Born In Ashes: The Enigma

There was a reason Azrael decided to test Claudia first instead of the other Tower Masters.

He had attempted to gather more information about the so-called Enders and the Vessel of Corruption from the people of New Moon City.

However, aside from learning that they were fanatically bent on destroying everything and killing everyone for reasons unknown, he hadn't been able to obtain any further information.

Claudia was the Tower Master of the Magic Tower, which meant she held a very high status within New Moon City.

But aside from her, there were also Alex and Harris—the Tower Masters of the Knight Tower and Jury Tower respectively.

If Claudia truly was the Vessel of Corruption and intended to destroy New Moon City and slaughter its inhabitants—just as the people described—then the greatest obstacles in her path would be those two Tower Masters.

To destroy New Moon City, she would first need to eliminate them.

And after watching the recording, it had become clear to Azrael that she was already very close to accomplishing that.

In the recording, when Rose arrived late due to Harris delaying her, Claudia had told her to go along with her plan so that such a situation wouldn't occur again in the future.

From that single line, it was evident that Claudia was instructing Rose to take some sort of action against Harris.

As his wife and someone who lived with him, it wouldn't be difficult for Rose to do something to Harris and kill him while he was unprepared.

As for Alex, Azrael had already sensed his emotions during the recruitment event and knew that the man was head over heels for Claudia.

Once Rose took care of Harris—the master of the Jury Tower who oversaw the city—it wouldn't be hard for Claudia to eliminate Alex as well.

And once both Harris and Alex were gone, there would be no one left in New Moon City capable of stopping her and she would then be free to act as she pleased.

Everything Claudia had done so far indicated that she was attempting to seize complete control over New Moon City.

Now, Azrael just needed to determine whether she was merely an ambitious woman hungry for power, or if she truly was the Vessel of Corruption.

When Azrael saw Claudia approaching the location, he hid himself— likely to ensure that she wouldn't be able to detect him.

Even though she was a Class-Level warrior, Azrael was over a kilometer away from her, and it wouldn't be easy for her to sense his presence at such a distance.

After arriving at the meeting spot, Claudia looked around, cold murderous intent flashing in her eyes.

Azrael did not act immediately. Instead, he waited patiently for several minutes.

Though Claudia knew she had arrived an hour early, she was still growing impatient when the person who had sent her the recording didn't immediately show himself.

About fifteen minutes later, Azrael noticed that Claudia's emotions were becoming more and more unstable with each passing moment.

Although he couldn't sense her emotions directly from such a distance, he was still able to perceive her mood through her body language.

The way she moved around and the subtle trembling in her hand made it clear that she was on the verge of exploding from a mix of anxiety and anger.

'Well, let's get started,' Azrael thought to himself as he pulled out a controller from his inventory.

It was the same controller he had used to operate the pebble sized scouting ball he had previously sent into the Magic Tower.

When he pressed a button on it, the scouting ball he had hidden at the meeting location lit up, and a hologram appeared—displaying Claudia's recorded conversation with Rose.

When Claudia saw the hologram and what it was playing, her face turned pale.

Simultaneously, her eyes filled with murderous intent. She knew that if this recording were to be leaked, all of her carefully laid plans would crumble in an instant.

But soon, her already pale face became even paler—because this time, the recording didn't stop at her meeting with Rose.

It continued, showing intimate moments between her and Alex as well.

"You bastard, just who are you?" Claudia gritted her teeth and spoke, her voice filled with hatred.

At this moment, she had completely lost control over her emotions.

The mere thought of Harris and Alex seeing the recording caused her mind to go blank.

Because Azrael was still far away, he couldn't directly feel whether Claudia had emotions like the desire to destroy everything or kill everyone—emotions supposedly associated with the Vessel of Corruption.

However, even without directly sensing her emotions, he could still gather clues from her body language.

But to make absolutely certain he didn't miss anything, he knew he would eventually need to get closer and read her emotional state using the full power of both of his traits.

Azrael looked at Claudia for a few more minutes before turning his attention back to the holographic screen.

'It's about to end,' He muttered inwardly and quietly left the area.

Soon, the recording finished—but Claudia's emotions did not settle.

As the final image on the screen appeared, she saw the clown who had called her standing there.

"Miss Magic Tower Master, I know I was the one who called you here," The clown said, bowing politely, "But you see, my pet chicken is about to lay eggs, and I need to watch over it to make sure nothing goes wrong during the delivery."

He smiled innocently. "Let's reschedule our appointment to tomorrow—same place, same time. See you then."

As his words ended, the scouting ball exploded just like it had last time.

Claudia stood frozen in place, stunned.

Everything had happened so quickly that her mind was struggling to process it all.

But once she fully processed the events, her expression turned hideous with rage. Her aura surged uncontrollably, causing the surroundings to tremble from its pressure.

"I swear, I will give you a painful death for playing with me," She growled, her voice dripping with hatred.

A few seconds later, she took a deep breath to calm herself, realizing that the surrounding area had fallen into disarray due to her loss of emotional control.

Without wasting another moment, she turned and began retracing her steps, heading back toward the Magic Tower.

Soon, she left the deserted area where Azrael had summoned her and returned to the prosperous part of the city.

Since it was just past six, many pedestrians were out walking along the streets.

When they saw someone walking in a black robe that covered them from head to toe, their eyes filled with respect as this uniform was worn only by members of the Magic Tower.

They did not realize it was Claudia, the Tower Master herself, but simply the fact that the person was from the Magic Tower was enough to earn admiration.

While most of the people were looking at her with respect, admiration, envy, and various other emotions, one figure standing by the side of the road watched her with cold, emotionless eyes—

Quietly trying to feel and interpret the chaotic emotions raging within her.