"It’s all going wrong!"
The Governor was panicking.
All his carefully laid plans were unravelling. Since the Solaris House had announced the Hero’s arrival in Alverton, he hadn’t had a moment’s rest. Sleepless nights were spent devising strategies to keep the Hero party preoccupied while ensuring they didn’t uncover the dark secrets lurking beneath Alverton’s surface.
Each day the Hero party lingered in the city; the tension was tightening like a noose around his neck. He constantly feared they might storm into his office at any moment, demanding answers about the countless disappearances, leaving him no escape.
Although the truth remained hidden from the public, it was an open secret within the upper echelons of society: the Governor was trafficking undesirables to a shadowy third party. A single loose tongue among the elite or a grieving family reaching the Hero’s ears would spell his doom. His power, reputation, and survival hung by a thread.
But that wasn’t the only thing he had to be worried about.
"What the hell is the Warden doing?! She’s violating the terms of our agreement by picking innocent children from the streets!"
The Governor was stressed not only by the external threat of the Solaris House but also internally by his business partners.
"She’s growing brazen… But she would only do such a thing when ordered by your beloved Lich."
One of Governor Valen’s collaborators, a noble and senior cabinet official, frowned as he remarked.
"Agva… I don’t know what has gotten into him…"
Governor Valen rubbed the temples of his forehead, clearly confused as to why his long-term partner behaved out of line. In their many years of collaboration, this had only happened once, when the Lich first joined the purge and swallowed souls in the thousands. Like a garbage disposal, the Lich would remove all of Alverton’s criminals and make them disappear completely, eliminating the Iron Count’s troubles.
In recent years, however, due to the peace brought by the purge, Alverton was experiencing a lack of criminals. However, the contract with the Lich still stands, and the Governor has been finding ways to send as many undesirables as he can, cleaning up the city while at the same time honouring his contract.
It was a win-win situation for all… if they ignored the lives that were sacrificed, that was.
But this time, the Lich crossed a line.
"Taking innocents was out of our agreement. You will have to explain yourself, Warden."
"... As expected from the Iron Count. You may have grown old, but your senses are still intact."
Governor Valen spoke grimly into a corner, only to be met with a dry laugh. An old lady, likely in her sixties, emerged from the shadows and smiled menacingly at the panicking crowd. The old lady exuded an unsettling presence that seemed to seep into the air around her. Her hunched figure was draped in layers of dark, tattered clothing that swayed with an almost spectral movement as she walked. Wisps of thin, white hair escaped from beneath a faded, wide-brimmed hat, framing a face etched with deep wrinkles that seemed less like signs of age and more like the markings of something unnatural.
Her presence sent a chill down the spine of the once-great mercenary. There was something profoundly unsettling about her dry, cackling laughter and toothless grin that made even the Iron Count uneasy. Yet, despite the discomfort she inspired, she was an indispensable ally—a crucial intermediary between the Lich and himself.
The two addressed each other with a sombre nod. They were long-time allies, so there wasn’t a need for pointless pleasantries. They stared at each other briefly before the Warden finally relented.
"Our hands are tied, Governor."
"What do you mean? Agva has been eating well, hasn’t he? After emptying the entire orphanage, I doubt you can deny that."
Liches require human sacrifices to keep their vessel from burning out. And the best souls to absorb were fresh, young children. Naturally, the Governor wouldn’t let the Lich take innocent children off the streets, so he made a compromise. Orphans, or what the Governor deemed as plagues that leeched off the system, were fair game. Besides, most orphans were children of criminals or the poor and deprived who didn’t know better and reproduced.
With no parental guidance, they would turn to lead the lives of criminals anyway. So, it was better to nip the problem at the source.
But alas, that wasn’t the problem.
"Agva is not the problem. Our sponsor is breathing down our necks now, and we’re forced into a corner."
"That I cannot say," the Warden shook her head. While she had a long-lasting partnership with the Governor, her head would roll if she revealed anything about the Demon Cult.
"Two months. Give us two months, and this whole nightmare will be over."
"We will conclude our contract with you and leave Alverton for good."
