Chapter 166: The Hand That Restored Her

Reinhard stood beside Emily, studying the restrained A-Rank. The man had admitted that Baal knew Emily would sacrifice herself for her family, but something about his answers still bothered Reinhard.

They had known about Emily’s recovery.

"Wait," Reinhard said, drawing everyone’s attention. "You knew Emily recovered her Gnosis."

The A-Rank smiled faintly. "Of course."

Reinhard’s expression tightened. They knew Emily’s personality, the original Black Moon Incident, and the restoration of her Gnosis. They had even anticipated that she might become desperate enough to cooperate if her family was threatened. There were too many connected details for coincidence.

"How?" Reinhard asked.

The prisoner remained silent, prompting Reinhard to reconsider everything he knew about Emily’s recovery: her shattered Gnosis, the doctors who had declared it beyond repair, and the months she spent in a wheelchair while organizations gradually abandoned her. Then he remembered the researcher responsible for the breakthrough.

Dr. Elias Vane.

"The restoration method existed before Emily recovered," Reinhard said, watching the prisoner’s reaction. "You knew about it beforehand."

The A-Rank said nothing, but his expression shifted for an instant. Maki noticed it too. "So you connected them."

"Someone had access to the research before Emily ever heard about it," Reinhard agreed, bringing out the Mirror of Possibilities.

Emily recognized the relic. "What are you looking for?"

"The hand behind your recovery."

Her expression changed. Restoring her Gnosis had been one of the greatest miracles of her life, allowing her to walk again, return to the Awakener world, and reach heights she had once believed impossible. Now Reinhard’s words raised the possibility that someone had deliberately placed that miracle within her reach.

He raised the Mirror and asked, "Show me where Dr. Elias Vane obtained the formula used to restore Emily’s Gnosis."

Its surface rippled, revealing a private research facility filled with Mana equipment and documents. Elias Vane stood at a desk, studying several pages with exhausted concentration. When the door opened, he looked up as a tall man entered, his long white hair falling around a demon mask and a black-and-white robe.

The Baal Family leader placed a document on the desk. "This is the research you requested."

Elias began reading, and his eyes widened. "This is impossible."

"You said you needed a method to restore a shattered Gnosis," the Baal leader replied calmly.

Elias hurried through the pages before asking where the information had come from, but the Baal leader ignored the question and asked whether it could work. Elias hesitated, then tightened his grip on the document. "If the theory is correct, yes. It could."

Emily stared at the Mirror while Lily’s expression darkened and Maki watched in silence. The vision did not explain the formula, but it revealed what mattered: Baal already possessed the research before Emily recovered.

The Mirror shifted to another scene. Elias was now working in a larger laboratory, surrounded by equipment and other researchers. Materials arrived, data changed hands, and Baal personnel moved through the facility with information and resources. Elias had not been working alone; the Baal Family had actively supported his research.

"They didn’t just know about it," Maki said.

Reinhard nodded. "They helped create the path."

The next vision showed the research spreading into obscure scientific circles. Rumors passed between researchers and organizations: there might be a way to restore a damaged Gnosis, Elias Vane might have discovered something, and someone was testing an incomplete restoration method. As the rumors spread, the original source became difficult to identify.

Baal had not simply kept the research for themselves. They had made sure the possibility of restoration reached the world. A desperate person did not need a complete answer; they only needed to hear that one might exist.

And Emily had been desperate.

The Mirror faded, returning the room to view. Reinhard turned toward the prisoner. "This was deliberate."

"Obviously," the A-Rank replied.

"You wanted Emily to hear about Gnosis restoration."

"Eventually."

The prisoner’s voice remained casual as he explained their plan. First, Emily had to lose her Gnosis and then her hope. Doctors would tell her there was no way to repair it, organizations would withdraw their support, sponsors would disappear, and doors would close until she was desperate enough to search for anything that might restore her life. Only then would the rumor appear.

Baal had never needed to force Emily to accept the restoration. They only needed to make her desperate enough to seek it, then allow hope to appear when she had almost none left. If she recovered, whoever could provide further assistance would become far more valuable to her.

Reinhard understood the purpose. "You wanted her grateful."

The prisoner nodded. "And eventually controllable."

For a long moment, Reinhard said nothing. He remembered Emily in her wheelchair, the despair she had hidden when doctors told her that her Gnosis was beyond repair, and the day she finally stood again. Some of the circumstances surrounding her suffering had not been unfortunate accidents. They had been engineered.

