Slightly Warped Fate: A Glimpse into the Past
A slightly warped destiny. A little further back in time—before Karon and Mist had been officially appointed to [Shadow].
The current Nebula Duke, who had been secretly poisoned without anyone knowing.
What the hell is this?
Sebastian couldn't hold back his shock upon first seeing his master's condition.
The duke was a monster who could proudly claim to be the empire's strongest ability user.
And yet, he had been poisoned?
Ah, it's nothing serious.
Amid everyone's stunned horror, the duke spoke in a perfectly calm voice.
What exactly was "nothing serious" about this?
The Nebula Ducal House bore the moniker "King of the Underworld," and it was teeming with experts in poisons—specialists who wielded and compounded them in every conceivable way.
Poisoned? Even if that were true, antidotes existed for every toxin, and the house overflowed with specialists who could concoct them.
This... is a poison we've never seen before.
But every last one of those experts shook their heads in defeat.
Of course, research into an antidote continued using samples of the duke's blood, but progress was agonizingly slow.
In the midst of all this, the duke accepted his situation with remarkable composure.
His bizarre demeanor led everyone in the ducal house to the same conclusion.
Ah, so the duke must have struck some kind of deal with whoever poisoned him.
It was the only explanation that made sense.
Even conceding for argument's sake that some expert had poisoned the duke while he was briefly away—
If such a foe had confronted him, there should have been traces left on the duke: wounds, depleted stamina, drained mana.
But there was nothing. Just the duke, poisoned and otherwise unscathed.
And when his subordinates demanded an explanation, he responded only with silence?
There was only one possible conclusion.
The duke had poisoned himself, through some deliberate transaction.
Moreover, the deal no doubt included a clause forbidding him from revealing any information about them, in any form.
Otherwise, his reaction made no sense.
...
Sebastian laid out his hypothesis to the duke, running a final check.
The duke offered no words, maintaining his silence. From that, Sebastian intuited the truth.
His guess was spot on.
Understood. I apologize for disturbing your time, Your Grace. If I may ask one final question?
Speak.
May we track down those individuals?
The duke said nothing in response to Sebastian's question. He merely curled the corners of his mouth upward, gazing at him.
No words were spoken, but Sebastian, who had served the duke for so long, could read the message in that expression.
[It won't be easy, will it?]
In response to the duke's silent message, the investigation began—but only by Sebastian and Nella of [Shadow] at the time, Belias as the duke's blood kin and [Shadow] boss, and a handful from [Shadow].
It was kept secret from Karon and Mist, who joined later.
In a way, it was inevitable.
Unknown enemies who had struck some shadowy deal with the duke.
If too many people pursued them, it would only make catching their trail harder—they'd sense the pursuit.
Besides, Karon had just joined [Shadow], and Mist even later; they weren't ready for this yet.
Time passed.
Sebastian paused the investigation to tend to the duke, whose condition was rapidly deteriorating.
Meanwhile, Nella had received orders from the duke himself to hunt down the illegitimate child, forcing her to halt as well.
Now, the only one left pursuing them was Belias, boss of [Shadow].
[...]
She accepted the black tea Sebastian offered, took a sip, and slowly conveyed her thoughts.
[We've got a lead, at least.]
"..."
No matter how short-staffed they were, this was a master assassin on the prowl.
Failing to snag even a hint of intel would have been the real anomaly.
[This time, it's real.]
Sebastian and Nella had at least caught leads during their active phases.
The problem? Those leads had snapped off like a lizard's tail, yielding no further info.
Hearing this, Sebastian felt his mana begin to boil unconsciously.
She had personally confirmed snagging the tail of those who inflicted such excruciating poison on his master—how could he stay calm?
Kirrik.
Mana threads leaked out unbidden—razor-sharp strands poised to slice through everything around him.
It was just before they lashed out.
Chin.
"Please, stay calm."
Somehow, Nella had appeared in the room with Sebastian and Belias.
"You know better than anyone that losing control now helps nothing, don't you, Sebastian?"
Her voice was dry and stark—nothing like the relaxed, even bumbling demeanor she showed in private.
Hearing it, Sebastian slowly reined in his surging mana.
"My apologies. I showed you an unseemly sight."
[Ah, it's fine. And it's been a while, Nella.]
"Indeed, it's been too long, Lady Belias. I rushed here because Sebastian's mana flared up so suddenly—what happened?"
Her expression made it clear she had a rough idea already.
As far as she knew, Sebastian only lost his composure in one scenario. Guessing was child's play.
[We got a lead.]
"..." "..."
[The trigger was the Miraz drug incident in the imperial capital.]
"That case..."
Sebastian immediately thought of Abel—the one who had resolved it, now marked as the duke's heir.
[Yes. That incident Abel handled was the key.]
Belias nodded readily and began her tale.
[Heros, the maker of Miraz, is a nobody. He wields both abilities and magic—a rarity—but that's it.]
[A guy like that mass-produces a drug like Miraz—one that awakens others' abilities?]
Belias handed them a paper summarizing the intel on the Miraz drug from her pocket.
"...This is." "..."
It wasn't densely packed with info.
They didn't need granular details on Miraz right now anyway.
[As noted there, massive hidden investments poured into Heros.]
Dozens of fund flows, laundered repeatedly, all funneling to Heros—meticulously documented.
Tok. Tok.
Belias waited as they read, drumming her fingers on the table and sipping her tea.
Another sip, and she saw they'd finished.
A faint smile crept from beneath her robe as she continued.
[We were gearing up to hit that lead...]
As she spoke, Belias slowly bowed her head, her body beginning to tremble.
Yes, it was barely a lead—but a real one.
It felt too quick, too anticlimactic, but she'd taken satisfaction in securing it.
She'd been prepping the strike when new intel arrived.
News of Karon, nearly rampaging at her own request.
Had it been unrelated, she would've gone through with it.
A tail vanishing like mist? No second chances.
Hasty, perhaps—but that's what she'd believed then.
But the root of Karon's frenzy was her request?
About the duke's acknowledged heir, no less?
[Karon...]
Even through telepathy, her voice grated like gnashing teeth.
Belias turned to Karon—bound head to toe in ropes, discarded like trash.
Sebastian and Nella had noted him upon arrival but ignored him deliberately. Now, following her reaction, their gazes turned coldly appraising.
"Ahaha..."
Meeting all three stares, Karon—wriggling like a maggot—bowed his head as best he could and bellowed from his dantian.
"I'm sorry!!!"
[Haa... Looking back, even I think rushing the strike was too impulsive. No point griping more now.]
Her mind cooling, Belias reconsidered.
A question mark now hung over her prior judgment.
Why the rush?
Years tracking the enemy org, finally nabbing a lead to the core—natural to pounce.
But this was an organization harboring monsters who could deal with the duke as equals.
Charge in solo?
[...]
Thus, unbeknownst to herself, Belias escaped a fateful death.
"Ughhh..."
Of course, Karon—the unwitting savior—had his sanity half-shattered by the trio's "interrogation."