Chapter 12: The Paladin's Weakness
[The Investigation of the Light]
Back at The Immortal Sepulchre, the newly imprinted mana amplifier hummed with a low, indigo energy. While Rudraunsh managed his mana recovery—now significantly faster due to the site's passive energy—Sera was submerged in digital shadow.
Her private terminal, a nexus of untraceable information streams, displayed a terrifying amount of data on Captain Ahn Joonsung, the B-Rank Paladin.
"Captain Ahn is exactly what we expected: a pillar of the Stellar Halo and a public relations darling," Sera analyzed, her fingers flying across the holographic interfaces. "He champions purity, light, and hierarchical obedience. He's the perfect foil for the 'Black Sentinel' myth you're creating."
Rudraunsh, fully recovered and restless, watched the profile of the Paladin. "Purity is always fragile. Every Hunter has a weakness. What does he hide?"
Sera pulled up a financial spreadsheet and cross-referenced it with internal Guild transfer logs. "Ahn's income is disproportionately low for his rank and the cost of maintaining his gear. He's sinking a massive amount of money somewhere."
"A mistress? A gambling habit?" Rudraunsh suggested, coldly recalling the vices of power he'd observed in his past life.
"Worse. A secret family," Sera revealed, displaying photos of a woman and two young children living in an affluent but extremely private district. "Ahn is married to a non-Hunter, which is highly discouraged in the Stellar Halo's upper ranks. They demand pure Hunter lineage."
"Discreet, but not crippling," Rudraunsh judged. "The Guild would simply force him to divorce her, preserving his career."
Sera nodded, her expression serious. "True. But he's hiding more than just a wife. Look at the children's medical history."
She presented detailed medical scans. Both children suffered from a rare, chronic mana sickness—a side effect of exposure to low-grade Gate residue near their suburban home. The sickness was manageable but required extremely expensive, experimental Dark Mana Filtration Therapy, a restricted procedure typically performed only by Guild-sanctioned healers.
"Dark Mana therapy," Rudraunsh repeated, the irony sharp. "The ultimate contradiction for a Paladin of Light."
"Exactly. Ahn funds this therapy illegally, paying extortionate black-market prices to keep the healing quiet. If the Stellar Halo finds out, he faces disgrace for having 'tainted' children and using 'forbidden' healing methods." Sera leaned back, a triumphant glint in her eyes. "His greatest weakness isn't his family; it's his hypocrisy and his love."
[The Plan: Ruin by Exposure]
The goal was to ruin Captain Ahn's prestige and force him to surrender the Soul Chain Core to the Crimson Weaver as payment for the exposed secret. Rudraunsh's plan was built not on combat, but on creating an irrefutable trail of evidence.
"The exposure must happen during his most public moment, striking at the heart of his image," Rudraunsh decided. "When is his next official public event?"
Sera pulled up the Guild schedule. "Tomorrow evening. Captain Ahn is giving the keynote address at the Yeonhwa Academy's Founders Gala—the very place you and I are supposed to be students. It's a huge PR event for the Stellar Halo."
Rudraunsh smiled, a thin, chilling expression that held no humor. "Perfect. We will strike at the very symbol of their purity, the academy that rejected me."
The plan was complex, requiring the synchronized deployment of the Immortal Sepulchre's resources:
* The Distraction: Rudraunsh would use the burner phone and Sera's network to plant an anonymous, targeted leak about a minor Dark Mage activity far across the city, pulling the majority of Stellar Halo security away from the Gala.
* The Shadow Trail: Rudraunsh would infiltrate the Gala, avoiding all physical contact and utilizing his Steelbone Warriors purely for mana projection.
* The Exposure: During Ahn's speech, Rudraunsh would use his Undying Authority to simultaneously:
* Flash the medical data (supplied by Sera) onto the main Gala screen.
* Infuse the air around Captain Ahn with a highly concentrated, but harmless, burst of Dark Mana that would register as a direct spiritual assault on all Hunter scanners present.
"When the Paladin of Light is publicly exposed as a hypocrite using Dark Magic for his family, and at the same moment his body is flooded with an unmistakable Dark Mana signature," Rudraunsh concluded, "the Stellar Halo won't need to arrest him. They will destroy him themselves to protect their image."
[A Glimmer of Shared Humanity]
Sera meticulously packed the custom-built data projection device and a highly refined Dark Mana Filter—a device capable of concentrating the Necrotic energy for the exposure burst.
She paused, looking at Rudraunsh, who stood cloaked in shadow, utterly ready for the emotional execution of his target.
"You know, for a man with Catastrophic power, your restraint is more terrifying than any destruction you could cause," Sera commented softly. "You are destroying his life, not his body. That is true psychological warfare."
"Death is final and easily forgotten," Rudraunsh responded, adjusting his grip on the Dark Mana Filter. "Ruin is a lingering contagion. And ruin serves our purpose."
"And what if Captain Ahn tries to retaliate? He is a B-Rank Paladin. His Light Mana is potent."
"Then the Steelbone Warriors will provide a terrifying defense. The goal is to survive long enough for the information to propagate," Rudraunsh stated, but then he hesitated—a rare moment of vulnerability. He lowered his voice. "I will not let the Light touch you, Sera."
Sera felt a pulse of emotion—the same potent feeling of trust that had sparked their alliance. She reached up and adjusted the collar of his cloak, her fingers briefly resting on the cold fabric near his neck.
"Then I will ensure the narrative is perfect, Rudraunsh. The Black Sentinel is about to make his first high-society debut. Let's give them a scandal they can never forget."
The atmosphere was electric with shared anticipation. They were two outcasts, one Light and one Dark, working in perfect sync to execute a necessary evil.
The fate of a B-Rank Paladin, and the next stage of The Necrotic Sovereign's evolution, rested on their shoulders.