Chapter 40 - 39: The Player Inside House Valerius

Chapter 40: Chapter 39: The Player Inside House Valerius

EVE did not ask why.

"Establishing connection."

A blue communication window opened in front of Arin.

Nothing.

Static.

Then Roland’s voice came through.

Broken.

Distant.

"—rin?"

Arin stepped closer.

"Roland."

The connection sharpened.

"Young Master?"

"Where is my father?"

Silence.

Too long.

Arin’s expression hardened.

"Roland."

"In the western council chamber."

"Alone?"

Another pause.

"No."

Arin looked toward Marcus and Victor.

Both were watching him now.

"Who’s with him?"

"A Royal Guild representative arrived shortly after you left."

Marcus immediately looked at Arin.

Arin already knew.

"Name."

"Inspector Selene Marr."

Silence.

Marcus swore.

Victor’s expression changed.

Not surprise.

Recognition.

Arin’s eyes narrowed.

"Anyone else?"

"Two guards."

"Valerius?"

"Yes."

"Where is Theron?"

"Lower detention."

"Vaelor?"

"Medical wing under guard."

"Coalition?"

"Withdrawing."

Good.

At least one thing remained stable.

"Roland."

"Yes?"

"Do not enter the western council chamber."

The old knight hesitated.

"Why?"

"Because I said so."

A beat.

Then:

"Understood."

"Quietly move guards away from the western corridor."

"How far?"

"Fifty meters."

"Young Master—"

"Do it."

Roland’s voice hardened.

"Immediately."

The connection ended.

Lucan stared.

"Selene."

"Yes."

"The Royal Inspector is one of them?"

"One of the people from Earth."

Lucan’s eyes narrowed.

"And the System says the killer is inside House Valerius."

"Yes."

"That doesn’t make her guilty."

Arin looked at him.

"No."

Lucan raised an eyebrow.

"You agree?"

"Location isn’t evidence."

Victor spoke from beyond the barrier.

"Selene is dangerous."

Arin switched back to English.

"So are you."

Victor smiled faintly.

"Fair."

Marcus stepped closer to the barrier.

"She wouldn’t kill Gabriel."

"You don’t know that."

"I know Selene."

Victor laughed.

"You knew her eight years ago."

Marcus turned.

"And you joined the Hollow Crown."

"Also fair."

Arin raised one hand.

"Stop."

Both men looked at him.

"Neither of you is going anywhere."

Victor’s eyebrows rose.

"Excuse me?"

"You’re armed."

"My weapons are on the ground."

"You arrived in a military aircraft."

Victor looked toward the jet.

"Technically VTOL strike fighter."

Arin stared.

Victor sighed.

"Not important."

"Correct."

Marcus folded his arms.

"You think one of us could be the target?"

"I think a System just gave three people a location and told them someone there has been murdering Players."

Arin looked between them.

"I don’t know who created that objective."

Silence.

That landed.

Victor’s expression became more serious.

"You think the quest itself could be bait."

"I think every System we’ve seen so far benefits when we react before thinking."

Marcus looked down at his phone.

"That’s... annoyingly reasonable."

Arin ignored him.

"EVE."

"Founder."

"Can we establish a visual connection to House Valerius?"

"Not through current communication infrastructure."

"Recon drone range?"

"Insufficient."

"Phantom?"

"Repair incomplete."

"Time?"

"Two hours."

Too long.

Arin looked toward Victor’s aircraft.

Victor immediately noticed.

"No."

Arin stared at him.

Victor pointed toward the jet.

"Absolutely not."

"You came here asking for cooperation."

"I came here to warn you."

"And now I’m cooperating."

"By stealing my aircraft?"

"Borrowing."

Marcus started laughing.

Victor looked offended.

"Do you even know how to fly it?"

"No."

Victor smiled.

"Then we have a problem."

Arin looked toward EVE.

"Can you?"

A pause.

"Unknown vehicle architecture."

Victor’s smile widened.

"See?"

EVE continued.

"Estimated reverse-engineering time: eleven minutes."

Victor’s smile disappeared.

Marcus laughed harder.

Arin nodded.

"Good."

Victor stared at the hidden camera.

"You people are terrifying."

Lucan looked toward Arin.

"I don’t understand the conversation, but I assume we’re stealing something."

"Borrowing."

"Excellent."

Victor threw his hands up.

"Fine! I’ll fly."

Arin looked at him.

"No."

"What?"

"You’re not entering House Valerius armed."

"You expect me to walk into a possible Player killer without equipment?"

"No."

Arin looked toward A-01.

"I expect you to remain here."

Victor’s face became completely blank.

Marcus turned away to hide another laugh.

Arin continued.

"Marcus stays too."

Marcus stopped laughing.

"Wait."

"Both of you are unknown variables."

"You need information."

"I have communication."

"Selene might lie."

"Then I’ll deal with that."

Victor crossed his arms.

"And if she’s the killer?"

Arin’s expression remained calm.

"Then I’ll deal with that too."

Victor studied him.

"You really believe you can handle every problem alone."

"No."

Arin looked toward Lucan.

"I’m taking him."

Lucan blinked.

"How reassuring."

---

Nine minutes later, Victor stood beside his aircraft with the expression of a man watching strangers inspect his favorite child.

EVE had deployed three maintenance drones.

They moved around the fighter, scanning every surface.

Victor looked physically uncomfortable.

"Tell them not to touch the intake."

Arin looked toward EVE.

"Did you hear him?"

"Yes."

A drone touched the intake.

Victor’s eye twitched.

"EVE."

"Structural scan."

"You did that deliberately."

"I cannot prove otherwise."

Arin slowly looked toward the nearest security camera.

EVE had been spending too much time around Lyra.

Victor climbed into the cockpit.

Arin stopped him.

"Where are you going?"

"Pilot seat."

"No."

Victor stared.

"You said I could fly."

"No."

"You said—"

"I said we were borrowing the aircraft."

Marcus leaned against the outer wall.

"This is the best thing that’s happened to me all year."

Victor turned.

"Shut up."

Arin entered the cockpit.

The interior was recognizable.

Mostly.

Displays.

Control stick.

Throttle.

But there were also floating System elements only Victor could apparently activate.

Arin looked toward him.

"Unlock manual controls."

Victor stared.

"You are actually insane."

"Probably."

"This isn’t a motorcycle."

"I noticed."

"You can’t learn a fighter aircraft in ten minutes."

Arin looked toward the maintenance drone.

"EVE?"

"Flight assistance interface ready."

A transparent Elysium projection appeared over the cockpit controls.

Victor went silent.

Arin sat.

The projection simplified the aircraft.

Thrust.

Direction.

Altitude.

Landing.

Weapon systems locked.

Arin looked toward Victor.

"Anything important?"

Victor stared at him.

"Do not crash."

"Useful."

"I’m serious."

"So am I."

Lucan climbed into the rear seat.

Victor’s face changed.

"He can’t even understand the warning labels."

Arin translated.

Lucan looked around.

"What warning labels?"

"Exactly."

Victor closed his eyes.

"This is how I die."

"You’re staying here."

"Somehow worse."

The cockpit sealed.

Engines activated.

Arin felt the entire aircraft vibrate beneath him.

Different from Phantom-01.

More power.

Less intuitive.

EVE’s assistance system compensated.

«FLIGHT SUPPORT:

ACTIVE.»

Arin lifted vertically.

Victor watched from below.

Marcus raised one hand and waved.

Victor did not.

The fighter climbed above the mountains.

Then Arin pushed forward.

Lucan immediately grabbed the seat.

The aircraft accelerated.

His face changed.

"What..."

Faster.

"...is..."

Faster.

"...THIS?!"

The mountains vanished behind them.

Arin smiled faintly.

"Transport."

Lucan stared through the canopy.

"This is not transport!"

"It transports us."

"We are flying inside a metal spear!"

"Accurate."

"HOW FAST?"

Arin checked.

"Eight hundred."

"Eight hundred what?"

