"He is Dahek, Amon’s pet," the Dragon Emperor said, his voice carrying no particular emotion as he tugged the chains violently and dragged the bloodied body fully into the room.
The iron links scraped harshly against the polished floor, leaving faint streaks of blood in their wake.
Dahek’s body followed limply, every movement sending a dull clatter through the chamber.
His limbs were bound at unnatural angles, muscles were torn and swollen, and the black-and-red striped skin stretched tight over damaged flesh.
"He was roaming around in my Drakemore Empire’s aerial space," Emperor Xaeroth Drakemore continued as he handed the chains to BloodRose and walked forward unhurriedly.
He approached Marcus’s seat and lowered himself into it as though this were nothing more than a routine visit.
Andrea appeared back in her seat at the same time.
Marcus, however, did not sit. He appeared directly in front of Xaeroth in a flash and slammed his palms lightly against the table.
"Tell me something I don’t know," Marcus said in a clipped and irritated tone.
A chair materialized beside Xaeroth a moment later, and Marcus took it, sitting down with a rigid posture.
Xaeroth did not even glance at him, his attention seemingly elsewhere.
"Hey, guys," Xaeroth said casually, leaning back in his chair. "A tea party going on??"
His gaze drifted lazily around the room before abruptly stopping at the corner, where Damian stood beside BloodRose, his figure stained red from earlier events.
Xaeroth’s amusement faded abruptly.
"Never mind," he muttered, the cheer gone from his voice.
He straightened slightly and looked back toward the table. "Who the hell is this Eternal Sovereign??"
The question landed heavily.
"How do you know that name?" Vivianne, Marcus, and Andrea asked simultaneously, their voices overlapped in surprise.
The rest of the leaders exchanged confused looks.
"Well," Xaeroth replied, turning his head toward Andrea with a faint grin, "he has refined tastes like you, sis. Sends letters in mysterious ways. He sent me aletter telling me about the demon roaming in my territory."
"I caught this bitch, but was too lazy to interrogate, so I thought Marcus would do it for me. I was free today, so I came here.
He ignored everyone else entirely as he spoke.
Andrea’s brows drew together as she turned her gaze toward Vivianne. Vivianne, for once, looked genuinely astonished, her composure slipped slightly.
"Umm," Vivianne began, then inhaled deeply as if deciding to unload everything at once.
"This Eternal Sovereign was the one who told me about the traitors in my empire recently. He also gave the information about Sara and the survivors of the cults through that mysterious golden butterfly."
She paused only briefly before continuing, words spilling out faster now.
"When I reached the site, all I could find was a hellish pit filled with hundreds of mangled bodies and remnants of what would have been a small-sized base."
She finished in one breath, clearly eager to get everything out before another interruption could derail her again.
"Wait!!" Klaus suddenly spoke up, his eyes widening as realization struck him. "I got one of his letters too!! He was the one who informed me about the Bloody Tears incident three years ago."
Murmurs erupted instantly. Voices overlapped as everyone in the room began murmuring at once.
The room was filled with uneasy energy as glances were exchanged and assumptions quietly formed.
"Everyone!! Be quiet," Marcus snapped, clapping his hands sharply.
The sound cut cleanly through the noise.
He turned toward Blood Rose.
"Document everyone’s experience and send the report to the investigation department. They already have a lead on this entity."
Blood Rose nodded without question. A sheet of paper and a quill appeared in her hands in a smooth motion, and she immediately moved toward Klaus, then Vivianne, then Xaeroth, recording each account carefully.
It took several minutes for her to finish documenting everything.
Andrea watched the process for a moment before turning back to Vivianne. "Do you have any idea who destroyed that cult base?" she asked. "Was it this Eternal Sovereign?"
"No idea, ma’am," Vivianne replied, shaking her head. "I didn’t see anyone when I arrived."
Marcus shifted his gaze toward Xaeroth. "Do you still have that letter?"
"No," Xaeroth answered calmly. "The scroll disappeared the moment I finished reading it. As if it existed only to be read by me."
Marcus’s expression darkened. Xaeroth noticed immediately and chuckled under his breath.
"Seems like there’s a new unchecked power rising after so many years on this continent,"
Xaeroth said thoughtfully. "I thought that brain-dead church was the last thing I’d see crawling out of the shadows in my lifetime, but it looks like we’re going to have some fun. Right, Marky?"
Before Marcus could respond, Selena spoke up, looking at Andrea, continuing the earlier topic of concern.
