Chapter 408: The Night and the Light (4)

“I’ll take care of the followers guarding the archives. And the librarians inside.”

The Heavenly Demon took the lead, with Cale and Alberu following close behind.

Cale, dressed in the uniform of a mid-ranking priest, checked the time.

Tap. Tap.

Hearing the consecutive small sounds, Cale raised his head and thought.

As always—

The Heavenly Demon is incredible.

He was worthy of being called the greatest martial arts master.

Two knights stood guard at the entrance to the archive building.
Though their skills were considerable and their vigilance high, the Heavenly Demon closed the distance in an instant.

Before they could sense his approach—

Before they could even react—

Tap. Tap.

His fingers struck their pressure points with delicate precision.

“...!”
“!!”

They were paralyzed in their guard position.

The two knights stood frozen, only their eyes blinking.

“If someone else comes, they’ll notice something’s wrong. But until then, they won’t be discovered.”

With those words, the Heavenly Demon searched their uniforms, retrieved a small item, and slipped into the archives without hesitation.

So convenient.

Following his lead, Cale entered the archive building—calmly, but with the steady confidence that came from having the Heavenly Demon ahead.

It's unique.

This was the only building without windows facing the Primordial Night.
In fact, it had no windows at all.

The air inside was cool.
A faint magical hum lingered—likely a device maintaining the ideal conditions for preserving ancient books.

Steps. Steps.

Cale and Alberu moved forward with deliberate composure. They had no other choice.

"There are countless magical alarms."

Alberu pointed to the magic circles.

Click.

The Heavenly Demon, who was in front, easily passed through the magic circles with a pass.

"There are also many hidden guards."

Furthermore, there were many hidden guards inside the archives, but—

Swoosh.

The moment the Heavenly Demon shifted, his movement was like the wind itself.

Tap.

His hand moved slightly.

From the ceiling above, several figures dropped silently to the floor.

“...!”

One of them tried to shout—

Swish~

The Heavenly Demon caught him mid-air, his grip gentle yet absolute.

Before the man’s body could hit the ground—

Tap.

Another precise strike. The guard went limp, unconscious.

The Heavenly Demon laid him down quietly, without a sound.

It was a technique to knock someone unconscious —
one that even Choi Han could not match.

After all, the Heavenly Demon had perfected the technique of striking pressure points.

And now—
he was even stronger than before.

With the skill to stand against the Wanderers…
how could the guards of archive hope to stop him?

Tap.

Another one was knocked unconscious.

The archives weren’t large.
It was a single-story building, modest in size.

Narrow hallways stretched between tall bookshelves on either side—
and there, countless records were stored.

Tap.

Furthermore, the layout itself was a maze.

From the outside, the archives looked like a simple square.
But once inside, it twisted and turned endlessly, like a labyrinth.

That was why the hidden guards never realized that Cale had entered.

No.

Actually, they did know.

They must have thought Cale’s group were priests with official business—
they entered with such confidence, after all.

But the moment anyone sensed something strange and tried to react—

Tap.

They were struck down by the Heavenly Demon’s hand.

Just like that.

"It's the end."

With the pass in one hand and flawless precision in the other, the Heavenly Demon guided Cale through the twisting archive corridors.

When they reached the final passage, Cale turned around.

Wow.

The maze-like hallways made it hard to see everything, but—

“Twenty people,” Alberu said quietly.

Around twenty hidden guards lay unconscious.

"Oh—"

When Cale looked at him with genuine admiration, the Heavenly Demon smiled faintly. His shoulders rose just a little, betraying quiet pride.

“There must be something important here,” he said suddenly—changing the subject for no reason at all.

“For a place like this, three hidden guards would’ve been enough. But there are twenty.”

The Heavenly Demon’s gaze moved to the final bookshelf at the end of the narrow hallway—
the one with no books on it.

“Now it’s your turn,” he said to Cale.

"Yes."

Cale stepped forward.

The archives.

There was a hidden space here.

