Chapter 206: The Perpetrator

“I can’t lose everything now. I’ve come too far.” Maelor Sableclaw stood by the window of his temporary home. The Beastfolk King had returned, the Wolf Crown had been reinstated and the war that was supposed to cause a change in the current balance had barely begun before coming to an end. Tanaka Eldoris was investigating the attacks, and the slime appeared to be following the clues back to the eastern district.

Maelor clenched his fist. He had spent years planning this. He had wiped out the Catfolk royal family, taken control of the line of succession, concealed Lynessa’s identity and had formed alliances with people who could help him change Bravelm. He had come so close to completing his objective but was now being forced to back out due to one old creature deciding to return. “Assassin.” A Catfolk male stepped from the shadows. Rhyss Varnclaw. “Master.”

“You must kill Tanaka Eldoris.” Rhyss stayed silent. “Master, I don’t think I can.” Maelor turned sharply. “What?” “The slime is considerably stronger than we anticipated. He survived the Beastfolk King’s attacks, and his movements are difficult to follow even for someone with my abilities. If I attempt a direct assassination, I may not get a second opportunity.” Maelor frowned. “He’s still a slime with a core. Our precision magic can bypass his defences and attack his core directly.” Rhyss hesitated. “But, Master, that’s a forbidden technique. Core removal is intricate and dangerous, even when performed on a weakened monster. One mistake could ruin the technique, and we don’t know how many guards are accompanying him.” “Do what I asked you to do. Don’t worry about anything.” Rhyss bowed his head. “Yes, Master.”

Maelor walked up to him and placed two fingers to his forehead. Golden mana flowed from his fingers. Rhyss felt a rush of memories, techniques and complex magic structures flow into his mind. He could see exactly how the mana channels would be laid out, and the precise movements needed to get past the outer defences of a monster. He could also see how the core would be located and removed without causing any damage. Although there was a lot of information to take in, Maelor was not just giving him instructions. He was passing on his knowledge of an ancient royal technique of the Catfolk, a technique that had been passed down to him when he was still seen as the true heir. Rhyss’ eyes widened. “Now you understand.” “Yes, Master.” “Go.” Rhyss bowed once before vanishing into the shadows.

Tanaka was resting. He had spent a lot of time on his investigation, and extending his Mana Sense throughout Varghelm had taken a lot more out of him than he expected. Eventually, he had returned to the home provided for the Eldoris group, and decided to take his true form as a dark blue slime. His body was laying on a large cushion by the window. Although he was asleep, his Mana Sense was still active. It spread throughout the room and area, picking up on any movement, magic and life. There were guards outside from the Wolf Crown, and several of his own subordinates were resting in other rooms. It was fairly secure. Unfortunately, the assassin was not an ordinary one.

Standing outside the building, Rhyss pressed his hand to the wall. He focused on the technique that Maelor had given him. “Royal Art: Hollow Meridian.” His mana condensed. Rather than making himself invisible, he manipulated the flow of mana around his body to match the natural flow of the area. This meant that to an ordinary Mana Sense, he would appear as just part of the background. He would not stand out any more than the mana flowing through the walls or the slight remnants of magic in the area. However, this wouldn’t have been enough to trick Tanaka. Rhyss used the illusion techniques he had learned from the Foxfolk to create several fake mana trails. These trails moved on their own, mimicking the natural flow of mana from the people and enchanted items in the area. Whenever his perception came into contact with them, they would blend in with the mana.

Rhyss moved. The guards outside did not notice him. He moved through the hallway and slipped through a small gap. He entered Tanaka’s room and stood still for several seconds, watching the sleeping slime carefully. He could see that his mana reserves were huge, but his core was easily identifiable to someone with precision magic knowledge. Rhyss moved closer. He raised his hand. A thin trail of mana shot from his fingertip. It was so thin that it could easily collapse if disturbed. It passed through the outer layers of Tanaka’s body without causing any obvious damage. It then followed the inner flow of mana to the condensed centre. There it was. The core.

Rhyss manipulated the mana thread to create several smaller threads. These wrapped around the centre without touching the surface. He then used the forbidden technique to separate the core from the mana channels. This was a delicate process. If he wasn’t careful then he could easily destroy the core. He focused his mind and slowly loosened the connections. Eventually, the last thread separated. The dark blue body stopped moving. Rhyss pulled his hand back. In his hand was a beautiful dark blue orb. The surface had delicate patterns of mana swirling slowly. He had done it. Tanaka Eldoris’ core had been removed. Rhyss looked at the still slime. “With this much mana, you really were troublesome.” He had thought it would be much harder to assassinate him, but the forbidden technique had worked perfectly. Now that he didn’t have a core, the monster should not be able to keep his body for long. Even if he had some form of regeneration, separating the core should have killed him.

Rhyss started to pull back. However, something moved behind him. “Finished?” Rhyss froze. A familiar voice came from the cushion. Slowly, Rhyss turned. The dark blue slime was no longer still. Inside his body was a small orb. It glowed with the same dark blue color as the one in Rhyss’ hand. The mana started to flow around it, slowly fixing the disrupted flow. Tanaka opened his eyes. “That was quite an interesting technique.” Rhyss took a step back. “It’s impossible!” Tanaka’s body lifted from the cushion. Slowly, it returned to its original form. “So you think removing my core will kill me?” He looked at the orb in Rhyss’ hand. “You’re right.” Rhyss looked confused.

Tanaka continued. “Monsters need their cores to survive. The core maintains their mana circulation, supports their bodies and serves as the centre of their existence. Removing it is usually enough to kill an ordinary monster, especially one that relies entirely on its core to maintain its physical form.” He tapped the new orb inside his body. “But I’m different.” Tanaka’s face showed a hint of amusement. “My core isn’t where my soul resides. It’s the centre of my mana circulation, and thanks to my unique nature, I can condense another one almost instantly. When you removed the previous core, my body temporarily lost its normal mana circulation, but Endless Abyss kept my existence anchored long enough for a replacement to form.” He looked Rhyss dead in the eye. “So unless you can destroy my core a million times, stopping every replacement before I make another, you aren’t going to kill me that way.” Rhyss looked stunned. He had spent years perfecting his precision magic, but had just learnt that the technique he believed to be his strongest weapon was almost useless against this monster.

Tanaka stretched his body slightly. “Anyway, now that you’ve finished experimenting, tell me who sent you.” Rhyss immediately tightened his grip on the core. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Tanaka blinked. “Really?” Rhyss said nothing. Tanaka sighed. “You’re going to make this difficult, aren’t you?”

A few minutes later the door opened. Raishin and Raizen walked in. Both had been resting when Tanaka had contacted them using the Dominion Nexus. However, as soon as they entered they noticed the stranger in the centre of the room. Rhyss had already been caught by several thick strands of slime. His weapons had been taken, and his mana channels had been partially blocked. Raishin looked at Tanaka. “An assassin?” “Yes. He tried removing my core.” Raizen looked at the dark blue orb in Rhyss’ hand. “…He actually succeeded?” Tanaka nodded. “Unfortunately.” The Star Wolf King looked at him. Tanaka shrugged. “I made another one.” Raizen looked at Rhyss in disbelief. The assassin had gone through an incredibly complex assassination technique, only to find out that his target could create another core. “Who sent you?” Raishin asked. Rhyss said nothing.

Tanaka rubbed his head. “I’ve asked him already. He doesn’t seem interested in cooperating.” Raishin looked at the assassin. “What would you like us to do?” “Make him talk.” Rhyss raised his head. “I won’t say anything!” Tanaka looked at him thoughtfully. “I could probably get the answer myself, but I don’t think that would end well for him.” The truth was, Tanaka was much stronger than Rhyss. He didn’t have much experience questioning captives without causing serious damage. Even a restrained punch from him could cause broken bones. Using his elemental abilities with enough precision to cause pain but not kill him would be a waste of energy. However, Raishin and Raizen were experienced fighters. They knew exactly how much power they could generate. Tanaka moved aside. “Raishin, Raizen. Don’t kill him.” Raizen’s lips curled slightly. “Got it.” Rhyss struggled. “Wait! You can’t…” Raishin raised a hand. A small bolt of lightning appeared between his fingers. “Then answer the questions.” Rhyss gritted his teeth.

The interrogation took longer than Tanaka expected. At first Rhyss refused to answer any questions. He claimed he had done it on his own, said he didn’t know anything about the murders and even tried to convince them he had only entered the home to steal something. However, Raishin quickly saw through his lies and used controlled bursts of electricity to cause him pain without causing lasting damage. Raizen wasn’t as kind. He used his claws to press on specific points, occasionally pressing harder if Rhyss tried to resist. Eventually, Rhyss’ resolve broke under the combined pressure of Raishin’s lightning and Raizen’s physical pressure. However, he still refused to give them a name. Tanaka watched from his seat nearby. He wasn’t too happy about the situation, but the assassin had tried to kill him. More importantly, he could have information on the people responsible for the deaths throughout Varghelm.

“One more time,” Tanaka said. Raishin stopped. “Who sent you?” Rhyss panted. Silence. Raizen moved closer. Rhyss flinched. “Wait!” Raizen paused. Rhyss lowered his head. “I will talk.” Tanaka leaned forward. “Good. Start from the beginning.” Rhyss swallowed. “I serve a Catfolk noble named Maelor Sableclaw.” Tanaka’s expression changed. Maelor. That was the name he had been following through the eastern district. Rhyss continued, his voice weak. “He arranged the agreement with Mereth Raukhan. He was responsible for the false Foxfolk magic, the murders and the attacks during the gathering. He wanted the Beastfolk kingdoms to turn against one another, and he intended to use the chaos to weaken the Wolf Crown.”

Tanaka stayed silent. “What about Lynessa?” Rhyss hesitated. “Maelor ordered her sale to Mereth. He was the one who wanted her removed from the Catfolk royal family.” Tanaka’s eyes narrowed. “Why?” Rhyss looked down. “Because she was the former King’s daughter.” No one moved for several seconds. Tanaka slowly stood. The mystery surrounding Lynessa had just gotten a lot bigger. And now he knew the name of the person behind everything. Maelor Sableclaw.