Inside the mansion of the Shine Family, the family head sat behind his desk while a member of the Shadow Forces stood before him as a messenger.
"Greetings to the Head of the Shine Family."
The family head replied coldly,
"Although I hate the way your people suddenly break into places, I doubt your leader would send me a boy just to be beaten up, so speak."
The messenger bowed slightly.
"I apologize for the method of entry, but this is a confidential matter concerning the fate of the Shine Family, sir."
The family head narrowed his eyes with interest.
"Speak."
The messenger handed him a letter from the leader of the Shadow Forces before disappearing as though he had never existed.
The family head opened the letter and carefully read its contents. Soon, his expression twisted into shock, veins bulging on his face from fury as his voice shook the room.
"Advisor!"
The family advisor hurried over nervously.
"What is it, my lord?! Are we facing danger?!"
The family head handed him the letter. The advisor read it and immediately understood its contents. It detailed the cooperation of several family members with Jayden and his dirty operations.
"We must arrest them and discover everything immediately, or the family will face catastrophic consequences."
The guards were ordered to summon those individuals. Ten people arrived, none of whom possessed much status or importance within the family.
One of them respectfully said,
"We greet the family head, but why have we been summoned?"
With a single glance from the family head, an overwhelming pressure descended upon them, forcing them to their knees.
"Why are you cooperating with Jayden?!"
None of them understood what was happening.
"Well… our family is allied with him. Young Master Elai Shine arranged it."
The family head realized they were wasting his time.
"Take them to the basement and interrogate them. I want answers within half an hour."
The advisor nodded. Using his power, he created a domain around them before activating a movement technique that caused him to vanish instantly.
The family head then summoned Elai.
When Elai arrived, he asked nervously,
"What happened, Father? What made you this angry?"
His father stared at him coldly.
"When I granted you the authority to decide the proper path for the family, you chose to ally with the First Prince. When I asked why, you claimed you saw the family's future in him. Explain your reasoning again."
Elai hesitated slightly.
"I already explained before. The First Prince can influence many people. He has control and financial resources without depending on other noble families or the kingdom treasury. He can advance without anyone hindering him, and despite his sister's talent, he still managed to create a reputation for himself in the academy. If not for that bastard Shion Lan, his reputation would've been even greater."
The family head asked,
"Did you personally sit down and speak with him?"
Elai nodded.
"A few times."
"And based on a few meetings, you decided to ally with him?"
Elai hurriedly answered,
"I assigned members of the family to investigate him, and they provided reports stating he was suitable for cooperation and—"
His father interrupted him by listing the names of the arrested members.
Eli froze in shock.
"How do you know about them?!"
The family head spoke with clear disgust.
"Jayden has been collaborating with another kingdom. It turns out to be the Kingdom of Amoritchi. He smuggled numerous artificial rings and stars into the kingdom. He was the mastermind, and the individuals you mentioned acted as managers. They manipulated you into allying with him and used the power of our family to spread those forbidden tools. Because of this, our family has fallen into a serious crisis… and the Shadow Forces are currently arresting Jayden."
Elai was utterly stunned.
His father continued,
"You have embarrassed this family repeatedly. Now go to the Training Tower and reflect on your actions. Do not come out until you reach the sixth level."
Elai's face paled.
"But that will take a very long time, Father!"
"When you emerge with a new level of strength, people will forget your mistakes and see you differently. Leave the rest to me."
When Elai tried to protest, his father released his overwhelming aura, forcing Elai into silence before he left without another word.
A while later, the advisor returned with blood covering his hands.
"One of them was directly involved and personally convinced the young master to form the alliance. As for the others, some learned the truth too late, while others never knew at all."
The family head replied coldly,
"Even so, they all knew that any dealings, even personal ones, had to be reported to the family. Announce publicly that we expelled those bastards. Prepare a full report to send to His Majesty."
The advisor bowed.
"As you command, my lord. But may I ask something?"
The family head gestured for him to continue.
"Those ten individuals conducted business deals with several third-rank noble families, including the Ranus Family and the Razor Family, both of which are connected to Shion Lan. Could it be that he…?"
"No. Shion has nothing to do with this. Otherwise, he would have used those tools to raise his level, and he wouldn't have been expelled from his family in the first place. Reports from the Shadow Forces even state that Shion provided them information about the operation and remained silent only because his family was involved. But after his brother attempted to kill him at the Kito Family Providence, Shion decided to abandon everyone."
The family head thought for a moment before adding,
"I want all transaction records involving third-rank noble families attached to those ten traitors. If there are additional issues related to the family, pin them on them as well. They'll die anyway."
The advisor obeyed and departed.
The family head then muttered quietly,
"Chaos is coming soon…"
...
Inside the Ranus Family mansion, the family head sat with the Razor Family head—who was also his father-in-law—alongside a masked guest inside his office.
The masked man spoke.
"What is the status of the next shipment?"
The Ranus Family head replied,
"At the moment, there were minor obstacles in front of the trade caravan, but they've been dealt with. The shipment should arrive within a few hours."
