Chapter 133
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Chapter 133
"I... I... I don't know..."
"I think you'll remember if I poke around a bit here."
Even in the darkness, the oppressive weight and chill unique to Imperial Servants remained.
"If you can't remember, I'll just try poking somewhere else."
Before the threats could continue, the Guardian trembled violently and cried out.
"T-The underground! It's in the underground! The Western Underground..."
Crown Prince Kiaros struck the Guardian's vital point, rendering him unconscious.
Then he quickly changed into the Guardian's clothes.
'If it weren't for this darkness, I could dismantle an organization like this alone in an instant...'
As merely a strong human now, even this disguise was a necessary compromise.
Glancing at a mirror, I saw a young man with black hair and dark eyes wearing the black suit of a Gaejo Faction Guardian.
'Hurry. Quickly.'
Now, as I moved through the building, no one paid me any attention. In fact, the eastern section of the building seemed to be in complete chaos.
'Namia, I...'
Even as I moved with composure, my heart trembled. The thought that Namia might be here set my blood ablaze.
'I miss you so much...'
The warm body heat pressing against me in that cramped warehouse, the leisurely smile meeting my gaze, the secret desire that surged each time...'
'It's been far too long since I've seen you...'
It had only been two days since we last met. Yet those hours felt impossibly distant, a consequence of how constantly we'd been together before.
I realized it only after we parted. Even that time together was insufficient—my thirst remained unquenched.
Crown Prince Kiaros immediately headed toward the Western Underground. He swiftly subdued two Guards and rendered them unconscious, then began descending the long, dark staircase.
* * *
At that moment, in the Eastern Conference Room of the Grand Temple.
"Give me back my daughter!"
With a tremendous crash, a wall shattered as an elderly man forced his way in.
"My Aran is such a good-hearted girl! She is!"
For the executives who had hastily begun their meeting regarding the intruder from the Maze, this was a complete bolt from the blue.
"She just made bad friends! So shouldn't I crush those friends first?!"
The Gaejo Faction executives, unaware that the Tower Master was pursuing them, were all thrown into panic.
By common sense, had the Tower Master known Aran was here, he would have sought help from the Imperial Servants.
But the Tower Master was a selfish man who transcended common sense, defying their expectations.
"Block the Scroll Department! The magic—gaahhh!"
One executive who tried to snatch the Tower Master's bag containing scrolls was struck by his staff and collapsed.
The Tower Master was as skilled with his body as he was with scrolls.
"My Aran is such a good girl! She just doesn't put in the effort!"
"Gahhh! Cough cough!"
The executives began falling one by one.
Meanwhile, the Tower Master's scrolls activated, creating a protective barrier around him.
While the effect alone was modest, the synergy created by the Tower Master's superior physical abilities was remarkable.
"Block them!"
Bibeorus barked the order to his Guardians while retreating backward.
In that brief moment, his mind raced with calculation.
'If that old man came here, then the Imperial Servants must know our headquarters too. After all, the Magic Tower and the Imperial Palace are in a cooperative relationship.'
If the Imperial Servants arrived, it would truly be over.
But the Emperor was gravely ill, and Crown Prince Kiaros was in his dark period. There was still room to plan for the future.
'The Southern Region's forces should arrive soon, but....'
What that old man wanted was Aran alone.
Bibeorus's eyes darkened as he grasped this fact.
He quietly slipped out of the chaotic conference room.
Though the Gaejo Faction had many executives, only Bibeorus knew all the secret passages of this ancient, labyrinthine temple.
* * *
The Underground Prison, situated in the depths below.
Aran had come here often—to this place reachable only by descending through dark, shadowed corridors and countless stairs.
Ever since the High Priest conveyed that he had 'obtained Crown Prince Kiaros Polariud's blood,' she visited the Underground Prison with even greater frequency.
"The Empire is finished now. War has begun, and the Gaejo Faction will triumph."
Masked, Aran looked down at Cedric and spoke.
"Change your mind now. Join us. If it's difficult to join of sound mind, we can erase your memories and you'll cooperate anyway."
Cedric, bound in restraints, gazed at Aran in silence. Finding that silence frustrating, Aran pressed on.
"I told you. Until now, the Empire has entrusted everything to the Imperial Servants. But now the Imperial Servants are finished, and all that remains is chaos."
"There aren't only Imperial Servants in the Imperial Palace. There must certainly be capable people there as well."
Cedric replied quietly.
"And why are the Imperial Servants finished? Does the High Priest truly believe he can kill the Crown Prince? Do you really think assassinating the Crown Prince in the heart of the Imperial Palace would be so easy?"
Behind her mask, Aran bit her lower lip. She swallowed a groan internally.
When Cedric fell silent, her chest ached. When he spoke, her head throbbed.
"Of course, I told the High Priest it would be easy. After all, even if the High Priest dies, the Gaejo Faction won't be shaken much. That's your way, isn't it?"
"...."
"Why do you bind yourself to such an organization? An organization should, by nature, grow in the right direction together, founded on mutual trust and cooperation...."
"Ah, please shut up. Even if the assassination fails, the outcome is the same."
Aran cut off Cedric's words with weary eyes.
"Do you know why the Emperor abandoned the Capital? He's ill. It wasn't made public, but he'll be dying soon."
"...."
"He doesn't even realize it himself, but that's because we conducted experiments using the Emperor's blood. When we experimented with reptilian-type monsters, that exact phenomenon occurred."
Her words grew increasingly urgent.
"Since we've secured the Crown Prince's blood and are planning experiments, Crown Prince Kiaros will eventually suffer the same fate."
Cedric, who had been listening quietly, gazed at her intently.
"Why are you explaining all this to me in such detail?"
"...That's because you're too valuable as an experimental subject...."
"And if it comes to that, what about Namia Loapi?"
"...."
"Will Namia Loapi be alright? That's all I can worry about."
"Why are you asking me that?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
Cedric exhaled deeply, hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
"...Because she's our daughter."
Aran, who had been wearing a mask, flinched in shock. She couldn't hide her astonishment and stumbled backward.
"What, what?! You, how did you know? How?! How did you figure that out?!"
"...Logically speaking, just covering your face doesn't hide everything about a person...."
"When did you find out? When exactly did you...."
That was when a deafening explosion echoed through the depths of the Underground Prison, and the ground began to tremble violently.
"...Hm?"
Aran's head snapped upward.
"Something's wrong. Wait. An intruder?"
"It could be the Imperial Servants. Someone competent in the Imperial Palace set a trap, and now the High Priest's been completely exposed."
"The Emperor can't come here because he's ill, and the Crown Prince is in his dark period."
"But thanks to someone competent in the Imperial Palace, that might have been resolved."
"Don't say such horrible things. If that's true, we're all dead."
But Cedric's words had made her genuinely uneasy. Another thunderous boom followed, and the ground shook even more violently than before.
"...Tch."
Aran hesitated briefly, then rummaged through her pocket. She tossed a key and a dagger into the cell.
"If an emergency happens, escape on your own."
She knew exactly what Bibeorus would do in a situation like this.
"This place might collapse into chaos soon."
After that, she discarded the mask she no longer needed onto the floor and began sprinting back up the stairs.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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