Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 121

8. The Little One Who Holds Aether

1

Luke’s group, having met up with Squads 2 and 3 at the southern rendezvous point of Nemesis, hurried towards the Symphonia Kingdom.

“While not as strict as the southwest route to the Livia Kingdom, the southern road is also heavily patrolled by the Baroque Empire’s forces. They’re arresting anyone who seems even slightly suspicious,” said Henri, who had scouted ahead. Philip nodded, as if he had expected as much.

“We’ll have to go through the mountains or forests then.”

“Yes, but it would be best to move separately, as traveling in a large group will draw attention.”

After delivering the information, Henri returned to Nemesis with Squad 3, which was composed of his attendants. They would continue their reconnaissance activities while remaining infiltrated within the Baroque Empire.

The group headed towards the Symphonia Kingdom, using the information provided by Henri.

They avoided the Baroque Empire’s forces by using mountain paths and forest trails, resting mainly during the day and moving at night.

Belfar transformed into a bat and flew ahead, scouting for enemies or obstacles, leading the group.

After three days of traveling south, they took a brief rest in an unnamed forest.

“Haa, what is going on…”

“I know, right? I never imagined His Majesty would end up like this.”

The agents glanced repeatedly at Luke, who was being carried on a stretcher, still unconscious, as if they couldn’t believe what had happened.

In truth, the operation had been a success.

Squad 3, which had carried out the terrorist attack in Nemesis to draw attention, and Squad 2, which had gone to rescue Count Ferrero’s family, had both completed their missions without any casualties.

However, the problem arose with Squad 1, which was supposed to be the most powerful force.

Luke had touched a monument in the underground ruins and had fallen unconscious.

“Why isn’t he waking up yet?” asked Scarlett, who had just finished checking the perimeter. Erewine, who had been examining Luke’s condition, sighed deeply and shook his head with a frustrated expression.

“I don’t know either. I’ve been using healing magic on him the entire way here, but his condition isn’t improving at all.”

Sometimes, knights or mages experience a phenomenon where their aura or mana goes berserk due to overexertion.

If they can control it themselves, it’s not a problem, but in severe cases, it can be a matter of life and death.

However, even in such cases, if there are skilled priests or mages nearby, they can usually overcome the crisis.

This is because they can stabilize the rampaging aura and mana with divine power or healing magic.

But for some reason, Luke’s case was different.

Despite Erewine casting healing magic on him dozens of times, his body was not accepting it at all.

The healing mana was not being absorbed into his body and was being repelled every time.

‘I have a slight hunch, though…’

The energy surging from Luke’s body was similar to the verdant light that had revived the land of Zenith Village before.

He had also felt that majestic energy when he had met Princess Reina.

‘His Holiness said that the power he possessed was called Aether. But can Aether harm people? And where did His Majesty receive the Aether? Was it the monument in those underground ruins?’

While Erewine was lost in thought, Scarlett muttered with a worried expression.

“Surely, he’s not going to die like this, is he?”

However, as if he had heard her muttering, Philip jumped up and said,

“Lady Scarlett, how can you say such disrespectful things? I’ll tell His Majesty everything when he wakes up, you hear?”

“Ah, no, I…”

Scarlett, at a loss for words, quietly backed down. Philip turned his head and spoke to Erewine.

“Court Mage, is there really no way to wake His Majesty?”

After pondering for a while, Erewine shared his conclusion.

“Perhaps Princess Reina, or rather, His Holiness [referring to Reina as the Pope], might be able to do it.”

“I see. If it’s Her Majesty’s power…”

Reina was currently the Pope of the Holy Artenia Empire and possessed the greatest divine power on the Rodisia Continent.

In fact, the source of that divine power was Aether, but Philip, unaware of the details, thought that she might be able to wake Luke from his unconscious state.

“Then we must return to Symphonia as soon as possible.”

To summon Reina, who was in the Holy Empire, they had to go to a place where a long-distance teleport gate was installed.

