Chapter 114: The Faceless

Malric slowly opened his eyes.

For a few seconds, he remained still, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling above him. Soft light filled the spacious room, falling across polished furniture and rich fabrics. The air was cool and clean, carrying a faint scent he didn’t recognize.

He shifted slightly against the mattress, only for a sharp pain to tear through his battered body.

"Fuck... that hurts."

He immediately stopped moving and took a slow breath, waiting for the pain to settle. Fragments of the battle slowly returned to him—blood, fire, and that insane explosion.

Malric stared at the ceiling for a moment before his expression darkened.

"Damn it... that bastard blew himself up."

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "After all that trouble... I don’t even get a corpse?"

A soft gasp suddenly broke his train of thought. Eliza hurried toward the edge of the bed, her face pale with worry. She bowed respectfully.

"You are awake, Young Master."

Malric rubbed his temples, trying to shake off the lingering grogginess.

"Yes, Eliza. Where exactly are we? And what happened?"

Before Eliza could answer, a thoroughly irritated voice echoed from the corner of the room.

"Finally awake?"

Lilith stepped out of the shadows. Her violet eyes flashed with pure, unadulterated annoyance.

"You sleep peacefully here for two days. Meanwhile, you left me stranded in that remote fortress with that holy bitch!"

Malric blinked. He forced his mind to process her angry outburst.

"What do you mean? Have I really been unconscious for two entire days?"

He turned his gaze toward Eliza for confirmation. The maid nodded quickly, her hands clasped together nervously.

"Yes, Young Master. Your condition was incredibly critical. Lord Dylan brought you here himself."

Lilith did not give him a chance to digest the information. She paced the floor like a caged predator.

"If you had just taken me with you, none of this would have happened. Instead, you made me stay behind to cover your absence!"

She turned toward him and shot him an angry glare. "You’d better keep the promise you made to me, or you’ll regret it."

Malric rubbed his temples helplessly. "Don’t worry. I’ll keep our agreement. Just tell me what happened after that."

Lilith let out a scoff dripping with malice. "That fucking rude, blue-eyed bastard forced me to stay there for two whole days!"

"He’s just an arrogant Supreme asshole who thinks he can do whatever the hell he wants simply because he’s stronger!" Lilith narrowed her eyes, her tone turning deadly cold. "Just wait. Let us see what I will do to him once I reach that rank."

Malric frowned, trying to piece together what had happened while he was unconscious.

"If he forced you to stay, how did you get back? And when?"

Lilith stopped pacing and gestured dismissively toward the other side of the bed.

"That old man named Cedric brought me back with this maid about an hour ago."

Eliza immediately straightened and shot the demoness a sharp glare. "I am the Young Master’s personal attendant. And you are just a summon. That makes you a maid as well."

Lilith slowly turned her head toward Eliza, her violet eyes narrowing into a piercing, deadly glare.

"A maid? Are you speaking to me?"

Eliza didn’t flinch. She met the demoness’s cold stare head-on, her expression unwavering.

"Yes. I am."

Malric quickly raised a hand, interrupting the silent, brewing war between them. He completely ignored the tension. A much more horrifying thought had just surfaced in his mind.

He stared at the furious demoness, a cold knot forming in his stomach.

"Wait... Lilith. Did you create a replica of me... and leave it wandering around Blackthorn for two whole days?"

Lilith’s expression smoothed into a radiant, completely hollow smile. She crossed her arms gracefully.

"Of course, I maintained your presence perfectly. But things became quite lively after you disappeared."

She paced slowly toward the window, her dark gown trailing behind her.

"A woman wearing a blue mask and a man in a red mask suddenly appeared. They were flying directly above the forest."

She glanced back over her shoulder, her violet eyes gleaming with dark amusement.

"They seemed incredibly well-known among the mortals there. According to the rumors among the guards, they belong to a powerful organization called ’The Faceless’."

The moment Malric heard the name, shock coursed through him.

The Faceless?

The name seemed strangely familiar to Malric.

Wasn’t that the name of Lokris’s race before he reached the Epic rank and evolved into the Devourer of Identities?

Lilith let out a soft, melodic laugh, interrupting his thoughts.

"But the most amusing part is what followed. In a single night, the most ridiculous rumors spread through Blackthorn like wildfire."

She paced slowly toward the window, clearly enjoying the utter chaos.

"People are saying that the ’Black Reaper’ is the Faceless’ newest member. They say you are a tragic figure who lost your entire family to the Morveth."

She crossed her arms gracefully, her violet eyes gleaming with dark amusement.

"According to them, you are consumed by grief and hatred—a madman who hunts down every Morveth he encounters, tearing them apart without mercy and leaving their corpses scattered in pools of blood... then burning their remains to ashes, just as they burned your family."

Lilith chuckled softly. She looked at him with feigned, exaggerated sympathy.

"It is such a dramatic tale. If I did not know the truth, I might have actually believed them."

Malric frowned, ignoring the throbbing pain in his head.

"Where did these ridiculous rumors even come from? And more importantly, what were members of a famous organization doing in Blackthorn?"

Lilith shrugged her shoulders gracefully.

"I have no idea. They simply appeared above the forest. Then they vanished shortly after the guards spotted them."

Malric fell silent for a moment, turning the information over in his mind.

The timing was too strange to be a coincidence.

The rumors, the appearance of a mysterious and powerful organization whose members wore masks, and the fact that he had appeared in Blackthorn as the Black Reaper... everything about it felt strange.

It was almost as if someone had been pulling the strings from behind the scenes, carefully steering everything toward a specific outcome.

Could my family have something to do with this?

Malric let out a heavy sigh. He rubbed his face in sheer exhaustion.

"What about Shay? Did she say or notice anything suspicious?"

Lilith waved a hand dismissively. "No. After seeing the two masked figures, she returned to her room with her guard. She did not step outside once."

She paced slowly toward the foot of the bed.

"A day after the incident, she seemed to realize there was no point in staying there anymore. She simply decided to leave."

Malric frowned, his eyes narrowing sharply. "Wait. What about The Wager? Where are my stones?"

Lilith’s smile widened into something truly wicked.

"Oh, those? She said she’d send them as soon as possible. You really should’ve seen her face."

A wild grin slowly spread across Malric’s face, one he could barely keep from showing.

His massive gamble had actually paid off. Excitement stirred within him as he began thinking about all the ways he could put his new gains to use.

He leaned back against the pillows. "I can’t even imagine."

The wild grin vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared.

Malric remembered the consequences of everything he had done, his excitement faded, replaced by a growing sense of unease. Then he shifted his gaze toward Eliza.

"Eliza. The Faceless. What exactly do you know about them?"

Eliza stiffened. A trace of tension crept into her expression as she stepped closer to the edge of the bed.

"They are a massive organization, Young Master. They are led by a woman whose individual strength is terrifying. It is said her power rivals Duke Vesperion himself... perhaps even the Emperor."

Malric frowned. That made absolutely no sense.

"If they are an organization of that size, what were they doing inside Blackthorn? This is a territory belonging to the Duke."

Eliza shook her head slowly. "I do not have the slightest idea. But currently, their presence here is not the problem, Young Master."

She fell silent. Her hands clasped tightly together in front of her. She stared at the floor, clearly struggling with her next words.

Malric watched her carefully. "Speak, Eliza. What is it?"

She looked up, her eyes filled with genuine urgency.

"I know you are the Black Reaper, Young Master. The rumors linking that identity to the Faceless will cause you countless problems."

Malric wasn’t surprised that Eliza knew he was the Black Reaper. She had been suspicious of his identity for quite some time, and he knew she would never betray him or reveal his secret to anyone.

That was why he had told her the truth before leaving to fight Vorgath.

Contrary to what he had expected, Eliza hadn’t been particularly surprised. She had accepted it almost immediately, without asking unnecessary questions. She had even worked together with Lilith afterward to keep his absence hidden from everyone.

Eliza took another step closer, her tone almost pleading.

"Please. You must never use that identity again Young Master."