"Why don’t we ask the one who was in that place the entire time?"
She turned her gaze toward Sara, who had fallen asleep peacefully with her head resting on the table.
All eyes shifted toward the girl.
"She can’t speak!!" Raegor said immediately, his voice was tense with concern.
"Well," Aurelius said quietly, speaking for the first time in a while, "she can write, I hope."
Raegor clenched his jaw, irritation flashing across his face, but he did not object further. It was clear no one intended to harm Sara.
Selena rose from her seat and approached Sara slowly. "Move you brute!! Let me handle the kid. She needs gentle care."
Raegor stood up awkwardly, stepping aside as Selena sat down beside Sara.
She moved silently, her hands resting lightly on the table before she reached out and brushed Sara’s hair back gently.
"Sara," Selena called softly.
After a few repeated calls, Sara stirred.
She rubbed her eyes slightly and looked up at Selena. Her bright gaze was clear despite the lingering grogginess in her eyes.
Without a word, Selena slid a sheet of paper on the table towards her.
Selena smiled faintly. "Will you tell us who saved you when you were stuck in that bad place?"
"Tsk, it’s not like she’s five years old," Xaeroth muttered from behind, only to fall silent when Andrea shot him a sharp look.
Sara took the quill from Selena’s hand and began writing quickly. Her movements were confident, betraying none of the hesitation one might expect.
She slid the paper back across the table.
"I want chocolate," Selena read aloud, her face twitched.
"What is that, my dear?" she asked, clearly struggling to maintain composure.
"I think she’s talking about this," Raegor said, taking out the half-eaten chocolate bar from earlier from his inventory.
Selena snatched it from his hand and offered it to Sara.
Sara accepted it with one hand, taking the quill with the other, and immediately began drawing something on the sheet of paper.
"What the hell did they teach you ?? Do that to the walls of your home, kiddo? we need answers," Xaeroth muttered, peeking over the paper.
Sara and others ignored the comment and kept drawing.
Slowly, the drawing took shape.
A tall, lean man appeared first. He wore a crow mask.
Then she drew a curved arrow beside the drawing, pointing at the other end of the page, where another figure was drawn by her.
A hybrid of bird and man, with what appeared to be flames surrounding its body.
Her sketches were clean and precise, impossible to dismiss as childish scribbles.
"You saw this?" Selena asked carefully. "A man turning into a bird?"
Sara nodded.
Everyone leaned closer, crowding around her.
"Did she see a phoenix?" Raegor asked hesitantly.
Sara shook her head.
Confusion deepened.
"No worries," Marcus said, taking the drawing gently from Sara and handing it to Blood Rose. "We’ll analyze it."
He turned back toward the table. "Should we depart for the mission now?"
Xaeroth raised a hand, stopping him.
Marcus followed his gaze.
It was fixed on Dahek’s bloodied body.
As if on cue, Xaeroth stood and walked toward Dahek.
He grabbed the demon by the hair and lifted him effortlessly. Dahek struggled weakly, chains rattling as his feet left the ground.
Without warning, Xaeroth slammed him back down and squatted beside his face, still gripping his hair.
"Speak!! What were you doing in my empire?" Xaeroth asked,
"Arghh!!" dahek ratteled before he spoke in a hoarse voice, "Amon..."
"Amon...asked me to watch the boy"
"Which boy?"
"Heugh... Archon..."
Everyone’s eye widened as they moved their attention to the broken figure."
"Oh? Interesting," Xaeroth said calmly. "Which Archon?"
"Heugh... blue... hair boy."
"I was following him the whole time," Dahek continued weakly. "I was told to watch him from a distance because Lord Amon wanted to play with him."
"What!!" Andrea and Yue exclaimed together.
"What were you doing in my empire then?" Xaeroth asked, unfazed by the reactions.
"Cough!! I was chasing him..."
"You wanted to kill him?" Xaeroth’s voice sharpened. "Why? Didn’t your demon lord tell you to just watch him?"
"Cough!! He had something I wanted."
"What?" Several voices overlapped.
"What did he have??"
"Cough...cough..arghhhh!!"
Dahek’s body convulsed violently. His skin began to melt and warp, flesh restructuring in grotesque patterns.
His abdomen bulged unnaturally, gurgling before splitting into a malformed face that emerged from his chest’s flesh.
The face twisted and spoke, its voice filled with malice.
"Khe khe khe!! After such a long time, I’ve seen you all together!! Having a tea party?"
The demonic laughter echoed.
"AMON!!!" Andrea growled.