After taking out the officers who chased after the little girl, Amon looked down at their states with a tinge of regret. He covered his eyes with his palm and controlled the outpour of mana from within, only to feel his blood boiling.
’Ah, I can’t control my Dragon Eyes yet…’
It was the first ti Amon had used one of the Draconic Arts Yval taught him against other humans. Well, not entirely the first—he had tried it on Yue once. But she didn’t count as an ordinary human. Instead of fear, she felt pleasure when gazing into Amon’s eyes. Her intoxicated expression had unnerved him so much that he refrained from using the ability on anyone—until now.
’I thought that it would scare them into surrendering, I didn’t think that they would faint and shit their pants.’
The potency of his Dragon Eyes was unexpected, but it was a good benchmark for Amon moving forward. As its na suggested, Dragon Eyes converts Amon’s eyes into that of an apex Dragon Sovereign at its pri. Any beings weaker than a Dragon would cower in fear and automatically submit to those eyes, even if it ant throwing away their pride.
There were few counters to Dragon Eyes, and even if soone could withstand its effects, they would be placed in a severe handicap throughout the battle with Amon.
It was one of the most useful Draconic Arts that Yval had taught him, and it was one that Amon was delighted to use for the first ti against his opponents.
Yet, the effects were far from Amon’s expectations.
’I will need to control the output…’
Only after withdrawing his mana from his eyes did Amon finally relax and turn to the young girl who had clung to him for help. She visibly flinched, afraid of the scene that she’d just witnessed. However, unlike the n who chased her, she didn’t faint or soil herself, which was quite an achievent for a ten-year-old.
"Girl, you were saying?"
Amon’s voice was as cold as tal, which only brought the little girl more fear. But she stood her ground and swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
"My sister was kidnapped! Not only that, there are many, many more people who have disappeared over the past weeks! We tried to tell everyone, but no one believed . The police are working with the kidnappers to cover up that."
"…"
"Please help ! No one in Alverton believes us!"
"... Do you have proof?"
For the first ti, Amon questioned the girl about the evidence. Seeing a ray of hope, Kaya’s face brightened, and she declared:
"We do have it! I was from the orphanage and stole so docunts from the Warden! There was a ledger showing how many kids were being sold off! We have it in our base!"
"..."
Amon remained silent, but internally, his mood soared. While he knew that the higher-ups of Alverton were all colluding to kidnap people for the Foolish Lich, he didn’t have the necessary evidence. It had caused plenty of headaches, as they couldn’t gain intelligence even with Echelon working overti. Yet, their golden egg was delivered to them on a silver platter.
At that mont, Yue returned with Leon, Ellahan, and Johann, and they were naturally confused as to why eight n fainted on the ground while Amon was buttering up a small girl.
"What’s going on?"
Amon let out a rare, wry smile before telling her plainly.
"Yue… I think we just found our ticket to the Foolish Lich."
❖❖❖
"Vekka! Mirka! I’m back!"
Kaya burst through the doors of the shabby little hut the resistance used as its base. The sudden action startled the downcast mbers, who were still gloomy and disparate about their situation. However, that didn’t stop them from approaching their treasured mascot.
"Kaya! You went outside again! How many tis must I tell you that it’s dangerous now? Lord knows where they would take you if you get caught!"
Vekka, the forr law enforcent officer and the resistance leader was the first to admonish the girl. He grabbed onto the crown of her head and gave it a rough nudge, hoping to knock so sense into the stubborn girl.
"Ow, ow, ow! Don’t do that! You’ll hurt my brain!"
"Good, maybe it’ll finally help you listen!"
"O-Ow! Just hold on for a minute! I brought good news!"
"Good news?"
Finally realising sothing was off, Vekka released his hold on the petite little girl. He was late to the party, but he sensed five individuals waiting outside the door, and his senses drove him into fifth gear. Unknowingly, he pushed Kaya behind him and glared outside, his teeth flaring like an alpha wolf protecting its pack.
"Show yourself."
"..."
At his command, the door creaked open again, revealing a striking group of five. Three young n and two young won, none appearing older than their late teens, stood silently in the doorway, exuding an air of quiet confidence as if awaiting an invitation to enter. The unexpected arrival of the uninvited guests set the resistance on edge; the rest of the group rose to their feet, clutching their makeshift weapons, their eyes locked on Vekka, ready to strike when he gave the signal.
"Kaya! You brought people to our base?!"
Vekka, who stared right at the five individuals, never once letting them out of his sight, admonished the young girl with blood in his throat.
"N-No, I an, y-yes! But they’re allies! They’ll help us fight the Warden and rescue the missing-...!"
"You an… them?"
Vekka was still cautious. After all, they were unidentified individuals who had just appeared unannounced in the ho base of the resistance. If they were in any way affiliated with the Governor or the Warden, the resistance would end tonight.
But fortunately for Vekka, the resistance would live to see another day.
"We apologise for appearing without an invitation, but your little apprentice here said sothing that caught our attention."
The white-haired lady, whose grace seed to embellish the Moon, stepped before the scary black-haired man and addressed Vekka with a warm, comforting smile. Her appearance cooled the temperature of the worn-down cabin, as the n of the resistance were instantly enamoured by her bewitching appearance. It wasn’t just them; even Mirka, who was once part of the upper class, had her jaw dropped at the sight of such a breathtaking woman.
At the very least, there wasn’t anyone who looked as regal and stunning as her in all of Alverton.
"My na is Yue Elune, and this is my partner, Amon Solaris. And we would like to hear more about the disappearing people in Alverton."
"Elune?! Solaris?!"
