## C476
Cale was satisfied that he had captured the Wanderers siblings, Cho and Ryeon.
"What's wrong with you?"
But he was bewildered.
Cho, the younger brother, approached Cale and suddenly collapsed in front of him.
"Hey!"
Then he grabbed the hem of Cale's pants.
"Show me that again!"
He started to throw a tantrum.
Cale was stunned.
"Hey, aren't you going to let go?"
He tried to get rid of Cho, but...
"Ugh, seriously!"
Cho was strong. Cale, not so much.
"......"
Meanwhile, Ryeon, the older sister, watched the scene with a complicated expression. However, her gaze was also lost, as if she couldn't process anything.
"Why is he like that?"
Finally, Cale asked Eruhaben.
"*Sigh*..."
The Ancient Dragon shook his head.
"They followed obediently when I told them I would take them to you."
Cho and Ryeon, each with unique invisibility skills, together reached the level of the Five Colors Family.
Although Cale didn't know all the details, he knew that they were extremely strong.
Honestly, he thought that not even Choi Han (still without mastering his Singularity), Eruhaben (without magic), the young Raon, or even Clopeh Sekka could beat them.
"But if we hold them long enough for the strong from the Demon Kingdom to arrive, we could capture them."
If they managed to stop these two before dusk, they would eliminate a major variable.
Sunset was approaching.
"Hmm..."
Eruhaben made an uncomfortable expression.
"It seems like he misses his mother."
Huh? His mother?
Cale lowered his gaze to Cho, who was still grabbing his pants tightly, throwing a tantrum.
"*Mmm... Human, no, that's not it!*"
Raon, strangely, didn't encourage him to hit him.
"Did you see your mother a while ago?"
Cho stopped and looked at Cale.
He was now lying on the ground, kicking his feet.
"...Show her to me."
His tone was serious, filled with intense desperation.
Cale, after observing him for a moment, replied:
"I don't want to."
"......"
"You are Wanderers, aren't you?"
Cho couldn't reply.
It was true: they were Wanderers.
"Would you betray the Five Colors Family if I showed it to you again? You wouldn't."
It was an impossible decision to make. A single vision wouldn't be enough to betray their family.
"......"
Cho said nothing, but tightened his grip on Cale's hem even more, trembling.
"......"
Ryeon watched her brother's hand with an empty gaze.
She had also seen and heard the same thing as him: an instant of happiness before her life was filled with misfortune.
"Cale Henituse."
She knew that, no matter how immature Cho was, he would obey her in the end.
He would never disobey her.
That's why the superiors of their family always gave the orders to her.
With this in mind, she spoke:
"In this matter, I will follow your orders. So... show it to us one more time."
"!"
Cho looked at his sister, surprised.
Cale watched her with an impassive expression.
"What are my orders?"
"...Purify the corruption left by the Cult of the God of Chaos, without interference."
Her gaze slowly shifted from Cho to Cale.
"I will not contact the Third Emperor. Nor will I tell anyone that you have the power of the God of Chaos."
In their childhood, they had lost everything.
They lived on the run until adulthood, until Cho and Ryeon died.
And they became Wanderers.
Even in the Divine World, they only had each other.
To survive, they had to become strong.
Although that made their life easier, they were still alone.
They had forgotten how to be happy.
Ryeon took a step forward and extended both hands.
"...If you don't believe me, you can tie me up."
Her gaze rested on her brother.
The Five Colors Family was wrong about something:
Did they think that Cho obeyed her because she was weak?
No.
She would do anything for him.
Even give her life.
In the gray mist, she had seen her mother, her father, and Cho laughing happily.
If she could recover even an instant of that...
She didn't care about dying.
"So... show it to us one more time."
To Cho.
To her younger brother.
To the boy who died protecting her.
Let him feel happiness again.
For them, that brief moment of joy in Cale's purification had been the only happy memory in their lives.
"......"
Cale looked at them in silence and finally spoke:
"Choi Han, tie them up."
He pointed to the two Wanderers.
"Immobilize them completely. Clopeh, you watch over them."
"Yes, Cale-nim."
Choi Han moved, and Clopeh gave a subtle smile.
"Cale-nim, with my power, I cannot defeat them."
Cale turned his wheelchair and replied in an indifferent voice:
"Until tomorrow morning... no, as long as we are in the Demon Kingdom, I will continue to purify. If you want to see it, you will have to follow me."
Cho and Ryeon looked at his back.
"I just need to make sure they don't contact anyone. If they escape, let me know immediately."
He then added:
"Ah, and currently, I am the only one who can perform the purification ritual of the Cult of Chaos. If they abandon me, they won't be able to see it."
"!"
Cho's pupils trembled. Ryeon sighed.
"Tie me up quickly. Use ability suppression shackles or whatever."
She wanted to be chained.
Of course...
"When this is over, we will escape."
She knew that she could easily break free.
As she watched Cale walk away towards General Mol, her gaze met Clopeh's, who was tying her up.
"!"
He stopped.
There was something strange in her eyes.
"Could you swear before the God of Death what you promised Cale-nim?"
Cale had a reason to trust Clopeh:
He was ruthless and not influenced by emotions.
Rather, he used them to his advantage.
"By the way..."
Clopeh spoke in a kind tone:
"What advantages are there in serving the Third Emperor?"
"?"
"It seems like they didn't even give you happy memories."
"!"
The master of betrayal began to speak without pause. The scene was very different from when Mary the Necromancer spoke of Cale's greatness in prison.
"Don't talk nonsense."
Although Ryeon's face was tense, Clopeh smiled.
He knew that she, intelligent and insightful, would not easily fall for his words.
"But if I keep talking..."
"She will understand."
The greatness of Cale.
The meaning of the Legend that he was creating.
