Keryu stood frozen in place. His mind reeled as his carefully laid plans shattered in an instant. His eyes remained locked on Barbara, but it wasn’t just her cold hostility that disturbed him—it was her very presence.

Barbara was supposed to arrive later, days from now. And more importantly, she wasn’t supposed to look like this.

The woman standing before him bore a striking resemblance to Cecilia, one of the story’s heroines who was supposed to arrive here in a few days, but she wasn’t here.

She wasn’t Cecilia.

She was older and stronger.

This wasn’t right.

He would’ve accepted it if she was Cecilia since the plot was altered. But again, she wasn’t.

Right now, there was a possibility that one of the heroines in the plot had been removed. Killed.

Keryu clenched his fists, his thoughts racing. The world was shifting beneath his feet, and he had no idea why. His knowledge—the knowledge that had once given him an overwhelming advantage—was now betraying him at every turn.

It wasn’t just the number of Star Connection Realm experts in the castle that was wrong.

It wasn’t just the strength of the organization that had inexplicably grown.

Even the timing, the faces, the very foundation of what he knew, was crumbling apart.

For the first time in a long time, Keryu felt uncertainty coil around him like a suffocating grip.

‘What the hell is happening?’

Natasha remained silent beside him, her presence steady and composed, but Keryu could tell she was assessing the situation as intently as he was. They were at a disadvantage—massively so.

He took a slow, deliberate step back, lowering his posture and forcing his instincts to settle.

A bold approach would be suicide. He had no choice but to play this carefully.

“I seem to have done something to warrant your hostility,” Keryu said, his voice calm and measured. “If I have offended you, I apologize. I have no intention of causing trouble.”

Barbara didn’t move. Her emerald eyes were like ice, sharp and unreadable. “This place doesn’t like outsiders.”

That wasn’t an explanation. It was a dismissal, a warning.

Keryu narrowed his eyes, but he remained silent, choosing instead to observe. The tension in Barbara’s stance was unmistakable, but it wasn’t entirely directed at him. No—he recognized that look.

It was the same expression he had seen on the faces of the people he and Natasha had passed through on their way here.

This wasn’t about him.

Barbara’s hostility was directed elsewhere, but because of that unknown target, he had been lumped into the same category.

He wasn’t the enemy she truly despised—he was merely caught in the crossfire of her hatred.

Keryu took a slow breath, reassessing the situation.

He had originally planned to take over this organization, to bend it to his will and use its influence to further his goals. But that wasn’t an option anymore.

He and Natasha were both outmatched. There was no room for arrogance here—only survival.

Lowering his head slightly, Keryu reached into his spatial pouch and pulled out a large, tightly wrapped package. With a smooth motion, he unwrapped a portion of it, revealing a bundle of carefully preserved, high-quality meat.

“I have no ill intentions,” he said smoothly. “I only wish to speak and learn a few things. Consider this a gift—a token of goodwill.” He lifted the meat slightly. “Please, allow me inside.”

A ripple of reaction moved through the gathered subordinates behind Barbara.

He didn’t miss the way some of their gazes locked onto the meat, their expressions shifting with interest, longing even. Keryu had chosen his offering well—food, especially something as rich and rare as quality meat, was a weakness to those struggling in the ruined city.

Hunger was a powerful motivator, even for warriors. He had come prepared to turn the whole city of starving citizens into his loyal supporters with just meat. Expending some of them here wouldn’t be a problem.

It was all for the sake of his plans to succeed. This place was something he must have.

Barbara, however, was unmoved.

Her eyes flickered with something akin to irritation, though Keryu could tell it wasn’t entirely directed at him. No—she was more frustrated by the response of her people.

Keryu suppressed a smirk. He had predicted this.

She didn’t trust him. That much was clear. And if given the choice, she would have rejected his offer outright. But her subordinates were already looking at her, waiting, expecting.

Barbara knew exactly what Keryu had done—he had placed her in a position where denying him meant denying them. Her jaw tightened, and for a moment, Keryu thought she might reject him anyway, just to spite him.

But in the end, even Barbara couldn’t ignore the reality before her.

She let out a slow breath through her nose before turning sharply on her heel. “Follow me.”

The tension in the air shifted immediately. The moment she accepted, her subordinates relaxed ever so slightly, their grips on their weapons loosening, though their wariness toward Keryu remained.

Keryu, suppressing his own internal victory, nodded respectfully and followed Barbara through the massive castle gates, Natasha silently stepping beside him.

As he walked, his mind churned. He had secured a temporary foothold, but that was all it was—temporary.

He had avoided outright hostility, but he was still in the heart of unknown territory, surrounded by forces stronger than him.

And Barbara…

He would have to tread carefully around her. Unlike the others, she wasn’t an easy piece to manipulate.

‘But she’s… desirable,’ he thought, his eyes tracing her curves, but he soon shook his head, waving those thoughts away… for now.

Something—or someone—had changed the course of this world. And Keryu would find out who.

………………….

After a while.

Keryu sat rigidly in the dimly lit hall of the broken castle, his fingers pressed together as his mind raced with a storm of thoughts. Across from him, Barbara remained composed, her emerald eyes sharp and unwavering.

The faint flickering of torches cast their shadows along the cracked walls, but neither seemed to pay attention to the decrepit state of their surroundings.

He clenched his fists under the table, his body stiff with barely restrained anger.

After talking to Barbara, exchanging information, and understanding the situation, the realization had struck him like a hammer to the chest—Alex had arrived here before him.

Not only had he found this place, but he had also already moved to the trial ground where Lilia was supposed to be.

Many things were strange here. From the fact that there was a being killing anyone who approached the trial palace to the fact that Lilia was brought here by vampires. The biggest question he had right now, however, was none of them.

‘How did Alex even know about this city?’

Yes. How? This place was supposed to be unknown to all other than Lilia and Keryu.

The more he thought about it, the more unsettling the answer became.

Was Alex another transmigrator? Or perhaps a reincarnator? The mere possibility sent a cold shiver down his spine.

He had never delved deep into Alex’s origins before.

Why would he? The man had powerful backers, and Keryu had more immediate concerns than stirring the hornet’s nest. But now he regretted his ignorance. The pieces weren’t fitting together; they were only fueling his growing frustration.

Barbara watched him in silence, studying the way his jaw clenched and his knuckles whitened. She was no fool. There was rage in his eyes—a burning, personal kind of rage.

“You hate him,” she stated bluntly, breaking the silence.

Keryu’s eyes snapped up to hers. He momentarily hesitated before exhaling through his nose, his gaze dark and unwavering. “He has stolen many things from me. He has killed people from my side. And now, he is here.”

Now that it had come to this, he would use Barbara to take care of Alex. Maybe this was the chance to remove that variable once and for all.

Barbara’s fingers twitched slightly at his words. The weight of his statement lingered between them.

She had not expected this. Their situation was eerily familiar.

She leaned forward slightly, her expression unreadable. “Stolen from you? Killed your people?” Her voice held a strange note, as if she were trying to confirm something within herself.

“Yes.” Keryu’s voice was laced with quiet fury. “And I don’t even know how he found this place.”

He had heard from Barbara about all that Alex had done. He was using it for his own profit, and it was not like he was lying.

Yes, it was true that the people he said Alex had killed were killed by his own hands, but that was all because of Alex messing up his plans.

Barbara’s lips parted slightly, her gaze narrowing. This—this was too much of a coincidence.

She wasn’t a fool. She knew that Keryu could be using her words, but the hate she saw in his eyes was real.

Barbara wanted to test Keryu out. She wanted to see how much truth his words had, but before a single word could leave her lips, a deafening boom shattered the heavy air.

BOOOOOMMMMM!!

The ground trembled beneath them, dust cascading from the cracked ceiling as the walls rumbled.

The force of the impact sent a shockwave rippling through the hall, and both Keryu and Barbara instantly turned toward the entrance, only to see one of Barbara’s subordinates rushing toward them, an expression of panic marring his face.

“B-BOSS!! H-He’s here!”

That was all he said, but everyone in the hall knew who he was talking about.

Alex was here.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep