William sat back and stared blankly at the seemingly endless expanse of sand. The dizzying conversation about the missing merchants continued, with no one bothering to engage him. To him, it all sounded like a dull echo swirling in the hot air. He already knew more than they suspected, especially about the purple-robed woman who had attacked him that day when he had only intended to return Louis's abandoned shopping bag.
He took a deep, deliberate breath. The sound of his sigh brought three pairs of eyes to him. William smiled faintly, sneering mockingly.
"You're all caught up in the cycle of missing merchants and mysterious groups, yet none of you have asked me about the purple-robed woman who attacked me."
Elizabeth let out a soft yelp and clapped her hands as if she had just had a realization.
"That's right! Will, do you know something?" she asked in a slightly awkward tone.
William straightened and removed the fan from his face. His voice had become firmer, though the sarcasm remained. "I don't need to recount the history of the Golden Triangle Route. This route has long been the lifeblood of interkingdom trade. What matters isn't the route itself, but who lurks behind it. Wouldn't it make more sense for that group in purple robes to be connected to the Dark Sect?"
Louis lowered his head and murmured heavily.
"The Dark Sect...devil worshippers." Could this have something to do with the incident at the wedding? What about Velmire, the Wrath-level demon who appeared, and you, who destroyed it?"
William snapped his fingers. The slight sound was like a light in the desert.
"Bingo. The bride's case is the first clue."
Louis stared at him levelly, his eyes piercing.
"But what does this have to do with the missing merchants? Don't tell me you're just making baseless assumptions."
William raised his eyes to the desert sky, then rolled them with feigned laziness. The desert heat still gripped him, making his movements more arrogant. "You're truly pathetic, Young Master Louis. Answer this simple question: Is Lady Caroline Roselle a sentinel or just a human? As far as I know, ordinary humans don't possess mana aura, let alone the ability to summon demons."
Elizabeth, who had remained silent until now, sighed softly.
"Lady Caroline is just human. She's the eldest daughter of the Roselle family. And..." She paused, as if hesitant to continue, then lowered her head. "She once had a relationship with one of our Order Captains. That is not something worth discussing further."
Instantly, William's smile widened, becoming cold and mocking. He needed no further explanation. In his memory of Morgan Welshman, Captain of the Order of the Silver Fox, the name was clear.
Captain Asher Greyson:
The Sly Silver Fox.
"It's been a dozen years since I left the Order. It seems that old fox is still hanging around the same den," William thought, raising his eyebrows. "I wonder how many women he's seduced with his sweet tongue."
William resumed his explanation with annoying calmness.
"Ordinary humans can never summon a demon. Only sentinels who tread a dark path to increase their magical powers can do so. Sometimes demons are summoned through rituals; other times, they choose to descend into the human world at will. But the result is always the same—chaos. Blood is spilled to achieve greater power."
"For example, the demon Velmire has reached the Wrath Tier realm. He uses the altar where hundreds of brides were slaughtered as his medium. The origins of demon worshipers and the mystery of demons themselves remain unknown to this day. One thing is certain: anyone who walks either path will end up at the top as either a god or a demon."
He added dismissively,
"If demons possess a tier of power that reaches the pinnacle of being called the Demon King, then it's obvious that most people would choose the quicker, more practical path of becoming a dark entity rather than embarking on the arduous journey to godhood."
Elizabeth looked at him seriously.
"What you say does have a grain of truth. Someone who chooses the realm of demons usually resorts to dark methods."
William smiled lopsidedly.
"You have the Order of the Grand Archive, the center of all information. Did you find anything unusual about the case of the bride and groom who were slaughtered by Velmire? Was Lady Caroline really the demon summoner? Or is your Royal Order trying to cover something up? Why do you always withhold important information?"
His tone was casual, but his sarcasm was clearly aimed at Elizabeth and Louis.
The looks on their faces were enough to tell the truth. Louis, with his keen instincts, had indeed sensed something was amiss. William himself had long lost contact with the members of the Royal Order he once knew. Only recently had he reunited with Louis and Elizabeth.
Before departing for the Golden Triangle Route, William spied on Louis several times through his silver butterfly. There, he overheard the young nobleman's conversation with Lady Ginerva, the captain of the Order of the Thorned Rose and leader of the Order of the Grand Archive. Interestingly, the intelligent woman offered no clear details about the mysterious group that frequently attacked caravan merchants on the route.
William had come along this time for one reason: his growing suspicion.
Elizabeth and Louis stared at each other as if communicating through their eyes. Then, Louis turned and left without a word. William slowly raised his hand, releasing one of his silver butterflies to follow Louis.
William let Elizabeth chat with Jones without interfering. He turned away and leaned back casually against a pile of soft yet hot desert-heated fabrics. Slowly, his brown eyes turned fiery red, revealing another layer of the world.
His gaze penetrated the stinging sand as he followed Louis walking away from the crowd of caravans resting by the side of the road. As William had suspected, the young nobleman had never changed—always shrouded in suspicion and always seeking answers from the person he believed to be the most trustworthy.
Who else but his brother James Percival?
William squinted. From a distance, he caught the faint glimmer of communication magic in Louis's hand—a small crystal ball through which he could hear James's voice. Its silver butterfly vibrated, transmitting every word directly to his ear.
"I've heard of the Dark Sect," James's voice echoed from within the crystal, sounding heavy and cautious. "I've fought one of them twice, too. Louis, what's going on? Why are you bringing this up?"
Louis paused for a moment, clearly considering his words, before finally speaking.
"The mysterious group we're investigating, the disappearance of caravan merchants... Brother, I think this has something to do with the Dark Sect you mentioned. But I'm curious—you've fought them before. Are there any other characteristics or clues as to who they are?"
Silence crept in again until James's voice rang out more firmly this time.
"They wore purple robes with hoods covering their heads. They had rings with skull symbols on their hands. The person I faced at the time was on the Upper Level, Number Seven. That person was very dangerous because they had Number Seven."
William's eyebrows rose. All he knew was that Captain James was an Upper Level Sentinel, Number 7. Furthermore, the words "ring with a skull symbol" stung him deeply. It was the same symbol he'd found on the small pouch belonging to the purple-robed woman who'd attacked him earlier.
James continued, his voice growing deeper. "Louis, why don't you ask Lady Ginerva directly? Doesn't the Order of the Grand Archive always have more complete records?"
Louis took a deep breath and replied in an uneasy tone.
"Lady Ginerva only gave me superficial information. She gave me some reports of a mysterious group attacking merchant caravans, but nothing related to the Dark Sect. That's what makes me suspicious, Brother. What exactly is she hiding?"