“Cut to the chase.”

“There’s one more person we haven’t heard an answer from.”

What is this old man saying? He keeps contradicting himself—

“I mean Lieutenant Briat.”

“...What?”

“We haven’t heard from Lieutenant Briat that he isn’t the traitor, have we?”

“Are you seriously thinking he’s alive?”

“Well, having seen the corpse myself, I think that’s very unlikely... But his death doesn’t mean he’s innocent.”

The destroyer elder continued with an emotionless voice.

“No matter how many times I think about it, I keep coming to the same conclusion.”

“......”

“If there’s a traitor among us, it has to be Lieutenant Briat.”

I don’t know what other evidence he had, but the old man seemed sure Briat was the betrayer.

So I began to think deeply in various ways.

‘The priest wants to kill Ibaekho, the warrior is the lord’s henchman, and the mage has some other agenda.’

But if the archer here is the traitor... ‘Did Ibaekho completely ruin this team?’ Not even surprised anymore.

Creak.

As the front door opened and a woman entered the building, those gathered in the living room immediately stood up.

“Emily...! How did it go?”

“Any progress? Still haven’t found a way?”

It had been four months since Bjorn Yandel went out looking for a way back and disappeared.

At first, they thought he was just late returning for a few days, but after over a week, things changed.

Worried, they went down to the underground and found the underground plaza empty.

So from then on, they seriously started inquiries...

“And Yurven Havelion? He still hasn’t appeared either?”

With the disappearance of the magic engineer who went with them to check the magic circle, unease grew.

At first, the dominant opinion was that maybe they had gone outside the walls and would return on their own soon.

But as the missing period lengthened, that opinion changed.

Bjorn did go out with the engineer.

But something happened outside, and that’s why they haven’t returned yet.

It didn’t take long for that speculation to become certainty.

Soon, royal troops started to station in the previously empty underground.

“We still haven’t found a way to get Bjorn back.”

Amelia, representing the clan, ran everywhere gathering information, but the only thing learned was this:

The teleportation magic circle underground had been damaged.

They even risked sneaking into the military barracks and eavesdropping on commanders’ talks to learn this, and thanks to that, they could guess why Bjorn hadn’t returned.

“Is that so...”

“Don’t worry. We did get some results this time.”

“...Results?”

“It’s just the way back that’s blocked, but going out is not a problem.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Luckily, we also got hold of a method to activate the magic circle. Whether it’s feasible, Golland, you’ll have to see yourself.”

Amelia pulled out what looked like military documents from her pocket.

Bersil took them and read quickly yet thoroughly. Then...

“It seems the royal family knew all about this magic circle. They have a neat guide on how to activate it.”

“So the conclusion? Can we do it?”

“Yes. With this, I can also activate the magic circle.”

When Bersil answered confidently, Amelia nodded in agreement.

“Then that’s settled.”

“Settled...?”

“Finish all preparations for the expedition within three days.”

It was a sudden order, but no one objected.

“Ooooooh! Finally we’re doing something!!”

Ainar, who had been dozing, shouted.

“Yeah... Since the missing captain hasn’t come back for months, we have no choice but to bring him back ourselves.”

Misha nodded resolutely.

“Yes. He caused me so much trouble by disappearing after setting everything up. I heard Shavin Emure also plans to kill or resign once he returns.”

Bersil, in charge of clan affairs, sighed bitterly.

“Putting that aside, isn’t this a rare opportunity? We’re going to save our captain.”

The navigator Auyen said this, and Erwen closed her eyes, hand on her chest.

“Because it’s always been the uncle’s role to protect and save us.”

The clan Anabada’s expedition was decided.***

Leighton Briat, archer of Ibaekho’s team, a good-natured and capable guy.

If he’s really the traitor, suspicious circumstances exist.

He was also the team’s guide.

[Not a monster, but a human.]

[Opponent is just one... surprisingly seems to be asleep.]

Even if Ibaekho didn’t notice his presence, Briat’s position allowed him to naturally guide us to the unknown person disguised as Hans L...

‘Besides, Briat never said a word when Ibaekho tried to stop us from taking the dimensional monument.’

Once suspicious, I wondered if this guy was really the traitor.

Well, nothing is certain yet—.

Thrum-!

Suddenly, vibrations were felt through the ground.

But the direction was unclear.

Usually, agile characters would brief us at times like this, but the problem is, there are none around now.

Two mages, one priest, and two tanks.

“Where is it...?”

“I thought it was that way...”

“It’s far, so using magic detection will take more time—”

While they were flustered due to the lack of an expert, vibrations were felt again.

Buzzzz—! A stronger vibration than before.

Maybe because I was on edge?

“That way.”

This time, I clearly recognized the direction and immediately led the group there.

Thud! Boom! Buzzz!

The vibrations and roaring became louder and clearer the closer we got.

“——Ah, speak——!!”

I faintly heard voices. It was Ibaekho’s.

But the problem was...

“Is he fighting someone... right?”

“Seems so.”

By all indications, it seemed so.

At first, I thought Ibaekho was just breaking everything in anger.

“Hey, you bastard! If you get caught—!”

From the conversation, it was clear he was chasing someone.

So we sped up and sprinted toward the noise.

And then—! Unable to resist inertia, we hit the wall as we rounded the corner sharply.

Flash—!

A flash like a nuclear explosion lit up right before my eyes.

Instinct as a tank overruled judgment.

「Character has cast [Giantification].」

Quickly inflating his body, he blocked the narrow passage and protected his upper body with a shield.

As expected.

Kraaaaaang—!

An invisible shockwave forcefully pushed his body, and hot heat burned his skin.

It felt like his whole body was melting.

The shielded part, like with sunscreen, was a little better...

Sssssssssssss—!

When the flash died down, smoke rose from the heated armor.

Tingling! From toes to head, it felt like hot electricity was flowing, but I first checked the situation behind me.

“Is everyone okay?”

“W-we’re okay... Aagh!”

What? Is someone badly hurt?

Just as I was about to look back with that question, the destroyer elder’s voice was heard.

“Everyone is injured, but nothing critical.”

This personality type is helpful in emergencies.

A clean briefing reducing waste is important.

Anyway, in that spirit, thud.

Putting worries about the rear aside, we charged forward.

Although somewhat damaged and melted, only smoke rose but the wall structure was intact.

Not surprising.

We tested this before.

[Star’s Vanishing] can’t destroy these structures.

Some weak spots can be physically damaged but are very limited.

‘Well, the skill used now seems different.’

How many hidden ultimate moves does this guy have?

“Haa... haa... haa...”

Turning another corner, I saw Ibaekho standing panting.

“...Ibaekho.”

Hearing my voice, he turned and answered casually.

“Oh, you’re here...?”

“Tell me. What’s going on?”

“Nothing much. I was trying to catch a rat, but it was so quick... I overdid it in anger.”

“A rat...?”

“But I don’t know if I caught it. Want to come check if it’s caught or not?”

“Lead the way.”

“Yes, sir!”

Though playful, Ibaekho quickly went ahead and led the way.

About a minute behind him.

“Wow, he survived that?”

Only bloodstains remained in the empty corridor.

For reference, the bloodstains led to the opposite side...

“But I don’t think it went far.”

Ibaekho grinned and followed the blood slowly.

Step one, two, three...

After about three minutes, the trail stopped, and Ibaekho stopped walking too.

‘Shouldn’t we hurry and find where it disappeared?’

Feeling impatient, Ibaekho just casually scanned the surroundings.

“What are you doing? Shouldn’t you hurry—”

“Baron, did you know?”

I cocked my head at the sudden question, and Ibaekho explained.

“There’s a creature called a chameleon in the world we lived in. It’s amazing because it changes its skin color according to surroundings, which it uses to hunt.”

At first, I thought it was nonsense, but I quickly understood what he meant.

Besides, Ibaekho doesn’t call me ‘Baron’ in front of others.

“But... seeing it makes me keep thinking of chameleons.”

With that, Ibaekho punched the empty wall.

Thud!

The dull sound was very different from when he hit before.

“Ugh!”

The ‘rat’ hiding in stealth finally showed itself.

“Got you, you bastard.”

With a creepy smile, Ibaekho grabbed the rat’s collar and lifted it.

Its physique was close to a normal man.

Since it had no visible fur or ears, it seemed human.

Its body was wrapped in tattered robes...

‘Wolf mask...?’

That was the most noticeable feature.

The rest we’ll find out slowly later—

“What is this?”

The body hung limply as if unconscious.

Looking closely, dark-colored blood flowed from its mouth.

Startled, I checked its pulse, but there was no sign of life.

“Suicide...”

Hearing my mutter, Ibaekho smirked and ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) turned to look at me.

And then...

“Baron.”

Using a title he never uses when no one’s listening, he said.

“In every world, small animals have a common trait, do you know?”

I already guessed the rest, but sadly, Ibaekho didn’t give me time to answer.

“When threatened, they all play dead.”

“...?”

“Like this.”

He punched the corpse’s abdomen again.

“Ugh!”

Ibaekho reached toward the wolf mask curled up on the floor like a bug.

“Let’s see your face.”

It was time to take off the mask.

Ibaekho’s hands were far from gentle or considerate.

He opened his palm, grabbed the mask, ignored the several mechanisms locking it firmly, and ripped it off roughly.

And then...

“......”

Beyond the mask, the revealed face.

Ibaekho was silent for a moment as if collecting his thoughts, then broke the silence.

“Wow, he really was alive?”