The charred dark wood of Lady Esther’s desk absorbed most of the light that shined from the chandelier above. Leah shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she scrolled through her tablet.

Glancing up at the red haired matriarch of the Ann family, she always wondered how the Lady had maintained her youth that targeted the age of 28. But Aur was full of secrets that one shouldn’t ask. She too had her own secrets that would be questioned by the family.

“The Silver Lions are gone from Ontario and Quebec,” Leah said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “We’ve wiped them out completely. Our teams took out their last holdout in Old Montreal three days ago.”

“And the west coast?”

“Still some pockets in Vancouver and Victoria. Nothing significant. There are scout reports suggesting that there’s a bunker in Northwest Territory. If heavily fortified, we might have to expend a couple of squads to break in.” Leah swiped to the next page on her tablet. “However, advisors say that the enemy is scattered. Without central leadership, they’ll collapse within weeks, at most months.”

“Good. No need to chase them in their territory. Just blockade possible locations. They’ll eventually come out of their hiding.” Esther picked up her still steaming teacup. “And the spoils of war?”

Leah nodded with a smile. “We got everything. All their money and weapons as well as everything related to Project Armament, Project Threshold, and…” She paused, scrolling down further on her tablet. “And a file called ‘Mel.’ We’re still trying to figure out who or what that is.”

“Mel?” Esther put down her cup. The tea boiled almost instantly before settling back. “Show me.”

Leah turned her tablet around. The singular PDF file’s title displayed “Mel” with a big red classified tag. She continued scrolling further down the documents until Esther nodded, which was the signal to stop.

“Interesting. And what do you think of this Mel, Leah?”

“Evidence suggests that it might be a hidden Aurian, an anomaly, that has been backing the Silver Lions for a long time.” Leah cleared her throat. “We’ve seized more documentation that points to the name ‘Mel’ that suggests most actions devised by the Silver Lions were partly this entity’s suggestion.”

“Are you suggesting she also had something to do with the dust network and distribution of the Silver Lions?” Esther asked.

Leah gulped. How did the Lady know that this entity named Mel was a she or even a person? It sounded like a feminine name, but it could be a hermital being or an intelligent divine beast. Otherwise, anyone above mystic that lives in Aurian society would’ve been already registered, and that would’ve been the only way they could elude the family.

“No… I mean, evidence and documentation point to this Mel being behind a lot of the decisions that happened with the schism of the Silver Lions and Spotlight,” Leah said.

“Interesting, indeed,” Esther took another sip of her tea. “And how is Rachel doing?”

Leah’s expression softened, almost beaming into a smile. “She’s safe and sound! A squad in patrol detected a rift exit at around Oshawa’s industrial complex and took her back to the Ann Family mansion.”

“And the rift?”

“Based on the rift residue’s signature, Rachel and her friends went into an unclassified rift. Her phone’s logs had been dated at May 2, 2070, which means that the time dilated was approximately 1:5 earth to rift time.”

“And the ones you called her friends? How are they?”

“Looks like the rising stars of this generation all looks to be healthy except maybe the tallest one. He had a big bite on his butt which made him quite difficult to transport to a hospital since he wouldn’t really cooperate on sitting or lying down—”

“Leah.”

Leah cleared her throat. “All safe and sound. One note that the squad had given was that Gale Hathie had advanced to Attuned.”

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“Attuned in a month.” Esther repeated the words slowly. “Interesting.”

And that in of itself was an anomaly. Usually, Aurians advance only after a rift run, not during. The Lady and Gerard were particularly interested in the boy. Even Rachel was. The gleam of her eyes, the flush on her cheeks, the gasp of her breath whenever she saw Gale.

That was something Leah looked forward to teasing Rachel about. Maybe even give her a few more romantasy books.

“The advisors suggest we reel him in. Bring him under our supervision before the Path or Jiuling bring him into their ranks; or worse, the other families,” Leah said.

“Offer him a bigger contract or a slightly more flexible one,” Esther said. “See if he’ll bite.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Leah saluted. “Oh, and there’s one more thing. We detected another rift exit in Algonquin Park just a few minutes after we discovered the young miss.”

Esther’s eyebrows rose.

