Jack used to be the son of a famous True Knight.

Thus, ever since he could remember, his life had always been good.

He never lacked food; he had a beautiful maid to take care of him, and although his father was not a noble, he enjoyed a status equal to that of most Barons' sons.

All in all, Jack lived a life that every person, apart from a select few, would absolutely envy.

Unfortunately, one day—a morning that he could still vividly remember—everything changed.

Jack could still recall the cries of his mother and the sorrow that the servants showed when his father's corpse was carried into their mansion.

At the same time, he could remember staring at his own young figure, watching his reflection in his father's empty and lifeless eyes.

The words of the messenger were fresh on his mind.

His father—a True Knight—had become a martyr of the Iron Armor Empire, dying in the line of duty in order to protect a city from a wave of beasts.

One would think that the family of such a person would be specially taken care of by the royal family and the surrounding nobles.

However, they would be mistaken.

Seeing that the family lacked the power of a True Knight, not only did the nobles that once flattered his father not help the family, but instead, they took advantage of their weakness.

In less than a year, the property of the True Knight had vanished, and even the servants who had once sung his father's praises had chosen to leave.

Shortly after, his mother also died from the overwhelming grief, leaving him alone and struggling to survive.

The memories of living in the streets and working odd jobs replayed in Jack's mind.

At the same time, the bright figure that extended its hand during his most difficult moments and pulled him up was also vivid.

From that day onwards, his identity had changed.

From a person forsaken by the entire world, he had become a member of the Empire's most infamous cult—the Necronomicon Sect.

As these memories raced through Jack's mind, he couldn't help but tighten his grip on the dagger hanging on the left side of his waist.

After he exhaled softly and suppressed these thoughts, he turned his focus back to reality.

Glancing at his companion—who was also fully clad in black clothes and whose face was also hidden behind a cloak—Jack opened his mouth and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"According to 'that' person, the mission's objective is clear. Our primary goal is to come into contact with the Baron and confirm whether there is anything amiss.", he said.

Seeing his companion nod in agreement, he continued:

"But the Sect has reminded us to be careful. Although the Baron's status is fine, his lack of communication has alarmed the people above."

Saying this, Jack paused for a brief moment and, after reaching into his black robes, presented a small crumpled map.

The map depicted the northern part of the Iron Armor Empire, including not only the fiefdom of Baron Bloodshield, but also of nobles like Earl Tulip, Marquis Sunrise, and Duchess Lobelia.

Pointing at the fiefdom of Earl Tulip with his right hand, Jack warned his companion:

"According to several sources, unknown changes have taken place in Black Tulip's Earldom. So, we have to be careful."

Tracing his fingers across the map, his index finger soon landed on the capital of Baron Bloodshield's fiefdom.

"We'll act as usual. One of us will attempt to establish contact with the Baron, while the other one will investigate the city. If either of us discovers anything wrong, they shall remind the other as soon as possible."

After Jack and the other member of the Necronomicon Sect exchanged a couple more words—agreeing on who would act where—their figures faded away.

--

In the manor of Baron Bloodshield, Liora didn't know that her actions had already attracted the Necronomicon Sect's attention.

However, this didn't mean that she could not guess it.

In fact, she had known for a long time that her conflict with the Necronomicon Sect was not over yet, and they would clash against each other soon.

Mostly because she had already witnessed the Baron's letter being carried away.

"It's already been more than a week since the Baron's death. Yet, the Necronomicon Sect has yet to send someone to investigate, much less seek revenge.", Liora thought, and through this seemingly small piece of information, she was able to analyze several things.

"The unknown Devil must not have informed them of my existence. Otherwise, with the crazy nature of those lunatics, their members would have arrived long ago."

"But, this raises the question: Why didn't the Devil inform them?"

"Is it because his relationship with the Necronomicon Sect is not as close as I initially thought? Or is it that he himself does not know of my existence?"

Though the chances of either being true seemed fifty-fifty, Liora leaned towards the latter.

This was not only because her intuition told her, but also because this was what made the most sense.

After all, even if the Devil didn't inform the Necronomicon Sect, there was no reason for him not to seek revenge on his own.

It was impossible that he was simply lacking in strength and had no confidence in defeating her, right?

Shaking her head, Liora quickly denied that idea.

Though overestimating the enemy could prove to be fatal, the opposite was also true.

In her opinion, she possessed the Myriad Devils Body and could adapt quickly to this world. So, a being that had reached the True Devil stage should also possess a similar ability.

Even if his ability to adapt was not as powerful as hers and it took him longer to recover his strength, it was clear that the Devil had stayed in this world for a long time.

No matter how slow the adaptation was, he should at least possess the power of a ranked Young Devil.

"This means that the Devil neither knows about my existence nor that I caused his death. Perhaps his 'clones' don't share the same memories?", Liora pondered.

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