Mordelle Realm
On a cold winter night, a freezing wind swept through the jungle.
A man walked toward a five-star restaurant hidden among the trees.
That man was Fenhert Greygrious.
For tonight, he wasn't Black ViSage. He was Fenhert, the identity he had reluctantly agreed to use for his friend's gathering.
As he approached the restaurant, he noticed more than ten cars parked outside. He looked toward the building and read the name displayed above its entrance.
Mordelle Realm.
"Mordelle Realm," Fenhert muttered.
Ashryn owned this luxurious five-star restaurant. However, it was closed to ordinary customers tonight because Ashryn had arranged a private meeting there.
Fenhert looked at the building with little enthusiasm.
Huh. He could have arranged this meeting in an ordinary restaurant or some other place. Why does it have to be somewhere like this? I don't like meeting people in places like these.
As he glanced at the parked cars, another question crossed his mind.
Hmm. All the Highers arrived in their own cars. But how do they bring these vehicles outside the city?
The answer was relatively simple.
The Highers had their own engineers, who designed and built extraordinary vehicles using rare materials unavailable to ordinary people. These weren't ordinary cars. They were luxurious machines created exclusively for people with sufficient wealth, influence, and connections.
Fenhert continued toward the entrance.
Four guards stood before the restaurant's gate, preventing unauthorized visitors from entering.
When Fenhert approached, one of them stepped forward.
"Who are you, sir? Please don't try to enter. This restaurant is closed tonight, so you should leave."
Fenhert answered calmly.
"I'm a Higher. Let me enter."
For a moment, the guards stared at him.
Then two of them burst into laughter.
"Did you think we were idiots?" one guard asked. "How can you claim to be a Higher when you arrived on foot?"
Another guard joined in.
"Exactly! Highers arrive in luxurious cars or carriages. But you came here walking. How can someone like you possibly be a Higher?"
He shook his head in amusement.
"I don't think you even understand what the word Higher means, sir."
Fenhert sighed.
"Huh. I don't want to discuss the meaning of Higher with you. Please don't make this difficult. Just let me enter."
Huh. I suppose I should have brought my Higher passport card.
There was a reason he hadn't brought it.
Fenhert had locked the card inside a briefcase at home because he didn't want to see it again. Unfortunately, when he had decided to attend Ashryn's meeting, he couldn't remember where he had put the key.
He could have forced the briefcase open, but he didn't want to damage something he owned merely because he had misplaced a key.
As a result, he had arrived without the one thing that could have prevented this misunderstanding.
One of the guards pointed away from the entrance.
"Hey, fool! Stop wasting our time and get out of here!"
Another guard added, "What a pain. Perhaps we should teach you a lesson before sending you away."
Fenhert didn't want unnecessary trouble.
"Okay, okay. I'll leave."
He turned around and walked a short distance away before sitting on a cut tree trunk beside the restaurant.
Looking toward the entrance, he considered his options.
I should probably do something about this.
After a moment, he decided to contact someone.
Fenhert possessed a psychic communication ability that allowed him to connect directly with a specific person. Once the connection was established, he could communicate simply by thinking. Neither person needed to speak aloud, and outsiders couldn't hear the conversation.
He used this ability to contact Shunsuke Kouzen.
Mr. Shunsuke, could you come to the gate? Please don't tell anyone about this. Come alone.
Shunsuke replied through the same mental connection.
All right. I'm coming.
Inside Mordelle Realm, Shunsuke was sitting among the other Highers. They were enjoying themselves, drinking alcohol and talking together.
When Shunsuke stood up, Xesa noticed him.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"Just going outside for some fresh air," Shunsuke replied casually.
He left the gathering and headed toward the entrance.
As he approached the gate, he heard the guards laughing.
One of them pointed toward Fenhert, who was sitting on the cut tree trunk.
"I think he's a beggar who came here hoping to get some money."
Another guard snorted.
"How dare he consider himself a Higher? I've never seen a real Higher arrive like that."
The third guard laughed.
"Perhaps he's too frightened to come any closer. That's why he's sitting over there."
"He really is a fool," the fourth guard concluded.
Fenhert heard every word, but he didn't react.
He understood something about the world: people often judged others by their wealth, clothes, and status rather than their character.
The guards believed he was poor simply because he had arrived on foot.
They had no idea who he really was.
