Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: Where Lotem Hides
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“Where is Lotem?”
That was the only question Sein had for Falcon.
“You already know, don’t you?”
The answer was predictable.
“He’s at the Immortal family’s main house.”
The mastermind behind Kolan’s kidnapping was there—a fact everyone already knew.
To hunt Lotem, they would have to head straight for the Immortal family’s main house.
But that would be nothing short of suicide.
Even though its location was common knowledge, Demorus had never launched an assault on the main house.
It would escalate beyond all-out war into total annihilation.
“What the family head desires…”
Falcon said.
“…is to draw Lotem out into the open and hunt him down.”
In truth, Sein’s mission carried immense weight.
Lotem was the root cause of this entire schism.
‘Whether I hunt Lotem or fail to…’
The evaluation and outcome of everything hinged on that.
In fact.
‘Successor.’
Everyone could sense that the final struggle for succession rested on this war.
“That method…”
Falcon began.
But Sein cut him off, staring straight at him.
“I’ll ask again.”
Had they proceeded without regard for Tejera’s intentions or Demorus’s will?
No.
“Where is Lotem?”
Everything was in Sein’s hands.
“……”
Only then did Falcon seem to grasp Sein’s true intent.
“How much do you know?”
The reason Falcon had been assigned to Sein was simple.
“No more pointless back-and-forth. I know you’ve been surveilling me this whole time, handling all the intel on me.”
It was because he knew Sein better than anyone.
Each successor candidate was kept under constant watch from the main house, their personalities and ambitions meticulously evaluated.
Those reports held great sway when the family head chose an heir.
Yet this system was kept under strict secrecy—no one was supposed to know who was watching whom.
“……”
Sein already knew.
Over the past year, his own network had burrowed deeper into the main house than anyone realized.
Not that it even required that.
Falcon might have been gathering intel while spying, but he could hardly have imagined Sein would detect his stealth and surveillance.
“Since when have you known… No, such questions are as meaningless as you said.”
Falcon replied.
“It seems you’re still hiding quite a bit yourself, Sein-nim.”
How far did his knowledge extend?
What else was he concealing?
His gaze carried the instinctive wariness of an intel operative.
But Falcon had earned the family head’s trust for good reason.
“I’ll ask again: how much do you know? What I can share depends entirely on the intel you already possess.”
It was a matter of clearance.
“A great name passed down through the ages, bestowed upon each successor…”
Sein said.
“But in truth, it’s not inheritance—it’s the same entity enduring.”
In other words.
“Those bastards are liches.”
The great names were black mages who had forsaken their humanity, craving power and pursuing forbidden truths even at the cost of defying the natural order of fate itself.
“……”
This was one of the Immortal family’s closely guarded secrets.
“That’s why I’m asking: does Demorus know where Lotem is?”
That was Sein’s question.
“We can’t pinpoint the location of Lotem’s Life Vessel with certainty. We’ve narrowed it down a few times, only for it to shift again shortly after.”
Life Vessel.
It was essentially Lotem’s true body.
“But we have identified the one who knows its location.”
Perfect.
“That’s all I need.”
*
*
*
Taking on a Child of Darkness was an entirely different beast from facing a Great Name.
The missions weren’t just one level apart in difficulty—more like two or three.
Part of it stemmed from the raw power gap between a Child of Darkness and a Great Name, but the sheer number of enemies played a role too.
-District 6, Beast.
Like Contra, it was a city dominated by black mages—not Immortal territory, but deeply under their sway.
“……”
Beast was shrouded in tension, taut as a drawn bowstring.
The strain came from the Demorus-Immortal conflict.
Amid the city’s unrest, a handful of humans strolled through with carefree expressions.
They arrived at a rundown shop.
-Otolmeo Information Merchant.
It was Otolmeo’s Beast branch.
“Welcome.”
Even in a city steeped in Immortal influence, with war clouds gathering, the info broker greeted them warmly.
He casually shut the door and pressed a button.
Wung.
A subtle barrier unfurled, weaving faint mana around the shop like a spider’s web.
It was a black mage haven, but they wouldn’t notice.
This was white magic, not black.
“Long time no see, Sein Demorus-nim.”
A middle-aged man knelt in formal greeting.
