She felt like he would be there, raising his eyebrow and looking down at her intently, saying something like that.

But Hector was nowhere to be found.

That was what disappointed her the most.

Really. Why did she think Hector would come running to save her?

If anything, she was the one who let go of Hector’s hand.

Although it was for his sake, he wouldn’t know that.

Creak-

At that moment, Charlie turned her head at the sound of the thick door opening.

Who could it be at this hour?

Charlie slowly got up and headed towards the door.

There was no one who would enter freely without knocking.

Unless it was Hector.

“Hector?”

But contrary to Charlie’s expectations, a black shadow embraced her from behind and covered her mouth.

“Mmph!”

Then, a cold blue light flashed before Charlie’s eyes.

“……!”

* * *

Boom-!

With a tremendous sound, a dark red light engulfed the Grand Temple.

The force was enough to shake the ground.

Startled priests emerged from everywhere.

“What’s happening?”

At that moment, Michael, who was in a private meeting with Daniel, turned his head as if looking for Charlie.

“Sister!”

The source of the sound was clearly in the direction of the Espenon Temple.

Meanwhile, a low, deep voice emerged from the dark red flames.

“Charlie.”

As the thick smoke settled, Hector’s figure was revealed.

“……!”

Charlie looked up at Hector.

The robe, which seemed to have fallen from some temple, still revealed Hector’s sturdy chest.

Still as scandalous as ever.

“Why did you come only now?”

A smile spread across Charlie’s lips.

Hector seemed surprised by Charlie’s unexpected reaction and hesitated for a moment. But soon his lips stretched into a long smile.

“Close your eyes.”

Hector wanted to cover Charlie’s eyes with his own hands, but the situation didn’t allow it.

“It’s not a beautiful sight to behold.”

As Charlie closed her eyes, Hector adjusted his grip on the sword in his hand.

Abilities can’t be used in the Grand Temple.

But just as Molech had drawn a knife to harm Charlie, the sword was an exception. It was at that moment when Hector was about to turn towards the fallen Molech,

Clang-!

A sharp sound rang out along with a golden light.

* * *

“Move aside.”

Hector gritted his teeth as he looked at Kaisis, who was blocking Molech.

However, Kaisis didn’t back down an inch and put strength into the sword in his hand.

Screech–

The chilling sound of grinding blades scraped against their eardrums.

“If you kill the priest, it means war with the temple.”

Kaisis stared at Hector, warning him.

“Shouldn’t you have done that with me first?”

Kaisis had expected Bael to act on his own against his will since Charlie had settled in Espenon.

There was no need to read thoughts to sense Bael’s killing intent towards Charlie.

On top of that, even the neutral faction had moved, so he must have been impatient and reckless.

Of course, he didn’t expect it to be today.

“Is a priest who tried to kill the Saintess still a priest?”

“That’s separate from you killing a priest.”

Clang-!

Kaisis deflected Hector’s sword and turned his body. Then he plunged his sword right into Molech’s thigh.

“Arghhhh!!”

“……!”

Molech writhed in pain and screamed.

Hector’s eyes tensed at Kaisis’s sudden action.

“I didn’t order this.”

Kaisis shrugged, showing his empty hands as the weapon disappeared.

“Rather, I came to save the Saintess from this bastard.”

Kaisis’s foot crushed Molech’s thigh.

“Aaaaargh!!!”

Charlie quickly squeezed her eyes shut at the horrific sight. But it was already too late.

“Save?”

Abilities can’t be used in the Grand Temple.

Kaisis didn’t rashly attack Hector, having used the only sword that could deal with him on the priest who was trying to harm Charlie.

“We’ve become quite close in the meantime.”

Kaisis sent a winking smile towards Charlie.

“The mood was good.”

What is this crazy person saying?

Charlie, opening her eyes again, glared at Kaisis.

Kaisis’s lips curled up slightly.

“Earlier, the ki…”

“Aaaaah!”

Charlie screamed. At the same time, a cool energy swirled around.

“Sister!!”

* * *

Michael and Daniel, who had rushed in while Kaisis and Hector were confronting each other, along with the cardinals, couldn’t hide their shock.

Molech was lying in a pool of blood. The Emperor stepping on him. And the Grand Duke and the Saintess too.

The brilliant moonlight pouring through the collapsed roof made the scene before them feel even more surreal.

Michael, who had been dumbfounded, suddenly checked on Charlie.

“Sister, are you alright?”

Charlie, standing firmly on her two legs, looked fine at a glance.

Charlie nodded sheepishly.

“What on earth…”

Michael stammered, unable to comprehend the situation.

And for good reason. The Grand Temple, especially the Espenon Temple, was protected by powerful holy power.

