That smile was so happy that she couldn’t help but smile too.

“Sched…!”

Louise ran towards him, following the guidance of the white bird.

Sched reached out his hand towards her, who was smiling brightly.

Then, at the end of the small bird’s wings circling around them, white feathers fluttered and fell.

The feathers swirled in the clear air before gently landing on Sched’s palm.

For a moment, Louise thought the sight was like a miracle.

The pure white light of the feathers seemed nobler than any color in the world.

Had she ever seen such a beautiful hue before?

Could a color alone make her heart flutter like this?

At that moment, Sched tucked the feather into her chest pocket.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Louise.”

Louise looked up and met his eyes.

His eyes were full of gentle and warm light.

Louise wanted to stay in front of that gaze for the rest of her life.

His hand gently brushed her cheek.

At that moment, she woke up from her dream.

Then Sched, the dazzlingly white bird, the large lemon tree, and Louise Ideana were all gone.

All that remained was the damp night with darkness settling in, the old hammock in the small cabin, and the sound of waves crashing roughly.

On the ship losing balance and swaying, Rea faced the cold reality.

“Ah…”

The dream, so far from reality, was so vivid that it made her heart ache.

She thought she had boarded the ship leaving all attachments behind, but deep down, Louise’s name still remained.

Rea buried her face in her sleeve.

She had to shake it off.

Both Louise and Riana.

That remaining name, and those memories, all had to be removed.

It was a night with moonlight and the salty smell of the sea.

Those who set out to hunt the heretic pierced through the fog and went up to northern Paradel.

There was a dense forest to the north of Paradel.

Dead trees dried up by black magic created a gloomy landscape through the fog.

“The, the heretic must be somewhere in this forest.”

Dietrich said, looking at the forest.

The strategy was already set.

The plan was to slowly sweep through the forest from the outskirts after the priests surrounded the forest with a temporary barrier.

“We’ll know immediately if the heretic touches the barrier. Since it’s a temporary barrier unlike Paradel’s protective barrier, we need to move quickly.”

Unlike Paradel’s barrier built with sturdy and intricate structure, this temporary barrier would break easily with one blow of the heretic’s power.

But it will be an excellent tool for finding out the heretic’s location.

“We’ll move inward following the barrier.”

Sched planned to move into the forest along with the knights, following the barrier that was gradually closing in.

Meanwhile, Sched and the knights had learned how to deal with black magic and gained knowledge from Dietrich.

However, it was their first time in actual combat.

Everyone entered the forest with tense faces.

The weather in Ideana, entering early summer, was unusually damp.

The knights felt an ominous foreboding as they looked up at the dark sky.

But no one voiced those thoughts. They didn’t want to make their words come true.

Knight Carlyle looked at Sched’s back as he led the way, riding his black horse while holding his sword.

The tension eased instantly at the sight of the Duke’s broad back, standing firm without wavering.

Looking at Sched, even the fog seemed like a trap he had prepared.

He was a man who could turn even the eerie atmosphere to his advantage.

“Let’s begin.”

Sched nodded briefly after checking if the knights were ready.

Dietrich signaled to the priests with a determined expression.

The priests instantly created a temporary barrier as practiced.

The end of the barrier was hard to see, buried in the fog.

“It’s, it’s done…!”

Dietrich informed them that the invisible barrier was perfectly constructed.

At Sched’s gesture, the knights positioned themselves densely along the barrier’s edge.

Under Dietrich’s lead, the priests moved the barrier delicately.

The sight of the priests creating the barrier, tightening it around the forest without leaving gaps, was truly spectacular.

The barrier’s appearance in the fog looked like a tidal wave converging to a single point.

There was a reason why Dietrich Lester was called the mad dog for catching heretics.

No wonder, Dietrich, who always seemed timid and intimidated, looked quite excited today.

“We, we need to be very, very careful to catch the last heretic.”

He muttered to himself, his eyes glowing like blue flames.

It was a trap of tedious waiting.

They endured for hours in the soggy forest, narrowing down the range to find the heretic.

After a long time of silently searching the forest, holding their breath without losing tension, darkness settled in the foggy forest.

It was cold enough to see one’s breath due to the drizzling rain.

Normally, they would stop the operation and wait for dawn, but not this time.

“To, to maintain the barrier, we need to keep moving constantly.”

Even a moment’s rest would create a weak point in the barrier.

They couldn’t let the heretic escape due to a single moment of carelessness.

Sched checked the stamina of the priests and knights.

Although the rain caused significant fatigue, those who had been through many ordeals with him for a long time seemed to have strength left to endure.

