During the time Luke had been away, he worried that his bond with Allison might have grown cold. They’d barely had a moment to talk since reuniting, on the very night they were thrown into the assault on the second fortress. But seeing her now, hearing her voice, he felt a quiet relief. She was still herself.

Only this time, her expression hardened. What she was about to say touched on wounds from her past and, at the same time, on the powers that ruled the world itself, the World Government.

“We never had the chance to talk after I revealed myself as a Rhiannon,” she said.

“It was during the ant attack in the Safe Zone. That night… too many things happened at once,” Luke recalled.

His mind flashed back to Bartholomew’s appearance at Haven. Maybe the man’s supposed desperation had been nothing but theater, a performance to make them underestimate him. But it was that night Luke also learned the truth: Allison belonged to one of the ruling families of the world, alongside Erza Grimhart.

“Mason comes from a noble family too, but beneath mine in status,” she continued. “He’s half phoenix.”

That made Luke pause. “So everyone in the World Government has a bloodline?”

“Yes and no,” she said carefully. “Some families do, others don’t. But the most powerful ones always have it. And the bloodline isn’t some gift dropped into our laps. It’s hereditary.”

He turned sharply toward her. “Wait, you said your power came from a dragon. So you were born with it?”

“I was born half dragon. I didn’t become another race the way you did. But I also inherited my mentor’s bloodline,” she explained.

Luke’s mind began connecting all the fragments of knowledge he’d gathered, what Allison had admitted before, what Angelica told him about Erza Grimhart, and what Samael had revealed to him about gods and divine orders.

“Born half dragon… your whole family? How is that even possible?”

He had become half demon through Azazel’s blood, but what she was describing was different. She and her kin were never fully human to begin with.

“How do you think a god ensures the absolute loyalty of a ruling family?” she asked. “There are rules. Why do you think the gods empower chosen families instead of just sending their armies to overrun our universe, or stepping in themselves? The rules forbid it. Otherwise our world would’ve been stripped bare by stronger universes ages ago.”

She stared down at her own hands. “They need champions. Someone from within the target universe to rise, to push beyond limits, to claim everything. That’s how conquest works. Not by invasion, but by making one of us powerful enough to conquer in their name.”

“I see…” Luke muttered under his breath.

“But it isn’t all blood and war. There’s faith, religion, orders, worship,” she went on. “Not every god rules through fear. Most prefer devotion. They want to be adored. Gods are vain. Still, some families are chosen above all others. And how do you strengthen those families?”

“By giving them a bloodline?” he guessed.

“Yes. But not every being grows strong enough to pass down their power. Which is why there’s a second method, one the divine orders favor most.”

Luke leaned forward. “What is it?”

“Marriage,” she said simply.

He frowned, taken off guard by the weight of that single word.

“A powerful god has millions of worshippers across the multiverse. So, in the past, those World Government families… you know the old stories about offering a virgin as sacrifice in divine rituals? Well, there’s a grain of truth in them. The god doesn’t simply demand blood. He arranges a marriage.”

The explanation kept flowing, steady and deliberate. “Back in the first generation of the system on Earth, gods offered members of their own orders to marry chosen humans. The children of those unions became the first noble families. That’s how the families that rule today were formed.”

She leaned in, lowering her voice slightly. “None of them are entirely human. Part of their blood comes from another universe. Including mine. I’m half human, but one of my ancestors married a dragon.”

A sharp piece slid into place in Luke’s mind. It even explained why Samael once told him he couldn’t just get anyone pregnant at random.

“So, wait… your ancestor way back when actually had to… you know, with a dragon?”

Her cheeks turned red. “No, idiot. A dragon that strong can take a humanoid form.”

“Oh. Right. Makes more sense.” He scratched the back of his neck. “So that means your entire line is naturally half dragon.”

“We’re born with that race influence in the system. But some noble families have their own bloodline skills passed down like a legacy, unique only to them. And then there’s the other kind, the ones tied to a Unique Skill, like yours. From what I understand, your case is different. You weren’t born into it. You were adopted into a demon family.”

