Chapter 33: Fallen Stars
"Well, we made some deep investigation on those three." The Vice Guild Leader stepped forward, his demeanor strictly professional as he laid out the intelligence. He opened the file to another page, Kelly’s picture was on it. The image showed a strikingly beautiful woman whose eyes seemed entirely devoid of worldly presence.
"The oldest in that house is Kelly, 23 years old, black hair and blue eyes... When she was five, her grandfather asked an awakened to check her Talent, and it was Great, impressive I will say. With this talent her future as an Awakened will be set."
"You mean she could reach SSS-RANK?" Marianne interjected, her eyes narrowing slightly. To an apex predator like her, potential was just as dangerous as realized power.
"Yeah, her talent is that of an SSS-RANK... But when she reached ten years old, she lost her mother who was an Awakened to monsters, right in front of her. This caused a psychological trauma to her brain, and from then on, she avoided everything related to awakened, even ran away from the awakening ceremony of her family." He exhaled, pausing to let the weight of that immense wasted potential settle in the room, and continued:
"But she didn’t hide around, but rather took over the business after her father passed away leaving her an orphan at age 17. Kelly led the small family business to one of the leading giants in Vaeloria."
"Then three years ago, she joined the expedition to the Doomsday Dungeon, but even while staying in the ship, she also suffered from it, which resulted in her mental breakdown." Marianne completed his words.
The Doomsday Dungeon was a taboo subject, a graveyard for the world’s most arrogant elites, and clearly the epicenter of this broken family.
"True, but no one is still clear on that, some rumors said she was targeted, some said the energy waves from the battle between SSS-RANK caused her condition."
"What do you think?" Marianne looked up at him, valuing his mind over baseless street gossip.
"I can’t rule out the later rumor, because there is indeed abilities and energy that can mess up someone’s brain... I am guessing this energy came in contact with Kelly and enhanced her childhood trauma to the extreme, which resulted in her current state... Of course, this is just my assumption."
Marianne stared at the picture on the file, a slight frown on her face. She had listened to everything, dissecting the tragedy with cold precision, but she couldn’t find anything she could use on Asher. A traumatized, regressed heiress didn’t offer a tactical angle.
"What about the cure? Can her situation be cured?" She asked, wondering if she could bribe Asher with medical resources.
"Um... I am not so sure, but her grandfather did search for ways. But most of them are temporary, the only true cure is called soul cleansing potion... You can’t locate this on earth, only in a dungeon, the rank and type of dungeon, no one knows." He sighed softly. The sheer impossibility of obtaining such an item rendered it useless as leverage.
Marianne nodded her head, realizing this wasn’t going anywhere. Kelly was Nice, kind-hearted, but also cold to everyone... There was nothing she could use to chain the new Boss of Heaven Hotel to her guild.
"What about the other two? I can’t get anything from Kelly Asheville."
"Huh? Get what?" The Vice asked in confusion, momentarily failing to grasp the depths of his Guild Leader’s machinations.
"Just continue, if I see what I am after, I will explain it to you." Marianne ordered, her tone cutting off any further questions.
"Oh, okay... The second oldest in their four-person family is Sara Stafford, she is his second wife."
"First, second, third? Why does it matter? I thought he married them all together?" Marianne asked, looking up at him, puzzled by the technicalities of the exiled prince’s strange domestic arrangement.
"Nope, the Asheville Family was the first who brought up the idea, followed by the second, and third. They came first because after Kelly’s situation, the family lost everything and went bankrupt in just three years..."
Marianne nodded, understanding the cruel economics of the world tossing away their broken tools, and turned the page of the file, as Sara’s picture stared straight at her. The icy, emotionless gaze in the photograph sent a phantom chill through the office.
"Sara Stafford, the youngest SSS-RANK Awakened in the world." She muttered under her breath, a rare trace of genuine respect—and perhaps a lingering shadow of fear—coloring her voice.
"Yes. The Stafford Family discovered she has SSS-RANK when she was three years old, that was insanely abnormal for anyone, she advanced to C-Rank when she reached 10 years, then S-Rank when she reached 14, with endless bloody battles, and death, and reached SSS-RANK in the age of 17, that is insane!!"
"Yes, back then she was the idol of every single kid, and awakened alike, even I was scared of her progress... But she was too arrogant, and joined the expedition to that dungeon and lost everything." Marianne relaxed on her seat, staring at the ceiling as memories of Sara’s terrifying, meteoric rise played in her mind, while the Vice continued:
"Because of her fall of grace, her family as an Awakened family lost everything, and went bankrupt... It’s a tragic end to such a bright star."
Marianne nodded her head, and exhaled softly, dismissing the legendary warrior as a defunct asset: "Still nothing... I shouldn’t even ask about her cure, it’s impossible to cure a destroyed core." She stretched her hand, closing the Chapter on the fallen genius, and moved the page to the last part, showing Juliana’s picture.
"What about her?" She asked, not optimistic, assuming this was just another ruined prodigy sold off to pay a family debt.
"Juliana Royal wood... The Royal wood family is different, this family focused on both Business and Awakened worlds. In truth, such families have more influence and powers, but the Royal wood was different, they were different... The one controlling all their awakened and business is their youngest daughter, Juliana."
"Huh? I don’t understand, how?" Marianne asked in surprise, sitting up straighter. Managing both the brutal politics of the Awakener factions and a massive corporate empire was a feat that usually required an entire board of directors.
"Juliana has a special ability to make potions, and also kind of... How should I explain this, she could increase and reduce time in a small domain. In this domain, the family can place their awakened in there to cultivate, this greatly increases their cultivation speed."
"My goodness, such an ability is beyond broken." Marianne murmured in shock, her mind racing at the sheer strategic value of manipulating time for an Awakened army. It was an ability that could topple nations. She leaned forward, completely captivated by the file, then asked:
"What happened next?"