It made sense now—why there had been so many hidden guards. They were protecting the entrance to that place.

“I don’t sense any strange energy,” the Heavenly Demon murmured.

At that moment, Alberu spoke.
“Is it the bookshelf?”

The last bookshelf—empty.

“Yes. Here.”

Cale reached out and picked up a book from the shelf beside it.

It looked completely ordinary.
Not old, not new—just an average book among hundreds.

‘Creak.’

Following the memories of Hinpa Gong—
remembering the sound he had heard back then—

Cale placed the book on the third row of the five-tier bookshelf, slightly toward the left.

Creak.

The same sound echoed, just as in his memories.

Click.

With a faint mechanical noise, the empty bookshelf began to move.

A narrow staircase revealed itself, descending into the darkness below.

The archives, it seemed, had not one floor, but two—
a hidden basement beneath the surface.

"I'll stay here."

The Heavenly Demon offered to stay.

"Let's go."

Cale and Alberu descended the staircase.

There weren’t many steps.

Soon, their feet touched the ground below.

Just like in the memories.

The moment Cale stepped into the hidden chamber—

[You have reached the hidden place.]

The system message appeared.

Buzz.

A faint hum echoed through the air.

Huh?

When Cale turned his head, he saw Alberu’s face twist in discomfort.

"Wow."

Cale couldn’t help but admire the sight.

"Ugh."

Alberu let out a sigh.

"Why is this happening suddenly?"

A radiant light burst from the Sword of the Sun, wrapping around him.

A handsome young man with golden hair and bright blue eyes stood in its glow.

"You look like a hero!"

Cale grinned and gave him a thumbs-up.
Alberu closed his eyes tightly.

Cale didn’t have time to keep teasing him. He turned back toward the depths of the room.

“The Sword of the Sun must be reacting,” he said quietly. “There must be a lot of things here connected to the God of Chaos.”

With those words, Cale began to move—
following the memories of Hinpa Gong.

The basement of the archives was nothing like the floor above.

Five altars.

On them there were five records.

"Is it the power of the God of Chaos?"

At Alberu’s quiet question, Cale nodded.

"As always, you noticed."

His steps halted before one of the altars.

A record written in strange, twisting characters lay there.

[You have found a record related to 'Fear'.]

The Chaos Fear.

The very record required to awaken that power.

Cale reached out and grasped it.

"Ugh!"

And then, he stopped.

"What's wrong?"

Alberu stepped closer, but Cale’s gaze was fixed on the record.

– It's the power of Chaos.

Just as the Cheapskate said, the moment Cale took hold of the record—

Spark.

A strange energy crawled up his fingers.

Ding!

A new message appeared before his eyes.

[Resistance has occurred.]

But before he could even process it—

[As you are the possessor of a power, the resistance has been dissolved.]

Power.

Cale exhaled quietly.

“It’s the power of the saint.”

The Chaos Fear.

Although it was inactive, Cale had this power.

That was why he knew—he could safely take this record of Fear.

Cale lifted the record from the altar.

Once completely separated, it looked ordinary enough—yet a faint, unsettling energy lingered around it.

It was the same feeling he’d once sensed from the God of Chaos himself.

A trace of that same fear.

Only weaker.

It's going to be destroyed today.

This record was destined to be destroyed.

Cale slipped it into his pocket without hesitation.

"Ugh!"

But a groan broke the silence.

Cale turned, startled.

“…What’s going on?”

Alberu Crossman was crouched down, gripping the scabbard of his sword.

“The— the sword…”

The scabbard was trembling violently, and Alberu was holding it with all his strength.

Cale remembered the record he had in his pocket and glanced at Alberu, who was still crouched.

A conclusion formed in his mind.

“It must be similar to the saint.”

Saint Jack.

As a saint of the cult of the God of the Sun, he trembled when he wanted to purify certain energies, such as dead mana.

Alberu must be experiencing something similar now.

"It seems that the Sword of the Sun wants to eliminate all traces of the God of Chaos here."

