'Why am I...'

Geneva quietly followed Seth from behind.

She bit her lips, her mind churning with all sorts of thoughts.

'He is the devil. He has to be the devil that was in the documents. How else would he know about my brother? There's no way he should know!'

The more she walked, the more convinced she became of her assessment.

And it was through such an assessment that she started to feel helpless. Thinking back to everything that had happened, she was no longer confident she could do anything to him. Recalling his dark gaze, her back shuddered for a moment.

'Can I beat him? Can I run away...?'

There were all sorts of scenarios running through her mind.

Realistically speaking, as a paragon, she had the means to escape. Even if she didn't use her Nodes, she still had several items at her disposal.

But that wasn't the problem...

'Does he really have a way to help me?'

Geneva clenched her teeth.

The more she stared at Seth's back, the more mysterious he became in her eyes.

Her brother didn't actually have a disease.

In reality, he had been a victim of an anomaly in the past.

Even now, Geneva has not forgotten the anomaly's title.

VILE - 1048.

Geneva bit her lips tightly. The main reason she had joined Royal Chambers was that she wanted to find that anomaly and get it to reverse the curse that had been placed on her brother.

However, even after becoming a paragon, there had been no news about the anomaly.

This left Geneva completely helpless.

But it was this sense of helplessness that drove her to become even more desperate.

And as her eyes lingered on Seth's back and the cubicles around, a certain thought crossed her mind, 'If... he really is responsible for this gate. Then... It's possible that he really might know where VILE - 1048 might be. If that's the case, then I might follow along for now. It's just that...'

Geneva bit onto her lips with even more force.

'Taking his side will also mean siding against humanity.'

Her heart turned heavy at the thought.

The thought of betraying humanity made her heart sink completely. This was most likely going to be a decision that she wouldn't be able to ever reverse, but thinking about her brother, and what she had been doing her entire life...

Geneva's teeth clenched tightly.

I...

Slide—

Coming to a stop before a certain cubicle, Seth reached for the door and slid it to the side, startling Geneva.

Click! Click! Click!

The slow and unhurried sound of keys being pressed echoed a moment later as she hurried her steps to see what was behind the cubicle.

That was also the moment the clicks stopped.

"....."

"....."

Two figures looked at each other.

When Geneva looked inside, her brow rose.

'That's...'

She recognized the figure sitting inside the cubicle. She wasn't considered to be extremely pretty. Her features were a little plain, with short brown hair and eyes. However, there was a certain pressure emanating from her that made Geneva do a double-take.

It didn't take long for her to recognize the woman sitting down.

'...Clara?'

Geneva wasn't unfamiliar with Clara.

She'd seen her in the Grand Concord in the past, an event where the top recruits from across the world gathered as the official rankings for every Guild and individual were announced on a global stage.

She never ranked very high, but the fact that she ranked at all on occasion was a testament to her skills.

'Right, I heard that she's been struggling this year. I don't even know if she will be ranked, but now that I think about it, she should be in the same Guild as him.' Geneva's eyes narrowed as a thought surfaced, 'Is he also going to do the same thing he did to me...?'

"Stop the red dot from reaching Zone 2."

Seth's voice echoed all of a sudden as he pointed at Clara's screen, where a dot suddenly appeared.

For a moment, Clara remained sitting, her eyes tracing Seth's body.

But eventually—

Click! Click!

Clara turned around and did exactly as Seth ordered.

"There's no way for you to stop the red dot from reaching Zone 2. All you can do is either try to redirect it away or buy as much time as possible. That is the only thing that I need you to do."

"....."

Clara remained silent.

However, her hands continued to move, opening doors, pressing certain buttons, and using the tools at her disposal.

Geneva watched all of this in stunned silence.

'She's... listening to him just like this?'

She blinked her eyes slowly, alternating her gaze between the two. Could he have already blackmailed her? Were they in cahoots? What was happening? Why was she listening to him without even asking questions?

"Let's go."

Most surprisingly, right after giving out the instructions, Seth turned around and walked out of the cubicle.

Click! Click!

For a moment, Geneva hesitated.

She wanted to walk up to Clara and ask her what was happening. Why did she listen to him?

However, feeling a certain gaze from outside the cubicle, she could only clench her teeth and quietly move out.

Slide—

Seth slid the door closed a moment after, his gaze settling over another faraway cubicle.

But right as he began to move, he stopped.

His head slowly turned to face the distant corridor. Geneva followed his line of sight, and despite not seeing anything herself, she could feel it.

The subtle trembling from the ground.

But that wasn't all.

She could also hear it.

The sound of numerous footsteps heading their way.

For a moment, Geneva held her breath. But soon, her eyes lit up.

'It's the others!'

She was certain.

These were the reinforcements.

Maybe...

"Over there!"

"There—!"

Immediately, a group appeared in the distance. They all sprinted toward them quickly.

"He must be the one that we need to get rid of."

"Quick!"

"Quick! We have to—eh?"

Stunned, they all came to a stop.

"What is she doing here?"

"What...? Isn't she supposed to be dead?"

"What is going on?"

All eyes were now focused on Geneva. Everyone present had heard the news of her death and had also seen the videos. These were things shared by them from the reinforcements that had just entered the Gate.

For her to still be alive...

"Get rid of her as well."

A cold voice followed a moment later as the group parted to reveal a man with deep blue eyes. His dark braids fell gently over his shoulder as he stood a head taller than the rest.

The moment Geneva caught sight of him, her breath caught.

Latcher...

"There is no denying she is standing before us. However, that does not change the fact that this may be a trap. Based on the intelligence we have received, our course of action is clear. She must be eliminated."

Kai Latcher's words were cold and heartless.

But he was following protocol. Anomalies were twisted and ingenious creatures. One single mistake could mean the end of everyone present. To avoid the risk, they needed to eliminate her.

Her death was signed.

"Wait..."

Finally finding her words, Geneva tried to speak, but it was too late.

Latcher's blue eyes flickered as he turned his attention towards Seth, his eyes closing for a moment as the atmosphere turned incredibly tense.

It was also in that moment that Seth looked at Geneva.

"Block them for me."

He turned around a moment later and calmly walked away from the scene.

His actions stunned everyone present.

By the time they recovered from his actions, he was already several steps away.

"Get back here!"

It was also at this moment that a voice boomed, and a figure shot toward Seth.

Swooosh!

He was fast.

His momentum was strong.

But at the same time he moved, another figure moved.

With her nodes churning, she raised both of her hands.

Swooooosh!

A large wall appeared before the figure, causing him to stop. His gaze turned toward Geneva, who opened her eyes wide, her lips opening and closing as she stared at her hands.

"That... I..."

"Get rid of her."

Latcher's words reverberated a moment later as he clenched his fist and smashed it against the wall in front of him, shattering it into a thousand pieces.

BANG!

"Warn the others..."

Moving past the wall, he communicated with the others.

"...A new traitor has emerged."

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