Chapter 423 - 326: 4th Floor Secret Vault

「The next morning.」

Before the morning bell of the council hall had even rung, Aidele was already standing outside Elder Darcy’s door.

Her deep purple long robe hung down to her feet, its hem perfectly still.

She raised her hand, her fingertips tapping lightly on the heavy oak door three times.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK. The sound of knocking echoed in the empty corridor.

"Come in." Darcy’s voice called from within the room.

Aidele pushed the door open and entered. The room was dimly lit, with only a Crystal Stone Lamp on the corner of the desk emitting a faint, yellow glow.

Elder Darcy sat behind a large ebony desk, holding an ancient tome in his hands.

Its pages were yellowed and frayed at the edges, as if it had been read countless times.

He looked up at Aidele. "What is it?"

Aidele’s expression was grave as she walked to the desk and stopped before it.

"Elder Darcy, I have an urgent matter to report."

"For you to be this serious, it must be important. Speak."

"I would like to request that the Elder Council open the 4th Floor of the clan’s Secret Vault."

Darcy stopped turning the pages, a sharp glint appearing in his eyes.

"The 4th Floor of the Secret Vault? Why?"

His expression was solemn, and the air in the study seemed to freeze in an instant.

"Yesterday, when Honored Guest Elder Marcus entered the Secret Vault, he sensed a trace of Abyssal Aura hidden deep within."

As her words fell, the study became deathly silent.

Elder Darcy slowly set down the ancient tome. The pages closed with a soft thump.

He stared at Aidele, the fine silver patterns deep within his pupils swirling.

"Are you certain?"

Aidele nodded solemnly. "I am. Honored Guest Elder Marcus is extremely sensitive to the Abyssal Aura."

"He was the first to detect my father’s contamination."

Elder Darcy lowered his head in thought, recalling some of Ian’s methods.

This Honored Guest Elder was an expert in Purification Potions, and he had been the first to discover Titus’s Abyssal contamination and stabilize the outbreak.

Ian truly did possess an extraordinary Perception of the Abyss.

’A Level Three Wizard’s Perception would not be mistaken.’

He stood up, his grayish-white long robe casting a long shadow in the dim yellow light.

"This matter is of the utmost importance. I must convene the Elder Council immediately."

「Half an hour later.」

In the clan’s core council hall, all nine Elders had assembled.

Elder Darcy sat in the center, his gray-white hair draped over his shoulders, his gaze as calm as an abyss.

Elder Soron sat to his left, his withered fingers tapping lightly on the armrest.

The other seven Elders sat in their respective seats, their expressions varied.

Aidele stood in the center of the hall. In the shadows cast by the stone pillars, her deep purple long robe made her seem exceptionally solemn.

She repeated what she had told Elder Darcy, her voice clear and her pace steady.

After she spoke the last word, the sound of hushed whispers arose from among the stone chairs.

"The 4th Floor... an Abyssal Aura..."

"An area only the Clan Leader can enter..."

"Titus went in three years ago, and after that..."

Elder Darcy raised his hand slightly, and all the voices gradually died away.

He looked at Aidele, that piercing glint reappearing in his eyes.

"Where is Lord Ian now?"

"At No. 7 Wisteria Lane. He can come over at any time."

Elder Darcy nodded and turned to Elder Soron.

"Soron, what are your thoughts?"

Elder Soron was silent for a moment. "We should investigate it thoroughly."

He stated his position decisively.

"Titus’s contamination, Edmund’s fall... it all proves that the clan has long been infiltrated by the Abyss."

Soron’s tone was icy, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"The 4th Floor of the Secret Vault is the clan’s most central restricted area. If even that place has a problem..."

He didn’t finish his sentence, but all the Elders understood.

If even the 4th Floor of the Secret Vault was contaminated, then the Justice Clan... was truly rotten to the core.

Elder Darcy nodded slowly and looked at the other seven Elders.

"Let us begin the vote. First, I agree to opening the Secret Vault for a full investigation."

The moment he finished speaking, eight auras lit up in succession, without a hint of hesitation.

The midday sun was blinding, and the sky was as azure as lapis lazuli.

An invisible gloom hung over the entrance to the Justice Clan’s Secret Vault.

This time, five Elders had come, and they stood before the Secret Vault’s massive runic door.

Elder Darcy, Elder Soron, and three other Level Three Wizards with profound auras.

They wore uniform grayish-white long robes, with the Elder Council’s emblem pinned to their chests.

The metal emblems glinted coldly in the sunlight, like some kind of silent declaration.

The guards were four Level Two Wizards dressed in silver armor and holding long halberds.

Seeing the five Elders arrive together, their faces grew tense and strained, and cold sweat beaded on their foreheads.

"O-Open the door..."

The Guard Captain’s voice trembled as he took a special access token from his robes and pressed it into a recess in the center of the massive door.

With a low hum, layers of the Rune Array lit up, spreading outward from the center in concentric circles.

The massive door slowly swung inward, revealing a stone staircase extending downwards.

Elder Darcy stepped forward first, with the other four Elders following close behind.

The group quickly passed the first floor, the second floor, the third floor...

On each floor, a dedicated officer was waiting. They kept their heads bowed and backs bent, not daring to meet the Elders’ gazes.

The concentration of Energy in the air grew higher with each floor.

The five Elders’ expressions remained unchanged. Their Spiritual Power had already formed an invisible net, silently sweeping over every bookshelf, every crystal cabinet, and every corner.

They detected no abnormalities—at least, not on the first three floors.

Finally, they arrived at the staircase leading to the 4th Floor.

It was a spiral stone staircase leading down, its entrance sealed by a faint, silver-colored Light Curtain.

Complex Runes flowed across the Light Curtain’s surface, emitting powerful spatial fluctuations.

This was a seal that could only be opened with the Clan Leader’s authority.

Elder Darcy stopped and looked at Elder Soron.

"Will you?"

Elder Soron nodded and stepped forward.