**C513**
Dawn.
*Splash, shuaaaa—*
A small fishing boat arrived at a remote and uninhabited island. It was a desolate island, mostly composed of rocky terrain. On a rock located right in the center of said island:
“…”
The Seventh General Hinari disembarked, hiding her entire body, from head to toe, under a long robe.
*Step, step.*
At her sides and behind her, she was accompanied by her closest confidants and her escorts.
*‘Kehug, kug’.*
A memory suddenly crossed the Seventh General Hinari’s mind.
*‘Hinari—, Hinari—!’*
It was the image of her father, the Great General, calling her. Even while the Second Emperor was extracting his soul, the Great General looked at her and said:
*‘T-this is not right—, Hinari, this guy is dangerous! You must not join someone like that...! Avoid him! Run!’*
The corners of her lips, hidden under the robe, rose in a twisted sneer.
“Until the end……”
Truly, until the end, her father was a repulsive man.
*‘Do I still look weak and young in your eyes?’*
Wow, what nonsense.
Hinari arrived at the entrance of a cave. A few soldiers hiding in the shadows inside the cave bowed their heads and made way for her.
They were the subordinates of her younger brother, Ashifrang.
“Good job.”
Lowering her hood slightly to show her face, the Seventh General gave them a warm smile and headed to the basement of the cave.
“Older sister.”
There, Ashifrang had come out to greet her.
“Yes. It’s been a long time.”
She responded to her brother's greeting with joy, but soon drew an expression of concern and happiness on her face.
“You don’t know how surprised I was to receive your message, I couldn’t sleep at all. I wanted to come as soon as possible.”
That was right. In those words, there was not a hint of a lie. The fear that the whole plan could be ruined... that’s why the Seventh General couldn’t fall asleep. Furthermore, she felt a growing rage.
*‘Damn bastard who is of no help in his entire life……!’*
Anger toward her stupid and clueless younger brother, Ashifrang. And one more thing—
“Ashifrang, is it this man?”
A red-haired man was standing next to Ashifrang.
“Yes. He is the doctor brought by General Pery, no, sister Pery.”
“Greetings, General. I am a humble doctor who comes from the interior.”
Toward the red-haired man who bowed with humility, the Seventh General said with a warm face:
“Isn’t it a problem for you to say you are humble?”
“Ah.”
“Someone with the ability to heal the Great General, my father, must be someone exceptional.”
“Mmm.”
Toward the man who seemed not to know what to do, as if he had made a mistake in speaking, the Seventh General continued with a warm but sharp voice:
“And what is your name? You should give a basic introduction, don’t you think?”
“Ah. My name is **Cale** Henituse, General. It seems that trying to be modest was not a good choice.”
A doctor younger than expected, **Cale** Henituse.
After observing him intently, the Seventh General nodded.
“I understand. It would be a problem if your skill was not up to par.”
She showed as much seriousness as possible.
“We must save my father, without fail.”
“Ah.”
Hinari turned her head at a sigh she heard from somewhere. Seeing that her brother seemed excessively tense, unlike usual, and with his face completely stiff, she reached her hand toward his shoulder.
“Ashifrang, now that your sister is here, you have nothing to worry—”
“!”
Both stopped in their tracks. It was because Ashifrang took a step back, dodging Hinari’s hand that was heading toward his shoulder.
*‘What’s wrong?’*
In that instant, a doubt arose. It was then that:
“General, young master Ashifrang.”
A silence charged with a small discomfort. As if he couldn’t allow that silence to persist, the young doctor called Hinari with a soft tone.
“?”
When she stopped thinking about her brother for a moment and turned her head, the doctor's reddish-brown eyes were looking at her intently.
“I am a doctor of humble skills, but... you don't have to worry about one thing.”
The Seventh General Hinari suddenly felt that this doctor was somewhat different from ordinary doctors. Because, unlike the doctors who were intimidated upon seeing the Great General's condition, he appeared very dignified and full of confidence.
*‘Could it be—’*
Could it be that this man really can save the Great General?
Anxiety welled up again.
*‘No’.*
That will not happen.
“I know the subject of souls very well. The Great General will awaken without fail.”
At the mention of even the soul, the Seventh General’s anxiety skyrocketed, but she suppressed that feeling with force.
`<I have received the message.>`
She had confirmed the response sent by the Second Emperor. She would take some measure.
*‘She said she needed my cooperation’.*
To be precise, the cooperation of the one who would become the queen who would rule the Marine Union.
*‘And the Second Emperor said it clearly’.*
Yesterday she was bewildered by the sudden news, but when the Second Emperor separated the Great General's soul from his body, Hinari was present in that place and remembered what she said:
*‘The Great General's soul is inside my body. Unless it is taken from me or I wish it, there is no way for the soul to return to his body’.*
…That woman laughed while devouring her father's soul in her mouth. And while laughing, she said that. Although she could hear her father's soul's voice crying out while being devoured:
*‘Hinari, you must not join someone like that! Run!’*
Even those words... when the soul was being devoured...
