"Are you really sure about what you're saying?"
Narvik and Suleiman exchanged grim looks inside Suleiman's cold room, where sunlight entered only through narrow cracks in the ceiling. The Demon Seal was placed on the table before them, only one piece out of the original four, glowing with a faint blue light as if it were breathing. For a very long time, everyone had been searching for the missing fourth piece, turning over every corner of the kingdoms, yet no one had found even the slightest trace of it.
"Yes, I'm sure. I already know where the fourth piece is."
A heavy silence filled the room. Neither Suleiman nor Narvik spoke. What Baran had said sounded impossible. How could one man know what everyone else had failed to find? Narvik stared at the piece before him with narrowed eyes, as though trying to read an answer from it. After a long, heavy moment, Suleiman returned to his seclusion, and no one knew when he would come out again, leaving Baran to continue speaking.
"Listen, Narvik... Do you remember when we went to the caves to obtain the Legendary-Rank weapon?"
Narvik was stunned by the sudden change in the conversation and replied cautiously,
"Go on."
Baran let out a deep sigh, as though gathering the courage to say what had been weighing on his chest.
"I found it, but I left it buried in the ground. I couldn't pull it out... But that's not the real problem."
Baran paused for a moment before speaking words that made Narvik's entire body shiver.
"That sword belonged to one of the Three Emperors. Without a doubt."
---
In Moon Blade City, inside one of the restaurants in the southern district, where the scent of spices mixed with the noise of the marketplace, Ryo and his friend Jack sat by a window overlooking the city. The restaurant had four floors, and they had chosen the third floor, where the streets and alleys looked like a living, moving painting.
"The view from here is really beautiful. You can see so many things," Jack said as he watched the merchants and customers bustling below.
"Hmmm..." Ryo showed no interest in the view. He removed his Storage Ring from his finger and activated it. A golden scepter appeared before him, engraved with ancient, worn patterns as though they carried a story centuries old. Ryo grasped the scepter confidently and poured some of his energy into it.
Suddenly, blue lightning burst from its tip, dancing through the air like a serpent made of light.
Ryo smiled.
"This scepter can call lightning down from the sky, but unfortunately, it can't be controlled. That's truly disappointing."
Legendary weapons possessed extraordinary power unmatched by any other weapons, but in return, they were wild and extremely difficult to tame.
Ryo returned the scepter to the ring, then took out an old folded map and spread it across the table. The map contained nine scattered marks, and he placed his finger beneath three of them.
"We've only gone to three places... Is this map really accurate?"
"Three out of nine. We can't be certain whether it's real or not," Jack replied while still looking out the window.
Suddenly, his expression froze.
"Ryo... Isn't that the Ghost Thief?"
"What? The Ghost Thief?!"
Ryo immediately jumped out of the window toward the ground. As he fell through the air, he caught sight of a shadow slipping through the alleys. The Ghost Thief was a name that inspired fear throughout the Kingdom of Darkness, infamous for stealing treasures of immense value. If he was here, then something of incredible worth had to be nearby.
The Ghost Thief sensed Ryo's energy approaching, and his heart trembled.
"That's Ryo... Damn it!"
He sprinted at full speed, shoving aside anyone who blocked his path, sending pedestrians tumbling left and right, until the guards of the Wei Clan joined the pursuit.
"Damn it! Escaping like this is impossible!"
the Ghost Thief shouted as he transformed his body into a transparent form, passing through walls and people as though he were nothing more than a trace of mist.
Ryo smiled as he chased after him at astonishing speed, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. The Ghost Thief knew Ryo's reputation in battle very well, which only increased his anxiety.
"Listen, Ryo! I'm really sorry!"
he shouted while weaving between houses, entering and leaving them effortlessly thanks to his transparent body that passed through attacks and people alike.
"Damn you!"
Ryo roared as he leaped across the rooftops, but suddenly lost sight of him among the narrow alleys.
"To the east, at the red house!"
Jack's voice came from the distance as he lightly leaped across the rooftops, his bow drawn tightly in his hand.
Ryo rushed forward and landed on the roof of the red house.
"You'd better believe that the only reason I'll catch you... is so you can die by my hand."
---
The Ghost Thief was terrified as he leaped from one house to another, with Ryo relentlessly chasing him alongside Jack. Suddenly, several guards of the Wei Clan landed on the rooftops, shouting,
"You! Climbing onto rooftops is forbidden, and chasing anyone inside Moon Blade City is forbidden!"
For a brief moment, the Ghost Thief believed this was the perfect opportunity to escape amidst the chaos.
But before he could take a single step, he heard horrifying sounds—heavy objects crashing onto the rooftop beside him.
"This... This is impossible!"
the Ghost Thief screamed, trembling where he stood. He hadn't seen what had happened on that rooftop with his own eyes, but he realized with horrifying certainty that every single guard had been torn into pieces within moments.
He hurried forward and stepped out of the house, only to see blood flowing from the edge of the rooftop to the ground like a thin red river. Terror gripped his soul, and he dashed toward one of the crowded streets, trying to disappear among the masses.
"Damn it! He can't be allowed to escape!"
Ryo shouted as he jumped down from the rooftops, resuming the pursuit with unwavering determination.
The Ghost Thief knew that the city's narrow streets were the perfect place to escape in a situation like this.
But suddenly...
Fwoooooosh!
A sharp sound tore through the air behind him—a perfectly aimed arrow fired by Jack.
"Are you an idiot? Weren't you in the Origin World? You're dreaming if you think you can touch me while I'm in my transparent form!"
the Ghost Thief shouted with mocking confidence.
But as the arrow approached him, Jack smiled...
The arrow exploded.
The explosion wasn't large, but it was enough to inflict deep wounds upon the Ghost Thief and spread panic among the civilians. People screamed in terror, several were injured, and one of them even lost his life at that very moment. Ryo stood there in shock, because even he had been unable to land a hit on the Ghost Thief.
The Ghost Thief collapsed onto the ground, wounded, and his transparent form faded away like a cloud dissolving into the wind. Ryo stepped forward quickly, grabbed the Ghost Thief by the collar, and restrained him with Jack's help.
"Finally... I've caught you. Today, you'll learn the true meaning of death."