Emily lowered her gaze. "So when I thought nobody wanted to help me..." Her voice faltered.

Maki answered quietly, "They were making sure nobody would."

Emily’s fingers tightened around her clothes. Lily’s eyes burned with anger, while Yuna looked ready to break something. The worst part was not simply that someone had tried to hurt Emily. It was the realization that someone had deliberately made her believe she had no future.

Lily stepped toward the prisoner. "They did that to you? They made everyone abandon you?"

The A-Rank shrugged. "We only encouraged certain decisions."

"That’s the same thing!" Lily snapped, moving closer until Maki caught her shoulder.

"Lily."

"They knew she was suffering!"

The prisoner barely reacted. "That was the point."

Yuna suddenly spoke. "The sponsors."

Everyone turned toward her. She remembered the organizations that had suddenly shown interest in Emily, the old sponsors who had abandoned her, and the people who had seemed terrified of refusing. She also remembered the mysterious figure Reinhard had discovered.

"That’s why they were afraid," Yuna said.

Reinhard nodded slightly. Yuna continued, "They weren’t refusing Emily simply because they thought she was finished. They were being pressured."

Maki’s expression hardened as the other pieces fell into place. The frightened executives, the warnings that Emily must remain isolated, and the strange figure who had appeared after the sponsors were pressured were all connected. The pressure had never been a separate incident; it had been part of the same plan.

Reinhard turned back to the prisoner. "Did Baal know Emily would find Elias Vane’s research?"

"We made sure the information reached the right places," the A-Rank replied.

"And if she didn’t?"

"Then she would have remained desperate."

The answer was worse than Reinhard expected. If Emily never found the research, she would remain isolated and hopeless. If she did find it, she would regain her strength while becoming emotionally vulnerable to anyone who could offer further assistance. Either outcome benefited Baal. Emily’s failure was useful, and so was her recovery.

The prisoner smiled. "The plan was working perfectly until you restored her Gnosis."

Emily looked toward Reinhard, but he remained calm. The A-Rank continued, explaining that Emily had risen far faster than expected, and Reinhard had changed the plan’s direction. "You don’t understand," the prisoner said. "You restored her. You made her stronger, made her famous, and gave her a family that would follow her anywhere."

The room fell quiet as Reinhard considered the truth. Baal’s original plan depended on Emily remaining isolated, but Reinhard had given her everything that plan was designed to take away: power, money, a reputation, allies, and a family. Most importantly, she had a husband who would walk into a Calamity’s attack without hesitation if it meant keeping her alive.

"You changed the plan," the A-Rank said with a laugh.

"And now?" Reinhard asked.

"Now you’re making it easier."

Lily frowned. "What does that mean?"

The prisoner ignored her and looked toward Emily. "You brought her exactly where we needed her."

Emily’s expression shifted, and Reinhard noticed immediately. He did not yet understand the statement, but he could tell there was another layer to the plan. He looked at the prisoner. "What did you expect Emily to become?"

"Someone powerful enough to make the world believe she could have done it."

Reinhard narrowed his eyes. The answer connected to everything they had learned about the Black Moon. Emily was supposed to possess knowledge of it, recover her Gnosis through an unusual method, and rise from D-Rank to A-Rank at an absurd speed. She was also supposed to become famous, and now she had.

Baal had not expected Reinhard to accelerate Emily’s growth this far, but the result still served their narrative. The stronger Emily became, the more believable it would seem that she possessed the ability to recreate the Black Moon.

"So that’s the game," Reinhard said.

The A-Rank smiled. "Now you understand."

Reinhard glanced at Emily. She met his gaze, and neither spoke for a moment. Then his expression settled into a calm, calculating look. Baal had spent years building a path that would lead Emily toward desperation, isolating her and controlling the information around her so that her recovery could become a source of leverage.

But Reinhard had taken everything they built and turned it into something else. Emily had become stronger, gained fame, and built a family. Now Baal intended to use those achievements against her.

Reinhard turned back to the prisoner, and a smile slowly returned to his face. "Good."

The A-Rank kept smiling, still convinced that his side held the advantage. Reinhard was perfectly happy to let him believe it.

[Investment Objective Completed.]

[B-Grade Investment Successful.]

[Calculating Investment Returns...]