Episode 360 – The Master of Aintrier (10)
Traces of Azonne's final, agonized struggle lingered throughout the study.
Looking over the bloodstained room, Fenry tapped her pipe against her palm and gestured toward Azonne's corpse.
“...What are you going to do with that?”
“I have a use for it. I’ll be taking it.”
Arthur placed the cube in his hand atop the corpse.
Fenry's eyes briefly showed confusion, but it was only a moment before the floating cube began to hum and absorbed Azonne’s body along with all surrounding traces.
Arthur picked up the cube.
Then, he walked to one of the bookshelves and stood in front of the book titled Greed Ends in Two Ways. He lightly pushed the worn corner of the old tome.
Ggggrrrrk—
With the sound of scraping, the bookshelf rotated, revealing a small hidden space behind it.
Azonne’s secret chamber.
Since most of the contents were delicate documents, Arthur chose not to disturb them and simply retrieved the cube stored there, leaving the rest for now.
He rifled through the space, packing up what was left into his bag.
Fenry, still biting her pipe, watched silently.
She wore an expression deep in thought.
Even when Arthur stood and brushed off his clothes, her furrowed brow remained.
Eventually, she spoke, her voice laced with curiosity and resolve.
“I’m just asking out of curiosity—don’t feel pressured.”
“Too late. I’m already feeling pressured.”
“I mean it. I won’t be able to sleep unless I ask. How did you know the Lord’s secret chamber was here?”
“Hmm…”
“There are no secrets between us, right? Isn’t that true?”
“That might just be your opinion, Fenry. How about you give me a discount on your investment, then I’ll tell you?”
“So are you going to tell me or not?”
When Fenry cut him off bluntly, Arthur hesitated for a moment before smacking his lips and finally replying.
“Instinct.”
“…Instinct?”
“I noticed only the private study was marked as restricted. So I took a shot in the dark.”
“So you randomly chose that weirdly titled book, and it just so happened to open the secret room?”
“Well, basically.”
“And you want me to believe that?”
“Yes.”
Arthur nodded with such confidence that Fenry was left speechless.
She had so many more questions, but he was clearly trying to avoid them all.
“Just say you don’t want to tell me.”
Fenry clicked her tongue and took a deep pull from her pipe.
How had he known about the Shelter of Darkness artifact that Azonne had?
How had he known the exit of that subspace was inside the study?
And—
“How to eliminate Azonne, too?”
Before becoming the World Tree’s shadow, Fenry had been the leader of the assassination group known as Black Rose.
Though the situation had been urgent enough to trust Arthur and act quickly, now that she was seeing the results firsthand, it all seemed beyond comprehension.
It felt as if Arthur had predicted and controlled everything from the start, closing in around Azonne step by step.
She recalled how one of the most powerful figures in Hell Grime had been rendered powerless and killed by Arthur.
If this guy in front of me hadn’t been an ally...
A shudder ran down her back.
She didn’t even want to imagine that possibility.
Noticing her gaze, Arthur let out a bitter chuckle.
“I got a little lucky, too.”
“...Lucky?”
Fenry narrowed her eyes and sucked on her pipe.
Their silent stare-down lasted a moment.
Then she sighed and shook her head.
“Fine. Maybe there’s truth to ‘ignorance is bliss.’ Welp, no sleep for me tonight.”
Muttering her complaint, Fenry turned away in a huff.
Arthur let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Azonne’s elimination had been an urgent priority, and he hadn’t had time to fully explain it to Fenry.
It must’ve looked like I planned out everything perfectly.
Still, he couldn’t share everything with the suspicious Fenry just yet.
He didn’t have the confidence to make her believe it, nor to explain it all in such a short time.
But thanks to the trust they had built so far, she had accepted the situation without pressing further.
“So, what’s next? Stick to the plan?”
“We’ll continue as planned. Just... a little faster.”
Arthur handed her the cube, and Fenry nodded as she took it.
Inside the cube were the corpses of both Nagrok and Azonne.
“With Azonne’s corpse secured, this plan is guaranteed to succeed.”
Right now, Aintrier was in chaos over the Cleaners’ bodies scattered by the Ghosts.
Rumors ran rampant among the merchants and trade guilds, and though all were uneasy, they desperately awaited the Lord to return and restore order.
In such a climate, if Azonne and Nagrok’s corpses were revealed alongside Special Commissioner Richard’s in the plaza—
“They’ll be thrown into shock and terror.”
An overwhelming wave of confusion would follow, during which the Union would deploy ghosts and Reefs planted throughout the city to manipulate information.
The goal of this information control was simple.
Military dominance.
With no powers left to counter the Union, their narrative would become law, and public sentiment would naturally swing their way.
“Wait a second.”
Fenry, checking the cube, paused and looked at Arthur.
“You said if the plan goes well, we can seize Aintrier, right?”
“Yes.”
“But you still don’t have legitimacy. Even if you control it for now, you won’t be recognized as Aintrier’s true ruler.”
Aintrier was a free trade city governed by shareholding structure.
Only those with majority support could be recognized as the city’s legitimate master.
“Other factions holding shares will definitely make a move.”
“Which is why we have to finish this before they do.”
“Can you?”
“There’s a way.”
“There’s a way to become the master with just 15%?”
