Chapter 86: Chapter 86: Know Your Place, Pigs

I stared at the maid like she’d just grown a second head. “What do you mean by that?”

She didn’t flinch. “I can tell she sees you as her brother.”

Now I was really lost. “Sees me as what now?”

“I don’t know the exact reason,” she said quietly. “You don’t look like Master Dylan. Not really. But those blue eyes of yours… they match his perfectly. And there’s something else. Something mysterious about you.”

She glanced toward the window.

“When we were watching your tournament match from Madam Diana’s office, she froze. It wasn’t you that shocked her. It was your summon.”

My stomach dropped a little.

“She asked me to confirm what she was seeing. Was that really Archmage Zenos? And when I told her yes, that was indeed Sir Zenos, the summon of late Master Dylan…”

She shook her head slowly. “We were all shocked. Because it should be impossible.”

“Impossible how?”

“When a summoner dies inside a tower, their summons don’t escape. They get trapped in some kind of void. According to legends, they can never leave it. Ever.”

Her eyes searched my face.

“But there he was. Fighting for you. Using his powers again. For Madam Diana, it must have felt like… like something connected you to her dead brother. Maybe the eyes. Maybe the summon. Maybe something else entirely.”

She sighed. “But I can’t say for sure. Madam Diana keeps everything locked inside herself.”

Things were starting to make sense now. That’s why she’d been acting so weird around me. She wasn’t trying to fatten me for slaughter. She was trying to figure me out. Analyze me. Find answers to questions that were eating her alive.

And Zenos? I had my own theory about that.

The pervy god and others made it clear they couldn’t interfere with this world directly. Couldn’t touch it. Same rules probably applied to summons too. When they died in this world, they stayed in their void. Gaining power. Untouchable even by gods.

But what if they died somewhere else? In a tower? Another world? That void between dimensions?

Then maybe the gods could reach them.

That’s exactly what Pervy Lord did. He collected summons who died outside this world’s boundaries. Added them to my system. Locked them behind quests and points for me to unlock.

Every summon I had wasn’t born from this world. They escaped it through death.

Which also meant Diana was a complete fool for thinking I had any connection to her brother.

And she’d lose her mind completely when she saw what I’d turned Zenos into. A perverted menace who’d stick his fist in old women’s asses just like Marcus.

My thoughts got interrupted by one of the men inside raising his voice.

“Think carefully, Diana. We’re doing this for the land. The land our ancestors died protecting. We won’t let it fall to ruin just because one of us has lost her senses.”

He was getting bolder now.

“Do you have any idea how much shame your rule brings us? The merchant protests. The economic failures. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s now a rumor that an underground slave auction was discovered on our sacred island.”

His voice dripped with accusation.

“Do you understand what that means? How did slaves enter our land? Where was security? Is it really that easy to breach our borders?”

He wasn’t done.

“Who was behind it? What kind of person has the guts to run such filth on sacred ground? And most importantly… are the rulers of Azuredel neglecting these issues on purpose?”

Diana had been quiet through most of this garbage. But now her voice cut through. Cold. Sharp. Different from before.

“Azrael mer Balloti.”

The man stumbled over his next words. “W-why are you bringing my name into this? We’re discussing serious—”

“That’s the name of the man who ran that illegal operation.”

Dead silence.

Then panic.

“No… that’s… how dare you accuse me of such—you know I won’t let this slide!”

Diana didn’t let him breathe. “Don’t play fool in front of me. I know it was you. And I don’t need to prove anything. Your own reaction already told the truth.”

Her voice stayed level. Terrifying in its calmness. “You asked how I know? Three days ago, I followed you. I knew you were up to something rotten. Following you led me straight to your underground market. My eyes were on you the entire time.”

I could almost hear the man sweating through the wall.

“After that, I burned your whole operation down. Your dark business? Ruined. And now you come here, acting righteous, trying to dump your own mess on me?”

She laughed. It wasn’t a happy sound. “You’ve been running that filth behind my back for over a year. And you thought you could turn it around on me?”

A pause. Then her voice dropped even lower. “I’ve stayed silent this whole time because I genuinely don’t give a shit about any of you. But that doesn’t mean I’ll stay quiet forever. Push me too far, and all your fears will come true.”

Another pause. “I will become the reason for Azuredel’s downfall. Just not in the way you’re expecting.”

Holy shit. This woman had some fire left in her after all.

But another man spoke up. Trying to regain control.

“Are you seriously threatening us? You understand that if we joined hands, we could change everything about Azuredel overnight. We wouldn’t even need your consent to remove you from that seat.”

His confidence was returning.

“We have power. Resources. And most importantly, we have the people. Citizens who would gladly oppose you.”

He softened his tone. Fake diplomacy.

“But we’re not going dirty. Not yet. We need you to understand the responsibility that comes with the position you’re enjoying so comfortably.”

He got to the point.

“So let’s cut to it. This is your final warning. Your last option. Clear floor eighty. Or hand over seat number one to us. Which means all boss floors transfer to whoever takes that seat. Along with everything attached to it. The headmistress position. All of it.”

The loud woman from before jumped in. “We’re giving you a choice. If you want to keep the seat your ancestors built and ruled, then prove you deserve it.”

No answer came from Diana.

Then the other woman spoke. The one who’d sounded sympathetic earlier. Her voice was soft. Gentle. Almost motherly.

“Dear Diana… think of this as an opportunity. A chance to prove yourself to them.”

She let that sink in. “More than that, it could help you escape your misery. Complete that floor. Get vengeance for Dylan. Show him that you finished what he started.”

Her words turned even sweeter.

“Think of it as a final gift to him. Show him that incident didn’t break you. Shine at the graveyard of your brother. Tell him his sister refuses to give up. That she’ll become the greatest version of herself. Make him watch over you with pride.”

Wow.

What a piece of work this woman was.

For a second there, I almost believed she was on Diana’s side. Almost fell for that caring act. But no. This snake was the worst one in the room. I’d bet my left nut she was the mastermind behind this whole rebellion.

I thought it was three houses against Diana. Turns out all four of them wanted her gone. They just played different roles. Some attacked openly. Some pretended to care.

Same goal. Different masks.

But then something clicked in my head. The slave market. Three days ago.

I turned to the maid. “Three days ago… there was a rumor about Diana destroying an underground slave auction. Was that true?”

She nodded. “Yes. She went alone to investigate. Found the people responsible and tore the whole thing down herself.”

My heart was beating faster.

“Do you remember what she was wearing when she left?”

She thought for a moment. “A dark blue gown. Why?”

Everything fell into place.

The woman at the auction. The one who gave me those platinum coins to save Anastasia. White hair. Green eyes. That cold elegance I couldn’t place.

It was Diana.

It was her the whole fucking time.

That’s why she had so much money but never bid on anything. That’s why she just sat there hissing whenever slaves appeared. She wasn’t shopping. She was hunting.

I was an idiot for not recognizing her. The hair. The presence. Everything matched. I just never connected the dots.

She saved Anastasia. Through me.

And I never even thanked her.

I started walking toward the door.

The maid panicked. “Wait! What are you doing?”

I didn’t stop. Didn’t look back. Just grinned.

“Repaying a debt. And putting down a few pigs who only know how to attack in packs.”

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