"We leave for House Veritas in three days."
Azrith's voice remained calm as the lights of Valorheim reflected behind him.
"Until then…"
"…settle yourselves here."
His blue eye beneath the mask narrowed slightly afterward.
"And try not to go outside too much."
"More importantly—"
"Don't cause another incident."
I glanced at him silently.
That was rich coming from someone who dragged me out of the Black Pit after smashing a basilisk's skull in front of hundreds of people.
Meanwhile—
Azrith continued.
"I'll be acting as a sponsor for Count Veritas and arranging a formal meeting with them regarding business matters."
"So while I distract the house…"
"…you two will infiltrate the estate."
"Find Lumine."
"And extract her quietly."
I narrowed my eyes slightly.
"You make it sound easy."
"Do you even have a blueprint of the estate?"
"The guard rotations?"
"Security routes?"
"Where the girl is being held?"
Azrith smirked faintly hearing that.
Then casually—
he tossed a black file toward me.
"Take this."
I caught it before opening it slowly.
Inside were multiple documents alongside detailed maps of the Veritas estate.
Guard schedules.
Hidden pathways.
Underground routes.
Even portraits of important members within the house.
My eyes narrowed slightly.
This amount of information…
…was absurd.
Azrith calmly spoke again.
"Everything you need to know should be inside."
"I see…"
Then slowly—
my gaze shifted toward him again.
"…Who exactly are you, Azrith?"
Because someone capable of obtaining this much information on Count Veritas—
especially while remaining unnoticed—
wasn't normal.
Not even close.
And then came his strength, none of it made any sense.
Meanwhile—
Azrith simply smiled beneath the mask.
"That's the third time you've asked me that."
Then casually—
he began walking back toward the penthouse interior.
"Get some rest, Rio."
"Three days from now…"
"…your real problem begins."
I turned slightly toward Jasmine.
She stood near the balcony entrance quietly watching me.
The neon lights of Valorheim reflected softly across her crimson hair while the night wind brushed past us.
"It seems…"
"…you heard the entire conversation."
Jasmine slowly stepped onto the balcony.
"Yes."
Her sharp green eyes remained fixed on me.
Then quietly—
she asked:
"So your real name is Rio?"
For a brief moment—
silence filled the balcony.
The city lights below flickered endlessly beneath the night sky.
Then finally—
I answered.
"Yes."
"My true name…"
"…is Rio Valen."
The moment I spoke the surname—
the atmosphere itself seemed heavier.
Because even outside Astryx—
the name Valen carried weight.
Power.
Fear.
Legend.
I slowly looked away toward the distant skyline afterward.
"The son of the Sword Master…"
"…Lucivar Valen."
Jasmine's eyes widened slightly hearing that name.
Even she knew it.
Of course she did.
Lucivar Valen.
The strongest swordsman of Astryx.
A monster whose name alone was enough to silence battlefields.
And I—
was his son.
Meanwhile—
Jasmine quietly absorbed the information before speaking softly.
"…I see."
But strangely—
there wasn't fear in her voice.
Nor shock.
Instead—
something closer to understanding.
Then slowly—
she walked closer beside me near the balcony railing.
"So that's why."
"The way you fight…"
"It finally makes sense."
The night wind passed between us quietly afterward.
Then Jasmine suddenly asked:
"…Are you going back to them?"
"Going back to them…?"
I quietly repeated Jasmine's words.
Then slowly—
I turned away from the balcony.
"No."
The single word carried no hesitation.
No doubt.
Only certainty.
The cold night wind brushed through my black-and-white hair as I walked toward the room entrance.
"I'm not here to return to them."
Golden eyes slowly narrowed beneath the dim lights of the penthouse.
"I came to Astryx…"
"…to destroy them instead."
Silence filled the balcony.
Jasmine's eyes widened slightly as she stared at my back.
Meanwhile—
I calmly continued walking forward.
"My goal…"
"…is to make House Valen disappear from this nation entirely."
For a brief second—
the atmosphere itself felt heavy.
Because the words I had just spoken were absolute insanity.
House Valen wasn't merely a noble family.
They were one of the pillars of Astryx itself.
A bloodline feared throughout kingdoms.
The family that produced monsters capable of changing wars.
And yet—
I intended to erase them.
Meanwhile—
Jasmine quietly watched me.
Then softly—
she finally spoke.
"…You really hate them that much?"
...
Rio Valen's memories burned through my mind endlessly.
The pain.
The loneliness.
The hatred.
When our synchronization had become complete.
Not just memories anymore.
Not just fragments.
I understood him now.
Truly.
Both of us had suffered through the cruelty of this world.
Abandoned.
Used.
Broken by people stronger than us.
And beneath all of Rio's hatred—
I finally understood what he truly wanted.
Not revenge.
Not power.
Not glory.
Peace.
He simply wanted peace.
A place where nobody looked at him with disgust.
A place where he could finally breathe freely.
He wanted happiness.
A normal life.
But every time I remembered the Valens—
that cold hatred inside me only deepened further.
The family that destroyed him.
The people who treated their own blood like garbage.
The monsters that created this broken version of Rio.
My golden eyes slowly closed.
Then quietly—
I spoke inside my heart.
"…Just for you."
"I'll erase the Valen family."
The night wind passed quietly through the balcony.
And somewhere deep inside—
it almost felt like Rio himself was listening.
A faint warmth.
A fading sadness.
Then softly—
I smiled bitterly.
"…That would make you happy, wouldn't it, Rio?"
...
Three days had finally passed.
During those days—
I spent most of my time training Jasmine.
At first her swordsmanship was rough.
Too rigid.
Too focused on technique rather than instinct.
But surprisingly—
she learned quickly.
Very quickly.
As expected from someone born amidst endless civil war.
Meanwhile—
the hatred between us and the world around us only grew quieter.
Sharper.
More focused.
Now—
Azrith stood before us once again.
Both Jasmine and I had already activated our disguises.
Brown hair.
Ordinary faces.
Completely different identities.
To Astryx—
we were now simply:
Zio Norken
and
Irene Norken.
Outside—
a luxurious black vehicle waited beneath the skyscraper lights of Valorheim.
Soon—
the three of us entered the car as it began moving toward the territory of Count Veritas.
The futuristic city passed outside the windows endlessly while silence filled the interior.
Then suddenly—
Azrith spoke casually.
"So…"
"Queen of Kaelvaris."
"I hope you understand the mission?"
Jasmine narrowed her eyes immediately.
"Yes."
Azrith smirked slightly hearing her tone.
Meanwhile—
I quietly observed him.
This bastard truly knew everything about us.
Our identities.
Our goals.
Even Jasmine's real status.
Then suddenly—
Jasmine spoke coldly.
"You're Azrith…"
"…the warrior from Arcathia, aren't you?"
For the first time—
Azrith's smirk visibly widened.
"Oh?"
"You know me?"
"I've heard stories."
Her gaze sharpened slightly afterward.
Meanwhile—
my eyes narrowed in confusion.
"…Arcathia?"
"Isn't that the kingdom that disappeared thirty years ago?"
At my words—
Jasmine slowly looked toward me.
Then scoffed quietly.
"Disappeared?"
Her sharp green eyes shifted toward Azrith afterward.
"No."
"That man…"
"…is the real reason it disappeared."
My eyes widened slightly.
Silence filled the vehicle instantly.
Meanwhile—
Azrith simply leaned back comfortably against the seat.
The city lights passed across his mask while the vehicle continued through the streets of Valorheim.
Then quietly—
he chuckled.
"Rumors tend to become quite amusing over time."
Jasmine's eyes narrowed sharply.
"Deny it all you want."
"But I know you had a hand in Arcathia's destruction."
Silence filled the vehicle afterward.
Meanwhile—
I quietly listened.
Arcathia.
Even I had heard stories about it growing up.
A kingdom famed for producing absurdly powerful warriors.
Then one day—
it vanished completely.
No survivors.
No explanations.
Just gone.
And now—
Jasmine was implying the man sitting beside us had something to do with it.
Meanwhile—
Azrith slowly rested his chin against his hand.
"…You give me too much credit."
"That kingdom was already rotting from the inside."
His tone remained casual.
Almost indifferent.
But for the first time—
I noticed something strange.
A faint coldness hidden beneath his voice.
Then softly—
Azrith continued.
"Humans destroy themselves surprisingly well."
"They simply blame monsters afterward because it helps them sleep at night."
Jasmine scoffed quietly.
"So you expect me to believe you had nothing to do with it?"
Azrith smiled faintly beneath the mask.
"I never said that either."
The atmosphere inside the car instantly became heavier.
Even Jasmine fell silent briefly.
Meanwhile—
Azrith slowly glanced outside the window toward the distant skyline.
For the first time since meeting him—
his smile looked oddly empty.
Then quietly—
he spoke.
"Arcathia died because people were weak."
"Because they betrayed each other."
"Because they feared power they couldn't control."
His glowing blue eye shifted toward us afterward.
"And if you think Astryx is any different…"
"…then you two still understand nothing about this world."
...
We soon arrived before the estate of Count Veritas.
The mansion itself looked less like a noble residence—
and more like a fortress.
Massive black walls surrounded the territory while silver lights illuminated the pathways leading toward the entrance.
Dozens of surveillance devices rotated silently across the estate.
And standing throughout the grounds—
were warriors.
Over a hundred of them.
Every single one armed.
Every single one awakened.
Their uniforms carried the silver eagle emblem of House Veritas.
Meanwhile—
a man with slick grey hair stood near the entrance with a confident smirk on his face.
Expensive clothes.
Sharp eyes.
A noble through and through.
That must be Trevor Veritas.
Azrith casually opened the car door.
"Let's go."
The moment we stepped outside—
multiple warriors instantly shifted their gazes toward us.
I quietly observed the surroundings while keeping my expression calm beneath the disguise.
Trevor suddenly walked forward before stopping directly in front of Azrith.
"You must be Azrith?"
Azrith smiled politely.
"Indeed."
Trevor laughed loudly afterward.
"HAHAHA!"
"I was quite surprised when I heard someone was willing to sponsor three hundred million gold toward the museum project."
Azrith chuckled softly.
"Well…"
"What can I say?"
"I quite like collecting rare things."
Something about his tone made even Trevor pause slightly.
But the man quickly recovered with another grin.
"Haha! Wonderful!"
"Please—"
"You are an honored guest of House Veritas."
Trevor's eyes then shifted toward Jasmine and me.
"And these two?"
Azrith answered casually.
"My attendants."
"They'll simply follow me during the tour."
Trevor glanced at us briefly before nodding.
"Very well."
Then slowly—
the massive gates of House Veritas opened behind him.
And the moment I stepped inside—
I immediately felt it.
Something was wrong with this place.