"Doesn’t matter."

"It matters to me!"

Arin increased speed.

Lucan stopped speaking.

That was convenient.

---

House Valerius appeared beneath them twenty-three minutes later.

The Coalition camps were retreating exactly as promised.

Hundreds of wagons moved east.

Royal Guild forces had separated from the noble armies.

The estate itself remained damaged but stable.

Arin circled once.

Every person below looked upward.

Naturally.

Nothing like Victor’s aircraft existed publicly in this world.

Soldiers pointed.

Hunters reached for weapons.

Arin opened external communication.

"Do not fire."

Roland’s voice responded almost immediately.

"Young Master?"

"Yes."

A long silence.

Then:

"Are you inside that thing?"

"Yes."

Another pause.

"I have several questions."

"Later."

Lucan laughed from behind him.

Arin brought the aircraft down inside the western training field.

Landing was less graceful than he preferred.

The fighter hit the ground slightly too hard.

Lucan’s head snapped forward.

Arin looked at the warning display.

«LANDING QUALITY:

ACCEPTABLE.»

Good.

The canopy opened.

Lucan climbed out immediately.

He dropped to the ground.

Then touched it.

Both hands.

Arin stared.

"What are you doing?"

"Appreciating land."

Arin climbed out.

Dozens of Valerius guards surrounded the field.

None approached.

They stared at the aircraft.

Then at Arin.

Then back at the aircraft.

One whispered:

"Young Master can fly now?"

Another answered:

"Don’t ask."

Good advice.

Roland arrived.

His eyes widened at the fighter.

Then at Arin.

"You returned quickly."

"Where is Selene?"

"Still inside."

"Father?"

"With her."

"Any communication?"

"None."

Arin started walking.

Roland followed.

Lucan joined them after finishing his reunion with the ground.

"Has anyone entered?"

"No."

"Exited?"

"No."

"Windows?"

"Covered."

"Mana?"

Roland frowned.

"Nothing unusual."

Arin’s expression remained neutral.

That meant nothing.

Player Systems might not use mana.

His didn’t.

They entered the manor.

The atmosphere had changed since he left.

Servants stopped when they saw him.

Some bowed.

Others stared.

A few whispered.

Arin ignored all of them.

He had no interest in becoming Valerius’s returning hero.

This wasn’t his house.

Not anymore.

They reached the western corridor.

Guards had withdrawn as ordered.

Arin stopped fifty meters from the council chamber.

"Lucan."

"Yes?"

"Stay behind me."

Lucan looked offended.

"I am older."

"Congratulations."

"I am also stronger."

"Debatable."

"It really isn’t."

Arin looked toward the door.

"You have a damaged Founder fragment and no idea what a Player System can do."

Lucan considered.

"Fine."

Roland moved forward.

Arin stopped him.

"You stay."

The knight frowned.

"Young Master—"

"If something happens, evacuate the floor."

Roland looked unhappy.

Then nodded.

Arin approached.

No armor.

That bothered him.

The MK-I was still damaged.

He had the sidearm.

Multi-tool.

Two recon drones.

Portable shield emitter.

Enough.

Probably.

He stopped outside the door.

No sound.

Arin knocked.

Lucan stared.

"You knocked?"

"Yes."

"We flew here in a metal monster because someone inside may be murdering people from your world, and you knocked."

"It’s still a door."

A woman’s voice came from inside.

"Come in, Arin."

He froze.

She knew it was him.

Lucan’s hand moved toward his knife.

Arin opened the door.

Inspector Selene Marr sat at the council table.

Gold-trimmed Royal Guild robes.

Dark hair tied behind her head.

Calm expression.

Duke Aldric sat opposite her.

Alive.

Uninjured.

Tea between them.

Arin stared.

Aldric looked toward him.

Then beyond him.

"Lucan."

Lucan did not answer.

Selene smiled faintly.

"Close the door."

Arin remained standing.

"Why?"

"Because your father and I were discussing something private."

Arin looked at Aldric.

"Are you being threatened?"

The Duke’s eyebrows rose.

"No."