In other words, it was a place where neither abilities nor magic worked. Moreover, after Charlie’s arrival, Michael had strengthened the defenses.

This meant that even the Emperor, a Grand Master, shouldn’t have been able to break through the barrier.

In fact, Kaisis had planned to infiltrate through a planted spy, a pro-imperial cardinal.

But when Kaisis arrived at the Grand Temple after hearing that Molech had made a move, there was no barrier to speak of.

“Didn’t I say this is why the temple wouldn’t work, Duke?”

Kaisis spoke to Hector, softly ignoring Michael and the cardinals.

“It’s crawling with cockroaches.”

“Urgh!”

Kaisis lifted his foot off Molech and took a step towards Charlie.

“But the Imperial Palace won’t do either, Your Majesty.”

Hector said, blocking him.

“That place is crawling with dogs.”

“Then the Grand Duke’s residence won’t work either.”

Kaisis gently pushed away Hector’s blade pointed at him with his fingertip.

Then suddenly, he turned to look at Charlie.

“Ah, that includes the Wilkins’ ducal residence too.”

* * *

“The great Grand Duke must have been quite anxious, to the point of destroying the Grand Temple.”

Kaisis, expelled from the Grand Temple, looked over Hector in his casual attire.

Charlie wanted both of them to leave.

The culprit had been caught, and the neutral faction and Michael had agreed to stand guard.

And for now, she couldn’t go with either of them.

“All that just for fear of the guide getting hurt.”

Hector turned his head to stare at Kaisis. Like Hector, Kaisis was also in casual attire.

The cold night dew cut between them.

Hector withdrew his gaze from Kaisis, whose face was full of delight.

“Well, I wonder who will get hurt.”

Hector’s lips curled up eerily.

Then immediately, his expression turned cold.

“When my guide gets angry…”

Hector’s tilted head twisted, making a chilling sound.

“She can be quite rough.”

Hector then unfolded a teleportation magic circle.

Then, suddenly stopping his walk, he turned to look at Kaisis.

“By the way, do you know that that ‘mere’ guide belongs to me?”

At that moment, Kaisis’s eyes wavered.

Kaisis, as the Emperor, knew about the existence of affiliated guides.

He also knew that the contract for an affiliated guide required the seal of both the Imperial Family and the Temple.

In other words, it was a contract that could never be made without his permission. And there was no way reports related to Hector wouldn’t have come up.

But what on earth was this?

Hector’s confident attitude didn’t seem like a bluff.

“If you don’t want to wage war with the Temple before me, it’s best not to meddle carelessly.”

Kaisis, watching Hector’s retreating back, gritted his teeth.

How much time had gone by?

“You probably couldn’t meddle even if you wanted to.”

As Hector’s figure disappeared, Kaisis’s cry shook the night air.

* * *

“Huff, huff-!”

Meanwhile, a shadow that had escaped from the Grand Temple as soon as the Espenon Temple collapsed was running in a hurry.

I’m going to die.

The Emperor will surely kill me.

Huff, huff–

The shadow, with breath reaching its throat, climbed the mountain path with difficulty. Even in this situation, the gold and silver treasures he had taken with him slowed his steps even more.

He didn’t know how long he had been running.

The shadow’s steps came to an abrupt halt at the sight of two figures blocking the entrance.

“Are you sure he’s coming this way?”

A voice full of doubt echoed through the night air.

Geez–

“I told you, I’m sure.”

The man, clearly annoyed at being asked for what seemed like the umpteenth time, answered.

“It’s been a while since the Grand Temple’s roof collapsed, and we haven’t seen a trace of him. It was strange from the start that he’d take the mountain path out of all the possible routes.”

The man’s red hair shone brightly even in the darkness.

“Let’s stop this and go look for him now. What if the Emperor’s personal guards find him first?”

Leon took a stance as if ready to move immediately.

Tanner, letting out a short sigh, spoke in a tone as if admonishing.

“There’s a holy relic on this mountain.”

“A holy relic?”

“Yes, that’s why it can’t be traced by magic. Probably even the Emperor would have difficulty with his abilities.”

“How do you know that, Lord Tanner?”

Only then did Leon look at Tanner with a gaze full of trust.

“Well, a butler of the Hunt family should know at least this much.”

Tanner boasted, raising his nose.

“And haven’t I told you many times? Your skills are good, but your problem is your overconfidence.”

“Overconfidence?”

“You still don’t understand?”

Tanner nodded towards the darkness.

What on earth could he mean? Leon looked around.

Bael stepped back in shock. But it was already too late to run away.

“What’s there…!”

At that moment, Leon’s lips stretched into a smile as he sensed Bael’s presence.

“He really came.”