*‘Aaaaaaaah—!’*
They turned into a howl similar to that of a beast. No emotion was reflected on Hinari’s face as she remembered 그 moment. But this was only for an instant.
*Smile.*
The doctor looked at her and smiled with confidence.
“There will be no way for my plans to fail.”
He said those words.
“Yes. I will trust your plan.”
Of course, the Seventh General Hinari intended to move before that plan was executed.
*‘I trust the Second Emperor's words, but...’*
There is nothing in this world that can be fully trusted. Therefore:
*‘I will kill this man just in case’.*
If her father showed the slightest sign of improvement, she would kill this doctor immediately.
*‘Even killing General Pery to snatch her authority would not be a bad idea’.*
And after taking control of the First Island:
*‘The day the grand conference is held, I will open the magic defense formation with my own hands’.*
It would be enough to kill the other generals who would come to the conference room with minimal escort.
*‘Then the sea will be mine……!’*
Mine, not my father's!
*‘Hinari, the sea belongs to no one. I am only a mediator to ensure that the sea does not plunge into chaos and follows the rules’.*
That hypocrite of her father, who said such incredible nonsense despite having all the power. That power you didn’t want to let go of.
*‘Hinari. You still lack’.*
I will keep that power.
The Seventh General opened her mouth.
“I want to go see my father soon.”
“Yes, older brother.”
*Wuuuuu—*
The magic circle emitted light.
“Sister, are you going with only these three people?”
“Yes. Only we came.”
It was a lie. Soon another ship would arrive at this island with her other confidants, advisors, and exceptional warriors. After they left, they would kill the guards at the cave entrance, activate this teleportation circle, and secretly enter the First Island.
*‘Because I know how to activate the teleportation circle’.*
People from other islands might not know it, but she, being of the Great General's lineage on the First Island, knows all the methods to operate this island and its secret passages.
“Then, we will move immediately.”
Hinari stepped onto the circle following Ashifrang. She met the gaze of her brother, who was watching her intently from right next to her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Older sister.”
“Tell me.”
At that moment, the teleportation began with a bright light. Before her body was enveloped by the light, Hinari heard a phrase whispered by her brother:
“I respected you.”
Upon hearing those words, Hinari closed her eyes. Now, upon opening them, she would arrive at the familiar underground space: the underground canal of the mansion where the secret teleportation circle was installed.
She shouted at the same time she opened her eyes:
“Kill them!”
The moment her younger brother said, “I respected you.” When she realized that respect referred to the past and not the present... Hinari understood what the strangeness she had felt before while looking at her brother was.
*‘I knew it’.*
That her stupid younger brother had discovered the truth about Hinari. As soon as she knew it, Hinari moved immediately, shouting to her subordinates. Her hand went right to her side. That side was, of course, her brother Ashifrang, who was standing next to her. It was heading for his neck.
*‘Hostage’.*
Or, if necessary...
*‘I kill him’.*
Having killed even her father, there was no reason why she couldn't touch her brother. It was a quick judgment and movement made in the few seconds it took to close and open her eyes.
Someone strong beyond imagination.
It was the term used to refer to generals of Seventh General rank or higher in the Marine Union. Among them, the Great General was so strong that one wouldn't even dare to reach him.
*‘That’s why a surprise attack was necessary’.*
Even if conspiracy and a surprise attack were needed to take down her father... or unless it was someone extremely strong like the Second Emperor, superior to her father...
*‘Someone like Ashifrang—!’*
A guy like this, she could kill him with a single blow. Hinari saw the despair and betrayal reflected in the pupils of her brother, who looked at her in surprise, but she ignored them and aimed for his neck.
“!”
However, she felt a chill through her entire body for an instant.
A sensation of suffocation. As if her body were going to go stiff.
She hurriedly stopped her hand, which was extending toward Ashifrang, and immediately rolled to one side.
*Kuaaaaaang!*
It was water. She could see a spear of water passing by her side. That spear aimed exactly at the spot where her arm had been. Probably, if she hadn't rolled to the side, her arm would have been pierced by 그 water spear.
“!”
Barely letting out the air held in her still-oppressed lungs, she raised her head and could see the doctor watching her. **Cale** Henituse. Water swirled in the arms of that man who seemed weak and fragile. In addition to the suffocating atmosphere emanating from him.
“…….”
However, that suffocating atmosphere disappeared like mist. If it weren't for that atmosphere, there would be no reason for Hinari to hesitate and her movements to become slow. And as that atmosphere vanished, Hinari grasped her surroundings in an instant.
“Si-sister. How can you do this to me—”
First, her brother Ashifrang, with his foolish face and trembling voice. She excluded the useless one.
“Kugh!”
