Episode 340 – Ember
Rengua, having secured the Kunta Soul-Binding Doll, inspected the vault.
Aside from the doll, the space was empty.
‘Not visible…’
He had heard rumors that a leaf from the World Tree was hidden within the Everfell estate.
Based on the reactions of the merchants who had swarmed the mansion that morning, the leaf definitely existed.
Rengua summoned Henry and gave an order.
“Bring me the World Tree's leaf.”
Henry nodded and moved to the study’s side. He pulled out a book—a large tome as thick as a palm.
When he opened it, each page contained a pressed leaf.
Apparently, the leaves had been hidden within the book.
Gathering the leaves onto a tray, Henry offered it up. Rengua nodded and accepted it.
“Well done. As promised, there will be no pain.”
With a flick of Rengua’s hand, Henry’s head slowly rolled backward.
His neck was neatly severed, and the study filled with the stench of blood.
Rengua grabbed the tray of leaves.
He had intended to store them in a pouch, but his expression twisted for a moment.
When he opened his palm, it was charred and blackened like a burn, covered in blisters that oozed blood.
“Such an unpleasant energy…”
He focused on the golden glow faintly emanating from between the leaves.
Then he clenched one leaf tightly in his fist.
Ssshhh—
Smoke rose between his fingers as the leaf burned his flesh.
Watching his fist for a moment, dark energy flowed out.
As he poured his spiritual energy into the leaf, the golden light disappeared and it withered into dust.
After confirming it, he realized the leaf carried an aura opposing his own.
Staring at the ashes, Rengua thought of a particular man.
The one who persistently disrupted his lord’s plans, the first opponent his lord had ever acknowledged, and the one he remained wary of until death.
The natural enemy of dark shamans—
“Alex Marcia.”
He was the one who had brought the leaf to Aintrier.
Rengua could feel Alex’s trace in the leaf.
Were the World Tree and Alex of the same essence?
‘Impossible…’
Something stank.
Still, he stopped dwelling on it.
He could compare with other leaves from the World Tree later, but right now, reviving the lord in Prime Root was far more important than Alex’s suspicious actions.
‘He told me not to clash with Alex if possible…’
Even though they were in proximity, Rengua had kept his identity hidden per his lord’s instructions.
Of course, if there was a guaranteed way to kill him, Rengua would have taken the lead—but Alex had become too formidable to deal with easily.
Clicking his tongue, Rengua pocketed the remaining leaves and moved on.
He had acquired everything he needed.
Returning to the reception room on the first floor, he found it already cleaned up.
Silence.
Only the Dead Knights stood idly, awaiting further orders. At their feet lay piles of corpses.
“Pile them up.”
What Rengua needed were 2-star rank or higher corpses—those who had manifested aura.
Good dolls came from good materials. These corpses would become precious materials for new dolls.
Following the order, the Dead Knights separated the corpses and stacked them in one spot.
Once they were gathered, Rengua tossed small finger-sized insects onto the pile.
Skrrt-skrrt—
The bugs landed and began squirming across the bodies.
At Rengua’s signal, their mouths opened wide and they began devouring the corpses piece by piece.
After consuming dozens of bodies, the insects swelled in size—but only to about the size of a fist.
Rengua scooped them into a large sack and slung it over his shoulder.
Then he looked up at the broken ceiling and waited.
Soon—
The person he had been waiting for appeared.
A black-haired woman dropped down from above.
She glanced at the hole in the ceiling, then ran her hand through her hair, scowling.
“Damn it, what a pain…”
Her face twisted with irritation, as if something wasn’t going her way.
“What happened?”
“A rat snuck in. Or maybe… it never left in the first place.”
“A rat?”
“Yeah. But not just any rat. This one could eat a snake.”
From the room where the web had signaled, she discovered someone cutting through the strands.
She had expected to handle it with a flick of her hand—but the intruder severed the webs in an instant and even threw a dagger to threaten her.
She rubbed her wrist and bit her lip.
A cut was visible—she’d underestimated the opponent’s dagger skills and paid for it.
Using that opening, the intruder had disappeared, and to her surprise, was extremely difficult to track.
“He’s frighteningly good at hiding his presence. I can’t catch him alone.”
Rengua’s brow twitched.
“You can’t catch him? You?”
“Yup. No way.”
Azolett nodded without hesitation, and Rengua clicked his tongue again. If she was this certain, only one possibility remained.
“A 5-star, huh.”
“Probably.”
“Who is it?”
“I saw his face, but he was in disguise. Ugly though—that much I’m sure of. My instincts tell me.”
“Any distinguishing traits?”
“Feels kinda like me?”
“Like you?”
“He used abilities similar to webs to escape. And my webs didn’t work on him. He’s skilled in dagger techniques and stealth. Annoying type.”
Rengua thought for a moment and looked around.
That man was still hiding in the mansion.
How long would it take for the two of them to hunt him down?
“If I step in, can we catch him?”
