Chapter 232 — In His Hands

Chapter 232: Chapter 232 — In His Hands

Chapter 232 — In His Hands

Lyra stared at the man standing in front of her.

She knew exactly who he was.

Victor and Lyra had met him in Basement Level Five only a few days ago.

The leader of Mercenary Team Two.

Daniel Graveborn.

The moment she recognized him, Lyra knew she’d messed up.

There was no getting away from this man.

Even Shadow Walk wouldn’t save her now. The technique was incredibly effective when someone didn’t know she was there, but once they had already located her and locked onto her presence, most of its advantage disappeared.

Lyra glanced at her parents before looking back at Daniel.

She was trapped.

Daniel studied her for a moment.

"So tell me, why have you so daringly broken into the Graveborn estate?"

His eyes shifted toward Valkor and Sierra.

"It can’t have been just to talk to these two Shadow Fox slaves. That makes no sense."

He paused.

Then his expression changed.

"Wait a second."

Daniel looked at Lyra more carefully.

"I think I remember you."

Lyra froze.

"You were with Victor when I first met him in Basement Level Five."

That made the situation ten times worse.

Lyra glanced around, searching for anything she could use.

Finally, she gave up trying to hide it.

"Yes. My name is Lyra."

Daniel nodded slowly.

"We did meet a few days ago."

His expression became thoughtful.

"And after we showed such hospitality to Victor, he decides to send his wife..."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"He decides to send you? For what reason?"

Lyra remained silent.

"Something’s not adding up here."

Daniel’s gaze moved over her.

Black hair.

Purple eyes.

Then he looked at Valkor and Sierra.

Both Shadow Foxes were watching Lyra protectively.

Daniel’s eyes returned to her.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then something seemed to click.

"Unless..."

His eyes sharpened.

A smile slowly appeared on his face.

"There’s no way."

Daniel stepped toward Lyra.

She instinctively moved back, but there was nowhere to go.

His eyes settled on the purple gemstone necklace resting against her chest.

Daniel reached out.

Lyra tried to pull away, but he was far too fast.

His hand closed around the necklace.

Snap.

He ripped it from her neck.

The effect disappeared instantly.

Two black fox ears appeared on top of Lyra’s head.

Her tail emerged behind her.

For once, Daniel had nothing to say.

He simply stared.

Then his smile widened.

"Now it makes sense."

His eyes moved from Lyra to the two Shadow Foxes behind her.

"You’re a Shadow Fox."

Lyra said nothing.

What could she say?

She’d been caught red-handed.

There was no point denying anything. She couldn’t exactly stand there with fox ears and a tail and claim Daniel was mistaken.

Lyra took a slow breath.

Maybe she could still fix this.

At least somewhat.

If she called Victor and told him what had happened, maybe he could find a way to help.

Even thinking about it made guilt twist inside her.

She’d broken her promise.

She’d gone behind Victor’s back and come here alone.

And now she’d made everything worse.

Part of her felt like she didn’t even deserve to call him.

But this wasn’t only about her anymore.

Her parents were involved too.

"Yes," Lyra finally said. "You’re correct."

Daniel waited.

"And these are my parents."

She glanced back at Valkor and Sierra.

"I haven’t seen them in years. I came here because I wanted to see them."

Lyra lowered her head slightly.

"Breaking into your estate wasn’t a good decision. I understand that. It wasn’t smart, and I apologize."

She looked back at Daniel.

"If you let me call Victor and tell him what’s happened, I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to help make the situation right."

Daniel stared at her.

Then he nodded.

"Yes."

Some of the tension left Lyra’s shoulders.

"That is an option."

But Daniel didn’t move.

Instead, he continued staring at her.

The silence stretched.

Daniel wasn’t stupid.

Lyra was a Shadow Fox.

She was Victor’s companion.

And Shadow Foxes hadn’t been seen outside the Sanctuary in thousands of years.

Several things suddenly fell into place.

Daniel’s eyes narrowed slightly.

And if Victor had somehow brought a Shadow Fox out of the Sanctuary with him, he clearly cared about her. He’d even acquired an artifact to hide her identity and allow her to live among humans without being discovered.

Daniel’s smile slowly returned.

This was an opportunity.

Lyra reached for her citizen ID.

The moment it appeared in her hand, Daniel moved.

Smack!

