The knights stared Hector down from beneath their visors.

The female knight was the first to react as she took her hammer out of her back. “You dare to attack-”

Before she could finish speaking, another ice spear formed on the tip of Hector’s fingertips and shot at her. The woman struck at it with her weapon, shattering the projectile, but the impact was enough to send her flying against a tree.

Hector yelled at Red and the others. “Out of the way!”

They obliged him.

The knight had all recovered from the elder’s initial surprise attack and had all taken out their mauls from their backs. Runic symbols glowed on the head of the hammers, and Red could see a purple aura emanating from their weapons.

None of them stepped forward to attack Hector, though. The old man likewise stopped walking once he got within ten meters of them. A tense stare down followed.

“I would advise this senior to not interfere in our organization’s matters.” the leading knight said in a respectful tone. “We do not intend to do any harm to those people, and merely wish to get to the bottom of the necromancer’s presence in this forest.”

Hector scoffed. “I don’t care what you intend to do. You tried to cross me and abduct my sect members. That is enough to warrant your deaths.”

The leader stirred, the grip around his weapon tightening. “Would this senior really wish to feud against our organization? Our superiors would not stand to have others meddle in our affairs.”

The elder laughed in derision. “What is this? Trying to hide behind the name of your organization? Are you so certain that you will lose to me in combat that now you’re trying to intimidate me?”

The air around the group of knights changed. None of them spoke up, though, not even the female knight who seemed to be having trouble breathing as she collected herself after being struck by the ice spear.

“What?!” Hector asked with a roar. “Are you just going to stand there and stare at me?! If you don’t want to fight, then don’t waste my time and scram! Your superiors know where to find me if they want to repay their subordinate’s grievances.”

Some of the knights trembled as they seemed on the verge of attacking the old man. Red could tell that after what had happened to their companion, there was a reservation in their actions - an uncertainty that came with facing someone stronger than you. Hector’s display of power had done its job.

“We won’t fight.” the leading knight lowered his weapon. “I only hope this senior is ready for the consequences of your actions.”

Hector spat on the ground. “I don’t need a coward to tell me about the consequences of my own actions.”

The man shook his head. “Let us retreat. We are returning to our base.”

One by one, the other knights all lowered their weapons. Then, in a hurry, they all left the scene with incredible quickness, eager to distance themselves from Hector as quickly as possible.

Red was both awed and confused by these events. Hector seemed to be able to cast an ice spear similar to the talisman Allen had used before, but even stronger than that, and with a much shorter activation time. In fact, the elder formed these spears in an almost an instant. It couldn’t be compared.

Yet, the boy did not understand why the knights retreated so promptly. They were all in the Lesser Ring Realm, and he could feel from their fluctuations that they were close in strength to Hector himself. So why were they afraid? There was something Red couldn’t see from their brief clash.

“Hmph, cowards, the lot of them.” Hector said. “No wonder their organization has fallen so far.”

“We appreciate your timely arrival, Master Hector.” Eiwin said with a grateful expression. “If it wasn’t for that, I’m afraid we would have all been captured.”

“Do not be too happy, girl.” Hector shook his head. “I was already in the forest searching for a certain runaway when you used the talisman to call me. If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have arrived in time.”

Allen shivered once he heard that, but he didn’t say anything.

“I see we also have a new arrival.” Hector looked over at Rimold.

“Master Hector.” the rogue bowed towards the elder, showing respect Red had never seen from the crass man before. “I happened upon them in the middle of the forest... I had to give up my identity amidst the bandits to help the children.”

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“There is no need for concern.” Hector shook his head. “After today, Rickard and his band are not long for this world. The Baron and Gustav have both agreed to move against him. Even if we do nothing, that man is doomed.”

“We might not even need to worry about that.” Narcha said with a smile.

The elder frowned. “What do you mean?”

“It is not convenient to explain these matters right now, Master Hector.” Eiwin interjected. “It’s best we return to the sect before we explain everything.”

Hector hesitated. He looked over the group carefully, noticing all the wounds they had accumulated in their bodies. His gaze lingered on Rog in particular.

“What happened to your hair?” the elder asked.

“Got burned.” Rog said with a sad expression.

“Ugh, fine.” Hector shook his head. “Let us return to the sect. I need to have a discussion about your actions too… Or do you think I’ve forgotten you went against my explicit orders?”

The air around the old man changed as he stared down each and every one of the sect members. They all shifted in their feet uncomfortably, even Rimold, who had done nothing to deserve it.

