It was cold and silent inside this underground hall. The only source of light came from the lanterns on each stone spire on both sides, and there was a faint mist covering the floor that was marred with all kinds of symbols, like ancient dark rituals.

A woman in a tight combat latex suit was leaning against one of the stone spires, waiting.

She was playing with her long white hair with her kunai to fill the boredom.

Under her neck and right above her chest was a tattoo of a Romanian letter of three carved by in, and there was a hooded skull above it, a symbol of her organization. “He’s half an hour late,” She mumbled, reclining her head softly against the stone spire. “He’s never late, so I assumed it went badly.”

As she was about to leave, footsteps echoed from the other side of the hall.

From the darkness, a figure clad in black with a thick purple shawl around his neck emerged.

He was holding his dangling left arm, and he exuded a thick scent of blood. He’s hurt.

“Shadow,” the woman turned. “How did it go?”

“Very bad,” Shadow stopped to rest, leaning his body against the stone spire. “Since the Security Bureau marked Keith’s death as unnatural with no suspects, I decided to lie to the organization, passing it off as us who killed him. But bad luck, Wicked Eye was there and sensed my lie.”

“I don’t know if you’re stupid for even trying or brave to really try,” the woman shook her head. “You knew that this mission was extremely important for the organization. “Keith basically kidnapped a really important person from the Steel-Dome Realm, which was the realm the organization was indebted to, and you decided to lie? Why not tell the truth that someone killed him first?!”

“I… I don’t want to be demoted,” Shadow looked down. “It hurts.”

“Sigh…” the woman massaged her temples and exhaled roughly. “I understand what you’re feeling, but you shouldn’t be desperate. People in our line of work die the moment they become desperate. You’re lucky to be alive right now.”

“…”

It was a miracle that Shadow was able to come back alive after doing that.

Seems like the organization was feeling generous today.

“What did the organization say?”

“They said we have to bring in the one who killed Keith, dead or alive. This is our last chance before we… we get replaced.”

“Great. Now, look at what you’ve done. We don’t even have any leads.”

“No, we have a lead, Jessie,” Shadow interrupted. “You remember that person in the Southern Cavity? He looked like he was new to the Primordial Meadow, and the time of Keith’s death matched with that person’s arrival. In fact, there are three more Pale Defenders who went missing other than Keith.”

“Hmm, is there any Pale Defender nearby we can ask?” Jessie asked.

“Moltan and Zev are within the area,” Shadow replied. “Zev is much closer, though.”

“Zev it is.” Jessie nodded.

Moments later.

In a massive room filled with books and scrolls, with a map of the Southern Cavity lay unfurled across a central table, a man stood over it, marking locations with deliberate precision. His focus was absolute, weighing the pros and cons of picking the marked locations.

Zev.

Ever since the incident, he had thrown himself into tireless planning to lure the remaining Godlings.

He needed to do it quickly.

Right now, without his whip, he couldn’t quite control the Gardeners.

Most of them were now lazing around, and if this went on, he wouldn’t be able to meet his quota. One that would incur heavy penalties. He needed his whip back badly, but to do that, he had no other choice but to fulfil Rex’s request.

As he wanted to mark another spot, he accidentally knocked a silver chalice over.

It spilled onto the map, forcing him to curse.

“Fuck,” He quickly wiped the spilled wine with his energy. “Maid! Come and clean this up!”

No answer.

Zev looked up towards the window, frowning, “Did you not hear me?!”

“Unfortunately, they can’t,” A voice seeped into his ear, and then something sharp and cold touched his neck. Zev looked over his shoulder without turning and saw a figure that had somehow managed to get behind him. “Don’t do anything stupid, or else your head will roll.”

“What do you want?” Zev raised his hands. “Do you know it’s illegal to threaten a Pale Defender?”

“Yes, and yet, here I am…” the figure whispered chillingly.

A droplet of sweat trickled down the side of his face.

For someone to enter his citadel without triggering a single defensive mechanism placed meant one of two things: they were exceptionally strong, or they had dealt with the Pale Defenders before. Regardless of which one, the figure behind him must come from a terrifying organization.

Threatening a Pale Defender meant picking a fight with the parliament.

And that alone made everyone think twice.

Unlike Rex, who had only come to this realm, this figure knew the consequences and still did it.

Another figure entered with long, confident strides, pushing the door open wide as she dragged a maid by the collar. The maid was bloodied but alive. “Pale Defender Zev, pardon our intrusion.” She released the maid, who crumpled to the floor. “We want answers. Give them to us, and nothing bad will happen.”

Zev didn’t flinch. “What do you want to know?”

“Your territory borders Keith’s. I’m wondering—do you know what happened to him?”

“How should I know? If you’ve done your research right, then you must also know that I’m not fond of Keith or Caspian.”

“Don’t lie to us. We have already visited their citadels, and all of the workers said their masters went to meet with you before disappearing.”

Shadow pressed the knife harder, “We saw a man who looked like a visitor. Is it him? It is he who killed Keith?”

As soon as Shadow mentioned that person, Zev’s face immediately paled. It was fear.

Jessie picked up on it.