Azolett didn’t answer right away.
Rengua shook his head and summoned the Dead Knights.
“We withdraw.”
“What? But he knows who we are!”
“If the webs don’t work on him, that means he can escape the spider’s nest surrounding the mansion, right?”
“Right.”
“So why hasn’t he left?”
“Maybe… he thinks he can fight us?”
“Maybe. Or at the very least, he’s confident he can escape from us.”
Rengua chose to minimize risk.
Wasting time could allow enemy reinforcements to arrive—which would be disastrous before the upcoming ritual.
“If he’s going around disguised in Aintrier, then he must stink of something shady. But he’s not one of the Lords.”
“Still, what if a Lord finds out?”
“Then so be it.”
Azolett let out a dry laugh.
“You’re a bit too laid-back for someone who just committed a massacre. Everfell’s aligned with the Lords, you know.”
“The Lords take no sides. They only join whoever offers the most benefit. Between Everfell and Prime Root, which is more valuable to a Lord?”
“He can’t punish us.”
“Wait—don’t tell me you planned even that far?”
Leaving the frowning Azolett behind, Rengua turned to the Dead Knights.
“Burn it all.”
They began moving.
Soon, sparks ignited on the first floor, and flames began to engulf the mansion.
Azolett bit her nail as she watched.
She’d known that old man had a hard-headed streak ever since she rejected Azonne’s offer because of her distaste for Gram.
Once he made a decision, he never looked back.
“Tch… the boss is gonna chew him out for this.”
She remembered being told not to antagonize the Lords if it could be helped.
There was a chance this incident might spark conflict with Azonne.
‘That old man can handle it. I was just helping.’
At Prime Root, results matter more than methods.
And each person bears the consequences of their own actions.
Rengua had acted as a true Prime Root agent—and now the responsibility was his.
“You’re not really going straight back to Prime Root, are you?”
“Crazy old man… if you run off now without cleaning this up, the boss will actually kill you. You know what he’s like!”
Sword Fiend, Karbas.
“Treat Karbas like he’s watching you. Even I can’t control him.”
Her lord’s advice echoed in her mind.
Until the lord awakened, they had to remain wary of Karbas.
“Will staying about ten more days be enough?”
“That should be fine.”
Ten days would be enough for the Everfell massacre to settle.
And Azolett couldn’t leave Aintrier just yet.
She still needed to capture the Mana-Radiant Spider, Cricket—a beloved specimen she had to obtain.
Craaaaack—
The weakened mansion began collapsing sideways as the flames grew.
Firelight lit the darkness around them.
Just briefly watching the blaze, Azolett flicked her fingers, rings glinting.
Then she cursed and turned away.
“That sly bastard… still holding on?”
If they stayed longer, others might discover them.
Time to leave.
Azolett spat toward the mansion and followed Rengua.
Kuu-ku-ku-kuung!
A massive roar sounded as the mansion finally collapsed in flames.
From afar, people began to notice the blaze—more and more gathered.
As chaos spread around Everfell—
“Ah, damn it. This is so fucking annoying.”
A figure staggered out from the red inferno behind the mansion.
His body was coated in sticky liquid—without it, he wouldn’t have survived the flames.
Spectral Form.
Karl dispelled the spectral aura cloaking him and stared in the direction the two had gone.
“Said you were withdrawing, huh? What a fucking lie.”
They’d pretended to retreat—but one had tracked him with tiny spiders, the other with bugs, right up to the very end.
Even as they set the mansion ablaze, they had been monitoring him.
If he had made a careless move, he would’ve been attacked for sure.
“This is why I don’t trust people.”
Muttering, Karl peeled off his disguise—a tanned mask.
Underneath was a bald head and a menacing face straight out of a villain movie.
“I was looking forward to this solo mission for once, and it didn’t even last a day.”
Arthur had personally asked him to investigate Everfell.
To cast bait and see who bit.
Karl had planned to blend in as a guest, observe the estate’s structure, and dig up some dirt—but that was no longer necessary.
“Won’t be needing this either.”
He tossed a paper into the flames.
A confirmation certificate stating that the World Tree Union had transferred all the elves.
But now the one meant to receive it was dead—it was worthless.
“At least I figured out who took the bait. That’ll give me something to brag about to Arthur.”
The one who took the bait was none other than Black Star Azolett—a surprise.
Even more shocking was discovering Rengua Field, former head of the shaman’s nest under Kamel, accompanying her.
And they were leading multiple Dead Knights.
“Big catch, but… unsettling.”
Dark shamans often brought massive bloodshed.
Rengua was one of the most dangerous of them all.
His appearance might spell disaster for the World Tree Union.
But there was no time to dwell.
As the noise around him grew, Karl crouched low and reactivated his Spectral Form.
The burning Everfell estate had caught everyone’s attention—hundreds were already gathering.
“Arthur can decide what to do.”
Spectral Form engaged, Karl slipped quietly into the shadows.