Beyond the door was a bloody fog. Recognizing it, River spoke with a serious look, "This is Jang ahjussi's skill…?”

“...”

Arthur's eyes narrowed as he turned his head without saying a word.

"Eup! Eup!"

"Eup...!"

His fellow Watchguards were detained in the spacious central living room of the hideout. Their arms and legs were tied with restraints restricting the use of magic, and their mouths were also blocked with tape. Even in that state, they looked at Arthur and shouted. They wanted Arthur to run away, but Arthur counted them first.

‘One, two, three...’

There were thirty in total. The first thought that dominated his head was 'relief.’

‘I wasn’t too late.’

He could change the outcome if he had a chance. It was too early to regret.

‘But if the number of people tied up is 30...’

The Watchguards had 33 members in total, so excluding himself and River, there was only one left.

"Oh, so you're here."

The last Watchguard slipped out of the kitchen with a beer bottle.

Staring at him piercingly, Arthur asked in an eerily calm voice, "What happened, Jang ahjussi?"

"Huh? Hmm... I don’t think you’re stupid. Do I have to necessarily explain it to you?” The pot-bellied man with a bushy beard scratched his head and shrugged. "It is what it is?”

Sitting comfortably on the...