Alberu didn’t respond.
Instead, he crouched lower, clutching the scabbard tightly to his chest.

It was a pitiful sight.

“Cheer up,” Cale said sincerely.

“This is ridiculous…” Alberu muttered through clenched teeth.

Cale ignored him and turned to the next altar.

[You have found a record related to 'Purification'.]

To be exact—Purification of Chaos.

Just as in Hinpa Gong’s memories… this was it.

It was the record that would save Choi Jung Gun from the Chaos Contamination.

Spark.

[Resistance has occurred.]

[As you are the possessor of a power, the resistance has been dissolved.]

Cale slipped the record containing the purification ritual into his pocket.

With this, I can save Choi Jung Gun.

He had obtained the two records he’d been searching for.

"Are you done?"

Alberu, still struggling to steady the trembling scabbard, spoke through gritted teeth.

"Hmm."

Cale didn’t answer directly. Instead, he took a moment to look around.

The room was empty now—
a silent space containing only five altars.

Step. Step.

Cale began to move.

Pleasure.

[You have found a record related to 'Pleasure'.]

Step. Step.

[You have found a record related to 'Corruption'.]

And then—

the final altar.

[You have found a record related to '@($*%'.]

"Huh?"

Cale's eyes sparkled.

The last one.

The record resting on the innermost altar was written in characters even the system couldn’t interpret.

"Ohhh."

A strange light flickered in Cale’s eyes.

"Wow."

Alberu’s sigh didn’t even reach Cale.

“Yes. Since we’re here…”

Cale extended his hand towards the other three records.

Spark.

The record of Corruption.

Spark.

Then, the one of Pleasure.

Taking these doesn’t mean I’ll gain their powers, Cale thought calmly.

The saint—or the followers of the God of Chaos—could wield these powers even without the records.

But you never know.

It was better to take everything you could when the chance presented itself.

Cale’s hand moved again—
toward the final record, the one covered in indecipherable characters.

Crackle~

He felt a strong shock, different from the previous ones, but...

Hmm.

Even so, there wasn’t much resistance. The record slipped easily into his grasp.

After tucking all the records safely into his pocket, Cale turned to Alberu.

"Let's go."

"Yes."

By then, Alberu was already standing, the scabbard resting quietly at his side.

It seemed that the Sword of the Sun had finally calmed down.

“It took longer than I thought,” Alberu remarked.

As he said, more than forty minutes had already passed.
Only twenty minutes remained before the appointed time.

“Since the ritual hasn’t started yet, no one will come here for the next twenty minutes.”

Based on Hinpa Gong's memories, Cale was certain of that.
No one would visit the archives before the ritual began.

If the ritual starts and the Night of Pleasure begins, the saint might come here, but.

Even if they discovered the state of the guards and the hidden guards at that time, it wouldn't matter.

Would they even have time for that?

Today, the saint would be far too busy.

Because tonight—
the sanctuary would collapse.

"Hmm."

Before leaving the archives, Cale recalled what he still had to do.

The divine artifact. And the saint.

In order of priority, the divine artifact came first.
If he couldn’t meet the saint beforehand, then so be it.
He would see him once the ritual began anyway.

“But… wasn’t there no information about the divine artifact’s location in Hinpa Gong’s memories?” Alberu asked.

Cale smiled mysteriously at Alberu's question.

"Ah, that."

– Sniff. Sniff.

It had been happening for a while now.

"There's a way."

– Sniff. Sniff.

Someone had been continuously smelling.

"Follow me."

– Sniff. Sniff.

The Sound of the Wind.

The thief had been sniffing persistently for some time now—

a being who could sense divine artifacts as easily as breathing.

Like a ghost.

– It's not far.

The Sound of the Wind’s voice carried a hint of excitement.

– Over there.

Cale moved in the direction the Sound of the Wind indicated. 

 -----

P/R Thoughts: Cale and Alberu uncover the hidden archive beneath the Primordial Night — retrieving the records of Fear and Purification as divine power and chaos collide in the depths below.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Mayank]