There was a strange rumor making the rounds in the Divide Kingdom .

Dont you think His Majesty has changed recently?

They say he doesnt frequent Her Majestys chambers anymore . Apparently, hes found himself a concubine?

Not only that, but they say he also invites young girls into his sleeping chambers every night .

The Royal Palace Garden .

The gardeners who gathered there exchanged the rumors theyd each heard as they trimmed the trees .

A place like the Royal Palace was an awfully secluded place, where rumors could cultivate and fester over the course of an afternoon .

The circumstances are becoming more and more unsettling . Hes been hiring strange people as guards

Shh . Hes coming this way .

At the gardeners words, everyone went silent .

A moment later, a well-built man wearing an intricate cloak passed them . All the while, the gardeners tried their best not to let out a single breath as they focused on trimming the trees .

Once the parade of knights tailing behind him were out of sight, the gardeners let out a unanimous sigh of relief . He hadnt heard anything . It would be hard to hear anything from that far away .

But their assumption was unfortunately wrong . As they let out a sigh of relief, the man gave a command to his knights .

Kill all those who run their mouths within the palace .

Yes, Your Majesty .

The knights all headed towards the gardeners en masse .

After being faced with derision, he dismissed his servants and walked along the hallway . Lined with marble, it was extremely long .

Moments later when he reached his destination, he mumbled to himself as he gripped the doorknob .

[The oaths of the abandoned will shine brightly even in the deep sea . ]

As if it understood his language, the door opened .

The place that was finally revealed was a room exuding a sinister air too dark to be considered the kings sleeping chambers .

The King of Divide .

Clora Ars F . Baldershu .

As he walked into the bedroom, he opened his mouth .

Is it to your liking?

A voice whispered coyly into his ear .

Hm, compared to what Ive been through, its very pleasant here .

A woman lay upon the big bed .

She didnt hide her busty figure as she wore a revealing outfit, but there was something else that drew attention .

A mask that was embellished with intricate gems and feathers .

Though not evident, there was most definitely a beautiful face hidden behind the mask .

She spoke in a gentle tone .

Im grateful to you .

She rubbed her face on a soft pillow .

I really like it here . Soft blankets and extravagant food, but most of all, being provided with an endless supply of virgins blood .

It had been long since maids and servants, and even the queen consort had been dismissed . Not a single person within the palace could frequent the kings sleeping chambers .

The King of Divide took off his cloak . As soon as he did, his strong and sturdy body shrunk as if it was never real in the first place, revealing a much slender body .

Now only the face bore a resemblance to the king of Divides figure .

Thats a relief then . My head is about to split as I try to take care of things Ive never done before .

He grumbled with his back facing the woman . He groped his face, taking the King of Divides face off and placed it on the table .

And from his chest, he took out a clown mask and hid his face .

Theres no other mask that suits me more than this one .

Clown Mask donned his usual mad smile at the bottom of his mask . The last thing countless people had seen was that smile, before being gruesomely murdered .

He approached the bookshelf and pulled at books placed in various locations in a sporadic order . As he did, a whirring sound filled the room, indicating that some kind of engine had to come to life . The bookshelf slid to the side with a creak .

A hidden area came into view .

As Clown Mask and Feather Mask entered, the door shut automatically .

In the dim room, a young man wearing a Crow Mask and an old gray-haired man wearing a Skull Mask were seated .

A massive mirror had been placed in front of them . The mirror that spanned the entire length of the room displayed not only the major facilities of each nation, but also detailed information that only locals would know .

The moment Clown Mask and Feather Mask took a seat, the mirror shivered as it continued to update information in real-time .

Small and big events were all displayed on the mirror in real-time .

Clown Mask had never seen an artifact more remarkable .

It was typically referred to as the Mirror That Holds Shadows .

With no limits, it could gather information about any event happening from far away . Even amongst all other artifacts, its ability to collect information was astounding .

This artifact had played a big role in allowing the Outsiders to operate carefully while staying out of sight .

If it werent for the artifact, the Outsiders would have dispersed long ago .

Skull Mask had several more artifacts of this level . For someone to possess numerous artifacts of the highest standard, artifacts that could turn the tables on the most dire of situations, evoked a somewhat awe-inspiring sensation .

Clown Mask shifted his gaze back to the mirror .

Information continued to pop-up constantly .

As Crow Mask studied the information being displayed on the mirror, he used a long-distance communication device to send commands to his subordinates scattered across several nations .

Troops at Lintholin join up with troops at Liheim . There will be a big scale movement of the heads soon . Itll be a chance for us to earn a considerate amount of money .

Hebrions troops are gathering at the north . An extensive inspection is to be expected . Halt all action and conceal yourselves as best as possible .

Sodune Canyons newly appointed commander will not go easy on us . The information thats been identified so far is likely a trap, so ideally we should

Crow Mask led these people who didnt amount to much individually and challenged the entire Hebrion Empire as a whole . He was once a commander that occupied the capital of the empire that displayed tactics and strategies that made him a widely feared opponent at that time .

Now as an Outsider, he gathered information using the artifact, which he then used to predict future outcomes and calmly design a strategy to slowly bring about the downfall of the kingdoms .

A vast sea of information and an excellent commander . The combination of the two was what truly allowed the Outsiders to make such amazing results .

Clown Mask turned to speak to Crow Mask who was moving around tirelessly .

An official message came from the Western Empire today .

*Click*

Crow Mask turned off the communication device and stared blankly at the Clown Mask, as if urging him to continue .

Suppressing the desire to crack a joke, Clown Mask continued speaking .

They requested the right to command and also requested additional soldiers from the Avalon troops that Divide appointed .

And their goal?

The demise of the Outsiders .

The words that Clown Mask stated so casually was a direct declaration of an all-out war coming from the Western Empire .

But not a single person present was surprised .

The time had come .

Ever since the event in Prichella, the five nations of the Western Empire had unanimously agreed to join forces in order to get rid of the Outsiders . Until now, there had only been empty promises of such plans, with no further action, in order to appease their citizens . However, that had all changed . They had finally started making a move .

But it was a little too late . Theyd already found a place within the Western Empire . No, they hadnt just found their place . Theyd grasped the entirety of the Empire and its military power . They held the entirety of Divide in their hands .

Clown Mask spoke .

Its best to comply with their requests for now . Just enough to save face .

What they had a hold of was a section of the Western Empire . Their goal didnt stop there . They still needed to establish a stronger position from the inside .

Whos sending the most troops?

Clown Mask sneered as he spoke of the nation with the most hostile attitude .

Prichella Empire . They still havent recovered from their losses, but they must be overflowing with rage towards the Outsiders . Heh .

The sound of sneers rang across the room . Soon, that sound was interrupted by Crow Masks command .

Send double the number of troops to them .

Eh?

Huh?

Clown Mask and Feather Mask cocked their heads . It was an order they didnt understand .

Can I ask why you made that decision? It doesnt affect our organization settled here in Divide, but other organizations may be annihilated .

The others accepted that death was just a step away when they decided to join the Outsiders . Have you forgotten the pledge? The Outsiders all prioritize their own goals, and to achieve those goals, we use each other .

The Outsiders were an organization made up of many different groups that had joined forces . As they merged into one, a single pledge was made .

To achieve a goal, one may utilize others whenever they must .

The organization had been united by the same ideals . Individually, everyone had different motives .

Thus, the pledge had been made .

And that pledge had molded everyone into humans that wouldnt stop at anything in order to achieve their goals .

Of course, some had been like that from the start .

As Clown Mask was listening to Crow Masks rationale, he couldnt help but grin with glee .