Chapter : 1457

  "He's not here," Lloyd said firmly. "This room is shielded. Valerius put up the strongest wards in the kingdom. Not even a Devil King can listen in."

  Rubaiya let out a shaky laugh. "You think wards stop him? You think walls stop him? He is in my head, Lloyd. He has been in my head since I was eight years old."

  Lloyd leaned forward. "Tell me. Start from the beginning. How did a slum orphan end up working for a Devil King?"

  Rubaiya took a sip of the tea. Her hands were trembling so much the cup rattled against her teeth.

  "I was dying," she began, her voice hollow. "The plague. The one that swept through the lower districts twenty years ago. My parents died. My sister died. I was alone in the gutter, coughing up blood. I was waiting to die."

  She looked into the tea, as if reading her future in the leaves.

  "Then he came. He didn't look like a monster. He looked like a gentleman. A noble in a black coat. He offered me a hand. He asked if I wanted to live."

  "And you took it," Lloyd said.

  "I was eight!" Rubaiya cried. "I wanted to live! I would have taken a hand from a skeleton if it meant not dying in the mud!"

  She took a deep breath. "He healed me. Or I thought he did. He gave me the spirit. Legion. He said it was a gift. A guardian. He said it would make me strong."

  "But it wasn't a gift," Lloyd guessed.

  "It was a curse," Rubaiya said bitterly. "The spirit... it kept me alive, yes. It ate the sickness. But then it got hungry. It needed mana. Life force. At first, it was small things. Rats. Birds. But as I grew, it grew. It needed more."

  "So you fed it," Lloyd said.

  "I had to!" she sobbed. "If I didn't feed it, it started eating me. It ate my memories. My emotions. The pain... it was unbearable. Bael... he taught me how to feed it. How to transfer the hunger into objects. Cursed items."

  "The sword," Lloyd said. "The locket. The pen."

  "Yes," Rubaiya nodded. "I didn't want to hurt the students. I tried to use animals. But Bael... he demanded chaos. He said if I didn't create chaos, he would let Legion consume me fully. He would turn me into a husk."

  She looked at Lloyd, tears streaming down her face. "I was a slave, Lloyd. A battery. I hated every minute of it. I hated hurting them. But I didn't want to die."

  Lloyd looked at her. He felt a mixture of pity and revulsion. She was a victim, yes. But she had made choices. She had chosen her life over others. Over and over again.

  "You could have asked for help," Lloyd said. "Valerius adopted you. You had a family."

  "Valerius?" Rubaiya scoffed. "He saw a prodigy. He didn't see the monster on my back. If I told him, he would have exorcised the spirit. And the spirit is my life support. If Legion dies, I die. Bael made sure of that."

  "So you were trapped," Lloyd said.

  "I am still trapped," Rubaiya whispered. "Even now. He knows I failed. He knows I am talking to you. The contract is broken. And the penalty for breaking the contract is..."

  She stopped. She couldn't say it.

  "Eternal torment?" Lloyd guessed.

  "Worse," she said. "He doesn't just kill you. He takes your soul. He keeps it. In a jar. On a shelf. Forever."

  The room went silent. Lloyd felt a chill. Soul jars. That was... efficient. And horrifying.

  "Okay," Lloyd said. "We know the motive. We know the master. Now, the network. Who else is working for him? Is there anyone else in the Academy?"

  "I don't know," Rubaiya said. "Bael keeps his toys separate. We don't talk to each other. But... the dealer. The woman in the market."

  "You said she was your illusion," Lloyd said.

  "She was," Rubaiya admitted. "But the supply chain... the raw materials... they came from somewhere. Bael has a supplier. A merchant who deals in cursed artifacts. If you find him, you find the pipeline."

  "A name," Lloyd demanded.

  "I don't have a name," Rubaiya said. "Just a symbol. A crate arrived once. It had a mark on it. A red eye."

  "A red eye," Lloyd noted. "Like the Eye of Horus?"

  "No," Rubaiya shook her head. "Like a target."

  Chapter : 1458

  Lloyd stood up. He had what he needed. Rubaiya was a pawn. A tragic, dangerous pawn. But the player was Bael. And Bael was out there.

  "What happens to me?" Rubaiya asked, her voice small.