“Long time.”
Sein returned the greeting with equal warmth.
Britz.
He had once been the branch chief of Otolmeo’s Antara outpost—and now he was here.
Of course, he hadn’t been sent to Beast.
“An honor… to meet you as well.”
Britz addressed the other man with even greater caution.
“Falcon Ainstr-nim.”
Falcon Ainstr.
“I discarded that name long ago.”
Sein’s group numbered five in total, including himself.
Sein and Falcon, Roberta and Cecil, and finally Derun.
“I’ve committed a grave discourtesy upon meeting a living legend.”
Falcon Ainstr.
Before joining Demorus, his exploits had been the stuff of legend.
He’d stolen one of Demorus’s deepest secrets and sold it to the Vinsen and Immortal families—for a sum reportedly enough to buy a chunk of a lower district.
Yet in the process, Falcon had turned the tables, extracting intel from Vinsen and Immortal instead.
-I’ve come to sell information.
Falcon had strode boldly into Demorus and declared.
-The price is my life—and your employment.
It was as good as suicide, yet Tejera had accepted him.
And now Falcon was here.
“Please, follow me inside.”
Britz was the lowest-ranked among them today.
He might now be one of Otolmeo’s sub-masters rather than a mere branch chief, but he was still the lowest.
Click.
With the button’s chime, a magic circle activated, parting to reveal a narrow gap like an opening maw.
Word was the Beast branch was newly established, but they’d clearly invested heavily.
They stepped inside.
“Long time no see, senior.”
A woman with pointed ears beamed at Falcon.
And then.
“My first time greeting you. Sein Demorus-nim.”
She turned to Sein next.
Though it was their first meeting, she felt familiar.
“Otolmeo Guild Master, Ainhlla Pergius.”
She was none other than Otolmeo’s guild master.
*
*
*
Other races were rare in Sanctuary outside of monsters.
Most existed only as a lore note about lingering bloodlines.
Yet a few could still be found.
-Ainhlla Pergius.
She was one such exception.
Born from the fruit of the World Tree, she was an elf said to live a lifespan incomparable to humans.
Among elves, she belonged to the highest echelon—those born in the deepest roots, destined for immortality so long as the World Tree endured.
-High Elf.
She was Sanctuary’s one and only High Elf: Ainhlla.
She also ran Otolmeo’s information guild—and had protected it for ages.
“……”
It had been a long time since last seeing her.
Sein betrayed no hint of recognition.
“My greetings come too late, Sein-nim.”
Ainhlla said to him.
“Thanks to the aid you provided, Otolmeo was able to rise again from its darkest hour.”
Her gentle face made it hard to believe she was an info broker dealing in secrets that could cost thousands—even tens of thousands—of lives.
But that was precisely who she was.
Information was just information to her—nothing more, nothing less.
That detachment had once allowed her to become the continent’s greatest info broker.
“I’m overjoyed that the day has finally come to repay that debt.”
Ainhlla concluded.
“Repay?”
Sein finally spoke.
“With just this once?”
“……”
“What I did for you can’t be settled in a single go.”
The past was the past.
Even if it lingered, now was not the time.
Standing at Sein’s side was Falcon, Demorus’s intel chief.
“Where will Otolmeo stand?”
In this war.
“Demorus? Or Immortal?”
Which side would they choose?
“That’s not like you, Sein-nim.”
Ainhlla shot back without flinching.
“The way you’ve acted shows you understand info brokers better than anyone. And yet you ask us to pick a side?”
A side.
“The instant an info broker aligns with one faction, they cease to be an info broker.”
They had to be able to buy and sell any intelligence.
But take a side, and some clients would inevitably question its authenticity and reliability.
“If you insist on an answer, I’ll give one.”
Ainhlla’s age was beyond reckoning.
It had always been that way.
Her memories might fade in yearly bursts, but her core nature never changed.
“We stand with neither side. Not even if Otolmeo crumbles to dust.”
She was throwing the threat right back—proof that intimidation wouldn’t work on her.
But Sein saw it differently.
For the sake of this war and what lay ahead, he needed a firm pledge—with Falcon right there to witness.
“Then I’ll ask again.”
Sein said.
“Will you be mine, Otolmeo?”