The air in the strategist's chamber was thick with the scent of old parchment and the metallic tang of unsheathed intent. Helios leaned back in his obsidian chair, his gloved fingers interlaced. The blueprint for the Spiral Induction Meter lay on the table between them—a prize that could shift the balance power and let them finally know their rankings.
"We have the blueprint now," Ray whispered, his eyes darting between the scroll and the seated sovereign. His hands trembled with academic greed. "Leader... can you fund us? With this, the lab could—"
"How did you get that blueprint, Seer?" Helios interrupted, his voice dropping into a low, questioning hum that vibrated in the floorboards. He didn't look at Ray; his gaze was fixed on the veiled girl who seemed to see everything and nothing at once.
Seer tilted her head, her posture draped in an eerie, uninterested grace. "Oh, this? I got it from a Seeker clan. I don't work for this organization alone," she replied, her tone as flat as a winter horizon.
"Is that why you asked to join the Order of the Blackthorn?" Helios asked, his eyes narrowing.
"No," Seer said softly. "I just wanted to see the Tyrant Sovereign of Nightmares for myself and join the winning side."
A chilling silence followed. Helios let the title hang in the air, a dark promise of the future she had prophesied. Finally, he gave a curt nod. "Fine. Then we will take the blueprint. Later, you join us—but you can work for nobles, Seeker factions, or Seeker clans," he said, his gaze shifting to the door as if sensing an approaching storm. "Ray, get the blueprints from Seer."
Ray lunged for the parchment, a look of pure, unadulterated happiness breaking through his usual anxiety. He clutched the scroll to his chest like a holy relic.
"Oh yeah, before we forget," Sara chimed in, her voice cutting through the tension. She stood near the heavy reinforced entrance, her hand resting on the hilt of her blade. "We have to hear what the guest I told you about yesterday has to say. I'll check the door."
Before she could reach the handle, Sara stiffened. Her eyes flashed with a warning. "Come in!" she shouted.
The heavy black doors swung open. The rhythmic clatter of armoured boots echoed through the hall as a squad of Royal Police marched in. At their head was a woman whose presence commanded the room like a cold sun.
"The Royal Police? What are they doing here?" Sara's thoughts raced, her grip tightening on her weapon. Did they find out that me and Helios killed the Targen family? But they would have arrested us if they were here for that reason...
Helios didn't move. He remained carved into his chair, a statue of black glass. "What do you want from us?" he asked, his voice a blade of ice.
"Greetings to the Sovereign of the Order of the Blackthorn," the woman said. Her voice was calm, refined, and entirely devoid of the intimidation usually felt in this room. "My name is Rosalind, the Captain of the Royal Police."
"Have you come all this way just to greet me, Captain Rosalind?" Helios countered, a mocking edge dancing in his eyes. "That would be an honor—if I didn't have a lot of work to do."
"We are sorry for disturbing you," Rosalind replied, her expression shifting into something clinical and serious. "We are here to check if you were the one who killed the Targen family."
The room temperature seemed to drop ten degrees. Helios let out a short, dark chuckle. "What if I was? What would you do about that, Lady Rosalind?"
The insult was too much for the officer standing to Rosalind's left. With a snarl, he drew his sword, the tip hovering inches from Helios's throat.
Shink.
In a blur of motion that defied the eye, Riku appeared. His own blade was already drawn, pressed against the officer's neck. "You come to our organization yet show such disrespect?" Riku spat, his face twisted in frustrated fury.
"Calm down, Riku, and go back to your seat," Nova said from the side, though his own hand was hovering near his holster.
"They insult us! They point their swords at the leader, and you want me to calm down?" Riku snapped, his eyes flashing with a manic light.
Nova rolled his eyes, a sarcastic smirk playing on his lips. "You're the one that wanted to kill him so many times. You really can't say anything."
"Shut up, you idiot!" Riku barked back.
"Sit down, Riku," Helios commanded. He didn't even look at the blades. He rested his head on his hand, his face a mask of profound boredom.
