Darius squeezed his eyes shut, hiding how miserable he felt inside. He could afford to pay the black gas that slipped past him more mind. Instead, the one thing Darius could do was guard the barrier better and prevent any more black gas from escaping.

Thoughts burst out from every corner of his mind as he brainstormed a way to be more officiant.

That was when Teivel’s voice rang out. “Darius, I need your help like before. If you don’t want us to go back to square one where we kept having to hunt down that old man in black robes, and if you don’t want to get hunted down by the old man, please pull yourself together and clear your mind at once!”

It was Darius’ first time hearing such urgency in Teivel’s tone. He frowned and realized he had never experienced such flickering emotions and inner turmoil before; Darius had always been a stern and focused man, regardless of whether he was rich or poor.

Similarly, he had never spent more than ten minutes deciding anything. Yet, Darius was no