Conclusion

"He had worked inside The Ashwinder Party for decades, helping them break The Seal, create Pseudo-Ashwinder Eggs, and build the Directional Guidance Network, while leaving his own back doors and patches in every node. He wasn't a double agent. He was hedging his bets on both sides in his own way."

Vivi let out a long breath and looked at everyone.

"If The Ashwinder Party won, he would become one of their core technical personnel. If the Confederation won, the patches he left behind would make it easier for the Confederation to control the entire network."

Kingsley looked at Cohen on top of the Stone Stele and stayed silent for a long time.

"He was a very complicated person."

"Everyone who embeds themselves into a machine is complicated," Cassandra said. "They're not good people, and they're not bad people. They just went too far, sank too deep, and then, at a certain moment, made a choice they could never take back."

Vivi turned and walked toward the Inflatable Raft.

"Let's go back. We have enough data. Cohen will keep sleeping here, and Hexagon Center will keep operating. What we need to do isn't change it, but make sure The Ashwinder Party can't use it."

The Advance Team boarded the Inflatable Raft one after another and crossed back to the far shore of the lake.

As they walked up along the stone steps, Vivi once again passed the Runes on the wall.

They lit up one by one as she passed, then went out one by one after the group had gone by.

This time, she noticed that the rhythm of the Runes lighting and fading was a little faster than when they had come down.

When they passed through the Magic Passage and returned to the Oak Forest, the sky