For a moment, the air grew suffocating. Nobody knew what to say or do. Everyone sat frozen under the pressure.

And Logan… he kept walking. Step by step, he advanced toward Mirena slowly.

"Don't you dare touch my mother!" Darius roared from his seat. He tried to rise, but his body betrayed him; he couldn't even move an inch.

Mirena's eyes widened in terror. "Damn it! I shouldn't have said that. I dug my own grave. He already knew it was me who sent Zereth after him." She cursed under her breath, panic clawing at her chest.

Logan's voice was calm, but it cut through the silence like a blade. "Why don't you tell everyone the truth, Lady Mirena? Why don't you let them know what you've been doing all along? How our family even became entangled with the Third Eye Sect in the first place."

The moment those words left his mouth, the air around Mirena shifted. The gravity where she sat grew crushingly heavy. Her chair cracked under the invisible pressure before snapping apart, throwing her sprawling helplessly onto the floor.

An ice blade materialized in Logan's hand, glimmering with a deadly chill. He walked forward slowly and stopped when he was only a foot away from Mirena. Slowly, he raised the weapon, pressing the razor tip against her throat.

"I've been holding back for my mother's sake. But you really didn't think I was that dumb not to notice anything, did you?" His voice was calm at first, but it carried an edge of steel.

He leaned closer, eyes burning with fury. "Tell me! Who was it that ordered the Third Eye Sect's lackey to go after me and kill me? Who was it?!" His final words thundered through the room, a roar that made the walls seem to tremble.

Mirena's composure was shattered. Her entire bearing collapsed in an instant, her once-imposing presence vanishing like smoke. "It… it was me," she stammered. "I did it. I'm sorry, Logan."

Gasps rippled through the room. Many stared in stunned disbelief.

Rudeous's face twisted, his voice heavy with outrage. "Mirena… you did what? Though Logan isn't your direct child, he is still family. How could you betray us like this?"

Ali, Noah, Emily, and the others all looked baffled, unable to process what they'd just heard.

And Alice? She sat frozen, her body stiff as stone. "She… she tried to kill my son?" Her mind buzzed with the thought, each word like a knife stabbing deeper.

Mirena's breathing was uneven. She stared up at Logan with fear and guilt. For a long moment, there was no sound.

"It was fear," she finally started to speak. "I was afraid." Then the confession poured out. "Even when your mana core was sealed, Darius lost to you, and I couldn't swallow that humiliation. I was terrified he'd lose the credibility to become the next patriarch. So I sought help. I sent Zereth to test you, to learn how you could do what you did. And… if you'd died in the process, it would have solved everything for me. I wouldn't have to worry about his future anymore."

The confession landed like a thrown stone.

Rudeous, who had been listening to every word, jolted up from his seat. Logan had already taken off the bloodlust that had immobilized everyone. Rudeous then stormed forward. He said nothing. But just a single glance at his face was enough to tell how foul a mood he was in. His hand rose and came down in a single, brutal arc.

Smack!

A slap echoed off the high beams. Mirena's head snapped to the side. A faint red mark flared across her cheek.

Darius's face lost all color. He opened his mouth, wanting to protest on his mother's behalf, but he couldn't find the courage. He lowered his eyes. He had wanted his mother to secure his future, but now he understood the cost.

"Guards!" Rudeous barked.

Quickly, two men in guard uniforms rushed in.

"Take them both," Rudeous ordered, pointing at Mirena and Darius. "Keep them detained until my next order. People will soon arrive from the mage's court."

But Mirena protested instantly. "You can't! I know I was wrong. But if you do this, my father won't let this slide."

The family guards hesitated, not wanting to get involved in the family conflict. But Rudeous spoke again, his voice sharp.

"You think just because your father is the Duke of Aerundale, you're untouchable?" Rudeous's voice dropped to a level made of ice. "You think you can treat lives as though they were pebbles on a road and get away with it just like that? I will show you the consequences of treating another's life like a thing to be moved for your gain. You will answer for this. No duke's favor, no coin, no pressure will save you from what you've done."

Mirena's pleas faltered as the guards closed in. Darius flinched when their large hands gripped his sleeves, but he did not speak. One guard seized Mirena's arm; another took Darius by the shoulder.

Rudeous stared at the pair as the guards led them away.

Logan didn't say a word. Yes, he was furious, but no matter how twisted Mirena had become, he refused to stain his hands with a family member's blood.

Once the guards dragged them away, Rudeous turned toward Logan. His shoulders sagged, his face etched with guilt. He clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture. "Logan… this is all because of me. If I hadn't been blinded by power, none of this would have happened. I should have been strict with Mirena since long ago. Then we wouldn't have had to see a day like this."

But Logan quickly reached out, stopping his father from bowing his hands any further. "It's alright, Father. What matters is that we're all safe. That's the only thing that's important now."

Rudeous nodded. He then looked toward the other guests present. "I am really sorry everyone. I am sorry that you had to witness such a thing."

"It's nothing, Mr. Smith. Don't sweat it," Ali said with an awkward smile. He wanted to brush it off, but what they had just witnessed was far too severe to ignore.

"You've all come from far away, and discussing things with Logan is important for you. Please, sit and talk with him. I'll take my leave." With that, Rudeous excused himself from the room. He had no desire to linger any longer or to dig deeper into the matters what Logan was going to disclose.

"Logan, you speak with the guests. I'll be back shortly." Saying this, Alice quietly followed after Rudeous, leaving the room as well.

After everyone else left, a heavy silence settled over the room once more.

At last, Noah broke it. "Logan, perhaps today isn't the right time. We can hear about your fight with the Third Eye Sect another day."

"Yes," Ali agreed. "You should rest, Logan. Yesterday was rough enough for you."

But Logan only bowed his head slightly, his voice calm yet resolute. "It's alright, Master… Mr. Starwind. I'm perfectly fine. And more than that, it's important that you know the truth of what's really going on. The sooner the better."

"It's that important? Why?" Ali asked, his brows furrowing.

"Because, Master…" Logan's voice was steady, but the weight in it pressed on every ear. "The monsters we fight in the dungeons... many of them were once human. Not all of them came from other worlds."

His words fell like a thunderclap. The room froze. Everyone sat dumbfounded, unable to comprehend what they had just heard.

Noah leaned forward, his normally calm face tight with disbelief. "Logan… are you saying the people we lost, the ones who went inside and disappeared in the early years..."

"Yes," Logan cut in, his eyes cold. "Many of them were taken. Twisted. Turned into the very monsters we now fight."

Emily's hand flew to her mouth, her eyes wide. "That's… impossible. If this is true, then every dungeon raid we've done, every monster we've slain....."

"could have once been human," Logan finished the sentence for her.

The words sent chills down their spines. Ali gritted his teeth, his fists clenching. "How is this even possible? Who is behind it?"

Logan's gaze darkened, and his silence spoke louder than any answer. Finally, he said, "That is why I needed to tell you. The man behind the Third Eye Sect isn't just a threat to our family. He and the monsters are all tied to each other. All are fighting to get the cultivation technique we just spoke of."

He paused for a bit before continuing, "the monster race wanted to defeat the beast race, the one Raphael is from. So they invaded our world, in a hope to make this technique their own. With this technique, they wanted to win against the beast race. But they failed. And that's why they started turning humans into monsters. I still don't know about the full details. But someone does."

"Who?" Ali asked.

"A dungeon boss." Logan answered.

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