Chapter 888

Charlotte’s voice was a low growl, barely masking her shock.

Ian slowly drank.

Why? Because I need to level up.

He debated revealing the truth. While he trusted Charlotte and Diana, doing so would invite an exhausting trail of questions and complications.

Before he could decide, Charlotte asked, "It's because you intend to ascend, isn't it?"

Clearly, she had misinterpreted the flicker of conflict in his eyes.

"After calming the chaos across the continent, you'll journey to the Black Lands to elevate your soul. To ascend into the heavens..."

A corner of Ian's mouth curled upward as he lowered the bottle. "I suppose it could look that way, but as I've said many times, I have absolutely no intention of becoming a god, Charlotte. I'll have to see how things unfold, but I'm not planning to wait until the turmoil in the center settles before going, either."

Beside him, Diana let out a weary groan without opening her eyes. "I knew it... Ha..."

Charlotte frowned, the fine black fur around her eyes twitching. "Then... why?"

"You may not know this, but the White Mage's blood flows through my veins. All of that bastard's knowledge and power reside within me," said Ian.

Charlotte's orange eyes widened at once. It seemed Thesaya had kept the secret from her as well. At this point, that hardly surprised Ian anymore.

"But it's still incomplete. If I want to overcome all of this chaos with the smallest possible losses, even if everything goes in the worst direction imaginable, then I need to fully awaken that power, Charlotte."

Ian glanced at Diana, who was quietly wetting her lips.

"To do that, I need to keep fighting battles that push me beyond my limits. Without worrying about who's watching."

A faint sigh finally escaped Charlotte's parted lips.

After holding her gaze for a moment, Ian tilted the bottle toward her. "Of course, the rank of my soul will probably rise in the process, but I won't become a god. I'll refuse."

Unlike what people in this world believed, ascension was one of the worst endings Ian could imagine.

If it sent him back home, that would be one thing. But otherwise, he would have to spend eternity as something entirely different, unable to remain by his friends' side.

Charlotte accepted the bottle in a daze and raised it to her lips.

"You think His Highness might refuse to go to the Black Lands, right?" Diana asked, her voice quiet and heavy.

When Ian turned toward her, she slowly opened her eyes and continued, "If that happens, you'll have to oppose him as well. You're not preparing only to crush the Round Table, but you're also considering the possibility of fighting His Highness, the Black Lions, and the wolves. Aren't you?"

Without looking away from her swamp-colored eyes, Ian nodded. "There are too many variables to stake everything on a single plan. Things have rarely gone according to plan so far. No matter what, I need to be ready to respond. That means preparing multiple contingencies."

In truth, it was also because of the anxiety he could never completely shake. He still couldn't forget what Thesaya had said in that vision of the future: that saving everyone was impossible.

Ian couldn't bring himself to abandon anyone. There had been moments when he had tried to think about it coldly, but the result was always the same. He would predict every possible variable, consider every possibility, and prepare as many countermeasures as he could.

"Of course, I don't want to fight the Dark Prince either. That's exactly why I need to become stronger. To avoid ending up in that situation."

Diana nodded slowly and covered her face with one hand. "Yeah... I suppose so..."

A long sigh escaped between her fingers as she rubbed her face. She was one of the rare fairies who would willingly give her life for the sake of loyalty.

The prospect of Ian clashing with the Dark Prince was the worst scenario she could imagine. If that happened, she would be forced to turn her back on one of them and draw her blade against the other.

"But do we really have enough time for you to visit the Black Lands? Sure, if it's just you and Moro, you could travel for days without rest, but..."

Diana finally let her arm fall onto the armrest. Her voice sounded drained, as though all her energy had vanished in an instant.

"No matter how I think about it, the civil war is going to start while you're running around the Black Lands."

"It won't be over in a day. There'll be plenty of time for me to come back." Ian answered without hesitation.

Glancing at Charlotte as she lowered the bottle, he continued, "But you're right that we don't have much room to spare. I need to keep an eye on how things develop as well. I'll wait for the Acting Regent's reply first, then decide based on the situation."

Diana let out a low hum and accepted the bottle. "Why not go South instead? You said trouble's brewing there as well."

Shaking his head, Ian shrugged. "It wouldn't be a satisfying fight. The Southern Duke will be fully prepared. In the end, I'd have to cross into the Black Lands from there anyway. Wouldn't it be easier to travel back and forth from the north? Besides, I've already sent Thesa. If I show up too, it'll wound the duke's pride. I'd lose more than I'd gain."

Only then did Diana sigh again and raise the bottle to her lips. "Goddammit..."

Charlotte, who had been watching Ian with somewhat calmer eyes, finally said, "Now I finally understand almost everything about you, Ian... From the very beginning, you belonged to one of the noblest bloodlines in existence."

"Well... that's more or less true," Ian replied evenly. Reactions like that were neither surprising nor new to him anymore.

Straightening her posture, Charlotte continued, "Then I'll go with you, Ian."

"And who's supposed to look after the beastfolk and the fairies if the Great Chieftain leaves? And what about Thesa? She only listens to us. If you leave the beastfolk and fairies in her hands, who knows what kind of trouble she'll cause?"

Ian snorted and tilted his chin toward her.

"You're the only person I can trust to watch over them, Charlotte. That's actually what I wanted to tell you. You'll be staying at the magic tower, so when Miguel arrives with the craftsmen, help them establish the settlement."

Ian casually extended a hand toward Diana.