“Your involvement with the visitor. Tell me.” Her hands flattened on the table as she leaned in with a deliberate slowness. A killer closing distance. “We’re not the Security Bureau. This isn’t a mistake or a bluff. Give us answers, and you’ll see another day. No chains. No cell.

“But if you don’t…” She let the silence stretch—before delivering the knife. “You won’t get to see your maid cleaning up your mess.”

Just then, Jessie glanced down at the map.

She saw the markers and couldn’t help but frown as this was an odd thing to see.

A Pale Defender was tasked to keep the Gardeners in line. There’s hostility between some of them, but the markers showed a different picture—that Zev was somehow weighing the consequences of killing each one of the Pale Defenders he marked.

“Look—we don’t have a problem here. It’s clear that your target was not me,” Zev said as he looked at Jessie in the eyes. “But if I tell you, I want your word that you wouldn’t mention my name to him. Do that, and I’ll tell you what you wanted to know.”

“Are you that scared of him?”

“I’ve seen countless people from the lower planes, but none quite like him. Do I have your word?”

Once Jessie and Shadow got what they needed from Zev, as promised, the two spared him. They quickly made their way to the nearest town—and scoured the place in search of this dangerous visitor. Zev said that he travelled with two women, breathtaking sisters, so it should be easy to find him.

Though not said directly, he also implied that this visitor was the one who killed Keith.

Perhaps the other dead Godlings were also his doing.

“Should we ask for aid from another team?” Jessie asked as they walked through the crowd.

Both of them were now draped in a robe to blend in better.

“And become indebted to them?” Shadow sneered and shook his head. “No chance. What? Are you also scared of this visitor?” He glanced at Jessie with a teasing gaze. “Though Pale Defender Zev came from a good background, he’s still relatively young. I’m sure he’s exaggerating.”

“Alright,” Jessia shrugged, but she could shake the foreboding feeling inside her stomach.

It took them only a moment to find out about the visitor.

Most of the people saw him being taken by Enforcer Vadyn and brought to Larta City.

Jessie and Shadow went through the necessary inspections and now stood in front of a massive portal.

“He’s in a hive city…” Jessie clicked her tongue in displeasure.

“As long as we’re careful, we should be fine,” Shadow showed the black ring on his finger. “We would not leave behind any trace as long as we have this ring on. Even the Security Bureau wouldn’t be able to track us down as long as it’s a clean kill.”

Both of them entered the portal and appeared in Larta City.

Seems like the portal teleported them randomly, as they now stood in the suburbs.

It was the humblest part of the town, but it was still clean, tidy, and extremely regulated.

Jessie and Shadow immediately went to the central office, where the High Lord was—using a taxi, and sat down in a café across from it. Soon, they found their target, a worker of the central office who was still only a Demigod.

He was going somewhere on foot.

No preamble. No hesitation. Shadow slung an arm around the worker’s shoulders—like they were old friends, the blade already finding its mark against his stomach. On the other side, Jessie’s lips brushed his ear, her voice silk wrapped around steel. “Don’t scream. Answer us, and you walk away.”

Naturally, the worker tapped on an emergency device to send a distress signal.

But it didn’t work no matter how many times he pressed.

“Don’t make it difficult for us,” Jessie whispered again. “You don’t want a foolish death.”

From the worker, Shadow and Jessie learned that the visitor’s name was Rex Silverstar.

He had drawn the High Lord’s attention somehow and was subsequently placed under supervision. That alone confirmed he must still be somewhere within the city. They also possessed a photo of Rex’s face, and with an ability, they traced him to a penthouse in a well-known apartment building.

Since the apartment building is famous, the level of security is high.

Fortunately, Shadow has the Stealth Oustification and could easily slip through.

He went to Rex’s room while Jessie waited outside until she got the signal.

It took quite a moment to finally find the cleaning lady who carried the spare keys. Shadow was waiting right outside the room, invisible, and then got lucky enough to see her approaching Rex’s room. Seems like Lady Luck pitied him.

Just as she opened the door after knocking, he knocked her out.

“Damn, the room is not locked?” Shadow cursed.

He had been searching for the spare keys all this time, not realizing that the door was unlocked.

Not a good sign, but it’s fine.

Shadow entered the penthouse and scanned the space. Empty. Clear. He pulled the cleaning lady inside and shut the door behind them. Then, he turned visible, slipping into character. “Excuse me,” He called out. “Cleaning service. Anyone home?”

No answer.

As soon as he entered the main living room, his eyes were fixated on a portal on the wall.

Curious, Shadow approached the portal while still remaining alert. There are the sisters who are with Rex, so he needed to be ready. Once he peeked inside, he was greeted by a vast blank realm. And at the center of it was the person he was looking for with two other women.

Different women. Though they are beautiful, they didn’t look like sisters.

’He made it very easy for me,’ Shadow grinned inside, delighted to see that Rex was in another realm. It’s easier to take him out there, as nobody could stop him. He turned invisible again. ’Jessie didn’t need to come here. I can take him out myself.’

Just as he entered the realm, Rex glanced over his shoulder and turned.

“You’re too greedy, bastard,” He said menacingly. “I can see you…”