CHAPTER 818: THE DISCUSSION OF MASTER AND VICE MASTER

In another place, two figures were inside a dimly lit room. One of them was Luvier, the vice master of the Silent Reaper assassins group, and the other was a man, his face hidden behind a black mask. The only thing visible from his face was his red eyes, which seemed to glow in the darkness.

He was the master of the Silent Reaper, the mysterious man who had been a fugitive for many years, hunted by many powers across the Akares Star and even other stars. Especially in Akares, everyone who heard about the master of the Silent Reaper knew he was truly a reaper, one who had never failed to claim the soul of his target.

At this moment, Luvier was sitting on his seat across the table from the master. His expression was calm as he opened his lips.

"We have to decide to ditch the Barevisk family and move to another hideout unknown to them, Master. At this moment, it’s too dangerous for us to keep our connection with the Barevisk family. They have already gained the attention of Aldrian the Great, and we could be implicated by this."

"Even I think we have to clean up the entire higher-ups of the Barevisk family. Besides making Aldrian the Great stop focusing on that family, we could also erase our traces from them. This could ensure our safety rather than facing Aldrian the Great’s wrath."

The master of the Silent Reaper did not say anything for a moment before he opened his lips.

"This is the second time you’ve said this to me since you came back. Is the situation really that dire that we have to cut off our connection with the Barevisk family? In the first place, can your information really be trusted in the Barisan continent?"

"I’m sure of it. When I gathered information about Aldrian the Great before deciding to abort the mission, I found traces of the group that seemed to have been left by Elder Vars of the Barevisk family. We know they were the first group to enter the Barisan continent and deliver information to the Barevisk family."

"From the information I got, their movements were quite strange. Their pattern looked as if they didn’t want anyone from the Barevisk family, or anyone who knew them, for that matter to find them. Why do you think they did that, Master, hmm?"

The group master did not answer, but Luvier continued without waiting any longer.

"For me, that’s because they somehow already betrayed the Barevisk family. I don’t know what really happened to them, but I think they were discovered by Aldrian the Great and turned into double agents. If that’s the case, doesn’t it mean the Barevisk family has been played by Aldrian the Great for a long time?"

"I’m afraid there might be a possibility that Aldrian the Great already knows about our information. Elder Vars is someone who also knows about our close connection with Patriarch Barevisk, after all. What if Aldrian the Great already knew about our mission but instead let us do whatever we did?"

"What if all this time we’re the ones being played without realizing it? Everything is truly confusing and uncertain, but I think what I have in mind might be right."

Luvier stopped talking, his face carrying a solemn expression. His eyes focused on the master’s red eyes and did not move an inch. His voice did not crack, and it clearly carried a sense of urgency.

The master silently observed Luvier for a moment before he finally spoke.

"Did what happened when the devils failed their surprise attack still leave a shock inside you? I’ve never seen you in a state of panic and uncertainty until you came back from the Barisan continent."

"Well, to be honest, I still feel shaken, and my heart shudders whenever I remember the sight of Aldrian the Great pulling off something like that while slaughtering millions of devils," Luvier answered.

"But the thing that unsettles me the most is what I heard about Aldrian the Great himself. He is a man full of tricks and truly clever. The most dangerous man is a strong one with a sharp mind, and Aldrian the Great seems to be that kind of person based on the analysis I did."

"We just can’t grasp the real situation we’re in when Aldrian the Great is brought into the picture. We might think we’re safe, but we could already be in his hand, while he’s just watching us foolishly dance to his plan."

The master, seeing that there was nothing wrong with Luvier’s reasoning, began to think about that possibility as well. He did not doubt the words coming from Luvier’s mouth. Luvier was someone he had raised as his right hand. After so long, he no longer doubted Luvier’s capability or loyalty to him.

Luvier also didn’t seem to be lying, despite showing such an uncommon assessment. There was nothing strange about him either.

But then the master gave him a sign with his hand to move closer. Understanding the signal, Luvier leaned his head forward, and the master suddenly placed his hand on Luvier’s head.

"Don’t move. Let me check your memories for a moment," the master said.

Luvier didn’t know why the master did that, but he stayed still and allowed him to proceed.

After a few moments, the master pulled his hand back and nodded to himself.

’There is nothing wrong with his memories. What he said matches what I saw,’ he thought.

There was no anomaly in Luvier’s memories, and the mind seal was still intact without any irregularities. He checked it just in case something had gone wrong with Luvier’s memories or his investigation.

That was because what Luvier believed might not have been the truth, he might simply have believed what someone wanted him to believe. The master only wanted to confirm whether there was a possibility that someone had manipulated Luvier by planting false information, leading him to reach these conclusions.

Unfortunately for the master, he did not know that Aldrian’s method of erasing memories and recreating seals was impeccable. He could make it so that no one would grow suspicious, even if they checked it themselves.

The hypnotic technique cast by Aldrian had already embedded itself deep within Luvier’s subconscious. The master had no idea that, at this very moment, Luvier was already under the effect of hypnosis.

As the master thought about what Luvier had just said, he found the solution given by Luvier to be one possible way out. However, the problem with that solution was that it was not so easy to simply cut ties with the Barevisk family.

He was already deeply entangled with them, especially with Munez, and if he truly wanted to sever everything cleanly, there was only one way.

Just as Luvier had said, they would need to "clean" the entire upper echelon of the Barevisk family who knew about the close relationship between Munez and the Silent Reaper. In other words, they would have to slaughter those people, which would not be easy.

If anything went wrong during the purge, it would turn into a great battle instead, and the Silent Reaper would be at a disadvantage.

There was also the problem with Munez, who seemed to have had a dubious relationship with the devils for a long time. Munez appeared to possess a source of information that could track the devils’ movements anywhere, even those coming from the Fallen Star Cluster.

Take the information about the devils’ surprise attack, for example. That kind of knowledge should have been unknown to everyone else, yet Munez already knew about it but chose not to warn anyone. Even if he didn’t have a direct connection with the devils, the fact that he remained silent despite knowing about the surprise attack already made him a collaborator.

From another point of view, the master himself was not so different from Munez. He had also been informed about the attack beforehand, yet told no one except Luvier. If anyone ever found out, he would be dead, for there was no difference between him and Munez—they would both be considered collaborators of the devils.

Each of them also knew the other’s secrets, which meant they held each other’s throats. If one betrayed the other, both would fall. The information they possessed was enough to bring all of them down together.

That was why, if he really wanted to move against Munez, he had to do it carefully and cleanly, leaving no chance for Munez to escape or reveal their secret.

After thinking for a moment, the master finally spoke.

"I will think about it."

Luvier fell silent for a moment as he saw that the master no longer seemed interested in continuing the conversation. He stared at the master briefly before standing up and walking away into the darkness.

"I hope Master can decide soon. I have a feeling that a storm will soon befall the Barevisk family," Luvier said before the room turned silent.

The master kept looking in Luvier’s direction for a few seconds before taking out a communication artifact from his storage ring and trying to contact someone with it.

"Patriarch Munez, I have something to ask of you."