"Why don't we all calm down and stop pointing swords at each other?" Sara suggested, her eyes locked on Rosalind.
Rosalind didn't flinch. She slowly raised a gloved hand. Seeing the signal, the police officer lowered his weapon and stepped back. Riku, grumbling under his breath, sheathed his sword and returned to his chair at the long, black table adorned with intricate flower designs.
"Captain Rosalind," Helios said, his voice now laced with a threatening resonance that made the shadows in the room flicker. "You haven't told me anything yet."
"Sorry," Rosalind said, her face tightening. "I was thinking about a few things."
"Oh, is that so? Then why don't you start speaking?"
"As I said," Rosalind continued, "we are here to investigate the Targen family massacre. The only organization that has members with the appearance of the suspects is the Order of the Blackthorn."
Helios smirked, leaning forward into the light. "My answer to that was: What if we did it?"
"Then we will have to arrest you for killing a noble, Leader of the Order of the Blackthorn," Rosalind stated firmly.
"What if I say... no?"
Suddenly, the atmosphere shattered. Helios unleashed it—the raw, suffocating pressure of a monarch who had waded through oceans of blood. It wasn't just physical weight; it was a psychic assault that made every soul in the room feel as though they were standing before a Tyrant King from an era long forgotten.
The police officers gasped, their knees buckling. One by one, they collapsed to the floor, shaking uncontrollably. Even the Blackthorn members weren't spared.
"Calm your anger, Leader of the Order of the Blackthorn!" Rosalind cried out. Her voice wavered, her face pale as she fought the urge to vomit from the sheer intensity of the aura.
"My name is Helios, not Leader of the Order of the Blackthorn, Captain Rosalind," he corrected. The pressure intensified.
"Leader... don't forget that we are in the room!" Nova gasped, clutching the table for support.
When did the Leader get this ability? Riku thought, his teeth grinding together as he struggled to remain upright. It can even affect me?
Sara sat perfectly still. To an outsider, she looked unaffected, but under the table, her hands were shaking so violently they left marks in her palms. Rio, unable to withstand the tide, had simply passed out in his chair.
Rosalind was the only visitor still standing, though her legs trembled. Helios watched her for a moment, then, with a sharp exhale, he pulled the pressure back. The room felt suddenly empty, the silence ringing in everyone's ears.
"Since I have given you my answer, it's time for you to leave," Helios said, his voice returning to its cold, uninterested baseline. "If you have any more questions, you can come back another day."
Rosalind took a shuddering breath, smoothing her uniform with trembling fingers. "Have a good day... Sir Helios," she managed to say. She turned, gesturing for her terrified men to follow. The black doors closed behind them with a heavy, final thud.
"Leader... when did you get that terrifying ability?" Nova asked, gasping for air as if he had just emerged from underwater.
"I can't tell you," Helios replied. "The Royal Police might still be outside."
Seer, sitting calmly next to Sara, shook her head. "The door is soundproof. Not even a Seeker with their heightened hearing can hear anything."
Helios relaxed slightly, his eyes drifting to the ceiling. "Well, I got that ability when me and Sara killed the Targen family's guards. It seems the Royal Police are looking for the organization that did it."
"And they found us," Ray added, looking remarkably unbothered now that he had his blueprints back.
Outside, in the dimly lit corridor of the Third District, the composure Rosalind had fought so hard to maintain finally snapped. She lunged , punching punching a window with enough force to crack it.
"That guy... he practically admitted to the crime!" she hissed, her voice thick with frustration and fear. "But I couldn't do anything because I was too afraid!"
"Captain," one of the officers whispered, still pale. "Why don't we tell the Royal Family? They might do something."
Rosalind whirled around, her eyes blazing with fury. "You want me to report my failure to catch a criminal that was standing right in front of me?" she snapped. "Do you think they won't have a reason to demote me after that?"
She turned back to the door of the Blackthorn, a cold realization settling in her gut. She hadn't just met an organisation leader today. she had met the future—and the future was a nightmare.