On the other hand, the priests looked exhausted like people who had done intense exercise, due to the endless consumption of holy power.

“Are you alright, High Priest?”

Sched asked Dietrich, who was creating the barrier without resting even once.

Dietrich nodded vigorously.

“I’m, I’m fine! I’m used to this…!”

Compared to other priests, Dietrich looked fine without even a drop of sweat.

Indeed, he hadn’t earned the position of High Priest for nothing.

“The other priests…”

“As, as the range narrows, the barrier will become smaller, so, so we can take turns from dawn.”

Dietrich comforted the other priests, saying they just needed to hold out until sunrise.

And so, the moon that had risen high set, and the sun took its place.

As Dietrich said, as the barrier’s range gradually narrowed, the priests were able to take turns resting.

But on the second day, even after the barrier had shrunk by half, there was no sign of the heretic.

They were getting tired from the fruitless expenditure of energy.

Some began to doubt if the heretic had already escaped the barrier.

On the morning of the third day of the hunt.

While it was still gloomy with fog, finally, the barrier turned red and sounded an alarm.

“Your Grace! It’s, it’s the western side of the barrier!”

Dietrich lifted his head, and Sched immediately rode west.

It was a race against time.

Because the barrier wasn’t strong, they had to arrive quickly and catch the heretic.

The forest was still hazy as the fog hadn’t lifted for three days.

Sched galloped following the red light of the barrier.

Finally, reaching the source of the impact, there was a familiar shadow.

‘The heretic…!’

The moment he discovered him, Sched felt an unexpected thrill and desire for revenge.

The one who had taken Riana hostage and stabbed her was there.

If only this person disappeared, Ideana could return to being a safe land as before.

After finishing this, he would have something to tell Riana when he returned.

Sched jumped off his horse and drew his sword.

There was no need to hesitate. His sword was instantly enveloped in blue light, illuminating the foggy forest.

The heretic, spotting Sched who had arrived first, cursed.

“Damn, finally here…”

Black magic light rose from the heretic’s fingertips.

‘His arm…?’

Sched noticed that the heretic’s arm, which had been cut off, was now perfectly regenerated.

‘Is this the power of black magic Dietrich mentioned….’

Dietrich had explained about black magic and mentioned their ‘regenerative ability’.

He said that while holy power heals others through one’s own power, black magic heals oneself through the life force of others.

Moreover, since it uses life force as its source, its effect is even more miraculous than holy power.

Holy power can heal a cut surface, but it can’t regenerate a severed arm, while black magic can.

That’s why people who desired that power emerged.

He had heard about it from Dietrich, but seeing it in person, it was quite a disgusting ability.

He could imagine the lives that must have been sacrificed to regenerate that arm.

Perhaps, even the life force Riana lost when she was struck by his sword might be contained in that arm.

“I already knew you would come.”

The heretic looked at the knights and priests following behind Sched.

He knew well that he couldn’t face them alone.

The heretic clenched his fist tightly.

At the same time, a black whirlwind swirled around him.

Sched noticed that his power had grown stronger than before.

‘How on earth…!’

At that moment, the heretic raised his black hand high.

“Fall back!”

Following an instinctive feeling, Sched shouted to those following him.

Simultaneously, the heretic struck the ground with enormous power.

The black whirlwind engulfed the rain-soaked earth.

At the same time, the ground Sched was standing on collapsed.

“My lord!”

He tried to retreat completely, but the black power grabbed his ankle, dragging him down below the ground.

‘Damn it…’

He hadn’t heard from Dietrich that a heretic could collapse the earth like this.

And the heretic didn’t have such catastrophic power last time.

As he fell, maintaining his balance and cutting through huge rocks, he thought.

‘Was it planned?’

The ground couldn’t have sunk like this simply from his power alone.

There must have been a cave-like space underground.

He managed to land deep underground.

Thanks to his aura, he wasn’t injured, but due to the depth, he was completely cut off from the people above.

It was pitch black all around, so deep was the fall.

Due to the fog, even looking up, the ground where no light entered seemed even more distant.

‘I’ve fallen into a trap.’

The heretic probably lured only Sched to fall underground.

Sched got up, dusted himself off, and looked around.

Sensing his surroundings through his aura, as expected, a deep cave extended far inwards.

‘Was he hiding here?’

He thought it was impressive how he had managed to hide so well while staying not too far from Paradel.

But he never expected there would be such a space underground…

Then, footsteps echoed in the cave.

“This bastard just won’t die. So persistent.”

The heretic was slowly walking towards Sched, watching him in the darkness.