The card flew from her fingers.

Before Lyra could react, Daniel stepped down.

Crack.

The citizen ID shattered beneath his foot.

Lyra stared at the broken pieces.

"Now, now, girl."

Daniel looked at her.

"There’ll be no calling Victor."

Lyra’s expression hardened.

"No."

His smile widened.

"You’re in my hands now."

Daniel glanced toward Valkor and Sierra.

"I’ll be the one to contact Victor when the time is right."

Valkor stepped forward.

Daniel’s eyes immediately shifted toward him.

"You two, if you know what’s good for you, will lie back down and stay out of this."

Sierra moved beside her husband.

Daniel sighed.

His cultivation flared.

The air inside the small room seemed to become impossibly heavy.

Valkor and Sierra collapsed almost instantly.

"Father! Mother!"

Lyra turned toward them.

Both hit the floor unconscious.

The pressure crashed into Lyra next.

Her knees nearly buckled.

But she remained standing.

Her Beast Soldier cultivation allowed her to resist far better than her parents had, though calling it easy would’ve been ridiculous. Every part of her body screamed at her to drop.

Daniel noticed.

His smile grew.

"Oh?"

He walked toward her.

"Interesting."

Lyra glared at him.

Daniel stopped a short distance away.

"Me and you are going to have so much fun together, Lyra."

His eyes studied her.

"I do wonder about all the things you can tell me."

His smile widened.

"I bet you know so many of Victor’s secrets."

He took another step.

"So many."

A cold feeling settled in Lyra’s stomach.

This wasn’t about breaking into the estate anymore.

Daniel spread his hands slightly.

"Now, we can either do this the easy way..."

His eyes remained fixed on her.

"Or we can do it the hard way."

Lyra disappeared.

Shadow Walk.

At the same moment, she pushed Shadow Step as hard as she could and dashed toward the doorway.

She knew it was almost pointless.

Daniel was Rank Eight Spirit Gathering.

But she had to try.

Daniel sighed.

"Looks like you chose the difficult way."

A spear appeared in his hand.

"This is your decision."

He moved.

Lyra barely saw it.

The spear swept low in a wide arc.

Her legs were knocked out from beneath her.

Shadow Walk immediately broke.

Lyra crashed onto the floor.

Before she could recover, Daniel was already standing over her.

She looked up.

The shaft of the spear struck her temple.

Everything went black.

Daniel stared down at her unconscious body.

"We could’ve done this the easy way."

He paused.

Then shrugged.

"Well, if you really think about it, neither way was going to be particularly easy for you."

His spear disappeared back into his storage ring.

Daniel bent down and lifted Lyra, throwing her over his shoulder.

"Not where you and I are about to be going."

He adjusted her weight before turning toward the door.

A moment later, Daniel disappeared from the room at full speed.

He crossed through the estate so quickly that most people barely had time to notice him.

The guards near the entrance did.

Both turned as Daniel passed.

They caught a glimpse of the unconscious girl draped over his shoulder.

Neither said a word.

They knew Daniel Graveborn.

More importantly, they knew better than to interfere with whatever he was doing.

The two guards looked at each other.

One slowly shook his head.

Sometimes, interfering in someone else’s business was the fastest way to shorten your own life.

Within moments, Daniel and Lyra disappeared into the night.

?

Elsewhere in the Tower, someone knew something was wrong.

Victor.

The first time Lyra had been knocked out of Shadow Walk after colliding with the maid, Victor had felt her.

Only for a moment.

Their Soul Bond had suddenly returned, and Victor had sensed enough to know one thing.

Lyra was on the Third Floor.

Then she’d disappeared again.

Shadow Walk had severed his ability to sense her, leaving Victor with nothing but the knowledge that she’d gone somewhere she had absolutely no business being.

He’d already started moving.

Then the connection returned.

This time, Victor felt everything.

Fear.

Panic.

Desperation.

The emotions crashed through their Soul Bond all at once.

Victor stopped.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Then Lyra’s presence began moving.

Fast.

Victor’s head snapped toward the Third Floor.

Her soul was getting farther away.

Moving across the floor at a speed that couldn’t possibly be her own.

Victor’s expression changed.

Someone had her.

He didn’t know who.

He didn’t know where they were taking her.

But through the Soul Bond, he could still feel her.

Victor immediately moved.