Born In Ashes: The Enigma

The next day, Azrael left the inn early. It was still 6 o'clock— two hours left before his scheduled meeting with Alex.

The first thing he did after leaving the inn was retrieve some scouting balls he had planted around the Magic Tower and Alex's mansion.

He checked the recordings, and after thoroughly reviewing them, he confirmed that Alex had not gone to meet Claudia regarding the footage he had shown him the previous day.

If Alex had confronted Claudia, Azrael would have been forced to alter his plan, as there was a high chance that Alex would no longer come to meet him.

However, after confirming that Alex hadn't met with Claudia and would most likely appear at the appointed time, Azrael turned his attention to another location—Harris's mansion.

He planned to complete his trial today, and in case Alex also turned out not to be a vessel of corruption, only Harris would remain as a suspect.

Last night, he had spent hours devising multiple strategies to complete the trial smoothly, as with his current power, killing a Class-level warrior would be incredibly difficult.

After reaching Class level, not only does one gain a Class and powerful skills, but even the quality of their cosmic energy advances to the next level.

The difference in the quality of cosmic energy between an apprentice warrior and a Class-level warrior was immense, to the point that an apprentice would struggle to even penetrate the base-level defense of a Class warrior's energy.

With his current stat points, if Azrael had his Wind powers activated, he would have been confident enough to face Class-level warriors of Harris or other Tower Masters' caliber.

But with his current strength, killing them and completing the trial was a steep challenge.

After much contemplation, Azrael had finally devised a plan that he believed would allow him to complete the trial today if he succeeded in finding the vessel of corruption among the three Tower Masters.

Upon arriving at Harris's mansion, he took out another pebble sized scouting ball and let it fly inside.

Harris's mansion was even larger than Alex's, but Azrael already knew where to find him, having scanned the entire mansion last night using the military-grade scouting device.

The scouting ball reached Harris's bedroom in just a few minutes. Harris was alone in his room, getting ready to leave for the Juri Tower.

As soon as the scouting ball entered the room, Harris turned his head toward its direction and frowned.

The next moment, a holographic screen appeared in front of him, displaying a shocking scene: Rose lying naked in bed with someone.

The person she was with was partly obscured, but from the visible features, it looked like she was sleeping with a man.

Harris's face froze as the scene played out, his eyes widening.

His expression turned pale, and he lost control over his aura.

Just then, the scene changed abruptly. A man wearing a clown mask appeared on the screen.

"Come meet me behind the Old Moon Market in block 6A in two hours. Your wife is planning something dangerous, and your life might be in danger," The masked man said.

The moment he finished speaking, the scouting ball self-destructed.

Harris snapped out of his daze when the ball exploded. His face twisted through a range of emotions—confusion, anger, fear, and more.

He repeated the words in his head, and his eyes flashed with cold light.

"Old Moon Market..." He muttered under his breath before leaving the room.

About two kilometers away from Harris's mansion, Azrael put away the controller in his hand and quickly walked away.

"Now the stage is all set..." He muttered with an indifferent look on his face. "Let's hope the actors play their roles properly."

As he walked, he couldn't help but think about the things he had did the previous night and shook his head.

"Let's hope everything goes as planned."

Azrael headed to the location he had given to Alex and, similar to his meeting with Claudia, stayed about one and a half kilometers away, observing from a distance.

Time passed, and soon, only ten minutes remained until the 8 o'clock meeting time.

"Hmmm?" Azrael's eyes narrowed as he saw a man approaching the designated location.

The man was clad in blue armor, a sword in his hand. His shoulder-length golden hair was messy, and his eyes were slightly red, as if he hadn't slept well.

Seeing Alex arrive, Azrael retrieved the controller for the scouting ball he had placed at the meeting location.

Alex scanned the area with bloodshot eyes, his face etched with murderous intent.

Azrael waited for a few minutes to allow Alex's emotions to boil before pressing the activation button.

The moment the scouting ball activated, Alex's head snapped in its direction, locking his gaze on the holographic screen.

As soon as his eyes landed on the image, his body stiffened.

The next moment—

"Harris, you bastard!" Alex roared, his bloodshot eyes burning with fury as he saw a scene of Harris in bed with Claudia.

Yes, it wasn't Rose he saw—but Claudia.

Using the AI capabilities of the military scouting ball, Azrael had altered Rose's body slightly to resemble a man and planted Harris's face into the video.

If Alex had examined the footage closely, he might have noticed the flaws in the image.

However, after seeing Harris with Claudia, his mind was already consumed by rage.

His emotions exploded so violently that even from one and a half kilometers away, Azrael could feel them clearly.

Activating both Cold Blooded and Infinite Comprehension to their fullest extent, Azrael observed him with emotionless eyes, analyzing every sensation radiating from him.

Rage, sorrow, betrayal, disappointment—and most notably, despair, as if he had lost everything.

'He doesn't possess the chaotic emotions that a vessel of corruption should have...' Azrael frowned slightly, probing deeper into Alex's emotional state.

But the result remained unchanged.

'Then Harris must be the vessel of corruption,' He concluded grimly.

Taking one final look at the enraged Alex, he pressed the controller's button, destroying the scouting ball, and immediately took off.

'It's time to meet Harris. The Old Moon Market is just a few minutes away from here...'

Running at full speed, Azrael reached the location in just two minutes.

As he neared the meeting spot, he concealed himself and spotted Harris already waiting there.

From Harris's posture and body language, Azrael deduced that he had been waiting for quite some time.

His face was already twisted with fury.

'If he really is the vessel of corruption, I might be able to use Alex as a pawn…' Azrael thought, picturing the raging knight just a few kilometers away.

He pressed another button on the controller.

The moment the scouting ball activated, a holographic screen appeared some distance from Harris, displaying yet another video.

Harris immediately turned to face the screen, and the moment he saw the footage...

"Alex, you bastard!" He howled in fury, witnessing Rose in bed with Alex.

His emotions erupted even more violently than Alex's. His face contorted into a grotesque mask of rage, like a volcano about to erupt.

Like with Alex, Harris's emotions surged beyond control, and Azrael could feel their intense fluctuations from afar.

He once again activated Cold Blooded and Infinite Comprehension, trying to sense whether Harris was the vessel of corruption or not.