And, ironically, Fenhert wasn't poor at all.
Shunsuke witnessed the scene as he approached. His expression hardened.
The guards immediately noticed him and fell silent. They straightened their backs and lowered their heads respectfully.
Shunsuke stopped before them.
"Hey, you fools!"
"Yes, sir!" the guards answered together.
"How dare you disrespect a Higher?"
The guards panicked.
"Sir, we didn't disrespect you! Please believe us!"
Shunsuke's anger intensified.
"I'm not talking about myself! I'm talking about the man sitting over there!"
He pointed toward Fenhert.
"He is a Higher of the Nightglass Covenant, and you were laughing at him and insulting him. Do you know the punishment for disrespecting a Higher?"
The guards remained frozen.
"Death," Shunsuke declared. "That's the punishment."
The first guard swallowed nervously before forcing himself to speak.
"Sir, please stop joking. How could that man possibly be a Higher?"
Shunsuke's patience finally snapped.
He seized the guard by the throat and lifted him off the ground, his grip tightening as he glared at him.
"Do you think I'm joking?"
Before Shunsuke could go any further, Fenhert suddenly appeared beside them.
The guards barely had time to register his movement.
Fenhert separated Shunsuke's hand from the guard and freed the frightened man.
"Mr. Shunsuke, please stop."
Shunsuke turned toward him.
Fenhert continued calmly, "It wasn't his fault. He was simply doing his job."
The other guards stared in disbelief.
Fenhert had been sitting some distance away only a moment earlier. Yet he had crossed the distance so quickly that they hadn't even seen him move.
Fenhert looked at Shunsuke.
"Besides, this misunderstanding happened because I didn't bring my Higher passport card."
Shunsuke's anger gradually subsided.
"If you want me to forgive him, then fine. I'll forgive him—but only because you asked me to, Mr. Fenhert."
The guards stared at Fenhert.
Fenhert Greygrious.
The mysterious Higher of the Nightglass Covenant.
They had been mocking someone whose status was far beyond their expectations.
"Thank you for listening to me," Fenhert said.
The first guard had already lost consciousness from fear and the earlier confrontation.
Shunsuke glanced at him before looking back at Fenhert.
"Come on, Mr. Fenhert. Let's go inside."
The remaining guards stood stiffly. They were terrified by the realization that they had insulted a Higher and might have brought a terrible punishment upon themselves.
Fenhert noticed their expressions.
"Don't worry. You were doing your jobs. I'll make sure the punishment for disrespecting a Higher isn't applied to you in this case. So calm down and continue working."
The guards lowered their heads.
"Thank you, sir."
They felt ashamed. They had judged Fenhert by his appearance and treated him cruelly, yet he had chosen to protect them rather than punish them.
Fenhert followed Shunsuke through the gate.
The guards watched them enter, unable to forget how differently the mysterious Higher had treated them from how they had treated him.
---
The Kindness of a Monster
Meanwhile, somewhere else in the city, night had settled over Layla's house.
Nikolai Volkov was sleeping on the floor.
Layla Naringail looked down at the boy.
Hmm. He looks cute when he's sleeping.
She gently placed a blanket over his body.
"Sleep well. Goodnight."
Her voice was soft, almost affectionate.
Then she used her magic to erase the slave mark on Nikolai's chest.
After finishing, Layla left the room and walked toward the kitchen. She continued past it, descending a staircase that led into the underground section of her house.
The deeper she went, the colder the air became.
At the bottom was a vast chamber.
Ice covered much of the room. Inside the frozen enclosures were numerous children and teenagers—boys and girls who had been kidnapped and brought there against their will.
Some were completely hidden beneath the ice, while others lay motionless in separate freezing chambers.
The underground facility was enormous. Twelve teams worked throughout it, maintaining the chambers and guarding the prisoners.
This was no ordinary underground storage room.
It was a place where kidnapped children were kept as part of a horrifying operation.
And Layla Naringail was at its center.
The rumors about her were true.
She was a human eater who especially favored children.
The reason she had treated Nikolai so kindly wasn't compassion. It wasn't because she respected slaves or believed they deserved a better life.
Her kindness had a far more disturbing explanation.
Layla believed that food should be treated well.
To her, the children and teenagers held beneath her house were nothing more than food.
She treated her slaves gently because she wanted them to remain healthy until the day she intended to consume them.
