tested before… You're full of surprises."
Jack Harper replied, "So are you. From what the rookie said, I thought you were just a regular Alchemist. Looks like you're the other Silver-tier expert in Dark Oath—not Lady of the Night."
Before he finished speaking, Lady of the Night shrieked. Her hair turned white, her pupils flared rose-red, and two sharp fangs jutted from her lips as she dove from the sky, trailing afterimages like a falling star.
The Alchemist charged in tandem, his massive frame shaking the earth with each step. His fist, as wide as a church bell, whipped up a storm as it came crashing down toward Jack Harper.
"Ice Coffin!" Jack thrust out his left hand, conjuring a towering wall of ice—ten meters tall, six wide, and four thick. At the same time, his right hand unleashed another Frostgrasp, aimed straight at Lady of the Night.
Boom! The Alchemist's colossal fist slammed into the Ice Coffin. The surface didn't even crack, but Jack's expression darkened. He leapt backward just as the Alchemist withdrew his fist—revealing a web of fractures spreading from within. A moment later, the entire structure shattered into a cascade of glittering shards.
"Rime, how's my Seven Wounds Fist?" the Alchemist bellowed, charging again. Lady of the Night, having evaded Frostgrasp by scattering into bats, reformed behind Jack. Together, they flanked him—one from the front, one from the rear.
Jack Harper snorted and launched a counterattack, fists blazing.
A surge of dazzling blue frost erupted from his body. The Dark Gold Saint unleashed a flurry of punches with both hands, striking simultaneously in both directions. Hundreds of icy blue fists rained down on the green giant and the black-clad vampire.
Lady of the Night scattered again, losing nearly a hundred bats. Each bat represented a fragment of her life force. Having already lost half, she felt herself weakening, her limbs sluggish and her breath shallow.
The green giant, however, took dozens of punches without flinching. He laughed heartily. "Not bad. My body wouldn't even flinch if you poured liquid nitrogen on it, but your punches froze a whole layer of my skin. That chill of yours… it's so cold it could freeze the marrow in my bones. Too bad your fists don't hit as hard as they freeze."