Markus sighed softly and checked the crystal recorder control he had installed in his office to monitor the empire. From thest time he saw it, the state of Morgena was worse than before. Markus felt frustrated and didn’t know what else to do; the dark wizard terrorizing the capital was getting bolder inmitting crimes, and every time he found a trace to catch the mastermind behind Morgena’s situation, he was always one or two steps toote. Markus desperately wanted to contact Alkrevas and ask about the traitor roaming the imperial pce.N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.


    Still, if he did that, Alkrevas’ focus on dealing with the border issues would be diverted.


    Markus closed his eyes for a moment and rubbed his temples, which were starting to throb from thinking about various matters,pounded by the nobles bombarding him with numerous questions. He didn’t want Alkrevas to go mad and the throne to fall into his hands because he hated all the imperial political affairs, which were only suitable for someone like Alkrevas, who enjoyed intimidating and dominating others.


    He reached for the bottle of alcohol provided by a servant, poured the drink into a crystal ss, and then sipped it slowly. Markus wondered about Luna’s condition in her territory. By his estimation, even after the next full moon, he couldn’t return to the Veniam Duchy to tell Luna everything. He hoped he could see his sister gazing at the portrait of theirte mother. He would tell his sister, who would be crying with emotion, that all this time, the woman still had a family.


    Thinking of this, Markus sent a magical letter to the Veniam Duchy to avoid excessive worry. He immediately pulled out a piece of paper, writing reassuring words so neither Luna nor Jaxon would have to worry about Morgena’s condition. It took him quite a while to find the right words for his aide to not pressure him into rushing back to the capital. Ten minutester, he finally put down his pen. After finishing the message for his aide, he nned to write a message for Luna.


    But his intention was thwarted when he heard amotion outside, specifically from the direction of the pce gardens. Markus hurriedly stood up and looked out the window. His eyes widened when he saw Alkrevas from a distance, fighting off knights who were recklessly surrounding him.


    “What is this? What’s happening? How…?” Markus blinked, his brow furrowed as his vision blurred momentarily but then returned to normal. He straightened up and shook his head, confused by the sudden change. Then his vision blurred again, and this time, itsted longer. When his sight refocused, he furrowed his brow, seeing Alkrevas standing in a sea of blood from the dead knights.


    “Alkrevas, why…?” he immediately rushed out, running toward the balcony, and that was when he felt a disturbing aura.


    “A dark aura… ck magic?” he whispered to himself. Markus quickly returned to his office, inserting the letter he had written for Jaxon because there was no time to write a new one, and paused briefly.


    “Hopefully, Jaxon understands my intentions,” he said, pulling out one of the recording crystal controllers, summoning the nearest recording crystal, and cing it into the envelope. After finishing, he summoned the magical bird messenger, which would make his message one-way. After the bird disappeared, Markus hurriedly left the room, but his steps halted when he opened the door and saw an unexpected figure.


    Zyne stood in the doorway with a friendly smile and a tall posture, one hand behind his back and the other holding a cane made of ck wood with a snake-head handle. Since when did Zyne use a walking cane?


    “Zyne? Why are you in my room?” Markus barely finished asking the question when his vision blurred again, apanied by a pounding headache. Markus groaned and staggered back. There was no poison except wolfbane and silver that could affect him. “Why-”


    “There is something I wish to discuss with you, Your Grace the Duke,” Zyne replied calmly. Shortly afterwards, Zyne tapped his cane on the floor, causing a ck mist to envelop the room. ck light in tentacles instantly attacked him, binding him tightly. Markus growled and struggled, but whatever had entered his body made him weak and powerless.


    “You-”


    “Yes. As you suspect. I am the one responsible.” Markus widened his eyes as the ck tentacles tightened around his neck, cutting off his air supply. His wolf soul howled, calling for help. “So I ask, withdraw your order to close themunication channels.”


    “What…?”


    “Reopen themunication channels, Your Grace the Duke. I can’t deliver messages to my followers outside the border.”


    “I… won’t… Ugh…” The grip around his neck tightened further.


    “Or do you want me to disturb the Veniam Duchy?” There was a knock on the door, and the door slowly opened. Markus hissed when he saw Sigmund enter the room with an arrogant expression.


    “Lord Sigmund,” Zyne murmured respectfully.


    “I just saw you send a one-way magical message.” Sigmund smirked and stepped closer to Markus.


    “Surprised by my appearance, Your Grace the Duke?” Markus cursed Sigmund in his heart. So it wasn’t just Zyne, but Sigmund, too? How enraged would Alkrevas be if he found out, especially since Sigmund had apanied him since childhood?


    “Fortunately, Abigail is in the capital, and I…” Sigmund pulled out the Royal Beta seal from his jacket pocket. “Included a letter along with yours. No problem, right?”


    “You…!” Markus groaned, feeling himself on the brink of death.