Charlotte hesitated before finally asking, "So... you're really planning to enter that enormous demonic realm alone?"

"For now. Well, if I bring both Nila and Moro, I could probably take one more person."

Clicking her tongue as though trying to suppress her disappointment, Charlotte nodded. "That would be Mev, then. Right... if that's truly what you've decided, Ian..."

The moment passed, and Diana pressed the bottle back into Ian's hand before she added, "Time isn't the only danger, Ian. You know that, don't you? You're not carrying only magic and divine power."

One corner of Ian's mouth lifted as he raised the bottle. "Of course not."

Diana had every right to worry—and lecture him accordingly.

"After seeing what you became this time, the difference isn't even comparable to before. If you've grown strong enough to defeat an ancient god, then the chaos inside you has already surpassed that of an archdemon."

Avoiding his eyes, apparently misreading his expression, Diana continued, "If you wander through the Black Lands and keep fighting demons, the chaos within you will inevitably grow as well. And if that sneaky snake bastard pulls some trick and if you're consumed by chaos again..."

"You mean I'd become a catastrophe capable of dragging the Empire into ruin." Ian lowered the bottle as he finished the thought for her.

Diana froze briefly before nodding without taking her eyes off Charlotte's armor.

She swallowed dryly before continuing in a rough, subdued voice, "Neither His Highness, nor the royal family, nor even the Great Church would be able to stop you. In the end, heaven itself would probably intervene. But no matter how it ends, the Empire would still be reduced to a wasteland, Ian."

"It would. I know that. I also know it could happen even if I never let my guard down," Ian answered calmly.

Placing the bottle back into her slightly trembling hand, he added, "That's exactly why I need to fully awaken the power of my bloodline if possible. So I never have to take a risk like that again, Diana."

"Of course... that's true, but," Diana murmured and raised the bottle to her lips. The hand gripping it was still trembling.

To Ian, it looked exactly like a textbook case of post-traumatic stress.

"Besides, the demons of the Black Lands are a potential threat in their own right," said Ian.

After watching her for a moment, Ian added, careful not to show anything on his face, "With all the archdemons dead and His Highness gone from the demonic realm, plenty of them are probably expanding their influence by now. Some are bound to be trying to ascend into transcendent beings. Don't you think so?"

Part of it was an attempt to steer her thoughts elsewhere.

Diana nodded after swallowing a mouthful of liquor. "Yeah... you're right, Ian Hope..."

Whether it was an unconscious habit or simply fraying patience, Ian couldn't tell, but she was already rummaging through her coat and pulling out a cigarette case.

"I think I've heard everything I needed to hear... Would it be all right if I left first, Ian?" said Charlotte.

Meeting Ian's gaze, she continued matter-of-factly, "The sun has already set by now. And judging by the look of it, this pointy-ear desperately needs to burn some of that disgusting dried grass."

Ian nodded in resignation. "Alright. I will trust you to handle things tonight as well. I have a feeling this is going to be a fairly long conversation."

Charlotte snorted as she watched Diana hurriedly stick a cigarette between her lips, then turned and stepped out of the carriage.

As the carriage door shut, Diana took a drag from the freshly lit cigarette and exhaled lazily. "At last... I can breathe again..."

Ian plucked the bottle from her hand and jerked his chin. "Then let's begin."

"Alright."

Diana moved across the carriage and sat in the seat Charlotte had vacated. Crossing one leg over the other, she drew in another breath of smoke.

"Right... Ian Hope. If you're entering through the northern front, you'll end up near the place where you arrived before. And around that area—"

Her languid voice continued in an even monotone. Ian mostly listened, interrupting only occasionally with questions.

The conversation continued until the carriage came to a stop and later set off again. And it continued the following night as well, after Yog had awakened.

***

Ian awoke from Meditation to the sound of someone knocking on the carriage window. The carriage rattled, isolating him within.

They all left again. I told them they could stay.

Snorting, Ian opened the window. His brow narrowed slightly as brilliant sunlight flooded into the carriage.

Looking at Charlotte's face, partially shaded outside the window, he said, "Looks like we're almost there."

"Yeah. We've entered the sacred land."

"I'll get ready and come out. Have them prepare for our arrival at the outer district."

"Will do."

As soon as Charlotte finished speaking, she turned to face forward again, and Ian closed the window.

Then, reclining the seat across from him with a flick of his Willful Grasp, he reached into the storage compartment below and pulled out a neatly folded uniform.

Only after stripping off the clothes he was wearing and putting them on did he mutter, "I'm just creating a sense of unease for no reason, and getting nothing out of it..."

Ian clicked his tongue as he glanced down at Yog, wrapped tightly around his left arm.

For the past several days, he had spent nearly all his time meditating. It wasn't merely to shake off the lingering anxiety that clung to the back of his mind like sediment.

Yog had advised him that doing so would increase the chances of glimpsing an altered future or peering through Seren's eyes.

Yet nothing had happened.

All it had done was leave his body refreshed and his mind clear.

That counts as a result, I suppose... but maybe there's some other condition I'm missing. Or perhaps the worst possible outcome had already been completely averted.

Straightening his collar with his left hand, he opened the door.

Sunlight poured into the carriage along with the noise from outside, flooding the interior with brilliant light.

"Hmm..."

Leaning out of the doorway and gripping the open door, Ian slowly smiled in admiration. Beneath the dazzling sunlight, a vast expanse of green wheat fields stretched out beside the road.