It seems the Obsidian exchange is more than what it seems from outside.
Alden thought as they entered a large door at the end of the hallway.
He saw a large office before him. It was luxurious but plain. Except for a sturdy table and a few couches, nothing was present inside.
Cipher walked towards the table and took a seat on the chair behind it.
She signalled Alden to take a seat opposite to her.
He didn't waste ti and took his seat.
Looks like I'll have to adjust my plans a little.
After seeing the whole base of operations of Obsidian Exchange, he had already begun revising his original approach.
Vanyaa, anwhile, made a quiet move toward one of the couches at the room's edge.
But Cipher had no intention to let her do that.
"Where do you think you are going?" She asked, looking at Vanyaa.
Vanyaa's body froze. She slowly turned around.
"I was just sitting down. I don't want to interfere with your important discussion, Mom," she replied, trying to sound calm.
"Sit beside him. This involves you too." Cipher spoke, leaving no ground for argunt.
Vanyaa just signed, accepting her fate, and took a seat beside Alden.
Only once she was seated did Cipher turn her full attention to him.
"So," she said, her voice calm, "mind explaining what's going on, Alden Draven?"
He didn't flinch even at the ntion of his na. If Cipher was using it here, it ant the room was secure. No listening ears.
He reached up and removed his mask.
For what he wanted, he needed the trust of Cipher. So he might as well remove his mask to show his trust.
This gesture was just a formality.
And she already knew his identity, so it didn't really matter much.
"I found Vanyaa being chased by so suspicious guys and decided to save her." Alden began, his tone matter-of-fact.
"Then she transford into her real form and told she was your daughter. She said she needed help removing an ancient cursed artifact she'd stolen from them."
Cipher looked at Vanyaa, who started shivering just feeling her gaze.
But Alden continued without care for her reaction.
"I tried to remove that and… sohow it bonded and Vanyaa in a Master-Servant Contract."
Alden explained what had happened honestly. It might have been too straightforward, but it was the truth.
"Is that true, Vanyaa?" Cipher asked her for confirmation.
She had a lie detector skill, but for so reason it wasn't working on Alden. So she needed confirmation from soone else.
"Y–yes, Mother, it's true." Vanyaa replied, her tone suddenly polite and formal, like a soldier reporting to her superior.
Cipher went quiet for a mont. She looked thoughtful—calculating.
Then her gaze snapped back to Alden, now with a deadly coldness.
"Wouldn't it resolve itself if I killed you?"
The words were calm. But the temperature in the room seed to drop ten degrees.
Alden t her stare, unshaken. He wasn't scared in the slightest.
His eyes are as stable as always. His lips curled up to form a small smile which didn't reach his eyes.
"Sure." He replied, "You can indeed kill ."
Cipher was surprised for a mont.
He didn't give her ti to speak.
"If you want your daughter to die as well." His voice turned cold.
A slow, cold smile appeared on Cipher's face. "And how do you think that's going to happen?"
A strong aura released from Cipher, but it didn't have any effect on Alden.
He calmly continued.
"I'm not strong enough to kill her in your presence," Alden said evenly. "But I don't have to."
"The soul contract gave a skill, which clearly states that if I die, Vanyaa dies."
He leaned forward slightly.
"So go ahead. Kill . If your love for your daughter isn't strong enough to stop you."
For the first ti, Cipher's expression froze. Even Vanyaa looked at Alden in surprise.
She didn't know about this skill.
Alden calmly looked at the system screen that was appearing in front of him constantly.
[Skill: Voidheart strongly resists the Lie Detention Skill.]
She was trying to read him. He'd already known this. The window had been popping up ever since he started talking.
Honestly, there was no death penalty ntioned in the skill he had gotten from the cursed artifact. It just ntioned sothing about their growth being tied to each other. But that's all.
The rest was pure bluff on Alden's part.
Vanyaa snapped out of her daze.
"Wait, what? I–is that true?" She blurted, but Alden didn't even glance her way.
He couldn't afford to break character—not now.
Cipher understood, looking at Vanyaa's reaction, that she didn't know anything about it.
"Why should I trust you?" Cipher asked after a mont of silence. "You could be lying."
"What if I can prove my skill?" Alden replied, voice calm but confident.
"And how will you do that?" She narrowed her eyes.
"The skill lets borrow one of Vanyaa's abilities—for a few minutes," he said. "I can show you."
This earned him another surprised look from Cipher.
"I see," she said. "Show ."
"Okay."
Alden had already decided which skill he was going to use. He was going to use Steal—Vanyaa's special ability.
The reason was simple.
It was the safest bet.
The other—Ancient Bloodline Genesis—could transform him into an animal, but that would severely limit his mana usage and mobility.
It would put him in a vulnerable state in case he had to escape.
He couldn't take the risk.
So he decided against it.
He calmly stood up from his chair.
He activated [Linked Resonance], reaching for the Steal ability. Instantly, the knowledge of it flooded his mind.
He imdiately understood how to use it.
He channelled his mana inside his palm and focused on the table glovebox just in front of Cipher..
He could faintly sense the objects inside.
There was a sleek black pistol in there. He decided to use the ability on it.
Perfect.
He focused on it, closed his eyes, and summoned the ability...
Steal
He muttered in his mind.
He felt an invisible hand latch onto sothing. He pulled it towards him.
Sothing soft landed in his hand.
…Wait.
This doesn't feel like a pistol.
What is it?
He slowly opened his eyes.
A pink-coloured bra was inside his hands. Lacy. Large. Definitely a G-cup. Elegant, mature, and entirely wrong.
He slowly lifted his gaze.
Cipher's calm, composed and icy expression had cracked.
Her face was beet red.
I'm fked again, aren't I?
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