"Enigma…" Varian confirmed his guess.
From what he learnt of her so far, she was special.
She could hide from the Abyss' Will.
Her strength reached a level where she could slaughter everyone in Astor Clan's banquet including level 8s.
She could also sneak into the Demon Abyss and kill their princes without alarming the Archdukes.
From the way Charles' yelled her name with utter rage, he could confirm that she was Roxana's killer.
And the specialties she showed so far...she was likely a Hybrid, whatever it meant.
So a year ago, Enigma was able to sneak in and out of guardian islands. She was also a level 8 or maybe level 7.
After coming to a conclusion, Varian looked at Charles outside and squinted his eyes.
He didn't care about how Charles' was feeling.
"Boo, this book can't be opened by unauthorized persons, huh?" Varian asked picking the red journal.
"Yes, master. There is a very special restriction. Even level 9s would find it hard. Of course, it's easy for me." Boo answered.
"Hm..." Varian thought for a while and threw the book into the air. "Burn it and throw it to Charles."
"?!" Boo was surprised but followed his words nonetheless.
Charles came out of the lab room with red eyes. He was still angry about Enigma stealing his aunt's journal.
His strength was lower than hers, but if she didn't have that ability to hide herself, she would have long been dead.
"I'll kill you with my own hands." Charles vowed.
"Hm?" He suddenly turned back and saw a burning object flying towards the ground.
"Explosive?" Charles moved away from it and prepared to take out a star treasure.
But failing to see any other change, a thought crossed his mind and his expression changed.
He dashed to the burning book with all his speed ignoring the special smell in the air.
The book was made of high quality material. But the oil used to light it up was of higher quality and was easily burning away the book.
It was almost burnt when Charles arrived. He didn't even have the time to take out something to put off the fire. In the end, he used his bare hands.
"Damn!"
"Damn!"
Charles' figure turned into a white werewolf and he quickly put off the fire.
All that remained was a red cover.
"…Aunt." Charles muttered and raised his head to the sky to in rage.
"I dare you appear in front of me. You coward! You only do things in the dark." He said in rage.
Varian was enjoying the expression of pain on Charles' face. Listening to his provocations, he yawned.
"Adjust my voice a little, Boo." He said.
Then Charles heard a deep voice seemingly coming out of nowhere.
"Xanders, I love to break it to you, but you are on my hit list. To be precise, my extermination list."
The voice sent chills down Charle's spine. He desperately tried to use his senses to detect the source of the voice. But he failed.
"By extermination…" The voice paused for a moment and turning colder, it continued. "I mean killing every single thing related to you. The thousand, two hundred and sixty seven Xander family people living today, everyone will be killed.
The name of Xanders will be wiped off Earth. And all the traces of your existence will be cleared."
"Y-You!" Charles' pupils shrunk at the voice.
Who the hell was so bold to make such claims? In the guardian islands of all places!
"I'm 'Dreamer'. Trust me, Charles Xander." The Dreamer's voice turned warm.
"I am so compassionate that I didn't decide to kill your friends, their families and everyone related to them. I don't like genocides, do I?" He said in a musing tone.
"Bastard!" Charles punched into the air.
Boom!
The wind exploded and the shockwaves shook the entire lab.
The ghost ship, of course, was stable and unaffected.
Varian looked at Charles and smiled. "I have one more gift for you."
Charles' body trembled and for the first time since Varian knew him, an emotion of fear appeared on his face.
He was trying to contact the guards through his comm and other devices since he heard the voice.
But none of them were working!
"Don't worry, I won't kill you now. I need you to grow up." Dreamer's voice was nonchalant.
"Unlike others, you will break the bottleneck and advance to level 7 much faster." He said.
Charles flinched and took a step back instinctively. "H-how?!"
He never said this to anyone. The one who was responsible for this was his aunt.
But she promised him that she never revealed it to anyone. The only place she would write such things would in her journal. Ah!
He cracked the journal and read it!
"Damn it!" Charles clenched his fist in helplessness.
"I will kill you after you advance. So just wash your neck and wait. And my gift to you is a piece of information. Do you know how did your grandfather die?" The Dreamer's voice was full of teasing.
"Martyred." Charles corrected with anger. "My grandfather, Sovereign Ceaser, succumbed to his injuries after killing the Old Demon King."
It was a well known story throughout Earth. A modern day legend of the battle that captivated the imaginations of billions.
In a way, it cemented the position of Xander family as the Guardians Of Earth.
Even though Charles wanted the acknowledgement of his father, he adored his grandfather more.
Despite being less talented than Julius, his biography was better than any heroic fantasy.
The Xander family was its peak under Julius, but it was only under Sovereign Ceaser that Earth had an explosive growth of strength.
So using 'dead' was not only inappropriate but also insulting.
"Martyred, huh?" The Dreamer's voice sounded. "I wish that was the case too. Your grandfather was a great man. I wonder how his descendants turned out to be the cheapest scums. If he knew the state you are in today, he'll kill everyone of you himself."
"Stop dreaming." Charles growled.
"I can't. I'm the 'Dreamer' after all. In addition, I also have the habit of making my dreams come true. So in your grandfather's stead, I'll kill you all and pay my respects to him." The Dreamer responded in a lazy tone.
"…is this the secret you want to say?" Charles said after a long silence.
"My bad, I almost forgot. The secret is…your dad killed your grandfather. Sovereign Ceaser returned home after killing the Old Demon King with heavy injuries and tsk, he got stabbed in the back." Dreamer said with mockery.
Charles' body trembled and he opened his mouth to counter. But strangely, no words came out.
"Don't refute me, Charles. You know the truth yourself. Your aunt never liked your father, did she? Didn't she always advice you to stay away from him?
Why do you think a sister would hate her brother so much? Hm?" The Dreamer said in a devilish voice.
Charles' face paled. In the back of his mind, this was always one of the reason. The one he ignored.
But now that the dots connected, he felt his head dizzy and something warm and sweet in his throat.
"Cough." Charles coughed out blood.
"Tsk. I was expecting better mental quality. To think my goal was surpassing this guy, I was degrading myself." Varian clicked his tongue looking at Charles' sorry figure.
A month ago, he set what seemed to be a grand goal at that time—to surpass Charles in a year...but now, Varian was already feeling it was too small.
He had grown too much, too quick.
Turning to Boo, he ordered. "Outta this place."
The lab door opened again and the ghost ship dashed out of the guardian islands.