— Killing Intent Before the Ashes —
The atmosphere inside the Trinity Syndicate headquarters was so heavy it felt almost suffocating.
Marcus Voss sat motionless, his gaze fixed on the cold urn of ashes resting on the table. His eyes were deep, unreadable—like stagnant water that concealed unfathomable depths.
"Young... suspected Grandmaster-tier Warrior," he murmured, his voice low and abrasive, as if grinding gravel between his teeth. "And capable of casting spells?"
A pause.
"Since when," he continued softly, "has such a figure appeared in the Novalis District?"
"Boss, this all happened because of Lyra Veyne from HelixPharm," Gary hurriedly added, his voice tight with fear.
"—Lyra?"
Marcus's eyes sharpened instantly. A flash of cold light slipped through them, his voice turning venomous, winding like a snake around its prey.
"I'll give you one chance to atone for your failure," he said slowly.
"Three days. Find out the identity of that masked man."
He rose to his feet, the chair scraping softly against the floor.
His voice surged, no longer restrained.
"I will have him reduced to a desiccated corpse," Marcus snarled, "to appease the spirit of my son, Adrian, in the afterlife!"
— Truth Etched in Blood —
Back in his cell, Eren immediately contacted Darius.
"Investigate the Bentley with the license plate NA68688," he said calmly.
"Find out who was using it previously."
After issuing the order, he returned to the Veyne family case files, combing through them once more, searching for a thread he might have missed.
Knock. Knock.
The sound broke the silence.
"Aveline? Come in," Eren said without looking up.
The door opened. Aveline stepped inside, her expression grave. She pulled over a chair and sat across from him, her voice low—carefully controlled, as though hiding a wound she refused to expose.
"Eren... there's something I need your help with."
Eren looked up, his gaze briefly pausing on her face. For a moment, he thought the mark had returned and she needed healing again—but on closer inspection, it was completely gone. The previous three treatments had worked.
"Go on," he said quietly. "Tell me directly."
Aveline took a breath.
"My father, Carl, was a narcotics officer," she began. "He worked long-term undercover."
"A year ago, he helped dismantle a drug trafficking ring... and personally killed its leader."
She clenched her fists.
"Not long after that, my father was murdered."
When Carl's body was discovered, it had been reduced to a charred, desiccated corpse—identical to several recent mummified corpse cases across the Novalis District. Each body was uniformly blackened, as if scorched by fire from within.
"The police suspected it was connected to a drug lord who escaped back then," Aveline continued. "That man was later captured—and he's now imprisoned in this very facility."
The case had alarmed the Vigil-Wyrm Order.
To avenge her father, Aveline requested a transfer to this male prison as a guard.
"But after more than six months..."
Her voice faltered for just a second.
"I found nothing."
Having recently witnessed Eren's extraordinary methods, she could no longer ignore the possibility—he might succeed where she had failed.
Eren listened in silence, a deep respect settling in his chest.
Those who fought against drugs walked in darkness, their sacrifices rarely remembered.
"Leave it to me," he said solemnly. "I'll extract everything he knows."
Aveline's eyes lit up. She nearly sprang to her feet, immediately leading him toward a special cell.
Inside sat a brawny man in his forties, cross-legged in meditation. Despite the restraints, he exuded a ferocious aura—like a vicious beast ready to pounce at any moment. A hammer tattoo was etched into his neck, his entire demeanor radiating malice and cunning.
"His name is Harry," Aveline said coldly. "Second-in-command of the Crimson Tide drug ring."
She showed no courtesy, kicking him awake.
"Harry. Get up."
Harry rolled his eyes and spat a curse. "Damn it, you again? I told you—stop wasting your time trying to get anything out of me."
Then he noticed Aveline more closely. A lecherous grin spread across his face.
"Well, well," he chuckled. "The old hag's turned pretty. Come here, have some fun with me, and maybe I'll toss you a scrap of information."
Aveline exploded with rage. She yanked out her stun baton, cranked it to maximum, and slammed it against his body.
Harry convulsed violently, foam spilling from his mouth as he howled in agony. When he finally caught his breath, his defiance only grew more twisted.
"I'm the one who killed your dad, Carl," he sneered hoarsely.
"I'm the one who turned him into a dried-up corpse. So—what are you gonna do about it?"
Aveline restrained her killing intent like a caged beast, her voice glacial.
"I can't do anything to you," she said.
"But he can."
Eren stepped forward.
His expression was empty as he looked down at Harry.
Harry scoffed. "Sending a kid to interrogate me? Are you looking down on me?"
He burst into laughter. "If you want me to talk, let me have my fun first!"
A faint, cold smile tugged at the corner of Eren's mouth.
Silently, he summoned the Obsidian Sigil within his mind, drawing forth an ancient formation from the depths of his memory—
the Liuren Heart-Compelling Method.
This technique could directly probe the mind, but only if the caster's spiritual awareness exceeded the target's. Its effects lasted no longer than one hour.
Harry continued jeering. "Go on. Give it your best shot."
He never expected Eren to bypass all conventional methods.
In a swift motion, Eren pierced Harry's brow with his finger. Using the blood as ink, he drew a complex formation across Harry's chest and abdomen.
"What are you doing?!"
A sudden, primal sense of dread seized Harry's heart.
Eren murmured an incantation and pressed his palm against Harry's forehead.
The blood sigils flared to life—writhing like living things—before sinking into Harry's body.
In the next instant, Harry's eyes snapped wide open.
The malice vanished from his face, replaced by raw, blank terror.
His body trembled as his voice broke, like a puppet forced to speak.
"Actually... the one you killed back then wasn't our real boss..."
The words struck Aveline like a thunderclap.
Her pulse spiked. "Then who is the real boss?!"
Harry frowned, confusion flickering through his fear.
"I... I don't know who he is," he stammered.
"I only saw him once. He stepped out of a car—license plate NA68688..."
Eren's eyes narrowed, a dangerous gleam flashing within them.
"What does he look like?"
Harry's entire body stiffened. His pupils dilated, his voice trembling as if the memory itself were strangling him.
"He only comes out at night... wrapped in black mist," Harry whispered.
"He's not someone you can afford to provoke. He... cultivates using the living—turning people into corpses, drained dry."