When he knew something was wrong, Cadel’s cheeks were already streaked with long, raw lines.

“Commander!”

Cadel reflexively touched his cheek, where a chill ran down his spine. A trickle of blood stained his fingertips, and the panicked face of Van filled his vision.

“Are you okay? Why is that crazy guy suddenly....!”

Lydon’s ice spear narrowly missed Cadel’s side. If Van, who was in front of him, hadn’t been able to deflect the swooping attack, Cadel would have died an unspeakable death with a hole in his face.

‘Did he mistake us for the enemy....?’

It was quite a distance from here. It would have taken some time to recognize the figure because of the haze, so Lydon could have easily mistaken Cadel and Van for someone else.

Cadel patted Van’s shoulder as he examined his wounds and looked over. The distance was much closer than it had been at first, and he could clearly make out the other man’s form.

Lydon.

He had to change his habit properly to attack without looking at his opponent properly. Cadel thought so and opened his mouth, but suddenly realized that Lumen, who was supposed to be next to Lydon, was nowhere to be seen.

A vague sense of unease came over him. Cadel drew a barrier of wind over Van and himself, even though he knew it couldn’t be, and at the same time.

Swoosh—

Behind them, there was a lingering flash of light.

“What..!”

Sensing the presence, Van turned quickly, but as if in anticipation, a heavy force descended upon the barrier over them.

Swoosh.

A blue sword energy appeared in a flash of light, slicing through space with a fierce force. Cadel struggled to make sense of this nonsense, even as he poured mana into the barrier.

‘It’s definitely Lumen’s sword energy. But why....? Why are they attacking us?’

It was hard to keep up with what was going on, as they were attacking without even stopping to chat.

“Those guys.....”

When the barrier finally stabilized, Van rolled his eyes at the disappeared Lumen, his greatsword raised.

“Looks like those two are out of their minds, Commander.”

Cadel agreed. They couldn’t do this unless they had gone mad from the heat.

After Cadel reinforced the barrier even thicker, he slowly moved toward Lydon. He seemed to be preparing another spell, and his chanting lips were diligently moving.

“Lydon! What’s wrong with you, don’t you recognize us?”

Lydon’s lips slowly curled at Cadel’s cry. His red eyes stared at Cadel in silence. The grim, unsmiling expression was not at all like Lydon’s.

“The trial is not complete until you guys are dead, Cadel.”

“....What?”

“Accept it”

The trial would be complete when Van and he died? Cadel faltered unconsciously and stepped back.

And from the direction where Van was, a sharp sound of iron rang out.

“If you’re going to go mad, then you should go mad nicely, yet you dare lay a hand on Commander? If you want to die, say so, Lumen”

“Keep your mouth shut when you’re fighting.”

The blue and red sword energy intersected, creating a binge-like friction sound. In terms of speed, Lumen naturally had the upper hand. His ability to slice through targets before they could even draw their swords was something the eye could not follow.

Van had to rely solely on his animal instincts to anticipate Lumen’s attack. As soon as he sensed the killing intent, he turned, aiming his sword energy in that direction. But it was impossible to dodge every attack perfectly. The shield Cadel had put around him had long since been broken. As time passed, the number of small wounds on Van’s body increased.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Van straightened his greatsword and opened the Blood Flow Sword. He’d slain a number of monsters in the first trial, so he’d accumulated enough blood.

A thicker aura enveloped his entire body. His reddened eyes tracked Lumen’s movements more precisely, and the moment Lumen’s figure was just around the corner.

“I hate to admit it, but I don’t think you’re the kind of person who would do something like this. Is there something wrong with your eyes?”

In an instant, the swirling [Thorns] engulfed Lumen’s sword sheath. Restrained from action, Lumen’s true form was finally revealed.

Lumen’s expression remained impassive, and he clutched the sheath of his sword tightly, resisting the power of the [Thorns].

The clash of forces was unrelenting, and the battle naturally came to a stalemate. Blood streaked the backs of Lumen’s hands as he held on to Van’s strength. Lumen met the piercing gaze staring back at him and spoke in a quiet voice.

“This trial will end only when you die.”

“What did you say?”

“We’re all going to die out here in the desert if we don’t finish this trial, and if you don’t want to be remembered as a skinny corpse, you’d better get your act together.”

The unexpected remark made Van flinch. Lumen’s hand on the hilt of his sword moved up and down briefly. Without missing a beat, he used his sword drawing technique.

Blue sword energy sliced through the [Thorns] clinging to the scabbard. With a single swipe, Lumen sliced through the aura and stepped back, widening the distance.

Van gritted his teeth as he chased after the remnants of the man who was about to resume his attack.

“This crazy bastard is.....”

Killing himself and Commander to survive this desert? Who cares? If there was anyone who could survive this place, it was Cadel.

Van’s red eyes glowed with a killing intent like never before. His eyes flashed as he raised his aura to critical mass, ready to tear Lumen apart at a moment’s notice. But before he could unleash a proper attack.

Shaaa.

Along with the chill that swept through the area, Cadel’s cry was heard.

“Lydon! Stop!”

* * *

In that short time, dozens of assumptions rose and fell in Cadel’s mind. There wasn’t enough evidence to be sure of anything, and not enough evidence to support anything.

The only thing he could be sure of was that

“Let’s, have a, conversation....!”

At least the subordinate in front of him wasn’t insane. Cadel was on the defensive, fending off the ice spikes that sprouted from the wide expanse of ice.

Once grown, the ice spikes wouldn’t go away until they were broken, so there was already a dense growth of sharp spikes around him. Cadel used the fireballs to destroy them one by one, hoping to get closer to Lydon somehow.

Lydon said ‘The trial is not complete until you guys are dead’, but he didn’t say what the trial would be. If he knew the exact details, Cadel thought he might be able to resolve the situation more amicably.

“Are we trying to see who has more mana? I’m sorry, but as a multi-attribute magician, I have a better chance of winning than you, so stop being so stubborn and look at me!”

Lydon and Lumen might have had a reason to attack them, but Cadel did not, so he wanted to convince them without hurting them.

Of course, Lydon had other ideas.

“Give it up, Cadel. Would you rather give it your all? Because I think it would be easier for you to exhaust your power quickly.”

“Are you serious? What the hell was the trial all about? Where did you see and hear about it?”

“I won’t tell you because it’s easy to kill someone who doesn’t know.”

Is he really trying to kill me and Van?

Lips pressed together, Cadel took a calming breath. Despite his attempts at calm, his heart continued to pound loudly. An unknown emotion clenched tightly in his chest.

His spirits had risen to a level of exuberance that had been absent when he found his subordinates in the middle of an endless desert crossing. This kind of reaction was devastating.

‘....Think about it. I can’t cater to them forever. I need to find out what the hell this trial is all about.’

For now, Lydon seemed to have no intention of telling him. That left Lumen. He was facing off against Van, so there was a chance that if Cadel had asked him about the trial, he would have answered.

‘Abandon Lydon, and join Van.’

In order to do so, he needed a way to bind Lydon’s movements for a short time. A spell that would effectively immobilize him without overdoing it.

Having made his choice, Cadel stretched out his hands toward the ground. Embers crackled in the air, and from beneath his palms, a stream of flames began to pour out in the shape of a waiting serpent.