Although those who followed him suffered and were hurt, they never considered themselves unhappy.
Unlike these siblings.
"*Hoho...*"
Clopeh understood it better than anyone.
"......"
"......"
As Cho and Ryeon looked at him uncomfortably, Eruhaben asked:
"Did the Three Emperors send more spies?"
Ryeon shook her head.
"As far as I know, it's just us. And they want to know what's wrong with the Demon King."
There was no point in lying. If they were going to cooperate, it was better to do it right.
There were too many cunning people in this group.
"*Hmm...*"
Eruhaben believed her words.
But...
"We should keep looking, just in case."
He and Choi Han would continue the search.
Because Cale hadn't told them to stop.
He didn't fully trust them yet either.
---
### Meanwhile...
"*Hoho...*"
A smile appeared on the Third Emperor's lips.
With elegance, he lifted the sleeve of his clothes, revealing ten drops of water tattooed on his arm.
One of them vibrated slightly.
"*Mmm...*"
He closed his eyes, as if savoring something.
"*Ah...*"
He let out a sigh.
In Mikashi, the drops of water he had hidden underground absorbed liquids that seeped into the ground.
And then, they found another type of water.
Similar to normal water, but different.
Of a peculiar gray color.
"*Ha, hahaha...*"
The Third Emperor laughed.
Many said he was smarter than he seemed.
He knew about the Unique Power of the Cult of the God of Chaos.
With the fragments absorbed by his drops, he deduced several things:
"The Demon King has absorbed the Cult of Chaos."
"What?"
If the Cult was purifying the corruption, it meant that the Pope of Chaos had acted.
The Saint was dead.
In that situation, the Demon King must have captured the Pope.
It wasn't an alliance, of course.
"The Cult tried to betray the Demon Kingdom."
And now the Pope was purifying?
The conclusion was simple:
"The Demon King swallowed them."
He didn't know how, but he had put them on a very tight leash.
That's why the Cult was performing purification rituals now.
"And he hid it from me."
After swearing not to betray each other.
"This... is fun."
I thought the Demon Kingdom would retreat silently.
"Were they actually expanding their influence in secret?"
Hmm...
The Third Emperor reflected.
What should he do?
"...Those idiot siblings won't be of use."
Cho and Ryeon, the Wanderers who only had each other, were easy to manipulate, but they wouldn't be able to do much.
Tap. Tap.
He tapped the drops of water on his arm and lowered his sleeve.
"Let's go."
He began to return to Mikashi.
"Are we going back, Third Emperor?"
"Yes."
He moved quickly.
Far away, someone who was watching him stepped away from the tree where he was leaning.
Tap. Tap.
The Demon King shook a leaf off his shoulder and looked at the sky.
The sunset dyed the horizon red.
Swish.
With a light step, his body disappeared into the shadows of the forest.
But his destination was the same as the Third Emperor's.
"!"
The Third Emperor stopped.
"......"
His subordinates also froze, confused by his expression.
"Come out."
He ordered calmly.
"!"
"!!"
They saw how the shadow of a tree moved unnaturally, lengthening until...
Ssshh—
The Demon King emerged from it.
"!"
The subordinates were too shocked to speak.
"Ha!"
The Third Emperor laughed, exasperated.
"You followed me."
He hadn't noticed. That angered him.
But it also confirmed one thing: the Demon King was powerful.
"Are you going to stop me?"
The Demon King blocked his path without saying anything.
The Third Emperor's face distorted.
Ssshh—
The leaves rustled, but no one moved.
The tension was palpable.
However, the Demon King only seemed bored.
"......"
But in his eyes shone a strange light.
Tap. Tap.
The Third Emperor tapped his sleeve, right where the drops of water were.
He was known for being more cunning than he seemed.
Under the Mikashi barracks, the drops of water hidden deep in the earth obeyed.
They took the form of a liquid snake and headed towards...
"The village of the Gray Trees."
Towards the healing center, near the Ruins of the Demon God.
The Third Emperor didn't think of giving up. He knew how to sow chaos with minimal effort.
---
### In the village of the Gray Trees...
"We will begin the purification immediately."
Cale, after calming the chaos in Mikashi, arrived at the village and announced his plans.
"I won't stop until I'm done."
Whether it was Mikashi, Midisi, or the ruins, he would purify everything before another disaster broke out.
"It's no big deal."
He said this while still in his wheelchair.
He took a cup of lemon tea that Clopeh handed him.
Soon the second purification would begin.
The last ritual before nightfall.
He took a sip.
"!"
And stopped.
"*Not this water, another!*"
The Glutton Priestess complained.
But it wasn't a simple whim.
"*I feel drowned! Something fresh!*"
There was desperation in her voice.
"*It's like when I dug too much and died of thirst!*"
Huh?
Cale's heart froze.
"She died from eating soil contaminated with Dead Mana."
If she said it was like back then... was she about to die again?
"*Something fresh!*"
"*So I can digest it and grow!*"
"*My leaves will sprout!*"
He didn't understand everything she said, but...
"*Chaos!*"
This time it was clear.
"*Water as pure as Chaos! With the power of nature, no Dead Mana or corruption!*"
Ah...
Cale understood.
"*Cale. It seems that to fully digest the Chaos, she needs an equivalent force. Something natural.*"
Water, then?
Suddenly, he remembered someone.
"...Hey, where is the Third Emperor now?"
His Singularity was the sea. Salty, but it was a pure natural power, close to the divine.
"Huh?"
Everyone looked at him confused.
Tok. Tok. Tok.
A warrior of the Gray Trees entered.
She was the substitute for the Priestess, who was not yet awake.
"Everything is ready."
Creak.
Clopeh pushed the wheelchair, and Cale headed to the healing center.
Outside, in a clearing, many awaited his gray miracle.
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