Adopted? It had been obvious all along, but he’d never stopped to frame it that way. I was adopted by Azazel.

His eyes drifted up toward the ceiling as the thought sank in. Somewhere out there, does that mean I have a demon father?

What that implied for his future, he didn’t know. But he was certain of one thing: somewhere in the endless multiverse, that Darkness was waiting for him.

“So in the end, Mason, Erza, and I… none of us are completely human,” Allison said, pulling him back into the moment.

Through marriage, a god could bind a family. Control their descendants.

Luke turned the thought over, comparing it to the concept of investment he’d learned. It was the perfect long term strategy. Choose a representative within a world, grant them professions and classes to climb the system, help them rise, and then tie them to your order through marriage. The next generation wouldn’t be entirely of Earth. They’d be loyal to a foreign bloodline, and by extension, to the divine order behind it.

“Seems like all of this is a lot bigger than I ever imagined,” he admitted quietly.

“I don’t know how you got your bloodline, and it’s probably better if I never find out. But now you at least understand how things work. You can see why my situation is complicated. Mason might belong to a lesser house than mine, but he’ll always have deeper training and strategy drilled into him. He was raised for it from the start.”

Luke understood. If she had been raised properly as a noble, she would have mastered the system. But being cut off from her family explained much of what he’d always wondered about her. Still, one question lingered, sharper than before: why would her own blood reject her? Why would parents scorn their own child?

That puzzle called Allison had gained more pieces, but the gaps had only widened.

“I think… it’s better if we change the subject,” she said after a pause, her tone soft but final.

“Better,” Luke agreed.

He’d already gathered more than enough information, but what struck him wasn’t the content of her words, it was the fact that she had chosen to open up at all. She hadn’t been prompted, hadn’t been pushed. She’d simply let it spill, the same way he had with Evangeline not long ago. And that realization hit him harder than expected. He never liked talking about himself, never liked peeling back the layers. But homesickness, the weight of this cursed place, and the pressure of everything riding on them made him realize just how much it mattered to have someone to confide in.

Allison’s gaze drifted to the stone walls around them. “In the past, you and I stumbled across this fortress in the middle of chaos. Do you remember? We were running from the orcs.”

“Oh, I remember,” Luke said with a dry chuckle. “We had to cut our way through a whole swarm of them… and I was missing an arm at the time.”

They lingered on that memory, on the bloody clash with the Orc General, and how they had thrown themselves into the river while the horde glared down at them from the bank.

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“And then you killed the Orc Lord,” he said, a small grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I wish I’d been there to see that.”

“You’re the one who killed the general,” she reminded him. “That gave us the chance to explore the forest, to settle, to build bases. Without that, we’d never have held the ground.”

Heavy footsteps echoed in the corridor, cutting their memories short. Both of them turned toward the door as it creaked open.

Evangeline stepped inside, her expression sharp. “I have news,” she announced. “Jerry just returned. He brought word from Bastion.”

***

There were other ways to keep an eye on Bastion besides Haven’s spies, and the most reliable one was Jerry. Evangeline’s familiar, a black crow with uncanny intelligence, was perfect for the job. He could slip past notice, deliver updates quickly, and even travel at night without fear of being hunted down by the Midnight Wardens. Flying predators still posed a threat, but according to Evangeline, Jerry had a few tricks that kept him alive.

“Jerry!” the bird croaked from her shoulder.

The group had gathered again in the war room.

“Jerry! Jerry!” the crow kept repeating, his voice harsh but oddly fitting in the tense silence.

Most of his report confirmed what they already suspected: Bastion had made no move. That all but guaranteed Bartholomew hadn’t been alerted. But there was something else.

“Your friend was released from prison yesterday,” Evangeline said, scratching the crow’s neck as she spoke. “Jerry kept an eye on him to make sure he wasn’t being followed. Seems he’s free, back to working as a lumberjack.”

“Friend?” Allison asked, arching a brow.