Otherwise, it would take more than two weeks just for her to arrive.

Currently, there were a total of four places within the Symphonia Kingdom where long-distance teleport gates were installed.

The Rakan Direct Territory, the City of Lamere, the Alberville Estate, and the Royal Capital of Brenden.

The first three were built before the founding of the kingdom, and the gate in Brenden was one that Luke had personally repaired, which had been left unfinished by the Milton Kingdom in the past, and completed before the start of this operation.

The closest gate among these was the one in Brenden.

‘Actually, Nemesis is closer than that, but in the current situation, it’s like walking into the dragon’s jaws…’

Anyway, Philip urged the group to set off again.

He was a little concerned that Count Ferrero’s family looked exhausted, but this was not the time to worry about that.

But just as he was about to declare their departure, Luke’s body, which was lying on the stretcher, began to convulse.

“Y-Your Majesty?!”

While Philip and Erewine were panicking, Luke suddenly opened his eyes.

His eyes were completely white, and a dark, ominous gray light emanated from his trembling body.

2

‘Kuh! How long is this going to continue?’

For the past three days, Luke had been suffering from extreme internal pain.

The enormous amount of Aether that had come from the monument was pressuring and causing his aura, mana, and demonic energy, which were already present in his body, to go berserk.

At first, the aura, mana, and demonic energy each resisted the rampaging Aether.

However, these three forces were no match for Aether, the most fundamental energy that makes up the world.

The aura and mana were quickly pushed back, and even the demonic energy, which had been purified to be closer to Aether, was unable to overcome the disadvantage.

Then, at some point, the three forces crossed their boundaries and united to resist the rampaging Aether.

This was the result of Luke’s subconscious mind moving to stop the Aether’s rampage.

In this process, the mana and demonic energy in the black circle of his heart and the aura in the power vessel located in his lower abdomen began to mix and fuse together.

The fusion of these three forces succeeded in somewhat mitigating the Aether’s rampage.

The power created by the linkage of 8th circle white and black magic, and the mid-level Sword Master’s aura, was comparable to the power that a Worm-class dragon could produce.

After that, the Aether and the fusion of the three forces continued a tense power struggle within Luke’s body.

This process appeared to others as an aura and mana rampage, but in reality, it was a struggle for survival by the three forces.

The reason why Erewine’s healing magic was not absorbed into his body was also because the rampaging Aether was interfering with it.

Anyway, Luke regained consciousness, at least internally, about a day after he had fainted.

Since he was only conscious mentally, he could not speak or move his body, as if he had become a vegetable.

At first, he was flustered, but he soon understood the reason and began to look for a way to solve it.

‘First, I need to suppress the rampaging Aether.’

The three forces were fused and holding on, but there was no guarantee that it would continue.

Moreover, if someone were to harm him from the outside, he would be helpless and die.

‘Somehow, I need to stop the rampage first, so I can either release the Aether or digest it as my own…’

Only then could he stabilize his internal state and move his body again.

The problem was that there was no way for him to interfere with the rampaging Aether.

Furthermore, he could not refer to the method of handling Aether that Reina had told him about before.

Reina had accepted Aether in a blank state, without any power, but Luke possessed powerful mana, demonic energy, and aura.

The circumstances were very different.

‘Is there really no way to stop the Aether’s rampage?’

Just as he was about to fall into pessimism, Luke thought of one method.

‘There’s a saying in the Southern Continent, “fight fire with fire”? Sometimes, you treat poison with poison.’

So, couldn’t he counter a rampage with another rampage?

Of course, there was no guarantee that this would work.

Rather, he could completely lose control of the three forces that were currently resisting the Aether.

If that happened, he would not be able to avoid death.

‘But let’s try it!’

Since he didn’t know how long he could hold on like this, Luke decided to bet everything on this desperate measure.

When the world was created from the primordial chaos, it was Aether that filled the empty space.

Aether, also called the power of God, had enormous potential, but because it was the purest and most fundamental, it was not easy to contain or use.

In ancient times, the demons, elves, and dragons, who yearned for the divine power, processed Aether into several forms that were easier for them to use.

That was how mana, demonic energy, aura, and divine power were divided, becoming the driving force for the life, evolution, and development of living beings in each world.

However, those who were not satisfied with this continued to seek ways to possess and use Aether in their bodies.

The first to discover that method were the dragons.

They used their dragon hearts as a means to suppress and control the Aether’s rampage.

They devised a method of absorbing a very small amount of Aether into their bodies and then controlling it with the vast mana they possessed in their dragon hearts.

This was a method that only dragons could do.

Although it was a very small amount, the dragons who possessed Aether later reigned as the strongest beings in the middle world.

‘Of course, they didn’t enjoy their glory for long due to their arrogance and were destroyed.’

Now, Luke also had such a means of control.

It was the fusion of the three forces: mana, demonic energy, and aura.

This complex power allowed him to withstand the rampaging Aether without being consumed by it.

The problem was that the amount of Aether Luke had absorbed was by no means small.

Therefore, Luke tried to quell the Aether’s rampage by causing the fused three forces to go berserk.

‘Should I start by making the mana go berserk?’

Thump!

The mana circle, moving according to Luke’s consciousness, began to surge violently.

The demonic energy, which shared the black circle of his heart, was also affected and tried to move.

‘Kuh, not yet. Not yet…!’

Luke suppressed the demonic energy’s rampage, sensing that the Aether was momentarily faltering due to the mana’s rampage, and immediately made the aura go berserk.

Kukukung!

‘Kuh-erk!’

A dizzying pain, as if his whole body was being torn apart, assaulted him along with the aura’s rampage.

Aura was the force that had the most direct impact on the body.

Therefore, even though he couldn’t move, the pain caused by the aura’s rampage was vividly transmitted to Luke’s consciousness through his nerves.

‘Ah, it’s not enough yet! There’s still one more left!’

With the Aether already rampaging, his consciousness was hanging by a thread as the two forces went berserk.

It felt like he would faint again at any moment.

Luke struggled to hold on, desperately trying to grasp the state of the Aether.

It seemed that the rampage of the two forces had been effective, as they were much calmer than before.

‘Now, for the last one!’

Krrrrrr!

As his final attack, Luke unleashed the demonic energy.

The demonic energy, the foundation of the black magic he was most skilled in, caused a rampage of a magnitude that was on a different level from the previous mana and aura.

His body, which had been unable to move until now, was now thrashing uncontrollably.

Most surprising of all was that the Aether’s rampage had clearly subsided.

‘Good. I did it! My hunch was right… Ah, no!’

Luke, who had been cheering, was startled to see the Aether, which had seemed to calm down, begin to bubble up again in response to the rampaging demonic energy.

The demonic energy and Aether, intertwined like snakes, were reacting more violently than ever before.

‘What is going on… Ah, I see! I miscalculated!’

The strategy of countering a rampage with a rampage had been effective.

The problem was that Luke’s demonic energy was refined to be close to Aether.

In fact, it was because their natures were similar that he was able to fuse it with mana and aura to resist, but when he unleashed it, the Aether, which had been calming down, not only surged again but also piggybacked on the demonic energy.

Krrrr!

Krrrrrr!

Now that there was nothing to stop it, the Aether rampaged without restraint. In an instant, it surged into Luke’s heart and brain.

‘Damn it, how could this happen!’

Feeling a sense of despair, Luke tried to stop this massive rampage by mobilizing all his knowledge of magical meditation, the insights from the latter part of the Gold Sword [a powerful swordsmanship technique], and the enlightenment he had gained through black magic.

However, the demonic energy that had already rampaged was beyond his control.

Moreover, as a result of mixing with the Aether, even the minimal characteristics it had as demonic energy had disappeared.

The ominous, murky gray light that Philip and Erewine had seen rising from Luke’s body was the remnants of the demonic energy that was being extinguished.

‘Kuh! I can’t stop it! Am I going to die like this!’

Immediately after the gray light faded, Luke’s body swelled up, and this time, a bright light burst out.

The Aether, which had taken over his brain and heart, was about to unleash a final, spectacular explosion.

“Huh? Why is there light coming from His Majesty’s body?”

“Is he perhaps experiencing some kind of fortuitous encounter?”

The agents tilted their heads, seeing the intense light emanating from Luke’s body.

Such cases had occasionally occurred.

Among high-circle mages or knights above the level of sword masters, there were those who exhibited such phenomena when entering a higher realm.

However, what was happening to Luke now was not a fortuitous encounter.

Erewine, who had knowledge of Aether, knew this best.

“No, if this continues, His Majesty will…!”

She gathered all her magical power and tried to calm the Aether rampaging in Luke’s body.

However, her efforts had no effect.

Seeing the bright light and the bulging nerves and blood vessels, Erewine’s face was filled with despair.

Unable to bear the sight of Luke’s gruesome death, she squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away.

3

“It’s okay, it’s okay now.”

A youthful voice echoed in her mind.

Erewine, startled, wondered what was happening, then heard the voice again.

“Don’t worry, please open your eyes.”

At the voice that seemed to be whispering to her, she slowly opened her eyes.

Then, the light that had been bursting out of Luke’s body as if it would explode had miraculously subsided!

Instead, a shimmering light like a heat haze was rising from his heart, and it transformed into dozens, hundreds of butterflies, flying around the group.

‘What is this?’

‘Somehow, my mind feels clear and my body feels refreshed.’

Everyone was mesmerized, watching the magnificent and mysterious sight.

However, Erewine was only looking at Luke, or rather, at the silver-haired girl who was holding Luke’s hand tightly.

She was a girl with a cute appearance, about three or four years old.

‘Who is she? Where did she come from?’

There was an even more surprising fact than that question.

It was that she could feel the energy of Aether from the child’s body.

The child was not only imbued with the energy of Aether but was also calming and stabilizing the Aether that was rampaging in Luke’s body.

Thanks to this, Luke’s complexion had returned to normal, and his consciousness had also returned.

“Ugh… where am I?”

“Your Majesty!”

“Are you awake, Your Majesty!”

As words flowed from Luke’s mouth, Erewine, Philip, and the other retainers were overjoyed.

Luke, who slowly moved his limbs, felt a strange sense of incongruity in his heart.

Woo-oong!

Responding to Luke’s reaction, it was the Aether that was pulsating.

The Aether was clumped together in a circular form.

Instead, the black circle [a source of demonic power] that should have been there and the power vessel in his abdomen were nowhere to be found.

‘What happened? Is it because of the rampage?’

Although the black circle and power vessel had disappeared, he did not feel any sense of loss. This was because the lump of Aether was filling the void.

As proof, the nerves, blood vessels, and muscles that had been overworked beyond their limits during the rampage were rapidly recovering.

This showed an effect that was far superior to the recovery function that had been achieved by the acceleration of the black circle.

‘Is the Aether, the root of all power, replacing the existing power?’

“Your Majesty! You mustn’t overdo it.”

As Luke tried to get up despite Erewine’s dissuasion, Philip quickly stepped forward to support him.

However, Luke refused even that.

“It’s alright, Sir Philip. I’m much better now.”

“But…”

When Luke continued to shake his head, Philip eventually backed down.

After dismissing the surrounding retainers, Luke tried using basic first-circle light magic.

‘Can I use magic properly? Even if Aether replaces it, if the way of using power is different….’

Faaaat!

Contrary to Luke’s concerns, a dazzling light sparkled from his fingertips.

The sphere of light created by magic, though only the size of a fingernail, was bright enough to illuminate the surroundings as if it were daytime.

However, Luke focused on the fact that the way of using magic had not changed, rather than the power of the magic.

‘When I tried to use magic, the Aether lump transformed into the form of a mana circle. Then….’

