After Terrence left, a graceful figure emerged from the shadows.
"Paxton, is this guy reliable?"
Hearing the voice behind him, Paxton turned and knelt on the ground.
"In truth, he's not reliable at all, Mistress Adra."
"Oh? Then why did you call him out?"
"He's just a decoy. I'm certain he's already being followed, but he hasn't noticed. We can use this decoy to divert the FEA's attention."
Adra nodded with satisfaction at his words.
"An interesting plan, but it needs to change now."
Paxton froze for a moment.
"Mistress, why is that?"
"I received word that Roy Black may have already sensed my presence. It's best we lie low for a while."
In reality, it was Dorothy's divination that backfired, allowing Asmodeus to glimpse Dorothy, Lilith, and Roy through the magic. The King of Lust passed this information to Adra, forcing her to alter her plans.
Thanks to her control over Paxton, Adra had access to insider FEA intelligence, which made her realize that, despite being enhanced by the King of Lust, she was still no match for Roy.
If she had stuck to the original plan, Adra knew she'd be walking into a disaster.
Her only chance was to ambush Roy, but now that he was on guard, she had no choice but to pivot.
"Mistress, even you can't handle Roy?"
Though Paxton knew some intel, he lacked a clear understanding of high-level combat strength and had no idea how terrifying Roy Black was.
Adra shook her head.
"Just follow my orders! I'm very interested in the Amacham Corporation. Take me to meet Genevieve Aristide."
"As you command, my Mistress!"
Paxton stood and followed Adra out of the apartment.
As Paxton had suspected, Gerald had already sent agents to tail Terrence Kaufman. FEA operatives were watching the apartment from outside.
When they saw Paxton and a cloaked Adra step out, they immediately tried to follow. But Paxton seemed to sense them. He glanced at one of the FEA agents, who froze in place, as if turned to stone.
By the time other agents found him, the operative was already brain-dead.
At the Dolphin Hotel, in the manager's office, Gerald slammed his fist on the desk.
"That damn Paxton Fertel!"
The loss of a skilled agent clearly infuriated him.
"So he got away again?" Roy asked, sitting across the desk. He had come to the Dolphin Hotel to get a clearer picture of Paxton's situation—some things couldn't be explained over the phone.
"Yes, my team lost his trail. We only managed to grab Terrence Kaufman. That guy claimed he'd be a witness and handed over a USB drive, but it was full of SpongeBob SquarePants episodes!"
Pfft!
Roy couldn't help but burst out laughing. It wasn't his fault—Gerald's story was just too absurd.
But Gerald was still fuming and shot Roy a glare. Roy quickly composed himself.
"Ahem! Could there be some hidden information in those SpongeBob videos?"
Gerald's face darkened—or rather, it was already dark, given he was Black.
"I suspected as much, so I had someone start watching the episodes."
Roy felt a pang of sympathy for the FEA agent tasked with that job. SpongeBob's first season aired on July 17, 1999, and there were over 300 episodes in total. Watching all of them would drive anyone nuts, especially if they had to search for hidden clues.
"Back to business, Mr. Olin. Is Paxton Fertel really that strong? He can cause brain death from a distance?"
Gerald's face showed confusion.
"I don't know. According to headquarters, Paxton Fertel's psychic abilities should only work on mindless clones, not normal people. Otherwise, they wouldn't have let him out!"
Psychic abilities were always dangerous. One misstep could cause massive chaos, and it was hard to investigate afterward. FEA headquarters must have tested Paxton's abilities before releasing him for field training.
Roy rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
"Either Paxton hid his true strength during testing, or that succubus controlling him enhanced his abilities."
The latter seemed unlikely. Boosting psychic powers was asking for trouble—Paxton could potentially break free from the succubus's control.
So Roy leaned toward the former.
"You're saying he's been hiding his strength? That double-crossing bastard!"
Gerald quickly reached the same conclusion, his expression growing uglier.
"It's just a theory. I can't be certain," Roy said.
"Mr. Black, I think it's highly likely! We need to report this to headquarters. I suggest Lady Elise investigate Paxton Fertel's situation. I suspect someone high up in the FEA has been compromised!"
At the mention of Elise, Roy's expression turned awkward, but Gerald was too preoccupied to notice.
"Ahem! Mr. Olin, any updates on those two people I asked you to look into?"
Gerald shook his head.
"Investigations take time!"
"Alright. If you get any leads on the succubus, can you let me know? I can help the FEA deal with her and Paxton Fertel."
Gerald found it odd that Roy was being so proactive this time—usually, he wasn't like this.
"Mr. Black, no fee this time?"
"I suspect the succubus is after me, so I'll do it for free."
Gerald's expression turned strange.
"Is that true?"
"Just a suspicion, not confirmed. We'll only know for sure if we catch her."
"Fine. If I get any leads on the succubus or Paxton Fertel, I'll contact you."
"If there's nothing else, I'll head out."
As Roy left Gerald's office, he nearly bumped into someone entering.
"Sorry, sorry!"
The apology came from a middle-aged woman dressed oddly, looking rather disheveled. Next to her was an even stranger-looking older man, making Royale wonder if Halloween had come early—though it was still over a month away.
Roy gave them a curious glance. He'd heard of Lydia but hadn't met her, so he didn't recognize her.
Lydia and the older man went straight into Gerald's office, while Roy headed to greet Claire and Kayla at the hotel. The trio had been up late the previous night, exhausting the two women, who had slept nearly all day.
When Roy entered their room, he found them just waking up.
"You're up! Perfect, we can keep going tonight!" Roy said with a mischievous grin.
The women immediately pleaded.
"Roy, no! I'm still sore!" Claire said.
"Yeah, can we take a break for a day?" Kayla added.
Roy knew the two were in no shape for more action, especially Claire, who'd overdone it at lunch and was clearly overwhelmed.
He was just joking, so he offered to grab some food from the restaurant for them, as they weren't moving around easily.
As for Roy, after eating Hannibal's lunch the previous day, he was still miraculously full.
While fetching food, Gerald approached him again.
"Mr. Black, we need to talk."
"Sure. Can someone deliver this food to Room 303?"
"No problem."
Gerald gave a nod, and someone took the food from Roy.
Back in the manager's office, Roy noticed the odd middle-aged woman and older man were still there.
"Let me introduce you," Gerald said. "This is FEA informant Lydia Foster. And this is Wolf Jackson, Chief of the Underworld Police Department."
Roy raised an eyebrow. He'd heard both names but hadn't met them.
"Hi, I'm Roy Black," he said, shaking their hands. Wolf's hand was ice-cold, like a corpse's.
Once seated, Gerald got to the point.
"Chief Jackson says a highly dangerous fugitive has escaped from Spirit Ledger Prison and is likely in Los Angeles County. He's seeking FEA's assistance. Roy, what's your take?"
What's there to think? Roy figured he'd just sit back and watch.
But since Wolf Jackson had come to the FEA, it meant the Underworld Police's attempt to capture the Dark Archmage had failed.
Roy saw an opportunity to gain something, especially since he was already helping Dorothy track the Dark Archmage. Spirit Ledger Prison was a key hub in the worlds around Earth, with a massive population.
"Mr. Jackson, you want to catch this fugitive?"
"Yes, Mr. Black. Do you have a way?"
Wolf looked hesitant. Roy seemed too young, and he wasn't sure Roy could handle the Dark Archmage.
"I have a way, but I can't guarantee taking them alive."
Roy was covering his bases—Dorothy's revenge likely wouldn't leave the Archmage alive.
Wolf suddenly grew excited.
"That's perfect… I mean, that's unfortunate! Mr. Black, if possible, please try to keep them alive!"
Wolf's words were strained, clearly harboring deep hatred for the Dark Archmage. Whether due to Spirit Ledger's laws or their inability to kill the Archmage, the Underworld Police had been stuck imprisoning them, only for the Archmage to escape and cause chaos repeatedly.
Lydia, in fact, was a victim of the Archmage's escape twenty years ago—and now, twenty years later, she was still suffering from their latest breakout.
"Mr. Jackson, you can trust me. My reputation speaks for itself—ask Mr. Olin."
Gerald nodded. Roy's fees were steep, but he got results.
"That's great!" Wolf said, visibly relieved. The Underworld Police must have taken heavy losses to risk exposing themselves to work with the FEA.
"Mr. Jackson, hold on. Let's talk about payment."
Wolf's face froze. He'd forgotten helping Roy came with a price.
"Mr. Black, what do you want?"
Roy worked for FEA for dollars, but Underworld Police payment couldn't be cash—ghost money was useless.
After some negotiation, Roy secured free access to Spirit Ledger Prison and a role as a special consultant for the Underworld Police.
The consultant gig came with no salary, just an official title to ease Roy's movements in Spirit Ledger. He could also set it as a teleportation anchor for faster travel.
Both sides were satisfied. Roy got easy access, and Wolf felt he'd paid little, since casters could already enter Spirit Ledger freely—Roy just got an official stamp.
"Mr. Black, what's your plan?"
"The Archmage is fixated on Ms. Foster. That's our opportunity."
Lydia wasn't thrilled.
"You're not suggesting I be bait, are you?"
"It's the only way. If they go into hiding, we'll never find them."
Wolf nodded in agreement. Even if Dorothy could divine the Archmage's location, it would take time, and her bad luck wasn't fading anytime soon.
Lydia looked glum, but Gerald reassured her.
"Ms. Foster, trust Roy. He's worked with FEA multiple times and handled tough cases."
"Fine, I agree. But I have a question—have any of you seen my boyfriend, Laurie?"
The three men exchanged blank looks. They had no clue who he was.
"Is there such a person?" Gerald asked.
Lydia grew anxious. She was sentimental and didn't want anything to happen to her boyfriend.
"The guy who was charmed by the succubus at the start—none of you saw him?"
Wolf tried to calm her.
"Ms. Foster, don't worry. I'll check with Spirit Ledger's transit office to see if there's any info on your boyfriend."
The result came back: Laurie was dead, his soul already in Spirit Ledger.
Lydia was devastated.
"Uh, Ms. Foster, don't rush to grieve," Roy said.
Lydia (Winona Ryder)
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