A group of men in shiny armor steadily approached a site of devastation.

This desolate place used to be popular; even the Knights knew of it well. It was called Lumian Town, a place bustling with all kinds of activities as a result of the Hidden Mountain Grove.

But now, there is nothing present but the stench of mangled corpses and a devastation that speaks heavily of the tragedy that occurred here.

"Search every nook and cranny." The chief officer commands the other men present. "Find any and all traces of Javier Aditi, as well as all hints that could tell us what exactly happened here—!"

"Who are you people?!" All of a sudden, a voice echoes in the deathly landscape.

All the men quickly turn in the direction of the voice, hurriedly unsheathing their weapons and taking defensive positions.

Their leader has an especially cautious demeanor, his narrow eyes and graying hair revealing his wealth of experience. However, the moment he casts a gaze on the two intruders, specifically the man among them, his expression quickly softens.

"At ease, everyone! That is Javier Aditi!"

The Royal Knights quickly straighten their posture and eliminate the fierce apprehension they had displayed only a moment earlier.

As for how the Royal Knight knows for a fact that this is Javier Aditi, he not only memorized a perfect portrait drawing of Javier, but in his possession is an Armament that allows him to detect even the littlest of Trace Elements.

None flutter around this man.

That means he isn't using a Potion to impersonate the man they are searching for.

Besides, who else but Javier would be in such a remote and utterly devastated area? They were sent here to find him anyway.

"Greetings, Sir Javier Aditi. We are—"

"Royal Knights, right? You took on the search mission as a direct order from the King. That old man must be worried about my well-being for bim to send his personal force, huh? What a nice display of sincerity…"

The rest of the Royal Knights are stunned by the irreverent display that Javier has just shown them. Many of them deeply frown and some have visible signs of anger.

This Javier… He is blatantly disrespecting the King of the Randalorion Kingdom by openly speaking so casually about him.

If this were any other person, they would cut him down right where he stood.

But these men are under express orders to bring him back, alive if possible. None of them would dare step out of line to execute Javier even if they all feel his actions are worthy of death.

The only one who doesn't show any look of disapproval is their leader.

In fact, he lightly smiles.

"You don't seem as vitriolic as the rest of your comrades." Javier lightly speaks, referring to the leader of this Royal Knight Squad.

He is a captain, one of the 12 that exists in the Royal Knights. If one were to place him on a particular pedestal, he would be on the same level as Edrin, member of the Sixfold Helm of Darkness and former wielder of Frost Bite.

He could also be comparable to the leader of the hidden Royal Knights who were all slaughtered by Ciel's ambush.

Since only 12 Captains and one General exist among the Royal Knights, it isn't an understatement to call this man one of the most important men in the Kingdom.

"Forgive the late introduction. My name is Daniel Lumian. His Majesty said you might act this way. But he still told me to show you the utmost courtesy. I hope you do not mind the combative expressions of my subordinate. This only goes to show their loyalty to the King of our beloved Kingdom." He smiles warmly at Javier.

"Lumian? You are—"

"Yes. I was once a resident of this town. I was born a commoner, too. But after my countless years of accomplishments in service of our King and this glorious Kingdom, I have reached such a level."

Unlike most fields in the Kingdom, joining the Royal Knights is largely about skill.

Of course, there is also abundant politics in this realm. In fact, Daniel Lumian's case can be considered a very rare occurrence.

It's likely that he achieved a grand feat that was impossible to ignore and he had unmatched skill, which eventually made him attain such a reputable position.

"I specifically took on this mission once I heard my hometown met this fate. His Majesty is also heartbroken by this dreary incident, and he wishes to find any likely survivors as well as traces of those responsible." Daniel continues to speak, telling Javier and the mysterious stranger next to him about the details of their assignment.

The other Royal Knights, although confused by this special and respectful treatment from their leader, have no choice but to maintain their positions and keep quiet.

No one interrupts Daniel Lumian until he completes his report.

"I see…" Javier finally speaks after listening to the details.

He sighs deeply and shakes his head.

"As you can see, I am the only survivor. In fact, the only reason I survived is because I hadn't reached this town before it was attacked. You said you were looking for the ones responsible, right?"

"Yes, Sir Javier."

"According to my knowledge, this is a Magivore Beast Tide that was triggered by our Excursion. Your Royal Guards had a special mission from the King and ended up triggering some Magivores who were hibernating deep within the mountains. It would have spelled the end of everyone in the Excursion, but thankfully the guardian awoke as well and rescued the surviving students and staff. You may have heard of the name, Evernight, from those who survived."

"Indeed, I have." Daniel nods slowly before turning to the person standing beside Javier.

Their face is obscured by a mask, and their tall, slender body is covered in a long and black cloak. However, it is abundantly clear from the physique that it's a woman.

"Am I right in assuming that the individual beside you is this mysterious Evernight? I was under the impression that Evernight was male."

Javier smiles and shrugs.

"Potion to change appearances and voice." He then turns to the tall woman next to him and nods.

The moment he does so, she takes off the dark mask on her face, revealing her beautiful face to everyone present.

Almost immediately, everyone feels a strange attraction to her. Her purple eyes, her clear, delicious-looking skin, and her elegant but mysterious beauty.

Even Daniel Lumian is not invulnerable to her charms.

"I… erm… you are…"

He fumbles on his words inspite of himself, but after glancing at his blushing and drooling subordinates, he realizes that he hasn't made a fool of himself at all.

