Chapter 149: Report to the Empire

The carriage rolled through the outer gates of Darkmoor Estate under a sky already deepening into evening. Mana lamps along the walls flickered to life one by one, casting steady golden light across the courtyard. Behind them, the portal had collapsed completely; only a patch of withered grass remained as proof it had ever existed.

Andras stepped down first. The evening air carried the familiar scent of the estate’s oils and the distant dampness of the northern forests. Evelyne followed, her expression calm once more. Selene’s boots struck the stone with measured weight. Lyra came last, the Darksteel Spear still held close against her side as though she had not yet decided whether to set it down.

Servants approached, but Evelyne raised one hand. They stopped at once.

"Prepare a private meal," she said.

The servants bowed and withdrew.

Inside the main hall the quiet felt heavier than usual. The ordinary sounds of the estate—footsteps, distant voices, the soft hum of mana lamps—seemed muted, as if the house itself understood that something significant had returned with them. They walked without speaking until they reached Evelyne’s private study. The heavy door sealed behind them with a soft click of interlocking wards. Only then did Evelyne place the dungeon rewards on the long blackwood table.

The Voidheart Crystal pulsed with slow violet light, its surface catching the glow of the mana lamps and throwing faint amethyst reflections across the polished wood. Beside it rested the Voidpulse Bracelet, dark metal still faintly warm from residual mana. Several high-purity mana crystals and a sealed jade container completed the modest pile.

Andras’s gaze settled on the crystal first.

"System."

The familiar translucent window appeared for his eyes alone.

[Ding!]

[Item Status]

[Name: Voidheart Crystal]

[Type: Monster Core]

[Rank: Extraordinary]

[Properties: Extremely High Mana Density]

[Special Property: Resonance Absorption]

He studied the last line for several seconds. Resonance Absorption. During the fight, the Behemoth’s Void Resonance had turned the entire chamber against them, twisting every vibration into interference and rendering Echo Resonance nearly useless. If the core retained even a fragment of that authority, it was more than simple fuel. It was a key.

Evelyne watched him in silence for a moment. Then she reached out, picked up the Voidpulse Bracelet, and held it toward him.

"If you want it," she said simply.

Andras took the bracelet without hesitation. The dark metal cooled against his wrist the moment it settled into place. A faint stabilizing current threaded through his mana circuits, subtle but immediate, dampening the residual dissonance left behind by the Behemoth’s talent.

Selene leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "The Behemoth was connected to the dungeon’s mana network. Once those crystals were broken, the entire structure began shutting down. That explains why the lesser creatures vanished on the way out."

"It also means future dungeons of this type may have similar cores," Andras replied. "If the pattern holds, the true threat is never the first wave of monsters. It is whatever sits at the center feeding on the dungeon itself."

Lyra remained silent near the door. Her eyes moved between the crystal and Andras, but she did not speak. The gap between her current strength and what she had witnessed in the cavern still pressed against her shoulders like an invisible weight. She had stood ready with the Darksteel Spear, yet the battle had never given her an opening. All she could do was watch.

Evelyne finally broke the quiet. Her tone had shifted; the softness of a mother had given way to the measured authority of a Duchess.

"I will report this dungeon to the Empire."

Andras looked at her. Selene’s posture straightened slightly.

"Because of the S-Class," Evelyne continued. "An S-Class monster is not a matter a single duchy can quietly seal and forget. Imperial protocol is clear. Any dungeon that produces a threat of that level must be reported to the central investigation office and the Imperial Magic Division. They will want the location, the rank confirmation, the core, and a full account of the engagement."

She rested one hand lightly on the table beside the Voidheart Crystal. "Darkmoor will not be accused of concealing an S-Class threat. The report will go out tonight. I will attach the crystal’s residual mana signature and the recorded pressure readings from the chamber. They will send their own verification team, but the essential facts will already be in their hands."

