Chapter 15: Flo, the Man in Black.

Flo hadn’t noticed anything off about the kind deputy headmistress despite all this time.
Was it her skillful deception, or was Flo just bad at reading people?

He wasn’t sure, but it didn’t matter.
Others’ virtues or vices had nothing to do with him.
All he needed was to keep his own path from going astray—that was enough.

“No time to waste. Let’s go!”

Little Blue Bird chirped in response and followed Flo’s lead…

The Phoenix territory had plenty of orphanages, but the one in the west stood out.
It had once produced a mid-tier mage who was deeply grateful and gave back generously, making the orphanage fairly renowned.

It was also the first site of the disappearances—the main [Dark Tide Solidification Array], Flo’s target on the mission slip.

On the way, Flo reported the situation to the Adventurer’s Guild, preparing for the worst.
If he couldn’t destroy the main array, at least there’d be backup by then.

As for the Knight Order’s initial attempt to frame the Phoenix family and now their open collusion with an evil organization, Flo just smirked.

He didn’t deny that most knights were messengers of justice, embodiments of holiness and honor.
But the knights of the Phoenix earldom?
All Flo felt was hypocrisy and disgust.

The once-warm orphanage was no longer inviting, its deep courtyard and dilapidated huts now shrouded in gloom.

Dark thorns coiled around the buildings, and the windows, unable to withstand the pressure, lay shattered.

The playground where children once laughed had become a nest for humanoid monsters.

The statue of the mid-tier mage at the orphanage’s center had been smashed, replaced by an altar radiating malevolent energy.

“Sir, the rebels have been held back, but word of the array has leaked.
The Adventurer’s Guild somehow learned the main array’s location.
It could jeopardize the plan…”
A black-cloaked figure reported to an old man in a dark hood.

“The Adventurer’s Guild? No matter. Even if they send an S-rank adventurer, it’s futile.
But I’m curious—since when did the Guild have an array expert capable of pinpointing the main array so quickly?”
The old man chuckled, staring at the sky.
Despite the bright sunlight, his gaze sent chills down the spine.

A dark purple mist drifted in the air, tightening one’s chest.

Yet this eerie scene thrilled the black-cloaked figures.

“Find out who tipped off the Guild. If it’s one of ours, kill them without mercy.
If it’s an outsider, see if they can be pulled into the Crimson Abyss. If they refuse? Kill them!”

The Crimson Abyss, a notorious evil organization, was often mistaken for being tied to vampires, leading to plenty of undeserved blame for the blood clan.
In truth, it had nothing to do with them.

The black-cloaked figures didn’t care for that label—they preferred to be called Crimson Confessors.

“Also, have you found that woman’s descendant?” the lead old man asked in a raspy voice.

“Based on human intel, we’ve located a target, but… it’s a boy.
That family only produces girls, so we suspect he’s a decoy.
Her real descendant is likely still hidden somewhere.”

The old man fell into thought, then, as if struck by an idea, turned to his colleague.
“How far has our dear ‘Saintess’ awakened her bloodline?”

“Only third-tier. Nothing to worry about.”

“Heh, third-tier is far from that woman. She was third-tier at ten.”

With the Saintess missing and the candidate Saintess, though talented, unable to grow quickly, the light of miracles they feared had dimmed.
Nothing could threaten them.

The current candidate Saintess lacked divine blessing.
The Goddess of Time, Astraea, hadn’t manifested in ages—dead or alive, who knew?
Such feeble power couldn’t topple the Crimson Abyss.

Unless a new divinely blessed Saintess appeared, one on par with Aitelien, no one could derail their grand plan.

This was why the Crimson Abyss hunted so desperately for the Astraea bloodline.

Flo? A male in an all-female family? Impossible.
And a weakling, at that.

Though, outside of magic, Flo wasn’t exactly a weakling.

But in this magic-driven world, being unable to sense mana was a sin in itself, magnified endlessly.
No matter how many strengths Flo had, this warped prejudice would overshadow them.

In a world of magic, not being favored by mana was the original sin…

Even if Flo were Aitelien’s son, so what?
What could a weakling do to their plan?

Of course, that was only some of the Crimson Abyss’s thinking.

They weren’t foolish enough to truly believe Flo was useless and kept their guard up.

But dealing with him was tricky.
Killing him might provoke the Goddess, and then they’d be done for.

The Crimson Abyss was riddled with internal contradictions, as all organizations were.
The key was balance—perfect balance was the foundation of progress.

Just then, a Confessor rushed over.

“Sir, we only have enough people for the Vengeful Puppet to reach fifty percent power.
Should we use some of the materials?”

“That’s enough. As for the rest? The big shots are waiting for experiments.
Can’t waste them, heh heh heh.”

Even at fifty percent, it was enough for their plan.

*

Flo moved lightly.
Assassins excelled at disguise, and he’d already swapped into a black cloak identical to the ones worn by the enemy, pilfered from who-knows-where.

The stripped corpse on the ground seemed to want to laugh but stayed silent…

Killing me is one thing, but damn, Flo, insulting my corpse too?

Why, you ask?
You killed me, fine, but at least leave me my underwear!

Flo gleefully held a black wand—worth a pretty penny!
Too bad he couldn’t sell it.

No matter.
After this was over, he’d use it to scam a bit from the Phoenix family.

Why not sell it?
So many questions…
Ahem, mainly because if Flo tried selling something from an evil organization, he could only imagine how fast he’d get caught…

Disguised as a black-cloaked figure, Flo slipped into the orphanage.
The sight before him was a far cry from before.
The warmth was gone, replaced by a black abyss…