    “Don’t worry, I only sent a letter to your sister, asking her to return to her original world.” Markus widened his eyes. If Luna returned, Alkrevas could change in two ways: be weak and hopeless or go mad and destroy the entire continent. Markus wriggled and struggled to break free. He couldn’t just die, but his body wasn’t responding, and he started to feel numb.


    In his heart, Markus cursed himself for failing at his job, not realizing what was happening inside the pce.


    “Damn! I am a great knight! How could I be this careless?” But as that question arose, the answer quickly followed. He was not a wizard like Alkrevas but an ordinary knight, which meant he couldn’t detect magic on a small and gradual scale.


    Zyne initiated the attack using magic that his five senses couldn’t detect, so he didn’t know until it was toote. And if that was the case, it was inevitable that that treacherous scoundrel had already dealt with the pce mages or perhaps even the Magic Tower.


    “Damn!”


    …


    Alkrevas had just finished giving final instructions to General Almbra and ensured that Mathias and Damon returned safely. He took a deep breath and released his magic power from his hand, creating a sizeable golden-white light surrounding his hand with magic mana. He closed his eyes briefly to determine the arrival point. Then, he shot his power forward, and a teleportation portal appeared before him. What he saw was the location of the pce garden, and Alkrevas immediately stepped into the teleportation magic.


    Thest time he checked the imperial pce’s protective shield before heading to the border, it was still functioning and not easily destroyed. However, when he arrived, Alkrevas no longer felt his magic working to protect the pce, even though the central Vasilos shield remained solid and sturdy. Alkrevas frowned in confusion and nced around the front garden area of the pce, narrowing his eyes sharply as a thick ck mist filled the air and a heavy dark aura was palpable.


    Alkrevas gritted his teeth, not understanding the situation before his eyes, and stepped deeper into the pce. But his steps halted when he felt a jolt, indicating he had passed through something. Shortly afterwards, the knights who were supposed to guard and protect the imperial pce surrounded him, raising their weapons against him.


    “What is this?” he whispered in confusion. He observed the knights’ behaviour and hissed in frustration when he saw their eyes, all of which had turnedpletely white and ck mist emanating from their pale bodies.


    “ck magic; they were dead before being controlled by dark magic,” Alkrevas concluded in his heart. He grinned widely. He briefly nced into the distance and snorted, seeing Zyne standing with Abigail before they vanished.


    “Well, I should have dealt with that man before he acted up, but due to my mistake in letting that rat roam free, things have turned out like this. That means I have to deal with it now before it gets worse.” Alkrevas didn’t bother himself with thinking about how Abigail could be here when thest report said that the two dark witches were still at the port, as it was already clear the two women had deceived him.


    “I won’t repeat this mistake again, this carelessness,” Alkrevas thought as he drew his sword and gripped it in one hand while ws emerged from the other.


    -Sometimes you are indeed very foolish, mortal. I’ve told you to eradicate him even without proof. You’ve gone soft.- Norris retorted sarcastically. Alkrevas grinned, acknowledging that he had be softer as his wolf soul had said. Still, it didn’t matter because, at this moment, he would show those rats that he was not an opponent to be underestimated.


    “I know, and I’ll make sure they bow at my feet, begging for mercy before I rip their hearts out with my hands.”


    -Good. I thought you wouldn’t do that. Shall we kill them all? It’s been a while since I’ve done this; I miss the smell of blood and its texture soaking our bodies.-


    “You’re crazy.”


    -You’re the same, mortal. Let’s ughter them! So that mate can live peacefully!-


    “Do you know they are imperial knights?”


    -I don’t care; I only care about mate. It would be better if we killed everyone in this world so that mate could live in peace. Besides, you said they were all dead.-


    “Destroying the world and building a new one for mate? Hmm, I guess that’s not a bad idea.” Alkrevas grinned widely like a killer, revealing his sharp fangs, proving he was the food chain’s strongest and highest predator.


    His brown eyes mixed with red, so one was brown and the other red, indicating that Alkrevas and Norris were jointly controlling the body. Then he charged forward and shed through the undead that stood before him.


    It didn’t take long before he finished cutting down the obstacles in his way, dragging his blood-soaked sword into the pce. Alkrevas used transparency magic to make his body invisible. He needed to hunt down the traitor and the dark wizard before searching for Markus or Sigmund.


    Adrenaline rushed quickly through his veins, and he felt thrilled to be on the hunt, as it was one of the best games for a predator. His nose followed the scent of his target. He couldn’t wait to tear and rip apart that damned dark wizard’s body. At least with this carelessness, he didn’t have to bother luring Abigail; consider it a rat caught in a trap.


    His steps halted before the Prime Minister’s office, and a growl escaped his lips when he saw what was before him.


    “Oh… so all this time, there were two rats roaming in my pce.”


    ….