The Fifth Layer of the Labyrinth City.

A place with green meadows and ancient ruins.

However, even after half a year had passed, the traces of the battle that took place that day still remained.

And there, it appeared.

Flutter

With its black cape billowing, and ominous black ornaments hanging from its waist and hands, the hooded figure began walking through the fifth layer.

It walked the place where mercenaries fought an Outer God half a year ago.

It walked the spot where Alon once stood.

And finally, standing where Alon had finished off the Outer God, it tilted its head side to side, as if finding something very curious, or perhaps something it couldn’t quite understand.

How much time had passed?

A moment ago, it had stood still, staring at the ground without the slightest movement.

Then,

“Ha…”

With a smile that spread across its face, it opened its mouth, as if finding something truly amusing.

“I never expected to make it this far.”

A small murmur.

In a voice so ambiguous, it was impossible to tell whether it belonged to a man or a woman, it murmured to itself while glancing around.

Then, it casually waved its right hand.

Vuum

The black ornament emitted a resonant hum, and after confirming this, the figure turned its body.

“Interesting. I wonder how much further this will go. It’s getting fun.”

With an innocent laugh, like a child who had just found a fascinating toy.

“If you manage to survive the next time, things will really get interesting.”

It began walking towards one side of the fifth layer.

And as it walked toward the land with no exit, it suddenly vanished.

***

Though it might seem like an obvious story, Radan was completely loyal to the Great Moon.

Without it, he wouldn’t have gained the great power he had now, nor would he have been able to avenge his family.

In short, Radan’s loyalty was clearly and firmly directed toward the Great Moon.

However, the reason why his loyalty seemed a bit tarnished was because…

[Kill them all. Right now.]

[That sounds like a good idea.]

[I agree.]

[Same here.]

Compared to Radan’s loyalty, the loyalty shown by the other members of the Blue Moon was overwhelmingly stronger.

[So, where are these so-called Agents?]

[From what I’ve heard, they seem to be spread across the United Kingdoms. There are about fifteen in total. I’ve taken out three, so there are twelve left.]

[You didn’t kill them without knowing their locations, right?]

[Of course not. While I haven’t pinpointed them all, I’ve confirmed the location of the leader and a few others.]

[Good.]

[Hurry up and tell me. I’m going to kill them right now.]

[Sounds good.]

Seolrang’s sinister, golden eyes gleamed as he spoke, and Rine, who had been smirking just a moment ago, returned to her cold, expressionless face, muttering eerily.

[After this meeting, I plan to kill one of them. It seems there’s an Agent near Caliban.]

Even Deus, whose eyes flashed ominously, seemed ready to rush out with his sword as soon as the meeting ended, making Radan sense the madness in the room.

‘…No, I think we should come up with a plan first.’

Radan quietly assessed the situation.

Even in this very moment, the conversations around him continued casually, talking about tearing and killing the Agents without a second thought, a discourse he was still not entirely accustomed to.

Among the original members, only Yutia had been like that, while most of the others had acted much more rationally.

‘There’s a huge difference. And… honestly, I didn’t expect even Rine to turn out this way.’

Looking at the drastically changed members, including Rine, Radan finally spoke.

[I think we should calmly share information and come up with a plan first.]

A cautious, but extremely reasonable suggestion.

However…

[Are you serious?]

[Radan, what if while we’re busy making plans, those guys manage to harm the Great Moon?]

[Exactly!]

[I agree.]

Despite it being the most rational statement, Radan took a moment to catch his breath as Yutia, Seolrang, and Rine, following Deus’ lead, all expressed their disagreement.

[…Everyone calm down, you’re all too excited. Shouldn’t we first share the information we have about the Agents? We need to figure out how much power they have.]

Another rational statement.

However…

[Radan.]

[What is it?]

[Radan, are you a traitor?]

[?]

At Seolrang’s ridiculous suspicion, her golden eyes gleaming, Radan felt dizzy.

[Wait, hold on… How did we suddenly get to me being a traitor?]

[But Radan, you’ve been objecting to killing the Agents since earlier, haven’t you?]

[It’s not an objection, I’m just saying we should assess the situation first—]

Radan stopped speaking as he saw the disgruntled stares being directed at him.

Realizing instinctively that no matter what he said now, it wouldn’t make any difference, he waved the white flag.

[I’ll prepare right away.]

The four members nodded in satisfaction, resuming their conversation.

Watching them, Radan, who had been thinking about how relatively normal the organization was two years ago, except for Yutia, recalled the Great Moon and concluded:

‘…There must definitely be a mind-control artifact involved.’

