Moonlight climbed into the sky, and the predawn hours arrived with everyone asleep.
Rustle…
A cool night breeze blew freely into the room through a gap between the windows.
And when the moon had risen high enough for its light to pierce the curtains over the windows, Darkness stretched itself awake in the Red Rose Inn.
The first place Darkness awoke was the innermost room where Wirn was staying.
“Go far.”
Wirn, kneeling on one knee in the middle of the room, placed a hand on the floor.
The mana that flowed out with the incantation pulsed once like a heartbeat, then began spreading as black Darkness.
But unlike before, it did not greedily devour anything or seal off space.
This time, the goal was the opposite—to pass through the gaps and spread throughout as much of the inn as possible.
[Mana Activation.]
[Memory Imbuement.]
Wirn imbued the spreading mana with detection magic. It was one of the minor techniques he had learned during his days as an Imperial Hound.
‘I can see everything clearly.’
In an instant, every passage in the inn entered Wirn’s mind. Using that information, Wirn sent Darkness streaming outward without restraint.
‘Having only one Circle is a little restrictive.’
Even so, it could hardly be called fast.
There was a limit to what Wirn could do with the single Circle he possessed.
If he had already formed two Circles, the speed at which Darkness spread through the inn would have doubled.
‘Began would be horrified if he saw this.’
Of course, this was only possible because it was Wirn.
An ordinary mage would have long since drained every last bit of mana and collapsed.
The ability to draw mana out to its absolute limit was rare.
Tap, tap.
‘I can see them.’
At that moment, Darkness penetrated as far as the ceiling of the room next door.
After confirming it, Wirn closed his eyes and focused his vision on what Darkness could see.
‘They aren’t ordinary guests.’
Three men wearing leather armor with swords at their waists were resting in the room.
Even though it was deep into the predawn hours, their eyes were wide open and alert. It was obvious they were prepared for something.
Ripple.
After confirming that, Wirn left a fragment of Darkness in their room.
Then the Darkness slowly seeped through the next section of ceiling and into the following room.
Like an insect crawling through holes and crevices, Wirn’s Darkness used the small, hidden gaps throughout the inn as passageways.
The room next door, then the one beyond that.
Even the second and first floors.
Darkness moved in and out of every guest room except those in the basement.
‘I mustn’t leave any trace that I used Darkness when I kill them.’
To begin with, the mercenaries in the inn were no match for Wirn.
He might have only one Circle, but he had gone through all manner of experiences as an Imperial Hound.
Still, he had no intention of revealing his primary attribute, Darkness, here.
At daybreak, the Empire’s eyes were certain to comb this place from top to bottom.
“Haa….”
As soon as he reached that conclusion, Wirn let out a deep breath.
[Frostmourne’s Encroachment]
Next, he changed the Darkness attribute spread throughout the inn into ice imbued with cold.
CRACK! CRACKLE!
Cracks opened where the Darkness had been. Unlike Darkness, which had no volume, ice possessed considerable weight and volume.
As a result, ice burst from every gap from the third floor down to the first.
“W-What is that?!”
“There’s a mage!”
The guards watching the inn were badly startled.
They had clearly been told that the person they were supposed to watch tonight was a lowest-rank mercenary.
But what had appeared before their eyes was not swordsmanship, but magic—the art of wielding mysteries. It was only natural that they were stunned.
BZZZT!
[Lightning Touch]
At that moment, Wirn sent lightning coursing through the ice.
The lightning spread in an instant along the mana and ice. The ice that had forced its way through the inn filled with a powerful current and surged toward the enemies according to Wirn’s will.
“Aaaagh!”
“G-Ghk…!”
The current electrocuted every mercenary in the inn except Wirn on the third floor.
Tap.
Listening to the screams coming from all around, Wirn stood up.
He opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.
He made no particular effort to silence himself, so the sound of his door opening and his footsteps echoed through the inn.
“…Now it’s finally a little quiet.”
But no one anywhere moved to stop Wirn.
All the guards who should have restrained him had been fried to a crisp.
Wirn stared for a moment at the water flowing from the gaps beneath the doors, then leisurely headed downstairs.
He stopped in front of a small bookshelf on the first floor.
HUM….
When he poured mana into it, a hidden slot wide enough to insert a finger revealed itself.
“Found it.”
Wirn grinned when he discovered it.
At the same time, he slipped a hand into the gap.
Then he gently pressed the small button inside.
RUMBLE….
The bookshelf slid inward, revealing a passage leading underground.
***
Gern and Hereken headed to the underground storage room when night fell.
“The Black Market will open soon.”
The distinctive musty stench of the underground stung both their noses.
At the same time, items far too strange to belong in an inn came into view.
Gern smiled brightly as he looked at them.
If those items were sold at the Black Market, an immense fortune was sure to pour in.
“If this job goes well, I will make sure you are not disappointed with your share.”
But he knew very well that trying to monopolize everything would bring trouble. So he decided to give a portion to Hereken, who served as his right-hand man.
“Eight for me, two for you. You cannot have any complaints about that split, can you?”
“…”
Hereken frowned at Gern’s words.
“That will not even cover my labor costs.”
No matter how he looked at it, an eight-to-two split was absurd. Hereken had run himself ragged in every direction to open this Black Market. In contrast, Gern, who spoke as if he were being generous, had done nothing.
“You stupid bastard. Do you think connections are something you can get just anywhere?”
Gern gave a snort at Hereken’s answer.
“I took in an ignorant brute who knew nothing but brute force and raised you, and now you are even eyeing my rice bowl?”
PRESS!