And Nikolai had caught her attention.
She had noticed something about the boy that made her particularly eager to claim him.
Layla gazed across the frozen chambers, her thoughts lingering on the child sleeping upstairs.
I'm really looking forward to my next meal.
Her smile widened slightly.
Especially that boy, Nikolai.
But there was another secret behind Layla's identity.
Layla Naringail wasn't her real name.
Naringail was merely an alias.
Her true name was Layla Selbergain.
And she wasn't human.
She was a Devilion.
Her entire clan belonged to the same species and worked alongside a kingdom's king. Their resources and influence allowed them to maintain the enormous underground operation, including its twelve teams.
The kind woman who had offered Nikolai a home was, in truth, a monster hiding behind a gentle appearance.
Nikolai had finally escaped the immediate danger of the slave market.
Unfortunately, he had unknowingly entered a far more terrible situation.
And he had no idea what awaited him.
---
The Death of Hope
Back at the slave market, the Little Robbers stood together in silence.
Their faces had changed.
Only a short while earlier, they had believed Julian Arkwright might help them. He had once protected them, given them a chance to leave their life of robbery, and helped them find work.
To them, he had been more than an ordinary Assassin.
He had been someone they could trust.
But now, they had seen a different side of him.
Their memories returned to the moment when Julian had entered the Pet and Collar shop with his girlfriend, Celixsa Thornhart.
The moment the Little Robbers recognized him, they had called out together.
"Brother Julian! Please help us!"
Julian froze for a moment.
He turned toward them.
Then his expression and voice became cold.
"Who are you people? And how dare you call me brother?"
Before Lucien could understand what was happening, Julian kicked him, knocking him to the floor.
"Huh. Don't you know who I am?"
Leander stepped forward in confusion.
"Hey, Brother Julian! What's wrong? Why did you hit Lucien like that?"
Julian's gaze turned toward him.
"You idiots! Stop calling me brother! I'm not your brother, and I have nothing to do with you!"
He kicked Leander aside.
"You're attracting everyone's attention by calling me that. Do you think you have the right to associate yourselves with me?"
The Little Robbers couldn't understand his behavior.
Why was Julian acting this way?
Had they done something wrong?
Why was he treating them as if they were complete strangers?
Before any of them could find an answer, the shop owner, Wilber Maxcen, hurried over.
"I'm sorry, Sir Julian! Please forgive me. I wasn't here to control my slaves. I sincerely apologize!"
Julian looked at him.
"Huh. I really want to hit you, but I don't want any trouble right now. I'll forgive you this time. Make sure you control your slaves properly. Otherwise, you'll have to pay for it next time."
Wilber bowed repeatedly.
"Of course, sir! It won't happen again!"
Then he turned toward the Little Robbers.
"You slaves have caused enough trouble! Shut up and sit down. Don't make another sound!"
He took up his chain and struck at them, making them retreat in fear.
Celixsa watched the scene and spoke to Julian.
"Hey, it's fine, Julian. You're wasting your time on them. Let's go. They're just foolish, troublesome slaves. You don't need to care about them anymore."
She turned toward Wilber.
"And you, stop striking them. That's enough."
Wilber immediately lowered the chain.
"Yes, Miss."
He knew Celixsa was a Dark Shade Rank Assassin. Ignoring her words would be a foolish decision.
Julian glanced at the Little Robbers one final time.
"You're right, Celixsa. I've wasted enough time on this trash. Let's go."
Then he left with her.
The Little Robbers remained where they were.
They had never imagined that their reunion with Julian would turn out like this.
They had called him Brother Julian because they believed he would help them, just as he had done before.
Instead, he had treated them as strangers, struck them, and left without a second thought.
Evander couldn't bring himself to speak. He was too frightened after watching Julian attack Lucien without hesitation.
Matthias remained silent as well.
He had seen Julian protect children in the past. Now, he had watched that same man treat them with contempt.
The others felt the same despair.
Their hope had been simple: perhaps Julian would recognize them and help them escape their situation.
But that hope had disappeared.
They finally began to understand how little they could rely on anyone in this world.
There were no guaranteed heroes. No certain saviors.
Even someone they had trusted could turn away from them.
Back in the present, the Little Robbers remained silent.
They stood together, but none of them knew what to say.
Their last hope had been Julian Arkwright.
And now, that hope was gone.