The Razor Family head added,
"We took advantage of the Kito Family incident and the Night Family's involvement. We've already smuggled the largest batch of tools so far. What are our next steps?"
The masked guest replied,
"We'll distribute them to other families of the same rank. Be careful with your choices. We do not want involvement with families loyal to the king."
The Ranus Family head nodded confidently.
"Do not worry. I already selected families we can pressure and manipulate into distributing the tools and recruiting commoners to become our forces."
The masked man suddenly said,
"But there's still one thing bothering me."
Both men looked toward him.
He slowly uttered,
"Shion Lan."
Both family heads froze.
The Razor Family head immediately turned toward his son-in-law.
"What did your son do?!"
The Ranus Family head replied nervously,
"I don't know! But I don't think he did anything related to our operations."
The masked man spoke coldly,
"I hate him. I know you're his father, but you never liked him, and he's no longer part of the family. Kill that servant woman's son, and I'll make you one of my closest allies."
The Razor Family head immediately interrupted.
"Why not leave such a simple task to me, sir?! I can kidnap his mother and lure him into a trap before killing him!"
The masked man asked,
"What if Shion reports everything?"
"I'll threaten to kill her. I'll also assign people to watch him."
The masked man began discussing the plan with the Razor Family head as if Shion's father didn't even exist.
Then the masked man suddenly noticed something strange.
"Your paternal instincts awakening? Is that why you're leaving the task to your father-in-law?"
The Razor Family head stared at him.
"Are you trembling because we're going to kill your son?"
The Ranus Family head slowly shook his head in despair.
"The problem is… we can't kill him."
His voice carried absolute hopelessness.
The masked man stared at him in disbelief.
"What do you mean by that?! Because the king favors him? Or because of that imaginary master of his?!"
The father's fear seeped into his bones as he answered,
"Shion… he's possessed by an evil spirit. Something cursed beyond anything I've ever seen. I tried killing him in countless ways, but he always survives. That thing inside him is horrifying beyond measure. I cannot face it."
His father-in-law stared at him in shock.
"Stop this nonsense! Are you saying that for over fifteen years you couldn't kill a child who was called the kingdom's trash?!"
But the expression on Shion's father's face contained no confidence, arrogance, or malice.
Only pure despair.
"You're ignorant, so you don't understand that boy's terror. I always treated him harshly in front of everyone because I was ordered not to expose the truth about him. But whenever I considered revealing it… I began dreaming about that terrifying thing. It could drag my consciousness away repeatedly. I'd wake up wetting the bed."
The other two were stunned.
His father-in-law suddenly remembered something his daughter once mentioned, something he previously dismissed as illness.
Now he saw the bones of his son-in-law trembling violently. Foam formed around his mouth before he collapsed unconscious.
The final image in Shion's father's mind was that dark figure smiling while death followed behind it.
Seeing this, the Razor Family head reconsidered provoking Shion.
But the masked man smiled sinisterly inwardly.
"I'll spread the truth about him to everyone. I'll let the world know he's possessed by an evil spirit. That will explain his monstrous growth. I can even tie him to criminal organizations! Shion Lan… you're dead!"
The two men continued tending to the unconscious family head until he finally awoke.
The moment he opened his eyes and looked upward, his heart nearly stopped.
He pointed toward the ceiling.
When the masked man and the Razor Family head looked up, they saw a shadow descending toward them.
It was Ark from the Shadow Forces—the same man who had appeared during the battle against the Dark Crows.
Ark spoke coldly.
"All of you… surrender yourselves to stand before the king."
The three tried to flee, but Ark was a seventh-level advanced swordsman.
Using a simple domain and movement techniques, he instantly captured all three.
"All families involved in the forbidden tool trade have already been arrested. The trade caravan was intercepted and confirmed to originate from the Kingdom of Amoritchi. We confiscated the goods and discovered enormous quantities of the tools you distributed throughout the kingdom."
Everyone was shocked.
Ark then turned toward the masked man and pulled a strange tool from his pocket, bringing it close to him. The masked man had no idea what it was, but it seemed Ark had confirmed something.
Another shadow appeared beside Ark.
"Arrest them all. We'll decide their fate in the royal court."
The shadow nodded before appearing atop the mansion and launching a signal into the sky.
The moment it was seen, soldiers stormed the providence.
The guards couldn't resist at all.
Everyone was arrested.
The first wife and her daughter screamed furiously at the soldiers.
"How dare you arrest noblewomen like us?!"
Meanwhile, the second wife calmly moved alongside her children. Even the soldiers treated her cautiously.
The first wife and her daughter, however, were swiftly suppressed by two women from the unit before being dragged away with the others.
Elsewhere, the masked man was dragged by Ark and thrown directly into King Jord Joul's chamber.
The king stared at him coldly and said to Ark,
"Leave us."
Ark obeyed and exited.
The king then slowly approached the masked man.
"I ordered that if you disguised yourself, no one was to expose your identity… but why? Why did you do all of this, Jayden?!"