The resistance officers finally dropped their weapons at the re ntion of those nas, primarily due to shock. Even for these slum dwellers who had never seen the outside of Alverton, the nas Elune and Solaris were enough to trigger awe—particularly the Solaris House. They were practically the heroes of humanity, and their legends still grace many popular storybooks and rhys.
But those were just the uninitiated. Those two nas held a more profound weight for soone who had followed the news, even just a little.
"Yue Elune and Amon Solaris? Are you two the Fantasy Couple?"
Mirka blurted out, ignoring the cabin’s tense atmosphere. Her words raised the eyebrows of a few resistance mbers, but Amon himself was the one she shocked the most.
’Why would so random holess person know that nickna?’
Amon wasn’t fond of that title, making him look like a man who couldn’t control his needs and constantly eloped with his soon-to-be-wife. Of course, that wasn’t enough for him to admonish the crippled lady, but it still bothered him enough to look away.
"Oya, so you know of us?"
anwhile, Yue was amused with her fa. She asserted her identity again, this ti with a more favourable smile.
"If you know us, that shortens things. We’re not here to cheat or turn you in. We’re genuinely curious about the evidence you have."
Yue’s kind facade was enough for the resistance mbers to finally lower their guard. Vekka knew this was an opportunity they couldn’t pass and imdiately invited the group in.
"P-Please, co in. We don’t have much, so please forgive our accommodations."
"No, of course not."
Yue happily took the centre chair while Amon stood right behind her. Leon, Ellahan and Johann naturally entered, but no one questioned their identities since they were disguised. The resistance simply assud they were part of Yue and Amon’s entourage and offered them chairs.
None of them took up Vekka’s offer, though, as they were stone-faced and ready to hear the details of the missing people.
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"M-May I ask! How did such a distinguished couple co to know Kaya?"
"I rescued her when the police chased her," Amon replied coldly.
"Kaya!" Mirka was the first to scold the girl. "Didn’t I tell you to stay out of trouble?"
"Swowwyyy!"
It was adorable to see a young girl’s cheeks pulled like mochi as the words failed to co out properly. Nevertheless, the act was quickly toned down when Mirka rembered that she was in front of guests and released Kaya from her grasp. Unknowingly, Kaya ran behind Amon as if seeking refuge.
That act raised so eyebrows, but none were in the mood to pursue that matter, for there were bigger fish to fry.
"I heard from Kaya that there were missing people in Alverton. It just so happens that we were investigating that mysterious phenonon, and her words piqued my interest."
"Ah, yes…"
Vekka let out a weary sigh and began recounting the grim tale. He started with the infamous purge of Alverton, which marked the Governor’s rise to power. Determined to clean up the streets, the Governor arrested every known criminal in the town, even at the cost of destabilising Alverton in the short term. At first, people were sceptical of his ruthless approach, fearing the inevitable day when these criminals would be released and chaos would return.
But then, sothing strange happened. The incarcerated began to vanish without a trace. No bodies were ever found, and no explanations were given. It was as though they had been erased from existence. Whispers spread, but no one could say whether they had been banished or t a darker fate. The mystery lingered, leaving an unsettling silence that hung over the town like a shadow.
That was when Vekka was still a part of the law enforcent. He questioned the Governor’s thods and imdiately beca ostracised. For that, he was branded as a traitor who sought to destabilise the peace that the Governor desperately sought and removed from the force entirely.
Ever since then, he lived in the slums, keeping track of everything in Alverton.
"That’s when I realised they weren’t just doing it to criminals. Terminally ill patients in hospitals, children without parents, the unemployed holess and anyone who is deed undesirable in the perfect utopia that the Governor sought to create… they vanished without a trace."
"... even the orphans in the orphanage?"
"Especially them."
Vekka answered Leon’s dry mutter grimly.
"Who better to vanish than children without guardians? No one cared whether they lived or died, and there wasn’t anyone looking out for them either. So they’re the easiest targets. Kaya’s sister was one such victim."
At this point, Vekka reached into the safe under the table and pulled out a thick ledger book. In there, there were records of all the orphans who were trafficked. And given how much inked paper was in the to… it was evident that the number of children who disappeared was in the thousands.
"The Governor, he…"
Leon’s blue eyes flashed with anger. He felt betrayed by the Governor’s blatant ignorance or, worst still, involvent in this matter. He’d thought the Iron Count was an outstanding beacon of justice and peace. But he turned out to be an incorrigible monster.
"The person responsible for the disappearances of the orphans is none other than the Warden. A lady who acts kind on the surface but evil inside. I heard stories from so of my forr comrades in the force that… she may not be human."
"Demon?"
Amon asked while flipping through the ledger, which was only t with a shaking head.
"I don’t know," Vekka replied sadly. "But, that woman isn’t human. Just her actions alone deem her evil enough to be a Demon."
"..."
Amon frowned. The na ’Warden’ never once appeared in [Bright], aning that this deviation exceeded his calculations. No, in the first place, the Foolish Lich arc was ant to happen two years later when Leon had grown further as a hero. So, it was natural for there to be so unexpected deviations.
But that didn’t quell his uneasiness.
"It has beco worse in these two weeks, too. They no longer bother to hide their tracks and have blatantly kidnapped people from the streets. Last I checked, the orphanage had beco completely barren. They even arrest the holess on false charges just to make them disappear."
Unbeknownst to them, the situation had grown more severe, heightening the group’s sense of urgency.
"So, do you know where the missing people are taken?"
Johann, who had been watching on the sidelines, finally opened his mouth. At this mont, he wasn’t the flamboyant playboy genius that he was known as, but the heir to the Amaris House.
"Yes, after so investigations, we finally found the common route used by the Warden to deliver all those missing people."
Vekka took out a map and pointed at the mountains outside of Alverton.
"Here. They are taking the kidnapped here."
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