Somewhere in Eastshire…
"What's taking it so long?" Zack Kerr, Langston's father, asked the people who were seated in the meeting room. "I believe I sent you all enough funds to hire Mercenaries as well as Bounty Hunters. How come that boy's grandparents have still not been captured?"
"We don't know," a Noble replied. "We have hired the best mercenaries, but all of them returned empty-handed. Some of them even attacked our middlemen and took them somewhere."
"The Viscount who hired Pale Veil is still missing. After his disappearance, his eldest son took over the affairs of his territory. The Palace has also asked the Magistratus to investigate. But even with their help, they could not find any traces of that Viscount."
Zack clicked his tongue because he didn't expect that a mission so simple was still not completed even now.
It could only mean one thing.
'There are people who are protecting that boy's grandparents,' Zack thought. 'Still, we also sent men to target his cousin's family. How come none of them have returned either? Just what in the world is happening?'
He had hired the best rogue Wizards and Witches that could be bought by money, and they all specialized in kidnapping and assassination.
Of course, he used a middleman to handle the negotiation so that it wouldn't be traced back to him.
Even so, the lack of news and information related to the Gremories unnerved him.
With so many people doing their best to capture Ethan's Grandparents and Chloe's parents, it was truly impossible that none of the people they hired managed to succeed.
"Let's change our plans," Zack proposed. "Send the Information Guilds to try and uncover who is protecting the Gremories. Once we know who our enemies are, we can just pull them out by the roots."
"What about Ethan?" a Noble, whose son had died in the Legacy Domain, asked. "We are pressuring the King to have the boy go to trial, but it seems that it's not working."
Just as Zack was about to say something, the room where they were in started to shake.
"An earthquake?!" a Noble gasped as he took out his wand to prepare for any unexpected things to happen.
Zack Kerr and the other Wizards and Witches who were inside the room took out their wands.
After a few seconds of shaking, it finally stopped, making all of them breathe a sigh of relief.
However, the door of the conference room slowly opened, and dozens of Wizards and Witches, both familiar and unfamiliar, entered without permission.
"Who are you people?!" the Noble who owned the Villa where they were meeting shouted. "You are trespassing on private prop--".
But before he could even finish what he was going to say, one of the Witches blasted him away with a gust of wind, making him slam into the wall of the room.
Like a spark that lit the fuse of a bomb, all hell broke loose inside the conference room as spells flew left and right, making those who were hit by the spells scream in pain.
Far from where all the chaos was happening, a man wearing a mask that covered half of his face stood on top of a tree branch.
He was the one that brainwashed the Mercenaries and Bounty Hunters, who targeted his parents, to attack the villa.
Sigmund didn't care about the outcome of the battle. Regardless of their intentions, all of them were his enemies.
He had his ways of finding out who the real masterminds were, and since he had identified them all, he was now simply waiting for the opportunity where all of them would gather in one place before he launched an attack.
Although he was powerful, there was always a chance that the High-Ranking Nobles were carrying some life saving artifacts that would allow them to escape.
As the Leader of the Magistratus, he couldn't allow his reputation to take a hit, so he decided to use the Mercenaries and Bounty Hunters that his enemies had hired to fight against their own employers.
After staying for a few minutes, Sigmund decided to leave before he was discovered.
He not only made sure that his puppets had no memories of him, but he also added a few precautions to prevent talented Wizards and Witches from finding his trail.
Sigmund was a very cunning and meticulous person, unlike the Nobles who only knew how to pretend to be the role models on the surface but were rotten on the inside.
If he was going to do something, he would do it himself to make sure that the job was done properly.
With Enzo protecting his parents, and with his trusted ally protecting Chloe's parents, he was certain that both sides would be safe from harm, allowing him to move freely and soon make those who targeted the Gremories feel a world of pain for their arrogance.
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Brynhildr Academy…
"What's wrong, George?" Henry asked his best friend, who was busy sharpening his God of War Axe. "You look unwell. Did you not get any proper sleep?" Sёarch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
"I've been having recurring dreams as of late," George replied after he stopped grinding the edge of his axe with a whetstone. "Monsters are going to attack the academy, and we will be forced to fight them."
"Oh?" Henry arched an eyebrow.
Since he was part of the secret forces that keep Brynhildr Academy safe, he knew things that normal students didn't know.
"George, once this school year ends, I will no longer be in the academy," Henry said solemnly. "The new Head Prefect of the Dud Manor will be you, so the safety of our members will fall in your hands. However, that doesn't mean that you need to always be on the front lines to protect them.
"I mean, you're a Wizard, but not necessarily a fighter. I can't see you using that axe in battle, especially in a fight against Monsters."
George smiled before patting his chest. "Don't worry, Henry. You can leave everyone to me. They are in safe hands. Also, although I really don't know how to wield an axe, I feel that everything will be fine.
"After all, this is a legendary weapon sold to be by that old man that was wearing an eye patch! He said that I was meant for greatness!"
"Did he really say something like that?" Henry scratched his head as he looked at the seemingly ordinary axe that was in George's hands.
"No," George admitted. "But his gaze told me that I was meant for greatness."
Henry didn't know what to say, so he just nodded his head to not make his best friend feel sad.
"Anyway, if things don't work out, make sure to pull out when you feel like your life is in danger," Henry stated. "The Professors will be here to protect the students, so all you need to do is to keep everyone calm and obey the Professor's orders."
George nodded before he resumed sharpening his axe.
For some reason, he felt extremely calm while holding this particular weapon.
On the handle of the axe, a word, which was written in a language that George didn't know, glowed faintly while the boy wasn't looking.
If Ethan was there, he would have easily deciphered the word that was written on the handle of George's axe as Perun.
An Axe that was sold to George by an Old Bandit for 50,000 Merit Points, just like Ethan's Sea God's Trident, whose true powers were still unknown to its current Master.