Raym was stunned...
Those last words echoed inside his mind...
Who did you mean, Mr. Leo…???
Leo smiled with quiet confidence...
"Hmm… you'll know soon..."
He paused briefly before adding:
"Sooner than you think..."
Confusion was still written clearly across Raym's face as Leo turned and walked out of the room.
As he stepped into the hallway, Leo muttered quietly to himself:
"…A terrifying knight from the Kingdom of Arkin still alive… and he also possesses the Light Element."
His expression darkened slightly...
"There's something about this I still don't understand…"
Back inside the camp, Raym had finally stepped outside his room.
It had been a long time since he had walked through the camp freely.
But something felt… different...
The atmosphere was lively...
Voices everywhere.
Laughter...
Training...
Movement...
Yet the strangest thing of all was that the most popular person in the camp right now…
was Lyra...
Dozens of soldiers and trainees had gathered around her...
Word had spread quickly that she had awakened her second element unusually early...
People were amazed.
And Arvela seemed the proudest of all...
"Oh my brilliant student," she said proudly, placing a hand on Lyra's shoulder...
"You are truly talented. Even calling you my strongest student would not do you justice."
Lyra's pride only grew after hearing those words...
Her chin lifted higher...
Her confidence swelled...
At that moment she barely noticed anyone else around her...
Meanwhile, Raym happened to walk nearby, quietly wondering what all the noise was about.
Then suddenly—
Someone noticed him...
"Hey… wait… isn't that Raym??!"
In an instant, the crowd shifted...
People rushed toward him from every direction.
Within seconds Raym found himself completely surrounded...
"Where were you??!"
"How did you survive?!!"
"Is it true you faced elite members of the SI Army?!!"
"And those new allies of yours are incredible!!!"
Voices overlapped so quickly that Raym could barely understand any of them.
Meanwhile, Lyra stood alone...
Her expression darkened...
When her eyes met Raym's for a brief moment…
she quickly looked away in annoyance...
Even Arvela had left her side to approach him.
Seeing the chaos, Arvela raised her hand and pushed the crowd back slightly.
"Give him space," she said calmly...
Then she turned to Raym...
"So… who exactly did you encounter out there???"
After Raym briefly explained what had happened, the crowd's admiration only grew...
"Unbelievable…"
"You encountered someone that powerful from the SI Army and still returned alive!!!"
Raym gave a small, modest smile...
Before he could say anything else, a loud voice suddenly shouted from the distance:
"Hey!!! Sir Daniel is fighting that big guy again!!!"
The crowd erupted with excitement...
Everyone rushed toward the scene...
As Raym followed them, he muttered under his breath:
"Oh no… that's probably Round…"
When they arrived, the two men were already locked in combat...
It wasn't a duel with weapons...
It was pure hand-to-hand combat...
Each strike echoed through the ground...
Both fighters were smiling widely...
The earth beneath their feet began cracking under the sheer force of their blows...
Dust rose around them...
As Daniel glanced toward the spectators, his eyes suddenly landed on Arvela.
Immediately his energy surged...
His movements became sharper...
Faster...
Stronger...
Within moments the balance of the fight shifted...
Then—
A thunderous impact...
The ground shattered beneath them...
Dust exploded into the air...
When the dust settled…
Daniel stood victorious...
The two men laughed and shook hands...
"Not bad," Round said with a grin...
"That makes us even..."
Daniel laughed...
"Even??? No, no… now I'm ahead by one."
Both of them leaned forward stubbornly, arguing over the score like children...
Before things escalated again, Arvela stepped between them...
"That's enough."
Her tone left no room for argument...
Not long after, Vail and Lorian arrived...
It looked like the two of them had been discussing something serious for quite some time...
They seemed to have already formed a clear understanding of the situation surrounding Araki and the recent events...
Vail raised his voice...
"Everyone gather up. We have important matters to discuss..."
As people began gathering, Raym suddenly noticed something strange...
One person was missing...
Saon...
He wasn't anywhere in sight.
Raym asked several people, but none of them had seen him.
Eventually, he returned to his room.
And there he found him.
Saon.
Sitting quietly.
Holding Raym's sword...
The blade had been completely polished and carefully sharpened.
It shone faintly under the light.
For a moment Raym felt a little guilty.
He stepped forward and took the sword gently.
"Hey… what are you doing in my room???"
He immediately realized how stupid the question sounded.
Without another word he gestured toward the door...
"Come on. Hurry. There's an important announcement..."