Translator: Makisima from w.a.n.gmamaread

Proofreader: Nevermind

“Enemy attack…”

Doem lit the lamp in the s.p.a.cious tent.

“The number of enemies is small! They attacked under the covers of darkness!”

Doem's subordinate reported.

This place was the most important location of the Doem Faction, which was protected by the members of the Order of Diablos.

Someone attacked their camp without hesitation, which means…

“Shadow Garden….”

Doem's expression suddenly contorted. 

He didn't think that the Royalists Faction could attack here.

But with Shadow Garden's information gathering capabilities, there was a chance they knew where Doem was and the scope of the Order of Diabolos activities. 

“s.h.i.+t… How much information was leaked!!”

“There couldn't be any leaks! Our countermeasures should've been perfect. Them targeting this place must've been a coincidence… “

“Shut up! When will your 'coincidences' end!? Don't you dare forget that Rajta was killed! Because of those people our plans were ruined countless times!!"

“For, forgive me please!”

The subordinate said with his voice trembling.

“Stop underestimating them. Rajta was killed, so things are going to get quite troublesome now. Including this attack, we should be prepared for the worst. We should a.s.sume that Shadow Garden knows everything.”

“How could that be possible? How did they learn of our plan?”

“Having the information that should have been a complete secret – that was what the organization known as Shadow Garden was.”

Doem said as he reached out to the coffin that was in the center of the s.p.a.cious tent.

It was an unusually robustly built coffin without any decoration. A thick layer of chains was wrapped up around it, and in the center of the coffin there was a small hole.

Even though it looked like a keyhole, it certainly was not one.

It was just a small hole.

“They probably know about this too. The heroes, human experiments and even the secret medicine…”

“No, it's impossible! The hero's body is absolutely——”

At that moment, a slight breeze pa.s.sed through the tent. 

"I see, so that's the case…"

As they heard a beautiful voice say that, the subordinate's body was split into two b.l.o.o.d.y halves. 

“You, you are…”

Doem glared at the voice's owner fiercely. 

“I haven't seen you in a while, Doem. Thanks for taking care of me in the city.”

Epsilon, the beauty with long, smooth hair stood there.

“Epsilon… You survived with that kind of injury…”

“Not thanks to you. It's been very hard to be chased by so many men, but that's just a beauty's fate.”

“But you seem to be much thinner. Even though you're one of the seven shadows, it must've been hard for you to deal with.”

“I'm just in disguise.”

“Disguise?”

“Yes, it's just a disguise.”

"Humm…"

That's probably the truth. If she just got thinner, the slimes volume wouldn't have reduced so much. 

Was it really just a disguise or was she bluffing to conceal the limits of the seven shadow's strength?

A subtle sense of tension permeated the air.

“Shouldn't you tend to your wound?”

Epsilon said to Doem.

Doem's right shoulder was cut at some point. Epsilon sent a slash at him while killing his subordinate.

“No need, it's just a scratch.”

“I'm surprised you avoided it so quickly. But unfortunately for you, Mordred is not here, and I'm in my peak condition, so your chance to win is less than one in ten thousand.”

“I see, so… how much do you know?”

“Not much.”

The two of them continued the conversation.

Doem was doing it to buy some time, while Epsilon was fis.h.i.+ng for information.

“I finally understand why the Order of Diabolos is so obsessed with the demon possessions.”

“Tell me, let me check the answer for you.”

“Long ago, in the distant past, three heroes including Freya defeated the demon Diabolos. After that, the Order of Diabolos somehow got her body.”

“As I thought, that's why you attacked the Castle of Rajta…”

“The Order of Diabolos was studying Freya's body in order to learn how to manipulate Diabolos' cells and create a new hero. In order to do that, Order of Diabolos found three potential candidates who were believed to have strongly inherited Freya's blood."

“Oh, right. You probably have guessed already but the three we chose were Rose Oriana, Alexia Midgar and… Claire Kagenou. And all of them are under your protection.”

Doem's mouth twisted as he stared at Epsilon. 

“To what extent are you willing to go to, just to hinder us! We haven't even confirmed our thoughts and yet you are still stopping us, why! Answer me!”

In the face of Doem's aggresive stance, Epsilon just turned her eyes into the distance.

It was as if she was staring at someone in front of her.

“All truth lies on the end of Shadow-sama's path.”

“Shadow… That man? It's all because of him…”

Doem recalled Shadow's swordsmans.h.i.+p that he saw on the day of the Buyin Tournament. That swordsmans.h.i.+p that was like a superb art was deeply imprinted on Doem's mind.

“Well, let's end our little chat here.”

“Don't be so anxious. Let me tell you another good news. There indeed were three candidates at the beginning, but we also managed to get a new test subject that barely pa.s.ses the requirements, even though she is not comparable to the other three.”

Doem suddenly injected some red liquid into the hole in the coffin that was next to him.

Suddenly mana started to overflow from the coffin.

“Now, wake up. You must want to avenge your father's death – Emilia."

“… Eh?”

Then the coffin shattered.