At least, not when compared to everyone else.

Javier, upon seeing this, must now realize just how impressive his own composure was compared to everyone else's.

"I am Evernight. Your Kingdom disturbed the slumber of those Beasts, causing them tk wreak havoc on the world. Although I was late in saving everyone, I did my best to rescue the children who would have been devoured alive by the carelessness of a few."

"A-ah… Thank you for your service." Daniel bows awkwardly, his smile genuine but excessive.

"I received an extensive report on your actions. Many praise your bravery and great deeds, and the Academy already recognizes you as a noble hero. Our King would also like to meet you to reward you for all you have done to curb this situation."

The mysterious Evernight simply nods and doesn't say any more.

"The both of us will be seeing the King. You brought a Sky Lantern Ray, right?"

Daniel Lumina nods.

"Yes. We left it some distance away in case some unexpected attack occurred. Since so many of our Sky Lantern Rays perished during this tragedy, we have to protect the few we have left from any danger."

I understand. Well, let's not waste any more time and depart."

"Understood, sir—"

"Also, I'd prefer it if you didn't ask us any questions on the trip. You'll get your debriefing directly from the King after we finish speaking to him. Until then, I'd prefer it if neither of us are disturbed."

"U-understood."

Once again, the Royal Knights are bamboozled by Javier Aditi's audacity.

Just who is this man?

How can he get away with such a flippant attitude towards protocol? Does he not have an ounce of fear?

In the eyes of all these people, Javier Aditi is nothing more than a First Rate Scholar, Intermediate Alchemist, High Rank Knight, and Senior Professor at the Royal Academy of Randalorion.

He is certainly an impressive man.

But definitely nothing compared to the Royal Knights and the King of the Kingdom.

So why do they show him such respect?

Why is he being treated so specially?

The Royal Knights were dispatched specifically for his sake. Months before this, Javier had visited the Royal Palace and had a private audience with the King. Months before that, he was visited by the First and Third Prince, while the Second Prince sent him tons of gifts.

He is certainly not an ordinary fellow.

'Could he be… a secret member of the Royal Family?' Some of the Royal Knights can't help but think this, completely unaware that the truth is far more sinister.

Javier Aditi is an entity that far surpasses the Royal Family in strength.

He is a Leviathan.

*******

[Several Weeks Later]

I have managed to wrap up the situation in a clean little bow.

King Claudius Randalorion has sunken deeper into my pockets with the revelation of Ciel being a Leviathan, and since the two of us have promised him our cooperation, he is more than happy to cooperate with any of our demands.

In fact, he seems even less bothered about the deaths that occurred in the Hidden Mountain Grove than me.

Things went even smoother than expected.

After learning that the King wasn't even certain about the existence of the Vey'lithar Sanctuary, I blurred the truth and completely removed them from the story.

Apparently, his cause for suspicion was a mysterious letter he received, and he was driven by the potential gains, so he interfered with the original Excursion destination and made it so that we would make our way to the Hidden Mountain Grove. That was the perfect smokescreen he needed to covertly explore the veracity of the letter.

After the tragedy that occurred, as well as my story reinforcing the idea that there was never a Sanctuary, King Claudius concluded that this must have been a scheme of some enemy of the Randalorion Kingdom who knew about the hibernating Magivores and wanted the Beast Tide to occur.

I only partially agree with him on that front.

This entire arrangement is clearly a scheme, but their intention might not lie in the Randalorion Kingdom's destruction.

After all, there weren't any hibernating Magivores, and the covert Royal Knights didn't trigger anything.

Everything that happened revolved around me.

Seth's Divination.

The Excursion's destination.

My promise to Brad.

The Vey'lithar Sanctuary.

Ciel.

Everything connects to my involvement in the Excursion, and the resolution—albeit messy—seems to be in my favor yet again.

What exactly is happening?

Could this be related to the reason I was able to kill those Cadre 5 Magivores without any memory of ever doing so?

Maybe this mysterious force in the shadows helped me out after I passed out.

They must have also given me Golden Dawn.

Where else would a Divine Relic suddenly appear from?

There's no doubt about it.

The mastermind is a Leviathan—a powerful one at that.

'They've caused a lot of chaos, but thanks to them, I have been able to ally with the Vey'lithars and solve my problems. This has also brought about the debut of my alter ego, Evernight, which I can use for all kinds of things. The sacrifices were plenty, but I can't deny that the rewards have been bountiful.' I sigh, collapsing on my bed after a rather long day.

I'm back in the Academy.

I returned last week, and although there has been a lot of commotion since my arrival, the Academy still has its hands full with the aftermath of so many deaths and destruction of property.

I can't even begin to fathom the degree of damage that has been wrought.

Thankfully, this has allowed me to bring Ciel into the Academy without much resistance. Her identity as a Vey'lithar is a secret, and many simply refer to her as Evernight.

I have heard whispers referring to her as the Guardian of the Academy and the secret weapon of the Royal Family.

How laughable.

If only these people knew that this very Ciel is the one responsible for the tragedy that occurred.

No, she isn't responsible.

Not entirely.

There's someone else—another player.

I need to find this mastermind.

But not now.

There are five more urgent matters on my plate at the current moment.

One involves Seraphina.

She has been heavily traumatized as a result of this incident. Klein had to take a break from University to look after her, but now that he is leaving, it's up to me to care for my friend.

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