“Wait. You mean Jack?” Luke’s voice carried a spark of recognition.

“That’s him,” Evangeline confirmed.

Every eye in the room turned toward Luke.

“You know Jack Bean?” Mason asked. “One of Bastion’s healers?”

“Ex-healer,” Luke corrected. “And yes, he’s with us. Believe me.”

He looked straight at Allison. “Bringing Thiara here might raise suspicion. What if we recruit Jack instead? He’s a healer.”

“And risk dragging in someone who could rat us out?” Dustin snapped. “Are you stupid?”

Luke leaned forward, his tone sharp. “I’ve been in this longer than you. How long have you even known about this fortress? A few days? I was here when orcs patrolled these walls, when stepping outside meant a death sentence. After that, I had to cross into another zone of the tutorial and nearly died a dozen times. If I were as stupid as you think, I’d be long dead.”

The room fell quiet.

“Can he be trusted?” Allison asked at last.

“As much as anyone else in this room,” Luke replied. “As much as the soldiers standing outside. What matters is he wants out of this nightmare. He wants to go back to Earth. That’s enough reason for him to help.”

He chose not to mention that he knew Jack had been warned by the goddess he served about the favor she owed to Samael, since that would force him to bring up too many things he didn’t want to.

“All right,” Allison said, her voice firm. “Evangeline, can you guide him part of the way here?”

“I’ll send Jerry with a letter from Luke,” she answered. “Tell him to meet at a specific point in the Wild Zone. From there, Luke can bring him in.”

The meeting carried on, the leaders discussing their next steps.

“And the riddle for the third mechanism?” Mason pressed.

“Nothing yet,” Allison replied. “Until it appears, one of us needs to stay here in the fortress. We can’t risk missing it.”

That was the priority now. The second fortress would eventually reveal the riddle, the key to unlocking the third mechanism.

***

Allison spent the rest of the morning buried in meetings, but Luke had already slipped away. He wandered through the forest, mapping out the edges of the Safe Zone. There was another problem they hadn’t accounted for. All across the perimeter, magical torches had flared back to life, marking the boundaries. Once night fell, their glow would be visible for miles.

He had taken it upon himself to snuff them out. The torches could be relit later with ordinary fire, but as they were now, they burned endlessly. He needed them dark before sundown.

As he moved from one to the next, a rustle of footsteps came through the underbrush. Luke’s hand went instinctively to his throwing knives.

“It’s just me,” Mason called, appearing before Luke could throw.

Luke lowered the blades and turned back to the torches.

“Figured I’d help. I’ve got a skill that lets me sense nearby flames. If you miss one, I’ll catch it. Better than leaving even a single torch burning after nightfall.” Mason gave a quick laugh and climbed atop the remains of a collapsed house, scanning the area.

“And when night comes?” Luke asked without looking up. “How are we organizing this?”

“Best option is to keep everyone inside the fortress. That place barely has windows, so whatever light’s inside won’t draw attention. Sure, the Midnight Wardens won’t be a problem anymore, but this forest is crawling with monsters.”

“I know,” Luke muttered under his breath.

Mason dropped down from the rubble and stepped closer. “Now that it’s clear we’re on the same side, I hope you don’t hold a grudge about our first meeting.”

Luke paused in his work. “I don’t waste energy on grudges that small.”

“Your reputation wasn’t great,” Mason went on. “Most believed you killed a friend just to save your own skin, stealing his experience to heal yourself. Someone like that? Nobody wants near them, especially not on a mission like this. You get my perspective now?”

Luke nodded.

Mason extended a hand. “Start fresh?”

Luke clasped it. “I suppose so.”

A brief, awkward silence hung between them, heavy enough to feel unnatural.

“Well… I’ll cover another area for torches,” Mason finally said.

“Fine by me.”

Mason turned and left.

Luke gave him time to get well out of sight before continuing. He wanted space, a stretch of forest without eyes on him. There were things he needed to do without being watched.

“Finally,” Franky’s voice grumbled from the stone. “Those boring human conversations are over.”