“Yes. Rangers have reported a few civilian campers seems to have fainted. Based on this knowledge, we know that this is an anomaly or patterns suggest a rift outbreak of a singular entity that… somehow didn’t kill civilians? Nathaniel suggests to contract the Path for clean up or have our own squadrons clean up the anomaly.”

“Contract it to the Path. We’re too busy cleaning up our own mess right now.”

“Aye aye, Lady Esther.” Leah tucked her tablet into her bag. “Should we bring in Rachel for a debriefing?”

“No,” she said. “Let her rest.”

“And Gale Hathie?”

Esther turned back to face Leah. “Contact him in a couple of weeks about the new offer.”

“And about the expenses that the Blue Witches are asking for—”

The heavy mahogany door to Lady Esther’s office swung open with a soft creak.

A blue-haired woman whose hair fell down as low as her waist floated through the doorway. She wore robes that held starlight, making Leah’s eyes water and causing a slight ache behind the left eye. The garment fell somewhere between a lab coat and an ornate dress, adorned with rhomboid patterns that seemed to shift into multiple indescribable lines whenever Leah’s eyes shifted elsewhere.

Blood dripped from where the woman’s left arm should have been, leaving a trail of dark red droplets on the hardwood floor. Her right arm clutched something that looked part mechanical, part organic–a lump of metal fused with what appeared to look like a brain yet not. A hole the size of a baseball pierced her torso with blood dripping inside of it, revealing the still beating organs that were underneath. Her left leg was also mangled at an angle that wasn’t supposed to be. Bone stuck out as blood dripped from the punctured skin.

What was even more eerie was the woman’s expression, or complete lack of it. Even with her current state, she showed no signs of pain nor any emotion at all, as if she were a porcelain doll.

Leah stepped back, her hand instinctively reaching for the retractable lightning baton in her jacket. “Lady Esther, step back!”

“You are dismissed, Leah,” Esther said.

“But Lady Esther, she’s dangerous!” Leah said. Clearly, the woman in front of her was even stronger than a Harmonic or even a Mystic even though her signature was rather faint.

“Look at her,” Esther said. “She’s missing an arm and has a hole in her chest big enough to fit my fist through. What danger could she possibly pose to me?”

“But!”

“Leah. Leave, now,” Esther said, low enough that it sent shivers down Leah’s spine.

Reluctantly, Leah moved carefully to the door while pressing herself against the walls. She looked back at Lady Esther and then the woman before she disappeared through the door as it closed.

“Researcher Erin Weber,” Esther said, setting down her teacup. “To what surprise do I owe?”

“Your subordinate shows loyalty. A rare quality in these strange times,” Erin took a step forward and put the brain metal looking thing onto Esther’s desk.

“What’s this?” Esther asked.

“Let us dispense with the pleasantries, Lady Esther,” Erin said. “My current state is in critical condition. I require healing and the sanctuary of your house.”

“And this is the payment for the healing?”

“This is Stormbreaker’s Origin Artifact Core Unit. A handsome payment for a bed and a healer.”

“A core unit? How rare and valuable. Very well.” Esther took the bell on her desk, and rang it once.

The door creaked open once again, and Gerard entered in his pristine black butler outfit.

“Researcher Erin. What a surprise,” Gerard said.

“Many stars have burned since we last met, Gerard,” Erin said.

“Gerard, please heal the researcher before she dies. And take this Core Unit down to level 74,” Esther said.

“Right away, Lady Esther.” Gerard closed in on Erin and held her by the shoulder.

Erin let herself fall into Gerard’s arms, then looked back at Esther. “The Weber Conglomerate acknowledges this debt. The transaction is recorded between us.”

“The pleasure is ours that the Grand Researcher herself came to our steps. And I’m assuming you were the anomaly at Algonquin Park?” Esther asked.

“I sought directions from the indigenous population. They fainted upon witnessing my arrival. It seems the locals of this realm possess fragile constitutions. A ridiculous sight, I might say.”

Esther almost let out a smile at the sentence.

“What is the projected duration for my restoration?” Erin asked.

“From your state, probably by Sunday or Monday,” Gerard said. “I’ll have you up and running in the fastest time possible.”

“Excellent. I wish to give my gratitude again, Gerard. Though at my current state, it is an impossibility. As for the Core Unit, do not hesitate to call for my services for its research.”

“That will do,” Esther said. “Enjoy your rest.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep