Once Hannah’s condition had fully stabilized and her breathing grew even,
Roger carefully picked her up and stood, nodding solemnly to Eve.
“Thank you.”
Afterward, he led Lin Gui’s group of three to a secluded spot.
The tremors from the recent fight had been immense, loud enough for nearly all of Blackwater City to hear.
Carefully placing Hannah on the ground, Knight Roger sat upright on a dirt mound.
He looked at Lin Gui, his expression turning somewhat complex.
“If you really came searching for Avalon to take refuge...”
He paused, his voice sinking low.
“...then you might be too late.”
Lin Gui’s eyelid twitched sharply.
“What do you mean?”
Roger let out a bitter smile, glanced at Hannah on the ground, and then looked back at Lin Gui.
“And you are...?”
“I’m Lin Gui. She’s Theia, and this is Eve,” Lin Gui introduced quickly.
Roger nodded. “Alright. Allow me to presume a bit and call you little mage.”
Lin Gui’s eyelids drooped.
For some reason, high-ranking big shots all seemed to like calling him that.
Caleb did, Freya did, and now this guy did too.
Meanwhile, the big shots in Shield City preferred calling him human kid.
Roger continued:
“Do you know where Avalon is?”
Lin Gui answered, “Near the Wailing Corridor.”
Roger gave him a surprised look.
Their enemies had searched for them for so long without success.
Yet this mage, who was only High Rank, blurted out the exact location of their headquarters on his first attempt.
“The Wailing Corridor is a notorious deadland.”
“Then do you know, surrounded by nests of Epic spectral demons—”
“—how Avalon exists safely among them?”
Lin Gui pondered for a moment before answering:
“Because of Gusion.”
“Because of his... Demon King Pillar.”
Organizing his thoughts, he continued:
“The ability of his Demon King Pillar should be geared toward ‘concealment’ or ‘deception.’ ”
“Not only can it hide from roaming Epic spectral demons...”
“...it even concealed itself from Shadow Blade Lynn’s party when they passed through the Wailing Corridor back then.”
This time, Roger was truly stunned.
He stared blankly at Lin Gui, speechless for a long moment.
Only after a long while did he shake his head helplessly.
“How... do you know everything?”
Lin Gui shrugged.
“Just some guesses.”
He glanced at Roger’s expression.
“Though judging by your reaction, I shouldn’t be too far from the truth.”
Roger let out a dry laugh and sighed.
“What a... clever little mage.”
“The reason Avalon can exist in a deadland that even Epic ranks fear...”
“...is because this city-state was built with Lord Gusion’s Demon King Pillar as its core.”
“And as a divine artifact exclusive to a Demon King—a symbol of a Demon King's identity—a Demon King Pillar naturally possesses extraordinary power.”
“Lord Gusion’s Demon King Pillar cannot match the lost concealment divine artifact of The Brotherhood when it comes to pure stealth.”
“However, its range is vast enough to encompass a small city-state, and it can suppress a certain degree of soul probing.”
“Within the Wall of Sighs, this concealment is especially vital.”
“And precisely because of Lord Gusion’s Demon King Pillar, Avalon was able to be established in this Forbidden Zone.”
Roger’s voice grew distant, nostalgia welling up in his eyes.
“There, no race is superior to another, and no bloodline is noble or low.”
“Elves, dwarves, humans, beastkin, half-demons... and even a few demons.”
He looked down at Hannah sleeping beside him, his gaze soft.
“Races that should have been at each other’s throats share meals at the same table and fight side by side.”
“Heavily discriminated against, half-demons can openly display their demon markings and different-colored eyes.”
Roger took a deep breath, his tone filled with undeniable pride.
“There is no division between nobles and commoners there.”
“Everyone addresses one another as ‘comrades.’ We share food together and face hardships together.”
He looked at Lin Gui, then at Theia and Eve.
“The greatest stroke of luck in my life was becoming a member of Avalon.”
He gave a faint smile, clean and candid.
