"This is fucked up!"

The silver-haired man slammed his hand on the table, the sound echoing sharply through the dimly lit chamber.

Inside the Twilight Vault's conference room, a heavy silence hung in the air. The tension was thick enough to suffocate.

Seated around the long table were a handful of high-ranking members—those few who had taken part in the secret deal with Skulth.

The arrangement had been simple on paper. The Tower would leak information about the Vermillion family's ancestral estate and promise not to interfere during the attack. In return, Skulth would allow the Tower to "capture" a few of their higher officials. Those heads would then be displayed publicly, proving the Tower's supposed victory over the cult—winning back the people's trust and restoring Twilight Vault's reputation.

After the incident at the tournament, public faith in the Towers had plummeted. Across the world, citizens were denouncing them, calling them corrupt and useless.

This plan was meant to turn things around.

Not only would they regain credibility by pretending to defeat Skulth, but they would also quietly eliminate one of their biggest rivals—the Vermillion family.

The Vermillions had grown far too powerful, their influence extending into every corner of the world. They constantly monitored the Towers' movements and even held the authority to reprimand them when needed.

Worse yet, the Vermillion family's reach and respect among the people had begun to overshadow that of the Twilight Vault. That was something the Tower Master could no longer tolerate.

And then, of course, there was the problem of the strongest Warden—the one bound by loyalty to the Vermillion heiress.

Yes… if the family had been wiped out, it would have served the Tower's interests perfectly.

But now, with everything collapsing around them, that "perfect" plan had turned into a disaster.

"What are we going to do now, sir?" one of the members asked the silver-haired man.

Ethan's temper simmered, but he knew losing control here would be fatal. Vermillion Reid was the kind of man who would burn Ethan's reputation and crush his authority before ever dealing the killing blow. Panic would only hand Reid the victory.

He paused, thinking fast. "We need to keep the Vermillion family away from the reporters for now, and prepare a team."

"Are we going to hunt the Vermillions ourselves, sir?" someone ventured.

Ethan's patience snapped. "Stop pretending you have power you don't, Torry." His voice was low and dangerous. "Reid is a wounded tiger. He's waiting for us to make a move so he can tear the Tower apart. We won't give him that chance."

Another master spoke up. "But how do we save ourselves from this mess?"

Ethan's eyes narrowed as a plan formed. "Write to Skulth's commander. Tell him to bring forward his ambush on Aritveil. Twilight Vault will publicly take charge of protecting the people."

It was their best shot. If the Tower saved the innocent first, then when Reid tried to expose them later, the public would be far less likely to believe him — or might even turn against him.

Yes, Reid could still use his influence to strike back, but after this, Ethan would have the backing of Grimvale's ruler. Against two powerful foes, even Reid Vermillion might find himself unable to roar.

Torry swallowed. "But what if Nel refuses?" he asked, remembering how proud and unpredictable Skulth's leader could be.

Ethan slammed his fist on the table, the veins in his neck bulging. "We aren't fucking requesting anything! We've already taken too much risk backing that faggot—and that loser failed us again!"

His fury made the room tremble. No one dared to breathe.

Grinding his teeth, Ethan growled, "Tell him if he can't move the ambush date forward, then Twilight Vault will expose the entire conspiracy to the public."

A chilling silence fell over the chamber.

Everyone understood the weight of those words.

If the truth leaked—that the Towers had been secretly working with Skulth—it wouldn't just destroy the cult's purpose. It would drag the reputations of multiple Towers into the mud, forever staining their authority.

And under such pressure, Skulth would have no choice but to obey.

One of the scribes hastily jotted down Ethan's exact words and bolted for the door. "I'll send it right away—ghah!"

He stumbled backward as the door suddenly burst open, slamming into him. Papers scattered across the floor.

A Twilight member stumbled in, panting heavily, sweat rolling down his temples. His eyes were wide with terror.

Ethan's glare cut through him like a blade. "What is it now? Did the Vermillions already make their move?"

The soldier shook his head frantically. "N-No, sir… it's—it's the Skulth…"

….

"Haah…so that's how it is."

Adrian exhaled sharply, the weight of the revelation settling over him. Skulth's plan was clever in its simplicity: the so-called ambush at Aritveil was nothing more than a distraction. Their true target was Midnight Ascent, meant to strike while the forces were tied up elsewhere.

"Any particular reason to target them?" Jean asked, raising an eyebrow.

She had worked with the Tower before and had always been impressed by their efficiency and the Wardens' success rates. Sarah and the third-ranked Warden, Riley, had also served under them. But her respect wavered when she learned that Midnight Ascent was colluding with the cult.

Nel explained, "They have a source of unlimited energy."

Adrian frowned, memories stirring at the mention. "And… what exactly is that?" he asked, needing confirmation.

The green-haired former leader's voice was trembling, but his confession carried weight. "A fragment of the Infinity Sword."

Eros's eyes widened. Ariana froze mid-step, shock written across her face. Even Ruby, who had been focused on Mary for some time, stiffened at the words.

The Infinity Sword.

The legendary blade that had pierced the Darkness and ended humanity's suffering.

There had been several rumors about that sword which vanished after that war.

Some said it disintegrated. Some said it was destroyed and some even believed that Avirin had taken it back with him since it would have blinded any man with power.

Turns out, it still exists.

And the Midnight Ascent has a fragment of it.

Adrian already knew about it, his knowledge comes from the novel, and Nel's confession just confirmed it.

Getting up from the ground, Adrian turned towards Jean and said, "I believe you can keep him locked up?"

Jean's brows elevated, "We are not killing him here?"

Adrian shook his head, "No, he still has a few things to confess. And a few answers he would give to the general masses."

Nel flinched but having Ariana's mace on his back—he earlier shouted at Adrian—he couldn't even move.

Adrian heaved a long sigh and said, "Well let's go back. It had been a verrrry long day."

°°°°°°°

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