The group had almost forgotten about what had taken them to this place was an act of defiance against the elder’s will. They couldn’t be blamed, either. After what happened in the trial, it felt as if such considerations and conversations were had a lifetime ago.

“No matter.” Hector waved his hands. “We can settle this once we are back.”

The man led the way through the trees, while the rest of the sect members followed behind. Every one of them had expressions of varying degrees of concern. Amidst them, Allen seemed to be the most troubled one.

‘I guess it’s time to see if you learned anything, Allen.’

Red sighed and followed behind his companions.

…

The trip back took them almost six hours, and night soon arrived. Red felt the gaze of the Moon settle upon him again, but this time the boy didn’t feel nearly as pressed about its intensity. Whatever had happened inside the trial had reinforced him mentally and made him more resilient against the gaze, but he found no comfort in that. He knew such respite was momentary, and that in the future, the curse would only grow stronger.

Through his conversation with Hector, Red also learned that this was still the same day as when he and Allen left the sect. The events that happened inside the trial happened over the course of days for the boy, and yet barely a few hours passed on the outside world.

As they approached the town, they started to come across many soldier patrols. These men were moving deeper into the forest, and they all greeted Hector with reverence and fear as they came across him. The elder just gave them a nod of his head and continued on his way.

Soon enough, they could see the town on the horizon, lit up by countless white lanterns. They were walking on the main road at this point, and even more soldiers appeared on their way. Red counted these men to be in the hundreds, some of them even mounted on horses.

All of these soldiers, without exception, gave way to Hector and his group once they came across him. Such reactions were only exacerbated once they got within the town proper.

Although it was already night, the town was still very active as people moved around the streets. Once they spotted Hector, though, a hubbub spread through the crowds as they all parted in fear and awe of the man.

Red and his companions were suddenly put under the scrutiny of hundreds of gazes, and the sounds of conversation reached his ears.

“It’s Hector…”

“What do you think he was doing out here?”

“It’s his entire guild!"

“Did he kill someone else this time around?”

“Shut up! He’s a cultivator! He can hear you!”

The boy frowned. He was uncomfortable, but he did his best to ignore these people. Whatever happened next, Red supposed it was impossible for him to maintain a certain level of anonymity in this town moving forward. Now his identity was tied with the Water Dragon Sect for good.

As they were moving up the hill towards their sect, Red saw Allen approach him from the side.

The young master got close to his ear and whispered. “R-Red… W-What do I do?”

Red frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I-I mean Hector…” Allen trembled. “H-He’s going to punish me, isn’t he?”

“Probably.” Red nodded.

The young master paled. “A-And what do you think I should do? I don’t want to be punished.”

The boy shook his head. “You made your choice once you decided to flee. What else is there to do but own up to the consequences of your actions?”

Allen looked defeated at these words. “I… I suppose you’re right.”

“Just make sure not to back down this time.” Red said. “Hector will try to intimidate and break your will, but you made your choice as a cultivator. Whatever comes after it, take on the repercussions of your actions with the same courage you had when you decided on a course of action in the first place.”

“R-Right!” Allen seemed to have regained his spirits. “I won’t cry this time!”

This sentence earned the young master a few quizzical gazes from the rest of the group, and Hector’s steps faltered for a moment. They all ignored it, though, and continued on their way towards the sect.

…

Once they got to the street of their sect, the hubbub of the crowds became more distant. No one ever dared to wander around these parts as they considered this to be Hector’s territory, and no one dared to trespass on his turf.

The group arrived at the sect’s building. The elder waved his hand and a gale of wind forced the gate open.

“To the hall!” Hector ordered. “Now!”

The old man seemed to have a change in attitude as soon as he arrived in the sect. Gone was the image of a hero who appeared just in time to save them, and returned was the bearing and airs of a relentless tyrant.

Red saw Allen have second thoughts upon hearing this. However, none of them had any choice.

One by one, they filed into the hall. Not even Rog tried to slip away this time. Red, who had already sensed two familiar fluctuations inside the building, was not surprised to see his master Goulth and Domeron already sitting at the table.

Neither of them said anything once they saw the group enter. Goulth, however, was glaring at Red, while Domeron had a serene expression, which certainly didn’t seem to belong to someone who had betrayed Hector’s trust and sent Allen out to a suicide mission earlier in the day.

Hector sat at the head of the table and waved his hand. “Sit!”

They all followed his orders. Red sat by Eiwin and Allen’s side, and he braced himself for whatever came next.

“So…” Hector crossed his arms and stared down his sect members. “Are you ready to talk about your crimes against the sect?”