Found him.

The moment Alex thought so, he sprang forward like a leopard toward his target.

The opponent was a spirit-user.

Without even needing to weigh their skill, the best choice was to close the distance and strike first.

But to his surprise, the pursuer sensed his approach and responded.

A wall of water formed right before Alex’s eyes.

‘I suppressed my presence, and he still noticed?’

Alex stopped and peered through the translucent barrier.

Above the robed figure’s head hovered not one, but two spirits—the one that had been tailing Sedina, and another.

‘Two spirits... That means at least a mid-level spirit mage.’

The ambush had failed. Now what?

He had intended to end this quietly without even drawing his sword, but being exposed left no easy options.

Then the cloaked figure recognized him—and looked startled.

“What are you doing here?”

“...What?”

The reaction was strange.

Instead of asking how Alex had found him, the man asked why he was here.

There was something off in that tone, something that stirred unease in Alex.

“You, what’s this game? You’ve been tailing us, and now suddenly what—pretending otherwise because you got caught?”

“Us? ...So you know that girl?”

Alex narrowed his eyes.

For someone tailing in secret, the reply was unexpectedly straightforward.

Kidnappers usually didn’t act so clumsy.

“Lately she’s been pursued, so I was guarding her. And then some shady figure was sneaking after us. That’d be you.”

“...Seems there’s been a misunderstanding.”

At that, Alex gave a sharp, amused laugh.

“Misunderstanding? From someone hiding his identity and spying with spirits?”

“...I apologize for that part.”

Then the stranger dismissed the watery barrier, and even pulled back his hood to reveal his face.

Green hair. Long ears.

“An elf? ...And what, a kid?”

That was Alex’s blunt impression.

Rude words, but the elf did not argue—because it wasn’t untrue.

“Despite appearances, I’ve lived long enough. I’m also a teacher at Seorn.”

So he introduced himself—Vierno Dentis.

Meeting those clear eyes of a long-lived sage, Alex instantly realized this was no ordinary elf.

‘A Seorn instructor? Then he’s a colleague of the leader. But why would someone like that be tailing one of his own academy’s students?’

The question was obvious. Alex did not lower his guard.

“Whether you’re Seorn faculty or not doesn’t matter. Why were you sneaking after her? That’s why I assumed the worst.”

“The one who should be asking is me. You’re a man of this city, so why are you with Miss Sedina?”

“That’s none of your business.”

Sedina’s ties to Owens were secret.

Alex brushed the hilt of his sword with his fingers—his warning.

Talk straight, or the blade comes out.

Vierno stiffened but, not wanting to escalate, answered carefully.

“I only came to meet her, at another’s request.”

“In that disguise?”

“I had no choice. She is being targeted. To approach without drawing those hunters’ attention, I had to conceal myself. When I saw you with her, I assumed you were one of them, and so I followed you in suspicion.”

“Who asked you to meet her—”

Alex cut himself off.

He had caught the same wrongness that Vierno did.

“...Wait. If you’re not one of them—”

“And you’re not who I thought—”

Then where were the real ones?

“Damn it.”

Alex bolted toward the restaurant where Sedina was waiting.

So did Vierno.

BOOM—!

A massive explosion ripped through the building.

From beneath the ground, a colossal tree burst upward, tearing through all three floors, shattering stone and wood alike.

Debris and dust filled the ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ air as people screamed and fled.

And in the chaos, Alex’s eyes never left the wreckage.

He saw them clearly—shadows in robes, slipping away swiftly.

“They use magic in broad daylight to cause this havoc? They’re insane. What mages are these?”

“They’re not mages.”

Vierno’s voice came from beside him, running at the same pace.

At his side rushed a spirit of wind.

‘He’s using the wind spirit to match speed.’

Alex glanced at him, wordlessly asking for clarity.

“Only druids could conjure trees of that scale.”

“Druids? Elves? Wait—you’re an elf too.”

“Not all elves are the same. Just as not all humans are.”

Then it clicked for Alex.

The kidnappers were elves. Reckless enough to do this in broad daylight.

Vierno had known they were after Sedina and had come to help—but mistook Alex for one of them.

And Alex had mistaken Vierno as one of the hunters.

The whole situation was tangled beyond belief.

He suppressed a surge of irritation.

It wasn’t too late.

They were still chasing. No matter how fast elves ran, escaping Rederbelk was no simple task—especially while carrying an unconscious girl.

“They’re heading into the alleys! They’re trying to shake us off!”

Vierno’s sharp eyes caught sight of the fleeing elves with Sedina.

Good, Alex thought.

He knew the alleyways here like the back of his hand.

And if the enemy chose to go where no civilians could see, then Alex didn’t need to hold back.

“Finally, some hospitality.”

As he and Vierno entered the alley, arrows rained down.

Vierno leapt forward.

The wind spirit moved, raising a barrier that deflected the volleys, scattering them into the walls and ground with sharp vibrations.

So much force—and yet brushed aside.

‘So this is why he’s Seorn faculty.’

Alex thought as he drew his sword and dashed forward.

Several elves charged at him with curved blades.

Vierno recognized the runes etched on them and shouted:

“Be careful! Those are Shadewarden trackers! In close combat, none can match them—”

Before he finished, blood sprayed in the air.

It was the elven swordsmen who fell.

Vierno’s mouth hung open.

To cut down Shadewarden bladesmen so easily?

He had known Alex was skilled—but this?

And Alex kept mowing them down with ruthless precision.

He had been a high-level knight before—but after his battle with Lutus, he had grown even stronger.

Not even Shadewarden trackers could stand against him.

And yet, they kept pressing their attacks.

Alex realized why.

‘They’re throwing their lives away just to buy time.’

Elves willing to sacrifice themselves like this? He had never heard of such a thing.

Vierno intervened with his spirits.

Invisible pressure like a giant hammer of air slammed down, pinning the lightweight elves to the ground.

“They’ve been specially trained. They’ll use any means to reach their goal.”

“Yeah. I can see that.”

The two burst through the alley together, ignoring most attackers and forcing their way ahead.

Their speed shocked even the elven pursuers.

Far ahead, the elves carrying Sedina glanced back—and faltered.

“Tch!”

The lead elf summoned green mana. Massive roots burst up, blocking the path.

“We’ll have to circle around!” Vierno urged.

“No. Too slow.”

Alex ignored him, gripped his sword, and focused his breath.

In his eyes, gray sparks flickered.

The aura around his blade began to rotate like a drill.

Faster and faster, disturbing the air around them.

‘Rotating aura...?’

Vierno stared in disbelief as Alex thrust his sword forward.

The spiraling aura pierced straight through the wall of roots, boring through layer after layer—

—and impaled the heart of the elven druid producing them.

“Ghhk!”

The druid looked down at the hole in his chest with stunned eyes before collapsing, blood pouring from his lips.

At once, the roots blocking the way vanished.

“Let’s go.”

Alex and Vierno resumed the chase.

No more obstacles—clearly the kidnappers thought they had already secured enough distance.

Which meant they could be caught.

But Alex’s expression hardened coldly when he saw the group waiting ahead.

* * *

Screech.

A carriage halted, and Ludger stepped out.

Without greeting the driver, he strode swiftly toward the hideout.

Not the official one—a decoy prepared to avoid outside attention.

There he found Alex, sitting with his head bowed in shame.

And beside him, Vierno Dentis, his face heavy with guilt.

“Ludger Cherish-sensei?”

Vierno’s eyes widened.

Why was he here?

But Ludger had no time to answer.

“What happened.”

He demanded of Alex.

Alex raised his head and met his leader’s gaze.

“...Sorry, Leader. It was my mistake.”

“I heard Sedina was kidnapped.”

“...Yeah. She was.”

“I assigned you to her for a reason. And yet she was taken.”

Ludger’s mood was far from good.

He had rushed here the moment he received the news.

Annoyance, unease, even anger—it was all there, though he forced himself to remain calm.

“Even if you were careless, at your current level you shouldn’t have been defeated so easily. Especially not by elven trackers.”

Ludger knew the Shadewarden. He had fought them before.

They were strong, yes.

But not stronger than Alex.

And even if they avoided direct combat, they could not have escaped him in Rederbelk’s alleys—territory Alex knew better than anyone.

And yet, they had slipped away.

That alone was suspicious.

“There were others interfering. Who were they?”

At that, Alex gave a bitter smile.

Even in this grim situation, Ludger remained colder and more rational than anyone.

That was why he could never be bested.

Alex shook his head slowly.

“They weren’t elves. In fact... the exact opposite.”

“The opposite?”

“The Lumenis Church.”

At those words, Vierno’s eyes trembled.

And Ludger—he almost couldn’t believe his ears.

“Say that again.”

“The ones who blocked us while the kidnappers got away... were Paladins of the Lumenis Church.”