About 30 minutes later…

[Ah, as we talk about this, I’m suddenly reminded of the image the Great Moon showed us—]

Deus’ sudden outburst of worship interrupted the conversation about the Agents.

[Everyone, move now. We’ll have a proper meeting once this is all taken care of.]

At Yutia’s words, the Blue Moon began to move.

***

The next day.

After resting in the mansion owned by Duke Altia, Alon set off for the royal palace in the evening when the banquet was set to begin in earnest.

Upon arriving at the palace, Alon said, “I’ll be back soon,” bidding farewell to Evan as he moved forward.

And,

“I’ll be waiting.”

Evan, bowing slightly, straightened up and watched.

As his master walked into the banquet hall of the royal palace, a large group of nobles followed behind him.

Watching the scene of all these nobles, who essentially controlled Asteria, following behind Alon, Evan once again felt the weight of Alon’s position.

‘Well… the Count’s fame is already immense… Plus, he’s the leader of Kalpha.’

Although Alon himself seemed indifferent to his fame, the difference was stark for Evan, who was witnessing his master’s growing influence in real time.

In contrast to the old days, when Alon was shunned or feared at banquets, now he was the leader of most of the nobles.

And that wasn’t all.

Given the reputation he’d built, it was clear that Alon would be openly checked by the Queen. Yet, so many nobles still stood behind him.

In other words, the nobles following Alon believed that he had a chance, even against the current Queen of Asteria.

‘…Well, based on the rumors, it’s no wonder they think that.’

As Evan evaluated the situation, Alon, leading the nobles, realized something strange.

‘Huh, wait… something feels off.’

He noticed that things seemed to be going a little differently than he had expected.

‘This looks like I’m heading straight into a confrontation, doesn’t it?’

He glanced back subtly.

Behind him, a large number of nobles, all his supporters, were following him.

‘No, this isn’t the image I had in mind…?’

His plan had been to get a reasonable scolding during the audience with the Queen before the banquet and make a plausible excuse for maintaining Kalpha.

But now, with this many people storming in, it didn’t seem like it would end with just a scolding.

But there was nothing he could do now, so he continued on and entered the banquet hall.

‘Oh.’

The moment he stepped inside, he couldn’t help but admire it.

The banquet hall, fitting its reputation, was larger and more beautiful than any hall Alon had ever been to.

Standing there, dazed, staring at the ceiling, Alon soon felt the eyes of the nobles in the hall on him.

“…… “

From what Alon could tell, the nobles’ gazes fell into two categories.

One was admiration and respect.

The other was blatant ridicule.

And naturally, the latter group far outnumbered the former.

He had a rough idea why the nobles in the hall were wearing such expressions.

‘They probably think I’ve been growing my power recklessly, only to get smacked down by the Queen.’

Realizing that the nobles sneering at him mostly belonged to either the aristocratic faction or the royalist faction, Alon let out a small sigh before continuing on his way to meet the Queen.

At the far end of the grand ballroom, he could see her.

Cretinia Siyan, the 8th monarch of Asteria.

As he walked closer from afar, Alon noticed how stunningly beautiful Queen Cretinia Siyan was.

Her golden eyes, a symbol of the royal bloodline of Asteria, sparkled brilliantly as they reflected the light from the terrace, even though her expression remained emotionless.

Her beauty was so striking that it could cause any noble to risk a momentary glance, committing an act of irreverence.

However, Alon’s focus was on the hope that what was about to happen would unfold in his favor, so her appearance was not his priority.

And then.

“Loyal servant of Asteria, I stand before Your Majesty,” Alon said, bowing deeply in a formal greeting as he reached Cretinia Siyan.

The queen, who had been silent up until then, spoke.

“Raise your head.”

Her face remained emotionless.

At her command, Alon naturally lifted his head.

“Are you the Count of Palatio?”

“Yes.”

At the sound of the queen’s voice, the nobles who had been smirking at Alon all broke into smiles.

This moment was a crucial spectacle for the nobles of both the royalist and aristocratic factions, who had been eagerly anticipating the downfall of Kalpha, which had been a thorn in their side.

As a result, they all wore malicious smiles while watching the Count of Palatio. But…

Their smug expressions vanished in an instant, and they were left with blank, dumbfounded faces.

The reason?

“Very well, Count of Palatio, I shall bestow upon you the title of Marquis.”

When Queen Cretinia Siyan spoke these words, Alon couldn’t help but respond in a daze.

“…What?”

He unconsciously let out a bewildered sound.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep