Arthur chuckled, though there was no humor in it. "Why would I do that? I''m not stupid enough to lie to someone like you, am I?"


    Adam''s re didn''t waver. "Then how do you exin the monster horde? The person who wiped out those monsters should have been you."


    Arthur sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "It wasn''t me."


    Adam''s eyes shed. "Then who?"


    Arthur hesitated. His gaze flickered past Adam, as if scanning the forest. Then he exhaled, lowering his voice slightly.


    Arthur hesitated for a fraction of a second. His gaze flickered past Adam, as if scanning the darkened forest, weighing his options.


    Then he exhaled, his voice dropping slightly, as if sharing a dangerous secret.


    "It was the… vige mayor and his guards."


    Adam''s entire posture shifted. His arms, previously crossed, fell to his sides, his fingers twitching slightly as his expression darkened.


    A massive frown creased his face as he stared at Arthur, searching for any sign of deception.


    "…What?" His voice was dangerously low.


    Arthur didn''t flinch. He held Adam''s gaze calmly.


    "Like i said, it was the mayor," Arthur said with a slight shrug.


    Adam let out a slow breath, his fingers tightening into fists. "Fateless." His voice was sharp now, cutting through the air like a de.


    "You were doing well. You were showing sincerity. But now? Now you expect me to believe this?"


    Arthur raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable. "And why not?"


    "We are meant to be on the same side now, so we should have more trust in each other."


    Adam took a step closer, the weight of his presence pressing down. "Because no such thing happened in any of the other viges. Not one report of a mayor stepping in to wipe out an entire horde. No mention of guards clearing the monsters before they even reached the vige. This isn''t how Armageddon operates. This isn''t how the system works."@@novelbin@@


    Arthur sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I knew you wouldn''t believe me. That''s why I didn''t want to say it."


    "Because it''s a lie."


    "Because it sounds like a lie," Arthur corrected, his tone unwavering. "But it''s not. And I can prove it."


    Adam''s gaze narrowed. He had interrogated enough people to know when someone was bluffing.


    Yet, Arthur didn''t have the tells of a liar—no nervous shifts, no stammering, no subtle signs of dishonesty. He was either an exceptional liar or…


    "…How?" Adam finally asked, his voice stillced with skepticism.


    Arthur''s smirk returned, faint but deliberate. "Simple. We go to the vige, and I''ll confront the mayor right in front of you."


    Adam crossed his arms again. "You expect me to believe he''ll just admit it?"


    Arthur shrugged. "He might not. But I already visited him a few hours ago. Do you know why? Because I wanted to expose him. I was ready to, right then and there."


    Adam''s expression didn''t change, but Arthur could tell he was listening.


    "So why didn''t you?" Adam asked, his tone even.


    Arthur exhaled. "Because he bribed me."


    Silence.


    Adam''s eyes twitched. His jaw clenched.


    "You expect me to believe the mayor of a starting vige bribed you? With what, exactly?"


    Arthur smirked slightly. "Items. Useful ones. Things that made me rethink exposing him. And after I epted them, I let it go… for the moment."


    Adam''s frown deepened, his skepticism still evident. "And you expect me to believe that a corrupt mayor, one powerful enough to wipe out an entire wave of monsters, would let you—a random yer—just walk out of there after discovering his secret?"


    Arthur nodded. "Because I didn''t give him a choice."


    Adam''s eyes sharpened. "…Exin."


    Arthur leaned against a tree, arms crossed. "I told him that if I didn''t walk out of that office alive, certain contingencies would be triggered. The kind that would spread the news far and wide. That in turn, would cause a riot against him and his authority."


    Adam''s expression remained unreadable. "A bluff."


    Arthur smiled. "He didn''t know that."


    A long silence stretched between them. Adam studied him, his military-honed instincts scanning Arthur for weakness, for signs of deception.


    And yet, the teen stood there, confident, unwavering.


    "…You really expect me to buy this?" Adam finally said, his voice lower now.


    Arthur sighed. "I don''t expect anything. But I know what I saw. I know what happened. And if you really want the truth, then let''s go to the vige and see for yourself."


    Adam still didn''t look convinced. "If what you''re saying is true, then the mayor should have killed you."


    "He would have," Arthur admitted. "If I hadn''t forced his hand. I backed him into a corner, so he chose the easiest way out—bribery."


    Adam exhaled sharply, rubbing his temple. "This is… serious."


    Arthur nodded. "It is."


    For a long moment, Adam didn''t speak. His mind was clearly working through the implications.


    If what Arthur was saying was even remotely true, it changed everything. A mayor with enough power to wipe out entire waves of monsters?


    A being that was meant to be the protectir of the yers was actually a hidden enemy from the yers?


    This discovery changed the way that they understood armageddon fundamentally. The mayor had intervened in an event where only yers were meant to participate.


    It sounded nothing but a lie, but the way Arthur was acting proved otherwise.


    Finally, Adam straightened. His eyes locked onto Arthur''s.


    "…Alright," he said, his tone heavier now. "Let''s see if you''re really telling the truth."


    With that, they set off toward the vige.


    Arthur walked with measured steps, his mind already working ahead. He had no intention of blindly confronting the mayor without preparation.


    As he and Adam moved closer to the vige outskirts, Arthur subtly opened his interface, his fingers moving deftly as he sent a series of messages to Gates.


    Gates was one of the few people Arthur trusted—not because the man was inherently trustworthy, but because he was predictable. He had a keen eye for opportunity and survival, and that meant he wasn''t the type to act impulsively or betray a powerful ally.


    At the same time, Arthur nced toward the sky, his sharp eyes catching a blur of movement high above.


    Hank.


    The hawk soared effortlessly, circling once before angling downward toward the mayor''s office. Just as nned.


    Arthur had summoned Hank and Neko sneakily as he made his way to the vige alongside Adam. keeping them out of sight.


    While Adam had been focused on the mayor''s issue, Arthur had given telepathic instructions to Neko.


    ''Neko, write the letter exactly as I describe it. Word for word.''


    Neko was the most intelligent of his summons, and a Primordial Beast at that. Her ability to understand and processplex instructions far surpassed the others.


    Within moments, she had scratched out the message onto parchment.


    Now, as Hank dropped the letter directly into the hands of the mayor''s guards, Arthur knew the next phase had begun.


    The guards reacted immediately, startled by the hawk''s sudden presence. One of them fumbled with the letter before quickly scanning its contents. He closed it before he turned toward the entrance of the office, entering inside.


    The yers around who saw the letter falling thought it was the guards way ofmunicating with each other just like medieval times, so they didn''t think too much about it and just walked past.