Defiance of the Fall

Killing the deathsworn won’t change that fact , but it will make their work harder . They’ve failed once and know we’re on guard . They’d have to make the second attempt count . I would be hesitant to launch an all-out strike unless I knew with certainty who to target and how Valsa failed the first time , - Catheya said .

And if we kill all the helpers and destroy all evidence , they’d have to start from scratch , - Ogras added . - Not just the investigations , but echelons , non-public intelligence of zones . You name it . We could just stay in high-echelon zones for the rest of the gallery , and they wouldn’t be able to touch us . -

Alright , - Catheya said as she took the Information Crystal from Ogras . - You two stay here , I’ll deal with it . It’s time those - helpers’ of ours put some work in . -

65

GETTING STRONGER

Neither Zac nor Ogras were surprised Catheya chose to take on this bloody mission . She was simply the best suited for it .

There are nine names , and there’s even fourth-echelon cultivators among them , - Ogras commented . - Dealing with them will be . . . Expensive . -

Zac grimaced at the thought . He remembered his encounter coming to Catheya’s aid just after entering the Perennial Vastness . He’d lost over 500 Mana killing the leader . Wiping out the whole group inside Vastness City would levy extraordinary fines on the killers . And it was easier said than done to lure them into a Red Zone .

Valsa struck me as someone who’d rather sacrifice all her deathsworn to empower herself than leave safeguards for others . I can’t believe so many people remain , - Zac said .

She probably would have if their strength were up to snuff , - Ogras agreed .

It doesn’t matter , - Catheya said . - It’s exactly for this type of thing they sent reinforcements . -

In this case , - they’ referred to the Undead Empire . The Eternal Clan siblings he met back then had already left the Perennial Vastness , but over a dozen new undead had cropped up over the past years . Two had just stumbled upon tokens , but the rest were sent with an explicit mission to shore up their position inside the trial .

Oddly enough , not one of those entering was a member of the Divine Races . They were all Revenants , Spectrals , and Corpselords , seemingly from completely different parts of the Undead Empire . What they had in common was incredible strength , easily surpassing the average guest . Zac had once found them highly suspicious , even suspecting they were part of the hidden threat .

Now that the threat was gone , the reinforcements came in handy .

Make sure there’s no trail leading back to you , - Zac said . - People will be talking about this for a while . -

Don’t worry , - Catheya smiled . - You two just don’t go creating any more problems before I’ve cleaned up this mess , right? -

Catheya left , and Ogras turned to Zac . - So , you got another sealbearer . You think he can be trusted? -

I think so . -

Still , having his seal wakened was a mistake . He’s a far bigger threat than those people on the toad’s list . What if he gets greedy upon his return? The knowledge he holds is worth a lot of money , and he doesn’t need you anymore . -

Kruta would never do that willingly , - Zac said . - If anything , he’ll keep our secrets out of self-preservation . He knows how these Imperial Clans act . If word gets out about his seal , his whole tribe will get implicated . They’d extract all knowledge before killing him to move the seal onto one of their own . -

Fine , - Ogras sighed . - I doubt you’re willing to kill him even if we found the opportunity . -

Of course not , - Zac glared .

Then we’ll just have to see where the pieces fall , - Ogras said . - At least you’ve completed your cycle now . That’s one problem dealt with . By the way , did the brute really gain an epiphany? Your girl said that wasn’t the case . -

The seal was thrumming with that weird energy , - Zac confirmed . - Maybe it’s because it was from the Indomitable Court? -

Either that or it’s Fate , - Ogras said . - You have to admit , that particular court is perfect for him . He’s also connected to you , the walking seal magnet . He has far more affinity to the Left Imperial Palace than some random guy who’s killed a sealbearer . -

Affinity , - Zac muttered . - That might be it . -

It made sense if you looked at it from a suitability perspective . If the deathsworn had held a seal of the Daedalian Court like Ventus , such a pairing wouldn’t have been suitable .

Guess we’ll find out during the war , - Ogras said . - It’s good news for us , at least . Means we might be able to gain epiphanies even if we find our final pieces inside the bodies of the Kan’Tanu . -

That is good news , - Zac said . - Unfortunately , I have some bad news as well . -