William stepped out of the Domain of Infinity, and without wasting time, he summoned Grimlock and Barash.
Both arrived promptly in the office chamber, kneeling as soon as they crossed the threshold.
William asked them to rise. His gaze was fixed on Grimlock, to whom he started questioning.
"How many bases are there," William asked calmly, "from where the abducted individuals are being supplied?"
Grimlock straightened slightly before carefully answering.
"Master, apart from Barash’s base that you destroyed personally, there are ten other bases assigned to bring in abducted individuals. Each of them is operated by an Ascension-ranked cult member."
William’s fingers tapped lightly against the armrest of his chair. "Hmm," he muttered. "Where are the other two men?"
His eyes scanned the room briefly. Benson and the newly inducted elf slave were missing.
"Master Ronin and Benson went to their assigned base," Grimlock replied. "They are currently destroying it and bringing back more individuals who would be loyal to you."
William nodded, and a faint sense of satisfaction flickered across his face.
He had not given explicit instructions, yet his subordinates were already acting in alignment with his goals.
The benefits of having slvaes pleased him more than he cared to admit.
Before he could speak further, a familiar voice echoed inside his mind.
"William, are you there???"
Tamasya’s voice rang as she established a mental link through the Mark of Destiny.
William raised a hand slightly, dismissing Grimlock and Barash for the moment. Both bowed and withdrew without hesitation.
"Yes, Master, I am here," William replied in his mind.
A sharp breath of relief came from the other side.
"Thank god you are safe," Tamasya said.
"Brat!! You don’t know how scared I was!!! Just come back right now. I am going to teach you a lesson!!"
William felt a bead of sweat form at his temple. "Master... what happened? Why are you so panicked? I am just on an academy mission."
"Don’t try to fool me, William," Tamasya snapped. "I know you are somewhere else."
William froze for half a second. "What? Who told you?"
"Tsk,"
William’s eyes narrowed. "So they are following me now, huh? I’ll teach them a lesson."
"Oi, shut up and listen to me," Tamasya cut him off. "The demon who came after you was caught by the Dragon Emperor..."
She went on to recount everything that had happened, from Dahek’s capture to Amon’s appearance.
Her words were heavy and tinged with urgency. As she spoke, William’s brows furrowed deeper with every passing second.
"...and then there is someone calling himself the Eternal Sovereign," Tamasya continued. "He is sending pieces of intelligence to influential people. Yue tried to divine this entity’s position, but she failed."
William’s sapphire-blue eyes glinted faintly.
Things were spiraling far beyond what he had anticipated.
In his mind, scenes aligned rapidly.
Maximus, Seraphine, and the rest of the main cast. They were all moving together now, exactly where they were never meant to be at this stage.
He had to stop them.
Originally, William had planned for Maximus to travel south deliberately.
When Lia woke up, William would manipulate events so that Maximus’s face would be the first thing she saw.
That single moment would anchor Maximus emotionally, ensuring he would not act recklessly later and mess with others in the future.
After that, William intended to slowly establish his own organisation, one that would infiltrate the core of the demonic cults from within.
Intelligence, influence, control. Everything would fall into place step by step.
But Lia had not woken up yet, she was in a critical state. Maximus, being Maximus, might either go crazy or might take a crazy decision under the influence of his emotions.
Maximus moving with the main cast now was not just unnecessary. It was dangerous.
That alone shattered the necessity of the entire setup. William did not want to take any risk with an emotionally unstable person.
[You are also emptionally unstable]
The system’s comment bothered William, "Yeah, but that is only for people I care about; I am at least not unstable for Lia," he replied to the system before returning to the point.
William said after a pause, masking his thoughts carefully. "So where are you right now?"
"We just arrived at the trade plaza from where the southern trade routes start," Tamasya replied.
"It seems to be the center of the mass kidnappings. I advise you to return to the academy immediately and not mess around."
"We are going to bring your friends back soon, and after that, you and I are going to have a very serious talk."
"Oh, yeah," William replied lightly. "I was just using this mission as a guise to train a bit more, hehe."
"But now that you have confirmed cult involvement, I’ll return to the academy immediately."
He deliberately leaned into the excuse. Tamasya still did not realize how deeply entangled he was in everything she was describing, and William intended to keep it that way.
"Strange," Tamasya muttered. "Why are you acting so docile? That’s not like you at all. Tsk, tell me. What are you hiding? Are you inside an Abyssal Node again?"
William’s face twitched. He forced out a laugh. "HAHAHA!! I could never fool you, Master. I am actually inside an Abyssal Node. I’ll return at once, don’t worry."
It was easier to ride her suspicion than let her imagine the truth, and William decided to do just that.
"Tsk," Tamasya said, her voice was now soft but dangerous.
"I have read you like a book, lil boy. Just come back. I am going to give you a great massage~ "
William shivered. "Go easy on me, Master," he pleaded.
"Oh," Tamasya suddenly exclaimed. "We have found your friends."
William’s heart skipped.
"Yeah! Catch ’em all!! Don’t let them run," he shouted, genuine excitement breaking through.
It seemed he would not need to worry about Seraphine, Maximus, or the others after all.
"Oh shit!!!"
The exclamation cut off abruptly.
William froze.
"What happened?" he asked sharply.
No reply came.
Seconds passed. Then more.
"Master?" William pressed. "Are you there???"
Finally, Tamasya’s voice returned, but it was strained and uneven. "Ah... yeah. Hehe. Don’t worry. Everything is alright."
William’s jaw tightened. "Master, tell me what happened!!"
"You don’t need to worry," she insisted. "Just come back, okay? We are going to return with your friends."
"Master!!," William said, his tone hardening, "I am seriously asking again. Tell me what happened!!"
The back and forth dragged on for minutes, but Tamasya refused to explain.
William’s patience snapped.
"System."
[Yea??]
The response came sluggishly, as if the system had been interrupted in the middle of something important.
"How do I use the Mark of Destiny to share my master’s senses?" William asked.
[No particular criteria, but still follow my advice.]
[Close your eyes, sit in a meditative posture, and focus on the mark inside you while willing what you want to do with it.]
William did not pause.
He sat down immediately, closed his eyes, and focused inward. The Mark of Destiny pulsed faintly within him as he willed the connection open.
His senses shifted.
On the other side of No-Man’s Land, perched on Yue’s shoulder, the black cat’s eyes suddenly glowed golden.
Tamasya realized instantly what William was doing.
"Hey!! That’s an invasion of privacy!!" she shouted in her mind.
She waved her paws, and layers of darkness wrapped around her eyes and ears, trying to block the connection to the vision and hearing.
But she was too late.
In William’s mind, the scene had already unfolded.
Selena’s screaming, a tavern split in two, the black demonic scar on the back of a man, and the realization that Seraphine had been kidnapped.
Tamasya had been a few seconds late.
Back in the underground base, William’s sapphire-blue eyes snapped open.
His calm was gone. His expression was cold.
[tsk, now who was calling others unstable?]
"William?" Tamasya called out anxiously.
"William, are you there?"
"Hey, William, just return. We will save her!!"
"William??"
The mental link suddenly went dead.