Beyond the lamplight of Ingver Town was a lesson in nothing.

Flatness stretched to the horizon—a vast, unbroken plate of empty earth and brittle grass under a vault of cold stars. Only a forest on the other side. Here, there was nothing—no forests, no hills to break the line of sight, only an immense and open exposure.

Here and there, solitary mounds rose like the buried backs of buried beasts.

Dark stones stood sentinel, their shadows were cast long and lean under the moonlight.

It was a landscape that offered barely a place to hide.

And because it was late, the plain was still like it was holding its breath.

No chirps of crickets, and no calls from night birds.

Only the wind that moved alone, sighing over the stones with a sound subtle, cooled breath.

But tonight wasn't that empty.

On a particular spot a mile away from Ingver Town, there were movements.

"Harghh… Bastard…"

Backed against a boulder was Agnar.

Unlike earlier, wounds marred his body, coating his fitting leather armor with a crimson shade.

Even the corner of his lips was painted by blood, sliding down to his chin and dropping to the cold earth.

His right arm was broken, and his left curled inward like it couldn't support his weight.

"Compared to the last one he sent—you're certainly way more legit," Deklan, who was standing across from Agnar with no new wounds, said, smirking at the supposed hunter. "And falling for my tricks… I didn't blame you. Who would expect that I have a hidden friend?"

…

Moments earlier.

'If I asked for extraction tonight—they can probably arrive by tomorrow morning,' Agnar thought inside his head, eating the distance with each leap as he headed back to Ingver Town. 'Should I contact the young master, right now? He might tell me to kill Deklan right now, so let's not say anything.'

He wanted to see with his own two eyes if Callen has the guts to become an adequate powerhouse.

For someone like him, who has no blue blood, he has to pick his master carefully.

Devoting himself to a bad master would only lead to bad things.

An egotistical master would never acknowledge his efforts, and an inadequate master—would only get him killed. Callen has shown that he has the strength and the charisma to become the heir, but Agnar has never seen his willpower or mindset.

Killing Deklan with his own two hands should be proof enough that he has what it takes.

For that, he decided to bring Deklan back without informing Callen.

"Hmm…?"

Agnar came to an abrupt stop.

He could already see Ingver Town in the distance, but his legs stopped moving.

It was a shrill, metallic ring that pierced the silence.

A sound that started from a buzz that gradually grew louder and louder.

He hadn't been badly hurt in the fight to the point of suffering from these kinds of symptoms, only several scratches here and there. Heck, he didn't even get hit that hard on the head. But now, his eardrums were screaming at him.

Agnar tried to ignore it at first, pushing it into the background of his thoughts, but it refused to fade.

Instead, it became a piercing whine that sharpened into a drill inside his skull.

And now, that ring became a frantic, blaring alarm wailing directly against his ears.

Instinctively, Agnar reached for his Spirit Talisman.

But he could find it around his neck, "Wait, what…? Where is it?"

Feeling a movement from behind, Agnar glanced over his shoulder to check on Deklan, to see whether he would try to do something in this opportune moment. And what greeted him was a smile stretched to the very edge from Deklan.

One that spooked and caught him off guard.

"I think we went far enough," Deklan whispered chillingly.

Simultaneously, Agnar felt the hair on his nape stand as he sensed a presence behind him.

Decisively, he grabbed the hilt of his sword and turned.

His sharp-bladed arc shot forward at the figure behind him, but it was caught mid-track.

Halted. Stopped. Like the power behind his swing was nothing to this figure.

An Exorcist who could catch his attack this easily must be someone extremely strong, even though it wasn't a fully-charged attack. But what stood behind him wasn't an Exorcist. It wasn't even Human. A Ghost, floating like being underwater.

Her deathly eyes peered into his soul before the world spun.

…

"Nice work, Sasaki," Deklan said—looking down at the shadowed spot beside him. "What am I going to do without you?'

Before Agnar's very eyes, a Ghost climbed out from the ground, exposing herself fully.

Sasaki floated for a few seconds and then descended, her feet touching the ground.

She looked at Deklan briefly and then threw her face away.

Deklan blinked his eyes awkwardly, staring at Sasaki in utter confusion, but his mind instantly clicked when she also folded her arms grumpily. She thought he sensed danger nearby, but no, it's not that. She is pouting.

"Are you still angry at me?"

He tried to get into her view, but she turned once again.

"Hmph!"

"Can you forgive me this once? It's already done, either way!"

"Hmph!"

"Tch," Deklan clicked his tongue. "Don't act like you don't like it. You blushed when I said that you're pretty enough to make me kidnap you!"

"You…" Sasaki turned towards him, mouth slightly opened in disbelief. "That's different!"

"How is it different? You're happy to hear it, but you don't want to be kidnapped for real?"

"Yes!"