“15% was yesterday’s news. Not anymore.”
Arthur smiled as he shook his bag, causing Fenry’s eyes to widen slightly before she let out a laugh.
“Don’t tell me… you got Azonne’s shares too?”
“Turns out he had 20%. Which means the Union now controls 35%.”
“That’s impressive, but…”
Fenry smacked her lips and added,
“It’s still not enough. That’s not a majority.”
Arthur nodded and raised a bracelet in front of her.
It was a rugged golden bracelet. Hanging from a small chain link was a thumb-sized crown emblem—Azonne’s symbol.
As Arthur fiddled with the ornament, he quietly said,
“This bracelet will handle the rest.”
“That’s the spatial artifact leading to the subspace, right?”
The Shelter of Darkness.
Fenry recognized the item.
It was the first thing they targeted during their ambush on Azonne at Arthur’s instruction, which had led to him losing an arm.
“What exactly does that bracelet do?”
“I’ll explain later.”
Even for someone as knowledgeable as Fenry, she hadn’t yet connected the Shelter of Darkness to the Black Market.
He hadn’t told her Azonne was the Owner of the Black Market.
He hadn’t revealed that yet, worried it might overwhelm her if too much came at once—but perhaps Lily could help explain it to her later.
“What else are you hiding?”
“Don’t you want Azonne’s gold? It could be hundreds of kilograms.”
“Can you really get it?”
When Arthur nodded, Fenry snapped her pipe shut and straightened her posture like lightning.
“Forget everything I said up until now. I’m going to sleep like a baby tonight.”
With that, Fenry melted into the shadows, signaling she would no longer interfere.
“Leave the rest of the plan to me and go do whatever you want. I’m off!”
Arthur let out a short sigh.
Should’ve just led with that.
He focused on the bracelet.
Now that its previous owner was dead, it would automatically transfer to the next wearer.
As expected, a gentle light began to flow from the bracelet, wrapping softly around Arthur’s body.
“Hm…”
Moments later, a three-dimensional space began to form in his mind.
The Shelter of Darkness.
As the sense of unity between himself and the bracelet deepened, he began to manifest the space.
Vwooom!
The bracelet vibrated violently, and a black passage opened above his head.
The passage swallowed him whole.
Suddenly, everything went pitch black.
A pure void where even open eyes could see nothing.
As the darkness showed no signs of adjusting to his vision, Arthur chose to walk forward.
When it began to feel like the space was opening up, the darkness slowly took form—and then, a chamber emerged.
He saw a small altar in the center.
Around it were several empty braziers.
As Arthur examined the room and stepped closer—
Ffwoosh—
A golden flame ignited before his chest.
The fist-sized flame hovered in midair, revealing itself the moment he entered the space.
A flame indicating identity.
Arthur recognized it immediately.
Master of the Black Market.
The floating flame was connected by essence to the altar and the braziers.
Through this golden flame, Arthur realized he could communicate with the Black Market’s executives.
Azonne’s loyal subordinates who moved only by order.
This flame would wield absolute power over the Black Market.
As he placed his hand over the flame, Arthur’s consciousness linked with the braziers.
Closing his eyes, he began lighting new flames above each empty brazier.
Ffwoosh—
Flames burst to life on the braziers across the space.
A signal summoning the executives.
Moments later, presences gathered around the altar.
And then—
“We greet the Master!”
“We greet the Master!”
“We greet the Master!”
“We greet the Master!”
Voices echoed as one unified call.
The Black Market executives had responded to Arthur’s summons and gathered.
Arthur calmly looked over the blazing braziers and took a quiet breath.
Azonne had operated using a compartmentalized cell structure, which was now a fatal weakness in the current Black Market.
Of course, for Arthur, it was the perfect opportunity.
He intended to extract everything he could here.
Ffwoosh—
The golden flame flared with authority.
Then, the Master’s voice echoed.
“One seat is empty.”
Arthur looked at the lone unlit brazier in the corner.
Unlike the others, it remained unresponsive.
None of the executives reported anything about it either. Just silence and waiting—one of the core weaknesses of cell-based operations: the inability to grasp internal crises.
Moments later—
Ffwoosh—
The once-vacant brazier finally lit up.
Then came the report.
“W-we greet the Master!”
“Why are you late?”
“I… I was assigned to fill the sudden vacancy of the previous superior, so I couldn’t respond immediately. P-please forgive me…”
A sudden vacancy?
Arthur paused, then asked.
“Vacancy? When did this happen?”
“T-this morning, sir.”
“Cause of death?”
“…It appears to be poisoning, but the exact cause is still under investigation.”
“And what about the previous assignment?”
“P-previous assignment…?”
“Don’t tell me you weren’t briefed properly?”
“N-no! The mission I was given is to dispose of depleted witches and keep the rest from acting out…”
Arthur’s eyes lit up at that.
“How many witches are left?”
“Eh? A-around twenty-five.”
“Twenty-five, huh…”
So that brazier belonged to the executive managing the witches.
He briefly wondered about the sudden death of the previous superior, but he dismissed it.
What mattered was what came next.
Arthur looked around at all the braziers and said—
“The reason I summoned you all is because a major event has occurred in Aintrier.”
A moment of silence.
“Azonne Vistas was assassinated just moments ago.”
“...”