A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

Bray moved his hands, feeling that he had somewhat failed in this battle.

The mental world disappeared, and the broadsword that had been embedded in the wall fell to the ground with a clanging sound.

---

"Ah... I survived."

“Damn humans… no, damn hunters…” Miriel said in an extremely weak voice.

His true form lay on the mirror he had created, looking as if he were on the verge of death.

The mist began to spread, permeating the entire alternate dimension.

The liquid used to envelop its core is slowly increasing.

Although the increase is extremely slow, given some time, He can definitely regain His vitality once again.

Yes, all Miriel needs is time, and the Silver Seeds happen to have plenty of time.

His original form prevented him from moving properly, so he had to prepare to transform.

The form that the Silver Seed takes after its transformation is not closely related to its true form, since it is a "false" image. Therefore, the form it takes after being injured is not necessarily the form of an injured person.

However, He, who was originally planning to take human form, was stunned.

"Are you surprised that you can't transform into a dignified old man?" Jonathan appeared in front of Miriel, looking down at him.

"Surprised?"

"That's because of the little man," the clown said in a lighthearted tone, every word brimming with pride.

Jonathan's appearance in the alternate dimension was completely unexpected for Milier.

Jonathan's words once sent chills down Millier's spine.

“Jonathan...you really are a traitor.” Unable to take human form, Miriel could only vehemently denounce Jonathan in a weak and ethereal voice.

“No, no, no, I am not a traitor,” Jonathan immediately refuted Millier’s statement.

"I must say, Lord Miriel, you really work very hard."

"Very few people are able to escape from that man who eats the precepts."

“Congratulations on becoming one of them.” After saying that, Jonathan solemnly applauded for Millie.

The applause sounded incredibly eerie in the empty space.

"In any case, thank you for your hard work, Lady Miriel. Please leave now."

"The monster you created is also very interesting. I will do my best to ensure its safety."

“You can rest assured,” Jonathan said to Millier in an extremely sinister tone.

He raised his cane and thrust it fiercely at Miriel's body, which was lying on the ground.

“Jonathan! You despicable bastard!” Millie’s voice shrilly as she struggled to break free.

But He was so weak that He couldn’t even move.

He used concepts, but Jonathan launched several concept bombs that neutralized them.

At that moment, Miriel truly felt like a fish on a chopping board.

"Clang!" The cane struck the mirror containing Miriel.

With the tip of the cane as the center, the mirror surface began to crack.

However, the cane did not actually pierce Miriel's body directly; it only pierced the unknown liquid that enveloped her body.

If Miriel had sweat glands, she would be drenched in a cold sweat right now.

Jonathan's stab missed not because Miriel dodged it himself, but because the other party did it on purpose.

"Haha, does Lord Miriel really think I would do something so backstabbing?"

“How could that be? Such schemes and tricks seem particularly boring; a scoundrel wouldn’t attempt them,” Jonathan said with a light laugh.

Using words to incite others to fight each other, then stabbing the injured party in the back—

This kind of development has happened so many times that it becomes quite boring to repeat it.

"Oh dear, did I scare you? I'm so sorry." Jonathan put away his cane and patted his mask apologetically.

"I was just joking with you." Jonathan disliked violence and, naturally, didn't enjoy killing.

Besides, he was about to kill Miriel, but he didn't actually gain anything from it.

"What...what exactly are you planning..." Milier asked weakly.

He couldn't see through Jonathan, and didn't understand what Jonathan wanted to do.

“Don’t overcomplicate things if you haven’t planned anything,” Jonathan said, twirling his cane.

"Now you believe that I am not a traitor, right?"

"In the future, please explain this to the other demigods. I don't want to be hated by everyone wherever I go."

"By the way, please don't cause trouble for that man who holds the precepts. After all, if a character who has only appeared once reappears, it will be very troublesome for me."

“…” Miriel fell silent.

"Speaking of which, that adorable mimic beast survived, right?" Jonathan crouched down, rested his chin on his hand, and looked at Miriel, tentatively asking.

Although he already knew the answer, he still asked unnecessarily.

It's as if this action has some deeper meaning.

“I survived…” Millie knew she was in a bad situation, so she answered Jonathan’s question cooperatively.

The Joker's unpredictability caused Miriel to be extremely wary of him.

"Great! The mimicry beast survived!"

“But you probably don’t know what that mimicry beast is called, right?” Jonathan said.

“…” Miriel looked at the clown who had suddenly become excited for no reason, feeling a little confused.

The clown seemed to have suddenly jumped onto the stage, and his entire demeanor changed.

"Its name is Al, which comes from the fact that it was hungry, so it cried out, 'Ah, hungry!'"

"Isn't it cute? Although its diet includes intelligent species, that makes the little man a little scared."

“Your protection has allowed it to flourish and multiply. Thank you! I am extremely grateful to you!” Jonathan extended his hand, intending to shake hands with Miriel.