The Governor widened his eyes, stunned by the new terms. Twenty years ago, when he’d first initiated the purge of Alverton, he signed a deal with the devil and obtained Agva’s help. Because of that, he was able to bring peace to the city he loved, but that peace came at a hefty cost.
A thousand souls a year for fifty years.
It was a steep price, but the Governor willingly paid it. Over the years, he hid his involvement with the Lich and secretly shipped out undesirables to Agva under the guise of exile. The easiest prey was naturally orphans, something Alverton had no short supply of. Thus far, the partnership has gone tremendously, and only thirty years remain on the contract.
But now, Agva is willing to void it all.
Under any other circumstances, the Governor would have accepted this deal. But unfortunately, he was pressured by a more significant threat.
"I can’t hold on that long! I’m not sure if you’re aware, but the Hero of the Solaris House is in Alverton right now!"
"Not only that, the Saintess and the scion of the Amaris House are present! They have discovered the disappearances and are investigating it as we speak. Once they find out about our partnership, we…"
"Hold on… Did you say the Hero was present in Alverton?"
The sudden change in tone greatly unnerved the former mercenary. The kind old voice of the woman was now a grim, dark growl as if she were a beast ready to pounce.
"That changes everything…"
The Warden smiled as if her previous outburst was an ephemeral dream. She laughed before turning around, turning into a grey mist.
"I will be in touch."
In the suffocating darkness of the lair, the man sat cross-legged on a raised stone platform, eerily serene. His presence was commanding and unnerving, an elegant figure wrapped in danger. He wore a flawlessly tailored white suit, its silver embroidery glinting like threads of moonlight, contrasting sharply against the oppressive gloom around him.
His sleek, silvery-grey hair caught the faint, flickering glow of the candles scattered throughout the chamber. His face was smooth and pale, almost waxen as if drained of life yet somehow brimming with an unsettling vitality.
His eyes drew the most attention—ghostly pale and swirling with a faint, mist-like glow. They seemed to pierce the veil of reality as though they could glimpse truths hidden from mortal sight. Staring into them felt like staring into the void, where secrets were uncovered, and no soul could conceal them.
His hands rested lightly on his knees, long fingers perfectly still, save for an occasional twitch as faint currents of energy crackled around him. The air in the room was thick and stifling, carrying the sharp, acrid scent of burning incense mixed with something metallic and cold. A misty aura clung to him, swirling lazily around his form as though the air bowed to his presence. The tendrils of mist, faintly luminescent, shifted and coiled with an unnatural grace, amplifying the otherworldly tension that filled the chamber.
And with a flicker of his eyelids, the man opened his ghostly eyes and glanced into the distance.
His resonant voice sounded out, though not in the physical plane, but in the astral realm.
Across a great distance, a Demonic Swordsman stopped in his tracks. He was riding an undead horse through the woods, surrounded by darkness and grime. However, the swordsman didn’t hesitate to jump off his horse and knelt in reverence.
"Prophet!!!" Explore new worlds at NovelHub.Côm
[Your mission to the Solaris House is suspended.]
The mission that the Prophet was discussing was the assassination of this generation’s Hero, Leon Bright. Initially, the Prophet tasked Malachi with finding the Hero in the Solaris House and eliminating him by any means necessary. However, the mission was called off before Malachi could begin reconnaissance.
[We found the boy, he’s in Alverton.]
"Wait, isn’t Alverton where Ravenna’s collaborator operates?"
[Yes, and while I’d sent the twins to assist her, it’s a different story if the Hero is present.]
If the Hero were in Alverton, matters would be simplified. Malachi may be powerful, but even he would find it challenging to barge into Solfea and assassinate the Hero. He would need to wait for the Hero to leave the safety of the Solaris House before he could launch a full-on assault.
But if the boy was already outside…
[Head to Alverton and assist Ravenna and the twins eliminate the Hero. At the same time, ensure the development of the Magatama is completed. If that Lich tries anything, eliminate it.]
With his orders relayed, the Prophet cut the connection with the Demon Swordsman and glanced around his empty room. His pale face, which seemed to be made of porcelain, cracked a smile as he whispered: The source of this content ɪs novelFɪre.net
"My King. We will pave the road for you."