  "You go to the capital," Lloyd said. "To the Royal Prison. High security. Anti-magic cells. You'll be safe from Bael there. Maybe."

  "Safe?" Rubaiya laughed bleakly. "There is no safe. Not from him."

  "We'll see," Lloyd said. "I've beaten demons before. I'll beat him too."

  He walked to the door. He paused.

  "Rubaiya," he said. "For what it's worth... I'm sorry."

  "For catching me?"

  "For not catching you sooner," Lloyd said. "Before you hurt anyone."

  He left the cell. He walked up the stairs, leaving the broken woman in the dark.

  Lloyd emerged from the dungeon into the bright sunlight of the Academy courtyard. It felt wrong. The world should be darker after a conversation like that.

  He met Valerius and Isabella by the fountain.

  "Well?" Isabella asked. "Did she confess?"

  "Everything," Lloyd said. "She was a slave to a Devil King named Bael. The cursed items were her way of feeding a parasitic spirit."

  "Bael," Valerius paled. "The Lord of Lies. That is... a significant escalation."

  "It explains the sophistication of the curse," Lloyd said. "And the cruelty. Rubaiya is going to be transferred to the capital. The Royal Police are coming for her."

  "Captain Zafer is on his way," Isabella confirmed. "He is... thorough. He will get her to the anti-magic prison."

  "Good," Lloyd said. "She needs protection as much as we need protection from her."

  An hour later, a heavy iron carriage arrived at the gates. It was black, reinforced with steel, and covered in warding runes. It was a mobile cell.

  Captain Zafer stepped out. He was a grim man with a scar running through his eyebrow and a perpetual scowl. He looked like he had seen every crime ever committed and was unimpressed by all of them.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  "Professor Ferrum," Zafer grunted, shaking Lloyd's hand. "I heard about your... demonstration. Flashy. But effective."

  "I like clarity," Lloyd said.

  "We've been hunting this 'Shadow Merchant' for months," Zafer admitted. "Cursed items popping up all over the city. People dying of mana drain. We couldn't catch her. She was a ghost."

  "She was an illusion," Lloyd corrected. "Literally. Rubaiya used her spirit to project a false identity. She sold the items to herself, essentially, using middlemen like Daniel."

  "Clever," Zafer spat. "Evil, but clever."

  He gestured to his men. They brought Rubaiya out. She was shackled, her head bowed. She didn't look at Lloyd. She didn't look at anyone. She looked like a woman walking to her execution.

  "Into the wagon," Zafer ordered.

  They loaded her in. The heavy doors slammed shut. CLANG.

  "We'll take it from here," Zafer said. "She won't escape."

  "Be careful, Captain," Lloyd warned. "Her master... he doesn't like loose ends."

  "Let him come," Zafer touched the hilt of his sword. "I have a warrant for him too."

  The carriage rolled away, surrounded by a squad of mounted police. Lloyd watched it go. He felt a sense of closure, but no victory. A teacher was gone. A student was traumatized. And a Devil King was still out there, probably laughing.

  "It is over," Isabella said, standing beside him.

  "This battle is over," Lloyd corrected. "The war is just starting."

  He looked at the Academy. Students were coming out of their dorms, blinking in the sun. They were safe. For now.

  "I need to go home," Lloyd said suddenly. "I need to check on my own defenses. If Bael can infiltrate the Academy... he can infiltrate anything."

  "Go," Valerius said. "We will handle the cleanup. You have done enough, Lloyd."

  Lloyd nodded. He walked towards the stables. He needed a ride. And he needed to think.

  Rubaiya's story had shaken him. The idea of being a slave to a spirit... it was a nightmare. It made him appreciate his own spirits—Iffrit, Fang Fairy—even more. They were partners. Friends. Not parasites.

  "I need to be stronger," Lloyd thought. "If I face Bael... I need to be ready."

  He mounted his horse. He looked back at the Old Tower. Mina was there, probably organizing the notes from the investigation.

  "I'll be back," he whispered. "I promise."

  He rode out of the gates. The sun was setting, casting long shadows across the road.

  Lloyd Ferrum was tired. But he was also angry. And an angry engineer was a dangerous thing.

  Chapter : 1459

  "Bael," he muttered to the wind. "You messed with my school. You messed with my people. I'm going to find you. And I'm going to evict you from this plane of existence."

  The hunt for the Devil King had begun.

  Lloyd rode hard. The journey back to the Ferrum estate usually took a few hours, but Lloyd made it in record time. He didn't stop for water. He didn't stop for food. He rode like the devil was chasing him—which, metaphorically, he was.

  He arrived at the estate gates at dusk. The guards saluted. They looked nervous. Lloyd probably looked like a madman, his coat flapping, his eyes wild.

  "Secure the perimeter!" Lloyd shouted as he galloped past. "Double the watch! Check the wards!"

  He didn't wait for a response. He rode straight to the stable, jumped off his horse, and ran into the house.

  He found his father, Arch Duke Roy, in the war room. Roy was looking at a map of the border. He looked up, surprised.

  "Lloyd?" Roy asked. "I thought you were at school. Did you get expelled?"

  "Worse," Lloyd said, slamming his hand on the table. "We have a Devil King problem."

  Roy's expression didn't change, but the air in the room grew heavy. "Explain."

  Lloyd told him everything. The curse. Rubaiya. Legion. And the name: Bael.

  "Bael," Roy repeated. The name tasted like ash. "The Lord of Lies. The Manipulator. He hasn't been active in a hundred years."

  "He's active now," Lloyd said. "He turned a professor into a bio-weapon. He's infiltrating our institutions. He's farming us, Father."

  Roy walked to the window. He looked out at the darkening grounds. "This escalates things. The Seventh Circle... we knew they were moving. But a King? That means they are preparing for a full-scale invasion."

  "Rubaiya said he's in her head," Lloyd said. "He controls his pawns remotely. Soul contracts. We can't just fight him with swords. We need to fight the connection."

  "We need to find his anchor," Roy said. "Every Devil King needs an anchor in the mortal world to project that much power. A shrine. A relic. A person."

  "Or a business," Lloyd realized. "The supplies. Rubaiya mentioned a supplier. A crate with a red eye symbol."

  "The Red Eye," Roy mused. "There is a merchant guild in the East... The Crimson Caravan. They deal in exotic goods. Rare magic. Slaves."

  "Slaves," Lloyd's eyes narrowed. "Rubaiya was a slave."

  "It fits," Roy said. "If Bael is using the Crimson Caravan as a front... he could be moving agents and artifacts all over the continent."

  "I need to go there," Lloyd said instantly. "I need to find this Caravan."

  "No," Roy ordered. "You are too exposed. You are the 'Saint of the Coil'. You are the 'White Mask'. If you go East, they will see you coming."

  "Then who?"

  "We send the Wraiths," Roy said. "Your team. They are ready?"

  "Almost," Lloyd said. "Two months, remember?"

  "We don't have two months," Roy said. "Send Ken. Send your best. Have them track the Caravan. But tell them... do not engage. Just watch. Finding Bael's anchor is the priority."

  Lloyd nodded. "I'll brief Ken tonight."

  "And Lloyd?" Roy turned to him. "Be careful. Bael is not a warrior like Beelzebub. He doesn't crush you with power. He destroys you with truth. He finds the crack in your soul and pries it open."

  "I know," Lloyd said, thinking of Rubaiya. "He finds what you want most, and uses it to hang you."

  "Exactly," Roy said. "Go. Rest. You look like you fought a war."

  "I did," Lloyd said. "A small one."

  He left the war room. He felt heavier. The victory at the Academy felt small now. It was just a skirmish. The real enemy was a ghost who bought souls.

  He walked to his room. He passed Rosa's door. It was closed. He paused. He wanted to knock. He wanted to tell her. But the wall between them was still there, made of ice and pride.

  He walked on.

  He entered his room and collapsed onto the bed. He didn't even take off his boots.

  He closed his eyes. He saw Rubaiya's face. The terror. The relief when the spirit died.

  "She was a victim," Lloyd thought. "But she was also a weapon. Bael turns victims into weapons."

  He clenched his fist. "Not my people. Not anymore."

  He fell asleep, dreaming of red eyes and chains made of smoke.

  Chapter : 1460

  The next morning, Lloyd met Ken in the garden. It was foggy. A perfect morning for spy talk.

  "Ken," Lloyd said. "New mission. High priority."