Three subordinates. One of them was clashing swords with General Pery. It was a clear disadvantage.
“Mmm.”
“…….”
On the other hand, one of them had a sword put to his neck while letting out a groan. A black-haired swordsman (**Choi Han**). He was someone she was seeing for the first time. He was stepping on the last fainted subordinate while pressing the other with his sword.
*‘Dammit!’*
All her subordinates had become useless. When failure was reflected on the Seventh General Hinari’s face:
“It seems that from Seventh General onwards they are certainly strong.”
**Cale** spoke calmly to the Seventh General Hinari, who avoided the attack much more easily than when he faced General Pery or the Pirate Shark, even though he used his **Dominating Aura** in the same way as before.
“Who are you?”
Hinari asked again. To which **Cale**, as always, responded kindly to the enemy who asked again following the same pattern, even though he had already introduced himself:
“I told you. I am **Cale** He—”
However, his words could not continue.
*Bang!*
Seventh General Hinari. She didn't miss the gap while **Cale** responded. That body that was preparing while observing the surroundings... made the force accumulated in it explode. One foot kicked the ground hard once.
*Bang!*
And the other remaining foot also kicked the ground vigorously.
*Chwaaaa!*
When the scarce water in the canal jumped upward as a reaction to that force.
*‘I have to run!’*
The Seventh General Hinari hurriedly turned her back on **Cale** and started to run. A dark canal. Of the paths that stretched in the four cardinal directions, she ran north, the direction furthest from **Cale**.
*‘They will also know the underground canal, but I know it better!’*
She knew this place better than Ashifrang! Once, to help her father when she was a child, she herself took care of the maintenance of the underground canal.
*‘I must take advantage of the enemies letting their guard down to run as far as possible and hide!’*
If she were caught like this, everything would end. The Seventh General Hinari realized the moment she saw **Cale**. To be precise, she became certain upon seeing his companions as well.
*‘I can’t win!’*
She didn’t know if she was stronger than **Cale**, but at least the enemy was not inferior. His companions also seemed to be strong to some extent. In that case, she lost in numbers.
*Bang! Bang!*
The canal floor vibrated with every step she took. Like the Great General, the Seventh General Hinari was a boxer. She concentrated her aura in both feet to take faster and faster steps.
“Mmm. It’s the first time I’ve seen this pattern.”
**Cale** scratched his head upon seeing this. However, he did not move a single step.
“Right towards—”
The underground canal that stretched from north to south and from east to west with the teleportation circle in the center.
“Young master.”
To the east was the butler **Ron**.
*Meow!*
*Meow!*
“Human, are you okay?”
To the west was the 10-year-old group (**On**, **Hong**, **Raon**).
“What a pity.”
“…….”
To the south, **Archie** and **Witira** of the Whale Tribe waited. And to the north:
“Oh. She’s running quite far.”
When **Cale** was astonished to see Hinari moving away in an instant:
“Fufu. It seems that the **Heavenly Demon**, after saying he would take a walk, went quite far to the north.”
**Ron** spoke while standing next to **Cale**. At 그 moment:
*Bang!*
The Seventh General Hinari, who once again advanced a distance of more than ten steps in one blow with her aura-charged feet, heard a sound.
*Chap, chap.*
The sound of footsteps approaching while stepping on the shallow water flowing through the underground canal.
*Chap. Chap.*
In the midst of the darkness, a **Heavenly Demon** dressed in a black robe walked with his hands behind his back, holding a fan.
“Mmm. Do you fight by enveloping your body with aura?”
The **Heavenly Demon** showed a little interest.
“It is similar to the people of the Central Plains (**Jungwon**).”
But his interest only went that far.
“¡……!”
A chill ran down the Seventh General Hinari’s back. The man who suddenly appeared in front of her also seemed considerably strong, but an immensely powerful and incomparable energy pounced toward her.
“Fufu. It makes me want to fight once.”
The **Heavenly Demon** showed interest toward that energy.
“…….”
Hinari slowly turned her head back.
*Chap. Chap.*
**Cale** was entering through the northern passage.
“Even if you run, you are inside the trap.”
The moment **Cale**’s words ended:
*Chruuuuuu—*
The water in the northern passage of the underground canal began to rise. A violent stream that wouldn’t be thought to come from shallow water.
“!”
Hinari couldn't say anything upon seeing the wall of water stretching behind the **Heavenly Demon** and behind **Cale**. Literally, she was locked in a trap.
*Tuc.*
The Seventh General Hinari’s two hands lost their strength and hung flaccidly downward.
“I like that you are quick to judge the situation.”
**Cale** smiled with a satisfied face upon seeing her like that.
*Wung.*
At that moment, the Divine Item on **Cale**’s chest vibrated.
`<Just as we planned, did you catch the Seventh General?>`
`<So, do I descend today, right?>`
`<I really need a place to hide, hng.>`