"Controlled?"

"No."

"Blackmailed?"

Aldric almost smiled.

"Not currently."

Good.

Arin looked toward Selene.

"Stand."

Her eyebrow rose.

"Why?"

"Because I don’t know what your System can do while you’re sitting."

Aldric went completely still.

Selene’s smile disappeared.

Lucan entered and closed the door.

"She understood that."

Arin nodded.

Selene slowly stood.

Then she spoke.

English.

"You met Marcus."

Aldric frowned.

Lucan looked irritated.

Arin answered in the same language.

"And Victor."

That surprised her.

"He found you already?"

"Yes."

"Then we have less time."

"Apparently everyone says that."

Selene studied him.

"You don’t trust me."

"No."

"Good."

Arin blinked.

She continued.

"Don’t trust Marcus either."

"Already handled."

"Especially Victor."

"Obviously."

"And don’t trust your System."

Arin stared.

"Already rejected Civilization Authority."

Selene froze.

Her face lost every trace of professional calm.

"You what?"

Aldric looked between them.

"What are you saying?"

Neither answered.

Selene stepped forward.

"You unlocked Civilization Authority?"

"Yes."

"And rejected it?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"I pressed no."

Lucan laughed.

Selene stared at him.

Then at Arin.

"You have no idea what you’ve done."

"I’ve been hearing that frequently."

"No."

Her voice sharpened.

"You really don’t understand."

Arin raised the sidearm.

"Then explain."

Selene looked at the weapon.

"That’s unnecessary."

"I’ll decide."

Her eyes narrowed.

Then she raised both hands.

"Fine."

Arin did not lower the weapon.

"Did you kill Gabriel?"

"No."

"Daniel?"

"No."

"Any Player?"

"No."

"Can your System detect lies?"

"Yes."

"Can it manipulate evidence?"

Selene hesitated.

"Sometimes."

Important.

"Can it fabricate conclusions?"

"Yes."

Even more important.

Arin’s expression hardened.

"The quest told us the Player killer is here."

Selene went still.

"What quest?"

"Cooperative route."

Her face changed.

"You unlocked cooperation?"

"Marcus, Victor and I rejected an elimination quest."

Aldric looked toward Lucan.

"What are they talking about?"

Lucan shrugged.

"I’ve understood perhaps forty percent of today."

Selene slowly lowered her hands.

Arin immediately raised the weapon higher.

"Hands."

She raised them again.

"Right."

"Why are you here?"

Selene looked toward Aldric.

"To investigate Hollow Crown infiltration."

"Specifically?"

"Theron."

"Why personally?"

"Because he contacted someone through a communication method nobody in this world should possess."

Arin’s eyes narrowed.

"What method?"

Selene reached slowly toward her robe.

Arin’s finger tightened.

"Two fingers."

She obeyed.

Pulled out a small object.

Placed it on the table.

A USB drive.

Arin stared.

Lucan stared because Arin stared.

Aldric clearly had no idea why a tiny metal object mattered.

Selene spoke.

"Theron had this."

"Contents?"

"Encrypted."

"Earth encryption?"

"Yes."

"Can you open it?"

"No."

"Victor?"

"Probably."

Arin’s expression darkened.

"Convenient."

Selene nodded.

"Very."

"Where did Theron get it?"

"He claims Vaelor."

Arin immediately rejected that.

"Vaelor wouldn’t know what it is."

"Exactly."

"So Theron lied."

"Yes."

"Did you question him with your System?"

Selene’s face tightened.

"I did."

"And?"

"He genuinely believes Vaelor gave it to him."

That changed things.

Memory manipulation?

Illusion?

System effect?

Arin looked at Aldric.

"Where is Theron now?"

"Detention."

"Alone?"

"Two guards."

"Check."

Aldric frowned.

"Now?"

"Now."

The Duke looked toward the communication crystal on the table.

Before he touched it—

Arin’s System flashed.

«COOPERATIVE OBJECTIVE UPDATED.

TARGET LOCATION CHANGED.»

His expression hardened.

Selene’s eyes widened simultaneously.

She could see something too.

"Where?" Arin asked.

Selene looked toward the floor.

Arin’s System answered.

«TARGET:

PLAYER KILLER.

LOCATION:

BELOW CURRENT POSITION.»

Silence.

Lucan saw their faces.

"What?"

Arin switched languages.

"Below us."

Aldric stood.

"The detention cells."

Arin’s stomach tightened.

Theron.

They ran.

---

The lower detention corridor was silent.

Wrong.

Completely wrong.

No guards.

Aldric drew his sword.

Lucan moved ahead.

Arin raised the sidearm.

Selene followed.

They found the first guard twenty meters inside.

Alive.

Unconscious.

No visible wounds.

The second lay beside Theron’s cell.

Same condition.

Aldric rushed forward.

The cell door stood open.

Theron was gone.

Arin’s System updated.

«TARGET DISTANCE:

71 METERS.»

"Moving."

They followed.

Down another corridor.

Then through an old servant passage.

Aldric’s face hardened.

"Only family knows this route."

Lucan looked at him.

"Apparently not."

Target distance:

«52 METERS.»

Then:

«39. »

They reached an old storage chamber.

Door open.

Blood on the floor.

Not much.

Arin entered.

Theron lay unconscious against the wall.

Alive.

Someone stood over him.

A man.

Young.

Perhaps twenty-five.

Brown hair.

Simple servant clothing.

Arin didn’t recognize him.

Aldric did.

"Edwin?"

The servant turned.

His expression was terrified.

"My lord!"

Arin’s System exploded with warnings.

«PLAYER SIGNATURE DETECTED.»

Arin raised the weapon.

"Don’t move."

Edwin froze.

"What?"

Selene stepped inside.

Her face changed.

"No."

Arin looked toward her.

"You know him?"

"No."

"System?"

She stared at Edwin.

"Yes."

Edwin’s fear became confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

Arin’s eyes narrowed.

"Name."

"Edwin Hale."

Marcus Hale.

Arin went completely still.

"Repeat your surname."

"Hale."

Selene looked at Arin.

Lucan didn’t understand why that mattered.

Arin did.

"Do you know Marcus Hale?"

Edwin stared.

Then his face went white.

"How do you know my brother?"

Silence.

Brother.

Marcus had never mentioned a brother.

Arin’s System updated.

«PLAYER IDENTIFIED.

STATUS:

DORMANT.»

Then:

«SYSTEM CORE:

PARTIALLY EXTRACTED.»

Arin’s expression hardened.

Edwin suddenly grabbed his head.

"Ah—!"

He dropped to his knees.

A black mark appeared beneath his shirt.

Selene moved forward.

"Don’t!"

Too late.

Edwin screamed.

The mark tore open.

Not physically.

Something black emerged from his chest like smoke.

A crystal fragment hit the floor.

The same type Victor had recovered from Gabriel.

Arin’s Authority Band flashed.

«SYSTEM EXTRACTION IN PROGRESS.»

"Shield!"

The portable emitter activated.

A transparent field formed around Edwin.

The black smoke struck it.

Recoiled.

Lucan grabbed Theron and dragged him away.

Aldric pulled the unconscious guards back.

Selene stared at the smoke.

Her eyes glowed faintly blue.

"There’s someone connected to him."

"Where?"

"I can’t trace—"

She froze.

Her face became horrified.

"What?"

Selene looked directly at Arin.

"The connection isn’t external."

Arin’s blood went cold.

"What does that mean?"

"It’s inside his System."

The black smoke struck the shield again.

Cracks appeared.

Edwin screamed.

Arin ran forward.

Selene grabbed his arm.

"Don’t touch him!"

"Why?"

"System transfer."

"What?"

"If his core breaks while you’re close, it may jump to the nearest Player."

Arin stopped.

The shield cracked again.

«INTEGRITY:

41%.»

Edwin looked toward Arin.

Terrified.

"Please..."

Arin stared.

A man he had never met.

A Player.

Marcus’s brother.

Someone whose System was killing him from the inside.