Andras considered the decision in silence. There was no point in objecting. An S-Class monster left traces that skilled investigators would eventually detect even if the portal had collapsed. Mana scars, residual void energy, the sudden disappearance of a stable spatial fracture—all of it would be noticed. Better to control the first account than allow rumor and suspicion to shape the narrative later.

"Understood," he said. "Will you include our involvement in detail?"

"I will include what is necessary. That House Darkmoor cleared the dungeon, that the S-Class was confirmed and eliminated, and that the core and residual materials have been secured pending imperial review. I will not volunteer every tactical detail of how the fight was conducted. Some things remain family matters."

Selene gave a short nod. "I’ll prepare the outer patrol logs and the initial perimeter report. The Empire will want to know how long the portal was active before discovery."

"Do it," Evelyne said.

Selene left without further words. The door closed behind her with the soft finality of a soldier returning to duty.

Only three remained in the study.

Evelyne studied her son for a long moment. The concern that had driven her to end the fight early still lingered beneath her composure, but she did not voice it again. Instead she asked the quieter question.

"How did the sword perform?"

Andras met her gaze evenly. "Severance cut through natural armor cleanly. Silent Cut masked the angle of several strikes. The blade accepted my mana without resistance."

A faint, almost tired smile touched Evelyne’s lips.

She rose from her chair. "Rest tonight. I will finalize the wording of the imperial report before the evening couriers depart."

Andras inclined his head. "Good night, Mother."

Evelyne left them alone.

Lyra finally stepped closer. Her voice was quiet, almost careful.

"Young Master... the crystal. Will it help you?"

"It might."

She hesitated, then spoke the thought she had been holding since the cavern. "I couldn’t do anything. I just watched."

Andras looked at her. There was no disappointment in his expression—only the same clinical assessment he applied to everything else.

"You were not expected to. You are still learning how to fight. Watching how people who already know how to kill actually do it is more useful than dying early for the sake of pride."

Lyra’s fingers tightened around the spear shaft. The dark-gray metal was warm from her grip.

He turned toward the door. "Come."

They walked the quiet corridors in silence. Mana lamps painted long shadows across the polished stone floors. The estate had settled into its evening rhythms; distant footsteps and the soft murmur of servants preparing the private meal were the only sounds that reached them. When they reached his chambers, Lyra moved with practiced efficiency—drawing the bath, laying out fresh clothes, checking the door wards. Only when the last of the practical tasks was finished did she stop and look at him properly.

"You were injured," she said.

"Minor."

She stepped closer and touched the place on his upper arm where the predator’s claw had left its mark earlier in the dungeon. The skin had already closed under Sovereign Predator Physique, but a faint residual heat remained beneath the surface.

"I don’t like watching you fight things that can kill you."

Andras regarded her for a moment. Attachment still lived in her eyes, tempered now by something harder—acceptance of the path he walked and a quiet determination not to be left behind on it.

"Then become strong enough that you no longer have to watch from behind," he said.

Lyra’s breath caught. Then she nodded once, sharply.

"Yes, Young Master."

He dismissed her for the night after that. She left with the Darksteel Spear still in her hand, as though she intended to continue correcting her stance even after the lamps were extinguished.

Alone, Andras sat on the edge of the bed and withdrew the Voidheart Crystal once more. The violet light pulsed against his palm. He fed a thin thread of mana into it and felt the Resonance Absorption property respond—like a locked door testing whether the key fit. Not yet. His current control was insufficient to fully claim whatever authority the Behemoth had left behind. But the crystal did not reject him. It waited.

He stored it again. The Voidpulse Bracelet settled quietly against his wrist, its stabilizing current a constant, low presence. Eclipse Edge rested in his storage ring.

Andras closed his eyes and began circulating mana, letting it flow through pathways strained by the day’s fighting.The imperial report would go out tonight. Verification teams would come. Questions would follow. None of it was unexpected.

An S-Class monster was never going to remain a private matter.