Luke, having withdrawn the light magic, picked up a twig and activated his aura [a life force that can be used to enhance physical abilities].

Then, the Aether lump that had been transformed into a mana circle changed into the form of a power vessel, injecting aura into the twig.

‘At this rate, there’s no need to try using black magic.’

In a brief experiment, Luke was able to ascertain three things for sure.

The first was that he had avoided the crisis caused by the Aether’s rampage. The second was that his abilities had not been lost. And finally, that the Aether transformed into mana, aura, or demonic energy according to his will and spirituality.

“Your Majesty, are you really alright?”

Luke, turning back at Erewine’s question, nodded with a faint smile.

“Thanks to you. Was it you who released the rampaging Aether from my body?”

“No, it wasn’t me, but….”

Erewine, who was about to say, ‘It seems to be thanks to that cute little girl,’ looked bewildered.

No matter where she looked, the child was nowhere to be seen.

“Where did she go?”

“Who are you talking about?”

“There was a girl who looked about three or four years old. Sir Philip, you saw her too, right? The girl who was holding His Majesty’s hand tightly.”

At Erewine’s question, Philip nodded.

“Ah, yes. I definitely saw her. But I don’t see her anywhere now.”

Everyone’s attention had been focused on the awakened Luke, and she had disappeared without a trace.

‘A child, who are they talking about?’

It was then that Belpar, who had transformed into a bat and was patrolling the outskirts of the campsite where the group had settled, rushed over and shouted.

“Pack your things quickly. We need to leave this place in a hurry.”

“What’s wrong, Belpar?”

At Luke’s question, Belpar turned his head and was startled.

His master, who had been unconscious, was awake and well.

However, being surprised was one thing, and now was the time to report quickly.

“The movements of the Imperial Army, who were patrolling the nearby road, have become agitated. They probably saw the strange light that rose from this area.”

With that, Belpar glared at the people around him as if to ask who had done such a foolish thing.

Of course, if he knew that the one who had done the foolish thing was Luke, he would have undoubtedly averted his gaze.

However, Luke did not say anything in particular and gave instructions to his retainers.

“We must hurry. Everyone, pack up and let’s depart.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Everyone was not completely free of fatigue, but they showed a more energetic appearance than before.

This was because the king, whom they had been worried about, had fully recovered.

Having quickly packed up, Luke’s group moved south again.

There was someone watching them silently in the darkness.

An old man from the Southern Continent with a scarred face.

In his arms, the silver-haired girl who had been holding Luke’s hand just a moment ago was sleeping soundly.

4

After Luke recovered, the group was able to return home at a more leisurely pace.

When the king was unconscious, there was a need to return home quickly, but now there was no need for that.

Luke had woken up, and Erewine no longer needed to focus on his treatment, so if they wanted to, they could use teleportation magic continuously to return to Symphonia.

However, considering Count Ferrero’s family, they needed to take a breather.

This was because they had been quite exhausted from continuing their forced march through the mountains and forests.

So, the group decided to rest for two or three days in an old castle abandoned in the forest.

While they were having a late lunch, scattered around the area, Shirley chewed on jerky and asked Philip,

“Hey, Mister, is it true that there are a lot of fairies and half-breeds in the Symphonia Kingdom?”

Philip frowned at Shirley’s question and replied,

“There are a lot. But there aren’t any brats like you.”

“What’s wrong with me? If I were a brat, I wouldn’t have followed Mr. Ferrero all the way here, you know.”

Shirley, sounding disgruntled, continued in a sulky voice,

“And shouldn’t you be grateful that someone as skilled as me is following along? But instead of being grateful, you treat me like a burden….”

“It’s because you’re whining! A Sphere Master complaining about sore legs, being hungry, being thirsty… Try to be half as good as the Vice-Commander’s kids!”

As Philip said, Count Ferrero’s children hadn’t complained much on the way here.

They even refused to be carried when they looked tired.

