Chapter 184: Chapter 184

"Out of the way." The woman wearing the fractured mask stepped forward.

The other phantoms, all clad in white masks, took two steps back as she advanced one. Even though five had withdrawn, the pressure in the room intensified.

"What special order are you talking about?" she asked.

"It's from the duke, of course."

Hearing that, one of the phantoms made a low and derisive scoff. Laughter rippled outward, contagious. All five chuckled behind their masks.

The masked woman at the front sighed, visibly annoyed. "Which duke, exactly? Hm?"

The atmosphere shifted, but I stayed the course.

"There's only one duke known as the maiden. Are you asking because you don't know?"

"Hah. Even your lies are…"

She removed her mask. A pale face, set in a hard expression, revealed itself beneath. Unbound gray hair fell loosely, framing crimson eyes shadowed beneath with weariness.

"Did you just say I'm lying?"

"Yeah. Who do you think you're throwing that name around in front of?" Her tone dripped with something deeply personal, more than mere irritation.

"We're internal affairs. And unfortunately for you, I'm directly under the maiden you just mentioned." She sighed and shook out her long gray hair. "Very unfortunate, indeed."

A chain lashed toward my nape with a metallic scream. It danced like a serpent, too fast to dodge, too close to block.

I barely raised my arm in time. The chain coiled tightly around it. A second slower, and my head would've been ripped clean off.

White frost crawled over the chain.

The yellow arc jumped along the frost-covered metal, my arm acting as the conduit. I had hoped the shock would loosen her grip, but it didn't. The strength clenching the chain didn't waver. For original chapters go to NoveI~Fire.net

Lightning scattered, and frost hissed.

"You won't get me twice. Hunting mages isn't exactly rare in our line of work."

She flicked her wrist. The magic was cut off completely, both frost and lightning dispersing near her crimson gloves. They hadn't touched her at all.

"I already hated her, and now I get to hear her name again? Seriously?"

Silence was the only answer I could offer.

They're the ones from before…

They were the same monsters who killed me in a previous life. What kind of rotten luck was this? Coincidence? Impossible. As if assassins of this level would be stationed in a rural backwater like Erast. I had to find out why. When I was surrounded by shadows, I had to use my greatest weapon: my regression ability.

"You're not really under the duke's orders, are you?" asked the woman.

"Of course not. Let's end this,” said one of the bandits.

The woman smirked at me. "What now? You're going to die no matter what. Why so clingy?"

Internal affairs, huh…

She thought I was prey. But I was different. I could return, and I needed answers. Even a few more seconds could mean keeping Rubia alive a little longer.

"I propose a trade. Question for question."

"What? Are you for real?" She chuckled, twisting her hair between her fingers.

Could they blame me for not having a better plan?

"You're an intelligence unit, aren't you? Let's exchange information, valuable bits, one by one."

"Shall we kill him now?" one of the phantoms asked.

She raised a hand. "How are we supposed to trust a lying skeleton?"

"You've got nothing to lose."

Her brow twitched slightly. She wasn't saying no.

"Fine. I'll start. A show of goodwill,” I said.

Their weapons remained trained on me. One wrong word and I was dead.

"Four months from now, the emperor begins a tour of the south."

I deliberately stressed the word emperor. The Marquis of Leandro had called him a puppet. If this woman knew what that meant…

Her eyes twitched again. "Huh. Intriguing."

"Shouldn't we stop talking, ma'am? The directive was to eliminate him on sight…"

She turned. "Hey, all of you."

"Isn't this why we joined Internal Affairs in the first place? To uncover crap ? If you're scared, take off your mask and resign. Door's right there."

She pointed at the exit. No one moved. Everyone knew what would happen if they turned their backs on her.

"Well then, we're all in on it now."

The room felt colder while the shadows grew teeth. She tilted her head at me.

"So the emperor's touring. And?"

The pressure made it hard to breathe.

"He's… a puppet. One who'll shout long live the emperor until the moment his throat is cut."

She nodded slowly. "Not bad. That's close enough to the truth."

Her gaze was piercing. A spark had been struck. Maybe I wouldn't live to escape, but I could still pass something on to my next self.

"So what's the point of this revelation?" the woman asked.

I need to keep her talking.

Her reactions gave me more than her words ever could. She knew secrets, deep ones.

"The necromancer of Ember, Gith-Za-Rai, will assassinate the emperor."

"Oh ho…" The woman's eyes widened. The first true flicker of emotion.

I was planning to sell her out. If I didn't do anything here, Gith-Za-Rai would be killed by the ashen knight, who would come out from the void.

Still, what if they were to interfere due to my information? If her assassination was messed with, she may hold back on her plan. Depending on how this played out, Gith-Za-Rai's death may be preventable. The ashen knight may never even appear. And I planned to keep her alive.

"This makes sense, because the Free Confederation and Ember don't know that the emperor is a fake.” The woman looked around at the other ghosts. "Some of the dukes might've already switched sides. Or maybe the info just hasn't leaked."

"Thanks to your excellent leadership, ma'am," one muttered.

"Compliments? Really? You know I kill people when I'm in a good mood."

"Still… this is getting fun. So, what do you want to know?" the woman asked in a lighter tone.

Nevertheless, the exit was still sealed.

"Why are strong ones like you in a place ?"

"Orders from above. A directive from the imperial black codex. Director candidates must serve one year in Erast. If something strange shows up, eliminate it. No questions asked. I don't even know why that directive exists."

A chill gripped my spine. Someone had foreseen my appearance in Erast?

She pointed at me. "Which means it's time to clean up. Which is you."

"What about the current lord?"

If they left Rubia alive, I could accept death.

"Whoever wears the crown doesn't matter. As long as they cooperate with imperial policy."

"Sure. We'll use her as a puppet. Fits, right?"

One of the others spoke up. "But what about when the new model is ready?"

A creeping sense of dread slithered through my thoughts.

"You mean the worm you've been raising?" I asked.

"What the—how do you know about that?"

A worm that could devour and mimic its prey. Recalling how Chandler had been eaten alive, I couldn't imagine Rubia suffering the same fate.

I have to escape. With her.

I moved. My fist, powered by high-level martial skills, slammed into a phantom's shoulder.

Ice bloomed from my hand, slowing them. I snatched the sword and slammed it into another. Kicked the third in the gut.

Using a downed body as a springboard, I charged at the woman.

The sword sang with energy as I hurled myself forward. Take out the commander first, that was the only chance.

Chains burst from her sleeve, alive and coiling. I couldn't dodge.

I tried to meet them head-on, even using acid magic to reinforce my sword. Nevertheless, the blue glow on her chains was denser, more refined.

"This is how you use aura."

Metal struck metal, sounding like a temple bell. The chains wrapped me up, tore through my armor, and slammed me to the ground.

"I've heard enough. Never know who's listening."

I struggled to rise, but the aura in her chains crushed me.

"We underestimated him. Apologies."

Blades pierced my armor. My legs snapped, my arms followed, then my spine.

Her spear struck my skull.

[You have suffered a critical injury.]

[Health has dropped below 20%.]

[Health has dropped below 5%.]

My skull shattered. Darkness flooded in.

I've regressed over ten times…

Yet, this time, I died on the first day. Absurd. Unbelievable.

That was the final thought that clung to my fading mind.