"Why are you doing this?" Silas asked her with furrowed brows. "I thought you were a slave that escaped them. Why would you willingly help them?"

Lilura looked at Silas but said nothing.

A smile formed on her face, then it grew into a wild, maniacal laughter.

"Really? You still think I was an escapee?" Lilura asked, her laughter calming to a sly smile. "You actually think the blackout that occurred in the city that day was a coincidence?"

Silas’s eyes widened in realization.

"Yes, you have all been playing in my palm since the start," she said, raising her palm.

"Everything played out exactly as I wanted."

Silas looked at her, veins popping on his forehead.

"So, Michael, what happened to him?" He asked.

"Oh, that boy," she said with a sigh.

"I would not have killed him, but he felt he could play smart."

As she said this, her eyes flicked through the room.

"He found out that I was the master, but still tried to hide the answer from me, saying he could not find the person so I would remain ignorant."

As she said this, she burst into laughter again.

"Silly boy. He thought he was smart."

Silas’s fists rolled into balls. They turned white quickly under the force he was putting into them.

Her smile remained as she spoke.

"Do you even know who I am in the organization?"

Lilura added.

"I am the boss. The leader of the Crimson Fang."

Silas said nothing for a while.

"So, Amelia. You knew she was coming, right? How was our relationship involved in your plan?"

"That was just my personal grudge. I didn’t like you two together."

She said those words carelessly, without remorse.

The floor erupted into a pile of rubble as Silas flashed across the room in a blur of blue, katana arcing downward toward Lilura’s neck.

...

Max looked at the person walking out of the elevator with calm.

His eyes narrowed.

"I don’t understand you," he said, almost with a smile.

"I said, your opponent is me," the person said, stepping out of the elevator fully.

"Why would you fight me? You are my friend," Max said with furrowed brows.

Aldren looked at him, driving his sword into the tile beneath him.

"Friend? You can still say that after everything you did. You knew I was meant to be the Governor after Zuriel died in the secret realm, but you claimed the seat just because you were stronger."

Max squinted his eyes.

"It was neither of ours to claim. Light was the rightful owner of the seat, but he was assassinated by the Crimson Fang a day before he took the full seat."

Aldren listened calmly, then scoffed.

"Crimson Fang? I killed Light myself. The Governor’s seat is mine and mine alone."

Max’s eyes widened.

"You killed Light," he said, his aether flaring, bursting through the roof.

It was a deep red hue, suffocating enough to make the air thin out around him.

Aldren was unfazed. "Yes. And I would kill you too."

Boom.

Aldren tilted his head to the left.

A spear flew through from behind, tearing a deep cut across his cheek.

"What are you doing here, kid?" Aldren asked, unbothered by the gash on his cheek.

He looked back at Alfred, who had entered at some point.

"You killed him," Alfred said calmly, walking toward Max with slow steps.

"Governor Max," he said, bowing at Max.

Max was surprised.

For the first time since he had assigned the deputy position to Alfred, Alfred bowed.

"Please, let me be the one to end his miserable life."

Max was about to speak when Alfred cut him off.

"You can stop Silas before he does anything to Lilura in that time."

Max opened his mouth, then closed it.

"Okay."

Aldren laughed at them.

He could not help but hold his stomach.

"You think Lilura is on your side? She is the leader of the Crimson Fang."

As he said this, he wiped a drop of tear from his eye.

Max stared with wide eyes. He was genuinely shocked. Something like that was never meant to work on him.

Alfred was rather calm. Or more specifically, all his rage, shock, and emotion had been transferred to one target at this moment.

But he could still think clearly.

"It seems Silas found out about this. That should be the main reason he went to Lilura."

Max nodded.

A sound tore through the glass from behind as a person crashed into the table.

He held a sword, eyes locked on Max.

Aldren looked at the person who had just entered.

"Zain, you took too long. What if they had ganged up on me before you came?" He asked.

The person scoffed.

Aldren shook his head.

"Is everything set?" He asked.

Zain nodded as he dropped from the table, blade glinting a golden light under the sun.

Aldren moved at the same time, pulling his sword from the earth as he burst forward.

Alfred’s spear flew back from the wall it had pierced into and he dashed forward to meet Aldren.

Max’s daggers appeared in his palms.

His body flickered and he appeared above Zain.

...

Bryan walked through the Veritas Corps base with calm steps.

The Corps members around bowed as he passed and he replied with a nod.

An explosion came from outside.

The Corps members ducked to cover themselves.

It was loud enough to make the building shake.

As they raised their heads, Bryan had disappeared.

...

Amelia lay in her bed, her head pressed hard against her pillow.

The pillow was soaked through.

Something crashed into her room.

"Sorry for crashing in, but are you Amelia?" The person asked calmly, with a gentle voice.

"What do you want?" Amelia asked, raising her head.

It was red, tears still falling uncontrollably.

"I guess you are the one then." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

As the person said those words, they shot forward, hand coated in aether as they punched toward Amelia’s head.