[Vol. 7] Chapter 112: The One Who Walks Against the Lightless Path
In the real world, in the temporary camp.
Several hours had passed since Violet and the others entered the Shadow Realm. It was now deep into the night. Qionghua, the astrologer on watch, had already gone into her tent to rest, leaving [Tree Branch], the scholar, to tend the campfire alone. He sat near the entrance to the Shadow Realm, which had been forcibly torn open by Miss Dragon Girl, keeping watch.
Suddenly, a palm-sized card, marked with a door-like symbol, quietly materialized in the air behind him. A moment later, the card expanded, transforming into a magnificent doorway that looked almost identical to the drawn image on its surface.
"Click~"
The door swung open, and a robed figure stepped out with an unhurried grace. His face was concealed behind a strange metallic mask.
With a casual wave of his hand, the door vanished, and the peculiar card spun in midair before landing neatly back into his palm, where it then slipped into his sleeve, disappearing from sight.
Without hesitation, the man swiftly removed his intricately patterned priest robe and tossed it into the air. The fabric burned away instantly, vanishing without a trace, as if it had never existed. At the same time, his entire appearance transformed, as if he were performing a magic trick.
That was a middle-aged man wearing a classic black and white formal suit and a cylindrical top hat. He had a short beard, appearing particularly casual and dashing, like a laid-back, handsome uncle. His mysterious and unpredictable aura was especially memorable, and he also resembled an elegant artist with excellent manners, seemingly always wearing a faint smile.
"Ahh, what a mess. I didn't expect the forces involved to be so unexpectedly complex. Ahh~ it's such a headache.
The moment he arrived, he removed his magician’s hat, then “pulled” a long, slender cane from his sleeve, tapping it lightly on the ground. Though his tone sounded helpless, he didn’t seem particularly bothered at all.
"......"
Despite the bizarre and almost absurd entrance, [Tree Branch], the scholar, showed no signs of alarm. He did not attack, nor did he try to wake up Qionghua inside the tent. Instead, he remained seated, calmly turning his head to look at the mysterious man who had just appeared.
"It seems your plan has failed."
The man simply shrugged.
"Yeah, yeah, a complete and utter failure. If it were just Lucine Constantius, I might’ve had a chance to pull it off. But who could’ve expected some little dragon brat and her weird companion to suddenly show up? And in the end, even a true god-level being personally intervened. What could a mere mortal like me possibly do? I had no choice but to make a run for it~"
"The words 'mere mortal' coming from you, that sounds quite ironic, [Immortal Magician]."
"Oh, come now, don’t say it like that. I really am just a mortal~"
Timos Young let out a lighthearted chuckle, completely unfazed by the remark. He didn’t bother arguing further, simply placing his magician’s hat back on his head, neatly pressing down his sky-blue short hair.
"Anyway, that old hag Lucine is still chasing me. I should really get moving. Want to come along?"
[Tree Branch] was silent for a moment before asking in return, "Are you abandoning this place completely?"
"Of course. It was just an experiment, after all. If it's ruined, then so be it. Sure, it’s a shame to waste all that effort, but the harvest of so many results has already paid for itself. No point in throwing myself in, too, right?"
Watching the [Immortal Magician]'s casual, almost indifferent expression, the scholar-like young man finally shook his head.
Understanding his decision, Timos Young narrowed his eyes slightly, though his smile never wavered.
"You do realize what this means, right?"
"Of course."
"Mhm, well then... what a shame. I really thought you and I were the same kind of creature~"
"…I can’t be as carefree as you."
"Alright, alright~"
The magician took a graceful step back, offering [Tree Branch] a polite bow in farewell. Then, with a flick of his cloak, he vanished into the darkness, his figure blending seamlessly into the night beyond the firelight.
"Then I wish you good luck, adventurer who is reluctant to leave his companions~"
*Poof*
A puff of smoke rose into the air, and by the time it cleared, the magician had completely vanished.
Watching him disappear, the scholar let out a quiet sigh. He knew there was no way, nor did he intend, to capture the mastermind behind all this. The firelight flickered, casting shifting shadows around him, making the darkness seem even deeper and more suffocating.
"This is a path shrouded in thorns and darkness… and I am the only true mortal here, Lord Timos…"
…………………………………………
"What?! There's a traitor in our group?!"
Hearing Violet return with the two little girls and drop such shocking news, Le Qiaoqiao, who had just helped take down a wave of crazed cultists rushing at them after the ritual’s glow disappeared, was left staring in disbelief, mouth agape.
The earlier battle between divine beings had been overwhelming, but to the adventurers outside, it was mostly incomprehensible. Thanks to the ritual’s barrier, they didn’t have to worry about high-level magic distorting their minds. Violet had expected this, which is why she had been able to strike at the God of Paradox without hesitation.
But now, it was time to deal with another issue.
"Are you serious? I heard there were traitors involved in this whole mess, but one of us? That’s insane…"
"Crazy or not, it's the truth."
Violet shrugged casually, then turned to Enrique, whose expression was growing more and more serious. It was clear, he already knew about this in advance.
"Ugh, too much trouble. You explain."
"…Alright."
Looking around at the surrounding adventurers, each wearing different expressions of shock and suspicion, [Tree Bow] shook his head, his face grim.
"No need to guess, the traitor isn’t here right now. Violet and I deliberately left him outside… It’s Dionysis, the [Tree Branch].”
"What?!"
"Captain, you’ve got to be joking! There’s no way [Tree Branch] would—"
"Brother, this…?"
As the group erupted into shocked whispers, Enrique let out a quiet sigh.
"At first, I didn’t want to believe it either… but the evidence is too strong. [Tree Branch] has betrayed us. He’s broken the adventurers’ code and was secretly passing information to the enemy. That’s why the ‘Church of Truth’ suddenly moved up their ritual."
Among those present, only Enrique and the priestess seemed to have been aware of this beforehand. Even Sophie, a legendary adventurer herself, looked completely stunned. Yet, she couldn’t help but question him.
"Brother, Dionysis was one of the founding members of [Tree]. We’ve been working with him for almost ten years now. I know his character, why would he suddenly betray us? Do you even have proof?"
"Proof…? Of course we do."
The treefolk man raised a hand, signaling for everyone to calm down before speaking in a serious tone.
"Remember when we first arrived at Adelaide Village 192 and made contact with the locals? After the first day, when Sophie, Violet, and I returned from the Shadow Realm to regroup, it was him who suggested splitting up. He arranged for nearly half our people to stay at the camp and even made sure that frontline fighters like Sophie and [Tree Rampart] were stationed outside."
"Back then, we didn’t have a clear picture of the situation. It was only natural to assume that the village, where we had already scouted and only found civilians and militia, was relatively safe. It made sense to leave more people outside, especially since those staying behind had already disappeared once before. At the time, [Tree Branch]’s plan seemed completely reasonable."
"Even after everything went down, most people wouldn’t have suspected that he was deliberately weakening our formation. So that Marcelo’s forces would have the upper hand when the fighting broke out."
"…And that’s the truth."