Chapter 96: Confidential

Victoria watched the clip twice before the phone nearly left her hand.

On the screen, Julian smiled for the cameras like a model student accepting praise. He thanked her by name, then dragged Daemon’s rank and private life into the open as if both belonged to the public.

The punch that followed was clean and hard. Within minutes, it was spreading across every platform in Ashford.

Victoria’s crimson eyes burned.

"I’m going to break his legs."

Sana caught her wrist before she could stand.

"Don’t," Sana said. "Not now. If you make another scene, it only makes this worse."

"He used my name."

"I know."

"He attacked Daemon on camera on purpose."

"I know that too." Sana did not let go. "If you go after him while the whole city is watching that clip, every headline will say Victoria Hale protected her husband’s violence. Is that what you want?"

Victoria’s jaw tightened.

She already knew Julian disliked Daemon. That had always been obvious. But this was more than dislike. This was planned.

He had aimed at Daemon’s hunter career, at Victoria’s public name, and even pulled Roxanna into the mess without saying her name out loud.

The public would connect it anyway. A new SS-Rank healer standing beside Daemon in the same video was more than enough.

"He didn’t just insult him," Victoria said coldly. "He tried to mark Daemon as unworthy in front of every guild watching. That kind of stain spreads."

Sana sighed and rubbed her temple.

"Then we deal with Julian carefully. Not now. Not while one more move can be twisted against Daemon."

Victoria pulled her hand free, but she did not walk to the door.

"I will never forget this," she said. "Even if Daemon forgives him, I won’t."

Sana glanced at the paused frame of Julian’s bleeding mouth.

"Then I pray for Julian," she muttered. "Once Victoria Hale puts someone on her list, that person’s future gets very short."

Victoria did not smile.

She only watched the screen and memorized every second of it.

At WHA headquarters, the air inside Guild Master Rosalind’s office was already tense.

Cole and Elira stood in front of her desk. The muted news feed on the side screen still showed the punch from three angles. One focused on Julian’s fall. Another caught Daemon’s face after the hit. The third showed officials rushing in.

Rosalind tapped one polished nail against the table.

"This did not happen suddenly," she said. "Look carefully. Julian provoked him. Daemon was standing with his team, not looking for a fight.

Julian targeted him, used Victoria’s name, and dragged private matters into an official clearance press line."

Elira nodded.

"He also implied something improper with another woman. Even without naming Roxanna, people will connect her. She was right beside Daemon when the clip started spreading."

Cole folded his arms.

"It’s messy."

"It’s deliberate," Rosalind said. "At first I considered formal dismissal for unprofessional conduct toward a registered hunter’s family. Now he will give a public apology for that behavior. If he refuses, I will terminate him."

Cole looked up quickly.

"Guild Master, don’t. He’s valuable. He awakened as S-Rank with a rare holy-type power. In the future he can become one of WHA’s strongest public faces. If we cut him loose now, private guilds will take him within a day."

Rosalind’s gaze did not soften.

"I don’t care about that. I only keep team players. This is not a one-man show. If a hunter cannot work with others, cannot control his mouth, and turns a clearance into personal theater, then his power is wasted under my command."

She leaned back slightly.

"Where is he now?"

"Medical department," Elira answered. "The healers said even after Roxanna repaired the damage, his jaw and speech are still unstable. He’s resting while they work on him again."

Cole added, "He can walk. He just can’t talk cleanly yet."

Rosalind looked at the screen once more, then turned away.

"Good. Let him sit with the consequences long enough to understand them."

A soft knock sounded at the door.

An assistant’s voice came through.

"Ma’am, Mr. Daemon is waiting outside your office. He wants to speak with you about the dungeon gate."

Rosalind’s expression changed at once.

Not anger.

Interest.

"About the gate?"

"Yes, ma’am."

Rosalind closed the muted feed.

"Allow him."

The door opened.

Daemon entered with the same calm he carried into most rooms that tried to pressure him. His eyes moved once across the office and noted Cole and Elira near the desk.

He still was not close with either of them. The distance between them was professional, shaped by rank, history, and the fact that they belonged more to Victoria’s old circle than his.

Cole watched him carefully. Elira’s gaze was cooler and measuring.

Daemon bowed once to Rosalind.

"Guild Master."

"Sit," Rosalind said.

Daemon took the chair in front of her desk without hesitation. He did not look at the side screen. He did not open with an apology. He did not ask how bad the public reaction had become.

That alone changed the air in the room.

Cole and Elira waited for the expected start — an explanation about the punch, a request for protection, some attempt to control the story before WHA decided for him.

Daemon looked at Rosalind and spoke first.

"I’m not here to talk about Julian’s actions."

The room went still for half a second.

Cole’s brow tightened.

Elira’s eyes widened slightly.

Daemon continued in an even voice, as if the viral clip outside had nothing to do with why he had come.

"I don’t intend to waste our time," he said. "So let’s get directly into what I came to discuss."

Rosalind watched him more closely now.

"Go on."

Daemon met her eyes.

"Miss Rosalind, I found out that the last A-Rank dungeon was connected to Kassia’s White Dragon race.

I want records of any recently cleared gates that produced the same kind of creatures. If we catch those patterns early, we can stop larger damage to civilians.

If something like that spreads in public, people will assume Kassia is involved. I don’t want that."

Rosalind’s fingers paused on the desk.

"What do you mean by Kassia’s race? Related in what way?"

Before Daemon could answer fully, Elira leaned forward.

"You’re saying actual people from her race are searching for something."

Daemon did not answer that final part directly.

He did not need to.

The silence that followed was enough. Everyone in the room understood the meaning without a full confirmation.

Rosalind’s voice stayed controlled, but colder.

"How is that possible? In dungeons, only monsters come through. We have never recorded humans living inside those spaces."

"No human from Earth can live there. That’s true," Daemon said. "But what if there is another world connected to ours?"

Cole’s expression changed at once. Elira went still.

Daemon turned slightly toward both of them.

"Whatever we discuss here is confidential. Both of you are close to my wife, so I’m including you. Do not tell anyone else."

Cole and Elira exchanged a short look, then nodded.

"Yes," Cole said.

"We understand," Elira added. "We won’t."

Daemon faced Rosalind again.

"All I can tell you is this. There is another world. People of the same White Dragon lineage as Kassia live there. I believe they are trying to reach her because she awakened one of their bloodlines.

They likely felt that power through the connection. Whether they are only curious about her awakening, or whether they want something else, is still unconfirmed. That is exactly why we have to be careful."

Rosalind listened without interrupting.

"If you find any dungeon that looks suspicious in the same way," Daemon continued, "inform me or Victoria.

We will handle those cases. Do not send random hunter teams into them. The team I want is limited: Mr. Cole, Miss Elira, Sana, my wife, and me."

The request carried more weight than a normal mission assignment.

Rosalind understood at once.

This was not a simple clearance request. If Daemon was right, every confirmed case would change dungeon-gate records and force WHA to face a reality larger than ranks and public image. It would also place Kassia under far more attention than any of them could safely ignore.

She considered it once more, weighing risk against necessity, then gave a short nod.

"Yes. I approve it. From this point, any similar gate pattern comes to this room first. No open assignment without my approval."

Daemon inclined his head.

"Thank you."

Outside the office, the city was still talking about the punch, replaying the same few seconds as if that single blow was the whole story.

Inside, a far more dangerous conversation had already begun.

Across Ashford, Roxanna stepped out of the car.

Her face was neither fully happy nor fully sad.

In front of her stood the old apartment building where she had once lived like a caged animal — quiet walls, familiar windows, and a past she was finally ready to leave behind for good.