Chapter 607: Unleash me
Kael looked at the folder in Amelia’s hands.
Then he looked at her face.
She looked tired.
Not physically tired. Amelia still maintained her impeccable posture, neatly arranged hair, and controlled expression. But her eyes gave her away. She had spent far too long reading documents, cross-referencing names, comparing dates, and trying to find a pattern where everyone else saw only chaos.
Kael recognized that kind of exhaustion.
It was the same thing he felt after a long battle, only for completely different reasons.
"How long did you spend on this?"
Amelia shrugged.
"Long enough."
"That’s not an answer."
"Two days."
Kael frowned.
"Two entire days?"
"With breaks."
Irelia answered for her.
"Small ones."
Sylphie crossed her arms.
"Almost nonexistent."
Amelia looked at the two of them.
"Neither of you rested properly either."
"But we aren’t pretending we did," Irelia said.
Kael took the folder from Amelia’s hand before she could stop him.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"Kael."
He flipped through a few pages.
Stopped at the third.
Looked again.
Then turned two more.
His expression went blank.
Amelia held out her hand.
"Give it back."
Kael returned the folder immediately.
"I didn’t understand any of it."
Liza let out a quiet laugh.
Irelia closed her eyes.
Sylphie raised a hand to her mouth to hide her smile.
Amelia held the folder against her chest.
"You didn’t even try."
"I tried for five pages."
"You looked at three."
"They felt like five."
"That is exactly why you weren’t at the meeting."
Kael looked at Liza.
"There was a meeting?"
"There was."
"Without me?"
"Yes."
"That seems personal."
"It was strategic," Amelia replied.
Kael remained silent for a few seconds.
Then he pointed at the folder.
"Then explain it without the paper."
Amelia took a deep breath.
"That’s why we came."
They continued walking down the corridor, but at a slower pace. Liza remained beside Kael. Sylphie held his hand. Irelia walked alongside Amelia, who began mentally organizing what she needed to say.
Amelia started with the simplest part.
"We are no longer going to search for the organization directly."
Kael looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because they are too good at disappearing."
"That’s true."
"So we are going to look for what they need."
Kael became thoughtful.
"Resources."
Amelia nodded.
"Exactly."
"Money, ingredients, researchers, artifacts, transportation, mercenaries."
Kael looked at Liza.
"Was that her idea?"
"It was."
"Good."
Amelia gave a small smile.
"Thank you."
Kael continued thinking.
"So instead of searching for the head..."
"...we look for the body moving," Irelia finished.
"More or less."
Amelia opened the folder again as they walked.
"They work through projects. Each operation has a specific objective. When they fail, they abandon the structure and start another one somewhere else."
Kael frowned.
"Then the plan involving Vlad is already over."
"Probably."
Liza answered before Amelia could.
"They must already be preparing something else."
Kael became more serious.
"In which kingdom?"
Amelia closed the folder.
"That’s the problem."
"We don’t know."
Sylphie squeezed his hand.
"But now we can find out beforehand."
Kael looked at her.
"How?"
Amelia explained the network.
Witches.
Vampires.
Humans.
Yggdrasil.
Each kingdom would maintain its own intelligence network while sharing any relevant information. There would be no single center. No one person controlling everything. No simple structure for the organization to attack and bring down.
Kael listened in silence.
To everyone’s surprise, he did not interrupt.
Only when Amelia finished that part did he speak.
"Will this work?"
Amelia answered without hesitation.
"If everyone cooperates."
Kael grimaced.
"Then we already have a problem."
Liza looked at him.
"Not all kingdoms trust one another."
"That’s what I’m talking about."
Irelia crossed her arms.
"But they trust a common threat more."
Kael nodded slowly.
"Until the threat seems distant."
Amelia looked at him.
"That’s why we need quick results."
She explained the second part.
Monitoring suppliers.
Prominent alchemists.
Artifact makers.
Specialized researchers.
Unusual trade routes.
Purchases that were too large.
Discreet disappearances.
Changes in the behavior of nobles.
Mercenary movements.
Everything cross-referenced between the kingdoms.
When Amelia finished, Kael remained silent for a few seconds.
Liza watched his reaction.
"Is it bad?"
Kael shook his head.
"No."
"Then what?"
"It’s too good."
Amelia raised an eyebrow.
"Is that a complaint?"
"No. I’m just trying to understand why no one did this before."
Irelia answered.
"Because it would require trust."
Liza added.
"And because no kingdom likes admitting weakness."
Sylphie released Kael’s hand only to adjust her hair.
"Also because threats like this usually seem like someone else’s problem until they walk through your own door."
Kael looked at Liza.
"That literally happened here."
"Yes."
The queen did not seem amused.
Kael noticed and did not push it.
Amelia continued.
"When we locate an operation, we will not attack immediately."
Kael looked at her.
"We won’t?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because we need to capture people."
He grimaced.
"That’s less fun."
"I’m not trying to entertain you."
"I know. That’s also a problem."
Irelia smiled.
Amelia ignored him.
"If we kill everyone, we lose information."
"If we capture agents, intermediaries, or researchers, we may be able to discover other cells."
Kael nodded.
"That makes sense."
"That is why you only enter at the end."
He slowly turned toward her.
"I only enter at the end?"
"Yes."
"That sounds offensive."
"It’s efficient."
"Explain."
Amelia gave a small smile.
"We investigate."
Irelia continued.
"We find them."
Liza added.
"We confirm it."
Sylphie finished.
"And then we unleash you."
Kael fell silent.
He looked at one of them.
Then another.
Then Amelia.
"Unleash?"
Amelia shrugged.
"It’s the most accurate word."
Liza laughed.
Kael pointed at all of them.
"I am not a war animal."
No one answered.
Kael waited.
They remained silent.
"You could deny it."
Sylphie took his hand again.
"You are our war animal."
"That made it worse."
Irelia started laughing.
Amelia did too.
Liza tried to hold it back, but ended up laughing with them.
Kael ran a hand over his face.
"I created a new technique today."
Amelia nodded.
"Great."
"It has a name."
"What is it?"
"Celestial Step."
The three of them remained silent for a moment.
Sylphie was the first to react.
"I like it."
Irelia tilted her head slightly.
"It suits you."
Amelia thought a little longer.
"It’s simple. Easy to remember. Works well in reports."
Kael looked at her.
"Of course you would think about reports."
Liza smiled.
"I said the same thing."
Kael immediately turned toward her.
"You didn’t say anything about reports."
"No. I said it suited the Celestial Sun."
Kael closed his eyes.
"I hate that title."
Sylphie squeezed his fingers.
"I like it."
"Of course you do."
Amelia looked toward the destroyed training field in the distance, visible through one of the corridor windows.
"So you completed the technique by destroying half the courtyard."
"It wasn’t half."
Liza replied.
"It was more."
Kael looked at her.
"You said you would invent an excuse."
"I will."
"Then don’t contribute to the case against me."
"I never promised that."
Irelia crossed her arms.
"This alliance between the two of you is becoming strange."
Sylphie looked at her.
"I noticed that too."
Kael let out a sigh.
"This again."
Amelia closed the folder.
"Now, seriously."
Her tone changed.
Kael noticed.
The joking stopped almost immediately.
"We have a possible first target."
Liza also became serious.
"Amelia."
"I said possible."
Kael looked between the two of them.
"What did you find?"
Amelia opened the folder to another section.
"A transportation route."
"Transporting what?"
"Empty artifacts."
Kael frowned.
"Empty artifacts?"
"Unenchanted magical vessels. They can be used to store mana, memories, spirits, or any structure someone wants to insert into them later."
Sylphie became serious.
"How many?"
"More than two hundred."
Irelia answered before Amelia could.
"Purchased by three different merchants in two kingdoms."
Kael looked at Liza.
"Is that normal?"
"Not in that quantity."
Amelia continued.
"The buyers have no known connection to one another. But the shipments all pass through the same region."
She opened a small map and showed him a point.
"The northern border of the Human Empire."
Kael studied the map.
"Is there anything there?"
"Officially, no."
"Then there is."
Amelia nodded.
"Probably."
Liza placed one hand on the folder.
"We still cannot attack."
Kael looked at her.
"Because you haven’t confirmed it yet."
"Exactly."
"Then why are you telling me?"
Amelia answered.
"Because you need to be prepared."
Kael looked at the map again.
Then toward the training field.
"That explains why you came to get me."
Sylphie smiled.
"We also came to stop you from destroying the rest of the palace."
"That part was secondary."
"It wasn’t."
Kael took a deep breath.
"What happens now?"
Amelia closed the map.
"Irelia will contact the Ainsworth commercial connections."
"I will," Irelia confirmed.
"Liza will check whether any vampire house is connected to the purchases."
The queen nodded.
"Sylphie will try to sense whether there is any natural disturbance in that region."
Sylphie replied.
"Yes."
Kael pointed at himself.
"And me?"
Amelia remained silent for a second.
"You rest."
He stared at her.
"That’s a joke."
"No."
"I just finished creating a new technique."
"Exactly."
"I should test it."
"You already did."
"In a real situation."
"No."
"Amelia."
She held his gaze.
"If we find a base, you will need to be at full strength."
Kael remained quiet.
She continued.
"Without an injured ankle."
Liza gave a crooked smile.
"I mentioned that he almost fell."
Kael looked at her as though betrayed.
"You promised an excuse."
"For the courtyard. Not for your ankle."
Sylphie squeezed his hand.
"You are going to rest."
Kael looked at all of them.
Irelia smiled.
Amelia maintained a serious expression.
Liza looked far too pleased.
"This feels like another meeting against me."
Amelia replied.
"It isn’t a meeting."
"It’s an order."
Kael remained silent for a few seconds.
Then he let out a breath.
"All right."
All four of them looked surprised.
He noticed.
"Don’t make that face."
Sylphie smiled.
"You agreed quickly."
"I’m maturing."
Amelia opened her notebook.
"Possible side effect of Celestial Step."
Kael pointed at her.
"Don’t write that down."
"I already recorded it mentally."
He shook his head and looked back at the map.
The northern border of the Human Empire did not seem remarkable.
Mountains.
Trade roads.
Small towns.
No fortress.
No major concentration of mana on record.
But two hundred empty artifacts did not disappear by accident.
Someone had bought them.
Someone had transported them.
And someone intended to fill them with something.
Kael slowly closed his hand.
"When you confirm it..."
Amelia looked at him.
"I know."
He smiled faintly.
"Unleash me."
This time, no one laughed.