Karl, the king, and the reinforcements arrive at the southern hall and surround it. After Karl organizes them, he storms inside, furious—but there is nothing in the hall. Everyone inside is dead. The king and soldiers follow, all shocked by the blood flooding the place and the corpses scattered in every corner. Everyone exits the hall, with some of the younger, newly recruited soldiers vomiting from the horrific sight.  

Suddenly, a person comes running from the south toward the hall, finding the soldiers surrounding it. He quickly dismounts and shouts:  

**"Is Prince Karl here? Is Commander Karl here?"**  

Karl rushes out and finds the caller, who is terrified and sweating.  

**Karl:** "What? What happened? Speak quickly!"  

Everyone waits anxiously.  

**Soldier:** "They’ve breached the kingdom’s main gate! There are over 100 fighters heading this way, all of them elite! Everyone in the south is dead!"  

The king is stunned, blaming himself: **"This is my fault..."**  

He lingers in self-reproach but then remembers Rein’s words: **"What matters is how you fix your mistake."**  

The king quickly calls the evacuation teams:  

**King:** "Hello... hello!"  

**Someone responds:** "Who is this?"  

**King:** "It’s me, the king! Evacuate the citizens from the entire kingdom—now, no time to waste!" The call cuts off.  

The soldier updates Karl: **"They’re on their way here now."**  

Karl is stunned.  

The king intervenes amid the soldiers’ panic, his voice loud, firm, and motivating:  

**"Everyone, listen! We will intercept them here and eliminate every last invader. Those of you who wish to protect your honor and your families—now is the time! You were recruited for moments like this. So tell me—will you stand strong?"**  

A moment of silence falls before the soldiers erupt in confident shouts:  

**"YES!"**  

**"We’ll do it! No need to panic!"**  

**"Come on, we’re over 300 soldiers here, plus the king and Karl!"**  

**"Let’s go! Yes!"**  

Karl smiles, his spirit lifted by the soldiers’ and the king’s energy. Across the kingdom, evacuations begin.  

---  

At that moment, Rein bursts through the soldiers gathered around the statue plaza, entering with absolute confidence and calm. He finds the queen bound to an iron chair.  

He exhales in relief:  

**"Ahhh, this is much better. Thank goodness."**  

The soldiers are stunned by this intruder’s audacity.  

**"He’s not one of us!"**  

**"Yes, he’s wearing an Elvard uniform!"**  

**"Who is he?"**  

**"How did he get in with Baran here?"**  

Rein strides confidently toward the queen, ignoring everyone around him. When she regains consciousness and recognizes him, she speaks in a fearful, trembling voice:  

**"Run! Can’t you see all these people? Leave! There’s no need to free me—"**  

Rein calmly interrupts: **"Shhh... no need to panic. They’re just thugs who don’t want to die."**  

She stares at him in shock, as if he’s mocking everyone.  

Baran arrives with two men behind him.  

**Soldiers:** "Ohh, Lord Baran is here! We need to get him out before he sees this, or he’ll kill us!"  

**Baran** (wearing ornate armor, the enigmatic figure): **"Well, well... if it isn’t the killer of Garil Crown. How dare you show your face here? And why aren’t you dead?"**  

Rein continues toward the queen to free her, but one of Baran’s men grabs his arm.  

**Baran:** "Sure you don’t want to anger my associates? Each of them is a hundred times stronger than you. But we won’t touch you yet—I’m looking for that king, not you."  

Rein smirks, as if mocking the man holding him, and effortlessly pulls his arm free, moving again to unbind the queen.  