“I don’t need to hold a Bible and fantasize about the City of Angels described in the scriptures.”
“Because Avalon—”
“—is the reachable ‘Eden’ of my dreams.”
Roger spoke softly, warmth in his eyes.
He knew he had veered off topic.
Yet he couldn’t stop himself from wanting to share with these three strangers...
...that deep-seated love and longing he felt for that city-state.
It was the sanctuary he had finally found after proving unable to change any tragic realities.
It was the beacon he was willing to protect even at the cost of bearing the title of traitor.
As Theia listened to Roger’s account, a longing unconsciously surfaced in her eyes.
Eve was also slightly moved.
She naturally understood the weight of “Eden” within the Holy Church of Light—
It was the incarnation of Supreme Faith, the sky city where angels dwelled.
That he used it to describe Avalon showed just how high of a place this city-state held in the powerful knight’s heart.
Lin Gui, however, unceremoniously pulled the conversation back to reality amidst the tender atmosphere:
“You said we were too late—”
“—is it because Gusion left Avalon and went to that ‘Voiceless Abyss’?”
Roger nodded, a helpless bitter smile spreading across his face.
“That’s right.”
Looking deep into the distant gray mist, he said in a low voice:
“Everyone who enters Avalon is personally received and escorted by Lord Gusion.”
“Without his magic, no one can get in.”
He paused, looked at Lin Gui, and confessed frankly:
“Including me.”
Roger’s voice turned heavy.
“There are five Epic spectral demons surrounding Avalon.”
“The strongest among them even rivals the power of the one at the outer perimeter of the Wall of Sighs.”
He paused before uttering the name that struck terror into the hearts of countless hunters.
“Serafina the Deathspeaker.”
Hearing that name, Lin Gui’s breath hitched slightly.
He still remembered when that demon was mentioned, located just outside Bounty City, not far from the selection meeting venue.
He recalled the sheer terror in Blackbeard's eyes back then.
Roger looked at Lin Gui with a serious gaze.
“Without Lord Gusion’s concealment magic—powerful enough to block even soul perception...”
“...it is completely impossible to bypass their blockade and enter Avalon.”
Roger’s meaning was already crystal clear.
Only with Gusion present would they have a chance of traversing the Wailing Corridor.
And truly stepping into Avalon.
Now, Gusion’s whereabouts were unknown.
Even Roger and Hannah, who regularly left Avalon to monitor movements within the wall...
...were stranded outside, unable to return.
After losing contact with Gusion, Roger had attempted to force his way through the Wailing Corridor several times.
However, every attempt had ended in failure.
It was precisely during this period of frequent activity, as he repeatedly tried to return...
...that Lin Gui and Eve managed to pinpoint his location using Prophecy.
And tracked him all the way here.
As for the news of Gusion heading to the Voiceless Abyss...
...Roger and Hannah had actually just learned of it from Rosa the Demon Hunter.
It matched what Lin Gui knew to the letter.
Thinking of Jesse’s group, Lin Gui tentatively asked Roger...
...whether he knew their objective.
Did they really want to spark another Dark Tide within the Wall of Sighs?
If so, Lin Gui would not hesitate for a second to grab Theia and flee immediately.
The saying that all living beings were equal under the Dark Tide was no empty phrase.
Before that apocalyptic calamity, high-and-mighty royalty were no different from refugees digging in the dirt for food.
In the end, all would be swallowed up and turned into demon food.
However, Roger merely shook his head, indicating he was equally unaware.
Lin Gui asked several more questions regarding Gusion.
Yet Roger’s answers remained vague and brief.
Clearly, he was still on guard against Lin Gui.
Even his initial counter-questions and explanations...
...had themselves been probes into Lin Gui’s identity and intentions.
It was only when Lin Gui accurately stated the connection between Gusion and the Demon King Pillar...
...that Roger lowered his guard slightly and went along with Lin Gui’s speculation.
This conversation, from start to finish...
...had been intertwined with silent scrutiny and calculation.
Rate on N.U.
