James POV
James’s boots pounded against the stone floor as he ran through the narrow corridor.
The dim lights lining the ceiling flickered with every step, casting brief shadows across the walls.
His chest tightened.
He had been Governor Marcus’ hidden ace, the fourth SSS-rank awakener no one outside their circle knew existed.
His skill wasn’t brute force like the others, but the subtle power to manipulate perception and bend public opinion with words alone.
Where the others were weapons, he was a scalpel, careful and precise.
But now his mental link with the three SSS rank awakeners who had gone to kill the Sword Empress had been severed.
"They were defeated," James muttered under his breath, trying to keep his composure as he reached the reinforced steel door at the end of the hall. "I need to warn the Governor before it’s too late."
He pressed his hand against the scanner.
The lock clicked. The heavy door slid open to reveal a quiet office.
Unlike the grand chambers above, this room was buried deep beneath Fortified City 50, built in secret.
The walls here weren’t ordinary steel or concrete but forged from rare materials designed to block all external detection.
Even an Overlord couldn’t sense through them.
Governor Marcellus sat at a long desk, papers spread before him, though his eyes were sharp enough that James knew he hadn’t been working.
He was waiting for the news.
James stopped just short of the desk and spoke quickly. "Governor. The three people we sent after the Sword Empress are dead. The link was cut."
The Governor’s frown deepened, but he didn’t rise or shout.
His expression shifted slightly, as though the news was troubling but not entirely unexpected.
"That was... earlier than I thought. It seems we underestimated her."
James swallowed, unsure how to respond.
The calm tone didn’t soothe his nerves. If anything, it unsettled him more.
"What should we do?"
"Calm yourself first," Marcellus said. "This isn’t the end. The pieces may have shifted, but the game isn’t over. We will move to Plan D."
James hesitated. "Plan D...?"
The Governor leaned back in his chair, folding his hands.
"Plan A was to use the nagas to overtake Fortified City 89. That failed. Plan B was to tarnish Isaac’s image quietly, isolate him until he broke. That also failed. Plan C was to eliminate the Sword Empress and then remove Isaac with force. That too has failed."
His eyes narrowed.
"But I always keep contingencies for contingencies. Plan D is one of them."
James nodded slowly, forcing himself to breathe evenly. "What is Plan D exactly?"
"We make a public announcement," Marcellus explained. "You and I together. We’ll combine our social skills, use them to control the narrative, and spread rumors about Isaac.
"We will twist every action he takes until the public sees him as reckless, dangerous, and untrustworthy. His image will fall no matter what he does."
James listened carefully.
It was a simple plan, almost too simple compared to the others.
Normally Marcellus preferred his tried-and-true approach—cutting off rivals through connections, financial strangulation, and slow isolation until they yielded.
That had been his method against opposition businesses and political enemies for years.
But Isaac was different.
Isaac had backing from the top three universities.
Marcellus couldn’t isolate him through pressure. They wouldn’t allow it. That alone forced this change in approach.
Before James could respond, a voice slipped into the room, smooth and alluring, almost playful. "Is that Plan D? It’s simpler than I thought."
"Evil Sword..."
Governor Marcellus’ eyes widened for the briefest moment.
Then they narrowed, flicking between James and the woman now standing so casually near him. "So, you betrayed me, and brought her here."
James froze, blood running cold. "Governor, I—"
"He chose self-preservation," Catherine said lightly, smiling as she lifted her dagger. "Don’t blame him. Anyone with sense would do the same."
The dagger flashed.
Marcellus’ shield lit up instantly, blocking the strike.
The sound echoed in the underground office, sharp and grating.
Catherine didn’t pause. She swung again, and then again.
Every time a shield shattered, another appeared in its place, drawn from the arsenal of artifacts hidden on Marcellus’ body.
James stepped back, his pulse racing.
The Governor was calm even as his shields broke one after another, but Catherine’s smirk only grew.
"You can’t use your escape artifact, can you?" she asked.
Marcellus’ brows furrowed at last.
He had been trying to trigger the artifact that would teleport him to a predetermined safehouse.
It should have activated instantly, and could be used up to three times.
Yet nothing happened.
"You’ve placed a jammer over this area," he said slowly, realization dawning.
"Correct~," Catherine replied, tilting her head.
The air shifted.
Power unlike anything James had ever felt pressed down on the room.
A presence tore through the city streets above, ripped through the reinforced ceiling of their secret base, and dropped into the chamber like a falling star.
James staggered back, covering his mouth to stop himself from choking on the weight of it.
A woman appeared.
She looked young, with half-lidded eyes that gave her the air of someone on the edge of sleep.
Her beauty was disarming, and her long robes flowed gently despite the stagnant air of the underground office.
But James felt only dread.
The oppressive aura made his knees tremble.
Catherine paused, her eyes narrowing as she studied the newcomer. "This is unexpected. To think someone like her would come to rescue you governor. How many backup plans do you have?"
Even she sounded genuinely curious.
James’s thoughts scrambled.
He knew her.
Everyone in the upper circles knew her name, though few had ever seen her in person.
"Overlord Aurora..." His voice cracked as he whispered it.
The ruler of Fortified City 22.
She had been in seclusion, or so the reports had claimed.
That had been the excuse for her absence when the nagas attacked Fortified City 89 and the top three universities asked for her reinforcement.
If she had truly been training in secret, her sudden arrival here didn’t make sense.