**Soldiers:**  

**"What? He’s ignoring them!"**  

**"Baran’s men will kill him—they’re Class S criminals! Both are so strong even Baran hired them!"**  

**"That poor fool... he’s dead."**  

Baran thinks: **"What’s wrong with this kid? Is he deaf?"**  

**Baran’s First Associate:** "Listen, brat. We said we’re not here for you, so scram. Now."  

Rein stops, standing tall with a smile for Baran:  

**"I read the message you left in the palace. I came to negotiate in the king’s place—because if he were here, his excessive kindness would hand you the kingdom. So, how about this: we give you whatever money you want in exchange for leaving this kingdom alone. Or negotiate for anything except its sovereignty. Even if the king agreed, the people never would."**  

Baran laughs: **"Listen, you little fool. We don’t care about the people’s approval. We’ll kill or enslave them—but we’re offering the most peaceful solution."**  

Rein (Kagero) smirks: **"Hah! Sorry, did you say *peaceful*? Or am I mistaken? You murdered 90 soldiers—still looking for peaceful solutions?"**  

Baran, enraged: **"I’ve lost patience, boy. I said I’m not here for you, but you refuse to leave. Fine—I don’t care if I kill you now."**  

The soldiers cheer:  

**"Yes!"**  

**"Kill him!"**  

**"Torture him!"**  

**"Do it!"**  

The two men grab Rein from both sides. He thinks:  

**"I’ll give him one last chance... out of respect for this statue of wisdom."**  

Rein directly: **"You armored fool, I’ll say it one last time. We’re willing to negotiate any price for you to leave this kingdom alone."**  

Baran: **"Won’t you shut up, boy? You’re *really* annoying. But you’re too handsome to torture, so I’ll just have them kill you painlessly."**  

Both men draw their swords, slamming them to the ground before attacking Rein’s neck.  

The queen watches in terror, while the surrounding soldiers laugh and cheer. Rein thinks:  

**"How tedious. I thought you were wiser than to attack me like this."**  

He dodges effortlessly, spinning away and landing gracefully on his feet:  

**"Sorry, but this was your choice. I’ll just make sure not to kill anyone."**  

The two attack fiercely. Rein evades, analyzing:  

**"Precise and powerful strikes—no wonder they’re Class S. If they fought Karl with this hatred, they’d overwhelm him soon. But they leave their bodies unprotected, attacking recklessly... They think victory is certain. So..."**  

After dodging, Rein slips between them mid-attack, striking both in the chest with his palms—using **Pulse**. The two are sent flying, crashing into the statue and collapsing, mouths filled with blood.  

Baran is stunned: **"What...? Without effort? How?"**  

He orders everyone to attack. Rein thinks:  

**"Now I’ll release a bit of Pulse outward, like a gemstone wave. That should drop these mindless attackers."**  

He unleashes a wave—different from the one in the prison, far more violent. It hits every attacker, dropping them as they vomit blood.  

The queen and Baran are shocked by this overwhelming power. Baran thinks:  

**"What *is* this? Isn’t Karl the strongest? Why is someone of *this* level in a weak kingdom?"**  

The queen thinks: **"Is this the same cheerful boy from that table? He reminds me of Rai..."** (A vague image flashes in her mind.)  

Rein gathers Pulse in his foot—**"Explosive Reinforcement"**—and rockets toward Baran at blinding speed. Baran can’t even track him.  

Rein channels Pulse to his fist, striking Baran’s chestplate with effortless, unimaginable speed. The armor shatters into fragments, and Baran is sent crashing into a building, kicking up a massive dust cloud.  

Rein moves to free the queen. After unshackling her, he hears a panting scream:  

**Baran:** "I won’t forgive you... you bastard!"  

Rein, coldly mocking: **"Didn’t this armored idiot faint yet?"**  

The queen thinks: **"Who *are* you? How are you this strong, boy?"**  

---  

Baran rises from the rubble, body trembling and drenched in blood—but his eyes burn with rage. He charges madly, dagger in hand, straight at Rein without hesitation.  

Rein watches intently, thinking:  

**"Why no sword? Is he specialized in close combat?"**  

No time to ponder. Baran is fast—his slashing strikes relentless. Rein dodges smoothly, counters with a sharp punch that sends Baran flying, then quickly tells the queen:  

**"Get to safety before those two wake up. I didn’t fully take care of them."**  

She nods and hurries off, but outside the plaza, she encounters royal soldiers. One stares in shock at her bloodied state:  

**"Your Majesty! What are you doing here?!"**  

Ignoring his shock, she orders: **"Take me to the king—now! No time to explain!"**  

Meanwhile, Baran’s two associates stir, clutching their heads in pain. But seeing Baran’s bloodied state, they realize the fight isn’t over. They grab their swords and attack Rein without hesitation.  

