Buying information was key in dealing with lawless places where power and authority didn't interfere, only acting to contain the lawlessness.

Crime was an institution of its own, Damon learned that in his early days in Valtheron.

Put simply, this was how the knights of Valtheron acted. They kept order where they needed to, but they didn't give a damn about the darker areas of Valerion.

That was why local gangs created their own laws but made sure not to step on some toes.

The Valtheron Empire functioned the same way, so Damon understood how places like this operated, the unspoken rules of engagement.

All of that for one rank three core was quite a steal.

Cores were valuable here. These people didn't have a concept of currency. Maybe banking hadn't been invented yet. This was, after all, the zero epoch. The world was still young.

"Hehehe… this is the place," the thin information broker said, slowing his steps as he led Damon and his party into a secluded corner of the Grinding Gate.

Damon stopped beside him, his gaze dropping to the manhole at their feet. He nodded once, then looked back up at the broker with a faint smile.

"And no one but you knows this place?"

"Yes… only me," the broker replied quickly, rubbing his hands together.

"It's unlivable. A monster burrowed through the ground and made a nest here. The Chainbearers won't deal with it, so it was forgotten. Anyone who can afford to leaves the Grinding Gate."

Damon tilted his head slightly. The explanation fits too well to be a lie.

"So this place was abandoned," he murmured.

"Good."

He lifted his hand casually and brought it down.

The broker crumpled before he could even gasp, his body hitting the ground with a dull thud.

"Now no one knows."

Damon glanced at Lazarak, a thin smile tugging at his lips.

"Any update on the seal?"

Lazarak smiled playfully, turning the branding seal over in his hands as if it were a toy.

"I already cracked it and made it mine. Seraph Null could never compare to me in magic, or anything, really."

He walked toward Lyn and Sithara, his expression softening slightly as he raised the seal.

With a single, deliberate press, he overlaid their original brands.

The old markings faded instantly, replaced by dark chain sigils identical in form but wholly different in essence. The power within them was no longer Seraph Null's.

It was Lazarak's.

As the brands settled, Lazarak's aura swelled faintly, rippling outward before stabilizing.

He smiled.

"This is also a good way to gain followers."

He turned back to the broker and slapped him awake.

The man jolted violently, scrambling backward on instinct, but Damon's hand closed around his collar, hauling him upright.

"Calm down," Damon said evenly. "We want to invite you into something great."

The broker froze, trembling slightly under Damon's gaze.

Without breaking eye contact, Damon reached into his shadow storage and produced a rank four mana core.

The moment the broker saw it, his breathing steadied.

His instincts screamed profit.

Damon gestured to the fading brand on the man's neck. Lazarak stepped in and pressed the altered seal down.

A sharp sizzle echoed as the new mark burned itself into place.

Damon cleared his throat and gestured toward Lazarak.

"This is the great god of darkness, Lazarak. He has come to save the lost souls of this land from the vile and wicked Seraph Null. You have been chosen as one of his guided."

The broker stopped breathing for a moment.

He looked at Lazarak, then shakily touched his neck where the old brand had vanished.

"A… god?"

"Yes," Damon whispered slowly, almost insidiously.

"One higher-ranked than Seraph Null."

His gaze swept over the man's emaciated frame, jutting bones, hollow eyes, a body worn down by survival.

"We extend to you an offer to join us in worship and expand the gospel."

The man hesitated.

The brand was gone, but the incentive still wavered.

Damon continued calmly.

"You will never go hungry again. You will no longer fear the Wardens who watch your every move. We give you freedom under the great god Lazarak."

Lazarak blinked, momentarily taken aback by Damon's words, then said nothing. If he wanted to regain his power, this was how it began.

The man's eyes trembled.

"And if I say no?"

Damon smiled.

"Then we kill you."

The man smiled instantly.

"All hail our great god Lazarak."

And just like that, the cult was born.

Its first follower was claimed, carrot and stick in equal measure.

Lazarak beamed, excitement rippling through him as his aura swelled again, faint but growing.

Damon nodded.

"Good. Come with us. You'll act in our stead from now on."

He turned to Lazarak with a slight frown.

"I doubt one seal will be enough to brand millions."

Lazarak laughed, almost bouncing on his feet.

"Don't worry. With help from Lyn and Sithara, I can mass-produce them."

"Us?" Lyn asked, startled. "I mean… we'd be glad to help."

The broker wiped cold sweat from his brow.

What kind of trouble had he gotten himself into?

His eyes drifted to the gleaming rank four core.

With this, he could eat well for a year. Maybe even buy his way into the Inner City.

And they had handed it to him without hesitation.

'Who are these people?'

Each of them felt dangerous and powerful

They descended into the darkness, moving deeper beneath the city.

A low growl echoed through the tunnel.

The broker stiffened, his hair standing on end.

"The monster… it's here…"

"What rotten luck," he muttered.

"What good fortune," Damon replied from ahead.

"So this is the monster that lurks here."

He snapped his fingers.

"Matia. Kill it."

The broker barely had time to react.

Cold flooded the air.

Then blood splattered across the stone.

His eyes widened as they adjusted to the darkness.

The monster that had haunted the underground for years lay dead.

Just like that.

He swallowed hard.

"Who… who are these people?"

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