However, after realizing that Miriel had no strength left, he reluctantly withdrew his hand.

"After a while, the descendants of Al will gradually appear on the Eastern Continent, and they will probably be very intelligent."

"I really look forward to seeing what it will be like when everyone fights against these monsters that are like 'invaders'."

"Oh, I forgot, everyone is still struggling with their half-body right now."

"If we fight again... I might die." Jonathan pretended to realize this belatedly and smacked himself on the head.

“Oh no, oh no, this means Mr. Monk has an extra timer.”

"What should we do? The man who upholds the precepts doesn't even know about this..."

"If he's too slow, something terrible is about to happen."

Jonathan started circling around Millie, looking very anxious.

Al originated in the Eastern Continent, and it will also proliferate there.

The Claw Castle might become a psychological trauma for Al, making him afraid to go near it for the rest of his life.

But after encountering a hunter like Bray once, Al will become more cautious, and the danger level will only increase exponentially.

Coastal cities may suffer, central cities may suffer, and border cities may suffer.

Every city could be affected, including Angyeong.

These mimicry beasts prey on intelligent species and don't choose any specific targets; any unlucky creature will be eaten.

The same applies to the people in Ankyoreh.

If the lower-level species, which are already doing their best to avoid the silver species, were to be subjected to another round of mimicry beasts, how badly would they fare?

Jonathan didn't know because his imagination was poor.

But the clown is certain that Mr. Ring-Bearer will regret it then, regretting that he was too slow.

"Oh dear, Master of the Precepts, what should you do? There's no turning back now."

“All you do is kill… If you stop wielding your sword, the world will perish. But if you go berserk, the world will still perish.” Jonathan said softly, tilting his head back.

"Are you really human?" Miriel questioned.

“Of course, I am a human being, a completely ordinary human being. I am both your demigod’s little helper and the true god’s agent. I am also a good friend of mortals,” Jonathan said unhurriedly.

"Lord Miriel, you must tell everyone carefully—"

"The hunters are here." After realizing he had no way to pursue Miriel, Bray had no choice but to give up.

He is able to catch most silver species because of the presence of radiance.

As long as the Silver Seed is active nearby, Radiance can guide Bray to that location.

However, it should be noted that the radiance can only react to Silver species that exist in the real world. It has no effect on Silver species like Miriel, who can hide in the mirror world.

Although if Bray's foothold in the air hadn't been destroyed, he could have pulled Milier out.

However, there are no "what ifs" in the world.

In reality, Bray's prosthetic eye malfunctioned, affecting his ability to establish a foothold and causing him to miss his last chance to capture Milier.

Even though Bray almost killed Miriel, in the end, he didn't.

"Almost" and "none" often mean the same thing.

Then there's the fact that Bray is more concerned with the mimics He created than with Miriel himself.

The mimic beast was almost identical to Miriel in many ways, and Bray seriously doubted whether this was just the guy's twisted sense of humor.

Alright, let's not get off this topic. What Bray is really worried about is what kind of waves these mimicry beasts, which clearly possess abnormal intelligence, will cause in the Eastern Continent.

Silver-tier individuals are generally reluctant to enter because the safe zone can suppress concepts.

However, these mimicry beasts don't dislike entering the safe zone; in fact, they might even be quite happy to enter it.

Contrary to Jonathan's expectations, Bray not only knew the dangers of the mimicry beasts, but also knew very well that Anjing City would soon be threatened as well.

Nia and Levy, who live in Anjing City, are also a threat.

Of course, it takes time for the Mimicry Beasts to grow and expand, and it also takes time to move from Claw Fortress to Anjing City without the aid of tools.

The small number of mimicry beasts is probably not enough to satisfy Levy... With Levy's protection, Nia is basically safe.

Bray feared that the size of the mimic beasts would become too large, forming a completely new large population.

At that time, even Levy and a group of angels could not guarantee their "safety".

As for Nicol Bolas... who knows what might happen at the very last moment.

Bray silently made a gesture of contempt towards the sky.

Even though there was no one around, Bray still knew that someone would see the gesture.

----

After returning to Claw Castle, Bray packed his belongings.

They also brought back a lot of fresh meat from hunting, which they traded for preserved meats that could be stored for a long time.

He was fully prepared for a long journey, even though it wasn't far from the "Prophet's Tomb".

But Bray was afraid of getting lost, and also afraid that his skateboard would break halfway through the journey.

It's better to be safe than sorry.

"Are you getting ready to leave?" The wolf girl Talika stood in front of Bray, who was crouching down, and looked down at him.

Normally, this is the question that the most lively Taji would ask.

However, Taji clearly doesn't have that in mind right now; he will probably need a long time to get over the trauma.

Many people are trapped in the shadows, and Bray has seen and encountered quite a few.