Thanks to that, Philip could see how well Ferrero and his wife had raised their children.

“And while we’re on the subject, we have plenty of Master-level knights. There’s no merit in having a brat like you.”

“Hmph, what good are they if they’re not effective? Having someone like you as the First Army Commander… Symphonia must be really lacking in talent.”

“What was that? You little monster!”

“Heh! If you have a problem, come at me, old man! I’ll settle the score we couldn’t finish in the Holy Empire!”

On the way here, Philip and Shirley had confirmed that they had fought each other during the civil war in the Holy Empire.

Philip recognized Ferrero from that time and asked him about it, and that’s how she found out as well.

“Both of you, stop it. Just hearing your voices, the Imperial Army might come running this way.”

Count Ferrero, who had come out of the forest carrying a hunted deer, scolded them.

He had gone to scout the area and gather food, but at his nagging, Philip and Shirley, who had been growling at each other, shut their mouths.

“Vice-Commander, are you feeling a bit better?”

“A bit better? I’m already fully recovered. Don’t treat me like an old man.”

When they left Nemesis, Ferrero was in terrible shape with torture wounds.

However, after joining Erewine, he was able to fully recover thanks to potions and continuous recovery magic.

“And worry about your lord more than me. I don’t know if it’s okay for someone who was unconscious for days to be walking around like nothing happened.”

“I already asked the court wizard. He said there’s nothing wrong with him.”

“That’s a relief. I was worried I might lose a good sparring partner.”

Ferrero, who had been joking around, changed the subject.

“But I don’t know what your lord is doing in the forest. He’s been hanging around the clearing all day today.”

“He’s also a mage, so he must be meditating.”

Luke was an excellent Rune Knight and had reached the 8th Circle in magic.

Naturally, he needed to meditate to develop as a mage.

“Meditating? I don’t think that’s it….”

“Then why don’t you go ask him yourself?”

“Well, it’s not that important.”

Ferrero shrugged and put the deer he was carrying on the ground before starting to butcher it himself.

Around the time Ferrero was talking to Philip, Luke was in the clearing, investigating various things related to the Aether mass that had formed in his body.

‘The Black Circle and Power Vessel haven’t disappeared. I just lost their form when I made them go berserk, and they merged with the Aether right after.’

He had checked when he woke up, but the structure of the Aether mass changed depending on the power he used.

However, perhaps because it hadn’t been created long ago, it didn’t change very quickly.

It took time to switch from mana to aura, and then back to mana or magic power.

Luke continued to train to switch attacks all day today to reduce the delay time.

Fortunately, there was progress, and the time it took for the structure to change decreased the more he did it.

“But the problem is the level of this Aether mass… no, the Aether Globe….”

According to a rough calculation using magic, it seemed to be similar to the magic power of the 9th Circle.

It seemed to be about the same with black magic, and in terms of aura, it was top-tier Sword Master level? Maybe around that level.

It was indeed a growth achieved by overcoming a crisis, but he couldn’t be sure yet.

He hadn’t used proper 9th Circle magic or black magic using the Aether Globe.

Moreover, it still took time for the Aether Globe’s structure to change, so he couldn’t rashly engage in battle.

Of course, he could overpower most opponents, but he could easily be defeated against someone of similar skill.

‘Well, how many people are as skilled as me anyway….’

Luke chuckled and suddenly turned his gaze at a feeling he sensed.

It was distinctly different from the energy he had felt from Count Ferrero, who had briefly approached and then turned away earlier.

“Who’s there?”

At Luke’s shout, a small figure appeared from behind a tree with a rustling sound.

A silver-haired girl who looked about 3 or 4 years old.

Strangely, even though it was the first time he had seen her, he felt very close to her.

Not only that, but the moment he saw the child, the Aether Globe in his heart instinctively throbbed. It was resonating with the Aether flowing from the child.

‘A child with Aether? Then is this the child Erewine was talking about?’

When he woke up, and on the way here, he had heard about a child with Aether.

