Chapter 253: Striking A Deal With The Association.

Both Kael and Lyra’s attention snapped toward the phone buzzing on the table. Kael’s expression shifted slightly at the familiar caller ID.

Branch Director Ferris.

Lyra leaned slightly closer, catching a glimpse of the name on the screen. Her expression immediately became worried.

"Is that someone from the Association?"

Kael glanced at her before looking back at the phone. He could already guess why Ferris was calling. After all, he had wiped out an entire Guild the previous night, and judging by the timing, it was only natural that the Association had started investigating what happened.

Seeing the worry on Lyra’s face, Kael gave her a small smile.

"You don’t have to worry. I’ve got this. I’ll go take care of it."

He stood from his seat and picked up the phone before walking toward his room. Lyra remained where she was, watching him disappear through the doorway. Even after Kael closed the door behind him, the concern on her face didn’t disappear. She trusted her brother, but knowing the Association was calling the morning after what happened last night made it difficult for her not to worry.

Meanwhile, Kael entered his room and closed the door behind him. He walked over to his bed and sat down on the edge, his eyes falling onto the caller ID once more. There was no reason to keep Ferris waiting, so he answered the call.

"Good morning, Mr. Kael."

Ferris’s voice came from the other end.

"Good morning to you too," Kael replied casually. "To what do I owe this call?"

There was a brief silence.

It was short, but Kael noticed it immediately.

"Well, Mr. Kael," Ferris finally said, "did you happen to watch the news this morning?"

"Not really."

Another pause followed.

"Oh."

Kael raised an eyebrow slightly at the response. He could already tell there was more to this conversation than Ferris was willing to say directly.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Kael asked. "Just be straightforward with it."

Ferris went quiet again.

"Well, you see..."

The hesitation in his voice was obvious.

"Dark Viper Guild was destroyed yesterday. All of its members seem to have vanished."

"Oh, is that so?" Kael replied, his tone remaining completely calm. "Did you call to tell me just that, or..."

He deliberately left the sentence unfinished.

Ferris fell silent.

There was indeed something else he wanted to say.

Yesterday’s battle had been far too destructive to go unnoticed. The commotion alone had been enough to draw the Association’s attention, and since the Dark Viper Guild operated within Ferris’s jurisdiction, he’d been among the first dispatched to investigate the scene.

What they found had been little more than ruins.

The area had been reduced to devastation. Buildings lay destroyed, the surrounding area heavily damaged, and traces of an intense battle remained scattered throughout the site. Yet there were no survivors left to explain what had happened.

Only one corpse remained.

Morgan.

The others had disappeared completely, leaving the Association with almost nothing to work with.

After investigating the scene, the Association had concluded that the Dark Viper Guild had been wiped out by villains. The destructive force left behind was more than enough to support that theory, and there was no obvious evidence pointing toward anyone else.

At least, that was the official conclusion.

Ferris had noticed something the others hadn’t.

An extremely faint trace of earth energy remained around the ruins.

It was weak enough that most people would have overlooked it entirely, but Ferris had sensed that particular aura before. He had felt it during Kael’s fight against the Scarlet Fist. It was an unusual energy signature, one that Ferris had only ever sensed from Kael.

That alone wasn’t enough to accuse him of anything.

Aura wasn’t definitive evidence, especially after such a destructive battle, since there were so many auras lingering around that could confuse things. So Ferris had no way of proving Kael had been involved.

There was also the fact that Kael wasn’t simply some ordinary Hunter Ferris could casually question.

Ferris respected him. More importantly, he considered Kael a benefactor. Kael’s strength was also far beyond Ferris’s own, and there was the matter of Kael’s apparent connection to the Association’s Vice President. Ferris didn’t know exactly how deep that connection went, but it was enough to make him cautious.

If he accused Kael without evidence and ended up offending him, the consequences would not be pleasant.

Yet Ferris still needed to know the truth.

"Well, actually, that’s why I called," Ferris finally said. "When I went to investigate the scene last night, I picked up an aura that I’ve sensed from you before."

The moment the words left his mouth, Ferris immediately realized how they sounded.

"Of course, I’m not accusing you of anything," he quickly added. "I simply wanted to know if you happened to be around there yesterday night."

Ferris’s voice became noticeably more careful toward the end.

Kael remained silent for a moment.

He wasn’t bothered by the turn of events, though he hadn’t expected the Association to link him to this incident this early. He’d even planned to approach them himself once he was done settling things, but this worked just as well.

"Well, is that so?" Kael’s voice remained calm, causing Ferris to swallow quietly.

Kael continued. "Then you wouldn’t be wrong, I wasn’t just there. I was the one who wiped out the Dark Viper Guild myself."

Silence.

The line went completely quiet.

Although Ferris already had his suspicions, actually hearing Kael admit it so casually left him momentarily unable to respond.

"This..."

The word escaped Ferris’s mouth before he stopped himself.

The destruction of an entire Guild was not a minor offense. Regardless of the reason behind it, wiping out an entire organization could bring severe consequences. Even Kael’s connection to the Association’s Vice President might not be enough to simply make the matter disappear.

Ferris sat in silence on the other end of the call, suddenly realizing that the conversation he had been so cautious about starting had become far more complicated than he had anticipated.

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Sorry for the inconvenience, guys.