The easiest choice was obvious.

Step back.

Let the extraction finish.

Protect himself.

Arin’s expression became cold.

No.

He was tired of systems deciding who was expendable.

"EVE."

Static.

House Elysium was far away.

Then faintly:

"Founder."

"Can you hear me?"

"Partial connection."

"System Core extraction."

A pause.

Then EVE’s voice changed.

"Do not make physical contact."

"Everyone keeps saying that."

"Founder—"

"Can Family Authority stabilize a non-family System?"

"Unknown."

"Can it stabilize a person?"

"Yes."

Selene stared.

"What are you doing?"

Arin holstered the sidearm.

"Finding another solution."

The shield dropped to twenty-seven percent.

Edwin screamed again.

Arin stepped toward it.

Selene grabbed him.

"If that System jumps into you—"

"I know."

"You could die."

"I know."

"Then stop!"

Arin looked at her.

"No."

He pressed his Authority Band against the shield.

"Family Authority."

The System responded.

«TARGET NOT REGISTERED FAMILY.»

"Temporary protection."

«INVALID CATEGORY.»

Arin’s eyes hardened.

"Then create one."

The System paused.

Selene stared.

Lucan smiled faintly.

He had seen Arin argue with machines before.

«COMMAND UNRECOGNIZED.»

Arin looked at Edwin.

The man’s breathing was failing.

"He’s inside my territory of responsibility."

«CURRENT LOCATION:

HOUSE VALERIUS.

NOT ELYSIUM TERRITORY.»

"Then recognize my responsibility, not the land."

Another pause.

The black smoke slammed into the shield.

«INTEGRITY:

11%.»

Arin’s voice became colder.

"You gave me a Distributed Civilization Path."

The Authority Band flashed.

"Then let me protect someone without owning them."

Silence.

The shield shattered.

Black smoke exploded outward.

Selene screamed:

"ARIN!"

He grabbed Edwin’s wrist.

The world stopped.

A massive black interface opened before him.

Not Elysium.

Not his System.

Something else.

Something that had been hiding inside Edwin.

Words appeared.

«NEW PLAYER HOST DETECTED.

TRANSFER AVAILABLE.

ACCEPT SYSTEM CORE?»

Arin smiled.

"No."

The interface flickered.

«ACCEPTANCE RECOMMENDED.»

"No."

«POWER INCREASE:

SIGNIFICANT.»

"Still no."

Then the interface changed.

«REFUSAL INVALID.»

Arin’s smile vanished.

There it was.

Not a game.

Not a gift.

A parasite.

The black interface surged toward him.

Then Family Authority activated.

White light erupted between Arin and Edwin.

A new message appeared.

«DISTRIBUTED CIVILIZATION PRINCIPLE DETECTED.

PROTECTED PERSON DOES NOT REQUIRE OWNERSHIP.

NEW AUTHORITY FUNCTION GENERATED:

SANCTUARY.»

The black System froze.

Arin stared.

«SANCTUARY:

A PERSON UNDER YOUR DIRECT PROTECTION MAY TEMPORARILY RECEIVE ELYSIUM DEFENSIVE AUTHORITY WITHOUT FAMILY REGISTRATION, CITIZENSHIP, SERVITUDE, OR OWNERSHIP.»

Lucan laughed.

"Whatever you just did, I assume it was ridiculous."

Arin tightened his grip on Edwin.

"Probably."

White light spread through the man’s body.

The black smoke screamed.

Actually screamed.

Then something inside Edwin screamed with it.

A voice.

Human.

Distorted.

Furious.

"You should have taken the reward."

Arin froze.

He knew that voice.

Not personally.

But he had heard it less than an hour ago.

Through the outer security speakers.

Marcus.

Arin’s eyes widened.

The black interface flashed one final message.

«REMOTE SYSTEM OWNER IDENTIFIED.»

Then a name appeared.

«MARCUS HALE.»

And back at House Elysium, the man Arin had left peacefully sitting in the outer guest station smiled at the security camera...

...while every door around him locked at once.