Chapter 222: Governor’s Orders, Mind Games
Vale POV
The governor’s office was quiet except for the faint ticking of a wall clock.
Vale stood near the desk.
His report was already given to the governor.
The man behind the desk leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled, studying him with a calm expression that didn’t quite hide the weight of his thoughts.
"So they defeated the serpent?" the governor finally asked.
"Yes," Vale replied.
"Hm..." A low hum came from the governor’s throat.
He didn’t speak again right away.
Instead, he turned his gaze toward the large window.
His eyes on the city beyond.
On his city.
His thoughts seemed far from the room, running in places Vale couldn’t follow.
The pause stretched until Vale decided to speak again.
"They also captured nagas that were still alive."
The words were neutral, but his tone carried the concern he felt. He didn’t need to explain why. Both of them knew what living captives meant.
The governor’s expression barely shifted, but the faintest narrowing of his eyes showed he understood the unspoken point.
"Kill the nagas," he said flatly. "They’re not useful anymore. You can use the curse you placed on them."
"About that..." Vale hesitated.
The governor’s brow creased. "There’s a problem?"
"Yes." Even as he answered, Vale still found the situation strange. "My curse skill is being countered. Someone is blocking it with another skill."
"What...?"
For the first time in their conversation, genuine surprise flickered across the governor’s face.
"I was caught off guard too. I think I can still activate the curse if I were close enough to the nagas, but at this distance, it’s impossible."
The governor leaned forward slightly, his elbows resting on the desk. "Who is doing it?"
"I don’t know," Vale admitted. "But if I had to pick someone, I would say it’s someone from the three university factions, most likely the Sanctum of Masters. They’re the ones who captured the nagas, so it makes sense they’d be the ones interfering with my skill."
The governor nodded faintly. "That would fit."
"There are some shamans and similar classes in the Sanctum of Masters. Someone among them might have a skill to make this possible. But..."
"But it doesn’t make sense that there is someone strong enough to block your skill," the governor finished.
"Yes."
The governor tapped a finger against his desk in slow rhythm.
His eyes narrowed in thought.
Faces of known awakeners from the Sanctum of Masters came to mind.
He knew their ranks, and their skill sets.
High ranking awakeners guarded their true abilities closely, but the governor had spent years prying into their secrets.
Spies had been sent. People had been bribed, coerced, and threatened.
The governor had a list for nearly everyone who mattered in grand scheme of things.
But if there was someone he knew almost nothing about, someone who could quietly disrupt Vale’s curse...
"It might be her," he said after a moment. "Evil Sword. If anyone in the Sanctum of Masters could block your curse, it would be her."
Vale gave a short nod. "Yes. She’s the most likely candidate."
The governor’s fingers resumed their tapping.
"Go and kill the nagas. Do it in a way that won’t make anyone suspicious. If you can’t, then leave it and come back."
Vale frowned slightly. "Wouldn’t it be bad if they leaked information about us?"
"No," the governor said, a faint smile pulling at his lips. "Why would anyone believe a word from nagas who’ve been attacking us? I’m the governor. Does it make sense that I would use the enemy to attack my own people?"
Vale understood immediately.
Public perception was in the governor’s favor.
Even if the nagas shouted the truth from the rooftops, it wouldn’t matter without solid proof.
"Understood," Vale said.
The governor gave a single nod in return.
Vale didn’t linger.
He turned and left the office, boots clicking softly against the polished floor.
Outside, the hallways of the administrative building were as orderly as ever.
The staff moved about after giving him a bow as he passed them.
He didn’t slow down until he reached the outer doors, the cool air greeting him as he stepped outside.
His next destination wasn’t one he could stroll toward openly.
The location where the nagas were kept was not public knowledge, and certainly not somewhere just anyone could walk into.
Vale moved quickly while using the artifact to turn invisible.
The place where the nagas were kept was heavily guarded.
He moved without making any noise, or letting anyone detect his presence.
’Just a bit closer.’
Vale entered the building.
He thought he might actually reach the holding area without trouble until he saw them.
Two men stood directly in front of the reinforced double doors at the end of the corridor.
Both carried themselves with pride and arrogance that only belonged to high-ranking awakeners.
Vale considered slipping past them.
Then one of them spoke.
"Vale Rae? What are you doing here?"
The voice was calm, but it cut through the air sharply.
Vale stopped.
’He saw through my invisibility.’
Vale deactivate it, and appeared in front of them.
Lucien, the headmaster of the Hornizon Institute, was staring straight at him.
He didn’t look surprised, just mildly curious. It was as though Vale’s presence here was unusual but not completely unthinkable.
The other man—Dante, dean of the Combat Department at Aeternum University—stood with his arms crossed.
He remained silent.
"I’m here on the governor’s order," Vale said evenly. "I need to interrogate the nagas."
"Oh?" Lucien’s brows lifted slightly.
"That’s the job of the Sanctum of Masters," Dante said, his voice carrying the firmness of someone stating a rule rather than offering an opinion. "They were the ones who were attacked. After they’re finished, you can speak to the nagas."
Vale frowned slightly.
Their refusal didn’t change the fact that he had a job to do.
’Should I kill them?’ The thought came to him.
He was confident he could overpower both men if it came to it.
No one had seen him approach the area, and no one would know he was here unless the two in front of him said something.
If he moved fast enough, he could eliminate them and the nagas in a matter of moments, then vanish before anyone connected him to the scene.
’Or should I try to solve this without killing them?’
The corridor behind them was the key.
If he could just cross it, he’d be within range to activate the curse. The deaths of the nagas would draw suspicion, but without proof, suspicion was all it would be.
He weighed his options in silence.
Every second he spent standing there risked drawing attention, but rushing the decision wasn’t smart.
Then, before he could choose, a voice came from behind him.
It was charming, and seductive, yet it gave him chills as if it was filled with bloodlust.
"Vale, you should come tomorrow."
He turned his head slightly.
Catherine, the Evil Sword, stood a few paces away.
’I didn’t notice her until she spoke.’
Her condition... wasn’t good.
Torn clothes hung from her frame, and blood—both fresh and dried—streaked her skin and fabric.
Some of it was hers, some of it wasn’t.
The way she stood, slightly uneven in her weight distribution, suggested injuries that went beyond the superficial.
’Fighting the Sentinel must’ve been hard.’
Vale already knew she had been up against one today.
And not just any Sentinel, this would have been her second in just a few days.
The city’s defense system would have adapted to her fighting style after the first encounter.
It would have armed the second Sentinel with the patterns and counters needed to push her to her limits.
The fact she had defeated it at all told enough about her strength, but it still didn’t hide the fact that today’s battle had been far more dangerous than the last.
’It makes sense she’s exhausted and injured.’
Still, he didn’t relax.
The sight of her injuries only sharpened his caution.
Catherine — Evil Sword — was a fiendish manipulator.
You wouldn’t realize her trap until it was too late.
It made no sense she was displaying her vulnerable appearance.
In fact, the thought of her openly appearing this way felt wrong.
’...Is the Evil Sword trying to create a bait?’
If she was the one countering his curse, this could easily be a trap.
Appear wounded, lure the enemy closer, and strike when they drop their guard.
It was the kind of strategy she could execute flawlessly.
’If she’s the one who placed Lucien and Dante here, it means she knows the range at which the curse can be activated.’
’If I try to get in the range of the curse, it would prove I’m the one who wanted them dead.’
It made far more sense to assume she had some kind of plan than to believe she’d expose herself like this without layers of protection ready to spring.
’This has to be bait.’
Vale let out a quiet sigh, more for himself than for anyone else.
"Alright," he said after a pause. "I’ll come tomorrow."
He turned and began walking away.
Neither Lucien nor Dante tried to stop him.
Catherine didn’t say anything further either.
He didn’t look back to see if she was still watching.
Even though she hadn’t threatened him directly, and even though her condition appeared far worse than anyone in the hall, she had unsettled him in a way the two guards hadn’t.
The men in front of the doors had been a problem to solve.
Catherine was something else entirely.
Had she shown her weakened appearance because she wanted to bait the curse caster?
Or did she do it because she knew the curse caster might overthink, believing she was not actually injured when in truth she was injured?
’Dammit, this is why I hate people who play mind games.’