  Ken stood at attention. "I am ready, my lord."

  "The Crimson Caravan," Lloyd said. "Eastern trade routes. They are a front for the Seventh Circle. Specifically, a Devil King named Bael."

  Ken's eyes widened slightly. "A King?"

  "Yes. He uses soul contracts. He enslaves people. I need you to find his operation. Find where the goods are coming from. Find the anchor."

  "Understood," Ken said. "I will leave immediately. I will take a small team. Ghosts."

  "Be careful, Ken," Lloyd warned. "This guy... he gets in your head. If you see anything... weird. Anything tempting. Run."

  "I am not easily tempted," Ken said stoically.

  "I know," Lloyd smiled. "Unless it's honey-cakes."

  Ken blushed. "That was one time."

  "Just... watch your back," Lloyd said. "And watch Habiba's. If she goes with you."

  "She insisted," Ken admitted. "She says the desert is her territory."

  "Good," Lloyd said. "She's sharp. You two make a good team."

  Ken bowed and left. Lloyd watched him go. He felt like a general sending his best friend into the fire.

  "He'll be fine," Lloyd told himself. "He's Ken. He's a tank."

  He walked back to the house. He had one more loose end to tie up.

  The police report.

  Captain Zafer had sent a message. Rubaiya had been processed. She was in the convoy, heading for the capital.

  "She's safe," Lloyd thought. "Zafer is good. His men are loyal."

  But a nagging doubt scratched at the back of his mind. Bael didn't like loose ends. Rubaiya knew too much. She had confessed. She had broken the contract.

  "He won't let her talk," Lloyd realized. "He'll silence her."

  Lloyd ran to the stables. He grabbed a fresh horse. "I have to catch up to the convoy."

  He rode out of the estate, pushing the horse to a gallop. The convoy had a day's head start, but they were slow. Heavy wagons. Armored guards.

  He rode for hours. He reached the main highway. He saw tracks. Wagon wheels. Hoof prints.

  And then, he saw smoke.

  Black, oily smoke rising from the road ahead.

  "No," Lloyd whispered.

  He kicked the horse harder. He crested a hill.

  Below, in a valley, was the convoy. Or what was left of it.

  The iron carriage was on its side. It was burning. The horses were dead. The guards...

  Lloyd rode down. He dismounted before the horse stopped. He ran to the wreckage.

  The guards were scattered on the road. They weren't hacked apart. They weren't burned. They were just... dead. Their faces were twisted in horror. Their eyes were wide, staring at nothing.

  "Soul drain," Lloyd hissed. "Mass soul drain."

  He ran to the carriage. The door was ripped open. Not from the outside. From the inside.

  He looked in.

  It was empty.

  No Rubaiya. No body. No blood.

  Just a message burned into the metal wall of the cell. A single, jagged symbol.

  A smiley face.

  Lloyd stared at it. It was mocking. It was childish. It was terrifying.

  "He took her," Lloyd realized. "He didn't kill her here. He took her back."

  Captain Zafer was lying near the wheel. He was still alive, barely. He was gasping for air.

  "Captain!" Lloyd knelt beside him. "What happened?"

  Zafer grabbed Lloyd's collar. His eyes were unfocused. "The shadow... it came out of her. It... it ate them."

  "Rubaiya?" Lloyd asked.

  "No," Zafer wheezed. "Not her. The shadow behind her. It smiled... and then... darkness."

  Zafer coughed. "She screamed. She begged him to let her die. He... he laughed. He said... 'The contract is eternal'."

  Zafer's hand went limp. He was gone.

  Lloyd stood up. He looked at the burning wagon. He looked at the dead men. He looked at the smiley face.

  Bael hadn't just silenced a witness. He had reclaimed his property. He had dragged Rubaiya back to whatever hell he lived in, to punish her for eternity.

  "You monster," Lloyd whispered. The rage in his chest was cold and hard. "You think this is a game? You think this is funny?"

  He touched the scorched metal.

  "You want eternal?" Lloyd said to the smiley face. "I'll give you eternal. I'm going to find you, Bael. And I'm going to make sure you never smile again."

  He turned away from the carnage. There was nothing he could do here. The trail was cold. The enemy was gone.

  But the war... the war had just become a crusade.