Chapter 219 | Selene… II

Chapter 219: 219 | Selene... II

The frost stopped spreading and the temperature began to climb as the oppressive weight in the air dissipated, replaced by the normal, comfortable atmosphere maintained by the Pure-Air Fragrance Artifact.

Selene tilted her head toward Dexter’s direction.

"Then why were you releasing killing intent?"

Dexter fell silent.

How was he supposed to explain that he had spent the past several hours worrying about the possibility of Aurelyx returning?

He sighed.

"It’s a long story."

Selene frowned slightly. The expression was subtle, visible only in the slight tightening of the skin around her pale eyes and the barely perceptible downward pull of her lips.

"A long story?"

"Yeah."

He looked at her. She was standing in the doorway, her white sleeping gown slightly rumpled, her silver hair disheveled.

Dexter hesitated for a moment.

Then he spoke.

"What do you know about Aurelyx?"

The effect was immediate.

Selene’s eyes flashed and as harp, sudden flash of recognition that triggered her Echolocation into a burst of rapid, intense pulses, as though her body had involuntarily sharpened its senses in response to a name that carried weight.

Her brows furrowed.

"Where did you hear that name?"

Dexter blinked.

The reaction was not what he had expected.

Selene knew the name.

Dexter’s mind recalibrated instantly.

"I heard it randomly," he said carefully. "When I was speaking with the heroes at the meeting today. Someone mentioned it in passing."

It was a lie. He knew it was a lie. Selene probably knew it was a lie. But the truth, that Aurelyx had appeared in his bedroom and kissed him and claimed to be a separate personality living inside Lyra, was not a truth he was prepared to share. Not yet. Not without understanding more.

Selene’s expression became solemn.

She stood in the doorway for a long moment, her body perfectly still, her head tilted slightly downward.

Then she spoke.

"Aurelyx is said to be the number one assassin in this city."

The words landed in the room like stones.

Dexter stared at her.

"No one knows who she is," Selene continued in a quiet voice as thought she didn’t want anyone else to hear. "No one knows who he or she is. No one has seen their face or one knows where they live or who they work for."

She paused.

"But it is said that Aurelyx is the number one assassin in the entire city. Possibly in the country and any mission accepted has a 100 percent success rate and have never failed."

Dexter’s mind went blank.

The number one assassin in the entire city.

Aurelyx which was living inside Lyra was actually that person.

The number one assassin in the entire city is a split personality living inside my wife?

That didn’t make sense.

Aurelyx was a secondary consciousness likely due to the incident. An alternate personality that surfaced and retreated within Lyra’s body. She wasn’t a separate physical person and couldn’t operate independently to execute assassinations without Lyra’s body being present.

Unless...

Unless the switching happened frequently enough, and she was actually the main one personality.

The possibility was horrifying but entirely plausible.

"Moreover," Selene continued, "the name has circulated through the upper echelons of the Hero Association. The top brass are aware of her existence. They have a file on her, although it’s apparently mostly empty and the one they have is about her kills."

She paused.

"Anyone who knows that name should probably distance themselves from anyone associated with it."

Dexter’s face didn’t change. But inside, his mind was racing like a horse through a desert.

The number one assassin in the city was lyra.

Aurelyx isn’t just a personality fragment. She’s a functional, operational, professional assassin who has been conducting missions from inside Lyra’s body for years. Probably since before the dungeon incident.

It wasn’t Lyra they were afraid of, it was Aurelyx.

Dexter’s eyes narrowed.

"You said Aurelyx has never failed a mission," he said.

"Yes."

"Do you know anything else about her?"

Selene shook her head.

"Not much," she said. "Nobody knows her true identity. Nobody knows her appearance. Nobody knows where she lives or who she works for."

"Then how does the Hero Association know about her?"

Selene shook her head slowly. "They don’t know her. They only know the results."

"The results?"

"Every target she accepts dies."

"Regardless of how heavily protected the target is," Selene continued. "Regardless of their cultivation level. Regardless of their security detail or their defensive formations or their relic equipment. She always finds a way."

She paused.

"Always."

Dexter fell silent.

Aurylex was something else entirely. He thought about the shadow corruption.

The system had reported Lyra’s shadow corruption at zero percent. But Aurelyx had said she was the Shadow Queen. What if the shadow corruption hadn’t been cleansed? What if it had been absorbed? Integrated? Converted from a corrupting influence into a power source by a consciousness that knew how to wield it?

What if Aurelyx was, in her own right, an extraordinarily powerful entity who had been operating from inside Lyra’s body for years, conducting assassinations, accumulating power, and building a reputation as the most dangerous killer in the city?

All while Lyra slept.

Dexter’s gaze darkened.

Selene noticed the shift in his expression. Through her Echolocation, she could detect the subtle changes in his body.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

Dexter immediately shook his head.

"Nothing is wrong."

He forced a smile which made Selene blink.

She didn’t believe him but since Dexter didn’t want to talk about it, she couldn’t force him.

"All right," she said. Her voice carried a trace of reluctance. "I should take my leave."

She turned around and left.

Dexter watched her begin to leave as her hand found the doorframe.

"Wait," Dexter said.

Selene froze at the door and her hand remained on the frame with her body half-turned toward the hallway, one foot already across the threshold.

She froze.

Then, in a voice so soft voice, she murmured.

"We can wait until you’re in a good mood."

[A/N: I’ve promised a lot and I’ve utterly failed. I can’t think of a worthy explanation for you all. I’ve disappointed you and I’m ashamed of my self. I won’t promise again cause I seem to always fail at that. I really and truly apologize for that. So I will stop speaking about mass release. Won’t be surprised if y’all stopped reading the book cause of that. I truly am utterly and deeply sorry for that. Any explanation would just be an excuse. Please accept my apology. Also, this isn’t a filler you can count, just in case.]