Rein’s eyes gleam coldly: **"Now."**  

He releases another Pulse—stronger than before—blasting the two away. One slams into a shattered wall, the other collapses, bleeding heavily. Baran tries to dodge but fails, the Pulse hitting his leg, making him stagger.  

Rein assesses coldly:  

**"I’ll finish these two first. Dealing with Baran after will be easier."**  

He dashes, delivering precise Pulse-enhanced blows that distort their faces from the impact. They fall unconscious.  

He turns to Baran, who stares open-mouthed, analyzing:  

**"This Pulse... it’s abnormal. A tiny burst causes this much damage?!"**  

But Baran isn’t one to surrender. Smirking through blood, he declares fiercely:  

**"I underestimated you—my mistake. But now, prepare for *real* suffering!"**  

He roars, surging his entire body with Pulse. Energy erupts, cracking the ground and walls. He charges insanely fast, his dagger sheathed in condensed Pulse.  

Rein watches coldly:  

**"What’s his goal? He’s nearly drained his Pulse... why?"**  

Suddenly, Baran hurls the dagger at Rein’s heart. Rein dodges easily—but then Baran draws a crimson sword, slashing with terrifying speed. Rein barely evades; the slash releases a massive cutting wave, destroying everything in its path.  

Rein narrows his eyes:  

**"This sword... it’s unnatural. It absorbs and redirects Pulse? Dangerous... must be enchanted."**  

Baran laughs madly:  

**"Shocked? This is the *Earth Talisman Sword*! Feed it Pulse, and it can do *much* more!"**  

He stabs the sword into the ground—suddenly, the earth beneath Rein quakes violently. Spikes of rock laced with Pulse erupt like deadly earthquakes.  

Rein backflips away, muttering:  

**"This is getting annoying... How long will this stupid fight drag on?"**  

He gathers Pulse in his fist, compressing it to solid energy, then charges Baran.  

Baran meets him head-on, his cursed sword glowing with Pulse. Their clash releases a colossal shockwave, hurling both back. Rein recovers mid-air, kicking off a building and rocketing toward Baran with **Pulse Burst**.  

**"This sword won’t break easily... But I just need to destroy the talisman!"**  

Baran screams:  

**"DIE, YOU BASTARD! THIS IS MY STRONGEST STRIKE!"**  

He channels all his Pulse into the sword, sparks flaring wildly. Rein, in response, merges his Pulse with another energy—like a **core**. Instantly, violent sparks and unstable energy waves erupt from his fist.  

Baran’s eyes widen: **"Impossible... This is—"**  

**BOOOOM!!**  

Rein’s fist meets the sword—shattering it into fragments as if crushed by an immense force. The impact continues into Baran, sending him flying. His body breaks mid-air before smashing into the ground, stirring a dust storm.  

Rein watches indifferently:  

**"What a waste of time."**  

He pulls out his phone, calling the king.  

The king answers, calm but displeased:  

**"Hello, Rein Kagero. Apologies for the tone, but I’m... a bit upset."**  

**Rein:** "Why? What happened?"  

**King:** "The kingdom’s main gate was attacked. Don’t worry—we eliminated them all. But we lost more men, aside from the initial ninety."  

Rein’s eyes sharpen:  

**"So it’s chaos there... Clean up fast, then come to me. I’m at the Statue of Wisdom plaza. Can’t talk more on the phone."**  

He hangs up, his gaze turning graver.  

---  

Meanwhile, in the neighboring country, Zane’s group reaches the border mountains.  

Mina, visibly tense, asks:  

**"Selena, don’t you think it’s strange? No one’s contacted us since we left... That’s unlike them."**  

Selena tries to reassure her:  

**"The kingdom has many problems. It’s natural they’re busy."**  

The mountains aren’t tall, letting the horses advance quickly. As night falls, the group decides to camp.  

Lloyd sighs in relief:  

**"Thankfully, we brought tents."**  

Zane and the men reply in unison:  

**"Of course."**