There was another one! The revolutionaries, regrouping in the hall, plunged into despair upon seeing Mario flanked by two Relic Users. Their despair quickly turned to confusion and anger.
It was obvious their plan had been leaked. Mario had been well-informed about their every move, evident from the fact that he had called in another Relic User, one possessing a “control-type” Relic. The intent was painfully clear.
So, where had they gone wrong? Where had their information been compromised?
This was the burning question in the minds of the revolutionaries, now trapped within the mansion.
At this moment, Leng, who had been silent and pretended to be injured, spoke out. He shifted to an angry demeanor, as if he had anticipated this, and directed his venomous gaze towards Ashe, standing next to Nozomi.
“Ashe! It was you! Did you betray us to these humans!”
Whoosh!
With Leng’s accusation, all eyes of the revolutionaries turned to Ashe in an instant. Upstairs, Mario chuckled lightly. With victory assured and the rebel demi-humans unable to escape, why not enjoy their final moments of infighting and struggle? It was the kind of drama he relished.
“No, I didn’t! It wasn’t me! I never…”
Feeling the suspicious, questioning, angry, and even hateful glares from her comrades, Ashe instinctively began to frantically defend herself.
Before Ashe could finish her plea, Leng, as if expecting her response, interrupted her.
“Even now, you still try to deny it! Should I expose your affair with that human noble?”
With Leng’s words, the looks from many revolutionaries changed.
Indeed.
They all knew Ashe had been sent to get close to a human noble, but strangely, a week later, the mission was called off, and Ashe returned unharmed. Now, Leng’s insinuations made the answer seem obvious.
“Ashe… you!”
“Why would you betray us!”
“I knew it! Cat race are a bunch of unreliable scum!”
“No, this can’t be true, Ashe…”
The reproaches and questions from her comrades flooded Ashe’s ears, along with their angry, frenzied, and contorted faces.
Fortunately, Jiu, who was close to Ashe, stood up for her, still willing to believe in Ashe.
However, Leng’s next statement left even Ashe stunned and soon dropping her head, unable to muster a defense.
“Yes, I also believe Ashe wouldn’t do this, but Ashe, have you ever thought that the human noble was just using you? All his kindness, everything, was just to make you lower your guard! To let you inadvertently leak our information to him!”
Each word from Leng hit Ashe like a hammer, leaving her feeling as if struck by lightning.
‘Could it be…’
‘The leave…’
It was because she truly saw herself as a member of Mr. Renji’s household, abiding by the terms of the “contract.” She had taken leave today to free up time for this operation.
And if Mr. Renji really was connected to Mario, then based on her leave request, he could deduce the revolutionaries’ movements and lay an ambush.
The logic had its flaws – Ashe could only have revealed the “date” of the operation, but not the target, location, or specific timing.
But Ashe, already overwhelmed by guilt from Leng’s accusations, was no longer in a state to think this through.
In her mind, one question echoed relentlessly.
‘So, Mr. Renji, No. 86, and Miss Eileen, all the happiness and beauty I felt… it was all fake, an illusion created to deceive me. And I fell for it, hopelessly entangled, even growing fond of Mr. Renji…’
Her cherished memories of the past week, once precious recollections in Ashe’s mind, now burned away like paper, turning to ashes.
After the pain and regret came deep self-blame.
‘It is my fault…’
‘All because of my naivety, my foolishness, my inability to resist temptation. I had doomed them all. It was me…My fault…’
Thump*
Ashe fell to her knees, tears of guilt soaking her eyes, dripping onto the floor.
Seeing Ashe in this state of self-condemnation, Leng smiled, feeling satisfaction.
Was Ashe the leak?
Of course not.
A bit of thought would reveal that even if Ashe wanted to, she couldn’t have leaked anything. She wasn’t privy to the specific details and plans of the operation, let alone capable of divulging them.
The real betrayer was Leng himself.
Leng had not shared his secret plan with the rebel demi-humans, as requested by the demi-human, Roca. This plan needed the revolutionaries as bait to draw out Mario, the two Relic Wilder, and the elite Army forces in the Sealed City.
The drama unfolding now was a spur-of-the-moment addition by Leng.
He just didn’t like Ashe.
So, he concocted a plan to conveniently splatter this dirty water onto her.
After all, he resented those demi-humans who grew close to humans. Why? Humans were their mortal enemies, the oppressors and enslavers of their kind. All humans deserved death! And any demi-human who dared to get close to them deserved it even more! They should be like this cat girl, bearing the stigma, facing thousand cuts and dismemberment!
‘Yes’ .
‘Thousand cuts and dismemberment!’
“Kill her! Kill the traitor!”
Leng, without hesitation, raised his blade toward Ashe, its cold gleam reaching her neck. He wanted this cat-girl to remember, wanted the other revolutionaries to know the price of fraternizing with humans.
Upstairs, Mario watched with even greater pleasure.
He reveled in this spectacle of internal strife, hoping for more, much more…
Bang!*
An unexpected gunshot abruptly halted the escalating drama.
The bullet accurately struck the blade in Leng’s hand, deflecting his attack on Ashe.
“What!?”
Leng initially thought the shot came from Mario’s Army upstairs, but when he saw Mario also looking surprised and confused, Leng felt an ominous chill.
Then, the Relic Wilder holding the “compass” showing the first signs of shock, was the quickest to realize the implications.
“How can this be! The barrier, it’s impossible! How can this happen!”
Indeed, the Relic User’s panicked statements made everyone realize that the sniper shot had come from outside!
It’s no wonder the Relic User was in such a state of panic. He had used the “Relic” for many years and had experienced its barriers being violently breached before. But today was different; it was as if he suddenly lost control of the “Relic” like a locked door easily opened with a key by someone else. This shocking revelation was enough to throw him into disarray.
No, it was even worse. It was as if the intruder changed the lock after opening the door, making his key useless. He had completely lost control of the Relic compass. The Relic was still active, enveloping the mansion, but the control was no longer in his hands!
The Relic User beside Mario broke into a sweat, and no matter how desperately he tried, the Relic no longer responded to him.
‘What in the world is happening?’
The answer was soon revealed.
The solution to this mystery was a sinister, terrifying laugh that echoed in the ears of everyone inside the mansion – Leng, the cornered revolutionaries, and the confident Mario and his Army.
“Hahahaha~!”
Accompanying this laugh, entering through the front door of the mansion, as if sealed by the “Relic,” was a certain noble young man.
And following him, one on each side, were two figures.
One, a girl with a twisted smile, walking with a ruthless stride, yet emanating a strong Miasma aura.
And the other, an expressionless maid tucking away a smoking sniper rifle under her skirt….
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