Then he pressed the cane in his hand hard against the top of Hereken’s foot.
“Nine to one.”
As he spoke, he adjusted the split once again. It was the price for daring to talk back to him.
“…Looks like it’s about time I ended this.”
“What?”
“I can’t work with you anymore.”
Hereken’s eyes turned vicious.
“I was planning to dispose of you after this Black Market business was over anyway, but now that I think about it, there’s no need to wait until then. I’ve already brought over all those precious connections of yours, too.”
Then, glaring at him as though he intended to kill him, Hereken continued.
“Wai―”
Gern realized the atmosphere had turned strange and raised a hand.
“Deal with him.”
SLASH—!
But by then, it was already too late. The moment Hereken ignored him and gave the command, a blood-soaked sound echoed through the underground storage room.
THUD!
Then Gern’s head fell to the floor.
“Just because a man has a lot of muscle doesn’t mean his brain is made of muscle too. More people than you’d think don’t understand that.”
Hereken clicked his tongue and lightly kicked Gern’s head, whose eyes remained wide open in death.
“Don’t you think so too?”
Then he looked behind him and shrugged.
“Night Crow.”
There stood the female assassin he had hired with Gern’s money, a woman known as the Crow of Darkness.
“…”
But no answer came back.
She merely looked back and forth between Gern’s severed head and body on the floor.
“Hmm.”
Hereken scratched his head at the awkward silence.
He knew she was the quiet type, but he had not expected her to remain silent even in a situation like this.
“You know the contract, right?”
“Guard you until the Black Market ends.”
“That’s right.”
But she answered his next question. She was famously uncompromisingly meticulous whenever a contract was involved.
“All right, then… shall we head back?”
Just as Hereken was about to leave the storage room without much concern—
Step. Step.
Footsteps came from beyond the storage room. The instant he heard them, Hereken stopped reflexively.
Exactly three people knew about this place. One of them had just died, so it would be more accurate to say there were only two now.
“Hmm?”
An intruder appeared before them.
“…A mercenary?”
It was Wirn, the mage who wielded Darkness.
“What? One bastard’s already dead?”
Wirn entered the underground storage room and looked surprised.
“Didn’t expect this.”
Gern’s head and body lay separated on the floor.
It did not matter much.
Wasn’t he going to die anyway?
And just because one of them had died did not mean Wirn had any intention of letting the other one live.
“Were you one of Gern’s men?”
Hereken frowned at Wirn’s relaxed demeanor.
But soon he shook his head. If Wirn had been Gern’s subordinate, he would not have come to the inn dressed in such shabby clothes. It would have been troublesome, and there was no need for it. Had Gern not looked as though he did not know him either?
“Sorry, but you’ll have to die here.”
He had no intention of leaving a witness behind.
Whether Wirn was Gern’s subordinate or simply an unlucky traveler who had chosen the wrong place to sleep, there would be no exception.
“Hah. This is ridiculous.”
Wirn sneered at Hereken’s answer.
“Who’s killing whom?”
―HUM….
Then he set the Circle inside his body spinning.
Ripple.
A cold chill flowed from his body.
“A mage?”
Hereken swallowed when he saw it.
He had thought Wirn was nothing more than a lowly mercenary.
“How did you fool the appraisal artifact?”
That only made him more bewildered.
Hereken possessed an artifact capable of detecting mana.
He had secretly used it on Wirn when Wirn entered the Red Rose Inn as a mercenary.
“Appraisal artifact?”
But this was the first Wirn had heard of it. He had not sensed even the slightest sign that anyone was trying to detect his mana.
“Looks like it wasn’t very reliable.”
That left only one possibility.
The artifact Gern had given Hereken had never possessed such a function in the first place.
The chance of the artifact working without Wirn noticing was effectively zero.
“Y… you son of a bitch!”
Perhaps it was because he realized he had been deceived. Unable to contain his rage, Hereken kicked Gern’s head hard.
“Kill him! Kill that bastard!”
Then, to vent that rage, he ordered Wirn killed.
Flick.
At that moment, Wirn moved his right index finger downward once.
SWISH!
The cold that had seeped into the floor above began to move.
It had been crouched quietly over Hereken’s head, and the instant Wirn gave the command, it changed shape.
[Ice Harpoon.]
It took the shape of a long, pillar-like harpoon, perfect for piercing something.
“!”
Hereken realized what was happening and opened his mouth.
Before a sound could escape his throat—
CRUNCH—!
The harpoon made of ice pierced straight through the crown of Hereken’s head.
“Just think of it as fate. You would’ve died even if it hadn’t been me.”
Wirn shrugged as he looked at the man who had become a cold corpse.
To think he had not even made the bare minimum preparations for an opponent. They were such a ragtag rabble that Wirn could only scoff.
“Now it’s just the two of us, huh?”
Leaving him behind, Wirn shifted his gaze.
It was the assassin behind Hereken, the woman known by the alias Night Crow.
She had not moved a single step from where she stood this entire time. She had simply remained in place, watching the dead Gern and Hereken.
“…”
At Wirn’s words, she raised her head. Then she looked at him with clear eyes that revealed no emotion.
SHING.
Her grip tightened around her sword. She shifted it slightly as she adjusted her stance, ready to fight at any moment.
Grin.
Seeing that, the corners of Wirn’s mouth lifted. Judging by the atmosphere alone, it looked like a situation that would only end when one of them died.
“Night Crow. There’s something I want to say.”
But Wirn knew a way to end this situation without fighting.
“Let’s make a contract.”
And beyond that, it was a fine chance to properly screw over the Empire.
A perfect opportunity to catch two rabbits at once.