"Sigh… You should try to be clearer about this, then. You're giving me mixed signals!"

"Mixed signals…? Me?"

Sasaki couldn't believe what she was hearing right now.

It was Deklan who suddenly barged into her territory, Deklan who started flirting with her, and Deklan who distracted her and then kidnapped her for good. And even after all of that, he still had the gall to make it her fault.

Mixed signals? What mixed signals? She didn't even say a thing!

Sasaki turned around, intending to return to the ward, not wanting to waste words with Deklan again.

But a hand fell over from above her head and stopped right before her face.

"Tada…" Deklan gave her a surprise, presenting a hairpin that was far more exquisite than the one he'd hastily created—before using the Ghost Conqueror skill. This was from the Shop: delicate, masterfully crafted, and gleaming with a subtle inner golden light.

"A token of my apology," he whispered from behind, offering it to her. "Do you like it?"

A faint, almost imperceptible softening touched Sasaki's eyes as she looked at the gift.

Deklan couldn't see it from behind.

She also said nothing.

But the System's notice flickered in Deklan's vision, notifying him of the success.

[Notice: Sasaki's Fondness is increased by ten points!]

Hoho… It worked. 300 Spooky Dollars is the hairpin's cost. I'd be devastated if she didn't like it.

Deklan slowly held Sasaki's shoulders and turned her around to face him.

Then, without saying anything, he placed the hairpin perfectly right above her left ear.

Due to the black and gold colors, it matched Sasaki perfectly, especially with her black and gold fan.

"Do you forgive me?" Deklan asked, puppy-eyed.

Just as Sasaki's lips parted to answer, to tell the sway of heart, her form shimmered then dissolved into a swirl of pale mana, flowing back into the waiting grave on the side. Even with the Ward's current level, it still couldn't retain her form long enough.

And the timing left him clenching his fist, driving a frustrated punch into empty air.

He'd almost had her forgiveness.

She'd been on the verge of answering when she vanished.

"No matter," Deklan shrugged. "She must've already forgiven me."

Now that Sasaki disappeared again, his gaze focused on Agnar.

Blood was trickling from his ears now—the likely reason for his silence while Deklan was talking with Sasaki. He couldn't hear anything, or perhaps the world reached him only as a distorted, muffled echo, and all of it was Deklan's doing.

I stole his Spirit Talisman while he wasn't looking, and crept my Minor Presence.

Upon reaching the bronze-rank, Deklan also unlocked his Minor Presence.

And with all the traits he gathered, the Minor Presence he obtained was something incredible.

It's called the Paragon of the Phantom Nerve.

Deklan wasn't sure about the description, as with all his stronger skills, it was mostly vague.

But what he got from the description, the Paragon of the Phantom Nerve allows him to directly attack— one chosen sense of the target. The effect is unique to the target, and in Agnar's case, he heard a ringing sound that drowned all sounds.

An attack on his hearing sense.

From the description, it was also stated that Deklan could sense the weakest sense of the target.

It was done by direct physical contact.

He was still unfamiliar with how the Minor Presence worked, but since Agnar was practically dragging him towards Ingver Town, there was a lot of time for him to experiment. And now, he managed to easily impair Agnar's hearing.

That distraction allowed Deklan to ambush Agnar perfectly.

A grave manifested in his periphery, unseen, and then Sasaki sneaked to his back.

Compared to an Exorcist, a Ghost is far stronger physically, so Agnar has no chance when Sasaki is able to get that close to him.

Hah… I really stabbed him in the back.

Deklan rubbed the side of his face, smiling sheepishly as he felt like a bitch for attacking from behind.

But then again, he did say that he'd do anything to handle this situation.

He approached Agnar and squatted down.

Then, he tilted his head slightly, seeing that Agnar was breathing heavily due to his severe wounds.

Sasaki had slashed him from different angles, avoiding fatal strikes so that he wouldn't die immediately.

Now, he was left helpless under Deklan's mercy.

Deklan pressed two fingers against Agnar's forehead, forcing the broken man to look directly at him.

"Looking bad there, Agnar," He mused—with a nasty grin. "What happened? Where is all that bravado from earlier?"

"Fuck you," Agnar cursed.

He couldn't hear what Deklan said properly, but the blatant mockery was evident to see.

"Come on," Deklan grabbed Agnar by his chin and tilted his head left and right, inspecting his bleeding ears. "There's no hard feeling about this. I'm simply not ready yet to meet with my little brother. Soon, I would. But not now."

"Just kill me fucker,"

"No, no, no… That's a waste. Let me use you instead."

Deklan's lips stretched into a devious smile.

Killing Agnar would be easy, but that would be a real waste.

The Sudden Quest told him to defeat the hunter, so there's no need for him to kill Agnar.

"Marionette Bind…"

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