Chapter 204 – Reinforcements
[Gram Seraphim – The Blood-Drinking Chalice (Blood)]
The moment permission was granted, her hidden divine name was revealed.
Arcane smirked slightly.
That deep, euphoric sensation—
It always came when he uncovered the true names of those shrouded in secrecy.
For him, collecting divine names was an addiction.
However, unlike most cases, Gram had already known her own divine name before he revealed it.
That meant someone had told her.
As she studied the note in her hands, Arcane asked,
“…Who told you?”
“A man working for the Grand Duke.”
“Then it must have been the Prophet of Radiance.”
“He does have remarkable foresight.”
The Prophet of Radiance.
But that man should have been paying the price for revealing part of his divine name—The Siren’s Hymn—to Kamel Blazer.
A prophet whose own life was in danger wouldn’t have risked exposing Gram’s divine name as well.
That could only mean one thing—
The Grand Duke had forced him to do it.
Knowing that his death was inevitable, the Prophet must have gone to Gram of his own accord.
“…Did you pay him with Blood Nature?”
“It was an exchange that benefited us both.”
“…Is he still alive?”
“Are you hoping to meet him?”
“Yes.”
“That’s unfortunate. His final act was contributing to Demtor’s progress.”
“…Contributing.”
In other words—
After his death, he had become one of Gram’s test subjects.
It was clear now—she and the Grand Duke had already reached an agreement.
In exchange for Blood Nature, the Grand Duke had sold the Prophet to her.
Arcane was reminded of a hen.
It spends its life laying eggs, contributing to humans—
And in the end, its value is finished as a meal.
The fate of those who serve the gods in Demtor was often a cruel one.
And himself?
Arcane let out a quiet chuckle and met Gram’s gaze.
She was watching him with an amused smile.
“…You’re special, Arcane.”
“I simply haven’t been caught yet.”
“Oh my, how cold of you.”
Between people like them, ties could shift between warm camaraderie and cold betrayal at any moment.
Gram placed the note back on the table.
She didn’t even need to ask—
The name written on it was already familiar.
“…Kamel Blazer. His name came up the most in the latest Demtor meeting. Could this also be fate?”
“You seem particularly interested in him.”
“There are many factors that draw people together. For me—it’s blood.”
Gram licked the traces of blood on her lips, revealing her teeth in a radiant smile.
“I want him. I want to tear out his heart and examine it.”
Just as her divine name suggested, she had an obsession with blood—
An unshakable belief that Kamel was already hers.
Whether that certainty would hold, however, was another matter entirely.
From what Arcane had seen, Kamel was no ordinary man.
A being born under the Star of the Massacre—
With a mind deeper than most, and an uncanny sense of foresight.
He was the type who only grew stronger the longer he survived.
But—
There was a moment when his fate reached its weakest point.
The battle of Tobaron—if he lost.
If that happened, Gram would devour him.
She would never pass up the chance to claim something she had set her sights on.
“…How are the negotiations with Kamel going?”
“You just returned from meeting the Grand Duke, didn’t you? The deal is already done.”
“…Strange. He hasn’t said a word to me.”
“Perhaps he’s displeased with you.”
“…Displeased?”
“You handed a direct communication link—one that connects straight to Demtor’s Stars—To a nameless human. The Grand Duke was the one who gave you that device, wasn’t he? So it’s understandable if he found your actions… offensive.”
“I assumed Kamel’s presence would be a gift to the Grand Duke. I didn’t expect him to take it so personally.”
“Lies.”
Gram burst into laughter and stood up from her seat.
“Are you really going to pretend you didn’t see this coming? You knew what kind of person Bersen Clarke is.”
The Grand Duke of Demtor.
A man of royal blood, blessed with exceptional magical talent—
A figure who was practically Demtor’s own nobility.
From the moment he was born, he had been worshipped by those beneath him.
And because of that—
He had developed a fatal flaw.
Pride.
A man with an intensely self-centered nature.
“…He invited you so urgently because of your knowledge of divine names.”
“He was very curious about any recent changes to the divine name records.”
“That makes sense. He’s been changing ever since he started taking Blood Nature. His stagnating strength has begun to rise again.”
“…Which benefits you greatly, doesn’t it? He’s trying to surpass his six-star limit by relying on another power.”
Gram had struck at the Grand Duke’s desperation—
And because of that, her influence in Demtor was only growing stronger by the day.
She looked down at Arcane and held out her hand.
“…We help each other, don’t we?”
“Is there something you want from me?”
“…Your mouth.”
Gram touched her lips—
Moving them slowly as she whispered:
“…Keep quiet.”
A warning.
A request.
She wanted Arcane to be careful about what he told the Grand Duke.
“I don’t know anything about Blood Nature.”
“I wasn’t talking about that.”
“…Then?”
“I meant my divine name list. The one thing you haven’t told me yet.”
Arcane chuckled.
At that moment, he knew—
Gram had learned of a new list of divine names through the Prophet.
That was why she had killed him—
To silence him.
And within that list—
There was a divine name that could be compared to The Blood-Drinking Chalice itself.
The Serpent That Devours Stars.
Depending on how it was interpreted—
This divine name could be Gram’s greatest weakness.
The word "Star" held deep symbolic meaning in Demtor.
“…So, do you plan to silence me as well?”
“If I could, I would have.”
“I can be a friend or an enemy to those who bear divine names.”
“…Am I a friend, then?”
Instead of answering, Arcane simply took Gram’s hand.
“I do not move for profit.”
“…Meaning the prophecy favors me.”
“The prophecy desires the fall of Ordor Forest. Becoming your enemy would go against it.”
“…We’ve already begun preparations for that.”
Following Kamel’s proposal, Demtor had assembled a formidable force.
Since magic users couldn’t step foot in the mana-starved land of Tobaron, the Grand Duke had gathered some of Demtor’s strongest knights and mercenaries instead.
And right now—
They were making their way toward Tobaron, bringing with them a certain artifact.
After listening to the terms of the negotiation, Arcane asked,
“…I don’t know what Kamel’s plan is, but this seems insufficiently prepared.”
“…Is Kamel incompetent? Or is his enemy just that strong?”
“…Most likely the latter.
Will you help him?”
“I’m a mage.”
“But you have children who are mages and yet not mages.”
Her hand—mid-handshake—froze.
Gram’s smile vanished.
She stared down at their joined hands, expression unreadable.
Arcane simply smiled, silent.
A moment later, Gram let out a soft scoff and released his hand.
“…It seems my children will finally get some fresh air.”
“Thank you.”
“…We’re friends, after all.”
With that, Gram turned away, dragging her robe behind her as she disappeared into the archives.
As her presence faded, Arcane slowly rose to his feet.
He stared at his slightly damp palm—
Clenching and unclenching his fist.
“…Did death approach and pass me by just now?”
Gram Seraphim, the Blood-Drinking Chalice.
Her abilities were unpredictable—
She was not an opponent to be taken lightly.
After watching the direction she had left, Arcane shook off his thoughts—
And resumed his search through the archives.
He had come to the Ivory Tower’s library for a reason—
To find information about a bow that could seal divine names.
Sssshhhk—
Carrying a stack of ancient tomes, Arcane carefully flipped through their pages.
Most records from ancient times contained information about the Absolute Beings of that era.
Reading them now, they might seem like mere myths or legends—
But they were real accounts of past calamities and gods who once walked the world.
As he searched for references to the bow, his hand suddenly paused.
A passage caught his eye—
[The Lords of the Fallen World feared him, shunned him, and opposed him.]
[At first, they called him friend—but when they learned his truth, everything changed.]
[He withdrew from the world, walking a lonely path.]
[Across countless ages, he hid his truth, taking on many names, many forms—drifting endlessly through time.]
[Even at the very edge of a dying world, he remained.]
It was a passage he had skimmed casually—
But the moment he read the phrase "countless ages", a single name surfaced in his mind.
“…Retonicalus, the Undying.”
Gram had mentioned Arena.
Had he not recalled Arena’s divine name, he might have overlooked this entirely.
After all—
To Arcane, that particular divine name held little significance.
The owner of a dead divine name was no longer someone worth pursuing.
“…Why isn’t it here?”
Through all the ancient texts he had searched—
Not once did the name Retonicalus appear.
If it had been revealed through a divine name, then it should have existed in some record.
“…Something about this bothers me.”
It seemed he would be spending a great deal of time in this library.
***
“M-Master!”
An old man, frail and breathless, was sprinting as fast as his body allowed.
If not for the massive staff in his hands, he would have barely managed to stay upright.
Rengua Field.
The guardian of the Shaman’s Nest.
He climbed the stairs in a hurry, stopping before a tightly shut door.
Gasping for breath, Rengua waited.
The moment he heard the awaited news, he had rushed here.
It was unthinkable for someone of his status to personally deliver a message—
But the circumstances left him no choice.
“Master! Master!!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Rengua pounded on the locked door, eyes gleaming with anticipation.
It had been fifteen days.
For fifteen days, his master had sealed himself away, allowing no one to enter.
He had refused all visitors.
Even food had been rejected.
All for one thing—
One piece of news.
The moment it arrived, it was to be delivered immediately.
That was the only instruction his master had left before isolating himself from the world.
That was why Rengua had come running.
For fifteen days, his mortal master had gone without food or water.
What if something had happened to him?
Rengua’s heart pounded in fear—
As he finally spoke the awaited words.
“Master! The spatial portal has opened! Demtor’s reinforcements have arrived!!”
For a moment—
Only silence.
Then—
A faint sound.
A subtle shift of movement.
The tightly locked door—
Slowly—
Creaked open.
A figure emerged.
His dark hair—unruly.
His beard—unkempt.
But his eyes—
Cold, piercing, and unshaken—
Still bore the same gaze that cut through the world itself.
Swallowing dryly, Rengua glanced past him into the room.
Scattered maps littered the floor.
Countless documents and unfamiliar symbols were pinned to the walls.
What had he been doing in here—
All alone?
“…Lead the way, Rengua.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
At last—
Kamel Blazer had returned.