Only one day remained before the deadline the queen had set for finding Lady Anya.
During this time, we visited many of the kingdom's most renowned cities—
The City of Coal, where the finest weapons and equipment are forged.
The City of War, where combat and warriors of every kind are worshiped.
And many other cities that reshaped my understanding of this land, proving it truly deserved the title Kingdom of Warriors.
I took this journey as a chance to give Kugssa and Maria the rest and joy they hadn't known since fate brought us together, and to show Junia the outer world she had always longed to see.
During these travels, what truly caught my attention was the immense power level within this kingdom—stronger than the entire Continent of the Immortals itself.
Here, Beginner, Expert, and even Master Warriors are merely considered the kingdom's common strength. The Legendary Warriors make up the majority, often as adventurers or mercenaries. Meanwhile, Supreme Sovereigns form the elite of the kingdom—though few in number, even the Queen herself is but a Supreme Sovereign.
Which means… I haven't met a single Half-Virtue in this kingdom.
The only ones I've ever met at that level are:
— My mother, the High Dryad Ruler
— My mother's mentor, the Elder Dryad Matriarch
— My master, the Dragon King
— His personal guardian, the Black Dragoness
— And recently… the Saint of the Sword.
Other than them, I've met no Half-Virtues.
And that's only natural—reaching that stage is a trial in itself. One needs decades to fully comprehend their own path, not to mention the innate talent required, which is often bound to the purity of bloodlines.
If I were to summarize: Half-Virtues are rare—usually geniuses who realize their Path in record time, or rulers of high-born races.
I don't know if I'll ever meet another high-race being, but one of my next goals is to visit the Fairy Clan, another noble lineage…
Of course, that will be after I finish finding Lady Anya first.
–––
Despite the breathtaking sceneries, despite the girls' laughter that brightened my world, and despite the cities whose walls whispered the history of this war-born kingdom—something heavy still pressed upon my chest.
It felt as though I stood at the edge of a story yet untold.
The sunset painted golden streaks across the armor of the soldiers in the main plaza of Seven Swords City.
I stood upon a high balcony, watching them train—eyes lost in phantoms of memory that refused to fade.
"Telodeos, is something bothering you?" Junia asked, tilting her head with that familiar spark of life, holding strange local fruits in her hands.
"It's not worry… it's anticipation," I replied with a faint smile.
Anticipation—for something unexpected to appear.
Or perhaps… for something long gone to return.
I could feel that this final week concealed more than it revealed, and that the search for Lady Anya was but a veil for a much deeper tale…
Perhaps these long journeys, the encounters I've had, and the bonds I've formed will be what write the story that leads me to Virtue itself.
Maybe this anxiety that haunted me was nothing but the anticipation of reaching a level I once thought impossible.
I forgot all the tales I had left behind in my past worlds and focused on the one I was writing here.
I had already carved enough legends into the path beneath my feet…
Enough to become a Virtue.
But still…
Was it anticipation?
Or fear?
I couldn't tell what dark veil had fallen over the truth before me. I only knew that I needed to keep walking forward.
–––
By the evening of the seventh day, we returned to the border city where our story with the Kingdom of Warriors had begun.
The dusk cast violet shades upon the walls as soldiers trained in rhythmic silence.
With each step I took through the familiar streets, I felt the circle of my memories close…
Or perhaps, tighten.
A message from Queen Sifainara awaited me—sealed with the royal crest. Simple, yet carrying the weight of something profound.
I entered the audience hall without ceremony. The queen stood there, dressed less formally than usual, her gaze a mixture of caution, gravity… and something close to sorrow.
"You've returned, Lord Telodeos," she said, her tone steady but unable to fully hide what lay beneath.
"I assume your search wasn't easy."
I nodded silently as she gestured for me to sit. Then, after a pause, she placed an aged scroll before me, its golden seal half-erased by time.
"This document dates back sixteen years—to the day Lady Anya vanished. It contains information never allowed in the official archives."
I reached out slowly and began to read:
> [Anya… Prisoner of an unknown legacy. After giving birth to a child without an acknowledged father, she was secretly handed to a high-ranking official of the Races' Union. She wasn't registered as deceased, but as a 'special security transfer,' carried out by a third party in exchange for a mysterious treasure…]
My eyes rose to meet the queen's.
"What does this mean?"
Her voice trembled slightly, like someone reopening an old wound.
"Lady Anya wasn't just missing, Lord Telodeos… she was sold. Someone considered her legend valuable enough to be traded—to a Union official."
My body froze.
After everything… to find this filth buried in words on a page.
"Who?"
She raised her hand and drew out a smaller paper marked with a glowing blue seal.
"The intermediary… was none other than the Master of All Magic Towers himself."
The table split beneath my palm.
"That bastard… that filth again!!"
I had planned to cast him into oblivion before leaving this realm—
and yet that wretched parasite continued his vile games?!
The queen spoke quickly, noticing my face darken with rage.
"I know you despise him, and I can't explain all his actions, but… he's been hunted for years now.
What happened with Lady Anya was long before that. It means the Tower Master was alive then—perhaps even controlling multiple towers—before he was promoted by the Union to his current position. His escape proves he's involved in something much greater than we thought."
Her words washed over me like meaningless noise.
My heart was burning.
Something inside me snapped.
"That wretch…" I muttered, my fist tightening until the bones cracked.
"I'll shatter the silence of night with his screams, and feed the soil with his blood—so that when death calls him, he'll find life itself a curse!"
I rose abruptly.
Maria's tears spilled as Kugssa stood beside me in silence.
Junia, as always, simply watched.
But the queen stood firm before me, her voice low but resolute.
"I understand your anger, Lord Telodeos… That's why I gathered everything I could. And—"
She hesitated, then continued:
"I found his location. Or at least where he was last seen."
I looked deep into her eyes. No further words were needed.
I swore silently—his death would be his only wish.
"Where?"
She raised a finger, pointing at the map hanging behind her.
"The Tower of Dawn Thorns… at the edge of the Eastern Dark Continent, within the shadows of the Black Forests. That's where the ruins of the Sixth Tower lie—his last known location."
–––
I soared into the skies, wind tearing against my cloak as I broke through the sound barrier. I could feel Maria and Kugssa struggling to follow behind.
I was flying alone.
The storm howled, the world blurred, and my eyes were fixed on the horizon.
And within that vast silence…
I sensed it.
A familiar energy.
Not from the Tower Master.
Not from Lady Anya, whom I hadn't yet met.
But from someone I thought was far, far removed from this story.
I whispered his name through the roaring wind—
"Sayru…?"