Luke sat down on a rock, pulling out a can of food from his necklace. Breakfast would have to be simple; the day promised to be long.

“I thought Artemis would be the first to say something,” he muttered.

“I was about to,” Artemis replied, her tone sly. “But apparently someone gets shy about butting into your little chats.”

“Shut it!” Franky snapped.

Luke scooped another bite from the tin. “So, what did you think of the fight? I even made an acid pool in your honor.”

Franky clicked his tongue. “If you didn’t die, why should I bother talking to you?”

“Well, kind of hard to talk to me if I’m dead, isn’t it?”

That only seemed to puzzle Franky further.

Luke chewed, swallowed, and leaned back. “You’ve been stuck in that stone long enough. Want out? How about forging a familiar pact with me?”

“We’ll never be friends. You’re my greatest enemy,” Franky snapped.

“Still on that? I thought you’d gotten over it by now.”

“Would you make peace with your enemy?!”

“Isn’t that the point? Why else would I even consider making my enemy my familiar? By your logic, shouldn’t I just kill you?”

“You’re trying to trick me. I won’t listen,” Franky growled.

“I think you’re the one fooling yourself.”

Luke tilted his head back, watching the first hints of dawn creep across the sky, then lowered his gaze to the necklace resting against his chest.

“You do realize,” he said slowly, “that if I wanted to, I could toss you into the bottom of a river and leave you there forever. The second I walk away from that stone, there’s no coming back. I could bury you here, turn my back, and you’d spend eternity trapped, regretting that you didn’t take my offer.”

“I wouldn’t regret it,” Franky muttered.

“And what if I handed you off to someone else? Would you accept being their familiar? You’d finally have a chance to hurt me.”

“Another human? Never. Drop me in a river then. I’d rather rot in silence than ever serve another human. I’d choose eternal prison or destruction over that.”

“So… you’d only accept being my familiar?”

Franky clicked his tongue, sharp and irritated. “Don’t twist this. I talk to you because I want to see you dead. That’s it. If you gave me to someone else, I wouldn’t say a word. I’d sit in silence forever. I’d never acknowledge another human besides my enemy.”

“What about another creature? Say, a hulking iron-boned skeleton?”

“No. I wouldn’t speak to anyone else, and I sure as hell wouldn’t go as far as forming a pact.”

“You’re complicated,” Luke muttered.

With that, he shoved Franky into his inventory. In there, the spirit couldn’t hear or see anything, and Luke wasn’t about to risk him blurting out nonsense now that he had more people to deal with.

“Alright, Artemis. The plan to make him Charlie’s familiar isn’t working out,” Luke admitted.

“Hm…” she murmured thoughtfully. “So he refuses to go to anyone else, but he still insists on staying with you?”

“Exactly. The guy’s insane. He’d rather sit there as a useless rock just to watch me suffer.”

“Only with you…” Artemis whispered.

Luke frowned. “What are you getting at?”

“Nothing,” she said softly.

***

Luke set out on his mission to bring Jack back to the fortress. They needed a healer, and Jack would fill that role. It had taken longer than he liked, waiting for the raven to deliver the message, then return with confirmation that Jack was safe to approach, but now the way was clear.

He scaled the ropes along the cliffside, muttering under his breath. Getting up was fine for him, but bringing others through this path, especially children, would be a nightmare. Hurling yourself off a cliff into a river was not exactly the safest option. The only real alternative was guiding people through the forest upstream in the Wild Zone. That route used to be dangerous thanks to the orcs, but with them gone it had become easier to cross. The problem was obvious: it was the same river Bartholomew’s forces used, and the most accessible stretches were patrolled by his militia.

“Always a new problem waiting,” Luke grumbled as he hauled himself over the last ridge.

He moved through the ruins of the abandoned city until he reached a half-collapsed house. Pushing inside, he sat down and pulled up the system interface, not his own, but Charlie’s.

“Finally,” he murmured. “Time to see what she unlocked.”

The moment had come to examine her new skills.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep