Born In Ashes: The Enigma

"Rose, huh..." Azrael muttered thoughtfully as he watched Rose enter Claudia's room.

"You are late," Claudia said in a slightly annoyed tone.

Rose smiled at her words and wrapped her arms around Claudia's neck.

"I couldn't help it. That guy left just a few minutes ago, and I came here as soon as I could," She said with a wink. "How about I show you a new trick?"

Claudia pushed Rose down onto the bed and spoke in a serious tone. "If that guy is such a pain, then why don't you follow my suggestion? We could live peacefully if you just did what I told you to."

A look of hesitation flashed in Rose's eyes upon hearing Claudia's words and after a few seconds, she shook her head.

"Let's not talk about it for now."

Claudia's eyes flashed at Rose's response, and she smiled.

"Alright..." She said, and her smile turned wicked. "But you still have to pay for making me wait."

Azrael watched everything indifferently and increased the playback speed even further.

Rose and Claudia continued to entangle with each other on the bed for about an hour before they stopped.

Azrael heard their conversation, but they didn't discuss anything meaningful.

Soon, Rose and Claudia cleaned themselves, and Rose left.

Azrael paused the recording and rubbed his chin.

"This recording is enough for me to determine whether Harris and Claudia are vessels of corruption."

During the recruitment event, Azrael had tried to sense if any of the Tower Masters harbored violent emotions— feelings like the desire to kill and destroy everything in sight.

These violent emotions and the tendency to lose control were the most obvious signs of someone being a vessel of corruption.

However, during the event, Azrael hadn't been able to sense any such emotions from any of the Tower Masters.

At that time, he had guessed that they were all suppressing their emotions extremely well.

If he wanted to see their true emotions, he would need to thoroughly disturb, rile up their emotions— to push their feelings past the point of control.

Whether through anger, sadness, fear, or any overwhelming emotion, as long as he could make them lose control, there would be a high chance they would reveal what they were trying to hide.

Based on the recording he had just watched, he could easily provoke Harris by showing him what his wife was doing behind his back— and what she was planning to do with Claudia.

As for Claudia, her emotions could also be easily disturbed by showing her the same recording. She would definitely be agitated and afraid of the consequences if Harris were to see it.

Now, he only needed something that could disturb Alex's emotions.

He looked at the holographic screen, which displayed Claudia's image. She had a faint smile at the corner of her lips, and her eyes were filled with greed.

Azrael took a deep breath, and his eyes flashed.

If his sensing during the recruitment event had been accurate, then this woman was far from simple— and Rose was just one of her pawns.

'If my instincts are right, I should be able to get something useful involving Alex as well...' He thought to himself and resumed the recording.

For the next two days, Claudia spent most of her time in her room, occasionally stepping out to get some fresh air.

On the third day, while she was resting in her room, someone knocked on her door again.

Claudia went to open it, and when she did, she smiled sweetly and stepped aside.

As she moved, a handsome man with shoulder-length golden hair entered the room.

Azrael looked at Alex, who had just entered, and nearly burst into laughter.

"This woman is really a player," He said with a grin, realizing that everything he had sensed during the recruitment event was proving to be true.

Azrael watched as Claudia followed the same routine she had with Rose, taking Alex to her bed, and he shook his head.

"I wonder what kind of outburst this guy would have if I showed him the recording of Claudia and Rose..." He murmured, the corners of his lips curling upward.

"From what I felt during the recruitment event, this guy genuinely loves her. If he finds out the woman he loves is just playing with him and only has interest in his high position, he will definitely lose control over his emotions."

As Azrael thought about this, his eyes drifted to the recording device in his hand.

"I think I now understand why this device is restricted to military use and not sold publicly."

Azrael shook his head as he thought about the chaos this device could cause to outside world.

Azrael continued watching the recording. However, he didn't uncover any other useful information.

Eventually, the final day of the recording came to an end, and Azrael finally put the device away.

He closed his eyes for a moment to think carefully about what to do next and within just a few minutes, he had formed a solid plan in his mind.

"Who should I test first?" He asked himself, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, and soon made up his mind.

"After seeing everything, she seems to be the most suspicious of the three..." He muttered to himself and stood up.

"Let's start with her, then."

Azrael left the inn to make preparations for his upcoming plan and after wandering around New Moon City for about four hours, he finally found three appropriate places, suitable for executing his plan.

"Although it will be dangerous, this is the best I can do for now," Azrael said to himself and began arranging a few things around the three areas he had found.

It took him about an hour to complete all the preparations, and once he was done, he took a deep breath, his eyes flashing with cold determination, his will to complete the trial soaring.

"It's time to call her," He said and turned around to leave.