According to Erewine’s explanation, the child, who had appeared from somewhere, had somehow calmed Luke’s rampaging Aether.

‘How on earth?’

Curious, Luke slowly approached the child. He lowered his posture and spoke kindly.

“What’s your name?”

“Karen.”

“Karen? Where did Karen come from?”

At Luke’s question, the child, no, Karen, raised her small hand and pointed to the distant sky.

At her adorable gesture, Luke smiled without realizing it.

“From the sky? Are you perhaps an angel?”

Luke, without realizing it, reached out and stroked the child’s head.

But at that moment, something strange happened.

Woo- Woong!

The Aether Globe in his body suddenly began to rotate violently, and at the same time, the Aether that Karen possessed flared up like a flame.

And countless voices and shouts echoed in Luke’s ears.

“Karen, you are our only hope now.”

“You are truly shameless! When did you abandon His Majesty and now you come…!”

“You can do it. You will definitely do it!”

“Even if everyone in the world dies, the Princess must survive.”

‘What, what is this?’

Startled, Luke quickly took his hand away from Karen.

Somehow familiar voices were jumbled together, but he couldn’t understand what they meant.

He just had a very ominous feeling.

“Do you perhaps have something to tell me?”

Instead of answering Luke’s question, Karen just looked at him with worried eyes.

Luke stroked Karen’s head again.

This time, nothing happened.

The Aether Globe was calm, and the Aether that had been rising from Karen was gone as if it were a lie.

Instead, Luke sensed another energy and frowned.

“Hey, why don’t you come out instead of watching?”

The person hiding in the bushes did not respond or react to Luke’s question.

So, Luke took action first.

He picked up a fallen branch and infused it with aura before throwing it.

Boom!

The spot where the aura-infused branch landed exploded as if it had been hit by a fire magic spell.

At the same time, a figure jumped out and rushed at Luke.

‘An old man?’

And he was from the Southern Continent.

His face was covered with large and small scars, as if he had lived through many fierce battles, and one of his arms had a steel prosthetic.

Luke, who had moved away to keep Karen from getting caught up in it, dodged the old man’s continuous punches with Blink [a short-range teleportation technique] and deployed a shield magic spell.

Clang—!

A powerful shockwave shook the surroundings as the shield magic, manifested with 8th Circle magic power, collided with the old man’s punches.

‘He’s strong! He’s at least a Fist Sage level?’

But Luke didn’t feel a sense of crisis.

He didn’t sense any killing intent from the opponent, and on the other hand, the old man’s martial arts were very familiar.

Clang!

Luke drew the sword from his waist, deflected the old man’s steel prosthetic, and pointed the blade at his neck.

The old man stopped moving, and Luke asked him a question.

“That’s the Hwangbo family’s martial arts. What’s your relationship with them?”

“……”

“You’re not going to answer?”

The old man, who didn’t open his mouth until the end, slowly stepped back and respectfully raised his hand in a fist-and-palm salute [a traditional greeting in some Asian cultures].

There was no hostility.

Rather, he seemed very moved to have met Luke.

‘He seems to know me, but who is he? I haven’t met a martial artist of this skill before….’

Luke’s stay in the Southern Continent was brief.

He had mostly stayed in the Zhuge family, so except for the Third Prince Jo Won-rak and the Zhuge family members, there were hardly any people who would know him.

Moreover, this old man didn’t seem to have come up from the Southern Continent recently. Judging by his clothes and appearance, it was clear that he had been in the Rhodisia Continent for a long time.

Puzzled, Luke turned his gaze when he felt someone tugging at his clothes.

Karen was clinging to his pants as if telling him not to fight.

“Do you know this person?”

At Luke’s question, Karen nodded.

“Do you perhaps know this person’s name?”

“……”

After hesitating for a moment, Karen shook her head.

It was impossible to know whether she didn’t know or if she knew but couldn’t say.

‘They’re full of mysteries.’

That was all Luke could figure out.